A Stormy Arrival (Heidi)

[Jordan Pierce]

The yip made him jump a bit as it echoed around the library and cause several people to look over. Jordan hated being in the spotlight and even though the room was dim, each set of eyes that glanced over felt like pairs of search lights. Though the stead 'Thump Thump' told him Heidi was comfortable and happy. Well, of course. Dogs liked attention, didn't they? One of the cleaning ladies didn't want to get her son a dog because she didn't think he'd give it enough attention. And there was show dogs and stuff, so being the center of attention probably wasn't a big deal. Who had ever heard of a Raven show?

Her wet nose on his arm was enough to distract him from the other people. She'd stood up at some point. "Hey now, I was just getting dry." he said, trying to cover his nerves with a strained humor. But then Heidi hopped off the couch and he could only watch her, bewildered. What was this girl up to now? She turned around and put her front paws on the couch. Were tired dogs usually this fidgety? A cold nose to the knee and then she seemed to pass out on her own paws. Was this some kind of sleep deprived doggy psychosis? He could only stare blankly, mouth uncharacteristically agape. Was she intentionally trying to give him an unsolvable puzzle? She was a dog, not a sphinx! Was it some kind of game she had suddenly decided to play? If so she certainly should have explained the rules before transforming.

The psychotic dog-girl was back on the floor and staring at him. She was also drawing a few stares from those closest to them which did nothing to calm his sudden nerves. Was this some kind of test he was failing? He hated doing badly on tests and it was a rare event to begin with. But this girl had him stumped. Then, all of a sudden and for no reason at all, she dropped to the ground.

"Heidi?!" his voice was an octave higher then normal in his sudden stab of panic. Was she hurt? Was she sick? Oh, God, what if saving him from the rain had mad her sick? What if she had a fever? What if her body was so weak it had forced her to transform?! Then why the hell had she been wagging her tail and giving him puppy grins earlier?! The dog gave a groan and his stomach gave a panicked flip as he started to lurch from the chair. How could he have screwed up this badly this quickly?

But the dog was gone. Jordan blinked and looked around, only to spot it dashing up the stairs. "What the..." he said softly, at a lost for any other words. He watched at the black and white blur disappeared onto the second floor. If she was running, that meant she was alright, right? Putting a hand over his chest, he tried to calm his rabidly beating heart. However, barking from above made him jump again. People were either staring at him or at the stairs. Why was she barking? Was she hurt? He started taking a few steps toward the stair but spotted her heading back down. What on earth was she lugging with her? A... blanket? Jordan fell backward onto the couch, still holding his chest. All of that was over a blanket? Heidi jumped back onto the couch, apparently quite pleased with herself and nudged the blanket in his direction. What was he supposed to do with it? He just stared at her, utterly dumbfounded until his heart regained a normal rhythm. By then most of the spectators and shaken their heads and went back to what they had been doing. "What was all that about? How can you be cold with all that fur?" he asked, voice still a bit squeaky.

[Heidi Valentine]

Heidi hardly even paid attention to the spectators as they peered over at her game of charades, and the race up the stairs. By the looks and shrieks she was getting from Jordan, it didn't seem like he was catching on to her motions so well. It wasn't until she'd come back down from the stairs with the blanket in her hand- er, teeth - that she missed the luxury of being able to talk again. Sure, she could shift back and start speaking but... oh, right. The whole naked thing probably wouldn't do too well in their night of 'adventures'. Her clothes were behind one of the bookshelves back there in the dark crevice of the library somewhere, but her body was pretty spent after that little run around previously to actually get off of the couch and go get them. Ah well. Heidi figured that she'd go snag them up some other time, after a nap or something.

Jordan's currently almost petrified expression made her ears fall flat against her head though as she whimpered, feeling guilty for having given him a fright. Maybe she ought to attach some kind of 'doggy code' to that Thank You note in case something like this happened again in the future. Her legs were shakey and eyes starting to droop a little as a whimper squeezed through her vocal chords, trying to sound apologetic from the earlier scare. His heart beat was certainly loud enough for her to hear, due to the sensitive hearing abilities. Still, though, that buzzing word 'chase' kept running around in her skull, the canine brain determined to have Heidi find out specifically what the shift was. If it was something that a dog would chase, well, that could be a variety of things, couldn't it?

