The shifter was skipping class again. Biology. It was a nice day out too nice to be stuck inside. The snow was melted now and the tree limbs were dry, dry enough to create a comfortable seat for the shifter to lounge on as he plucked away at his guitar. Liz could try and yell some more at him later. The Princess could fill him in on what he missed again. Probably something with ‘borephyll’.

Stifling a yawn and inhaling on a borrowed cigarette he blew out a little plume of smoke. There was a no smoking policy in the school. Another reason why it was better to be outside. Not that he needed to smoke. He just wanted one.

The wind shifted and he got whiff of dog. The plucking on the guitar continued. There were a lot of dogs at the mansion most of them didn’t mind him. Some of them even liked him. He was part cat but he liked to think he was more bird than anything. Which was why he got along with them so much. Most of them. This smell of dog was... unfamiliar to him.

The shifter leaned forward on the branch both feet still dangling. His tail flicked as he checked for it’s source. There was a kid. Carrick’s eyes focused and then he lost interest. Such is the curse of his short attention span. There was nothing shiny on him anyways. Carrick leaned his back to the tree again and continued strumming. The song he was playing could be mistaken for a love song.

Rowan had questions. Questions that a simple Google search couldn't answer. And it was hard having shifting related questions at a school with a small shifter population. And when the internet can't help, and teachers can't help, you turn to classmates. Rowan recalled a name he had been given several times when talking about shifters, Carrick.

He was going to find to find, meet, and talk to Carrick. And just thinking about such a thing got Rowan's heart rate spiking.

It didn't help that the two were a few years apart in age, and thus didn't share any classes. But it was hard to miss Carrick. He had a big wingspan, and personality to match. None of this was making approaching any easier on Rowan. If Carrick was the school bad boy, Rowan was more like the anti-social nerd being shoved into a locker.

Luckily Carrick wasn't too difficult to find. After asking a few students of the other shifters whereabouts Rowan finally got the answer he needed.

'Try the big tree out in the yard, that's usually where he goes when he skips class.'

He spotted the dangling legs and the occasional flick of a tail first. Well...he found the correct tree. With a sigh Rowan continued walking across the yard.

The boys strong senses quickly picked up a few things as he got closer. The pleasant strum of a guitar mixed with the...less than pleasant smell of cigarettes. It wasn't like Rowan didn't like the smell of smoke, he was quite used to it, it was just jarring against the fresh scent of the coming spring.

Rowan stopped near the base of the tree, looking up at the figure in the branches. The younger shifter nervously shoved his hands in his pockets.

"You're...uh...Carrick right? We...uhm, haven't met but I'm...Rowan...

The younger shifter was mentally face palming. Gosh he sounded like an idiot.

"I'm...trying to...learn more about controlling my mutation...but a lot of the library books are...uh...not about shifters..."

Rowan paused again, nervously scratching at the back of his head.

"And...I'm a shifter...and when I asked my teachers about other shifters your name get's mentioned...I was wondering if I could...ask you some questions? If you're not busy."

There were more...personal reasons why Rowan sought out Carrick specifically, but the younger shifter was nervous to bring them up. Maybe if he phrased his questions like he was writing a paper and not because he totally didn't have a crush on a girl Carrick wouldn't laugh at him.

Carrick’s hand moved up and down the neck of the guitar when the kid approached the strumming might have gotten a little louder to drown out some of the stammering. He seemed shy, too shy. Why was he talking to him? Did Carrick owe him money or was he one of the kids that bought one of Sam’s steaks off of him? It wasn’t his fault if the meat went bad. It was only out of the fridge for a few hours.

”Aye,” there was no sense denying it. Carrick made sure everyone knew who he was, how many Irish students with wing and a tail did the mansion have? One. Unless he got access to the danger room again.

The winged shifter took a long drag from the cigarette and stopped playing, resting the instrument on one of his legs which started to sway like his tail. ”Rowan....” he repeated matching the name to the face. Carrick exhaled some smoke and leaned forward watching the kid explain why he was looking for the tailed slacker.

”Yeah, I keep trying to send mine in but they keep saying I got ta change the title.” he shook his head, ”Not my fault the words got different meanings.” he didn’t elaborate but flashed his teeth from behind the smoke. There was a joke somewhere in there.

