building frustration;; {open}

[Christia Lafayette]

Shifter Academy was her home. Chris wasn't the only one who felt that way, she knew. The Academy was everyone's home, though she figured not all of them had bad family lives. Maybe even to most of them it was just their "home away from home". Not to Chris. When she left for breaks and summer, she felt utter, crushing depression. Not that surprising, when one looked at her past. Going home was like willingly walking into Hell and offering herself to the Devil for torture. Of course, Chris didn't believe in God or the Devil, but the idea was the same. For the most part, she could stay away from the house, but Jean insisted on picking her up from the airport, and driving her there.

Thanksgiving was particularly horrible, because she couldn't get out of sitting down with daddy and having a meal. Asher and Jean Jr. always joined them, so Chris wouldn't have to deal with her father alone. But her brothers couldn't, or wouldn't, stand up against Jean, so when he swung at her because she was later returning with the food - which they had bought from a grocery store, as none of them were very good cooks - nothing had come between her and his fist. As a result, Chris now had a rather large, blue and purple bruise over her ribs. Jean was always good at only leaving marks places that were easy to hide with clothes.There was some silver lining, though: He hadn't broken her ribs.

Now Chris was back at school, and away from her father. That meant all the fear she felt when around him disappeared, leaving her with anger. Mostly, that anger was directed at Jean, in the form of scathing, utter hatred. How could he be so cruel to his children? Not for the first time, as Chris walked through the Flamingo lawns, she wished her mother hadn't died. She'd never gotten to meet her mother, but Jean Jr. always told her she was the sweetest woman he'd ever met. She also knew the beatings hadn't started until after she died, and the moved to the states.

But she wasn't angry at her mom, there was nothing Marie or anyone else could have done. Chris was, however, furious with herself. She let Jean intimidate her, she let him hurt her. No, she couldn't fight him, he was a foot taller than her, but she knew her brothers could take him, and she could have just run away. Or called the police. No, stupid idea. She couldn't call the police. Neither Jean Jr. nor Asher had the means to take care of her, and a foster home wouldn't understand her need to go to Shifter Academy. Besides, at least her father didn't really seem to care if she was gone all night, as long as she showed up when he told her to do so.

Chris kicked a stone with all her strength. As she watched it skid across the grass, she could feel her lion stirring. All of her anger was brining the lioness to the surface, and she wanted nothing more than to shift. In her lioness form, Chris felt more free than she'd ever felt. When she first started shifting, she'd hated it, mostly because of what her father had done: locked her up. Being alone and half insane with loneliness, and fear, when she changed for the first time didn't make the already painful experience any better. Now, though, she loved that part of herself.

She looked around. Chris didn't know how long she'd been walking through Flamingo Lawns, too caught up in her own thoughts, but she'd come to a small, secluded clearing. If she shifted... no, she couldn't. Even at Shifter Academy, people were wary of shifting, and she didn't think the clearing would suffice as enough cover. Besides, she'd have to strip in order to not ruin her clothes; not that she had a problem being seen naked, under normal circumstances. She didn't want anyone to see her bruise, because then they'd ask questions, and she'd have to lie, and it would turn into a mess. With a groan of frustration, Chris kicked another rock into a nearby tree.

TAG: Open
WORDS:

[/color] 708
CLOTHING:[/color] Here
NOTES:[/color] Woh... I don't normally write that much.
CREDIT:[/color] TILLY of caution 2.0.[/font][/left][/size]

[Velma "Bray" Clarks]

x.........x

It was very unlike Ms. Clarks to leave her classroom during an off-period; normally she would stay safely confined behind a closed door and read something, or scribble down whatever interesting plot developments for her novel that may have sprung up during the last class. However, this day was particularly inviting, and she had decided to go for a stroll and enjoy the fresh air.

Typically, she enjoyed the outdoors, but once she was at work she took on a no-nonsense, no-breaks attitude which she rarely overcame. It was strange for anybody to see her outside during the workday, and even stranger still to see her without a notepad and pen or stack of essays to grade when she left the building.

She could have easily passed for a student--in fact, any of the schoolkids who were not enrolled in her classes and knew nothing of her existence would probably have assumed as much. She was wearing a red Belle & Sebastian t-shirt and her favorite, most comfortable holey skinny jeans. Whereas most professors chose loafers of some sort, or some other shiny shoes, she had on her black laceless Vans. It gave her a sort of satisfaction when she could wear items like this to her workplace, and even more satisfaction when somebody told her that she couldn't and she continued to do so anyway.