Dogs chased cats, fish, mice, ducks, birds, cars (though she doubted Jordan's shift was an automobile), and even the wind for crying out loud. Not to mention she was a herder breed; essentially, they chased everything that was animal related! A mental etch was made as Heidi made a point to just ask him about it later and get the thought out of her head once and for all. She was almost ashamed of herself for not asking him earlier in her onslaught of random questions that night, but then decided that maybe it was best she held off what she'd thought would be the easiest question of them all to answer for a later time. Yes, yes that would be the next thing she'd have to do right after the Thank You gift. Speaking of which, what was she going to get him?

She blinked, lost in thought as the dog scrambled for an idea. They'd only met just that day, but she'd learned quite a handful of information about him. Surely there was something they talked about that he liked that she could get. He liked shiny things, she recalled, and seashells. So maybe something along those lines? If she could manage to find a shiny sea shell out there on the beach some early morning, then that might be the ticket she was looking for. Or maybe even a necklace of one. Of course, there would be no beach raids nor mall field trips with all the rain coming down and wind limiting access anywhere outside of the dorm building and the main building where they were currently. It'd have to be when it let up some, of course.

"What was all that about? How can you be cold with all that fur?"

Heidi blinked again as she shook her head, saving that plan for later as his voice came back. Well, somewhat. It cracked here and there, and wasn't very supported, but he sounded better than what he'd been earlier. Which was enough to make her happy. Even if he wasn't getting the big picture. Letting out another canine groan, Heidi bent her head down to grab the corner of the blue, zigg-zagg colored blanket with her teeth, and then proceeded to stand up once again. Limbs picked their way over his legs and thighs as she dragged the blanket across him, since he wouldn't do it himself. There wasn't much room between him, the other arm of the couch, and the box of trinkets he had tucked in the middle. She was careful not to step on this, though, as she finally hopped down off of the couch, letting go of the cloth once she figured he was covered enough.

More or less. Heidi didn't even know if he -was- tired or not, since her mission to find out had been a fluke. But... why not make the boy at least comfortable in case he was? Afterall, Heidi owed him at least that much after the fright she'd given him. If he didn't want it, then that would be fine too. She wasn't about to tackle him and force him into the blanket. Hitting the ground with a light thud, she turned around and jumped back up on the couch hastily and without aiming. Landing in Jordan's lap, her ears immediately flattened against her skull again as she shot him an apologetic look, tucking her tail between her legs and giving the tip of it just the slightest twitch. Hopping off of him and resuming her previous spot, the canine turned to face him as she slowly eased herself down onto her stomach.

Not satisfied with the comfort level, Heidi rolled to her side, pressing her spine against the cushion of the back of the couch and letting her legs poke out from the sides. A clearly exhausted sigh passed through the lips of the canine as she peeked up at him a moment, perking her ears back up. Communication was certainly more complicated when the whole speech thing was taken away. Not to mention, he'd admitted to not really being around dogs to begin with. The key still dangling around her neck, though flopped on the couch under her weight, Heidi's eyes finally started to close slowly. Ever so slowly. She was still here for him if he needed her to be, or still wanted to 'talk', but as of right now the girl was taking advantage of the brief silence to start dozing off, black blotched body breathing in and out slowly. Sleep was only just around the corner. She could feel it.

TAGG? Jordannn
WORDS? 1070
NOTES?
CREDIT? hey it's SHMEY ! @ caution 2.0

[Jordan Pierce]

Heidi had tugged the blanket over his lap. So then it had been for him? Had she thought he was cold? By now his clothes had dried and he still had his towel around his shoulders and the room wasn't overly cold despite being big and airy. He decided to give up trying to figure it out and just ran his hand through his hair with a sigh. Then his lap was suddenly full of heavy, fluffy dog. "Ouf!" he sounded as a paw landed just below his gut. At least she'd managed to miss the vitals of the lap area. Clawed puppy paws would not feel to go down there. A brief image flashed across his mind of what this would look like if Heidi was in human form and he flushed lightly in spite of himself. He was 16, any normal 16 year old boy would be thrilled to have a pretty girl in their lap. But, then again, the girl wouldn't be in a dog form and he was far from normal. He gave another soft grunt as she pushed against him to hop over to the other side of the couch. The point of that had been...? He didn't like not being able to figure things out and he resisted the urge to rub his temples; not wanting Heidi to think he was mad at her or something. "Er, thanks, I guess." he said, holding up the corner of the blanket to show what he was referring to.