”Ya try the internet?” he asked figuring that was the step before asking the teachers. His cat like eyes focused on Rowan some more. ‘Fight’ he looked to the sky and held the bridge of his nose trying to ignore the voice of his least favorite shifted form. Now was not the time for fighting. It was a kid asking about shifting. Why was he an expert now?

”Well, congrats.... we meet on mondays got jackets. You’ll grow into it I’m sure.” he plopped the cigarette back into his mouth and swung a leg over and hopped from the tree. One of the reasons this tree was one of his favorites was because the lack of branches the lower the tree got. Basically it was a good tree to show off from.

Snapping his wings open and flapping once he landed and slung the guitar over his back. ”Caught me at a bad time actually.” he said exhaling. ”I’m supposed to be in class.” Carrick exhaled a bit more smoke then put the butt out on his shoe before tucking it behind his ear.

”But I’m pretty sure it’s about to get out though...” he looked to the sky and then nodded before breaking into a smile, ”Messing with ya. Why do ya sound so nervous? Ya owe me money?” he didn’t Carrick would already know him.

”Which teachers would suggest coming to me?” he chuckled knowing that he was an older shifter. He too had questions. ”Ask away, though depending on yer questions I might not want ta answer.” he pointed back to the mansion and started to walk.

The younger shifter was still on high alert, trying to get a feel for Carrick. Rowan was normally a very guarded person, but he felt extra...jumpy and wasn't sure why. Maybe it was a shifter thing. Or a cat and dog thing.

Rowan nodded when Carrick asked of he had tried the internet, but didn't elaborate any further. Looking on the internet for dating advice was already pathetic enough. And there wasn't a Yahoo Answers for his specific problem. He tried not to scowl at the 'grow into it' comment. He wasn't...that small. He scrubbed the idea of matching shifter jackets from his mind, there were more important things to talk about.

As Carrick jumped down Rowan took a step back. Partially to give the older student more room to land, and partially because the smell of cigarettes had gotten stronger. Rowan wrinkled his nose a little bit, it was a rough moment to have a dog's sense of smell.

"Uhm...Mr. Johnson had mentioned you, and I think Ms. Sundance did as well."

Rowan frowned, knowing now he was pretty stuck in his 'school project' lie. Carrick began to walk and Rowan turned to follow, setting his pace to match the older shifter's

"And...uhm...I don't mean to sound nervous. I'm still pretty new to like...mutant stuff. It feels weird to talk about."

The boy took a deep breath, looking away.

"I guess...I was wondering if you had any...tips? Or advice? Recently I've been worried about shifting in front of..." He paused, blushing slightly. "...people I...uhm...care about."

Rowan huffed, sharp teeth showing.

"I don't have great control over my mutation...and...as cool as Mr. Johnson is it's hard to take his advice...I feel like he, and some of the other teachers, don't...get it, ya'know?"

Ice cube and.... ”Lizzy?” Carrick asked stopping short and holding out his arm to stop the kid. What did she say? How did she say it? He suddenly felt angry at himself for wondering. He sighed and then waved them forward again, ”Know what doesn’t matter Who sent ya. Just that they did. Meaning they both know they aren’t suited to help ya.” there was a little extra pep in his step. ”Whose teaching now?” he scoffed.

Carrick also had the same worries but was better with denial that Rowan it seemed. In fact according to winged shifter there was only an issue when his other form decided to step in. Which wasn’t often. ‘Fight’ he ignored the voice again when he looked to Rowan. The kid was still stammering too. Carrick only did that when he was around the Princess or when he was acting meek. Why would he be acting though?

”Does it? Can’t remember not being one now. Sad.” he asked walking into the mansion still strutting and leaving the door open behind him. It’s been years since Carrick knew he was a mutant. It was kind of hard to forget with the constant reminder of wings and a tail. His tail flicked behind him to emphasize his thoughts.

”and ya tried not doing it?” he smirked knowing if Rowan was anything like him he was tired of trying. An older kid walked by Carrick high fived him and pocketed something after the high five. It was shiny and hard to miss but Carrick treated it like it was nothing. ”I’ll leave ‘em in the usual space.” he called back to the other student before turning his attention back to Rowan who was the one with all the questions.

”Tell ‘em.” he said shrugging as if that was the end of it before elaborating. ”They know about it they know they need to be careful with ya. But ya can’t always rely on everyone. They can’t shift so they don’t know.” he said walking into the kitchen.

