Skin Deep

[Drunken Aunt Coral]

This was now Sandra's third lap around campus. Everything was closed since it was the first day back to school and she had nothing to do but walk around. There were a few men that had tried talking to her but she just brushed them off. She stopped for a moment and looked around campus. At the edge of the campus was a forest. She headed for the area, ready to do something productive. First days were always a drag. She sighed and looked around her before going into the forest.

While in there so focused on a bird that was near by. Slowly and carefully she thought of herself as the bird. Her arms began to break and shrink and a cry escaped from her lips. Morphing into a different animal was always so painful. When changing into another human however, was much easier since humans had the same bone structure.

Soon she had wings and a beak. Her clothing flooded around her and she pulled them into a bush for later. She stretched her wings and decided to fly for a bit and feel at least some sort of freedom since she wasn't allowed to leave the school. The air felt nice on her little blue bird face and she could feel the power of the air waves through her wings. Her feet were tucked under her and if she could smile, she would have. This was the first taste of freedom she had in a while.

Sandra didn't know how long she had gone but when she got back to the bush with her clothes in it the sky was starting to turn dark. At least she managed to waste most of a day away instead of sitting inside a dorm with someone she really didn't know and had no intentions of knowing on a personal level. No one really knew her on a personal level or else they would've freaked out.

She started to change back, loud bird squaks filling the air as her bones grew and molded together to create her arms and legs again. Feathers turned to hair and she quickly dressed herself before anyone decided to come through. She patted herself down quickly before going towards her dorm room. Everyone had seemed to find their way around and were now in groups talking about the upcoming school year. It was all so depressing to hear.

She walked in her room and plopped next to Van on the couch with a bottle of water in her hands. "Have you just sat here all day?" She rose her brow at and and gave a smirk. Some boys were just too into their video game lives.

Bolt BioHazard

 

[Bolt BioHazard]

EucalyptusCoral

As soon as Sandra entered he had felt for the remote that was supposed to be in between the cushions
of course it was probably on the side Sandra currently was sitting on so he couldn't turn tv back to cable. In the few hours he spent he had actually gone through most of the games he brought and movies on the normal tv. He was actually in the middle of a conversation with one of his friends Andros. He and his "step brother" Brooklyn were in the sequel version of their game
along with his bros and his "future self" which didn't look too different since Van never really lived long enough to show visable aging.
The long haired boy faced space captain wasn't sure what to do from the sudden interruption and just stood there. "Uh...yeah I had nothing better to do
You didn't happen to sit on the remote have you? I was getting tired of playing with my game and the tv's buttons aren't really intact" Van said looking between the girl and Andros.
Andy figuring he must of looked like an idiot just sitting there watching them through the tv turned around and started to pretend to be busy with something. Unfortunately Andros wasn't alone on the ship today Brooklyn an overdressed incubus watched the man curiously before coming into screen view
"Eh Andy what are you doing? You always get onto me for messing with the ship's controls
what if you turn of the oxygen or something I don't think i have extra lives for you to just try random crazy spaceman crap" he said before his gaze trailed to the screen " wait a minute is that..." Brook stroked his chin trying to see
the den was a bit dark since Van didn't bother with lights as the sun started to set.  

[Drunken Aunt Coral]

Sandra nodded at the man. "Oh! Sorry,,, Let me see." She started to feel around for the remote when something on the screen caught her attention. She had thought the game had been paused with how still the character on the screen was being but then the little man moved and started to fiddle with something. She stared with her hand stuck between the cushion and her bottom as another person came into view. She couldn't believe it but it actually looked like the man was looking at the two of them.

"Uhm, Mini Van..Van... whatever.... Do you have some sort of sensor?" She whispered the words, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. Her eyes searched around the television, trying to find any sort of sensor that might be linked to the game. She stood quickly, her hand grasped around the remote and pointed wildly at the televison.

"Is that game alive?! She whisper yelled, yielding the remote at the television like it was some sort of weapon. What on earth was going on? She looked at Van, waiting for an answer, her eyes earnest. She knew she was a bit odd but this still was a bit on the freaky side.

