The forest is right along the school grounds. All of the trees are old and have thick stumps. They twist and weave into each other and shade the ground well. Their is a small creek in the middle of the forest that leads to a small pond surrounded by rocks. It is peaceful here and is one of the few places in the city where animals thrive.
the forest beyond the grounds1
the forest beyond the grounds2 -the beginning
As soon as he was able to move without the use of the wheelchair,
Tobias took to taking strolls through the forest. It was more like home than the actual school building could ever hope to give him. His body had still not readjusted to a more balanced form as of yet. The time spent locked in this awkward midshifted state in Genosha may not ever be remedied, according to Dr. McCoy at least. He hoped the big blue man was wrong, but he had gotten used to living this way. If one day he woke up looking normal again, it would probably freak him out into regressing back into this state anyhow.
Del led Iggy and Amy into the tree line. Waya was perched on Del's hip, smacking at tree limbs as they walked.
Amy cocked her head to the side as she looked at the forest. She wanted to point out how much easier buying some berries at the local store would be easier then this...but this was Mrs. B she was talking to. She chose to stay quite instead.
Tobias greatly enjoyed his time alone in the forest. He spent most of his free time out here, learning the trees and where the best rodents were found. There were many times when he simply sat atop a rock feasting on small wildlife as if it were nothing. The first few times he found himself doing this, he was appalled. But it didn't take very long for him to get adjusted to it as just another piece of his mutation. His body required the nutrients he could only get through feasting on live animals.
Iggy was inspecting each branch as they passed, inspecting the different types of leaves.
Del Was keeping her eyes to the ground, inspecting bushes and keeping an eye out for the one she was looking for."
Amy walked along with them, weaving around bushes and trees. She knew her suit was strong, but she did't like risking it. An acid spill out here would probably hurt the enviornment.
Iggy continued to follow till something caught her eye. There was movement over to her side that caused her to stop. When she saw this little furry creature with long ears nibbling on something she started walking towards it. The creature stopped nibbling and looked over at her causing her to stop for a few seconds before she continued towards it. Iggy was a bit surprised when the creature started running away, but still followed after, interested in what it was.
Del caught the sound of movement behind her and looked to see Iggy give chase after a rabbit. It wasn't good for her to go off on her own, not out here where she had no clue of where she was. She thought of shifting and going after her but she had Waya and she needed at least one arm to keep hold of her baby. "Iggy!" She called after her and started in that direction. "Come on Amy, she's liable to get lost out here."
"Maybe we should've given her a 'forest 411' before bringing her out here."
Amy noted, weaving around the brush towards Iggy. Luckily, Iggy didn't get too far.
"I'd promised not to turn this outing into a class."
Del reminded her. "Any way, no amount of preparation in one day could keep anyone from getting lost." Iggy was still in her line of sight. Amy might not be able to see her from this distance but Del's keen eyes hadn;t lost sight of her yet.
Iggy was hot on the creature's trail as it ducked and weaved through the plants. Then it ducked into a bush and didnt come out on the other side. Iggy stopped and looked around the bush and then around the area around the bush trying to relocate the creature.
"Iggy!"
Del called once they got closer. "Leave the rabbit alone, you don't wanna catch it, trust me."
Iggy looked back at Del, "Rabbit?" she asked before turning back around to give one quick glance under the bush. When she didnt see the rabbit again she walked back to join the group again. "It was small, like her." She said pointing at Waya, "I thought it might be something like her."
"No rabbits and babies are two completely different things."
Del explained. "A baby is the offspring of two humans, rabbits are the offspring of other rabbits. And that one looked grown. If you wanna see one up close I can do that for you."
"How? It was so fast. Impossible to catch."
Iggy said, curious as to how Del could show her one up close.
"I'm a shape shifter."
Del told Iggy. "I can turn into one." She handed Waya over to Amy. Probably not the best choice of temporary babysitters but Amy had always been very careful at not letting any of the younger ones get burned. "You wanna see a rabbit up close without getting yourself scratched to death?"
"They are vicious creatures?"
Iggy said, now horrified at the prospect of how close she came to death. "If I had known that. I would have defended myself better."
