The Snake and the Doe (Eriku)

[Takchawee Ominotago]

It was a bit chilly outside, with a crisp wind biting in the air and the threat of more snow that evening, but it didn't stop Takchawee from going out to enjoy some fresh air. It felt stuffier than she remembered at Hammel, all the teenage hormones raging around her and gossip that she couldn't care less about. It was overwhelming at times, now that Tak had learned so much about herself and people around her going through the pregnancy and all that came with it, but she was determined to make it to the end of the year so she could finally graduate.

Anyway, the cold air tasted wonderful, and Tak paused and took a deep breath as she wandered around the courtyard. Even in the chill, she was dressed to show a lot of leg, with a thick winter coat hitting just below mid-thigh, her feet clad in furry boots that almost looked like real animal pelt; it could have been.

She was just sort of wandering, not really paying attention where she was going, when she passed around a corner of the building and bumped into someone standing there. At the contact, she was hit with a wave of information about the person - he was harsh, temperamental, and explosive, likely to lash out without warning and ask questions later.

"Snake," she spouted out. There was no denying that; even not knowing this stranger's ability, Tak had no doubt about her choice. She blinked, finally actually studying the person, and offered a small smile. "Sorry. Habit." She couldn't help herself sometimes. Tak caught the whiff of smoke, then, and wrinkled her nose, though not distastefully. "Kinda chilly today to come outside for a smoke," she commented. Although, she supposed there really wasn't anywhere else it was allowed.

[Erik Stewart]

Erik looked down, like maybe he’d forgotten that he was wearing DJ around his neck. There were no familiar black scales. He didn’t know what business this stranger had to be yelling ‘snake’, then. He gave her a funny look. ”Sorry. Habit,” she said, but he still didn’t understand, and was starting to think that he didn’t have time to deal with some random chick off her meds.

“’Scuse me?” he asked anyway.

He flicked the end of his cigarette to loose the gray ashes gathering at the tip. Glowing orange flickered to life. He took in a deep breath and let out a clearly visible stream in the cold winter air. Normally, he’d hang his elbows out his dorm window and smoke like that, but today he’d decided to get some fresh air. He was all dressed up for the occasion in a zipped-up hoodie and a dark-colored scarf, though the cold still seeped in, and his fingers and nose was quickly turning a bright cherry red.

Erik didn’t look very interested in pursuing the conversation, but she persisted. He didn’t mind her bumping into him (had only reacted with a slight grunt and a half-step backwards) and he wondered if this was her attempt at apologizing; still, he was in a contemplative kind of mood, and, luckily for her, wasn’t all that snappy at the moment, and he responded cordially enough.

But he was still a bit short. “It's December,” he stated, as if she didn't know it.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak had hoped the slip would go by without question, but apparently this stranger wasn't going to let it slide without a question. "Um, it's part of my ability," she explained vaguely. "I get a good dose of your personality, and I give you a spirit animal." Tak offered a wry grin. The spirit animal part was her own doing, not her ability, but he didn't need to know that. And, knowing what she did about Erik already, she hoped he wouldn't lash out at her for telling him this.

Her head tilted as she watched the ashes fall, the closeness between her and Erik granting her a few more snippets of information about him. Liked alcohol, and men. Well, too bad on that last one - he was awfully pretty, and Tak would have liked to play with him a bit if he had the slightest possibility of being interested. Oh well.

She chuckled a bit at his obvious statement, leaning back and staring up at the sky. "Yeah, it is," she hummed. Tak glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, wondering what to think, exactly. There were few people here anymore that didn't know about what had happened with her over the last year, and she wondered if this guy was one of them, or he didn't know who she was, or he simply didn't care. Whatever it was, it was a relief from the stares she got nearly every day. "I'm Tak," she offered with a hand. "I, ah, don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting before now." If the name didn't ring any bells, that'd be a blessing.

[Erik Stewart]

Erik frowned, the cigarette drooping from the corner of his mouth, as he swallowed her words; a lot of people here had weird abilities, so it wasn’t doubt he experienced. Just – well, he wondered how much of his personality she’d picked up on.

“I always thought my spirit animal would be a pile a’ shit,” he said.

Again he thought that would be the end of it, and again he was wrong. He squinted (to study her, and to keep the smoke out of his eyes) when she went on, shrugging his sharp comments and his profanity off with ease, even held out her hand for him to shake it. Erik took it instinctively. Tak. He thought he’d heard that name before, somewhere. She wasn’t anyone he knew, obviously, but hers was a hard name to forget, and she would see that there were wheels turning in his head.

“I know you,” he said at last.

