“Troublemaker attracting trouble,” Eden snorted before trying to fight off the smile that threatened to break her cold facade. Her lips twisted upwards almost imperceptibly. “Their roar can be heard three kilometers away. Impressive, isn’t it?”
Sterling glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow just in time to see her lips twitch up. He smiled a little and turned back to the felines.
“Impressive indeed,” he hummed. “Any other random facts you’d like to share?”
Eden reached out to touch the cage, the metal cold to the touch despite the warmth. The resting tiger lifted its face. Eden let out a small smile again. She adored these animals. “They can run up to sixty-five kilometers per hour. They kill their prey with a bite to their neck or to their back.”
“Bite to the spinal cord for a quick kill,” Sterling mused, nodding slowly.
Eden blinked, scrunched her nose and turned away from the animal, covered her mouth with her arm and sneezed. She sniffled, reaching for her bag to take out a mouth mask. It would be terrible if these animals got sick.
Once she had her mouth and nose covered with the material, Eden stood to her feet. “Sorry for getting distracted. Those are the red pandas.”
“No, it was fine. It was cute seeing you like that,” Sterling chuckled. His gaze shifted to the animals he’d wanted to see. The smile on his lips widened when he saw them, and he stepped closer.
Eden’s head snapped towards him at his statement, eyes wide. Did she hear that right? Did he actually call her cute? He wasn’t looking at her, though. His eyes were on the red pandas and his face was glowing. His lips were twisted into a smile, one that reached his eyes and made him look handsome. It was a genuine smile. Eden looked away from him immediately, clearing the foreign feeling that had crept inside of her.
She folded her arms, letting Sterling see the animals on his own.
“Did you know red pandas have their own family? The Ailuridae. They’re related to raccoons,” Sterling murmured before casting a quick glance at Eden. “Since you seem to like animal facts…”
“I know they’re related to raccoons, but I’ve never been able to pronounce their family name,” Eden admitted, eyes on one lone red panda. “I also know they were first called pandas before the giant panda was discovered.”
Then Eden paused. What was she doing, letting him know what she liked to do? Surely he didn’t care about anything other than her opening up. She was letting him win this way too easily.
Sterling clicked his tongue, humming as he slowly nodded. “I didn’t know that. That’s cool.”
Eden fell silent again, eyes going to the porcupine on a tree stump inside a glass cage. She decided to leave Sterling to his red pandas and focused on the animal that caught her attention.
She chuckled to herself, walking towards it and placing a hand on the grass as she watched the rodent. It wasn’t as big as the others, but it was large. It looked like it was asleep, but Eden knew even a small movement would startle it. Those creatures were adorable. Eden loved them. At one point, she even wanted one as a pet. Her parents, unfortunately, refused.
Sterling watched the little, furry, red animals for a while longer, his smile ever present on his lips. He felt Eden’s presence disappear from his side, but he didn’t turn to see where she went yet. After a moment, he looked over his shoulder at her, then turned around completely. He watched her quietly as he leaned back against the fence. She looked… almost happy here…
“Hi,” Eden murmured, tapping lightly on the glass. The rodent didn’t jump away, but it did look at her. It lifted its tail and she smiled. “Unfortunate you have to be locked up in here, hm?”
It seemed ridiculous to speak to something that couldn’t even understand you, but Eden didn’t find it so. After all, she’d grown more used to the presence of animals than humans. She visited the zoo, animal shelters, and aquariums whenever she could. She had a pet at her apartment, too. A cat named Razor whom she got two years ago when she… Eden immediately wiped that thought away.
The rodent scurried away as if it felt the dark route her mind went off to. Eden let out a quiet chuckle. “Well, then, it was nice to meet you, too.”
Sterling watched Eden as she spoke to the animal. It was cute, really, what she was doing. Even if she thought she was all tough, she really did have a sweet side to her, he could tell. She might not ever show it to him or anyone else, but at least she had it.
Eden finally felt eyes on her and sighed, closing her eyes. She’d forgotten he was there. Had he seen the way she was acting? The side that had nearly been killed. The side she refused to show. He’d seen it.
It doesn’t matter, Eden told herself. At the end of the way, whoever he’d tell, they wouldn’t believe it.
“Are you done with the red pandas?”
“I am. Do you want to go see another animal? We still have about an hour to kill,” Sterling mused, letting his smile settle into his normal one.
“Let’s walk,” the girl replied instead, already turning her back against the male. “To the open side.”
“The open side?” Sterling questioned, falling in step behind her.
“The area that doesn’t have the animals… locked up?” Eden furrowed her eyebrows. “The open side. No cages? Mostly reserved for bigger animals, like the elephants, giraffes, hippos, and rhinos.”
“Oh, cool. I didn’t realize that’s what it was called,” Sterling mused with a shrug. “So what’s your favorite animal here? Besides the penguins, that is.”
“It’s not called that. It’s just me that calls it the open side,” Eden corrected him quietly before offering a shrug. “I like all of them. They’re good company.”
Sterling hummed, taking a small step closer to her. “You like animals, then. Do you have a pet?”
Eden nodded, eyes carefully skimming everything she passed by. “I do. Why?”
“Just curious. What kind of pet?” Sterling wondered.
“A cat,” Eden replied, twirling a strand of her hair around her fingers. “Siberian.”
“What’s it’s name?” Sterling wondered, smiling as he looked around. It was nice having a pleasant conversation with her.
“Razor,” Eden breathed. “His name is Razor. He’s two.”
Sterling smiled over at her, taking another tiny step closer. “Any pictures?”
Eden noticed how he seemed to get closer, but she didn’t pay much attention to it. Instead, she nodded. “Lots. I take pictures of him whenever I can.”
“Can I see?” Sterling asked, smiling over at her. “He sounds like he’d be gorgeous.”