Del sighed. "They can't kill you." She explained "But a wild one could really hurt if it scratched you and they're a lot stronger than they look."
"Oh. Ok."
Iggy said with a nod. There was a lot more to life outside the camp then she realized.
"But they are really cute."
Del Told her. "You wanna see or not?"
Iggy appeared to think it over before giving her answer. "Maybe once we are back inside."
"Fair enough."
Del told her and held out her arms to Waya to see if she were ready to be held again by Mommy rather than Amy.
Amy held out the little one with a smile, being very careful in doing so.
Waya seemed content to let Amy hold her for now. "Traitor."
Del told her baby with a little smirk. Her instinct told her to tell Amy to be careful, but the girl already knew that much. There was no need to tell her.
Amy was indeed keeping the little one far from arm's length to her face. Waya seemed content with it actually. Amy smiled a bit at Del's comment as they headed on.
Tobias heard Del yell for Iggy and turned around, deciding it was probably better for him to head back now before they got any closer and caught him in the middle of a snack. He heard someone say something about rabbits and that made his stomach growl.
Iggy looked around the area of where they were at after the little rabbit chase. "Did you find what you needed?" she asked Del, wondering if their search was over.
"Not yet."
Del told Iggy and was just about to set off again, when the wind changed. She angled her nose upward, scenting something familiar. They weren't alone. The scent wasn't strong but she noted feathers and text books. It was Tobias. She wondered for a moment if they should go seek him out. Iggy might be more comfortable around someone she knew better. "Let's go this way." She said heading in the direction of his scent
Amy stayed clear of the infant's curious hands. A mere brush against her cheek and the poor girl's arm would be reduced to nothing.
Tobias headed in the direction that he heard Mrs. Smith's voice. It wasn't very much to go on, seeing as he did not have enhanced hearing. He was growing more and more hungry as he went however, and was really beginning to wish he would have caught something out here.
Iggy looked around at all the cool things that were around in the forest.
As they traveled
Del didn't lead them directly to Tobias, that would have seemed too deliberate. Like Iggy, he was new to the area and she didn't like the idea of him possibly getting lost out here on his own. Every so often she paused to inspect an outcropping of bushes, beginning to think that the one she was looking for was not indigenous to the area.
His stomach growling,
Tobias continued toward the group he had heard. He hoped he could at least grab a bite to eat before they head off to classes or whatever it was they did around here. He saw movement up ahead and shouted a call. "Hey!"
Amy was paying more attention to carrying the infant then really where she was going. Luckily, the others gave her a nice path to follow.
Iggy stuck close to Del incase she saw something interesting she could ask her about it. She started to wonder what Tobias was up to.
Del was completely aware of his presence but whistled, giving him their exact location as was her custom. She led the girls directly to him and held branches out of their way. "Hey Tobias, out for some mid afternoon hunting?"
Tobias was dumbfounded that she had figured that out. He was embarrassed by his need to do so. He simply nodded and kept his eyes away from her's
"Afternoon Tobias."
Iggy said as the group came upon him. She noticed his seeming embarrassment, "You ok?"
In Amy's arms
Waya looked at Tobias and shouted "BUURR!" probably meaning to say bird.
Tobias was very glad to see his friend. "Yeah I'm fine. Just rather hungry..." He told her quietly
"You want some company?"
Del asked him. "Hunting on your own can be a little tricky sometimes."
"No thank you...I prefer to do that alone."
Tobias told her, it wasn't exactly in his beast's nature to 'flock together' for everything. Besides, he was still very much embarrassed by his need to do so.
"If you are hungry then why are you out here and not in the lunch room?"
Iggy said in a confused tone.
"There is a different menu out here than there is in the lunch room."
Tobias explained to her. He wasn't sure if she would understand that analogy or not.
Iggy didnt. "They have a menu out here? I didnt even know there was a lunch room out here."
Del stifled a chuckle at Iggy. "We'll leave you to it then." she told Tobias. "But remember, for birds, height is your advantage." She indicated the thick tree canopy.
"Maybe if I could fly they would be."
Tobias replied, attempting at a shrug, but failing miserably. "Don't even get me started on the climbing part. Being stuck like this has many disadvantages.
..."
