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Post by Rose Graham on May 26, 2010 12:40:19 GMT -4
 
I come with you, I come for blood.
No laws. No Code of Conduct.
You point me in the right direction,
You better get out of my way.
The sky was shrouded with fat gray clouds, their threat of rain worsening every passing second. The ugly sky had pushed almost everybody indoors, making every nook and cranny occupied. Rose was lucky that she had snatched a corner library table earlier that day. Being in the library was now worthless though, and she might as well have been in the lounge for all the chattering that was going on. Isn't it common knowledge that libraries are supposed to be quiet? A library was a place of refuge from the outside world where you can sit and think of nothing else but what is in front of you and nothing disturbs you. But apparently today, the library was just another room in the building.
Rose bit her lip and tapped her pen against the table, staring hard at the papers in front of her. She hadn't had this much trouble with a problem in awhile, and it was really irking her. What organic compound could be added to the formula to make the hormone pill less dangerous? There were a lot! But of course, she had to choose the best one. If this were a true situation, she wouldn't just want to add any old compound, just because it might work. She wanted to do the best for the people she was trying to help. Figuratively speaking.
Glancing outside, Rose saw that the clouds had worsened. Was that possible? Biting her lip, she figured it was. But hey, she wasn't a weather man. Well, not even a weather man would know. All they do is stand up there, smile and point to things. So she wasn't a meteorologist. Who cares about what happens in the atmosphere anyway? Nobody, apparently, that's why "Global Warming" was such a big hit. Shaking her head, Rose returned her attention to her work.
But even when her eyes were on her work, her mind wasn't. It was wandering about the events of the past few days, trying to figure out what was making her so ignorant to answers. Nothing much had happened. Just school. Oh, maybe it was the letter. Rose had gotten a letter from her father, telling of events at home, and then ended, "Hope you are having fun at SA, and I hope you took my words of advice. Love you. P.S. Mom has fallen a tad sick. It is not back, so don't worry much. I thought I'd tell you." Why he didn't think that was a "P.S.", she didn't know. What was it? The flu? A cough? Or worse? She had written her dad back quickly, but hadn't gotten a reply. Maybe that was it . . .
Finally, she threw down her pen and ran a hand through her loosely curled hair, shaking it back. Putting her head in her hands, she let out a groan. And with a load crack from the neglected atmosphere, the rain came down outside.
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Post by Fidel Mantangra on May 26, 2010 14:11:47 GMT -4
"Dammit!" Fidel looked up and screamed at the sky as it split open with a mighty bang. A bright but brief flash of lightning caused Fidel's heart to freeze and run up through his chest. It was an awful feeling of helplessness. Then, steadily, it worsened. As the first drop of rain hit the rim of Fidel's hat he realized where he was, right out in the open, exposed. Trapped on that small green space between the school and the beach. It was dangerous, the rattling sound of coming rain seemed to resonate from all around as did the steadily more frequent cracks of lightening.
The boy began to jog but another too-close-for-comfort rumble of thunder set him sprinting. The rain became denser and harder, stinging every inch or exposed skin. The needle-sharp pricks of each drop scared Fidel, though he knew not why. It was rain after all, wasn't it? Rain indeed, rain polluted with all of the nasty human garbage, rain polluted with the waste of others, rain possibly polluted with all of the toxins in-between him and outer-space. Such impurity seemed disgusting to Fidel, a gross discrepancy with its appearance. He could never quite grasp why it was some people actually enjoyed such a thing, why some people would even go so far as to brag on their love of precipitation. It was a downpour now, Fidel knew he was already soaked. It wasn't so much that he was wet that bothered him, it was the possibility to getting wetter and allowing the rain to have its way. That, and, of course, the lightning. He had heard horror stories of people getting struck with lightning. Burned away hair, melted faces, and dead... sometimes. If they were unlucky they might live on in agony. It was enough to make Fidel feel fit to throw up. He ran faster.
Finally he spotted the gray buildings up ahead. As he neared his hand reached up to snatch the hat off of his head, he didn't want to loose that. His sparse, damp bangs plastered themselves over the teen's eyes, but were thrown back with a quick swipe of Fidel's hand. He didn't bother to read the sign of the nearest building he forced his way into. The soggy raccoon shifter stumbled in, panting and dripping, he was tempted to collapse on the floor and just breathe, but his pride wouldn't allow that. He settled for just placed one hand on his knee and swallowing each painful mouthful of air and attempting to steady the incessant pounding of his heart.
