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 Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:48 am
The orientation was more exciting than what Maritess had anticipated, even if she was easily excitable to begin with. She loitered a bit longer in the auditorium, waiting for the feeling of butterflies in her non-existing stomach to settle before flying out of the large room. She planned to explore the rest of the school and familiarize herself with her new surroundings before heading to the dorms.
Tess needn't worry about accidentally stepping on anyone's feet, seeing as how she didn't have any of her own. Unfortunately, she wasn't that accustomed to flying in hallways and she felt her leathery wings smack into something. Or was it someone?
"O-oh! I'm so sorry!" she gasped in apology, hands covering her mouth.
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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 10:34 am
The orientation had been both informational and rather nerve-racking. In the middle of the monster collective, he had been sandwiched between an oversize worm that had a bad case with a terrible cold and a dank-smelling creature who, for all he could tell, was completely comprised of hair. Since he couldn't see any limbs or eyes, he couldn't even begin to venture a guess as to what it was. It was the heavy smell of hair, dirty and damp, that made him deeply homesick. Even the discolored, green goop on the worm's hankie reminded him of the slimy, algae-riddle ponds back at home. While he tried to reassure himself that he was just one of many students who were new to this school, he couldn't help feel out of place and more out of his element.
While most of his monster comrades leaped, flew, and crawled away quickly afterwards, he lingered and then slowly made his way out. Trying not to be so obvious, he discretely pulled out his campus map, trying to look at the crumpled, wet piece of paper from behind his cups hands as to not betray how much of a First Year he actually was. In the middle of trying to trying to figure the piece of paper out – was that a path or a river and did it really matter to him? – he felt a hard, leathery force blow him back.
The bat wing in his hair instantly set off his – OMG! Bat! – reflex and made him shelter his head. When nothing seemed to be stuck in his head (other than the twigs and leaves that were always stuck in there), he looked up.
It was a girl with bat wings, but that wasn't what he was looking at. Nowhere near discrete, he looked down at her missing half, and then back up at her, then back to where her lower half should have been. "It's okay.....no problem......ah....you.." He said, eyes looking back down at where he mentally pictured a nice set of legs should have been. It seemed he forgot all about being hit by a wing, instead looking around him for where her other half might be standing. Seeing a lot of undead about, he didn't want to trip on a set of legs or have them bump into him on their way to their owner.
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Posted: Thu Aug 26, 2010 6:50 am
Tess felt her eye twitch in a mixture of embarrassment and mild annoyance. Alright, so there weren't a lot of her particular kind of vampire flying about the halls or the campus in general, and being severed from the waist up was one of their most obvious identifying traits. There really shouldn't be any reason for her to feel self-conscious about her lack of legs. Except there is a reason but he wouldn't have known about it.
"I didn't hit you too hard did I?" she asked, noticing with mild trepidation that the pale-haired boy seemed to be looking for something. It didn't quite occur to her that he could be searching for her other half because she quickly hovered lower to the floor as she offered "Did you drop anything? Maybe I can help you find it?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 26, 2010 10:11 am
His spine went rigid and he was called on looking about, and he raised his hands quickly. "Oh, I'm not looking for anything, just.." He glanced at her missing half, then to the side, and then at the campus map still held in his hands. "Oh, well, look at that. This is what I was looking for. Right here in my hands. Silly me." He patted the paper as if it was a good dog that had returned to its master. "Yup, couldn't get much anywhere if I lost this." You couldn't get much anywhere without his legs either.
"Oh, you didn't hit me hard at all. Should have looked where I was going. Good thing I have a thick leg – HEAD! Thick head." He gripped the map closer to himself, letting off a little, nervous laugh. He wondered if she'd really see how thick-headed he was when she tore his skull clean off his body. Now he could write off decapitation on his list of things to do this school year.
