[ are you gonna stay the night ] (open)

#6ba0dd
(words: 546)

The first time Lisette had visited the gym, she had discovered the large indoor pool, which at its deepest was only twelve feet deep.  Her fear of deep water was not an issue, then, so she had resolved to come back, this time with swimwear.  With every step, the empty space caused the sound of her sandals to echo.  She had purposely come at night, considering that most people would retire to their dorms or go to a party or something, not to the pool at this time.  The lights in the water threw shimmering reflections onto the walls, creating an enchanting, abstract setting.

She was clad in a blue halter-style 'tankini' swim top with black swim shorts, practical and not too revealing, and also an outfit she could wear to places after swimming.  Realizing belatedly that she'd forgotten a towel, Lacey shed her shoes and took a breath...

And dived into the deep end.  The water enveloped her as if in a hug, and her hair flowed out behind her like a banner.  Coming up for a breath, she laughed to herself, the merry sound echoing like a boomerang returning to its source.  It was good to feel the cool relief of water, the source of life, on her skin again.  Just for fun, she pretended she was a mermaid, and raced across the pool to the shallow end, where she could stand up and only be half covered in water.  Swimming at a relaxed pace back to the deep end, Lacey did a somersault underwater, followed by a handstand.  It was so much easier to do these tricks with the buoyant force supporting her.  If there had been any spectators, her mirth would have been obvious, and they would have perhaps felt compelled to join her.  But, of course, the windows were one-way, so unless someone had originally already intended on coming for a swim, she would be alone for as long as she wanted.

Her life was lonely, sometimes.  But before she had found out she was a Gifted, it had been a kind of loneliness where you had only your few friends, but nothing else mattered.  Since her power had come to her, she had become infinitely more alone.  The most shocking aspect of her new life had been Connor's reaction.  Never in her wildest dreams, or worst nightmares, would she have--could she have--imagined that one day she would be without her adoring little brother.

Lisette supposed she would rather be happy alone than upset and with others.  The problem was, she wasn't exactly happy.  It wasn't that she hated her power--in fact, she thought it was interesting and, for lack of better word, cool.  It'd also saved her life.  There was no doubt in her mind that without the impromptu form change, she would not have lived to see the next day.  But was it really so impossible for Connor to see that she was the same sister he'd had for so many years?

Well, the past was the past.  Resolutely, she decided that it was time to act on that mantra.  It was time to put everything behind her--Luke, Connor, her parents, her friends--without forgetting, because they were the ones who had made her who she was today.

With how well her last bout of swimming went, Esha had the confidence to return to the pool a second time. This time around though it was at night instead of during school hours, no doubt the pool would be equally as empty during this time period. She entered the gym long before the other girl she wasn’t aware of had, though she spent a decent amount of time in the locker room trying to get her swimsuit on. Considering that her body was covered in tough quills that pointed against the way one would slip on a bathing suit, it was quite the challenge. Why didn’t she just simply change in her dorm and then head down? Well, that would be bound to show off what she usually hid under her sari, the quills in question. The stark black one piece fit her snuggly, which to her meant that several quills were ready to poke out. Unfortunately, she never got around to buying a suit that covered her entire body, which meant that her ‘hairy’ arms and legs were ripe for ridicule.

Esha neatly nuzzled her towel around her person to try and cover up the parts of her body that her bathing suit couldn’t. She knew all about the one-way mirrors at front, but she still didn’t trust any of it until she was within the comforts of the water. The word comfort used lightly in this tense. She’d avoid the substance entirely if it wasn’t for her gills and her subconscious craving to use them. Why did the deities curse her to being an aquatic creature, on the same token why’d they curse her to a body that shouldn’t be seen by the human eye, frankly any eye?

She paced toward the exit of the change room, slightly paranoid by her own echoed footsteps. The girl’s locker room was fairly soundproof all things considered, even if asked any day after the fact she would never admit that she was able to hear the splashes of the other girl who was currently in the pool. She paused at the door itself to slick back her ‘hair’; it already had a gloss that would suggest she taken a quick dip, but that was just its natural shine. She had to convince herself several times that there was no possible way that someone else would be in the pool before she sighed and swung the door open.