Apathetically looking to the hat in his hand, he wrung it and placed it back on his head, brushed a hand over his damaged ear out of habit. He swalloed the last of his gasps and straightened, his eyes flicked around the room- it was a nice room- a bit stuffy but large enough to accommodate the obnoxious students who occupied it now. He wondered why there were so many people in it, there were six floors after all. Books were everywhere, it was a tad disorderly, many were on shelves while others were strewn about haphazardly about the area. The corners of Fidel's lips tugged downwards, he didn't enjoy books all that much. But at least it was something to do.
Brushing his fingers along the spines of a few volumes he snatched up the first one that caught his interest. A small red book with a sepia-toned picture of a smiling man with a rifle on one knee behind a very dead-looking lion. The title read, 'The Man-Eaters of Tsavo' by Lt. Colonel J.H Patterson, D.S.O. "Man-eaters, huh?" Fidel smiled and shook his head ferociously so as to dispel some of the water.
He looked about the noisy library, hoping to find a nice place to sit. He spotted a nearly empty table in the corner, one with a girl leaning over some papers. "Perfect.." He straightened up, put his shoulders back and donned his best smile. Striding confidently to the table, he put down his book and tapped the piqued-looking girl on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, but, may I sit here?"
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Post by Rose Graham on May 26, 2010 15:35:17 GMT -4
I come with you, I come for blood.
No laws. No Code of Conduct.
You point me in the right direction,
You better get out of my way.
Rose was watching the rain out of the window. It was fascinating, just watching the water come down in sheets. Of course, everything was blurry through the window streaming down the window. She could just make out blobs of things. That big green blob was most likely a tree, and the bigger gray blobs were the other buildings. Little moving blobs were most likely poor student running to get out of the rain. She was suddenly happy she had vetoed the idea to go outside and stretch her legs. She touched her hair absentmindedly, as if protecting it. Rose would mind going out in the rain . . . as long as her hair didn't get wet. Hey, it's a girl thing.
After a few minutes (though it seemed like an hour to Rose), she decided it was best to just try this homework again. No matter how many times she cursed it, glared at it, threatened it's mother, it wouldn't do itself and if she didn't do it, she would most definitely regret it later. Like, when she was sitting in class and the teacher called for homework. And then when she got her grade and it was an A-, and then when her GPA went down. . . okay. She was getting way too far ahead of herself. Clearing her throat in spite of herself, she focused on her homework. . . again.
Sighing, she opened her textbook and lazily flipped through the pages, her eyes not really looking at the pages. Her mind wandered for the second time that day, but this one didn't have any purpose. Rose just let her mind wander, touching subjects here and there for fun, then moving on to other thoughts for entertainment. Then she saw something in her book, when she actually looked at it, and stopped. She scanned the page, muttering the words quietly to herself. Rose gasped. That was it! Hallelujah.
Rose was frantically scribbling across her paper when she heard an, "Excuse me, but, may I sit here?" She paused and looked up. Standing in front of her was an extremely wet guy, holding a book. She instinctively drew her papers closer, not wanting them to get as wet as he was. When she realized she was staring, she shook her head and said with a shrug, "Uh, yeah that's fine." Rose pulled her papers even closer, biting her lip as she glanced at the guy again. She felt like asking why he was so wet, then stopped herself. It was pretty obvious, if she would just look out the window. |
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Post by Fidel Mantangra on May 26, 2010 16:15:09 GMT -4
"Thanks a bunch." he said, plopping down next to her with a loud squish. The heat of a radiator poked him from behind, it made him smile. Sure, he might not smell all that nice drying up, but who really cared anyway? He would've liked very much to get to his dorm to get on a change of clothes, however that building was another rain-soaked run away. He filled his lungs with air and released with a long, drawn out, and quite loud, sigh of complete and total irritation. He risked a glance at the girl beside him. She was clearly avoiding him, looking out the window and defending her papers. Why was she acting like that. it wasn't like he intended to jump on the table and shake himself like some kind of dog. He chuckled, actually.. that would be kinda funny. He removed his hat and dropped it on the table, shaking his head a bit to dispel the thought, unaware that droplets from his soaked stands were flung in every direction.
