little paws [open]

The absolute worst part of the zoo was the assaulting smells. The redeeming quality was the assortment of sounds that filled the grassy area, rolling over the concrete paths to follow the blond through the spacious outdoor cage. But there was little to be done for the unfortunate creatures. Granted, even if he could have saved them, Silas wasn't sure he would have.

Silas didn't look the part of a social crusader. He was dressed in a well-fitted zippered black hoody with the logo of his university. Peaking from the two inches of unzipped hoody was the collar of a faded red shirt emblazoned with an orange, reaching Charmander along his left side. Clearly not the picture of intimidation. To pull the hoody and t-shirt together, he had baggy jeans that fell over his gray vans, making the teenager appear shorter than his five foot eight inch frame.

"Aee, panda," Silas murmured lowly from his spot, safely leaning over the outside fence. There was a second fence, in true condescending fashion, as if to say, "if you haven't obeyed the first fence, here's a second to turn you back". And perhaps the effort of crossing the second fence did deter those willing to climb the first: Silas wasn't sure. The monochrome bear's eyes lazily rose to examine the lone observer.

"They give you that stick there," Silas made a short gesture toward the over sized bowl the zookeepers had recently filled. "Maybe some fruit en stuff, too. I dunno. You're a herbivore, right?" With no answer, Silas dropped his chin to rest over his folded arms. The panda appeared to lose interest in him, dropping his own head to examine the rocks in the exhibit in front of him. Idly, Silas wondered if there was a bug on the rock, vying for the panda's attention.

Amelia wasn't one to normally go to zoos, seeing as she could shift into a big feline and it'd be one of the same for her, though she couldn't shift into anything but a feline. She was wearing a black shirt with black pants, and black vans. Her hair was hanging down to her shoulders and she was wearing a black base ball cap. She found herself walking around the zoo, trying to find some interesting animal that she might someday attempt to shift into. She found herself walking towards the monkeys cage, frowning at it she almost had half a mind to break them out, but remembered they were much better treated here than a prison she would be sent to. She moved on towards the bears, looking over the fences at the panda bear, one of her favorite animals, but she wasn't able to shift into one and so here she was looking at it instead. There was a guy who was leaning against the fence talking to the panda bear that seemed to not pay any attention to him and she just smiled. If she was in a cage she wouldn't want to talk back either. Amelia leaned against the fence herself, just staring at the panda instead of talking back to it, it wasn't like they could understand one another anyway. Amelia became bored in the position of leaning over the fence and looked towards the male again, who wasn't much older than herself. "Hi." She spoke slowly unsure of what she really wanted to say to him.

'Hi.' A voice pierced the silence. The blond jumped, recoiling from the fence and the bear.

"Holy jeeze," Silas muttered. Was a bear really speaking to him? He knew he was special, but this... This was simply amazing. And terrifying. One step later, wide-eyed and fascinated, the teenager with the close relationship to sound played back the word in his mind. It hadn't come from in front of him, had it? Gey-blue eyes flickered over to Amelia, sizing up the younger girl. He stood a few inches taller, but not much, making it had to judge her age for certain. She could have wandered his campus, couldn't she? It seemed plausible. But also trivial. Chicago was a large city, making one chance conversation seem like a drop in the pond.

Maybe she wasn't a bear, but she did have the same hair color as his sister. That counted for enough to hold a conversation with her, right?

"Hey." Silas' voice was calmer and an octave lower than his previous statement had been. "Sorry, panda here's got a bug friend today. No song and dance." Silas shifted his weight, feeling a bit awkward now that he was standing away from the fence. Moving back would only draw attention to the fact that he moved initially, so he remained in place. His now free right hand drummed against his pant leg idly, his left pressed flatly against the side of his jeans. Yep, cool, collected, and not the type of kid to assume bears could speak.

Amelia watched as the blond guy had jumped, moving away from the fence, which was strange because she was next to him. He spoke something but she couldn't hear it very well because it was a mutter, if only she could have heard of what he had said, maybe just maybe she would have had the proof needed that she had scared him by mistake. Then he looked over towards her, making sure to stand his tallest to prove he was in fact taller, she didn't care most of the time she was found to be the shortest anyway, seeing as she could shift into a smaller feline. Then he answered her back with a calm voice, she smiled when he made a comment about the panda and her eyes looked towards the panda for only a second before looking back towards him. Amelia didn't know about him, but she felt weird standing so far away from the fence, most of her balance could be against it instead of having to stand straight against air. He didn't move though, he stayed put, but unlike him she slowly moved back towards the fence but leaned on it from her side so that she could see him and the panda. "So your keeping the panda company than?" She asked finally, trying to bring up some sort of comment. As other thoughts pierced her mind. He's handsome. Then another thought came into her mind. Shut up Amelia, he's probably already taken... not to mention you don't even know him, he could be working for D.T.R.C for all you know. She pushed her thoughts away before speaking again, "I'm Amelia." She reached her hand out, wondering if he would do the same in greeting.

