>> ”I generally stay pretty close to the zebra enclosure, so I’m not sure how great of a guide I will be. But I’ll do my best.”

Oh wow. This girl either had some serious confidence issues or she was not feeling this walking trip. Jonas chuckled, “Git off it. I’m not worried. I’ve never been so in comparison you’re sure to amaze.”

>> You do realize that the majority of the zoo is outside, right? … ”If you’re that cold now, I don’t know how you’ll manage at the zoo.”

“See,” he continued his laugh. “Already learnin’. I’m gonna be fine,” he nodded. Off they went down the street, slowly maneuvering their way toward Central Park. It was cold, but as they kept moving it helped. Besides he’d actually been in colder weather before; the problem was Jonas hadn’t. Every so often he’d switch the hand holding his warm coffee or hold it in both. He walked in place as they waited for lights to change and permission to cross streets.

“What made ya want to work with animals? Wanna be a vet or somethin’?"

Zoe smiled, glancing over at Jonas, when he said that wasn’t worried about her ability to show him around the zoo. ”Hopefully I don’t disappoint,” Zoe said, still smiling over at Jonas. ”But I’ll do my best to make it fun, at any rate.”

Apparently the cold meant that Jonas was already learning, and Zoe laughed along with Jonas. ”I didn’t think that was something I was going to have to teach you,” Zoe said with a slight shake of her head. ”But we can always grab another coffee later. And there are a couple of indoor exhibits we can warm up in.”

That last idea, Zoe realized, would most likely be needed, possibly a few times, as Jonas seemed to be fairly chilled as they walked along. But then Jonas asked what had made her want to work with animals. Knowing that she couldn’t give the real answer, Zoe shrugged her shoulders. ”I’ve always been interested in animals,” she explained, which really was close enough to the truth. ”So I went to school for biology. Though, I didn’t really expect to work with animals like this until I got an internship at the zoo.”

Jonas nodded with a grin about learning, coffee, and the indoor exhibits. He encouraged her along as they walked and was pleased to think up something to get her talking more. He didn’t want to keep her preoccupied on this leading, teaching thing that she was feeling nervous about. Maybe he’d have to accentuate the coolness factor of the zebras.

>> I’ve always been interested in animals,”

“Ya, why so? ‘ave a lot of pets?” he asked as they crossed another street.

>> ”So I went to school for biology. Though, I didn’t really expect to work with animals like this until I got an internship at the zoo.”

“I might ty to git to college someday. Good of ya,” he nodded. “’ow’d ya think you’d git to workin’ with animals?” They were nearing the zoo now as he continued his interested querying. Central park was pretty, but certainly not as busy now then what he’d expected. He was sure the spring would change that.

Zoe shook her head when Jonas asked if she had a lot of pets and that’s why she had been so interested in animals growing up. ”I had a couple of cats growing up, but my parents wouldn’t let me have any more,” she told him. ”But think about it. Humans took wild, predatory cats, like lions and tigers, and bred and domesticated them down to the small creatures we call pets today. And the same thing with dogs domesticated from wolves.

“I mean, that in itself is fascinating, but consider how many plants and trees have grown only because birds drop seeds and squirrels bury nuts that they forget about? Or how many medical breakthroughs there’s been from studying animals?”

At this point, Zoe looked over at Jonas and blushed slightly. ”Sorry, I got a little carried away there, didn’t I?” She asked, glancing at the sidewalk in front of them before looking back at the man beside her. ”In some ways, I just don’t understand why more people aren’t interested in animals, what with all the things that there are still to learn.”

By this point, they were entering the Park, getting much closer to the zoo as they went, as Jonas said he might try going to college at some point. Zoe nodded. ”It’s not all that bad an idea, but depending on what you’re wanting to do, it’s not always necessary. I figured I’d be doing some sort of research, or working in conservation, so I didn’t have a choice except to go to college. Though I guess the zoo is conservation of a sort, but it isn’t what I had planned.”

Having explained that, Zoe walked in silence for a few moments before looking over at Jonas. ”So what is it you do?” She asked in return.

>> I had a couple of cats growing up, but my parents wouldn’t let me have any more,”

Only a couple? That surprised him. He was imagining the girl had a number of pets, many different types. Maybe it was the inability to get more that had driven her. He was more a dog person though.

>> ”But think about it. Humans took wild, predatory cats, like lions and tigers, and bred and domesticated them down to the small creatures we call pets today. And the same thing with dogs domesticated from wolves.

Jonas nodded. That they did. Years of domestication and breeding. Dogs were a man’s best friend and cats had spent years being worshipped. That said it all right there. Dogs helped you hunt and cats minded the home for mice.

>> “I mean, that in itself is fascinating, but consider how many plants and trees have grown only because birds drop seeds and squirrels bury nuts that they forget about? Or how many medical breakthroughs there’s been from studying animals?”

