Breakable ((Moonie!))

[CastlesInTheSky]

Phoenix stayed silent for a moment, studying his companion. He shook his head slightly, frowning a bit. "Hey, don't you go feeling sorry for me. My mom isn't abusive or anything. And my dad is an ass, but at least they raised me well enough." His tone was stern, but not angry.

He looked up at the sky through the leaves. "My mother loves my little brother more than me, and he's only 8. It's kinda sad." He shook his head again and clicked his tongue.

[Anonymous]

Nisha's ears twitched more. She didn't feel sorry for him! Well...maybe just a little. She wished that he would be happy! She liked it when people she liked were happy, and she liked him. Oh course the majority of her liking was linked to the fact that he had given her food. Anyone that fed her was likable in her book.

When he mentioned his other loving his little brother more her ears and head fell. He'd told her not to feel sorry for him, but she couldn't help but get a tad depressed at that thought. Her parents had loved her brother more too. Oh where were her brother and father? Had they finally abandoned their burden? Were they together somewhere?

Sinking down to the ground beside him, Nisha's expression was sorrowful. If she could cry in this form, she might have done so. Usually she could keep up a cheerful exterior, but sometimes she couldn't help but think she'd been abandoned because her very existance was shameful and burdensome.

[CastlesInTheSky]

Phoenix was startled from his pessimistic thoughts as he looked down at her obviously sorrowful face. He looked frustrated for a moment at himself, then remained silent, appearing to be in thought. What had he done? Now he just tossed his own depressing thoughts at this poor, nice creature he had just met and made her depressed. He felt like he had just kicked a puppy. He almost grumbled that his father would do that without remorse. That...puppy-kicking...jerk.

He frantically thought about what could help cheer her up. What made him happy? Money? No, that would be completely useless for a wolf. Alcohol-...no. Of course that would be stupid. Women? Clearly not. He grunted, and tried his best to make her feel better. He had gotten his mother's genes, and words were not his thing.

He placed a hand on her head and patted her gently. "Uh...I'm sorry. Don't be...sad." He shook his head, trying to find comforting words. "Sorry that I'm an idiot, but...well, You look so...sad. I'm sorry...for...I'm just...sorry."

[Anonymous]

Nisha let out a sigh as he patted her on the head and tried, miserably, to find comforting words. It was sweet that he tried, and she felt guilty for making him feel bad. It wasn't his fault that her family was gone and she didn't know why.

Well, now she had to make him feel better! Crawling up, she wiggled her way into his lap, snuggling up against him. Human-things liked to snuggle with soft puppy-things, didn't they? She wasn't technically a puppy-thing, but she wasn't huge in bulk, just lanky.

Her tail wagged as she nuzzled under his chin, trying to cheer him up. They should be happy! No saddness! She had a full belly, that was reason enough to cheer! Whining softly she wiggled and squirmed and tried to exhibit happy puppy behaviors.

[CastlesInTheSky]

Phoenix had closed his eyes in frustration when he felt Nisha climbing onto his lap and opened his eyes, squinting curiously at her. He'd perhaps petted a dog before, but they usually didn't like him enough to be near to him for very long.

Phoenix let out a small chuckle. He wondered how in the world his horrible mish-mash of apology had come out in a good way, but it appeared to have made her happy. He scratched her behind her ears, smiling. "I guess we're good at making each other feel better, huh?"

[Anonymous]

Just that she had made him feel bad had been enough. Nisha didn't need a fancy poetic speech to bring her out of a momentary funk. She liked being happy! Being sad all the time was no fun, and it wasn't productive at all. At least he didn't try to push her out of his lap. Her tongue lolled out to the side as she tilted her head into the scratches behind her ear, the wolfy grin back on her face.

When he said that they were good at making each other feel better her tail wagged vigorously. Yes! Yes! She wished she could talk to him freely. Still, her excited agreement was hard to miss as her tail swished about. Then she turned her head and licked his cheek. Only once, just for good measure. She wasn't about to get all slobbery and drooly on him like a common dog, but one lick wouldn't hurt!

[CastlesInTheSky]

Phoenix's smile faded into an expression of contentment. It was strange for him to smile. It happened very rarely, in fact. Smirking, of course, but not smiling. The way her tongue hung out of her mouth on the side amused him.

He was not completely surprised to be licked on the face, though he made a noise similar to "Pffft" and wiped it on his sleeve. He smirked, shaking his head and chuckling. He figured it was her way of giving him a hug, or something like that. He felt as if she were a person, she would burst out into a flurry of speech and excitement.

"Ha, thanks." He turned his head to the sky, sighing a bit when he regarded the time. "The sun's almost setting already. What's with that? It still seems like midday to me!" He looked puzzled. "How long have we been out here?"

