Those Halcyon Days II -- All New, All Different (Inactive)

Game Master Stalwart

Caio follows Skyler, anxious to talk to her. So... how are you? He walks closer to her, paying close attention to her reaction not to get closer than she'd feel comfortable.

She looks up and meets his eyes. Her own widen, and then she takes a step back but immediately looks like she regrets it.

"I'm... fine. Fine. You? I mean, other than the other night. How are you in general?"

"Less than fine." He answers, smiling. "I've almost done horrible things on our last mission, but perhaps we can talk about that later..."

Skyler's mouth purses. "Well, better than not almost."

She swallows and looks at him, giving that look of concentration she sometimes gets. "Yeah. Less than fine. Sorry."

"It's ok." He says as he steps closer to her. "So, have you thought about us?"

She nods. "A lot. Yeah."

Caio nods, eager to hear her thoughts. "I have not changed mine..."

Skyler takes a deep breath. "Okay. I'm going to say some stuff. And you need to wait to the end, okay? I don't know how you'll feel, but... please. Let me just say what I have to say." She looks up at him, studying his reaction.

He nods again, anxious.

She wrings her hands, then forces them to her side. "Okay. You know how there is a shit ton of media out there that glorifies it when a female gives up everything for a man? It's everywhere, from religion to the Little f$~&ing Mermaid. Like, we're supposed to just turn over all our hopes and dreams because we're female and leave it up to the big strong man to take care of us." Skyler's face turns more and more into a scowl as she talks.

"I wasn't ever going to do that. I wasn't going to 'surrender' myself and give myself over to some guy. That's bullshit.

"But it happened anyway. That night, I... was yours. I gave myself to you completely. I couldn't think of anything but being in your control." Her eyes grow distant as she replays it in her mind. "It was so bad that I was becoming a werewolf. Like you."

Her eyes close as her cheeks become flushed. Caio can smell her arousal start to bloom. "Can you understand how terrifying that is?"

While he notices her arousal, Caio tries his best to keep it out of his mind for now. "My greatest fear is losing control of myself, so yeah, I'm pretty aware of how terrifying it was for you... both the surrendering part and the becoming a wolf part..."

Without realizing it, he steps closer to her again. "I'm really sorry it took me so long to notice there was something going on with you... " He sighs, saddened and embarrassed. "I thought you wanted me as much as I wanted you, and not that our powers were feeding each other in a bad way."

"Would you believe me if I said that, once I've noticed something was wrong, I'd not have let us go any further? I did not want you that way... it was wrong... I wanted you being you."

Skyler opens her eyes. They're wide, pupils dilated as big as they'll go. "I know. I know it wasn't your fault."

She steps closer to him and puts a hand on his cheek. "It was scary, but it was also the hottest thing ever."

"It certainly was..." He says, smiling as he grabs her hand, happy just to touch her. It takes all his mental power not to pull her towards him for a hug and a kiss. "Sky... your pupils are really big..."

She steps back, trying to keep control over herself. "I keep going back to that night. I tell myself I'm betraying myself... but I can't help it. Lock us in a room, cage us up, but I need to try it again."

"Perhaps you are not betraying yourself... I'm not taking control of you again, but if you want to feel that again, I'll willing to lose control of myself along with you..."

Not able to resist keeping his distance from her, Caio steps forward again, his hand on her cheek. "No one is in charge... We'll both lose a part of ourselves, but... Perhaps we'll gain something more..."

Skyler bites her lip and leans against his touch. "Yeah. I'm going to need to go now. Or we'll get in trouble." She starts to walk past him.

Caio smiles, relieved. "I'll see you after class, ok?"

Once the classes finish, Caio waits for Skyler in front of the dorms. He did not have time to return to the Unity Station, so he took a bath on the dorms communal bathrooms and had to put on the same clothes. The bath was cold, even if it was already November, for he wanted to cool himself...

Skyler is sitting outside, swaddled in a long trenchcoat with a knit cap over her head with sides that covers her ears. She's watching a news van that's parked outside and a pair of reporters trying to get comments from students as they leave the school grounds. A few security guards are holding the reporters back so the students can leave without trouble.

