Feelings (Lark.)

[Larkein Blackhawk]

Lark let out a frustrated puff of air. Obviously she didn't get it or pretended not too. He growled quietly and padded his way to his door. He could open it, but it a lot of fun pretending to be the helpless tiger. He scratched lightly at the door, turning his feline eyes towards her.

The entire point to bring her up to the dorm was not so she could finish his book in fifteen minutes, which he didn't know how she did it, the entire point was to get some company to go out into the forest with him. They still had three hours of sunlight and he had wasted most of his day goofing off, why couldn't he spend the rest of it with a beautiful woman? Before she could open up the door, he remembered to bring some clothing. Lark went back into his room for the black backpack and a change of warm clothes. He looked up expectantly at her, a please shining in his eyes.

[Willow Birdsong]

Willow stood up and went after him, the book still in her hands. She could probably summarize her own variation of the text for him, but that just wasn’t going to happen. Opening the door, Willy knew that he was just playing coy, but she didn’t mind. No one ever asked her to do anything.

His room was like any other room, and her eyes took in the details. She didn’t set foot into it, but there were enough clues to pick up on the fact that he came from a privileged family. Her eyes stared at the ground after the door closed. He had everything he could ever want, and she was trying to figure out why he had self-inflicted wounds.

When he emerged, Willow saw he had a backpack. What were they going to do? “Are you always going to be a tiger around me?” She asked. Maybe it made her more bearable in some way. Willow stepped out of the way. Maybe he had other things to do, but then why did he ask her to come here?

[Larkein Blackhawk]

Lark glared at the girl. When she asked the question, it definitely showed how insecure she was. Rolling his eyes, he yanked the clothes from her hands and loped into his room.

Pulling his shirt over his ribbed stomach, he gave Willow a hard look. "I am comfortable with you in either form. It has got nothing do with you, or your looks, or anything else about you. I am comfortable to be a tiger around you because you treat me as a human and animal. Now, are we still going out?" He held his hand out to her.

[Willow Birdsong]

Willow frowned, trying to hide in herself but it wasn't working. A stray strand of hair was pushed behind an ear, and she looked after his form, taking his clothing. "And you always roll your eyes. If I annoy you, why did you ask me to come up here?" She didn't understand the disconnect between his words and his actions.

Willow looked away as he changed. "What do you mean?" She asked, looking from his hand to his face. What made her so special, or as he put it not special at all? She wasn't even sure how she treated him, but she knew she liked being around him. But was that all it took? Did that mean she was ugly?

It wasn't something she didn't already know.

[Larkein Blackhawk]

Lark growled. A habit he had picked up from being a tiger. "That is not what I meant and you know it. You are special Willow. You are my friend. You treat me equally as a tiger and human, you don't know how much that warms me. People act like I'm just the animal. Like I'm going to jump on them and tear out their throats. Not that I don't ever get the urge..." He pulled his hand back and ran it through his hair. "Stop being so goddamn difficult. Now, you are coming with me."

Lark grabbed her hand and started to lead her to his car. Forget the glistening snow and quiet forest, they were going to go bowling. He wanted to be out, be somewhere loud and happy. He opened the passenger door for her. "Are you coming?"

[Willow Birdsong]

"I didn't... know it..." Willow swallowed hard. It wasn't like she had friends to compare him to. She just, didn't know anyone that well. She hadn't any friends, and him pointing out the fact that she should understand what he was getting at just made her feel worse. "You're confusing." She said, holding an elbow. "I'm supposed to know what you mean but then I also have no idea what that means to you?" Maybe if he stopped to listen to what he said...

Being dragged through the grounds, Willow hadn't ever been in a boy's car before. But he'd said they were friends. So, that made this okay. Why was her heart racing then? "Where are we going?" Her thirst for knowledge was ever present.

But she got into the car anyways, trusting him. "Do friends bully each other?"

[Larkein Blackhawk]

Lark grinned at her and laughed. "Not always... But there are situations that kind of call for it," he said, glancing sideways at her. He started his car and pulled out of the Hammel parking lot. "Did I bully you?"

It was an honest question. He tried not to bully his friends, well, more like, boss them around. Looking back, he was a little bully-like.

"Hey, I'm sorry. It's been frustrating and kind of boring today. We're going into town, but I'm not telling you where," he said, giving her a smile. Lark slowed down as they entered town.

[Willow Birdsong]

Willow tucked her seatbelt into the buckle, her hair hiding her face as per usual. “I don’t leave Hammel a lot.” She never left Hammel at all, but to say that would mean admitting defeat. Would mean she truly was the loser she perceived herself to be. And for some reason, it was important that Lark didn’t think of her as a loser.

She didn't fight his secrecy.

“You don’t have to be frustrated, you could ask me for help,” she offered, since she was quite good at every subject in school. Willow looked out of the window, watching the various things covered in snow. She was like a tree, who felt the cold for a moment before getting used to the cold and carried on living. But no one paid any attention to trees.

“White tiger...” she said softly to herself, her thoughts going back to Lark, and how large his eyes became in their other form.

[Larkein Blackhawk]

Lark stared at her from the corner of his eye. What was her power? How could she read his book so fast? And if she had been really trying to help, was he pushing her away? He didn't want her to think she was the root of his problems, no, she was far from it. She wasn't any problem of his. "Help... I don't need mental help honey, just some homework help," he teased, winking an eye at her.