"Even prehistoric birds learned to glide." Del told him. "If you'd let me show you it'll be easier to figure out." She couldn't turn into what he was exactly, there was something wrong with him that she couldn't yet place and that prevented her from adapting his shape. But she could mid shift into any number of birds and that was quite close. There were only a few midshifts she could take that still allowed her to fly, but she was often too heavy to achieve proper lift.
Amy just kept the little one busy as the rest chatted. She extended her arms and lifted little Waya up, still being as careful as possible with her teacher's kid.
"Well, I'm not a prehistoric bird and I'd Love to see you climb up a tree, to get the lift needed to glide, with only your pointer finger and thumb. Cuz I sure, as I have feathers, can't do it." Tobias snapped at her, she'd been trying and trying to teach him how to fly, despite how many times he told her he couldn't do it. Didn't she think the Genoshians would have tried to make him?! Didn't she think he'd tried? This curse of a body was simply incapable
"Amy, would you be so kind as to take Iggy and Waya back to the school?" Del asked. "You can leave Waya with Kari, I'm sure the twins would love a playmate for the afternoon." She was looking at Tobias as if she knew what she was doing. She'd taught more than one student to fly, or glide and she sure as hell wasn't going to let him give up on himself.
Tobias had far from given up on himself, but he understood he couldn't fly in this form and accepted that. He had accepted it long ago on Genosha. Nothing had changed in his appearance, so there was no reason he should reconsider that part. Why did she keep pestering him about it? He had learned how to hunt without getting any air.
Hearing that she was going back to the school, Iggy looked at Amy. "Are we done looking for the bush?"
"Yes." Del told her. "I'm beginning to think they are no longer indigenous to the area."
Iggy simply nodded, feeling that it would just be a waste of everyone's time if she asked what indigenous meant.
"Guess so. Come on, Iggy." Amy said, heading in the other direction. "Want to hold her? she asked, lifting Waya up.
Iggy walked along side Amy till she was offered Waya. When the offer came up she took and instinctive step away. "No." She said quickly.
Waya clapped her hands together and held them out to Iggy as if she wanted to hold her.
Amy noticed this and smiled. "Please? My arms are really sore and she can't walk yet. Just for a little while." she lied.
Iggy frowned and took a few hesitant steps closer. She put her hands under Waya's armpits and held her at arms length, with an uncomfortable look on her face.
Amy gestured, "Have her sit on your hip like so...or cradle her if that helps. Your arms are going to kill if you keep holding her like that."
Iggy looked back and forth between Waya and Amy, as if trying to decide whether to take her advice or risk it. After a few seconds she slowly brought Waya to her body and set her on her hip.
Wayaplaced her hands on Iggy's chest and looked at her with her wide black and blue eyes. She'd never seen Iggy so close and began running her hands over Iggy's face, feeling the difference between her skin and her mommy's.
Tobias couldn't help but glare at Del as he waited for her to show him how to fly in this twisted and painful form. He was certain that she wouldn't manage it and when he proved her right, he'd rub her smug face in it, teacher or not.
Amy placed her hands on her cheeks and smiled as she watched Iggy and Waya. She was so cute. "Perfect. Come on." she said, heading out of the woods.
Iggy turned and twisted her face trying to keep Waya from putting her hands all over it. "What is she doing!?" she said, a slight hint of panic in her voice.
"Just doing baby things. They are usually very curious." Amy said, giggling a bit.
"Make her stop? Please?" Iggy said as she started breathing faster.
"It's sort of hard." Amy said, trying to act casual about everything. "Now Waya, be nice." she began, taking the little ones hands off of Iggy's face. "Babies are just young people... you were one once too. They are small, messy and kind of stupid. They can't do much on their own for many years."
Iggy began to calm down as Waya stopped touching her face. "I dont remember being...young"
"People don't usually remember being THIS small. I think the earliest memories I have was of when I was four or so." Amy explained, moving a branch away so she could pass with Waya.
"The earliest memory I have is the same as all my memories. Working in the quarry." Iggy said, her eyes looking as if she was no longer there but back in Genoshia.
"Even so, you're human. I'm sure there are things about your time there that stuck out more than others." Amy said surely. "Sometimes you need things to trigger those memories. What about a happy time you can recall? Or a memory that stands out from the rest?"
