Yeah, even though the time that she had known Jay couldn’t even be counted in hours yet, just in minutes, she hadn’t thought that he would be able to go that long without using his powers. Which definitely meant that that experiment was out of the question, but it had been worth the mention.

But then he continued, and Zoe actually laughed out loud. ”I’m not sure what you think zoo trainers do, but what would I need a ‘tactical advantage’ for?” she asked, the laughter still in her voice as she looked over at Jay. ”I mean, yeah it’s really cool to hear some of the things they say, but it’s not like I’m out there hunting down suspects where the only witness is a bird or a dog.”

Zoe shook her head. That would just be ridiculous, that wasn’t something she’d be able to do.

Except, she realized, how many times was that the case, where there weren’t any human witnesses?

”Well, that’s the great thing about learning,” Zoe said as they came up to the hyena enclosure. ”No matter how old you are, you’re never too old to learn something new. Could it have been helpful if you tried earlier? Probably. But if you had, I wouldn’t get to show off my zoo like this, would I?”

"Hey, it can be a big help to have eyes and ears everywhere," he replied with a chuckle. "I mean, you never know." He nodded at her next statement.

"True enough. And I have grown fond of your company. And you showing me around."

At that moment, he stopped, looking at the hyena enclosure. He zeroed in on one,watching its movements, it's mannerisms, learning it's ways as he focused on the creature.

A few moments passed, then a few more. Several minutes later, he shook his head, blinking a little. "Something's not right. It isn't working," he murmured, thinking for a little while. "Hyenas are in the canine family, right?" he asked as he looked at her.

Zoe smiled when Jay said that he had grown find of her company. ”You know, me too,” she told Jay. ”And the zoo does have a very different feel being here with someone else.”

And then Jay was quiet as he watched the hyenas, so Zoe stood there and watched the hyenas as well, periodically looking over at Jay. Jay, who was standing there silently longer than he had with the fennec Fox.

When he finally spoke, Zoe looked over at Jay with a frown. ”I… Drill actually, I don't know,” Zoe said thoughtfully, pulling out her phone to check what the internet had to say. ”I've never actually studied them. But maybe not?”

Clicking away on her phone, Zoe's frown deepened. ”No, apparently they are their own family. I guess that kind of ruins this stop, doesn't it?” Zoe asked as she looked up at Jay once more.

"Maybe that's why I never came; it'd be weird to come by myself, I guess," he said with a shrug. When she confirmed his suspicion, he merely shook his head. "Actually no, it's not a total waste. Sure, I'm bummed I don't get a hyena, but we learned something," he murmured. "Apparently hyenas are a breed of their own, which is kind of col. Though maybe I should have studied biology..."

He stared at the hyena a moment longer, then looked over at Zoe again. "So...anything else you want to show me? Maybe we'll pass something along the way that I can actually shift." He chuckled lightly as he folded his arms across his chest as he thought.

Zoe nodded as Jay said that this was why he had never been to the zoo. ”Maybe not weird, but it would definitely not be as enjoyable as this has been,” Zoe said smiling over at Jay. Then he said that it hadn’t been a waste, though Jay commented that he should have studied biology.

”I did study biology,” Zoe pointed out, then shrugged. ”Though to be honest, I haven’t really been all that interested in dogs until today. It just takes the right thing to peak interest, I guess.”

Jay wanted to know if there was anything else that she wanted to show him, though at the same time mentioned the idea of possibly coming across something else that he could shift into. ”You know, I’ve never actually shown my zebras to anyone,” Zoe said. ”And I definitely haven’t shown anyone who I can actually tell what the zebras are saying.”

"Yeah, but it would at least be helpful if I knew my way around the technicalities, like what is and isn't a canine." He shrugged again, biting his lip a little as he thought.

"That sounds like a good idea, honestly. I'd kind of be interested to know what they say, actually," he murmured as he thought for a moment. "Well, from here on out I guess you're showing me the way." He chuckled a little, not really used to anything like this; though he had to admit, the smells here were pretty strong...

Zoe nodded again. ”Fair enough,” she said, then laughed slightly. ”I guess you make a good point, there. It’s probably something we should both learn since apparently I don’t know that very well, either.”

Then Jay said that seeing the zebras sounded good, and Zoe smiled before turning away from hyenas. ”Well then, if I’m leading the way, let’s go.” With that, Zoe started walking, expecting Jay to follow her.

After a couple of minutes walking toward the zebras, Zoe turned to look over at Jay. ”Unfortunately, they don’t have much of interest,” Zoe said with a shrug. ”They don’t get out much, after all. But I have gotten someone fired for mistreating them before.”

"As fun as trial and error is," he said with a slight eyeroll, "Having a better grasp would help. Then again, if it doesn't look like a dog, it's already eliminated..." he mused as he started following her.

"Well, that makes sense, being confined to the same place all the time, they wouldn't really respond the same." As he walked behind her, he had to somewhat avert his gaze to prevent from staring, but maybe she didn't notice. Then, he gave a slight whistle. "You got someone fired? That's kinda cool, actually. Though I know you did it for the zebras," he said, smiling slightly.

