chance happenstance - closed.

[Amina Krane]

Loose lips was never a trait of Amina's, but today she seemed to adapt to it rather well. She had let spill half of the story of what had happened to her that night. Of course, she had left out the details, but it wasn't because she had thought to leave out the details. It was because she had been speeding through her story so fast, only hitting on the main points, that she had left out the fine details that would lead the story to make sense. Had she actually slowed down, most likely she would have told him who had chased her, told him where she had been running to and why, who could have stopped the whole thing from happening and saved her humanity. But she had been lucky that she had sped through the story. It had saved her the embarrassment of admitting things she had promised to keep a secret, things she didn't want anyone to know despite her promise to keep her secret relationship from last year just that. A secret. But she could see the curiosity in Tobias' eyes. He wanted to know more. He wasn't sufficed with just the information she had given him and Amina didn't blame him. He was lucky he got anything accurate at all. Had she remembered to stick to her story, maybe he wouldn't be so curious. There wasn't much to tell in her cover story, but it covered what was needed to keep people from getting curious. But it was too late now. She couldn't quite take it back. All she could hope was that he would agree to her requirement to keep it quiet, to keep it a secret. Though she didn't know him, Amina felt like he was trustworthy. She only hoped her gut was right.

When he sat up straight and crossed an x over his heart, Amina realized if there was anyone she could have chosen to spill the beans to, Tobias was probably the best person she could have picked. He was different, but a good different. As he held up a three finger salute, a symbol she had seen often as her little brother was growing up in the scouts. "Scouts honor." Amina smiled, her head ducking down as her feet began to swing again. "I haven't seen that salute since my brother was little," she remarked, looking back up at him, her smile still on her face. How could she not trust him with her story? Not trust that he would keep her secret? Even though she had just met him, she trusted him. Unfortunately, she had always happened to pass out trust a little too easily. The only good thing was it was rarely betrayed. Somehow, she seemed to bring out the best in people and it was rare that people found a reason to act otherwise. Of course, the Slytherin's had been the exceptions to her streak, but Tobias was a fellow Gryffindor, wasn't he? Even though she didn't quite agree with the house system, she had to admit that her house had some of the most trustworthy people she had ever met. “You can finish....if you want to?” Biting on the inside of her lip, Amina's legs stopped swinging as she contemplated his suggestion. No doubt he wanted more details, to understand everything. And she wanted more than anything to have someone she could talk to about the truth of that night. But the details were dangerous not only to her, but to Osiris. If they were to find out about him, it would be her fault, but she could talk about the story without bringing him into it, right? He was only the ending of her story.

“I'm...I'm sure that that was...difficult for you.” Amina's smile returned slightly. He seemed to not know the right words to say, or even how to say them. Was he the kind of guy that wasn't good around a girl? Or was it the awkwardness of the conversation that was throwing him off? It really wasn't one that you had on a normal day to day basis, nor one where you could laugh and share drinks over. It was a story that usually resulted in someone feeling sorry for someone else, a story that you only shared when everyone was about ready to become depressed. Which was why Amina never shared it. The initial introduction of her new… condition, had been the only time she had ever shared it, and even that had only been to a select few people. She didn't like feeling depressed any more than she already was. “You can go on, I'm happy to listen.” Amina's eyes searched his for any sense that he was lying. She could hear his heartbeat, but she didn’t have much experience to determine how fast it had to be going to indicate someone was lying. “Not...happy. I mean, not happy...but I can listen.” Suddenly, Amina wasn't sure his heartbeat would be a good indicator on if he was lying anyways. He was having such a hard time finding the right words. If it were her, her heart would be pounding out of embarrassment alone. Chuckling softly, Amina gave him a genuine smile. "I know what you mean," she told him, hoping he wouldn't feel like she was judging him. How often did she stumble over her own words when she was nervous?

Taking a deep breath, Amina lifted her hand and ran it through her hair, pulling it back out of her face. Of course it was only temporary because the moment her fingers finished lacing through her locks, they fell right back in front of her face, but it had been more of a move to help her think a little clearer. What did she have to lose by finishing? She wanted to tell someone, to have someone she could talk to about this and Tobias was the best candidate considering it didn't look like he was going to just up and leave her. If he was going to supply her with the salve to solve her shoulder problem, then she would see him again and again. At least that meant she would occasionally be able to talk to someone about her condition. Letting out the breath she had taken in, Amina nodded and locked her ankles together again. "Keep in mind, I'm trusting you. And since you know what I am, you know it probably isn't a good idea to betray that trust," she began, hoping he realized it wasn't necessarily a threat, just a warning. "I've had some problems with a few students lately. They seem to like to harass me and that night, they started chasing me at the tail end of my rounds. I've been at the end of their taunting before, but they've been getting a little more violent lately. I decided rather than just stand up to them, or try to pull rank which would have obviously backfired on me, I ran instead. I figured I could outrun them. I made it outside of the castle and I had passed another prefect on the way. I figured maybe they would stop the students." It took everything she had not to dwell on Gavin's face that night, unaware of what was about to happen because he had let the boys go. Her breath hitched in her throat for a moment at the thought of what would have happened had he stopped the Slytherin's, but dwelling on the past didn't help so she cleared her throat and continued.

