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!]

Comments

[uncertain_dume]

"Huh. That works too," Kanan admitted.

But then he couldn't fly around on a fancy green Joben T-85. And that would be a tragedy.

[thatwaslucky]

"It pretty much guaranteed no one will try to steal it," she said.

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan laughed at that, kind of quietly thrilled by that logic, yes.

"Okay, that makes so much more sense," he admitted. "That, I can appreciate."

[thatwaslucky]

"You do what you have to," she said, pretty proud of it herself. She didn't know if she'd still have a place to live, but the speeder would still be there!

[uncertain_dume]

"You do what you have to," Kanan agreed, grinning. "I might end up giving that a try myself. I've probably got enough experience fixing broken-down hoverbuses by now I could fake my way through it."

[thatwaslucky]

"If you need any help, I could probably at least talk you through it," she said.

[uncertain_dume]

"I might take you up on that," Kanan replied, having to raise his voice slightly to be heard over the appreciative noises of the crowd. "I'm not exactly a lost cause, but any experience you can bring to the table is still appreciated."

[thatwaslucky]

"I'm here to help," she said, peering around people to try and get a glimpse.

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan considered that peering, and then stepped to the side and gestured for her to stand where he'd been standing. He'd met penguins before, he was fine, and he seemed to have a pretty unobstructed view.

"The same goes right back. Maybe not so far as speeders go, but if you need anything before you leave," and hell, even after she did, "you know where to find me."

[thatwaslucky]

"I know," she said, stepping into the space. "And I'm sure I'll end up coming up with something."

And then, "I appreciate it."

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan glanced sideways, offered her a little smile and a shrug, and waved a dismissive hand.

"Don't mention it. It's fine."

[thatwaslucky]

"I'm going to mention it anyway, you know," she said, half teasing.

[uncertain_dume]

"Ugh," Kanan replied, rolling his eyes but still grinning. "Fine. Make me acknowledge that I might be improving as a person or something. See if I care."

[thatwaslucky]

"Don't tell me that, I'll only get worse about it," Rey smiled.

[uncertain_dume]

"I might not survive that," Kanan countered, amused. The zookeeper was explaining something or other about the vitamins that they snuck into the minnows before the penguins' mealtime, but Kanan was mostly ignoring that. "Heh, self-awareness. What a concept."

[thatwaslucky]

"See, growing as a person," she said.

She could also be a brat sometimes.

[uncertain_dume]

"Ugh," Kanan replied. "Ugh, Rey."

He appreciated the brattiness, though. He seemed to be gaining a collection of brats in his life, and they were all good people.

[thatwaslucky]

"That's what you get for getting me a penguin feeding." You get praise, Kanan!

[uncertain_dume]

"Serves me right, I guess," Kanan sighed, and then glanced over to see the keeper he'd spoken to before waving them over. "And it looks like that's our cue. Shall we go over there and see what's what so they can let you at the penguins?"

[thatwaslucky]

"Yes," she said immediately, starting to head over.

Look, sometimes you just wanted to feed a penguin.

[uncertain_dume]

Really, Kanan couldn't fault her for that. He chuckled, shrugged, and ambled along gamely behind her, waving back at the zookeeper as they approached. The zookeeper nodded and greeted them both, and then, after a brief explanation of how to feed a penguin - just hold the fish out to them and they'll take it - produced a pair of rubber gloves and a bucket with a few fish left in the bottom, holding it out to Rey.

Kanan was perfectly happy to just stand back and observe the penguin feeding. Because aw, penguins.

[thatwaslucky]

If you wanted to see Rey be cute, let her do this. She obeyed the instructions, giggling at the penguins' reactions. They didn't care about her in the slightest, but look how adorable they were!

"Want to try?" she asked over her shoulder.

[uncertain_dume]

"What, feeding the birds?" Kanan blinked and peered at the bucket for a moment. And then at the penguins. And then at Rey. "... Maybe just one."

He couldn't help it. They were pretty cute, weren't they?

[thatwaslucky]

She took off a glove to give him, holding out the bucket for him when he was ready.

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan shrugged, pulled on the glove, and then reached into the bucket for a fish. It was kind of impressive how quickly just doing that had resulted in a penguin making a beeline for him. These were clearly some food-driven birds.

"Okay then," he said, offering the fish to the little guy. "Down the hatch."