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Words and Wonder (Myself and ShyButDangerous)

Chronic Oddity

Chronic Oddity

Planetoid
Joined
Oct 14, 2019
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Age: 24
Species: Half Hawk Shifter, Half Fea
Short History: Growing up, his mother kept him well hidden within the flock of avian shifters she had belonged to before she had met his father. Unfortunately, due to his taboo mixed heritage he was bullied constantly by the other flock member’s children. Just before he turned 16, his mother died tragically. Keeping his promise to her, the devastated boy set out to make a life for himself. He stayed in his hawk form almost too long, though he finally returned to his human form.

With a low grumble deep in his throat his golden eyes roamed over his reflection, taking in how long and shaggy his hair had gotten. On a plus side, it did hide the points of his ears and the feathers at the nape of his neck much better this way. He had found it to be a pain to keep it pulled up all the time though, though it wasn’t like he had anyone to impress anyway. Today, however his new editor would be here and he wasn’t sure how to avoid the man seeing him. The old editor had known he was uncomfortable with people, and had allowed him to primarily do much of their conversations over the phone. He had hoped to continue this practice and carry on with his life as he had, however the boss of the publishing company was insisting it was time he got over his aversion to people.


At the insistence of the man, he had been forced to agree to allow this new editor into his home for the meetings. It wasn’t all that long until the initial meeting was to take place, and if he was honest Casey would admit he was panicking. This would be someone he would have to interact with on a regular basis, as per the contract he had signed initially with the company, and he was not at all looking forward to it. Sighing, he pulled on his long, dark trench coat he always wore on the very rare occasions he went out. Adding the dust mask, which hid his pointed canines, and the beanie, which he situated over the tops of his pointed ears, he looked himself over in the mirror.


I look like a psychopath rather than a respected writer, he thought to himself. Grumbling, he walked into his spotless kitchen and slipped on a pair of rubber gloves figuring he may be able to lead the man into thinking he was germaphobic instead of crazy. It did fit, he supposed, glancing around the mostly empty house. The only furniture that could be seen in this part of the house were a tiny table that would barely hold his laptop and a single folding chair. Carefully he started his coffee pot, figuring he had better at least have something to offer the visitor to drink.


Casey couldn’t help but jump at the knock on the door, startled though he had been expecting it. Quickly, he went to the door. One last moment of hesitation resulted in him slowly cracking the door open and peering out around it at the man standing there on his doorstep. “What do you want?” The roughness of his voice, speaking to it’s disuse surprised Casey, as he hadn’t thought it had been long since had spoken aloud. He also realized he had spoken with his default question instead of what had intended to say. “I meant are you the new editor?”
 
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Age: 28
Species: Black python shifter
History: Rhett was born to the head of a very wealthy and high rank group of families of varying serpent shifters. Unfortunately, he struggled with his shifting so much that he would randomly shift, essentially unable to control when and where. Rhett had no trouble remaining a snake, or shifting back to human form. He was an only child as his mother died at birth and his father never remarried. His father was cruel, blaming his mother's death on him, and the verbal/emotional abuse evolved into physical abuse when he was unable to control his shifting. The last straw came when his father left him to die after a particularly brutal beating. Having no friends and barely alive, he managed to leave with the assistance of a child shifter that took pity on him. He spent six months as a snake living in a snake rehab to recover, before revealing himself to his human caretaker, Sarah. She became his best friend, adjusted his paperwork to say he was releasable, and helped him leave the rehab. Sarah later helped Rhett get a job as an intern at a small editorial company, and from there he quickly climbed the promotional ladder. He eventually managed a minimal control over his random shifts, but high stress or emotions of fear or panic result in a shift to snake form.

Rhett King had just gotten a job with this big time editorial company last month as a magazine editor. When the position of editor for the highly sought book author Casey Kitman became available, Rhett almost passed it up. Yes, he had read all of Casey's books, and deeply enjoyed them. But nothing was known about the man, so did Rhett really want to work with someone so reclusive? It was Sarah, his one friend and the only human to know his species, that had talked him into it. And it did pay better than magazine editor..

