A day at the zoo (Open)

[Nicole Martin]

So there Nicole Martin was with her camera and some of the lighter equipment at the zoo. It was always one of her favorite places to snap photos. The zoo held all sorts of personalities in the people that came. Not to mention it was fun to watch the animals. She had snapped a few pictures, but nothing was really jumping out at her that screamed: "I'm inspiration, why don't you snap a picture of me?" So she settled for watching the Bengal tigers for a bit. They were such beautiful creatures especially the white ones with piercing blue eyes. White tigers had always drawn her attention. They were so beautiful and unique and they captured somebody's eyes in just a snap.

She lifted her camera and snapped a shot as two of the tigers laid together. One had it's head resting on the other's back. The other was licking it's head affectionately and she thought it would make a nice picture. She sighed after watching them a bit longer and moved on to the aviary where all the birds were held. That was her second favorite place to visit right next to the tiger exhibit. The colors were what attracted her. So many colorful birds in one place. She lifted her camera and shot a picture of a toucan perched in a tree as she entered it.

[Jay Windsor]

Jay walked into the Twin Pines Zoo eyes trained on the ground. Twin Pines seemed like a nice place so far and he had been right when he had guessed that nobody would know his name. Or at least he hadn't met anyone so far, well, except this one woman at the airport, but that was behind him now. He poked around the zoo for a bit, and felt bad for the caged animals. That was how he had felt in England, like a caged animal, his every move scrutinized. Now that he was here though and free to do anything he wanted to, he didn't know what to do. He looked up deciding to go to the aviary, where at least the birds were given a semblance of freedom.

He pushed open the doors and looked around at the birds. He could sense them flying overhead, but he didn't really pay them much attention. His thoughts were on England, not that that was anything out of the ordinary. They had been in the papers again, his parents, the police had a suspect in their murder. He sighed, he had been in the paper as well. They were speculating on where he had disappeared to, he was just happy that it was unlikely they would ever find out. Suddenly he looked up just in time to realize he was about to collide with a girl. With a leap to the side he managed to avoid her just barely. "I'm so sorry about that miss" he said to her his English accent obvious, "I didn't realize there was anyone else in here."

[Nicole Martin]

She watched a few of the birds in thought and snapped a picture of a Red Macaw that was perched infront of her. She loved watching the colorful birds in the aviary. She took another picture of a cockatoo flying across the aviary just as she bumped into somebody. She whirled around surprised. She looked up at him shaking her head. "No, it's quite alright." She said gently looking down to make sure she hadn't dropped her camera. She was releived to see that it was still hanging in her hand.

She looked back up to him and smiled gently. "The aviary's one of my favorite places in the zoo." She said sweelty looking at him. She was loving the accent very much. She smiled gently and held out a delicate hand that had finger nails painted with pink glittered fingernail polish. "I'm Nicole, Nicole Martin" She said sweetly looking from her hand up at him with a soft smile.

[Jay Windsor]

He heard her say that it was alright and sighed with relief. He noticed that she had a camera and was very happy that he hadn't caused her to break it. He looked up and met her gaze seeing her smile at him. It was a sweet smile he realized, and for the first time he didn't find himself wondering what her motives were. "I like the aviary too" he told her honestly, "The birds don't seem as repressed as some of the animals." He smiled at her, "You can never truly control a bird" he said thoughtfully, "They will always fly and rebel."

He saw her extend her hand, complete with pink nail polished fingernails and took it in his own. "I'm Jay Windsor" he said using his nickname. Back in England he had never been able to use it, he always had to introduce himself as James, but that wasn't the case here. He shook her hand firmly as he had been trained to and hoped that she would have no clue who he was, although if she didn't by now chances were she wouldn't at all. "You're a photographer" he said motioning to her camera, "I've never liked cameras much myself." Understatement of the year, he actually despised them, although he had never actually been on the other side of one. He had always been the photographed, and had to deal with the interruption of what he just wanted to be a normal life.

"I suppose there are many beautiful birds to photograph here though" he said thoughtfully, "I may just have to take up photography." He was joking, but he really did feel more lighthearted here. "Don't worry though" he told her smiling, "I can assure you I would be no competition to you."

[Nicole Martin]

She looked up to a pair of cockatoos pruning eachother on a branch a few yards off. She smiled softly and nodded in agreement. "They're still not completely freed though." She said gently looking back to him. "I mean yeah, they can fly around and do just about what they please, but they're still stuck in this giant cage like building." She said gently looking up at the cockatoos again in thought.

She looked down at their hands smiling gently then looked back up at him. "It's nice to meet you, Jay." She said sweetly as she took back her hand. The last name rung a bell a little, but she just shrugged it off as a name that really wouldn't be all that unfamiliar in the States. She looked at her camera and smiled gently. "I picked it up from my dad. He's a free lance photographer. Does all sorts of stuff." She said gently looking at her camera for a moment.Her green eyes looked back to the cockatoos again and she picked up her camera and zoomed in on them as they pruned each other and she snapped a picture.

