He smiled, nodding, though there were a few...implications to him showing he r shifts. Oh well, maybe it wouldn't be that big a deal. Just showing her a few shifts was completely innocent, after all.

Then, they got to the enclosure, and he smiled, standing back to look at the little Fennec Foxes. His blue eyes focused on one in particular; not the biggest, but the most active. He had no idea what it was doing, but he took in every movement, every little detail of what it was doing. He was quiet, motionless as he watched, almost like a little kid watching his favorite cartoon. His mouth twitched a little into a smile, and he looked over at her after a few minutes.

"Okay, I've got it," he said, putting his hands in his pockets.

Once they got to the enclosure, there was silence between them. Looking over at Jay, Zoe saw that he was simply standing there staring in at the foxes. Standing there as if he were enthralled by the animals inside.

And after just a couple of minutes, he turned to look at her with a smile. ”That’s it?” Zoe asked, shocked. If only she could learn how to talk to animals that quickly. Or even if not that quickly, if only she could learn to speak to animals faster than she currently learned.

”That seems extremely easy. You’re sure you’ve got it already?”

"Yeah, it only takes a few minutes. I mean, I'd prove it to you, but that's probably not the best idea right now," he teased lightly, though trying to take it easy with the flirting. It took effort, but he knew he couldn't do that anymore, so he tried his best to restrain himself.

He relaxed a moment, his hands still in his pockets as he thought a moment. "So, what's the plan from here? Gathering shifts is the easy part. It's shifting that takes the energy. Usually I can shift and back about twice before I get tired. After the third time, it's like I ran a marathon. And that's if I don't do much. I find most mutations have a trade-off like that."

He’d show her that he had the shift already, but… ”Yeah, that probably would not be a good thing,” Zoe agreed, blushing slightly as she remembered what Jay had said about how he could not manage to shift clothes with him. ”I’d rather not get fired over this, you know.”

The plan from here? Zoe shrugged. She hadn’t really had a plan, this had just been a random thought she had had when after she had met and talked to Jay for a while. How should she know what they should do next?

Yet, Jay went on to explain that he could only do so many shifts in a row. Or, more specifically, that he could shift twice without feeling tired from the energy use.

Zoe was just learning so much about Jay’s powers today, and to be honest, it was all fascinating. And in the back of her mind even as they talked, Zoe was thinking about it scientifically, trying to figure out the mechanics of his shifts, how his body changed biologically…

There was just so much for her to think about it, but Zoe didn’t want to stop and think about it right then because that could prevent her from learning even more.

”Well, we could always go looking for another canine, something else you could learn to shift into,” Zoe suggested, turning to look at Jay instead of into the enclosure. ”I mean, we’re already here, so we might as well, right?”

"Yeah, let's not get you fired," he answered, noting the blush. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Like I said, I have no limits on how many I can gain at a time, and once I have it, that's it. I can use it at will."

He bit his lip as he thought a moment, pondering their next move. "So, you mentioned a hyena earlier?" he asked, looking at her. "Or was just that just a hypothetical thing? Either way, it'd be a start, right?" he added, biting his upper lip a little as he straightened up a bit.

Again, Zoe couldn’t help but think that it must be nice to be able to learn that quickly. So she nodded hearing that Jay wanted to get more forms that he could shift into.

She nodded again when he asked about the hyenas. ”No, we do have hyenas here,” Zoe said, then smiled slightly. ”We may as well get going, then. Maybe I can show you my zebras on the way,” Zoe said as she turned to walk away.

"Hyenas are neat. That and since this is New York, it'd be nice to have some sort of firepower if I were to ever get in trouble. No one expects their mugging target to turn into a wild animal, after all," he replied. Then, he chuckled when she mentioned the zebras.

"That sounds like a good idea, too." Then he had a thought, and he looked over at her. "Hey, what do animals generally talk about?" he asked, curious. Now that he thought about it, he had a few questions about her mutation as well. Maybe he and Zoe could learn from each other, though their powers weren't directly connected.

Zoe looked sideways over at Jay as they made their way toward the hyenas. ”I thought that would be what you used the wolf for?” She asked with a slight laugh.

And he liked the idea of going to see her zebras. Well, not really her zebras, but she considered them to be hers since she worked with them on a daily basis. But then Jay asked what animals normally talked about. Taking a deep breath, Zoe thought about that for a moment.

”It depends on the kind of animal,” Zoe finally said. ”For example, with birds, it’s a lot of ‘look at me!’, especially in the springtime.”

"It's nice to have options. Especially when a handful of New York City's criminals are mutants as well. Besides, I like to have choices. And hyenas are a little more...exotic." His eyes gave a slight twinkle as he walked alongside her. Then, he chuckled as she mentioned what birds talked about.