Once outside the safety of the change room though, she spotted the other female freely free-styling through the drink. Her heart sunk for a quick moment as she raced back to the already shut door. She came to Foresta to avoid the controversy and ridicule that came with being the avatar of pao and she certainly wasn’t going to get a new fresh experience of it here. Sure, she was among others with abilities similar to hers and frankly people who would understand, but that didn’t make her body any more appealing. She wrapped her fist around the ‘gateway to relief’s’ handle and yanked it, but the object didn’t budge even if she pulled with the might of a thousand pufferfish (which she unfortunately didn’t possess). It must have somehow got locked, maybe she spent too much time within it and the janitor came along and locked it. That arose two troubles, but the first was the one panicking around her mind like a stray bullet. “Mala” she quietly cursed to herself as she began to both panic and try to assess the situation, obviously two modes of thought that went hand in hand.

Her breathing became heavier, but she didn’t dare turn back to glance at the girl who was swimming. Esha didn’t know where to go, she couldn’t run out into the hall because that would only amplify her problem, and… there really was no other place to go. Unless the boy’s locker room just so happened to be unlocked, but given how her karma was working out now, it wasn’t a strong possibility. She was just going to stand there and hope that the girl didn’t take notice of her. It was the best place she could come up with and besides even if she did peek at her she would only be able to see the lower half of her legs and above the shoulder. That was still more than Esha wanted anyone to see though.

#6ba0dd
(Words: 537)

The black-haired girl stood in the cool relief of the water, eyes closed, clear drops of liquid dripping and running down her skin.  Her hair had been slicked back, and her eyelashes and skin had collected drops of the chlorine-tinted water, giving her a dewy appearance that, when coupled with the pool lights, made her look like some glowing, ethereal creature.  With another inhale, Lisette opened her eyes and dove backwards, back below the water's surface.  There was just something about the echoes, wavering lights, and white noise of being underwater that created an indescribably good feeling.  Her arms swished through the water easily and powerfully, carrying her across the pool.  

Alone in the clarity of water, it felt like she was the only person in the world.  Her troubles and worries didn't exist, and there was no reason that anyone would bother her.  It was like her own little piece of paradise on Earth.  Strangely enough, none of the other forms she could become were water animals.  Perhaps if she tried hard enough, concentrated the emotions enough, she could transform into a dolphin once more.  

Swimming toward the deep end, Lacey tried to dig into her memory, lifting the treasure chest that held the memories of that fateful day out of the dirt that she used to bury bad memories.

She imagined the green-blue ocean water swamping her, dragging her under, slamming her into the sandy bottom, and carrying her further out into the sea until she could no longer touch the ocean floor.  As the memories became more vivid, the panic became more and more real, until she was about to hyperventilate and breathe in water.

Then, a sensation that they were being bent and twisted began to burn in her limbs.  Bubbles surrounded her as her body filled the mold of a dolphin's body.  

Once she had calmed down enough to realize the transformation had been successful--a little painful, but successful--a sense of elation and pride began to fill her.  A flick of her tail sent her shooting through the water, and another push sent her spinning into the air.  As she began to lose height, Lacey realized that she might injure herself.  She let go of the dolphin form, and rubbing her feather charm, shifted into her falcon form.  Flapping her wings a few time, she landed safely on the edge of the pool, and returned to her human form.  Never before had she realized how dangerous it was to attempt to channel any sort of fear while underwater.

Just as she was about to dive into the pool again, she suddenly got the feeling that she was being watched.  Wiping the wetness out of her eyes and (pointlessly) wringing the water out of her hair, the London native took a look around the pool.  She'd thought she was alone, but when she saw the girl huddled by the changing room door, she learned that she'd been wrong.

Taken by surprise, she opened her mouth to speak, but the words did not come out for a few moments.  "Umm... Do you need some help?" Lacey stammered, not quite sure what to say, and  hoping the girl hadn't seen her transformations.

