The Quandries of Simple Quadratics

[Kyerin]

Ah, the simple math classrooms: teaching domains full of calculators, textbooks, and graphs. Some computers adorn the walls, allowing complex diagrams to be formed in virtual space for visual representations of problems. The rooms, depsite not having any classes or teachers at the moment, were usually open so that students could come in to work on their homework...

"Argh, this makes no sense!"

Sometimes unsuccessfully, as one such student was doing right now.

The boy sighed, his whole body falling limp in the chair, with his brown tail resting lifelessly on the floor, his canine ears flattened against his head. He took in a couple of deep breaths, closing his eyes to help him calm down, before opening them, his entire body gaining a new life breathed through it as he looked back down at the paper, gnawing at the end of his pencil as he muttered to himself. "If I multiply by 'a' here... then I can cancel out 'b' for now... but then by doing that, I'm left with 'a = a'... which definately isn't the answer..."

He growled, mashing his face against the desk while tugging lightly at his hair. "I wish I didn't have to take such a stupid class!"

[Sasque]

It had happened again. Today's class was simply too boring, even for math-loving person such as her. And she spaced out. Few minutes later, world was black-and-white. Just wonderful. Now she had to return to get her things and remains of her clothes. It simply wasn't Tea's day. Usually she wouldn't allow herself to fall into states which turned her to dog, but today she did.

A bit irritated and fast on her feet, Teodora entered the classroom where they had Algebra. She couldn't come earlier - until twenty minutes ago she was in her animal form.

Not paying attention to anyone in the room, she stormed towards her seat, but her things weren't there.

"Wonderful," she hissed and sat down. Just wonderful! Now she had to search all the places where one single school bag could be placed or even hidden. NOW would be good time to use her nose... But it would be troublesome to turn back to human form. Gosh, why couldn't she be more like other shape shifters? Why SHE had to be one with so little control of her power and so much instincts in the animal form?

Teodora stared into the blackboard, with a sigh. REALLY. Who was the smart-ass who hid her bag this time? And more important, where the heck that thing was now...

[Kyerin]

Spike's ears twitched as he heard the sound of footfalls in the hallway, coming this way; he was grateful for a distraction from his idiotic algebraic homework. Maybe it was a girl; he hoped it was a girl. He could wager a guess from the footsteps, but there were two problems with that: for one, he had little experience in matching people with their footsteps, and for two, considering that quite a few people here weren't what they seem, the lightest of steps could come from a heavy man, and groundshaking footfalls from a small girl. He'd just have to wait and see if they would come in.

Fortunately for his curiousity, the owner did come in... and it was a girl! He mentally cheered in his head, scoping her out: she was a bit short, but she also looked young, possibly younger than him. Her face seemed sharp all around, creating an aura of intellect and brooding, but her long hair countered it with a wild feel. Her figure was quite curvy, though her bust was smaller... still, she was a good looking girl... and would probably only get hotter as she got older. His tail was wagging at the thought; this could go quite well for him.

Since she didn't seem to have notice him, and she was searching for something, he was still out of her thoughts. Well, he'd have to change that. Spike cleared his throat before leaning forward over the desk, looking carefully at her. "Need some help finding something?" he asked, the British accent noticable on each word he spoke.

[Sasque]

Teodora looked up, checking out the one who spoke to her. Gosh, why she had to be as short as she is? Even this guy, who didn't seem very tall... If she was standing, she would have to look upwards in order to see his eyes.

Immediately, the girl stood up, not wanting to stretch her neck so much in order to see his face. Woah, the guy had animal ears... Shape Shifter? Or he was something else... She has already met a vampire here, why not some half-animal?

"My bag. Can't find it," Tea muttered, bringing her hand to the fur around her neck. Gosh, that really was a great place for fleas. Good thing her mother convinced her to use that drops every few months...

And why is she thinking about that? There is a guy in front of her and he's offering help.

"I left it here, but it's gone," Tea added, looking away from the boy's face.

[Kyerin]

Spike nodded a bit at the girl's plight, only half listening to her considering that when she rose, he noticed that she had some fur around her neck. It didn't look like anything too expensive or high class, though it was kept pretty neat... and it also didn't look like it was a choker, appearing more to be connected to her neck... or a very tight choker. Hmmm... that made him even more curious about her... what was so special about her?