Heidi twisted around a bit until she seemed to get comfortable. Her eyes fluttered closed and her breathing seemed to slow. She really was exhausted, and yet she had run upstairs to get him a blanket. Jordan shook his head and leaned back, more then happy to let her rest. After all, she had had quite an evening thanks to him. Blue eyes moved over to the bookcase where he clothes should be hiding. The least he could do was go get them for her. He waited a bit longer to give her a chance to fall asleep before carefully slipping off the couch and from under the blanket. Wandering past shelves of books, he spotted the small pile of garments on the floor and smiled. But- he didn't remember Heidi wearing that color. His head tilted to the side as he got closer, only to have him quickly turn away when he realized what it was. Right, no clothes when transforming meant no underwear either. His face was on fire as the tried to figure out what to do. Should he just leave them? But then anyone could come along and see her unmentionables. Female under garments were completely foreign to him. He hadn't even had an awkward encounter with his mothers. But he doubted Heidi would want them just left out in the open like this.

Glancing back, he spotted the towel he had loaned her. That's it! Using the towel as a shield, he scooped up the clothes and bundled them so that only the towel fabric could be seen. It would have been nicer for them to be folded neatly, but he wasn't going to risk touching the unmentionables. He brought the bundle back to the couch and quietly set it at the foot of it in front of the sleeping dog. He'd even tied it so she could pick it up in her current form and take it someplace safe to change.

Looking to the treasure box still stuffed into the end of the couch, he debated going to get his luggage. He was already up and he doubted he'd manage to work up the energy to go after he sat down again. Plus he didn't like the idea of leaving them in the cafeteria all night. But picking up the treasure box might wake her when the contents moved and he was nervous about leaving it. However, Heidi was asleep and he didn't think she'd go snooping through it and who would try to steal it with a guard dog on duty? He gave himself a small nod as he made a decision. Taking off the towel from around his shoulders he covered up the box - just in case. Then he stole a candle and slipped out of the hallway.

Backtrack was a bit difficult. They had been in such a rush to get to the library, Jordan hadn't been able to construct a very sturdy mental map. A sigh of relief escaped him when he found the dark room with his bags still inside. The storm seemed louder here as it banged against the windows and made him feel caged. A couple deep breaths and he was juggling the bags with the candle and heading back out again, slower this time with the heavy bags in tow. He had several justifiable excuses to not go to his dorm now. One, he needed to return the candle. Two, he didn't know how to get there. Three, Heidi would either be worried or get the wrong impression if he just disappeared. And Four, his treasure box was still in the library.

The large room was a welcome relief to the closed in hallways. He returned the candle and retreated to the couch where Heidi slept. Now he could pass out with relatively little worries. He carefully climbed back onto his end of the couch and pulled the blanket over him, sending a last smile Heidi's way before letting sleep take him.

Notes: Zzz Not sure what more we can do, but Heidi can wake up first if you want in the morning.

[Heidi Valentine]

Time skip!

Heidi had slipped faster into dream land quicker than she'd anticipated. By the time her bottom lid matched with the one on top, she was already knocked out, furry creature nestled into the comfort of the couch. Of course, she would have rathered her bed but, being in her canine form, it was positively thrilled to be on the couch in the first place. Dreams of unknown meanings entered throughout the girl's mind that night, something with seahorses riding the backs of clouds and jumping over rails or something of the sort. Heidi's dreams were always terribly random, and she'd given up a long time ago with trying to match it with sense.

The night dragged on, though, and she hadn't stirred once the whole time; just laid there. She had no idea of Jordan's rustling abouts, the sleep had taken her so suddenly and roughly that she'd barely heard his thanks. Now, though, several hours later, light was filtering into the room no longer provided by the candles. It was dull, though, and distorted as the rain scattered what would be sunbeams and clouds created a nasty overcast. But, still, it was evident that it was indeed morning, and the collie girl finally started to move back to life, being a natural early riser. One lazy eye flipped open first, and then the other followed suit as brown pools gazed at the library room from her flopped over position. Wha...? she thought, becoming confused as she recognized this not to be her bedroom.

