Bent, but Not Broken /DAPP\

The position of dorm leader was actually going quite smoothly for Esha. She wasn’t used to jobs where she held a lot of power, but she was managing better than she had thought before taking the position. There weren’t too many students in the Pyxis dorms, comparatively speaking of course, so it she wasn’t bothered too much. When there was a problem though, she was the first to hear about it. She actually liked that quite a bit, it got her to itch her sense of justice far more than she was used to.

Speaking of, Esha was on her way over to the campus police’s department. Apparently one of the students in her dorm was tethering a bunch of ghosts into another kid’s room. She didn’t really know how to get rid of them, but she figured that the security officers would have a trick to deal with that sort of thing. It couldn’t have been the first time someone done it at the school.

Just as the girl in the oceanic saree reached out to knock on the campus police’s door, it opened and a rather Amazonian looking woman exited and began to stoically speed walk down the hall. It looked as though she was wearing an earpiece. “What is it exactly?” Tem questioned in a focused and serious manner.

It definitely peaked Esha’s interest, not to mention that a quick peek inside would suggest that no one else was in the office. The aquatic girl pursued ever so silently, though she was not nearly matching the older woman’s walking speed.

“It looks like some sort of… were-cat. I don’t know how else to describe it” the man on the other end explained. It was just outside of Esha’s hearing range, but she swore she heard were-cat. That was enough to pick up her speed a little bit. It couldn’t possibly be Chase, she hadn’t heard a word about him for months.

“Keep your eye on the cat creature, I’m on my way” the false-human stated as her body began to morph into streams of sand and rushed to the nearest window. Within a matter of seconds, the entirety of the sand golem flew out into the open air and began to funnel toward the forest.

The earpiece was left behind on the floor, Esha rushing to its side. “Yeah, no thanks. I’d rather not be torn to bits by fuzzy wuzzy over there. I’m getting out of here, but I can give you a few landmarks…” Esha picked up the device and began to listen in closely. While she was not well acquainted with Tem, she knew more than enough about the officer to know that she would not go easy on Chase, especially if she wasn’t aware that the creature was a student.

The two students had a fairly… rough past to say the least. She owed the boy an explanation, but in this case she might also be saving his life. All of this happening at once couldn’t be just a coincidence, it could very well be divine powers telling her that she had a second chance.

Meanwhile, out in the titular Foresta Academy forest. Mr. Lemaire clung himself on the other side of a tree about two dozen meters away from the beast in question as it snacked on some sort of dead carcass. Looked to be deer or something of the like. The math teacher was still looking around the scenery for some notable things to say. “…It’s not too far from the west side of the school grounds. There’s a big rock that kinda looks like a shoe and two trees that look like they’re about to fall over, but they’re keeping each other up” he began to list off, not entirely sure what he should be looking for. It was a forest, everything pretty much looked the same.

Much to his surprise, a cloud of sand began to descend from the sky and started to pile up in the snow not too far from him. “Never mind, you’re here already. I’m out” Mr. Lemaire stated hastily as he sprinted back the way he came and far away from the cat beast he spotted. He swore, he couldn’t take his evening walks anywhere.

The sand particles continued to collect in a giant mound not too from the were-cat. In little time though, the dirt began to shift and grow. It started by forming limbs for itself, the emerald eyes poking out of its midsection as she transformed into her golem form and prepared herself for combat.

