Participants:
| Scene Title | My Special Friend, The Sea Lion |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | An Irish, a Cajun, and a Russian Walk Into a Zoo… |
| Date | October 15, 2010 |
The five acres of the Central Park Zoo are divided into three major exhibit themes: the Polar Circle, the Rain Forest, and the Temperate Territory. It features everything from leaf-cutter ants to the ever-popular polar bears; California sea lions to colobus monkeys; the two-toed sloth to the Japanese macaque. The exhibits are always a major draw for tourists, but the zoo offers a variety of classes and programs intended to educate the public in wildlife and wildlife conservation. The associated Tisch Children's Zoo includes a petting zoo and the Wildlife Theater, as well as a variety of exhibits targeted to the younger audience.
The zoo isn't a bad place to spend a few hours, even if it's more for families or nature nuts. Tess is neither one of those but she seems to be enjoying herself regardless. In one hand she has a small digital camera, which she's using to snap pictures of people as well as the expected animals. In the other hand is a stick of cotton candy, which she seems to be enjoying between random shots from the camera.
On her back is a ragged looking backpack, and her hands are covered by fingerless black leather gloves. And on her face is a big old grin as she wanders towards the sea lions, laughing as she watches them on her approach.
He's not in uniform, but in civvies - a black t-shirt, dark jeans. The haircut's decidedly military, though, oneof those shaved on the sides, slightly longer on top buzzes. He's watching the sea lions play, and feeding them now and then from a little paper dish with fish on it, flicked one by one into the pool, here and there so each one has a fair chance. Something one can buy at feeding time, apparently - there's a little kiosk that sells them. Fel's got one boot propped up on the concrete curb that surrounds the tank, and his expression is amused, in a very restrained way.
At the sea lion pen, people are crowded around, and there's the sound of children giggling in the air as a few of the animals seem to be in a playful mood, darting about the surface of the water, snatching up the treats Felix and others are throwing in. There are signs that say not to get too close, and most of the people there today are obeying. Most.
Seamus in particular has skirted around the metal railings around the open enclosure. Dressed in a white t-shirt tucked into his cargo pants, the shaggy haired Irishman is grinning like a maniac as he leans waaaaay out over the water, dangling a hefty-sized snack fish for the sea lions below. "C'mon boys! Jump! Y'can do it, put some diesel inta those flippers!"
Spotting Seamus urging the sea lions on, Tess can't do anything but grin. The camera is lifted, and she starts snapping shots of him and the sea lions, one after the other, as fast as the cheapy camera can manage. Then she lowers the camera, eyes him, and glances around, a look on her face like someone about to be up to No Good.
She eases closer, snapping a few more shots as she makes her way around people and obstacles, until she can come up behind Seamus. At first she looks just like any other spectator at the zoo. And for a minute, that's what she is. Just…a scheming spectator. Then, after another quick look around, she accidentally bumps into Seamus, hoping to see him fall in. Because it would be a good photo op, right?
That's enough to make Felix fling that last sardine so hard it sails right -over- the pen and nearly into the stroller of a mother with her infant child. She's looking indignantly around to see who did that. Fel, on the other han, is looking at Tess in annoyance. "Hey," he says, pitching his voice loud enough that it isn't -quite- a shout.
"C'mon, jump! You c'n do better than—WAUGH!" The Irishman's reflexes are dimmed by a his recent lunch, and it actually takes half a second for him to realize he's falling. By then, it's inevitable.
The overfull cup of fish in Seamus' flies upwards as he flails his arms, twisting around to try and catch a hand on something, though only meets midair. It does, however, give Tess the perfect shot of his surprised and stricken expression, hands outstretched, and a halo of sardines floating around him. But gravity waits for no man and…SPLOOSH!
A clamor goes up from the crowd at the sound of a 200-plus pound man plunging into the water, with cries of surprise from those who didn't see the fall, and laughter from those that did. Seamus surfaces with a gasp of air, shaking water from his shaggy hair. "Who the…??" is all he gets out before he's butted up against by a sea lion. And then another. And another, all swimmnig towards that spot as fish rain down upon the soaked man. Peering up, Seamus has a mischievous grin on his face as he tries to pick out who pushed him in. "This ain't rugby, mate!"
Even though Tess does snap a few shots of Seamus falling in, Felix's yelling has her giving him an innocent look. She's good at innocent looks, then she looks towards the sea lions' new playtoy, and looks both amused and sympathetic. "Oops. Maybe you shouldn't have leaned over so far? Lost your balance?" she calls to him, her voice thick with a Cajun accent.
He didn't see it. So he can't be sure. But Fel, nonetheless, points at Tess. Tattletale. He doesn't leap down into the pool - Seamus doesn't seem to be in actual, incipient danger, and security'll be here in just a moment. Besides….this is a local problem, and he's Federal. So he gives up….and just laughs until the tears run.
