Zoe was a little surprised when Jay said that he had gotten the shift already. That was a lot faster than she had expected considering the dog had been laying down the entire time. But then she heard the rest of his comment, and Zoe rolled her eyes at him as she turned to continue on their walk around the zoo.

”I thought you said that you needed to see how they move, though,” Zoe said over her shoulder after a moment. She was trying to figure out how his powers worked, after all. How could he learn how to shift that quickly?

"I have to get their anatomy... ingrained... I guess," he said. "The movement helps me, mostly. I figure out what they're capable of before I shift. I'll just have to practice more for this one."

He gave a shrug, not knowing how else to explain it. "So, you ready to call it a day? I know you probably want to get away from your workplace, after all."

Zoe listened carefully as Jay explained, at least as best he could, about his powers. Just like she had so far that afternoon. ”What kind of practice?” Zoe asked, truly curious. ”Do you mean actually practicing shifting into it? That would be-” Zoe cut herself off as she remembered the fact that he couldn’t shift clothes. But it would still be fascinating.

But then she tilted her head to look over at Jay. ”Have you ever had a shift not work properly?” She asked, her voice softer with this question.

"Oh, nothing like that, thankfully. I just need to get an idea of what it's like to be in a new body, is all. Otherwise I'm a little shaky." He smiled a little.

Part of him wished he could show her, but he knew at this rate, if that happened, it'd probably end in bed. And while he usually didn't mind that...he wasn't living the single bachelor life anymore. Besides...Zoe was shaping up to be a good friend.

Zoe nodded when Jay explained that he thankfully didn’t have problems that like what she had hinted at with her question. ”That’s good, at least,” she said with a smile up at Jay.

Then she shrugged as she thought back to a question Jay had asked a few minutes earlier but that she hadn’t answered. ”Honestly Jay, this doesn’t even feel like still being at work,” she told him. ”So up to you. If you want to keep looking around, we can. Though, we could always come back another day when it’s warmer.”

"Honestly, I'm all for warming up," he said with a small chuckle. "I've gotten two new shifts, and we can always come back later. Or you could find out if there's anything else I can get," he said, adding a teasing tone to his last statement.

"I have enjoyed this, even if the weather's being a ***** today," he said with a laugh. "Though if you wanted I could always show you some of my shifts. I mean, you did mention it earlier." He shrugged lightly, trying to figure out what they'd do about that 'side-effect' to his shifting.

Zoe shot Jay a fake glare when he mentioned the idea that she could check to see if there was even anything else at the zoo that Jay would be able to shift into. But it was a good idea, even if it had been nice just wandering around the zoo with Jay.

”Yeah, warming up and coming back another day sounds like it would be a good idea,” Zoe told him. Then she grinned at Jay’s next suggestion. ”Yeah? I mean, I’d like that. Though, I’m guessing you don’t want to shift outside again, do you?”

He faked a pout at the glare, but smiled at her response. He was glad she'd warmed up to him, despite his accidentally leading her on earlier. Granted, just because he beat temptation once...he shook the thoughts out of his head. He'd be fine.

"Uh, I'd rather not shift outside again if I can help it," he murmured, shivering just a little. "Though I'd be tempted to shift into a collie just to be a little warmer," he admitted, starting to walk towards the exit. At least, he went toward the direction the thought the exit was, anyway. He didn't necessarily remember, but he was sure it was this way.

He pouted seeing her glare. That made it hard to keep the fake look on her face. Not that she was able to keep the glare long since Jay then smiled hearing her answer. And, as she expected, he wasn’t eager to shift outside. Not that she blamed him; she was cold out there as it was, and she was wearing a coat.

”Yeah, I don’t blame you there,” Zoe said, then tilted her head at Jay. ”Is it really that much warmer with the fur? I mean, they don’t really look all that cold in the winter, but is it that much warmer than your coat?”

But as they were walking, Zoe saw Jay turn down one way along the path. Instead of following him this time, though, she stopped and watched him walking for a couple of steps. ”Uh, if you wanted to leave to get somewhere warmer, you’re going the wrong way.”

Well then. Shaking his head, he silently turned and walked with her, making sure to follow her this time. After all, he didn't want to get lost. "Actually, it is, a little. I mean, the coat only covers your upper body, and some of the lower. Fur covers everything," he said with a shrug. That was his theory, anyway, he'd never really proven it.

"Okay so I obviously lack a dog's sense of direction. Maybe you should lead the way out," he murmured, rubbing the back of his head a little with a nervous laugh as his cheeks flushed a little.

Well, that did make sense, Zoe reasoned as Jay told her his theory about why being a dog, or more specifically at the moment a collie, was warmer than being a human. And now that she was thinking about it, it was a little strange that they did bundle up so much on the upper part of their body, yet rarely did you ever put on more layers on your legs.

But Jay seemed a little embarrassed that he had turned the wrong way in his attempt to leave the zoo. As he came back over to her, Zoe started walking again, in the direction that she knew the exit was. ”Well, we have gone in a few circles around this place,” Zoe pointed out. And it was true. Plus, didn’t dogs depend on scent to find their way places? Zoe added that to the list of things she was going to be looking into.

After walking for a couple minutes, Zoe looked over at Jay. ”So, uh, my place isn’t all that far once we get out of the park,” she told him. ”Unless you’d be more comfortable shifting at your place?” Uncomfortable? A little. But Zoe knew it was something they needed to figure out so they knew where they needed to go once leaving the zoo.

He blinked a moment when she mentioned places. Right....they were going to have to go somewhere, and he was going to have to be on his best behavior. And considering what usually went on when he took a girl to his place...he figured hers was the best bet. Besides, if Zelda so much as caught a whiff of her perfume, or found a strand of hair, he was likely done for, whether anything happened or not. And if he had any say in it, it wouldn't.

"Well, your place sounds closer," he said with a shrug, not really mentioning his place in the equation, for good reason. "So if you don't mind leading the way?" he smiled a little.

Zoe nodded when Jay said that her place sounded closer. She’d have to take his word for it since she didn’t know where he lived, after all. But other than the walk through the park, which they’d have to make regardless, her apartment was close.

At that point, it didn’t take long to make it out of the zoo, and Zoe started them walking back in the direction they had come from. She had been part way home when she had run into a dog that didn’t sound like a dog, after all.

”So what are you going to show me first?” Zoe asked after they had been walking in silence for a few minutes.

"I guess that depends on what you want to see," he answered with a shrug. "I've got a handful of big dogs: A boxer, a pit-bull mix, the golden retriever, the German Shepherd-collie...then I've got a chihuahua, a young corgi, a Jack Russel, a few undetermined mutts, the wolf, the fox, and the two I just got," he said, listing them off. He thought he'd named them all, but he honestly wasn't sure.

He let her think a moment as they made their way back to the park. "Or maybe I'll see some old lady walking her dog, and get a third shift," he joked a little, but that didn't stop him from taking a look around to see if there were in fact, any people walking their dogs. But due to the cold,there were none.

With a slightly disappointed sigh, he stuffed his hands in his pockets, giving another shrug. "Well, it was worth a try."

Zoe listened to Jay list off the different dogs, and other canines, that he was able to shift into. And as she thought about it, her mind kept going back to two of them in particular: the wolf and the fennec fox.

Though, Zoe knew that she wouldn’t be able to talk to Jay while he was in those forms. But really, she’d never had a chance like this before.

”I’d love to be able to see a wolf that close up,” Zoe said after a few more moments of thought. ”You can understand people normally when you’re shifted, right? Because as far as I know, I can’t talk with wolves.”