Erik didn’t particularly care if she had a freeloader growing in her belly or not, but people talked, and the rumors were everywhere. Erik would hear them in class or at lunch: Did you hear about Tak? and Who’s the father? and several other mispronunciations: TakachaWEE, Takahontas, Takewagee…

“I’m Erik,” he said; she wasn’t the only one with rumors flying about her head, especially in light of recent incidents.

”I, ah, don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of meeting before now.”

A shrug. “I don’t get out much.”

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Erik definitely had a strong sort of aura, a personality easily picked up on. It was interesting how some people were like that - some more intense than others. The angry, broody kind definitely seemed to stand out the most.

She let out a snort and a small laugh at his comment. "Last I knew, a pile'a shit ain't an animal," she retorted, picking up a little on his accent. "Something tells me a snake's awfully accurate." While she couldn't pinpoint powers exactly unless actually in full contact with someone, she could sense it had something to do with the reptile.

Tak smiled as he took her offered hand, taking in a whiff of the smoke without flinching. It was something she wasn't necessarily used to in that form, but she'd had her share of other types of smoke in her life. Her handshake was firm and short, and she pulled back, leaning back again against the side of the wall.

I know you. Tak blinked, and held back a sigh. Not so much luck with this guy as she had had with Kelly. "Yeah, I'm sure you do," she replied, her voice going a bit bland. "Hard to find anyone who hasn't heard, honestly. As long as you don't judge, I'm fine with it." When he offered his name, she pondered; she'd heard Erik mentioned in rumor circles too, even if she tended to avoid them. That, along with the snake shiz, made her click the pieces together very quickly.

"I've heard of you too, I believe," she said softly. "You're the guy that sent Oriel to the hospital, right?" She spoke without scorn or judgement, just curiosity. Oriel was fine, so it was all water under the bridge. "I think snakes are pretty amazing, myself," she said. "Beautiful and deadly... What's not to like?"

[Erik Stewart]

He shrugged apathetically. “Hey, I ain’t here t’judge,” he drawled. “’M just out here fer a smoke is all.”

His attention was indeed more focused on his cigarette than anything else, even when he correctly identified Tak as resident-pregnant-girl of the school. Erik had only heard of her through clips of conversation he happened to overhear. He wasn’t very included in the social circles of Hammel – wasn’t even close. Most students (and teachers) thought of him as a weird loner at best, and a violent nutcase at worst, and there was no reason to gossip with him over who’s who and who’s having each other’s baby. In fact, there was no reason to engage him at all unless they were male and attractive and looking for something on the side, so he was a bit confused about Tak’s repeated efforts. Didn’t she know?

Contrary to her quick admission, rumors about him made him much more defensive; he turned away from her and snorted out a puff of smoke. He offered her a grunt and a shrug of his shoulders in return.

Her next statement made him perk up, though; he, of course, had always thought the same, ever since he’d seen a water snake glide across the surface of his swamp as a little boy…but there weren’t many who agreed with him. “Depends on who ya talk to,” he muttered. “Where I come from they ain’t too pleased that I grow scales an’ a forked tongue ‘n all. It’s un-Christianly, y'know.”

[Takchawee Ominotago]

The slightly defensive tone Tak had taken when he'd mentioned hearing of her melted away as he told her he wasn't going to judge; it was definitely a relief from all the staring eyes, the silent and spoken insults thrown her way. She told herself none of it bothered her, and she did better with them than she used to, but it still stung sometimes. Teenagers could be cruel and creative with their torment; she knew it firsthand.

Obviously she hadn't been around enough lately to know the whole 'stay away from the freak' rule when it came to Erik. Although, even if she had, Tak often found herself drifting to outsiders - being sort of one herself, a free spirit, in a way, made her more empathetic towards them than perhaps many people were.

She did realize she passed some unwanted territory with her own knowledge of the boy's actions, though, and immediately regretted it. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to bring up bad memories or anything," she told him, her brow creasing in a worried frown. "I'm just close with Oriel is all. I was simply curious." She hoped he didn't storm off because of her slip-up.

Apparently not, though - he definitely showed interest about snakes, which Tak latched onto and made a note of. His rather negative comment about them, though, made the girl shake her head with a small sigh. "Un-Christianly..." she mumbled, holding her hand against her chin and pressing the pad of her thumb against her lip. She'd grown up in a community of panthiests, and while she wasn't entirely sure what to believe herself, she didn't like hearing about such beautiful, unique creatures being talked about like that. "Well, you know... Snakes are often symbols of rebirth and renewal," she said quietly. "Shedding the skin... Making themselves new. I don't seem them as bad at all." She shrugged, shooting a glance up at Erik. "The only reason they're so misunderstood is people bother them and they feel threatened. It makes me sick." She felt that way about a lot of things - how ignorance led to hatred for things that should be celebrated. Of course, Erik might laugh at her ramblings; she hadn't meant to get so serious so quickly.

