Playtime (Zac)

[Devin Sykes]

There had been a very long period when the only time Devin voluntarily shifted forms was to do something she wasn't supposed to be doing, so now she was having to do a little more training to control her powers than she otherwise would have.
Much as she'd never admit though, she quite enjoyed it once she was finished practicing changing over and over again, and she was working on keeping her own mind for longer periods of time while in canine form.
As long as by 'keeping her own mind' you meant 'getting away with acting like a dog', anyway. She'd say, if anybody asked, that she just needed more practice, but really she was quite in control for longer than it seemed, she just loved letting go, being able to run around (much faster than she could on two legs, as well), generally have fun without worrying who was watching and, if she could find an appropriate animal lover who didn't recognise her alternate form, a shamefully good game of fetch.

Her clothes were neatly piled in an out of the way corner, wrapped in plastic to keep them safe, waiting for her to be finished and get dressed again. She even looked like a perfectly normal dog, having remembered (this time) to remove her piercings - funnily enough dogs with earrings got some very odd looks.
She knew there were a couple of students at Hammel who she either didn't know, or didn't know it was her, who were good for a play, she just hoped one of them was about.
She probably wouldn't even admit to herself that she'd timed her training session to try and catch one particular person.

After a quick run around the field just for the fun of it, she stopped and sat back on her haunches, looking for all the world like she was waiting for someone.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac was carelessly sprawled on the ground, still lightheaded from the intense combat training he just received from Kamini. Ever since that day Zac accidentally stumbled upon the new powers trainer in one of the training rooms, Zac has been flirting with her non-stop. To Zac, she just seems so surreal, from her brown skin to her feisty personality. It also didn’t help that Kamini’s transformation into a tiger involves her clothes being torn apart, the reversal of which Zac very much looks forward to. So from his random bumps along the corridor to his ’anonymous gifts’, it is but common knowledge that Zac stopped at nothing just to get his instructor's attention. Fortunately, Kamini has enough sense to reject the boy’s advances, much less indulge his enormous ego.

Unfortunately for Kamini, Zac doesn’t give up too easily. He seems to be determined to hit on Kamini, trying to use every opportunity to get close to his instructor. Since chocolates and expensive gifts have failed, Zac turned to the most obvious way to have some alone time with a trainer: arrange a private training session. Even with all of Zac’s advances, he was still a student and she an instructor; she’s required to help him no matter what. So one Friday afternoon, Zac approached Kamini with an innocent face and tried to convince her to train him come Saturday. Kamini reluctantly agreed, making Zac burst into an evil chuckle inside.

Zac thought that the training would be a light one – some idle chitchat here and there then some easy physical exercise. What Zac didn’t predict was Kamini’s different teaching style. Instead of small talk that Zac would’ve wanted to lead to further knowledge about Kamini’s personal life, what he got was a loud grunts and growls. He spent the time trying to avoid the tiger’s sharp claws and teeth, like a gazelle desperately running for his dear life. It seems a bunch of city-bred mammals are no match for a lone wild tiger.

Still panting like crazy, Zac managed to drag his body slowly to a more shady area. He’s feeling dehydrated more than ever and the sun’s rays aren’t really helping him at the moment. He’s sweating profusely, his white wife beater almost becoming transparent due to the huge amount of body fluid his body is secreting. He opened the bottled water beside him and drank it commercial-model style, complete with the waste-the-water-by-letting-it-trinkle-down-to-your-body action. While he would actually do that to gain attention in a normal setting, judging from his situation now, his action is more likely a result of his inability to even coordinate his body due to extreme fatigue and the need to refresh one’s self with water than attention-seek. If he was near the pond, he’d most probably jump into it right now.

“Gosh, who knew she’d be so into combat training,” he mumbled, barely finding the energy to move, “Note to self, never invite Kamini for combat training ever again.”] He took out a blue ball from his pocket and began playing with it, throwing it up and down in his palm. It was a small gift Cedric gave him during his early days in Hammel, a small toy he’d play with in times of stress. His mind still recovering from the lack of oxygen, he absentmindedly threw his ball too high and then failed to catch it, quickly rolling away from him. “Oh bah,” he growled, “Now I have to stand to pick that up.”