Bolt BioHazard

 

[Bolt BioHazard]

EucalyptusCoral

Brooklyn started snickering at the "mini van " bit since they used to call him that whenever he showed up on a phone or didn't immediately return to normal size upon exiting a small screen device. Van slide hiz hand over the game controller to bring up the menu but Brook could still be heard " oh he tried to pause us..er
I messed up didn't I?" his voice lowering to a whisper
"No of course you silly goose
I have a friend who's father designs games and I was just beta testing duh" Van said talking through his teeth and motioning for the remote but the sound of the ships sliding doors sounded and the guys along with the other Van walked on board the ship. what's with the giant floating line Ryan asked as he walked around it to get to his room.
it's the game menu dipsh!t
Do you have memory of a goldfis- "space" Van was interrupted when Vancouver started coughing "the remote please
I think it's starting to glitch up
the sound tracks and stuff are going haywire" Van added as he went up to the tv and pulled out the red,white, and yellow wires to turn the game off.
the screen didn't exactly go blank since Van was a bit stressed and his powers were messing with the tv. "Yep busted
don't worry i'll get a new tv from my house." Van continued to speak to play off what was happening.  

[Drunken Aunt Coral]

Sandra shook her head and pointed the remote at Van. She was shaking at this moment and was ready to scream her head off, though it felt as if her throat was closing up on her. This could not have been happening. She expected a normal four years without having to worry about bumping into anyone like her. Most would think that she would be grateful that there were others out there that were unique like her but she had repressed her own abilities so much that she thought herself as more human than freak.

"It is NOT busted. They would have stopped talking. The image would have been frozen. I'm not stupid you know. My ex was a gamer and would have issues like this. Except that this isn't like the other times!" Sandra's voice had raised a couple octaves at this point. Some would joke that only dogs could hear her.

"You better tell me what is going on right now or.. I'll throw the tv out of the window." Sandra was convinced the television was alive, not that there were people inside of the actual box, How else could it still work if everything was unplugged. She was still crouched, remote at the ready if anyone tried to over take her. Her animistic instincts were starting to take over and she was worried that she would shift due to her high emotions. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself in her new found bizarre situation.

Bolt BioHazard

 

[Bolt BioHazard]

EucalyptusCoral

Van had backed up from the tv
and wasn't sure whether he was more mad at Brook for being an oblivious twerp or himself for not coming up with something by now. "You're talking to me like a f@cking know everything was going fine until you came in." Van said his mind still wandered
Oh yeah halloween it was just a day away
maybe he could play it off as a prank. If it worked he may loose some browine points but it was better than Major being up his @ss about revealling himself in the same day. Van straightened up and started snickering " Sandy you seriously need to chill out i didn't think you'd fall for this so easily" he started to say as he went over and unplugged the tv which turned off normally. A girl with a cameraguy entered the room along with a few curious students
" what you've just seen is the new promo for a prank webshow we will be running till halloween called Fright Sike!" The woman explained in front of the camera before turning her attention to the petrified Sandra
"How does it feel to
not too good i bet sorry we couldn't of let you in on it earlier we'd like these scares to be authentic." She explained
Van sighed rubbing the back of his neck as he looked back at the people standing at the door and the "host" of the fictional prank show
Stress wasn't one of his triggers but it was still late and wouldn't be long before he shifted, plus using up all his energy on this wasn't really helping
he couldn't stick around like this.
"Hey can you say" i've just been siked"
into the camera? It just a thing we are doing?" the woman asked with the camera right next to her zoomed in.
" Ok you two that's enough jokes over
we can finish this tomorrow or something" Vancouver said as he went over to clear the door. Meanwhile the girl sighed but took the hint
"We'll send the release papers sometime this week
come on Carlos" she called out
her partner followed closely behind.  

[Drunken Aunt Coral]

Sandra looked between all of the people skeptically. The tv went blank when Van unplugged it and it went black. A woman came out from his room followed by a man with a camera. She didn't say a word however and instead glared daggers at the woman. If there was one thing Sandra couldn't stand, it was being scared. She would have to get Van back that was for sure, but for now she was raging mad. Her hands still trembled and she chucked the remote at Van's head. She had never been good with aiming and it hit the wall behind him. The remote smashed into pieces and fell to the floor.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" She glared at the people at their door way before storming over with a growl and slamming the door so hard she was surprised it didn't splinter around the frame. She turned her fury back at Van and stalked towards him slowly. Her ears started to elongate but her hair covered them well thankfully.

