”Odd and strange, but I'm not sure about funny,” Zoe allowed.

When he went on to explain the situation with him having an owner - or a girlfriend - Zoe raised an eyebrow. ”I'm no expert, but if you think they're the same thing, maybe you're with the wrong woman?”

He shook his head, though he did realize how weird this had to be. Though he had to wonder what kind of sass dogs normally gave her.

'It was supposed to be a joke, but yeah, I have a girlfriend. I'd sigh if I knew how, but if you're weirded out by the dog version of me, then it's probably best that I stay like this.' Once again, he looked at her, though he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself, and a belly-rub was obviously out of the question.

”It’s been more the shock that you're not actually a dog, Zoe said. ”I've never met someone who can change into an animal before, so hearing you rather than what a dog would normally say was weird.”

After the dog spoke, Zoe sat in silence for a moment. ”Normally, I’m the one that everyone thinks is weird,” she said with a slight frown. ”Cause really, if someone were to walk past right now, what would they think? To them, you’re just a dog, and I’m the weirdo sitting here having a conversation with you.”

But then Zoe shook her head slightly. ”Though, considering you say you can’t shift clothes, it probably would be best for you to stay like this. I’m used to getting strange looks now,” Zoe finished with a shrug and slight laugh.

'Yeah, it was kind of a shock for me, too. Never actually ran into someone who could understand me in shift,' he replied. In fact, it was still strange to him.

'Yeah, you're the weirdo and I'm just a guy who's got a long record of indecent exposure and public nudity," he replied jokingly, though he wasn't sure how tone translated in this form. 'Though if I did shift back, it'd take the strange looks off of you." He gave a bark at that, wagging his tail to show he was mostly kidding. Besides, it was ****ing cold outside...

Fair enough, Zoe realized. She supposed it must have been weird. She had never heard of anyone else who was able to speak with animals either. Probably why her family still didn’t realize that she was actually a mutant.

Then the dog said that he had a long history of public nudity because of his shifting, and Zoe shook her head. ”That probably would take the looks off of me,” Zoe agreed. ”I’m guessing that’s why you have that bag over there, then?”

But then Zoe realized that while he had clothing there, that didn’t change the fact that he said he didn’t shift clothing, so he'd still be naked, wouldn’t he? ”But where do you go to change?” Zoe asked, looking as confused as she felt.

He nodded. 'Yeah, that's my bag. I've learned to keep a spare change of clothes all the time; never know when I might need to shift, and don't want to get caught with my pants down, so to speak.'

He paused a moment at her next question. 'Depends. Usually it's nighttime so I just find somewhere in the shadows. Days like today I'd have to find somewhere secluded to hide,' he explained. Usually, that was how it worked, but sometimes he found himself in odd predicaments, not that she needed to know about him being caught in other peoples' apartments.

Zoe nodded as she heard the dog explain about not only why he had a bag of clothes hiding under a bench, but how he generally found somewhere to change into them. She supposed that it made sense.

”I do have to say, it would likely be entertaining to see you carrying that bag around like this,” Zoe said with a bit of a laugh.

”Hey, what’s your name, anyway? I’m Zoe.” It only made sense, they had been having a fairly long conversation, after all. Yet the only thing that Zoe was able to call him so far was either ‘the dog’ or ‘the mutant’.

'Eh, maybe. Though I'm probably numb to that sort of thing by now.' He shook his head again at the laugh, his actions still very much human despite him currently being a dog. Though it was odd how he did some human-things as a dog, yet some of the dog sometimes bled into his everyday life.

'I'm Jay," he said after a moment, sort of growing comfortable with this by now.

”Well, despite the weird circumstances, it’s nice to meet you,” Zoe said as she looked over at Jay. With how he kept shaking his head, though, Zoe could definitely see the human in him; she didn’t recall seeing a dog shaking its head this much.

”What was that you said about a wolf and fox, though?” Zoe asked, intrigued. Since discovering her own powers, she had been quite interested in animals, so this was just super interesting to her.”Did you mean you can turn into a wolf or a fox?”

'It's nice to meet you too,' he replied. Then she showed interest in his other shifts, and he wagged his tail excitedly.

'Yeah, I can shift into a wolf or fox, but this isn't the best place to show you,' he said. After all, a wolf or fox in the park would draw attention.

If Jay’s tail wagging was anything like when other dogs wagged their tails like that, he was excited about her question about him turning into a wolf or a fox. ”Yeah, I can see how that wouldn’t turn out too well,” Zoe agreed with a laugh. ”Though, considering I can’t talk with wolves or foxes, this is probably for the best, anyway. But how did you find out you could change into those? I don’t suppose you’ve been anywhere they wouldn’t stand out, have you?”

'Well, I was thirteen at the time. I accidentally turned into this exact shift, and of course as a teenager, I had to test my limits. I had tried it on cats, squirrels, what have you, and nothing. But I went to the zoo, and discovered I can shift into canines of any type. Granted, I don't get to use the more exotic ones.' He paused a moment as he thought.

'The fox I could probably manage, but it still sticks out like a sore thumb. And a wolf in New York? That's liable to get me killed, though if I ever find myself staring down a mugger or something, I'll have an ace up my sleeve, anyway."

Zoe listened as Jay actually told her about how he had discovered his powers. She had only asked about what he was able to turn into, but this was interesting. ”Yeah, I doubt anyone in New York would be happy to see a wolf outside of the enclosure at the zoo,”Zoe said with a smile. ”But any kind of canine? That’s pretty neat. Ever try a hyena?”

But Jay had shared, and he had seemed interested in how she was able to talk with him like this. Plus, Zoe was sure that she would end up having more questions about his powers later.

”When I was 12, my cat started talking to me,” she said with a laugh. ”I thought I had to be dreaming at first, it was late. But I could still understand her the next day. Over time, I started being able to talk to dogs, squirrels, birds...I guess it just takes time for me to, I guess the best way to explain it would be to learn their ’language’.”

'To shift, I have to see it in person, and sadly I've never seen a hyena, a jackal, a dingo, or any of the rarer dog breeds, sadly. But I may have a bucket list for shifts,' he replied.

'That makes sense. The only way I know how to communicate with other dogs is via body language, and even after fourteen years, I'm still pretty hit and miss with that. But...most dogs don't really care for me that much, at least the little ones, anyway. I think they smell that I'm not an actual dog, and while some find that fun, the other half seems to take offense to it," he explained, making a motion that almost seemed like a shrug.

As Zoe listened to Jay speak, she was thinking. He had to see the canine in person? Well, that did make sense. She had to hear the animals herself in order to learn how to speak with them.

But even though he could change his appearance to look like a dog, he couldn’t really communicate with them? ”That must make things difficult at times,” Zoe said, thinking about what would happen if he ran into another dog here in the park. She’d be able to talk with the other dog better than Jay would, apparently. ”I can’t help you with communicating, I don’t even know how it works with me so I don’t think I’d be able to give you tips or anything. But maybe I could help you get you close to some other animals. Just how close do you have to be?”