[Devin Sykes]

It wasn't Devin's fault.
Really it wasn't, because she mostly had control but there were certain behaviours that were practically just ingrained into the form, right? At least, that's what she'd swear blind if anybody ever caught her at it.

That was why, when the ball went up in the air, her head shot round before she was even properly aware of it, and she'd already started racing across the field for it.
She didn't reach it before it hit the ground, but by that point she pretty much figured she may as well keep going. Besides, it would be helpful to return the ball to whoever dropped it, wouldn't it? A public service. A good thing to do... oh screw it, she wanted to play fetch.

Picking the ball up between her jaws, she trotted back in the direction it came, where she spotted Zac.
Dropping the ball in front of him, she sat back on her haunches with a couple of thumps of her tail almost as a greeting.

Was she wagging her tail to say hello because Zac was a friend? Well, not quite. Devin may consider Zac a friend (some days, it depended on their respective moods), but she would probably have a bath every day for a year before she'd wag her tail at him if he'd actually known it was her, knowing there would be all sorts of mockery to follow.

He didn't know it was her though (as far as she knew), and Devin wasn't going to tell him as long as he was good for some entertainment in her canine form, and he very much was.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac simply followed the ball with his eyes. He was tired as is and the sun’s heat isn’t really helping. And besides, it’s a cheap ball anyway. He could always but a new one, Cedric wouldn’t mind.

He was about to doze off when he felt someone, or something, staring at him. Too tired to even breathe, he forced his right eye open and was surprised to see a black dog at his side, happily wagging its tail, holding (or rather biting) the ball in its mouth. He reached out for the ball with his left hand, motioning the dog to drop it on his palm. “There, there, that’s a good boy (or girl). Drop the ball here.”

/Poodle./

Zac was fond of small, furry and fluffy animals, no matter how hard he denies it. He has a whole stash of stuffed animals in his room, and an even bigger collection of them (spanning 2 rooms or more) in each of their mansions. To him, stuffed animals remind him of his mother, as she used to buy him a whole lot when she still lived.

Seeing the dog in front of him gave Zac a strange urge to pet and play with it, despite his lack of energy. But his fur fetish, so to speak, is a well guarded secret; thus, he must first figure out is the dog is simply a shifter coming to bother him.

Of all the various animals (or mammals, as it is his limit as of the moment) that have quite the sense of smell, Zac chose the poodle. ‘Not exactly manly,’ he laughed. He needs not the bloodhound’s sense of smell as he isn’t tracking anything, but still, a poodle is a surprise choice at the least.

Zac indeed found a familiar scent with the animal, but somehow, he couldn’t figure out who it was. ‘Why can’t there be a mind-reading animal?’ he thought. He can simply shoo the animal away after it gives him the ball, but its cute black eyes and endearing gaze was just too much. ‘Oh screw it,’ he thought, his ‘wants’ outweighing his social status, and ushered the animal closer. “Wanna play?” he asked the dog, ruffling its fur and petting it lightly. No shifter would want to be cuddled like that, so he figured if it was one, it would reject the newfound affection immediately and Zac could simply shrug it off as a sarcastic comment. If it turns out the dog was indeed a true dog (and a stray one to beat), Zac has found himself a new friend. In any case, it’s a win-win situation for him.

[Devin Sykes]

Every time Devin ever gave in to those doggy instincts and let herself be pet, or play ball, she was just a tiny bit disgusted with herself, but she couldn't help it.
It was maybe a little bit demeaning, but it was a lot of fun, and if nobody else knew about it, then it was ok, right? ... Well, ok, maybe not so much, but pushing it aside like that made her feel better about it, so as long as nobody else found out, she would be just fine. Mostly.

Which was why her only reaction to the petting and the question was a thump of her tail to mark her assent. She would have nodded, but she found that - particularly in Hammel, where people were a little bit more attuned to that sort of thing - very human actions from animals tended to make people a little suspicious.

Jumping to her feet, she wagged her tail again, clearly waiting for him to throw the ball.
Self-respect? Who needed it when you got to run around on four legs?

