Post by Benjamin Locke on Sept 20, 2015 23:38:35 GMT -5
Ben was a little relieved when Danielle put her clothes on, if a bit disappointed. Inwardly, he shook his head. The young man could just imagine his mother angrily swatting him with her paw if she knew of Locke's attraction to the numerous species that inhabited the worlds. There weren't any real laws about it, but bestiality was still generally frowned upon.
Allowing himself to relax somewhat, Locke's breathing began evening out. "I'm alright. Just a little winded from the mad sprint to outrun those damn bloodhounds. If we hadn't had such a good head start, I might have had to turn around and fight. That would've been too bad. I like dogs." She asked him what he'd been doing out there. He shrugged.
"I find nature to be comforting, almost serene. Sometimes it's nice to just relax away from the urban sprawl of the city. Why were you?" After a moment's consideration, he added "And why were you, uh, ya know, um, why were you naked?"
Locke chuckled. "I'll never be a doctor, but everyone gets lucky every now and then." The last part was nod towards his relative inexperience with treating wounds, but also towards how she'd been lucky that Ben had been nearby and willing to help.
Post by Danielle Smith on Sept 20, 2015 23:48:31 GMT -5
Danielle listened patiently as he spoke, watching him speak. "I find nature to be comforting, almost serene. Sometimes it's nice to just relax away from the urban sprawl of the city," he explained. She grinned a bit and closed her eyes, humming in agreement. Not that she didn't dislike urban sprawl- on the contrary, she loved cities- but she also loved being a bear. Unsurprisingly, those two loves would never connect in a Venn diagram, they would always be two circles. Unless she moved into a zoo...which would be preposterous and beneath her. "Why were you?"
"Well, I was-" she paused as he added on to his question. "And why were you, uh, ya know, um, why were you naked?" Well, shit. She hadn't thought that far ahead in her answer. She was originally just gonna say she was hiking and communing with nature or something to that equivalent. How did she cover the nakedness? Danielle considered silently for a few moments, before replying, "I just like walking around naked. You ever hiked naked? It's pretty great. Provided you don't, you know, step in a fucking bear trap." Her answer was honest- it just neglected the bear bit. She wasn't sure what he knew about supernaturals.
Then again, he could teleport, so maybe he knew something? She'd have to reconsider this answer later, but, for her, she hoped it satisfied his curiosity.
She grinned again when he chuckled. Humor was good like that, a good medicine. "I'll never be a doctor, but everyone gets lucky every now and then." She shrugged in response. "Luck does go a long way, doesn't it..." She yawned a bit and closed her eyes, appearing to sleep.
Post by Benjamin Locke on Sept 21, 2015 0:01:47 GMT -5
Danielle seemed to agree with his opinion of spending time with nature. That was cool. Ben always enjoyed finding something in common with someone, considering he was so different from most people and hadn't even spoken to another sphinx in years.
In response to his question, Danielle lied to him. That hurt Ben's feelings a little bit, though he didn't show it, just nodding along as if her answer made complete sense. Well, she hadn't lied. Not technically. But she hadn't told him the full truth, either. Locke didn't need to know, but there wasn't much else going on in the car while they drove.
"I s'pose that explains why the only human footprints I found around the trap were those leading away and the ones that led up to the trap, including underneath it, were that of a bears." Locke said this casually, not a single hint of an accusation in his tone. Danielle would admit the full truth to him or she wouldn't. Either way, they still had ten minutes to burn before they would reach the hospital.
Post by Danielle Smith on Sept 21, 2015 0:11:52 GMT -5
Her eyes popped right open at his comment. She looked at him again with a half-bemused half-uncertain expression on her face. Danielle looked forward after another moment, chewing her cheek as she chose her words carefully.
"Well," she started and stopped, scowling at the window. She was frustrated at the lack of words the came to her. What did she say? He could teleport, and likely wouldn't repeat her own secret, so what was the problem. Though, now that she thought about it, she didn't know any other shifters personally. She'd run into some sure but had never stopped to chat.
