FaithsRose

100 Days of Summer

Hey @HylianRose ^^ Sorry for not checking in earlier, I had to step out of roleplaying for a couple of months, just getting back into it.

I know it's a little late in the game but if there is space or a space comes up could I join in?

Either way, glad to see this up and running again ^^

Athalia - Ski trip

Rain took Andro's answer in silence, it was interesting to hear to say the least. The difference in their point of view was obvious, Rain felt the gorgon would allow herself to be consumed by fear. She wondered whether the answer would be different if she asked it when they were somewhere warm, still now wasn't the time to dwell on it.

"Heh." She exhaled "Well…if it makes you feel any better, you're social skills are about eight five percent better than mine" She told her, ignoring the hiss for now though acknowledging that it was a good thing. They had been quiet for far too long, it was odd how comforting a little hiss like that could be. "Oh…thank you…for telling me all of this" She added before tackling the monster question.

Rain's lip twitched up, a fond smile resting on her face as Andro stuttered out her answer to that. "Pretty sure trying is the first step" She responded, her ears pricking at the hissing coming from Andro's hood.

"Do you think you'll be able to move yet?" She asked as she drew back from Andro and glanced over her shoulder. "The storm's letting up…if we can get back to the ski lift, it'll make it easier for them to find us"

By the time she'd finished talking, she had shuffled back from Andro and was getting to her feet. With a shuddering breath she walked around the gorgon and crouched next to the cool flame of the fire. She reached for the tips of the flame, encouraging it to hungrily reach for her fingertips. "If…we can make it back to the lift I might be able to send something into the sky to let the others know where we are" She said quietly as she looked at Andro, her gaze searching the gorgon's sunglasses for a sign of the eyes behind them.

"Ah! Son of a…" Rain cursed as the flame licked at her fingertips, leaving a series of small burns behind. She waved her hand and blew on the sores, mumbling something under her breath as she waited for them to melt away. If anyone had seen her healing abilities before they'd have known that in most cases, she'd barely felt the wound before it was closed. This was different, there was a noticeable delay.

"Sorry, careless. So, are you up for this?" She asked Andro, resting her burnt hand over her thigh so that the gorgon couldn't see it anymore.

Athalia - Ski trip

The werewolf felt uneasy about Andro's response to her statement as the gorgon spoke of good and bad, it was obvious how much the hypothermia was affecting her but still. "It isn't fake" Rain told her, sighing through her nose "It just means…it's complicated" She rubbed her forehead "If you're being who you want to be, I guess it doesn't matter what motivates you…as long as it doesn't consume you"

"This is a bad subject to talk about right now…" She decided, shaking her head before focusing on the object in her hand.

Andro's repetition didn't go unnoticed, if anything it added to the frustration threatening to bubble free of Rain. It was unnecessary on Rain's part but her wits were frayed, her emotions unsettled by their predicament, she couldn't recall the last time she'd felt so...unpredictable.

"I thought your mother was a gorgon as well?" The anger ebbed away as she thought over what Andromeda was saying "I didn't realise…" She trailed off, her thoughts weren't nearly as muddled as Andro's in this moment but their situation was starting to take it's toll on her.

"And I thought my life was complicated" She murmured, shifting uncomfortably. "I'm…sorry for jumping to conclusions" She added 'I keep forgetting how little I know about you'

There it was, the answer she'd already reached. People was a broad word though, Rain imagined Andro meant all sentient beings. A monster killed others. Andro feared she was a monster because she had the capacity to kill people and because her 'kind' were supposedly bred for such a purpose. 'We're similar in some ways but different in so many others' Rain thought to herself, as a layer of guilt settled over her mind.

Andromeda clearly fought hard to deny what she was, to be what she called a good person...Rain was her polar opposite. She was a monster and until this point she'd never been guilty or ashamed to admit it. There were signs of confliction on her expression, her brow furrowed, lines pinched the edges of her eyes with uncertainty present within their purple depths. She was aware Andro was looking at her, though she refused to lift her eyes to the sunglasses and pretended to be focusing on her hand.