chase

    Months of recluse hadn't been kind to Chase Thorne. Ever since his incident with Esha, he'd hid away in his dorm, leaving only to satisfy the beast's urges and go to class. Anything else was an unnecessary risk, and gauging how his one social interaction had gone, the risk wasn't worth the consequences. He didn't need to give the headmistress another reason to send him back to the confines of his father. The thought left as quickly as it popped up.
    Chase was methodical; he did his very best to schedule all of his outbreaks. Ever since he succumbed to his antisocial tendencies, he's had plenty of time to plan when and where he could let the beast roam free, as well as scheduling activities he could work into his human routine. To some extent, he was in control again, and damn did it feel good. Like today, for instance, he'd blocked out a nice chunk of the afternoon for the beast, having placed his bundle of clothes beneath a particularly gnarled tree. Everything was laid out, set for him to expel his creature's energy before returning to his daily routine. Hell, the amount of time he'd been lending to the beast had lessened some of the pain of transformation.
    A deep brown, glossy coat ruffled against the forest breeze as Chase prowled between the trees, his lip curled in slight distaste. He hadn't been able to hunt nearly as frequently as he would've liked in the cold weather, but the beast was content with his limited freedom. In a single bound, he launched himself onto a tree only a few feet away, clinging onto the trunk and curling his talons against the bark. A roar of confidence spread throughout his body, rattling against his chest as he sprung back onto the ground and started into a dead sprint. Earth tore beneath his paws, and thousands of scents filled his nose with the unseen sights and unheard sounds of the forest. There was nothing more euphoric for a werecat. But, the creature soon found himself skidding to a halt; a human. In an instant, Chase switched from relaxation to predatory mode, slowing to a halt and then a slow stalk.
    There was a palpable change in the direction of the wind. The beast released a low, rumbling growl, curling his lip into a snarl. Did we really have to do this today? If you make a scene we're both gonna get hurt, and that's already happened at least three times since I've been here, argued his human state of mind, but the bestial side remained at the forefront of his mind, PREY, FOOD, ANGER. Ah yes, the simple, stupid, one-track thoughts that constantly consumed him. The beast was truly a poet. The growl began to erupt into warning yowls, slowly opening and closing his jaw to increase the level of sound he emitted. It wasn't until he noticed the swirling of sand that he began to hiss, shrieking and yowling at full volume to ward off any potential predators. The screeches were earsplitting at the very least, and Chase's beast could only hope that this would be enough to avoid actual confrontation... Even the beast wasn't really keen on getting more quills in his chest.

As Esha rushed through the corridors of the school to get out and through the west side of the campus, she began to mine her brain for what she needed to say to Chase. If she made it in time to get a window of conversation between the two of them. It had been so long since the last incident between them. She thought that she had moved on since then, and in some ways she had, but she couldn’t just simply cast him aside. The last time she did that she received some rather disastrous results. The biggest issue she had in recalling what she wanted to say was trying to translate it into English. Had Chase been fluent in Hindi, her speech would be much straighter forward.

Once she was out in the cold air and trudging through the snow, she could see the last bit of the sand golem descend into the forest. Perhaps she shouldn’t be as worried about what she was going to say to Chase as she should be about if she was going to speak with him at all. She supposed she should have faith in the were-cat to outlast Tem considering the strength she had seen in the beast, but the creature was going to need a whole lot more than rage and muscle.

While Esha was hastily making her toward the forest, Tem was already fully there. In her most base of forms, she towered over the feline, though just barely. The trifecta of emerald crystals on the golem’s ‘face’ glimmered in the sun’s light as they honed in on the beast that was threatening the school’s safety. The beast did not seem all that sentient, and its constant howling and hissing would prove that further. Given the variety of mythical creatures that prowled in the woods, Tem might be surprised if the thing would actually be capable of talking back to her. It hadn’t attacked her just yet, so there might be a chance.

The colossus stomped forward to assert her dominance over the smaller beast. “If you can understand, stand down” the ex-police officer commanded as her eyes began to flicker and glow in a peculiar way. It was the universal language of the golems, though some life forms were able to understand its patterns as well. She attempted her command in different forms of dialect to maximize her range of speech, though didn’t try two types of human languages at once to try and avoid confusion. “You are within Foresta Academy grounds and will be apprehended for questioning. If you do not comply, you will be forcibly removed from the premises” the creature continued to command as it stood as solidly in place as a statue.

Under normal circumstances, Tem would have no issues with picking up the beast and flinging across the island, but that would be against the campus police’s code of conduct. She was on the job. If she wasn’t, the afternoon would have been a completely different story. Besides that, there were missing students that were reportedly last seen in the forest and having a lead for that investigation would be valuable.

chase

    Of course Foresta's security was gonna catch us at some point, I just didn't think it'd be so soon, he thought exasperatedly. He'd been getting away with this for long enough, but this time he must've wandered too close to the perimeter... Or maybe his screeches were just a little excessive this time. Whatever the reason, this seemed like an inevitable outcome. As the sand golem materialized, Chase was able to will the beast to observe his opponent. It towered over his nearly nine-foot frame, speaking in warped, short segments that only his human mind could interpret, "...Understand....Stand down..." That was all he needed to know, and it was probably the most he could manage from those few sentences. But, with the beast's rage growing, he was losing whatever rationale he had to process the situation. At one point or another he'd have to succumb to the beast's rage, and "standing down" didn't really seem to be a part of that agenda.
    A screeching bellow ripped from the creature's chest. This was an obvious sign of intimidation, and whether the werecat could understand the administrator's words or not, he was threatened. And, according to the claw marks slashed along quite a few trees nearby, the golem was encroaching on his territory. Was the golem that unaware? OPPONENT. KILL, demanded the primal being, to which Chase begrudgingly relented. His worries of being suspended or even expelled were miles and miles behind him now. With hackles raised and fangs bared, Chase compressed his body against the ground and drown out the remnants of his human reasoning, before springing forwards. He flung himself straight at the rock-like creature, aiming for its feet to unbalance it. Without much thought or strategy, he used all of his body weight in the attack, as if he was certain he'd land it. A dicey toss up that the werecat wasn't really keen on changing. Chase might've just unknowingly screwed himself over, but this wasn't the first time he'd done that.

