Chapter Five: An Icey predicament

 Chapter Five: An Icey predicament

The night air grew still as Ariel and Koi ambled away from Penguin Co., following a winding path dappled with moonlight. In the distance, silhouettes of towering savanna grasses waved gently, heralding the entrance to the Elephant Domain. The sign above the arched gateway read:

Welcome to the Elephant Domain
"Mind your step, please—we do have rather large feet."

“Oh boy,” Ariel muttered. “Let’s hope these elephants are friendlier than corporate penguins.”

Koi smirked, hands tucked behind his back. “We can only hope, mate. If they turn out to be as by-the-book as those penguins, we’re in for another long meeting.”

A Trumpeting “Hello”

As soon as they stepped through the gate, the warm, earthy smell of hay and dust greeted them. Under a soft glow of lanterns, tall African trees and patches of grass stretched across the enclosure. A shallow watering hole shimmered like a mini lake, reflecting the moon’s silver face.

Then came a resounding trumpeting noise—“HRRRONK!”—that nearly knocked Ariel’s socks off. She spun around to see an enormous elephant lumbering toward them. Moonlight bounced off his wrinkled hide, and his enormous ears flapped like two giant fans.

“Ah, good evening, dear chaps!” the elephant boomed in a posh British accent. “So terribly sorry if I startled you. Name’s Eagle the Elephant, pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Ariel exchanged a wide-eyed glance with Koi. An elephant…with a British accent? Then again, after Kiwi the King Cobra, formal penguins, and a thousand more surprises, maybe she shouldn’t have been so shocked.

“You must forgive our, ah, volume,” Eagle went on. “We’re known to greet visitors rather enthusiastically. Force of habit, you know!”

He was soon joined by three more elephants, each brandishing equally posh manners:

• Emu the Elephant, with a tiny bowler hat perched behind her massive tusks.
• Eel the Elephant, who wore a monocle that kept sliding down his trunk.
• Egret the Elephant, elegantly draped with a small tartan blanket over her broad back.

They surrounded Ariel and Koi with a sense of gentle curiosity. Ariel felt dwarfed by their sheer size, but their refined English voices helped put her at ease.

Cordial Introductions

“Pleasure, pleasure,” Emu said, giving them a little curtsy with her front legs. The bowler hat nearly slipped off, but she snatched it just in time. “May we inquire as to your business here, so late and all?”

Koi hopped forward, tail twitching. “Right, well, we’re lookin’ for a meerkat named Mole. We heard he might’ve passed through?”

Eel the Elephant lifted his monocle and squinted at Koi. “Ah yes, a sprightly fellow. Scurried in a short while ago, prattling on about some trade. We elephants do love a good bit of commerce, don’t we?”

Egret nodded sagely, her trunk swishing the air. “Indeed we do, dear. He offered us something quite refreshing in exchange for a little snack.”

The Peanut Payoff

Ariel’s heart fluttered with anticipation. “What did he offer?”

Emu lowered her voice conspiratorially, as if sharing a royal secret. “Ice cubes, my dear girl. Lovely, frosty blocks of ice! We popped them straight into our watering hole to give it a jolly nice chill.”

Koi’s eyes widened. “Ice from the penguin exhibit, no doubt. But…why would a meerkat need peanuts?”

Egret tapped her trunk on the ground, as though deep in thought. “We can’t say, old sport. He gave us the cubes, asked for peanuts in return. Naturally, we complied. Such courtesy!” She paused, then added, “Well, courtesy and a craving for something cool in our water. It does get awfully toasty around here, you know.”

Ariel leaned in, curiosity burning. “So Mole bartered stolen ice for an entire sack of peanuts?”

Eagle cleared his throat, sounding rather professor-like. “We’re not entirely sure the ice was stolen, but he did mention something about those ‘inflexibly formal penguins’ not noticing a few cubes missing.” He shrugged his massive shoulders. “Least that’s what we gleaned.”

Koi let out a low whistle. “Quite the operation he’s running. Did he say where he was off to next?”

Emu frowned apologetically, adjusting her bowler hat once more. “He scurried right out the other side of the enclosure, muttering something about ‘the next step in his grand plan.’ Now, I didn’t want to be nosy, but it did pique my interest.”

Sharing Tea (Without the Tea)

Before Ariel could respond, Eel raised a trunk and exclaimed, “Right, but we mustn’t be rude. Would you care for a spot of tea or biscuits before you rush off after him?”