Wow. He’d really gotten her going. That was good. She’d been a bit quiet it seemed, or maybe just bored. Probably bored. Jonas didn’t seem very exciting and she seemed into the wanderlust. She was into the history and the development and lifecycle of it all. That was cool. He hadn’t really considered it more than the Lion King anyway. Didn’t they test on animals still? She probably didn’t like that.

Jonas smiled as she blushed and apologized for talking. “Aw nah, bless ya. You talk ‘cause ya care,” he nodded. “That's good thing.”

>> ”In some ways, I just don’t understand why more people aren’t interested in animals, what with all the things that there are still to learn.”

“Probably ‘cause they don’t think ‘bout it enough,” Jonas nodded as they were approaching the zoo.

“I might ty to git to college someday. Good of ya,” he nodded. “’ow’d ya think you’d git to workin’ with animals?” They moved onto the college topic and she seemed encouraging though wary, maybe of the cost? That was fair. It wasn’t for everyone and that was right. Many picked up trades. He nodded at her need for a degree due to her conservation and research interests. He smiled and nodded eagerly before glancing away as she quieted.

>> ”So what is it you do?”

Ah that always came up. “I’ve done a lot of construction and landscaping work back home,” he nodded. “I figure I can pick up somethin’ like that here easy enough.”

Jonas didn’t seem to mind that she had rambled on so much, saying that it was a good thing because it showed she cared, and Zoe smiled over at Jonas while they walked, to see that he was smiling as well. Even if he didn’t particularly feel the same way that she did about animals, Jonas at least thought that it was good she cared.

”And what about you?” Zoe asked, her tone still serious. Though, it was kind of odd that she had been this serious for this long outside of work. It had to be because of what they were talking about. ”Did you ever think about it before today?”

Then he was answering her question about what he did, and Zoe quietly listened. It was so very different than anything she had ever done. ”Well, they always seem to be building something in this city,” Zoe told Jonas with an encouraging smile. ”I’m sure you’ll be able to find something fairly quickly.”

By this point, they had arrived at the zoo, and Zoe glanced over at Jonas. ”Anything in particular you wanted to see?”

>> ”Did you ever think about it before today?”

Jonas shook his head. He’d definitely not even considered it before today. There, he’d learned something already. He smiled, “But I will now.”

She encouraged him in his work idea, at least for the Jonas persona. That was kind. There really were always building multiple things in the area so he had no doubt he could find some under the counter work to get in on things. It was easy to get info on buildings and businesses and even homes that way. If you wanted to play the long con, it really worked.

>> ”Anything in particular you wanted to see?”

“The wolves and zebras surely,” he nodded like a big kid. “But I’ll appreciate the walk with ya whatever we see.” He smiled a bit bigger, tossed his coffee container in a recycling bin, and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I bet seeing what you’re excited about will be just as infectious so maybe let’s see what you recommend.”

Jonas gestured up at a sign, “…if there’s really penguins I’d like to see them too. They must love this weather, ya?”

As Jonas told her which animals he wanted to see, Zoe nodded, a smile slowly growing on her face. The smile growing even wider as he continued speaking. He really did seem to be excited about this. ”We can definitely see the wolves,” Zoe said, smiling over at Jonas. ”And I can show you my zebras, as long as they’re out. They tend to share your view of the cold weather.”

Continuing to walk along, the smile remained on Zoe’s face. With what he was saying, it almost seemed like Jonas was more interested in spending the time with her, and seeing the zoo was just an afterthought, or simply because she was interested in animals. Considering most of the people who knew her thought that Zoe was strange, and she tried to avoid meeting a lot of new people so there were fewer that thought she was weird, this was a little unusual for Zoe.

”I’m sure we can fit in a visit to the penguins too,” Zoe said with a bit of a laugh. ”And you know what, they probably are enjoying the weather. They may even be swimming, as crazy as that seems to us.”

>> ”And I can show you my zebras, as long as they’re out. They tend to share your view of the cold weather.”

"Ah yeah yeah," Jonas nodded. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised there eh?" he smiled right back at her. She was finally seeming excited, which certainly encouraged him. If you're going to spend some time with someone you don't want them bored and quiet right?

He casually looked around as they walked but kept most of the attention on her. It was important to him to know his surroundings, get an idea of exits and employee doors, as well as relative location to other areas. It helped the zoo was fun to explore and Zoe was a cute escort who had special access due to her job. Score.

>> ”I’m sure we can fit in a visit to the penguins too,”

"Awesome," he quickly replied.

>> ”And you know what, they probably are enjoying the weather. They may even be swimming, as crazy as that seems to us.”

"Crazy but cool, 'ight," Jonas nodded once more as they walked past a closed vendor stand. Apparently not everything was opened up in the winter. He looked out over a pen of smaller... Opossums? Oh no, they were armadillos. "I think I like penguins 'cause of the dancing penguins movies."

