Hedgehog in the hedge {open}

[Alchemy Igelkott]

Aly sat down, feeling closer to her hedgehog than ever, right next to the bushes. She remembered the day she had found out that hedgehogs were named so because they burrowed in hedges. That made her laugh even now. She really was like a hedgehog sometimes; as a kid she had loved to play in the dirt, something she didn't like to admit now. She was happy sitting on the ground, liking the feel of the ground under her.

She had run a little earlier, and now she felt sweaty and gross even though she had taken a shower earlier, and felt empowered. She didn't run as a hedgehog, she still wasn't comfortable shifting yet. She was content to sit by the bushes and read, though, even with her hair sticking uncomfortably to her neck and forehead; it was curling more than ever. She hoped she had a hair tie, but to no such luck.

She wished she had something to eat, hungry again (Man, pancakes sound really good right now!), but then pushed that thought aside. She was reading one of Fossy's, her dead sister's, books, and she didn't want it to get covered in food.

Aly loved to read, it was always a comfort, especially outside. The sun kissed the pages as well as her skin. She hoped that it make her more tan, but she would probably just sunburn. The slight breeze was nice though, taking away from some of the sun's heat.

She had yet to go to the library, though she desperately wanted to. Being surrounded by books always comforted her, when she had first discovered her dad was crazy, the first time he hit her, and especially after she had made one of her first enemies.

She felt horrible about what had happened with Selah Belle Madison, and Aly totally deserved almost getting hit in the head with a weight, but she couldn't change the past. She was ready to move on, ready to let it go.

Aly was reading the book "Mean Girls," which had been made into a Lindsey Lohan movie. Everybody in that book knew the Plastics were mean. Nobody knew that Aly kind of was, too.

"I should come with a warning label: WILL BE ABLE TO READ YOU LIKE A BOOK. BEWARE -- CAN BE SEEN AS RUDE," Aly said out loud to herself.

[Heidi Valentine]

Man, was it hot everyday on this island?

She knew it was summer and all, and that just so happened to be the hottest time of the year, but back at home she was used to much... cooler summers. Much less intense than it was here. The sun rays weren't unwelcomed, though, and she made due with what she had. Being outside put her right in her element, and whether it was pouring rain outside, the middle of a snow flurry, or as hot as it was today outside, no doubt Heidi would be there enduring it all. And it was now that she broke through the school's front doors, stepping out into the bright light with a squint and a smile. Her hands reached up to the top of her firey red hair to wriggle free one of her favorite pair of black sunglasses. If there was one thing she loved to collect out of all things, it was certainly these! Back in her room, Heidi had a whole mini suitcase loaded with these babies of all shapes, sizes, colors, and styles. Her pride and joys, no doubt.

Worming the frames onto her face to sheild her hazel eyes, Heidi scanned the grounds through the tinted lenses to find a nice place to sit and relax. Maybe even work on her piece some more in her mind, just a simple melody she'd made up and meant to put to an instrument sometime when she got a chance. Students seemed to be littered all about the school campus grounds, lounging here and there and stealing the shade casted by the few large trees. A little further off, though, a certain spot came into view that had both shade, looked like it was quiet, and wasn't crowded by other people. Well, save for the girl sitting there with the book propped up. She sucked in some of the hot air as Heidi weighed her options.

She could either fry in the sun, and bake for all to see, or go and check out to see if the girl - from what she could tell from this distance, it was a girl - didn't mind her taking some of that brush shadow herself. Blowing it out with one puff of her cheeks, Heidi nodded to herself as the decision was made. Her inner collie pawed at her impatiently, wanting to get out of the sun and rest somewhere soon. Sit, sit? it whined softly to her, and Heidi sighed at it's urgency. Ever since she'd started 'connecting' better with her animal half, the silly beast never shut up. Either way, Heidi strode out further into the sun as she hooked her thumbs through her short's belt loops and gradually made her way over to the solitary girl, a light smile on her lips as there was a little happy bounce in her step from just being outside.

Finally there, the girl slowed to a stop beside the other, craning her neck some to catch a look at the book she was reading. Eyes light up from under her sunglasses as she recognized the title, having seen the movie countless times. She'd yet to actually read the book, though, which had come first.

