CURSED│open to all rp levels discussion

Leaves crunched under Lacey's feet as she walked through the forest. Though it was late afternoon and the sun hung high in the sky, the air was chilly and Lacey tugged the opening to her jacket closed. School was over for the day and while most students were headed home for the night, Lacey found herself here. She often came to the forest in search of some new plant or flower that she could dig up a piece of and transfer to her growing collection.

Or at least that's what she told herself.

Most of the time, Lacey just came here to get away from it all: from her house, from magic, from her mom's insistent "Did you practice any spells today?" (To which Lacey would lie that, yes, she definitely had.) Coming here, despite the frequent chill and the long walk that sometimes made her feet ache, was an escape she was grateful to have.

On this afternoon, she was taking things slowly, not really looking for anything in particular. Her ears and cheeks were light pink, and the jacket she was wearing definitely wasn't as warm as she'd hoped it would be. Stopping briefly, she brought her hands to her hair, which was tied in a loose braid, and let it down, soft, almost-straight black waves falling just at the small of her back.

Lacey froze, her arms fixed to her sides. A deep growl, one that she couldn't quite place the origin of, rose up from within the forest. It sounded animal, like a bear or a wolf, but as her eyes frantically searched the thick trees in front of her, she saw nothing but green. Suddenly, she realized: it wasn't in front of her. The growl, harsh and gritty, came from behind.

Lacey didn't dare turn around. Her heart was thundering in her chest, erratic and ready to burst as her eyes pressed shut. She couldn't think straight. Each thought she had was drowned by the fear ringing in her head, every second of it saying, I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. No matter what the animal was, she wasn't equipped to win a fight like this. Maybe if she was a more experienced witch, she could. Maybe if she was a better witch, she wouldn't be in this forest at all.

The thought made something snap. With whatever shred of confidence she had, Lacey turned on her heels. Her eyes, though slow to open, searched the new patch of forest in front of her. At first, all she saw was more green, shrubs and branches and leaves and... and there, nearly hidden between the trees, she saw them.

Yellow eyes, gleaming bright honey in the afternoon light. They were locked on her, and as Lacey's vision focused, she saw the rest of it. It was a wolf, big and blood-stained, its light fur matted and patchy with black. A gasp caught in her throat as she noticed its muzzle, dark and red.

Immediately, her mind reeled. What could she even do? What spell could she even use? The thought of trying made her shake, but her mind was screaming: do something. So her eyes closed and her mind sunk in, focusing on anything that could save her. Her hands came up to her chest and from within them, the flicker of a flame conjured. It was small and quivering from her trembling hands, but it was something. And when her eyes opened and refocused on the wolf in front of her, despite her shaky hands, her gaze spoke firm: don't come near me.

Lacey was young in witch terms. Just eighteen years old, she had only run into other supernaturals a handful of times, and the ones she had met were in her family—witches and warlocks spread across the town of Warwick, warning her of the creatures that lurked in the shadows. Thus far, she didn't know if she necessarily believed all the legends. She'd never seen another supernatural being or so she thought and the stories her old aunts told were so obscure: tales of reanimated corpses, blood dripping from their teeth; powerful demons, rife with sin after being cast out from hell; humans from beyond the dead; walkers of skin and blood; and a hundred other tales that she sometimes thought were just meant to scare her as a child. But then here she was, flames flickering within her hands.

And those hands were shaking. Lacey didn't know whether the fear came from the howl of the wolf in front of her or the heat licking up her fingertips, but it didn't matter. Just as quickly as they had come, the flames sputtered, bright sparks fluttering down to her boots, and the small fire died within her hands.

Suddenly, the forest was dead with silence. Normally, Lacey was content with the quiet, but the wolf in front of her had stopped growling, leaving her scrambling as to what that meant. Its eyes looked fierce, sharp and analytical, and something about them sparked her memory. Did they have wolves in Warwick? Lacey had heard stories of them. She could remember sitting in front of the TV as a child and hearing the broadcaster announce, "Deadly wolf attack takes the lives of three hikers." But she also remembered her aunts' words, the whispers under their breaths as the news title rolled across the screen. She remembered what they had called it.

Werewolf.