[Anonymous]

Nisha has a very happy puppy at that moment. She wasn't alone. Her belly was full. And best of all, her new friend seemed to be happy too! That grin spread over her face again to his reaction to being licked. For a moment she'd been worried that maybe he would get mad at her for it, but he didn't seem to mind too bad.

When he looked to the sky she tilted her head and looked too, her tail swishing more idly now as he asked her a bunch of questions regarding the time. How was she supposed to know? It would be night soon, though. Which reminded her, what moon phase were they going into tonight? It was a serious question with serious implications.

Turning back to look at him she wagged her tail some more. Oh, it should be the new moon! She could choose to be able to actually talk to Phoenix! Wouldn't that be grand? He seemed like a nice human-thing, and she hadn't actually spoken with someone in weeks. As soon as the moon rose clearly in the sky, she could make the choice. She would be stuck like that until the full moon, however.

[CastlesInTheSky]

Phoenix knew nothing of his companion's strange shape shifting power much like his own, and assumed her to simply be a very smart creature that happened to look as she did. With the intelligence of a human and the look of a dog.

He realized it would be silly to expect an answer, and shrugged that off. He also realized that he should probably be heading back to his home. He wouldn't want thieves breaking into his home and stealing his valuable glass pieces. Or anything else for that matter.

"I should be going home..." He sighed and scratched her behind the ears one final time, nudging her gently off and getting up. His wings disappeared along with his tail in a moment. "It was great talking to you, Nisha." He patted her on the head. "I promise I'll bring you something to eat sometime, probably tomorrow. And then we can talk more and stuff." He sighed. "Too bad you can't talk to me too, though." He shrugged. "Eh, I guess it's ok. Anyway, see you around, friend." He offered a small smile and a nod of his head, then he hurried off into the forest, into the town, where the neon rays of sunset bathed the streets.

At his home, he packed his work things away and went to sleep early, for once, without a drink. He would take a break tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

Nisha had not protested to being nudged out of his lap. It had been nice to cuddle up to someone, but she wasn't so naive as to think it could last forever. Her ears perked up as she watched him leave. He gave her assurances that he would come back, with food. Her ears drooped as he said he wished that she could talk to him too. Well, that pretty much made up her mind. She would choose to be a human thing so she could talk to Phoenix. She could always change back when the moon was full.

She sat on her haunches and watched him leave. Soon she could no longer hear him, and the sun was still setting. Her ears flickered back and forth, indecision on her. She would be a human-thing, for Phoenix, for a little while...but did she wait here for him to come back? It probably wasn't the best option, but she decided to follow him. Her nose stuck to the ground she picked up his scent and trotted to the city walls. Hunching down, she crept into the town. Her eyes looked about wildly the whole time, it was harder to track him here!

She spent much time going back and forth, criss-crossing, slinking through shadows trying to avoid people. The sun disappeared and the moon rose up high. In terror she ran through the streets, she would have to choose soon! What if she couldn't find him in time? Finally she hit upon his familiar scent again and followed it to a house door. Relief flooded through her as she carefully found a window and with a little ingenuity, managed to sneak herself inside.

Creeping quietly through the house she found Phoenix sleeping in his bed. It was the right house! Moving back through the house she moved to a window, letting the moonlight pour in over her. She made her choice, for better, or worse. A few agonizing and bone-cracking minutes later and she huddled, shivering on the floor. Oh jumping jackrabbits! It was cold without fur! It had been at least a couple years since she had taken this form, and she felt horribly disoriented and clumsy.

[CastlesInTheSky]

Phoenix slept hard for most of the night, but was forced into a lighter sleep when there were noises outside and inside. He grumbled things in his sleep, turning every which way. He was completely oblivious to the fact that there was someone else in his room. Phoenix was, for the better or worse, mostly a heavy sleeper. Then, someone outside, probably a drunk, was crashing about and stirring up quite the noise. Before the person was silenced, he woke up, sitting up and peering out the window sleepily. How annoying.

Then Phoenix became aware of a noise inside his own room. A soft noise. Something was in his room. Someone?
He flicked his gaze to the corner of the room.

"What-"

Phoenix jumped back, almost slamming into the wall. What? Who was that? He didn't know that person. A girl? Why was she here? Who in the world was she? And why...
He turned away, his face turning red but covered by the darkness in the night. He thrust his blanket to her, looking as little as possible. "Please cover yourself, miss. And may I ask why you're in my house?" He wasn't particularly angry, he was just more than confused, still sleepy, and not particularly cautious of the small woman who had somehow come into his house.

