'Yeah, it does make things difficult, though usually I only end up dealing with people," Jay explained.

Then she offered to help him get more shifts, and his golden ears perked up as his blue eyes twinkled a bit. 'Just close enough to be able to see them in detail. I have to watch them for a few minutes; their movement, body structure, stuff like that. While I turn into a copy of that canine...all my shifts seem to be male, regardless. Just a fun fact; this shift here was my childhood dog, and she was very much a girl.' Then, he paused a moment.

'How do you plan to get me more shifts? Though I do appreciate the gesture.' It's not that he was against any morally ambiguous methods, he was just making sure his bases were covered.

Close enough to see them in detail, to see how they moved? ”That should be easy, then,” Zoe said with a nod. After she had made the offer, she had started to worry that maybe he had to get even closer, maybe even have to touch the animal, before he was able to shift into one.

And he just had to see the animal for a few minutes? Zoe couldn’t help it, she was jealous of that. She wasn’t sure how long it actually took her to learn how to speak to an animal, but it was a hell of a lot longer than just a few minutes.

”I work at the zoo,” Zoe answered Jay’s question about how she could help get him more shifts. ”And if you don’t have to get that close, it shouldn’t be very hard.”

'Sounds like you have a solid plan,' he remarked, tail wagging with a little more excitement than usual. It'd been forever since he'd acquired more shifts, and he could always use some more.

'Well, there is one minor complication. I kind of have to be in human form to get a shift. And we've been over what's wrong with that,' he said; he would have laughed nervously, but...dog. Dogs didn't do that, so instead his tail wagged a little more.

'Unless you know I place I can shift back right quick," he looked around. The park was relatively empty, but not enough for him to just shift back. Though he wasn't really concerned about the public nudity thing, it was just so damn cold.

It did sound like they had a plan. Though, it sounded like Jay was wanting to go right then. That hadn’t been what Zoe had been thinking, she had just finished work for the day, after all.

But he was excited, and to be honest, would she see him again after today? Well, if she was doing this for him, hopefully she would. But, Zoe knew, there was no guarantee.

And he had to be in his human form in order to acquire a new shift. ”That is a problem,” Zoe said, looking at Jay. ”Though, it’s a good thing in this case. I don’t think they’d let you in the zoo right now like this, even with me.”

But was there somewhere he could shift and change? ”Honestly, I’m not sure. I generally just walk through. I’m close enough to home or work that I can just head to either of those if I need to.”

'Not so much a problem, I just need a place to go back human.' He paused a moment as he gave the issue thought. After a few moments, he walked over, grabbing his gym bag in his teeth and walking back over to Zoe. He sat down on the ground for a while as he cocked his head to the side. He really wasn't keen on changing at her place, even if that's what he gathered from what she'd said. After all, that didn't end so happily last time.

'Okay, I have an idea. I need you to play lookout, just whistle if you see anyone coming this way." With that, he carried his bag into the bushes. After several uncomfortable minutes, Jay crawled out of the bushes, leaves in his hair, some on his clothes, but he was a fully dressed human. "Not my best work, but...I guess it'll do," he said with a sly chuckle once he'd made his way back over to her.

Zoe nodded as she heard what Jay said about needing somewhere that he could become a human again rather than the dog that was in front of her.
She wasn’t sure what she could do to help him. But before she could say anything, Jay was walking over to the bench, and then bringing his bag back over, holding it in his mouth.

And just sitting there looking at her for a minute before he spoke again. Zoe nodded. Given the choices at the moment, that was probably the best thing that they could do. So while Jay was walking away and crawling into the bushes, Zoe stood up and looked around. So far, so good, she didn’t see anyone around.

It took a few minutes, thankfully no one came by in that time, but finally Jay came crawling out of the bushes. And as he said, he was dressed once again. ”Well, we are just going to the zoo,” Zoe pointed out. Not that it really mattered if it was his ‘best work’ as he put it; she was still in her khaki uniform from work. ”Ready to go?”

He smiled as he brushed some of the stray leaves and sticks out of his hair, then brushed off his clothes. Then, he slung his bag over his shoulder, keeping his eyes focused on her face.

"True, but we don't want people thinking you just dragged me out of the bushes somewhere," he quipped with a small grin as he stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets. "I think I'm as ready as I can be," he replied with a nod. "Lead the way~" He kind of missed having fur as the bitter wind started to pick up a little; and he murmured a few curse words while pulling his jacket a little tighter.

Ah, good point, Zoe realized as she saw Jay brushing leaves and sticks from himself. She hadn't exactly noticed that at first. She also didn’t notice the slight blush on her cheeks at Jay’s words. Though, it was possible that it was from the cold.