Despite loving Casey's books, Rhett doesn't idolize the man like most of his other fans. What is there to idolize about someone the world doesn't know? So in getting dressed that morning, Rhett only spends minimal time on his outfit. Black boots that add an inch to his 6'4 height, black jeans, navy turtleneck, black leather jacket, dark forest green scarf. Some would think the scarf strange, as the season is barely turning from summer to autumn. But as a snake shifter, Rhett shares many things in common with the reptiles, one particular trait being partially cold blooded. If Rhett gets too cold, he could die. Even humans weatherthcold better than he does.

Now, as Rhett stands at Casey's door, he can't help but to sigh quietly. He'd been warned of Casey's aversion to people, and he doesn't blame him. Rhett isn't exactly an easy truster either. But to secluded oneself away from literally everything? Rhett knocks on the door. When he's made to wait, he runs slender fingers through his inky black hair. Cut shorter in the back than the front, his bangs have a tendency to hang over his seemingly muddy brown eyes. The eye color is a trick though, colored contacts so the average human doesn't get freaked out.

When Casey opens the door, Rhett is midway through running his left hand through his hair. At the same time, he had glanced back to the street. The timing is perfect, and Rhett looks like he's posing. On the back of his left hand is the head of the black python tattoo that wraps around his left arm all the way up to his shoulder. Rhett raises a thin black eyebrow at Casey's words, looking the man up and down. The beanie he can understand, but a dust mask and rubber gloves? Had he just been cleaning?

"I'm Rhett King." Rhett's voice comes out smooth, not too deep, but with a rich tone, the way honey would sound if it had a sound.
 
This man was dangerous, Casey decided as his sharp golden eyes scanned him. He knew his eyes were more hawk like than human, but that was something he hadn't been sure how to hide. When Rhett spoke, the slender man visibly withdrew from the door shaking his head as if to clear it as he did. "You can come in... I guess." Choosing to leave the door open, he moved over to a supply closet taking out a step stool and depositing it beside the small table with the other chair.

"Please sit." With that done, he returned to the kitchen choosing to ignore his visitor for a moment while he flipped open the cabinet and stared at the very limited selection inside seeming to contemplate. Finally, he pulled his baking pan out and laid it on the counter. With only slight hesitation he set his sole coffee mug on it, choosing his measuring cup to take the place of the second. With short order, he set a small container of sugar and cream on the pan. That being done, he carried his selected things over to the coffee pot with one more stop to add his two spoons of differing sizes to the impromptu platter. Quickly, he poured coffee into the two chosen cups and then proceeded to carry the platter over to the table, setting it down so that there was a cup on either side of the platter. Then he perched on the edge of the remaining seat looking very much like he'd flee if pressed.

"There's coffee for you. If you want more after that cup, there's plenty in the pot." Keeping his eyes focused on the coffee, he took the one in the measuring cup and began adding sugar and a dash of cream to it. Then he simply stared into the cup, seeming to debate on drinking it as sweat had already begun to gather on his forehead. Evidently deciding it was worth it, he carefully peeled up the corner of his mask just enough he could take a small sip. He couldn't help the small sound of satisfaction that came from him as he held that little sip in his mouth for a moment, setting his cup down and returning his mask.

"As you can see, I'm not well equipped to have guests." Casey began, his shape eyes rising to meet Rhett's. "As such, perhaps it would be best to continue these meetings more remotely?" Figuring it was best to simply put it out there, he figured the man would probably agree as Casey was certain he looked very much like a serial killer at that moment in time.
 
Rhett is immediately intrigued. Casey's retreat appears to be more running away than actually moving back to let him in. Nonetheless, Rhett steps into the author home, looking around. He schools his expression to blankness; no sense being rude about the empty living conditions. When Casey pulls a step stool out for a second seat and retreats into the kitchen, that's the seat Rhett takes. He wants to show Casey he's not above being somewhat uncomfortable.

Rhett sits quietly, listening to Casey rummage in the kitchen. Curious, he opens his mouth just slightly, then breathes in through both mouth and nose. It may seem strange to humans, but they don't know he's a snake shifter. And just like snakes, he can taste the air for more info than just his nose can tell him. Coffee is what he smells. Caffeine is a bad combination for him.

