The Fox and the Hound (Agnores x Candira)

[Agnores]

There was nothing quite like the feel of grass between your toes.

For an Earth Kitsune like Darrick, this statement was doubly true. He drew strength from the earth so he could keep up with his predators, like the werewolves. He drew comfort from the images and feelings transferred to him from the myriad of elementals that keep the world in line. Speaking of elementals, one was really trying to get his attention.

//Fox greetings/ Harmony//

It was Arkansas, the elemental 'manager' that kept the other elementals in line. They spoke through images and feelings, and it often took Darrick some time to work out what they were trying to get at. An image of his three-tailed fox form had entered his mind, along with the general feeling of peace. Darrick loved when the elementals spoke to him, especially when they were happy. Each time the feeling of harmony wafted over him he wanted to strip naked and lay in the grass; more of his skin would be making contact with the Earth and thus more of the feeling could wash over him. He would lose himself in the feeling of the Earth's harmony, but as he stood in the courtyard of a busy college in the middle of the day, Darrick fought off the urge.

//Greetings/ Harmony// Darrick shot back.

//Query: Fox well?// Arkansas asked. 'Arkansas' was the name Darrick referred to the elemental who managed the tri-state area by. Elementals themselves did not have names, but it did not take long for them to be okay with Darrick's use of them. Darrick shot back the mental equivalent of a nod to the elemental, and was flooded with the feeling of Harmony again.

Sighing, Darrick took a look at the time and cursed. He had stood here and enjoyed the earth for too long. He had to run to class now. Not that it would matter if he was late; after all, it was American History from the civil war forward.

And that was probably the easiest class for a being who had lived 300 years.

 

[Candira]

Harmony was decidedly absent in Rachel's life today. Of course, not all days were like this one, but that didn't stop the steady stream of curses from escaping her as she ran to class. Rachel felt as though she didn't have control over much of anything today. The power to her apartment had been shut off, so she missed her alarm. Then, her car had to be jumped because she hadn't closed the door all the way and the dome light was on all night. The line at the coffee cart was too long, do she went to the student union where they were out of coffee. She bought a coke which promptly exploded upon opening.

By the time she was cleaned up, class was a scant five minutes away. Rachel ran across campus, her legs carrying her almost as quickly as her near human state could take her. The wolf inside of her begged to be set free, just for a little while. She could hear its whine and growl, but she was in far too public a place to let it out now. It would just have to live vicariously through her for now.

She caught her breath as she reached the classroom and smoothed out her ebony hair. A second later, she walked into her history class with a smile. Clad in a deep purple tank top, a grey sweater, and a pair of jeans, she looked every bit the college student she was, and nothing like the wolf who had come to be a part if her, too.

 

[Agnores]

Darrick had all ready taken his seat in the class when he suddenly felt like he was in danger. He cast his eyes up and around the room, stopping and staring when the girl with a grey sweater and jeans entered the room. Darrick immediately knew what she was, as one does not live 300 hundred years without learning how to recognize their enemies: the girl was a werewolf. She didn't match any description of the female werewolves that Mama Bear had given him, though, and that worried Darrick more. Darrick had chosen this small college town in the middle of Arkansas because it was supposed to have a very low and very controlled supernatural population. In fact, since moving here, Darrick had only met one werewolf, an older woman beloved by the town who was affectionately called Mama Bear. She had been a sad old lady when Darrick had met her, but she had been the first werewolf in his long three centuries to ever offer him asylum.

Mama Bear had been kind enough to describe the only pack of werewolves who live in this area so that Darrick would know who to avoid. This girl that had set off his kitsune senses did not fit the description of the dark-skinned kick-boxer nor was she followed by a twin. These were the only other female werewolves Darrick had been told about, and that meant either this girl was extremely new or somehow had escape notice of the pack. He watched the girl as she moved about the room, hoping beyond hope she did not take notice of him. He wasn't sure why he was so worried, as there were no easy signs that he was a kitsune, and he had worn an entirely different human form when he got chased out of his last home. A pang of sadness shot through him at the thought of his old home; he had lived with an elderly couple who had never been able to have children. They had agreed to allow Darrick to stay with them if Darrick would play the part of the child they never had. He had 'grown up' as any normal child would have, making it to high school age before a couple of werewolves found him and threatened the life of his family.