{ooc: sorry if it's a little short, i'll be able to make it longer once esha appears}

The deeper that Esha had gone into the woods, the less visible the forest line had become. It was only then that the cold outside air was affecting her slightly, the chill being enough to remind her that she should wear a few more layers the next time that she decided to hectically sprint across the schoolyard. While the screeches of the were-beast were quite present in the air, she was still a bit unsure if she was going the right way. The teacher didn’t exactly give any clear directions.

Luckily enough though, she managed to stumble across the trail left by the escaping teacher. She paused momentarily to catch her breath, eyeing the forest around her and seeing Mr. Lemaire in the distance behind her. If he had detected her earlier there might have been a slight snag in her plans, but that definitely wasn’t the case. She regained her sprint can continued to brave through the trees.

She didn’t really have a plan in terms of getting Chase back into his human form in order to talk. That part was still up in the air. She knew the beast wouldn’t attack her though, the last time they came face to face the thing couldn’t stop scratching at its countenance to even consider doing the same to her. Esha wasn’t sure what it was about her that made it do that, too heavy of perfume maybe? As she tried to deduce a battle plan, she began to recite the mantra of healing under her breath in hopes that it would help the boy this time around.

“Om Namo Bhagavate
Maha Sudharshana
Vasudevaya Dhanvantaraye…”

Meanwhile, as the lady was encroaching onto the fight scene, the beast may or may not be able to pick up on a familiar neurotoxin stench. The forest was full of many smells, but at the dead of winter, she might just be a beacon to catch its attention.

It would seem that Tem had wasted her ‘breath’ by attempting to reason with the creature. It looked as though it was being somewhat responsive at first, but it would seem that it was just a feral monster after all. It did make quite the mess of the area around it. If it was the beast responsible for the missing students, she might just have to put it down altogether.

The cat creature carelessly charged at the colossus and attempted to sweep her off her feet. Tem wasn’t opposed this strategy whatsoever. Once the beast attempted to trip her, her entire body fell forward, accelerated by her forcing her mass over the were-cat. She planned to splatter against the ground rather roughly, drowning the cat creature within her sand. In order to prevent a quick escape, her gigantic pillar-like arm punched the ground ahead of Chase.

Tem’s blob of a body began to swirl around like an incredibly thick sandstorm as it loomed over Chase. With enough speed and hope, the cat creature would soon be ensnared within the titan’s body.

(OOC: No worries, Esha’s on the way!)

chase

To the were-lion's initial joy, going for the golem's feet seemed to have worked. It began toppling down, falling in a stiff, face-first position. But then it... Didn't? Instead, it splintered once it made contact with the ground, sending sand flying into Chase's eyes. He cried out in pain, immediately releasing his grip on the creature to shield his eyes from the oncoming grit. Screeches and blind clawing ensued as the werecat tried to swipe the sand off of his face, managing to nick himself a few times in the process. In his frenzy, he started to teeter towards the edge of the storm's border. But, before he could make a hasty escape, a huge pillar crashed only a few feet from his paws to blast another wave of particles straight at him. He instantly recoiled, curling his lip and sneezing between yowls of fury. It was hard for Chase to focus on anything in particular while his lungs and eyes were basically teeming with sand, but he managed to take a few short breaths in. The scents were scattered and almost overpowered by the earthy tones of the sand, but there were a few distinctions.
    First, there were some humanoid scents laced into the golem, meaning that this wasn't an entirely nonhuman creature. Secondly, came... An increasingly sharp smell. Memories of jabbing and screaming in pain began to flood Chase's mind out of order in rapid succession. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, and the beast's simple-mindedness considerably clouded his judgment. It was obvious, it was sitting right in front of him-- Esha. Chase knew logically about what emotional toil their encounters must've had on the girl, but all he could feel was physical pain, vividly at that. Pricking quills and shouts, all blurred together in the sequestered chamber of the dorm room. More than the suffocating sand, this female was a threat. Not only had she rejected his advances to mate her, but she brutally attacked him. She was, without a doubt, a rival. In that instant, Chase suddenly switched from aggressive to defensive. He crouched low to the swirling sand beneath his paws, hissing lowly and growling at his opponents, seen and unseen. If the human side of Chase could retain anything, he knew that being even remotely near Esha was going to set him off in one way or another, and this was probably the most inopportune time to have that happen.

