~Aaron~
Shoot. He heard someone walking down the path next to the fake forest. He quietly crouched, and almost gave his location away as he gasped. The person had entered the forest. He slunk under a bush, and paused, barely breathing as he tensely waited for whoever it was to walk by. But, apparently he was out of luck because they stopped right in front of his bush. He sighed, but then he flinched as he realized- this was not a person, this was a wolf. A wolf! How... but other wolves were dangerous. It could be another shifter... but no. That would never happen. Ever. His family were the only shifters that he had ever met, and only his mom had been a shifter. Either way, there was a wolf right in front of his bush, and he did not need to get shredded today. He started pushing himself backwards through the bushes, barely even trying to be quiet anymore with the panic setting in. He was definitely gonna be late for class, and would be showing up with leaves in his hair and mud on his pants. He growled, realizing that he had backed up into a fountain. He was stuck until whoever- whatever this was caught him.

~Kayeni~
Kayeni silently cursed. Whatever was in those bushes sure didn't want them to be finding out who they were.
A sudden stab of doubt made her look in hindisght for a brief moment. Should she have shifted? And... did they see her shift?
If so, Kayeni would have to be very, very careful.
Suddenly, a low growl eminated from the bushes she was looking at.
A wolfish growl.
Kayeni blinked in shock, almost stumbling back a step.
Wolves... didn't reside in this forest. God damn it, the huggy environmentalists definitely wouldn't've added wolves in.
But that was a true wolf sound.
Kayeni yipped briefly. Because, if there was a wolf back there... were they the same as her?
Were there other shifters in the world?
Kayeni had spent years alone in her shifter-world. She had never considered, not even for a brief second, that there would be others in the world. As far as she was concerned, she was the only one.
But was she?
Kayeni didn't want to know. Yes, she was curious about what this sound was, but... that growl had proved that there was something there. Plus... she didn't want to be here anymore. Her anxiety and unease rising, she turned away and scuttled off, away from the sound.
That wasn't before she caught a glimpse of dark green eyes, at the height of a wolf, staring at her from behind those bushes.
Kayeni quietly scampered away from this strange encounter.

~Aaron~
It was a wolf, but this one was acting differently than any wolf he had ever seen or heard of. He wasn't a wolf expert, but wolves didn't usually just leave, or act like that. He was certain that the other animal hadn't just heard prey and went to investigate, this forest was silent and useless to all animal life past shifters like him. Maybe the other wolf had escaped from a zoo or something? If so, why hadn't he gotten an alert or heard anything on the news? He paused, considering, then decided that he didn't have too much to lose and followed the other wolf, his footsteps completely silent on the leaf carpeted concrete.

He found her trail quickly, and followed it carefully, his adrenaline spiking partly from the hunting feeling and partly from the fear that he was stalking a real wolf. He wanted to shift, and had to get to class, but math wasn't important next to the opportunity to find a real wolf- or a shifter. No, that second option was dumb, he was ridiculous to keep circling back to it. It's just... he was lonely. He wanted to meet another shifter, someone else like him, someone that would know how hard it was to hide his true form, or how he could change everything at will.

~Kayeni~

Kayeni quietly cursed. She was going to be late to Physics.

At least that strange... wolf? ... wasn't following her. Why would they, after all?

Kayeni, her mind in a whirl, hardly registered many things in her wolfish senses. Her mind was too much in a whirl. Who - what - was this thing in the woods?

Kayeni really wanted to know. But she also didn't. She didn't want to know if there was another shifter.

Maybe she'd come back tomorrow. Right? Maybe they'd be here tomorrow?

Kayeni wanted to now. But she also knew that she'd be late to her Physics if she delayed any more, but... what was more important?

Kayeni came to one of her split-second decisions. If the... being... was still interested in her, they'd be following her, right? And while Kayeni wasn't paying muh attention to what her wolfish senses were feeding back to her with, it was logical if the other... thing... wanted to know more about her, they'd be following her.