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac threw the ball up and down, trying to see just how long would it take for it to pounce on him for teasing it. The dog’s tail thump told him of the dog’s eagerness to play and, somehow made Zac’s doubts vanish. No shifter would be detailed and meticulous enough to take note of animal behavior, much less the subtle tail motions of a dog. He should know – he’s ‘merged’ with a dog’s mind enough to know how these beasts react and have tried endlessly to push such instincts away when he taps into dogs’ (or any animal for that matter) for quite some time. (He remembered ‘chasing his tail’ one time, though it looked very stupid as he didn’t really shift into a dog).

“Fine then,” he laughed as he could take the dog’s cute stare any longer, “Catch!” He threw the blue ball across the grounds, secretly hoping it wouldn’t hit anyone. He wasn’t in the mood to fight with anyone right now; also, he wouldn’t want anyone to know he’s playing with a dog. He just wants to enjoy his time with his newfound friend. “Come on, go for it,” he urged the dog, lightly rubbing it’s chin before sending it off.

[Devin Sykes]

Devin tried very hard to resist the urge to get impatient when he started throwing the ball up and down, but it was obvious from the way she shifted her weight around that she was ready to play and he was just delaying the inevitable fun.
At least, that's how a dog would think about it, Devin's train of thought at least including the slightly more human irritation at being teased, much as she picked up some of the traits she at least retained some humanity.

At last the ball was thrown! A quick about-turn and Devin was streaking off across the field after the ball, allowing herself for just a moment to forget everything except the joy of the run and the hunt - ok so finding a little blue rubber ball wasn't exactly the most thrilling of 'hunts', but the adrenaline was almost the same so who really cared?

Locating the ball, she picked it up and ran back across the field to Zac, dropping it in front of him and settling back, tail wagging again, waiting for another throw.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac smiled as he followed the black dog with his eyes, still too tired to walk with it. He almost laughed when the dog sped up as it reached the ball, somehow connecting to it and feeling the warm and fuzzy feeling inside for succeeding in the hunt. It wasn’t much, but for a dog, it was one heck of an achievement.

As the black dog returned, childhood memories slowly flooded Zac’s mind. He had a dog once, a grey Great Dane he named Bowow. His mom gave him Bowow as a birthday gift when he turned 5, and they were virtually inseparable. School, malls, even in parties and picnics, little Zachie dragged Bowow wherever. Being a Great Dane, Bowow grew large very quickly, but Zac didn’t care whenever he would pounce on him and lick his face wet. He actually enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, Bowow wasn’t meant to stay by Zac’s side forever. One morning, a snake got inside the LaRousse estate. Bowow successfully subdued the snake, but was bitten in the process. Zac was devastated. His parents weren’t home that time so help for Bowow was all too late. It took a while for Zac to finally be able to pet dogs again, seeing that a huge scar was made by the event.

Though his new playmate wasn’t a Great Dane, its black fur somehow reminded Zac of Bowow. And as the dog ran towards him, it was as if he could see Bowow running back to him.

He took the ball from the dog’s mouth and hugged it real tight. “You know, you remind me of someone,” he whispered to the dog’s ear, rubbing its temples, “He had the same energy and cheeky smile as you did. Heh.” He laughed for a bit, then said, “Ready? One more time ok?” He threw the ball, now much farther. He gave the dog a light pat at the back and said, “Go go! Hurry back dear doggie!”

[Devin Sykes]

Devin allowed the hug, mostly because the contact was, well, sort of nice, and partly because she was trying to remain dog-like after all, and a friendly dog would probably put up with that sort of contact - especially the petting.
She couldn't help but be a little surprised at Zac's words, there was a gentleness to them that she was surprised to see in the boy, it wasn't something she'd ever been privy to before. Not that she could ever mention it to him, of course, or he'd know it was her, and from what she knew of Zac she suspected he'd tease her mercilessly to cover up his own weakness.

The moment was all but forgotten when he threw the ball again, though she tucked it somewhere at the back of her mind for future consideration.
Playtime went on until Devin was almost exhausted, she'd definitely been getting a good workout running up and down. Unfortunately, the tireder she was, the less control she had over her powers, and after a while she could feel the insistant pull of human form luring her back to 'normal'. Dropping the ball at Zac's feet one last time, she turned and bolted off across the field before the pull became too insistant to resist and she embarrassed herself, because turning back into herself infront of him? Naked? He'd never let her live it down.

