Time Warp: You Are A Baboon! (Kodi)

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June 21, 2010

"Asante sana Squash banana, wewe nugu mimi hapana! Asante sana Squash banana, wewe nugu mimi hapana!"

Brooke danced, twirling herself in a circle across the grass of the Hammel courtyards, ignoring the looks she got from other students because, who cared what they thought. She was having fun!

And besides, it was her 14th birthday! And she could very well spend it however she wanted.

Brooke had been at the Hammel Institute for a little under a year. After the scare of manifesting during a Girl Scout camping trip the year before, Brooke had found out she was one of the oh-so-blessed metas that the church had officially deemed as to be having gifts from God!

From God, huh? So it was in God's plan for Brooke to be a freak? For her to always worry about what her community thought of her, of what her parents thought of her, and of what the community thought of her parents for having such a child. Honestly, Brooke hadn't heard whether or not there were any others in the church she went to, but her manifestation had been incredibly public and had terrified more than a few people, children included as well as many of her friends. Brooke had to believe that she was the only one there. Or if not, then the others were hiding for some reason. It had left her feeling very alone.

And with that loneliness had come the panic. Of what did they really think of her? Were all those looks, and all those words of glory really sincere? It was just too much, she wasn't ready to be anything like that! Brooke just wanted to be a normal kid! A normal teenager!

Her momma and papa had sent her away so easily too. Were they so desperate to get rid of her? Did they even love her anymore?

Brooke shook those thoughts from her mind, though all that really did was make her dizzy. The thoughts remained and never slowed down, never ever ever, not for a microsecond.

But it was still her birthday today and that was enough to turn her frown upsidown, even if she didn't have her momma and papa here to celebrate with her and she hadn't made any lasting friendships yet. That was toootally okay, Brooke got along quite well all by herself. And if she ever needed company, well, Brooke had never been called shy.

So who was she going to invite into her world today? There, that one over there! Brooke took a few excited leaps towards a very nice looking boy who looked like he could use some regular excitement in his life.

"Hiya!" she said as she popped up from behind him and gave a tiny wave. "Haven' seen you 'round here before. New, I take it?" Brooke leaned in closer, uncomfortably closer, to his face. "Or am I jus' no'thad observan'?"

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Brooke wasn't the only one thinking about her parents and the consequences that came with being a meta...

Kodi, having just manifested a week or so ago, was overwhelmed with everything that had happened to him recently. Having grown up being taught that meta-humans were freaks, shunned, and despised by his family and a good portion of the church his dad preached for, was having a very hard time adjusting to his new life and new surroundings. He'd cried last night, his first night, about... Everything. His ability was... Scary, and, as far as he could tell, not all that common, which made it even worse. He was a freak among freaks.

Not to mention, the thirteen-year-old had been struggling with his sexuality lately, another thing openly criticized and condemned by his family and their friends. He... He couldn't help that, even though he knew he'd go to Hell for it all...

Kodi was stewing in these thoughts, thinking about how much he hated his life and himself and wondering why on earth God would've made him like this as he wandered restlessly around the grounds of his new home. His eyes were still red from crying; he felt tired and depressed and lonely. His separation from his parents had been all but pleasant, and he had a feeling he wouldn't be hearing from them soon, if at all. He'd yet to met anyone at the school; he was afraid to, everyone here was a freak, diseased like him...

So when a random girl suddenly popped up out of nowhere and greeted the pensive Chines boy, he jumped, eyes wide, his teeth going sharp against his will. Oh, oww, that hurt, a lot...! He deserved it he supposed, but still...

"Uh..." He blinked several times, then squinted; he should've been wearing his glasses, but he'd left them in his room. "Y... Yeah..." He swallowed hard, curling in on himself slightly. "G-got here yesterday..." He flinched back as she came in close, obviously uncomfortable, and snapped his mouth shut, hoping she hadn't noticed his freak-teeth. Come on, change back, please! he begged them; nothing happened, they just seemed to throb more, and he winced. "Wh... Who are you?" he asked, taking a step back and trying to keep his lips from parting enough for her to catch enough of his pointy chompers. She was so close though, it was unlikely.

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Oooo! This one was a cuutie! And a little book-worm by the looks of it. Brooke was going to have fun with this kid.

"I knew it! I knew it! I kneeeeew it!" Of course he was new, Brooke was never wrong when it came to these things. That's why she was such an avid and successful girl scout for so many many years, getting the most Petals out of all the girls in her troop. They always said she was a bright girl and that she's go far in life.

Of course, Brooke didn't see how that could happen now that she was a freak. She'd probably end up hiding it once she got out of here. But...people already knew about it back at home. Christmas had been awful, she felt like everyone was staring at her. If it was going to be like that, then Brooke didn't want to graduate or go back home ever.

Brooke grinned and tee-hee-hee'd behind a hand with pink-painted nails. She cocked her head to the side, letting her long brown tresses fall down and across her shoulder. She's been growing her hair out since she was little and it was finally at her mid-back. It was her most prized feature, she thought. "I'm Brooke. What's your name?" She leaned in closer. "Sharp-Tooth?"

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Kodi's eyes widened as the girl started exclaiming, wincing away as he hunched his shoulders and tried to keep her from... Whatever she was going to do, who knew what her ability was? Everyone here was terrifying, there was no way to know if someone was reading your mind, or could shoot poison, or control fire... It was horrible, Kodi hated it. So he stayed silent, not wanting to say anything that would make the girl angry, and simply nodded in agreement.

