A Hard Day's Night [OPEN]

[Kamini Vena]

Kamini Vena stepped through the black doors and into the even darker room. Smoke engulfed her, the pounding music shaking her, getting her into the beat. Already, she could feel the heat and the passion of the dancers, and sweat already began to drip down from her hair line.

Her dark denim jeans felt skin-tight, but at least she had decided to wear a halter top tonight. The loose, thin fabric allowed air to pass down her bare neck to her back. The red top hung from her neck by a golden, metal hoop. Her hair was pulled up on top of her head, for a change, in a high ponytail. She wore very little make-up, choosing to stick with definitive dark eyeliner. he enjoyed her tan, smooth skin to look natural, anyways, and make-up was much too constraining for her taste.

As she went further into the club, the music pounded louder and she could feel her hips begin to sway with the beat, almost on their own accord. She lifted her bangled arms up over her head to better get between the crowd, and soon found herself in the middle of the jumping, swaying, swinging, bumping sea of dancers. For a moment, she allowed herself to bend and undulate with the rhythm.

She had intended to just dance for a moment -- she really needed a drink -- but the music got to her. And, honestly, she enjoyed dancing more than she like to drink. As more people began to pile in, she started to recognize other Hammel teachers, and some older students. She merely smiled in a mixture of confidence and comfort, raised her hands above her head, and moved to the enchanting music.

[Nina Levitra]

Nina was in only the slightest of hurries and she flashed her identification quickly as she slid into the club, taking a deep breath. Smoke, sweat, and sweet alcohol all mingled in the air along with clashing perfumes and deodorant. It smelled like people, and Nina loved people. There was a sticky, oppressive heat and she could feel the music before she even tried to hear it, letting the beat bounce in her bones. Clubs were loud, dirty places and that was exactly why Nina came there week after week.

She was dressed to kill, in a bleach splashed denim miniskirt that she was fairly sure had just showed up in a load of laundry while she was at college and an electric green tube top paired with white go-go boots she had wore the previous Halloween. Her hair was twisted up in a quick bun and pinned in place, a few shiny clips holding it back as strategic strands slipped out. She wanted to look cool, not like she was trying too hard, because for her, she wasn't. Nina could try much harder, but tonight was a fun night, which was why her only makeup was a very bright green lipstick that she had purchased from a small costume shop.

After all, Nina had never been good at blending in. She normally stood out, whether it was because she was far too loud in most circumstances or because she had an odd habit of hugging strangers and trying to sleep in magnolia trees. She preferred to stand out on her own though; if people would be looking, she wanted to give them something to look at.

Quickly, Nina slipped into the dance, moving body to body and not caring. Dancing meant that she had to keep beat and keeping beat with others made her part of them, made her part of everyone else as they moved, stuck together until she could confuse someone else's motion with her own. Dancing was awesome.

Moving through the crowd and trying to see just how deep she could get, someone caught Nina's eye. She was pretty and exotic looking, but what really caught Nina's eyes was the look on her face, with a confident near smirk and just a look of calm. Assuming she was a kindred spirit, Nina inched closer until she was right beside the woman.

"Hey!" Nina called over the sound of the music, never stopping her dance. "You want to get something to drink?" Nina was intrigued, and this woman looked like someone who would be great to get to know, and Nina Levitra was not very often wrong about people.

[Kamini Vena]

More people were filing onto the dance floor, and the wild side of Kamini was beginning to feel the pressures of close spaces. She didn't stop her swaying and her confident smile, though, even when she felt the other dancers' bumping loose the rhythm.

It wasn't so much panic that took hold of Kamini than annoyance. She came here to have a good time, to relax after a hard day of teaching children to control their powers. And now she was getting rude looks from women around her, and ever cruder looks from the men. Rolling her golden-hued eyes, Kamini considered moving to a different part of the dance floor -- or even off the dance floor. Until her favorite Black Eyed Peas song came on and she found herself lost in the bass.

And then, as if her eyes were drawn upward, she caught sight of another girl. And, strangely, she seemed to be heading purposely toward her. She was dressed in a demin skirt and a very, very green tube top. Her eyes trailed downward to the white boots she'd seen worn in Austin Powers movies but never in real life. A part of Kamini wanted to laugh at the, to her, outrageous outfit. But another side of Kamini, perhaps the tiger side, felt more impressed with the girls' bravery.

And is it turned out, the girl was heading toward Kamini. She called to her over the music, still dancing. What did she say? Kamini was confused. The girl wanted to get a drink? Honestly, Kamini usually got a completely different response from other women. Other women tended to just glare at her from across the room, and some with a bit more bravery only came by to drop some "scathing" remark in her ear.

"Sure!" Kamini called back, "Its getting too crowded out here, anyways!" She started to lead the way. It was probably the confusion that led her to agree to a drink. She danced her way passed the others dancers and shoved herself between two men at the bar and motioned for the other girl to sit next to her. "Scoot over, boys. Ladies coming through!"