"I've known you for less than twelve hours and you think you have a right to put me on some stupid web show? If you think you can get away with this, you have another thing coming Vancouver." She turned on her heel, storming out of the building. She couldn't tell which form she was going to take but she bet it was the black panther. That form tended to come out of anger and she knew it was coming fast. She broke out into a run towards the forest at the edge of the campus. Once she hit it, she stripped herself quickly and stashed it in a bush right in time.

Her paws began to form and she was forced onto all fours. She let out a mighty growl before running off into the forest in hunt for something to eat. Her panther appetite needed feeding if she were going to change back without any problems.  

[Bolt BioHazard]

EucalyptusCoral

Van had held his breath the entire time till the girl stormed out. " that was freaking terrifying....I can never win" Van said to himself before throwing his hands in the air
The woman and camera guy returned to the room
"What was that all about?" Biohazard asked adjusting the wig she wore that covered her tentacle like hair. The man who was basically the other Van returned to his normal appearance after locking the door then leaning on it just incase. sounds like someone is in trouble
why didn't you just tell her
the worst that could of happened was her think that you had a magical tv or somesh!t Space Van asked only to receive a glare from his younger self
" i just didn't need that tonight
i have enough to worry about and who to say what she'd really do." Van snapped back
great so instead of Major killing you that girl will...kudos
I heard in this world you only have one life so good luck with that yolo
Space Van said before plugging the tv back in only to disappear back into it.
"Future me is a d!ck
and thanks for your help Indira" Van said as the confused girl shrugged then waved him off as she disappeared into the tv as well.
Van got up and decided to go survey off campus and possibly do a quick hunting trip
it'd have to be in human form till he'd gotting used to the place.
As he walked out of the building he followed the sidewalk thinking about what Sandra said earlier "It's going to be a long week" he mumbled to himself.

Van had followed a person on a bike who seemed to be hanging around outside campus to a small town just half a mile from school. Since he was still distracted by the earlier events and was so close to being caught he wasn't in much of a mood to play around tonight
He tackled the man off of his bike near a park and dragged him into a few large bushes before dealing out a lethal shock to the head to silence the squealing young man. Van only took blood and tried to be as careful as he could not to get messy
after he was done be hid the bike and used the rest of his stored energy to burn the body and hid it deep in some thorny bushes before shuffling back in the direction of the school.  

[Drunken Aunt Coral]

Sandra's nose prickled from the smell of burning flesh. She ran full speed to the smell, wondering if there was a burning building near by. She stopped as the smell got stronger. She came to a bush and found the burned body. The person was unrecognizable at this point. It almost looked like a human version of beef jerky. The sight made her nauseous and she had to trot away. Who could have done that to a person and how were they not seen? All she could do was run away though. She dragged the body into the open area so that way the family would be able to find them easier. A silent prayer went to them and she turned and headed back into the forest.

Sandra had fed pretty well and she started to morph into a human again. She grabbed her clothes and got dressed quickly. She wasn't exactly happy to go to the dorm again, afraid of what may happen to her if she were to step foot in there. Eventually though, she had to go back to the dorm room.

When she reached it, she went straight for her room, slamming the door. She wasn't normally so angry. As a matter of fact, she was a happy person normally. It was when people got on her bad side that they saw her inner beast. She was just happy that he hadn't noticed her ears growing black and furry. This was going to be a difficult year indeed.

Bolt BioHazard

So I almost burned down my apartment trying to make spaghetti.

 

[Bolt BioHazard]

EucalyptusCoral

(Uh that doesn't sound fun
Is everything ok or like a pot is ruined?
My mother left a huge pot of neckbones cooking on the stove then fell asleep
i came into the kitchen to find a smoking pot
And the whole kitchen stank of burnt stuff for a week)

After recharging Vsn put himself to bed just so he could get his mind straight
he was supposed to be starting classes tomorrow. Or at least visiting them and getting the usual welcome lecture
at least that's what he remembered.