She strolled through Flamingo Lawns, tossing a penny into the central fountain just for ritual's sake; she didn't exactly believe in luck or any superstition, but it felt good to pretend sometimes. The young teacher hardly believed in anything anymore, aside from the value of hard work and perseverance, but she never missed the opportunity for a good fairytale moment.

Bray glanced at her watch--she had plenty of time to kill before her next round of students made their way to her lecture room. She probably even had the time to take a quick nap in her favorite spot. The idea was so unlike herself that she took it as a challenge, and the notion became ingrained in her head like a migration route.

Stubborn as a mule, they say... she thought to herself.

The metaphor made her laugh. She had the laugh of...well...a jackass, hawing and snorting loudly enough that anybody within a mile radius could have easily known who was in the area. Once she started laughing, she couldn't stop for quite a while.

And so she meandered through the hedges and exotic trees, still in mirth, toward her usual clearing, but stopped short when her sensitive ears--which were quite large even when not in her animal form, picked up the sounds of another. Cautiously, she quietened and continued through the last bit of shrubbery and stood at the edge of the clearing, catching sight of Christia just a few yards away.

So much for my nap...

Bray had never been known as stealthy, even when she tried. The girl had probably heard her coming, unless she was completely deaf, but Bray thought it might be a good idea to hail her anyway.

"Good afternoon, there." Her tone was friendly, but not too excited. Bray wasn't much on being sociable, and this young woman (though obviously a student) had an air of intimidation about her, as if frustration was oozing out of her pores. Bray had always had a knack for reading emotions and body language, and the girl seemed as though she had been in deep thought--pacing, even.

\\WC: 571

[Christia Lafayette]

Why did she have to have such a crappy life? Why did her mother die, and her father become an abusive alcoholic? The only answer Chris could come up with was that fate hated her. Her life was the main reason she didn't believe in God. How could such a higher power let people like her, all over the world, suffer at the hands of abusive parents, spouses, siblings, etc? After struggling for a few years with trying to figure out her faith, she had finally concluded that either there was no higher power, and if there was, he or she was one sick sone of a bitch. Sometimes, though, despite her opinion, when Jean was hurting or, or she was particularly depressed, she found herself praying. So far, it hadn't done anything for her.

Chris opened her mouth to let out a stream of profanity, when she heard something behind her. Someone was around, and they were close. It was a good thing she hadn't decided to shift, that would have been bad. She closed her mouth, hoping maybe whoever it was wasn't aware of her presence. That was extremely unlikely, seeing as she hadn't been trying to be quiet. Naturally, she walked quietly, and made discrete, smooth movements. However, she was angry and frustrated, which would make her movements a little more jerky, not to mention she'd been kicking rocks and making angry noises. She didn't particularly want to talk to anyone, or be around anyone, which... was an extremely odd feeling for Chris. She loved people, she loved meeting new people and having fun. There was something seriously wrong with her if she felt like being alone.

The person was getting closer. Chris sighed unhappily, and a moment later she heard a voice greeting her. Just from the voice, she didn't recognize the person, and when she turned around to see a young woman, her suspicion was confirmed. The woman was pretty, and young. Chris assumed she was a student, probably a senior, from her looks. Never once did it enter her mind that the woman could be a teacher. Teachers dressed nicer, in fancy blouses and skirts, or at least slacks, and definitely not skinny jeans. At least, none of her teachers ever wore skinny jeans.

She figured she should probably reply to the woman's greeting, no matte how much she wanted to just walk away. Chris didn't always follow the rules, but she had some sense of propriety, especially toward people she didn't know and had never talked to before. Though, it was really tempting... She could just tell her to fuck off, and Chris could go back to being alone... Even in her frustrated state, she decided against that course of action, and reluctantly replied, "Oh, hey." She forced a smile, and tried to seem friendly. She also attempted to lessen her level of anger. She really had to calm down, or she would end up snapping at the poor stranger. This was an opportunity to possibly make a new friend, she had to be civilized. "Er... nice day, isn't it?"

