Oxford Comma [Brooke]

[Travis Brooks]

It had been a strange coincidence that brought him to Pilot Ridge.  Laurel had needed him to pick up something at a specialty shop in the town and he'd made his way up there, excited at the chance to run into Glads unexpectedly.  He could see him in the evenings or weekends, but sometimes by the end of the day, when both he and the other boy were free, he was too tired to make the trip up to see him especially since it wouldn't be for very long.  So when he found himself in the area around noon he was excited about the prospect of seeing him.  He didn't take into consideration the fact that Glads was in class and if would only get to see him for a couple of minutes between classes.  That was alright, by the time he finished his errand he would have a few minutes to spare, grab a sandwich and wait.

There was nothing like a fresh, hot meatball sandwich.  Travis looked down at his watch, which he wore because of its convenience over pulling out his phone, and realized he still had about twenty minutes until he had to leave to see Glads, which would be for all of five minutes.  He sat on the bench and pulled his sandwich out of the bag, looking out onto the lake.  Vermont had a beauty to it that Georgia simply lacked.  Not that his home state wasn't beautiful, but where he himself lived was run down, and though it was charming it lacked care.  The farmlands were what made it stand out; rows of corn and groves of peach trees. As much as he missed those sights, he could get used to sitting at the lake, eating a sandwich, waiting to see the boy he had strange feelings for.

His mind was considering his relationship with Glads, which it were all easier, when something grabbed his attention out of the corner of his eye.  His head turned and his mouth shut tight over the bite in his mouth.  Brown eyes grew the size of saucers as he watched the wildcat come out of basically nowhere. Was that a cougar?

Did Vermont have COUGARS?!

[Deleted]

How dare she! Who did that Professor McKinney think she was, giving Brooke a C of all things! That paper was worth at least a B, if not an A absolutely! It was perfect, I tell ya! And that durned tyrant of a professor had the gall to tell Brooke that she didn’t put enough thought into it!

Granted, Brooke had written all 5 pages the night before in about three hours, but Brooke had never had a problem doing that before! And now she had a black mark(it was just a C, a C+ at that) on her record and she knew – she just knew – that Ides of March Man was going to look down on her for it. Judge her. Think of her as less intelligent. Well, sor-ry Mister, but not everyone had super intelligence and perfect recall, some people actually had to do things the old fashioned way!

Speaking of Ides, he’d been avoiding her, hadn’t he? No doubt he found out about Brooke’s falling grades and determined that she wasn’t worth his time anymore, that was it, wasn’t it?

MrrrrrrRRRAAAWR!!!

Brooke needed to blow off some steam. She normally would go all out on the town and drink to her heart’s content(which was still an option if she got together with some of her new drinking buddies), but she also had an exam she (probably) couldn’t afford to not study for and miss if she happened to pass out and not wake up until a day too late.

Brooke headed out to the lake instead for a good long run. It was something she used to do when she went to Hammel as well and things, everything, just got to be too much to handle. It wasn’t the healthiest solution, but running as a cougar, ignoring the human world, letting the animal’s instincts take over….it was a good escape, at least. When video games, books, and partying didn’t cut it. She’d do it out at the lake, where the wood was most dense. If she steered clear of the hiking trails, the grassy meadow where the community faire was held every year, and from the group of residences that lined a part of its bank, Brooke could manage to go a whole day without ever running into anybody(she couldn’t hold her form for that long, but that’s what breaks were for).

Though sometimes that couldn’t be avoided, especially when Brooke got a little too into it and forgot to pay attention to where she was. Like now. Brooke emerged from a brush of trees and started climbing a rock that overlooked the water. She licked her chops. There was a smell of something nearby, but she wasn’t sure if it was from something she should care about. It certainly didn’t smell like prey. Still, Brooke turned her feline head towards the smell and locked them on the living thing that was settled there. A low rumble came from the back of her throat.

[Travis Brooks]

Travis froze in his seat holding the sandwich and simply watching the beast.  Surely his eyes deceived him, no way would an animal like that be in this area.  It was so well populated! Well, maybe not as populated as some big city, but still there were plenty of people who lived in and around Pilot Ridge.  It startled him that a cat that size could just show up.  

What did one do when confronted with a wild animal like that? Travis reminded himself it was still a good distance away, so perhaps if he stayed still it would simply move on.  Maybe it didn't even see him.  It was looking right at him, or so he thought, but that didn't necessarily mean the animal saw him as a threat.  don't be threatening! his mind warned, but how did one actively do that? Just stay still? Maybe he should make a run for it.  At that distance he could probably outrun it to his truck, just hop in and get the hell out of dodge.  It wasn't a bad plan, except for if he didn't make it in time.  If the beast caught him.. he shuttered to think what might happen if that was how things worked out.

No.  Sitting still was definitely the best course of action.  No one would ever believe him!

[Deleted]

Brooke rarely made the transformation completely into the large cat. As said before, she did it this time to forget about life for a while. A cougar didn’t care about exams or grades or stupid arrogant boys who looked down on you for petty reasons like intelligence! If only she could stay like this forever…but her power only let her stay like this a certain amount of time. And it messed with her mind something terrible, even more than her own bipolar did, which arguably only made it worse. It didn’t help that she was in the middle of one of her ‘low’ periods….and it was pretty bad this time too. She only hoped that it didn’t get as bad as that time almost two years ago.