Ah hah! Culprit identified! Seamus opens his mouth to give some scathing remark back, but he just oofs loudly as a sealion butts up against his stomach. Pushing at the critter, the victim can't help but laugh with the crowd, and instead just shakes a dripping fist at Tess far above him, crying out, "KHAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"
But the happy times have to be cut short, as one sea lion nips hungrily at his arm and has to be pushed away. Also, the approach of zoo security is heavily on Seamus' mind, and he's eager to get himself squirreled away somewhere safer. And less freezing cold. Swimming to the nearest ladder out of the enclosure, Seamus makes to haul himself upwards…but he's stopped by a sea lion who has its mouth clamped tightly around his coat. "Hey now! You're a sea lion! Go find /sea/ cow to chew on, this is real cow!"
When the tattletale starts laughing, Tess just beams at him and looks back to Seamus. "No….Khan is over that way," she tells him brightly, pointing towards the tigers. Then, seeing his new friend, she busts out laughing as well, leaning against the railing and snapping lots more pictures. This is not something she wants to forget.
Fel is just leaning against the railing now, blinking now and then to get the tears off his lashes. Though he does raise his hands and offer Seamus a golfclap.
The sea lion on Seamus' backside eventually gets enticed away, with a few slaps of a fish that Seamus pulled out of his hair against the animal's nose. And then he's scaling the ladder upwards, a slightly feral grin on his face. Cresting the top, he stands upright, soaking and dripping everywhere…and just offers a bow to the crowd, eliciting /more/ laughter and a decent smattering of applause. He turns to the right…bows. To the left…bows. To Tess' camera…and flexes, winking disarmingly at the girl.
Snap, snap, snap. Seamus's entire progress out of the water, and the bow, are recorded on the camera, before Tess lowers it and grins back at Seamus. "Love the show, darlin'. Absolutely loved it," she calls over to him. Then she's grinning at Felix. "Don't ya agree?"
"Just glad it wasn't me," says Felix, companionably. too tired or too lazy to be his usual self-righteous bastard self.
"Course y' did, luv!" Seamus calls right back, and starts to saunter over to her, rubbing his hands briskly through his shaggy hair, sending out droplets. "Did y' get any good ones? C'mon, show me y' at least got my good side while I was plummetin' into th' watery abyss." Felix's remark gets a glance and a grin from Seamus. "I dunno, it wasn't half bad. Water was warm, and the dip can really clear your head. Y' should try it."
"No doubt!" Tess says to Felix with a laugh. Then she gives Seamus an impish grin. "Sorry, just got your face. But I'll pass on takin' a dip myself. Then I'd lose all those wonderful pictures I just took of you and your new best friend!"
"I like swimming. But I'd rather not with -them-," A nod at the sea lions. "Ooh, caught on camera," he says, teasingly. "Better hope the sea lions don't press charges."
"More worries about the zoo security pressing charges, mate. The lions love me, of course. And the pictures are wonderful, are they?" Seamus sounds incredulous at that, raising an eyebrow and coming up beside Tess, to peer over her shoulder at the display. "Hmmm…you sure you got my good side? Here, maybe if you'd centered on my torso instead…" A wet shoulder presses up against Tess as Seamus reaches in to point.
Yoink! Wet hands snatch the camera out of Tess's grasp, and flip the strap off her head to be held up high like a trophy. And he's bolting away, shouldering past Felix and flashing a grin back at the pair. "Toodles! I'll send you letter critiquing your work!" he calls. And what timing, as security is starting to rush into the scene from the opposite direction, pushing through the crowd to get to whoever it was who didn't pay heed to the safety signs.
And this is when lazy Felix steps into the phone booth and….well. Suffice to say it's a startling transformation. The man laughing as he watches is gone, replaced by something that's more akin to the two-legged version of one of those racing greyhounds. Fel literally can't help chasing, and today, Seamus is the plastic rabbit. In an instant, he's a blur of motion, stitching his path through the crowd….and in a few seconds more, he's barreled right into Seamus.
"Hey!" Tess exclaims in shock and indigation as her camera is snatched, and her body just has time to tense in preparation to chase after when Felix barrels into him. But that doesn't stop her, oh no. She may not be quick like bunny, but she's adept at running in a crowd, and using anything and everything to propel her forward. "Give that back you jerk!"
Seamus is just starting to plan his getaway route when he's suddenly slammed into from behind. Feels like someone running him down with a motorbike, and he tumbles to the ground with a mixed cry of surprise and pain. "Bloody hell, y'fucker! What're you stickin' your nose in this for?" Finally, a tinge of anger flashes in Seamus' face as he glances back at Felix, but he's scrambling to his feet again, before the security team and the angry woman catch up with him.
Quicker than the ordinary eye can follow, Fel's snatches at the camera. "You thief," he says, and it's a hiss. It's not even really about helping Tess. More about that predatory instinct being activated.
Tess darts around people, and even uses a bench to propel her up and over, rather than dealing with more people in her attempt to catch the cutie turned thief. "Give that back to me! I'll give you a copy of the shots if you really want 'em, but I need my camera!" she cries out, sounding genuine distressed.