"They ended up following me outside. So I ran to the only place I thought I could get away. No one goes into the forest at night so why would they follow, right? Well, they did. Not for long, but by the time I had realized they weren't following anymore, I had already run halfway into the forest." Here was where it got complicated. He couldn't know about Osiris, so she had to fib. A small one, but for a good cause. "The werewolf came out of nowhere. I heard it rusting through the woods and tried to run, which was probably the stupidest thing I have ever done in my life. Of course it kept up with me and eventually it caught me. You see what the result was. The only thing that saved me was my preference for silver jewelry over gold," she said, indicating the now gold bracelet she was forced to wear due to the transformation. "I hit it over and over again and I guess at some point, it must have decided I wasn't worth it because it took off. I don't much remember what happened after that but I ended up at the hospital wing where they treated the injuries." Her hand moved from her thigh up to her damaged shoulder where she ran across the now smooth skin. "The reason this stays between us is because I'm telling people another story. You happened to catch me off guard and I just spilled to you, but everyone else thinks it happened off the campus. And it has to stay that way," she warned him, her voice getting a little stronger. "If they find out I had gone running into the forest at night, I don't want to know the consequences," she added, hoping her lie wasn't obvious. Hoping that he wouldn't see right through her. She didn't like lying, but the wolf made it easier. It seemed to make everything easier when it was the wrong thing to do.

Words | 1,599
Tag | Tobias
Outfit | Click

[Tobias Leberecht]

SOMETIMES I FIND IT HARD
• to believe there's someone else who could be •
JUST AS MESSED UP AS ME

"I haven't seen that salute since my brother was little," Well. If she wasn't muggle born then she had been raised around them. Which only meant good things, given that he was muggle born. He wondered how old her brother was, obviously he was younger than herself. He didn't go here either, he would have "I know what you mean," He supposed that it fortunate, that he didn't often get embarrassed. He couldn't afford to. Years of teasing forced one to develop a thick skin. He just had a hard time conveying what it was that he meant in word form. His mental ideas and meanings didn't tend to translate into words properly. She didn't seem to have that problem, while she was fidgeting, and her legs moving about, her words seemed to come out so easily, her golden eyes lit from within even if the topic they were discussing was painful for her. Everything that she said was easy enough to make sense of. "Keep in mind, I'm trusting you. And since you know what I am, you know it probably isn't a good idea to betray that trust," Tobias couldn't help the derisive snort that flew out of his mouth at her words. “Please.” he wasn't afraid of her, very far from it. He had secrets of his own. He was certain that if he could handle Marcus' other side, he could handle hers. He had spent years, and years dedicating most of his time to it. If she was just attempting to threaten him, it was endearing, but unnecessary. If it was something else, perhaps just banter, well, he wasn't sure what to say. Either way, he knew he was being rude again, but hoped that his easy smile would keep her from being too insulted. "I've had some problems with a few students lately. They seem to like to harass me and that night, they started chasing me at the tail end of my rounds. I've been at the end of their taunting before, but they've been getting a little more violent lately...” His eyes watched her lips intently, making sure that he didn't miss a single word as she spoke. He could hear her voice changing at the mention of each new character, and frankly, he was surprised that she was being so candid about it all. It took Marcus years to tell Tobias the details of what had happened to him, not because he didn't trust him, or he didn't want to talk about it, but because he couldn't relive it, not even just to explain what had happened to him. Tobias had just been forced to piece together the bits over the course of the years, match the fragmented tales with the corresponding scars on the boys body. By now, he figured that he had it all, but he didn't know if he would ever be certain.

"They ended up following me outside. So I ran to the only place I thought I could get away. No one goes into the forest at night so why would they follow, right? Well, they did. Not for long, but by the time I had realized they weren't following anymore, I had already run halfway into the forest." He wanted more detail, what part of the forest, who had chased her and just how far she was into the woods whenever she was attacked. He would be going out there weekend after next, and he knew now, that he would be tracking the footsteps indicated in her story if he could manage to find a starting point. Morbid, but the mind wants what it wants. ”The only thing that saved me was my preference for silver jewelry over gold," His eyes dropped to her wrist as it moved, a gold bangle accenting her skin. His lips twisted upward in a secretive smile. Ah, his newest project. Poor Marcus had already had quite a few painful side effects from the testing. Luckily he was such a sport. Tobias wanted to solve the issues, even though he wasn't a wolf, he wanted to get to the root of the issues that they had. Why did silver effect them whenever no other metal did? Why was it only a full moon and why didn't their original scars fade but everything else did. He wanted to help his friend, because it was his friend and it interested him. If he could make their quality of life better, then so be it. He knew not every wolf out there was kind, he knew that most of them really were animals, but he had yet to meet one. Which, let him romanticize that they weren't really all bad. They were just people. With special disabilities. So, he was picking them, one at a time, and working to fix, or at the very least block for a little while, all of them. Currently it was silver, how to make it so that it didn't burn. "I hit it over and over again and I guess at some point, it must have decided I wasn't worth it because it took off.” His eyes snapped upward. She was lying. A wolf wouldn't just surrender it's prey. He was insulted that she was lying after she had just said that she was going to trust him and tell him her story. Given the extend of her bite...it wouldn't have just left. He didn't call her on it, even if his gaze was momentarily accusing. He didn't know her well enough to call her on it.

