@shikoba-kole - Tumblr Blog

As soon as she heard the knock, Skylar ran out. When she saw Kole, she hugged him tightly. She was wearing his sweatshirt that he had 'loaned' to her. The girl beamed up at him as if no time had passed, and they were seeing each other after ten minutes of absence. The embrace was ended too quickly, but she took the time to look him over. It was frigid outside, and it was the cold that made her realize she couldn't stand there and stare at him forever. She picked up the bag, that probably weighed half as much as her, and opened the door for him.

"You didn't text back. I didn't know if you were coming, but I'm so glad you did. I missed you. I had a hard time not texting you. I just knew if I texted you, I'd come back." She told him. She meant it. "The drinks are alcoholic and none. It's whatever you want." She couldn't stop smiling at him.

Kole froze as Skylar hugged him. He hardly expected it, but managed to return the embrace before she could break away from it. He smiled at her, opening his mouth to speak, but closing it soon after she began to talk. Kole realized he hadn't responded, and felt guilty for not getting back to her. He had debating responding - and coming to see her. If his brother ever found out what had happened... if anyone from Osiris figured out what happened, he would have been a dead man. But as she spoke, Kole knew he had made the right decision a hundred times over. He wasn't a murderer.

"Sorry, I should've texted back, but I was surprised!" He tried to sound defensive, but all seriousness melted away with a goofy grin. "Hey, don't tip over now," He laughed, "I can take that--" Kole followed her into her studio space, noting the drinks and the familiar scent of the room. "Been awhile." He murmured. "I'm good for none right now, you got any soda?" Kole figured a drink or two later would be more than fine, but right now he wanted to catch up. "How did you get this anyways? You got a boot?" He laughed.

As his laughter faded, Kole's features settled, and he turned to face Skylar. "So... how are you? Really?"

Finals and New Beginnings

Skylar wasn’t exactly the type to leave a note before she disappeared, even when it was on purpose. So when she came back with as little notice as she left, most people seemed to be surprised. Her students questioned her endlessly, and so did her boss. Thankfully, she had at least written her employer a letter saying her mother was sick. It wasn’t a lie, exactly. Her mother was sick, but her mother had been sick since she was an adolescent; and she wasn’t sick physically, but of the mind. Skylar feared that she was walking down the same path. The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, right?

It started when Sky was in finals for the Academy. In high school and her few college classes, she was excelling. She stayed under the radar aside from in theatre, where she absolutely soared. However, she had some things to really worry about. She was still in the phase in which the strength of her powers depended on the day- Which meant doing something she was very comfortable with in every scape aside from magic: practicing. She forced herself into it for an hour or two each day. It always ended with her in cold sweats and panic. But, slowly, she could see progress. Skylar was actually getting to be good.

The day came and she performed her tasks for each class. With the help of Adrien, she constructed a curing paste. She had clearly mastered teleportation, and telekinesis, by that time. But what she was really worried about? The last final: Performing a spell on something. She had to do a simple mind influence. It was pretty basic. But the power was overwhelming, and watching someone else carry out her thoughts was too much. They both ran in opposite directions as soon as it was over. But now, the runaway was back at an old friend’s door step. Her six months board at the Academy were clearly up. So, she texted him.

Hey, Kole. I’m home again. Meet me at the dance studio in my room whenever you can. If you bring food, I’ll take care of drinks.

That was the one thing she was sure of: Whenever she ran out of scotch, she could buy more. But, for this occasion, she got wine too. She had already had a glass or three by the time she worked up the courage to text him.

Kole had been both shocked and torn when he had finally received word of Skylar. It had made sense, her leaving so suddenly, but after the two had just met - especially in the situation they had been in - he felt extremely disappointed when he never heard back. When he'd asked about her at the studio, they said she'd left with little notice, and told him nothing else. Obviously it was private information, but Kole wished they had given him something to go by. In truth, he had missed her.