Sigh.

Oh, no. Wait.

Groooowwl.

The living thing was right, Brooke didn’t see it as a threat. At least not yet. For now, it was just something mildly interesting to smell. After she inspected it more, then she’d determine if she would just go on her way and ignore it, or play with it a bit. It was starting to smell like it might be fun to play with, but it was still too early to decide that.

She stalked closer and licked her muzzle again. Brooke was close to the living thing now. She could smell it really well, and it smelled…scared. She could hear its skittishness. While that was registering to her as something she definitely could play with, there was a small voice in the back of her mind telling her not to hurt it at least. Fine. She could do that.

Brooke plopped down beside the human and rested her head on it’s folded leg. Maybe if she stayed here long enough, it’d scratch her head. She could use a good head scratch.

[Travis Brooks]

Travis sat frozen in his spot, watching the wildcat, unsure what to do.  If it decided to attack him he was done for.  How could he possibly defend himself from a cat that size?  His heart raced and he started looking around for ways to protect himself.  There was... nothing.  There was nothing! Maybe a stick? Were there any sticks large enough? Of course there weren't, why would there be? Why would there ever be anything useful around when he actually needed it.

SANDWICH!

He could always toss the sandwich at the damn thing.  He was almost positive that sub would taste better than himself.  Then again, he wasn't a mountain lion or whatever that thing was.  Maybe he did taste better.  He certainly didn't smell better at least. That much he was certain of.

The beast was getting closer and closer and Travis was losing his cool.  go away, go away.. he pleaded silently, afraid to make a run for it.  He was doomed if he did that.  He was going to pee himself.  Shit, he was going to wet his pants like a five year old!

Closer.. closer.... it was there.  Next to him.  Sauce dripped over his fingers as he squeezed the sandwich in fear, the cats head plopping down onto his lap like it were some sort of dog.  Could this be someone's pet?  Cautiously he offered the sandwich to the cat; an offering for his life.

[Deleted]

Mmmm, this was a comfy lap. Brooke should get more of these for occasions such as this. She closed her eyes, fully intending a cat nap…but then her nose caught something.

Her golden eyes opened and in front of her muzzle was a thing that smelled like…it was edible. She protruded her tongue to lap them over the meatballs that were barely sticking out of the two pieces of bread. Yup, that was food. Brooke rose a large paw to ‘grab’ at the sandwich and pull it closer to her so she could lap it up in a few bites.

Mmmmm, it was delicious.

She licked the hand that had been holding the sandwich…then when she determined that there was no more left in the creature’s hand, she turned her head to look up at him with look of expectation, as if to say, “You have more, right?” He better.

[Travis Brooks]

This was the last thing Travis had expected when he'd laid eyes on the cat.  Was it someone's pet? It was very tame for such a wild animal, but who on earth would keep something like this? And how the hell had it gotten out? What if it had eaten its owner and was now roaming Vermont in search of its next meal.  What if Travis was that meal?

No.  Not Travis.  Travis' sandwich.  The cat licked his sandwich and his nose wrinkled.  He would need to get another, something he was fine with as long as he was able to leave the best fully intact.  All too quickly his sandwich was gone, devoured by the cat who grabbed at his hand with its paw.  He tensed until he felt the sandpaper like tongue drag across his flesh.  It was a strange sensation; much like a house cats only much bigger and done more roughly.

"Yeah, meatball sammies are my favorite, too." His voice was a slow drawl, not sure if he should be afraid of the cat or not.  Should he call the authorities? He probably should, but not before pulling his phone out to take a picture.  Just as he snapped the photo the cat looked up to him with expectant eyes and he froze.  It wanted more.. it would eat him..

"That's all I got." He told it as if the animal would understand.  "I might have some cheetos in my truck, though.  Ya'll like cheetos?" He asked raising a brow and then shaking his head.  "Look at me askin' you like yah have a damn clue what I'm talkin' about."

[Deleted]

Brooke….probably wouldn’t apologize for how she was harassing this random person out of their food that they were no doubt looking forward to eating by themselves, leisurely on the lake. Human or cat, Brooke was just that rude of a person. Oh, well, can’t do anything about it now, she’d say. And possibly swindle another meat sandwich out of him. After all, shifting from human to cat and cat to human was tiring. And hungry-ing.

The meat was good. Yes, this creature knew how to please her. Somehow he knew that she wanted meat. Surely he had know she would want more too. Hence why she looked back at the things face, to let him know she was done and he could bring out the rest now.

Somehow…the creatures words made sense to her. Of course they do, some small voice in her head griped at her cat self. That cuz I’m translating for ya, silly kitten~. Fair enough. All Brooke really understood was that there was more in that big clunky thing over there. Hmph. It wasn’t too far, Brooke could stand to walk over there.

The large cat shifted off his lap and got to it’s feet, sticking it butt straight in his face and whaping him briefly with her tail before stalking off in the direction of the truck. After a moment, she stopped and looked back at the other creature. “Are you coming?” she seemed to say. Brooke licked her muzzle again, waiting for the slow thing to catch up.