Damien grinned. "Actually, he might get along with one or two of them," he said speculatively. "The fishing cats aren't that much bigger than him, and he's probably more than half the size of a lynx."

Sera nodded. "Yeah, I got dragged to one a week ago. It was mildly amusing until a couple of drunk girls started a brawl."

"He's a terrible troublemaker," Rose said. She grinned and added, "though he's a really good warm purring thing for when my feet are cold and I'm reading on the couch."

Taylor grinned.

"Nice," he said. "Were any of the bands actually good?"

Damien couldn't help but laugh at that, shaking his head. "Ah yes, one of the things cats are good for," he said with a grin. "Besides demanding attention."

"One of them was pretty decent," Sera said. "I enjoyed them. All the others were blech, though."

"Exactly," Rose agreed. "My mother calls him a wretched beast, but he just knows how to annoy her. He's weirdly intelligent for a cat."

"What kind of music do you like?" Taylor asked.

Damien chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, I got that feeling from him." He shook his head a little and glanced at the waiter, ordering a cherry Sprite to drink.

"Honestly? A little of everything. My iTunes is eclectic." Sera smiled sheepishly. "There are very few things you can't find on there."

Rose ordered an iced tea, rather than soda. She was never really much for sodas.

"Girl after my own heart," Taylor said, grinning. "I have to admit a certain fondness for classic rock, though."

Damien leaned back in his seat, watching her. "Are there any bands in particular that you like?"

"Carry On My Wayward Son." Sera smiled. "One of my favorite songs. Ask Rose. I'll start singing it at the top of my lungs in the shower sometimes."

"A few here and there," Rose replied. "Rascal Flatts, Sugarland, Lady Antebellum, things like that. I love anything by Taylor Swift." She blushed a little. She would only sing along to her favorite songs when she thought nobody was listening.

Taylor chuckled.

"Good song," he agreed.

Damien nodded, his eyes gaining a speculative gleam. "I see," he said quietly. "I suppose you have most of their albums?"

"There's a lot of good songs out there," Sera said with a grin. "Lots of fun songs too."

"I have all of Taylor Swift's albums," Rose corrected. "There are only three. The others, I listen to on the radio in the car, and when Sera isn't home."

"There are," Taylor agreed. "I don't have a favorite song, really, but I rarely ever complain about anything I happen to hear."

Damien nodded. "Good to know." He smiled faintly. "Ever been to a concert?"

"Same. It's hard to find a song I won't like, or at least listen to." Sera shrugged.

"No," Rose said, faint disappointment in her voice. "I've never been able to get tickets."

"At least nobody can complain that you have no taste," Taylor teased.

Damien nodded, making mental notes. "Well," he said, to try to cheer her up, "have you heard about the next event coming up?"

Sera couldn't help but laugh at that, shaking her head a little at him and leaning back in her seat. "Sure they can. They'd just have to be lying, or like rap only or something."

"I know there's a Taylor Swift concert coming up," Rose replied. "But tickets went on sale months ago, and they sold out in minutes."

"I've heard people say that music is like candy," Taylor said, grinning. "To get to the good stuff, you need to throw out the rappers."

Damien nodded. "That makes sense. She is very popular, after all. When is that concert, exactly?"

Sera laughed at that, grinning broadly. "That was bad, but good," she said, still grinning. "Although I get the feeling you could come up with worse."

"Middle of next month, the twentieth," Rose replied. She was vaguely wondering why he asked. It never occurred to her that there might be a reason.

Taylor nodded.

"I can do much worse," he said.

Damien nodded and fell silent for a few moments. "Are you ready to order? It smells too good in here; I'm getting hungry." He grinned at her.

Sera chuckled and shook her head, leaning back in her seat. "Gotta love bad humor though."

Rose nodded.

"Ordering sounds good to me," she replied, looking down at the menu.

Taylor nodded.

"Bad humor is the best, sometimes," he agreed. "Come on, ready to go inside?"

Damien nodded and ordered chicken parmiasean when the waiter came by and dropped off their drinks.

"Yup." Sera got out and went inside, glancing around. "Guess Saturday nights are popular here."

Rose ended up ordering fettucine alfredo with shrimp on it, and took a sip of her tea when it got there.

Taylor grinned.

"That's because people like their towering onion rings here," he said.

Damien smiled a little as he sat back. "So, you know the next event coming up for the zoo group, right?"

"Onion rings are good," Sera said with a mischievous little smile.

"Vaguely," Rose replied. "I was a bit busier trying to put the database in order."

"I agree," Taylor replied. He walked into the restaurant with her, and let her pick her seat.

Damien chuckled. "Well, you get to come back behind the scenes after hours so you'll see all the nocturnal animals up."

Sera sat down and started to peruse the menu, humming under her breath as she did.

"If you don't mind my asking, how did you get into veterinary science?"

"Like the last failed attempt at a night tour?" Rose teased.

"Animals are easier to deal with every day than people," Taylor answered honestly. At least, as honestly as he could.

Damien laughed quietly. "No, even better. You don't even arrive until midnight. I made sure they scheduled it for a full moon so you can get the full effect of glowing cat eyes."

He was excited for the event for other reasons. Sure, it was a month away, but it would still be damn fun. Maybe he could even hand over the tour to someone else for a while and go run around.

"I hear you there," Sera said sympathetically. "I have problems working with my coworkers half the time at the vet's office, not to mention that one doctor."