She looked back to him smiling brightly. "Well, the aviary isn't the only place I get good pictures in. I get good pictures with the white tigers too. They act quite photogenic for me." She said sweetly laughing gently as she looked up at a group of birds flying over head. She laughed soflty at his joke. "I wouldn't be worrying because I don't do it for the money. It's more of a hobby for me." She said gently looking at him then down at her camera for a moment in thought. She reached up and brushed some of her long brown hair behind an ear as she looked back up at him.

[Jay Windsor]

"They're not, it's only false freedom" he said nodding in agreement, "but in the end that's all anyone ever really has." He sighed and looked away from Nicole to a couple of birds on a faraway branch. "The earth can be like a giant zoo sometimes" he said philosophically, "Some people seem to have more freedom than others, but no one is completely and truly free." He realized he was sounding slightly odd, but didn't much mind. He smiled slightly when it was obvious that she didn't recognize his name and was very thankful. He really did not want anyone making a big deal about him here, there was a reason he had insisted that he be allowed to come to Twin Lakes on his own.

"Ah" was all he managed to really say about her dad, "My father was never much for creativity." He bit his lip when he mentioned his father and brought his eyes to the familiar ground. "My mother was the creative one, she loved to play the piano, and paint" he told her softly, "When I was little I used to watch her, but as I got older my father wanted me to spend less time on creative pursuits and more on other things." He immediately cut himself off not wanting to get too choked up about his parents in front of her.

He sighed and saw her smiling brightly and fought to return one as bright of his own. "The white tigers are beautiful" he said thoughtfully, "One of the creatures that seem resigned to be caged here. I can't imagine someone actually being resigned to that fate, but they seem to be." "I'm glad you don't do it for the money" he told her honestly, "People who do photograph for money are called paparazzi and they disgust me. They are like the most horrible visitors in the zoo that is life."

[Nicole Martin]

She looked at him and smiled at what he was saying. He almost spoke with a poetic point of veiw. She really liked that. It just made him all the more attractive to him. She looked around for a moment then back to him. She smiled gently in thought. "My mom's kind of creative too. She has to be to teach the kids she does." She said gently looking at him for a moment before looking to a toucan that was bobby up and down on a branch next to her. She laughed at it sweetly and shook her head smiling genlty. She looked back at him for a moment in thought. She didn't know what that was like. Her parents always let her do what she wanted as long as she didn't get into trouble.

She smiled gently and nodded sweetly. "They're such regal and beautiful animals. I hate that they are endangered. Because of that I'm glad that zoos have them. The zoo's the safest place in the world for them right now." She said gently looking around in thought. She looked up at him and frowned soflty at the mention of paparazzi. "Oh, I hate them too. Daddy hates it when people mistake him for paparazzi. Free lance photography has absolutely nothing to do with paparazzi. It burns him and me up when people mistake him for those durn trouble makers. Daddy's never done anything that remotely resembles paparazzi." She said gently yet heatedly as she watched some Macaws chattering away as she watched them. It burned her up so bad for people to mistake free lance photography for paparazzi. They were two completely different things. What her and her father did was free lance photography. What the reporters from the newspaper and tabloids did was paparazzi.

[Jay Windsor]

Jay heard the anger in Nicole's voice as she spoke and knew she had most likely taken what he had said the wrong way. "I didn't mean to imply that your father was with the paparazzi" he told her softly, "After all what on earth would a paparazzi find to do in a place this small anyway." He laughed softly, "I find it hard to believe that you get many celebrities here" he told her, "Correct me if I'm wrong." He gave her a small smile, " I know what free lance photography is" he told told her nodding, "Do people mistake him for the paparazzi often?"

Jay looked to a branch nearby and saw a parrot land and it seemed to be looking at him. He decided to get into a staring contest with a the bird, but was bound to loose. "It's really cool that your parents embrace their creativity" he said honestly, "My father always said that that kind of stuff made a person soft and girlish so my mother and I had to hide anything creative we did." He paused and sighed, "He always wanted me to be the bossy type" he told her, "I basically wasn't allowed to do anything creative." "Really though all this talk of my family is depressing" he told her softly, "What else do you like to do besides photography?"

[Nicole Martin]

She frowned and blushed looking down. She had let her temper on the subject of paparazzi get to her quickly. "I'm sorry, I let my temper get the better of me. I wasn't trying to imply that you thought that. I was just stating and my temper on the matter got the better of me." She said gently looking up at him. "People here don't, but he does take jobs out of town every now and then and he's actually been asked to take pictures for tabloids, but he says he'd never stoop down to the level that the paparazzi go to." She said genlty looking around for a moment then back to him. She took her camera and set it in her bag that was slung across her body.

She looked back up at him and nodded. "My parents taught me to be who I am and not to let anything get in the way of that." She said gently looking around then back to him as she brushed a hand through her long brown hair. She thought that was kind of sad the way his dad seemed. She looked at him and then around the aviary. At his question her green eyes fell back on him. "Well, I like to read, especially poetry. Robert Frost is my favorite. I like to spend time with my friends too of course." She said gently looking down at her feet smiling gently before she looked back up at him.