”How could they? One minute yer talking to someone and boom!” he snapped his finger, ”Yer getting darted in central park and caged like an animal. Wake up naked wondering what the hell happened and did I ruin the date.” that happened. ”I didn’t.” he flashed a toothy grin showing off his fangs like Rowan was. It wasn’t a threat. Carrick just couldn’t turn them back.

Opening the door Carrick removed a bag of meat that read, “Sam’s don’t touch it, Carrick.” mismatched colored eyes looked at the label and then he tossed the bag of meat to Rowan. ”Hold that fer me will ya?” he asked as he rummaged for something else but couldn’t find it. A loud sigh followed by a chuckle from his Frosty comment, ”Cool. Heh. Good one.” he looked into the freezer next and buried his face in it his tail flicking behind him as he searched.

”Aye, ya got a beasty in ya. Just like I do. They don’t. They don’t know.” he said before starting to hum some lyrics to a song he had stuck in his head. ”Yer a dog?” he asked curiously poking his head out from the freezer and sniffing the air. ”Smells like it at least. Other guy wants ta fight you.” his head disappeared again while he searched for the next ingredient.

”How many times ya change faces?”

The younger shifter had winced reflectively as the arm swung out to stop him. And while he was relieved Carrick wasn't trying to hit him, Fluffy was still agitated. The boy's mind was briefly filled with thoughts of shifting. And if he shifted first he would get an upper hand in a fight. Rowan quickly shoved these urges down. Besides, Carrick sounded more confused than angry. And he had...called Ms Sundance by her first name? Maybe that was just something older students did here...Maybe.

Rowan watched the exchange between the two older students with wide eyes. Carrick wasn't just a bad boy, he was a cool bad boy. Rowan tried to hide the look of adoration in his eyes as he answered Carrick's questions, still muttering and stammering.

"Yeah...but every time I hold back the next shift is way worse..."

The pair had entered the kitchen, strangely enough, but Rowan wasn't going to object. He was about to ask if being 'darted in central park' was a figure of speech when suddenly there was frozen meat being tossed his direction. Rowan caught it with a soft grunt, noticing the label on it. Rowan smirked slightly, maybe this could be quiet payback for all the Danger Room sessions.

"I...I told her -- er...them..." Rowan quickly tried to correct, hoping the older shifter was too busy looting the freezer to catch the slip. "I just feel like...it made it worse. Like I would have been better off lying." He sighs. "But...you're right...they don't know."

The dog smell comment caused Rowan to frown.

"Do I...really smell like dog?" He asked, suddenly terribly self conscious. He showered every day...Mostly. The following comment pulled Rowan from his worried cycle. Huh. Maybe that was why Fluffy was so agitated. Maybe their two beasts could sense each other and wanted to fight it out.

"I've only shifted a handful of times." Rowan admitted. "I don't...like it. I don't like scaring people or hurting people. That's why I'm trying to figure out how to stop."

”So don’t?” Carrick asked his whole lower half dancing now to the song in his head. It seemed pretty simple to him. He understood why Rowan didn’t want to do that but the school was a better place to let the beasts out than anywhere else. They had a danger room. If only he could get back in there unsupervised. ”Her. Ya got yerself a girlfriend? Huh?” he said chuckling until he found the package in the back of the freezer.

”Boom!” he laughed and pulled a large bag of frozen bacon out. He tossed it to Rowan next then shut the door to the freezer brushing the dust from his hands. ”Lying’s a great defense mechanism. Human one.” Carrick said smirking to Rowan then waving him on to follow again. The Irishman didn’t make an attempt to take the meat from the younger student.

”Easy ta lie. I happen to be great at it.” he boasted. ”Hard ta explain to yer little miss after a shift though innit? Sorry I ate someone in front of ya. Hopefully ya can look past it and we can still be going out.” he laughed, ”Been there. Didn’t work. Hearts were broken. Not mine.” he lied. Rowan didn’t need to know about that. No one did. He was trying still to forget the feeling of loneliness.

Walking into the hallway Carrick threw his hands up behind his head and left them there. ”Then again, if ya scare her off telling her now ya won’t invest too much time. Maybe she doesn’t even like dogs?” he said looking over his shoulder smirking to Rowan.