”I don't much remember what happened after that but I ended up at the hospital wing where they treated the injuries." Another lie. No way would they have treated her at the school. They didn't have anything on hand to handle it. Which, he knew because since Marcus was the first werewolf at the school in ages, they weren't even to handle him whenever he was a first year. Trial and error, they were just now giving out the wolfsbane potions. Well, last year, he corrected, since the new professor had shown up he guessed. "The reason this stays between us is because I'm telling people another story. You happened to catch me off guard and I just spilled to you, but everyone else thinks it happened off the campus. And it has to stay that way," Not that they would ask him, but he would need to know the fake story. If it was even credible. Who was people, who else knew about her condition? "If they find out I had gone running into the forest at night, I don't want to know the consequences," Rolling his eyes at her last comment he smiled again. “At least, if you stick with me you won't have to worry about being teased again. They always single out the weakest of the pack.” he couldn't stop with the wolf jokes. His grin widened, exposing more teeth. The comment wasn't meant for her to pity him but it was true, if they were seen together, the negative focus would be on him, not her. He could already hear the 'what is she doing next to him's' and other rude comments. If, that was, that she chose to stick around him at all. Drumming his fingers on the desk for a moment he waited to see if she was going to continue. Lifting his hand to his face, he used his index and middle finger to mimic fangs. “Chomp chomp, that's all she wrote?” No wonder it was easy for her to say, it was a little dull. Luckily, that though he managed to keep to himself. Lifting himself off the seat once more he lifted the silver tray and went about setting it back on the desk in what he hoped was about where it had been in the first place. He still couldn't believe that she was so new. “Who else knows?” he blurted out, not even knowing if he would know anybody that she did.

TAGGED ! amina
WORDS ! 1,343
OUTFIT ! CLICK
LYRICS ! sometimes by skillet
TEMPLATE ! PANIC! ITS LAUZ @ CAUTION
NOTES ! -hello

[Amina Krane]

It was strange to have someone hang off of your every word. Amina could see, on the rare occasion that she looked up at Tobias during her story, that he was actually listening. And it wasn't that half-listening, half-judging stare that Amina normally saw people deliver when others talked. He was genuinely listening and taking in every word she had said. Amina wondered if he was also looking for an emotional response, but he wouldn't get one. If she was going to tell this story, she had to tell it from as much of a detached point of view as possible despite how many facts were fake, and that was what she was doing as she continued on. There were rare few people these days who would listen as intently as it seemed he was, let alone with someone they had just met. Then again, there were also rare few people these days who would tell someone they just met about how their life was changed forever. Quite frankly, Amina didn't care telling him as long as she didn't affect Osiris in any way, but she had a vibe from Tobias. She knew she could trust him, she just had to watch how much she trusted him with. Trusting him with her own story was harmless because the most he could do was run off and tell everyone what she had become. People were going to figure it out eventually. There was no hiding the gold eyes and eventually someone would make the connection and start spreading the rumors. So if Tobias just started those rumors early, it wouldn't be a big deal. It was Osiris that she couldn't tell him about, which meant she had to lie to him about how she actually was saved from being killed. Her hope was that he wouldn't catch her, but many times in the past she had been told how terrible of a liar she was. With the addition of werewolf to her system, Amina had hoped she was a better liar, but somehow she didn't feel she was. Her only hope was that he wasn't a good lie detector and she could just skate by with her story.

As she finished up the last bits of her story, Amina didn't even look up. She couldn't. She didn't want to see if he caught her in her lie, or if he believed it. Instead, she kept her eyes down for a moment, only looking up at him when a small amount of silence passed. She hoped she wouldn't find him glaring at her with accusing eyes. How would she get around that if he had caught her in a lie and decided to call her out on it? She would just have to deal with the consequences as they came… But as she looked up, looked into his eyes, she saw something odd. He was smiling. Why smiling? That hadn't exactly been a bedtime story. “At least, if you stick with me you won't have to worry about being teased again. They always single out the weakest of the pack.” Ah. Amina understood the smile now and couldn’t help but return a slight one in return. He seemed so ready to throw himself under the bus with insults, and for what? For a laugh? "I wouldn't call you weak," she replied, her smile widening slightly. "Misunderstood, maybe, but you had to be placed in Gryffindor for a reason. Despite how little I used to agree with the house system, I can see that it has its purpose." Looking down at the prefect badge on her shirt, Amina's finger grazed the surface. She hadn't met a single person in Gryffindor that didn't belong there. Brave, strong, loyal. They all fit that description. There was no doubt in Amina's mind that Tobias belonged in there right along with the best of them. And while he might not look it from the outside, she felt there were so many tricks he had hiding up his sleeve. Or in his book. He just gave her that impression, and she never doubted her impressions of someone. It was the main reason she had so many friends. She knew how to choose them and right now, Amina had the distinct feeling that Tobias wouldn't be going anywhere for a while… But Merlin help her if the reasoning was because he looked weaker.