He pulled into the parking lot of the bowling alley and switched off the engine. "So, tell me something," he said, turning in his seat to face her. "Do you like bowling?"

[Willow Birdsong]

Willow didn't think she was the root of his problems, she caused enough problems to occupy herself for some time to come. If his problems were similar to hers, then she knew exactly how he felt. "That's what I meant," she said, blushing profusely at his flirting, unable to return the teasing. She didn't want to and she didn't know how. Curious as she was about it, she just didn't trust anyone.

Glancing around, Willow honestly wondered where they were. "Bowling?" Oh, well this made more sense now. A smile trickled over her lips and she nodded twice. "Do you like losing?" The question could be taken as flirting, but she wasn't. She was just being honest, because her power would adapt after a single round and probability stated she would win. It was a matter of fact.

Letting herself out of the truck, Willow bundled her winter jacket around her and headed inside. She contemplated how to get her size shoe without embarrassing herself. Willow glanced back behind her, waiting for Lark.

[Larkein Blackhawk]

Lark raised his eyebrows at his friend. "Losing? Are you flirting with me?" he teased as he got out of the car. Was she flirting with him? He supposed it was a possibility, well...anybody who could resist him was practically...well....yeah. No one could resist him. He quickly fell into step behind Willow and followed her into the warmth.

"Hello," a pimply clerk said, giving them both a death glare. Lark wasn't sure what the glare was for. He had certainly never seen this boy before.

"Is there a reason of why you're glaring at us?" he growled, putting his torso on the counter. The clerk quickly said no. "Good. Now, please, I would like a size thirteen. Willow?"

[Willow Birdsong]

"Uh..." Willow said, pulling at her hair self consciously before turning her back on Lark. No, she couldn't be flirting. How could someone flirt if they weren't entirely sure they were doing so? In hindsight it did seem probable, but in reality, she meant to say that she would most likely win.

As the clerk shied away, so did Willow. The clerk hadn't really been mean, he was just looking at them and waiting for their shoe sizes to be spoken. "I'd like a size five..." she mumbled quietly, but the clerk went into the back. Avoiding Lark's gaze at all costs, Willy was glad for the low lighting.

"You guys are on Lane 6," the clerk said, putting their respective shoes on the counter. Hers were dwarfed next to Lark's and she quickly snatched them up. "You just have to put your names-"

"We can figure it out," Willow said, cutting the clerk off as she steered herself towards their lane. She sat down in front of the machine and shut her eyes for a few moments. The environment was a lot to take in, and she didn't want to be sick right now.

[Larkein Blackhawk]

Lark plopped down happily beside Willow. "Are you alright?" he asked, taking in her pale complexion. Was this making her sick? Did she have the urge to throw up? Concerned for his friend, he quickly changed his shoes, put their names and stood to stretch. "Honey, I don't think you could win if you tried," he said, winking at her. Lark liked to tease people and he hoped she wouldn't think he was trying to make fun of her.

It wasn't even close to that. He picked up a fourteen pound green bowling ball and sent it flying down the alley. He knocked down all of the pins expect for two in the middle. The ball returned to him on the thingy beside Lark. He put his fingers in the proper holes and sent it flying down the alley again. With his speed, he was able to get both pins, giving himself a spare. "Top that," he said, grinning at her.

[Willow Birdsong]

“I’m alright,” she said, though a headache was looming somewhere in the back of her mind. Just once, she would like to shut off the way her power reacted to everything. It was like tiny tendrils found their way to taste the world around them, trying to make sense of it all and protect their host: Willow. Slowly, she reached down for her shoes and put them on, tying the laces ever so nicely.

A competitive smile took over her features and she sat up to watch him play. Well, at least he had put their names in correctly, instead of giving her a silly nickname. Judging by the ball he chose, it was just a bit too light for him. Had he chosen a fifteen pound ball, that same roll would’ve gotten him a strike.

She was shorter and lighter than him, but not as weak as she looked. Willow settled for the smoothest ten pound bowling ball she could find, uninterested in his second shot. “The only thing that can top that is a strike…” She mused, her eyes on the ball in both her hands as she waited for the lane to clear.

Lark was beautiful. He had a wonderful smile, and nice teeth. His mouth fascinated her and she tore her eyes away from his face as her name lit up. It was her turn. Willow timed everything perfectly, and the combination of force and speed let her ball sail down the middle, a crooked smile on her face as she earned herself a strike.

“You never answered me before,” she said softly, grinning down at the ball return machine. So soon, and it was his turn.

[Larkein Blackhawk]

Lark sat back in his chair, hands running through his hair and shock written all over his face. "What? Hey missy, do you have some kind of bowling power I need to know about?" he asked, suddenly standing over Willow, looking down at her small, oval face. That just wasn't fair. He had the urge to brush his fingers over her cheek, but took his turn as his name lit up on the screen above them.

He weighed the fourteen pound ball in his hands, positioned himself to send it flying down the alley and it did. Only one pin was remaining. How was that possible? The bowl was perfect. He had lined up with the dots, sent it flying with the right amount of speed and strength. Willow didn't have a power to make people mess up did she? It wouldn't fit within her personality profile, but people never ceased to amaze him. "So, what is it Will?" he asked, turning around. Her name lit up on the screen. "What's your power?" Lark's eyes narrowed at her, a playful smile danced across his lips before he composed himself to be serious again. His gray-blue eyes took in her beauty, the flawless skin and small pink lips. How could anyone think this girl was ugly? A protective rise shuddered through his body.