Silas blinked. Was he keeping the panda company? No, he was more like the mean kid who would have thrown peanuts if he had peanuts to throw. But did she need to know that? Probably not.

"Yeah, nothing sadder than seeing a crying panda," Silas flashed a charming smile. "And the red raccoon-looking panda was asleep." Red panda, he meant, though "raccoon-looking" was an accurate description for the creatures that thrived in the twilight hours. The pair of them were his first stop and were a disappointment as they slumbered in their tree. Which brought him here, to the panda, to wait out the creature's nap. At least that was his plan. If he ran into a way to wake the red pandas, he would still consider it,

Shaking hands seemed archaic, but, while in Rome... Silas' hand extended, grasping hers in his. A swift upward motion, then the fall, before Silas had let go and drew his hand back to his own body. Ten seconds, max, of contact. He could only hope his rush wasn't too obvious. Granted, a phobia of physical contact was easier to explain away than his ability, so he wasn't going to rock the boat with this one. His hands dug into the two pockets of his hoody, concealed from view.

"Silas," Silas introduced simply. "Pleasure." If she hadn't noticed yet, Silas wasn't one for small talk or pleasantries. His curtness wasn't the result of anger or disinterest, just habit.

"Come here often?" Silas ventured. He was trying. People asked that still, right? Well, probably about as often as teenagers shook hands, so he wouldn't worry too much about it.

Amelia smiled back, believing his comment to be true. "Oh I see." She hadn't even noticed the sleeping red raccoon-looking panda. It seemed like the ten seconds had gone by way to fast as his hand drew away again. Darn it... Her mind slipped into thinking more thoughts about him again before she finally got a grip on her mind. So his name is Silas. She then smiled at his greeting, but was slightly disappointed when he was no longer talking. Oh well. You either get those who talk to much or those who chose not to talk at all... She got both and she personally liked those who didn't talk much best. Then she was pulled out of her thoughts to hear his question, something that one might ask anybody who was here and yet she had an answer that would always be answered the same. "Nope." Her eyes looked back towards the panda again, she used to go here with her brother after their father had attempted to turn them into the D.T.R.C. But after he disappeared and later was killed she hadn't really gone to the zoo, it wasn't even the excuse of having no time, she just couldn't bring herself to go. Instead of saying the reason why she didn't go, or the comment of when she had gone to the zoo last she decided to let him figure it out for himself if he cared to attempt to figure it out. "How about you?" She threw the question back at him, clearly trying to get the subject off of her.

If Silas had been an avid animal lover he probably would have cared that she didn't frequent the zoo. Since he wasn't, the comment was noted as simply a similarity between them. He had no idea there was more to the topic than presumed disinterest.

"Sometimes. My sister likes the animals, but we've got some stray cats that hang around outside my apartment. They're good enough." Silas shrugged passively. He did prefer the cats that he could actually pick up and hold close, opposed to these caged beasts. And besides that, he was only a fan of the fluffy animals within the zoo. The reptiles were far less appealing and there were domesticated fluff balls to tide him over without a city zoo. Better yet, there was a far less potent smell associated with one single household pet.

Silas' eyes wandered from Amelia to the panda. Lazy beast. He could have used an interjection, but the large mammal was mute as ever.

"I do like bears though." Silas mused. "They seem sort of deceptively harmless, you know? Like people." Finally he gave in. closing the short distance he'd created between himself and the fence so that he could lean against it again, the same way he had before he moved. Hands folded over the bars, his back slightly arched. It was a more sustainable position than standing upright, maintaining the posture inspired by his surprise.

"Do you have a favorite animal?" Silas prompted, his eyes not leaving the panda as he spoke to Amelia. He wasn't sure why he was asking. It just felt polite to keep the superficial conversation going, without a better reason to end it.

Amelia smiled, looking towards Silas when he mentioned that he came with his sister... The same reason as my brother... he loved the animals too. He mentioned stray cats and she couldn't help but smile, but she wasn't looking towards Silas so unless he leaned over to look at her face he would be bound to miss it. She personally liked cats too and when they weren't in a cage that was the best site ever. Silas than said that he did like the bears, she would look at them but she wasn't much of a fan, she liked the bears just as much as the monkeys. She couldn't remember the reason why she had come all the way over here. Maybe she was meant to meet somebody or something. "Yeah." She agreed, muttering the comment to herself instead of talking out loud. "Maybe." She added slowly, she couldn't agree with him, there were plenty of humans that would attempt to harm them if given the chance. "Harmless like some people... not all people." She finally spoke, unsure which one he was, it finally accrued to her that she didn't even know if he was gifted or not. Silas had moved back to the fence and she turned her back towards the fence, so that if she had to move, she could. He asked her if she had a favorite animal, the answer would be felines period, but she didn't want him thinking she had powers just yet. "Well I do love cats..." She smiled at him finally, "So they could be my favorite I suppose." She knew she wasn't really giving him much to work with, but truth be told she just didn't want to chance him being one of those D.T.R.C Agents, about ready to pounce at any excuse given to them. Amelia wanted nothing more than to hide in her big feline form... but she couldn't not unless he acted like he was going to harm her, she waited for Silas to do something.