Zoe shook she head as Jay said that trial and error could be fun. ”Then I guess we’re going to need to get started with some research,” Zoe said, grinning over at Jay. Well, at least she enjoyed doing research, when the subject interested her. And after meeting Jay, seeing his powers, it did interest her.

”Unfortunately, you’re right,” she agreed with Jay as they walked. ”I’d love to be able to work with them in the wild, but that’s a lot harder to get in to.”

And Jay seemed impressed that she had actually gotten someone fired. ”The hardest part was trying to figure out a way to prove it. Because saying the animals told me the problem probably wouldn’t have gone over well.”

By that time, they had reached the fence surrounding the zebra enclosure. Most of them were hiding inside, it was pretty chilly out, but there was one young zebra out munching on the dry grass. Coming to a stop with a smile on her face, Zoe let out a short whistle in an attempt to call him over. ”That one’s Jama,” she said after a moment as she glanced over at Jay. ”He’s still a baby.”

"Yeah, but since we're already here, we can trial and error some," he said, still excited for shifts, but at the same time looking forward to seeing 'her' zebras. He was still doing a fairly poor job at not checking her out, but thankfully she hadn't seemed to notice yet; though he was trying to stop before she did, because from where he stood, that wouldn't be a good thing.

"That would be cool, but sadly that's out of my skill-range. I can't exactly help you there, sorry," he said with a slight smirk.

And then they reached the enclosure, and he moved to stand next to her and watch the zebra. He smiled as she introduced him. "He's cute," Jay said, deciding to keep the flirty comment to himself.

Oh, so Jay was open to some trial and error, just not long term. ”I guess that means more wandering around once you’re tired of the zebras,” Zoe said glancing over at Jay with a bit of smirk.

But when Jay apologized for not being able to help her get around wild zebras, Zoe laughed. ”I would be completely shocked if you were able to do anything to help with that,” Zoe told him. ”And then I’d be wondering how you could actually do that to help me.”

Standing there looking at Jama, Zoe couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing out by himself. But he was too far away for her to be able to hear him. ”He is,” Zoe agreed, smiling over at Jay. ”He’s also the most playful, and the most interested in visitors. Normally.” She finished with a quick glance back at the zebra who was still keeping his distance.

"I'm okay with wandering, but I could always hang around awhile," he murmured, his eyes glued on the zebra. "I'm not that good, after all," he added with a shrug. He smiled as she continued talking about the zebra, this was rather peaceful, and somewhat overrode his excitement for more shifts.

He was still pretty excited, still like a kid on his first trip to the zoo; this was a different mode for him, but he had to admit, it was rather pleasant. He sighed a contented sigh as he looked into the enclosure.

"So, why aren't the others coming out?" he asked after a few moments.

Zoe couldn’t help but smile a little wider, a little more happily, as they stood there when Jay said he was ok to stay there for a while longer. This was so much a part of her life now, she had been working with these zebras practically every day for the last 3 years. To actually be able to share this with someone, well, someone who she didn’t work with, it felt really nice.

And so Zoe just stood there for a few minutes beside Jay, a smile on her face. Glancing over at Jay every so often. But when he asked why the others weren’t coming out, she had to laugh. ”They’re from Africa,” she pointed out. ”They’re not exactly made for weather like this, so they tend to stay inside once it gets cold out.”

She shrugged and looked over at Jay. ”Not that I can blame them. I wouldn’t be very happy to be out without a coat either.”

He gave her a funny look when she laughed. "Well I'm sorry I'm not the expert," he teased. "I mean, they're beautiful, but to you, they're more than stripey horses. I don't have the connection to them that you do, nor the knowledge about them for that matter. But...considering you work with them every day, that's how it should be. If I know more about zebras than you, then I may as well hand you a bass," he said with a chuckle.

"I understand the coat thing...quite a bit, actually," he murmured as he looked at her. "That's why I prefer the golden retriever, especially this time of year. And shifting back in this cold can really be a *****," he added with a small laugh as he stuffed his hands back into his pockets, his eyes wandering a bit, but soon snapping back to the baby zebra.

”I didn’t expect you to be an expert on zebras,” Zoe said, taking on a teasing tone of her own. ”But I thought even school children knew that zebras were from Africa, and that a lot of the continent is rather hot.

“But handing me a bass would probably not be a good idea,” Zoe continued. ”I’ve never been very good with any instrument, so it likely won’t sound very good.”

But Jay pointed out that he knew exactly what the zebras felt, if not worse, and Zoe laughed along with him. Yeah, she could see how that would be a problem, how that could be very uncomfortable. And even though she was laughing slightly, there was a bit of a blush on Zoe’s face at the same time.

”Well, there are indoor exhibits we can check out,” Zoe suggested after a moment. ”It’d give us a chance to warm up a bit, though I’m not sure if we’ll find anything of use to you inside.”