[Erik Stewart]

Tak was right to be concerned about offending him; he’d a temper, and a hair trigger, and he was subject to abrupt mood changes (especially while on the defensive). On another day he might have stormed off. There was no real way to tell, but tonight he only shrugged and bent his head down, and dropped his cigarette on the concrete. He snuffed it out with his shoe.

At first it didn’t seem as though Erik was interested in what she was saying. He scuffed his foot around at the snow-dusted cobblestones, brow furrowed underneath his knit beanie…but there were words on the tip of his tongue. He felt like he wanted to say them, but he was reserved and careful. Erik would never understand how easily conversation came to others.

‘Misunderstood’ was the word that made him perk up. He shifted. “Yeah, they’re…” he began, “not that bad.”

Erik had heard of nearly all the associations snakes had; he’d done his own research on them, taken from snippits he’d heard or read from books. No one knew about it, of course. It wasn’t exactly a dirty secret, but somehow he felt he’d be open to ridicule if he admitted it.

“I have a snake,” he mentioned. “But I couldn’t bring ‘im out, too cold for ‘im…a lot of people just think he’s – gross.” Erik shrugged. “Or dangerous. But he’s real nice.”

He looked down. “Whatever,” he said. “It’s not like he cares what people think.”

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tiptoe around certain subjects around this one... Noted. It didn't make Tak think any less of Erik; she was sure he had reason for the way he acted, just as she had hers. And he genuinely intrigued her, which was one of the main things keeping her talking. That, and it was a rare occasion that she didn't have judgement placed on her for her previous actions.

Her gaze followed the path the cigarette made as it fell, and she shifted against the wall, wrapping her arms around herself. She was starting to feel just a little cold.

At first she did think he wasn't going to say anything, considering the aim of his gaze, but when he did speak, she glanced up at him, giving a quick nod. "There are just so many misconceptions..." she trailed off, realizing she was just stating the obvious. "It's nice to know at least someone else gets it. It can be so frustrating, how ignorant people can be towards certain things..." She's always been close to the environment; she felt that Erik's understanding was probably more just to the reptile in general, though.

Tak perked up at the mention of Erik's snake, definitely interested. "Would you... Could I see him?" she asked lightly, rolling up to the balls of her feet. "I used to have a snake that lived in my backyard, I kinda missed it when I had to move to Hammel..." She missed a lot of things back home, really.

She bit her lip, then shrugged a shoulder, peering up at her new acquaintance again as she pushed herself off of the wall. "I mean, it's alright if you'd rather not. I'm kind of sticking my nose in where it doesn't belong." She offered a slightly embarrassed grin. "I can be a little pushy sometimes."

[Erik Stewart]

He laughed a little, almost to himself. If only she knew how much he delved its symbolism. His grades wouldn’t suffer so much if it were an area of study: his need to understand what it meant to be half-snake was tireless. Erik was still no closer to finding any answers, of course, though it crossed his mind fairly often. “’Course I get it.”

He paused and thought. “Right now?” he asked, unsure; it wasn’t late, but Erik wasn’t often in the mood for company – and he hadn’t come out here looking for any.

Still, it couldn’t hurt. And DJ liked new people.

“If y’want but y’can’t stay over for long. I had work detention an’ I’m fuckin’ tired,” he said. Erik got up off the wall and gestured that she follow, pulling another cigarette from his pocket as he did. He talked over his shoulder. “I’ve had ‘im since back in Louisiana. He was always hangin’ around my backyard, too. So I brought ‘im inside.”

Erik smiled at her, though it was small and slight. “Been friends ever since.”

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak was sort of curious about Erik's ability; what she'd gained from her own perception wasn't the whole of it. "So... What kind of snake is it that you can turn into?" she asked lightly. "Or is it all types?" Shapeshifting abilities were sort of foreign to her. Then again, most abilities were. She felt like hers was so... Almost normal, half the time she nearly forgot she was meta. No one could see it, hear it, feel it. And for her, it was just like all of her other senses. "Does it... Does it hurt?"

She shrugged at his question, glancing to look up at the sky. "I suppose? Unless you'd rather I didn't." Tak would understand if he didn't welcome her. She was a stranger, after all, and they'd only been talking for a short while. "I won't be offended."