As she was used to waking up in.

Blinking once, eyes swished to the side to notice a boy -- Jordan, to be exact, cuddled up against the couch with the heap of blanket between them. In a flash, the memories of what had happened that long night came back, and she remembered just what she was doing there. Jowls opened wide in a yawn as her eyes squeezed shut, tongue rolling against the roof of her mouth before she quickly shut it with a sharp snap, teeth gnashing against one another. Bright eyed and alert in no time, the canine slowly, carefully rolled back over to her belly and picked her head up to get a better look. The room was more or less vacant, a few other sleeping students were sprawled out here and there but other than that there wasn't any traffic.

Not that the library saw much anyways during the summer. Pushing herself to a crouched position, she hopped off of the couch in hopes not to disturb the boy whom she'd probably put through hell and back again all in a few hours, and who no doubt could use the sleep just as much as she could. Still, that radiating scent was coming off of him, that single word chase reverberating throughout her mind. I'll ask him what his shift is when he wakes up. she thought with a sturdy nod, then something caught her attention. Body froze as nares on the tip of her nose flared feverently, catching a scent. A strong one. And it smelled like her. Turning her head around, she spotted the white towel bundle just by the foot of the couch, and she walked over to this to investigate.

Nose pressed against the ticklish towel, and sniffed. The little fibers tickled her senses and she sneezed once, drawing back. Her scent was all over the towel and the contents. Were these.. her clothes? She half hopped half walked over to the spot where she'd shifted the night before, and looked down at the ground expectantly to see her clothes. But they weren't there. Which only furthered her guess at the contents of the knotted towel, and a happy smile spread on black lips. Bounding back to the pile, she also noticed that Jordan's suitcases were back. Drats! She thought, Fell asleep before I could get 'em! Ah well. As long as he had his things, that was the important part. Mouth clamped around the convenient knot as she hoisted it up, and tossed a grateful look towards the sleeping boy.

How nice!

Not too fond of the idea of changing into clothes she'd already worn the day before but running out of options, Heidi jogged towards the staircase that she'd run up previously with the towel bundle locked securely in her teeth. Skipping the stairs two at a time or so, she climbed back up to the second floor and found it to be empty. Perfect. Skittering away from the railing that overlooked the first floor to the far back wall, skidding to a stop as she dumped the bag. Front paws placed themselves firmly on the material as she wished she had thumbs to untie the thing. It wasn't too tightly tied, though, so when she hooked her teeth around the knot and gave it a pull and a jerk, eventually it fell open and her contents spilled out. Pleased, she gave an unintended bark before initiating the shift.

The bones that had once shrank now grew again, popping and contorting rather uncomfortably. Fur disappeared and her skin replaced it once again, ears shrinking and growing less adorable and floppy. As her spine curled back up to a standing position, Heidi reached out for her clothes hastily even before the transformation was complete once her fingers returned. She pulled on the garments one by one, her tail disappearing so that her pants could actually come up, and her snout returning back to her normal nose while she yanked the rest of her clothes on. Heidi was fully dressed once the shifting was done, and she sighed in a relieved fashion. Feeling more comfortable now that she was human, the girl slowly made her way back to the stairs, stretching as she did so.

She wasn't sure if Jordan was still asleep or not, but she certainly didn't want to keep him waiting if he was. Besides, she had some questions to ask, and things to explain! "Rise and shine sleepy head~" she hummed softly, already grinning as she approached the couch from behind.

TAGG? Jordan
WORDS? 1018
NOTES? Hope you don't mind the time skip. c:
CREDIT? hey it's SHMEY ! @ caution 2.0

[Jordan Pierce]

It was a very rare thing for Jordan to sleep past dawn. But then again it was a very rare thing for him to stay up so late. The shifting couch cushions only made him groan softly and pull the blanket over his head. The storm made it dark enough in the room that the sunlight didn't immediately register and the blanket muffled the soft sounds of the dog wandering around. He had almost fallen back into REM sleep when a bark echoed through the library. Jordan jerked into half consciousness, but all his sleep-blurred eyes could see was the darkness of the blanket. Assuming he was at home and some bizarre dream had woke him in the middle of the night, he rolled over and tried to get back to sleep. In his new position something hard was poking him in the back and dragging his mind back to the surface. This didn't feel like his bed and this didn't smell like his blanket. And what in the world was jabbing into his back? He always made sure everything was put away before he fell asleep.

