I found this gem in my docs, decided to polish it up, and post it. Vaguely planning on making this a series.
"Thanks for coming. We've been having a lot of trouble with our new… eh 'Guest'" said a middle-aged Zookeeper. "She hasn't been settling in very well. We're hoping that you can help her settle down."
"Of course, we can. Magical animals sometimes just need a human touch." said Chariot du Nord, Magical Animal Expert; from bugs to giant rock monsters Chariot knows all about them. "So what kind of guest do you have here?"
"A Lointaur"
Chariot stopped walking. "D-did you say 'a Lointaur'?"
"Yes." the old fat Zookeeper seemed to pick up on Chariots unease. "Is that going to be a problem?"
Chariot snapped out of a daze, "N-no sir. It's just that… sir Lointaurs are very rare. And they hardly ever pop up naturally."
"What do you mean?" asked the Zookeeper.
"In order for a Lointaur to be alive is through magic. And even then they hardly ever make it past a month. What I mean is... The only way a Lointaur can be alive is because of human intervention."
"I can assure you, no one in this Zoo made this animal. It was g- eh, placed into our care by some hunter."
Chariot didn't say a thing. This Zoo shouldn't have Lointaur, making one is just like making a chimera; only with a human. It was outlawed years ago, and even if one did live past a month, they are very aggressive creatures.
The old Zookeeper lead Chatroit to the Lointaurs exhibit and told her to 'Do whatever it takes to calm it down.
Chariot frowned at him.
"Miss! Are you the one who came to look at Diana?" Chariot whipped her head to see a Japanese woman wearing a Zookeeper uniform.
"Um, what?"
"Diana. Our Lointaur." said the woman. She has a slight accent.
"Oh! Y-yes. I am." Charoit stared at the Japanese woman with slight panic on her face. "Um, are you the Lointaur's Keeper?"
"Yep! I'm Akko! The Keeper of the Lointaur!" said Akko as she give an exaggerated bow. "I call her Diana though."
"You call her Diana?" asked Chariot. Had this Zookeeper actually become friends with the Lointaur?
"Yep! She said that's her name." Akko looked away. "She hasn't said anything since."
Chariot thought about this new information. The Lointa- Diana, has a name she goes by. She's smart. And judging by Akko's face -Akko looked sad, maybe even disappointed- Diana has kept to herself for the most part. Which is their normal behavior for the most part, unless they've found a mate. But that hardly ever happens, even with the ones who do survive.
"Well, could you show me, Diana? I'd like to see how's she's doing here."
Akko's head popped up with a bright smile on her face. "Yeah! Follow me."
And with that Akko led Chariot to Diana.
Diana could hear voices of people coming to her cage. She recognized one as Akko. Akko. Akko is the most annoying Keeper Diana has ever had to deal with. Always coming to visit Diana and disturbing the peace and quiet, and giving Diana treats. Well, the treats weren't so bad. Diana did like some of them, but she never showed it.
The other voice sounded like a woman. And she talked like a scientist. Diana doesn't like scientists. Always coming to see Diana, and asking questions she doesn't answer to. They always run tests with their machines and try to take her blood.
Diana always mauled the ones who try.
The door to her cage opens, breaking Diana from her thoughts. Diana just moves father into the cave her cage has.
"Diana?! I brought someone who wants to meet you!" it was Akko's voice, not that it matters, Diana's not coming out if it means meeting another scientist. "Please Diana. I brought you some mochi." Diana growled, Akko is trying to tempt Diana with food, how dare she use mochi as a bargaining chip.
Taking a deep breath to calm down, Diana slowly came out of her cave; slowly to show that she wasn't THAT excited about mochi.
"Diana!" exclaimed Akko when Diana was in her eyesight. Diana stopped moving when she saw Chariot. Chariot doesn't look like a scientist. No white lab coat, and no tubes. Just boots, pants, and a shirt under a jacket. It was all rather plain. What really stood out was the woman's bright red hair.
Something about that color dragged an old memory into the front of Diana's mind. In her mind's eye, she saw beautiful animal spirits full of color and a fuzzy woman in white with a staff in her hand.
It was gone as soon as Diana blinked.
"Diana, this is Chariot. She's an expert on magical animals," said Akko. Diana stared at Akko with a blank stare. "She's only here to observe you for a few days. Is that okay?"
Diana grunted.
"OH! Right, your Mochi." Akko pulled out a baggie with three pieces of mochi inside, handing it over to Diana. "There you are. This time I got you mango."
Diana opened the baggie and pulled one of her new treats out and sniffed. Akko hasn't tried to put anything into her little gifts yet but Diana isn't going to start taking chances. As promised this mochi was mango-flavored.
"Thank you, Akko." Akko give Diana her biggest smile that seemed to make the sun even brighter.
"You're welcome, Diana. Chariot wants to talk to you for a little bit." Akko paused, almost looking like she didn't want to ask Diana to do this. "Is that okay?"
Diana looked up from her mochi and stared at Akko then at Chariot. Akko had said that she's an expert on magical animals. This woman could help Diana.
Diana give a slow nod as she took a bite from her mango-flavored snack.
