If I Lose Myself

( WORDS ) 573 ( TAGGED ) @esha  ( MUSE ) here As his eyes blearily blinked themselves back into a functional state, Chase felt a throbbing in his head and groaned lowly, rubbing his eyes briefly before feeling over an ice-pack held on the side of his skull. From the blurry fragments he could recall, the young man presumed that Esha had taken the initiative and knocked him unconscious somehow.. And, based off of the pulsating pain in the side of his skull, she must've used some sort of tool to accomplish this. Or, she'd been lying when speaking about her power, and utilized it to subdue him. Whatever the case was, he was just fortunate that she appeared to be unscathed, or so it seemed based off of her sprawled position upon a chair not too far from his bedside with a book upon her face. Even Chase had to manage a half smirk at the spectacle of it, though it didn't last too long as the restless beast stirred with slight agitation within him. If only he could enter that tranquil state he'd fallen into when he was at the aquarium with Esha.. Figuring that he had little to lose, if there was anything at all while in a nurse's office, he slowly rose up from his cot, exhaling slowly as he did so. He wasn't incredibly keen on emitting another groan that could possibly awaken the dedicated girl, so he had to ensure that every move he made was gradual and easy on his aching body. Even if he hadn't undergone the transformation, his body had been preparing itself with unpleasant stretching of ligaments and muscles, and now that there was no need for the expansion, he was feeling the repercussions of his stretched body sewing itself back together. Once positioned so that his torso sat erect upon the bed, he inhaled slowly, letting the mantra run silently in his head as best as he could remember it. Let them come. Let them come. Let them come. With his aching head, it wasn't incredibly difficult to clear his mind, and within a few moments of his steadied breathing and closed eyes, the irritation he'd previously felt had dissolved completely. His striking, blue eyes opened slowly, staring straight into the blank wall before him. Now that he was calmed enough to think without as much interference from the werebeast, he chose to recall as much as he could about his last encounter with Esha. He most likely left her in quite an unpleasant situation, and he'd have to apologize for his unintentional.. Explosion, of sorts. But, the reason for his near-shifting experience was something completely different. Even now, a few droplets of color dared to taint his cheeks at the thought of her lips upon his skin, especially the coquettish softness they retained, but he brushed the thoughts away almost immediately. It had been an exercise, just as she said, and it would certainly be impolite to assume anything more. Or, at least, this is what Chase believed to be the courteous course of action. In the future, if he ever wanted to maintain a relationship stronger than a friendship, he would have to overcome this obstacle. Little did he know that Esha had meant more than he thought through the gesture, but Chase simply returned to a blank train of thought, seeing that his temple began to ache as his mind plunged into more complex scenarios that Esha might try out. AM I DIFFERENT FROM THE REST

MADE BY VEL OF GS

Muscles weighed more than fat; that was a lesson that Esha learned through practice. The struggle to get the unconscious boy from one wing of the school to the next was not something to be overlooked, especially considering the damage that had been done to her outfit. Luckily she was able to replace it after lugging Chase to the Nurse’s desk. She returned to his side after changing to a warmer coloured sari, this one being pink, even though the Nurse had said it was nothing too serious. She knew already the boy’s condition wouldn’t be awful, but she did give his brain a good rattle so it’d be for the better for him to awake to a familiar face. Vishnu knows that he probably didn’t have many faces to recognise.

All the running around and heavy lifting she had went through put her into a coma like sleep quickly after a half an hour or so of scrolling through her ‘English for Dummies’ handbook. Even if she hadn’t fallen asleep she still would’ve stayed for two reasons; the first being that she really needed to get through that book, the second is her want to know if her peck meant anything to him. Sure it was a simple and rather tame expression, but it was one nonetheless. She didn’t even want to know what the beast’s reaction to something more than that would be.

The friction of Chase’s movements against the bed was enough to gradually wake Esha up. Her face contorted underneath the book until finally the guide text detached from her countenance. The pages she was on now had a slight amount of her flesh coloured makeup decorated on it, but at least that made finding the page easy again. She slithered her neck around as her gill flaps twitched from the movements, only slightly since the scarf restricted them. She shot the boy a preppy grin before continuing to stretch out her body and finally sit herself upright again.

“Suprabhaat. Mmm, good morning” she greeted despite the fact that she didn’t even know what time of day it was. The sentiment was all the same though. “How’s your head uh-feeling? Accha? I mean… Good?” Being awake for only a couple of seconds was not enough time for her to pick up her English solidly. As long as he avoided using big words like he tended to do she’d be fine. “My uh-mandolin did um… some hurt on your head, yes?”