As Andro shifted back and curled in tightly on herself, Rain felt a sudden shift within her. In response she did something rather uncharacteristic, with minimal shuffling the werewolf lowered herself down and wrapped her arm around Andromeda. Tentatively but -hopefully- reassuringly curling around her, she sighed deeply, buffeting the back of Andro's hood with warm air.

"You're right that you can't change what you are, but you control who you are. I can assure you, by no definition of the word are you a monster" There was a forceful edge to Rain's tone that Andro probably hadn't heard before, it was actually rare of her to even attempt to comfort someone, yet it was obvious that's what she was trying to do now...her reasons for doing so were however, complicated.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have brought this up now...you should be resting" She murmured after a moment, loosening her embrace and either moving back hesitantly or hastily if it was clear Andro wasn't happy with what she'd done.

Athalia - Ski trip

Rain's eyebrows rose at that comment, her mouth curving up into a small smile "Nice save" She murmured, as she settled herself back down. Her ears pricked at the mention of her name and she looked back at Andromeda, curiosity present in her expression. She was taken aback by the question that followed it, she tilted her head to the side, her purple eyes flashed brightly. "I do" The werewolf answered watching the gorgon's reaction "It seemed too important not to answer" She told her, her eyes flashed again as a smile lit up her face "but that's as much detail as you'll get now…ask me again later"

In truth she hadn't expected Andro to comment on her statement at all, she exhaled an audible sigh and silently wished Sirius had heard as well. Not that she believed the wolf star would be much help in their situation.

Rain turned her head as Andro spoke, just enough that she could see her out of the corner of her eye. Adopting a…troubled expression she forced herself to remain silent, she briefly looked at Andro as she glanced at her before turning her attention back to the front of the cave. Parting her lips, Rain ran her tongue under the tip of her canine as she thought over what she'd heard.

"It doesn't sound simple…it's deep seated" Rain murmured after a moment "Fear and guilt make a strong toxin" She turned her head back to look at Andromeda.

She was struggling to understand the weight of Andro's confession, she didn't feel the same guilt towards killing. Rain herself had killed before, animals, people, magical beings…it was something her culture had only recently started to condone, in order to keep their new allies happy. It did occur to her that Andro wasn't aware of this side of her…a sudden twinge of anxiety worked it's way into her chest.

"The first time you opened your eyes, you must have been a baby then or a really small child. Want to know what I think? Whoever was responsible for you then, they killed that person. How could you have known what would happen if you opened your eyes?" Her voice had an angry edge to it, some of the words came out gruff as if she were saying them through clenched teeth.

Rain was aware that picking apart Andro's memory wouldn't help, but she couldn't help but respond angrily to it. Anger was a safe emotion, one she understood. The negligence in particular got to her, she wasn't a fan of motherly figures anyway, now she hoped to high hell and back that she'd never cross paths with the gorgon's mother.

"It's…" She audibly took a deep breath to calm herself "Never mind. I'm probably the wrong person to talk to about this" She decided with a sigh.

"Do you really think you're a monster?" She queried, narrowing her eyes "I'm not even convinced you can be born a monster…you can only become one" Rain shuffled uncomfortably "I mean, what do you think a monster is?"

100 Days of Summer

As fate would have it, Callum -of all people- wasn't far away either. He'd padded his way down the hallway, not long after Eva had gone into the kitchen. It was almost unheard of for him to be awake at this time, let alone be up and moving. Drawn in by Eva's laughter he made his way over to the kitchen, slowly and with heavy footfalls. Absently running a hand through his hair as he rounded the corner, his eyes flicked from Eva to Josh and back again "Explains the laughter" He murmured, his voice sporting an unnaturally husky edge.

Before he could say anything else, Shay burst onto the scene."Don't jump!" Shay hissed as he sprung past Callum, landing with an intrusive thunk in front of him with his arms outstretched and a grin on his face. Callum inhaled sharply and instinctively flinched before his eyes narrowed and he punched Shay on the arm.