”Nah, mate. Part cat. I got a good nose it’s faint. Wouldn’t even have thought about it but Beasty is a bit testy round ya.” he said tapping his nose. ”If ya liked scaring people I’d call ya dad.” the shifter said shrugging.

”I don’t like to either. Scaring people. Hurting though... sometimes hedecides to take the riegns. I forget I’m the one who calls the shots. Like a adrenaline high but like... more intense. More I give in to it the more likely,” he took an ominous tone, ”He takes control!” he chuckled slightly.

” I’m up to ten I know about. Waking up naked is usually the tell.” he said sighing soberly, ”You remember what happens when ya shift or does it come in fragments?” he asked getting closer to the stairs.

"It's not! I don't!" Rowan stammered, cheeks turning bright red. "She's not my girlfriend! She's just! A girl I know!" The boy frantically looked around. Luckily the two were alone in the kitchen, but who knew who could be listening out in the hall. Rowan snarled slightly, frustrated. This had been a terrible idea. He was just about to give up when bacon landed in his outstretched arms.

With a huff and a slight eye roll Rowan followed.

Carrick, unfortunately, wasn't comforting Rowan at all. From the talk of eating someone in front of the person he fancied to suggesting he not even tell her. Well...too late for that. Rowan deflated slightly, trying to keep up with the older student when all he wanted to do was ditch this meat and leave. At least he only kinda smelled like dog.

"Yeah...I get the whole waking up naked thing. Once was enough for me, never again."

And since his arms were full of frozen meat he gestured with his eyes to his oversized clothes.

"I can mostly remember what happens during my shifts. It's blurry though. Me and..." Rowan paused. He was not about to say Fluffy in front of this older, way cooler, student. "My other self...I think we see things differently. It's...hard to explain. He rarely let's me take the reigns though, when I do it's only for a few seconds when I can...concentrate."

Rowan was quiet a moment, his voice no longer stammering, but lacking any energy.

"It's...a little too late to not tell her." Rowan said with a sigh, completely abandoning the whole 'not talking about a girl' thing. "She knows and..." The boy gave a nervous laugh, although he was still frowning. "She's scared of dogs too. And I'm a little more than just a dog."

Carrick turned his head slightly to see Rowan’s reaction and his face turn red. ”Ya sure ‘bout that? Yer face says other wise, ya care about her and she’s a girl... girlfriend.” the shifter smirked and played it off with a wave of the hand. ”Nothing to be embarrassed about. Girlfriend’s are great!” he might have been biased.

”You might not have a say in it. If yer beasty’s anything like mine.” the shifter said shrugging. ”I can fight him off sure but he shows sooner or later.” he said sighing, ”Like the brother ya never wanted. Just one day show’s up breaks all yer toys gets ya in trouble then vanishes without a trace.” that analogy worked well for both his half brother and his beast form.

When they reached the top of the stairs there was another student waiting at the top for them. A large one, Carrick nodded his head and waited for Rowan to catch up to him and then he held up a hand to stop him. ”Be needing....” he stopped and looked to the portly student then grabbed the frozen bacon from Rowan and then handed it off to the student. He responded by handing Carrick a twenty and a ruby.

Carrick pocketed both then smirked, ”See ya next week. Might need an extra fiver we ran into the man with the patch.” he whistled and looked back to Rowan, ”He looked pissed didn’t he?” hoping Rowan played along before hearing a loud sigh from the student, “It’s worth it. Better not be trying to squeeze me for more.” he said his large presence looming over the pair. ”Wouldn’t dream of it mate! Got wings, I’m an angel!” he smirked and waved Rowan forward once again.

”Sounds like yer more along than I was. I’m still fighting to get him to hand the reigns over. But then again, I don’t let him drive when I’m in the driver’s seat.” Carrick said rounding to the boys hall and turning down it. ”At first I only dreamed about what I-he did when in control. Most of the time it wasn’t anything worth remember. The fear though, seeing people afraid of him. It’s like he wants me to remember.” the shifter said his hands going back to behind his head.

”In fact I only got to be in control recently. See we came to an agreement, he and I. We both wanted to save me girl and well that was all we needed. He’s been pretty quite since then. Not silent like I prefer from him but the ‘screaming’ to fight or **** isn’t there. Almost peaceful.” he said. ”Almost.”

