Someone plants themselves beside Marty, a resigned look on their face, and Marty turned his head almost expectedly to see it.

Knowing Ayana, she'll wait for someone she knows to speak up and then talk.

"I'm still going no matter what."

There was a daring, determined look in his teal eyes. His thoughts would soon become reality.

Ayana's face softened. "...I know."

She opened her mouth to tell him about her thoughts of going with him to the wild but Marty interrupted.

"And I thought at least Alex would change his mind. So you know? Win-win." He confessed sheepishly as Ayana stared at him with her brows knitted together in possible concentration.

"Well, we are like a huge family of five here," Ayana spoke after a moment. "It makes sense."

Marty snickers. "Don't be pulling no family card on me! You and Alex have been brewing some chemistry with each other ever since you guys met." Ayana felt heat rise from her face to the tip of her ears. "But yeah, it makes perfect sense on why he doesn't wanna leave."

"But we'll have the time of our lives and we'll make plenty of memories."

Marty snorts. "What's with you and that defense? Can't think of a better reason to get our friends on board?"

"No- wait- yes...! Remember when I first arrived? And I had loads of 'weird markings' as Melman called them?" Ayana pauses, waiting for the zebra to nod.

"These aren't just markings! Their scars! Their memories..." She trails off, finding the rails of Marty's enclosure interesting. "I got these in the wild and I've never regretted them for one second."

The leopard's body had more scars than anyone in the zoo, though they're a bit less obvious, which makes sense since she was only a teenager and a very young one at that.

Ayana pointed to a pair of scars on her left forearm; now faint and muttered up by makeup pancaked on by the zookeepers.

"I got this and this when I was a cub,"- Ayana motioned to her other forearm- "arguing with a hot-headed lion for a scrap of meat."

Marty leaned in as she points to the inside of her right elbow. "Pack of wild birds."

Ayana twisted her body around, a mark not as old as the others near her shoulder blades. "First night at the zoo, trying to rest over the edge of my bed right before it stabs me."

The wild was exciting; yes, but having someone to share that excitement with was all that mattered.

Marty echoed those words in his mind.

Now they just needed to leave the zoo.

-/-

Back at her pen, Ayana hastily rearranged her things to what she wants to see a soon as she came back from Connecticut.

Africa was too far and she didn't want to spend another night at the zoo.

Alex walks closer to hear Ayana talking from behind, leaning closer slowly. A smile etched on his face, his ears pricked themselves up in interest and his ocean blue eyes lit up.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Ayana, the lone leopard! Look at the adventures she's been on. Born from Africa, then brought New York, and now she and a new companion will take a journey to Connecticut-" Ayana announced to an imaginary crowd. Her movements flailing with a dramatic flair.

Out of nowhere, Alex tripped on something (mostly something Ayana never picks up) and the leopard's dramatic moment when he fell on her back.

Ayana scooted out of the way, allowing Alex to fall.

After a moment of awkward silence between the pair, Ayana spoke up.

"What are you doing?"

Alex didn't answer her and focused on what he tripped on. Then, he picks up the assailant; a dumbbell.

Alex picks himself up, brushes himself off, and chuckled.

Ayana stepped back. "Were you spying on me?"

"No, of course not! I just came by because you looked so sad at Marty's party earlier..." He ended tripping over another dumbbell, groaning as it impacts with his foot.

"Sad?" Ayana questioned, crouching down next to Alex. "What do you mean by sad?"

"You seemed like you wanted to leave, and I came by to try and make you feel better." Alex realized what he blurted out and quickly covered it up. "Because I care about you- you and Marty seemed upset- I'm not making things better, am I?"

"No, you're not."

Alex's blue orbs flickered with uncertainty. "Didn't have to be so blunt about it."

Ayana's ears slicked back with surprise. "And you didn't have to sink Marty's hopes like that."

The lion was slightly taken back. The leopard's words made his heart drop to the pit of his stomach because she was right. How could he do that to one of his best friends?

Alex leaned against the leopard's bed with a sigh, not helping to do anything but appear moody...and heavy.

By the time he realized he had nothing to say to Ayana about what he did, he noticed he was still carrying her dumbbell in his huge paw.