[Nina Levitra]

Nina was quite excited that the woman had accepted her offer to drink. Not only did that mean that Nina got to drink, but it also meant that she would get a chance to meet this fascinating stranger. Strangers were almost as fun as people that Nina actually knew, and as she shimmied through several eagerly dancing fellow patrons, Nina gave her a once over.

She was pretty, that was for sure, maybe even lovely, and knew how to work it. Red looked brilliant against her skin and the dark color of her jeans highlighted her curves, which was good. Nina liked looking good and she liked being around people who looked good. Of course, she also liked running around as a chicken, but that was when she wasn't looking to form meaningful bonds and make friends and pick up guys. Which was what she was doing at the moment, so chicken mode was out. People didn't often seek the companionship of a chicken.

Following her new friend to the bar, Nina sat down in the seat provided, giving both the woman and the man that had been pushed aside a charming smile. She also winked at the man, but that was just her personality at work and she turned back to the bar quickly, still smiling.

"Jimmy! One Tom Collins and whatever she wants." Nina said quickly, flagging down the bartender. "Please and thank you." She turned to New Friend - This was so much turning! Nina kind of wished the chairs were spinney bar stools so she could spin in them until she got dizzy and then dance dizzy. - and smiled, tilting her head. "What do you want to drink? My treat."

As Jimmy left to make drinks, Nina held out her hand to New Friend. "Hi. I'm Nina Levitra and you're incredibly attractive. I mean that in the most friendly and heterosexual way. What's your name?" Hopefully, her introduction wasn't too odd to New Friend, otherwise Nina would have to try and find a different new friend and they probably wouldn't be as pretty. And that would suck.

[Kamini Vena]

Kamini noted the wink the woman sprung on the man and felt an amused smirk pull at the corner of her lips. She took the moment to examine the stranger. She had red hair, and was rather pretty. But something about her made Kamini cringe, despite the fact that she felt some amount of respect for her. When she swung back to the bartender and began yelling out an order, and then refused to stop talking, Kamini realized what it was.

This woman was incredibly...everything. She was smiley and chatty and Kamini could only assume that she was a bloody optimist. But she said she'd pay, and Kamini wasn't exactly rolling in dough nowadays. The trip to India had taken all her penny, and her mother and father had pitched in a bit, as well. She hoped that working at Hammel would help her money problem out, but it was a slow income.

"I'll just take a beer." She wasn't in the mood for any hard liquor yet, and really she didn't drink hard to begin with. Which surprised many people, as it turned out. Apparently, she looked like that type of girl. "Whatever you have on tap is fine. I'm not picky. How about Guiness?"

The bartender turned away and Kamini turned toward the stranger, draping one leg over the other with one arm on the bar and the other loose at her sides. She studied Nina Levitra's hand before taking it in her own, almost hesitantly. Who knew what would happen once she introduced herself. Most optimists were the same -- overwhelming and annoying. But a piece of Kamini -- a very, very, very small piece of Kamini -- wanted to give her a chance. And the girl had given her a compliment.

At that, Kamini could only blink. The compliment was completely void of sarcasm or malice. It was so surprising that she was actually left speechless for a minute before she realized she was still holding Nina's hand and she hadn't said anything. "Thanks. My name's Kamini Vena. I work at the school. Are you a local?"

[Nina Levitra]

Nina was more than aware that she was a somewhat overwhelming person to be around. She was loud and unorthodox and smiled a bit more than most, which apparently was something that gave people the avoid-at-all-costs kind of feeling. Which really, was fine by Nina. She didn't want to be with people who didn't want to be with her, though hopefully, New Friend could stand her. Because New Friend seemed fun.

New Friend was a beer girl. Nina wasn't too surprised, because she looked tough, and tough girls liked beer. That, and most of the truckers she had met, but those weren't New Friend. She also had that... thing. There was a way of sitting, holding your head, of even moving your eyes that somehow said 'I am brilliant and confident and you can't phase me.' and New Friend had it. Which was a good thing. Nina liked people who were confident and not easily phased.

"Kamini?" Nina said, trying the name out. "Wow, your name is great! And it fits you really well because it's awesome and you seem pretty awesome." Nina twisted a strand of her hair quickly, one of the stray ones and toned down her smile, just a little. "I'm local, yeah, former student. I'm a photographer and I live right up the road and then to the right and then like a ten minute walk and yeah... Oh yeah, you're a teacher right? What do you teach? Are like... gifted?" Nina was still slightly unsure if it was polite to ask about being a meta-human in conversation, but this was Pilot Ridge. It was safe here, right?

Jimmy returned with the drinks and Nina took hers cheerfully, raising her glass and smiling. "Thank you Jimmy!" she called, waving a little. "Lala la la lala, Nina's gonna have fun tonight." Nina sang to herself, taking a sip of her drink and then chewing on the slice of pineapple. "So, Kamini, what do you like to do when you're not clubbing and teaching, what are you into?"