[Anonymous]

Nisha had been trying to get her senses sorted out for several minutes. Already she missed her keen nose, ears, and night-eyes. Mostly, she just huddled there, shivering and trying to keep her teeth from chattering at the unaccustomed chill the air put on her bare skin. Suddenly there was noise outside, she shrank back slightly. Phoenix had been sleeping peacefully, and she'd been content to leave him that way, but the noise had woken him.

Her lips curved into a frown as he jumped back away from her. She hadn't meant to frighten him! Of course...he wasn't expecting the wolf Nisha, let alone the girl Nisha. Yeah, not the best, thought-out plan she'd ever had. He thrust his blanket at her. She stared at it for several moments, before tentatively reaching out to take it and pull it around herself. Ah, at least that was a little better! Although, she didn't understand...oh! She looked down at herself, she was naked. Right, humans were particular about wearing those clothes things. She...didn't have any clothes. Oh dear. Yes, definitely not her most intelligent plan!

"Oh...I'm s-s-sorry, Ph-ph-pheonix!" Oh my, talking was a little hard, she had not done it in so long! Still, she tried hard to steady her voice. "I...I f-f-followed you home. You wanted to t-t-talk to me, b-b-but I c-c-couldn't sp-sp-speak." Ugh! The stuttering was awful! "It's...N-n-nisha!"

[CastlesInTheSky]

Phoenix stared at Nisha for a moment blankly, trying to gather his thoughts. It was a bit easier to think about the situation when she had donned the blanket. So, Nisha was like him in a way? Able to change forms? That definitely made things different. And it explained a lot. At least it made him a bit calmer now, knowing that he actually sort of knew the woman sitting on his floor.

"Oh...Nisha! I see. Uh...sorry for throwing a blanket at your face." He turned, searching through his clothes in a drawer. He thrust a shirt that was probably much too big too her, and figured his pants wouldn't be of any use, considering how tall he was. She'd just be tripping over them. and the shirt would probably be like a dress for her, considering the fact that it was big on him.

"So, I don't mean to be rude, but...why are you here? I don't mind you visiting or anything, but why so late...? And why at night?"

[Anonymous]

Nisha was thoroughly embaressed now. It wasn't because of her lack of clothes, just at how poorly this had all been planned out. Which was really to say, not at all. She hadn't thought anything through! Well, it was too late now to take any of it back, she was here and would just have to make the best of the situation, if it could be salvaged, that was.

When he offerred her a shirt she hesitantly took it with a mumbled thanks, taking a moment to figure out how to get it on, she hadn't dressed herself in years! Pulling it over her head and down to pool around her hips, it would probably almost reach her knees if she were standing. She pulled the blanket back around her, though. She was still cold, it felt weird not to have her fur, it kept her so nice and warm in comparison.

Her face flushed and she looked away as he asked her questions about why she was there. "Oh, I-I'm so s-s-sorry! I didn't really think it through, but..." She pointed out the window, to the sky. "It is a new moon. I can only change on the new and full moons. I had to do it tonight or I would have had to wait for the next opportunity to turn so that I could talk to you..."

Nisha shifted uneasily where she was on the floor. "I followed you home because...well...if I had changed out there...well..." She played with the blanket that was wrapped around her. If she had transformed out there she'd be sitting, freezing and naked, in the middle of the woods, as a human-thing. "...I'm sorry..."

[CastlesInTheSky]

Phoenix looked away as she put the shirt on, waiting until she was clothed to turn his head back. She didn't seem to mind whether he looked or not, but it mattered to him to at least try to be a gentleman. He was pleased that it was long enough to be decent. Fortunately, it was short-sleeved, so she wouldn't have much a problem with that.

He wasn't particularly sleepy now, having gone to bed rather early. He listened to her answer, studying her. "Ah, I see..." He shook his head. He hoped he didn't sound too much like a jerk earlier. He felt like he should be more understanding, considering he probably wouldn't want to change to human form in the middle of a forest and stand there naked, either. Especially since it wasn't that hot outside in the night.

"Oh...It's okay, you don't need to apologize. I mean, you just wanted to talk to me..." He stood there, pondering the situation for a moment. "Well, first, I'll get you something warm to drink...wait here. You can sit on the bed if you'd like." He hurried off, down to his kitchen, then back over with some tea. It had a berry flavour, and was in a thick cup with a handle. He had cup as well.

"So, we might as well talk. What did you want to talk about, anyway?"

[Anonymous]

There was a difference between not minding nakedness and not minding being looked at. Nisha didn't have a problem with nudity, she spent most of her time with only fur to cover her, but had Phoenix been actively checking her out she might have become slightly uncomfortable. Then again, there was a difference between looking and checking someone out, too. It was complicated all around.