Iggy came back with a small shake of her head. "The happiest time I can think of right now is when I was given two bowls of food by accident."
"Do you remember how old you were?" Amy asked, then wondered what her birthday was or even if she knew what such a thing was.
"No. I do remember getting a month in solitary for not telling them that I had already been fed." Iggy added.
"Speaking of which, when is your birthday?" Amy asked, changing the subject as seamlessly as she could.
Iggy shrugged, "Dont know. We never celebrated it there and no one ever told me."
"Well how about next week?" Amy suggested. "We can have a little party for you. Unless you wanted a different date picked out?"
"I dont know about that." Iggy said, afraid that she would have a freak out if they had a party. "I dont think I could handle all the people and noise and attention."
"Oh come on, have you been to a party before? They can be really fun! All the people here who care about you are going to be there giving you gifts and awesome food." Amy said with a smile, "What can be better than that?" She had been unable to eat since the accident, but spoke only to encourage Iggy.
"Well lady? Are you gonna show me up or what?!" Tobias demanded of Del. She had been insistent since he first came here that he was capable of flight, but still she had not offered any real help at all. It didn't seem to matter that he had told her countless times that his body simply couldn't do it. His mass was simply far too much for his wings to lift, not to mention the fact that they weren't shaped correctly for it either...
Del watched Amy and Iggy vanish out of sight with Waya. "Ok." She said turning back to Tobias. "We're not going to go too high cause, well, I don't want you breaking your legs again. I know you keep saying your too heavy, so let me shift into... your shape and show you first ok? That way I've got your appropriate body mass and shape, instead of cheating and doing my own bird thing."
"Go right ahead. I'll laugh my ass off when you fall flat on your face." Tobias told her with a smug voice.
"You forget." Del told him. "I've been doing this a bit longer than you have." She took a few steps away and concentrated on that little part of her that had already copied Tobias' animal based mutation. Instead of seeing Tobias shaped how he currently was, she saw a bird, a raptor of some sort that she couldn't quite place. She knew then that Tobias' current shape wasn't what he was supposed to turn into. "There's something wrong with you..." she said, opening her eyes. She was sure she could mimic Tobias' shape, but that could wait. "It's like your stuck..." No wonder he was having trouble doing much of anything in this shape.
Iggy was still reluctant to agree to a party. "I think it will just be a waste of time for everyone. It's ok, we can just forget about it."
"Waste of time? No way. This place has been boring and dead for weeks. A school function is a great idea. There can be music, games and prizes too." Amy encouraged.
"I...I..dont know about this." Iggy said, shaking her head lightly. "I don't know if I would be able to handle it, and I don't want everyone to go through so much just to have me freak out."
"If you know you will freak out, you won't." she added. "It's all in your mind."
"I..um...I don't know." Iggy was tripped up by Amy's statement.
"You'll be fine." Amy said. Little Waya was falling asleep now. "I'll talk to Ms. B about it later."
Iggy went silent as they continued walking, was her issues all in her head. Well, of course it was in her head, that is where all the damage was. Was it something she could control, however?
"Well jeez, and I thought you teachers were supposed to be nice." Tobias told her with a scoff. "I mean they warned us about that Mr. Logan, who claims to be the art teacher but everyone knows he doesn't do a damn thing."
"He does more than you think." Del told him. "But I'm sorry it came out that way. What I meant to say was that this shape your in now, I don't think that's the extent of your mutation. I think your mutation was intended to take you all the way into bird form not what you are now. I can still use your shape to try and teach you to glide, but we still need to figure out what's blocked you from making a full transformation."
"If I had to guess, I'd say it was that stupid collar you guys freed us of." Tobias replied, ruffling his feathers in a shrug
"Oh I get it." Del said. "Did they put the collar on you after your accident? That would explain how you ended up like this."
"Clamped it down on me as soon as I hit their ground." Tobias told her with a nod. "Next thing I know, I'm waking up and then it's down to the mines."
