exploring the jungle [karter!]

[Leena Tempste]

WE CAN DANCE IF YOU WANT TO
we can leave your friends behind
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"There is nothing better in life than cooking." That wasn't quite right though, was it. There were lots of things that were much better, like friends for example. Or love, swimming, and music. Every single person had their own opinion on the matter and Leena didn't agree with the little etching on the block of wood. The knife holder. Scrunching her face up in disapproval Leena leaned back from peering into the kitchen store window and folded her arms over her chest, the otter tote she brought everywhere with her swinging lightly on her arm.

Summer days had grown long and boring as the months rolled on. There wasn't much to do on the island that peeked Leena's interest. One could only visit the beach so often, and cooking was fun, but not every day all the time, and by yourself none the less. In other words, things a person loved got boring quickly. So she had decided to go on a little adventure today. Goodness knew that it was what her heart truly yearned for. Adventure Something fun and exciting that would add such a flare to a life story it could never leave the mind. But the mall was where Leena was able to push herself to go. The oh so exciting mall.

True. It wasn't that great but Leena rarely visited the places, and had in fact never been to the one on the island. So she wandered the great expanse of stores that Tuessday afternoon. Not many people were around, perhaps going to the mall had become something they liked to do and now it was boring. Whatever the reason (probably because it was an arbitrary weekday) Leena was able to roam about. She moved away from the cooking store's glass window and walked further down the wing of the mall.

It all seemed rather strange really. Leena kept walking, her blue shoes tapping against the linoleum ever so slightly and chatter, laughter, and sales talk was the background noise. As she walked her face showed a bit of a frown in confusion as she passed numbers of things. Huge pictures of half naked models advertising clothing, a group of pre-teen boys taking coins out of the fountain, and was it just her or was nobody actually shopping!? Everyone was socializing or looking for someone to socialize with. That is when Leena seemed to notice that almost every person was a part of a pair, or part a group. Then there she was, walking alone. The lone otter. the fact depressed her shift a little. being such a social animal it wanted to giggle and play with a large group of friends that it could call family.

After that thought crossed her mind Leena's nose smelt a mell that rang immediate happiness to so many people: coffee. Her brown eyes looked away from the nickering boys stealing from the wishing fountain, her mind had been vaguely pondering the thought of the hopeful wishes that were in there. That is when the pleasant sight of a little coffee shop in the mall caught her attention. It was no Starbucks, but it was a coffee shop. now, Leena wasn't actually a coffee drinker, but every coffee shop had to have tea! And that was her drink of choice.

She approached the little shop with a growing grin, happy to know something pleasant was in this huge building. She walked through the open archway and gave the man behind the counter a happy smile. Leena placed an order for a cup of jasmine chi tea only to be answered with a blank stare. "Oh. Right, you guys probably don't have it. Any tea that you do have is fine then. Earl Grey perhaps?" She said, but the man shook his head and told her they only served hot or iced coffee. Leena looked at him dumbfounded, tempted to drop her jaw for effect. What kind of horrible place was this!? "Fine, I guess... Hot coffee." She mumbled to him handing the cashier the correct change before taking her order.

Whenever Leena turned around she noticed another archway covered by curtains with a wooden sign above it saying outdoor cafe. Good. They had an outdoor patio cafe, at least she would be able to breath a little fresh air. As Leena passed through the two beige curtains she was almost displeased enough to throw her coffee down and storm out of the place. But that would cause a scene. The sight that she was greeted with was a cafe like setting... inside the mall. She was still inside this big building, till on the tiled floor. The 'cafe' was a bunch of tables fenced in with a quaint little gate. So you could pretend like you were drinking your coffee outside. How ridiculous!

Leena just walked to one of the two people tables closest to the mall outside the little wrought iron fence and sat down. She looked out at the people in their pairs and groups laughing as she poured sugar and creme into the black liquid. Mixing it all together she spoke to herself in an agitated voice. "No wonder I never come here. This place is stupid."