Without a second longer of delay, Esha was finally on the battlefield, though logically kept her distance from the swirling vortex of sand. She could see the were-beast within the sandstorm and luckily it was Chase after all. Unless there was another who could shapeshift into something exactly like the feline beast. It was unlikely, but not impossible. Either way, Tem clearly didn’t realize that she was harming a student.

“Amrutha Kalasa Hasthaaya
Sarva Bhaya Vinasaya
Sarva Roka Nivaranaya” she continued to hum. She had no idea if it was doing anything or if the gods would help Chase at all if they heard her. It didn’t help them out too much the last time, but at that point Chase was in the process of turning into the beast. Either way, for the time being it would be useless to try anyway considering that Tem was still uninformed, so Esha made her presence known as she stepped out from the treeline. She could feel her quills quivering in fear of it all.

“Don’t hurt him! He’s a student!” she called out hastily, though she was uncertain if the golem could even hear her while it was in the form it was in.

The twister of sand did not relieve just yet, though Tem’s series of eyes honed in on the target of the voice as they whipped around in the storm. It was that dorm leader girl. What was she doing out here, worse yet, she probably had to defend the fleshy being if she continued to stick around, how bothersome. Either way, she supposed she had to take her word for it, why else would she come all this way to defend this thing?

The sandstorm began to die down quickly, though in the moment that it did another pillar of sand formed out of the remnants of the flurry and focused on the crouching feline. It aimed itself down at the last place that the cat creature resided in and attempted to pin the beast underneath the mass of the dirt. Should it be successful in detaining the creature, Tem would allow the head of the creature to be out in the open air and shifted the weight of her pillar so that there was a small bubble around its ribcage, allowing it to continue breathing. For the longest time, Tem didn’t know that was the factor that kept knocking out all of her interrogation subjects.

Regardless of whether the attempts at keeping the beast at bay were successful, Esha stepped forward cautiously so that she was more so on the battlefield. Her level of caution would depend on the results, but it would never be low.

chase

    Distant and frighteningly familiar words hummed in the distance, and Chase could only brace himself for Esha's arrival. They went to the same school, they were bound to bump into each other one way or another, and being a raging werebeast wasn't going to help him in avoiding that fate. Still, there was a sinking disappointment in his heart as the quilled girl approached them, shouting something at the golem. Even through the sand and his squinted eyes he could still make out her wild gestures towards him. Was this a plot, some sort of plan she'd made to get him expelled? Were they coconspirators? The paranoid thought boiled in the back of his brain, but it quickly left once he noticed the sandstorm rapidly losing strength. Slowly, he began to rise from his crouched position, coughing and sputtering up whatever grit was lodged in his lungs.
    Elation filled Chase's chest as freedom was within his grasp; he could avoid Esha and forget this whole thing ever happened, maybe send a formal apology to the headmistress directly. But, this wasn't his day. Instead, the remnants of the sand solidified to quickly pin him beneath a huge pile of dirt, while also providing space along his ribs to breathe. The violent coughing and heaving seemed to have debilitated him just long enough to become the golem's captive once more.
Once he'd finally settled down, with his energy drained and his body physically restrained, the beast's pale yellow gaze finally met Esha's. To the werebeast, this was his rebellious female that quickly became a feared opponent after the whole quill incident. But, Chase was a different story. Esha was the only person who actually managed to get some progress out of him. Progress towards control, towards learning methods that, with dedicated practice, might've improved his quality of life. For that, she and her lessons were invaluable. However, there was no denying that it was a little more complicated than that. He assaulted her, whether or not it was intentional, and that created a gap neither of them could bridge. Was he supposed to expect that a simple letter under her door would fix things? She wasn't the first person he potentially traumatized, and she probably wasn't the last. Still, there was something about her that drew him to her; maybe it was her calming aura that seemed to keep the beast at bay, to allow Chase to have some individuality outside of his animalistic curse. He'd felt human in those few encounters.
    Chase was frozen into place, and despite his restrains, remained absolutely silent. He had to undergo a beast-to-human transformation, or he was at risk of losing his spot at Foresta entirely. Esha would probably be one of the first to testify against him if given the chance, and he didn't blame her for it. Maybe if he could get the creature in a more controlled mindset, he could spare Esha from another violent experience. Chase's eyes searched hers, both conflicted and yet searching for something to hold onto.

