c'est la vie.

[natterjack]

The wind had come up and the day had turned cold, inviting a fuchsia flush to creep across the greyhound's freckled cheekbones. Lank limbs stretched out along the gnarled surface of a burly branch; ivory fingers curving outwards from the precious shelter of fur-lined gloves, etching deep furrows in the crisp bark. Slanted mahogany jewels half-shuttered behind unruly strands of murky green, ebony lashes shadowing dark telltale signs of sleepless nights. Knees drawn close to the thin angles of his chest, which was nicely clothed in the loose-fitting folds of an open collar garment, calves and thighs attired attractively in faded denim threads. A virtually new wardrobe, courtesy of the weird guy. Otherwise known as Paranormal, but whatever. Stygian had made a resolve to refer to him as weird until he was shown otherwise. For niss sake, the man had adopted him without so much as taking him out to some snazzy restaurant and attempting to bribe him into good behavior with money. Ffff. There had to be a catch; he just knew it. There was always a catch.​

​

Abruptly, cartilage twitched, pricking to attention; nose and ears suddenly stiff, picking up on a feminine presence stalking nearby. Somewhere behind him, it seemed. Brown orbs flickering, narrowing to suspicious slits, the muscles of his body instinctively tensed. Gloved hands raising, allowing ivory fingers to assume a strangling grip upon a cluster of sturdy limbs, grasping them firmly. Pushing off the arcs of his feet the greyhound managed to hoist himself higher in the canopy, away from the leaf-littered forestfloor below. Except he wasn't adapted to tree-climbing – and his ineptitude showed, branches and twigs creaking and groaning beneath his movements, a few breaking off entirely and falling to the grounds below, with a not-so-quiet rustle and thud. Well, shit. As was his habit, Stygian froze, stuffing his glove in his mouth to prevent further unnecessary noise. What if the presence was some kind of . . monster? He'd heard plenty stories of those to know it usually was nothing more than that: a story, but even so a part of him, the timid child, couldn't help but wonder, irrational fear pricking his veins.​

 

[k-michelle412]

Mei walked through the forest to kill some time. She didn't have much to do, it was winter break at school and sitting at home was worse than death to her. So, instead, Mei pulled on her warmest sweater and cotton tights. She kept her feet dry from the snow with thick, fur-topped, snow boots. The cold air tinted her cheeks aand nose a cherry red. Her breath came out in little white puffs in the frosty air. She was walking idly along, humming to herself when she heard some commotion up in a tree. She looked over at the tall oak. She looked up into the top of the tree. She didn't see anyone up in the branches but she sure she had heard someone up there. "Hey, anyone there?" She called. Her auburn eyes searching the tree top for any sign of life.

 

[natterjack]

Abruptly the teenage saprophyte lurched to a halt, suddenly unwilling to continue. The feminine scent was - how to put this, uh, politely? Hot. Like, fire-hot. And speaking of fire, something was burning. Minorly, like ashes or some shit. Damn, but he hated this, adapting to a new lifestyle. From the city to the country, ugh. He was more used to being confined in buildings and whatnot. Being constantly outdoors like this was unnerving, like an effing sensory overload. The hairs dusting the back of his neck bristling to full attention, the flesh of his nape becoming hypersensitive, syncing into tandem with the rest of his acute senses. It was they who first forewarned him of the approach – cartilage once again twitching, his lithe frame leaning forward instinctively, gaze narrowing into a squint. The branches before him rustling, before parting to admit the source of the feminine, "hot" scent. He didn't so much as peer down to investigate as he fell in, somehow losing his balance and tumbling to land hard on the chilled ground, stars dancing before him for the briefest of moments as he struggled desperately to regain his bearings, panic beginning to surge.

Pink-haired and red-eyed, she was like a thing straight out of his worst nightmare, although her appearance didn't intimidate him so much as the leisurely speed which she was coming at him with. Mahogany orbs widening a fraction, fuchsia tongue flickering out to wet parted lips; he first attempted to stand his ground and scare her off, maybe get her to step off by flaunting his gender. Warily he rolled to his feet, slinking a few feet back to regard her at an arm's-length. Males were superior, right? Yeah. Yeah, he had this. Auditory muscles working furiously in a vain attempt to generate some kind of appropriate response, preferably an aggressive one. All that he could summon was a few measly words: "Uh .. yo, bitch, get off my grill 'for I whup up on yo white ass." Yeah. That was it. He had this.