"Rise and shine sleepy head~"

Jordan froze, mind finally starting to click into gear. That didn't sound like any of the house keepers, and he always woke up before they arrived anyway. But the voice did sound familiar... He slowly pulled the blanket down to see Heidi grinning over him. That's right, the storm, the school, the library, and the dog girl. She had gotten up before him? A faint frown crossed his face as he looked past her to what windows he could see. The raging storm made it harder to tell, but he was sure he should have been up at least an hour ago. He shifted enough to pull the treasure box from his back and set it on the floor before sitting up and rolling stiff shoulders. "Morning." he mumbled. He wasn't used to being this groggy and he couldn't say he enjoyed the feeling. There was a reason he disliked late nights. As he tossed the blanket off he stood and tried to stretch out the cramped muscles in his legs and arms. Note to self: sleeping on couches did not make for a fun morning. "I see you found your clothes." He said, finally turning back to her. "You seemed pretty exhausted last night."

Note: Don't know if you saw, but I'm leaving for a camping trip tomorrow, just so you know ^^

[Heidi Valentine]

Heidi finally came to a stop behind the couch as she placed her hands on the top of it, peering down as she watched the blanket kick and stir with Jordan underneath. She figured he was asleep still, more or less, and so walked around to the front of the and stood there a step or two away, hands placed at her hips as one of her legs kicked out and tapped the ground anxiously. Hopefully he wasn't the type to be a sour-puss in the morning and snap at her or something along those lines. Then, finally, motion kicked up again as she watched the blue blanket peel back, Jordan's sleepy face just peering over the edge at her. "Morning." came the groggy tone, and she smiled. Nope. Didn't seem the snapping type to her.

"Mornin'!" she responded back, feeling refreshed despite the hazy morning. It seemed as if the rain hadn't let up much outside, and the clouds weren't really looking any more friendly than they had before. Heidi felt like her hair was a mess, as it usually was after she shifted back, and so her arms fled her waist and instead retreated to her skull, gathering the hair along her crown and dividing it into three parts. Chin ducked a little closer to her chest as she gathered pieces of her hair gradually, working it all into a quick french braid. Her bangs weren't long enough to be gathered into the fix, sadly, so those were left to hang out as her arms bent behind her head and worked diligently. "Sleep okay?"

"I see you found your clothes."

She beamed at this and nodded, that previous gratitude returning ten fold. Had she not pretty much tortured the boy all night with her random happenings, she would have run up and wrapped her arms around his neck in thanks. But, fearful that might send him into a heart attack or something, her head nodded promptly while she neared the bottom of the braid. "Oh yeah, thanks so much, seriously. I would have been making several trips up and down those stairs trying to carry it all back to change." Which was the truth. "You seemed pretty exhausted last night." Oh, yeah... She'd forgotten about having to explain that. Heidi bit her lip softly as her hands fell to her side, one of them digging into her pocket to pull out a hair tie as she started to wrap this around the end. Her gaze shifted to the ground, half ashamed. "Uh.. about that.." she drawled, glancing over at the library shelves.

"When I reach a certain point of.. sleep deprivation, my body kind of reacts for me and forces a shift. I feel more safe at night when I'm in my 'furry skin', and more comfortable, so I guess that's why it does that." She shrugged once, then dragged her eyes over to Jordan's to watch him stretch a moment. "I'm really sorry about that. I would have warned you ahead of time but, I didn't know how tired I actually was and it all had happened so fast.." she shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry for a lot of things, actually," and with that Heidi threw in a chuckle, recalling the events. "What a night, huh?" Then, she turned and looked at his luggage and jerked her chin at it. "Ready to go get comfy in your dorm?"

TAGG? Jordan
WORDS? 574
NOTES? D'aww, I'll miss ya!!
CREDIT? hey it's SHMEY ! @ caution 2.0

[Jordan Pierce]

Jordan blinked at her and tried to remember something happening to warrant such an awkward explanation. Sure he had been surprised when she'd suddenly ran away, but it wasn't like it was anything she should feel guilty over. "It's fine. I didn't know that kind of thing could happen, but it's not like it was that big of a deal..." he said, confusion over why she felt the need to explain evident in his voice. When she looked back up at him, he shrugged "But you really have nothing to apologize for. If it weren't for you I would have blown away and drowned. Or at the very least lost an important piece of luggage. You've been extremely helpful, and I'm grateful. What a night indeed."