After she left, Kole realized that he had to decide on what to do with Dan his brother, and with his job at Osiris. Clearly he couldn't work there, not doing what he was doing. It was sick, twisted... it was wrong, beyond any sense of the word. But his brother encouraged him, pushed him to keep going. Reminded him that their family needed the money, and it was true. They really, really did.

So Kole stayed, instead of working Collection, he managed to get lowered to a position of counting and keeping track of stock - with full supervision of course. He hated every moment of it, but Dan has assured him that leaving was not an option. After hearing of Cancelino's death via one of the higher-ups (one that Kole never hoped to meet), Kole realized he would be fearing for his life if he just up and quit. That alone was another reason why Kole had hesitated going to see her, that was, until he convinced himself otherwise.

Standing just outside of her studio classroom, Kole stared at the phone he held in one hand, the other grasped at a large fast food bag, filled to the brim with cheeseburgers. Finally, Kole took in a deep and knocked on the door.

[Weekly Prompt] Languages

Being raised on the rez had made it both easy and infinitely difficult to learn an array of languages - it all depended on how willing one had to be to learn. His mother and her father before that spoke Choctaw almost everywhere, and though she spoke mostly English with her two boys and husband, she very much enjoyed teaching the language to Dan and Kole. Kole didn't much care to take in the language as a kid, he was able to attend public school, and found it embarrassing to speak anything other than English. It wasn't until he went into high school that he actually began to learn, though at that point he could only pick up so much. Despite not being fluent, he knows many hymns sung in Choctaw by heart. His father, also Choctaw but with Dutch coming from his grandfather's side, always tried to get Dan and Kole to speak it, though he himself knew very little. Working for Osiris, where most of the workers (the old hires) were from the Netherlands, made it easy for him to strengthen what he knew. Kole's been told more than once his diction is good, though his grammar is terrible. This goes for both Choctaw and Dutch.

#cosamprompt2

dr-andrew-tomlinson

I'm Not Sure | Andrew+OPEN

It had taken Andy awhile to finally get use to his new life in New Orleans, but now it seemed that with the help of medication, Esther’s presence, and regulating work schedule, he was getting into the swing of things. He wasn’t very sure of how he would be doing, had he not found a way to get more of them when he ran out of his prescriptions; but it seemed that the occasional transaction of money for pills behind Deja Vu had become a weekly ritual. One that he wasn’t willing to stop any time soon if he wanted to maintain his sanity.

I’m not abusing… my doctor must be— just — an idiot, or something.

He’d tell himself the same thing every time he bought street pills, but it didn’t seem to make him feel any better once he actually got home to take them. It never stopped him from running through twenty pills in one week, though. The religious act had just taken place yet again, but someone was there when the slender man made his way back to the front of the show-girls club, looking a little more pale than usual.

"Oh… Hey…"

Of course, despite being at a joint used solely for pleasure, Kole was actually working. Number 167 (or was it 176? The number system was far more confusing than he cared to admit) had taken a leave of absence due to an unfortunate accident with a silver bullet through the skull, which meant for the time being, Kole was the one to sweep the premises of anything or anyone suspicious before it was deemed safe for his employer. Of course, the old mummy could probably kill a man just by looking at him, but it was the idea that he could actually pay people to do such a thing that was important to him.

Kole had been on edge as of late. It was difficult not to with his line of work, and the employer made it impossible to ever feel safe, no matter where he was. He was just waiting for his boss to arrive, whenever that would be, when he saw a man slink out from behind Deja vu. Kole could tell right away he was nothing spectacular--just human--but it didn't mean he felt any less suspicious. As he approached, maybe embarrassed for noticing that Kole had been watching him count his stash of pills, he spoke to the younger werewolf who tried to act tough.

"Hey yourself. Not interested in what you gotta sell." Kole had his arms crossed, back leaned against the side of the building as he watched for his employer, who he expected to roll up at any moment in some sort of extravagant ride.