 

[k-michelle412]

Mei burst into a fit off giggles. At first she was worried he had gotten hurt when he had fallen but he stood with out looking too dizzy. That's when he spoke and she couldnt help it. "Get off my grill? Yo white ass? Dude you're paler than me." She commented with an amused smile. Mei stepped foreward and held out her hand. "Im Mei whats your name?" She asked cheerily. She liked this boy, he was funny. Perhaps she could make a friend for once in this small town.

 

[natterjack]

Dark hues studied the outstretched hand with conflict etched in their seemingly abysmal depths – the teenager didn't know whether to just shake the damn thing or walk away. He didn't like this girl; everything about her oozed unnecessary friendliness, which set the alarm bells in his head to ringing furiously. Paranoia bubbling to the surface in onyx waves .. finally, though, Sasha gave it up, clasping the girl's slender hand with his own bony, feeble grip. Never mind that he couldn't help but flinch at the initial contact – he still administered a firm shake, insisting that he get used to the novelty of touching another. After all, he would be going to school soon, where there would surely be hundreds upon hundreds of other kids his age, girls and boys alike, possibly just as revolting as the female who stood before him. "My name is Sasha," he finally said, withdrawing his hand and shoving it back into his pocket, stifling the almost overwhelming urge to fidget with the hem of his jacket sleeve. Calm down, freak. Try being normal for a change, jeez.

 

[k-michelle412]

"Thats a cool name...Sasha.." Mei tried it out with a smile. "Everyone around here has a boring name like Mark or Megan." Mei sighed as she remembered her freshman year. She had actually gotten teased for her "strange" name by a few of her classmates. "So...why are you sitting in a tree? Aren't you cold?" She questioned eyeing the boy curiously. She could tell he wasn't the social type but that never stopped her from trying.

 

[natterjack]

Air escaped the teen's nostrils in a derisive snort, a pale cloud of oxygen that wavered and trembled before dissipating into nothing, leaving mahogany orbs without a focal point. Allowing his disbelief to show in the widening of his eyes, he had to swallow his laughter, lest it be interpreted for what it was: disdain. Granted, it was sort of appropriate .. if you thought of it from where he was standing, a place where no compliments ever dared wander. And such a clumsy one, too!"Um. Thanks, I –" he started to answer, only to be presented with another pair of queries. Wasn't he cold? Why was he here? Irritation began to swell higher, an uprising of black and crimson hues. "I'm just out for a walk .. sometimes I like to be up high .." Struggling to string the words together .. but they came out awkward anyway, almost as horrible as Mei's compliment; discolored and broken at the joints .. "Um, no. It feels kind of good to me, actually. Why? Are you?"

 

[k-michelle412]

"Huh? No, not really." Mei answered. She wasn't exactly dressed for the mid-winter weather, in only a sweater and scarf but the frosty air didn't bother her. Winter was her favorite season so she was always out, which constituted in many sick days off from school.
Mei got an indescribable feeling of intrusion from this boy. Like he didn't want her to be there. Like she was annoying him. Mei wouldn't really be surprised. She had that effect on people. She had been told she was too nice and talked too much. She wasn't exactly sure how those were downfalls but Mei let it go. She stayed by herself. When she found Sasha she was hoping it would be different but from the way he was acting, she was wrong.
"Um, well. Guess I'll go. Uh, nice meeting you Sasha. See ya around." Mei spoke as she got ready to walk away. "Don't stay out too long, you'll get sick." Mei warned as she started off. It began snowing once again, a few flakes sticking to her pink hair. As she walked Mei stuck out her tongue to catch a few snowflakes. Such a childish act of someone her age was the norm for the girl. She didn't see the point in growing up just yet. You only had a few years to really enjoy life.