(view spoiler)[Nah, that's okay :) I'm just having a really busy week. Everything's just kind of piling up on me all at once, so it's been a little hard for me to reply. Things should clear up after tomorrow, though. :) (hide spoiler)]

Lacey didn't know what to think. At first, she thought she had to be hallucinating. She watched as the wolf padded backwards, disappearing for a split second. In an instance, Lacey took a step backwards, preparing to run as fast as she could out of here. She knew the path to get out, had been this ways tens of times, and maybe if she got lucky, the wolf wouldn't follow her.

But just as she was about to take off, a girl appeared from behind the tree. She was undeniably beautiful, with angular features and long light brown hair. She was young too, Lacey noticed. She couldn't have been much older than her.

The girl shoved her hands in her pockets, and for the second time that day, the word werewolf hung in Lacey's mind. She was seeing one; it was right in front of her and Lacey could hardly speak, breath caught in her throat.

"I..." she started, not knowing how to respond to that question. No one had ever asked. Instead, she let her reeling mind speak for her: "You're a wolf."

(view spoiler)[ you're literally like the sweetest person, i swear. thanks so much <3 you take your time as well :) (hide spoiler)]

It was stupid, maybe, to be skeptical in the town of Warwick. People there were strange, full of mysteries, and there were always circumstances that just couldn't be explained. There were always things Lacey couldn't explain. She couldn't explain the stories her family told or the disappearances that happened in her town more than any of the ones closest to it. She couldn't explain why everything fizzled in her hands and grew in her mother's. She couldn't explain why she didn't believe in werewolves.

Maybe it was because that's all they had ever been to her: stories. For her, witches were real. She was one, she knew one, she'd grown up surrounded by magic and spells and witches, but werewolves.... She'd never seen one, and for Lacey, seeing was believing. But now she was.

She took a long look at the girl, her gaze drawing down and then up, meeting the girl's gaze. She held it for a long moment before realizing the intensity with which she was staring. Shaking her head slightly, she blurted, "Sorry. I... no, I haven't." Her eyes diverted slightly. "I've heard stories about them." About you.

She didn't know what to think. A part of her told her to leave, that this was dangerous. Her most offensive spell had just failed and now she was confronting a werewolf. That screamed stupid. But on the other hand, there was a part of her that was curious. It was the part of her that kept her locked in place, returning eye contact once again. It was the part of her that got up the courage to ask: "Who are you?"

Cora. The answer didn't really tell her anything — she still wasn't entirely sure of who exactly this girl was — but it was nice to have a name. Just knowing the girl's name made her shoulders relax a bit, and they relaxed even more as the girl spoke. She was curious too, maybe just as much as Cora was.

"Lacey," she stated, feeling it was only right to return the favor. "Me too. My family used to tell me stories about you-" She corrected herself, "Your kind. But I always thought they were just... stories." She let out a breath of air and tucked a piece of dark hair behind her ear. She didn't know what to say. How did someone confront something they didn't think was real just yesterday? Her mind was racing, trying to come up with the answer.

"I'm sorry." I'm treating you like a monster. She almost said it out loud, but held the thought in. That was the last thing the girl probably wanted to hear. "For threatening you with fire, I mean." In actuality, it was probably a justified response to threaten a strange wolf with fire, but Lacey knew herself better. This time it had fizzled, but if their luck had been worse, this whole forest could have been set ablaze.

The girl's smile was comforting, and it made the corners of Lacey's lips curl up into a small grin. To her, apologies were always a good idea, even if they weren't completely warranted. They made for a good restart.

Despite a few of the reservations still in the back of her mind, Lacey took a step forward. Maybe it was stupid to befriend a werewolf — she wasn't sure what her mother would say about this whole thing — but the same could be said about her. Both of their species were dangerous, but that only meant they had more in common.

She reached out her hand, giving the other girl a light handshake. The question, however, made her falter a bit, her hand reaching back. "No." Her eyebrows scrunched together. "You haven't either, right?" That would be a bit of a friendship killer, wouldn't it? Judging by the way the girl asked, though, she kind of doubted she was talking to a murderer. Or at least, she hoped she wasn't.

(view spoiler)[ ignore how bad this post is LOL (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[ ♡ ♡ ♡ (hide spoiler)]

That's a relief, Lacey thought, remembering the stories her relatives used to tell her. Similar to Cora, the rest of her family wouldn't have been this friendly to someone of another species. Even humans to some of her family (her older aunts, mostly) were seen as wastes of time to interact with. What would they think of her talking to a werewolf? She blocked the thought - and the rest of the things she'd heard about Cora's kind - out of her mind. They didn't matter.