”So no take backs eh?” Carrick asked grinning and slowing down to put an arm around Rowan, ”She was gonna find out anyways, it’s better this way. Didn’t tell me last girlfriend, in fact I didn’t even know about ‘em. We were out one day and someone hit me with something cause of the wings and a tail and next thing I know...” he removed his arm and stepped forward. ”She ghosted me faster than you can say, ‘Hold up.’ Jokes on her though, she got older and stuck teaching here and well... I’m still me so who got the last laugh!?” Carrick said forcing a laugh.

”Ya try introducing her to the dogs round here? Get her used to the smaller ones so the bigger one doesn’t seem so scary?” he asked. ”Yer girlfriend’s name. What is it?” he asked wondering who she was maybe he could offer some more help in the love department.

The blush in Rowan's cheeks eventually faded as the two walked through the halls of the school. The brother comparison got a small smile out of Rowan. That was how it felt sometimes. Like he had to take responsibility for Fluffy's tantrums. Rowan was pulled from his thoughts as the pair stopped in front of another student. Bacon was exchanged for money and a...gem? Neat.

Then Carrick was talking, making reference to running into Mr. Johnson while making this delivery. The younger student blinked a moment. They hadn't seen the icemancer, and if they had Rowan felt like he would have remembered. Ragardless when Carrick turned to have Rowan confirm his story the younger shifted nodded. He might have been confused but he wasn't a snitch. The two continued on their way.

Rowan listened to Carrick attentively, nodding along to what he said. For a moment Rowan was thankful that Fluffy at least let him remember what he did. Rowan might always feel guilt after shifting, but at least he wasn't left completely in the dark. He gave the older student a sympathetic frown at all the fear mention. Their powers were alike in that sense.

An...agreement. Carrick and his other form came to...an agreement. Rowan's eyebrows raised slightly, the gears in his head turning. That was...not something he had thought about. He had never really tried talking to his other form. But maybe it was worth a shot. Carrick continued speaking, and Rowan went from inspired to confused. Any thoughts about potential control methods for his shifts were immediately filled by question marks. He...dated a teacher? And she got...older? Maybe Carrick's powers made him stay young? Rowan tipped his head like a confused dog, trying to make sense of what the older boy said.

The younger shifter, who had been nearly silent this entire walk, spoke up again when the conversation turned back to girls. Immediately he started blushing, turning his head away from Carrick. He stuttered and grumbled a moment before responding.

"She's not my girlfriend! She doesn't even like me! And even if she was my g-girlfriend I wouldn't tell you her name."

Rowan huffed and turned away, defensively.

"I...kinda introduced her to a dog the other day...it went..." Rowan paused, recalling the way Kalos froze and trembled in the presence of a happy, tennis ball fetching, dog. His heart sank. He sighed and continued.

"It went...okay...I guess..."

The boy was quiet for a moment, eventually opening up again.

"I don't think...I'd ever hurt her, if I shifted. My...other form only attacks what it see's as a threat and she's too...cute." Rowan nervously scratched at the back of his head. "I'm...more afraid of scaring her...that she might become scared of me."

Rowan kept his eyes on the floor, not wanting to see the other student's reaction as he vented.

"I...know I don't seem it now. But at my old schools I was mean. And violent. I started a lot of fights. I mean, at the time I didn't know I had a mean dog in my head making me aggressive. But I liked that people were scared of me, it made me feel strong." Rowan was quiet a moment. "It's...different now. I like being here. I want to make friends...I don't want to scare her, or anyone else here."

Rowan laughed nervously, still not looking at Carrick.

"Gosh that was...stupid. I shouldn't have ranted at you about my lame problems."

”Not saying she is then.” he grinned and corrected himself. ”Girlwhoyou’dbeokaywithasagirlfriend.” he said quickly. ”Keep yer secrets then, got enough of my own.” he said knowing it was a small school. He’d find out eventually. Then he could mess with Rowan more.

”Hard to say fer sure though when you can’t control ‘em yerself right?” Carrick said offering a sympathetic pat on the back. ”Been there, didn’t hurt Lizzy but gave her enough of a scare to leave.” he didn't’ elaborate. His heart broke then. Thankfully that was years ago. At least that was what he told himself. He didn’t smile, ”Hard to forget....” he sighed loudly still trying to forget the look on her face. It still haunted his dreams.