She ran straight up to her room, glad to see doors open along the way, and changed back, dressing and running a brush through her hair to make sure it was clean, checking for any smudges of mud on her skin. It wasn't until she'd done all this that she remembered she'd left clothes out on the field, and she'd have to go back to get them.

Trying to look as nonchalent as possible, she strolled back outside and onto the training field, hoping Zac had left.

[Zachary LaRousse]

And so the game of catch went on. Zac would throw the ball and the black dog (the thought of giving his new playmate a nickname still hadn’t crossed Zac’s mind) would come back to him running, wagging its tail with the ball on its mouth. He would’ve wanted to run alongside his new friend, to chase the ball with it, but unfortunately, his strength is still all but bust. “Damn Kamini,” he muttered as he was waiting for the dog to come back, “I didn’t know she’d play that hard.”

Sure Cedric’s ball got a little too slimy after a couple of throws, but Zac was having so much fun to care. He even tried summoning the strength of a gorilla at times, throwing the ball a little further than usual, and would laugh at the dog’s dumbfounded reaction. Zac could feel that it wanted the challenge, but it may have been too far. Zac simply smiles at the dog, gives it a light pet and pats the dog’s backside. Soon enough, despite the initial reluctance, the dog finds then ball and hands it to Zac for another round.

Zac couldn’t help but reminisce the nice times he’s had with Bowow. He remembered the times Bowow would suddenly jump up Zac’s bed because he’s scared of the thunder, or the time when he’d suddenly sneak up on Zac and steal his steak. They’ve gotten in all sorts of trouble back then. And in remembering Bowow, he ‘indirectly’ remembered his mother, who gave him Bowow on his birthday and was always with them whenever he went out with Bowow. He looked up to the sky, trying to prevent tears from forming. “Those were the days,” he mumbled.

His trip down memory lane was interrupted when he suddenly realized that his new friend hasn’t returned yet. It usually takes his new friend (he has forgotten to check if the dog was a he or a she) just a minute or so to return, but it’s been five minutes now. He knew he didn’t throw the ball too hard the last time as he noticed that the dog is slowly getting tired. Worried, Zac forced himself to stand up and started calling for his dog friend.

The sun a bit too uncooperative for the search, Zac decided to take his drenched wife beater off and slung it to his shoulder. “Now where can that dog be?” he asked loudly, looking through the bushes, “Doggie. Cute doggie. Show yourself now. Come now, come come doggie.”

[Devin Sykes]

It was a bad idea, tempting fate, she really should just keep walking and pretend she hadn't seen him... but it was far too tempting, having spotted Zac searching through the bushes and calling for the 'cute doggie', she just couldn't leave that one alone.

Stopping a few feet from where he was crouched by the bushes, she rested her hands on her hips and watched him for a few seconds before calling out to him.
"Shirtless and calling for a dog?" She asked archly, a smirk on her face "Run out of luck with your own species, Zaccy?"

Sarcasm was pretty much the accepted currency in all their exchanges, but as mocking as she might be, most of the time she didn't really mean it, it was just fun to exchange barbs with him. She also had to admit (very privately) that him with his shirt off wasn't the worst thing she'd ever seen.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac was frustrated. Frustrated and worried. Where could that dog has gotten itself into? Hammel isn’t really a dangerous place for pets, but still, some uncontrollable meta might’ve gone berserk and accidentally did something wrong, something fatal, to that dear dog. Zac shuddered at the thought. He doesn’t know why but there’s something special about the dog that endeared it to him almost immediately and his heart would be broken if anything bad happens to it.

Since traditional methods aren’t really returning anything, he tried using his ability to aid him in his search. He first tried to remember the scent the dog has using an elephant’s memory then went on to track it with a dog’s sense of smell. He had caught the scent a few times, but he isn’t that good in tracking yet that he found nothing substantial that may help.

He was startled when somebody spoke behind him, apparently hearing him shout the words ‘cute’ and ‘doggie’. Not good.

He turned and saw Devin, a sometimes-friend-most-of-the-time-nuisance to Zac’s life. The fact that she called him ‘Zachie’ proved the point even more. “Oh puh-lease,” he replied, trying to think of a quick comeback, “Me? Out of luck? You have got to be kidding me.” So far, none. Gah. He should really take his mind off the dog first if he ever wants to save his image.