Rhett straightens on his step stool seat as Casey returns with the baking pan of mismatched drinking cups, along with cream and sugar. Rhett doesn't spare them a glass, though the corner of his lip twitches when the author selects the measuring cup.

Rhett stays silent while Casey takes his sip. He listens while the man speaks, nodding his head. He had been told Casey would want some way of being able to avoid interacting with Rhett in person, but Rhett won't allow him the convenience. It's time to stop babying the author.

"No, that would be inconvenient. We will set up a time each day, wherein I can come here to go over your manuscripts. I'll leave you be on the weekends, but during the week, I'll spend three hours here every day." Later, Rhett would increase that time to be a more productive length, but for now, three hours should do.
 
Casey listened to the other man speak, demanding what the author found a completely unreasonable amount of time every day. His eyes flicked to a door behind and slightly to the right of Rhett, seriously considering simply running away. Then he seemed to gather himself, straightening his back and giving the man what he hoped was a menacing glare.

"That is completely unacceptable, and extraordinarily inconvenient." Managing to keep his words calm and well thought out was much more difficult than he thought it'd be, however he was proud of himself. "You can not possibly expect me to let you waltz back in here every day, put all this back on every single day, and..." He paused feeling exasperated, both with himself and with the man sitting there.

"Never mind. You wouldn't understand anyway, probably." With that, he rose taking his coffee with him as he strode back into the kitchen. Once there, he leaned against a pillar and flicked the mask up once more to take a deeper drink of the coffee. Letting the caffine sooth his nerves, he paused before speaking again. "Look, I understand you're just trying to do your job, but I can't do mine properly with you here invading my..." Pausing once more he considered what to call the place, as he felt calling it his safe space made him seem weak. "My house. I can't have you coming in here all the time with your s... err... SMOOTH voice making unreasonable demands and disruptive presence."

With his eyes closed, he thanked god the other man couldn't see his pinkened face. Casey couldn't believe he had almost called the other man's voice sexy, and simply chalked it up to writing so many romance novels. Perhaps he'd change genres for a bit and try his hand at something else, if for no other reason than he had run out of inspiration for romance novels being there by himself for so long.

"I need QUIET time to think up the premise of my next novel anyway..." He admitted softly, more to himself than to Rhett.
 
Rhett sits quietly while Casey argues. One eyebrow raises when the author speaks of putting everything, the beanie, mask, and gloves no doubt, back on. Rhett isn't fooled. If Casey was a true germaphobe, he'd have bottle of hand sanitizer everywhere, and air purifiers.

Rhett watches Casey retreat to the kitchen, but he's still listening. He doesn't miss the way the author changes his words, almost chuckling. Rhett prides himself on silent movement, so when he stands and walks to the kitchen doorway, not a sound is heard. Casey's back is still to the doorway, so Rhett leans his hip against the frame.

"I can assure you I will not be disruptive, Mister Kitman. I will limit my access to your house to here, in the kitchen. Silence does not bother me, so I can work in silence if that is what you require. However," Rhett pauses to wait for Casey to turn around, no doubt having startled the man with his silent approach. "I will not continue to baby you with strictly phone contact, as your previous editor has done."
 
Casey about lept out of his skin when he heard the serpent speak from so close to him. His coffee cup hit the ground and he spun around, facing Rhett as he backed slowly towards the far wall of the kitchen that held a fairly large window. Currently said window was covered in heavy drapes, however the hawk shifter was prepared to use it as an exit if need be.

"Well Mister King, I assure you that your presence is most disruptive to my peace of mind." Hands on his arms, he tried to still the shiver of his body caused by holding back his shift. "Scaring the crap out of me is SO not helping your case."

Carefully, he reached up to fix his beanie, smoothing his golden hair back over the pointed ear that had been partially exposed. Casey hoped the other man hadn't noticed as he also straitened the dust mask and his jacket.

"What if I just don't let you in?" Unsure of where the challenging question had come from, he paused and raised an eyebrow as he looked over that other man. Casey had yet to consider that, and he figured the man probably wouldn't just break into his house. This line of thought gave him confidence. "What if I'm just not here during that time?"
 