Ariel let out a laugh, picturing a giant elephant tea party. “Tempting, but we’re kind of in a hurry. You see, Koi here is—” She shot him a pointed look. “—desperate to find out what’s in that bag. Aren’t you, Koi?”

Koi broke into an uneasy grin. “Yep, definitely. We, er, really appreciate the offer, though.”

“Of course, I completely understand.” Egret looked a bit disappointed but recovered quickly, giving a polite bow. “If you must dash, we’ll not keep you. Just watch where you step, dear hearts. It’s easy to trip in the tall grass.”

The Elephant Exhibit Tour

As they prepared to move on, Ariel couldn’t help noticing how lovely (and comically refined) the Elephant Domain was in the moonlight. The watering hole looked like a glimmering pond, with chunks of ice (courtesy of Mole) bobbing around. In the distance, she could see a few smaller elephants dozing under a large baobab tree. Even the signage was whimsical—a wooden plaque by the watering hole read:

“Dip Your Toes: Elephant Spa (Trunks not included).”

A path wound through the enclosure, lined with topiary bushes shaped like elephants wearing bow ties. The whole scene felt both majestic and wonderfully silly.

“So, you said Mole left via the far side, right?” Ariel asked, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow.

“Yes, dear,” Emu confirmed. “Just beyond that rocky outcrop, you’ll see a gate leading to the Desert Plains. He headed off in that general direction. Do mind the scorpions if you stray from the path, though. Ghastly little buggers.”

Ariel gulped, remembering the parting words from the penguins about “don’t die.” “Thanks for the warning,” she managed.

A Curious Conversation

They ambled a little farther toward the exit, where the ground shifted from soft grass to firm, dusty dirt. Koi hopped along, arms folded, clearly lost in thought. Ariel threw him a sideways glance. “Are we going to keep ignoring the big question of why Mole wants peanuts, ice, and whatever else?”

Koi’s ears twitched, betraying a tinge of guilt. “Look, I promise I’ll share everything soon, all right? Let’s just say… it’s important to me. Really important.”

She narrowed her eyes. “And so you decided the best solution was to wait until everything was at crisis level?”

“Eh,” Koi shrugged. “It wasn’t supposed to be a crisis. Mole was meant to come directly to me with those items… But something’s changed. He’s gone rogue. I didn’t plan for this.”

Ariel bit her lip, unsure whether to press further or let it be. On one hand, she was dying of curiosity. On the other, she could see genuine worry flicker in Koi’s face. Whatever Mole was up to, it clearly rattled him.

Waving Goodbye

They reached a wooden gate flanked by two carved elephant statues wearing mustaches (because, apparently, why wouldn’t they?). Eagle, Emu, Eel, and Egret lumbered up behind them to see them off.

“Best of luck, old chaps,” Eagle trumpeted. “Should you need any trunk help, don’t hesitate to come back.”

Emu nodded primly, tipping her bowler hat. “Cheerio, do keep safe out there in the desert.”

Eel’s monocle slipped off with a quiet clink, and he swiftly replaced it on his trunk. “Yes, and do watch those peanut shells. Awfully slippery if you’re not paying attention.”

Egret fluttered her enormous ears. “Farewell, dearies. And do let us know if you solve this grand mystery. We adore a good story.”

“Will do,” Ariel said, mustering her best polite grin. “Thank you so much for the info!”

Koi gave a playful salute. “See ya, mates. And thanks for being so… jolly well nice!”

The elephants offered a unified trumpet of farewell, and Ariel could’ve sworn she heard one of them humming “God Save the King” as they walked away.

Stepping Toward the Desert

Beyond the gate lay a path of packed sand and scattered stones, leading to silhouettes of cacti that rose spikily against the moonlit sky. A sign read:

Desert Plains
“Keep your eyes peeled…some creatures are quite prickly.”

Ariel let out a long sigh. “Could this place get any more random? I can’t believe Mole came all this way for peanuts.”

Koi hopped forward, tail swishing. “I guess we’ll find out soon. Ready, partner?”

She adjusted the oversized zookeeper outfit she was still wearing—sleeves rolled up six times—then nodded. “Let’s do this.”

And with that, they headed into the hush of the desert, the only sound being their crunching footsteps on the sandy soil. The mysteries were piling up like peanut shells behind them, and Ariel had a hunch the biggest surprise was still waiting just around the corner.