The jester's dance [V.K]

[Lucas Blacke]

It was a relatively quiet day at the lake, and early. The sun was just about reaching its peak and its glow was running through the trees, skimming over the water for everything to see its reflection and the small amount of people who were there were mostly distracted by the beauty of the sun, the water or their counterpart while lying and soft blankets and having a pick-nick or something. It made Lucas jealous, why didn't he have anyone? Most people would disagree with that question and tell him he had them. And while that was true, a good cuddle and perhaps a bit more was only a phone call away, he lacked someone to love who was there with him just because. He used to have those things, but he ruined those without even trying.

Sitting down on the bench overlooking the lake, right in front of a few trees he did find himself smiling, however. That was one of the few good things about the lake; he could always silently over think stuff and let his mind wander without care, that and the lake would always throw someone new at him, as if Lucas was too interesting to ignore or something. Not that he minded in the least, but every encounter at the lake didn't end up too well.

His mind now running wild he sat forward a bit and placed his elbows on his knees before getting up and grabbing a small pebble from the ground. Reaching up to the body of water he looked at his own reflection for a bit before shaking his head, ''No one needs ta see that ugly mug.'' that was the side of him people didn't know, the said no one, no matter how close, knew.

With a flick of his wrist he let the pebble sail across the water, starting by disrupting his own reflection and bouncing its way to the center of the lake before finally sinking to the bottom. The broken waves of water left behind were as much a reminder as any; even small things could destroy something beautiful.

[V.K Caborn]

V.K spent a surprising amount of time by the lake. Odd, since her animal forms are commonly known to hate water. The black hoodie she wore soaked up the sun's rays like a sponge, causing her to heat up. Hot temperatures were not the blonde's favourite. Back in England, it is either cold, wet or cloudy. Days of sun chased the vampires back into their homes.

Pulling off her bag, V.K hurried over to an overgrown hedge, opened the zip and placed the bag next to her as she began to shift. The student preferred to shift into one of her forms at least twice a day; due to this, she is quite skilled at transforming and usually only took a couple of minutes, though she sometimes turned into the wrong form. However, the second her bones began to snap, V.K instantly realised that this was not the form she desired. Followed by the usual torturous pain, grey fur began to spread across her skin and her limbs began to re-shape with loud cracks, her spine burst from her tailbone with muscle, skin and fur sprouted across the bones quicker than a person could blink.

As the regular pain subsided, V.K shook her broad head and glanced down at her paws. Okay. 1: Large paws, 2: Grey fur, 3: I am large. I wanted my serval not the damn snow leopard! The newly-formed wildcat growled to herself and swiped at the ground, leaving large gouges in the grass. Well, the leopard is not very discrete and it is hot. Thick fur built for snow won't be very useful. Her anger quickly subsided though. The girl wasn't the kind of person to stay angry for long.

V.K grabbed her clothes with her jaws; the hoodie's arms had ripped slightly and the buttons on her shirt had burst but they were still usable; and stuffed them into her bag, twitching her ears as they scraped against the bag's zipper. Nudging the bag under the hedge, V.K hid it from sight, planning to come back for it later.

Padding down the path around the lake, V.K pondered jumping into the water. It would cool her thick fur down but people were staring enough already. It should be obvious she was a meta, leopards don't casually stroll around in America. Twitching her rounded ears, the teen heard someone mutter something about mugs and then a quiet 'sploosh'. V.K looked up with pale grey eyes and spotted somebody skipping stones. With nothing better to do, the shapeshifter leaned down and picked up a large stone. Padding towards the guy, V.K strongly flicked her muzzle upwards; sending the stone flying into the lake with a splash. It was hard to throw stones, harder to skip them, but she could still 'do' it.

[Lucas Blacke]

The second he threw his second stone and it quickly sunk below the surface of the clear water he heard the splash of a slightly bigger stone, possibly someone else coming to think things over? Or someone seeing the Texan and imitating him in the hopes of being seen, or to remedy extreme boredom?

Slowly scanning over the entire area, following the trail of the rock back he expected to find a person-sized being standing there so he did not even bother looking for anything else. How was anything else supposed to throw a rock anyway? Luke did notice plenty of people but they were all the ones he had seen earlier, looking at either their counterpart or their own reflections in.. wait, they were looking at something else, he noticed.

Lucas' eyes followed the line of sight of the multiple people around him and very nearly flinched when he saw a freaking snow leopard standing in place. And if not for his ability he would have actually flinched and shown his amount of shock to the animal, and he knew for a fact that the things could smell fear. Best thing was to.. what was best to do when faced with a snow leopard in the middle of freaking America? Take it back to the zoo?