Del nodded. "Well... from what I can tell you're supposed to turn completely into a hawk, though what kind I've never encountered before. Till we get that figured out, you might be too heavy to fly, but I'm gonna try to teach you how to glide." And she shifted, her body downgrading into whatever it was Tobias was at the moment, her body wanted to complete the transformation, but she willed it not to, to find that happy meeting place between Tobias true form and her human one. No wonder he was having so much trouble, this shape was awkward and malformed, but she could already tell it had it's uses.
"You see what I'm talking about now?" Tobias said, looking at her scornfully.
"I do." Del told him. "But it doesn't mean it's not useful." She looked around at the trees above them and jumped, finding tightly drawn muscles in her legs that were meant for tearing small prey off the ground. She jumped a good fifteen feet off the ground and latched onto the trunk of a tall cypress.
"I already knew I could jump." Tobias told her, "Legs have kind of been broken though."
"I need to get a feel for this shape before I show you much of anything." Del told him as she climbed to the top of the tree. "We really need a clearing to do this right, otherwise you'll be dodging trees left and right all afternoon." She looked around from the top of her tree and pointed. "There's the spot." She told him. "About three hundred yards straight on from where your standing. You wanna meet me there?"
"Sure, but I imagine you'll get there before me." Tobias told her as he started walking toward the clearing.
Del took off, trying to glide on these bent wings of his. It was hard and more than once she smacked onto the branches of several trees. She only needed practice, like he did. She however knew how to fly on wings, how to utilize the primary feathers for lift. He would be starting from scratch, but she was sure she could teach him something.
Tobias walked through the woods heading for the clearing. It wasn't that long of a walk really, ut he decided to let her stew in his misshappen form for a while
Honestly, he got there before Del did, but not by much. Shortly after he arrived she came gliding into the clearing. It was the best she'd gotten out of these wings since she started. This shape wasn't really meant for obstacles, but that would take practice. "OK..." She said sliding to a stop a few yards away. "Not the most arrow dynamic shape in the world, but I think with a high enough starting point you could glide for quite a while."
"Told you." Tobias said smugly, looking down at the ground. "How much height are we talkin about?"
"That all depends on wind current and thermal patterns." Del told him. "But from the school tower you could probably glide for hours in a good upwind. For now we won't go so high. It's best if you get used to the feeling of air under your wings somewhere you can't fall very far. The way your wings are locked like this, it's optimal for a dive, but with a little stretching and force you can fan the primary feathers out a bit and help with drag."
"The top of the tower?" Tobias asked, his voice rather shaky. He swallowed hard. "I think I'd rather stick with walking, if its alright with you."
"That's only because you haven't really glided yet." Del told him. "Few things are as wonderful as soaring a few hundred feet above the ground."
"But I have done that. Trust me, the landing is not what it's cracked out to be." Tobias told her. He had soared hundreds of feet above the ground, and felt the horrific splat at the end of it.
"Well then that's what you need to learn." Del told him. "If you know the fundamentals of gliding then we'll work on landing."
Tobias looked at her and blinked. "I spoke of the fall from the plane which landed me in this predicament."
"If your gonna fight me on this the whole way I can just go." Del told him. "You can stay grounded for all I care." But she did care. He was a bird and seeing him not take advantage of what gifts he had was troubling to her, if not somewhat annoying.
"Really? Cuz you sure don't see like the quitting type. Seriously, I been trying to get you to do just that for weeks now, but you keep pestering me." Tobias snapped at her. "No. I don't think you'd just go. And I certainly don't think you want to see me grounded. But you don't get it, do you? I can't glide, just as much as I can't fly." He took a moment to gather his breath and thoughts. "You've proven it can be done, if I got high enough, but I can't do that...I can't get high."
Del growled. "Your right, I'm not the quitting type," She pointed to a tall oak on the edge of the clearing. "Now, get your ass in that tree and prepare to jump out of it."
"No. I won't climb anything. You can't make me go high." Tobias told her, his voice growing a little shaky now.
Del would have crossed her arms and glared at him, but this shape wasn't suitable for crossing her arms. there was something about the way he'd said that last sentence that put a thought in her head. "Tobias... are you afraid of heights?"
"Wouldn't you be?!" Tobias snapped at her. "I was sucked out of a plane and plummeted to what should have been my death! But noooooo I lived through it, breaking just about every bone in my body. And to make matters worse, I wake up lookin like this and oh hey look at that! SLAVERY still exists! And I'm one of em! So YEAH I'm afraid of heights you stupid git!"