Rhett full on flinches as the measuring cup turned coffee mug hits the floor. Thankfully, it doesn't break, but the loud noise dredged up a piece of Rhett's haunting past. He takes a deep breath, smoothed his hands down the front of his jacket, and stands straighter. When he looks at Casey again, he just catches a glimpse of pointed ears before the author covers them again. Not human?

Rhett's heart is still pounding from his reaction to the cup hitting the floor. On the outside, he once again looks calm and collected. "I'll be sure to bring a chair with me then, and enjoy the autumn sunshine on your porch." He smiles again. Hopefully, Rhett wouldn't actually have to sit outside. If it gets cold, that could get very dangerous for him, very quickly.
 
"I'm sorry." Casey sighed, apologizing to Rhett both for threatening him and for dropping the cup and making him flinch. "That is unfair to you. I won't make you sit out on the porch. You can sit there at the table. Just don't expect me to linger in here, and if you want something other than coffee or water you should bring it with you."

Snatching a towel from where it was hanging beside the sink, he dropped it on the split coffee and collected the measuring cup from the floor. Slowly so as to avoid looking at Rhett, he looked it over for damage pleased to find none. He set it in the sink and seemed to consider his options before speaking again.

"Look, it's nothing against you. I just don't like people. Humans are difficult for me to deal with." He admitted, wincing as he realized the odd way he had worded that. "Anyway, you can stay here in the kitchen and livingroom areas. You are absolutely not to enter my n... I mean bedroom." At least he caught himself before calling it his nest, or so he thought.

"I'll leave the front door unlocked tomorrow, just come in whenever you are ready. I'll know when you get here. Time makes little difference to me. Also, you should probably know the content you're supposed to be reviewing doesn't exist yet. I haven't written anything worthy of being the premise of my next novel yet." At that thought, disappointment slid across his face and he tossed the now coffee soaked rag in the nearby laundry basket. "Now that I've agreed to what you wanted, please leave."
 
Rhett actually perks up when Casey makes a slip of the tongue, saying humans instead of people. Then, when he changes his words again, that's pretty good proof for Rhett. Maybe he should drop a small hint of his own?

"Trust me when I say, I can understand not liking humans." Rhett uses the same wording, on purpose. Then he smiles, this time letting his teeth, and his longer than average upper canines, show. His upper canines actually overlap his lower teeth. "I'll see you tomorrow at 1pm. As for inspiration, why not base a character off yourself?" Leaving Casey with his thoughts, Rhett turns and leaves, gets in his jeep, and heads home.
 
Casey stared at the other man like he had grown another head, his face paling slightly as he takes in both the mirrored wording and the tell tale teeth. He was still processing this when the question was asked and then the other man left. The golden haired man stood there a long time before finally walking to the door and locking it. With that done, he strode over to his bedroom, opening the door and entering the comfortable room.

Quickly, he stripped and opened the window that looked out to his small yard, mostly ruled by a massive tree. With that done, he allowed the change to sweep through his body. Now in his fully feathered form, he hopped up onto the windowsill and out the window easily. Easily rising into the air, he passed over his house and scanned the ground around his home intending partially to ensure the other had left. Truth be told, he trusted Rhett even less now that he was almost certain the man wasn't human. He was hoping he wouldn't find anything and that he could live through the next few days without incident until he made a solid decision on whether or not he was going to just abandon his home for the sake of his own safety.
 
The following day, Rhett is there at the front door, a small bag and travel mug in hand this time. Casey had said to just let himself in, so he does that, heading into the kitchen. From the bag he pulls a notepad and red pen, sitting on the actual kitchen chair, rather than the step stool. He can't hear any sound just yet, but that doesn't mean Casey isn't here.

Pulling out his phone, Rhett sets to going through his emails and texts, some of them from other, far more small time or budding writers that he's been set to work with. Other emails are for personal things, and a seemingly constant texter is Sarah, his one human friend. Currently, their topic of conversation is on the diet of snakes. Sarah is asking advice for a new, half starved boa that just arrived at her snake rescue and rehab.
 