When he agreed, though, she looked back at him and smiled, tugging a long, loose strand of hair behind her ear. "That's fine," she replied easily. "Thank you, Erik." Tak followed along obediently after him, quickly catching up to match his gait, wrapping her arms around herself against the cold. She listened curiously to his story, another snippet of information falling into place. "Can you... Communicate with them too?" she guessed. That was neat; she wished she could have something more... Interesting, sometimes. She was just stuck gaining random information from people, oftentimes things she didn't want to know.

She let him lead the way back into the dorms and followed after to wherever his room was. "So you're from the south, then?" she asked. "How long have you been at Hammel?" She supposed his accent made it obvious even before she told him.

[Erik Stewart]

He peered. He hadn’t recalled telling her he could turn into anything, but he supposed she might have guessed. Some people could. Especially if their gifts were on the clairvoyant side…that, and people tended to talk (before and after the Oriel incident). “Water moccasin. Cottonmouth. Has a lot of names,” he told her. “Oh, it hurts. But only for a second ‘r too – going into it, I mean. Afterwards I’ll have an ache for days.”

Training had helped assuage it. It had taken him a while to defer to any type of training, but he was fortunate that his wild nature had been curbed some, and his pain lessened. Before, it would’ve been what anyone had expected to feel when their bones rearranged and their meat and muscle contorted.

“Yeah,” he said. “But it ain’t like they got anything interestin’ to say.”

He squared his shoulders against the cold. The dorms weren’t too distant from the courtyard, but the chill made it seem that way. Erik didn’t like the cold; he wasn’t used to it, having been raised in the swampy southern parts of the nation.

“Louisiana.” Erik was being short with her, he knew; he answered her with as little words as possible. It wasn’t like he was making a concentrated effort to be unfriendly – unfriendly just came naturally to him. “I don’t know, ‘bout four years, ‘r three, somethin’ like that,” he muttered, then glanced over at her. In the spirit of courtesy he asked, “You?”

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak's eyes widened a little at the species mentioned. "Water moccasin... Aren't those really venomous?" she asked. No wonder Oriel had been rushed to the hospital like he had; he was lucky to be alive. "Remind me not to get on your bad side," she joked lightly. Tak had to wonder what it was that had happened between the two of them, but she wasn't going to ask, not with how Erik had reacted earlier. "Huh... I can't imagine what it's like to have your body... Shifted in so many ways so quickly," she mused. No wonder it hurt. She wanted to ask more about it, but she didn't want to bug the boy too much, so she left it at that for now.

She smiled a bit wryly. "I guess they wouldn't. It's still interesting for someone like me, though... The thought of being able to communicate with animals." Tak shot him a sideways glance. "I got stuck with a pretty useless ability, I think." It came in handy, sure, but it wasn't... Flashy or anything. It was just there.

Tak tugged up a sleeve, which had slipped during their walk, as she listened to Erik speak again. "I've never been to Louisiana," she admitted. She was reminded of Beau, another southern boy she had met a while back, although admittedly with a much different disposition. "Hmm, I'm surprised we haven't bumped into each other before." Then again, she didn't exactly go out of her way to be social most of the time either. "Montana," she answered. "Uhm... I think I'm going on six years now?" Wow... She hadn't realized it had been so long. "I won't be here for much longer though," she went on. "I'm finally graduating, thankfully." A year late, thanks to the pregnancy, but on the horizon.

[Erik Stewart]

“They’re vipers,” he said, and she was right: they had debilitating venom. If anything, he was trying to curb his snake enthusiasm, but in reality the subject was one of his favorites and something he could have gone on about forever if people would let him. “I saw ‘em sometimes back home.”

He’d remembered the way they’d slipped through the water. Erik had always admired them in a sense, the same with he had any reptile. But he’d no idea he would have become one…he supposed he was lucky he had emerged as an animal he actually liked, as much as it gave him grief. Tak’s admission she thought her ability useless didn’t get much of a response out of him: he wasn’t sure what to say to that, and he wasn’t sure he agreed with her either.

“Six years? Shoot, I’d’ve given up by then.” He was already thinking he might.

Erik was being reticent (which might even be mistaken for shyness) because he had figured her for the nosy type. Maybe it was a harmless kind of nosy – the non-gossiping kind, the kind that was fussy, but curious – but nosy was nosy and he felt like she’d gone ahead and invited herself over. He found himself wondering why he’d agreed to it in the first place. Erik had come out for a smoke and come back with a girl intent on eyeing his messy room.

Oh well. A minute or two couldn’t hurt.

He spoke to her on their way up, sometimes, though once or twice it was only a grunt or faint sounds of agreement. By the time they’d reached his door he’d at least melted a bit and was answering freely.