( WORDS ) 582 ( TAGGED ) @esha  ( MUSE ) here Luckily, it seemed that the student beside him had woken shortly after he had, and this was certainly a comforting thought for Chase. He didn't want to have to keep every movement silent, for it placed an unnecessary yet small amount of pressure upon him. At this point, he wanted to stray away from anything that vexed the monster in the least bit. He gradually shifted his position so that he was facing her, with his legs hanging over the side of the bed and landing solidly upon the floor. Being quite observant, he noticed her change in attire, or at least a varied color from last time, and wondered if he'd somehow been able to tear up her clothes before she got a good hold on him. The young man exhaled with slight frustration, seeing that he wasn't all that overjoyed in having to pay reparations to someone he'd just met due to something he couldn't control, but it was both fair and polite to do so. Her words snapped him from his stupor, though, and he found his eyes fixated upon her as she altered between English and her native language mid-speech, "I don't believe it's morning any longer," he answered absently, glancing at the slowly darkening sky outside and then forcing his eyes back to Esha. Such a swift shift from visual color pallets and shapes didn't mix well with his throbbing headache, so he resolved to keep his eyes trained on the person he engaged in conversation with only. "Well, it certainly has felt better, but it's not unbearably uncomfortable," he responded in a surprisingly easygoing tone. Perhaps it was the effects of the meditation or being whacked in the head, but he didn't feel as on-edge as he probably should've. His hands folded neatly into his lap as he continued on, "So it was your mandolin that rendered me unconscious.. I apologize if it was somehow damaged, but I'm glad that you were able to put me under before the full transformation occurred." She played the instrument quite well, so it could only be assumed that she was fond of it. If it had been destroyed, Chase would probably have to pay for that as well, and it seemed as though the list of his expenses were piling up by the minute. But, choosing not to dwell on something so easily solved, he decided to press on the matter that they'd previously been talking about. "I believe the exercise you gave me was a bit.. Extreme. I haven't even embraced anyone in years,l let alone.. Been kissed," he ventured hesitantly, seeming even a bit disconcerted with speaking the word. It wasn't like Chase to talk about something so personal or intimate, seeing that anything of that nature blatantly spelled out danger for him. His fingers idly felt over his rapidly pounding temple, attempting to alleviate the pain through small, circular motions over its most sensitive areas. As the young man continued to speak, it should've been evident to Esha that he was treating this in a professional manner as he had with every interaction they've engaged in so far, "Perhaps we can do just as you said, start in an area that I'm familiar with, and then you can gauge how much power is radiating off of me in case things progress too far. Handshakes seem to be one of my problem areas, oddly enough, for I fear that I'll grip someone too strongly or something." AM I DIFFERENT FROM THE REST

MADE BY VEL OF GS

As Chase corrected her about the time of day, she lazily drifted her vision to the nearest window in the room. She replied to it was a bit of a shrug even though she should have recognised the lack of sunshine to begin with. It was more so to comment on the fact that they both woke up at the same time, but the boy seemed to lack any sense outside of serious and to the point. Sometimes it was commendable and yet others it was a tad bit annoying, but she supposed nobody was perfect.

Straight to the big words, oh how joyful recently awoken Esha felt about that. She could follow somewhat decently still, but it was the few words he used that she had to focus a bit harder on. He apologized for her mandolin, though she felt the aim of the sentiment should have been switched the other way around considering that the were-cat hardly even dented the object. She didn’t buy the run of the mill type of instruments, when it came to her mandolin it was made of some fairly quality material. She yawned silently before speaking once again. “… Oh, don’t worry about uh-that. It uh-packed more pain into you than you did to it. Trust me.”

A quick shake of her head cleared her sinuses better and woke her up just an extra bit more as she became mobile and left her seat. She was quickly reminded with a flash of memory and she dug out behind the chair in order to pull out the boy’s sweater she had taken without his consent. Her guess was he’d have no qualms about it since her purposes were based around logic. Esha approached him and placed the article of clothing on his back as though it were a blanket. All the while she listened to what he kept saying. “It uh-had to be done. It felt good before the ah… accent, no? I suppose I should carry around my mandolin all the time now” she answered him ending with a bit of chuckle. “Or maybe just work down your face until I reach your lips.”