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WE CAN GO WHERE WE WANT TO
the night is young and so am i

tagged; Karter Orcabi word count; 866
muse music;cry by hans zimmer outfit; here
lyrics; safety dance by men without hats

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[Karter Orcabi]

I need a little more luck than a little bit
CUZ EVERYTIME I GET STUCK THE WORDS DON'T FIT
---

SPLASH

Karter dove into the water for the last time. He was in the school's pool trying to race against the clock and beat his last time. He wanted every time that he swam this race with himself to be faster and faster and faster. Eventually, it will go over and show in his competitions that he had been practicing and he wanted to make sure that his fellow racers new that he was a threat. Faster and faster he kicked. Freestyle was definitely his best stroke and he knew that he could easily get first place if he could complete this a little faster than he did before. He did a flip turn on the other side of the pool and picked up his speed. This was the last length before time was up. He kicked kicked kicked and swam swam swam until his hand slapped the wall. He looked at the clock and, sure enough, he had done it with a second to spare. Swimming was one of those sports where every second could mean the difference between first and second or even more and he had to make sure that he got his speed up next time he came. But for now, he was done in the pool.

He pulled himself out of the water and walked over to get his towel and start drying himself off. It was the most tempting thing in the world to shift in the swimming pools as he knew how fast he could swim as his killer whale shift. As tempting as it was however, he knew the consequences would be brutal if he ever did that. Oh wow, he would be in so much trouble. That's why he made sure he at least shifted once a week at minimum just to get that feel he wishes he could experience more often. It was tough being a shifter, and it would never get easier.

He quickly dried off and changed and headed back home where he would shower, then decide what to do for the rest of the day. It was afternoon and he didn't want the rest of the day to pass him by without him experiencing it to some extent. Too many days have been wasted staying inside and doing schoolwork. He just didn't want that to happen in the summer. How lame would he be if that was the case? EXTREMELY. Ya, it definitely was not going to happen this time.

Karter finally reached his room and hopped into the shower to get all of the goo that was chlorine off of him. It was really disguisting to him how the chlorine sticks to your body and NEVER comes off. He would sweat chlorine 3 weeks after for how much he actually swam. It was gross but what can you do? You have to make sacrifices for the things you love to do. He had the perfect shampoo and soap that would get it out better than any other one so it wasn't too too bad.

20 minutes passed and his shower was done. He climbed out, dried off, and started to get dressed for the day. He had decided that he would be a little adventurous today and head to the mall. He needed a few things anyway so he would use this time to get them. He looked in the mirror, gave himself a nod in approval, and started his trek out the room and onto the grounds to catch a bus to the mall.

The orca shifter had never really explored the mall in detail. He never really needed to so it kind of made sense why he didn't need to be in there. But he was happy he made the decision to get out of his room and take a trip down here. There was a lot to do and he shouldn't be that bored. It would be much better, however, if he was here with someone. Karter was an friendly guy (once you get to know him) and he is great at making friends, however he never really calls them up all to often to ask if they wanted to hang out. He usually waited for them to do that with him. He gets over it easily though when he's by himself since he doesn't despise it.

He had no idea which way to go and which way would get him to where he needed to be. He had no trouble asking someone but it really wasn't that important to stress over it right now. He passed a coffee shop and the smell instantly hit him hard. He wasn't a coffee drinker, but today being the adventerous day that it was, he decided to order a drink and try it out. He wanted to try something new everyday and, even though this wasn't something new, it counted in his eyes since he hadn't tried coffee in a while now.

The swimmer ordered, paid, and recieved his coffee and moved to the sitting area. He had the choice between inside and outside and he chose outside without even thinking. If given the option, why on earth would you choose inside? Maybe that was the animal in him begging for fresh air. He wasn't sure, but either way he knew it was the right choice as he preferred it much better. He looked around for somewhere to sit and he frowned when he saw limited seats. Everyone was paired up with friends and/or family and he didn't have much of a choice.

He noticed a very attractive girl sitting down at one of the tables alone looking rather upset. He decided that it may be better just to sit over there with her as standing in the middle of the area for too long is just plain embaressing. He walked over to her and started his introduction, "Hey there," he started without smiling too much, "This might sound really random and odd and feel free to say no, but do you mind if I sit here? There aren't too many other choices for me" He used that time to smile a bit more as he motioned with his hand for her to look around at the full shop. He was very bad at first impresions and comes off really intimidating. Though it was something he was working on.