Carrick kept his mouth shut to listen to Rowan explain who he used to be. Fear, anger. violence. His eyes shifted to Rowan and focused on the kid if only for a second. ”Yeah, never cared much for it. Meself. Saw it enough in me father, brother. Everyone I hated. I don’t like bullies.” he said smirking, ”Might be hard ta believe but wings and a tail makes me an easier target.” he flashed his teeth, ”used to at least.” he got bigger and stronger. So did his rage.

”That’s good though. Don’t need any bullies ‘ere.” Carrick said smirking. ”No worries, didn’t sound lame. Talking helps, doesn’t matter who listens.” he gave the younger shifter a thumbs up before stopping abruptly. ”Almost missed it.” the winged mutant said knocking several times on the door in a pattern. The door opened slightly and Carrick grabbed the bag of steak from Rowan.

”Afternoon stretchy,” Carrick said with a smirk. His tail flicked behind him showing his dislike for the mutant behind the door. “Don’t call me that.” ”Come up with a better name then.” Carrick quipped back waving the bag in front of him. A tentacle shot out from the door and wrapped around the bag. Carrick fought the pull, ”It’s here.” The tentacle vanished behind the door for a second then returned with a few smaller gems and another twenty dollars.

Once Carrick counted the gems in his hand he released the bag of meat and tipped his imaginary hat. ”The price will double next time. Been running into the man in Blue quite a bit in the hallways.” Carrick lied as the door shut quickly. ”See ya next week.” Carrick said turning and offering up two small rubies to Rowan. ”Fer yer silence.” he smirked not mentioning they were a product of his girlfriend. Then he started to walk again this time without any particular place to go.

”So.. what are ya gonna do about this girl yer swooning over?” he asked flashing his fangs.

Rowan was quiet again. Was he...had he really been a bully? He had never really...seen it that way. It had always felt like he was fighting to be top dog, no pun intended, at his previous school. If he was the strongest people wouldn't hurt him. But there had...certainly been times were 'innocent' kids got involved. Shoving a kid who didn't deserve it, stealing food from someone just as hunger as he was. At the time he justified it, keeping people away from him, but it was hard to think about now.

Lost in thought he nearly bumped into Carrick as the two stopped at their next delivery spot. The younger student tried not to stare at the tentacle that emerged from the door, and was quick to nod along with Carrick's reported sighting of Mr. Johnson.

Rowan catch the two rubies in his cupped hands, starring at them with wide eyes. Briefly Rowan was thankful that he didn't have a tail, as it would have been wagging. The boy had no way to tell the gems value, but they were bright and shiny so they had to be worth something. And for a person who had been nearly destitute his whole life it was jarring to suddenly hold something so...pretty. He was eventually able to shake himself from his gawking. Rowan carefully put the rubies in his pocket, checking first to make sure there were no holes.

The younger shifter looked up at Carrick as the conversation was again brought back to his girl troubles. Instinctually his upper lip curled back, showing his jagged teeth back at Carrick. Fluffy's way of saying oh yeah? Well I've got sharp teeth too.. Rowan quickly squashed any aggressive urges.

"I...I dunno...I guess I gotta figure out how to...like...talk to her?" He looks away, trying to keep from blushing again. "It's like...when I talk to her my brain stops working. And all I wanna do is look at her, and listen to her talk and...and..."

Rowan growled with frustration, covering his face with his hands.

"Ugh...I sound so creepy! Talking about some girl who probably just sees me as some grumpy, scruffy, dog."

His eyes turned to slits at the baring of his fangs in the smile. Carrick’s tail flicked behind him while he ignored the ‘fight’ that was roaring in the back of his mind. No fight was needed. He was just a kid one that could shift but Carrick didn’t see any reason things would get aggressive. At least not yet.

”Talking to her would help I’m sure.” Carrick said deciding he knew where he wanted to go next. It should be pretty empty right now it was a good place to get thoughts out. Carrick turned when they got near another flight of stairs and Carrick started to go down them listing to Rowan’s heart ache.

”Cause ya like her. Used to be the same way as well.” Carrick lied. He still got tongue tied whenever he saw the princess. Often blurting out the first thing that comes to mind. He could stare at her all day. He might have even verbalized it to her at some point. ”Ya get used to the feeling. Words will come out easier in time.” he said trying to encourage Rowan. Thankfully when they cleared the stairs the room Carrick was heading for was there to greet them. The music room.