"Ready to go get comfy in your dorm?"

Jordan groaned as butterflies began to swirl around his stomach at the very idea of meeting his roommates. Did ravens eat butterflies? He supposed it was possible, though they preferred meat of some sort. The expression was a human one anyway and- he was mentally procrastinating and the pause in the conversation had probably gone on unnaturally long. Where had he gone of track again? Oh, dorm room, right. "Not really." he said, blue eyes coming back into focus. "But I suppose I can't put it off forever, can I?"

He bent down and pick up the treasure box before returning it to its proper place in his luggage. A frown crossed his face as his hand brushed against his cell phone and he pulled it out. "Crap..." He was supposed to call Aunt Lisa when he got off the plane, but he had been to preoccupied with getting to the school before the storm hit. Would the phone even be able to pick up a signal with the chaos going on outside? He flipped the fancy touch screen phone over, trying to remember how to turn it on. It had been another random Christmas gift from his father and another example of how well the man knew his son. Despite being both a teenager and the son of a man who was big in a major software company, Jordan did get along well with technology. Books had a much greater appeal to him then a lit up computer screen. As such, he had never figured out quite how to use the phone. It wasn't like he had many people to call anyway. His Aunt had had to input her own information because he had no clue how to do it. He would have preferred an much simpler phone with just and on/off button and a keypad. Instead he was stuck with the insanely confusing iPhone something or other. "Heidi... Are you any good with these things?" he asked, holding up the phone, expression obviously lost.

[Heidi Valentine]

"It's fine. I didn't know that kind of thing could happen, but it's not like it was that big of a deal..." He sounded and looked confused, which wound up puzzling her as well. Had she said something wrong..? Gave a little more information than he was probably willing to hear? It wouldn't surprise her one bit, given her habit of over talking, and she wished she could have gone back in time right then and there, and stop herself from talking so much. Maybe things were just bigger in her head than they really were in actuality. "Right, ahh.. sorry." She gave a sheepish grin, realizing she'd been apologizing for one thing right after the other. She opened her mouth to apologize for saying sorry so much but, decided it wouldn't help her cause, and went against the idea instead as her mouth quickly closed shut.

"But you really have nothing to apologize for. If it weren't for you I would have blown away and drowned. Or at the very least lost an important piece of luggage. You've been extremely helpful, and I'm grateful. What a night indeed." It felt so long ago since she'd run out from the lobby in the same change of clothes she had on to go help out a complete stranger. Who, evidently, was getting his butt kicked by the horrendous weather going on outside. Ages, it felt. But in all reality, it was only just last night. All a mere eight, maybe nine hours ago if even that much! Time was both flying and taking it's time around the strange events that had happened, but she beamed a grateful smile his way at the compliment.

"Bawah, I doubt you would have drowned, but lost luggage is never ever fun. I'm positively thrilled I could help out though, and I owe you my own thanks. Y'know.. for the whole black out thing." She chuckled a little light heartedly at the thought, refraining from cringing like her body instinctively wanted to at the mere thought of the darkness. Quickly shooing this out of her mind and not wanting to ever have to recall on that event ever again, she instead distracted herself with the sound of his groan. "Not really. But I suppose I can't put it off forever, can I?" Heidi bobbed her head in agreement, the end of her french braid bouncing along behind. "It's not as painful as it sounds, I promise! Most people I've bumped into here say that their roommates are hardly in their rooms anyways, since there's so much to do on campus." a little shrug was then given, recalling her own roommates. "If it helps, I've only met one of mine. And she's hardly around as it is."