Her head tilted as he mentioned getting her something warm to drink, and she was secrely glad for the few moments he was gone. It would have been terribly embarrassing to have him watch her clumsily walk to the bed and sit down awkwardly. Oh dear, she wasn't used to her human legs at all, she'd been all wobbly and extremely ungraceful. How did they balance with just two legs?!

She had made sure that the shirt he'd lended her was covering her enough to be modest for his human understandings, and she had the blanket still wrapped around her for extra coverage. The last thing she wanted to do was make him uncomfortable. When he brought her the cup of tea she smiled brightly, taking it somewhat awkwardly, grasping it firmly in both hands for fear of accidentally dropping it.

"Thanks for the tea...and uh..." Well she hadn't thought the talking thing out much either, but at least she was starting to talk more like a normal person. Nisha hoped she'd get used to the rest of her humanness as well, the quicker the better. "I really hadn't thought that far...I wasn't even sure I would be able to find you. I just...well...I haven't had anyone to talk in weeks, and I was lonely...and you were lonely...I just wanted to keep you company." She shrugged uncomfortably and took an awkward sip of her tea.

[CastlesInTheSky]

Phoenix nodded to her as she thanked him. He hoped she liked it. He had supposed it wasn't too bad, but he'd drink anything. He was glad she seemed warm and content enough. He noted the way she gripped the cup and wondered if it had been a long time since she had last been a human. He supposed so. Well, he knew how that was like.

He was a bit startled by her answer. It sounded so...nice of her. Of course she wanted to be in his house because he had food and drink, not to mention clothing, but it just seemed so nice of her. It was very difficult for him to wrap his mind around someone with pure motivations for anything. And it was almost impossible for him to wrap his mind around someone just wanting to talk to him. Either because they or he was lonely.

"Well, alright. Thanks." He shifted his position, looking down at his hands. "Well, that's...I'm glad I'm able to make you less lonely, I guess..." He looked out the window. "So, where's your home? I'm guessing you don't live around here."

[Anonymous]

By the third sip, Nisha was getting the hang of drinking like a human again. It was good. This had been a very ill-conceived idea. She was being a burden, just like she always was. Her hands squeezed around the cup until it hurt, then she relaxed her grip. There wasn't much she could do about it now. At least he was kind enough to put up with her...for the moment. Even her own father and brother had gotten sick of her. Phoenix would too, but at least it was comforting to have his company while it lasted.

Her face was flushed and she stared down at the cup in her hands, not really wanting to look at Phoenix right now. She felt a little ashamed of herself. This had been stupid, she shouldn't have come. At least as an animal, out in the woods, she couldn't be as much of a bother to anyone. His question caught her off-guard. "H-home? Oh, uh..."

She fidgetted slightly, keeping her head down. "Well, I don't really have a home. My father and brother and me...we just sort of travelled, never staying in one place too long. Safer that way...Then one day...father didn't come back. So it was just Gavin and me. And then...one day Gavin didn't come back..." She shruged her shoulders uncomfortably.

[CastlesInTheSky]

Phoenix frowned. Well, he had assumed she had some home of a sort. He knew what it was like to be homeless, though. And he figured he might as well be considered fatherless as well. It's not like he helped with anything. He was a demon; 'help' was not in his vocabulary unless it had something in it for him. He and his sister had split off a while ago, but he couldn't compare it to her disappearing.

There was a short silence as he gathered his thoughts. She looked uncomfortable...he hoped he hadn't said anything wrong. "We don't have to talk about stuff like that if you don't want to. But I didn't have much for myself for a while either." There was a somewhat complicated and shady story about how he got a nice little home in Serendipity, but that wasn't going to come up in conversation. He hoped not.

"So, I...well, don't think you're bothering me or anything. You're not. And if you want stuff, ask for stuff. Not that many people can do my trade, so yeah, perks to that. And I like you. Well, cause you listen nice and stuff." He sighed. "Well, you know. Anyway, is there anything you want to know about me?"

[Anonymous]

Nisha had never really thought of herself as homeless. What did an animal need with four walls and a roof? Sure, they had occupied caves sometimes, but mostly they roamed and lived and were free. It had never been a bad life, until she found herself alone. She wasn't strong enough to take down prey herself. Not signifigant prey. Even rabbits were impossible. She could have easily ran down and overpowered them, if not for her frail condition.

She shook her head and looked up at him with a smile. He was so nice to her. "It's nice for you to say that. I know that it is not true, though. I am a bother to everyone. A person that cannot fend for themself is useless and burdensome...I think that is why my father and brother did not come back."

Her expression was one of both sadness and resignation. What good was a wolf that could not hunt? What good was...whatever she was. They had always pointed that out, that she was not a real wolf. Not like them. This subject was kind of depressing. "Well, you said your trade, what is your trade?"