Time Warp: Hazy Shade of Winter (Brooke, Open)

[Astley Pyatt]

(set March 30th 2011)

Astley felt empty. She didn't feel cold, even though she sat out in the open courtyard still filled with piles of unmelted snow, even though she wore only a light skirt and loose long-sleeved shirt. But she felt empty. Because today she turned 15, and she couldn't even see her family. She chewed her lip, feet squishing in the slush below her rain boots, as she stared longingly at her cell phone. Was she really going to be the one who called home for her birthday? They wouldn't even call her? Then again, maybe they thought she was busy. Maybe they'd wait until evening.

She let out a little sigh. Part of her empty feeling also probably came from this whole power thing. It was nice being able to go out in the cold without worrying about it, but keeping herself warm, while it didn't take much conscious effort, made her ravenous. She opened her messenger bag, unwrapping and munching on a granola bar as she stared up at white sky, tapping her boots together. She opened her phone, then hesitated, and closed it again, stopping herself from calling home. She didn't know why she wouldn't be the first to call them. It was probably just her insecurities - she wanted to feel loved, and if she was the only one making an effort, it felt more like she was a burden.

[Deleted]

Nothing like a crisp, chilly winter day. Brooke could already feel the needles on her skin as she casually stepped outside into the bitter air with naught but a white tank-top and loose black skirt that was just a hair too long to be called mini. Flip flops and she was raring to go roar out in the outskirts. The cold didn't bother her much, heck she was from Denver, where the winters were cold and snowy! She was more than used to it, though even Brooke's brain knew she should probably put on something quick or shift to a giant kitty before too long. Because even if Brooke thought she was invincible, frostbite was a thing.

Sometimes she liked to just go out and romp around in the snow as a kitty. A rather giant romping kitty, but still a kitty. And while the pond was her destination, she had to cross through the courtyard to get there. Of course, doing this, Brooke couldn't miss the other girl who looked less than dressed for the chill. It was enough to at least pique her curiosity.

Brooke tromped over to her, sandals flopping behind her and leaving prints in the snow. "Heeey, girl! Ain'tcha cold? Ya gonna getcherself some horrible frostbite if ya keep that up." She sent her a haughty smile, knowing full well that she really shouldn't be talking about other people's dressing habits.

[Astley Pyatt]

Astley looked to the new arrival, blinking for a second as she took her in. Wait - this girl was talking about what Astley was wearing? Her eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Um...." Her look was pointed, as she smiled hesitantly. This girl was joking with her, right? I mean, at least Astley had the sense to wear boots - she may not feel the cold, but wet was still wet and she didn't like soggy feet.

She tucked her phone into an outer pocket of her bag without glancing at it, glad for the distraction of another student. "It's a meta thing," she shrugged, her smile a bit crooked, always a little awkward talking about her power, "Cold isn't such a big deal." She tilted her head, glancing away in thought, "Neither is hot, come to think of it." Looking back to the girl, she added, pointedly, "You too?" .

[Deleted]

Brooke shook her head. To what, it was uncertain, but she did it anyway. "I'm from Colorado, it get's pretty damn cold there in the winter. I'm kinda used to it." She said, smiling with a tilt of her head at the other girl. "But 'snot like I don't feel it tho. I c'n still get the frostbite, 'n all." Brooke grinned widely, a little bit happy to be talking to such a cutie.

"But yah. The meta-thing helps." Brooke pointed over in the direction of the pond. "I was gonna go over there 'n practice my power a little. I's kinda cool, ya know?" Brooke had planned on doing a full shift into her cougar form, but now that she thought of it, that was inconvenient, especially if she wanted to keep chatting with this girl. Brooke plopped down beside the girl, the snow stinging into her thighs and palms. She ignored it.

"I'm Brooke. Wha's you're name?"

[Astley Pyatt]

"I was gonna go over there 'n practice my power a little. I's kinda cool, ya know?"

"Actually, based on the snow on the ground, I'd say it's kinda cold," Astley bit her tongue, a small but utterly cheesy grin on her face, totally aware the joke was bad, but happy to have someone who could be a potential friend. She laughed at herself, the first-meet jitters settling a bit. As the girl sat down, Astley shifted to give her more room, and pulled out a second granola bar, offering it silently.

"I'm Brooke. Wha's you're name?"

