"Miss Sinope, I would be delighted to take a trip to the zoo with you." He's half-laughing as he says it.

She bumps Sal's shoulder affectionately and keeps walking.

At the zoo-

"You know, I've never actually liked going here before," Sal says as they enter. "It's so loud and full of people and all the animals are bigger than me."

"I've never been at all." She's staring openly at one of the snakes.

"We can take a pass through once we've been to the cats. Do you like birds? You seem like the kind of person who likes birds."

"I like birds fine. Joan knows more about them than I do but I think she's more for the kind you'd find in your garden."

"I've never wondered where they get the animals from. I don't know if they only select from the deepest jungles or if there are creatures you'd find in any garden in India here too, mixed in with the rest."

If they follow the signs they may discover some big cats.

Here is a lion pacing back and forth inside of its cage, which is only about twice as big as it is.

Oh no that's so little room.

"Hi?"

"You can talk," the lion says.

"...yes. I can. That must be cramped."

"Yes," the lion says.

It lies down, putting its head on its front paws.

"Are... you okay? I guess that's a dumb question and I can't do much about it either way."

"No. Never okay again."

Oh dear. That sounds like conversation. That lion might be a person.

"....I'm sorry."

She cannot, in fact, steal a lion. That is a terrible idea. She doesn't have anything for it to eat or anywhere for it to stay. And they'd probably just go to Africa and capture another one as a replacement and it wouldn't even help.

It'd help this one. Maybe. Possibly. If it didn't starve. Which it would.

"No family anymore. No friends. Nowhere to go. Just a cage."

Its syntax is stilted, like it's been so long since it's spoken that it doesn't remember how.

They'd stop her if she even tried to touch it.

("Do you want... I don't know. For me to carry a message out from you, information I can find out and come back and tell you, a hug?" "I doubt he'll let me touch you and the only person I care to talk to is dead.")

"I," she says, and she is not going to start crying she is not. But there are so many people in cages and she can't see how she can possibly help.

"I don't know what that means," the lion says, as it if might be his fault.

"...The lion really isn't okay, is he," Sal says softly.

"I'm sorry. I started to talk and then stopped, it isn't your fault." She reaches out blindly for Sal's hand and squeezes.

He squeezes back.

"The savannah?" the lion says hopefully.

"I don't have a way to get you back to it. I-- could try to get you out of the cage but I don't think it would work and even if it did I couldn't feed you. I'm sorry."

"No. Tell about?"