Slowly he decided to make his way over, stray pebble in his hand as if it could save him from the claws he knew those big cats had. But wait, wasn't their nose a weak spot, like with almost every other being in the animal kingdom? And why hadn't he thought about it skipping stones like he had done yet? Animals didn't.. did they?

This one, doubts now entering his mind about what it was, meta or actual leopard, was confusing him. ''Can ya hear me..?'' He hesitantly asked, though he knew instantly that was a stupid question because he was sure it could, but whether it could understand him was a different question altogether.

''Yer not gonna bite me, or otherwise maim me, I trust.'' He said, growing closer and hesitantly trying to put his hand on the head of the animal.

[V.K Caborn]

"Can ya hear me?"

V.K sniggered mentally and flicked her tail, feeling it brush against the tips of the grass. It was a stupid question but, remembering her current appearance, V.K didn't blame the guy for thinking of stupid things. Others' had thought of stupider. 

The girl remembered how the boy's gaze had drifted over her at first, relying on other peoples' gazes to spot her. Those mentioned gazes made her skin prickle uncomfortably and she swung her head around to glare at the strangers; baring her two inch fangs in annoyance. As expected, most looked away and the others' promptly left. V.K was usually a very happy-go-lucky girl but in cat form her instincts were stronger, and being stared at was usually a bad sign in her cat's natural environment.

Turning her head back to the boy, V.K let her upper lip drop back over her muzzle, pulling her head back slightly as his hand reached for her head. She hadn't heard what he had said earlier, too busy growling at the on-lookers. Her snow leopard was always so much more grouchy than her other forms. Probably because of the now-gone stares. It would make anyone uncomfortable, though it was mostly her fault.

Oh, right, the guy's trying to touch me. V.K blinked back up at the guy before turning her silver gaze to his hand. Moving slowly to not spook him, she flicked her whiskers forward and they brushed his skin, tickling her slightly. With a light head-butt, V.K rubbed her ash-spotted forehead against his hand. Most shifters would get offended at being treated like an animal but V.K didn't mind, head-rubs and pettings weren't actually that bad.

[Lucas Blacke]

Okay, fangs. Stuff that could easily rip out those things he was learning about in college. But the reaction of the leopard to his hand, it seemed that there was no real intention of hurting the Texan. Though his limited knowledge on big cats and their workings didn't really help, and what also didn't help was that his ability was useless on what he assumed was a shifter, for which the question remained, was it a he or a she?

He could see her muscles move and slowly stepped back when her head bumped against his hand, only to realize a little too late that head-butting was like a welcoming thing or something in cat-land. But then again it wasn't every day he got to hang out with a leopard he still wasn't quite sure of. Lucas could see the individual muscles move as easy as with anyone else, and his knowledge of them actually helped in some way, but he couldn't mimic them since it was a cat instead of human and thus couldn't really know what the thing was thinking.

But the fact was that he was still alive so either it was playing with its food or not going to maim and destroy at all, and Luke assumed the latter because he was sure he couldn't outrun a leopard even if he wanted to, and his first reaction would actually be to climb a tree which would be stupid since cats were amazing climbers.

Squatting down next to the animal Lucas swallowed any fear he had (and chose not to show anyway) and looked the thing in its eyes after withdrawing his hand, smiling gently at the beast. ''I'll just assume ya do understand me, even if ya don't, though, I hope ya won't end up killin' me.''

He wasn't his regular witty self just yet. Seemed Lucas did have a need to stay alive after all.

[V.K Caborn]

V.K felt herself begin to relax as people finally got used to her presence and stopped staring at her, mostly. The teen had no clue on how Luke was feeling, V.K rarely understood how others felt about her. Her mind harboured no boundaries. If everyone's mind was a garden, most would have a fence; only letting friends into their grassy wonderland; however, V.K's would have no fence. Both a blessing and a curse in some ways. For example; she was being overly-friendly with Luke, but she did not understand his reasonable fear.

V.K's silver gaze followed Luke as he knelt down in front of her. This kind of behaviour made her more comfortable, her cat-side felt less threatened. Well, dude knows his stuff. V.K twitched her ears at his staring though, it was kind of unnerving. But, at least she could stare back, unlike the others in the park.

"I'll just assume ya do understand me, even if ya don't, though, I hope ya won't end up killin' me."

V.K grinned, baring her fangs in an odd sort of quiet snarl, and nodded at Luke; the unusual movement making her head feel weird. Despite being a cat, she could still make human-like movements, V.K just couldn't speak. Or apparently smile.