Esha was relieved to see that the campus officer both listened to what she had to say and managed to subdue the beast, if only for a short while. Her cautious steps forward exploded into a sprint as she rushed to the immediate scene. She slightly recoiled as the were-beast’s eyes were locked onto hers. She was all too familiar with the yellow eyed monster’s gaze, it was the same that Chase wore when he assaulted her. They were not Chase’s irises though, which only proved further that his letter to her was the truth. Even with the creature being under however many tons of sand, she was a bit frightened that he could spring free at any moment, but she remained bold regardless of that. Her stance was not nearly as confident as she probably thought it was.

As Esha drew near to the pile of sand, a trio of emeralds emerged from its mass, staring back at the young woman. No matter how long she’d been on the island, she was still not quite getting use to the bizarre creatures that inhabited it. “You have my attention, human. How do we reverse the transformation?” the mound of sand inquired.

There weren’t too many answers that popped into Esha’s head. She could only remember one moment where she managed to prevent his transformation, but she was only capable of knocking him out since he was in the midst of morphing into his beast form. Not to mention that the feline creature gazing at her and not giving any sort of resistance to Tem was creeping her out a bit. She was unsure if it was the beast or Chase who was staring at her. She was hoping that it was Chase trying to regain control, but due to her lack of experience with this form of him she was uncertain if he was even capable of regaining control. The beast seemed to be the more dominant of the two, at least in his human form anyway, so it was hard to say.

She returned her vision to the sand creature as she attempted to formulate and translate her thoughts. “Uh-I knocked him out erm-last time. Maybe we could uh-wait for him to do it himself instead?” she counter questioned. Esha didn’t exactly feel good about bashing Chase over the head with her instrument last time, so maybe they could take the non-violent route this time around. The beast seemed to be at ease for the time being and Tem could probably hold him down for a long enough time for Chase to transform back naturally.

Tem had a different interpretation of the young student’s words. Knocking the creature out cold would be a much simpler solution. “Easy enough” the sand being replied as a tendril grew out of her mass and began to take form of a huge mallet and then aimed for the were-beast’s head.

Esha’s eyes went buggy as she attempted to stop the officer from enacting her plan, but before the pufferfish-hybrid could say anything in defense, the hammer arm disintegrated and the sand laid in the snow in a limp manner. The titan groaned in annoyance as the left half of her sand body went completely numb to her, meaning that the restraints on the left side of Chase’s beast body became much easier to shake off.

chase

    Esha was here, Esha was here EshawashereEshawashere. The thought seemed almost unreal the more he repeated it in his mind. She was the sole reason for his seclusion for all those months; he didn't want to come that close to killing someone again. The sound of her soft, milky voice near him brought on a wave of warmth and apprehension all at once, causing the beast to release a low rumble from his chest. He didn't like these mingled emotions; anything that wasn't a clear cut black or white feeling was immediately discarded from the beast's mind, but Chase clung onto it like his life depended on it. He had to try and remember something human in times of crisis.
    The girl and the golem had a brief back-and-forth, but the beast was too dazed to try and decipher what they were going on about. He just wanted to leave. Before he knew exactly what was going on, some sort of hammer-like structure was starting to materialize right in front of his eyes. A threatened hiss stretched the sides of the beast's lips as it did so, but he was abruptly cut off. The sand golem moaned, and slowly loosened its grip on the beast. FREEDOM, bellowed the creature's thoughts, and Chase internally smirked. This was exactly what he needed. He relinquished whatever mental restraints he'd placed on the werecat to let it run out of sheer frenzy. With a roar, the cat released a yowl of victory and ripped himself from the shackles of the golem, right at a tree he'd marked up only a few hours earlier.
    But, all of the unrestrained energy was just a bit too much for the cat all at once, and he slammed his skull into the side of the tree trunk. Bullseye Chase thought satisfactorily, trying not to acknowledge the throbbing pain that had blossomed onto his forehead. This would be enough. Chase reestablished his place in mentally reining back some of the untapped energy the beast exuded, and slowly began to push through the mental wall that separated the two. Having to transform back was arguably worse than transforming, but at this point it made no difference to him. He'd have to go through it one way or another. With a sigh, the boy braced himself for the gruesome transition, forcing the beast's body into a large patch of shrubbery not far from the clawed tree trunk. Well, at least he was able to keep his change of clothes in a convenient spot this time. As his body finally collapsed onto the ground, Chase could already feel it starting. His bones began to snap and reform, his skin stretching and adapting to the new body it was forming. He cupped a paw-like hand over his mouth to muffle his screams, involuntarily crying out with every splintering of his marrow.
    The process couldn't have lasted longer than a few minutes, but the sounds of grotesque snapping and occasional screams weren't necessarily the most pleasant. Chase could almost be certain that Esha and the administrator from before were still present, and he quickly pulled on the clothes he'd stored in the depths of the bushes. A somewhat thorny t-shirt and jeans, but they were clothes nonetheless. Shakily pulling himself to a full stand, the boy was drenched in sweat, trembling and swallowing thickly before speaking, "... I'm sorry for this, I really thought I was farther out on the school's grounds and it usually doesn't last this long... It... It won't happen again." What else could he say? Leaning against the side of the tree trunk, he made an active effort to avoid Esha's gaze, instead focusing more on the sand golem. She shouldn't have been dragged into this in the first place.