The boy continued on about how they could better practice together. He was truly oblivious wasn’t he? All the same she supposed, it didn’t really matter if he didn’t get the purpose of the location and who he was with, as long as they did things together. So far though, he was quite a bit of hassle for no reward. Then again, giving up on him now would only turn out to be time wasted. Might as well see it to the end. Well, it wasn’t as painstaking as she might be putting it out to seem. His body was still fantastic. “Right, we can uh-we can work on that later. Don’t put too much work on yourself. The bump” she stated as she motioned the area on her head to mirror where it would be on his head. “Your power is fine as it is right now, and uh-don’t worry about handshakes too much. The one you gave me was just fine. You know though you could uh-greet people differently if you wanted to. In India we prefer bowing, maybe you could uh-try that instead?”

( WORDS ) 515 ( TAGGED ) @esha  ( MUSE ) here Luckily, it didn't seem as though Esha's instrument had been too shaken up, as Chase had expected, and he couldn't help but feel a great sense of relief wash over him. At least he wouldn't have to worry about paying her back for any damage the mandolin could've sustained, and even if she was withholding the truth from him as a gesture of courtesy, he'd gladly take it. He simply nodded at her words, feeling his fingertips upon his injured temple gingerly as she said it. This certainly wasn't the first time that he'd been struck in the head, and as detrimental as it was for his brain's well-being, he seemed to recover fairly quickly in comparison to others. Perhaps it was just the odd thickness of his cranium, but he was grateful for it either way. It was only when she suggested that her kiss upon his cheek felt pleasant that his brows arched with surprise, actually finding it within him to visually express this feeling. Felt good? he thought in bewilderment, seeming to grow all the more confused as she chuckled and joked with him. Was this.. Not in relation to the training? The tone she used with him suggested that his theory might very well be true. An incredibly subtle flush filled his pale cheeks, and though he'd promised to keep his eyes fixated on Esha, the white floor seemed incredibly appealing now. He couldn't even begin to fathom what a kiss on the mouth would do to him, especially if that surge in his chest had been elicited by a kiss on his cheek. Every now and then, he permitted his eyes to scan the young woman inquisitively, as if he was silently asking her if he was meant to interpret her words in such a manner. But, even with this information, he was reluctant to acknowledge it as romantic advances. "Uh," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck without a quality response to conjure, "I.. Haven't had much positive experience with.. Mouth-to-mouth contact." Sure, he'd tried to kiss a girl once before when he was fifteen, yet his fangs protruded and threatened to slice open the girl's lips, and since then, he didn't dare attempt to replicate that situation. He was relieved when she continued onto another subject, though, letting the excess color bleed out of his cheeks like a toxin. To be honest, he was quite ecstatic that his powers seemed to have simmered down, but it was hardly reflected in his impassive and blank expression. His eyes followed the bright colors of her sari occasionally, yet more often than not, he was capable of training his gaze to her face. If Chase had been a different person, he might've smiled and chuckled at her suggestion that he bow to others rather than shake their hands, but he took it with complete solemnity. "It seems like a fair idea," he began, "Yet, I'd like to be able to engage in my country's own customs with others first.. I think it'll help me acclimate myself to being with others." AM I DIFFERENT FROM THE REST

MADE BY VEL OF GS

Esha smirked and rolled her eyes silently as the boy’s complexion quickly phased after her comment about kissing. Chase was acting like an undersexed preteen and she had to admit it was somewhat adorable. At the least, it gave her a bit more of a reference toward how he felt about her, but still wasn’t a definitive answer one way or another. It probably wouldn’t be all that hard to squeeze out of him if she really tried anyway, he was rather matter of fact about how he spoke.

Whereas Chase didn’t have much positive experience with mouth to mouth contact, he probably had more experience altogether than Esha. Since almost everyone in her home town knew about the story behind her, and frankly almost all of India, most were well aware of her quills and how they looked on her body. Even those who supported the theory in favour of her and saw her as an icon, that didn’t necessarily mean they were attracted to her. Nobody really wanted to get intimate with the ‘avatar of pao’ either due to fear of her quills acting up and creating issues, or because they down right thought her ‘hair’ covered body was disgusting. And women who tended to forget to shave their legs thought they had a problem. It wasn’t like she could so easily shave it off either, unless she wanted to dedicate two sections of her day toward trimming her entire body. Even with all that, it didn’t even account for the anti-gifted folk which were the lowest on her tier of worries.