Pushing off on the balls of his feet he tilted his chair back a bit until it touched the wall directly behind him. Careful to balance so as not to topple over backwards and possibly give himself a concussion, he opened up his book to the inside cover to read the description. 'The Man-eaters of Tsavo' is the firsthand account of the infamous Tsavo lions. These lions- who for nearly a year terrorized East Africa- succeeded in bringing the construction of a railway to a complete halt, and have been credited with the deaths of some one hundred people.' Fidel felt a tingle run up and down his spine, a sort of terror, but one that was enjoyable and intriguing. He continued to read to himself, 'Written by the legendary officer who shot these lions and risked death nearly several time in the attempt,'
That was enough for Fidel, he looked at the picture on the front again then at the book, reading the sections, along with the 'Man-eaters of Tsavo' there was also 'Hunting the Elephant in Africa', and 'African Hunter'. So it was a hunting book, the raccoon shifter suddenly felt very happy to have grabbed it. Glancing at the editors note and was chilled and thrilled at the same time to see the words 'This is a true story.' printed in size 12 Times New Roman within the first paragraph. At that moment there was a particularly loud crack of thunder, so much so that the books in the room seemed to quiver and everyone fell silent for a couple moments. The rain began picking up. It was almost meant to be. Fidel had one thought: Awesome.
Clearing his throat a bit, he opened to the first page an began to read. He couldn't help but glance at the girl whenever he got the chance. He noticed he papers, homework, huh? Tough. Fidel was quite good at avoiding homework so it make him smile a bit whenever he saw someone actually taking their homework seriously. He shrugged and returned to his reading.
[[Disclaimer: all rights of 'The Man-eater of Tsavo' belong to St. Martin's press, and not to me]]
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Post by Rose Graham on May 27, 2010 23:41:35 GMT -4
I come with you, I come for blood.
No laws. No Code of Conduct.
You point me in the right direction,
You better get out of my way.
As the guy sat down, Rose looked out the window for a bit, pretending not to care. But after a few moments, Rose couldn't help but glance at him through narrow eyes, sizing him up. And she couldn't help judging him in the way only Rose could judge. Consensus: he was a smug guy, who thought he could get away with anything. She could already tell by the smile on his face. And from the book, he probably just picked it up off a shelf, but as she watched, it was also obvious he found it intriguing. When she tried to discern anything else, her mind drew a blank. Either she was a complete idiot today, or he just didn't really show that much on the outside. She sincerely hoped, for her sake, that it was the second one. But when she realized she was not just staring, but really staring, and he was about to glance up at her (not to her knowledge), she averted her gaze down to her bunched up papers.
Rose was slowly organizing them. She was done, and felt like getting up. But if she got up so soon, he would probably think ill of her, leaving right as he sat down. But, wait, why did she care. Her brows came together as she contemplated this thought, wondering why she would care what a stranger thought of her. Shoving the thought away, she started organizing her papers again, realizing that, in her hurry to get them away from the water, she had completely messed them up. Rose bit her lip while doing it, something she always did when concentrating. She hated it, but it was an absentminded thing, and she couldn't help it unless she caught herself. Now that all her papers were in a pile, she wondered what to do now. By date? She allowed a sigh to escape her mouth and started shifting through the papers again.
When that was finished, she sat for a second, looking around the library, then glancing out the window again. Nothing had changed out there. The constant sound of the rain hitting the window was actually very calming. She sighed again, but internally, and reached down to grab her book bag. When she came up, she caught the guy glancing at her. Rose narrowed her eyes, her hand resting on her papers. "What?" she said, the word coming out harsher than she had intended it too. The hand on her book bag gripped it tight, but her face remained solid. |
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Post by Fidel Mantangra on May 28, 2010 8:46:09 GMT -4
The rain picked up then slowed down, creating an erratic rhythm. It was enjoyable to hear. The experience was made all the sweeter by the fact that he was no longer in it. Rain was gross. Fidel felt gross being covered in rain. But it was quite relaxing. Perhaps not as relaxing and putting in a pair of headphones but nice all the same. Fidel tilted back a bit, tapping his chair against the wall. He continued to glance at the girl with the papers, curious as to what had her so vexed. She was keeping her materials close, it reminded him of some mother bird over her eggs. Except much more resentful. Fidel didn't mind however the cards fell. Still, why was she acting so peculiar?
The Raccoon inside of him started pacing, as if agitated or nervous. He couldn't tell why. Was it this oppressive aura of distrust that seemed to be coming from this girl? He shrugged it off- Never mind that, if she didn't want to have anything to do with him then is was her choice and not Fidel's. Still, it was a tad unnerving, he cleared his throat awkwardly and adjusted his seating position with a well-saturated squish. His attention returned to the book, temporarily.