“Chomp chomp, that's all she wrote?” A chuckle came rolling out at his use of his fingers for fangs. "Well, when you put it that way," Amina responded with a matter-of-fact voice, rolling her eyes playfully at how easily he played it down. But she had made it seem that way, hadn't she? What with her detachment to the story and the pathetic excuse for lies that she had thrown in there. But if he had caught her on the lies, he never let it on. Either he was oblivious, or he respected her choice to tell a lie. Either way, she appreciated it. Less that she had to explain. Maybe one day he would get to know the full story. Her eyes followed him as he stood up and took the silver tray from the desk beside her. She wondered for a moment if he had planned on showing her something else that might require she see her reflection, but he merely walked back over to the table where it had previously been set and put it back in its place. Was he already out of tricks, or was he just going to be like her? Holding back the good stuff until the time was right? “Who else knows?” She was slightly taken back by the question, wondering why that had any importance. She had told him that it couldn't be discussed with anyone, so why would he need to know? "Besides some of the staff and the Ministry?" she began, biting her lip at the Ministry bit. She had gotten notice that her name was on the registered werewolf list. While it wasn't a widely available list, there was nothing to stop someone from requesting if a name was on that list. So it didn't matter if she didn't tell people, it was public knowledge. She did not like that idea. Talk about making it impossible to have a life after all of this.

"Two students. Victoria, my roommate, and Sura Haughton from Ravenclaw. And now you." This time the lie was easy. She had left one other student out, but lying about her relationship with Gavin, lying about his knowledge of her condition wasn't hard. It had become second nature by now, despite how much Amina hated to admit that. "But remember, I told you, they don't know the whole truth. They know the rather pathetic cover-up story that I had been shopping for the dance," that I never got to attend, she amended silently, "pissed off someone, and that someone happened to be a werewolf who held a grudge and followed me. When there was no one around, she attacked me just in spite of herself and then took off." Amina didn't know how anyone would believe the story, because just saying it out loud revealed how unbelievable it was, but the Ministry hadn't gone poking for more answers and neither had the school, which was what really mattered. If they didn't go poking around, Amina didn't care what story she had to tell. She owed Osiris that much after everything he had done to help her. "And that's all you know… right?" Amina probed, hoping he would keep to his scouts honor. Had he even been a scout as a child?

"I'm realizing, I don't know very much about you, but you already know one of my largest secrets," Amina said in a bit of disbelief. "It's time the favor be returned. Tell me about yourself so I can at least feel like this friendship won't be totally one-sided."

Words | 1,329
Tag | Tobias
Outfit | Click

[Tobias Leberecht]

SOMETIMES I FIND IT HARD
• to believe there's someone else who could be •
JUST AS MESSED UP AS ME

"I wouldn't call you weak," No, perhaps he wasn't weak. He was capable of being strong, just not in this form. She could understand that better than just about anybody that he had yet to meet. As he was now, he was very vulnerable. "Misunderstood, maybe, but you had to be placed in Gryffindor for a reason. Despite how little I used to agree with the house system, I can see that it has its purpose." Endearing. Did she assume that from this one encounter that she really knew him well enough to claim that he was misunderstood? He wasn't so sure. He knew that he was just as odd as everybody thought him to be. He just didn't think it was a bad thing like most other people ended to do. He wanted to pester her with more questions. Such as why she didn't agree with the house systems. He felt that they were fairly accurate. If he got off topic now, it wasn't likely that he would be able to guide himself back to asking about what had happened to her, so he was forced to let it slide. Just more to add to the air between them. Slowly, Tobias picked up the items that he had cast aside earlier whenever he had gotten it show her that her shoulder was cleared. Stacking the items on top of themselves in an effort to stall for time, to give her more time for her to answer. Of course, the random arrangement that he was forcing the items into, was nowhere near how they had looked whenever he had entered into the room. "Besides some of the staff and the Ministry?" He nodded, his back still toward her as the items toppled over with a loud clang onto the tray. They looked better that way, how they had fallen rather than the way he was attempting to position them, so he left it. The two authority groups that she had mentioned didn't phase him. She was just pointing out the obvious. At least she wasn't going to be subject to the same things that Marcus had. A deep frown settled onto his face at the thought. There had been a time whenever Tobias had been younger, that he had wanted to work in the ministry. It seemed to have it's hands in everything so it seemed to be a place where he would never get bored, always something new to do. Until he had befriended Marcus, and learned of the dark underbelly that the Ministry didn't make public. Never could he even entertain the idea of working there. Not with what he knew.