A hand placed to her hip and a strut over to his bedside once more, she leaned against the side of his cot and honed her olive orbs onto his face once more. “Practice makes perfect” she replied confidently. “I think that’s how that one goes…” she quietly muttered to herself. Knowing how he reacted to a peck on the cheek, bad experiences with full on mouth to mouth wasn’t all that surprising. Although that meant he tried it before, or at least someone was insane enough to try it on him. And yes, she was aware of her thought patterns, she wasn’t mentally sane for trying him out either. “I um-guess we can just stick with the cheek for now, but I uh-expect to get some back too” she answered with a suggestive raise of her brow.

“I suppose your right with that, but ah-if you don’t feel comfortable doing it, there is another option. Physical greetings aren’t always um-necessary. I suppose I can’t take away your country’s customs from you.”

( WORDS ) 738 ( TAGGED ) @esha  ( MUSE ) here Seeing that this was one of the few times that someone had actually flirted with him and managed to elicit a genuine reaction that wasn't dictated by the beast, the young man couldn't help but feel a bit disconcerted. He'd never interacted with someone for so long without the irritating urge to slice their moist flesh into tendrils and... No, he couldn't even visualize something so tempting in such a tranquil state. Once Esha placed a hand upon her hip and approached him, he felt his eyes swaying with her body for every step she took. A part of him wondered if this was wrong, yet the other was transfixed by this intriguing woman that had dared to go this far with him. Her words sent an uncomfortable amount of chills racing up his spinal cord, but he had no intention of blatantly showing this to her. Instead, he disguised the reaction by stretching briefly, reaching his muscular arms forwards to pull gently on the interlacing muscles laid out across his back. It was getting progressively more bizarre to be around someone who brought up such subjects. Chase's back stiffened at full attention at her second statement about expecting him to return the sentiment. His eyes then proceeded to survey her incredulously, wondering just what that would feel like. Seldom had he thought about kissing, though his immediate fear was that the temptation of feeling skin against his mouth would drive his feral instincts into territories he wasn't ready to explore. In fact, he often had nightmares about tearing a chunk of skin off of someone's face while attempting to perform the intimate act, yet if he thoroughly meditated before such contact was initiated, then maybe, just maybe, something could occur.. But, this was wishful thinking. ".. That's certainly a unique method of teaching," he mumbled, still feeling a bit odd now that her motives were no longer strictly professional. He excelled when personal feelings weren't required, but once they became involved, he was at a loss as to how he should be reacting. The way she 'suggested' that he kiss her as well implied that he was expected to do it, though he wasn't sure how to feel about that. Should he be dreading or looking forward to the exhilarating experience? Since he wasn't ready to do that kind of soul-searching, he chose to save that topic for another time. He felt his tension gradually decrease once they returned to the topic of how he should be greeting others, though. "Yes, I think bowing would be a viable option if need be. But, I'd like to challenge myself physically, since that seems to be my largest problem area, as you've witnessed," he elaborated, running his fingers through his hair and wincing slightly at the pressure against his temple. Even with the slowly dropping temperature, Chase still felt slightly overheated, as he often did after a transformation. The beast was anxious to have a go at him again, and it tended to generate warmth in his body from the amount of energy being exuded, even during the aftermath. Slowly, he removed his t-shirt to reveal a white, baggy tank-top of sorts underneath. This was usually the article of clothing that was easiest to tie back into a makeshift loincloth, if need be, and he felt a sense of euphoria wash over him the minute his t-shirt was removed. His muscular physique was accentuated now that his arms were fully revealed and the shirt loosely hung over the taut muscles defining his abdomen, but he could care less. The young man proceeded to fold his t-shirt and sweater together, placing them beside him upon the cot. Sweat beaded at the sides of his forehead as he waited for the excess energy to burn off. Had he been in a better condition, he would've taken a trip to the gym to eradicate the stored up energy that would've normally been released in a transformation, and thus also dissolved the heat. "Do you think that there are any exercises I can do right now, even with my head's condition?" he asked her, and despite his aching head, he wanted nothing more than to rid the heat off of his body, for now it'd become more prominent with his awakening self, "They can be physical or mental, I don't really have a preference.. I just need to burn off some energy right now." AM I DIFFERENT FROM THE REST

MADE BY VEL OF GS

Chase was tempting her so hard right about now, even if it wasn’t intentional. Apparently the boy’s favourite hobby was taking off his shirt because he seemed to do that a lot when he was around her. Esha doubted it was at all intentional since flirting with him was like playing catch with a brick wall. It either flew over his head or he just shied away from the subject and she wasn’t even getting into raunchy territory just yet. The most she’d threaten him with so far was kisses on the cheek and his reaction to something so small still baffled her. Granted his power made things a bit more difficult in that department, but still a peck on the cheek was only risqué on a first grader level.