"Hi there," came the slightly soft voice, not wanting to startle the girl incase she was deep inside the novel and hadn't noticed her approaching. She swayed lightly from heel to toe, a little habit she'd gotten into ever since coming to this academy. The collie inside of her stirred once again as it took an interest in the other's animal shift, picking up the scent no problem with such a high sense of smell. "Mind if I smuggle some shade?" a thumb jerked back over her shoulder, "Everyone else seems to have.. uhm, taken over all the other spots."

TAGG? Alchemy
WORDS? 640
NOTES? outfit*
CREDIT? hey it's SHMEY ! @ caution 2.0

[Alchemy Igelkott]

"Hi there. Mind if I smuggle some shade? Everyone else seems to have.. uhm, taken over all the other spots," Aly heard a girl say softly. She appreciated the gusture, for she probably would have jumped a mile high, had her voice been any louder.

Interesting choice of words, she thought as she heard the word "smuggle."

Looking up from her book, Aly saw a red headed girl (Wonder what her shift is, she mused to herself, wondering what red animals there were, though it probably wasn't something red.), probably around her own age, taking advantage of the shade as well. Well, at least she was trying to, judging by her question. And for good reason. Today, it felt like the sun was whipping people with hot metal rods. Except all of their bodies, not just their backs, like when people used to get whipped for crimes.

Her finger marked her place in her book as she temporarily closed it, in a halfway effort to put it down. Temporarily, at the very least. She wasn't sure if she would get to continue reading, so she was prepared to start again. Conversation wouldn't be a bad substitute for reading though.

"Sure, no problem," she replied to the girl. "Understandable, plus, this area actually has some shade, surprisingly." She added a slight laugh to "surprisingly," for it was true, considering how hot all of the other spots were.

Summer had always been one of Aly's favorite seasons, despite the blistering heat, like today.

"I'm Alchemy, though most people call me Aly," she said, at an attempt to make conversation with this girl. Aly still didn't have many friends yet, so she hoped this girl was nice, unlike those in her book.

Waiting for her reply, Aly brushed her hair out of her face, though she wondered if that had been smart, considering that it was still wet from her shower, and felt nice on her hot skin.

She hoped that she wasn't getting a sunburn though she didn't think so, considering she was in the shadiest spot outside currently.

The slight breeze was nice on her skin, and Aly was thankful for it. She wished that she had brought her sunglasses, but it was too late to regret that now.

Aly said, "I like your tank top, by the way. Zebras are pretty cool, though I'd have to say I prefer hedgehogs." She smiled at her, hoping this could start as a conversation starter, perhaps.

Fingering her book, the hair tie around her wrist seemed to gain five pounds, screaming for her to pull her hair back.

She obliged to the inanimate object, and relished in the weight of her hair off of her neck, now in a high ponytail.

She noticed, though, that when she put her hair back, she had lost her place.

Rats! she thought to herself, but pushed it aside.[/color]

{Clothes.
Word count: 477.
Tag: Heidi.}

[Heidi Valentine]

Ohthankgoodness. Heidi wasn't in the presence of a 'serious' reader, as she liked to call them. People who absolutely dreaded with every bone in their body to be interrupted during a good read. Sure, the girl was a reader herself, and could always appreciate spending the whole day lounging back and delving into a riveting novel. But she couldn't see herself snapping at others for putting a momentary pause in her reading, and luckily, she wasn't getting an ear-full of scoldings from the other girl. What a relief!

"Sure, no problem," she heard, and sighed gratefully. Knees bent as she lowered herself to the ground, one arm reaching back to catch herself in case she managed to fall over. With more or less effort, her still sore muscles ached while she molded herself into a criss-crossed leg position once her butt hit the soft ground. She was still aching after her race the other day with a friend of hers, and although she'd come out the victor, her counterpart was smart not to push himself as hard as she had.

"Aly," she repeated slowly, committing the name to memory as she nodded with a smile. "Nice to meet a friendly person around here, I'm Heidi." Man, it must have been at least ten degrees cooler down here on the ground near the shrubs and hedges than it was standing in the blazing sun. And was that.. a breeze?! Oh yes, Heidi was certain this was the spot to be in for the day, that was sure. Her eyes fluttered shut a moment as she tilted her chin upwards while one of these gentle gusts of wind twirled through their shaded area. It picked her hair up slightly and twirled it around like a finger might before letting it fall and going along it's way. She stayed like this a moment, relishing in the cool wind before it had passed. Turning her chin back down, Heidi beamed brightly to the other girl. "Thanks! Hedgehogs are pretty nifty, huh?" she mused, thinking back to the one her kindergarden class had back in the day.