The combination of sounds that Esha heard coming from behind were quite odd. Whatever the woman in the pool was doing it surely didn’t sound like a regular set of laps. What she did in the pool was her own business, however, it did peak her curiosity. There wasn’t much else for the quill covered woman to think about anyway. Besides the constant hope that the swimmer didn’t catch a glance at her that is and unless she was blind it was destined to happen at some point. Never in her life had she wished blindness on another person.

Esha winced as the sound of the other girl’s voice echoed passed her ears. There was no way that there was another person in the room she was talking to instead. What was to be done now? She spotted her and no doubt noticed the oddity of her body, she didn’t see her face though. As long as she didn’t have something to recognise her by Esha was safe from the return to ridicule. She couldn’t just stand there though, the woman would start to become suspicious and most likely come closer to investigate. The silly idea of pretending to be a mannequin popped into her mind, but that wouldn’t work out well. She wasn’t a good liar either, so she couldn’t think of something reliable to fend her off with and even if she could come up with something her English was terrible so slip ups were bound to happen.

The water. Her gills flexed as she thought of it. It might work, but only if the girl either didn’t have gills, goggles, or didn’t have issues with opening her eyes underwater. She’d have to lose the towel though. In one swift motion, Esha threw off the towel and darted down the deck almost as though there was something chasing after her. She transformed her sprint into a dive as she felt the edge of it on her toes. Like a bullet at Mach speed she pierced the water throwing all anxieties she held toward the deeper end away. As her initial speed died down she began kicking her way toward the bottom until she felt the tiles skid against her body. As long as she could continuing breathing in peace she’d be safe here.

Esha began to slow herself down, both mentally and physically as she scaled the bottom of the pool. She ceased a spot near the middle of the deep end where the water level seemed to be the lowest. A quick fold of her legs and she sat there silently trying to put the troubles that had recently arose to the back of her mind. The flow of the water was causing her quills to shift in odd directions, but it was a somewhat peaceful feeling to her. It calmed her down, but not enough to put her at ease. That’s where her meditation chimed in. She instantly found her mantra within the recesses of her mind and began to chant it within her head to try and regain some sort of calm feeling. As long as the woman ignored her. She wasn’t quite sure if she’d just move on after the way she acted though.

#6ba0dd

Lisette's heart pounded in her chest, matching the sound of water dripping rapidly from her skin and hair.  She could have suffocated under the water, and no one would have noticed until it was too late.  This experience was something she was planning on not retrying for quite a while, unless absolutely necessary.  But if it came to that, she wouldn't have a choice.  

Sure, people had powers that were potentially hazardous to their life, like the power to control fire.  But those deaths were from an inability to control their power.  If she died from using hers, it'd be from merely using it.  The power itself was not deadly--but the method she had to use to channel it was.

For the second time in the past five minutes, Lisette received a shock when she saw the young woman standing over by the door to the changing room.  How had she not noticed her before?  And why was the other girl being so silent and immobile?  Was there something wrong?  She had just about made up her mind to physically go over and investigate, when the girl raced past her, shedding her towel, and dove into the water.  She caught a glimpse of numerous streaks of brown on her skin, but couldn't get a clear view.  Her mouth hung slightly agape, not quite sure about what had just happened.

She could see a human form sitting at the bottom of the pool, and Lisette was tempted to jump in after her to see what exactly was going on.  It seemed like the woman was trying to show her that her presence was not welcome.  But her curiosity was stronger than any social dictation that might be in place, and without actually immersing herself in the water, she called, "Is something wrong?  Did I do something?"  

The sixteen-year-old was thoroughly confused.  She had never gone through something like this before, with a flighty person who liked to sit at the bottom of pools.  Speaking of, it was strange that she hadn't come up yet....  Was it possible that the other female could somehow breathe underwater?  The plot thickens, she thought to herself, with a touch of mirth.  She had always liked mystery and detective stories.