Her hand quickly got lost in the boy’s hair once again, knowing that that was at least a safe point on him. She began to spike up the front a little bit to style it since she was somewhat jealous of his hair and yet he didn’t do anything with it. “You need to do something with your hair, its um-really flat” she spoke very calmly as she continued to run spikes up his locks. She minded his temple and allowed his own hands to deal with the situation. One wrong move and she might set the beast off again and she lacked a mandolin to tame it.

Esha’s eyes returned to his face every now and again to catch him with a glazed gaze, which she could only roll her eyes at. So he was admiring her, he just wasn’t saying anything about it. She wondered if she would have to talk about the birds and the bees with him too because he seemed to be absolutely clueless. At least he was past the age of puberty, she didn’t need to chat with him about that, hopefully. She wouldn’t be totally surprised if she did.

“Hm, well I could teach you some uh-yoga. It might not uh-burn off energy though, unless you want to do some more ah-advanced. I don’t know how well you uh-balance so it might not be a great idea. We could go for a walk. I don’t think you um-need to be here, it’s just a uh-um small injury.” She suggested as she peered at the door. The nurse did say it was only something minor and he didn’t necessarily need to stay overnight for it, but given the lack of patients currently it wasn’t a big issue. Esha would be interested in leaving as well considering she’d been in the room longer than Chase had. Well, longer conscious time anyway.

( WORDS ) 393 ( TAGGED ) @esha  ( MUSE ) here Having been oblivious to Esha's growing lust, Chase thrummed his fingers restlessly against the bed, as if a solution to his boundless energy would arrive at any moment. He was too consumed in his thoughts to distract himself from the present time. If he didn't, he might've been tempted to storm out of the room without another word. His awakening senses for the night certainly didn't help him now, and the urge to do something steadily grew more prominent. It was only when he felt Esha's hands ruffling through his hair and chiding him for not having styled it. "I tend to disregard my appearance," he said in an icy tone, for if he'd been like any other, normally expressive teen, slight agitation should've been used. He didn't slap away the odd, rhythmic movement of her hands, despite his words, for the feral angle of him wasn't necessarily irked by the stroking motion. Chase was annoyed that he was degraded to enjoying these moments just as a dumb brute would, but nothing on his face betrayed this inner thought. At the suggestion of leaving, the young man nearly leapt at the opportunity to escape from the somewhat claustrophobic room. "A walk would be appreciated," he admitted, swiftly rising to a stand with his head only pulsing in the background of his priorities. More than anything, he wanted to make some sort of movement and attempt to dissipate the energy. Chase, expecting the other student to follow him, strode out of the room and into the corridor, exhaling a sigh of relief as he tossed his sweater and t-shirt over his shoulder in surprisingly relieved manner. He spoke then, still carrying the assumption that the young woman would've followed him up to this point, "I don't think I could've remained in that room for much longer.." Even the simple action of propelling his legs forwards brought that euphoric sense of relief coursing through his body in small, sparking spurts, though it wasn't nearly enough to satisfy his edged desire for rigorous exercise. Once he either was left alone or Esha decided that she wouldn't mind accompanying him outside or to the gym to burn off the energy, he would feel completely content. Yet, out of courtesy, Chase chose to let the girl that had assisted him tag along until the urge grew too great. AM I DIFFERENT FROM THE REST

MADE BY VEL OF GS

Chase gave the excuse Esha was expecting to hear from him, he didn’t care. That seemed to be a response by most males. Why did they care so little about their outward appearances? Weren’t they the most important since it was the first impression it would leave on anyone they met? A strangely illogical reason coming from the man built around logic. She began to spike his hair in the fashion of a miniature fohawk, but working with his hair was like playing with stale Play-Doh. Added to that, Esha wasn’t the most seasoned hairstylist which was no doubt evident by the fact she didn’t have any. The man sprung from his seat before she could really make a concrete structure of the top of his head, so she rolled her eyes and gave in to his remissness toward his appearance. “Well, a little effort would not hurt” she lightly sassed back at the male.

Chase was like a fresh mold of clay to work with, he had the emotional range of a brick, that is when he wasn’t actively hiding his emotions from Esha and if she wanted anything out of him she had to force it. The question was though, how well of a sculptor would she turn out to be? She supposed the rugged trials of Chase would teach her over time or even fairly soon depending on how the two of them turn out.