She supposed it was the potential judgement that could follow coming out. Danielle surveyed Ben once more before speaking. "I turn into a bear. I was romping. It's easier to turn naked- you don't lose clothing." She spoke softly and as steadily as she could. She watched his reaction, concern flickering over her face. "I trust that you won't repeat this revelation? I'll keep your ability to myself too- assuming I didn't imagine it." She still wasn't entirely sure if she had really seen him teleport.
A hospital sign flickered past them quickly. Danielle hummed and sighed. "I hate filling out hospital paperwork. Tedious work," she mumbled, absently, to herself. She'd only been in for checkups usually, so she could only imagine how this paperwork would differ.
Post by Benjamin Locke on Sept 21, 2015 11:53:53 GMT -5
Because he was watching the road, Ben didn't witness Danielle's expression, but he had a pretty good idea of what it had to look like.
"Like a werebear? That's cool. I s'pose I get the clothing thing now. I mean, my clothes usually still fit when I change, though." She seemed to feel that it was necessary to ask him to keep her confession confidential. Locke wasn't insulted though. He understood.
"You don't have to worry about me. I don't run around blabbering other peoples' personal information." The young man didn't particularly care if she told people that he could teleport. By this time tomorrow, Ben would probably be walking around with a different face and name on the other side of the world.
They arrived at the hospital. Locke got out and made his way around to Danielle's side to help her out. As he did, Ben asked "Do you want me to stay and help out, or do you think you'll be good on your own from here?"
Post by Danielle Smith on Sept 21, 2015 12:19:10 GMT -5
"Like a werebear? That's cool. I s'pose I get the clothing thing now" he was saying. Danielle found herself nodding and sighing a bit. Werebear was her species, or at least, that's what she'd assumed. Her parents were human and not particularly keen on anything supernatural. She really hadn't navigated the whole supe-talk with others like her yet. Danielle grinned, realizing she had good reason to get out even more than she already did. Then, he finished saying something that really caught her attention, "I mean, my clothes usually still fit when I change, though."
"Wait..." she interjected. Danielle couldn't have heard that right. When he changes? He changes? "You just said 'when you change.' What do you shift into?" She was leaning closer now, ignoring very much that the hospital was in plain sight. No, this conversation could not be close to an end. She nodded briefly that he would keep her secret a secret but she was not going to let up on that comment. What was he? She sniffed him but wasn't able to gauge anything from it, he would have to share.
The car came to a stop and he walked around to help her out of the car. "Do you want me to stay and help out, or do you think you'll be good on your own from here?" Danielle let out a snort and crossed her arms, looking at her leg. There was no way she could get into the building alone. She also wasn't ready to go back to being a lone shifter- she wanted to know more. "There is no way I'm going in there alone. If you come with me and help out, I'll buy you dinner or something, I dunno- whatever you want. Stay?" Danielle looked at him, expression hopeful.
Danielle accepted his help out of the car and, though unintentional, roughly grabbed at his shoulder for support. Another look down at her leg and she grimaced. Her foot looked absolutely terrible, like something from a shitty slasher film. There would be scars, she thought bitterly.
Post by Benjamin Locke on Sept 21, 2015 13:34:40 GMT -5
Ben looked at Danielle with a rather confused expression, as if he didn't understand the question. "Why, I change into a human, of course." The young man felt that that was a sufficient explanation. He supposed she could ask for more details, but Locke had no intention of admitting that he was a sphinx.
Sphinx were powerful enough that their parts were coveted rare ingredients for several potent spells. Ben would never risk exposure. It just wasn't worth it.
Danielle asked him to stay so Ben shrugged. "Alrighty, then. Come on." The young man picked Danielle up. This time Locke used his arms, since he wouldn't be carrying her very far. "What do you like to eat, by the way?" he asked as he carried her in.
