Lucky to be alive {open}

[Everard Gunter Wyatt]

One minute Everard was being shouted at by Cece the next a boy came flying out of nowhere in one of the Librarian’s jackets and took a wallop from Cece, the punch would have just bounced off of Everard’s copious amount of muscle and that would have been the end of the confrontation, Cece was obviously mad about him singing to the other girls, he only did it to they would stop looking at Azure. Everard didn’t quite understand what she was so upset; the words flew right over his head. Everard was stunned into a stupor for a second before he realized the boy was really hurt.

Everard smelled blood. He kneeled down next to Azure and apparently these two were acquainted, and by the way Azure and this boy were looking at each other there were feelings there that Everard wouldn’t be able to top, no matter how many Willie Nelson songs he sang. Well so much for trying to court Azure. Everard would just have to be a good friend. Everard heard the boy talk about a wound and bandages. Everard looked at Azure and gave instructions “Flip him on his stomach, I smell blood on him, I’m gunna get sumthin’ from my bags.” Everard couldn’t help but feel resentment for this bleeding boy on the floor, it wasn’t a very Christian thought and Everard shook himself to try and rid himself of these feelings of anger for a boy who took a punch for him.

Everard stood up and rushed to his bags, picking through his toiletries for a little green tin. His Grandpa gave him the tin in case of emergencies. The Salve inside would keep off infection and promote healing. Everard had this stuff smeared on him more than once after a boar had got him with a tusk. He hurried back over and popped the lid on the tin, an herbal smell wafting off the salve. ”This’ll help keep the wound clean and make the scar not so big, my Grandpa uses this on everything.” Everard took a finger and scooped out a bit of the salve and made sure the wound was covered in the creamy mixture.

Everard looked down at the boy, pushing his glasses back up on his nose, the silver frames glinting in the fluorescent lights. ”Well whatever you got into boy it sure tore ya up good. Now don’t ya go movin’ we want tuh make sure this scabs up right quick and I sure ya got knocked fer a loop.” Everard looked up at Cece and furrowed his brow, giving her a stern look. Such un needed violence, Everard didn’t do anything that needed him getting hit and this boy certainly hadn’t either. Everard looked back down to see the wound already stopped bleeding, and the blood was drying to form a nice scab. If the boy didn’t move too much he would heal fine. ”Now yer gunna need to not bend round as much as possible, ya don’t want yer scab tuh break.” Everard looked up to Azure with a slight sadness in his eyes. He really thought she was something special and really envied this boy for having her feelings.

Everard stood up again and walked over to Cece and got right in her face, bending down to get to her height. ”Yer a right Idjet ya know that? I aint done nuthin wroth hittin over and neither did this boy, now I want ya tuh apologize tuh me, tuh azure and tuh this poor boy you done walloped cuzz aint nuthin worth startin a fight over, where I’m from if a woman wants tuh fight like a man she gets treated like a man she can get whooped like uh man. Luckily I aint never done struck a woman in my life and I aint gunna start now; now ya can sit down and keep yer hands tuh yerself or ya can start walkin out that door.” Everard pointed a beefy hand towards the library door, his southern drawl was thick as mud with how angry he was, his Wild boar temper flaring.

[Candi Cane]

Cece was way too stunned to be pissed off at Cowboy's words. The boy had seemed to fly out of nowhere, saying words of nonviolence, and she'd taken him completely out with, well, violence. She could only stare blankly. When her mind comprehended what Everard expected of her, she looked at him, her eyes a confused mix of twisted emotions.

She pursed her lips and said, in a sincere tone that surprised her more than it should have, "I'm sorry," she said weakly. Her hands dropped to her side. She had such a quick temper that was uncontrollable, and she had bad ways to control it. She knew how hard she'd hit the boy, her arm had stiffened from the blow.

For the first time in a long time, Cece felt like crying. She looked sharply at the crowd. "Show's over, people. Give us some room." She didn't really care if they paid attention to her or not, but she preferred to have as few people see the soft droplet fall from her face as possible. A string of curses fell from her lips, mostly because she was mad at herself. What a wonderful way to make a first impression, she thought grimly.

