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

[awooligan]

[squints]

Uh, you said it might be fun. Is this why you wanted to meet me outside? Because I don’t have a problem yelling in public.

[Well, sometimes. Okay, maybe he had some problems with it. If that was the reason, well-played, hawk.]

[hawkwardness]

< No, that was because I like it outside. >

[...Okay, being sarcastic is not helping.] < You know how you said you haven't really changed into a wolf outside of the full moon yet? I was thinking... maybe you should. It's there, it isn't going to go away. Why not try and make some good memories with it? >

[awooligan]

[Ah... Rather than wanting to yell, Cliff’s expression shifts to something a little more withdrawn. Even though he knows that Tobias’s voice is probably only directed towards him, he can’t help taking a look around to see if anyone is paying attention.]

And do what, exactly?

[hawkwardness]

[Paranoia. He gets it. He wouldn't want to be overheard talking about his issues anyway...]

< Uh, I don't know. Whatever you think might make it less... scary. Explore the woods? Go swimming? >

[awooligan]

["Scary"?]

I'm not scared. Not of...that.

[The wolf was okay, most of the time. It wasn't the full moon or anything, so he didn't feel like he was being the monster that he'd become. He looks down at his feet, kicking one shoe against the other while he thinks it over. It was weird to consider. He already does those things as a human... Cliff doesn't know whether that makes the idea better or worse.]

Isn't it a bit cold for swimming?

[hawkwardness]

< ...Point. Whatever, I'm just throwing ideas out. It's about... I don't know, baby steps. Towards not feeling so awful about it. >

[Maybe even having good days, eventually.]

[awooligan]

No, I know. You're right.

[He doesn't sigh so much as deflate a little, because as much as he wants to resist confronting this, he knows it's not healthy to run away all the time, or keep everything hidden away where only he was there to deal with it. He doesn't love the idea, but doesn't hate it, or even dislike it, either.]

It's just weird to think about it. Doing it on purpose... [It had been easy, back in his room, but he'd still felt like there was an icy hand in his chest about to make him drop dead.] The woods, maybe. Or even a little into the mountains? There was this place back home I used to sit and think. Could use something like that here.

[hawkwardness]

< Yeah, maybe. I know of some places nearby that look cool from above. I can turn into a deer and show you. If you want to do this. I'm not saying you have to... mostly that I think it'll help. >

[Deer's about the only thing he can become with four legs... it'll have to do.]

[awooligan]

[He leans and props an elbow on his knee so that he can rest his chin in his palm instead and raise an eyebrow.]

Not going to be afraid I'll eat you, right?

[hawkwardness]

< What? > [It doesn't sound like the idea even occurred to him.]

< Dude, I'd actually be getting bigger. That, and I know you wouldn't. Obviously. >

[awooligan]

[wolf vs deer... not a normal wolf, either. Cliff gives Tobias a look like he's not sure he completely believes him, then shrugs and pushes himself to his feet.]

Okay. Then let's head out. [On his two human feet. Even if his family knows and that was his biggest hurdle, the idea of others knowing still didn't sit well with him. He'd much rather wait to shift until they were out of sight, already in the forest.]

[hawkwardness]

[Not a normal deer either!! He flutters after Cliff, willing to follow until the guy finds a place to change... who knows what the big deal is, it looks so clean and easy compared to the hideous mess his morphing is. No bones snapping. No gurgling noises. Nothing gross whatsoever.]

[awooligan]

[So seamless, blink and you miss it! Just a shift in perception, and there's a big red wolf trudging between the trees in the place of the reluctant redheaded boy. Like there's no real difference between them. Similarly, there's no change in his senses, despite the transformation -- same heightened sense of smell, same improved hearing, even the same pace despite the number of legs going up. It was one of the things he liked about being a werewolf, but it did make shifting seem a little pointless. Still, he swings his head to watch Tobias.]

[hawkwardness]

[One of the things that Tobias himself doesn't quite grasp yet--that the world is the same to Cliff either way. He swoops off in another direction, catching up a few minutes later as a tasty looking pal. It must be Tobias, no normal deer would come running up to a wolf.]

< Your way looks so easy, dude. >

[awooligan]

[Wow, delicious, he assumes. Even if he doesn't have any particular instincts, he does have the craving for deer jerky blip across his mind. His head tips, ears forward, when he hears Tobias's voice again.]

What do you mean...?

[hawkwardness]

< When I change, it looks like something out of a horror movie. Most of the time. It doesn't hurt, but it'd give anyone nightmares. >

[He's... a deer. He can smell things for once. Like food. So he nibbles on some leaves idly.]

[awooligan]

[He's morbidly curious, but 100% certain Tobias is right and he would absolutely not want to see that, he'd have nightmares for sure. On the other hand, he's not sure why the guy suddenly has a hankering for plants. Deer brain...]

I guess it's easier to get a fawn to come by you than an adult. [The spots...] I mean, you said you could morph into an adult, so it isn't just because you're young, right?

[Time to start trotting through the woods again, heading towards the mountains.]

[hawkwardness]

[Deer brain! The forest has suddenly become delicious! What a wonderful world. But he tears himself away from his snacks and follows the wolf.]

< This is an adult. They all have spots in France, it seems like. Smaller, too. > [Or maybe that's just the locals. He doesn't know.]

[awooligan]

[It's weirdly human, but Cliff looks over again with furrowed brows. Since he was never like the local hunters, that was one of the few things he actually knew about deer!!! The fuck is up with French deer...]

Okay...

[Weird, but whatever.]

Then I guess I'm confused. How do you get all these animals to trust you? I only really see cats and dogs, but they don't come by me unless it's to bark or jump up. Cats really don't like me, now. I guess they can tell.

[hawkwardness]

< It's... part of my magic now. I can talk to animals, sort of. If they'll listen, if it's something they care about. Like bribes. Deer really love tomatoes. >

[Was it worth what he went through to 'earn' a slight expansion of his magic? No, not really, but that's life.]

[awooligan]

That's weird, man.

[He's judging deer, which by extension means he's judging Tobias. He hopes that's clear. His judgment, that is.]

Sucks I don't know where we're headed. I can't really race people anymore, but I bet you could give me a run for my money, like this.

[hawkwardness]

[What's to judge??? Humans love a good tomato too.]

< Who says you can't race me? Trust me, we won't get lost. > [Can a deer also give a judgmental look...]

[awooligan]

[I, as a tomato lover, know this well. Cliff is stupid and judgmental of deer because teen.]

I know that. Come on, I could find my way back blindfolded. It's wanting to see this mountain spot and not knowing where it is that's the problem.

[hawkwardness]

< So, run the whole way back. Like I said, what's stopping you? >

[Every time they pause for a moment, he seems to get the munchies. Judge that.]

[awooligan]

[imternally shaking his head... didn't they talk about this eating while morphed thing, he thought it wasn't going to be a thing...]

Oh, for sure I'm making you race me on the way back. Being a hawk again is cheating, though.