Esha was surprised that she was able to sit at the pool floor and not be disturbed for as long as she did. She wasn’t calm just yet though. The girl could still probably see her from wherever she was. She probably couldn’t see her all that well, but she could possibly make out a few things about her body that could incriminate her image. She tried to burrow those thoughts into the uncaring section of her mind, but it was already overflowing with other stressing notions like the fact that she was surrounded by the very thing she feared. It wasn’t too terrible though.

Rinse and repeat, whenever she reached the end of her mantra she hummed it within her mind constantly to reach inner peace. Whenever peace came to be in reach though it was pulled away like she was a fish attracted to a lure. Her breathing became too inconsistent at this point, her intake began to switch between her gills and the regular respiration system. Of course it had to act up now, for some reason her karma was worse than serial killer’s and she had no idea why. Was it because she refuted to show off the gift that her gods provided her? Or was it that Vishnu was more of a trickster than the texts had led her to believe. Either way, she was not happy with her predicament.

Esha began to choke. She had to resurface and face the consequences of her actions, even if she wasn’t deserving of the punishment. She rocketed toward the surface, gasping for breath as she crossed the threshold. A couple violent coughs came out her mouth after she sustained enough air and as her neck went through the motions a small amount of water leaked out of her gills. She had to practice breathing out of her gills more often, she was still kind of rusty.

Once her ability to breath was settled, her eyes darted around the room until they fixated on the girl once more. There was no more hiding she supposed. It’d be impossible to cover up now, useless she retreated into her suit like a turtle would its shell, but she would immediately sink if she did that. She wasn’t going to test her gills again after such a recent failure. The ‘hair’ atop her head began to erect slightly from being so on edge, it made her resemble more of a cockatoo than puffer fish, but that was neither here nor there.

“Lanata” she answered in a defeated tone. “Please, don’t tell anyone” Esha pleaded to the woman as she swam toward the edge of the pool to grasp the wall of it. The thought of swimming atop the deep end still spooked her, but she could ignore it for the most part, she’d be a lot worse if the water wasn’t so clear. Her reputation was now in the hands of this seeming younger girl. She just hoped that she wouldn’t abuse the knowledge.

#6ba0dd

Lisette was uncertain as to exactly what the woman wanted her to keep secret.  As she pointed out, they were kind of.. conspicuous, to say the least.  There was a long, indecisive sort of pause before the woman answered, saying that no one knew about them except a few teachers, and pleading for her not to tell anyone, not wanting it to be public knowledge.  She could understand wanting to keep something like this to herself.  People tended to spurn and ostracize those who were different from them.  But at this school, didn't everyone have something that made the strange and unique?  Especially if the spine-like things were part of her power,  the girl didn't know why she wanted them hidden.  She didn't point this out, though, out of empathy.  Maybe it was because the woman's first language was very obviously not English, and that she obviously wasn't American, and she thought that made her different enough.

"I won't tell anyone about... um, them, if you don't want me to," Lacey said.  "I'll respect your wishes.  But, uh, what are they?"  The other woman's agitation and nervous energy was making her a little jumpy herself.  

She wondered how exactly the brown protrusions were hidden.  Maybe they were retractable.  But if that was the case, there was no need for the woman to ask her not to tell anyone about them, because she wouldn't have seen them in the first place.  And even if she had, and told everyone, they would have just called her crazy.

"Also... What's your name?" the black-haired girl asked. 

The other water attracted woman didn’t display much reaction to her appearance, but that was what caused her fear the most from her. She didn’t look completely appalled nor appealed so it wasn’t easy to read her. That put her in a vague spot where Esha couldn’t tell what to expect out of her. Other than that though, she seemed slightly shocked or more so slightly taken aback by it all. It was a lower sense of reaction than she usually would expect out of people when they first laid eyes on her odd body, but that probably meant she knew nothing of her backstory. Lucky her then.

She slightly cringed as her grip became stronger on the edge of the pool. Now was the time to decide. Did the girl seem trustworthy enough for Esha to answer her question truthfully? If she did then she would have an angle at which she could abuse the knowledge and use it as blackmail against her. If she lied, then the girl wouldn’t have that platform, but that also meant that she could mention it without any care if they met again. It was difficult to say, but as far as Esha was concerned she didn’t seem like the manipulative type, so she ended up choosing the truth of the matter.

