Apples.[OPEN]

[ZEPH ARAIGUMA]

The first thing one does when entering a park-naturally- was to go on the swings. They were just so tempting, sitting there, occasionally swaying in the breeze. And today, well, it was quiet. What else was there to do to fill time than to sit on a swing and fly?

Zeph threw himself down on the wobbling seat, his feet splayed before him to keep steady. Today the weather was nice- a lot more pleasant than it had been for days. So, he felt it high time for a good ol’ wander. His feet had just happened to carry him here, mind you, he wasn’t complaining. Zeph loved being outside more than anything and if he had his way he would sleep out. But, alas, he couldn’t . He had tried- a number of times- only to end up being chased back by something or someone. It was annoying, but he didn’t dwell.

Tamanegi plodded before him, as always the little raccoon didn’t take well to his fast pace and was to stubborn today to hitch a ride on his shoulders. A black, white and grey masked face stared up at him, eyes gleaming in the midday light. A shudder ran the length of his spine. “You’re way to cute, Tam.” He whispered hand reaching down to give his furry companion an affectionate rub behind the ear. “But that doesn’t mean I'm going cave.” Zeph huffed and turned his head, tilting it up ever so slightly. Tam sneezed. “Gah!” Zeph turned his head back, leaning forwards once again. “You devil.” He poked his tongue out, Tam’s tail moving to the opposite side, his whiskers twitching with his nose as he stretched his head forwards to sniff enquiringly at Zeph’s nose. “Tch. Fine.” He muttered, reaching into his pocket and removing a deep red coloured apple. He bit into it, removing a sizeable chunk and handing it to Tam who had taken to begging once laying eyes on the apple. Greedy hands snatch the fruit, the soft sound of nibbling reaching Zeph’s ears over the noise of rustling leaves.

He looked up, white clouds drifting lazily across the sky. He loved peaceful days, hardly a soul could be seen as he sat, swinging gently back and forwards. Zeph figured he loved it so much because there weren’t as many people around to look at him funny, or mutter about him; he had grown to ignore it and accept it as part of everyday life, but he could only put up with so much- especially when they looked so dirtily at poor Tam. How could anyone not find him utterly adorable? It was especially cute when he begged- and even slightly funny when he stole someone else’s food. Raccoon’s are kind natured so Zeph can’t bring himself to understand how someone could dislike them.

Not that he really cared, though. He was perfectly content with the way he lived his life.

Zeph was starting to wish he had bought his iPod or at least his guitar- perhaps even his skateboard. Something would have been better than nothing as he sat, not wanting to swing ery much in case he gave Tam a fright. What to do... What to do...

[MAKI NANAHARA]

Maki made her way down the route that led towards the huge park, chewing bubblegum and humming hilariously, . The canopy above carried clear blue, while the sun's rays gently stroked the ground and a few leaves kept dancing in the warm breeze. Observing the leaves' reckless dance, the young shifter wasn't able to resist the urge to embrace nature and started dancing herself. She made a few twirls dancing down the pedestrian zone, swinging around the lunch box she was carrying wrapped in a kerchief, giggling as if an invisible force was tickling her. People passing the passionate individual most likely immediately recognized where the turquoise haired girl was headed: a date.

Dancing joyfully, her thoughts were only concerned with a single word, a special name; Cody, a boy she had only met a few weeks ago. Even thinking about him caused her heart to rush within her chest, causing her to completely forget her surroundings. She had even gotten up early in the morning in order to prepare some delicious food for them. Spinning one last time before her motions came to halt she reached for her pocket, swiftly pulling out her cell phone to quickly check the clock. It was still early and a few hours away from the appointed time. A deep sigh escaped her lips since minutes already felt like hours and she didn't want to know what hours would feel like while she was waiting for her date with Cody.

"Well... What could I do until it's time..." Talking to herself, Maki began to slowly rub her chin while her feet once again began to move. It was then that she saw it: The park's entrance, their meeting point. Not knowing what she was supposed to while waiting, she immediately decided to go ahead and wait within the peaceful field of green. Entering the same she took a deep breath, enjoying the countless smells and impressions nature had to offer. She had just walked a few more meters, when her resounding cell phone suddenly broke the air of peace surrounding the area. Quickly checking the display wondering who actually sent a message at this time of the day. Checking the message's content her eyes then widened while her hear began to ache.