Having not said anything for a bit, Lacey could feel the silence settle around them. It was quiet, and she suddenly realized that amount of time she'd spent in the forest. She'd only meant for it to be a short walk, long enough to skip dinner with her mother. At this point, counting her walk home (which was definitely not on the way), she'd missed it and then some.

Clearing her throat, she decided to ask one question. Before she left here, she was curious about one thing. "Do you go to school at Warwick?" After all, the girl did look about her age. Lacey didn't think she'd seen her before, but that wasn't out of the ordinary. She was fairly quiet and tended to leave the school grounds pretty fast after classes let out. It wouldn't surprise her if the two had just never ran into each other before.

Reka waited hidden by a large tree. She purposively moved away from the place they first met. Mainly because she didn’t want to get stuck in a bear trap again. This time she had shifted into a mountain lion. Her shoulder hunched against the ground and her hindlegs ready to spring out in any case. She didn’t know why today her animal instincts were distrusting about her surroundings. Probably because they didn’t want to her itself, her, harmed in any way. Self-preservation. For a few minutes, she shifted back to her human form, glancing around and shifted again to the animal she possessed. If she would remain human, Sebastian might pick up her scent quicker. And she wanted to make it difficult for him.

Come on, Seb, follow your nose, trust it, she thought to herself. Trying to will the thought into the air and hopefully land somewhere in the other shifter’s brain. Her blue eyes searched, and her ears pressed against the ground, hearing for footsteps or an indifferent sounds in the forest.

Her ears pricked at something, but it was a fluttering of wings. She wasn’t aware of the time. She was there in the forest for a long time, even set up camp somewhere in the grounds designated for it. Reka had dismissed the idea of going home after the ball. She couldn’t take the abuse taunts from her father or the quiet defeat of her mother. Shaking her lion head to dispel the thoughts, she waited.

Sebastian thought it would be a wise thing to go a head of time and get a head start, even though they weren’t supposed to be meeting anytime soon. He needed every minute he could get because let’s face it, he still sucked. Having to shift in his usual transformation, a beagle, Sebastian started to sniff his way through the forest. He was naive enough to believe that she would be at the place they first met, but once he reached it, he was proven wrong.

It took him longer after that to pick up a trail, and it was very weak that he doubted it. Man. This is impossible. He thought to himself and even considered giving up and calling her after having to find himself going in circles a few times and losing the trail twice. But he didn’t want to give up, nor did he want a punishment, even though he was sure he would get it.

It wasn’t until a while later that he finally came up to what seemed like paw prints that seemed like a feline. But it had Reka’s scent too? Is that why he had trouble finding her. Excited that he had a lead, he followed the footprints until finally, he came to a mountain line with the same eyes as Reka’s. He barked happily before finally moving around to a tree to transform into his human form. “Found you!” He said and stepped back in front of her.

She heard something, dog paws in a distance. Reka didn’t associated it with Sebastian, thinking it was someone who walked their dog and the poor creature strayed further from its owner. As such when she heard the sharp bark, she let out a surprised roar, turning on her back like a kitten. Her paws tucked in her belly. And she saw Sebastian. Her eyes narrowed and she shifted back. Her hands still tucked close to her body and her head lying on the fallen leaves. “You sly dog” she laughed, pushing herself off the ground. From the last time her wrist had healed well, yet the faint teeth marks of the trap gleamed a silverly tone. “You did” she said proudly.

Reka reached up for her bag that she had placed on a branch and pulled out her phone that was timing the whole thing. She showed the screen to Sebastian. 29:01:23. She smiled, looking from phone to him. “Wonder if I should still give you a punishment for scaring me” she said, tapping her index finger on her chin. “But not bad at all” she murmured, obviously pleased that while she hadn’t taught him the abilities themselves. He had still taken her advice about scent.

Her arms stretched over her head in an almost feline manner. Her shift to a mountain lion and waiting huddled below a tree made her sore with the anticipating tension. She beamed at Sebastian. “How have you been?” She asked, genuinely curious what he had been up to since last time.