"Ow, ow, ow, owwww!" Shay complained -though he had the decency to keep his voice low this time- as he rubbed his arm. "Unnecessary violence! I bruise easily you know!"

Callum shook his head as he pushed Shay out of the way and headed over to the nearest sink in search of a glass.

"Well...that was uncalled for" Shay murmured, his eyes settling on Josh before flicking to Alyx and then Eva.

"You saw that right? I totally made Cal jump" He told them, recovering quickly and gliding into the room to stand near Eva and Josh. Shay's attitude had never matched his voice, the tone was lower than one would have expected, so despite speaking like Jack Mcfarland from Will & Grace, he sounded more like Dean from Gilmore Girls.

"No you didn't" Callum grumbled as he poured himself a glass of water. He was still in his 'pyjama's' which were in fact just a black pair of Superdry jogging bottoms.

"Denial is futile! Shay one, Callum zero" Shay grinned to himself, miming out a large tick in the air. Unlike Callum, Shay was fully dressed, sporting a light blue Jack Wills polo shirt and a plain white pair of shorts accompanied by pale blue converse. All of which was rather practical for him. His hair was already styled _{with enough product to fuel a small fire} and the beard he'd been sporting the night before was gone.

Realising how obtrusive he was being, Shay cleared his throat and settled himself down "I'd apologise for interrupting but it'd be insincere...so what'd I miss?" He asked, tagging in as close to an apology as they were going to get.

Callum leant back against the counter with his glass in hand. Resting his other hand on the counter top, he took a few meaningful gulps as his eyes briefly passed over Alyx before focusing on the others. He decided to stay quiet for the moment, he hadn't quite shaken himself free from sleep yet anyhow. Mornings were possibly the only time of the day he couldn't be bothered with.

@Filthy Mudblood@HylianRose

Athalia - Ski trip

"Nightmares..." Rain repeated, narrowing her eyes as she thought on it. She was aware of what a nightmare was, rather she was debating whether asking Andromeda more about them would be a good idea or not. For the time being she opted to keep her questions to herself and continue what she was doing. Whilst remaining unaware that her attempt at calming Andro had, had the opposite effect.

Rain appreciated the fact Andro didn't pull her hand away, it fit nicely in hers. Though it highlighted the difference between them, the gorgon's hand was soft against the roughness of her own, against her claws she was sure Andro's marble skin would tear like paper so she gingerly kept them angled away. A tingle dashed up her wrist as Andro moved a finger. '...you thought you weren't going to make it. It's natural to confess' She thought as she spoke again, her words different from the ones in her mind. Another skill Athalia had taught her, language was an art, one that was often appreciated more if it was elaborate.

Amusement danced across Rain's eyes as Andro chuckled, it was nice to hear even if it was lacking it's usual warmth. 'You may regret that...' Rain thought "As you should...I never go back against my word" She assured her, before moving on to the next matter. Frostbite wasn't something she was overly familiar with, so drawing it out had been a bit of a gamble. Her ability to transfer pain could only heal minor injuries and alleviate the discomfort from more serious things for a short period time.

"Good" She exhaled, with a satisfied look on her face as she dipped her head in a swift nod and rubbed her hands together. "It'll be one less thing for your body to worry about"

As expected Rain flinched forward as Andro rolled back onto her side with a groan, she leant over her allowing her hand to hover over the gorgon's side. "Hmm...you should have said sooner" Rain chastised, sighing in relief despite herself. She'd have let Andro's hand go sooner if she'd known she was that uncomfortable.

"Sirius preserve us...this storm doesn't look like it's ever going to let up" She grumbled, lifting her hand up to her head, she pushed her hair back from her face and clicked her tongue. Rain's virtue was patience but she was struggling with it after everything that had happened that day. Donning ski's, sitting in a mechanical monster, getting stuck in said monster, Andro in danger, getting slapped in the face by a snow storm...Andro confessing...it was a lot to take in. Even more so with the current cycle of the moon. Wriggling her foot back and forth, Rain leant back on her hands and focused on the white cloud covering the entrance to the cave.