The young man wondered how long he'd be sitting around the hospital waiting for her. They'd probably have Danielle in surgery for a few hours while they patched up the mess that was her foot. Locke wasn't even sure they'd let her leave without at least a few days of bed rest first. He might have to bust her out if he wanted that meal any time soon.
"I should also warn you. I'm a pretty expensive date. Still want to pay?"
Post by Danielle Smith on Sept 21, 2015 14:54:10 GMT -5
Danielle was not satisfied with his answer but avoided pressing, for now. What was he if he wasn't a human naturally then? She grinned when he agreed to stay, not considering how long he'd be waiting for her. Ben picked her up and carried her into the ER where, very quickly, people noticed the bad leg. It's not like it was hard to miss.
When set down somewhere, Danielle quickly took a clipboard from a nurse and began filling out her information. Apparently she would be getting helped very quickly. "I should also warn you. I'm a pretty expensive date. Still want to pay?" Danielle rolled her eyes and shook her head, smirking. "I'm sure I can handle your appetite, Ben. I'm not a picky eater, wherever- assuming I'm not here too long. Although for a foot injury, I doubt it."
She anticipated, at most, an overnight stay. And then another check-up later. Danielle handed the clipboard back and was helped into a wheelchair, to be wheeled in the back for various treatments. Before she was wheeled away, she spoke again to Ben, "If you need to, you can borrow my car and what not. Just don't do anything stupid with it." She was pulled away and off she went to get medical help. The doctor gave her a rundown of what would happen and, to her annoyance, she would be staying overnight.
Ben was informed where her room was once it was all said and done, several hours later. Night had fallen by the time she was settled in. Danielle fidgeted with her cast and flipped through television channels, trying to busy herself since she had little much else to do without her purse.
Post by Benjamin Locke on Sept 21, 2015 17:08:36 GMT -5
Ben grinned when Danielle informed him that she wasn't a picky eater and would still pay. "Great! I'm feeling like steak. 'bout 50 pounds should tide me over for a little while. Know any decent steakhouses nearby?"
The young man rubbed his stomach, his mouth watering in anticipation. Locke wasn't eating for the normal sized male human he appeared to be. He was eating for the five hundred pound, heavily muscled sphinx that he was. And that sphinx just so happened to be feeling peckish.
Though he appreciated her offer to loan him her car, Ben had little use for such things. He waved as they rolled her away and, afterwards, he just stood around awkwardly for a few minutes, not quite knowing what to do. The young man shrugged and went to the waiting area where he proceeded to take a nap, to awaken once Danielle was ready to go.
Post by Danielle Smith on Sept 21, 2015 17:27:46 GMT -5
Danielle came down the second she was able too, using crutches this time. Someone had given her a set of scrubs to wear back. She went to Ben and prodded him gently with her crutch. He'd told her he wanted 50 pounds of steak. 50. Who, or rather, what ate that much steak? Since he shifted into a human, that gave her a few ideas of what he could be. But nothing exact. "Okay, so, I'm cleared to go finally. Lets go get food," she greeted. She'd look up steak houses on her phone once they were in her car.
Danielle was able to get to her car with ease and dug around the back for her cell phone. It had, to her surprise, just enough charge left to look up the info she needed. She gave Ben the address of a recommended restaurant before powering her phone off to reserve what life it had until she could charge it at her hotel. "So 50 pounds of steak...?" she repeated, looking at him. "What sort of creature eats 50 pounds of steak? What do you think?"
Post by Benjamin Locke on Sept 21, 2015 18:50:38 GMT -5
Upon being prodded, Ben woke up. He waved his arm in the direction the prod had come from, rubbing his eyes with the other. "Whas the big idea, huh?" The young man asked drowsily, yawning afterwards. When he saw that it was Danielle, Ben sat up, all hint of sleepiness gone.
"Hey you. Let's go get me that meal!" He said, a wide smile spreading across his tan face. Locke followed her out of the building, being sure to move at a comfortable pace for the injured woman. She seemed to be doing a lot better after some professional medical attention.