She watched the boy, who still looked kind of pale, but seemed to be able to survive just fine because of Everard's doctoring stuff. Everything had happened so quickly--too quickly. She wished that she'd handled it better. Life was full of regrets.

"You okay?" she asked the boy, even though she figured he probably wouldn't want to talk to her. She wouldn't even want to talk to herself. Biting the bottom of her lip, she looked at Everard. "Is there anything else he needs? Something I could do?" She drew a little blood from her lip when she bit too hard at the last question. He'd most likely say something like "No, you've done enough now." She knew that she had. She'd done enough damage today.

The storm continued whipping around outside the building, and for the first time Cece realized how much stronger it had gotten. In a tight voice, she said, "It isn't safe here." As if to agree, the building let out a long groan. She stiffened, ready to bolt. She remembered the last time she'd been surrounded by ocean water. If it hadn't been for Walker... She shivered.

Fully aware of how many people probably hated her, she rocked back and forth on her feet. Cece wanted to scream, maybe punch someone again. Yeah, well the punching thing sure does wonders for you, her conscious told her sarcastically. Cece brushed her blonde hair back, and forced herself to stay in one place when she realized she'd been pacing back and forth.

This damn school wasn't hurricane proof! Oh, God. Oh God. Cece looked at the people she was with. "What if the building caves in? Or if a window breaks open? What if suddenly a big tree hits the side of the building and makes it go--" She stopped herself again, when she remembered that everything was always better when she shut up. She wondered what the others were thinking of her. How could she have been so stupid? Why couldn't she control her emotions better? Cece suddenly felt helpless, like a pansy.

What would happen to her? To the boy that she'd hurt? To all the people she'd angered? And...would they all survive?

[Addidas Chase]

Dazz was conscious of the tall stranger, the boy who looked like a Gorilla, patching up his wounds, putting some kind of salve in it. He didn't really know what the stuff was, but he decided that it worked miracles.

"Thanks, man," he said, his head clearing up a lot more now. His features were hard, never letting any emotions out, as he watched Everard scold the girl who'd punched him. He remembered what the librarian had wanted: Peace. No fighting. He was about to say something, but stayed silent when the girl apologized. When he saw her crying he shifted uncomfortably, but forced his muscles to relax so that his wound wouldn't reopen again.

He focused his attention back to Azure. "How long have you been here?" He decided to save his questions, one at a time. He didn't want to overwhelm anyone, including himself. "You...shapeshift?" He asked, still unable to grasp the concept. Yes, he'd known that he was a panther shifter for a while now. Almost two months or so, even though it felt like ages. But he'd thought that he was a freak. An unnatural freak that would've been better off dead. How could Azure shapeshift too? How could any of these people be shifters? They all seemed pretty normal to him. Had all of their real parents left them too?

"How did you get here?" His question was directed to all of them: the nice guy who'd patched up his wound, the girl who'd made him pass out, and Azure. The one girl didn't really seem to notice. She paced back and forth, muttering to herself. Dazz wanted to focus on the conversation, but his attention drifted toward what the girl was saying. About all the possible ways they could die. How morbid, he thought. His mind flashed to Hurricane Katrina, from several years ago. All of the crushed buildings, missing people... Would that same thing happen here? No, that's ridiculous, he told himself. This place has to be equipped. Tsunamis come past here a lot, and the buildings must be pretty sturdy.

Dazz swallowed and looked around. Most of the crowd had cleared after the girl had chased them away, it seemed. A group of boys hung around near the bathrooms, giving him the eebie jeebies, but they seemed harmless enough so Dazz ignored them.

Eyes slightly wider than usual, he looked at Azure. She was everything that he remembered her to be and more. "Wow," he said, in a rough voice. "This is seriously a lot to process."

He silently wished that the Mysterious Stranger had told him about the people here. It was sort of important to know that all of the kids could shapeshift. Guess it wasn't safe to hunt deer anymore. But, maybe the M.S. hadn't told him what he would find on purpose. The hurricane was really only a small thing compared to the entire scheme of things. She was what mattered the most right now. If he'd known that Azure was here, would he have agreed to come?

[/color]

[Azure Rossi]

x

Azure looked at Duane, then Cece, and finally back at Dazz. "I've...been here while. I came to Shifter's a couple months after the kidnapping."

