"Again with the thing about paws the size of my face," Rose pointed out. That, and the panther would probably be able to tell she had a cat at home.

"There is a quarantine section, in fact," Taylor replied. "Unfortunately, it's authorized personell only. Can't have people going in and out and possibly carrying disease with them, after all."

Damien chuckled. "We'll see if all goes well and we'll see about that visit." He smiled at her. "Would you like to continue the tour, or get a private tour of the big cats?"

Sera nodded. "That makes sense. Anyone back there?" She looked over at him with interest.

"I wouldn't mind seeing the rest of the cats," Rose replied, a bit shyly.

"Nobody at the moment," Taylor replied cheerfully.

Damien nodded and motioned for her to follow. "We have a pretty good collection of cats here, for a small zoo," he said, moving over to the next exhibit. "Between the big cats and the little cats, we have about a dozen individuals here."

Sera nodded. "Well, I don't know if I can really think of anything else. I mean, most everything here looks pretty much the same." She shrugged a bit.

"Do you take care of them all?" Rose asked, curiously. She liked cats very much, and she was looking forward to seeing the exhibits.

Taylor held out his arm to the redhead.

"If you'd like, I could escort you back to the rest of the tour group," he offered.

"Most of them, yes. I mostly work with a few of them, but I have taken care of all of them, and I do take over whenever someone can't make it in." Damien offered her his arm to take for her tour.

"Thanks," Sera said after a moment. "I'm Sera, by the way." She took his arm, moving over next to him as they left the lab.

Rose blushed and took his arm, albeit hestiantly.

"I'm sorry, I never even introduced myself," she said suddenly. Now she felt stupid. "My name is Rose."

-

"A lovely name for a lovely lady," Taylor replied as he walked with Sera. "I'm Taylor."

"Lovely name. I like it." Damien smiled. "I am Damien, in case you didn't hear. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Nice to meet you." Sera smiled at him. "How long have you worked here?"

"A pleasure to meet you too," Rose replied. She was kind of amazed that he hadn't just found a tour guide to hand her off to. And he was good-looking, too...

"Feels like forever," Taylor replied. "Closer to six or seven years, though."

Damien smiled and led her over to the nest exhibit. "This is Angela, our snow leopard. Her cubs should be around here somewhere." The big cat looked at them, the end of her long tail swishing from side to side.

Sera laughed a little. "What, long hours and unexpected emergencies and all?" she asked with a little grin.

"She's beautiful," Rose murmured, admiring the snow leopard.

Taylor grinned a bit.

"Sometimes on the second, which inevitably leads into the first," he said. "It's the emergencies that lead into the long hours. Those, and paperwork."

"There's one of the cubs. The other two shouldn't be far behind." Damien pointed to the back of the exhibit, where one of three snow leopard cubs frolicked.

"Oh I know about the paperwork," Sera said, shaking her head. "Paperwork is the worst."

"Aw," Rose cooed. "It's so cute." She tried to look around the rest of the exhibit, but there was only so much she could see from the outside.

"Yeah, it doesn't get any easier," Taylor agreed. Okay, so he could have dropped Sera off with the rest of the group a good few minutes ago, but he liked talking to her.

Damien moved over to the side and pulled out a key to let her into the back area. "Come on. You can get a better view from back here."

"Nope." Sera grinned. "At least you get to work with a bunch of animals."

Rose followed him. She wanted to get a closer look, though she was smart enough not to get too close. Big cats, big claws, only logical, right?

"The animals are easier to work with, most of the time," Taylor admitted.

"Don't worry, they're still in the cage. We'll just be able to see better." Damien motioned her closer, so she could see the cubs all playing and wrestling.

"I bet they are. I don't like working with people. People in general are stupid assholes." Sera wrinkled her nose a little.

Rose grinned when she saw the cubs.

"They're so adorable," she said.

"That's exactly why I work behind the scenes," Taylor replied to Sera. "I don't see how the others can deal with people day in and day out."

"Yes they are. They're three months old now. They've just been allowed out into the exhibit with their mother." Damien smiled a little.

"I would get mad at someone, I know I would," Sera said, shaking her head. "And then I'd get fired. This is why I work in the back at the vet's office, so I don't have to deal with people."

"Makes me want to cuddle my cat at home," Rose commented, watching the cubs. "Not that she's much of a snuggler, but still."

"A girl after my own heart," Taylor said, grinning. Oh, he liked this one.

"Cats are only cuddly when they want to be," Damien said, shaking his head. "Dogs are more likely to cuddle when you want, but cats are... well, they're cats."

Sera laughed quietly, shaking her head. "Yea, well. We know I have a temper because I punched out a guy once."

"Cats are thoroughly independant," Rose agreed. "After all, you can't get eight of them to pull a sled through the snow." She grinned a bit. "Lana loves attention, but only on her terms."

Taylor raised an eyebrow.

"I'm impressed," he said. She was such a slight girl, he didn't think she'd have enough power to knock someone out.

Damien chuckled. "Yup. I know how that all works. Big cats are the same way."

"Thanks." Sera couldn't help but grin. "I admit I liked it too."

"My cat is so vain," Rose commented. "She knows she's beautiful. And I spoil her rotten." Somehow, it was way too easy to talk to Damien. There was something about him that struck her as familiar, but she had now idea what it was.

"If the guy was as obnoxious as I'm imagining, I don't blame you," Taylor replied.

"Oh I know how cats are. The only reason these ones aren't spoiled is because I'm not allowed," Damien said with a smile. "Cats are like that."

Sera smiled. "He was as obnoxious as you think."

"I don't mind," Rose admitted. "I've had my cat for a long time, I don't mind at all that she's spoiled and pushy and vain."

"I'm betting he deserved it," Taylor commented. He liked this girl, she had backbone.