By the next morning he woke up groggy Synx his animal spirit suggested that he go to his first class to get to know the professor
It couldn't hurt, at least that's what she figured. Sleeping seemed to do more damage than good but Van took a hot shower and tried to get ready. After getting his bag and one of the jello cups in the fridge he left in search of his first class. By the time he reached the classroom there were a few students there with the same idea of getting friendly with the professor
Syn seemed to take it from there literally taking over Van to introduce her/himself to everyone. She even took it a step further by sitting next to one of the students who seemed friendly enough. As they waited for class to start Synx saw today's paper which was left on a desk nearby
she really didn't care for news not on a backlit screen but it had a headline of a mysterious charred body beinf found in the open near a park. Van mentally growled something must of gotten to it
at least he burned it and didn't really leave behind any evidence
He still didn't like the fact that he'd have to be even more careful when it came to hunting as if it wasn't hard enough.

Most of the day seemed repetitive even though Syn was doing most of the paying attention at least the some of the professors were younger and their lectures didn't put the two to sleep. After his last class of the day he hung out with othee students who were done for the day. There was a pair who were friends since highschool David and Laura
they were pretty random and kinda childish with an occasional poking session but it was all in fun and Van didn't mind too much. They stayed in the lunch room which had been newly decorated
Van just had a hand on his chin and listenes to the duo describe their first day of highschool and compared it to this. Vancouver had to make one up since he honestly couldn't remember much of anything after "the game" had started.  

[Drunken Aunt Coral]

((Yupp, the bottom of the pot and all up the sides is burnt to hell. At least your mom had stuff in the pot though. Know what I had? Water... I managed to almost set a pot of water on fire... Who does that?!!?))

Sandra fell asleep quickly when she got home. The day had worn her out and tomorrow would be filled with classes that she would be taking for the first semester of the year.The next morning she was sure to wake up earlier than Van so she wouldn't have to deal with him. She washed quickly and dressed herself. There was no point in grabbing something from the fridge in their room so instead she went down to the cafeteria for her food.

The day began and she found it easy to sit through a lot of them, School was always something she used to keep her mind off of the stupid things and people in life. Though not many people were eager to talk to, she knew that in five days classes would officially begin. She had Biology, humanities, and sociology today. Much of the rest of the week went like such, causing the entire week to be the welcoming committees. Next week was when things really started and they would get assignments.

Her teachers were kind but she could tell they were all strict. By lunch the cafeteria was flooded with people and whispers of a charred body went around the place easily. She grabbed up a paper and read it, trying to keep the smirk from her face. Now the family would be able to find the poor person. She still found it odd that she was able to find a body so freshly charred without seeing the perpetrator.

She spotted Van's black head and headed over to the table, plopping down next to him. "So you've seen today's papers as well." She said as she bit into a red apple, the juices running down her fingers. Was it just her, or did he seem a little off? She kept the thought to herself and just focused on the man next to her.  

[Bolt BioHazard]

EucalyptusCoral

(Wow lol i'd be impressed if you could set water on fire
but sorry about the pot unless you have one of those older stove in your apartment i'm sure the pot will live to cook noodles again eh)

Van turned to face her surprised she didn't seem as mad as she was yesterday
" uh yeah it's supposed to storm tomorrow which kinda sucks
i have a thing about lightning and thunder plus it might cancel a my plans. " Van said rather dryly knowing she most likely meant the topic of the day. "Van I think she means that body the police found today
They said it was burned recently but they aren't sure how since there was no traces of anything like gas laying around" David explained Laura nodded " weird isn't it poor guy or girl
I sure hope they catch the lunatic who did it." She added
"Yeah I do too..." Van said giving Sandra a look before sitting up
"My aunt's birthday is on Halloween too
I hope the rain doesn't spoil things for you
you could always make it up at our dorm we have a bunch of old monster movies and a case of ginger beer." Laura offered but Van shook his head
"No i'll be fine
I already have backup plans with my bros" he lied before getting up
"I haven't been feeling to well so I'm heading back to my dorm
i'll catch you guys later. He added as he left
for some reason Sandra still seemed to give off a feeling that made Van feel off
but it could of actually be the result of the coming storm.
Normally his body absorbed a bit of electricity from nearby things such as electronics but things like electrical storms spit out too many electrons and leads to him overcharging and he can get a little crazy when that happens
he just had to get back to the dorm and prepare something to keep him sane for tomorrow.
The duo watched him leave then looked back at Sandra "ok..well I'm David"
"And i'm Laura
We were just going over some stories about highschool and comparing it with college
so far it is't too bad
how was your day so far?" Laura asked as David took his and her tray to empty them.  