Not finding anything particularly interesting, he set out away from the house and went about spying on hapless human couples looking for inspiration. It was well into the next morning before he gave up and returned to his home, flying right into the window and landing with his now human feet on the floor. Tired, he had barely bothered with pulling on a pair of boxers and unlocking his door before collapsing onto his bed, promptly falling into a deep sleep.

Casey was still asleep when Rhett came in, though it wasn't long before he groggily crawled out of bed. His golden hair a complete mess and he hadn't even bothered to pull anything else on when he shuffled towards the door. Not even pausing to consider the fact that someone else may be there, he opened the door and was halfway through stepping out into the living room area where Rhett was currently sitting in the folding chair. His face a deep embarrassed red, he didn't make a sound as he retreated back into the room closing the door behind him as he went.

Pausing for a moment he looked at himself in the mirror dreading his state if undress, and dismayed to see that his pointed ears were clearly visible. He was however grateful that what little of his small patch of feathers was visible through his hair might easily be mistaken for part of his hair. He then turned to the still open window, glad he had an escape route if he needed it.
 
So sure that Casey is a shifter, Rhett has chosen not to wear his colored contacts. The reclusive man really did drop many hints, even if not on purpose. So today, his eyes are their natural electric neon yellow, with serpentine slitted pupils. He's dressed fairly similar to the day before, completely with scarf.

Rhett is focused on his phone, so he doesn't hear Casey open, then close the bedroom door. Small sips from his travel mug are making the contents last a good while, a faint smell of apples coming from within.
 
Finally, Casey gathered himself and slipped on the beanie intending to hide his ears still, and a pair of loose sweat pants. This time, he passed on the jacket and the dust mask figuring he'd probably already given himself away. Feeling a little vain, he also pulled a brush though the ends of his hair to straiten them. Gathering his courage, he oncemore opened the bedroom door lingering in the door frame. Beyond him, the rows of bookcases and shiney trinkets could be seen easily. It seemed all the character in the house was packed into one small room.

"What is it you want from me?" Casey asked softly, feeling like he should be direct, especially as the other man's eyes seemed to confirm his suspicions. "Why are you REALLY here?"
 
"Hm?" Rhett looks up from his phone, blinking his yellow eyes. He watches Casey for a moment, but he's not buying time to reply. He already knows the answer. Sighing softly, he sets his phone on the table facedown. Then he takes a drink from his travel mug before speaking.

"Mister Kitman, I'm here to do my job. What I really want is to ensure I get paid at the end of the month, so I can continue to afford my tiny apartment, and especially my heating bill." And that's the truth. Rhett doesn't trust people easily, and he can see the same can be said of Casey. At this moment, Rhett has no intentions of doing anything other than working with the author. "I do appreciate your little slips yesterday, as unintended as they may have been. It's been years since I've met another shifter, and it's nice to not have to wear those damn contacts all the time." Either Rhett is correct in his assumptions about Casey, or he just outed himself to a human.
 
"I see." Casey said simply, not really trusting what Rhett yet but figuring the other man hadn't really given him reason not to. He stepped forward and took the coffee mug off the table where it had been left the day before. "It is nice not to have to hide it all the time, though I'm not a full blooded shifter." Seeing the other man's admission as a sort of olive branch, he offered his own.

Not spending any farther time on better explanations, he strode into the kitchen. Quickly he washed the dishes from the previous day, pouring himself a cup of coffee. With his coffee, he made a quick trip by the table to spoon some sugar and cream into his cup.

"I suppose now I'll continue working on the concept for my next novel. I'll email you the concept summary when I've got something worthy of hearing." This time his words were all business, seeming to have abandoned the earlier topic.
 
Rhett relaxes as Casey confirms his assumptions. The fact that Casey isn't pure blood shifter doesn't bother Rhett, and he doesn't bat an eye at it. He returns to his phone, letting Casey be as the man gets himself coffee.

Rhett barely glances up when Casey says he's retreating to his room. "Did you think about what I said yesterday? Basing a character off yourself?" It would make for a good fantasy novel, and with the amount of supernatural novels out there, humans don't believe in real supernatural creatures anymore.
 