Today could go in three ways now that he had spoken to this girl. It would either be great and they would become friends (or aquantainces) and have a great time or they would talk to each other awkwardly and after this experience never see each other again, or this pairing wouldn't work at all and it would just be a disaster. He was hoping to not make an enemy today but you never know with mall folk.

---
And every time that I try I get tongue tied
I'LL NEED A LITTLE GOOD LUCK TO GET ME BY THIS TIME

count :1251
tags:Leena
noted:We decided on friends/enemies right? lol Just want to make sure. Also I wanted to copy you with your coloured first letters haha I LOVE that idea but let me know if you don't want me to
lyrics:Tounge Tied by Faber Drive

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[Leena Tempste]

WE CAN DANCE IF YOU WANT TO
we can leave your friends behind
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Stupid, stupid, stupid place. Full of stupid people with weird habits. Maybe she was being a tad bit judgmental. But the way her day was going she was a bit irritable. She looked at the cup of joe unhappily but sipped on it anyway. Letting it fall back into her cup quickly as the hot, black liquid burnt her tongue. Her hand immediatly grabbed for a white, linen in front of her and she brought it up to her mouth when a handsome, very handsome guy walked up to her.

"Huh?" She said, or more like mumbled through the white cloth in front of her mouth, her brown eyes wide in confusion. She was taken off guard so quickly she hardly had time to be shy. But immediately pulled the cloth away from her mouth and grasped it in a fist in her lap. A bit of blush coming onto her cheeks, but the otter was excited. 'A friend, a friend' is what it hinted. Leena wasn't to sure, but she would try and figure it out.

She listened as he spoke with her brown eyes looking just above his head the whole time. A little thing she did. She always got a bit fidgety looking them in the eye. This way she was comfortable, and people figured she was paying attention to them. "Hey there, this might sound really random and odd and feel free to say no, but do you mind if I sit here? There aren't too many other choices for me" So he wanted to sit down, with her? Hmm. Leena still had the burn tingling her tongue and was disappointed with the fake outdoor cafe and all of the odd things people did at the mall. It wasn't shopping for sure. It took her a second to respond but Leena popped in her response as if she were jumping back into reality. "What? Oh! Uhm, yeah, of course, sure thing. Just... yeah, no problem."

Leena said looking around the brimming coffee shop. It was pretty full wasn't it. As she rambled on all the different ways to say 'yes' Leena finally smiled sheepishly at the boy and scratched her nose with one hand and offered the chair with another. Her brown eyes looked toward the coffee in her hands again and immediately grabbed a handful of sugar. Ripping over one of the packets she poured it into the black liquid, the white crystals dissolving almost immediatly. Leena was never really a very outgoing person, and for some reason this stranger, albeit handsome stranger, had her a little on edge. Perhaps she was just being shy and antsy as usual. But this time the otter wasn't even prodding her to go on ahead and be his best friend. It was... odd.

Different shifts always affect others differently too though... Never the less, at the moment he seemed to be just the ticket to dig her out of the hole she had made for herself that day by visiting the mall that day anyway. So she would try to be social enough to attempt some sort of conversation. maybe figure out a little about each other. They were both on the island so he was either a student or a teacher. And since she was pretty sure that he wasn't a teacher, student was the next best bet. "I hate that fake sugar stuff..." Leena said with a small, shy smile as she looked from the stranger to her coffee. "Not the biggest fan of coffee either, but you win some you lose some." She mumbled mostly to herself. If the stranger heard her then, she just sounded a little angry... thats all!

Stranger? Oh! Right, she should introduce herself. Shaking the white packet out before placing it in a crumpled ball on the side of her plate she grabbed another without second thought and spoke up. "I'm Leena by the way." She figured that he would say his name if he wanted to, but she wouldn't force it out of him. That would be rude. And Leena wasn't a really rude girl under normal circumstances. She smiled softly and placed the next empty packet by her cup. She just kept ripping and pouring without a thought, nervous tick perhaps?