Friends with the Enemy ll Skylar and Kole

"Hey, buddy, I didn’t paint. If I did… I don’t know what I would do. Uh, so, this is a piece I’m thinking of doing for a showcase here. I choreographed it just a little while ago… Maybe two weeks? It’s still a little raw so please, be kind." She blushed and walked to the side of the floor as though she were to enter on stage, shedding the hoodie in trade for a tee shirt, simply assuming his eyes had no interest in wandering her direction. She had an undershirt on anyhow, it was battered but the remaining black fabric was opaque and covered what it could.

The hoodie was folded neatly and she put on pointe shoes. The silence in this preparation was comfortable and even excited. With only the warning of watching her select a song, she was performing. Gracefully, she walked to the middle of the studio floor. Something made her realize she had never been this nervous about performance in her life. Her head bowed and she stood there with poise then the swells of the music filled the room. The strings of violins sang in harmony while the notes slowly trickled in.

At first, her body was so gently and soft it looked as though she were a ghost or an angel- or maybe even smoke in air. It was hard to tell if she had been made for the song or the song had been made for her because it seemed with each crescendo, she gained something more- a boldness but never a loss of beauty or grace. But she was never performing. It seemed as though at anytime, she could have pulled him in.

Let your soul take you where you long to be

Then, her eyes shut on a long crescendo and she held a pose for the longest time. She was a statue, something to behold.

Only then can you belong to me.

On the word ‘me’ her eyes met his and she almost touched him but crept back, unreachably, untouchably. All too soon the song was over and she held the final pose until the silence was just enough to fill the room and she was suddenly the form of Skyar that blushed when he looked at her. “Like I said, be kind… What did you think?” She asked, anxiously.

Though the buildup to actually watching her perform was long, it still seemed to happen so suddenly, and from the very first note his attention was solely on her. The purple walls didn't even make it to the back of his thoughts. Dancing en pointe looked a little terrifying, even watching professionals balance and pivot seemed more like waiting for a house of cards to come crashing down than watching art unfold. But he didn't hold his breath, only exhaled in a sigh as the girl danced. Their forms of dance were like night and day, her music soft while what he danced to was heavy beats and proud words crying out to the heavens. But the way she danced, the emotions written into her face reminded him of how he felt when he danced. It was pure passion, it was life. As her dance lead her over to Kole, just barely reaching him after breaking away from her statuesque form, he still felt touched by her.

"That was-" He couldn't find the words, even after the music stopped playing. Kole just grinned ear to ear, standing up from his leg-crossed position. "I don't know. Kole had almost forgotten to breath, and sucked in a breath, holding it while he thought. "-I want to say awesome but that doesn't even sum it up? It was... unreal."

Night Swimming|| Luna & Kole

Luna couldn’t help but let out a small laugh as he splashed in the water,probably a bit scared that there was another person in the water with him. “I didn’t mean to scare you,it’s good to see I’m not the only one who likes to go swimming at night”.Her voice still had a little bit of laughter in it as she spoke. “I don’t think it was my imagination,I believe what I saw. If you haven’t heard of werewolves then you haven’t heard of vampires either”.She joked as she let her fangs appear as she smiled softly. She wondered if he was nervous around her because of what he was or the fact that she was fully naked infront of him.

“You don’t need to swim away from me I’m not going to hurt you.I promise”.She said as she swam behind him,making sure to keep her distance if he felt uncomfortable.

Kole stopped swimming away after she said the word vampire, and the wolf within him seemed to come back, if only in nature. His face suddenly serious, indecisive, cautious, Kole turned back to look at the vamp and cocked an eyebrow. "Vampire, really?" He was done with vampires. He worked for a vampire, and all of his coworkers that were also vamps seemed cruel in nature and practice. Her fangs were obviously her show of truth, and somehow, her words made Kole believe her. That was him: Too trusting. "What are you doing all the way out here?" He supposed she could ask him the same question, but swimming didn't seem like a pass time vampires would enjoy. Unless it was in blood. He made a mental note not to say that in fear of sounding like an idiot.