The couple had cried a lot when Darrick told them he would be leaving, but he couldn't have risked the lives of people who had been so good to him. So, Darrick left, changed his human form, and had thought he found a sleepy little town with little to no supernatural activity. The act of going to college had been secondary and simply done to pass the time. But now there was a werewolf in the same room as him that he had not been warned about. A werewolf that would likely kill him the moment she found out what he was. Darrick adjusted his weight in the seat, pulling off his thin black jacket and trying to act like he wasn't worried as all hell. He wore jeans and a sleeveless green shirt. The human form he had chosen had dark skin and was muscled, something that was far easier for kitsune to pull off than any human.

The teacher began the class shortly after, but that provided little in the way of distraction. In fact, it made things much, much worse. The teacher had revealed the big assignment for the semester, a research paper over any topic they wanted relating to the civil war. For Darrick, who had lived through the American civil war, this would have been an easy assignment if it weren't for the very next thing the teacher said.

"There will be a presentation of your research to the class. As such, I have decided to pair you guys up." The teacher began to go through a list of names, pairing them up with people. "Darrick," the teacher said, meeting Darrick's eye. "You are to work with Rachel." Darrick got a very odd feeling in the pit of his stomach then, the feeling that told you your worst nightmare was about to come true while you maintained hope that it wasn't. He cast his eyes about the room, trying to spot the person reacting to the news of being paired with him. He felt despair when he found that person.

It seemed the fox and the hound would be doing a research paper together.

Darrick audibly groaned, his head falling forward with a thud on the desk. Part of him hoped that if he stayed like this, the werewolf would stay over there and not come talk to him. IF he was lucky, this Rachel girl was the kind of person to let someone else do all the work. Darrick would be happy to do this assignment by himself if it meant he didn't have to deal with a werewolf. But the other part of him knew his reaction was incredibly rude, and that werewolves in general weren't the kind of people to take rudeness in stride.

Why couldn't Darrick be outside, with the elementals and the harmony?

 

[Candira]

Something about the air in the classroom was off. Like it was charged with more life than usual. The wolf in her was certainly reacting to this new vibe. She could smell the scent of another animal....not a wolf. Fox perhaps? Had she ears, they would have perked up around now. Seeing as she was standing in the doorway instead of taking her seat, she decided not to seek out the source. Not yet, anyway.

Rachel found a spot in the third row and arranged herself so she could reach anything she needed. When the professor began speaking, however, she noticed the scent was stronger and her eyes began to wander. When she saw him take off his jacket, she knew that she'd found him. He was like her, but decidedly different. Immediately, Rachel had questions. Who was he? Where was he from? Just how much did he know about himself? Was he having trouble adapting as she had when she first discovered her wolf?

But the first thing annoying people did was pepper unsuspecting victims with hundreds of questions. Best to hang back after class and try just talking to him like a normal person. Just be cool Rachel. Just breathe.


Her attention was called back to the front of the room as the professor announced the newest assignment. Oh? Partners? Could it be that fate was finally going to cut her some slack? Wouldn't it be a coincidence if it turned out that they really were working together? Had she a tail, it would be wagging at the prospect. Maybe they really could be friends! She would finally have someone to talk to about her wolf who would understand. She would be able to help someone like herself--if they even needed it.

She was getting ahead of herself. Still, it would be so nice to have a friend she didn't have to hide from. And then, her most outlandish dream came true. She smiled brightly at her soon-to-be partner only to find that he seemed to have deflated. Confused, she took the seat next to him since they had some time to prepare and but on a slightly less shiny smile.

"Hi, I'm Rachel. Say, are you feeling okay? You look kind of upset..." She hoped she wasn't being rude, but he looked like someone kicked his dog. The wolf in her seemed unhappy with that thought, but she ignored it.

 

[Agnores]

That....that certainly wasn't what he expected to hear from the wolf when she came to sit down next to him. He had expected a 'I will gut you the moment I know I can get away with it,' or, his personal favorite, 'you will not make it past the next full moon.' No, this wolf sat next to him, and asked if he was upset. Did this wolf not know he was a kitsune? A fox? You know, the prey in this situation? There weren't any tell-tale signs of him being different per se, but just as he had grown used to picking werewolves out from the crowd, wolves had grown to being able to pick up on the presence of foxes. She HAD to know.

Maybe this one just didn't have any of the prejudices that go along with being a werewolf? Nah, that would be too convenient.

Darrick straightened up, eyeing the girl with open suspicion. He wore a necklace comprised of a thick string tied to a emerald that seemed to be faintly glowing; Darrick moved to tuck the emerald under his shirt, but his actions seemed absent-minded rather than intentional. "Darrick," he said, nodding. "I'm fine." His voice and his expression clearly suggested otherwise, that he was overly suspicious of Rachel. After living 300 years and always seeing the same things out of werewolves, it was reasonable that Darrick felt such paranoia and suspicion over the first nice werewolf he met.