"Feisty little animals, but you've gotta give 'em credit for being able to hold their own." She chuckled lightly at this, then paused as her inner collie whined again at the scent lingering before her. It was almost certain Aly's shift was indeed a hedgehog, but Heidi was still far from totally trusting her other half. So, she figured the best way to find out would be to ask out in the open as she was quite curious. Waiting until her hair had been hoisted off of her neck, the question popped. "Are you.. a hedgehog?" she'd ask, slightly cocking her head to the side as a dog might. "My collie senses are telling me so but," she broke off, grinning slightly, "I don't really trust it that much. Still getting used to all of this." came the explanation, her right hand giving a little semi circle in front of her as she gestured to the school in general.

The girl wasn't really sure when she'd be totally trusting without a doubt to the animal within her, and it wasn't like she was in a hurry to find out. That was why she was at this school anyways, right? To tame the (not so wild) animal inside of her, learn to live with it, and go out into the world and pretend to be normal. Her eyes shifted to the book as it was moved out of direct attention, details of the movie playing throughout her mind in small snippets. "Nice choice in books!" chin jerked forward a little to point at the cover, "Can't even begin to tell you how many times I've seen the movie." A chuckle came forth as Heidi leaned back and put pressure on her arms to keep her propped up, enjoying the outdoors.

TAGG? Alchemy
WORDS? 651
NOTES? None
CREDIT? hey it's SHMEY ! @ caution 2.0

[Alchemy Igelkott]

Aly nodded absentmindedly, and said that she was a hedgehog.

She had a weird feeling, despite the warmth of the sun, although with good reason, for it seemed like the temperature had just dropped. But not in the usually way, for it grew more humid, and the hedgehog in Aly smelled sea water.

Yuck, sea water, she thought, but her hedgehog said, Not just sea water, Aly. Or at least, not just a little bit.

Aly laughed when she heard Heidi mention the movie, which made her pick up her book, and hold in nonchalantly . "Yeah, I've seen it a lot too," she replied with a chuckle. “One of my favorite Lindsay Lohan movies, I must say.”

But Aly was unable to keep her mind off of that sea water smell, so she added, “Do you smell something...fishy? Like, sea water?” Her head had cocked naturally, and she continued with, “My hedgehog's telling me something, but I'm not completely sure what I'm hearing.”

Adjusting her position, she crossed her legs, and with the hand that wasn't fingering her book, held onto her shoe, weirdly bracing herself for whatever was going to happen.

It was then that she felt a raindrop hit that hand. She tried to push it out of her mind, but then another one fell, and another, making Aly think that it wasn't just moisture from the trees above her head.

Plip, plop, drip, drop. The raindrops just kept coming, oddly enough, though they were different from regular ones. They felt like they were coming...from the side. And from the general area of the beach.

She stood up suddenly, her head cocked again, as she tried to get a whiff of the scent, as weird as that phrase sounded in her head.

Then it hit her, it was ocean water. She would know that annoying scent anywhere. Aly had always hated the ocean, not just because she hated most water, like a hedgehog would, but because she didn't like the scent. It was always too airy and weird for Aly, but she was glad that she recognized it so easily.

Something vibrated in her pocket, and she pulled out her old clunky cell phone. She was frowning as she read the message, but was shocked nonetheless. The message, from an unknown number said:

hurricane alert

She dropped down to the ground quickly, and she showed Heidi the message.

"I knew I smelled something funny," she muttered to herself.[/color]

{Clothes.
Tag: Heidi.
Word count: 414
Notes: Sorry it took me so long to reply. My muse has been dead lately.}

[Heidi Valentine]

Heidi could tell that the girl was slightly distracted by something going on around them. Her gaze seemed distant, focusing on something not visibly before them, and her body posture read the same. Her own head tilted slightly as she curiously watched the girl, listening to her distracted responses with a light smile. Just what had gotten her attention? Inner collie started to paw around inside of her, then, suddenly suggesting to go indoors. But, now, of all times? She'd only just gotten out here! Not safe, not safe... it whispered to her, sending feelings of unsureness and tension as she, too felt the temperature drop.