That thought felt slightly creepy to Kayeni, but she pushed it aside.

This was likely a supremely bad decision, but... Kayeni didn't bother thinking about the alternative. She wanted to know.

She kept walking, but then abruptly dashed into a bush along the side of the trail she had been carving out for herself. With a perfect view of the path she had just trodden.

If the other being was following her, they had better show themselves. Or she was leaving and heading out to Physics.

Kayeni held her breath, waiting as taut as a bowstring.

~Aaron~
He had been following her with such intensity that he didn't even notice that she'd stopped and seen him until he was only about six feet away. With a yip, he scrambled back and smacked into a rose bush.

"Ow."

He realized that he had spoken and accidentally shoved himself farther into the roses. "Ow!" This was making the situation worse and worse. He hated himself. Anyway, he flicked his ears back, snarling at the other wolf. She was a beautiful wolf, with that thick, pretty dark coat. The brown and white contrasted nicely, and he wondered if the fluffy fur was as soft as it looked... he shook himself out of it. What was wrong with him?! He was thinking about a wolf, for fluffs sake! Ugh. Anyway. He had more pressing things to deal with. He nervously licked his muzzle, his necklace clinking at his throat. This was a strange moment. He wasn't sure why the other wolf hadn't attacked yet, and didn't really want to find out. He knew that he should have left already, but he was just so curious... and this was a wolf! Or a shifter! He couldn't miss this. He attempted to sit down, but realized that he was still in the bush. He attempted to wriggle out, but then froze as he realized- he was stuck.

"Ow." the wolf said.

THE WOLF SPOKE?

THE WOLF SPOKE???????

I have... officially gone crazy, Kayeni thought. What is this wolf...?

Not that he was hard on the eyes. Quite the opposite, actually. Black and gold, with luscious fur. And...

... was that a necklace the wolf-that-could-speak-language had?

Kayeni knew from her high school years that every different language had a different word for pain. English was "ow." German was "aua", French was "aie"... and this wolf said "ow".

Result - Kayeni's world has been officially disturbed... by a very nice-looking wolf.

Kayeni blinked once, twice, hoping that he would suddenly dissapear. The appeal of having her realise this was an illusion now looked very rosy indeed. She would have to go to a psychiatrist, and get checked... but this wolf wouldn't be standing - well, sitting - in front of her now.

Because hallucinating was a much better option than realising that... she might not be the only shifter in the world.

And hence an internal battle ignited inside Kayeni's mind. Part of her wanted to run for her life away from this strange wolf, shift, and walk into her Physics class as if nothing had happened. The other part... god damn her soul, but the other part actually wanted to know who this wolf was.

Kayeni remained motionless. Indecisive.

She couldn't make up her mind.

Dimly, she registered that this was a first. She never got flustered or lost - in fact, she prided herself on the fact that she never did.

But this was such a big, revelating thing - she simply didn't know now.

~Aaron~
He winced, thorns pricking at his paw pads, then his ears flicked back up in surprise as the wolf seemed freeze in shock at his 'Ow.' What... had it understood him? It couldn't have, shifters couldn't communicate with animals. Unless... this wasn't an animal. He knew that it was stupid, he knew that the chances were tiny... but he had to try. He cautiously worked his way out of the bush, then kneeled on the ground in front of the other wolf, taking a deep breath then shifting into a human. He fingered his necklace, scared, and looked at the wolf, biting his lip as he realized that if this was a real wolf, he would be in big trouble. He held his breath, waiting, so scared but so hopeful. If this was another shifter, it would be amazing, and he could finally have someone who understood him fully, even his wolf and dragon sides. He had to hope, and he had to try this. However, his teacher would be very mad at him. He focused on the wolf again, studying it. It was a very pretty wolf, about the size of a large dog. He would have thought that it would have been a bit bigger, it was kinda small for a wolf, but that didn't really matter. It was very pretty, that thick brown fur with those lovely white stripes.

