November 2nd
7:30 PM
Open

Darren sat silently in his favorite little circle of trees. He stared silently at the ground and watched a small spider making its way over the ground. Looking up, he saw the noonday sun shining through the trees, plenty of time to just sit and think before he had to go home. Closing his eyes, he rest his head against the tree he was sitting by.

How had he gotten here? WHY had he gotten here? He could have continued school... gotten his degree, gotten a real job... No. He shook his head and looked down at his hands, almost able to see the tiny claws of the Ferret there. It was his mutation, it was his handicap. He could never live a normal life. Closing his eyes, he put his head in his hands and gripped his hair.

"How the hell did I get here?"

He didn't notice as someone wandered into the grove, he just sat there, staring at the ground between his feet lost in his many thoughts.

(Don't forget to put a time stamp at the top of the post with the date and time, so people know if their character is open to post that day and time )

The pencil scratching against paper was actually not a bad sound. In the last few weeks new hobbies had been picked up in a goal to expand the horizons of before. Sketching had been chosen as the one to try out now. So far the pictures produced were far from art, but there was fun in creating them. That was all that mattered as far as Max was concerned. Wether it was cooking or drawing or even stamp collecting or some other odd hobby. If a person had fun doing it, then there was nothing stupid or useless about it. That was what mattered in life. Enjoying your life and what you did in it. No one wanted to be the grumpy dude that hated everyone and everything in life. That guy usually died alone and miserably. No thanks.

Tired of the same spot, the young man rose and began a trek for a new spot. "Got to be some really nice green areas to try and butcher on paper. Hmm ironic. I butcher nature on a paper, where paper comes from. Gonna have to write that down later."

The new site was marred by just one thing, the dude sitting against hte three. "Oh sorry man, thought this grove was empty." Just as the words were said the man seemed to mutter loudly to himself about why he was there. "Umm I can see your busy dude. Maybe I should just turn around and go."

He jumped a little as he heard someone speak and looked up to see Max standing there, getting ready to leave. He sighed and shook his head, trying to smile a little.

"No it's ok, c'mon in. I don't mind company."

He pulled his knees up a bit and leaned on them, his hands folded in front of him. He took a look at Max, just taking in his overall appearance. As he did, he noticed the sketch book in his hand. Ok, that could work as a conversation piece. He nodded to it as he spoke.

"You any good?"

He looked up at Max, wondering if he'd come here to be alone too. So he wasn't the only one who needed to get away now and then, that was good. Made him feel a little less alone.

Turning back around with permission to stay, arms sat by the side as the two figures seemed to study one another. Noticing the gaze on his sketch pad, Max pulled it up slightly as if to hide it. Definitely not something to share with others at the moment. For one so open and honest with others it was odd for the young man to still have some inadequacies about certain things like his skills. Sure it was easy to say he should just be proud of whatever he came up with. Thinking and realizing that was the easy part. Actually doing proved the hard part.

"Eh depends on the definition of good I guess. Not so much good...as pretty terrible. But I just wanted to give it a try. Try new things and all that you know. Guess it's one hobby I can definitely cross off the list." The pencil slid into the pocket as he spoke. "What about you, just enjoying the park?"

He noticed Max trying to hide the sketchbook, then heard his answer and decided it was best not to ask if he could see. He smiled a little at the question and looked up at the trees, sighing a little.

"I come here now and then to relax, get away from it all. I like to just sit here, close my eyes, and imagine I'm somewhere else. Somewhere not so... insane."

He gave a small smile with little humor in it and looked up at Max. Figuring he should be polite, he sat forward and held his hand out for the other man to shake.

"I'm Darren."

Sure introducing himself was a little out of the blue, but he knew so few people in this city and something in this guy's tone suggested he liked to come to the park, so maybe Darren would see him again. Maybe they could even be friends.

"Know how that goes. The insane thing that is. Sometimes life just seems to have it in for us all I think. Insanity is the flavor of the day everyday." Especially when one is a mutant, was the unspoken part of the musings. It seemed that the world seemingly had it out for the genetically gifted. They lost in the genetic lottery of life, so the shit came pouring down upon them day after day. Nutcases out to kill them. Kidnapping. Megalomaniacs out to destroy the world. Giant robots set to kill them. It sure was never a dull day.

The hand was accepted and shook firmly with a friendly smile. "Max. Nice to meet you Darren."

Eying all around the park, the sketchbook slid down a bit revealing one picture. It wasn't the best, but it was better than the others. The picture was clearly of a young woman with startling blue eyes, and a very attractive face.

He chuckled a little as Max said life seemed to have it out for you a lot of the time. Life was like that every night for Darren. If he wasn't home when he changed, there was always some new danger trying to get him. Usually it was a cat or some little girl who wanted to take him home. He looked down, his voice quiet as he spoke.

"You can say that again..."

He smiled a little as Max shook his hand and nodded in response to his comment. Then he saw the picture. It was actually pretty good for someone who seemed to be a beginner. Pretty woman. He wondered if she was Max's girlfriend.

