Dusk hits the zoo, and the staff roam the zoo with a band of chefs and groomers to relax the exhausted animals and Anthros for their hard work. Unlike most zoos, the Anthro folks actually get paid for their hard work here, along with getting free freshly-cooked and ready-to-serve food, and they get nice warm beds to sleep in at night.
Dante was currently having his spinal sail waxed and cleaned as he receives a fresh batch of salmon fish, all cooked and sliced up ready to eat from the chefs as his birthday meal. He smiled and gave a thumbs-up to the chef.
Maria was having a massage and having her fish fin be detailed and softened, just as she gets a variety of fish-related foods. "This is my life..." She sighed deeply.
Melissa and Blake, meanwhile, they had just finished up cleaning their enclosures, just as the chefs arrived with their meals. For the Deer Anthro, since she can eat both meat and veggies, she's been given Montreal-style smoked meat with some veggies on the side, as well as Cinnamon buns. For Blake, he got some tuna, as well as kippers, and other fish. Blake couldn't help but twitch his ears and swish his tail about happily.
Manny, meanwhile, is still getting medical treatment. "That's the spot." Just then, a chef reveals a tray full of medications and vitamins to make him feel better. "Oh! I am in heaven." Manny sighs in relief.
Over with Braedey, he seems to be getting the most treatment, whether it be nail trimming, or even having some of his spines be checked and filed down in parts, and a full pack of cooked steak, in which he devoured in a number of seconds, leaving only the bone.
And later that night, the six friends have gathered together in a small party to celebrate Dante's 17th birthday. James and Naomi have allowed them to stay up, but not to go on after 10:00PM. So far, Melissa has gotten Dante some new shirts and even a claw sharpening kit. Blake got him a salmon, since he didn't know what to get him at the time. Maria even got him a tooth necklace. Now, it was time for Manny's present.
"Ooh, it's Dante's birthday!" Maria smiled.
"Just rip it open. Come on!" Braedey insisted.
Dante gently shook the box. "What is it? What is it?"
"Come on. Open it up." Maria said, Dante now opening the box, the latter smiling in response.
"What you get? What you get?" Blake and Melissa asked.
"What you get?" Maria asked.
Dante gently picked up a mercury thermometer. "It's a thermometer. Thanks. I love it, Manny. I love it." He then puts it in his mouth with style.
Manny smiled, a party hat on his head while he holds a party tooter. "Yeah, I wanted to give you something personal. You know, that was my first rectal thermometer." He commented to Dante.
"Mother-!" Dante now proceeds to gag at the thought and spits out the thermometer while wiping his hands over his tongue.
"Okay. Get the cake. Manny, come on." Braedey whispers to the others, Maria getting the cake out, just as Manny blows the party tooter, now getting Dante's attention as he looks back.
Everyone but Dante:
Hmmmm...
Happy birthday to you
You live in a zoo
You look like a monkey
Manny: Aaaaand...
Everyone but Dante: You smell like one too!
Over at the monkey enclosure, Mason abruptly spits out his tea. "I say!" Phil now smells his armpits and faints.
Dante laughed as he walked over. "Hey, you guys are just embarrassing me. And yourselves."
"What are you talking about? We've been working on that one all week." Braedey interjected back.
"Yeah. It wasn't easy." Blake nodded, twitching his cat ears.
"He's not wrong." Melissa agreed.
"Let's go. Let's make a wish, babycakes." Maria said, now holding up the cake.
Dante smiled, then he blows out the candle on top of a 17, then he cuts a slice of the cake with his claw, taking it out and takes a bite out of it.
"Come on. What'd you wish for?" Braedey questioned.
Dante shook his head. "Nope. Can't tell you that."
"Come on. You can tell." Braedey stated.
"Nope. I'm telling you, it's bad luck." Dante countered back. "You want some bad luck, I'll blab it out. But if you want to be safe, I'll keep my mouth shut."
"Oh, for crying out loud, Dante." Maria sighed, putting the cake down on the table. "Would you just tell us? I mean, really. What's the worst that could happen?"