Instruments lined the walls, both classical and newer. Some bass guitars and drums sat in a pile near some amps. Carrick’s eyes were already fixed on the electric guitar. The winged shifter removed the guitar from his back and set it gingerly against a wall. ”Sounding creepy and being creepy are two different things.” he said nodding his head. There were enough songs about being a stalker for him to know some signs. He might have also seen a few before flying over the city. Rowan didn’t fit the bill.

”Least she sees ya right?” the shifter asked, ”Could be worse.” he plugged in the electric guitar to an amp and turned it on. ”The trick is ta get their attention” he strummed a few cords loudly then yelled, ”And then figure a way to keep it!” he strummed a little bit more then let the sound fade. ”Can ya play? Sing? Write poetry? Draw? Paint?” he asked curiously. They were all good ways to get attention. Carrick’s talents were usually very apparent.

Patience really wasn't Rowan's strong suit. He didn't want to practice talking to girls, he wanted to immediately get over his nerves at talking to her. Although it brought him some comfort to know someone as cool as Carrick once struggle talking to girls too.

The boy glanced around the music room. He wasn't sure the last time he was in a room with so many instruments. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, suddenly worried about breaking something expensive. Rowan flinched slightly as the guitar was plugged in and the amp crackled to life. The loud noise not exactly helping his beastial nature keep calm.

Get her attention...and keep it? Rowan frowned slightly, glancing down at himself. He...wasn't much to look at. Small framed, baggy clothes, messy hair. Still hoping for another growth spurt. And being a giant wolf wasn't the kind of attention he wanted to have, not with her. With a sigh Rowan sat on the floor, watching Carrick carefully.

"I don't think...I can do any of those things." The younger shifter looked away. "My previous schools didn't really put much into their art programs, at least not for the guys. We mostly did sports and stuff."

He frowned, still looking around the music room.

"I know she's having some school trouble...I considered offering to tutor her, at least in the subjects I feel good at, but I don't want to...insult her intelligence."

Rowan grumbled again, eyes falling on the drum set in the back of the room..

"And helping a girl in English class, it's not exactly...I dunno...romantic? Not in the same way playing a guitar is."

The highest string whined in response to Rowan saying he didn’t think he could do any of those things, meaning he didn’t know. Try or try not. Carrick knew the words of the little green Muppet probably wouldn’t help much in this situation. How do you instill confidence on someone? Compliment and play to their strengths and right now Carrick was playing to his. Lying so confidently someone believes him. In this case it was Rowan.

”Ya never want to be the smart guy.” Carrick said rolling his eyes, ”Girls say they want a smart guy but why do they always flock to the guy playing the guitar?” he said ripping on a few of the strings. ”Tried it once, didn’t work fer me. This does. So does magic. It gets their attention, then I swoop in and keep it.” he followed Rowan’s gaze to the drums. ”Have at it! It’s here to be played!” he said giving the younger shifter a nod.

”The trick is ya find something ya have in common. Books, music, art that gets ya in the door right? From there ya got to find something that she finds impressive and capitalize on it.” Carrick said starting to wriff kicking out a amplified melody to a song that was in his head. ”Fer example” Carrick yelled over the amplifier ” I got wings!” they opened in response giving Rowan something to look at besides his hands moving up and down on the instrument.

”Ladies have a tendency to be fascinated with them. Why? They’ve never seen something like them before and then!” he hit the lowest note hard and let it echo, ”Boom! I kick down the door and hit ‘em with me song, joke, or even the occasional magic trick.” he said shifting his gaze from the instrument to the other shifter in the room. ”Read her Shakespeare?” Carrick asked stopping the guitar and raising an eyebrow.

”They still teach him here?” Carrick asked because either it was taught when he was younger and he slept through it or they taught it now and he hadn’t been paying attention. ”He’s supposedly romantic. I don’t get it.” lot of people died in his plays. Romantic or not Carrick couldn’t back dying when living was so... fun.

”Ya could also lie and tell yer love yer awful at English and ya want someone to motivate ya ta study more. Used to call ‘em study dates.” he said remembering the times Liz forced him to study even though it was more him staring at her awkwardly. ”Even got me to pass a few classes.” the shifter said nodding his head and tapping his feet to a song that no one else could hear.