It had been a message from Cody, saying that something came up, preventing him from meeting up with her. Clearly disappointed by the message, a loud sigh escaped her peachy lips. Putting away her phone, she then slowly stumbled forward, making her way across the beautiful green. Arriving at a bench, she then sank down, putting the lunch box beside her with her gaze focused on the ground. Sitting there her mind kept racing about what could have happened that forced Cody to cancel their date and what she was supposed to do now that she was most likely going to spend the day on her own. Lost in thoughts she completely forgot about her surroundings, not even noticing the boy and his small pet.

[LUNUS DARK]

[bg=EDFBFC] Inside the park Lunus was sitting below a tree, his bag containing a laptop and a couple of books hanging from a low branch. Beside him lay his wolf, his 'other half'. "I guess you're going to need a name huh?" Lunus said to the wolf whilst scratching behind it's ear. The grey wolf yapped slightly, it was fully grown now but Lunus still remembered when it was tiny, it seemed it wanted a name too. Lunus thought deeply, and as he did he observed the surrounding area. Everybody seemed to be doing there own thing and giving him a wide berth due to the intimidating wolf next to him. He saw someone, not much older than himself slump onto a bench and he saw someone with a raccoon on a swing. "Streak," Lunus said deciding on a name finally, to which the wolf yapped again and licked Lunus' hand happily. Lunus reached up into his bag and pulled out a raw sausage, half of which he ate himself and half he gave to Streak.

[ZEPH ARAIGUMA]

Zeph hummed without tune for a while, much to the discomfort of Tam who was patiently sitting in front of his feet. It was going to be a long day, with nothing to do other than wander around aimlessly- or he could simply sit in the park for the day. His gaze wandered over his surroundings; swaying tree’s, fences, distant but not so distant buildings, and the occasional rolling piece of litter. He exhaled, and watched Tam for a while, the raccoon sniffing the air, ears twitching.

Tam jumped to his feet, head turning to the side as his nose caught an interesting scent. His tail flicked from side to side, then he started stalking forwards towards a nearby bench. It didn’t take much for the furry animal to hide himself as he slunk closer to his place of interest. Zeph rose an eyebrow, following his companions progress and only noticing what Tam was doing once his gaze finally fell upon the bench.

There sat a lunchbox, a girl sat on the seat in front of it. Zeph swallowed, pounced to his feet and ran forwards. “Tam!” He growled commandingly, but he couldn’t help but smile as he watched the grey blob hastily jump up onto the bench, small hands grabbing the box. In all the time it took for Zeph to get over to where the girl was sitting, Tam had grabbed the box, looked it over and managed to jump away with it. Zeph skidded to a halt, hands slamming onto the table as he stopped himself from completely colliding with it. He sat down, deciding it was pointless to chase or even attempt to get the box off of him, eyes fixed on Tam. “What you got, eh?” Zeph sighed, arm resting on the wooden surface. “Something that’s not yours. That’s what.”

Tam looked completely innocent as his dark round eyes peered up at the two people before him. It was a look well practised to get what he wanted- and most of the time it worked. Zeph was a complete softy when it came to his furry friend. Zeph turned his attention to the girl who Tam had robbed only when he noticed Tam inching closer to where she sat, lunchbox in tow.

“Ah shi- Sorry.” He apologised, one hand going behind his head, rubbing his neck nervously. “Whatever is in that box must smell good." He shot Tam a glare, the raccoon’s ears going back, obviously knowing that meant he had done something he might not actually get away with. He slunk towards Zeph, tail lowered, head down in his typical fashion of sulking. “I'm Zeph. “ He introduced, smiling cheerfully at the teal haired female. “And that- Devil is Tamenagi- But I just call him Tam.” Zeph's gaze kept flicking back down to Tamanegi, the little fiend suspiciously sniffing around. Tam then perked, once again jumping to his feet and running in a sideways direction. Instinctively, Zeph readied himself to bolt after him and when he saw where- or who he was heading for, he couldn't help but headbutt the table. "Damn him."

