It was a really great performance. Zelda felt a little ashamed of herself for having some doubts - not about Jay, but about the band in general. Again, though, no one starts off as the best. It takes time and practice. Heck, at least they could play instruments and sing. Talk about something that wasn't Zelda's forte and that was it. 

At the end of the performance, he came back, sweat and all. It was actually pretty attractive to Zelda, so she just kept a sly grin on her face. Playing music, getting all worked up over it, coming over and swinging a beer. She was on her second beer, which she took a sip of as he ate a wing. "It was a great performance, really." She took a wing and bit into it, "Tastes great, right? I can think of a few things that taste better, though." 

Now that he was no longer performing, they could really get to chatting. Among other things.  

"Thanks, but now I'm glad it's over. Kinda hard to chat when you've got a performance to put on," he said, finishing the wing and politely setting it on her plate before taking another swig of beer. He was glad to see she stuck around, especially now that he had the rest of the night to kill, nowhere to be, and nothing to hold him back.

"Oh yeah, these are really good." He smirked at her little come-on, answering with a wink. "Oh really now? I think we're on the same page." He gave a slight chuckle, taking another sip of beer. He wasn't going to drink too much tonight; after all, he wanted to remember her.

"You said you taught at Xavier's, right? Kinda wish I'd known about that when I was younger. I just had to learn to control my powers as I went. Led to some...interesting moments to say the least." He gave another chuckle. "I can shapeshift. Canines only, but it does have its uses." He downed the rest of his beer, waiting for her response.

She gave him a grin with a slight nod, “That does put a damper in things, doesn’t it?” She took a bit of wing and placed some napkins near them both so they could both grab some when needed. 

She grinned, blushed a little, “Yeah, I think we are.” She took a sip of beer when he did so. This would probably be her last one, but no guarantees on the wings. 

She nodded, “Yeah, I do. I do a little research with Doc Prof, too. You know about the school?” He seemed like he was at least aware of it – well, now at least. She gave an empathetic smile, “It is a great place for mutants. Safety, community, learning all the above.” 

A canine shifter, though, that is pretty awesome. “Canine shifter? That’s really awesome – what’s your favorite shift?” She thought for a moment, “It might have been hard learning on your own, but I'm sure it made you stronger in your abilities. Plus, everything happens for a reason, right?" 

She grinned playfully, “Although… I’m more of a cat person, myself.” She winked, clearly joking. She liked animals in general – she didn’t really have a preference.  “Kidding, of course.” 

When he finished his beer, he wisely decided that would be his only one for the evening, and then he used a napkin to wipe his mouth. "My favorite shift would have to be golden retriever, hands down. It was my first one, so it has sentimental value to it. I've heard bits about the school, and I was sort of there once, but it's a long, awkward story." He gave a nervous chuckle. "Basically, I was messing around in chihuahua shift, and got picked up by some kid. It was...quite the mess."

He looked at her, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. "Yeah, though there are some things it's better to discover on your own. Like how in a lot of cases...clothes don't shift." He gave a casual shrug.

A quick sip of beer and she perked a brow as she listened to him, “Golden retrievers are adorable. How did you find out about your abilities? If you know, you’re comfortable sharing it.” Sometimes it was a personal thing but sometimes it was really interesting stories that happened. 

She perked a brow and chuckled a little bit, “Wow… How did that all end up? Sounds… A little dramatic. Although, come to mention it, I think I did hear something about that…” Either way, it had to be a good story if he was up for sharing. Sometimes she was glad she was a human – there wasn’t any extra surprises that could happen. 

She giggled, “Well, you’ll have to show me that shifting ability sometime then.” She leaned onto the counter top, a twinkle in her eye. 

He paused when she asked how he got his powers. "Well, the short version is I was...bullied growing up. When I was thirteen, it happened as per usual, only I blacked out. When I awoke, I was naked, covered in blood and my da--I mean the other guy was screaming how I was a freak who turned into a dog," he said, flashing a weak smile, which turned genuine after the mansion incident came up.

"It was pretty wild. I kinda bit a kid and hauled ass, as well as a chihuahua can, anyway. I mean...I wasn't too keen on being nude in front of a bunch of minors, ya know?" He gave a nervous chuckle, then he got a similar twinkle in his eye. "Oh, I can show ya, but it'd have to be later. I do have to carry the bass, after all." He gave a mischievous wink.

She frowned, reached over, and softly patted his arm. Bullies sucked. It seemed like every mutant had to deal with them - whether they’re family, other kids, or some jack*ss along the way. It was a pretty nasty world sometimes. Did he mean to say dad? It wouldn’t, unfortunately, surprise Zelda. Sometimes parents were the worse. 

She gave him a soft squeeze, “People are jerks, I am so sorry you had to go through that.” 

She couldn’t help but laugh at the mansion incident, “Yeah, being naked in front of minors could be very very bad. Imagine explaining that.” She couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of seeing a grown man suddenly transform out of a Chihuahua with a bunch of people  just staring. Good thing it didn’t happen, though.

She grinned and shrugged, “Alright, I’ll hold you to that, just so you know.” 

"Eh, it happens, I guess. But hey, that was almost fifteen years ago, and I haven't seen the sorry bastard since," he said with a smile, putting an arm around her as she gave him a squeeze. He didn't talk about his past often--or ever, actually, but in this case, it was actually kind of nice. Granted, maybe parts of his story would be a little too dark, especially for a first date meeting.

"Being naked in public never ends well. Especially not in this city; I've had quite a few mishaps with lost clothes. Which is why when I shift, I end up taking a bag with me. Or you know, shift in a...controlled environment." He gave a light shrug, grinning at her.