Silas glanced up at her when she said not all people were harmless. Words sprung to his lips. Clarification, and objection, seemed equally likely to spring forth. Wisely. he bit his tongue, realizing this could get personal very quickly if he rose to the bait and began that sort of conversation. His fight with his father was still fresh on his mind. In fact, Silas' bruise was still vivid against his covered shoulder. Which meant the topic was too close to home. The remark did have the effect of turning Silas' expression stormy, though.

Waiting for this lazy college student to find any reasonable motivation to harm her would take a while. Beyond the fact that Silas was a fairly nonviolent individual by nature, he knew there was a time and a place to pick a fight. A crowded zoo beside a bear he could be fed to was not the place. On the bright side, this bear was already labeled in his mind as strictly a herbivore. Still, those paws probably wouldn't feel pleasant pressed against his chest, or swiped over his face.

Nope, no violent actions while Mr. Panda was watching.

And granted only the control of sound and sedation, Silas was suited to make a run from conflict, not to initiate it. The movement of Amelia in reaction to him was a bit obvious, though. It made him self conscious. Should he move? There were other bears in the zoo. And there was always the chance that someone had woken his red pandas by now.

"Good choice. Cats are fluffy, and I like fluffy." Silas offered, shifting so he was facing her, his left arm still resting on the fence though he was no longer properly leaning.

"I am a bit disappointed I haven't seen a proper raccoon here yet, though." Silas had no rationale for the statement other than the fact that the statement was true. He was, in fact, sincerely disappointed not to see the masked trashcan bandits in person.

Amelia noticed that he hadn't made a move on her yet, meaning that he was either a coward or he was gifted too and he wasn't apart of D.T.R.C. Fine... I'll get out of my comfort zone, just to make sure he isn't apart of D.T.R.C... She giggles when he said that he liked fluffy, now that he was facing her she was somewhat unsure if she wanted to tell him about her powers again. Maybe a little bit longer... She decides to herself before adding, "I'm more of a fan of the cats with short fur... less of a mess." And less stuff to clean up later because my fur got all over the place.... Another smile crosses her face, then he confesses his disappointment about raccoons. "Trust me, you don't want to ever meet any raccoons." She warns, thinking back to the time that she was in her smaller feline form and some raccoons had taken off with her food. "Though you might not get a chose, if you have something they want... you can be sure they will go out of there way to get it." She wanted to mumble something else but held her tongue instead. If she ever got the chance, a raccoon would be torn to shreds by her paws. "Are you a fan of any bigger felines?" She finally asked, thinking about telling him her secret, but once again keeping it to herself instead of taking a chance and sharing. Amelia shifts her position so that she is leaning on her right leg more than her left.

Coward might be a good word for him. Maybe it would explain why he didn't fight back against bullies. That, or the fact that he labeled himself more of an intellectual than brute.

"Not I, I like the little kittens that are more fur than cat," Silas grinned to himself. "Besides, I don't mind the extra work." Just the thought of the fluffy felines with lion-like tufts of hair around their faces was enough to lighten Silas' mood. He couldn't imagine anyone judging them based on the fact that they were a bit messy. Then again, one scratched up couch would be all it'd take for Silas to lose his temper if truth were to be known. Silas rejected this thought, deciding to present himself as the picture of patience instead.

"I'm pretty sure all a tiger wants to do is eat my face," Silas stated plainly, not a hint of hesitation or humor in his voice. "And all the others, well... Their motives probably aren't pure. It's like wolves. I wouldn't let a wolf through the door, or a jungle kitty." In his opinion there was a reason people referred to wolves in sheep's clothing. He, for one, wasn't going to be fooled by an even larger four legged animal, even if that animal was closer to cats than dogs in terms of genetics.

"But if I chose one, it'd be a bobcat. Or maybe a lynx. Cougar? One of those are probably the same thing," Yep. Nice one. Silas had officially conveyed his lack of knowledge concerning wild cats. He would prove to be infallible and, honestly, an unchallengeable genius. Too late now.