At least she wouldn't have to worry about that, Marcus hadn't been contacted by them in years, so they had just assumed that they didn't need the young wolves any longer. Scrunching his face up as small as he could make it, and then releasing the tension he turned back around, his hands resting behind his body on the desk, watching Amina again, his face normal. "Two students. Victoria, my roommate, and Sura Haughton from Ravenclaw. And now you." Both of the names were familiar to him, Victoria of course, was a name known by the whole school as she was head of house. Personally, Tobias wasn't her biggest fan, they never could seem to agree on anything, but Marcus, insisted that she needed to be kept around. Wouldn't elaborate as to why she was so important. Another thing that Tobias didn't like about the girl, Marcus was always so strange around her. Sura was also a member of Marcus' house, but he didn't know her one way or the other. Just a name in a house. "But remember, I told you, they don't know the whole truth. They know the rather pathetic cover-up story that I had been shopping for the dance," Well, at least he would only talk to one of them, and that wouldn't be often so even if he was the sort of man to gossip (which he was) the chances of him talking to either one were slim. Besides, who would believe him even if he did tell. "pissed off someone, and that someone happened to be a werewolf who held a grudge and followed me. When there was no one around, she attacked me just in spite of herself and then took off." Tobias couldn't help but snort. What a horrible story. There were no wolves in Somerset. His mirth turned into laughter as he nodded. “Best you could do?” imagining the scenario in his head, no way would anybody have ignored something like that. The town was far too small. She might as well just have stayed silent about the whole thing, pretended that she was far too traumatized to even think about it, or that she couldn't remember. Both were more credible. Bringing a fist to his mouth to silence himself he shook his head. “That's” he cleared his throat “that's horrible...sorry that fake happened to you”

"And that's all you know… right?" Letting his eyebrows bounce once he shrugged. “Sure.” He would keep her secret, she would be found out sooner or later. Just he wouldn't betray Marcus' secret to her. They would find out about each other sooner or later, or else he was going to have to have Marcus' brain checked. "I'm realizing, I don't know very much about you, but you already know one of my largest secrets," “Have known.” he corrected, he had known for a few weeks now, to be fair to himself. The golden eyes were a dead give away, her changed posture, only confirmed it. There was a lot to be said about the intelligence of the student body. Namely, that they didn't have much of any. They were all so very content in their ignorance of almost everything that didn't directly concern them. Amina was popular, and well liked, but she wasn't THAT popular. "It's time the favor be returned. Tell me about yourself so I can at least feel like this friendship won't be totally one-sided." his eyes lowered to his journal, that was who he was. It had everything about him in it's pages. All of his thoughts, desires and things that interested him. Of course, he wasn't going to let her just read it. No way. His eyes then lifted to the space between their heads again, no way was that going to have the chance to dissipate unless he gave her something in return. Tit for tat. Quid pro quo. Inhaling he straightened his arms, lifting his body onto the desk as he brought his legs up and folded them under his body simultaneously. Sitting still was boring. The side of his mouth lifted, pinched with his indecision. What would she actually want to know? “I like to climb.” he admitted, like it was a far larger confession than it actually was. “pine, ashwood, elm and birch...I like them all.” closing his eyes like he was ashamed until he could bear it no more and chuckled. “Stone sometimes too...it's a problem. I'm just so very good at it.”

TAGGED ! amina
WORDS ! 1,193
OUTFIT ! CLICK
LYRICS ! sometimes by skillet
TEMPLATE ! PANIC! ITS LAUZ @ CAUTION
NOTES ! -hello

[Amina Krane]

The ridiculousness of Amina's cover story only became more apparent when Tobias began laughing. She couldn't help but chuckle along with him, the sound feeling foreign on her voice chords. “Best you could do?” Shaking her head, Amina grinned. "I'd like to see what story you would come up with while your shoulder is in ribbons and you feel like you're baking in an oven," she remarked, her grin widening as she realized it really wasn't much of an excuse. When she had come up with the story, it had been on her way back to the school so she had been fine for the most part. There had been pain in her shoulder, that hadn't really gone away until her first full moon cycle when her body completed the transformation. But the heat part had been right. To be honest, Amina almost always felt like she had her head in an oven unless she was in a cold shower or ice bath. Oh, an ice bath sounded amazing right then… Amina watched as Tobias brought his fist to his mouth. Her grin changed as she narrowed her eyes and looked at him with a joking glare. “That's. That's horrible...sorry that fake happened to you.” Rolling her eyes, Amina held back a laugh. “Sure.” Her laugh stifled itself as her smile became that of thanks. Amina really hoped she hadn't put her faith into the wrong person, but everything she had witnessed told her he could be trusted. That he was probably one of the best friends a person could probably had. She only wished she had met him under different circumstances. Circumstances that didn't make her feel like he was only here because of what she was. If she wasn't a werewolf, would he have ever talked to her? Would he have even considered making friends with her? Somehow she doubted it.