“No. Nobody here knows about them. A few um-teacher might know, but that’s it. I don’t usually wear anything that is uh-this revealing” she answered as she idly glanced at her exposed arms. She began to scale down the wall slightly to put herself in shallower water because the last thing she needed was more stress clouding her mind. “I don’t care what you can tell them, I just don’t want it to be uh-public knowledge that my body is covered in these” she still spoke in a panicked sense as she tugged on one of the quills on her arm in example. “Just… Just, please” she continued in an unnerving desperation.

#6ba0dd

Lisette was uncertain as to exactly what the woman wanted her to keep secret.  As she pointed out, they were kind of.. conspicuous, to say the least.  There was a long, indecisive sort of pause before the woman answered, saying that no one knew about them except a few teachers, and pleading for her not to tell anyone, not wanting it to be public knowledge.  She could understand wanting to keep something like this to herself.  People tended to spurn and ostracize those who were different from them.  But at this school, didn't everyone have something that made the strange and unique?  Especially if the spine-like things were part of her power,  the girl didn't know why she wanted them hidden.  She didn't point this out, though, out of empathy.  Maybe it was because the woman's first language was very obviously not English, and that she obviously wasn't American, and she thought that made her different enough.

"I won't tell anyone about... um, them, if you don't want me to," Lacey said.  "I'll respect your wishes.  But, uh, what are they?"  The other woman's agitation and nervous energy was making her a little jumpy herself.  

She wondered how exactly the brown protrusions were hidden.  Maybe they were retractable.  But if that was the case, there was no need for the woman to ask her not to tell anyone about them, because she wouldn't have seen them in the first place.  And even if she had, and told everyone, they would have just called her crazy.

"Also... What's your name?" the black-haired girl asked. 

(Note: I don't know what happened to my previous post... I guess I typed my new post in my old post because I was using the template and it got messed up... oops x.x)

Esha had the girl’s word and she supposed that was as much as she was going to get. Her trust in some had worn thin over time, but the other girl probably had gifts so she would understand or maybe she wouldn’t. Foresta was definitely a stranger place than back home and that went without saying. Being that it was a school for the gifted it was no surprise that everyone would be so accepting of other gifted beings. Though the fact that the other girl had yet to berate her for her appearance was a nice twist, unless she was judging her internally. Being accepted as a gifted person wasn’t her issue, it was the fact that she was basically covered in quills that made her nervous about her appearance. It was basically the equivalence of having a full body of hair and as far as she had experienced no one found that attractive or flattering, especially on a female.

Like an exhaust of air, she sighed in relief and pushed herself off the wall gently. She was now floating atop the drink like a pool toy, allowing the stresses within her mind to leak out her ears. It wasn’t so simple of a transition, but she could at least tell herself that her secret was safe with the other woman even if it turned out to be a lie. She just really hoped that she would hold up her end of the agreement. “They’re quills. Pointy to the uh-touch, so I wouldn’t suggest it.” She refused to link them back to the fish she so horridly despised for the sake of avoiding any possible nicknames that associated like before. She heard just about every variation of the puffer fish’s name so she’d know if that were to happen. “When they’re dry they usually um-stay in place. I wrap them up sometimes” she stated easily as she stayed adrift among the weak waves.

As the other girl asked for her name though, she quickly turned herself upright and faced her. “Oh, sorry. Manners. Namaste” she greeted as she formed her hands together. “Esha, Esha Mullur. What is your good name?”

#6ba0dd

The girl had to make a conscious effort to keep her eyes away from the quills, as the woman called them, but she managed to do so.  She was also told that they were sharp, so touching them was not recommended.  Lisette wondered how she had acquired them, and if they were part of her power.  And what power she had.  It obviously had something to do with water, given her ability to stay underwater for long periods of time.  She floated on the water as she explained how she kept them hidden normally.