Amelia shrugged her shoulders, not everybody liked the same thing, she liked thin coats, he liked fluffier ones, but than again she was mostly talking about herself, she liked any felines no matter how thin their fur was so long as it wasn't her place they were shedding on. So true, a Tiger might do that.... but I wasn't thinking of you being so closed to them to begin with. He was being serious, she on the other hand hadn't meant for him to take it as him being so close to the feline. "I meant from a distance..." She confessed as he started about wolves, she was unsure if he even heard her comment. Then he said if he had to chose he would possibly chose a Bobcat or Lynx, maybe a Cougar." Amelia giggled, she wasn't about to tell him the answer, he'd figure it out on his own. "I personality like any feline.... assuming that I'm far away from the bigger ones." She wasn't going to tell him that she could shift, not just yet, besides it wasn't like she could really continue the form anyway, so shifting into one of her bigger feline forms would be a possible waste of time. "My favorites are the smaller felines though, because you can hug them and most of the time they won't attack you." If she had to pick, it would be tabbies.

There was something off here. Silas maintained a grin as his eyes darted again to Amelia, trying to pry into the intentions of the redhead. Why would he be near the animal? He'd been kidding in the sense that it was unrealistic, but sincere in the fact that he didn't doubt a tiger would attack if the opportunity arose. Tigers were at least used in magic shows and therefore more likely to encounter people than, say, a cheetah. So why did she clarify? And why were they still talking about cats? They'd spoke of bears and her interest in the zoo for mere moments, but now, she had him trapped in a topic. She hadn't even given the comment about wolves a passing comment.

Either this was just delving into an awkward conversation, or this girl really liked kitties.

"Cats aren't good for much, though. They just crawl into your bed and scratch you when you try to sleep." Silas interjected, his expression showing curiosity. His eyes didn't leave Amelia this time. Nope, she had his full attention as long as this cat conversation persisted. Because this was interesting.

"Now, hamsters, on the other hand... All they do is munch away on their food and run around, like cute, evil masterminds, with their little paws." Silas ventured further. At this point he was saying whatever came to mind. He had never had a hamster and had, prior to his recent statement, had any urge to get one. But he had a point- they were cute little masterminds who would keep him and his sister company. Maybe a little noise around the house would be nice. Silas tried not to let his mind wander too far from Amelia and kitties.

Amelia watched Silas grin, not noticing that he was trying to figure something out, something about her as a matter as fact. Then he said it and her mind was stuck on his comment, believing he thought that cats were useless by the way he had made his comment. "Cat's don't have to do much to be considered useful." She started speaking as he started a new subject about hamsters. Now wait just a minute here, don't you change the subject on me... She thought to herself as her body flinched. The comment about the cats, made her tense... and when she got tense... her body had moments of wanting to shift even if it wasn't the pain to begin with. For a few minutes she wasn't even paying attention to him, trying to get a grip on her body, to avoid shifting into what would be one of her bigger feline forms. Stop and get a grip over yourself.... he just doesn't know how useful cats can be is all. She tried convincing herself as her body slowly was gained back into her control. She managed to avoid shifting this time around, but next time she might not be so lucky. "So your'd rather have a much more useful cat.... maybe one to walk you up in the morning...." By biting you because they want out of the room for food, or they want outside.... She wasn't willing to say that out loud, the last thing she wanted was to give him a reason to get angry at her, even though his comment was slightly hurtful whether he met for it to be or not. Then she finally said it, "I can shift into felines." Now I should go... Normally she would run, but she turned but didn't move.

Fascinating. She wouldn't drop it. Even with his attempt to discuss the impractical genius of hamsters! In fact, it seemed she wouldn't even listen to anything that wasn't relevant to cats with the way she waited for him to finish before defending felines again. Silas was almost ready to ignore her question in favor of saying some absurd comment. Perhaps, "I once saw a dinosaur baby in a pet store," or, "did you know there's a reptile that breathes fire?" just to push the limits. To his dismay she didn't give him time to say either.

Shift into felines? The word shift was more appropriate for a car gear, not a human. And shift in that context was completely removed from what she'd have to do to become a cat. Which was why the immediate correlation between the word "shift" and "shapeshifter" didn't connect with him initially. The hesitation lapsed into seconds of staring at her back until he found his voice.

"Felines, huh?" Silas questioned. "Adorable," Things were making more sense. In a way it was gratifying to know he was right, if you could go so far as to call his assumption that she liked cats a start to predicting her ability. It was as close to right as Silas needed to be to feel proud. You'd think he might realize he offended her at this point, but the twenty year old was oblivious to this possible scenario. He also might have benefited from telling her to stop and wait, but Silas wasn't going to force her to continue chatting if she'd rather not.

"Seems a bit impossible. Does it hurt?" Silas quizzed. For the second time, his simplest justification was "when in Rome," If she said she was a shifter, he couldn't disprove it. He was no stranger to superhuman gifts himself.