The two women quickly jumped back from the emerging were-cat, the remnants of Tem that didn’t lie flatly in the snow instinctively flew toward Esha and formed into a barricade so that the cat creature couldn’t strike her. At least not with ease. It was all for not though as instead of continuing his rampage, the beast fled toward the nearest tree trunk and conked himself rather savagely.

The sand creature would have laughed at the bizarre display if it was not so concerned about the half of her body that just went dead. It was a rather inconvenient time for it to happen, but even worse was that she didn’t understand why it did or what it meant. The sand in the snow remained unresponsive, so she had to make do with what she had. Tem deconstructed herself and attempted to pursue the beast as it fumbled into the bush, but it seemed that the boy had reverted back to his human form, just as the girl had said he would.

The sand golem formed herself into a more humanistic form as well, taking on her usual identity. Her hair was far more subdued than normal since a good chunk of her body still resided elsewhere (and she was a bit hollow in some places, but that was less noticeable to the naked eye). “The school has rooms specifically designed for shapeshifters like you, I suggest you use that next time” Tem sternly advised, attempting to thrust about her authority despite beginning to have a feeling similar to what humans would call light headedness. Something was wrong with her, and she had no idea what. Either way, she was going to have to investigate it outside of the sight of the children. The area was secured enough.

“There have been disappearances around the forest, so get back to campus grounds. I’ll make sure nothing’s around” she hastily instructed as she broke apart yet again and her sand particles swirled into the sky, the cloud of sand looming over the forest as though she was doing her duty.

In the meantime, Esha was still wincing a bit as the crackling of bones was still echoing in her mind. The thought that he had to endure such pain with every transformation made her skin crawl. Despite the grotesque image of what Chase might look like once he re-emerged, he was still a solid whole when he did show himself, which was relieving. His lack of eye contact wasn’t as good of a sign though. Was it too late to apologize? Or perhaps he figured his attention was best left to the campus police.

When Tem left though, that only gave him one other person to look at. Esha wasn’t certain on how to approach Chase, considering how shaken up he must be from the experience, but she daintily stepped forward. She shivered as he did since neither were exactly dressed for the winter weather, even though one would think that a full body saree was capable of storing heat well. It certainly wasn’t.

She wasn’t certain how to approach this conversation, more so how to open. There had been such a distance between them and it didn’t give them a chance to really talk about what happened face to face. “So… uh- Namaste” she greeted rather warmly despite the cold. There was a light bow of her head, in addition to a friendly face, though it broke into a bit more of a serious countenance as she got closer to the boy. That is if he allowed her to get within a couple meters of him.

“I, uh, meant to write ah-a letter back to you, but uh, the dorms changed. I didn’t really know where to uh-find you” she explained plainly as she rubbed the back of her neck.