Once they'd climbed into the car, Danielle asked him a fairly uncomfortable question. "A pretty hungry one," was Ben's response. He chuckled inwardly as he drove away from the hospital, heading for the address she'd given him. Yeah, Ben's appetite was totally out of this world. "I just so happen to not have eaten in a while."
Post by Danielle Smith on Sept 21, 2015 19:51:15 GMT -5
Danielle hummed at his deflection and considered other ways of asking about Ben's species. What could shift into humans? She'd never been particularly keen on mythology, had only looked into her own species after her first shift. Well that felt stupid now, considering she'd run into other things...Maybe never interacted with them, but run into them for sure. And some of the things she translated seemed way too Indiana Jones or Buffy to be fan-made crap. So maybe he was like an ogre or something? Ogre seemed too mean though...Unless they weren't and that was a human construction?
Danielle happily answered about work. "Oh, I'm probably the best translator on this planet," she stated with cockiness. "Language has always just come so easy to me- so that's what I do. Translate. It pays really well when business is booming- although this excursion into nowhere was definitely not worth the cash." She exhaled with a huff and glowered at the Wyoming area around her. Wyoming sucked. She would avoid this area again if possible. Real shame too, the forests were amazing.
Post by Benjamin Locke on Sept 22, 2015 14:34:43 GMT -5
"A translator, huh? That's cool. I've never had much of an ear for languages, myself." That wasn't completely accurate, but it was true enough. It had taken Ben a ridiculous amount of time to learn english and be able to speak it convincingly with a human's American accent.
The young man chuckled when Danielle told him that the trip hadn't been worth the money. "I would certainly hope not, considering." Locke had yet to be paid enough money to scrape his knee, let alone step in a bear trap and nearly lose his entire leg.
"Me? I do whatever. Sticking to just one job has never really appealed to me. Why be a school teacher in, say, Montana, for the rest of my life when I can be across the world in an hour with a different face and be doing what ever I happen to feel like doing? I've been a lot of things in my young life. First time being a hero, though." Ben chuckled, though he got the feeling it wouldn't be the last time.
Post by Danielle Smith on Sept 23, 2015 18:33:14 GMT -5
Danielle's face flickered with curiosity again and she shot him an intrigued look. "With a different face? So not only can you shift from...whatever you are into a human, but whatever human you want to look like?" she asked, arms crossing. Envy filled her features- sure would be nice to be able to change one's human appearance at will. "Well, hero Ben, your actions were much appreciated."
They arrived at the restaurant. Danielle got out of her car and gathered her crutches and purse, following Ben inside. She wished she wasn't in scrubs but would rather get food and get home than the other way around. They were seated fairly quickly. She sank in her chair and sat back, feeling exhausted. She was already making plans for where to go next and what to do about her cast. She knew she had a few requests waiting in her inbox and only hoped one was to somewhere completely unlike Wyoming.
Post by Benjamin Locke on Sept 23, 2015 19:20:48 GMT -5
The young man shrugged sheepishly. "It's no big deal, really. Just takes a little practice if you've an affinity for it." Ben looked at Danielle thoughtfully. He parked the car in front of the restaurant and got out, watching the woman in case she needed some assistance.
Because he was pretty fleet of foot by comparison, Ben beat Danielle to the door. He held it open for her. "I was just joking about the fifty pounds of beef earlier. I'm not trying to bankrupt you or anything." The young man laughed lightly. He was totally going to get the biggest steak they had, though.
Once they'd sat down, the young man attempted to address an issue he'd been wanting to speak about since they'd gotten in the car. Ben thought Danielle was fairly attractive for a human. She seemed to be feeling pretty benevolent towards him, so Locke was counting on that to avoid her snapping at him.
"Um, uh, so..." Ben tried to find the right words but it was a battle. What he said could possibly ruin the entire meal. "Did you uh, um... So I noticed... Well, you see..."