Night Swimming|| Luna & Kole

The sweet smell of blood filled the air,teasing her a little bit almost trying to get her to come out from behind the reeds. She shook her head lightly as she stayed perfectly hidden behind them. She peeked through them very quietly to see who or what had appeared at the side of the pond. She watched as a wolf pattered over to the side,its fur covered in blood from another animal.

It couldn’t have been a werewolf,it was too small to be one and the moon wasn’t full that night. It continued to clean off the blood before drinking some of the ponds water. It wasn’t long until her eyes widened with surprise. As the wolf made its way into the water it began to change into the form of a teenage boy,by her best guesses.

She watched as he swam through the pond with no care in the world,he didn’t even seem to notice her hiding from him. She didn’t want to wait for him to find her,even if she did try and make it quickly to the bank,he would have noticed her. “Perfect night for a swim”.She said as she began to swim towards him.

Kole sputtered as he tried to turn around from his backstroke, and splashed and thrashed embarrassingly until he was turned toward Luna. "Ah! G-geez!" He was completely naked, but thankfully it was almost pitch black, as was the water he swam him. But that was the least of his concerns, he had just shifted forms, and this girl--this naked girl--had probably seen the whole thing. "I can explain!" Was the first thing that came from his lips, followed by a long pause. "I mean, I-I can't without sounding crazy, but I can assure you what you saw was just your imagination. I've never heard of a werewolf, have you? Ha! Wait, did I just-" Obviously Kole was nervous, looking anywhere but at the girl swimming in front of him. So naked.

He remembered he had tucked his clothes away down the bank, so he casually tried to half-stroke away from her to make his way over there.

Night Swimming|| Luna & Open

The night was clear and the stars were like glitter in the sky. It was nights like this that were perfect for swimming. She made her way to the park and looked around,not a single person in sight. She made her way over to one of the clear ponds and began to strip off her clothes. She placed them in a pile and made her way into the icy cold water.

She hummed to herself as she swam around,the cool water flowing over her body.It felt so wonderful and free,a perfect thing to let her mind wander. The sound of footsteps approaching quickly caught her attention. She swam behind the reeds as she watched and prayed they wouldn’t catch her.

Kole shook the blood from his fur, a low growl shaking in his throat. The large wolf slowly dragged himself out to the edge of the water, staring down at his reflection in the pond before lapping up a few mouthfuls of water. Though the full moon was not out, Kole was able to shift, thanks to the odd circumstances surrounding the two merging covens within the city. It did, however, make him a smaller wolf than usual, looking like a normal breed, and not like a large hellhound directly from a nightmare. The wolf had kept to the park, chasing the opossums and burning off energy that didn't seem to go away as a human.

The wolf licked his maw and shook out the rest of the animal blood from his coat. His energy was almost spent, so Kole decided to take a dip. The wolf slowly made his way into the pond, feet paddling once the bottom was unreachable, and let out a low sigh from his inhuman mouth as the cold water dampened his fur. The wolf didn't remain long, as it began its shift back into a human. The transition was easiest in the water; the blood and skin could be washed away, and the cold water helped ease the ever-stretching muscles and shifting bones.

There was a soft sigh of relief once he returned back to his true form, and Kole smiled to himself as he backstroked around the pond. He had yet to notice the vampire hiding within the reeds.

dwfno

fifollet || lisbeth&kole

Lisbeth would’ve loved to be nostalgic in that moment - a lot of her childhood had been spent that way, carefully balancing on Kole’s back, little brown toes dragging in the water and the mud, pointing the way through the sun-dappled bayou. They hunted down frogs that way, and more than once, she could remember him taking her right into the thick of a cloud of fireflies, the moon as swollen and pale as it was above them now.

Instead, she kept her face nestled in his fur, hands firmly in his fur. When she felt him stop, she sat up, mind racing. Yes, she was safe. Yes, he could’ve taken her right back to the Academy.

Instead, she took a deep breath and climbed off. “Kole.” She said softly, leaning down so they were nose to nose. “I need you to get back to the school, where it’s safe. I know there are other witches in there. I can’t leave them. If they die, things between factions will get… much, much worse.”