"Okay, okay." Dante spoke up. "I've wished I could go to the wild!" He announced.
"The wild?!" Braedey echoed, now stumbling back in response and fell over the railing.
Manny abruptly swallowed the party tooter and began to choke on it. Maria dropped her jaw, while Melissa and Blake just stared on at him in bewilderment.
"I told you guys it was bad luck." Dante commented.
Melissa tries to get the tooter out of Manny's throat, the giraffe Anthro coughing aloud, only for the tooter to go off in response.
Braedey climbs up onto the railing. "The wild? Are you crazy? That is the most outrageous and worse idea I've ever heard." He said to the Spinosaurus Anthro.
Manny coughed out the tooter, which landed on the ground as the giraffe Anthro coughed and wheezed. "It's unsanitary."
"You serious about this?" Melissa asked.
"You're not, are you?" Blake also asked, curiosity getting to him.
"The penguins are going. So why can't I?" Dante argued back.
"Those penguins have some screws loose in their brains. They're psychotic." Braedey now stated back, getting to his feet and collecting the piece of meat he nearly dropped.
"Come on. Just imagine going back to nature. Back to your animal roots. Clean air, wide-open spaces!" Dante said, standing back and before everyone.
"Well, I've heard there's wide-open spaces over in Connecticut." Maria spoke up.
"Connecticut?" Dante echoed.
"Yeah. What you've got to do is you've got to make your way over to Grand Central Station. Then you got to take the Metro-North train... the north, I think?" Manny mused, tapping his chin.
"So one could take the train? Just hypothetically, I mean." Dante stated.
"Dante, come on. What would Connecticut have that they would offer to us?" Braedey now asked.
"Lyme disease." Manny and Blake answered together before they look at one another in surprise.
"Thank you, Manny and Blake." Braedey looked to the two.
"No, no, really. I just want..." Dante vegan.
"There's certainly none of this in the wild. Plus, this is a highly refined type of food thing that you do not find in the wild." Braedey gestured to the steak he has with him.
"Have you ever thought there might be more to life than just being... you, Braedey?" Dante now asks to the draconic Anthro, then looked to the others. "Doesn't it bother any of you guys that some of you don't know anything about life outside this zoo? Outside this city?"
Manny shook his head. "Nuh-uh."
Maria also shook her head. "Mmm-mm."
"Nope." Blake and Melissa also shook their heads.
"I mean, that is just one subject." Braedey shrugged as he began to eat his meat.
Dante sighed, but he smiled back a little. "Thanks a lot, guys. Thanks for the party. It was great. Really." He shrugged as he walked over to his treadmill.
The others just watch on with confusion and concern. "What's eating him?" Manny asked.
"Dunno. But we need to get our sleep." Blake yawned a cat-like yawn. Melissa always thought it was cute.
"See you guys in the morning." Melissa said to them. "Night, Dante." She calls, the Spinosaur Anthro waving back to her as she and Blake head off back to their enclosures.
"Maybe you should talk to him, Braedey. You know, go over there and give him a little pep talk." Maria whispered to Braedey.
"Hey, I already gave him a snow globe this morning. I can't top that." Braedey countered, Maria sighing in response.
"I can see where this is going." Manny now yawned as he took off his party hat. "Huh. It is getting late. I guess I'm gonna..." He then abruptly went to sleep where he stood and snored as he slept.
The two now began to gesture silently to one another regarding about Dante and his dilemma at the given moment, though they couldn't come to agreement to anything. It was getting more and more intense, then Maria punches her open palm, Braedey flinching back.
"Come on. He's your best friend." Maria whispered to him.
"All right, all right." Braedey sighed.
"Night, Dante." Maria called, Dante waving back.
Maria pointed to Braedey, gesturing to Dante, before she backflips into her pool. Braedey quickly got out his wings and covered him, the water splashing off as he waved his wings to get the water off. Braedey smiles to himself, then he saw Maria's hand gesturing him to Dante before the light flew out.