At the same time, water splashed onto her skin and caught her by surprise, making the girl jump. Wide eyes gazed to the skies and noticed the thick, rolling dark clouds approaching and starting to swarm the skies. Rain started to fall more quickly now, icy to the touch and sending a chill up and down her spine. So Aly had been right to be on her toes after all. "Do you smell something... fishy? Like, sea water?" came the question, and now that she mentioned it..

"Actually, yeah, I do!" Her brows knotted together in a slight frown as she craned her neck around, peeking between the shrubbery and such to try and get a feel for what was going on. "No no, I get'cha... something's driving this Collie insane too. They must know something," she mused, sniffing the air slightly to try and see if she could detect anything else. An electric-like buzz formed on her tongue, charged from all the energy forming in the air, and this only made her more nervous and anxious. Before she could act on this feeling, though, a cell phone was suddenly flashed before her face, and her eyes greedily read over the message.

"A hurricane?" she choked out, surprised at the warning. It wasn't just some regular old storm brewing in over the ever nearing horizon? Nope. Apparently not. If it was that serious, then staying out here was probably not the best thing in the world. Nodding her head to Aly's last statement, she too confirmed that, surprisingly, her canine half -did- half a brain that perhaps she ought to listen to more. Pulling herself back up on her feet, she dusted off her bottoms and the palms of her hands before giving a quick sweep of the area. Most of the students that had been out and about laying under the shade of the trees had vanished, no doubt tucked away in the safety of the school. The others that were left behind either didn't care, or were just getting news of the arrival and were heading on back.

She looked back down then at Aly and stretched her hand out to her, a worried smile present as she used her free hand to jerk back towards the school over her shoulder. "I think we should probably start heading indoors... Before we get absolutely soaked out here." Which was indeed a possibility, considering the rate that the water was falling from the sky at.

TAGG? Alchemy
WORDS? 521
NOTES? Noo, don't sweat it. Mine's been kind of.. dead lately too.
CREDIT? hey it's SHMEY ! @ caution 2.0

[Alchemy Igelkott]

Aly was glad that she wasn't completely crazy, listening to a hedgehog...anywhere else and someone would have taken her to a mental hospital, but Heidi was like her, a shifter. The thought was weird, Aly was still getting used to the fact that she could shift, it was crazy, but she was glad she wasn't alone in her animal instincts, glad she wasn't the only shifter out there.

Just as Heidi said, "I think we should probably start heading indoors... Before we get absolutely soaked out here,” the rain got absolutely worse. Aly was soaking within seconds, and her hedgehog recoiled at the thought of being wet. With Aly's luck, of course she was a shift that didn't like water, and during a hurricane.

The need to get back to the school was intense, they definitely couldn't stay outside. Aly had grown up in Utah, probably the safest state ever in her mind, so she didn't know much about hurricanes, but she was pretty sure that you were supposed to...stay inside on a low floor? That sounded right.

“Yeah, you're right. Let's get going,” Aly replied, and pulled Heidi to her feet, ready to get inside as soon as possible. The sooner they were inside, the sooner Aly could dry off. Though she wasn't sure how well she could dry off her hair without using a hairdryer (she was pretty sure you weren't supposed to use electronics), the thought was comforting. Nice, dry clothes, and food...

The rain was coming down harder than ever, and the sea water smell was nauseating. The wind blowing back Aly's curls was crazy strong, so she hurried to get into the school, taking off with Fossy's book in one hand, pulling Heidi along with her other arm. She saw that multiple people were following her lead, and she automatically relaxed when they were closer to the school.

Fossy's book was probably ruined though, and Aly found herself sad at the thought. She hoped her sister would understand even in heaven; saving a book or getting out of a hurricane? As much as she hated to admit it, the choice was automatically the second.

As soon as they were inside, Aly automatically wanted a towel, something to wring her hair out in. She dropped Heidi's arm, they were safe, well, safer, from the storm now, and she fought the urge to shake like a dog, even though she was a hedgehog.

“What were the chances of a hurricane?” Aly said to herself out loud, also kind of talking to Heidi, wondering what their best option would be as to getting someplace safer.

[/size][/blockquote]

{Tag: Heidi.
Word count: 439, sorry my muse is a little dead.
Notes: I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry that I put off replying for so long. You can't believe how sorry I am.
Clothes: Click!
Music: "Feeling Sorry," "Looking Up," and "Where the Lines Overlap" by Paramore.}