Private Fancy meeting you here

Harley was laying on her belly, reading a textbook for Math class. She hadn't been to a real school in almost three years, so the atmosphere was almost more than she could pay attention to on a regular basis. She always had to be reading ahead so she could be ready for classes the next day.

"If I think about it like that, then..." She muttered under her breath, then twisting her mouth into a tight frown. "Whatever." Math wasn't her strong suit, at least not since she was fourteen... She vaguely heard someone call her name, but it was a strange sound to her. She wasn't actually used to voices other than her parents say her name, and it gave her a tickling sensation on the back of her neck. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked up from her textbook, seeing there werewolf Milo she had met at the Community Center. She smiled instinctively.

"Hello there!" She chirped, pulling herself up from her lounging position. She picked up her things and stuffed them into her light green backpack and walked over to Milo. "What are you up to?" She asked, her voice perhaps just a pitch too high. She cleared her throat and shifted her feet awkwardly, but she held almost perfect eye-contact... Although she found herself looking from one eye, to another, to another, and another. She wasn't exactly sure if she was being rude, or obvious that she wasn't sure which of his four eyes to look at.



@Max!!

Harley smiled shyly, but she stayed looking at him. "No, it's fine. I'd prefer people look at me when speaking to me, so I try to do the same to others. Unfortunately that usually makes others uncomfortable. As for being a lot to take in, so am I." She grinned and pulled up her sleeve, revealing porcelain skin that sparkled brilliantly in the light. "So we're even." She grinned, taking a seat by him and pulling her sleeve back over her arm to hide it. "I was gonna try and study some. I have a lot to catch up on, and maths wasn't my parents' strong suit, so I'm a little behind. How are you doing with school?"



@Max!!

Harley coughed out a giggle, and covered her mouth with her sleeve. She gave Milo a side-eye, "I'm glad you think so. Thank you." She smiled again and put her arms away from her face. She wouldn't tell him that her appearance still made her feel like a spectacle, but maybe it really wasn't that "strange" or "otherworldly" on this island. Next to some of her classmates she didn't feel as out of place, but even they stared at her sometimes.

He mentioned helping her with math and she frowned slightly and screwed up her face. She definitely needed help, but she wasn't used to actually asking people for it. Usually her elder siblings simply forced their help onto her, and her parents could often read her mind, so to speak, and offer help. The difference here, however, was she knew them. She didn't believe she knew Milo enough, or rather, that Milo would be able to put up with her long enough to give her any benefit. She didn't want to be a disappointing student to her teachers, and much less to someone who had no obligation to help her. "I... Math isn't that bad," she said, and firmly added, "And neither are you. I was certainly surprised the first time I saw you, and I must admit rather frightened, but you're so nice. Much nicer than the wolf demon my father has as a familiar. He bites, and often refers to me as "that pink thing." She realized she was getting off track, and was rambling. She blushed. "I don't mean to associate you with something you're not, especially if you take offense, but I have a pretty limited frame of reference. I'm sorry." Her voice was quiet, regretful. "I'll catch up in math eventually. I just need to work harder." She tried to get her side of the conversation back on track. She clutched her backpack as she sat, resting her chin on it and slightly pouting her lips.



@Max!!

"You don't seem that angsty to me, but again, limited frame of reference. I guess if I hadn't seen your other form already, I'd automatically believe you were born like this. I mean, I wasn't born like this either, but I suppose looking like cotton candy for the rest of my life could be seen as a lot easier to deal with, especially if you're uncomfortable as you are now." She said this all in one breath, putting her fingers to her lips like she was musing. Well, she was musing. She was trying to fit all the information she had been collecting since arriving on Manta Carlos. A lot of her classmates had been cursed someway or another, and most of their magical aspects weren't of their own choosing. If she applied everything to Milo, she came to the conclusion that he must be the same.

"If I think about it like that," She says regarding her father's familiar, "then I doubt it'll bother me at all!" She grinned, hoping the next time she saw the familiar that she would be able to give him a good comeback if he insulted her. He mentioned math again, and she nodded politely. She was grateful he was offering, truly, but she didn't think she was ready to ask for help yet.

"Growing up in my family? Hmmm..." She paused a long moment and looked up into the sky, twisting her lips as she tried to figure out how to say it. "I mean, the obvious answer would be 'magical,' but I'm not feeling all that snarky at the moment. It was rough, but I don't think I'd change anything, not about my family. I've always been the odd one out, you see. My maman and papa are, of course, a couple. Then my older siblings are twins, so they're like peas in a pod. My younger siblings too, they're also twins. I'm the only one who doesn't have someone that close, someone who just automatically gets me." She looked a little sad as she spoke, but the sadness changed to a heavier feeling as she continued. Guilt, regret. "For the most part we were all equal in that house, equal even with our parents. Magic isn't something that you finish learning you see; it's like a living thing that keeps growing and maturing. So we all learned together, after school or work. My siblings and I all went to normal human schools, and my parents had regular jobs at the universities nearby, until I had my... Accident. She bit her lip at the word, but continued. "After that I spent a lot of time by myself, without even magic to practice or entertain myself with. I couldn't control magic at all for quite some time, actually. Only last year have I been able to do basic spells again, like so." She lets go of her backpack, and whispers a single word: "Lift." The backpack itself sparkled dimly and lifted into the air, doing a few slow rotations on its axis. After a moment, it fell back into her lap and she held it tightly again. "Sorry, I forget that most people don't like, go that in depth about stuff. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. What was your childhood like?" She looked into Milo's face again, this time focusing on a single eye instead of trying to look at all four of them at the same time.

Harley turned to look out over the courtyard as Milo spoke, resting her chin on her backpack and closing her eyes and she envisioned an idyllic farm with chickens and a garden, like one would see out of a fantasy movie where the Hero-to-be lives before he pulls the sword from a stone. Then he said the word, "kidnapped." She turned to look at him again, her eyes showing rather obvious concern. She remembered when her siblings were almost kidnapped by her relatives, but that was just "almost," and it was horrible. Her compassion made her want to hug him, but she held her backpack tighter instead. She was always too familiar with people, she was often told.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was small. She wished she could help him, somehow. Maybe if she hadn't fuddled her spell and lost most of her abilities she'd be at a place where she could, but as she was now she was practically useless. Then a thought struck her. She knew magic, even if she couldn't use it. "Is there any way to change back? I know for curses, there's always a counter curse, and for every action a reaction, but... Never mind, I'm sorry. It's impolite to try and fix you." Her mood dampened a bit, but another thought entered her mind and made her smile at him. "And who knows? If there's no cure, you don't need fixing. Or at least," she said again, hoping to fix her self-assessed rudeness, "that's what my dad says about me. I guess, in a way, we're kinda similar." She smiled again, hoping Milo would take whatever she said as comfort, rather than flippant.