"Maybe I wasn't that attentive in school," he replied with a shrug. "I was too busy daydreaming about the bell ringing so I could go outside and play," he added with a chuckle. "Exactly," he said with a smile, "From where I'm standing, you're smart one, and I'm the musician," he teased, sporting a smirk.


"I don't have to pick up new shifts immediately, I'd just like to before we leave," he said. "Though looking around would still be nice. Not to mention warming up. That sounds like a good idea. Maybe by the time we get done some of the animals will have come out; I can't get em if I can't see 'em, after all," he gave another chuckle.

”You know, that doesn’t surprise me very much,” Zoe said with a bit of a laugh. ”Though, with all these mentions of you being a musician, you may need to play for me at some point. I may not be able to play, but I do like to listen to music.”

As Jay said that he could wait before picking up any more new shifts, Zoe nodded. And that he would like to look around some more. After the first month or so that she had been working at the zoo, she had never been this interested in seeing the place. But she was definitely enjoying herself. ”Well then, let’s go,” she said, grabbing Jay’s arm and gently turning him away from the fence to start them walking, looping her arm through Jay’s as they went. ”Cause I’ve been outside much longer than I had planned, and even I’m starting to get cold.

“But, do you want to wander through Asia or South America?”

"That can be arranged; or I could inform you of any gigs I have coming up," he said out of habit, though there was nothing wrong with her just going to see him play, after all. Perfectly innocent...

And then her arm was looped in his, and he didn't really fight it. Again, perfectly innocent; they were just walking together, and it was cold. "Yeah, I've reached my limit, too, and that's saying something," he said with a smile. "I'm usually pretty tolerant of cold, obviously, but...yeah it's time to get inside for awhile."

Hands still in his pockets, he looked over at her. "I'm thinking Asia," he answered, looking ahead again as he pulled his jacket a little closer from the inside of his pocket.

Zoe smiled when Jay said that he could play for her some time, or he’d let her know about any upcoming gigs. ”I’d like that,” Zoe told him. ”I don’t exactly get out much, since most people just think I’m strange.”

They were both in agreement, heading inside for a bit so they could warm up would be a good idea. And Jay wanted to checkout the building that housed the animals from Asia. Nodding, her arm still looped around Jay’s, Zoe started leading them in that direction. Not quickly, that would be a little difficult with how their arms were linked, but faster than a casual walk through the zoo would have been. It was cold, after all.

But that left them walking in silence. And while it didn’t feel uncomfortable, Zoe did think it was a little weird because the only time they had been quiet this long had been while Jay had been trying to acquire a shift. ”So do you do anything else in your free time other than running around parks or playing music?” She finally asked.

"That's the cool thing about music," he murmured as they walked. "It brings people together who wouldn't otherwise have much to do with one another. Kind of like certain mutations." He smiled lightly at this; after all, if not for their mutations, there was no way in hell this would be happening.

And then there was silence, and while it wasn't bad, it was still a little awkward to him. But thankfully, it was soon broken. "That's pretty much it, actually. I mean I'm working on writing a little something, but it's kind of a long process, and something I've never done before," he said, blushing slightly as not many people knew about that. "But I spend quite a bit of my time shifting. There's more of a...freedom to it."

Music could bring people together. Zoe would have to take Jay’s word for that; though she’d been around people her whole life, at school and work, she’d never been drawn to people, made friends with many people. Though, as Jay said, apparently similar mutations could do the same thing. Thinking back to earlier that afternoon, Zoe realized that was very true. If their powers hadn’t been able to work together, if he hadn’t been in the park as a dog, and she hadn’t been able to talk to animals, Zoe would have simply walked right past the golden retriever in the park and she would be sitting at home right now.

”Well, I’m glad our powers let us meet,” Zoe said with a smile, though her tone was earnest. ”Because even though it’s getting really cold out here, this is still better than what my night had been looking like.

After she asked what else Jay did, Zoe tilted her head a bit to look at him with a smile as she heard his answer. And saw a slight blush on his cheeks, though that could have been because of the cold. ”You’re writing something?” There may have been a bit of surprise there, but it was mostly curiosity and interest in what Jay had said. ”What is it, if you don’t mind me asking?”

"Yeah, same here," he answered. "I mean, I sure wouldn't be at the zoo looking at animals," he said with a slight chuckle. Then she asked about what he was writing and his face flushed pink a little, and he looked away, not losing any walking speed, however.

"It's nothing really; just a song I've been working on for awhile. I don't have any lyrics or anything, it's just a bass line right now," he murmured. He grew quiet after a moment, just sort of thinking as he unwittingly drew a little closer to her. Honestly, it was nothing more than a force of habit. But it sort of made him feel less insecure about this. At least a little.