chase

    "The school has rooms specifically designed for shapeshifters like you, I suggest you use that next time." Chase was reluctant to oblige, but maybe he could camp out there for a few days. The forest was the only environment dynamic enough to satiate the beast for hours on end, and the boy wouldn't trade that peace for the world. He'd just have to play along until the administrator forgets about this little incident.
    Once his transformation was complete and the sand golem was out of sight, Chase breathed a small sigh. This kind of commotion might've been common in his life, but that didn't make it any less exhausting. And, judging by the slight fear he could smell on Esha, she felt similarly. She stepped forward tentatively, "So… uh- Namaste." Chase blinked a couple of times, fully having expected the girl to take off. She definitely hadn't forgotten about the incident, right? They hadn't even spoken since then. "I, uh, meant to write ah-a letter back to you, but uh, the dorms changed. I didn’t really know where to uh-find you," she explained, but Chase dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "I didn't expect you to write back, and I didn't really need you to," he replied, gathering the plastic bag he'd tossed into the bush as an excuse to avoid her gaze, "So long as you got it, then I'm good."
    Crumpling the bag into his fist, Chase decided that it was probably safe to at least catch a glimpse of Esha. He was still partially human, and whether he wanted to admit it or not, part of his biology was programmed to appreciate things of beauty. Her pursed, reddish lips and sunkissed complexion almost caught him off-guard, but without the possibility of mending their relationship, she didn't make him as nervous as he had been before. It was almost like admiring a work of art along the solemn halls of a museum; untouchable yet captivating. "I've been kind of... Under the radar, or at least I've been trying to be," he continued, having always been a bit more talkative in Esha's presence, "I figured that staying out of everyone's way would be the best way of avoiding incidents, but I think they're just bound to happen at this point." The beast seemed to have sucked out whatever emotion he'd been holding onto. His eyes scanned her expression rather plainly, and he spoke in an equally collected tone, "You're shivering." For a few moments, he let this observation hang in the air, trying to gauge how to proceed without sounding creepy or aggressive. "I'm happy to walk you back inside, I know these woods almost inside and out," he offered, recalling a few lessons of chivalry his father had drilled into him, "I'm all right if you'd rather head out by yourself, it's up to you."

How long it had been since the two had spoken only became even more apparent to Esha the longer that she stood in his presence. Just looking at him reminded her of simpler times, meaning the body of that one day that they knew each other. She’d met plenty of other boys in the time that they were distant, though what she let happen never quite escaped her, especially after the incident with the ice giant. The Gods were trying to tell her that she did something wrong and she felt that ignoring Chase was exactly that.

Chase was quick to dismiss her apology for not writing back. Apparently he didn’t think it was necessary, but Esha knew that it was wrong of her. While the dorm changing did affect her ability to write back, she had a good few weeks to summon the courage to say something and specifically chose not to. For a while she didn’t know what to say, but after time had passed and she hadn’t heard from him, she actively neglected it hoping that the problem could solve itself. She did come to Foresta so that she could let loose and have fun before her high school career was over, having to deal with Chase’s problems would hinder that fun, especially if they were going to have the tight relationship she had been teasing him with since day one. Today was her day of retribution though. It was wrong for her to think so selfishly and she needed to believe that for herself.

Esha was not prepared for the winter weather and Chase was quick to pick up on that. He offered to walk her back onto school grounds, though she remained still regardless of the unfamiliar cold air. She crossed her arms and stowed her hands underneath her biceps to preserve her body heat as best she could. She might be outside for quite some time. “I-uh… no. We really need to talk. We do it right here, no one is-uh, around. So, uh, better privacy” she stated rather seriously as she approached the male yet again, making sure that they were within a decently comfortable talking distant.

The girl still kept her distant, though specifically for Chase’s comfort rather than her own. She knew that she was safe around the boy, just not the other form that consumes him every now and again. Her crystal-like emerald eyes spied upon his own, just to make certain that they weren’t the beast’s. “When I left you, I uh, I let you take all the blame for what happened. It was… wrong. I know you uh-you blame yourself so much. I pushed you though. You warned me, but I uh- I didn’t listen” she explained rather softly as her eye ducts became a bit wet.

She looked away from Chase momentarily as she blinked rapidly to eliminate the water from her eyes. She knew exactly what the boy would try to do, he would try to refute her claims by blaming the incident on himself. Any opportunity he could take to degrade himself he would, so before he make such a statement, Esha resumed speaking. She looked more so toward the sky this time around though, as though she was imagining her home country in the distance. “I rushed you, I uh- rush every boy I meet. Back home I wasn’t really popular with boys” she admitted as she lightly pulled off her headdress to reveal her full head of quills and even her gills began to waver as they were exposed to the wind. “And if I –uh, don’t find someone before I get back home, my parents will. I won’t have a, ah, choice” she further explained as she looked at Chase once more, her quills naturally furrowing into a fohawk as she did.