[MAKI NANAHARA]

Her azure spheres were focused on the colorful piece of nature, her thoughts running in circles, her heart aching within her chest. Having been ditched by the boy she had fallen for, Maki had gotten lost within a swamp of questions and doubts that completely consumed her attention, causing her to forget everything else around her. The cloud of solitude was suddenly pierced, when an unusual noise reached the teal haired shifter's ears, causing her to startle heavily. Not hesitating the slightest second, her azure spheres turned toward the source of the noise only to see a small animal on the run, clinging to her self-made lunch box.

Maki at first couldn't help but to remain motionless, her face carrying a confused gaze. Recovering from the initial shock she was about to jump up and chase after the larcenous creature when a raven topped male entered her field of vision by quickly approaching her. Not quite sure what was going on, the girl remained motionless, listening to the stranger as he suddenly raised his voice. Listening to his words it became quite obvious that this male was no ordinary human but instead like her; an experiment. The boy that introduced himself as Zeph seemed to be around her age while his actions reminded her of a child. After remaining silent for a minute after the last syllable had left his lips, Maki finally raised her own voice.

"So... This is.. YOUR raccoon that just stole my lunch box?" Asking this, she kept pointing at Tamanegi, trying to look as surprised as possible in order to hide the fact that she was an experiment as well. Her puzzled look then quickly faded, turning into a comfortable smile as her lips once again parted."Well... Your little friend over there seems to be hungry. I'd agree to share the sweets with you if you return it to me. By the way, I'm Maki." Saying this, her sapphire orbs carefully examined the male, wondering what was going to happen next, since meeting another shifter to her was a pretty rare incident.

[LUNUS DARK]

[bg=EDFBFC] Lunus looked as the Raccoon stole the sweets and then subsequently ran in his direction, "Streak," Lunus said calmly, "Don't attack that raccoon, something tells me that that boy is like us," He stood, placing the shoulder bag on his and smiled. He approached the Raccoon, and picked it up rather tentatively, before approaching the boy and the girl with an awkward grin on his face. He dropped the raccoon on the table and turned to walk away slowly. On a whim he took out another sausage from his bag and placed it next to the raccoon before turning slowly again. He half expected the boy or girl to say something to him, like a 'thank you' or some from of recognition. Streak had followed him this whole way and now cocked his head to the side in confusion, why was he giving away their food?

[ZEPH ARAIGUMA]

Zeph blushed, turning his head to the side to make sure Tam wasn’t doing anything stupid. The he turned back, “Yeah... Sorry about that.” There was an awkward moment of silence, Zeph cursing Tam a million times in his mind before being distracting by the girl speaking up again. “Aha. Don’t be fooled. He’ just fat.” Zeph tilted his head to the side. A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. “I'm sure Tam would like that- I sure would if I managed to eat any...” He trailed off, hand going to rub the back of his head again- a nervous response. “Ah! Maki’s a nice name!” He complimented, “I'm Zeph.”

He was curious to find out more about Maki, she seemed to be fine around him even though it was perfectly obvious that he wasn’t your average human- maybe she was- no. Wishful thinking, probably. Zeph turned his head to where Tam had wandered off to. “I suppose I should go get him...” he whispered, moving to get up and only stopping when he saw someone pick him up. His throat clenched, a wave a panic washing over him, a hundred and more thoughts running through his head about what Tam could have possibly gotten himself into. It was only when he saw the boy who had picked him up walking over to them that he calmed back down and sat.

When Tam was dumped on the table he looked innocently to Zeph before scratching behind his ear; the animal no at all fazed by the stranger. Zeph turned his gaze to the boy. “Thanks!” he said cheerfully. “He’s always getting into trouble~” He reached a hand up to pat Tam on the hand as he tucked into the sausage that had been placed on the table beside him. That should keep him busy for... I don’t know, a few seconds?