She followed the man out the door, bowing to the nurse and swiftly informing her of their leave. He still seemed to have some patience stored within him since he didn’t run off ahead of her once he entered the hall which was good since the school had enough forks and twists that she wouldn’t even know where she’d begin scouting for him. “Yeah, I think some of the other ah-patients were start to staring at us. Oh, you could show me around the school now, yeah? You said…” as she was wrapping up her sentence, two small boys darted across the hall which were quickly followed up by their third backpacked member accidently ramming his shoulder into Chase’s abdomen. The impact veered the boy off his initial trail and the grinding of stone plates echoed from his bag. With an unstable correction of his footing he quickly returned to the chase of his clones.

“Hey! You don’t give me the heavy load and just ditch!” Lon shouted to his fellow copies as he tried to catch up. It almost seemed like he completely disregarded the group he knocked himself into.

“Aśiṣṭa! Yahām̐ vāpasa jā'ō!” she waspishly slipped off her tongue as her eyes followed the group down the hall. “What are they doing running around the halls?” she turned back to her companion with slight distaste on her face. “They need to be intimated about the school rules.”

( WORDS ) 632 ( TAGGED ) @esha  ( MUSE ) here Despite the growing energy stirring restlessly within Chase's body, he felt considerably better than before. Maybe it was just his animalistic side that disliked being confined to small areas, but even so, he found an incredible sense of relief by having been away from the sterile nurse's office. Esha's comment really didn't irritate him in the least as he countered her calmly, "Appearance isn't as important as other aspects to a person, so I choose to focus on the elements that matter." He had no time to be fretting over something as trivial as his hair, and if she chose to style it, then so be it. Otherwise, he would ensure that it didn't appear too out of the ordinary or knotted, and leave it at that. His mind wandered as she suggested that he start to show her around the school. As he'd stated before, he wasn't the best suited for that type of position, especially when he was still learning the ropes of the Academy himself, but seeing that he'd been in classes longer than she had and he needed to do something to occupy himself and burn off the energy, he'd oblige. "I suppose we could start--" he began slowly, before cutting off abruptly as something slammed into his abdomen. Had Chase been a bit less bulky, he might've stumbled backwards at the impact, but he stiffened and became incredibly rigid as the young boy pressed on. Every fiber in his being urged him to pursue the younger boy like he was his prey, for the physical contact initiated should've indicated a challenge in his feral mindset. The young man exhaled and inhaled slowly, continuing this gradual breathing pattern as Esha spoke some incoherent words in her native tongue. He could hardly focus on her, though, as his vision pulsated with a scarlet hue. If this wasn't concerning enough, the other girl's words seemed to be lost in a sea of murmurs that he could barely comprehend. "Esha," he said in the same, hoarse and strained voice he'd used before, "We need to get to a secluded.. Place.. Let's go.." If she was present, at least she could be able to gauge when it was safe for him to emerge, or if the amount of power wasn't decreasing at the rate it should've been. With swift, determined footsteps, he strode forwards, weaving throughout the people so that he came in contact with as little as possible. Even the most minute shoves and pushes could be enough to set his irrational, monstrous side aflame, and this also included noise of any type. The fact that Esha hadn't spoken in a language the beast often heard had filled him with a nonsensical rage, something only elicited by the beast's lack of intelligence to recognize varying dialects. Soon enough, he'd led them to his dorm room, and if there were some sort of rules saying that the other girl wasn't allowed to accompany him, so be it. This was the only area he knew that the creature considered to be stable and a comforting feeling, perhaps the only area that would stand a chance against his transformation. Chase stepped quickly through his door, having left it unlocked and seated himself on the bed with his hand pressing against his forehead in a vexed manner. He left the door ajar for Esha, and if he'd been someone else, he might've considered tidying up if he knew a girl was going to be in his room. But, with a few yet deep claw marks lining his walls and a few objects overturned, it was obvious as to why he couldn't keep his room incredibly neat. It smelled slightly of his musky cologne, if anything, and otherwise might've seemed to hold no scent at all. AM I DIFFERENT FROM THE REST

MADE BY VEL OF GS

There was some sort of irony in the words Chase used to deflect his ignorance toward his outer self, even if he didn’t realise it. It could be debated whether or not Esha would have even gave the boy the time of day if not for his appearance. She didn’t really see it as shallow since the boy didn’t exactly radiate any sort of charisma or charm, in fact his looks might be the best going for him by that stand point. If appearance wasn’t what he chose to focus on, then what was the element he was speaking of? His intellect level? His personality? Neither of those aspects about him really jumped out at her, besides the fact that he used big words she didn’t quite understand half of the time, but for all she knew they might not even be the most complex English words. The topic was for another time though, there were other matters to attend to.