"Oh, uh, so you work out?" Alex perked up all of a sudden.

"Yes."

"That's great, and it also makes perfect sense because you're bigger than me."

What?

"Excuse me?" Ayana narrowed her eyes at Alex- a little defensive- in hopes to scare him off.

Alex instantly noticed and raised his paws in defense. "I mean it's because you're thicker than me- not that it's bad- your body isn't exactly feminine-"

"Feminine?" Ayana bristled, snapping her jaws in Alex's face. She breathed heavily to imply how miffed she was with that statement and to her immense satisfaction, Alex had multiple looks of terror stir over his face. "Look, Al, I don't know what you're trying to say or do but if you even try to bring me down, I'll use my 'feminine' fists to bring myself back up after I use them to bring you down. Got it?"

Alex stepped back and leaned on the rails. He bounced a smile back on his face while trying to keep cool.

"Got it, cool. Totally. Trust me, we're cool. So cool." Then he fell out of the enclosure, thumping his head on the concrete ground.

Ayana sighed, walked over, and reached out her hand to the lion. Which he grabbed, and due to Ayana still being annoyed with his words from earlier, she yanked him back up.

She misjudged the pull and Alex was immediately brought close to her face, only an inch separated their lips.

Alex almost brought himself to lean in closer, but he got lost in the sea of dark brown in her eyes.

Ayana quickly let go, and Alex reconsidered the words he said. He didn't mean to insult her, but his words got messed up along the way. The words he actually wanted to say came to mind. They always ran through whenever he saw her.

You're beautiful.

You are so much stronger than me.

So many scars...can I kiss one?

Can hold your hand?

I wish I knew how to make you laugh.

Alex has one huge crush on her, and when he thought about anything, his mind immediately sourced itself back to Ayana. The way she talks, the way she walks, how Ayana lazily wrapped around anything she could find so she could sleep, the emotion she puts into performing, and how small she is compared to him.

"Sorry."

It was the only thing he could tell her right now.

Ayana sighed. "It's fine."

"It's just that dream of going to wild Marty was talking about really sidetracked me. How could I leave? To the wild? What will we gain from going there?"

Ayana decided to point at the scar on her calf. "I gained this scar in the wild. Got it when I was a cub. Just months before I showed up at the zoo. The zookeepers wrapped bandages around it and applied makeup to it."

"Which proves my point: going to the wild is the craziest idea ever, not to mention dangerous," Alex stated.

"It wouldn't sound so bad if this place didn't coddle animals so much!" Ayana exclaimed, her frown deepening and brown eyes glaring.

Alex slicked his ears back, concluding that the smile on Ayana's face wouldn't come back.

"It’s this place!" Ayana growled, flailing her hands and cursing the brick walls. "This place is…"

"Home!" Alex finished. "This place is home!"

"Home?"

"This is the place I've been living in for my whole life! This is home." Alex looks at Ayana, his face befallen. "How come you hate it so much?"

"...I don't hate it. Sure, free food every day is nice, and I get to see my friends any time I please. But I'm leaving. I'll come back soon. Are you coming with me?"

Alex was taken back once more. The tension of his choice might just ruin the relationship they have now. Unfortunately, his feelings didn't change. They probably weren't going to change any time soon.

"I, um...I can't."

"Then I'll see you soon. Marty and I are going to Connecticut."

What she said made Alex chuckle, causing her eyebrows to knit together further.

"You two are joking, right?" He asked.

Ayana had to take her chance. Though her feelings just got doused down, it was worth it. "Of course, we're joking. Yep, one huge joke, Ally."

Alex smiled, though it made her heart soar less than it usually did. It was charming, sure, but it was antagonizing.

Alex leaped to the lamppost that connected their enclosures. "See ya tomorrow, Yani. I can't wait for you to see my performance I have for Seniors Day tomorrow."

Ayana blinked. "Oh, okay."

Her heart just shattered into a million pieces. Alex wasn't coming with her.

The leopard waited until she heard Alex clap his hands to turn on his heater. Then she ran out of her enclosure and began her journey to the wild.

-/-

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