[Lucas Blacke]

Eyes. Most important way of communicating with, well, anyone. As far as communication went anyway. The only two kinds of animals that used the eyes as a kind of way to communicate though were humans and dogs, yay for random facts on the internet. But if this leopard was a shifter it was still technically human right? Hence the kneeling down, he figured that at a level it would be easier to communicate, and also, didn't being at eye level indicate beings being equal instead of one trumping the other? Though he could hardly say they were equal, cats were usually equipped with fangs and claws that could decimate a person, and all Luke had to set himself apart were opposable thumbs.

It was odd though, to talk and not get any words in return and instead just sounds and motions, which he couldn't even replicate since the form wasn't human. Weirdest encounter in years, this was. And he had encountered his fair share of shifters. Like.. that one who, like this one, failed to talk but also failed to communicate in any way, shape or form. And then there was the one who just shifted from male to female. God was that reveal awkward. But this didn't feel awkward in any way. Slightly creepy, maybe, but hey, October.

He then chose to accept that snarl as an attempted smile when the leopard seemed to be nodding at his words like one of those bobble-heads. ''So talkin's somethin' ya can't do.'' He responded at the movement, but despite not being able to talk it seemed to be friendly enough. So Lucas attempted to scratch it behind its ear. Cats liked that, right?

''Sooo..'' He contemplated as his fingers ran across the fur, looking out over the lake, ''this yer only form? Seems kinda hot ta 'ave that amount o' fur in this time o' year.''

[V.K Caborn]

V.K leant away slightly from his hand as he reached for her again, returning to her normal position after she realised that he just wanted to pet her. A rumbling yet almost silent purr emerged from her throat. Snow leopard's couldn't roar, but they could purr with a slight rasp. Her tail flicked against the grass.

Everyone seemed to react the same way to her cat forms. Surprise and a bit of fear. Well, there was that one girl that kicked her accidentally and then hid behind her; but that was because of her meta-abilities side-effect.

V.K was unsure if she could change form from one to another. She doubted it and to be honest, she didn't want to try. Shifting from human to cat was painful enough, the teen didn't know how it would feel to shift from cat-cat even if she could. While the forms are similar, what if she got stuck?! Like, when you pull a face and the wind changes you're stuck like that.

"Sooo... this yer only form? Seems kinda hot ta 'ave that amount o' fur in this time o' year."

Twitching her ears, V.K dipped her head in a swaying movement. The closest she could get to a no. There was her savannah cat, a serval, and her desert cat, a caracal. The snow leopard was her only form suitable for the cold, so of course she turned into it when it was scorching hot. Go me!

[Lucas Blacke]

With time passing (several minutes at most) between them he felt that it got easier for him to communicate with this still genderless cat shifter thing, now that petting her had been an obstacle he had overcome it was like a certain fear had been washed away, and only now it became apparent why people enjoyed cats so much. Fur was soft. He needed to mentally tell his body not to body slam the cat right then, cuddle it tight or something or try to convince to sleep with on those cold nights.

Or perhaps even a running buddy! He knew he couldn't out run a cat this size, or even a normal one, but getting to practice against one would be awesome, and maybe even comedy gold. And maybe he would think of a few more uses for the cat later on, but for right now it seemed like a good thing to get to know it, assuming it even understood the things he said which he thought it did since all his questions so far had been answered with motions looking like a nod or a shake of the head.

Slightly getting up from the ground to retract his legs fully he plopped to the ground right beside the cat. That nothing would happen to him was pretty much a safe bet by now as he saw the cat almost shake its head. That wasn't her only form, and despite being curious Lucas couldn't really ask what kind of other forms there were and get a honest answer in return when even nodding and shaking the head were unusual movements.

''So, do ya 'ave a way ta answer open questions?'' Lucas was really trying to just ask yes or no questions right now, and also he tried not to upset the beast as he was now forced to look up at the thing.

[V.K Caborn]

V.K flicked her tail in thought. There wasn't really anyway for her to communicate openly, unless she shifted back. Looking down at Luke, she twitched an ear as she though if she should. Being in cat form was very fun and the teen could do things she couldn't, but there was not way to talk to the stone-skipper.

So, the grey wildcat shook her head again and leaned down; gently taking his sleeve in her teeth and tugging it. Shifting back would be easier and V.K could always shift back if she wanted to. I can't shift back here, clothes don't shift. I would rather not be naked in a public place thank you very much. She had left a bag with her clothes under the hedge because logical reasoning! 