"Tell me about your nightmares" She requested out of the blue "I'd like to..." She paused as if she was deciding what word to use next, in her mind the sentence finished with a 'understand you better...' but she ultimately decided that "...help, or at least try" was a better fit. She cleared her throat, still unhappy with her delivery she quickly added.

"My...mother told me that our dreams are one of two things, a message or a lesson. Sometimes they're recycled memories of key points in our lives and other times they're an unfamiliar structure full of hidden meanings" The pause was unintentional, Rain hadn't spoken about her mother before, in fact she often went out of her way to simply brush such a subject aside...in this situation she was more worried mentioning that word might make Andro uncomfortable.

"You don't have to...it was just a thought"

Athalia - Ski trip

Rain smiled a little as Andro admitted her sleeping patterns weren't particularly good normally. "Ah...are you a fellow night owl or is sleeping just not easy for you?" She asked. It was an absent minded question, the werewolf wasn't necessarily expecting an answer, though she was also aware that keeping Andro talking wasn't a bad thing. Coherent sentences were a good sign, even if they were disturbed by shivers...though they were annoying, Rain considered them to be a good sign as well. Concern flickered across her face as Andro chuckled at her internal pun, it had sounded a little off...but she decided to pretend she hadn't noticed.

Feeling Andro tense as she settled behind her, Rain instinctively responded by allowing a soft rumbling growl to vibrate through her chest. To another of her species the softness of the tone would have been a comfort, though it didn't cross her mind that it might effect Andro differently otherwise she might have backed it up with words. It was another one of those instincts that kept springing themselves on Rain whilst she was around Andro, ones she hadn't even realised she possessed.

With her story told and feelings admitted, Rain tried to turn her attention elsewhere. She lifted one of her hands and watched her nails elongate into claws at the tips of her fingers, her eyes had just dropped back to object resting beside her when she felt Andro's hand rest on her shoulder. She twitched in surprise and turned her head to look down at the gorgon. Her eyebrow raised questioningly as she watched Andro turn over, for a moment she considered asking her what she was up to but the words couldn't push past her lips. Instead she simply watched, only averting her eyes when her reflection caught on Andro's sunglasses, thanks to Glitch's light above her head.

'I care a-about you...a lot'

Well this comment alone, made Rain realise an assortment of things at that moment in time. First of all, despite everything she had believed before, her heart was still in her chest and it was still capable of being knocked out of rhythm. A strange fluttering feeling worked it's way through her chest, twisting between her organs with an almost nauseating effect as anxiety-stricken happiness bubbled up to meet it. She looked back at Andro, looking helplessly at her sunglasses her eyes wide and lips parted as if she were going to speak. That warm smile, which she had seen many times before had the uncanny ability to cast out every thought in her mind, if only for the briefest of moments. Coupled with the gorgon's confession, it was able to pull the breath from her lungs and the sudden onslaught left Rain feeling a little dizzy.

She instinctively reached out to catch Andro's hand as it fell away from her shoulder, in a flash of movement her heated fingers danced across the back the gorgon's hand and curled around the side of it, attempting to keep it suspended in the air. As soon as their skin met, Rain absorbed any and as much pain as she could, black lines tracked their way up the back of her palm and along her wrist. Her eyes focused on Andro's fingers, recalling her previous comment on frostbite. Her expression was thoughtful, no doubt digesting everything that she'd just been told.

"What makes you think I wouldn't believe you now?" She asked, hoping that her pain transference was enough to keep Andro from pulling her hand away. She liked the feel of it in her palm but her grip was loose enough that the gorgon could retract her hand if it was too painful to endure or uncomfortable.

"If anything, it's times like these that the truth comes out..." She murmured, her eyes narrowing as she added "I wouldn't have believed you if you told me after"

If Andro hadn't pulled her hand away, Rain ran her thumb across her palm. Still drawing out as much discomfort as she could whilst ignoring the black lines tracking their way up her arms, there was just enough adrenaline in her system to make short work of what she was doing. She was quiet after that, giving Andro a chance to say something before she spoke again.