Two droplets fell from the brim of his hat and hit a page, soaking in immediately to create little dark gray wet spots. "Dammit.." he hissed and dropped back to a proper seating position. Taking a moment to remember his page, he closed the book and set it down. Removing his hat he, wrung it out. A bit of water dripped onto the floor, he decided to play it safe and just left it to dry on the table. Placing a hand over the book's cover, he slid it towards himself and let it drop onto his lap before opening it and flipping around to fid his page number.
The girl appeared to be getting ready to leave. He bit back a remake about being 'all too eager to get away'. that wouldn't have been too nice, now would it? It was odd, Fidel just felt a sensation to have it out with somebody, perhaps it was because he was wet. He shrugged away the notion. It was just some girl, probably not wanting him to drip all over her hard work.
He glanced at her a final time, starting to tip his chair back. But their eyes met, the boy started, almost falling back in his chair. "What?" the girl asked, none to kindly.
Fidel flashed a smile, "Nothing, it's just.." He thought for a moment, "well, I was just wondering what a pretty girl like yourself would be doing all cooped up in this noisy library, that's all." He turned his eyes back to the book, but his attention was still on the girl.
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Post by Rose Graham on May 30, 2010 15:06:27 GMT -4
I come with you, I come for blood.
No laws. No Code of Conduct.
You point me in the right direction,
You better get out of my way.
The corner of Rose's mouth twitch, threatening to show a smile as she startled him. What kind of smile, she didn't know. Humored? Content? Condescending? Any of them, or somehow all of them. But Rose didn't want to give this guy the satisfaction of responding to something he did. Unless they were a friend, Rose tended not to amuse them with any emotion. Sometimes it was actually helpful, and if it wasn't at least it would push them away. It weeded out those that weren't worth it. She had been using the theory for almost eighteen years, and it had been working pretty well so far. It took a little bit for the guy to recover, then smile, then say--"Nothing, it's just . . . well, I was just wondering what a pretty girl like yourself would be doing all cooped up in this noisy library, that's all." Before unconvincingly returning back to his book.
Spot on. Point for Rose. Her assumption was so far correct. Smug guy, obvious by the way he said "pretty girl like you" with no care. She had had a fair share of these guys throughout her life, and she wasn't ready for one more. They were a waste of time, and no matter what you did, you couldn't shoot down the prideful, humorless comments. But, whether it was her or the wolf inside of her, she couldn't resist this challenge.
The hand curled around the strap of her bag slowly released. Narrowing her eyes, again, she looked at him with pursed lips. She was thinking of the right thing to say that would give her a small amount of satisfaction, but she couldn't put a finger on it. Things passed through her head, but all of them were worthless, flimsy. With an inaudible sigh, she looked up at the high ceiling, her eyes following the wood of the grain, wondering if she should just get up and leave. But her hesitation had already made her seem weaker, if she were to just get up and leave. She bit her lip.
The last flimsy response flitted through her head, and she just decided to go with it before getting up and leaving. With a false smile, she said simply, "Well, this 'pretty girl' is surprised someone like you even knew what a library was." With a quick motion, she shouldered her back and stood up, walking away--without her textbook. |
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Post by Fidel Mantangra on May 30, 2010 18:57:48 GMT -4
Fidel found himself incredibly irritated by her smugness. It almost looked like she thought she was getting away with something... as if. The boy often tried not to be smug, he failed repeatedly. what he said was not meant to seem that he was pleased very much with himself, no, his last remark was simple aimed to get her angry and leave. Perhaps she could've smacked him then ultimately turn and walk out the door with all the pride she could muster. But there she stood, not budging an inch.
Fidel hadn't been looking for a fight. But he was always ready for one. This might actually turn out as a good way to get himself fired up. Especially after going for a run through the rain to come in soaked and pathetic looking. His self-confidence needed a boost. Or.. so he thought. Fidel was quite egotistical, he had never had any one to teach him otherwise so far. His entire life was centered on earning the superficial approval of others- there wasn't much more that he knew how to do. But there were other times that he needed to blow off steam, and that usually came in the form of arguing. And this girl looked ready to argue.
He watched her fingers slowly release the strap of her back pack. Her face was unreadable. It was somewhere between frustrated, contemplative, and controlled. Some happy medium between those three. Fidel tried to put a name to it. Her eyes were definitely narrowed in an expression that said she was sizing him up, trying to decide if he was either worthy to debate or stupid enough to loose. That thought made Fidel want to gag. There it was, if she made a comment, then she was up for it. If not, oh well.