“I like to climb. Pine, ashwood, elm and birch...I like them all.” Now it was Amina's turn to laugh. In her mind, she suddenly saw his face on the body of a monkey, swinging from tree to tree. Of course, it wasn't accurate since he had said he liked to climb, not that he liked to swing from tree top to tree top. However, she couldn't help what she saw in her head. It's just the way it worked. “Stone sometimes too...it's a problem. I'm just so very good at it.” Amina chuckled right along with him as the image morphed into a monkey climbing a stone wall at the side of a waterfall. "Monkey in your prior life?" she asked with a grin as she tilted her head backwards, biting her lip to hold off more laughter. It really wasn't that funny, but it had been so long since she had laughed, so long since she had enjoyed herself in the presence of another. It had felt foreign to begin with, but now that they had been talking for a little while, it was nice. Nice to just talk to someone without having to worry about keeping her mouth quiet about what was really going on in her life, or explaining why her eyes had suddenly changed color. How many people had just accepted that they were colored contacts? That she had decided to go a little wild and just change it up some? She wasn't one to judge, ever, but the intelligence level of some of the students was often baffling. Amina tipped her head back down, her grin still on her face as she saw him again. "Thanks for that," she said, her grin fading to a soft smile. "Not as deep of a secret as mine, but I haven't laughed like that for a while," she added, hoping he understood that she wasn't upset about him not sharing something more interesting, more intimate. In fact, his response had been perfect. She liked awkward information about people, something that they may not divulge but wasn't necessarily a secret. That was always the most interesting information someone could offer up.

As the laughter wore off, Amina's lips pursed as she leaned forward and put her elbows on her knees, her head going into the palms of her hands. She used to laugh all the time. The sound of her own laughter had actually become strange. The feeling of the fast vibrating against her vocal chords resembled someone trying to pull a taught rubber band. Her voice hadn't been used in that way for so long that it had sounded different than Amina last remembered. She hadn't recognized her laugh when it had escaped her lips, something that was highly upsetting. How could someone forget what their own laugh sounded like? It was just a sign that pointed to the chasm her life had fallen into. Tipping her head up, she placed her chin on her hands and looked over at Tobias. "The other werewolf," she began, hoping he wouldn't think she was trying to pry. "Are they… happy? Or, you know, at least, not miserable?" Her question wasn't one that required he divulge the identity of the other werewolf, so she hoped he would answer the question. She just needed to know if it was possible to ever be happy despite what she had become. Would she ever find laughing a daily activity again? Or was she doomed to forget her own laugh and never enjoy life again? It had gotten easier since the attack, but she still didn't feel like there would ever be an end to the misery that being a werewolf seemed to bring along. "I understand if you don't want to answer that. I'm just trying to figure out if this whole, being a monster, thing ever gets easier."

Words | 958
Tag | Tobias
Outfit | Click

[Tobias Leberecht]

SOMETIMES I FIND IT HARD
• to believe there's someone else who could be •
JUST AS MESSED UP AS ME

Would they have ever met if she hadn't been turned? He wasn't certain. Logic would point to no, they wouldn't have simply for the fact that they had been basically living feet apart for over a year now and she had never so much as spoken to him. Which was a two way street, he didn't have any reason to come out of nowhere and bother her, and she had enough friends to bother herself with seeking out a normally overlooked young man. They didn't have classes at the same time and apart from Victoria, they didn't have any friends in common. Which, was surprising to him considering it seemed actually fairly easy, talking to her like this. He normally had a lot more trouble holding onto long conversations that weren't with Marcus. People tended to not like his intensity. At least she wasn't super serious about the whole thing, this could have gone a whole other way. Given that he had come out of nowhere in the hallway earlier and outed her. She could have panicked and punched him, or something even worse. It was just fortunate that they were joking, and he found that her smile was pleasant to see. He hadn't ever seen it up close before. He knew the subject matter was heavy, but this was almost fun. His toes wiggled at her words "Monkey in your prior life?" Wouldn't that have been fun? His mind altered his limbs, giving him the dexterous hands of a primate and arms longer than they should proportionately be. Certainly would make his most popular hobby a lot easier. It would keep him from ever falling again, than in and of itself would be worth it. Sadly, that wasn't the animal that he knew how to become.