TAG: Shlee
WORDS:

[/color] 516
CLOTHING:[/color] Here
NOTES:[/color] Lalalala
CREDIT:[/color] TILLY of caution 2.0.[/font][/left][/size]

[Velma "Bray" Clarks]

x.........x

Bray could tell by the young woman's posture that she wasn't entirely happy to be stumbled upon; she knew the feeling well, being the private person that she was. One of the most irritating feelings was when she desperately needed alone time and was interrupted.

However, at this point she couldn't walk away--the girl had spoken to her. It would be very awkward to ignore her and go back the way she had come from.

Hm....dilemmas...

So instead, Bray returned the unsure smile and answered the obviously forced question."Yeah, it's pretty nice out today."

Well that was a dumb observation. Way to use that professor brain there, Bray...

Feeling awkward standing in the bushes, she emerged into the clearing fully and sat down in the grass, watching the girl. She was an older student--eleventh or twelfth year, of that she was sure, except that she had an aura of someone who was much older, and had experienced much more in her short lifetime. Bray was certain that she would recognize her had they ever met. She was definitely not a creative writing student.

"I'm Bray Clarks. Well....Velma Clarks," she amended, rolling her eyes and leaning back onto her palms. "But everybody calls me Bray."

She always found that it was much more interesting to simply "neglect" to inform students that she was, in fact, not a peer but an authority figure. Sometimes, she learned quite a bit more about the students at the academy than any other professor, simply by offering a non-judgmental ear and listening. More often than not, she learned things that she probably shouldn't know--sex lives, drug habits, criminal activity.

But it didn't matter. Unless there was a life in danger, she kept all information to herself. Everybody had their secrets, and it wasn't her place to divulge them.

"What are you doing out here? I come to this place to meditate. By that, I mean nap, of course." She grinned cheekily, mostly to herself, and stifled another booming laugh.

At the back of her mind, something was calling out to her that this was no time for idle chatter--there was work to be done back in the classroom; papers needed grading; essays needed proofreading; lectures needed planning!!!

And visibly, this bothered her. With no pen to hold in her hands and nothing to do with them, she tapped at the grass methodically, doing her best to stay put. So rarely did she meet people that she couldn't bear to leave just yet.

Nag, nag, nag, brain...it's all you ever do... But at the same time, she knew that without her work, she was crippled. She needed that one stable thing to hold onto, to make her life meaningful. Otherwise, she was just a lonely person in what should be an island paradise.

//Tag: Alexxx!
//WC: 540
[/color][/b]

[Christia Lafayette]

Chris knew her question had sounded forced. She'd never been a very good actress, her emotions were too strong, and she just couldn't hide them. This was, however, the best she could manage. Her attempt at calming down wasn't working too well, either. The woman's appearance only frustrated her more. Now she couldn't think in peace, and there was definitely no chance, at all, of shifting. Not that there had ever really been a chance of that. Why couldn't people just be more accepting of that sort of thing? She thought there should be some sort of class, or someplace specifically for shifting.

Pulling herself back to the clearing, Chris sighed and focused on the woman. She replied to Chris' comment, and Chris almost laughed at the response. Almost. It was just such an awkward situation. She was sure the woman could tell Chris was upset, and she was also sure she wasn't exactly being the most friendly person on the planet. Though, the woman was certainly taking it well. She wasn't sure what to say, though; there wasn't much else to say about the weather. Ah yes, forced, awkward conversations were always hard to keep going

Chris watched the girl move out of the bushes, which only made sense. It was a little awkward for her to just stand there, half hidden. But then she did something Chris hadn't expected: she sat down. It seemed slightly odd to Chris, like something a friend would do, but not a stranger. Not that it really mattered. Standing, sitting, it was really all the same when it got down to it.

The girl introduced herself as Bray Clarks, adding that it wasn't her real name. Bray. Huh. That was interesting, not a usual nickname, especially when her given name was Velma. Now that Bray had introduced herself, Chris felt the need to do the same. It would have been rude not to do so. "I'm Christia Lafayette, but you can call me Chris." She smiled at Bray, a soft, tentative, but sincere smile, and asked, "I like 'Bray', why are you called that?" Though she didn't remember her mother at all, Chris imagined, as she often did when she knew she was doing something wrong, that Marie was scolding her for being so rude. She didn't mind that the question was rude, though; she wanted to know.