"Interesting," the Brit mused aloud.  "My name is Lisette Hayes.  Nice to meet you, I guess."  She didn't know how to return the gesture, so she inclined her head politely. 

"So, Esha," Lisette inquired, "are you a student here?"  She didn't have the air of a teacher or a staff member, but who could know for sure?

Now that they were both calm and the tension was gone, she thought it might be okay for her to get back in the pool.  Carefully, she immersed her body in the water again, acclimating her just-dried skin to the cold water.

Waiting for the Esha to answer, Lacey dived downward, swimming like a fish, and resurfaced about ten feet away in the deeper end.  She tried futilely to untangle her wet, knotted black hair just to pass the time.

Esha might’ve not liked the exposure or the fact that she gave out her name to someone who had seen her spines, but for the time being she had to make the most out of what she was handed. It wasn’t like she could reverse the effects as it was and Lisette seemed as though she could be trustworthy. That didn’t make spending time with her while she still had her quills showing any the more comfortable. The tension in the air was lessened, however, there was a hair trigger for it to be brought back if the puffer fish couldn’t handle being in the same room as another who knew her secret.

The fish girl nodded at her return pleasantry and soon afterwards she watched as the other woman dived back into the pool. The thought of what the extent of her powers were crossed her mind, but she preferred to leave such topics out of the discussion completely. Simple karma, do upon to others what you’d prefer others to do upon to you. The woman swiftly swum to the deeper end and Esha followed in suit for the sake of not having their conversation being yelled across the room. A nervous tick in her head arose as she surpassed the point where she could reach the bottom with her toes simply. She knew there could never be any type of sea dwelling creature living in a pool and she knew the thought was even absurd, but she still thought it. It was like an animalistic reaction, she couldn’t help but to have the worry in the back of her mind. For the sake of the night though, she attempted to ignore it.

“Exchange student, my program starts next year, but I wanted to um-prepare for it earlier. After next year though, I’ll pass out high school” she answered simply as she cautiously hovered in place in the water. “I take it you’re a uh-student too? How long?”

Maxwell could hear the sound of his flip-flops as he went down the hall. Normally he'd be practicing his bass, but a string had snapped and he didn't feel like fixing it at the moment. Besides, he'd been wanting to meet new people anyway, and staying cooped up in his dorm room didn't feel like the right way to accomplish that. So instead, he'd venture out into the school- specifically the pool he'd spotted earlier- see what there was to see, and maybe meet another nightowl who was doing the same. That was, after all, the reason he'd come to school so early- the teen wanted to make a few friends before the start of the year.
To be completely honest, he wasn't really sure he'd even see any other signs of life. But that was okay, he did his best physical activity alone. Mostly because it was completely and utterly embarrassing. Athletics weren't his strong point, to say the least.
Several minutes later, he found himself inside of the changing room. He made it fast, pulling off his dark jeans and replacing them with a black pair of swimtrunks his sister swore up and down made him look amazing. They fell to his knees, thankfully- he would never forgive himself if he let Emma talk him into buying a speedo.
After that, he made his way to the door. If he was completely honest, the large room had a sort of cold feeling to it, with the white benches, white floors, white walls, and white ceiling, and it creeped him out a little. He was glad to leave.
When he got to the pool deck, it seemed like there were two, maybe three people already in the water. That was, to be totally honest, better than what Maxwell had been expecting.
They were both already in the water at the opposite end from where he was standing. Without thinking of the wet ground, he started to run to where they were.
Completely predictably, he fell, sliding across the ground and falling halfway into the water. He let out a slight squeak as he slid.
Once he was certain that he wasn't horribly injured, he hefted himself out of the pool and onto the ledge, sitting with his knees dangling in. He could see now that there were two girls, one with black hair and one with some kind of needles all over her body.
"Hey guys, I'm Maxwell," he said, cheerfully; the teenager was well used to embarrassing falls like the one that had just happened. "I'd rate that dive of mine an 8 out of 10, it's one of my better ones lately. But we're not here to talk about me, I'd rather know about you guys."