She shook her head. "What a day this has turned out to be. First the hurricane, then that group of boys and the fight, Cece and Everard fighting, and now you end up here. Honestly, I don't think anything else that happens now will surprise me." Azure ran her hand through her hair as she took in the scene before her. "I still can't believe your a shifter...."

"Dazz and I are childhood friends," Azure explained, turning to Cece and Everard. She gave a small smile. Dazz looked so much different from when she last saw him! Seeing him again only make her realize how long ago it was that she had seen him. Honestly, she didn't know what to think of the situation. She wasn't sure if she should be mad at Dazz for not telling her she was a shifter, or just be glad she's at Shifter's. She wasn't sure what to think of what Cece had told her earlier about she and Everard. Everything was moving too fast. Azure crossed her arms, fully knowing that she was shaking. All she wanted to do was disappear, be gone from all the curious looks that were coming her way. She wanted to hide behind someone, or something.

She was excited Dazz was here, but she was also afraid. Maybe they'd grown apart over the years? Would they even talk? She didn't want to think about it. If she had thought her feelings were confusing before, her feelings were even more complex now that Dazz has entered the picture. She glanced over at Everard, to see what his reaction to all this was.

You...feeling better? Azure winced, realizing how lame she sounded. "Maybe we should all sit down.....somewhere. Her voice sounded weak now, and Azure's cheeks redden even more. Without waiting for the others, Azure walked over to a nearby table and sat down. She picked up a lonely book sitting on the table, and pretended to read it as she tried to regain her composure.

She traced the table while thumbing through the book, feeling the grain of the wood. Eventually she set the book back down and propped her elbows on the table, her face leaning against her hands. She fidgeted with her silver bracelet, her eyes trained on the table in front of her. Her entire body felt numb, her skin felt as cold as ice. The room was beginning to turn back to normal as people regrouped and began talking once more. The hurricane pounded against the windows, still demanding attention from the people inside the library.

"Welcome to Shifter's Academy," murmured Azure, even though no one was particularly close to her.

[Addidas Chase]

Addidas's blue eyes settled on Azure as she read. To say that he didn't know what to think was the understatement of the decade. Countless thoughts and emotions burst from his heart. He felt like screaming in anguish. But he didn't. Instead, his face seemed to harden into a shell, masking his emotions like it always did.

He gathered his strength and stood up, not caring much about the wound on his back. He gently touched her arm to get her attention. "Hey," he said, "you okay?" He wanted to rain more questions on her, but she was clearly as stressed out about all of this as she was. He swallowed down the lump in his throat. Dazz knew that Azure was the only person who could read him. If anyone knew what he was feeling, it was her. He sighed and sat down next to her.

Before long, his usual instinct to suck it up kicked in, and he stopped doubting his choice of coming to Shifter Academy. All that mattered was that he was here, she was here, and he needed to figure out what to do about it. They'd been friends before--why should anything change that? Still, some reluctant qualms crept into his mind. He felt almost betrayed, that she'd left without telling him why and where. Surely she was as surprised as he. His gaze fell on the cowboy and the girl who punched him. Well, mostly on the cowboy.

"Are those your friends?" he asked her, subtly pointing at the two. He didn't know why he felt that sudden pang of--what was that? Jealousy? Honestly, he and Azure had been good friends, and it wasn't bad that she'd made new ones here. And yet... Addidas's throat tightened.

His eyes settled on her again, as he listened to her talk. It was like hearing music for the first time. It had been too long since he'd found any comfort from anywhere besides his own thoughts. He was selfishly glad to have found her here again.

Suddenly, he noticed the other young people around the four, and he felt slightly foolish for forgetting about the crowd. Concern and bemusement were mirrored in some pairs of eyes, but the emotion that seemed to win out the most was fear. Fear of the storm, or what had just occurred. He then made the connection as to why Azure's friends had been singing and playing together earlier--they'd been trying to lighten up the mood, to turn the kids' thoughts from a morbid feeling.

For the first time since he blacked out, he opened up a little, a lopsided grin forming on his lips. "Well, now that that's all clear..." He stammered slightly, but his composure returned immediately. "Why don't we get the music started up again?"[/color]