"I'm Astley, I'm pretty new. Been here a little over a month, but..." she realized she was talking a lot about herself. "Well, I mean. I still feel new," she simplified. She paused for a sec, but the curiosity started to nag at her. "If you don't mind me asking... what's your - thing?" She didn't like calling them powers, it still felt awkward and like she was attempting to be a superhero.

[Deleted]

It was a completely, utterly lame joke, but Brooke bursted inappropriately into giggles anyway. This girl was a hoot! Needed better taste in snacks though. Seriously, a granola bar? Brooke waved it away, she was less a grain eater and more a meat eater anyway. And she had a nice juicy steak waiting for her back in the dorm once she finished with her snow run.

"Nice t'meetcha Astley. Pretty name for a pretty girl, huh?" Brooke grinned widely, showing off her perfect pearly whites, courtesy of all the love and attention she got before coming to this joint. "Only a month? Dang, you're really new!" The excitable girl laughed like it was a joke, but was honestly not really laughing for any particular reason other than to do it. She plopped down backwards in the snow. It was really cold. She couldn't feel her butt anymore. Or her feet. Brooke wondered which would come first, her freezing or giving in because she couldn't stand it anymore. "I've been here for 'bout a year. Little less. Place is alright." If you could forget about how they were all just a buncha meta-freaks-in-a-zoo.

Brooke popped up again at Astley's next question and turned to the girl, her red hair falling forward over her shoulder. "You wanna see?"

[Astley Pyatt]

Astley shrugged at Brooke's refusal, putting the bar away. She gave the girl her kind of goofy smile at the compliment - the concept of girls flirting with her was way over her head, so she figured Brooke was just joking with her, and reacted according, rolling her eyes in amusement. She looked at Brooke a little incredulously as she plopped into the snow, worrying about the girl's health - she'd made a point earlier about frostbite.

However, Brooke's excitement was contagious, and she was easily distracted from her worry as the girl spoke. Especially once she suggested showing her power. "Hell yes!" Astley blushed a bit at her own outburst, but hoped it would be covered by the whole 'rosy cheeks of winter' thing. She was psyched! She was always curious about other metas, and usually that was because she wanted to know about their powers - she could never comprehend how so many people had so many different talents! It was like those cute little randomly decorated keychains you could get, where you never knew what it would look like til you opened it. Except with people. And possibly dangerous powers.

[Deleted]

The girl really was a cutie, Brooke probably wouldn't mind bringing her back to her room to "warm up". Brooke could teach her all about being a grown up.... Especially after that adorable little blush she made, it made Brooke even more raring to get this girl excited. And if that meant sharing her power, then that's what she was going to do. Besides, Brooke was kind of getting chilled. And when I say chilled, I mean frigid.

Brooke wasn't particularly shy about showing off her power, but it did tend to make her act a little more strange than usual. Kitty instincts were hard to fight, but as long as they were there, she may as well have fun with it. And with a little experimentation, Brooke had figured out how to make her shifting convenient. Brooke hopped up to her feet, kicking off her flip-flops and standing barefoot in the snow. While it was indeed insane, Brooke's reason for coming out in such skimpy attire was so that she didn't risk ruining any of her real clothes. Stuff that was easy to take on and off, regardless. And by doing it in the particular sequence she wanted, Brooke could even manage to save the clothing as well.

The red-head closed her eyes to concentrate. She could feel the itch as fur sprouted from her skin, the discomfort as her ears re-shaped themselves and moved atop her head, and the ache in her hands and feet as the bones twisted and claws grew. By the end her feet looked more like hind-paws and her hands like some combination between hands and claws. All the while, Brooke's spine extended out into a long whip of a tail.

In less than a minute, Brooke was an honest-to-goodness furry cat-girl, her face a beautiful blend between her cougar self and human self. She twirled in the snow, letting her skirt flair out and tail follow behind. The cold was pretty much gone now. "Whatcha think?" she asked, leaning down to look Astley in the eye.

[Astley Pyatt]

"Are you su-" Astley was about to inquire if Brooke really wanted to be taking off her shoes in this weather, but she was cut off as her jaw dropped. Wow. That was... wow. She watched the change come over her new friend almost like the lines of a topographic map - no, melting over her - no, shimmering... she couldn't even find the words to describe the change, except fascinating and astounding. It was like a ripple in water combined with something out of a horror movie. Like looking at morbid anatomy, it was both beautiful and a bit unnerving until it had settled.