She was teasing him, but he actually didn't mind. This had to be more like the Amina Krane that he had heard about, the bubbly transfer that managed to fit in so quickly. Unlike the girl who had been roaming the halls for a while now. "Thanks for that, Not as deep of a secret as mine, but I haven't laughed like that for a while," he gave a modest half shrug. “not sure if I have any secrets as deep as yours” he admitted, it would have been hard, unless he was distantly related to some murderous giant, he doubted it. His parents were all together too boring for something like that. He had told her something that if they became friends, she was likely to figure out for herself, he was normally up in the rafters of the school. The stone was cool, private, and let him do just about anything that he wanted to without worrying about being stepped on or pushed around. So, in fact, he hadn't told her a secret at all, he knew he had some that might be worth telling, but he wouldn't even know how. Perhaps he just didn't think that they were all that interesting after all. At least she seemed to accept the information as enough of a informational investment. Did she trust everybody so easily? She couldn't, not with what she had gone through, the thought made him a little proud. He liked thinking that he was trustworthy, even more so where others weren't. This would be a prime case of that.

"The other werewolf," He nodded, he should have known that was coming. What a strange game of twenty questions they seemed to be starting. He already had quite a lead on her. "Are they… happy? Or, you know, at least, not miserable?" a sly grin crossed his lips for just a second before nodding once more. “positively gay most days” his face flushed in amusement at his own words. He almost never got to insult Marcus without the boy around to turn the insult right back around on himself. Correcting his face into an expression worthy of her concern. “No, they aren't miserable...not most the time.” He had his moments, like this past month. Of course it made sense now, but Marcus had been in a funk, not knowing why he was so off. For the most part, Marcus was very happy, even more so whenever he was at the school. ”I'm just trying to figure out if this whole, being a monster, thing ever gets easier." He was oddly insulted that she referred to herself as a monster. He didn't think she was a monster. Pygmy puffs and mandrakes with their horrible sounds, those were monsters. Just because she had an affliction of the lupine nature didn't mean that she was a monster. Whoever did this to her might have been a monster, eating up little girls, but she wasn't a monster. “everything gets easier with time.” he felt like he was campaigning for something. “Don't call yourself a monster.” he asked, his brow narrowed together in concern. “You're not one, and it bothers me that you might think of yourself that way. I understand I don't know you, not hardly, but you're not a monster. Wolves are brave, loyal and intelligent beings. Be proud.” he shouldn't have gone so far as the last words, he had no business telling her how to feel. He couldn't relate, he didn't know how she was handling things, but if she was a monster, then Marcus one, and he would never allow somebody to insult his best friend that way. “It will become more manageable, that I can assure you with authority at least”

TAGGED ! amina
WORDS ! 922
OUTFIT ! CLICK
LYRICS ! sometimes by skillet
TEMPLATE ! PANIC! ITS LAUZ @ CAUTION
NOTES ! -hello

[Amina Krane]

Smiling shouldn't feel as odd as it did. Amina normally smiled all the time, she always had been that kind of person, but now it just felt odd on her face. Smiles weren't normal for someone who lost the love of their life and their humanity in the same school year. But here she was, smiling with a complete-well, not complete-stranger. How odd that he managed to bring out a side of her that her friends rarely got to see these days. What was so wrong with her that she couldn't manage to laugh and smile with Victoria much anymore? Ok, there had been a few moments where she had been able to let go and be her old self, but not nearly as much as her roommate deserved. She had done nothing wrong, yet Amina felt like out of everyone, Victoria got the raw end of the deal. One day she would mend that. One day, Victoria would get to know everything. Amina just had to get to the point where she could tell her best friend all of these things. Where she could actually manage to get the words out. Just hopefully she wouldn't lose her friend before that day came. Honestly, she was surprised Victoria had stuck it out with her thus far, with how moody she had been the entire year. It started with Gavin, then she had come back from that problem. Then the werewolf bite had caused another downward spiral. Once again, she was coming out of it, but how long would it be before Amina found herself spiraling again? How long before she went so far that she could never come back from it? She knew she had to get herself in line and make sure to keep her friends close. She imagined that one day she would need them. Maybe one day Tobias would be one of those friends. He leans on her, she leans on him sort of thing. He seemed like the right candidate for the position.

“Not sure if I have any secrets as deep as yours.” Amina shrugged in response as a 'works for me' sort of gesture. How nice it must be not to have any huge secrets to be burdened with holding. Amina never used to. She was an open book in so many different ways. Never had she had a problem with telling people information about herself. There was never anything that she had been ashamed of. Sure, when her father's company had gone under, she had held that close to the vest, mainly because he had requested her to, but also partially because she hadn't wanted to admit to everyone that her family had fallen pretty hard. They had used to be able to afford whatever luxury they wanted. Even as a kid, she carried around money enough to buy half the load from an ice cream truck if she so chose. It was a shame they had suffered such consequences, especially because the result of her father's dilemma had been what had brought Amina to Austria in the first place. If he had been able to maintain the business, Amina would have never left Florida. She would still be the rich pureblood who was too selfless for her own good most of the time. Chances were she would have stayed with Matt, they would have gotten married, and they would have lived happily ever after because she didn't know anything past what was safe. Matt had been safe. She knew now, safe didn't mean good. Safe meant no risk. More than ever, Amina realized that risk made the reward so much more enjoyable. Too bad the risk sometimes backfired. The same thing her father's business had endured. And so they had come here. And it hadn't been so bad in the beginning. Did she wish they hadn't come so she would have had to endure all of the trauma? Sure, sometimes. But trauma made a person better. Plus there was no point in dwelling in the past. Not like you could change it, after all. No, she couldn't change it, but she could embrace the here and now. Fate had thrown her into the situation she was in, and she could make the best of it. And making the best of it meant also enjoying the company she got along the way.