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Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 8:36 pm
Red eyes blinked in both confusion and suspicion and she wondered idly if the other students were as prone to rambling as the one she was talking to. Tess was hardly the violent sort and it wasn't proper for a girl to go about striking others all willy-nilly, so he needn't worry about that if he ever offended her. Besides, she was raised to give others the benefit of the doubt, and thought he was just nervous like she was. So she gave him a smile, ignoring the slip of his tongue about legs as her wings lifted hers back to eye level.
"That's good," she nodded, "The finding what you were looking for, I mean! Not the having a thick head, although it can be a good means of defense," she added hastily, realizing she had no idea what kind of monster he was. Her manners suddenly kicked in and she too realized she hadn't introduced herself.
"I'm Maritess." She extended a hand to him.
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Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 6:53 am
Calder expected a sort of hard smack for what he did. It wasn't uncommon for him to be nipped or kicked when he was growing up when he said something out of line, and from what he heard of other creatures upon leaving home, he half expected to have all his limbs missing by the end of the day. So far, he had every digit intact, and he was rather proud (and relieved) by that fact. Then again, the day wasn't over.
At introductions, he found himself cleared, and he stood still as a deer in the headlights as she introduced herself. Was he…making a friend? His face instantly broke into a smile and he quickly reached over, grabbing her hand and shaking it quickly. "I'm Calder. Nice to meet you. Thanks for the compliment – about the head – I guess it comes in handy." He continued to shake her head up and down. "Are you headed to the monster dorms, too?" It was a tossup if her wings belonged to a bat or if she was a demon. The missing half made him also think of something undead.
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Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 6:29 am
Tess wasn't expecting such a hardy handshake from the other student. Firm, yes. Vigorous, not quite. And while she didn't think he meant to, he ended up shaking her entire torso with some thanks to her own flapping wings. "N-nice to meet you, Calder," she managed to respond, attempting to steady herself while shaking his hand back. "You can call me Tess, if you like."
She canted her head, wondering what he meant by heading to the monster dorms, then it occurred to her he might not know she was "Undead." She fidgeted nervously with the hem of her dress-shirt, "I'm not a monster but I can see why you'd think that. I'm a kind of vampire, actually. You?"
Tess inwardly beamed that she managed to turn find a way to ask him what he was without having to bring it up herself. Of course Calder did do the work but at least she managed to seize the opportunity, that should count for something, shouldn't it?
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Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 8:15 pm
Calder continued to shake her hand, not noticing how long he was taking it. A vampire! He never met one of those! Then again, he never met much of anything! She didn't look much like a vampire – she was missing a cloak and accent not to mention her other half – but that didn’t meant he wasn't thrilled. He also wondered about the wings. Did all vampires have wings?
"Oh, I'm sorry. I saw the wings and thought you were part bat. I wasn't sure." He guessed he had to stop assuming so quickly, but he had had a fair guess. Maybe if he was in school longer, he'd be able to pick out what something was a mile away. He hoped so anyways. He could be a expert on it! "I'm a kelpie. Uh, I live in the monster dorms." Short and sweet. He noticed he was still keeping up the handshake and quickly stopped, throwing his arm behind his back as if she wouldn't have noticed it had been him all along that was jerking her hand about.
"What type of vampire are you? I didn't know vampires had wings. Is that because you're special? Can you turn into a bat? Do you bite small animals?" He leaned up on his tippy-toes so that he could be higher and more at her level as he spoke. Maybe he should raise his voice a little.
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Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 5:38 am
The questions were coming at her a mile a minute, and for the briefest of moments Tess felt the urge to ask him to stop talking. Maybe for just a second? So that she could catch her breath? She refrained from acting on this impulse though, forcing a smile instead on her lips, the kind where only the tips of her fangs are seen just because they protruded naturally. She focused instead on sorting out his questions and how to answer them as best as she could.
She surreptitiously pulled her arm back now that Calder had released his grip on her limb. "I'm a manananggal," she clarified, pronouncing the word carefully and with the slightest hint of pride as a result of her parents instilling (more likely pounding) in her that automatic response. "I don't know about the other types of vampires but my kind does. So maybe it does make us special?"