"Pretty. Who is she?"

He nodded to the image, then looked up at Max, hoping he wouldn't be angry or upset at Darren for peeking at the picture.

The question was confusing at first. Glancing around for this 'she' in question, eyes finally realized the notebook had slipped. Pulling it up quickly his face went really red. The picture hadn't been meant to be seen by anyone really. Yet now it was in the open. Smooth move Max. Glancing down at it again he finally met the other man's eyes again.

"Yeah she is....she's just a friend...fellow student at my school. That's it." Rubbing nervously at the back of his neck, the paper was set down as he met eyes again. "Pretty simple sketch though, didn't really capture it all I guess."

He smiled a little at Max's reaction, seeing his face flush. It was pretty obvious he at least had a crush on this girl by that reaction, but Darren figured it was better to not contest the fact those feelings were there. He probably hadn't admitted it to himself yet.

"Maybe you should specialize in the female form. That's very good for a beginner."

Sure he wasn't an art critic or anything, but he knew when something was good and that was pretty darn good. Darren sure as heck couldn't draw anything like that. His attempts at drawing people always came out as misshapen blobs barely recognizable as human.

Glancing at his watch, he sighed. He would have to leave soon, or else get stuck in traffic and change in the middle of a crowd. He didn't really want to leave Max hanging, so he hoped silently that he could get away to where he could change in a bush or something.

"Thanks...I guess I was just really inspired." The pad was raised as he stared at the picture for a few moments. Seeing it was like looking at Lina, and it made a warm feeling spread through his body. She was definitely a special girl. More than she knew, and he hoped to show her everyday how special she was.

"She's....she's sort of my girlfriend I guess. Not really sure though. Women, huh?" Eyes moved up as he lightly chuckled to notice the man's watch check and eyes moving around the park. Probably had someplace to go or something. "Getting kind of late out huh?"

He smiled a bit as Max explained she was his girlfriend. He nodded a little. She was a pretty girl, Max was lucky to have someone like that. He just hoped her personality was as pretty as her face. So often women that pretty were sour grapes and weren't worth being around. He looked up at Max and chuckled a bit at his comment about women.

"I wouldn't really know. I don't spend much time around women. And no I'm not gay. Just... complicated I guess."

He looked down as he rubbed the back of his neck, sighing a little and closing his eyes. He hated that he needed to keep away from women because of what he was. He longed for love and pleasure, but he knew no woman would want a man who turned into a ferret every night. When Max commented on Darren looking at his watch, he smiled a little and shrugged.

"I suppose. It's nothing really."

He stood, then closed his eyes a little, feeling the animal in him starting to rise already. The ferret wasn't very strong or feral, but he still felt the longing of the forest and the wild. It came every night, but the fact that he was here in this little grove seemed to make it stronger. He blinked a little and shook his head, hoping to make Max think he'd just stood too fast.

"No worries if you were gay, no judging from me. One of my friends is gay. At least I think he is. Hard to tell sometimes." Laughter came out as thoughts of Chance and the odd occurrences came to mind. Max was one to never judge others on their choices or their lifestyles. There was enough pain and suffering in the world. Everyone walked to the different beat of a drum, and that was the way it should be. Accept everyone for who they are and the world would be a better place.

Nodding at the response to his question, eyes went towards the sky. It was slowly getting later around them. Nightfall would come soon enough. Returning his eyes to the other man, there was a moment where it seemed something was up as Darren had his eyes shut. Then just as fast the guy was shaking it off. Shrugging it off himself was Max only response. "Don't want to keep you from something if you need to go. Don't worry I won't be offended." A friendly smile was offered up to reassure.

He smiled as Max mentioned his own friend who was gay and nodded a little. In his opinion it was a good thing to have gay friends, they helped you get used to the diversities in life, be it skin color, religion, or lifestyle choice. He didn't have any friends so he couldn't really speak for himself, but he didn't think of himself as discriminating.

Then Max told him that if he needed to go he wouldn't be offended. But Darren knew now that he would change earlier than usual tonight. Being in this place as the sun started to set was just too much for the animal inside. It needed to be released. He doubted whether he'd even make it out of the park before he changed. Smiling, he shook his head.

"No, it's ok. Just got tired of sitting."

He leaned against the tree and put his hands in his pockets. He grit his teeth a little and summoned all his strength to stay human. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but he had to try tonight, he didn't want to chase Max away and act like an insane man.

"How long have you been sketching?"

He kept his voice steady, trying not to reveal the turmoil he was in. He had to seem perfectly normal. He had to or Max would get suspicious.

Nodding at the denial of needing to leave, a light shrug came. "About a week or so. Been trying out some new hobbies. Broadening my horizons. Cooking is my area, but figured I can't stick to the same hobby forever."

There was a clear strain on the other man's face. Not a normal pain or tired strain either. There was something else. An eyebrow rose as the detective show loving amateur sleuth emerged. "You sure you're okay dude? You seem like you're in pain or something. Should probably get that checked out if you are. I learned the hard way about not ignoring injuries and such. Especially after I was....caught in some accidents that really hurt." The word kidnapped and Arcade almost came up. Pretending there was no pause, he realized he had been speed talking again. "Sorry man, I tend to talk quite a lot. Don't like silences I guess or something."

