Alyss wandered away from her at some point, or perhaps it was Alice that wandered away. Alice did remember a particularly tempting burger calling her name at some point, and there really wasn't much she could have done about the situation to stay with her sister, but to be fair, Alyss was just as prone to following her fancies. They both did quite a bit of wandering, if Alice was being honest. Regardless of who had done the wandering from one place to another, it ended up being Alice who found Alyss, so it really didn't matter.
Alice found her older sister at, of all places, the penguin exhibit. This was characteristically unexpected on her part, since Alice was pretty sure that Alyss was most fond of cats. Well, Alice was pretty sure most days. Alyss's interests changed from a minute by minute basis, and Alice just tried to keep track of overreaching trends, before she got distracted. In fact, Alice had visited the Lions, Tigers, Bobcats, and Mountain Lions first in search of her elusive sister, to no avail, though she had spent some extra time at the Tiger show, and had really enjoyed it. Alice had almost given up on finding Alyss, and had wandered over to one of the many food court at the zoo for a well deserved snack, when she happened to see a mane of white hair in the distance.
Following the very obvious sign, Alice came to the penguin exhibit with some form of confusion. Alyss was standing by the exhibit's glass walls, looking at the little balls of fluff as they waddled around their little icy encampment. Alice frowned, rubbed her arms to keep out the cold, and walked over to her sister. "Have you been here this whole time?" Alice asked, not really interested in knowing, but more than willing to let her presence be known.
Alyss looked at her with wide sparkling eyes, and nodded in excitement. Then her eyes were quickly back on the penguins. Alice thought she looked like a five year old, with her face pressed up to the glass in open excitement, and her eyes twinkling. But, well, that was Alyss at the zoo, and the aquarium, and the botanical gardens, and almost everywhere, really. That was just how Alyss lived her life. "Aren't they cute?" Alyss asked, as one of the babies tripped and fumbled for a few moments to get back up on its feet.
Alice shrugged. "Yeah, I guess." They were cute, she had no problem admitting that, but Alice wasn't big on cute animals, actually. If Alice was being honest, she wasn't all that big on animals in general. She loved their pets, but probably because they were her responsibility, and that bred attachment. Alice found it very easy to simply look at most of the animals in the zoo as just that, animals. Sorta nifty, but just animals.
Alyss did not. For whatever reason Alyss loved almost anything alive. She loved inanimate objects too, but that was a little off their current topic. Alyss loved bugs and snakes and rats and frogs, as well as the regular fodder for affection, like cat and dogs. Alyss really loved just about everything. Her older sister looked at the world with a sense of bemusement, as if nothing within it was typical, but instead exciting and wonderful. Or, maybe Alyss liked just about everything, because everything was typical and actual. The thought was a strange one, and Alice shook her head. Some days, she felt like the older sister.
"Did you want to look at the real birds?" Alice asked. The penguins were cute and all, but watching them waddle around wasn't all that interesting as far as she was concerned. Actual birds were at least a little more interesting, since they darted around, and it took some actual work to find them.
Alyss looked over at her in disapproval, and reached over to flick her forehead. "Penguin's are real birds, silly little sister. They're just different."
Alice scrunched up her face at the flick, and pouted over at her sister, but Alyss wasn't looking. Her sister was back to looking at the little puffballs as they waddled from place to place and squawked at each other. "You mean different as in evolutionary rejects." Alice mumbled her correction, and folded her arms in front of her chest.
Alyss just kept watching the penguins through the glass. "I don't think so." She stated simply. Alice was about to say something obnoxious, because she hadn't actually gotten any food at the food court, and she rather wanted to, but Alyss spoke first. "Humans were born without wings, so, of course they had to find alternative ways to fly. They couldn't just accept that they were unable. They resented birds. But penguins are birds, and they have wings, but cannot fly." Alyss looked over at Alice, and was smiling quite beautifully. "But they can swim! The world gave them wings for swimming, not for flying. That's amazing! Do you think they resent it?"
Alice cocked her head. "Does it matter?"
Alyss almost looked disapproving, before that melted away to something calmer. "It does matter!" She motioned to the penguins. "Penguins have advanced social societies and their own sense of culture too. It does matter, because they're intelligent, just like us. But they don't resent not being able to fly. They don't need to, because they are excellent swimmers. They're fascinating!"
"You think everything is fascinating." Alice stated, but did genuinely take the time to look at the animals.
"Because everything in this beautiful world is fascinating, Alice." Alyss looked over at her, and her eyes were laughing. "Including your stomach. I can tell that look in your eye a mile away. Let's get you some food before you get us kicked out of the zoo for trying to eat a buffalo."
Alice pouted. "I wouldn't eat a buffalo! Unless it was well cooked of course. And unless it was, like, a delicacy somewhere...Okay, maybe I would eat a buffalo..."