#its hard to emote as a wolf cause ive never rped an animal before

Kole listened only to the beginning of what Lisbeth had to say, before realizing where the conversation was going. Back to the academy! The wolf uttered a low growl as he shook his head away from her to look back to the swamp. No, he wasn't leaving Lisbeth. Not with the creature still out there, not if there were other girls lost in the swamps. There was a reason Kole had been drawn there, and the real reason was still so unclear. The wolf nudged at her thigh, signalling her to climb back on. If she was going into the darkened brush, he would be her guide.

fifollet || lisbeth&kole

Lisbeth hesitated, but nodded, scrambling on to his back and holding on tight, digging her fingers into his fur and clenching her eyes shut. She knew how fast Kole could move, and with the reaching branches and deep pools ahead of them…

It was best to keep close and keep her eyes shut. She buried her face in the fur of neck, nodding. “Go!”

Lisbeth was as light as a feather on Kole's back. It hardly took her words to make him leap forward, away from where the creature had disappeared to and off into the night. He was swift as he dipped under low-hanging branches, feet padding the soft mud of the swamp. It was as though he floated just above the earth as he moved effortlessly through the thick terrain.

A long, guttural moan echoed out in the distance, but Kole was far away now, still not a safe distance, though. He could feel Lisbeth's face against his back, feel the tug of her hands in his fur. It brought back shades of memory of their childhood, how they used to venture far deeper into the swamps than they were allowed, how she would guide him while riding atop his back. Even when he was a human, he piggy-backed her more often than not. So now, even so many years later, Kole felt a tinge of security in knowing that Lisbeth was with him.

They were at the very edge of the bayou when Kole finally stopped. He did not expect Lisbeth to get off, he only stood there as he tasted the air with his senses. They were in the clear, but for how long? That thing, had it been what he thought it was... how much longer could anyone be safe?

fifollet || lisbeth&kole

Lisbeth hit the water hard, spluttering in the mud and scum, her vision obscured for a moment. “Fuck.” She hissed, scrambling to her feet as the shadow sped past. She looked down at Kole. Bipedal. Reptilian. Huge as a motherfucker.

"We need to go." She whispered.

She knew they were both thinking of the same thing - sitting at Grandmere Bayon’s feet, listening to her tell the sad story of Letiche. Stay out of the swamps, or you’ll be like that poor boy. Stay away from the Bayou at night, or he might gobble you up or take you away to his ‘gator hole, never to be seen again.

Kole managed to recover, scrambling to his four legs as he shook off the impact with Lisbeth and having just missed the creature's massive body barreling towards and past them. He snorted in agreement; they needed to go, and quickly.

The wolf grumbled, bowing his head down as he nudged at Lisbeth's hand, until her palm once more rested on his head. This time, it was more urgent, and he barked quietly, signalling her to climb on his back. Being a pure-blooded wolf, he was far larger than most. Her weight wouldn't hinder him, even if having someone on his back wasn't something he was used to.

"I could just take you to the studio. I have a key with me." She shrugs. "Plus, I think we might get caught if we stay out here too long. Likelihood is, they're looking for both of us, or at least me about now." She squeezed his hand. "It'll be a private show either way." She joked and made herself stand. She looked around, hugging the hoodie to her body and taking her time. The night wasn't rushing her, but soon the rain would be. Her mind wandered to her warm, plush, little room in the studio and walked faster. She pulled her second burger from the bag when she got into the car. "Thanks for the food." She laid her head against the window and watched the clouds pass, giving him directions to the studio when he asked.

Once they arrived, she fished the key from her back pocket and and unlocked the door, watching the lights turn on in response to her movement down the halls. After a little walk, she opened a purple door to a large dance room that held an apartment like office and a changing room. "I'm here more than anywhere else." The walls not covered in mirrors were violet, to match the door and there was a white board with beautiful cursive on it, listing practice, music, and some sort of instructions. Her dance bag hung on the wall. Her name was sewn on in the same cursive on a golden star over the red canvas sack. This room felt like her- had the same aura. Somehow, it wasn't hard to see her here a lot.