"All of my characters have small pieces of myself, and in all honesty my novels are frowned upon by the shifter community in general. I'm not at all concerned about humans, it's the others that I am cautious of." Casey admitted, his honesty surprising himself. "Besides, I don't can't believability base a character in a romance novel solely off myself. Not to mention I definitely don't want to draw too much attention." By the end of it, he seemed to be talking more to himself than Rhett.

"Perhaps it's time I stop writing romance fantasy novels and venture into something else. Of course, I don't have any idea yet what." At that Casey breaks into a rare grin, his sharper than average teeth and slightly elongated canines clearly on display. "Sorry. It seems you've wandered in at a bad time. I will say I haven't had this problem before the end of my last novel. I'll figure it out though. I always have before."
 
Rhett is listening, regardless if Casey is actually talking to him. He lets the man rant, if that's what it is. Rhett looks up from his phone just as Casey grins, and finds himself smiling slightly as well. That's an improvement in the man's mood.

"So base it off yourself, but make the character human. And not just pieces of yourself, but you as a whole." Rhett shrugs, looking back down at his phone. "Or not. But maybe you just need new inspiration. Or a new muse."
 
"I wouldn't make a very interesting character. I never leave my house in this form, and spend the vast majority of my time in my boxers typing away at my computer or reading when I'm not in my other form observing humans and avoiding others." A small laugh came from him before he continued. "Hell the most exciting thing that's happened to me since I moved in here was last winter when I forgot to close my window and a little grass snake made it into my nest."

At the mention of a new inspiration or muse he seemed to consider it for a moment. "Guess I could Google it and see what comes up. It's unlikely I'll find such a thing, as I have no intention of going out there in this form. I'll have to find another way I guess. Thanks for the ideas." With that he began his retreat back into his room, though he did leave the door open.
 
Rhett only smiles. At least he got the man thinking, instead of moping. When Casey leaves his door, Rhett chuckles quietly. More improvement. And so quickly. Revealing his secret probably helped put Casey at ease, knowing he can be himself around Rhett.

The next two and a half hours are spent in relative silence. Rhett's fingers tap away at his phone, doing work for his other authors remotely. He visits each of them once a week, on an established routine, and none of them are reclusive. As such, they don't need the amount of passive attention he feels Casey does.
 
If he was honest, he had left the door open more because he wanted to keep tabs on the other man in his home as opposed to trusting him. Then again, he also felt if the man wanted to hurt him then he would have done so the day before when he had snuck up on Casey. Still, he checked to ensure the man was still where he had left him with small glances even as he did his research. Unfortunately he didn't yet have the progress he had hoped for, and eventually he simply leaned back, stretching out across the floor from where he had been sitting on a cushion he kept in front of the low coffee table he used as a computer desk.

His eyes closed, and he fell into a loop of his own imagination trying to picture his next story. Obviously it wasn't going well as he sighed and opened them again concentrating on the ceiling. Lingering there like that, he pondered over the information he had discovered online.
 
At the three hour mark, Rhett pockets his phone, stands, and stretches his arms above his head. Adjusting his scarf around his neck, he turns yellow eyes to look at Casey stretched out on the floor in the other room. He won't bother him too much.

"I'm heading out, Mister Kitman." Rhett is making a point of staying more or less formal for now. He still doesn't know just how much he can trust the man, if at all. Rhett really does have a hard time trusting anyone, even if he does know a lot of people through his work.
 
"Alright, Mister King. Safe travels." Casey called, not moving from his spot on the floor. Once the other man was gone, he stripped, shifted, and flew out his window to go in search of a new idea. The next day, he returned to the house as the sun was in the height of it's path. Passing up his bed, he pulled pants and the beanie on before going after his usual cup of coffee. Hearing the door open, he didn't turn assuming it was Rhett. "Good afternoon, Mister King."

With coffee in hand he then returned to his room, leaving the door halfway open. He then began surveying his shelves, looking for anything that might inspire him. If left to his own devices, the next several days would likely continue pretty well the same.
 
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