The Maryland Zoo, Baltimore, Saturday

[uncertain_dume]

After a conversation with Rey yesterday about how much longer before she had to head back to Jakku, Kanan had offered to show her a bit more of what was out there in the galaxy. They had about a month, after all, and it would be a month wasted if she didn't take advantage of the fact that portals and starships could get them to practically any kind of world she'd ever dreamed of seeing.

The fact that they'd wound up in Baltimore was kind of hilarious, then. She'd wanted to see a city, and there happened to be one right across the Causeway that she still hadn't been to. From there it had been a matter of figuring out something to do, and the zoo had seemed amenable, so... here they were, after a walk to catch a cab, because 'the zoo' was not exactly the ultimate city experience and Kanan figured that at the very least, they could stand to take in some scenery.

Buildings, people, traffic, litter... City life.

After the cab pulled in at the zoo and Kanan settled up with the driver, he nodded toward the front gate, feeling weirdly naked standing there without armor on his shoulder or a blaster at his hip. He did have his lightsaber, though, stashed in a bag over his shoulder along with a few extra bottles of water and his phone.

"Welcome to the closest thing to wilderness you can find in a big city," Kanan said, managing to not make a comment about how every city on the planet was actually kind of cute when your entire homeworld happened to be one. "Watch out for kids, we'll probably be tripping over them all day."

[OOC: For Rey!]

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[uncertain_dume]

"Seeing them should be easy," Kanan mused, and then nodded toward the arctic exhibits, keeping an eye open for somebody in a zoo uniform along the way. The moment he spotted somebody who looked like they might be a zookeeper, he held up a finger and made a beeline toward them.

The conversation was short and sweet, a quick "What would it take to have my friend here get a crack at feeding one of the penguins?" And a shameless winning grin.

A minute later and some brief chatting and he came back, looking pleased with himself.

"They're going to save you a fish for once the crowd moves on," he shared. "So, we won't want to miss that feeding."

[thatwaslucky]

Okay, maybe she'd kind of wanted to do it more than she thought. "Really? How did you do that?"

[uncertain_dume]

"I asked really nicely," Kanan replied. And then paused and added, "And explained that you're a student here on exchange and will be heading back home on a month. Wanted to make this zoo trip memorable."

Another pause.

"I didn't even have to get extra persuasive. I kinda like this zoo."

[thatwaslucky]

"I do, too. Thanks." She really should be over him doing stuff like this by now, and yet. "So polar bears before feeding time?"

[uncertain_dume]

"Polar bears before feeding time," Kanan agreed, nodding and starting toward the polar bear habitat. "Big white not-pandas, coming right up."

[thatwaslucky]

"Is there anything you're going to want to see?" Rey asked as they walked.

[uncertain_dume]

"There's a good question," Kanan mused. "I've heard the elephants are something worth checking out? From the sound of it, they're about bantha-sized, which is about as impressive as Earth land mammals get."

[thatwaslucky]

"Then we should definitely see elephants. I've seen pictures, but that doesn't really get across 'bantha-sized.'"

Also she'd never seen a bantha in person either.

[uncertain_dume]

"Alright, so elephants are going on the list," Kanan said with a grin. "And whatever's between here and there. Might as well take it all in along the way."

There were... foxes? Arctic ones. That sounded promising, probably.

[thatwaslucky]

"Might as well," she agreed, stopping in front of the polar bear enclosure and peering in. "They probably hate this."

[uncertain_dume]

"Being closed in? The weather? Being gawked at?"

All of the above? Kanan tilted his head as he stepped up beside her to watch the bears do bear things. Which at that moment seemed to be 'hanging out in the water, because to hell with this heat.'

[thatwaslucky]

"The first two, I think. I'm not sure he knows we're gawking," Rey said. "Or, at least, doesn't care right now. The weather's about the exact opposite of 'polar.'"

[uncertain_dume]

"True enough," Kanan agreed, looking thoughtfully at the bear. A moment later, he puped up, half-jokingly, "I wonder if he'd be happier in the freezer at Luke's with his cousin."

No, Kanan. He would maul people and they would die.

[thatwaslucky]

"I'd think the staff wouldn't be happy," she pointed out.

[uncertain_dume]

"Well, I'd be pretty okay with it," Kanan mused. "But I suppose once it tried to eat the cook there would probably be issues. Eventually."

[thatwaslucky]

"At least here he has people who take care of him without nearly being eaten."

She paused.

"...I hope, anyway."

[uncertain_dume]

"If zoos back home can figure out how to feed reeks and acklays, I'm sure this one can handle a bear," Kanan mused. "Unless they underestimate him because he's got such a cute dopey face, I guess."

Compared to the wildlife from home, pretty much every Earth predator had a pretty dopey face.

[thatwaslucky]

"He does look too adorable to maul anyone here," Rey admitted. "I mean, they give him toys to play with."

[uncertain_dume]

"I've never seen an acklay play with a ball," Kanan agreed with a grin. "I know it's probably getting old whenever I call this world cute, but it really kind of is."

The apex predators here were adorable.

[thatwaslucky]

"It is, though. I don't think they appreciate hearing that, but it doesn't make it less true," Rey said.

[uncertain_dume]

"Just wait until you meet the penguins," Kanan added, smirking. "They don't spit venom or anything."

Poor Earth.

[thatwaslucky]

Rey grinned. "I'm going to say I'm glad for that, since I'll be feeding one, and venom wasn't in my plans for the day."

[uncertain_dume]

"If it was at all dangerous, I would've arranged for you to feed the bears instead," Kanan teased. "Look at this guy."

Kanan had literally thrown down against enraged polar bears in Azeroth when he'd first arrived on the island. He knew exactly the kind of poodoo that was coming out of his mouth right then.

But still, how was it possible to not want to smush that bear's cheeks?

[thatwaslucky]

"I'm sure it doesn't matter at all that he's what, three times my size?" Rey asked.

[uncertain_dume]

"Nah, he's totally a big pushover," Kanan decided, smirking in that 'I am completely full of shit and I know it,' way of his. "Who ever heard of bears being dangerous?"

Everyone. Everyone had.