Braedey lies back on the concrete wall as he sighed. "What a day. I mean, just really, I tell you, it just doesn't get any better than this, you know?" He then spotted a lone star up above. "Ooh! It just did. Even the star's out. Not going to find a star like that in the wild." He said to Dante.
Dante looked up. "Braedey. That's a helicopter." He sighed, then the helicopter flies away.
Braedey sat up and looked to his friend. "Dante. Listen. Everybody has days when they think the grass might be greener somewhere else."
"Braedey. Look at me." Dante sighed as he got off the treadmill. "I'm 17 years old. My life has barely begun, and I know less of my animal side than ever. I don't even know if a Spinosaur walks on all fours or only two legs, or... If a Spino eats meat or only fish." He sighed as he sat down next to the wall next to Braedey.
Braedey looks down at Dante, seeing the downcast expression. As he sat there, Braedey then had an idea. "Dante. I'm thinking of a song." He spoke out.
"Braedey. Please. Not now." Dante sighed.
Braedey smirked. "Oh, yes. It's a wonderful song. I think you're familiar with it." He began to sing out. Da da da da da! Da da da da da! Da da da da da! Da!
Dante's eyes widened. "Oh, no. Oh, no, you don't. No, no, no. I'm not listening!" He slapped his hands over his ears mockingly.
Braedey: Start spreadin' the news
Dante: I don't know you, man! Who's this guy?
Braedey. I'm leaving today! We are a great big part of it
Braedey pointed to Dante. "Come on. You know you know the words. Two little words."
Dante rolled his eyes. "New York."
Both: New York!
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!!" A voice calls out abruptly from one of the nearby bird houses, stopping the two from singing. "Hey, I'm sleeping here! We're not all nocturnal, you know!!"
"Hey, I'll knock your "turnal" right off there, beak-face." Dante challenged.
"Yeah, you and what army, fossil?" A snake called out from his enclosure, the lights coming on from some of the other enclosures.
"You mess with this guy, you mess with me, Howard!" Braedey challenged back, Dante laughing while others were annoyed. "See? Mr. Grumpy Dino! We make a great team, the two of us." Braedey said to Dante.
"We sure do. No doubt about it." Dante nodded.
"So, what are you going to do now? Just go running away to the 'wild' by yourself?" Braedey asked, using air quotes for 'wild'.
"Nope." Dante shook his head.
"Good, then." Braedey nodded.
"You and me. Let's go." Dante pointed to himself and Braedey.
"Wait. What?" Braedey asked in bewilderment.
"The wild. Come on. You and me, together." Dante smiled. "It is just a straight shot down Fifth Avenue to Grand Central Station. We'll go and grab a train, we'll head off to the north. Then, we can be back at the zoo by morning, and nobody will ever know what had happened."
Braedey now chuckled. "You're joking about it. Right?"
Dante turned and he laughed aloud. "Yeah. I'm joking. Of course I am. Give me a break. Like we're gonna get a train."
Braedey chuckled and sighed in relief. "Oh. Don't do that. You really had me worried."
Dante now yawned. "Oh, well. I guess I'll hit the sack."
Braedey walked along the wall. "Yeah. I'll need to rest my voice for tomorrow. It's Seniors' Day. Gotta roar extra loud. Give them a little spook! You know what I mean?"
"Good night, king." Dante chuckled, making his way to his hut.
Braedey rolls over to underneath a spot below his rock pedestal, then clapped twice to turn on a red heat light just above him. But then, he hears the call of a bird, getting him up. "Oh, for the love of... The zookeepers forgot to turn off the stupid ambiance again!" He called.
"Don't worry. It's cool." Dante called. "You know, I got it." With that, he kicks the speaker, shutting off the bird noise, as the outside world noise could be heard.
Braedey sighed as he relaxed. "Much better." With that, he fell asleep.
Dante now listened to the noises outside the zoo walls. He looks to the mural of the wall there, all the while thinking about the birthday wish he had. He wanted to get out there and see the wild, and to answer some questions he has. He stares at the mural, now eyeing the animals on the mural, and decides to make a decision...