Tugging at his sleeve once more, V.K turned around and began to walk back down the path; turning her head to see if Luke was coming. She chuffed heavily and circled before slowly beginning to walk again, stopping to sit down. Hopefully he would get the message. Shifting back would be difficult though. Her clothes don't fit this form, V.K usually wore baggy clothes when she planned to shift into her largest cat. But, take life as it comes, she would deal with it once they got to the hedge. V.K opened her muzzle and made an odd but friendly purring-growl as she tossed her head in the direction she wanted to go.

[Lucas Blacke]

There were countless things Lucas thought of when his sleeve entered the jaw of the beast, though it didn't rip. He knew animals were able to chow down without killing, hell, cats carried their young with their teeth! But thinking about being ripped up came later after a few other thoughts. Most of which were weird and not suitable for any situation. But this was Luke, and Luke was one twisted son of a bitch at times.

It could be dragging him to some secluded location for some cat loving, or heavy cuddling, or something else like eating his flesh, clawing off his skin or using him as a babysitter for the cubs. Wait, this was a shifter. Which made him think if shifters were able to get babies in shifted form or not, and if it would result in some sort of hybrid or something. Sometimes, especially now he wished he had paid a bit more attention at those lectures that Sean guy gave. Stupid old fuck and his therapy stuff.

But the thing didn't pull him anywhere, it just seemed to be wanting his attention before moving off. Maybe it wanted him to move along or something, which he did, though slowly at first. Making sure the cat was out of reach he slowly got up and dusted himself off, slowly walking in the direction of the cat though slowing down a bit when that odd sound left its mouth. Shrugging that aside he moved forward again though, now closing in on the beast now that it sat down, looking back to lay eyes upon him.

''Ya want me ta follow, I take it?'' He asked as he put his index finger on the head of the cat and gently scratched. ''Gonna eat me?'' He joked.

[V.K Caborn]

V.K purred at the touch of the finger and rose to her paws again. She bared her fangs in her odd smile and nodded at the man's question; feeling that he must be comfortable enough to take a joke. Of course, it might not seem like a joke with a large wildcat baring its fangs at you.

Turning around, V.K began to trot down the path once more; not breaking her stride. Tilting her head, she checked to see if Lucas was following her but didn't slow her pace. The teen could always come back for him. Trotting along the path, V.K arrived at the hedge she had put her bag under.

Grabbing the bag in her mouth, V.K pulled it out with her jaws and scrambled underneath the foliage. The inside of the hedge was big enough for her human and cat form, thankfully the leaves were still dense enough to stop anyone seeing in or out. There was a gap at the bottom of the hedge, from where she had crawled in and had dragged the bag out. Poking her head out from under the hedge, V.K bared her fangs at Lucas, assuming he was there, whilst purring; trying to get him to stay out from the hedge.

Withdrawing back into the den of leaves, V.K closed her eyes and concentrated. The familiar feeling fell over her, like being dipped in an acid bath, and a few moments later of agony; V.K was back in her human form. Shapeshifting was very painful, but V.K loved it and found it possible to ignore the pain. Though not the aches that followed.

Oh dear, where's my bag? V.K remembered that she had dragged it out of the hedge in order to scrabble in, but she forgot to pull it back. The naked teen smacked her face with her palm and lowered herself, sticking her arm out through the gap under the hedge. "H-Hey dude, could you pass me my bag? I kinda can't show myself right now." V.K assumed that Lucas would know why, but some people didn't know that shapeshifting into animals kind of cancelled out the whole 'clothes' thing. Wow, I'm naked most of the time. V.K realised.

[Lucas Blacke]

It had never happened before that he asked if someone wanted to eat him and they said yes. Now that answer would have been a bit better if it was a girl, but right now it was kind of fifty fifty, and Luke took to assuming the shifter behind the cat was male. But then it could still be joking, right? It would be a painful way to go, he assumed, but at least he would. Yes he did have plenty of things going on at the time, but part of him never could shake the wonder of what the world would be like without him. He was sure some people would be hurt, but he had done more than enough shitty things to, from his point of view, just step out.

It was funny how one single motion paired with assumed capability could change the mind of a person, though it didn't quite help that Lucas was the target of that motion. Dude was capable of throwing his mind around in less than a split second at the whim of nothing at all, so with a leopard baring its fangs at you and nodding at the eating him question he thought about what it would actually be like. He still followed the cat despite everything though, it was a mix of excitement and promise that kept him going, though he was not sure what to expect.

And then it vanished under a hedge. Just like that! The Texan could easily follow but decided it was a bit.. weird, because what if it decided to turn back into a human or something? It would need privacy for that, right? His eyes glanced over the bag that the cat had pulled out and left behind, a few sounds grabbing his attention but not really satisfying the urge to look at the contents of the bag. Especially since the cat had left them behind.