Fast though he is, Seamus has a solid grip on the camera when Felix tries to tug it away, and he yanks back like a dog with a rawhide bone. "This ain't your business, mate," he says, his words just edging in on threatening. Until Tess appears from the crowd, crying the magic words. Seamus blinks over at her, at the approaching security over her shoulder, and back to Felix. He shrugs and lets go of the camera suddenly, taking a few quick hopskips backwards. "Come after me when ye've gotten rid of m' tail, and the pics are yours!" Then he's turning and bolting away again, glancing back to see if Felix is still following. And to see if they've noticed he'd slipped the SD card out of the camera yet.
Felix hands the camera off to Tess, a peremptory shove at her. And he's after Seamus again. Can't resist it - it's like a red flag to a bull.
The camera is nearly fumbled, since Tess wasn't expecting it to be returned quite so easily. A moment is spent just looking it over, making sure it wasn't damaged. Then…she spots the empty SD port. "Hey…Hey! Give that back! I don't know who you are so I can't follow!" she complains, rather loudly.
"You'll find me, trust—what th' bloody hell?" And once again, Seamus' arm is grabbed by that no-nonsense looking military man, earning him a look of passionate distaste from the Irish hoodlum. "You really know how to ruin a good chase, y'know that, bub?" There's another glance at the security past Felix's shoulder, now on the homestretch and jogging on a clear path to the two men tussling. "This is nothing personal, mate. Just thought you should know…" Seamus mutters a moment before he swings a quick right hook at Felix's jaw.
Appropriate that he was once an FBI Agent, because it's like another sort of Agent entirely that Fel dodges, a blur out of the way and then back. His grin is infuriating in its insouciance, and he doesn't let go.
Tess wasn't giving chase this time. Not at least until she sees Seamus try to punch Felix, the man who rescued her oh so precious camera. "Heeeey. Why are you even running? I'm not gonna press charges for you snaggin' my camera! Just play nice before I beat you with my cotton candy!" It's true, she still has it, though it's little more than the stick after getting a splash or two when she 'helped' Seamus into the sea lion tank. "And you're cute! I don't have cute guys arrested! At least not before I get their name and phone number!"
Seamus's eyes widen as Felix manages to dodge that punch so easily, and his lips curl up into a frustrated snarl at the sight of that grin. It isn't Tess' approach he's worried about, but rather the group of security guards who are circling around Felix to try and grab Seamus by the arms. At least the soaking wet thief knows when he's beat, and he doesn't try to bolt. He tugs at Felix's grip when the guards take him by the shoulders of his coat.
"Sir, the zoo doesn't let anyone enter the animal enclosures. We're going to have to ask you to leave immediately," says the slightly overweight guard at Seamus' right arm, and the three start to insistently lead Seamus towards the exit. He doesn't fight it either, instead just flashing Tess a disarming smile. "Maybe next time, lass! We'll have to see who finds who first, won't we?" he calls out, tucking his hands in his pockets. Cute, eh? Well, that definitely raises his mood.
Poor Seamus. But then, he did try to steal Tess's camera. The Russian looks to Tess as if expecting a pat on thehead and a biscuit, perhaps. I am a good dog, right. Right?
"But I don't know your naaaaame," Tess complains as Seamus is led out, and her arms fold over her chest in a pout that lasts all of 3.2 seconds. Then she's looking at Felix curiously. "And what's your name?" she asks, cradling her camera protectively against her chest, like it were priceless instead of worth approximately a hundred bucks. Of course, with all the commotion, she seems to have forgotten that it's pictureless at the moment. Sneaky Irish.
"That's what makes it fun!" Seamus calls over his shoulder to Tess, hopping a little until he's pulled down by the no nonsense guards who are dragging him towards the exit.
On the way out, one of the guards can be heard to ask suspiciously, "Sir, have you been drinking?"
"I'm Felix Ivanov," the Russian says, softly. He looks a little wry about the whole thing. I just wanted a quiet afternoon at the zoo.
"It's only fun if I have somethin' to go on!" Tess yells back without looking towards the Irishman. Then she grins at Felix. "I'm Tess. Thanks for savin' my camera."
The Russian looks down at it. "Is it hurt?" he wonders. "I mean, did we break anything?" It might've been his fault, too.
Tess looks down at the camera, checking it again…and recalling the missing SD card. "Hey…hey! He still has the memory card! All my pictures!" She goes up on her tip toes and looks around in the direction Seamus disappeared, then drops down to her heels when there's no sign of him. She even stomps a foot. "That little jerk. Cute or not, if he doesn't return that, I might have to shove him in with the sea lions again."
"Damn," Fel says, making a face. "Didn't realize." He looks sheepish. Like he failed. Bad dog.
Tess grins and shrugs good-naturedly. "I'll find him. I don't care if I have to run over this whole damn city. I mean, how often am I gonna be able to push someone into the sea lions and get pictures of it? I can't duplicate it that perfectly again! And I'm sure someone knows of a cute, annoyin' guy with an Irish accent and sticky fingers. And how did you move that quick! That was pretty fuckin' cool, Felix. I mean, I run, but you like, ran."
He spreads his hands. "That's my stupid people trick," he says. Like it's equivalent to being able to roll your tongue. "I'm Evolved."
"Me too! Not the runnin', that's not my ability, but I'm evolved too!" Tess says brightly, sounding thrilled to meet another evolved. "I'm an empath," she says proudly, beaming at the agent.