He folded his arms, and let his expression soften a little. "So it seems we'll be working together for a little while. Or, if you would prefer, I can do all the work and you can get a good grade. I happen to be a history buff, at least where this era is concerned."

 

[Candira]

Rachel raised an eyebrow at his defensiveness. He was obviously lying to her to avoid talking about what was actually bothering him, but it wasn't really her place to pry into a total stranger's business, no matter how much she truly wanted to help. He was nervous around her, and she wondered if it was because he knew what she really was, too. Frowning, she really hoped he wasn't afraid of her. She really didn't mean anyone harm. Sometimes that just happened when the wolf in her came out, but she tried her best to be good.

His talk about doing all the work caught her attention. It was at once insulting and intriguing. "You know, Darrick, I'm sure you didn't mean for it to come across as an insult just now, but it sounded awfully like you expected me to just let you do all the work. Don't get me wrong, it's cool of you to offer and all, but you don't know me like that. Please don't just make those assumptions." She frowned a little and shook her head. "Sorry if that was a little too forward or if I put words in your mouth. Sometimes I get sensitive. I'm having sort of a bad day...but you don't need to hear about it. Anyway, I don't see the point in taking a class and not participating to learn."

Don't blow it Rachel. For God's sake, don't blow it!

She could feel the wolf's disapproval at her pandering, but she preferred to see it as being friendly and straightforward. The wolf disagreed.

 

[Agnores]

Damn. That did not work how he wanted. He sighed, then nodded. "I see. Well, I suppose we will be working together then." He didn't seem completely pleased with that, but he shook his head and adjusted his posture to present a more friendly front. "So yeah. I am Darrick. Friendly tree-hugging hippy with a knowledge of the American civil war, at your service." He offered his hand to shake, and smiled slightly. The whole gesture definitely did not seem genuine, but that didn't mean there was any real hostility or animosity hidden under it all; it simply seemed like Darrick would really rather be talking to anyone else but Rachel but had resigned himself to his fate.

The last werewolves Darrick had met had been at his school when he was acting as a high schooler for his adoptive family. He had 'grown up' with them through the years, and he had secretly known when they had been bitten. They never specifically told him of this change, but Darrick knew the day it happened. Over the years, Darrick had remained friends with them, but towards the senior year of high school the werewolves had become increasingly hostile towards Darrick. It wasn't until right after graduation that they tried anything, though, and they had regretted it. Two relatively new werewolves trying to take out a kitsune who had lived over 300 years. The Earth had given Darrick the strength and speed to fight against the wolves, and Darrrick naturally had the smarts to out maneuver them.

After Darrick had all ready set in motion the events of leaving, he found out what had changed it the wolves that had been his friends: they joined a pack with an alpha that had a thing against kitsune. Darrick had just decided he wouldn't deal with werewolves much after that.

Seemed that fate had a different idea.

"If we are gonna work together, I guess it wouldn't hurt to know a bit about you," Darrick added to his earlier statement.

 

[Candira]

Rachel raised her eyebrow as he seemed to restart their entire conversation once he figured out she was really in for the long hall. She could see right through the "friendly" front he was putting on, but he at least seemed to be trying to be nicer, so she was a little less insulted. She shook his hand and tried on a little smile of her own. "Nice to meet you," she said with a grin.

Her whole life, Rachel had been isolated from other supernatural creatures. At one point she thought that she was crazy. Every full moon was another damning piece of evidence, however. She was a wolf, and the sooner she accepted it, the sooner she could be at peace with herself. That much was true--once she had accepted the wolf as a part of herself, her every day life was as normal as it could be. The wolf was a constant presence in her mind, but at least it wasn't clawing to get out like it had been in the past.

She'd grown to enjoy certain parts of her transformations, and she'd even learned to embrace her near-human state. Of course, keeping her emotions in check was more difficult than it used to be with a wolf and its pride lodged in her head. She had had to do this all on her own, and she often wished that there was someone else she could talk to about this kind of thing...unfortunately, no one like her existed where she had been before.

Now, though, there was a potential connection. Someone who knew what it was like--theoretically--to talk to and relate to. He wasn't a wolf like her--but what did that really matter?

"Ah, well, I'm new in town, but I like it here. I'm excited about studying, even though I haven't decided for sure on what I want to do just yet. I'm taking my generals right now, and this is an era of history I don't know much about, so I thought it would be interesting." She smiled again, for real this time, pleased that he was taking an interest in her--no matter how manufactured or small it may have been.

