a date at the zoo

(this chapter is just a simple date, no real complications or action)

It was a Tuesday and the zoo was almost empty

There were no tourists and no workers

Only the animals, a therapist, a catacombs inmate, and an elite strike force patrolling the perimeter

Having already picked up Alice, Cane had driven to the newly evacuated zoo with his "client" and been escorted inside, after a thorough briefing and searching of his clothes. Making his way inside, Alice wrapping an arm around his, they soon found themselves in a large clearing, with tiled floors and walls covered in paintings of the jungle and other biomes.

"So why the zoo?" Cane questioned, looking down at the woman who was currently trying to discreetly sniff him

"Hmmm… oh!" Alice realized he was speaking to her and after shaking her head gently she responded "I-I've never been to the zoo before, I thought it might be fun…" as she spoke her voice trailed away, revealing her uncertainty

Nodding his head and giving her a reassuring smile, Cane responded "nothing wrong with that!" he said, rubbing his chin with his free arm and looking towards a nearby map "what do you want to see first?" he asked, tilting his head towards her slightly

"Wherever you wa-LIONS!" Alice began speaking, only to be interrupted by herself, her eyes flashing red and giving a large, toothy smile before suddenly moving forward and marching in the direction the map indicated, dragging him slightly "WE'LL SEE WHO'S THE KING OF THE JUNGLE HAHA!" she shouted, raising a fist, before stopping quickly and turning back to him "is that okay?" she asked blinking

Struggling not to laugh at her antics Cane simply nodded, saying "whatever you wish" before quickly losing control and giggling upon seeing her serious expression as she marched towards the lion enclosure

What followed had to be potentially one of the strangest things cane had ever seen to date, Alice/Wolfey proceeded to walk over to the lion enclosure in her now large, partially shifted form, climb in and then proceed to chase them around like house cats running from a vacuum. And when she finally ran out of breath from shouting trash talk and the lions had all run up trees like literal cats, that was when walked out of the enclosure. Taking advantage of her now larger form to triumphantly carry cane, princess style away over to a food stand, where she spent the next ten minutes telling him the tales of her greatness as if he hadn't just seen them and making them even more exaggerated every time.

Cane haven't laughed that hard in a while, which really didn't help Alice who was now fully in control of herself and blushing so hard that she was literally steaming

"Having fun?" cane teased, grinning at the girl's embarrassment. Instead of answering, Alice simply nodded her hands covering her face in shame. She remained silent and blushed for a few more minutes before finally moving on to her food, a large steak, undercooked as requested by wolfey. Speaking of which, it appeared that despite the zoo's empty appearance, the stalls were all maned by catacomb personnel, allowing for things that were not normally possible in the zoo, as shown by the blue steak Alice was now eating

Finally, having eaten, two persons fills, and Alice was full and no longer embarrassed. She was now coherent enough to take advantage of the circumstances, laying her head in canes lap and humming contentedly as he stroked her hair

They remained like this until Cane noticed Alice was beginning to get… restless, as displayed by her extremely blushed face, hushed giggling, and literal licking

Deciding to turn her attention elsewhere, Cane gently picked got up, careful of her head, despite her complaints, gesturing towards a map and exclaiming

"Come on lazy bones! There's still an entire zoo to visit" he laughed, getting her attention and reaching out a hand, offering it to her "this is supposed to an outing after all"

Pausing for a minute and giving his hand a sniff, Alice took it, her eyes briefly shifting purple "wE WoUld HapPily FoLloW yOu AnyWheRe" she declared before beginning to run towards the nearest enclosure

From there, Cane could only describe the following events as a perfect date, they laughed with the hyenas, fed carrots and peanuts to elephants and giraffes, and swam with the otters (no one could stop them and Alice certainly did not protest)

He watched Alice and Wolfey single-handedly challenge, chase, and terrorize every cat in the zoo whether they were big, small, strays, or a skeleton. Alice became an honorary member of the zoo's resident wolf pack the moment she arrived, Wolfey raided the pet and gift shops "taking spoils for herself and her mate" she called it, although Cane did have to stop her from eating the petting zoo rabbits.

And as the day ended they spent a fair amount of time in the arcade, Alice kicking his ass at just about every generation of dance revolution and street fighter before finally as the date was ending, they were eating pizza, surrounded by Alice's new pack, who were currently begging for Cane's attention, watching the sunset

"A perfect day, I'd say" Cane judged, reflecting on the events of the past few hours, the sheer amount of action and relaxation he had experienced was like he had compacted an entire vacation into a day. "What do you think?'' he asked, turning to Alice

She simply seemed to watch the sunset for a moment, her beauty reflected by the light perfectly, creating a painting in Cane's mind that he felt would stay with him throughout his life and causing his heart to flutter in his chest, to his surprise

"I would say… almost perfect," she said, turning her eyes to him

"Almost?" cane, asked

"ALmoSt" Two women repeated back before suddenly lunging forward, sealing their lips against his, wrapping their arms around his head

Surprised Cane only had time to wave off the guards who were now running towards them before Alice had snaked her tongue in his mouth, tasting all that he was

The kiss continued for nearly a minute, before Alice released him, curling against his chest, panting and whispering about the horrible and bloody things she would do for him

"A perfect date indeed" cane whispered

(I'm so lonelyyyyyyyyy!!!)