The boy realized that she had stopped talking, and nodded a bit, taking his useless homework and carelessly dropping it in his bag, before standing up, not ended up much taller than the girl. "So, you think someone took it and hid it somewhere?" he asked, not quite sure why someone would do that... but then again, he got to meet this girl cause of it, so it was good for whatever reason they had done it.

[Sasque]

"Maybe. Wouldn't be first time," Teodora replied, not looking away from the boy's eyes even for a moment. She's not going to let him think she's accepting obedience... in case those are canine ears and tail. Yeah, most cats don't have tail like that, but she had to make sure.

"Who are you?" she said, managing not to growl that out. Gosh, what's happening? She usually didn't act as a dog in her human form. Neither she felt urge to do so. Maybe... maybe it had something to do with meeting new people. Until recently she didn't pay much attention to people around her, more concentrating on getting used to lessons in English. New people had seemed like... threat... for long time now...

Biting her lip, Teodora looked away, walking towards the teacher's desk, hoping that whoever had moved the bag simply moved it there.

[Kyerin]

Spike was a bit surprised by her stern question, stiffening up from the tone, his ears perking up, prepared to counter this aggression. However, she hadn't even looked at him when she said it, and wasn't even looking at him now; she either didn't think she was being aggressive to him, or she didn't care what he thought about it. Still, he had a chance, if he played his cards right.

The boy grinned, crouching down to look under all of the desks, though he kept one eye on the girl. "Well, my name is Spike Irving," he said, easily giving out his nickname instead of his old name; he had worked quite well to get rid of being called his real name in trade for something cooler. "In case you haven't guessed, I'm a werewolf, and proud of it." There was no reason he saw to hide it, nor a reason for why he would want to hide it.

Spike glanced over at the girl, not seeing her bag yet, and smiled at her. "And what is the name of the cute girl I have the privilege of assisting?"

[Sasque]

Nope, the bag wasn't under this desk... Well, the second option could be behind those computers. Just as she stood up, the boy spoke, telling her his name. Irving... Irving... why did it sound so familiar? Oh, yes, there's someone with that surname in her class. M... Michael? Malcolm? Mark? If she could just remember... Oh, well...

So, the guy's a werewolf... and, wait... did he just call her 'cute'? Was he flattering her? Teodora felt her cheeks growing hotter... Why on earth was she blushing over one single complement.

"Teodora Lonchar, shapeshifter and completely annoyed by it," Tea replied, with a sigh. "Turning into domestic canine whether I want it or not," she added with a slight smile. Surely, he understood that part... Though, if legend was true, full moon was what controlled him, while emotions were the switch for her own transformations. Well, emotions, states of mind and certain words spoken by her.

"Are you related to some Irving guy from grade 10?" Teodora asked, finally reaching the computers and looking behind them and under the desks they were placed on. She wanted to learn connections in this school... It could help her feel less lonely.

[Kyerin]

Spike watched the girl, seeing if there would be a reaction to his comment; there didn't seem to be one, so either she didn't hear him or she was used to having such compliments given to her. However, her cheeks did darken after a moment, meaning that she must not be used to it, and she did appreciate such a compliment. It was something that all females seemed to enjoy, and something that he had gotten used to doing... especially since moving too quickly through the introductions and compliments led to being slapped, something he had more than enough experience in.

However, her comment made him frown, his attention quickly being redirected to the computers on the opposite side of the room. "That would be me; I just don't like my given name, so I go by Spike now," he replied. Besides, how did people get that information anyway? Stupid school database and its posting of his birth name.

Spike shook his head, standing up and looking over at the girl. "I don't think it's in here anymore; since you think someone took it, they probably hid it somewhere outside the room then/"

[Sasque]

"Well, then we're in the same class," Tea sighed. She should start paying more attention to faces, not concentrate on the names only...

"I guess it's like that," the girl agreed to Spike's statement about her bag. Yeah... it was no longer in the classroom... But Teodora didn't feel like turning into the animal form again. Not yet...

