physicus | . open .

i'm not 'not interested', just bad at it.

i'm at the beach too...

okay, start from the top: what are you bad at,
exactly?

aren't you supposed to be in class?

biology, i'm fine. it's physics i suck at because math is not my thing. so doing the equations sucks.

it's my off period.

good thing about modern technology, they can solve the equations for you
the method and logic behind them is what matters, not how you solve them

[ teeeeeeeacher mode, sorry charlie ]

you're wearing a bikini?

[ and, instantly creepy. good job. ]

yeah, well, my teachers made us do it manually.

yeah... a blue one. can you see me?

boring
no wonder so many people are turned off sciences

yeah i can
i'm by the water

exactly!

[ instead of texting him more, she moves towards him, leaving her towel and stuff behind because he's only a little ways down the beach. she tilts her sunglasses up to look at him.]

Hey.

[ He doesn't move his own sunglasses as he turns to give her a smile, before shifting his eyes back to the water. He's looking for something, bare feet in the tiny waves, jeans rolled up his ankles.

There's also the fact that he's trying not to look at Charlie too much, because she is wearing very little, and it'd be very unprofessional. ]

Hi. So, do I have to speak to another faculty member to make them stop you solve physics equations by hand?

[ He probably wouldn't do it, but he does believe that it's bullshit. ]

No, they aren't making me do it here... [ but maybe she's been skipping class a bit.]

Soooo..... what are you looking for?

Does that mean you like sciences here? [ He raises an eyebrow from behind his sunglasses, smirking lightly. He knows about skipping class well enough from his own teenage years; he wasn't the most dedicated student.

So he's not going to judge her. And maybe she can validate his style of teaching. ]

I'm looking for shells. Empty ones, preferably, not the ones with animals still living inside them. You've seen any?

[ There's a pause...] Not really, no. [ Charlie's never really seen the point of lying, after all.]

Yeah, I grab one every time I run.

I bet I could make you like them. [ Jesus Christ, Z, get some chill. ]

Aaaand that must be why I can't find any, huh? You're a hoarder!

[ She lifts her eyebrows HIGH but she's suppressing a smile. ] How are you going to do that? The badass experiments?

Or maybe you're looking in the wrong place.

Would they not be enough? What do you want from a class?

[ He pauses, looking over at Charlie again. He shouldn't - Jesus fuck, she's hot as hell, looking like a million dollars wearing that tiny bikini, and it's so fucking wrong of him to even think that.

And yet... ]

Where should I be looking?

[ Her smile turns a bit more impish as she bobs her head side to side--] No, actually, badass experiments do sound pretty great.

[ It's not like he's unattractive. But Charlie doesn't feel one inch of guilt for looking at him or thinking said thoughts.

She adjusts the strings of her bikini bottoms without thinking about it before she tilts her head back the direction she came--]

Follow me. [ And if he follows, she'll guide him towards a little smattering of rocks and boulders sticking out of the sand, pointing towards them as they walk--]

That's the jackpot.

[ Isn't she lucky not to feel guilt about this - but then again, it's not her place to be.

It's his place to be responsible, but as soon as she's adjusting her bikini, then turning around, his eyes fall to her ass, and goddamn it.

He catches up to her, sand sticking to his toes. ]

Huh. Well, those are perfect. [ He crouches, picking up a shell and holding it to the sun. ] Do you come running here often?

[ And what an ass it is to look at!

She likes his smile, she thinks, as they walk. And she stands back when he moves to grab a shell.]

I don't run on the beach a lot. I mostly do yoga here with a friend.

Yoga, huh?

[ Z is not much of a yoga man, preferring to run and hit the gym himself. But he can appreciate the thought of Charlie doing it. ]

School is stressing you out that you feel the need?

[ Surely, can't be worth than prison. ]

I'm not stressed, exactly. [ She's only dealing with the fact that her mother was murdered by hunters, her father became sort of unhinged because of it, her brother is a mess and she's gotten herself tangled up with a few people here who won't ever be able to give her what she really wants. And that--] I'm a werewolf so... there's that whole thing. You know, the evil selkie trying to torture my kind into being her slaves for some kind of Battle of Hogwarts wannabe.

[ Straightening up, Z crosses his arms over his chest, the shell stuck between two fingers. This time, he looks at her from over his sunglasses, looking more serious than he usually does, even in class. ]

Sounds like stress to me. You don't trust us to keep you guys safe?

[ He's been working with the Headmaster to help with the warding of the school. After all, he had some pretty solid abilities that could add another layer of protection.

Still, there was something there that got his attention further. ]

Do you think she's targeting werewolves in particular?

My parents and pack couldn't even keep themselves safe. [ Charlie was starting to worry that it wasn't just your average hunters that came after her pack and she wonders if her mother sacrificed her life for her own.

The thought makes her sick.

She looks at him briefly.]

That's the rumor. There's stories that she's been taking young werewolves and turning them to her side.

That - I'm guessing you won't want to tell me what happened if I asked?

[ But the rumor, that's something to think about. He frowns, pulling his sunglasses off completely, even though it forces him to squint in the bright sunlight. ]

Does the Headmaster know about this rumor?

[ Because what if it's more than that? ]

If it's true, then... we've got to make sure you are protected. [ And when he said that, he meant her, specifically. The other werewolves, too, of course, but Charlie. ]

My mother was murdered by hunters. [ She says it matter-of-fact-ly, like she's said it enough times for it to stop hurting but it does, every time. ]

I would think he does, he seems like the kind that keeps his ear to the ground or whatever. [ She watches him as he squints against the sunlight, pushing her own sunglasses more securely on her face.]

That would be why my father sent me and my brother here. To be protected.

Oh, shit. I'm sorry. [ So many kids with terrible backstories in this place. Z can't help but take it in and thank whatever Lady Luck that has been looking after him for leaving his family alone. The way she says it, too, so detached, makes him want to reach out, put a hand on her shoulder, something, anything. Reassure.

He's not great at the reassuring thing. ]

I guess he is sort of that kind of guy.

[ His ear. Ah! Jokes. Z puts his sunglasses back on, turning to face the ocean before sitting down in the sand, digging his toes in. ]

But you don't think we can do the job?

It's not your fault, [ she says again, detached, as she's said to many other people who apologize for her mother's death. She knows how they mean it but...] Thanks though.

[ She doesn't hesitate in sitting next to him despite being in a bikini where sand might get all over her ass. For all that Charlie likes nice things, she's not a girly girl.]

I never said that. I am just not going to let my guard completely down. I can't for my brother's sake. [ Her brow furrows and she looks out at the ocean, letting out a terse laugh.]

This escalated into dark-as-fuck, quickly.

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