She was left biting her lip, exceedingly curious about what Brooke's skin must feel like with fur. Or if the tail was bone or something else, or if the ears heard differently, or the eyes- And then Brooke's eyes were level with her own. Astley unconsciously let out a childish "oooh" as she stared at the girl's new cat-like eyes. Well, not even cat-like, they were entirely cat! And they were beautiful. She always thought eyes were beautiful. People didn't look at them closely, but they were astoundingly complex. They weren't just one color of flat disc, they had ridges and valleys and webs, and the pupil was literally a black hole - a vertical black canyon in cat eyes... she was just entranced.

So entranced that she took a second to realize that Brooke had said something. She blushed and glanced away from the girl's eyes, back to the rest of her, as she recalled what exactly she'd been asked. Her eyes now fixated on the end of Brooke's tail, following it's lazy movements, as she replied, "Well, it's kinda awesome."

She paused, biting her lip nervously, not sure if it was appropriate or not, and not even sure if there was etiquette for a situation like this. "....Um.... can I... can I, um... like... is pet an appropriate word? ...I just kinda want to know what it, um... well..." This was a stupid idea. She shouldn't have said anything. She was regretting it a lot, and she had to remind herself that embarrassment brought temperature changes, so she should stop getting so hot. Somehow, that actually helped, which was a relief, but the words couldn't exactly go back in her mouth now.

[Deleted]

All those words that Astley's subconscious used to describe her amazement and the magical-like transformation that Brooke had undergone....well, Brooke had never heard them, she'd never used them and would probably never use them throughout her entire life. Sure, it was cool. Sure, it was convenient for days like today when she didn't feel like bundling up. Because clothes were dumb.

Still, it was nice to know that someone thought it was awesome, even if Brooke didn't quite think so herself.

Really.

Brooke grinned a cat-like grin and her whiskers twitched. "Sure! Knock yourself out!" Astley didn't have to know that Brooke was totally going to take advantage of her and get pet and scritched and scratched to her heart's content. Because the petting was pretty comforting. And felt good too. She wished more people asked to try it. Brooke hopped back a bit then fell over on her side and rolled to her back, exposing her belly to the other girl and holding her "paws" limply in the air. "Sooo.....what's your power?" she asked as she stretched her arms out behind her head.

[Astley Pyatt]

Astley grinned at her reaction, and the Astley in her head jumped up and down in glee. She bounced a little in excitement and awkwardly bent over Brooke's kitty-cat pose. This was slightly odd, but she was so excited about the prospect of a real live cat girl that she didn't really register she was practically feeling up her friend as she give an awe-filled rub to Brooke's belly, and reached up to pet her gently behind the ears. It was amazing! She couldn't - it was just - she let out a tiny excited squeal.

"Sooo.....what's your power?"

She continued stroking the soft fur of Brooke's ears, giving them a little scritch, as she answered, far more at ease with a the girl in this position, "I can change my body temperature. Like, really change it. Sometimes it can kinda radiate, too-" she tried to focus her energy on her hand, but her power wasn't strong enough to make a real difference, just heating it up the tiniest bit. Right now her control was limited, and her temperature change was mostly based on her feelings. Happiness was somewhat warm, but it was embarrassment, anger, hopelessness, and fear that made the biggest changes.

"I'm still figuring it out," she explained, lamely, easily distracted as she pet her new friend. It was the weirdest thing, but also served to make Astley way more relaxed. She always was a lot less shy with animals. Not that Brooke was an animal. Or, at least, not entirely. She was so adorable, though! And so soft! Astley was still grinning like an idiot.

[Deleted]

Ohhhhh that was heavenly. Nothing beat a good belly rub. And ear scritches. Brooke moved and rotated her head to force Astley's hand in the direction and areas the kitty preferred to get the most out of this rare paradise.

Of course, later Brooke might realize that it was mostly the cat-instincts which made her forget her modesty....then again, this was Brooke we were talking about. Modesty wasn't really her thing. But it was true that Brooke was easily taken over by that cat she shifted into, and luckily, it was usually the docile, lazy part of the cat. But sometimes the cougar would rear it's screaming head if Brooke was transformed and happened to be upset. It was hard being two species at once.