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WE CAN GO WHERE WE WANT TO
the night is young and so am i

tagged; Karter Orcabi word count; 710
muse music;cry by hans zimmer outfit; here
lyrics; safety dance by men without hats
notes; Dx Sorry for the length! It'll get better, promise!
Yup, yup, yup! That's it (:
No problem, no doubt I snatched it from someone
a thousand years ago too! I like it too x) Makes things look
pretty!

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[Karter Orcabi]

I need a little more luck than a little bit
CUZ EVERYTIME I GET STUCK THE WORDS DON'T FIT
---

"Huh?"

[/i] Was the first thing that came out of her mouth after he had spoken. This wasn't the best response and he figured that she probably was getting to a "No, who the heck are you creep?" reply soon. He couldn't blame her. Most likely, if this was reversed and he was sitting there, he would give her a really awkward look and say yes just to be nice, but it would probably be too awkward and she would've walked away. He was bracing himself for something similar even though he now noticed her blushing slightly.

Karter was wondering if she was blushing because she was embaressed, or if she was blushing because he had made a good first impression. He bet that he didn't make a good first impression since, well, he never does. But he didn't want to rule anything out just yet. He listened as she replied, "What? Oh! Uhm, yeah, of course, sure thing. Just... yeah, no problem."[/i] Wow, could this be anymore awkward? It was pretty obvious that she was putting on a show and he definitely would have too. Maybe they were more similar than he thought. In any event, he watched as she offered the seat and he slowly sat down in it.

What kind of shift could she be? He always thought of this first. He loved trying to match animal to human and he was sometimes very good at it, but he knew this one would be hard to match. He felt really weird with her here. Not weird actually, just...well it was hard to explain. Sometimes he could befriend people really easily and other times it was harder. This was kind of in between from what he could tell so far. He took another sip of his drink and pondered on it for a second.

Just as he was about to speak, however, he listened as she beat him to it, "I hate that fake sugar stuff...Not the biggest fan of coffee either, but you win some you lose some."[/i] What was she doing? He thought at first he was being talked to but then he realized that her words were a bit mumbled. She sounded angry. Was she mumbling at him? He couldn't tell. He wasn't sure whether to put on a fake smile and nod, take another sip and pretend he didn't hear anything, or get up and leave altogether. He decided just to sit there and not say a peep for a little longer.

The girl spoke again, "I'm Leena by the way." [/i] Leena. That was an interesting name. Sounded very nice as it rolled off her tounge. He decided it was only fair for her to know his name as well. "Nice to meet you, he started, "I'm Karter." He smiled slowly and then went back to his drink, taking fake sips. It was too hot to actually drink that much at a time so he just pretended for the moment being.

Karter decided that he should keep the conversation rolling since he actually hated the awkwardness that could escalate shortly. "So, what brings you to the mall?" Simple enough question, though he didn't stop there, "And...er...I think you've got enough of that in there" He said putting his hand over the packets. He let out a small laugh and hung his head down for a quick second, then looking back up at her. She had been doing that for quite a while now. He wasn't sure what vibe he was getting with her. He could definitely see himself getting along with her. Maybe this wouldn't be such a horrible trip after all. [/blockquote]---
And every time that I try I get tongue tied
I'LL NEED A LITTLE GOOD LUCK TO GET ME BY THIS TIME

count :774
tags:Leena
noted:Wow did that even make sense! haha I don't think that post made any sense but hopefully it made a small bit I'm in a rush so I can't say it's my best at all lol
And thank you! Haha I'm really liking the format. And your header looks great up at the top
lyrics:Tounge Tied by Faber Drive[/font][/size][/center][/color]

[Leena Tempste]

WE CAN DANCE IF YOU WANT TO
we can leave your friends behind
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The boy, well not really a boy... the 'young man' smiled at her and Leena wanted to smack herself in the face for being so awkward. That happened often enough though. The nervous nature of the human Leena had always rivaled with the more outgoing nature of her shift. Though she would love to be able to just be herself and say things that weren't awkward and repetitive. But that was life, something that seemed to enjoy watching Leena flounder for words in front of everyone. Except a select few close friends that had spent a lifetime with her. But whenever she actually got to know someone and she liked them it would all be good, and she would only let the awkward moments slip out every other second as opposed to every second. That's better right?