“That’s why I was moving so fast. It –uh wasn’t fair to you. If I wasn’t thinking of myself and –uh pushing you, the accident wouldn’t have happened. So, I’m sorry” she apologized yet again, her eyes becoming slightly watery yet again. While she wasn’t exactly the closed off type, she had never felt so open about herself in her life. The need to cry just felt so natural even though she wasn’t overtly sad or anything, it was just getting so much off of her chest was so relieving. Whether it helped Chase at all was another question entirely.

chase

    For a boy that was so accustomed to being under some sort of restraint 24/7, the beast's exhaustion brought him a new sense of freedom. He could allow more emotion to flow through him, flickering across his expression and fluttering weakly against his heartbeat. It was... A rare experience to say the least. "I-uh… no. We really need to talk. We do it right here, no one is-uh, around. So, uh, better privacy," she countered when he offered to walk her back inside. He honestly didn't think they'd be having this conversation right here and now, but he'd figured it would come up eventually. If she wasn't going to run away from him, that is.
    As if things couldn't get any more bizarre, Esha was almost completely emotionally vulnerable with the boy that had been a raging werebeast only a few minutes before. She explained her prior forwardness, and how important finding a partner was for her back home. Either she made a hasty decision here, or her parents would do it for her. And, having been in isolation for so long, sometimes he forgot that he wasn't the only one with shitty parents. A frown creased his brow and pulled at the corners of his mouth as he studied her, eyes glistening and voice wavering. Was she..? "... So, I'm sorry," she concluded, her voice a mix of relief and another emotion he couldn't quite discern. Noting that she'd closed the distance between them to create a comfortable space for speaking, Chase took a deep breath, and managed a few steps towards her. If she felt threatened, she still had plenty of space to step back, but he hoped that this slightly intimate stance would compensate for his less-than-average social skills.
    What was he doing? How could he possibly relate to this girl's story? She was getting ready to get set up with some guy to appease her parents. And besides, she was right, she did provoke him, but why did he want to disregard that? Wasn't he the guy that prided himself on being logical, on using nothing but cold hard facts to dictate his actions? Funny how just one person could wreck that streak. "... Wow," he mumbled rather dumbfoundedly, "I... I know that me saying 'I'm sorry to hear about your situation' will probably sound overused and illegitimate, but I... I really am sorry. There's no way for me to know what that kind of pressure feels like, so I can only imagine what it feels like for you." He flexed his fingers a few times, glancing at the ground, before venturing further, "I get it, though. You didn't have a lot of time or options, and unfortunately, you were stuck with me. We were kind of an accident waiting to happen. But, for what it's worth, I accept your apology." Chase managed a half-smile. It was a little flattering to know that she'd been trying to court him in one way or another, even if it was a hasty decision and a terrible one at that. Still, he couldn't deny the warmth that spread through his body at the thought of it, "You're really too kind to me, Esha. Now, I don't think you're any warmer than you were before, so can I please show you inside? You'll catch a cold if you stay out here for much longer." Maybe it was his newfound freedom, but the boy was able to inject a sort of gentility and kindness into the way he spoke to Esha. It was the least he could do, really.

Esha managed to pull back the water from within her eyes before it could leak onto her face. She had grown quite skillful at holding tears back in order to preserve the make-up and foundation that lined her face. Besides, she had very little reason to actually break out into sobs despite the pressure and Chase’s acknowledgement of her struggles. Though, her being stuck to Chase was not an accurate statement, though she should probably refrain from bursting his bubble by informing him that she’s dated at least two other guys in the time between their last meeting, neither of them were much of note though. Generally speaking, she preferred Chase’s company over theirs and that’s as much detail as she would get into at the moment.

As Chase pulled his body closer to hers, she looked toward the ground unsure of how she should look at him. His counter-apology made her grow a slight smile, she knew it would be coming, but it was a rhythm to a song, predictable but still satisfying to hear.

“Chase, you-uh, you need someone to be kind to you for once. I suppose you could say I’m –uh doing the needful” she stated lightly as she looked back up to him. “Us though, -uh, I don’t know if that’ll work out. You’re very kind, but –uh you need someone who can support you. I go back home after this semester, so I won’t be around for you. I want to help you though, just –uh” she continued until she tilted her head back with mystified eyes as she tried to think of the word she was looking for in English. “Not intimate maybe? There is still time for both of us and having someone here to –uh help you like earlier would be better for you, yeah?”

She was unconfident in her words, enough so that even Chase might pick up on it. Her initial plan for this moment was to get her struggle across and then try to convince Chase that they were better off not being a couple, but he seemed to be somewhat comfortable in the idea of being her choice for a partner. It briefly made her reconsider. Though she honestly didn’t know how that would go over. Her parents’ reaction would be one thing, but Chase’s power was another. She wasn’t certain if she could make that kind of commitment. His human side was so gentle though and he did have a fairly rocking set of abs.

Either way, Esha gently brushed the quills on her head back as the cold continued to frizzle and erect her ‘hair.’ She supposed that Chase was right and that returning inside would be for the best all things considered. Between the two of them, someone was going to freeze or get frost bite and she wasn’t used to the snow enough to properly judge how long that would take. “I –uh, of course, lead the way” she added as she gestured forward.