He began hiding under the thicket, just as his creature would have if it knew it was being stalked. The creature, an invention known only by the creator himself, of whom waited in the thicket, moved in a zigzag pattern to confuse predators. The man had taught its creature well, as the print in the sand that appeared half parts tentacle and giant caterpillar flowed through the ground with indistinguishable direction. First right, then up, then left, then back toward the thicket where the man sat patiently for the return of his pet. A bird chirped the beginning of a melody, then, as the man predicted, a sharp snapping sound followed, and a parade of colorful feathers floated down from a nearby tree. That was his pet. It was always hungry for a small snack for bird and squirrel. But this forest did not contain squirrels, or at the very least, it had until the creature appeared in their habitat. The man sat on his haunches, stretched his arms carefully over his head, and relaxed back into his hideaway. Then, a knowing movement came from the tree in front of him. First, one tentacle leg flopped from a branch to the ground, then a centipede-like body followed, hanging low and drooping until the face of his creation slowly revealed itself. Then, as the man stepped from the thicket to approach his beast, the creature came to him on its own. First, it touched his face, then his arms and legs, all the way until there was nothing left of the old man.