He wanted to clamp a hand over his mouth, but he didn't want to make it even more obvious what his ability was, on the unlikely chance that she hadn't seen yet. She... She was crazy, with all this giggling and yelling, the meek young boy wished he'd never left his room. He wrapped his arms around himself, blinking as she offered her name. "Uh, it's K-" He stopped mid-sentence as she came in closed and pointed out just what he was afraid of. He pressed his palm over his lips, shaking his head desperately. "N-n-no! It's Kodi!" he told her, taking another step back. "I'm n-not... I'm not a freak!"

As if to prove his point wrong, he felt his canines growing longer, shooting out over his bottom lip a good inch or two. And it hurt! He cried out, dropping his hand and pushing against the protruding bits, trying to force them back in. They seemed intent on showing the world what a monster he was, though. "D... Don't look at me," he begged, turning away as he fought to get his ability under control. What if he got stuck looking like this forever!?

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If Brooke had known how scary innocent little ol' her was looking to this young little thing, then she would've....done absolutely nothing different. Sensitivity was rarely in this girl's vocabulary. As was subtlety. And more often than not, absolutely no sliver of common sense. So rather than back off of a person who was visibly wary and disturbed by her overbearing personality, Brooke was like Pinkie Pie and just kept on pushing forward until the other person got boring or decided to be her friend. Usually the first happened before the latter. At least, that's how it'd been recently. If she were back at home and not a freak, Brooke's outgoing nature would have been received with smiles and laughter. Then again, Brooke wasn't quite so....invasive a year ago, so maybe these days she'd be met with more stares and scolding. And besides, when she went home and even when she went to church here, Brooke was actually well behaved. Like a completely different person.

She wasn't sure she liked that person. She wasn't sure she liked this person.

But this person, Brooke was determined to like and she hoped he would like her! Brooke backed off a little after confirming a name. "Kodi?" She smiled brightly. "Koooodi! Kodi the 'not-freak'!" Brooke took a step back and, with her arms held up against her sides like a girly-girl, she spun on the grass then stood meekly with her hands behind her back. "Not a freak," she repeated in a softer voice, tilting her head again to the side. "N...neither am I." No, she wasn't because the Doctor said so. And she had to keep telling herself that.

Brooke merely watched with a solemn smile as he started freaking out with his power. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but from the looks of it, it had something to do with his teeth. And he had very little control over it. "Close your eyes," she instructed. "Breathe. Don't think. About anything. Or if you mus', think o' your mos' favoritest thing in the whole world." Brooke continued to smile as she encouraged Kodi in gaining control over his power.

As she did though, Brooke herself concentrated very carefully on her own power, trying specifically to only shift a few key parts. "What's your favoritest thing, Kodi?" she asked to spur it along.

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Kodi wasn't sure what to do. He thought about running, getting away from this girl that was pushing and prodding him when he was still so new and unused to his surroundings, but he felt glued to the spot, unable to move. Even if he did, he figured, she might chase after him or something - what if she could run really fast, or turn into a monster, or something? He didn't know how this stuff worked, he'd been taught his whole life that people with abilities were unnatural and sinful, which was why they were the way they were. And now he was one of them. Is that... What he deserved... For being the way he was? Was this punishment?

At least she backed off a little when he offered his name. He still watched her warily, feeling like he could bolt at any moment, but she seemed to calm down slightly, and then... Got almost sad. "I-I don't know what I am," he said, swallowing hard. "Or... Or what anyone here is. My mom an' papa always said..." He trailed off. He didn't want to think about his parents. How disappointed they were. Kodi's lower lip trembled.

When his ability started freaking out, though, all he could think about was making it stop, trying to make his teeth go back in, or... Or he could snap them off, maybe? He didn't know if that would work... He looked up with scared eyes as Brooke spoke, struggling to grasp what she was saying. "It h-hurts!" he whimpered. He tried not to think about it, but it was impossible when they were pointing out like that for the whole world to see. He took several shallow, shaky breaths; they didn't help.

"M... My favorite thing?" he mewled, wracking his brain. What was his favorite thing? "I... I like books..." he said quietly, still covering his mouth with his hand. "P... Please d-don't hurt me..." He didn't know how Brooke was going to react to all this. The bullies he'd grown up with tormented him constantly; if he let everyone here know what a book nerd he was, it would likely be the same. "An'... An' please don't tell anyone..." Talking about books, no matter the circumstance, at least helped him calm down a little, and he began to feel his teeth slowly recede.

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However unfounded, the boy's fears were accurate. Should he have run, Brooke would have chased. And probably would have gotten caught up in the rush of it and shifted into a 90lb cougar, baring teeth and ready to tear out his neck….okay, no. Even as a cougar, Brooke wouldn't do that unless provoked. More likely she would just cuddle up next to this boy and purr. Because kitties and purring always made people feel better.

It wasn't hard to see that this boy was scared of his power, was scared of her, was scared of where he was. Brooke wasn't sure what exactly he was going to say about his mom and papa, but she had an inkling of where it was going. "My momma and papa and the priests told me I was 'lucky' and that I was "blessed with a gift from God." She chuckled, though it contained no mirth. "And then they sent me away! Isn't that funny?"

Brooke gave little sympathy to the boy's plight and complaints over the pain. Of course it hurt. It always hurt. And it always will. Better get used to it.

"I won't," she promised, though Brooke didn't know what was so bad about liking books that he wouldn't want anyone to know. "I like books too. They're fun, aren't they?" She smiled, feeling her own power at work. "You ever read Ann Rice?" Full of vampire smut. "Or The Dragonriders of Pern books?" She liked those. Because dragons.