“I’m just trying to find a friend’s lost puppy,” he snapped back, failing to think of a worthy excuse. “And if I know any better, you’re enjoying the sight in front of you right now. Don’t be shy, everybody does,” he added. Sure it wasn’t at par with Devin’s amazing remark, but he hopes it’ll somehow distract her enough to forget that he used the forbidden words just a while back.



ooc:
TOTAL WIN SHINI! \/
Haha. I really rolled on the floor laughing when I read Devin's remark. I like I like. .
Unfortunately, I can't think of a remark at par with hers. I do hope I can write something as witty as that later on. .

[Devin Sykes]

((OOC: lol! Thank you very much ))

Devin just smirked at him as he was clearly too distracted to come up with something witty enough in retort. She did find it amusing when she got one up on him, and he could do nothing but splutter ineffectually at her words, or simply deny them, chock full of male bravado. It was hilarious.

"Is that so?" She asked with a raised eyebrow "Why isn't your 'friend' trying to find it themselves?" She knew she shouldn't really push the dog thing, the longer they spent talking about the dog the more chance she'd do something to give herself away, and that would only end badly.
Luckily he provided the perfect distraction by insinuating she was enjoying the view, and however true it might possibly partly just a tiny bit be, she wasn't going to let him labour under that misconception any longer.
"Zac, I wouldn't enjoy looking at your scrawny body if it was coated in chocolate."
...oh wait, much as she didn't like him at times, that actually wasn't a bad mental image...

[Zachary LaRousse]

Seeing Devin’s smirk made Zac frown, albeit on the inside. He knew she was celebrating that she finally had one on him, and he can’t let her know that he is affected by such a thing; it would only boost Devin’s confidence, which would do no good for Zac. He tried to maintain his smirk, ego and bravado his remaining weapons for this ‘stand-off’.

He was so into thinking about saving his face and trying to get back at Devin that it took him a while before he realized that he’s picking up a familiar scent. He forgot to ‘turn off’ his ability, meaning his sense of smell is still as good as a bloodhound’s. And he was baffled when Devin seemingly gave off the same smell. He knew she was a shape-shifter, but into a black dog? No way. He tried to shake the thoughts off, thinking he’d said so much to the dog that if it was Devin, she wouldn’t let it go that easy.

Too many things are already running in Zac’s head, and Devin’s inquiry isn’t making it any lighter. “I..I…err.” He’s stuttering. He can’t believe it. Zachary LaRousse? Stuttering? This is so not happening. ‘Must be because of that intense training session,’ he thought, consoling himself, ‘Yes, that must be it.’ He took a deep breath, trying to center himself.

“Truth to be told, I lost the dog, and my ‘friend’ won’t forgive me if I won’t find it,” he said, trying to think of a decent lie, “I’ve been trying to hit on her for months, and I don’t want to go back to square one because of this dog.” Devin wasn’t exactly a close friend of his, but she wasn’t entirely an enemy. So, he hopes, this cover up sharing he did would calm the girl down, hoping to get her off his trail. “I do hope you don’t get too upset about that,” he added, trying to say as if Devin wanted him, “You really are just not my type.”

He smirked, getting more and more comfortable as he thinks he’s finally found his edge again, after spinning that magical lie. “Me? Scrawny?” he said, laughing the insult off, flexing his arm and chest muscles ‘subtly’ in the process, “If I am scrawny, then I don’t want to see how ‘buff’ is in your dictionary.” He paused for a bit then continued, “My god Devin, I didn’t know you had a food fetish! And even if I was covered in mud and dirt, I betcha you’d still lick me clean.” He gave her a dirty sly wink, hoping it’ll get her off questioning his puppy search.

[Devin Sykes]

Devin was more than a little disappointed when Zac regained his composure and managed to find a good excuse, but she simply smirked at him and made a little 'uh huh' noise before dropping the subject. Hopefully it would look like she was merely dropping it because she had no more ammunition about it, rather than because she didn't want to keep talking about the dog too much.

Besides, she didn't really have time to discuss missing dogs when she had to correct his apparent obsession with the fact that she supposedly wanted him.
"You really are full of yourself, aren't you?" She rolled her eyes "Newsflash, Zaccy, not every girl wants to sleep with you. Most girls probably don't. ...Or are you just trying to cover up the fact that it's you that wants me?" She smirked.