another bad day || KAYA

[Maddox Raynes]

It was early. Way too early for the young teacher to be up and awake already. But last night had been filled with nightmares and images he never wished to relive again. However they were dreams that came to him every single night of his life. Sometimes he got a break, but not now. Last night had been the worst, and he felt as if his conscience was making up for the nights it missed. But the only thing that he kept seeing before he woke up was his brother’s lifeless body. He heard his mother screaming and he felt his father’s lion paws and jaws working to keep himself down upon the ground where he could no longer bring any harm to the people he loved. But he had done the greatest act of betrayal. He had killed his brother on his first shifting, and he would never forgive himself. Even now as he lay in bed, he still felt the guilt lying heavily upon his shoulders. His mother had told him to get out and never come back, while his father had made him promise to stay. But he didn’t promise. He would never promise that. Not after what he did.

He had actually murdered his brother. His parents had been able to cover it up because his brother had been an avid runner. He had always taken mountain trails out in the back country, and his father had set it up like an animal had killed him. It was true, but now he was blaming some wild animal out in the woods. Maddox hated that. An animal out in the woods had more control than he himself had on that fateful day. Needless to say, he hadn’t stuck around. He had packed his bags that night and got out of there as fast as he could. The thirteen going on fourteen year old had lived in the streets for a month before hearing about this academy. And then he had come here and excelled, even though he hated what he was. He learned to control his form though, and he appreciated that more than anything else. He wouldn’t shift out of anger or fear any longer, and he could be his human form as long as he wanted. However right now he knew what he needed. And that was to be completely and honestly free. There was only one way to do that. And that was to accept himself and his form of the white Bengal tiger. He needed to shift into what he despised in order to achieve what he so desperately wanted. And that was freedom.

Freedom from these dreams and freedom from this constricting life were all that he wanted now. He knew that being a tiger would remind him of what he had done, but it would also clear his mind. So after readying himself for work, he stepped outside and decided to take the back route to the school. As he reached the trails, he felt his bones shifting and moving, lengthening in some areas and shortening in others. In a moment’s notice, he stood as a white Bengal tiger, massive and regal looking. Snorting past his indecisiveness, he moved forward at a run, wanting to get to the school for the swim he usually took in the morning. His large paws and powerful legs carried him over the distance in minutes, and he managed to get to the school in ten. It usually took him a half an hour to commute. Not in this form. However, he now had an hour to himself before school started, which was exactly what he wanted. Sneaking in while still in his animal form, he shifted in the men’s locker rooms and was soon changing from his normal work clothes to a bathing suit he had for himself in one of the lockers. Grabbing his towel, he went to the pool and didn’t waste any time. Diving in, he surfaced in seconds and began swimming the laps that would calm himself down even more.

[Kaya Alexandar]

Living on campus had it slight perks. It also had some disadvantages as well, but they weren't so bad. Kaya Alexandar just like the fact that she could relax in her own room during the times she didn't have classes. But being around so many kids during the day, could really give one person a headache. Sometime it seemed too much, but in the long run, everything seemed to turn out better than it started. Though this morning, she was up, a bit early, but that wasn't anything new really. There were some days she would just wake up early, since it was in her nature to do so. Morning was a nice time of day, and one of the best parts, if you were to ask her, since she was a morning person.

There was just the question of what to do that morning. Sometimes she would go for walks around the campus, maybe work on something getting ready for one of her classes, or head to the gym and work off some stress. Usually she did something to make the day seem slightly productive, even if the day really had barely started. The gym sounded like a good place to start today. Kaya knew many students didn't get out early in the morning to the gym, well, no students she knew well. She has been down there a few times, and she was always shocked if even one person was there at that time of day.

While in her room, she slipped into a one-piece, racing bathing suit, then threw some shorts and a t-shirt over it. She felt slightly odd walking around sometimes like that, but it wasn't like there were tons of people around to begin with since it was early. Plus, the gym and pool area wasn't too far of a walk for her. Grabbing one of her towels from a drawer, she looked around and double checked the clock to put in check how much time she really had to be able to do swim. Kaya didn't want to lose track of time and forget to get ready to teach classes later. That would be a rather bad thing.

Walking into the pool area, she heard someone in the pool already and her dark brown eyes scanned over the figure swimming. The most she could tell that is was a male, and a teacher, most likely, but she couldn't see his face too well to be able to see who he was. Her eyes kind of stayed on him as she walked over to one of the benches on the side wall. Draping her towel on the bench, she slid the flip flops underneath, to be out of the way of any others that may come. Not likely though. Tugging off her t-shirt, she tossed it next to the towel, along with her shorts. If she knew someone else might have been here, she probably wouldn't have gone swimming, but she wasn't going to change what she was going to do now. There would be no point in trying to play something else in the gym, she wasn't in the mood for that type of workout. So she was alright with this.

As she walked over to the edge of the pool, she was tying her hair back into a ponytail, not to get tangled and knotted while she was swimming. Jumping into the pool, she came up for a breath of air and got use to the temperature. Kaya didn't want to get to close to the other guy, since most people enjoyed their space. But after she had jumped in, the ponytail holder had become loose and she had to redo it before she could actually start swimming laps.