Holidays and Hooligans (Tses)

Tses was wandering home after a morning in the park. It was pretty uneventful for the most part. She watched some tourists, met a few people and tried to be social. But she wasn't the best at it, and she was glad to get home. She was dressed for the weather, complete with jacket, and ran her fingers through her hair as she unlocked the door. Deadbolt, doorknob, then the little chain that connected it to the wall. Nothing felt out of place, and she felt herself relax as she passed the threshold.

The first thing she noticed when entering was a small object on the table. She stopped in the doorway, and peered at it, assessing whether it was dangerous or not. After nothing exploded, she stepped inside, kicked the door shut behind her and clicked the lock shut with habit. Setting her keys in her jacket pocket, she moved forward, and a tiny smile almost crept across her mouth. It was a white tiger.

She took a seat on the couch and pulled it into her lap, glancing around as she checked for the one person she knew could have done this. Not seeing him, she let the smile creep the rest of the way across her mouth as she noticed the little pendant. A crescent moon. It was cute, in an annoying little way. Somehow, the out of the way jester was both unwanted and appreciated at the same time. She poked the stuffed animal on the nose, and ruffled the hair on it's furry head. Then she took the necklace off it and debated weather or not to wear it.

There was a small thump somewhere over near Tses's window, and she felt herself frown, and start to turn. There in the window, she saw a flash of red hair and brown denim, and she rolled her eyes, smirking to herself. Of course, he couldn't just leave it and walk away. She didn't know whether she felt relieved or annoyed. Instead, she felt herself get up, and calmly walk over to the glass.

Leaning against the wall, she rolled her eyes and gave the window a tug. It rolled upward easily, and she glanced out of the corner of her eyes at him, holding one hand at him with the necklace danging from her fingers. Her left hand still rested against her side (she was still careful with her injured knuckles), and she pulled her face into a neutral expression.

"So... I still got my knuckles busted up, if you want me to wear this you're going to have to help me put it on." She forced herself to keep her expression calm, and her posture just rigid enough he would be skittish about approaching.

Christmas... presents.... His words confused her a bit and it perhaps saved him from sudden backlashes of anger she tended to have when he tried to be sweet. Her eyes narrowed a little, and she flipped her hair over the necklace, feeling the cold metal settle against her neck. The whole idea of christmas seemed out of her element.

"The zoo? I don't know, I've walked past it, I've never gone in though...." Her eyes narrowed at him, and there was the small beginnings of a scowl. She didn't want to say she liked it, but the fact she let him help put the necklace on probably gave him hope she did anyway. She shoved her hands in her pockets, feeling odd about being caught in his jacket. He gave it to her, after all, but it was another thing to wear it around him.

If anything, her scowl grew deeper as he said they'd be by themselves, and she crossed her arms across her chest. To her, it sounded like a pick up line, and she was not the type of female you tried to pick up. All she knew about zoos were there were animals in cages, and you could go an look at them. She liked animals, well, she thought she liked animals. She never had a pet before, although she'd run into a few strays in her days and they were always pretty nice. Then the stuffed animals was pretty cute, but she doubted the real tiger looked that way.

Then again, if no one was there, she wouldn't have to worry about having to destroy anything or fight anyone, and having Ty try to save her. Perhaps they could have a relatively run day, without much incident. It was worth considering, and her frown let up a little bit.

"You try anything... I blast a hole in the tiger cage and throw you in it." She said slowly and cautiously, and with all the seriousness she could muster. She slowly uncrossed her arms, surrendering to the idea, but her body did have a certain tension to it, like a coiled spring.

Tses sighed and followed him to the door of the apartment, unlocking it again and opening it. Behind her, the tiny tiger sat like a little guard dog on the table, and she glanced at it's large bead eyes, resisting the urge to instruct it to protect her apartment. On the other-side, she relocked the door, brushing loose bangs out of her face.

"Ok, let's do this zoo trip thing of yours. At least I'll get to see your street skills again." She smirked at him a little. "Are you better around monkeys than you are around small dogs?"

Tses listened to him talk, and her gut twisted in her stomach a little. It was odd for someone to be so against things like Christmas, and gifts, and affection, and generally nice emotions. But she didn't know how to deal with any of it. Oh, she was trying. But the idea of letting someone close to her made her want to go fist fight with a wild animal.

"I can't let you live it down. They say first impressions are everything, right? Well my first impression of you was a skinny little red head running from a chihuahua." The way she said it though didn't sound insulting in a way. It almost has a purr of ... well, affection wasn't the word for it. But it was a friendly sort of taunt, without the malice she could drip into her words.

They wandered to the back of the Zoo, and Tses laughed a little when he looked confused about how to get her over with an injured arm. "Hey, you're forgetting who you're talking to. I've busted a hand more than once. I can climb a wall without a good arm." She backed up a few steps, kept her bad hand tucked into her pocket, and with a running start jumped at caught the top of the fence with her arm. While it lacked her usual cat like finesse, the jump was all she needed. Wedging her boots against the metal, and using her upper-body strength, she managed her pull herself up to the top of the fence, and carefully avoid the higher points in the metal that stuck out. Swinging one leg over than the next, she jumped down, only stumbling a bit on the landing. Standing and trying to regain her pride, she did a sarcastic 'tada' motion with her hands.

Tses saw a glimmer of green flames under his jacket, and had to resist rolling her eyes. When she gave him that shirt, she never expected him to wear it, let alone keep it this long. It was... sweet, in that icky sort of way. She put her hand in her pocket, letting it rest against the edge of the fabric, and pushed her bangs out of her face as she looked around. Animal noises snuffled and twittered from different areas of the zoo. Trees lined the area, and it was empty of people, with vendor displays locked tight. It was... fun... being here by herself. No one to mess with, no one to run from. Well, other than the boy at her side, and he wasn't that bad to be around, she had to admit. Or did she... Her thoughts fought in her head as she shrugged and waved a hand around.

"This is your mission, oh fearless leader." She smirked, standing in a relaxed pose. From the outside, she looked mildly amused, her face a borderline between a smile and a frown. He was chipping at her barriers again, and only time would tell if she slipped towards actually happy, or down towards pissed off again.