He managed a smile at Max's mention of cooking. Everyone had something they were good at, so it was good that Max knew what he was good at. Even better that he was trying other things to see how he fared. He was about to comment on that, but first Max commented on the fact that Darren didn't look so good. He took a breath that shook slightly and wiped his forehead, beading sweat off.

"I-it's nothing. I'm ok."

He balled his hand into a fist as he felt an itching on his fingers that heralded the growing of claws. He shoved his fist into his pocket and tried to smile, but the pain was starting and growing steadily worse as the sun slowly started to sink into the horizon.

"I'll be ok..."

He closed his eyes, trying desperately to stop the change. He was starting to itch as his body hair started to change into fur.

Deep breaths and sweat upon the brow, never good signs. Clearly something was up with the guy. Fearing that there was some medical emergency he was far from equipped to handle, Max's mind began to whirl at possibilities of what he actually could do to help.

"You don't look okay man.."

Pain rippled across the guys face, and his hand shoved into his pocket quickly. Quickly enough that Max knew something was wrong. As the sun began to sink into the horizon, there was a quick inkling that maybe the dude was a werewolf or something. A second of fear went away as he mentally chastised himself. There was no such thing as werewolves. Then again there were mutants that turned others into mindless Zombies, which he had seen first hand days before....

"Are you sure you're okay man? If you need to get someplace we can get you there. I'll help anyway I can."

Darren looked out of the trees and out to the horizon as the sun began to touch the horizon. He couldn't hold it back anymore. white fur sprouted over his body and he doubled over, gripping his stomach in pain as he started to change. He fell to his hands and knees, groaning in pain.

His fingers closed around a small stick on the ground and he lit it to his mouth, closing his teeth around it as his bones started to audibly crack, his internal organs gurgling as they started to shift too. His nose and mouth burst forward, forming into the Ferret muzzle as his ears shrank and rounded. His body started to shrink in turn as the rest of his body started to change to the Ferret appearance.

The whole time, he was screaming in pain, tears rolling down his cheeks as he changed. It was the same change he went through every night, but every night the pain was unbearable. He often wondered how he lived through it. In moments, there appeared to be nothing but a pile of clothes where he'd just been standing.

After a few moments, a small lump in the clothes started moving and a small pink nose poked its way out of the clothes. Darren pushed his way out of the pile, slowly walking out to where Max could see him. He looked up at the human, now little more than a large blurred lump to his vision. He wondered how this man would take it, seeing someone change into a little white rodent right in front of him.

As the sun descended even more into the horizon, Darren feel to his knees and groaned loudly. Max's eyes shot over to the kneeling form and wondered what to do. The guy was obviously in pain. That was abundently more clear every moment. Watching the other guy grab a stick and place it in his mouth, the worst of it began to start. Bones cracking. Screams of pain. Whatever was happening wasn't pleasant. Yet is seemed familiar in a way. A snout appeared and Darren's size began to change. Flashes of a day years ago in San Francisco came to light. The day Max's powers first kicked in. His first size change.

The shifting organs and muscles. The sound of bones creaking and cracking. The agonizing pain. All of it was remembered vividly as sympathy for the other man overcame him. Even now the changes weren't pleasant. Sure being at the school helped in using it, and he didn't ever hesitate to use it, but it hurt like the dickens.

The pile of clothes that were Darren's moved, as the small ferret peeked out then emerged. Looking down, knees touched the ground as he knelt close. "Dude...you're a mutant! Awesome." There were a lot of dangers for most animals out in an area like the park. Mostly of the human variety. Kids wanting to touch and pull on any animal they found. Animal control. And all the rest. There was also the hobo factor of stolen clothes. Sitting down beside the clothes and the ferret, he vowed to wait with the guy till he was human again.

He looked up as he heard Max speak. He sighed and watched as he sat down, obviously waiting for him to change back. He walked over and started scratching at the sketchbook. He didn't know how well he could write in this form, but he had to try. He had to explain to Max that this wasn't something that would only last a few minutes. He looked up at him for a moment, then scratched at the sketchbook again, hoping he would get the message.

Come on, man, get the idea. I doubt you can understand me if I squeak, so let me use this thing.

He could survive tonight in the park if he found a hole or a bush to hide under. He'd done it before in worse places, after all. He just didn't want Max sitting here all night wondering if Darren was ever going to change back.

The now furry and small Darren moved over and began scratching at the notebook. At first it seemed that perhaps like many other animal shifters, the animal part had taken over. When the motion was repeated it was too much to be a coincidence. Pulling the pad open, he pushed it in front of the ferret and sat back. From the urgency of the scratch, Max began to think that perhaps it wasn't voluntary or a short span type change. From the watch glancing and the anxiousness about the sunset it probably was a set time change.

"Have at it little dude."