[h a t t e r] .with leaves so large. [o p e n]

[Caleb Hanson]

A forest. Quite a nice and shady place to get away from the summer filled island activities or at least hide. Caleb wasn’t in the best of moods today so he thought he might in fact just hide amongst some bushes. It was a calm and breezy day, very hot though. Every now and then the breeze gave some sort of relief, but not very much. Caleb was pleased that he decided to go into the forest, under some leaves and trees instead of lurk in the shallow waters of the beach or on the sand. He didn’t like getting too sandy or hot in that particular location. It’d be quite crowded anyways and he didn’t feel like making a scene or snapping at anyone for foolishness.

But Caleb sort of planned to shift that afternoon. It was on his agenda to do and was far more relaxing anyways. He had headed out of his dorm, dressed like everyone else, thin and light clothed. Everyone seemed to be partaking in ‘fun’ activities’. Hm. Not so fun. They were yelling and blasting music and running about like the animals they were. Except these beings could talk. When he reached the beginning of the forest, he didn’t wait any longer. He had gone through the usual shift. His bones crunching and shifting, mostly his arms becoming shorter as well as his legs. A new body part shooting out and appearing on his back side. It was the usual pain and the usual shift. But now, he could find a new relaxing spot, and he did.

With the sound of some species of exotic birds, calling out in the distance, Caleb had found himself shielded under a very nice large leafed plant. Well it was more of a bush. He didn’t know what time of plant, but the large down curved leaves looked as if they could collect water. Nevertheless, walking by and glancing at the plant you wouldn’t think anything of it, unless you caught a glimpse between the leaves in the shade, then you would see the scaly hide of Caleb. He was quite large as a crocodile. Almost 18 feet in length, his head was covered by the plant and his greenish dark body blended in with the other plants behind him. His mouth was closed, for a change. He closed his eyes for a few moments, collecting his thoughts in the shade and the sound of the subtle forest.

Easily enough, his eyes shot open. Like usual, he probably dozed off for a few moments. He could feel the hot air around him though, so it shouldn’t have been too long of a nap. But that wasn’t the point, the point was, someone was here. He was sure he had heard something, something out of the ordinary for a forest sound. Was it a voice? A crunch of leaves? Maybe a breeze had picked up and he merely mistaken the touching of leaves for another individual, or animal? He pushed with his legs to move a few more inches, closer to the walking path in the forest, or at least clearing to walk. And with a moment that had surprised him, something landed inches from his mouth. It wasn’t a leaf either, he didn’t take a moment to blink, it could have been a leg or it could have been a water bottle. All he knew, was it was a foreign object, which was now his. The instinct that he hardly ever wanted to control (and most of the time didn’t) kicked in and his massive jaw and large teeth clenched down on the object as he stepped the necessary inches out from the bush to grab it. His location wasn’t hidden anymore, but at least he had whatever he did in his mouth, tasting it and grinding it ever so slightly between his teeth. Caleb now glanced up, to see what or who this belonged to. Ahh.

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[Caleb Hanson]

Well well well. A teacher. And a teacher’s hat. Was there some sort of rule against eating your teacher’s hat? Could he get some form of punishment from continuing on? Well, it was worth it. Everyone had that animalistic urge in them, and maybe he couldn’t control his? You couldn’t be punished for that after all. Besides, it was his hat that had disturbed Caleb. Maybe he should hold onto his hat better? Or possibly just not wear one at all. It was sort of strange. Caleb could be into new styles and what not but, nothing too weird and this was pretty weird for a hat. Honestly. No, he wasn’t going to let go. He’d have some fun, and try to swallow it if he could. Although, it didn’t taste very good. If he shifted back into human form, he might just make a comment about washing that hat. It might not actually be dirty, but it tasted like filth.

Then, the unexpected happened. He assumed a few yelling insults or a surprised expressive, but Peter Sullivan obviously was extremely passionate about his hats. Why else would he fling himself upon a saltwater crocodile! He felt the arm enter his mouth, with the hat of course. Well that was that, he wanted to take off Sullivan’s arm. It wasn’t just annoying him or using intimidation, he was actually angered. How dare he try to take back that hat. Caleb had that urge to bite down, trap his arm with his hat in his strong jaw and start the roll of death. It could twist his arm clear off. But first, was to actually make an action.

Caleb pressed down his mouth, trying to close it. He didn’t bite down though, so luckily (for Hatter), he wouldn’t have any puncture wounds of any sort. But the way he clenched his mouth, the teeth just pressing against his skin and still holding onto the hat, it was as if to tell the teacher that he wouldn’t get his hat back. So it was better off for him to just retreat his arm. It was just a hat anyways…. And besides, did he know who he was? Did his genetics teacher recognize Caleb? He figured, possibly not… And if he did, it probably wouldn’t have made any difference. It wasn’t like Caleb was a wild beast in the classroom. He was like any other student, except he might be quite argumentative if he disagreed with what someone said. That wasn’t a crime though.

Another little gust of wind pushed through the forest. The swaying of leaves occurred all around the pair. Caleb pressed his little claw like nails into the ground, eyes trained on Hatter and a low Crocodile hiss from deep within his throat. Ready for him to surrender his arm and his hat, so he could bask in the thought of engulfing it.

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