"I guess I should tell you how I feel as well, hmm?" She asked, her eyes brightened as she stared at either Andro's hand tucked in hers or the clawed fingertips of her empty hand. There was conflict in her voice, just as there was in her thoughts.

"...if you want to know how I feel in return, you're going to have to get through this" Rain finished looking at the tips of Andro's fingers. She lifted her free hand up to the side of her own head and knowing that Andro couldn't see, her fingers sought out the braid hidden beneath the blue layers of her hair. Her brow creased into a frown as she silently chastised herself for getting carried away. "As soon as you're safe, I'll tell you everything" Rain felt a twinge of anxiety as she laid out her promise, the idea of exposing her secrets was far more unnerving than she thought it would be. Dropping her hand to the floor she turned her focus elsewhere.

"For now, how are your hands...the frostbite?"

The logical side of her brain kicked in, reminding her that the gorgon could still be suffering whilst she toyed with the idea of confessing and that the chances were...Andro wouldn't remember this anyway. Whether it was true or not was debatable but logic was adamant in it's decision and Rain trusted it.

Athalia - Ski trip

"Okay...hopefully it's nothing too bad, I'll take a look for you in a minute" Rain decided on saying, already thinking ahead to getting Andro moved to a somewhat warmer location.

As she lifted the gorgon into her arms, she heard the small content sigh escape her, it caused a ripple of heat to pass through her chest as she walked over to the branches. She hesitated for the briefest of moments when it came to putting Andro down again, wrestling against a surprise impulse to simply keep her in her arms.

She was able to fight it off fairly quickly though it confused her to say the least, her brow ended up creasing and a tightness appeared around her eyes. 'What was that all about?' She'd encountered impulses like it before, usually they were small things, things that reminded her that she was a werewolf. Like the impulse to submit to an alpha or the impulse to chase fast moving objects...she tried not to tell people about that one. This one had been...different and quite frankly unlike anything she'd felt before. She'd never felt the need to keep anyone close to her like that, even Piper.

Rain nodded her head, clearly content with the gorgon's answer. The edges of her mouth turning up as Andro glanced at her, she inhaled before letting out a long sigh. Her mind abuzz with thoughts and unanswered questions, they seemed to endlessly swim from one side of her mind to the other, leaving a trail of pain in their wake.

"A few hours maybe...the storm's making it hard to tell what time it is" She answered as she stood up, wandering over to the fire so she could slide her feet back into her boots.

"Waking up early has completely thrown me out of sync as well" She added with a shake of her head as she turned and walked back towards Andro.

Skirting around her head, Rain carefully lowered herself down onto the branches, though she was sat upright and mostly facing the caves entrance, she shifted closer so that the side of her leg was pressed up against Andro's back, offering her a little more warmth and blocking off the draft coming in from the front of the cave. Picking something up off of the floor, Rain fiddled with it as she contemplated what to say next.

Since hearing about Andro's mother, her own had returned to her mind, pushing everything else aside and clouding her judgment. She'd even considered mentioning Kelda to Andro but it didn't seem like the time or place to talk about her. In truth, the werewolf wasn't sure she was ready to admit how Andro's story had changed her perspective of her mother.

"I've dealt with hypothermia before" She announced.

Instead she found herself blurting out something completely different from what she had been thinking, a fact that had probably been evident in the way she'd treated Andro so far.

"Back home...it happened to another werewolf. She was from another pack that lived close by our territory, we used to meet between the two, place called No-man's land" She explained, all the while fixating on whatever was in her hands, a faint scraping could be heard.

"It was winter, we'd met in our usual place but she was feeling adventurous...so we ended up heading further out. We found this valley...it was beautiful, the way the mountains curved into it, it had this river running through it, trees pretty much covering the rest of it" She stopped fiddling to press a hand to her forehead.

"We'd been told to stay inside our territories, this kind of thing was against the rules. Dangerous. She didn't care" Rain blew a short puff of air through her nose and smiled "She never did follow the rules"

"Anyway that, we ended up running into some monster hunters...and she got shot. Arrow straight through the shoulder" She continued, returning her attention to the object in her hands.