The three boys fled down the hall until disappearing at the next crossway. They’d still be easy to track down, but the male in her party didn’t quite seem up for it. That blow to the abdomen must have really stirred something within him up, mainly speaking the beast. He said they needed to leave and she whole heartedly believed him. She was somewhat surprised the boys didn’t outright set him off. He motioned to move down the other end of the hall, opposite of where the boys went. Esha felt a bit conflict because the gang of young boys speeding down the halls could wreak a ton of havoc if not stopped, but on the same token so could Chase’s were-cat form if not dealt with properly. Her crush was closer to her and she wouldn’t be able to catch the boys at this point, her sari restricted too much movement. She just hoped that karma wasn’t going to bite her back on this one.

Esha chased after Chase, doing her best to keep up and tear up her dress too terribly. She already lost one earlier in the day and she only had so many. Chances were that she wasn’t going to find a store in town that sells saris. Even then, there were only so many American outfit that would cover her up nearly as well. She didn’t even know where they were headed, but she followed even if their escape seemed to be never ending.

Finally, their destination. Esha crept into the room unsure of where they were at first, but after seeing the décor she quickly caught on to where they were. Chase’s room was unimpressive to saw the least, but given that it was home to a crazed wild animal half the time she supposed it was to be expected. There was a very masculine aroma to the place that she couldn’t quite decide on whether she liked it or not it wasn’t potent enough for her to come to a conclusion.

She nodded her head slightly as she watched the boy take his place on his bed and she took a few small gasps of air before entering the room. “I uh-like what you done here. It um-suits you good” she commented as she idly watched the gashes in his wall while she paced her way down the room. “Are you ok? I mean your power levels are get lowing, I don’t know how that feels for you though.” As she lightly placed herself down on the bed so as to avoid shifting the springs in it too much, she went straight back to fiddling with his hair since that seemed to soothe him, even if only slightly. Her eyes had no focus, but they were set in his direction. “How long do you think it will take you to control this um-thing?” she questioned with an underlining tone of concern considering that it hadn’t even been a day and his beast had already threatened to come out three or more times. She was playing with fire and it hadn’t been more evident to her than it was now. Sure she had been aware of and thought of it, but seeing his room in this manner and the incident with the boys from earlier only cemented the thought further.

( WORDS ) 464 ( TAGGED ) @esha  ( MUSE ) here In one section of his mind, Chase was half-expecting the girl to make a run for it when he said this. Yet, he knew that she wouldn't resist to follow him, especially when she'd suggested that they go to his room earlier during another encounter. He focused solely on his breathing for a few moments, before feeling a brief sensation upon his skull that eased his raging emotions incredibly well: Her fingers against his hair. For whatever reason, this action was extremely comforting to the agitated creature stirring within his body. Her words had slipped past his comprehension, and for about a half a minute, he remained silent, save for the ragged breathing emitting from his parted jaws. However, he was able to conjure some sort of response once he felt as though he could manage vocalizations once more, "I.. Cannot feel the change.. Like you can.. I just feel.. Tense." He unconsciously felt the barrier he'd built up reassemble itself, but in the process, a few emotions seemed to be wiggling their way out between the crevices. "I don't know.. When I'll ever be able to master this... Ability," he panted, a bit of agitation leaking into his tone, though it was directed at himself, "I just want to... Be able to say and act how... I'm feeling, and I can't.. Even do that..." If he'd been in a more rational state of mind, he might've been surprised at her persistence when it came to his well-being, but he disregarded it. For now, he seemed intent on letting some feelings surface for the first time in what seemed to be forever, "I can't even.. Remember the last time I.. Was able to laugh.." But, this sudden increase of emotions didn't bode well with his inner monster, and he felt himself retreating further back into the detached, icy sections of his mind. Chase couldn't allow himself to talk so openly with a girl he'd met so recently, or with anyone for that matter. Falling into an eerie silence, he closed his eyes, clenching his jaw as a few jolts rippled through his body as the creature continued to prod at his carefully constructed barriers. Why was this girl even helping him in the first place? He risked a glance in her direction, taking note of her hand upon his head, and decided to speak with a larger sense of purpose to calm the beast, "Can you try to.. Predict when the power.. Will lower?" His lucid, blue eyes snapped open as he said this, staring determinedly into hers in an attempt to keep himself distracted with a task. If he continued to give himself small orders and specific roles, it would be enough to fend off the transformation that seemed so close to occurring. AM I DIFFERENT FROM THE REST