“Positively gay most days.” Amina chuckled at this response. She wondered if he had used the word just because, or if there was a reason he had chosen such a word to describe the other werewolf? Maybe one day she would find out how they interacted, if they did at all. But considering he had said most days, that meant more than likely Tobias saw the person more often than not. At least, that's what she got from him. “No, they aren't miserable...not most the time.” Her smile faded slightly as he tacked this bit to the end. That meant there were at least sometimes when they were miserable, but she had to take things in stride. Of course there were bound to be miserable days. Even people who still had their humanity had miserable days. It was inevitable. She just hoped that they weren't too bad. She could only stand so much misery before she fell apart. Her limit was nearing ever so close in the distances. "Well I guess that's something," she said, trying to be as bright as possible in her answer. He had been kind enough to share and she was more than happy with that, because he could have just said no. Some people would have told her that no answers could be given, some people would have just told her that she was a monster, she would always be miserable, but not him. He seemed genuine, honest. Two qualities she needed in a friend.

“Everything gets easier with time.” He wasn't lying. Time seemed to be about the only constant. It took time for everything. Granted, sometimes things just got worse, but in the end, everything got better. It was just a matter of how much time. She looked up at him, about to thank him for being honest with her, but she could see he wasn't done. And he didn't seem as pleased anymore. How had she missed that his tone had changed? Not nearly as cheerful as it had been when he had been talking about the other werewolf. Had she said something wrong? “Don't call yourself a monster.” Ah, yes. She had said something wrong. Leave it to her to stick her foot in her mouth, but why did he care what she called herself? After all ,wasn't it true. She bit on her lip as she noted his expression, unsure of why he seemed so displeased at her use of the word monster. “You're not one, and it bothers me that you might think of yourself that way. I understand I don't know you, not hardly, but you're not a monster. Wolves are brave, loyal and intelligent beings. Be proud.” Suddenly Amina felt embarrassed. He was right on all accounts. He didn't know her, but he did know more about werewolves than she did. Even if she was one and he wasn't, she was brand new to this whole thing. Even the things that she read weren't able to help her. How could they? Surely there was some sort of conspiracy out there to keep the truth about werewolves out of books and places where people could easily access the information. "Sorry," she muttered, unable to think of what else to say. She hadn't meant to offend him, but in her own way, she couldn't see her as anything else. At least not right now. "Maybe in time I can be proud, but now?" Her brows furrowed as she looked down at the floor and shook her head. Not now. Now she only saw herself as damaged goods, broken in ways that couldn't be repaired, but only temporarily fixed. She saw something inside of her that could be dangerous if she didn't watch herself, could cause a lot of harm if it didn't have a leash around it so to speak. Was she just being overdramatic? Was she seeing something there that wasn't true? With the way he spoke of it, she felt like she was, but her gut told her otherwise.

“It will become more manageable, that I can assure you with authority at least.” Looking back up at him, she gave him a half smile. "Well, there's something to look forward to I guess!" she said, allowing more enthusiasm to come out as she sat up straight, a full smile appearing on her face. The queen of mood swings. That had become her title for herself as of late. This was no exception, but this time it was forced. She didn't like being depressing in front of new people. That was just a horrible way to leave a first impression. And as the bell to signal the next round of classes beginning in five minutes, Amina realized this was going to be the way she left her first impression. She had missed so much class time already this year, between Gavin and the werewolf attack. She was barely making it through most of her classes, and in the case of potions, Amina wasn't even sure she was passing. Unfortunately, she was going to have to pay the piper in that class later. It was on her list, but now she had to make it down to the grounds in five minutes. Damn care of magical creatures for being so far away. "I have to go!" she announced popping out of her seat and fixing her bag around her shoulder securely. It was a good thing she had become an expert at running down stairs in heels. Looking over at Tobias, she offered him a smile as she closed the gap between the desk she had been sitting on and the one he was currently perched on. "Despite the very abstract way of starting this conversation, thank you for doing it." She paused for a moment, trying to find the right words. "And thank you for listening to me. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other now!" she added, her smile widening to a grin as she leaned forward and hugged him. He was significantly taller than him so she had to go onto her tiptoes but she didn't care. Hugging was in her nature. Hopefully he didn't read too into it, but she didn't have a chance to wait to find out because after a second passed and she released him, Amina was darting out of the room. She really could not afford to be late again.

Words | 1,801
Tag | Tobias
Outfit | Click