Her brown eyes started to let themselves try and meet his face, as opposed to the space above his head. She was around there when he had responded to her giving her name. "Nice to meet you, I'm Karter." Karter hmm? Karter... the name was normal enough, but Leena was trying to see if she had heard of him. Not in her class for sure. But he didn't look younger. Twelfth? That is where she would place her bet. But Karter? Who was that, better yet what was his shift. that's what Leena really wanted to know. She had figured that the only reason the otter would be hesitant to befriend this person would be because of his shift, and that was always interesting. Leena was intrigued, but she smiled after he had offered his name. It was like saying you came in peace and that was a welcome gesture for sure!

After Karter had introduced himself there came a moment of 'what now?' and Leena just kept ripping and pouring sugar into her black coffee, smiling at Karter. She took in a breath but it was let out immediately when he started speaking. it was nice to know the guy was friendly and sort of willing to continue a conversation. It made Leena relax a little bit. "So, what brings you to the mall?" She almost laughed out loud at the question. Her answer would probably sound a bit funny, 'Well Karter, I came to explore the mall! See I never really go to the mall!' Yeah. that'll be funny. But she figured Karter wouldn't think her the most sane person he had ever met, but that would be okay. Leena was sure that she would end up telling him something like that. Something along the lines of the truth. As the brown eyed girl's thoughts prattled on and she kept on pouring packet after packet of sugar she was a bit confused whenever Karter spoke up next.

"And...er...I think you've got enough of that in there."

[/s] he said, placing his hand on top of hers and letting out a small laugh. She looked at him with big brown eyes confused for a moment before reality hit her and the redness crept back onto her cheeks. She smiled and chuckled herself, he seemed nice. Funny even, and if Leena was starting to feel better around him then why on Earth wasn't the otter. This whole shift thing would never stop confusing her. "Oh yeah! Guess you're right about that." She said with a smile and moved her hand away, dropping her last packet into the escalating pile on her table. Grimacing at the white paper with the little crystals scattered all about Leena put her hand on the side of the table and swept all of the bits and pieces into her hand before crumbling it all and leaning backwards in her chair on the back two legs, her tip toes keeping her on the floor as she dusted the contents into the garbage can behind her and swept off her hands. Clunking back onto the floor Leena smiled at Karter.

The coffee in front of her was still black without creme, but she knew how much sugar she had just poured into that little cup. "Well... I guess this will be fun to try." Leena said as she was stirring the coffee and laughed a little bit talking to Karter. She raised the cup up to her lips and sipped hesitantly. Almost immediately a cluster of sandy, undissolved sugar crystals. She coughed as the grainy overly sweet, yet somehow bitter taste touched the back of her throat. Leena laughed a little and put the white cup back down on the saucer and figured it was not drinkable. That was alright, she didn't really want coffee today anyway. "Memo to me, never put one thousand sugar packets into a cup of coffee again." She said at first, a smile on her lips and a blush on her cheeks.

"You asked about why I came here? Well, please don't laugh, but" Leena took in a tiny breath and she kept on talking "I was actually coming to... explore I guess is what you'd call it? Not really a real 'mall-goer' but the place isn't that great. In my own personal opinion of course. What am I to say though, people really seem to like the whole wander around and not actually shop thing." Leena said, as she finished up a bit of anger snapped into the end of the sentence. But Leena cleared her throat and her brown eyes went to her fingers on the table, they were tangled up into a big ball. "I should have gone swimming or to the beach. It would have been nice to shift today. But what about you? Why are you in this big bustle?" Leena was tempted to ask him what his shift was, but some really hated their shifts. She didn't understand that. It was such a part of one of them. And though the otter was annoying she loved her shift, and she loved being shifted. There was a freedom to it. almost like another part of her was free, of course the otter always wanted to play. And Leena was to shy to try that out.
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WE CAN GO WHERE WE WANT TO
the night is young and so am i

tagged; Karter Orcabi word count; 1026
muse music;welcome by phil collins outfit; here
lyrics; safety dance by men without hats notes; No, it was all good! I got a good reply off of it.
But I think I was rambling for the first half >.< curses.
D'awwww! I think it looks super nice because our posts are
uniform and everything, makes it all look so much nicer!

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