Daybreak | IC Inbox.

[awooligan]

CLIFFORD NORMAN
UN: REDRIDINGHOODIE

STATUS: grade 11

ACCOLADES: n/a.

BIO: name's cliff. let me know if you'll buy cigarettes and shit for me, we can work something out.

© TESSISAMESS

Comments

[kept_his_letters]

[When the wolf joins her, she grins wider and laughs with his bouncing. It's cute. There's no other way to put it but she has the mercy in her not to say it out loud.

There are skips, spins, and backwards steps. She doesn't know real proper dances but she doesn't need to, out here. She moves around him and watches as he moves around her. The very unmagical bruja and el Lobo Rojo, finally "running" free.

Eventually when she can dance no more (because no matter how she loves it, she's not about to have more energy than a wolf), she drops down to lay on the earth. And then get up with a shiver and a laugh.]

That's cold!

[Okay, so, no the best idea. Back to her feet she goes.]

I guess I should head back. Or help you clean up in there. Do you feel better?

[awooligan]

[As happy as he is to be with her and seeing her so lost in the joy and playfulness of it all, it's a relief to stop. Wolves just have to run around and that's good enough, but even so, it feels like he should be doing more for a proper dance. Never mind that he still can't get fully on board with the dancing thing in the first place.

To rub in the fact that she can't set her silly human self on the ground, Clifford lays where she just was, chin tucked against his paws and tail wagging in a silent, beckoning tease of chase me, chase me. The question gets it to slow, and he raises his head instead. Well...]

I wasn't ever feeling bad.

[Sort of a lie, but most of the bad feelings, from his point of view, had to do with the fact that she was going home. Now here she was talking about going away, just on a smaller scale. Shove all bad memories of Carl aside! Shove the reality of being a wolf right this second aside! Surely those things couldn't be a big deal.]

Do you have to? It's so boring around here without you. [The room feels so empty!! Although having it to himself again is mostly good.]

[kept_his_letters]

You were feeling like you couldn't be you. That you weren't safe to be yourself. That feels pretty bad.

[Maybe not terrible, but still not good. That wagging tail, however, does indicate things are a little better. It's so, so very hard not to grin at that.]

I could always come back. If you're really that bored.

[Even as she teases him, she's touched. It's a nice thing, to be wanted around like that.]

[awooligan]

[blehhh, buzzkill.]

This isn't me.

[He's about to say that it counts as half at best, but she'd probably do the sensible thing and argue that means he couldn't be his whole, true self, and he doesn't want to have to get into an argument he's just going to lose with her. That's no fun.]

You'd better. I want you to hang out with your dad, but you'll get to see him every day. What am I supposed to do, huh?

[But fine, fine... With a huff, he rolls himself over dramatically to give himself the momentum to get up. As he stands, he only needs to get up on two legs instead of four.]

[kept_his_letters]

[She's a little disappointed by his response, but, she's not magic. At least not that kind. He's got to work things out there himself.]

Oh, I don't know. Do your homework. Go to class. Make friends. Run around in the woods some more.

[Things he probably hasn't been doing that much.]

You're you. All of you. At least that's how I see. But, there is one thing about this form of you that's kind of better...

[awooligan]

Ugh. Okay, whatever.

[Classes are no fun at all? But thanks for...almost letting him off the hook, Coco. It's probably better for him in the long run that she include his werewolf self as part of his whole self, anyway. Not that he can see that so well, right now.

He looks over at her, a little surprised and a lot curious.]

Huh?

[kept_his_letters]

[She hesitates. There is a moment there where she wonders if she should have thought about this before just saying it, and if he'd accept a lie, whatever lie she came up with. She bites her lip and looks away.]

Well. Um.

[She side steps closer to him.]

This.

[And just like that, she leans in to kiss his cheek. A quick peck, before he can dart away and before she can stop herself.

Then, the rest of her brain catches up. She flushes bright red and quickly runs.]

[awooligan]

[Someone getting so close to him is a strange feeling, but Coco’s allowed, even if his brain is screaming at least four different reasons why he should run. But he doesn’t, and she’s right there, and he finds himself leaning a little bit towards her in return like maybe she’s going to tell him a secret, or something? That’d be pretty weird, since they’re all the way out here, but —-

It might have made more sense to him than what actually happens, and wouldn’t have left him stupidly standing there, watching her go and feeling like he’s on fire.]

Uh.

[Did that happen? That happened. Huh.

...He should probably be going after her! Though it isn’t like catching up is hard at all, and what’s he supposed to do then? Well, he’ll have to find out.]

Uh, Coco! Wait? [??????? why was that a question, he’s so stupid]

[kept_his_letters]

No!

[No waiting. Only running and being stupid now.

If she weren't running she'd cover her face. But then, she wouldn't be able to run right or see where she's going and she'd almost definitely run into something.]

If I stop I'll die!

[This is not technically true but it's true enough!]

[awooligan]

[No, you know what? That's fair. He can see the logic in that, and slows to a jog, then a stop. Because he might be able to understand her "you stop, you die" struggle, but right now he's really feeling the "you talk, you die" energy in his soul. In a daze, he stares after her.]

Uh, okay... Thanks?

[why the hell -- what is wrong with him?]

[kept_his_letters]

That's what I should say!

[That is kind of what she wanted it to say. For the Atole, for the dance, for the day, for saving her father, for the past months and making her feel like she could be her whole self for the first time.

But she's running because she showed a little too much self. What can you do?]

I'll see you later! Thank you!