[Jay Windsor]

"It's alright, I don't like the paprazzi either" he looked at her thoughtfully, "I despise them actually." "I'm glad your father wouldn't stoop to that level" he told her, "I can't think of a good reason why anyone would." He watched her place her camera away and admired the way she handled it with care, you could tell it was really precious to her. He sighed when he heard her say that her parents had taught her to be who she wanted to be. "That's really great" he told her softly running his hand through his hair, "Let's just say my dad had a lot of expectations for me, expectations I'm not really keen to fulfill." He cut himself off not wanting to talk about his father anymore.

He grinned when he heard her say that she liked to read poetry as well. "Oh, I adore poetry" he said enthusiastically, "Robert Frost is amazing, and Emily Dickenson is amazing as well." He realized he was getting a little swept up in the talk of poetry. "Truly though Shakespeare is my idol. Not only did he write poetry, but plays as well" he said, "You've got to give him some credit, the man was a genius." He smiled and chuckled realizing how much of a dork he sounded like. He looked thoughtful for a moment and looked around the aviary. "Of course you'd want to spend time with your friends" he said shrugging, "I'm not keeping you from them or anything am I?"

[Nicole Martin]

She smiled gently and nodded her head in agreement. She smiled gently and looked to her hands in thought then back up at him. She tilted her head a little at the mention of his father having certain expectations for him. She frowned gently and nodded her head looking at him.

She smiled at the way he was getting swept up in the conversation of poetry. She laughed soflty. "No, Albert Einstein was a genius, Shakespear was a poet." She said sweetly laughing at herself gently. She shook her head gently. "Actually I'm more of a modern literature person than stuff like Shakespear. I get thrown off with all the 'thous' and 'thys' and the other words from the Old English language." She said gently looking up at him laughing gently. "But Shakespear was a really amazing writer." She said sweetly trying not to offend him in anyway since he was after all from England.

[Jay Windsor]

"Too true" Jay said laughing, "A really good poet, yes, a genius, perhaps not." He thought carefully as she told him that she was more of a modern literature person and nodded, "Oh, of course I like modern literature as well, I'm all over the map" he told her, "Once you get used to it the thou's and thee's actually start to make sense. It's kind of odd actually." He grinned and said, "Once I tried speaking in Old English for a day, it was hard, but fun."

He got the feeling she was trying to not offend him and it was grating on his nerves slightly. That was why he had come here after all, to be a part of the real world. Instead of having to deal with people who sucked up to him because of his title. He debated whether to say anything, but wanted too. "Please don't do that" he said to her seriously, "Don't try and be all nice just because you don't want to offend me. I can take it, honestly I can."

[Nicole Martin]

She nodded gently looking at him with a soft smile. "I've just never could catch on." She said sweetly. "Me and my best friend tried to go around school the rest of the day and talk like that and we didn't last very long." She said laughing gently at the fond memory. "It was rather fun doing that even though we didn't last long." She said sweetly looking at him sweetly.

The smile was quickly wipped off at the serious remark though. She frowned softly. "I'm... I'm sorry." She stammered gently looking at him then down at the ground. "I just don't like to offend people weather they can take it or not." She said gently looking back up at him. She brushed a few hairs from her bangs out of her face and looked at him frowning

[Jay Windsor]

Jay shrugged, "Well, I suppose everyone is different right" he said lightly, "It might help that I'm from England." Also that I had it drilled into my head by a private tutor he though, but did not say aloud. "Well, it's always fun trying to do things like that" he said honestly, "They make for funny memories afterwards." He tried to imagine her attempting to speak in Shakespearian English and just couldn't. He frowned when she seemed upset and apologized.

He reached out a hand and touched her shoulder, "No, hey, don't be upset" he said awkwardly, "I really didn't mean to upset you. If that's the kind of person you are it's fine." He wanted to attempt to explain, but couldn't think of a way to do it without giving his past away. He knew he needed to try though. "Back in England" he began softly, "Everybody treated me like that. Like I would do something terrible to them if they offended me." He paused trying to think of what else he could safely say. "It just gets to me when people do that" he said softly, "I seriously didn't mean to upset you. I promise not to get mad if you treat me like that."

He paused trying to think of something else to say. "Listen, maybe we should get out of here. Get some fresh air, it would probably do both of us a world of good" he said smiling again, "You can show me around, I'm new here remember."

[Nicole Martin]

She tensed at the touch of his hand and looked down at it, but then he apologized and it relaxed her a little. She looked back up at him the frown slowly diminishing and shook her head. "No, it's okay." She said gently, but then she looked up at him and listened to what he said. She didn't really put much thought into his explination. She figured he had grown up one of those kids in a family of political figures. "I'm sorry people treated you like that back in England. I can guarantee you that it won't happen here often." She said gently looking at the ground then back up at him.

She nodded in agreement and looked around the aviary then back at him. "I could show you the tigers. " She said sweetly looking at him and she smiled gently. She had originally decided she would go see the flamengos next, but she didn't mind making a second stop at the tiger exhibit. "I was planning on going to see the flamengos next, but I don't mind making a detour to the tigers." She said sweetly as she slowly started to perk up a little.