Fidel looked her in the eyes, trying to match her expression but doing it miserably wrong. At that moment, the boy's mind's eye saw only her and him in an empty room, waiting for her to make her move. The Raccoon was excited. She bit her lip, she didn't want to leave! That was reassuring. Fidel stopped trying to copy the expression and smiled pleasantly before looking back down his book.
"Well, this 'pretty girl' is surprised someone like you even knew what a library was."
There it was, she turned to leave. Fidel thought up a quick response, thought a poor one, it was still something. He shrugged and looked to his book, "Oh, sorry, miss. I didn't realize it was that time of the month again." He picked up the abandoned text book, looking at the title. Ooh, medical science, fun stuff, "You might want this too." He held it aloft and extended towards her.
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Post by Rose Graham on Jun 1, 2010 23:37:27 GMT -4
I come with you, I come for blood.
No laws. No Code of Conduct.
You point me in the right direction,
You better get out of my way.
It wasn't the best way to walk away, but it worked. Rose would have to go find peace and quiet somewhere else. Even if it meant walking through the rain. But the rain wasn't all that bad. She had always enjoyed it really. More watching and listening, but being out in it was cool too, as long as she didn't have anything valuable she needed to protect. And as long as her hair was covered. Rose had often loved splashing around in the rain as a kid, but didn't really enjoy the sickness that came with it. But, hey, every choice comes with a consequence, right? Always a consequence, whether good or bad. Rose had been learning that her whole life, in many different ways. Most of those none to kinda ways.
So as Rose walked away, she didn't feel all too bad about her failure. It came and went, and she would forget about this whole thing. She heard his response, but chose to ignore it. It was a poor choice of words anyway, and it wasn't worth her time. So, yes, this was all going to be done. Until-- "You might want this too." She knew what it was before she even turned around. Stupidity was apparently her best friend today. Taunting Rose where ever she went, cackling evilly when she caved. Her hand tightened on the strap of her bag, and she took a deep breath before turning around. There he was, holding out her cursed textbook. It was like he wanted to care but tried not to. Biting her lip, she reached out her hand and grabbed the book.
Now, either he let go of it too quick, or her hands were slippery, because the book slipped and thudded on the ground, a few papers scattering out the side. Rose groaned and ran a hand through her hair. Great. Just great. Not only was her stuff a mess now, but it had been done ridiculously in front of a guy she had hoped never to see again. Running a hand across her eyes, she bent down to start and pick them up. She didn't even care as she crammed some papers into the book. With equal carelessness, she ripped open her bag and shoved the book in. Rose heard something crush inside, but she only noticed it with a small wince.
She refused to look up at the guy (in the back of her mind, she realized she didn't even know his name).
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Post by Fidel Mantangra on Jun 28, 2010 13:43:28 GMT -4
The girl turned around slowly, looking tense. She considered him and reached out to grab the book, gnawing on her lower lip. Fidel took it as a sign that she was irritated, either with him, herself, or something else. Whatever it was it kind of irked the raccoon shifter. He felt indignant that someone whom he did not even know was acting like this. True, he was looking for trouble but he didn't really feel right about all of this.
There was a thud, a flutter, and an exasperated groan from the girl. Fidel jumped to his feet and braced against the table, leaning over to see what had happened She had dropped the book, or maybe it was him? Fidel was never intentionally malicious so it couldn't have been him. Perhaps they had both just let go at the wrong time. What ever the case was, Fidel made haste in walking around the table, catching his hip on the corner as he passed it. "Dammit!" He hissed and dropped on one knee next to the girl, "Why the hell does that hurt so much?!"
there was something about smacking that part of the body that really pissed him off. He wasn't ticked at the girl, but rather himself. The sharp sensation from the bone of his pelvis travelled all the way up the side of his body. His face screwed up in a restrained look that said, "it hurts like hell, but I'm still going to try and hide it. He started to gather up the papers on the floor. Raking in the ones that had fallen furthest from the book and going under the table to grab a few. He looked at the title on some of them "Medical science, eh? That's--- OWCH!"
As he made his way back out from under the table, he tried to sit up to fast with the result that the back of his head connected with the underside of the wooden table with a loud and resounding smack. He dropped the papers and clutched at the back of his head. He rolled backwards, eyes shut tight and swearing colorfully. Not both his hip and his head were burning with pain. Fan-flipping-tastic.
He cracked open an eye and looked at the girl. removing one of the hands from his head he pushed it towards her, "Here's your damn papers.." it didn't come out harshly. He hoped that the wording wouldn't annoy her either. He just was not in the mood to be friendly after getting beat up by a desk.
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