Sebastian chuckled as she spoke now that she transformed back to herself. He noticed she still acts like the animals inside of her, even if she was in her human form. He sometimes found himself doing that, but tried not to because people at school would find him weird.

“I think you shouldn’t give me a punishment,” Sebastian said as he held his hands out in a thumbs up position but also using his pointing finger to point at her- kind of like a gun hand- with a large smile to get her to listen to him. “As you said, I wasn’t that bad.” He was surprised with himself actually. Yes, he had been practicing, but he didn’t think he had gotten that good. If anything, he was really anticipating the punishment. Which made him think. What was it anyway?

At her question about how he’s been. He had a goofy smile appear on his lips as he thought about his date with Karly for the New Years ball. “Really good,” he tells her happily and stuffs his hands into the pocket of his jeans as he moves closer. “Things seem to be looking up. What about you?”

Reka wasn’t able to hide the animal that dominated her inside. Some people teased her for being wild, but boy, she wished they knew the half of it. She felt that if she pushed it down, the animal would sometimes rise back up. A weird relationship she had with her ability but she adored it nevertheless.

She glanced at his hand and then back at him, her brow raising but a tentative smirk brushing her lips. “Huh…alright” she shrugged, putting her phone into her bag. Then patting it lightly as if it was living creature. In honesty, she hadn’t thought of a punishment. Perhaps a few laps around the forest or something as boring and easy, thought of on the spot. So, she was relieved he got there on time.

Reka saw that goofy smile on his face and her lips curled upwards. She knew that smile. Playfully, she nudged his shoulder with hers. “Ooh, I know that face” She teased. “What’s her name then?” She asked. He returned with the same question, and she felt her lips flatter slightly. Her date, or whatever it was with Link had been far different from the lunch they shared together. As was the trip back to her home. “It’s been good too” she answered.

“So, whatcha want to learn?” She asked, eager to change the subject.

Sebastian chuckled embarrassedly when she nudged him and asked for a name, his mind racing with thoughts of Karly. But he wasn’t ready to share a name, feeling maybe if he did it would make everything too real and get ruined. He still wanted it to feel like a dream, an amazing dream. So he flicked his hand as if to wave off the question. At least it seemed like she had a good time too.

Brushing back the long strands of his hair, Sebastian moved to face her eagerly. He was ready to start with his training. Whatever it was. Rubbing his hands together, he said: “Whatever you could teach me.” He honestly didn’t know what else there was to be taught. He hadn’t even known about the ability to smell. So anything she would tell or show him would be new to him. “Whatever it is though, keep it baby steps. I’m seriously clueless to this stuff.” He admits.

He kind of felt ashamed of himself. It’s been almost nine years and he didn’t know he had such abilities. He didn’t think there would be more to switching into an animal than back to a human.

Reka pouted at the gesture of his hand. So, she wasn’t going to get anything out of him. She sighed in an exaggerated manner. “Oh you’re no fun” she teased. Instead, she took a deep inhale of his person. In that she could get a whiff of who he might’ve been with, and who had made him so embarrassed to wave off her question. She caught onto something, a peculiar scent that wasn’t one of Sebastian. With a triumphant smile that she hid with her hair she had gotten hold of someone.

As he spoke, her own mind moved to think about what she could teach him. She tapped her chin. “Yes, yes, baby steps” she reassured, though it contrasted the grin on her lips.

“Maybe we could start with finding your heightened sense?” She said, shrugging. “Then we can go from there” Reka smiled. Her eyes searched his face, trying to figure out for herself what that sense might be. He didn’t seem like a smell type…”Close your eyes” she instructed. “We’ll try hearing first” she smiled evilly, while walking a bit of a distance away.

“Close my eyes?” Sebastian asked, a little tentative. “Are you going to do something to me?” He asked her. He was still a little unsure about closing his eyes around her, not because she would hurt him or worse, kill him, but because she would do something just for giggles. He wasn’t sure why he just thought that about her, but he did. However, he still closed his eyes. “I’m trusting you,” he warned.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and stood straight. He wondered what his heightened sense was. He wasn’t that bad a sniffing, but he didn’t think it was his heightened sense. “What am I supposed to do?” He asked her as he waited.