Jonas started waddle-dancing down the path, chuckling at himself, as he stuck his hands out perpendicular to his body. "Birds that swim instead of fly is interesting. They did their own thing and thrived, 'ight?"

Zoe shook her head as she looked at Jonas, though the smile was still on her face. She was doing that a lot today, it definitely seemed. ”I could be wrong, but I don’t think that the African Savanna gets this cold,” Zoe said, then shrugged. That made sense to her, but every so often she still did see the zebras head out in the winter.

Maybe they were as crazy as she was?

But then Jonas explained why he thought that he liked penguins. And started penguin-dancing as they walked along. Zoe laughed, shaking her head at the man she was walking with. ”I like how graceful they are while they’re swimming,” Zoe told Jonas, still laughing slightly. ”Despite how awkward they are when they’re on land.”

By that point, they were coming up to the fence separating them from the wolf enclosure. ”These guys should probably be out, though,” she said, looking over at Jonas. ”They’re more used to this weather than I am.”

After a moment, Zoe tilted her head as she looked at Jonas, her smile turning more playful, teasing. ”You’ve already done the penguins, do you have any wolf impressions?”

>> ”I could be wrong, but I don’t think that the African Savanna gets this cold,”

Jonas nodded along. She was probably right. She laughed at his silly penguin-ing so he’d go along with whatever she said. Who didn’t like being agreed with on their subject of choice?

>> ”Despite how awkward they are when they’re on land.”

“I wonder how long it was before they finally stopped tryin’ to fly and swam instead,” he philosophized as he adopted a deeper tone a professor might have. He narrowed his eyes and lifted his chin though quickly stopped, laughing at himself.

At the wolf enclosure two large specimens stalked slowly at the edge of a wall where a cave opening presumably led into their actual pen. One was a mixture of grays and the other gray and white. Both watched the couple approach as Zoe teased Jonas.

>> ”You’ve already done the penguins, do you have any wolf impressions?”

“I’ll huff and I’ll puff and blow this hear cage down,” he joked, glancing aside to her. “And I only howl when I’ve had whiskey and it’s a full moon,” he laughed further and bumped his shoulder playfully into hers. “To see that we’ll have to get drinks sometime.

“Are they guardin’?” he asked quickly, leaving the comment hanging. “Seems like it.”

Zoe was starting to think of an answer to Jonas’ question, when she looked over at him to see starting to laugh at his own question. She smiled, though her brain was still working; it was a good question, an interesting one. But one best suited for another time.

Then Jonas was giving his wolf impression, and Zoe couldn’t stop from laughing. Then he told her that to hear him howl, they’d have to get drinks at some point.

Had he really just asked her out, Zoe wondered even as he went on to ask another question about the wolves. ”It does look like their guarding something,” Zoe agreed, though she was looking over at Jonas rather than the wolves as she spoke. ”They probably use that as their den.”

Then Zoe took a deep breath before she continued speaking. ”Maybe we should get drinks,” Zoe said, though now her eyes were on the wolves. ”I mean, if that’s the only way I’m going to get to hear you howl like a wolf, we kind of have to.”

>> ”They probably use that as their den.”

Jonas stared into the den, watching the wolves closely. “Right, yeah, cool,” he nodded. They had a home here and were protecting it. Pack mentality kind of thing. Edan knew how that went; he’d bought into it once, but ultimately people looked out for themselves and what they truly cared about first. Maybe true love was out there, but you couldn’t even say all parents would put themselves out for their kids. Nope.

Maybe it was different with animals. They didn’t have that sentience of conflicting wants, thoughts, feelings. It’s what made people easier to manipulate.

>> ”Maybe we should get drinks,”

Bingo.

>> ”I mean, if that’s the only way I’m going to get to hear you howl like a wolf, we kind of have to.”

“Only way, ‘m afraid,” Jonas turned to her, nodding solemnly. “It’s a curse really, like a werewolf only I don’t get all hairy,” he chuckled. “Besides, I’ll be lucky to have you guide me ‘round at night too,” he winked. “Tonight if ya free?”

Hearing Jonas say, again, that getting drinks was the only way she was going to get to hear him howl like a wolf, Zoe turned to look at him. A smile growing on her face as she heard the rest of her words.

Which meant that she was looking at Jonas when he winked at her and asked if she was free that night. This had very quickly gone from Zoe wondering if Jonas was possibly asking her out sometime to him most certainly asking her out that very night.

When he had sat down at her table earlier, Zoe never would have imagined this happening, never would have thought that the man would have asked her out. ”Uh, yeah, I am free tonight,” Zoe said, though she could feel her cheeks growing warm in the chill air. And a smile growing on her face. ”Though, it’s probably a good thing you don’t get hairy like a normal werewolf. That’d likely draw a bit more attention than we’d like.”