Heidi was unsure if the roommates were his concern, or the burden of having to unpack. Or perhaps the walk over was what he wasn't looking forward to. He'd have to go outside after-all, given they were in a different building. So he'd probably wind up wet all over again. "Heidi... Are you any good with these things?" She blinked, and looked down at the iPhone in his hand, laughing some and nodding as she carefully took it into her own, eyeballing it slightly. "Mhm! I've got one just like this. But.. pink. Had to beg my mom though. Silly woman." A quick sigh was given as she danced off of the subject quickly, turning to Jordan with a questioning look. "What'cha need me to do with it, bud?" As far as she was concerned, Heidi just took it upon herself to assume he'd just gotten the phone and hadn't a chance to tinker with it. After all, cell phones were like.. second nature to teens, weren't they?

And then, as if a lightbulb unintentionally, suddenly flickered to life in her head, she gave an excited little jump and squeak, eyes wide as she palmed her forehead with her free hand. "Aw man! I totally forgot to ask you something!" Ugh, man, she could be really slow sometimes. "I don't know how I managed to forget." she laughed a little at herself, shaking her head. "What's your shift?"

TAGG? Jordan
WORDS? 702
NOTES? Poooooor Jordan..
CREDIT? hey it's SHMEY ! @ caution 2.0

[Jordan Pierce]

"If it helps, I've only met one of mine. And she's hardly around as it is."

Jordan exhaled and the knot in his stomach did loosen, if only by a small amount. "I wonder if I could get by without ever meeting mine." He muttered before looking back down at the phone Heidi now held. "Lets see, turn it on, for starters. Then see if it's possible to call out in this storm - or at least check my messages." He paused then, biting his lip with perhaps the shyest expression he had shown yet. "You could add your info. You know, if you want, or something." he said, trying to sound casual and hoping he was just imagining the slight shake his voice had gained. After all, he had never had someone he considered a friend before and there for had never asked anyone for their number. And certainly not a girl. Was it rude to ask so soon? Would she think he was trying to ask her out or something? Did she consider him a friend as well? Maybe he shouldn't have asked, but the words were already out there, hanging in the air and he would sound even more foolish and risk insulting her if he attempted to retract them. What would he even do with her number even if she did give it? He barely knew how to use the phone, let alone text her and didn't know what he'd say if he did.

Then, all of a sudden she gave a small squeak that jerked him back to reality. She hit her own forehead which was cause for Jordan to raise both an eyebrow and a corner of his mouth at her quirkiness. "Aw man! I totally forgot to ask you something!" He frowned lightly in thought, trying to think of what she had forgotten to ask. He had already told her more about himself then he had to anyone else, save for Aunt Lisa, maybe. So what could she have- "What's your shift?"

Jordan froze, body growing tense and his heart beat accelerating at the sudden feeling of being trapped. Eyes growing wide, he took an unintentional step backwards and nearly fell over his luggage. He didn't want people to know. A bird was such a pathetic animal to turn into. It wasn't even something powerful like a hawk or an eagle. A raven, a stupid raven that had been the cause of so many problems for him. Why did she have to ask the one question he wanted most not to answer?

Even in his panicky state, logic broke through. It was only fair, in technicality. After all, he knew her shift even if he hadn't asked. For all he knew, it was a common courtesy to share what your shift was upfront. This didn't make him feel any better, though, and she was still waiting for an answer. The large library suddenly made him feel claustrophobic and he had to resist the urge to run outside, storm or no storm. "I-I..." Did he really have to tell her? Would she understand if he didn't? Would she think he didn't trust her and not want to be his friend? Would she think that he didn't want to be her friend? Was it really such a ad thing to tell her? 'Yes!' the shameful part of him screamed against his logic. Besides, how long had the awkward silence gone on this time? She'd surely be able to tell something was wrong. Unless he faked a heart attack - which, if he didn't calm himself he might not have to fake. He took a couple deep breaths, hand over his chest as if he could physically steady the beating. God, Heidi must really think him a freak now. He couldn't look at her and instead stared at the blanket on the couch that she had gotten him last night. Had he managed to already?

"Raven," some part of him - he assumed the logic part of his brain had taken advantage of the hearts distraction - blurted out in a breathless whisper. He wasn't even sure if it had been loud enough for her to hear, but he wasn't about to say it again. Still unable to look at her, he continued to stare at the couch.