Chris shrugged in response to Bray's question, and smiled a little wider at her comment about meditation meaning nap. She was quickly falling back into her people-loving self, her anger and frustration pushed to the side. It was still there, waiting, but it couldn't get past her gregarious nature. Why was she there... Chris didn't really know. Wandering, mostly, she supposed, because she hadn't wanted to stay in her dorm. Part of her had also wanted to be alone, but she couldn't tell that to Bray. "Just taking a walk, wandering around aimlessly. You know, avoiding homework." She actually didn't have very much homework, but that sounded better than 'I was avoiding people'.

She watched Bray tap the ground, and she could tell there was something wrong. She seemed... restless, perhaps. For a moment, Chris considered asking, but quickly decided against that idea. Though it would have been a little rude, that wasn't why she didn't want to ask. She wanted her personal matters left alone, she didn't want people asking if she was okay, or what was wrong, so she could show Bray the same courtesy.

TAG: Shlee
WORDS:

[/color] 578
CLOTHING:[/color] Here
NOTES:[/color] Meant to post yesterday, but I got busy
CREDIT:[/color] TILLY of caution 2.0.[/font][/left][/size]

[Velma "Bray" Clarks]

x.........x

It seemed as though things were beginning to warm up, if only slightly, and it encouraged Ms. Clarks to keep up the conversation. She was a solitary individual, but when in the presence of others she could actually pull off a social attitude, if only for a short while before becoming annoyed with the entire situation and slipping off back into her own little world.

Chris... Bray contemplated, scanning her memories for the name and coming up with zilch. They had definitely not met before. She stored the information for later use, as it was always embarassing to 'meet' somebody twice.

"I like 'Bray', why are you called that?"

It was the reaction she had been expecting, as she usually used her nickname to put people at ease and start up a friendly dialogue. "Well, I have a tendency to laugh very obnoxiously. I'm a donkey shift. We are slightly noisy creatures," she admitted, still smiling her toothy smile. "I say we, but I've yet to meet any others like myself." It was true; every shift resulted from an individual's own combination of personality traits and abilities. There were many cunning, fun-loving fox-shifts, and many wise, stoic owl-shifts. Bray had always simply assumed that there was nobody else quite like her.

She chuckled a bit at Chris's "avoiding homework" comment; personally, she couldn't bear to slack off even for a moment when there was work to be done--but students were different. In her classes, she did tend to keep the workload steady save for weekends (she lightened it up just a slight bit then), and could understand the need for relief.

"I'm sort of avoiding work, too," she admitted, a bit guiltily. It was the truth, and she was a bit self-concious about it, as it was so unlike her.

Time to change the subject, as it was making her antsy to think about the things that she should be doing, though in reality she had all of the time in the world to finish them. She focused the conversation back onto Chris. "What classes are you taking?" Always a good way to learn more about someone, as class choices tended to reflect their personality.

Squinting, she looked up into the blue sky that peeked through the tree leaves. It really was a nice day to be outside. Perhaps she might even go for a bike ride after work that day; it was one of her favorite hobbies that she simply had no time for usually. Her vintage Schwinn was leaned against her dormitory wall, getting a bit dusty and only moving when she had to sweep her floor.

//Tag: Alexxxxx! <--you get more x's every time xD
//WC: 440, rather short this time around.
//Notes: No worries! I'm in no hurry! [/b]

[Christia Lafayette]

It occurred to Chris that she was starting to enjoy herself, if only a little. And it had only been a few minutes, she'd probably be smiling like an idiot soon enough. She couldn't help it. Chris loved people, she loved being around people, talking, hanging out in large crowds. Even one person, like Bray, could make her smile. Unless that person happened to be a complete asshole. Then again, that would probably lead to a fight, and even when she lost, Chris loved a good fight. So sue her. She was a girl from a violent home, and a lion shift, who could really blame her for liking a bit of rough housing? She highly doubted there would be any of that with Bray, though, and that was just fine, too.

Chris smiled, a real, full blown smile, at Bray's explanation of her name. She was nicknamed after her laugh. What a concept. How... odd, and yet it seemed to fit her. Of course, Chris didn't know Bray very well, but from her looks, and the few minutes they'd been talking, Bray seemed better than Velma. Then again, maybe she just didn't like the name Velma in general. "I've never met a donkey shift before, but i've met a few donkeys." In one of Jean's clearer moments, he'd taken the kids to a petting zoo, where Chris had gotten to pet a donkey named Harley. That had been when she was seven, a long time ago, but she didn't forget those rare happy days.