MADE BY VEL OF GS

The more the boy spoke about himself and his inability to master his power, the more Esha felt this was a situation that was far beyond her. What Chase was talking about were serious mental and emotional issues and while she was already aware of some of them it was at the point where he spoke about not even remembering the last time he laughed that it went too far. She wasn’t going to cover up or pretend her intentions were any different from when she heard of the exchange student program. She was at the school to escape, unwind, and fool around with American boys, not deal with the stress of dating a were-beast with a hair trigger. She couldn’t possibly abandon him though, as he said he had no one else to turn to and while his curse is different than her own that didn’t make it not relatable. Whereas some people saw her as an avatar or a sign of some sort, as far as she knew the boy had nothing going for him. Again though, was it something worth roping herself into? She wasn’t provided enough time to conclude on that.

Without any complete thoughts, she continued to swish his hair around in hopes it would put him at ease faster. Given his rate of breathing, he wasn’t close to that just yet. Perhaps she needed to do a bit more to end his rapid panting faster. He wanted to know how long it would be until his power level went down, so power of suggest might ease him a bit. The human mind was a powerful thing. “Well, I can sense that it’s um-it’s getting better. Just continue uh-do what you’re doing and you will be fine.” She wasn’t sure if the placebo effect would work in this situation given the fact that it wasn’t a sickness, but the concept also worked for physical and mental feats she wasn’t quite sure what she would qualify his ability to ward off his inner beast as.

His oceanic eyes locked onto her forestry ones. The moment of silence between them as their pupils seemed to refuse to venture elsewhere caused her jaw to loosen slightly. He had to feel more than he was letting on, there were too many signs to suggest otherwise. Was it the best moment to oust him right now? No, but she could try to get close. “That’s uh-kind of sad. You’ve felt other motions than that before though, yeah? Do you remember the last time you’ve felt uh-attractive?” she questioned quietly. She felt like that was the proper term to describe it without straight up saying love. If he said that she loved her then she would know that he’s over exaggerating things. Although given that he admitted to having little human contact and how unsubtle she was about her approach that might not be outside the realm of possibility, but then she would also have to attend to him being on another level of mentally unstable.

( WORDS ) 407 ( TAGGED ) @esha ( MUSE ) here As to be expected, Chase was hardly comforted by the young woman's response. What exactly was he doing to diminish the effects of the impending transformation? And how was she able to identify it? Without really being able to focus on this, he simply continued to breathe in ragged gasps, doing his best to clear his mind, but with a pulsating, warm body so close to him, he found this to be difficult. His thoughts were centered around the sickening euphoria that came with delving his fangs into flesh and feeling a burst of warm, sticky blood trickle down his throat like liquid gold. Nothing could beat the sensation of satisfying those carnal desires. Shaking his head in anguish, the young man emitted a soft yet audible growl that rumbled deep within his chest, instinctively feeling his head lean backwards to the touch against it. If anything, it was the only element keeping him somewhat grounded. After their prolonged eye contact, one of the most bizarre questions Chase had ever heard emitted from Esha's lips. Ordinarily, he would've been incredibly disconcerted and flustered by the thought, but his new ability to express a few emotions kept him more comfortable with this concept. "Attractive?" he asked incredulously, "I have a nearly uncontrollable... Thing inside of me, and a constant need to get this excess energy off of me when it reaches the brink of my defenses. I've never seen myself as anything other than a host for the werebeast, and there's nothing appealing in that." He spoke in a surprisingly bitter and pessimistic tone, something quite different from his typically monotonous voice. Exhaling, the young man emitted a sharp snarl as he squeezed his eyes shut briefly, for the creature had attempted to push past his sudden rush of anger, and it didn't feel so great to have to suppress it back into his body. He trembled slightly, his muscles strained and taut as he avoided eye contact with Esha for a few moments. He'd almost seemed to have forgotten her question entirely, for he was extremely distracted and occupied by his own troubles. "If.. If you sense my levels getting... Too high, just run," he cautioned, folding his hands together and pressing them tightly against one another. The last thing he needed was to tear the closest thing he had to a friend to pieces after only having attended Foresta for such a brief span of time. AM I DIFFERENT FROM THE REST

MADE BY VEL OF GS