 

[Agnores]

Darrick nodded. "The time period surely was an interesting one. I once watched --" he paused only momentarily before he corrected his little slip there. "-- I read about several families who joined different sides of the war and were never the same again. Even today, those families remain related but distinctly split."

Darrick hoped she didn't dwell on his little slip too much, and outwardly he gave no sign he even had acknowledged his mistake except by correcting it. He continued to watch the girl with the same relatively disinterested expression. He wanted desperately to get outside and to the Earth, and more importantly, away from this wolf. The thing that was keeping him from just leaving class early, however, was the fact this particular werewolf seemed genuinely oblivious to what he was. She wasn't the first werewolf ever to be nice to him, even Mama Bear failed to hold that title. However, both Mama Bear and this girl had a genuinness to their kindness that almost made Darrick want to believe there were good werewolves in the world.

Almost.

Though, Darrick had to admit it was possible that she was part of Mama Bear's pack. Mama Bear had been an alpha, she had explained to Darrick, but her pack had been stolen from her and she had never rebuilt. He had gathered from her stories that she had a troubled relationship with her husband, but he had never delved to far to ask. She had surprised him enough by being a werewolf who would prefer kitsune like himself stay alive. Much like this girl, Darrick hadn't trusted her. He had even been cold; but then Mama Bear arrived with a journal describing each and every werewolf in town and what they were like. That journal, however, was absent of description of Rachel. As he mentally took note of her features to add to the journal, he realized Rachel was absolutely gorgeous. Her dark hair framed her face perfectly, and Darrick's eyes lingered over her features far longer than they should have. Darrick quickly changed his train of thought, remembering he was taking notes of her description solely to as Mama Bear about her.

Yeah, only that.

Realizing he had fallen silent for several seconds now, Darrick cleared his throat and adjusted his posture. This time, he seemed welcoming, and smiled genuinely, if lightly. "Well, I do know a lot about the era. I'd be happy to teach you." He gave a nod, and at this point the teacher quieted the class and droned on about the assignment. They were to find some facet of the civil war and research all they could about it. At the end of the semester, they would present a paper to the teacher and a presentation for the class. The papers were solo projects, but the presentation was the group project. This research project would be on top of the normal homework and assignments given throughout the semester. Darrick was quickly rethinking how much he liked this class.

When they were dismissed, Darrick quickly stopped Rachel before she could leave. "Hey, since this class is gonna be a busy one, let's get started on our project as soon as possible. What say we meet over dinner this Friday to discuss it?" Even Darrick knew it might be obvious that meeting for dinner on a Friday night probably meant more than just a simple project discussion, but he also knew it didn't have to. How could any man pass up a chance to have dinner with such a beauty? But beyond that, it gave Darrick time to question Mama Bear about her, and figure out whether she was friend or foe. And if she was foe, it gave him time to figure out how to put her down before she put him down.

 

[Candira]

Rachel was a little surprised at the sudden turnaround. He was being nicer--much nicer. It was like going from winter straight into late spring. She thought nothing of his slip-up, figuring he got confused about documentaries or something of the like. She still hadn't put together what he was yet, or what that meant about how long he'd been alive.

As Darrick went on, she noticed his eyes taking her in, memorizing details about her. It might have been unnerving if she hadn't realized that he was just as different as she was. So, she took it upon herself to return the favor. He was an attractive man when his face wasn't full of disdain. His eyes seemed wise--older somehow than the rest of him. When he offered to teach her more, her face lit up. "Really? That would be great! Thank you."

Studying over dinner seemed like a pretty flimsy excuse for date, but he was being nice to her, and she really wanted to get to know him better. Maybe they really could be friends! After all, it wasn't always the natural response to trust someone like yourself, but different. Besides, he had a good point about their project, and she had to eat.

"That sounds like a good plan. I better give you my number in case you need to reach me." She held up a finger and reached into her bag for a neon green post-it. She wrote her name and number in a swirly, dreamy scrawl and handed it to him. "There. Just let me know when and where and I'll meet you on Friday. I'll make sure I'm available." Maybe she should have played hard to get, but she detested coy little games like that. It was much better to be straight forward, in her opinion.

And what was wrong with going out with a handsome guy? Especially one she had so much in common with?

"Do you have any ideas off the top of your head about what you might like to research? I might need to look into the background a little more. I was always more into early European history. But since you are sort of an expert, maybe you have an idea already?"