The idea of being special gave Tess moths in her stomach. Which she had despite missing the rest of her. "I don't turn into a bat, though." Her wings flapped a little softer, lowering her so that they were eye-level when she noticed he was leaning up. "Small animals?" she canted her head in thought. "Yes. Sometimes." The unborn could pass off as small animals, couldn't they? She only had the rare delicacy about twice in her fourteen years of undeath.
"I've never met a kelpie before," she suddenly stated, partly because she didn't want to have the conversation be all about her and partly because she really had no idea what kind of monster kelpies were. She doesn't think they had anything like him where she was from. And wasn't school supposed to be a learning experience? While not as fast as Calder, it was her turn to do the asking, "What are you like? What do you eat? What do you do for screams?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2010 8:58 pm
It was a regular Q and A in the hallway, and he found it much easier to answer her questions when she lowered herself, giving him a better view of her peeking fangs. Wow! He wondered how often she bite things and wanted to watch her eat sometime. Maybe if she was in the cafeteria, he'd made it a point to find her and watch her eat something. He suspected he'd do a lot of observing of students, and wondered how she even sat down in a chair if she had to fly around all day. How did she sleep?
As she told him she didn't turn into a bat, he was disappointed. Well, it was one thing. Maybe other vampires could. She wasn't exactly traditional as far as she admitted, and he worked the word ' manananggal' around his mouth, the word feeling too large for his tongue to work. "Mana-nan-nan-nanananaa…Mananana –gal?" He gave up quickly, guessing that he'd never had to be tested on this sort of thing - he hoped.
When the conversation ball was in his court, he thought about his own kind. "Well, we eat a lot of meat and whatever is in the water. If we have a good day, flesh, bones, muscle, anything that happens to drown. When that isn't available, we eat fish, toads, some sea grass, or go out and graze in a pasture. I much prefer meat though." Grazing was nice and all, but he always got bored of all the endless chewing. Chewing on a blade of grass wasn't as satisfying as tearing off someone's arm. "We scare those who choose to mess with us for a living. Anyone who tries to ride us, get too close to use or the water will be pulled under. That or they go for the craziest ride of their life. It all depends." They used many tactics to drown after all.
The first question was the last he addressed, and he thought a moment longer on it than the rest. It wasn't as easy to summarize. "And what I'm like is…….horrifying. That’s it. I'm a horrifying monster." He pointed this out clearly for Tess to remember in case she hadn't noticed at first.
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Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 6:42 am
It was a regular Q and A indeed! Maybe even bordering on twenty questions. Which Tess found very enjoyable, provided she did most of the asking, and Calder was absolutely fascinating to this particular winged undead. She'd never met anyone as eager to talk to her before, plus he wasn't stuffy or uptight like everyone she knew back home. He was a refreshing change of company.
Tess giggled as her fellow first year struggled to pronounce the word, she herself had to admit it had taken more than a couple of tries for her to properly say it. It was enough for her that he at least knew of her kind, even if he couldn't say it. She folded her arms behind her, clasping her fingers against the base of her spine as she listened intently. "Meat is nice. Very, very nice," she nodded, "Especially when it's really, really tender you can just slurp it up!" she grinned, her fangs protruding even more, her straw-like tongue lightly licking at her lips.
She listened keenly, bobbing her head as if mentally jotting down notes, hoping she'd be able to remember everything he said. "Oh! You must be a very good swimmer, then! I've never been allowed in the water much, we're supposed to be focusing on aerial maneuvers," she sighed. And now that she was legless, well, she doubted she'd ever be able to go swimming.
At his last response, Tess paused, hovering mid-air as if studying him in a whole new way. She canted her head, tapping her chin in thought before nodding "I've always been told horrifying monsters are the best kind of company to keep. I hope you'd let me be your friend. I know I don't look like much but I work twice as hard at scaring!"