Brooke's ear twitched. So did her tail. "So you can keep yourself all warm 'n toasty in this weather, huh? Do ya do the same thing in the summer too? Like, maker yourself all cool?"

The kitty in her was getting lazy and sleepy. She rolled towards Astley onto her side and curled herself up, resting her head on her arm as she held back a yawn. "Heh...me too," Brooke agreed. "We all are, ain't we?" That's why they were there at Hammel, so that all the young metas like herself could learn how to figure it out. That didn't make them any less abnormal though. If Brooke could help it, she would stay the cat all day. At least then, she wouldn't have to care. She could just stay content like this all day and have someone pet her. All day. Brooke started to purr.

[Astley Pyatt]

Astley was totally willing to do as Brooke directed. She loved petting.

"So you can keep yourself all warm 'n toasty in this weather, huh? Do ya do the same thing in the summer too? Like, make yourself all cool?"

"Um...." Astley thought about it for a second. "I guess I can," she shrugged, "I've only had this power for, what, a month, month and a half? I haven't had a summer with it yet, but I think it will work that way." She didn't see why it wouldn't. She'd been perfectly comfortable going into rooms where the heat was blasting - mostly it was an automatic response, she wasn't entirely sure if her body was matching the temperature around it or compensating for it. She hadn't done much testing of it.

Her train of thought was interrupted by Brooke's curling up next to her. She fought back the urge to give a simpering 'awwww.'

"Heh...me too. We all are, ain't we?"

Astley blushed a little in pure delight as Brooke began to purr, but tried to remind herself she was in the middle of a conversation. She brought her mind back to the topic at hand - ah, yes, learning about her powers. She absentmindedly stroked Brooke's back as she attempted to put her thoughts into words.

"Mostly it comes out as a stress response, from what I've noticed." She hoped to explain it more, but was still stumbling over what exactly she was explaining. "Fear is usually cold, and sadness. And anger, embarrassment, and - erm - y'know..." she trailed off, unsure how to explain it, "Um... romance... they tend to come off as heat."

[Deleted]

Brooke was drowning in the pets, oh the pets. The kitty in her couldn't get enough of it. The human part of Brooke plotted to have Astley do this at least once a week. It would do them both some good, or at least Brooke.

"That's cool. I guess you'll find out come this summer. Sounds like yer power is pretty useful." Brooke tilted her head up to look at Astley. She really was pretty, Brooke thought. Brooke wanted to play dress-up doll with her. Considering Brooke's wardrobe, that could take a whole weekend. She wondered if she'd be able to get Astley to come out on the town with her one of these days. While Brooke didn't normally care if she had company, it would be a nice change to have a bestie to hang with like a normal person.

Even if neither of them were normal.

Brooke was trying desperately to listen to Astley respond to her questions, but she was lulling into a snooze with all the petting and stroking, it really was very distracting because all Brooke wanted to do was concentrate on that and not talk unnecessarily. But that was the kitty talking. "That sounds...like a lot I'd hearda. Emotion I think, are triggers....or somethin'." When Brooke had first manifested, it was also during an emotionally stressful situation. She was terrified. But if she hadn't manifested when she did, what would have happened to her? To her fellow scouts? Probably nothing.... The park rangers would have come and handled it before anything bad had happened. Her "transformation" was pretty much a waste...she got nothing from it.

Brooke popped up suddenly and looked at Astley. "Hey! You wanna go out sometime? Like to the town for like, meanderin's or shoppin' or somethin'?"

[Astley Pyatt]

Astley had nodded quietly to Brooke's observations. Yeah, she supposed her power could be kinda useful. Except that she couldn't exactly project it onto other people, or anything, so it's not like she could save someone if they were both stuck out in freezing cold. It was pretty lonesome power. The whole emotion certainly did seem to be the case. Maybe it had to do with self-awareness? She'd consider the theory on her own some time, maybe, but for now she didn't really want to think about it - it gave her a headache.

As Brooke popped up beside her, she jumped, surprised by the sudden movement, having fallen into a calm relaxed rhythm of petting. She blinked for a second, her brain finding it difficult to comprehend the words. Her? Go out? She was so tempted, she used to love to do that stuff, but with her power... she was so worried she'd hurt someone. "I..." she bit her lip. "Maybe. I'm still kinda worried about, um..." she waved her hands around, trying to convey the whole power deal. "I don't want to lose control." Again.