Clothes. They held clothes. And the seemed to be made for a female figure rather than a male figure.. were those of.. the cat? Was the person behind it a her? And why did she store her clothes in a separate place? Unless...

Suddenly a human arm grabbed his gaze and a voice called out for the bag, and as Luke assumed at that point it belonged to a female. He wasn't sure if he should give her the clothes.. it was a Lucas after all, and petting a pussy would only make him want more. Even more so now that he knew there was a girl behind it.

''I dunno..'' He hesitantly said. ''I kinda enjoy girls with their clothin' removed from them.'' Lucas hoped she realized that was a joke as he grabbed the bag and placed it near the hedge.

''An' no, I ain't turnin' around. Bags in reach, but don't expect any guy ta refuse lookin' at naked girls.''

[V.K Caborn]

V.K frowned, in confusion rather than anger. So he isn't giving the bag to me? Oh wait, there it is. The blonde, whilst smart in most academics, struggled with logical thinking. So he is a nudist? That would explain why he preferred people with no clothes on. 

V.K leaned down and reached for the bag, pulling it under the hedge as she grabbed its straps. Her skin was quite pale, especially compared to most of the Hammel students. England wasn't exactly known for its constant sunny days. I don't think all guys want to see girls naked. I mean, Peter says its gross. V.K's thoughts drifted back to her brother, Peter had been her only sibling; she had an older sister but she lived abroad so V.K never really grew up with a female role model. Well, her mother was there but V.K wasn't exactly the perfect child.

Oh! I have to change. V.K snapped out of her daydream and opened the bag; rummaging through it for her clothes. Damnit, I have to go commando. Her undergarments must've torn or something. V.K shrugged and put on her leggings and shorts before calling out to Lucas. "Just a second..." Next came her white polo, the blonde froze as she realised the problem. Guess I have to zip up my hoodie. With a small growl of annoyance, V.K pulled on her black hoodie and zipped it up; making sure it covered up her translucent shirt. She left the hood down though, she didn't want to completely fry.

Ducking down, V.K rolled out of the hedge; turning around to pull her bag out. She hopped to her feet, quickly brushing a hand through her scruffy shoulder-length hair. V.K extended a hand to Lucas with a mischievous grin. "It's a bit late but hello." Her British accent rang through her words but she didn't pay attention to accents much. Unless it was completely impossible to understand them.

[Lucas Blacke]

He did his best to try and resist the urge to go into the hedge from where the voice called out it'd be just a second. As if he was banging at her door or something and she had to quickly hide something, or wasn't fully clothed yet. ..which actually seemed like what was going on seeing as Luke had just given her her clothing. That and he never quite knew what shifting did to clothing, he knew clothes stayed the same if you switched genders, but animals? He wondered if it was like those Twilight (he shivered at the mere thought) wolves that could change in a whim, or more real shifters that broke bones and such to shift. Would be a question worth asking. And slightly hilarious to see a cat in human clothing.

It took a bit longer than expected, really. Since when did women take this long to get dressed? Though Luke really had no right to talk about that seeing as he did his best to get girls undressed. He could count the times he had succeeded on two hands..

''Second's passed quite a few times by now, honey!'' He retorted at the moment she said it was just a second. ''Ya applyin' make up in there?'' Yeah, she digged him, as everyone did. Be it guy or girl, they all wanted a piece of Texan ass. Only difference right then was that she could quite literally bite off a piece of his ass as if a succulent piece of meat.

But.. in a way his make up comment made sense, weren't those things tested on animals or something? However, to come out and say that was a bit crude, he felt as he stepped a bit closer to the hedge, seeing tiny slivers of skin moving about, but not knowing what was what. But as soon as he tried to get a closer look sounds of someone leaving the hedge tore him from his attempt. Although he did get the closer look he wanted, though this one was with a bit more clothing than he liked. Oh well, the mind need stimulation.

The girl emerging looked no older than eighteen and was perhaps younger than that. So the first response that went through the Texan mind was that she was a minor. A cute minor, but a minor. She wore shorts and a hoodie, the hoodie was zipped up and almost begged the question why? She wasn't one of those people who was constantly cold, was she?

''I don't care 'bout late, I care 'bout bein' spoken to.'' Don't get him wrong, he enjoyed talking to a giant cat as much as the next guy, but to face the girl behind it.. he took her hand and shook it. ''Nice ta meet ya name I dunno.''

He then took his hand back and made a bow. ''Lucas Blacke, at yer cervix.''

That would have been awkward to say to a cat.