~Kayeni~
Kayeni blinked. Now she was halucinating. Or this was some nightmare of epic proportions.
Because that wolf... had shifted... into a human being.
Kayeni's brain was not functioning today. She could barely even form thoughts.
The only thing she could think was, THERE'S OTHER SHIFTERS?
It seemed as if one was standing directly in front of her, uncertainly kneeling on the ground.
Is this some kind of hoax? Kayeni thought to herself. Am I hallucinating? Did someone drug me?
The complaints of not having any coffee in the morning felt very far away now. Completely insignificant compared to what was before her.
A shifter. One like her.
At the back of her mind, Kayeni registered that the person was still uncertainly looking at her, like he wanted to see if she'd shift too. And another, even smaller, part registered that he was rather handsome too. Piercing green eyes, and a slightly messy but adorable flop of blonde hair.
But... he was a shifter.
His looks could come later.
Kayeni could never have imagined, not in a million years, that she would find someone like her.
But here was prrof right in front of her.
This man in front of her - that went to the same college as her - was a shifter.
That meant that she would have to admit it too.
Kayeni shifted back into her human form, kneeling on the ground much like he was, and hoping that she didn't just make a huge mistake.

~Aaron~
He gasped audibly, completely shocked. He'd suspected, he'd hoped, but never had he actually thought that it was real, that this was another like him. Another SHIFTER. Kneeling right in front of him, her muscles tensed with worry. She was beautiful, and looked strong and serious. He wondered what to do; he'd never really met another shifter before- and this was a girl. He didn't really know what to do with girls. He decided that he couldn't just sit there, and tried to say something, but it came out more as a jumble of messy words. "Hiwhatsyourname?" He winced. Well now he looked like an even bigger idiot than he already had. He DEFINITELY should have slept last night. At least he should have had coffee this morning. He accidentally lost his balance and fell over, having just realized something. If this girl was here right now, if she was in this exhibit... she went to the same school as him. She might be the same age as him. She may even be in the same class as him! And if so... no, he didn't even know her name yet, or if she was friendly or not, or even if she was gonna talk to him or just run away. Hopefully not the last option, he was really hoping that she would stay here. I mean, he hadn't left yet, and he was missing math! Maybe that was just because he hated math though. He decided that it was the wonder of meeting another shifter. Definitely not just the excuse to skip math.

This day definitely couldn't get any wierder, Kayeni thought. She barely registered his question over the roar of thoughts insider her head.

So... another shifter. It was a huge thing, yet so insignificant.

So what if there's another shifter? a tiny, traitorous art of her mind whispered. It's not like you could have hid forever.

But... this was still definitely a first for Kayeni. Her usual composure had been rattled. She could only hope she still looked calm, like she always did. Because inside, she definitely wasn't.

Her cover so utterly shredded into pieces... Kayeni supposed there was nothing to do... except answer this stranger's question.

What harm could it do, anyway? Kayeni desperately hoped she still looked calm - if not slightly uncertain. Because, suddenly, she didn't want the stranger to have a bad opinion of her. For some reason, she wanted to know the stranger's name too.

But that didn't mean her brain wouldn't still be in meltdown over having met another shifter. The stream of thoughts had coalesced into a never-ending chant of Another shifter! Another shifter! inside her thoughts on repeat - because she never would have imagined to have found one.

At that point, Kayeni could finally think clearly, and realised she might have been a bit of a mess. Kneeling on the ground, her hair in a frazzle, looking uncertainly at the stranger - that had the hallmarks of not-Kayeni.

She took a moment to compose herself. One breath later, she had pushed all her self-doubt and insecurity of the stranger down. The analysis could come later. For now, all she had to do was answer their question.

One step at a time. She swept her hair behind her shoulder. At least, now she appeared calm to everything outside.

"It's Kayeni." she told the stranger, finally able to think now.