But he then said that he was ready, or at least as ready as he was going to be. So Zoe nodded and started walking back the way that she had come at first, back toward the zoo. After a minute of walking, Zoe looked over at Jay. ”So, what kind of canine were you hoping for first?” She asked.

He walked with her, occasionally stealing a glance or two in her direction, but not saying or doing anything otherwise. Besides, for the most part, he was just thinking. He hadn't been to a zoo in years, and he could sort of feel this childish excitement bubbling up in him, almost like he was a young mutant just getting the grasp of his powers again.

But her question sort of perplexed him. He blinked for a moment before looking over at her. "Honestly, I don't know. I've never really gone 'shopping' for shifts, before. Usually I just see a neat dog and stare at it for a few minutes. Pretty much how I got most of my shifts," he gave another chuckle as they kept walking.

As they walked, they were quiet at first. Well, Zoe didn’t really know what to say; this was a very different situation than any Zoe had ever been in before.

But then Jay answered her question about what he wanted to acquire as a new canine shift. Which didn’t really answer much of anything. ”Hmm,” Zoe said as she thought. He wanted more forms to be able to shift into, but didn’t have an idea of what he wanted.

Then she remembered a new animal that had been brought to the zoo. ”They just brought in a couple of Fennec Foxes, so I doubt you’ve even seen them never mind in person. Want to check them out first? I’ve been meaning to get over there myself.”

He pondered the suggestion; he wasn't sure what use a Fennec Fox would be, but it could be a nice shift for just running around the room, or giving puppy-dog-eyes when in trouble. "That sounds like it'd be a fun one," he mused, running a hand through his hair and picking out a stray leaf in the process.

"Though oddly...I've never actually been to the zoo here," he continued. "Just something I never really got around to. Though....maybe I should start making a habit of it." he gave a slight chuckle as he began to think, wondering what else he might find, but he figured maybe she'd surprise him. "I mean, I'd have to be careful with the more exotic ones, but it'd still be nice to have some shifts that are more basic than the gray wolf and red fox." He smiled, giving a shrug before turning back to look in front of him.

Zoe shrugged. ”I’m not sure how much fun it would be,” she said, glancing over at Jay. ”But the pictures I’ve seen are pretty darn cute. And they’re fairly small, so it’ll probably be less conspicuous than a wolf at any rate.”

When Jay said that he’d never been to the zoo yet, Zoe stopped dead for a moment, just staring at the back of his head as he walked before hurrying to catch up. ”What do you mean you’ve never been to the zoo here before? How long have you been in New York, a month?” Especially considering his powers, it seemed very odd that he hadn’t done this before now.

"Trying out a new shift is always fun," Jay explained, looking over at her. "Each dog has its own point of view, it's own muscle structure, its own senses. Every one is different, and serves its own niche, even if there's no way I can possibly fill it in New York, it's fun to have at my disposal, even if it's just for fooling around." He gave a slight shrug.

After a moment, he looked back at her again. "What others do you think I could see? I mean, I'm pretty sure you're the best candidate to show me around~" Then, he paused again. "And let me know how I can make it up to you, since I am dragging you back to your workplace after you've clocked out."

Zoe listened as Jay explained how each of his different forms, his different shifts, was a very different experience for him, and fun for him. Even if he couldn’t really use it much in the city.

”I’ll have to think about what else is there,” Zoe said thoughtfully after a moment. ”Most of the time, I’m just in the zebra enclosure, so I tend to forget what else is there sometimes. Especially the animals I can’t talk to.”

He wanted to make find out how he could make this up to her? That was a good question. So Zoe walked along in silent thought for a minute. Then her eyes widened as she got an amazing idea. An idea that she thought Jay would appreciate, too.

”I’d love to learn how to talk to those animals, and if you’re around in those forms, it might help speed that up a bit,” she told Jay, smiling over at him as they walked. ”And it’d be fascinating if you could give me details about what it’s like to be in the different shifts.”

"Makes sense," he murmured thoughtfully, then pondered her proposal. "You think it'll help even though I can't actually communicate with them myself?" he asked, quirking a brow, as he chewed on this for a moment.

"That, I know I can do. The golden retriever is not only the first shift I ever did, but it's still my favorite, to this day. It's a good form for distance running because retrievers are known for their stamina. However, shifting itself takes energy, coupled with energy I expend while shifted, and my own stamina takes a hit. Though it is decent," he looked at her and smirked. "Since I was pretty much being lazy today, I'm good as far as that goes though. On the other hand, my boxer shift is not only more powerful, but it's a good sprinter, if I ever need to get away. But it's also tough, in case I find myself in a tight spot." He paused after explaining these two shifts to the best of his ability.

"The wolf though? There's something almost...wild about it. Even though it's just me in that form, I still feel....free." His voice trailed off fondly as he spoke, continuing to walk.