[Heidi Valentine]

Heidi had spotted his heavily exhale, but had been unable to hear his words, due to the mutterings. Whatever he'd said, he looked at least ten percent more relaxed, or relieved, but she didn't linger on the subject. Right now, she had to focus on the practically brand new looking phone resting in the palm of her hand with hopes of not dropping it, and she of course was eager to hear his reply of the shift. She recalled that he mind had given him it's own sort of identification; a category, even. 'Chase', it had been, and was just as mind boggling then as it was now. Just what did that entail? There were plenty of things to chase while canine; he could have been a car if that was possible. It was all very puzzling indeed, but gave her something to look forward to.

"Lets see, turn it on, for starters. Then see if it's possible to call out in this storm - or at least check my messages." "That shouldn't be too hard.." she mused to herself, smiling down at the device as her index finger extended to the button along the top, pressing down on it long enough until the screen loaded up with life and color. Well, pixelized life. His phone seemed to be a different version of her own, but the mechanics of it all were about the same. "It's on!" she turned the face of the cell towards Jordan as if to prove her point, showing him the main menu of the phone before turning it back towards herself to look towards the miniature signal bars. There was only one to speak of, being the weakest one, and she pouted at it slightly. "Bummer. You've got one bar. Maybe.. ahh.." she looked around the room, glancing up to the six floors looming over head. "If you got to higher ground or something you could pick up some more? Oh..!" she blinked back down at the screen, squinting, noticing a flashing message icon.

"You've got a text that looks like it came in last night sometime. Hang on.." her thumb rolled over the icon on the touch screen, selecting it gently and watching as the screen flipped up to his inbox. "From a.. Lisa. She says, 'Just checking in on you, didn't get a call or anything so message me or something when you can. Stay safe.'" She gave a secured nod then, and looked up just in time to see Jordan fix himself into a more reclusive, shy bit that had yet to be shown. "You could add your info. You know, if you want, or something." Her smile brightened ten fold as her pearly whites shined through, the mere invitation practically making her day. "Yeah, sure! Of course!" the shift in his voice made her giggle some, but she was soon busying herself with flipping into the contacts section, and rumbling her thumbs over the screen as she put in her cell number and first and last name.

"You can just buzz me a text whenever, and I'll add your number that way -- my phone's back in my room, go figure." Giving a firm nod, satisfied with herself, she started to look back up to pass the phone back, her arm even extending some. That is, until she saw the petrified looking face on Jordan and nearly dropped the phone in her surprise. He was clutching his chest, as if some kind of inner pain was causing a reflex. "Jordan!" And his eyes never looked wider than they had then. Heidi didn't know what had caused this seemingly sudden panic attack, but fear instantly struck her as she instinctively reached out towards him. To do what? She wasn't sure. Perhaps to comfort, or to shake to and fro until his senses came back. However, just as she'd moved forward, he'd also taken his own step backwards as if running away. Or distancing himself.

But from what?
From her? The phone?

..Her question?

Unable to just stand there as he sucked in breath after panicked breath, she finally closed the distance between them somewhat and placed her hands firmly on his shoulders, staring him in the face with a well overdosed look of concern, fear for him, and an ever building worry. What was going on? What was so bad about confessing a shift? Her hands gave a squeeze as he remained silent, downcasting his eyes towards the couch and avoiding eye contact. "Jordan!" she called again, the phone pressed against one of his shoulder blades as her own form of panic picked up in her tone. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?!" Heidi started to weigh the options of dragging his limp body down the hall to the nurse's office or something, or anyone that could get them help. "Please say something--" she was practically pleading with him when he'd uttered out a single word. "Raven."

She was instantly confused, and her face showed it. A raven? What did a raven have to do with what was going on? And then it clicked. Her previous question of his shift -- well, that was his answer! Which made sense to her inner canine mind, categorizing the bird species to a 'chase' mental note. A few blinks crossed her face, letting the silence of his answer hold out for a moment while she gathered her thoughts. A raven. So he was a bird shifter? "A raven, huh? That's pretty cool! I know another raven shifter around here. ..Or maybe she was a crow.." Heidi shook her head and closed her eyes, trying to stay on topic. She finally dropped her arms, still holding his phone, and slowly cracked her eye lids back open. He didn't look so well. "..Hey, bud?" she hesitated, still feeling worried. "What's the matter?"

TAGG? Jordan
WORDS? 976
NOTES? Heidi's ready to back hand Jordan out of his daze if she has to. xD
CREDIT? hey it's SHMEY ! @ caution 2.0