The girl walked towards the young werewolf, looking him straight into the eyes. Maybe... maybe her power was more like werewolf's than shapeshifter's... Didn't her grandpa say 'we're part-animals'? Well, whatever, Teodora was interested in learning more about this boy... That was her current decision. Especially since he hated his real name so much that he went so far to completely stop using it.

"Um... Sorry if I sound rude, but... Are you able to completely change to human or the ears and tail stay, no matter what?" Teodora asked, remembering the fluffy tail and doggy ears Spike had. Waiting for his response, girl's hand slipped up to the fur around her neck once again. What... Could there be way to completely take off all the characteristics of her animal form? She hoped so...

[Kyerin]

Was she in his class? He should have made a note about her being in there... why didn't he realize that she was in his class? That was definately stupid of him not to notice her; he would have to look through all of his classes again to see what girls he had missed over the first time... of course, he would deal with this female first.

"Hm?" That was a new question... of course, usually people didn't stare right at him for that long after he had told them; on the other hand, they usually take a few steps back, not wanting to be so close to him. Some people didn't mind him... of course, then they treated him like a dog and began scratching behind his ears. Still... interesting that she would ask that.

"Yeah, I can get rid of them... I just like them out. Do they bother you?" Spike closed his eyes, concentrating for a moment, not waiting for a reply. His ears began to shrink, becoming regular human ears, as his tail slid back into his pants, making him look quite normal.

[Sasque]

"No, they do not. I'm just interested... Since I'm unable to get rid of this fur," she started, ending it with a growl. Gosh, why she couldn't do it like this boy, so easily... But, hey, no one in her family is able to fully control their power.

"I guess that it's easy for you to control everything about your wolf form," the girl sighed, simply looking into his eyes. Of course... If he was a werewolf, he was probably born as he is. It wasn't fair... Teodora really wanted to be able to control her power, but it was related to her emotions, states of mind and words to be able to do it right right now. Her grandpa didn't seem to have this problem...

"By the way, I think you look better with the ears and tail out," Tea added, not even sure why. Probably one of those things her impulsive nature dictated...

[Kyerin]

Spike realized what she was getting at, and perked up a bit... though it wasn't as noticable without his wolf ears standing up. He did find it a bit interesting that she had a collar of fur around her neck. Could she not make it go away? Of course, he had never met another shapeshifter... that is to say, one that isn't a werewolf. So, he couldn't really help her.

"Maybe it's just something you have to work on," he said, leaning against the closest chair. "I mean, I was born as is, and it took me most of my life not to change with emotions... well, minor emotions. And then a couple of years to just partially change."

At her remark, the boy's cheeks tinged a faint shade of pink, as he closed his eyes, before the wolf ears and tail reappeared. "Thanks," he murmured, looking away from the girl, obviously embarrassed about it.

[Sasque]

"I guess it's going well for me for now," Teodora said with a smile. Well, he needed most of his life for that... And it's been less than a year since she started transforming... She's doing it great, then.

And... what's this? A flatterer who isn't used to receiving compliments? That's not something she sees every day. Back in her country, you both get and give, or get and not give or neither get nor give compliments... if that made any sense to anyone except her... Her smile widened into a grin with this. Great...

"You're not used to the compliments," Tea stated. And he seemed somewhat cute... and on top of that, he can take form of a wolf. "I think you just earned another nickname, Spike," the girl added with a grin. He'll find out about it soon enough...

[Kyerin]

Spike's ears flicked as the girl spoke, seeming to identify something. Well, it was rather true; he usually gave most of the compliments to women, and didn't get much in return... that is, in terms of compliments. He was familiar with slaps, cold shoulders, and, the few times he had been incredibly stupid, kicks to places that no man wants to feel pain at. But besides one girl (who somewhat didn't count, considering she was family), he wasn't the recipient of kind words.

At her last comment, though, he turned to look at her, his ears twitching lightly with interest, his body shifting to lean against another desk. "Oh, really? And what would that be?" he asked, trying not to look and sound as anxious and curious as he was feeling; what did she mean by that? He hadn't heard anything... was it a nickname being passed around the girls? It seemed that most girls didn't like it when a guy they were dating was hitting on other girls... were they onto him?