She wondered if she should tell Bray what she shifted into. But Bray hadn't asked, and Chris wasn't one to just volunteer information about herself. Giving her name was different. If was only right to introduce yourself to someone, because otherwise, how were they to know what to call you? So, despite the fact that she was getting along rather well with Bray, Chris kept her shift to herself, at least for now. It was a little irrational, but she didn't care.

Bray was avoiding work, too, but she seemed a little guilty about it. So she was one of those people, the ones who always got things done and rarely procrastinated. Alright, Chris was often one of those people, too, but when she decided to take a break, she never felt guilty about it. Hey, everyone needs a break, nothing wrong with that. She almost said something to Bray, like, 'why are you so guilty?', but she didn't. Yes, it would have been rude, but that wasn't why Chris kept her mouth shut. Bray had asked her about her classes, and she seemed to be changing the subject, so Chris didn't see the need to force her to talk about not working. When people change the subject, best to let the. Chris did it all the time, and she hated it when people wouldn't let things go.

Classes... what classes was she taking? She had to think for a moment, switch her brain back into school mode. Ah, yes. "Self defense 102, biology 103, photography, healthy eating, cognitive psychology, and dance. That's my major, dance." Chris replied, listing off her classes in order. She actually really enjoyed school. She liked all of the classes she was taking, and had an 'A' in every single one. Self defense was easy, seeing as she'd been raised around four older brothers, and her other classes were fun. Of them all, healthy eating was her least favorite, it was pretty boring, but she'd needed something to fill her health credit. "What about you? What're you taking?"

TAG: Shleeeeeeee
WORDS:

[/color] 600
CLOTHING:[/color] Here
NOTES:[/color] So sorry I was gone for a while!
CREDIT:[/color] TILLY of caution 2.0.[/font][/left][/size]

[Velma "Bray" Clarks]

x.........x

Yes, a bike ride sounded delightful. Besides, she really needed to go into town and see if the next installment of her terrible teen romance novel series had arrived at the local bookstore. She was running down to the end of her pages in the one she was currently reading. Bray had a car--an old Volkswagen beetle with a horrible orange paint job that was chipping away with every moment it was exposed to the salty ocean air, but she preferred to not drive if she could help it. Since its purchase six months prior, it had left the parking garage a whopping two times--on days that were particularly terrible weather-wise but still warranted a trip into town for some reason.

For some reason, she was not surprised at Chris's subject matter. Most of those classes were physical, or related to the body in some way. Bray imagined that the girl made a very good dancer, as it was easy to see her muscle tone and she was probably very agile.

"Those are great classes. You seem very well-rounded, Chris." She stretched her legs out a bit further and squinted up at the sunlight that had moved into her field of vision. "I spend most of my time in the English wing, I guess. I like to think of myself as a 'student of life' rather than tie myself to one subject, you know?"

It was a nice change of pace to have a friendly conversation with someone and not to be worried about professionalism. Bray had a tendency to stress out and become sullen when speaking with other school staff members. A few of her students had managed to crack her defenses and she was more lax around them with her personality, but these instances were few and far between.

"I was afraid for a second that you weren't a 'friendly', when I first walked over. You looked very...hm, tense? Like a spring ready to launch; almost like you were hunting." She was a bit pensive about asking the next question, as it normally bothered her when someone asked it. "Are you okay?" It was such an ambiguous query that she had almost gagged asking it.

Her gaze focused on Chris, watching her face for any small reaction. She hoped that she hadn't overstepped her boundaries, after just meeting the young woman and all. It would be unfortunate to lose a friend before a friendship was official.

///sorry about the wait, again xD; it really just slipped my mind that there was an old SA...

[Christia Lafayette]

Watching Bray sit comfortably on the ground, Chris felt a little silly standing. Of course, she enjoyed looking down at people, being above them. It was a dominant position. Lions were all about dominance. They were the most aggressive of all cats, constantly fighting within the pride over who was more dominant. Though she wasn’t in her lion form, the thought was still there, perhaps not as strong as it would have been to her lioness, but there nonetheless. Bray didn’t understand that, though, so it was kind of pointless to even have the thought. So Chris moved closer to Bray and sat down across from her, a little to the side. She folded her legs under her, a position that strained many people’s knees, but Chris had always found it rather comfortable.