Reka smirked. “Of course, how else will we figure out your heightened sense?” She said, batting her lashes though she was unsure if he caught the action before his eyes closed. She dared to watch him for a moment, seeing the boyish features and the signs of happiness. The beagle he transformed into was an accurate depiction of what he was as a human. A happy person. She nodded to his closed expression when he mentioned he trusted her. “Good” she said simply.

She made sure her footfall upon the forest ground quietened. “What helps to do first is to focus on your heartbeat, then move than concentration to your surroundings” she explained. “Sometimes these senses get awakened by putting it under pressure. So you’re going to have to make sure to get me before I get you” she said, her voice going quieter. She laughed softly. “I’ll just flick your shoulder, so don’t worry about me hurting your beautiful face” she teased. “Now, focus on your heartbeat”

“Ha ha, very funny.” He remarked as she teased him about not hurting his face. But he also wondered if she really did think he had a beautiful face. Focus, he told himself when he noticed his mind wandering a bit. He moved his hands so they wouldn’t be in his pockets, but by his sides, hanging. He then took in a deep breathe and focused on his heartbeat, which wasn’t as easy as he said. For a split second he even wondered if he had one since he couldn’t hear it, but then realized how foolish he was. After a few seconds, he finally was able to focus on it, and internally, he made the thumping sound every time he felt a heartbeat, actually kind of forgetting that he had to focus on Reka too.

She smiled, almost snorting at what he said. But tried to be as quiet as possible. Reka waited a bit, letting him focus as she had instructed. When she sensed enough time had passed, she let her feet move delicately through the forest ground. Soundless, at least to her ears. “Now, try to get me” she whispered inaudibly, the soft syllables barely escaping her lips.

She stalked around him, before making her way to his left shoulder. Her back was hunched forward, keeping her weight on the balls of her feet. Just like a lion would when hunting. If he got her, she would still test out the other senses. Maybe Sebastian was one of the shifters that had more than one strong sense. That would be so cool she thought.

Even though Sebastian had done a good job at focusing on his heart beat like he was supposed to, his minds started to wander with thoughts. It went from one thing to another. First, he thought about how cool it would be once he found out what his sense is, and how maybe he could use that around the house to help Karly if she needed help with anything. Of course, he would be in his dog form. Now that he thought about Karly, he couldn’t help but think about their date, and then about her. He found himself smiling from his thoughts, having to totally forget about how he was supposed to pay attention to Reka. He hadn’t even heard her speak.

He then felt something at his side and flinched, opening his eyes. It wasn’t until he saw her that he remembered what he was supposed to do. “Shit,” he laughed at himself. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” He said and closed his eyes again, this time making sure to focus.

Reka growled, letting her teeth form into canine for a brief seconds. She found herself slapping the back of his head slightly. The alpha female in her clouding and exaggerating the stubbornness within her. It was a strange form to show her anger, the animal taking over instead of her person. Sometimes she thought it was because she changed her form constantly, too many animal minds in her own that she didn't know where her humanity was left. “If you’re thinking of her, I swear I’ll go right now to find her and tell her you’re obsessed with her” she muttered. “Let’s try again” she sighed, nodding as his eyes once more.

Pulling her hair back into a bun, the cool wind brushed over her temper. Letting her focus once more on being quiet. She moved another direction, upwards. Her body climbing up the nearest tree then moving to a nearby branch. Perched up above Sebastian now she watched his breathing, his movements. Seeing if anything was affecting him. Reka leaned over the branch, letting her arm reach down.

Sebastian whimpered softly and rubbed the back of his head where she slapped him. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled again much softly, but there was a ghost of a smile still left. He would cooperate because the last thing he wanted Reka to do was tell Karly he was obsessed with her, which he wasn’t. He just liked her.... a lot. Was that an obsession? Besides, she wouldn’t even know who it was he liked. Or would she? Honestly, he wouldn’t be surprised if she did manage to find her.

He shook his head a little, eyes still closed. He needed to focused, Sebastian reminded himself. So he did. He listened to his heartbeat for a moment and thought about his breathing. He noticed how everything seemed to be quite around him, and he wondered if Reka was even moving. He couldn’t hear anything besides himself. Was that how it was supposed to go? All of a sudden, it felt a touch on his head, and quickly turned around, arms stretched and eyes still closed. But no one was there. “What the hell?” He said a loud. He moved his hands, feeling the air, but she wasn’t next to him. “Where are you?” He asked as if she would answer.