"Okay, that actually sound about right," he said as he shook his head slightly. "I honestly don't know how I would cope with that, to be honest," he said softly. He took his hands out of his jacket pockets and folded them across his chest.

"So talking animals sounds like it can be as much of a pain as the talking humans," he retorted after a second.

Though Zoe honestly didn't know much about that, about criminals or anything of the sort, but she had to agree that hyenas were more exotic than a wolf.

But then Jay said that he wasn’t sure how she dealt with hearing everything that the birds said, especially with what they said. Zoe shrugged. ”I guess it’s something that you get used to,” she replied. ”It started with just cats. I can also tune it out, kind of like you would in a room full of people.

“And it can be just as annoying, Zoe agreed with a nod. ”But there are times when I can get some rather interesting news from them.”

He chuckled as he weighed her words. "So it sort of became routine for you. What other people see as weird, becomes our normal," he mused.

"You know, shifting isn't the only thing I can do. My senses of smell and hearing are somewhere between a human and a dog; sharper than normal, but not as keen as a dog's." Then he looked at her after a moment.

"You mentioned news. What kind of news do animals have to offer?" he asked, curious.

Zoe nodded when Jay asked about it becoming normal. ”What’s a few more voices among the multitude here in this city?” She asked Jay with a shrug. And really, it was true. ”I mean, you probably think your shifting is pretty normal, don’t you? But I think it is amazing, and so totally not normal.”

But then Jay went on. He had other abilities? As if being about to change into a dog, or a wolf for that matter, wasn’t incredible enough, Jay’s senses of smell and hearing were sharper than a normal human’s? ”I wonder if that has to do with the time you spend as a dog, or if it’s just another part of your mutation?” Zoe mused. At that point in time, she wasn’t actually expecting an answer to that question from Jay. She definitely didn’t have an answer to it herself. But it was something that she would be trying to answer later. Somehow.

”How often do things happen in this park?” Zoe asked Jay when he questioned hearing news from the animals. ”Even birds and squirrels know when something weird happens. And they tell each other about it, kind of gossip about it like humans would. They don’t always give as many details as the paper would, for example, but it’s an easier way to stay up to date on what’s happening around my home.”

He nodded in silence as she spoke at first; her words made a lot of sense. "Well, yeah. To me it's pretty much routine, but no one else would see it that way. Though I think my senses are just something that developed as a side effect. Though none of that can really be proven, I guess."

He thought a moment. "Well, I probably see more than the average person, or smell, or hear. But I see what you mean. No one really suspects the birds of being a witness, after all." Though a part of him had to wonder if she'd heard anything about him in that park. After all, it was one he frequented, and a human that turned into dogs was pretty newsworthy, he thought.

He stuffed his hands back into his pockets as they kept walking. "You know, it is pretty interesting. Your mutation that is. I never really think about things like this, but...it's nice."

Yeah, for Jay it must be pretty routine. He had said that he ran around as a dog quite frequently, hadn’t he? But then he did go ahead and try to answer her question about his senses. Zoe tilted her head as she looked at him. Thinking.

But he was right, how could they prove that, determine whether it was the shifting or just another aspect of his powers? ”I think the only way we might be able to figure it out,” Zoe said slowly, thoughtfully. ”Would be if you stop shifting for a period of time, see if your senses...get worse, I guess you would say.” But then Zoe grinned at Jay with a shake of her head. ”But I’m guessing that you wouldn’t like that kind of experiment.”

Then Zoe laughed. ”Why would anyone think of them as witnesses?” She asked. ”It’s not like anyone other than me can understand a thing they try to say. It’s like telling a secret to a baby, isn’t it?”

The next thing that Jay said made Zoe look over at him with a thoughtful smile. ”What, you mean about your mutation?” Zoe asked, her head tilting slightly as she spoke. ”Why do you think I studied biology and animals? To be able to use my powers, and to try and figure out more about them.”

He gave a dry laugh, then shook his head. "Yeah, that's never gonna happen," he replied when she mentioned going awhile without shifting. He couldn't even imagine going without using his mutation like that. "That's exactly my point. No one sees them as a source of information, except you. I think that gives a tactical advantage, depending on how much they tell. Plus it brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'a little birdie told me...'" he chuckled lightly at this thought.

"That's what I mean. You've studied, tried to figure more about your abilities. I didn't do that; and now that I think about it I kind of regret it." He shook his head, giving a soft smile as they came closer to the hyenas. He figured after this they'd just end up wandering around to see what they could find. This was a rather fun way to spend the day, however. He couldn't wait to see what he'd get, and more importantly, try them out.