Chris looked at Bray and shrugged at her response to Chris’ class list. It seemed like an odd comment, never before had anyone told her she was a well-rounded person. Most of the people she knew didn’t think she was doing well in class. They assumed that all her partying, her outgoing attitude, and her aggression that often got her into fights meant that she was also failing her classes. As for adults, well, she didn’t have any in her life that cared enough to pay any attention. She smiled slightly at the girl across from her, trying not to let Bray know how much it meant to her. It shouldn’t have meant anything, Bray didn’t even know her, but it did.

She would have said ‘thank you’, but Bray was already answering her next question. Bray didn’t list off classes, as Chris had. She didn’t even specify her major, other than it was something to do with English. Student of life. Chris sort understood what she meant, at least she thought she did, but it wasn’t really an answer. Bray was definitely avoiding the question, but that was her prerogative, though Chris didn’t like it. Not at all. She shrugged and nodded, but instead of commenting on the latter part of Bray’s comment, she said something about English, ”I’ve never really liked English, can’t seem to write to save my life.” She smiled, because she didn’t hold it against Bray that she liked English.

The smile slipped when Bray mentioned how upset she’d been when Bray first walked into the clearing, and her eyes hardened a little. Chris had been hoping she either hadn’t noticed, or wouldn’t bring it up. Her description was… perhaps not totally accurate, but accurate enough. She hadn’t been hunting, but she had been like a spring reading to launch, and her lion had been stirring. If she’d shifted, she would have gone hunting immediately, and to her lioness, anger was almost the same as food.

Chris did not want to share her family life with Bray. She didn’t share that part of her life with anyone, even good friends, or boyfriends. No one knew, and she planned to keep it that way. She forced the smile back on her face, chastising herself for letting it slip at all. She nodded and shrugged, ”I’m fine, just some family issues.” It wasn’t an outright lie. Actually, it wasn’t a lie at all. She was fine, she’d been dealing with her father’s crap her whole life, this was pretty normal. And the bruise wasn’t that bad. She had no broken bones, and hadn’t needed a hospital. Yeah, she was fine.

TAG: Shleeeeeeee
WORDS:

[/color] 575
CLOTHING:[/color] Here
NOTES:[/color] No worries. We could move to the new site, if that'd be easier
CREDIT:[/color] TILLY of caution 2.0.[/font][/left][/size]

[Velma "Bray" Clarks]

x.........x

Bray watched Chris sit, and was pleased. It was a nice feeling--being away from work and sitting across from someone, having a friendly conversation. Chris wasn't pestering her about grading papers, or planning lessons, or being professional. This was most likely the result of Bray's avoidance of telling her that she was, in fact, a professor. She felt a bit guilty.

"Fair enough; English isn't for everyone. You either have to be very boring and follow the strict rules, or be very ballsy and make up your own. It's a fine line between being talented and being an egocentric douchebag when it comes to writing." It was a true statement; occasionally, Bray would grade papers in which students had decided that her rules were stupid and went ahead to make up their own, which made no sense. Though, when done gracefully, the ballsy approach could be very entertaining and profound--it was how Bray normally wrote her stories outside of school.

It seemed that Bray had struck a chord, and Chris didn't quite feel like divulging much more information than what she had already said. Once again, fair enough. Bray sat awkwardly for a moment, determining what approach she should take next. The guilt was beginning to eat at her mind, both from leaving her classroom and neglecting to tell Chris who she really was. Though, it wasn't as if she was lying , really; she had never once claimed not to be a teacher.

Time to 'fess up.

"I suppose I haven't been entirely honest. I'm actually the creative writing professor. Gasp! I know, I don't look the part." She twiddled her thumbs and complained, "I just think that professors are so stuffy and full of themselves, sometimes. I'd much rather be hanging out with students like yourself."

Hopefully, Chris wouldn't feel betrayed by the new knowledge. Bray was really beginning to feel connected to someone for the first time since her arrival at the Academy. Once again, it really would be a shame to miss out on a friendship opportunity, as they seemed to be hard to come by around this place.