"I managed to get her away from them, but a storm came in. We ended up in this old shack, probably belonged to game hunters in the past...the temperature dropped outside and hers did as well" She turned her head to look down at Andro "They'd tipped the arrow with wolfsbane...which is a sure way to mess up our systems"

"She didn't die but she came pretty close...I managed to keep her warm enough through the worst of it. Luckily for us a friend of mine had come out to look for me when I didn't come back..." Rain trailed off and looked away.

"I don't get scared easily...but when she was lying there in that shack, shivering, barely conscious. I was terrified" She admitted stiffly, her shoulders tensing up.

"Whilst we were out there in that storm, you weren't looking good at all...I went straight back to that shack. I'd almost forgotten what it felt like...to fear losing someone" Rain shifted uncomfortably on the branches.

"It's unnerving...how much I'm afraid of losing you...which is why I couldn't make that promise earlier"

100 Days of Summer

Just thought I'd mention, I've updated Callum and Shay's relationship charts ^^' Plus added a little something to Shay's profile xD

Also was wondering whether anybody except Elizabeth and Alyx are sharing rooms?

Hope college has calmed down a bit for you Rose! ^^'

Athalia - Ski trip

As Andro spoke, Rain tuned in on her heartbeat, noting it sounded better than before but not enough to make her feel anymore at ease. The werewolf wasn't as aware of Andro's crush as she probably should have been. Most people displayed subtle signs of their feelings around others, an increase of pulse or a change in their scent. The werewolf for the most part was only just starting to understand humans in this way and Andro's unique biology was still somewhat of a mystery to her. Any clues left in speech or otherwise, completely escaped her. It couldn't be said that Rain gave any clue to feeling the same way about Andro, yet again...she was there, that in itself should have spoken volumes.

"Hmm" Rain hummed thoughtfully having listened to Andro's answer and fussed about with her appearance as she thought over what to say in response.

"I may have been the err-" Rain stopped to clear her throat "-warming process last time"

"Where have you been bitten...by the frost?" She asked, rubbing her forehead as she realised the way her words had come out "I can help with that. At least take away some of the pain if it's bothering you"

The werewolf couldn't help but wish her kind could transfer over their ability to heal as well. She'd seen mated werewolves go to great lengths to help their partners in times of illness or injury, one even bringing his mate back from the brink of death with his alpha power. But such a thing was between her people, she hadn't a clue whether her transference ability would or even could have such a drastic effect on someone from another species.

Rain watched Andro as she started to shift about, she wasn't surprised when the gorgon was unable to get herself up, though her eyebrow twitched up as her question caused Andro to chuckle and her lips curved into an amused smile at what was said next.

"May need help?" She repeated, blowing a sharp puff of air through her nose. "Roll onto your back, I'll just lift you over" She told her.

Shuffling closer she reached out to either gently push Andro onto her back if she hadn't managed to shuffle round or to simple rest a hand on her shoulder. In the next instance, Rain wriggled an arm in behind Andro's shoulders and under the backs of her knees, carefully sitting her up before getting to her feet.

"You need to conserve your strength anyway" Rain murmured, as she pulled Andro in towards her chest, holding her bridal style.

The fact Andro was light anyway, meant Rain had deliberately taken more time to lift her up, for fear of over doing it. Turning around Rain took the few steps over to the other side of the cave and bent back down to place Andro on the bed of branches, making sure her back was to the mouth of the cave. The branches probably weren't the most comfortable thing in the world, but it was clear they'd been preened so that there were no unruly twigs sticking up. The wind swept through the mouth of the cave, crawling up towards Andro's unprotected side, whilst the other was welcoming close to the warm luna fire burning at the center of the cave. Withdrawing her arms, Rain took a step back and rested in a crouch, resting her arms over her thighs as she watched Andro expectantly.

"Well? How does that feel?" She asked.

_{(Sorry for delay!)}