#6ba0dd

Esha told her that she was an exchange student whose program was starting next year, but she'd wanted to get here earlier.  "Oh, that's interesting.  Yes, I am a student here as well--hailing from Britain.  Not as an exchange student, though.  I sort of just transferred, so I guess I'm staying here for who knows how long," Lisette answered.  It was nice to finally see a non-American and non-Brit.  She guessed that Esha was from India.  "But I just moved here... a couple weeks ago, I think."

Just then, the door to the men's changing room opened.  Turning around, and causing a multitude of small waves to ripple out around her, the girl saw that a a boy who seemed to be a little younger than herself had just entered.

From the other side of the room, the boy began to run on the wet, slippery part of the floor.  Lacey called out, "I wouldn't suggest..."  Her warning came too late, however, because he slipped and fell into the pool, earning a wince from the girl.  

He obviously wasn't injured, given that he'd just climbed out of the pool.  He had the grace to laugh at himself after giving his name.  "Hello, Maxwell.  Impressive.. er, dive," she said sarcastically, but not without humor.  "I'm Lisette."  A raised eyebrow and one corner of her mouth crooked upward in something of a smile gave her an amused expression.

She had decided to let Esha introduce herself if she chose to do so, since the woman seemed shy and hesitant to make herself known to the general population.

( WORDS ) 558 ( TAGGED ) @lisette & Esha & Max  ( MUSE ) here Chase had been more stressed and anxious than ever before, and it was all thanks to his encounter with Esha. His paranoia that he would somehow either bump into the girl or that his beast would unleash itself upon another unsuspecting victim had constantly lingered in the back of his mind. If this wasn't enough, the beast fed off of this stress-related energy and often sent him on ridiculously long workouts to expel the air from his system. Just when he'd thought he might've found at least one person he could connect with, he drove her away with the only way he knew how: The beast's tendencies. He exhaled slowly as he changed into his dark blue swim trunks, not bothering to leave a shirt on, and set out towards the pool. His unnervingly acute sense of hearing permitted him to hear the voices of at least two other people, perhaps three. Though two of them were female, he was too consumed in his own thoughts that the identity of them escaped him. Chase's rippling and defined muscles along his upper body were clear as day, but it wasn't as if he cared. His excessive and consistent exercise wasn't his own doing, and thus he disregarded his body's reaction to the intense physical workouts he often took. It was more of a medical condition to him, really. Stepping out to the pool's deck, he slung a towel over his shoulder and wiped a hand across his face. More than anything, he just wanted to get the beast under control, and swimming laps was probably the most efficient way of doing so.. At least, without harming anything. He wasn't in the mood to let the beast gallop freely through the forest and attempt to satisfy his bloodlust, especially when a student could be wandering in there as well. No, that would have to wait for when he could be completely sure of his own solitude. Now, as his feet pressed against the wet ground, it was then that an all-too-familiar scent wafted into his nostrils. The young man's body stiffened as he raised his gaze from the floor, and, remaining stock-still, surveyed the three faces before him. Two were foreign to him, a boy and a girl both seeming a bit younger than he, and of course... Esha. Instinctively, he could feel his body tensing up its taught muscles with anticipation, but he took a step backwards anyways. He had to fight his gut-instincts now. The beast within him had a negative connotation with Esha's scent, seeing how her quills had harmed him, and now with them protruding out in the open, the creature felt all the more inclined to attack her. But, in Chase's more humanistic mind, he couldn't help but view her as.. Not difficult on the eyes. Something about her unique, sharp features and soft, glossy hairs along her arms and legs seemed increasingly appealing. But, since he was confronted with this new emotion, he was forced to take yet another step away from her. He couldn't have the liberty of admiring her, for all he knew, she was ready to call the staff members on him at any moment. "... My apologies," he said, almost inaudibly, as he continued to retreat back towards the door. He had no intentions of staying here for long.. Not anymore. AM I DIFFERENT FROM THE REST

MADE BY VEL OF GS