[Drunken Aunt Coral]

Bolt BioHazard

(Yeah, no kidding. It's just sooty is all. It'll be fine once I clean the stove off.)

Sandra watched as Van leave, feeling very skeptical of him. She looked back to the two people, forgetting their names almost instantly. She gave a fake smile and nodded. "You can call me Sandy." She watched as the male stood up and walk over to a trash can.

"My day has been pretty chill. Can I ask something? How do you both know Van?" She wanted to get as much dirt on her roommate as possible. There was something off with him and she didn't trust him at all. She glanced back over her shoulder as if he were standing right behind her. She sighed and looked back at the two people at the table. She would have to follow him around, see what it was that he was hiding. If she was going to be stuck with a person for a long amount of time she wanted to know as much as possible about them.

In order to keep up appearances though, she decided to stay at the table instead of looking like a stalker. She was still angry at him for the previous night and still wanted to dig her claws into his face, but she knew that wouldn't be a good idea. She sighed and started to pick at her nails while lost in thought, forgetting the other people at the table.  

[Bolt BioHazard]

EucalyptusCoral

(Oh that's good)
" oh that's good" she said while pulling out a handheld game from her purse.
" we don't really know him but we came across each other from a very funny run in...well at least it was funny for me" David explained before Laura shook her head and took over from there
" he's in band with me and when the band director had everyone introduce theirselves i noticed he had the same name and kinda looked like a character from a game David used to play to death Freakzter." She said pulling the old instruction booklet from the game with everyone on it and pointing Van out.
"As odd as it sounds thought that was enough grounds to start talking since it was a free period so we've been hanging out here ever since." Laura said
"But in all honesty we just met the guy today
I just was talking with him since he reminded me so much of the dude
i'll probably invite him to come cosplay at the Gamacon next week" David admitted with a shrug before picking up his things as he got ready to leave

Van noticed that both of his pack brothers Hurricane and Ryan were wandering around campus. One of them noticed him and caught up
" Well how was your first day of prison mate?
I really couldn't talk Major out of sending you here
i don't know what you did but maybe he'll get over it and let you come back before the next semester." Ryan said patting the man on the shoulder
"I don't see this as much of a punishment
as long as you control yourself the college life isn't so bad. I mean you weren't really doing anything productive back at home. Who knows maybe you'll learn something useful here and be able to show Major you're competent enough to strike it out on your own." Hurricane added Van grunted and resumed walking
" why don't you do something useful and leave behind some feather blades
tomorrow's my big day and I don't want to be in the paper about country frying half the campus." Van said as he walked off to his building
the two stayed behind Hurricane would visit him later to drop off the feathers but he continued to walk around to see the rest of the school
Ryan followed behind the tall man.  

[Drunken Aunt Coral]

[quote="Bolt BioHazard]

Sandra stood from the table, waving a quick goodbye to the people she had just met. "Nice to meet you, but I have to get going." She walked quickly through the campus and to her the dorm room and quickly into her own room. If she was going to start doing something, it would have to start now. She pulled out a note book and texted her best friend about the things that happened.

They were just as freaked out as she was. What was he? Either way, she had an idea of what she could do. Quickly she plugged in the television and put in a game that the girl had talked about. The Van on the cover and the Van she knew were too similar for it to be a coincidence. She started to play the game and waited for whatever was supposed to happen to happen.

She jumped her character through things and played for at least an hour, her eyes glued open as she sat on the floor in a hunched position. This game was absolutely addictive! She had a half smile on her face as she advanced in the game, moving swiftly though each obstacle.