"As I'm sure you will," he gave yet another wink, getting up to grab his bass. Then, he sat back down next to her, setting the instrument on the other side of him.

She nodded as he explained and grinned, “Good, that’s the best way to look at it. Who cares about a j*ck*ss, right?” She couldn’t help but turn a little red as he put his arm around her and she gently leaned into it.

She laughed quietly, “I don’t doubt it. That’s a pretty good idea. Kind of funny seeing a dog carry around a little backpack or something, though.” She chuckled a little more at the thought of it. “It’d be pretty cute, though. Especially a Chihuahua.” It got even cuter the more she thought about it.

“I know a few good places you could shift in, actually.” She gave him a wink as he walked to get his bass. She finished her second, and last, beer as he returned. “Ready to go now, huh?” She had a playful, slightly seductive grin across her face.

"I spend more time as a golden retriever, and even then I don't usually carry the bag. I'll carry it as a human, then strip, put my clothes in it, shift, then take it somewhere to hide until needed. Though it's usually night-time when I decide to do this, or not far from my apartment. On an interesting note, I found the best loophole to the whole 'No Pets' thing."

He looked around the room; the rest of the band had left already. "And after the whole mishap I mentioned earlier, I don't think I'll be going chihuahua for awhile. You know, just to be safe."

He couldn't help but smile at her remarks. "Ready when you are," he replied, grabbing his bass and standing to his feet, offering her his free hand.

“Golden retrievers are gorgeous dogs. Good choice. I would say my second pick would be a Siberian husky, but probably gets way too hot, at least in the summer.” She grinned, “At least I know how to prank you now.” She gave him a playful laugh. 

She grinned and paid for the bartender for the wings & drinks, “Good idea, truly.” She chuckled. 

She put her hand into his and stood up, gently rubbing her body against his as she began to walk towards the exit of the wings establishment. “Ready.” Did he drive here? “Need a ride home?” It was NYC, after all, not everyone had cars. Plus, he was a musician – that usually meant not a lot money. Not always, of course, but sometimes. He might live nearby though, so she'd wait to see what he said before she did anything else.

"If you show me a Siberian Husky, I could shift into one. I haven't actually seen one, so I can't turn into it. I did go to the zoo when I was like, fourteen, so I do have a wolf and a fox and such. And...if you steal my clothes, I have no problem coming after you~" He chuckled, his mind sort of wandering. It had been quite some time since he acquired a new shift, but then again, there were only so many types of dogs in this city, and purebreds were especially hard to come by if you weren't looking for some yappy little rat-dog.

He let his thumb idly stroke her hand as they walked. "My apartment's like ten blocks from here, though I don't know if I wanna hike that again. Sure, I met you the first time, but what good could come out of doing it again. Unless you want to bump into more a**holes?" He smirked as he led her outside, bracing himself against the cool night air.

She bit her lip for a moment as she thought, “I’m guessing it can’t be a picture, huh?” She shrugged, “Well, if I ever find a Siberian myself, I’ll let you know.” She wasn’t even sure if she knew anyone who had pets, actually… Hm, maybe she should get a pet. A cat or a dog or something.

She nodded, “No problem, my car is only a couple blocks that way.” She made a motion and started walking towards the parking garage. She was secretly enjoying the strokes of his thumb against her hand as they walked. She walked closely to Jay, nearly bumping into him but enough for their body heat to share easily, at least through the arms. She'd occasionally catch a glance towards him with a small, playful grin and also caressed his hand as they walked. 

Once they reached the parking garage, she unlocked the doors to her jeep and motioned for him hop in. “Alright, where too?” After he told her, she drove to his apartment complex and thankfully found a decent place to park.

---

She locked the doors after they exited the car, “I’m so glad I’m not in apartments anymore,” she muttered more to herself than to him. She didn’t enjoy having people banging around on her walls and the noise. Or the lack of parking. Or running into neighbors all the time. Maybe she just had really bad luck when it came to apartments. 

She followed Jay to his apartment, her heels clicking on the floor. 

He shook his head. "Gotta see it in person, sadly. I've tried the pictures, TV, you name it. I tested the limits of my powers as soon as I could gather what was going on. You know teenagers and trying to find loopholes," he gave a chuckle, really enjoying the walk. These days, he didn't often actually enjoy someone's company; usually it was just a mild tolerance.

When they got to her car, he gave her the directions and fastened his seatbelt, making himself comfortable as they rode to his apartment. When they got there, his keen hearing heard her comment about being glad to be out of apartments, and he silently agreed with her. Taking her hand again, he walked into the building and up the stairs to the third floor. Unlocking the door, it was very obvious once the door was opened that this place was most definitely inhabited by a bachelor.

It really wasn't a very big setup, and while it wasn't atrocious, it was clear that Jay lived alone. "Well...here we are. Pardon the mess. I wasn't exactly expecting company." He walked across the room and opened a closet, setting the bass case upright against the wall and closing the door. "Make yourself at home," he said politely.

Darn. It had to be seen in person. Oh well, she could at least scratch that into one of her goals list. It wasn’t that important, but why not? It’d be pretty cool to see, after all.  

She kept herself quiet as she entered his apartment. He lived alone, which was a huge score. He was definitely a bachelor – so she didn’t have to worry about a girlfriend coming in and trying to kill them. That was always nice. Zelda could appreciate a messy apartment though – when she worked at the hospital, she worked all the time. Her home was a place to eat, sleep, and occasionally do laundry. In either case, it was almost always messy.
 

She smiled, “No worries.” She slinked into the room and nodded. Make herself at home? She slipped over a coach and sat down, “It’s a nice place, really. Hopefully no noisy neighbors… Or maybe we can be the noisy neighbors.” She grinned a playful, teasing grin as she watched him put away his bass.