Zeph jumped, seeing the wolf, and he almost instantly knew what that meant. “Hey. You’re?” He didn’t really need to ask the full blown question, it was pretty obvious, as well as the answer. “Awesome...” He breathed. Zeph hadn’t really met anyone else like him since leaving SHIFT. “I'm Zeph.” He said for the second time that day. His attention shifted to Maki. “Guess we got your box back.” He offered another smile.

[MAKI NANAHARA]

Observing the inky topped male in front of her, Maki couldn't help but giggle cheerfully while the male nervously tried to start a conversation, even introducing himself once again. Seeing Zeph struggle like this made him resemble an innocent child even more. Not intending to leave him hanging like this, she started to speak. "I hope you don't feel uncomfortable around me... I know you're different from me but you guys are humans as well, aren't you? There is no need to be shy." A reassuring, delicate smile decorated her face as her soft voice resounded. Her new acquaintance was about to go and get a hold of his "friend", when a new stranger suddenly approached them, holding the raccoon within his hands.

Directing her attention towards the newcomer, Maki spotted the animal that apparently followed him around: a wolf. Seeing that such an animal was following a boy like this could only mean that the boy was yet another experiment. Watching the scene in front of her, her eyes remained wide open, not even drifting from the wolf for the slightest moment. The news often spoke about violent and dangerous experiments and the female was well aware that even though most of these reports were fake, some experiments truly were dangerous individuals. Was this particular individual one of those? If so, she was prepared to drop her facade in order to save her life.

Her worries then calmed as the male offered food to Zeph and his comrade without showing any trace of aggression. Still gazing at the canine pet, the student raised her voice, while laughing shyly, making it obvious that the newcomer's partner scared her. "Thank you... N.. Nice Wolf..." Taking a deep breath, she then turned her gaze toward Zeph and his partner, before finally opening her lunch box, releasing the smell of strawberry sweets. Showing off yet another comfortable smile, she then offered the bakery product to the others, hoping that they didn't suspect her of being one of their kin.

[LUNUS DARK]

[bg=EDFBFC] "I'm Lunus,"he said and smiled at the boy infront of him, "Yeah, I am, and so are you i guess... Is she...?" he trailed off a little and then shook his head, clearing the thought, "Sorry about that," he said to Maki, "I hope you forgive my fault." He decided to sit down, placing his bag on the table in front of him, when another two sausages rolled out. Lunus sweat dropped before picking up one and handing it to Streak and leaving the other for Tam. Streak yipped and wolfed down the sausage in record time before rubbing up against Maki's leg in what he thought was a friendly way. "Don't worry," Lunus said with a smile, "He's probably the most friendly wolf you'll meet, he doesn't bit unless I tell him."

[ZEPH ARAIGUMA]

Zeph wasn’t so tense after what Maki said. She was just a normal human, after all- but she didn’t mind him, which was a first. He give a sharp-toothed grin, Tam tilting his head to the side before sniffing curiously at Maki. “You must smell nice.” Putting his hands around Tam, he gently lifted him up, placing him on his lap; only to have the masked creature scurry off again at the opportunity of food. He watched curiously as Maki opened up the box, the sweet scent hitting his nose almost instantly. He loved strawberries. “I might have to marry you.” He joked, grinning as Tam helped himself.

Having grabbed one of the sweets and thanked Maki, he turned his attention to Lunus and his wolf. Zeph leant forwards, his face close to the wolf’s- much like how he looked at Tam sometimes. “You’re very big.” He stated, hand reaching up to rub behind the animals ear. “I'm surprised Tam isn’t scared of you. You must be a softy.” He smiled in a child-like way before sitting up again, food half hanging out of his mouth as he picked Tam up again. “You shouldn’t eat sho mush.” He muttered to him around the food.

Zeph tapped his foot, slightly awkward in this situation, but feeling a little bit more comfortable with the knowledge that Maki wasn’t at all bothered by him and Lunus being different. It was nice to know that not everyone out there was out to get him and that some people did in fact accept them as human beings- in a sense. There would always be that worry in the back of there minds that something would go wrong. And it would be years to come- many, many year- before all prejudice was completely stamped out. It was kind of frustrating but, like most things, he didn’t dwell.

“What brings you out here?” He asked openly, meaning for either of the two to be able to answer it.