He was working on a song. As Zoe thought about that, it made sense even if it wasn’t the type of writing she had initially thought. Zoe had thought Jay had meant he’d been writing a story or something. But now that he had said it, with all the talk about him being a musician, it really did make sense. Looking over at Jay as they were walking, she saw him looking away now. Was he blushing about this?

”Well, if you ever get it finished, or want a non-critical opinion…” she said, letting the words trail off but hoping that Jay would know that she’d be more than willing to listen.

But Zoe turned her eyes away from Jay and looked at the path they were following, knowing they were approaching the building that housed the Asian animals, so she didn’t notice Jay moving closer to her as they walked. ”You know, this will be a first for both of us,” she said as the door came into sight. ”I’ve never been in here before.”

He blushed a little more at her suggestion. "I don't know; I mean I have no problem playing other people's songs, but...I don't know..." he replied quietly, still not making eye contact. He didn't know why he'd mentioned this, actually, but...oh well, it was out in the open now. At least it was just the two of them.

He looked at her again after a few moments, and she'd said she'd never been in there before. "Well, I guess we're about to discover what's inside together~" he said lightly, that sly smirk coming back as he opened the door and let her lead him in. It was the closest to holding the door open that he could get while their arms were locked, after all.

As she saw that Jay’s cheeks got closer to red compared to the pink that they had been, Zoe realized that he was blushing. And he wasn’t looking at her, either. That was a change from how the rest of the afternoon had gone. Not that he had been staring or anything, but Zoe couldn’t remember Jay avoiding eye contact.

But she didn’t say anything at the moment because they had stepped up to the doors to the Asia pavilion. Before she could reach for the handle, or take her hand from Jay’s arm, she saw him reach out and open the door, letting her walk through first. Shooting him a smile, she stepped inside, her hand still on Jay’s arm.

And it was warmer inside. Sighing happily, glad for the change in temperature, Zoe looked over at Jay. ”Let’s just stay away from spiders, if they have any in here,” she said. ”They kind of creep me out.”

He relaxed considerably as they got inside and he shut the door behind them. Most of it was because of the temperature, but partly due to the fact that his insecurity had died down a little. He took his hands out of his pocket, still keeping his arm locked in hers. He looked over at her as they walked, and he chuckled at the spider comment.

"They're likely behind glass," he said lightly, "But if they get out, you've at least got a guard dog today, right? I'll protect you," he quipped as he gave her a sly wink. He gave a nervous chuckle as they went through the building, and it just so happened he was in between Zoe and a tank with some spiders in it.

It was much more comfortable inside the building, and after a minute or two Zoe partially unzipped her coat to keep from overheating. Jay also seemed much more comfortable now, his hands out of his pockets. But he didn't move away, and so the two of them slowly walked further into the building.

”Being behind glass doesn't stop them from being creepy,” Zoe pointed out, though a moment later she had to smile at the second half of Jay's comment. ”I guess that is true, isn't it? I'll count on you protecting me if any of them get out. Caused it really freaks me out that some of them could kill me with just a bite, and I can't get them to understand not to.”

Jay blinked, pausing a moment; normally he didn't mind spiders, but something about her words kind of troubled him. "Spiders don't really bother me, but...the way you say it...it seems as though spiders are sociopaths who like to bite people and don't understand why they can't..."

After a moment, he kept walking, though he pushed a little closer to her, keeping more of a distance between himself and any spider tanks. "Or are they just psychopaths who kill for fun? I mean, either way...you're not making the best case for them..." He gave a slight shudder, thinking that maybe there was a downside or two to being able to talk to animals.

It seemed that Jay misunderstood what she had meant about being able to communicate with spiders. Though, this time Zoe did notice Jay moving closer to her as he shied away from the spiders along the wall on his side. But she wasn’t going to move over to give him space, because there were also some spiders on the wall on her side. Yes, they were behind glass, but that didn’t mean that Zoe wanted to get closer to them or to see them.

”They’re not sociopaths,” Zoe said as she looked up at Jay. A much better view than the spiders. ”Well, I’m guessing they’re not. I can’t talk with them, and I think that’s part of my problem. When I was a kid, I didn’t like snakes either. But in high school, there was one in my bio lab, and once I was able to talk to it, I started to not dislike them so much.”

Feeling Jay shudder because they were so close as the walked, Zoe squeezed his arm a bit. ”Let’s hurry a bit, see if they have something less creepy in here,” she suggested.

"Okay, that makes me feel a little better, but I swear I'm never looking at a spider again," he said, gathering that he may have misunderstood a little. But he wasn't about to risk it. "Granted, I'm not sure I'd want to talk to spiders..." he murmured, noticing she was closer, but didn't blame her, considering there were spiders on both sides.

When asked, he picked up the pace a little, and soon they were away from spiders, and were looking at reptiles: snakes, lizards, and the like. While he couldn't shift into them, he still thought they were neat. And a lot less creepy than spiders. "Okay, this I can deal with," he said quietly as he looked over at her.