[Kamini Vena]

It wasn't that Kamini was necessarily trying to be rude, but she felt a little edgy with Nina. She was so happy, so smiley. And the way she complimented Kamini's name gave her a feeling of sucking up. Nina didn't need to suck up to her. Kamini was fine with just giving Nina a chance. Although she was right about one thing... Kamini flicked her hair over her shoulder and felt a proud little smirk pull up her lips. I am pretty awesome, Kamini thought to herself. She raised her shoulders, straightened her back, and readjusted herself so that she seemed more open to Nina, her body angled open toward Nina and the dance floor.

Nina continued to explain that she was a former student of Hammel, and something struck Kamini. How old was Nina? Could Nina and Kamini have been schoolmates at some point? Kamini would keep the question to bring up later and nodded. "Not really a teacher. More of a trainer. I haven't really started much training, because I just got back from India." She paused.

'Are you, like...gifted?' asked Nina. And Kamini stopped suddenly. The girl had to be a meta-human, like herself. Suddenly, she thought of rumors she had heard as a student of a girl who went around in the shape of chicken. Some people had the strangest powers.

"I am gifted," she raised one eyebrow suggestively before breaking out into a cool, teasing, smokey smile. In more ways than one... "I'm a shapeshifter. A tiger." Unconsciously, her voice had become lower and she had leaned forward, so that only Nina could hear. "I enjoy life best when I'm in my other form. I love to swim, to hunt, to lounge." Kamini was very much a cat. "What about you? You went to Hammel. You must have your own...interests."

[Nina Levitra]

For all of her eccentric, overwhelming personality, Nina was a very genuine person. She didn't lie to make people feel better, she didn't say things just to agree with anyone, and she didn't suck up. Her compliments did have a slight tendency to sound like the affectionate ramblings of a fifth grader, as did about half of the things she said, but anyone who knew her would assure you that she meant every word of it.

A trainer? Nina had been thinking about trying to find a trainer, not just because she was out of practice, but because she missed it. She missed the voice reminding her that no, this floor could not support the weight of a elephant and yes, they had fireproofed again, not that was any reason to test it. School had been chaotic and training meant the chaos was now a near circus, deliberate crazed motion. Not to mention, she was out of shape. Nina was getting stiff, and if she shifted more than twice, her hands trembled and her neck got sore, which was no fun at all.

When Kamini mentioned tigers, it all came together. Nina almost imagined that a light bulb was turning on atop her head. She was that girl, the one that back in school, everyone had whispered about and mentioned but never talked to. Nina had heard that she was nearly untouchable. At the time, she had better things to do than listen to boys whine about one girl they couldn't get, but now it was intriguing. Nina had always wondered what other shape-shifters did, and here was her answer in New Friend Kamini.

"No way." Nina whispered, grinning and leaning forward. "I'm a shape-shifter too, they called me Chicken. 'Cause, you know, I'm normally a chicken." She had actually attended several classes as a chicken, and they had all been far more interesting that way. "I mean, I'm one of the odd ones, I can do all sorts of animals as long as they're black, but being a chicken is always the best... Sometimes I think I'm not meant to be human, you know?" With a giggle, Nina sipped at her drink. Meeting new people was even better when it turns out that they were actually old people.

[Kamini Vena]

Kamini watched as some sort of realization struck Nina Levitra. She studied the girl, her sharp eyes taking in the widening of the woman's eyes. Had she possibly recognized Kamini from school? Kamini was embarrassed to say that she didn't really recognize her. It wasn't like she had too bad of a memory, but she definitely had some memory lapses from her school days at Hammel.

The days back then had been filled with the same routine for many years. She took many trips to the school councilor, trying to find the connection between her emotions and her transformations. Afterward, she'd go to her first two normal classes, then training. She worked for hours, back then, just trying to master the transformation without feeling any pain in the shifting and cracking of her bones. And then after training, she completed her day with the rest of her classes. Weeks, months, years passed. All she wanted was to be able to change on her own. Her trainers would poke her, anger her, and every time she changed unwillingly. It had been painful, every time. It wasn't until she finally mastered changing on her own that the pain stopped and she began to enjoy the change.

She had, back then, little time for real relationships with anyone. The boys fawned over her, she knew, but that's all they were: boys. Not men. She met one real man, once -- a senior who didn't mind having a totally open relationship. She felt dirty afterwards, all the time, but he became a good friend until he died two years later, drowning in his backyard pool one drink-filled night. Most of the girls at Hammel were cruel towards her, because of her confidence. Kamini knew they were jealous, and pitied them for their weaknesses.

Kamini's reverie was disturbed when Nina leaned forward and whispered that she herself was a shape-shifter as well. Chicken.... Kamini looked upward and raised an eyebrow at Nina. So Nina was the chicken everyone used to talk about? Kamini had always secretly wondered what shape-shifting was like for other shifters. And then, Nina smiled and said:

"Sometimes, I think I'm not meant to be human, you know?"

Kamini thought about her trip to India, and the tigers she met there. How welcomed and at home she had felt. "Yeah," she agreed slowly, "I know exactly what you mean..." She considered telling Nina about the trip to India... Instead, She took a sip of beer thoughtfully before leaning forward, so that Nina and Kamini were only a foot apart. "You can turn into several animals? How?" It was hard for Kamini to think that way, having only one transformation (as far as she knew) to change into.