"You should have said something." Del said, taking off his shape and putting her's back on. She wasn't mad that he'd called her a git, but she was aggravated that he hadn't said anything. "It's no wonder you don't want to learn anything."
"I'm a bird, how stupid does it look like that I'm afraid of heights? Seriously. Would you admit to that?" Tobias asked her. It was stupid
"yeah but I wouldn't have been such a bitch before." Del told him. "Psychological issues aren't exactly my area of expertise." She craned her neck to the side, trying to pop it. "Are... are you in pain like that all the time?" She only really noticed it now that she was back in her own shape.
Tobias nodded, "Every waking minute..." He told her, he looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry about being so harsh about everything, Ms. Blackfeather. I..I know you're just tryin to help."
"I'm sorry I wasn't more understanding." Del told him. "I think Emma or Kurt might be able to help you with your problem with heights... You may want to see Lyra or Hank about the pain. I think it's because your stuck like this and something is keeping you from taking the right shape. I won't make you do anything today, but we need to get this figured out. There's no reason you should hurt like this."
"Blame the Genoshians." Tobias said coldly. If it were up to him, he'd take that Deadpool guy back there and make sure they got them all this time. "They clamped that collar on me before scrapping me off the pavement."
"Yeah, that probably did it." Del said softly. He'd been dealing with that aching in his joints and spine all this time and she'd basically yelled at him. She felt about three inches tall. "Let's get back, I'm sure Lyra, Miss Relman can think of something for getting you back into the right shape."
"Dr. McCoy said I would finish the transformation now that the control collar isn't on me anymore." Tobias pointed out as he turned and started back for the mansion
"You've undertaken no change that I can tell." Del said walking along side him. "Aside from getting out of that wheelchair I mean." she wondered if his stooped posture might be due to the fact that he had sat in that chair for so long while he was recuperating.
Tobias let out a little wince as he walked, there were times when the pain would simply flare up like that. "He said I have a healing factor and that's why I'm not still in the chair. The blue man seems pretty smart, do I have to go see this Miss Relman? Dr. McCoy believes that now that the collar has been removed, my healing factor will begin to correct the problems I am having, it started with the broken legs."
"I've nothing against Hank." Del told him. "But Lyra has a... sometimes odd way of thinking things through. She might have something in mind to help..." Honestly, Del was beginning to think that another body shattering fall might just right the situation.
"You don't find hanging upside down from the ceiling to be an odd way of thinking things through?" Tobias asked, referring to Beast's usual manner of thinking.
Del chuckled. "You have a point. Between the two of them I'm sure they'll figure something out. But... I have to say, if they knew you were in pain all the time, I'm sure Hank wouldn't have tried the nature's course technique."
"Nature's course?" Tobias asked her curiously, not entirely certain of what she meant by that. He thought that Dr. McCoy was letting nature take it's course, by letting him heal at his own speed.
"By letting you heal at your own speed." Del said. "Nature's course."
"Oh, you said wouldn't have." Tobias realized now.
"That if he'd known you were in pain he wouldn't have." Del said. "He wouldn't have let you go on like this. "
"It's fine." Tobias told her. He caught himself in another grimace as the pain rose to the surface again. "It's really not that bad. It just flares up."
"Still." Del said as the school grounds began to come into view in the distance. "Honestly, I feel a little responsible. I've always sort of always felt like the den mother to the ferals and animal based students around here."
"Why?" Was allthat Tobias could think of as a response to that
"You name a problem a feral has and I've had it." Del said. "just be glad you don't have a strong urge to tear people's faces off... It took me a while to get a hold on that."
"Who said I didn't have that urge? Though it may have been more of a human reaction to torture." Tobias told her with a painful shrug
"When it's not a human reaction to something, you know." Del said. "It's... It want's to take over till it tastes blood and when that happens... well, you know when it's not a human reaction."
"I know what you're talking about...if I didn't hear you guys coming...I...I would have eaten something out there..." Tobias confessed quietly. In the recent weeks the hunger has simply gotten worse and he had eaten some wild living game recently
"I still hunt my own food from time to time." Del told him. "There's nothing wrong with it, so long as you don't take a chunk out of one of your classmates."