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Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 7:39 pm
Slurping up meat was something he hadn't exactly tried. True, he had bits of meat in broth, and even a fine puree of meat that had been left to decompose into a slop, but slurping? Hmm. He could see a nice sour-milkshake of meat working nicely. He'd have to see if the cooking here would serve slurpable meat and, if so, to try it. Who knew what they served at a school – though he hoped nothing too bad. He still hoped he would be eating tadpoles every once in a while. If not, he was going to write home for snacks.
Hungry, he tried not to think what Tess' legs might have tasted like if they had been around. Where were they? The fact she couldn't swim clearly pointed out her lack of legs. "It must be bad not to swim. I couldn't do it. I have to swim to get it out of my system. Does that mean you never, ever just….lower yourself in a shallow pond or…a small puddle? Just to soak?" The water was just TOO nice to not have it in your life. He wondered if they made legless bathing suits.
Mind off on another tangent, he perked back at the mention of 'friend' and shot his hand right up. "I'll be happy to be your friend. I don't have much." Or any. It was orientation after all! Look at what progress he was making! At this rate, the entire student body might be his friend. 1 down. A whole student populace to go.
Well, since they were being so free with their questions and he already secured her friendship, he clearly had a free pass, right?
"So you can't swim because you have no legs? Did someone tear them off or all of your kind come without them?" Tactful, Calder was not, and it didn’t work well when he was curious. Tess had an unusual friend, indeed.
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Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 9:39 am
"Well I used to go swimming." Back when I had my legs, she silently added that last part. She wasn't comfortable enough to answer the kelpie's questions with utmost honesty but her parents had taught her time and time again that not volunteering information didn't count as lying. Therefore she shouldn't feel any guilt about it.
And indeed she didn't. Still, she decided it was in her best interest to simply nod and listen as Calder continued the conversation. Which was proving to be a very wise decision as she officially made her first friend! She brightened, her eyes tapering into jovial slits as the apples of her cheeks pulled high into a smile. "That would be a real scream!" she clapped in delight.
The first-day anxiety that had been slowly ebbing from Tess suddenly came back in full force when he specifically asked about her legs. The smile was still frozen on her face, but her shoulders had gone rigid and her wings were flapping a little too hard. She couldn't lie to him, well she could but that wasn't proper. Perhaps she could simply give him just enough information without admitting to the fact that her legs had run away from her the first chance they got.
"It's harder to swim without legs and my wings get in the way if I try to do the backstroke. I can float well enough with them, though. And all manananggals can sever from the waist up," She stated, suddenly glancing very awkwardly around. "O-oh, um, I seem to recall I need to, er, do something! Over in the Undead dorms. It was really wonderful to meet you and to become your friend, Calder. Maybe we'll have classes together? Um, okay, I need to go now, see you around!" she declared in a hurry, waving as she flew backwards, accidentally bumping into walls and lockers.
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Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 7:37 pm
Sever from the waist up? Did that mean she had torn her body off? He wondered what advantage that would give anyone! It seemed a lack of legs was a bad thing, especially if it meant that you couldn't swim (though he could be a little bias), but maybe it made you lighter to fly. Tess certainly didn't seem to mind, or at least she didn’t appear so. This question only made Calder want to ask where she was keeping her legs. The closet? A trunk? Did they make special cases for legs like guitars and violins?
This question was left unasked as Tess seemed to have an desperate appointment she had to go to, and Calder watched her look about before backing away. "Oh! Okay, Tess! You have fun. Uh, Nice meeting you too! I hope we have classes together!" He was practically yelling down the hallway as the manananggal walked away. "GLAD TO BE YOUR FRIEND TOO!" He shouted, seeing her vanish as she turned the corner. He hoped his voice carried and by the looks of several passing students, it did.
Well, as long as she heard him, that's all that mattered. Smiling, Calder turned to the monster dorms and repeated Tess' name, thinking of new questions for his friend. That way when he had class with her, he could ask all of them, and he was sure she wouldn't be busy with anything. Then again, if he did have class with her, how did she sit in a desk? He'd ask her that next time too. Having friends was nice. How he didn't make more, he had no idea. He seemed to be a natural!
Fin
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