Chariot looked surprised at Diana but smoothed it over with a warm smile.
"Thank you, Diana."
Diana just grunted.
"Okay Diana, I need to be honest with me." started Chariot after Akko left them alone. "I'm going to ask you some questions that may be hard for you to answer, and if you don't want to say anything you can just nod or shake your head, understand?"
Diana nodded, chewing on her mochi.
"Alright. You were born as a human correct?" Diana stopped chewing at Chariot's question. There was no way she could have figured it out that fast. No one knows that.
Diana swallows the mochi before answering, "I was human. But as you can see I am not anymore." Diana gestured to her lower body.
Chariot nodded before asking another question. "Was your human name Diana?"
"Yes."
"Do you know how old you are?"
"No."
"Are you aware that you are dying?" Diana paused at that question, she knew that Liontaurs didn't live for very long. But to do told that she was dying, that turned the sweet mango into the bitter taste of the truth.
"Yes."
Chariot took off her glasses with a say sigh, "Diana, I'm going to be honest with you. There are only two ways to undo the magic keeping you like this." said Chariot holding two fingers up as she spoke, her red eyes glinting in the low light. "Number one, by finding a witch who is highly skilled in fusion magic. And number two is trusting someone; it can be anyone. With your whole heart."
Diana stared at the last piece of mochi in her hand. She hasn't really trusted in anyone since she became… this monster. She can still remember the day it happened. It was her birthday she thinks, but her aunt had brought a cursed object into the house. That day ended in blood and tears.
"Diana. I don't know what happened to you when you were young, but I can make some guesses, and I want you to know that I'm going to do everything in my power to give you your life back." said Chariot looking her in the eye. And Diana can see the fiery determination in her eyes.
"Why. Why are you going to help me? My life has nothing to do with yours."
"Because Akko wants you to be happy. And you have a beautiful aura." Diana turned away before Chariot could see the hope in Diana's eyes.
Chariot watched Diana walk back into her cave.
Croix, I found the Cavendish. And she's alive she even has a human caring for her. Please help me make this right.
"Well, I know she gets nightmares a lot but Diana doesn't talk about them." Akko took a sip of her tea before continuing. "Not that she really talks a lot anyway. OH! Diana was kinda sickly when she got here but she got better in a few days, so maybe that's not super helpful. Um, she's been here for about a month and she's almost killed all the other zookeepers… sorry I'm rambling."
Chariot just sat there trying to absorb all the information that Akko had just thrown at her. "No no, it's okay. Just talk a little slower please?"
Chariot found it amazing that despite English being Akko's second language, she was able to share so much so fast. Even Chariot couldn't speak that fast without slipping into French.
"Oh, okay. Right, so uh does any of that help?" Akko asks with an awkward smile, her fingers tapping the side of her mug.
"Yes, but what do you mean that she was sick when she arrived at the Zoo?" asks Chariot as she pulls out a pen and a pad of paper.
"She looked really pale, and she was really thin. She wasn't really eating what we were giving her so I started to bring her some snacks." Akko said as she stared into her tea thinking. "I don't know if she actually likes what I bring her, but she did start eating again soon after that."
Chariot quickly wrote that down. "OK, and what about her behavior? Has she been aggressive to any of the staff?"
"No, but none of the other zookeepers even try to get close to her," states Akko. "They're all scared of her."
Chariot pauses her notetaking, looking up at Akko. "So you're the only one who talks to her?" Akko nodded as she takes another sip of her tea. "And she's never tried to hurt you?"
Akko shakes her head. "No, she did use to growl at me though. Now she listens to me talk."
"She trusts you," said Chariot surprise evident in her voice. She can't believe her luck. Akko could be the key to restoring Diana back to her human body.
"What?" asks Akko, confused by what Chariot means by that. "I'm not sure I would say she trusts me but… I do want what's best for her. I don't think her being stuck in the Zoo is good for her."
Chariot's mind is moving at the speed of light, ideas running around as half-formed thoughts. Akko is right. That cage isn't going to help Diana get any better, if she stays there she'll only wither away. It's a miracle that she's survived this along as it is, she doesn't have much time left.
"What if I could get her out of the Zoo?" asks Chariot, her mouth moving before her brain can catch up. "The type of treatment she needs is beyond what I can give in a cage-"
"Yes!" shouts Akko, startling some of the customers around them. "Please, I just want to help her."
Akko has tears in her eyes. She wipes them away and when she looks back up at Chariot she can see the determination in her eyes; a kind of fire that would burn out.
Chariot smiles. There's hope for Diana.
Picking up her pen, Chariot writes down her personal number in the corner of her notepad, ripping it off she gives it to Akko.
"I have some phone calls to make, but here's my personal number if anything happens."
"Thank you, thank you so much Ms. uhh, sorry I never got your name?"
Chariot smiles, offering her hand, "Chariot. Chariot Du Nord."
Akko takes her hand, "Kagari Atsuko, but you can call me Akko!"
This work was inspired by a Diana fanart as a Liontuar I saw years ago. If anyone knows what I'm talking about place link me the pic.