"Human doesn't smell good, so I imagine it doesn't taste good either." Tobias told her
"It's a lot like pork actually." Del told him, knowing exactly how that sounded.
"Eh....not a big fan of pork. Ham and bacon, spam even, that's the good stuff. But pork? Just doesn't sit right." Tobias said as they walked, it seemed he was finally getting over his animosity towards her
"That's good then." Del told him. "We don't have to worry about you getting hungry and taking a leg off someone. But don;t feel bad if you have the urge to hunt. There's no shame in eating something you've killed."
"For now, I guess." Tobias replied, he couldn't imagine himself coming to a place where he'd be comfortable eating human flesh, but given his current state, he wouldn't doubt if in a couple months or something he might want to...
"It's a perfectly natural instinct." Del told him.
"Maybe for an animal, but despite appearances, an animal I am not." Tobias told her
"Yeah we are." Del told him. "Humans are more animalistic than most creatures. You wouldn't have an issue eating chicken, then why have one snagging a quail? There's nothing wrong with killing what you eat."
"How about because it is barbaric?" Tobias asked her. He couldn't believe that he had to actually explain why he hated the hunt.
"I think I take offense to that." Del told him. "I don't hunt as often as I used to, but it helps to buffer that little urge for blood. If you thought it was that barbaric then why were you hunting?"
"Because the urge becomes to much to withstand." Tobias told her sharply. "I can eat my weight in steaks, but it's not enough. The bird wants flesh.."
"Then eat flesh." Del told him. "I know exactly what your going through. The only cure for it is to feed the feral nature inside. You'll feel better. I shouldn't have interrupted you when I did, but how would you have felt if we showed up just as you were about to eat?
"You kinda did. I had the animal in my sights and would have been eating in a second if I didn't hear you guys coming." Tobias explained sheepishly
"And by what you've already told me you'd have been embarrassed if we showed up during that." Del told him.
"Well, yeah." Tobias replied as they got closer to the school. "It's not just hunting I come out here for though. The bird feels trapped inside, I need to come out for freedom."
"Oh I know how that feels." Del told him. "Just don't get too lost out here... You might not want to come back. It's hard to maintain the balance between what the animal inside wants and what the human needs."
"That part's actually kinda easy, now that I can actually get out and let the bird have freedom. Back on Genosha, it wasn't really an option." Tobias explained further
"I've spent some time in a cage." Del told him. "It's not fun for anyone. The good thing is is that your getting used to all this. If we can figure out why it is you can't shift, I'm sure it'll be easier."
"Time heals all wounds. For now, I'm fine." Tobias told her with a pathetic looking shrug. He'd been this way long enough that he was adjusted to it. He could live like this if he had to, but Dr. McCoy said he should finish shifting eventually.
"I won't stand for it." Del told him. "Not with the pain you've been in for so long. We'll get you fixed one way or another."
"I've lived with it this long, what's a little longer?" Tobias replied
"I just don't like seeing people in pain." Del told him.
"Then don't look." Tobias told her simply with a scoff.
"Why are you so set to continue living like this when life could be much better?" Del asked.
"Because already it's much better." Tobias replied, "I woke up to this pain, as a slave in a foreign land. We worked all day, I've broken MULTIPLE bones in the mines and still they worked us. Trust me, a little pain and being free is definitely better."
"It could be completely gone." Del told him. "better might be better, but gone is great."
"That's true." Tobias said quietly, he knew she could still hear him though. He was beginning to wonder if there was a level of volume where she wouldn't hear.
There was, but it was quit a distance away and even then it depended on what instinct pattern she'd taken on.
"So are you goin to stop pestering me about flying now?" Tobias flat out asked her as they approached the school. He hoped the answer was yes, she was making him dislike this place.
"Maybe a little." Del told him. "Now that I know your not a big fan of heights and all."
"Then are we done here?" Tobias asked her. He looked up and saw the school ahead of them now
"I'm taking you to see Hank." Del reminded him. "I'm not going to chance letting you skip out on a checkup."
Stumble!