Kole didn't mind the suggestion of leaving to go see her studio. It was getting later by the minute, and he would have lied he said he didn't feel on edge by being out in the open. No doubt when he returned to work there would be questioning. Maybe even punishment. But if Kole told them what he knew, at least what he "chose" to knew, then they might cut him a break. After all, how can someone stop a teleporter?

Once they arrived in the studio, Kole felt even more out of place than before. He walked down the hall, and the room that Skylar entered--and instantly owned by attitude alone as she made her way inside--was a combination of soft and academic. He couldn't explain it with words alone, but he felt self conscious looking at himself in the walls and walls of mirrors. But he ignored that feeling, shrugged it off. He was there to watch Skylar after all, and she seemed so excited to show him her dancing. As much as he was excited to see it.

With a small smile returning to his lips, Kole sat down on the ground in the corner, nodding his head in approval as he glanced around the room. "Nice digs.. maybe a bit too purple for my tastes, but I don't judge." A small laugh. He then turned his gaze to Skylar, to signal all of his attention was on her.

fifollet || lisbeth&kole

"That’s better." Lisbeth let go of his neck, rubbing a gentle hand through his fur as an apology. Truth be told, she was nervous, if not outright scared. This wasn’t a good place to be at night, especially not with the filfollet darting around. She wondered idly who they had been, but they were beyond her help now.

"… did you hear that?" She whispered, crouching down close to him at the sound of a deep growl. She didn’t know that sound, couldn’t place it to an animal, and that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

Kole's growling ceased as the distant growling seemed to begin. It made the wolf's ears fold back, then twitch to catch the direction it was coming from. He could smell something out in the swamps; reptilian, like the smell on your hands after handling a snake. It made the wolf's body shudder for a moment. He wasn't sure if he wanted to go any further, but knew that it wasn't up to him any more.

As the wolf and the witch slowly continued through the thick brush, Kole began to growl again. The light had faded fast, but his eyes could still catch everything as though it were daylight. He began to growl again, this time more vicious than before.

A sharp movement, something barreling towards them, moving branch and vine as it did.

Kole stood his ground, barking and snapping as his fur stood on end and his teeth glinted in the last light of day. But the thing, whatever it was, wasn't coming for Kole. The wolf noticed it in the last possible instant, and quickly turned to leap at Lisbeth to shove her out of the way of the creature's path.

fifollet || lisbeth&kole

"Hey there big bad wolf." Lisbeth cooed. "… I don’t know." She answered his his whine without having to understand it, eyes narrowed in thought. When he darted forward, she raced after him, ignoring the underbrush tearing at her bare legs. "Kole, slow down!" She shouted.

She made a grab for the scruff of his neck, something any passerby would’ve probably seen as completely insane. “Fifollet, remember? Grandmere Bayon told us about them. You slow down, Kole. Or something might happen to you where I can’t get you.”

Kole let out a disgruntled huff as he felt Lisbeth reach out to grab him. He turned his head to her and snapped his jaws, of course not anywhere near her flesh, but close enough to bat her off as though annoyed. I know, I know, he would have mumbled. The wolf continued slower in the direction he had originally shot towards, making sure Lisbeth was close and the lights were still moving. They had to be cautious in the swamps, but it was easy for Kole to forget caution as a beast.

Kole remembered sitting at gran' Bayon's feet, eyes wider than saucers as she told her granddaughter and Kole about the folktales of olde. The Fi follet consisted of some of Kole's least favourite stories, and he usually covered his ears when she spoke about them. Vengeful spirits, now hanging just ahead of them as warm lights. Whatever their reason for appearing tonight of all nights, it had to be important.

"I don’t like this." Lisbeth glanced around. It was dusk, but the light from between the foliage wasn’t good even at high noon - all the better to see the tiny, darting lights surrounding the group. They were too big to be fireflies, and too pure, tiny wisps of light that were apparently…