Caio approaches Skyler gesturing the van and the reporters with his head. "What is that about? The pills?"

Skyler nods. "Yeah. You must really be distracted. There's a lot of rumors swirling about a huge performance enhancing drug ring that's all over the schools." She squints at him against the waning light of the day. "You heard about the new catgirl? Grace? They say she's part of it. Like, her drug use triggered her mutation or something."

Caio sits by her side. "We discovered about these drugs after the ball and luckily we were able to find the suppliers and manufacturers on Saturday... I almost killed all of them." He tells her, not seeing a point in hiding anything from her.

"Grace was taking the drug, but it is not that the drug triggered anything... The drug caused it, and she changed because she stopped taking it. The same will happen to anyone that stops talking them."

"Wow, that's crazy," Skyler says. "'Almost killed.' Is this a wolf thing, or just a general kicking their ass that maybe got a little out of control?"

"You can't tell this thing about the pills to anyone, ok? People will freak out..." He adds before sighing.

"Wolf thing... it was horrible. I... don't think you want to hear the details, do you?"

Skyler shivers and pulls her coat closer around her. "I don't know. Do the details have an impact on what we're about to do?"

Caio thinks for a while before answering. "No. I am still the same person, and the Wolf is still the same monster... you are not dating the monster."

"But you should see this..." He says, as he lifts his shirt to show the massive scar the Wolf left on him.

Skyler's eyes go wide in shock. "How-- did you fight a bear or something?"

"The Wolf." He says, covering himself again. "It is ugly, but it is also good news... I have a plan now, and it will work." There is hope in his voice, but also fear and sadness.

Skyler's expression is one of deep concern. "I don't pretend to know anything about all this super hero stuff. But if your own wolf can do that to you, how is that good news?"

"Because if he can hurt me, I can hurt him as well... and once I do, I'll be hopefully free."

She nods, understanding, but doesn't look pleased. "So, you're going to hurt him back. Show the wolf who's boss, is that it? What if he hurts you more? Can he kill you?"

"No... I'm going to kill him. I'm pretty sure he can kill me and if he does, there will be only the Wolf. If he needed me, he'd not have risked killing me." He explains. "I'm not getting stronger, Sky, but he is. The longer I wait to face him, the worse it becomes and the lower the chances for me."

"I still don't know how to kill him, though."

Skyler pulls her knees up to her chest and hugs herself tightly. She stares off at the school gates, now no longer as busy. The reporters are putting the finishing touches on their stories and starting to pack up.

"I totally killed the mood, didn't I?"

Skyler tilts her head in his direction. "Yeah, you did. I guess I should be grateful, though. I was looking forward to... to wolf you and wolf me! Or whatever happened to us on Halloween. But... that's stupid and reckless, isn't it?"

"I don't know... It is still not easy for the Wolf to take control of me, since he has to both overcome my own will and all the wards I have tattooed. The Wolf has only ever tried to take control when I do not want to do something that he does... being with someone is certainly a thing he'd want... it is his animal instinct."

"I don't think it is stupid to want to have something good. To be happy, even if for a while. It is reckless though... I am reckless, otherwise I'd not have asked you or anyone to the ball." He confesses. "And selfish now that I think about it... I always knew it would end for me in a fight against the Wolf, and I always thought that I should enjoy the time I have but... it is also true that if I lose, I'll leave people behind."

"Sky... what do you think you'll regret more... trying it, or not trying it? I will eventually face the Wolf and when that is done, no matter the result, we won't be able to wolf."

She closes her eyes in concentration, her brow furrowed as she thinks on what Caio just said. "So, you and the wolf... both want me as a mate, so I wouldn't be in danger... so long as I agree." She opens her eyes a crack and peeks out at him with the hint of a smile. "And that's a low blow, saying if I wait I might never get the chance," she teases.

She hops down. "Okay, I am freezing. Where were you going to take me this evening, killer of wolves and moods?"

Caio takes her hand. "I realised it was a low blow too late."

"Let's go to my new room... I'm not sure if I actually can bring you there, but if you put some earphones and close your eyes, it should be ok. I'm not kidnapping you by the way."

Skyler rolls her eyes. "You are the biggest dork. Okay, if I'm being taken blindfolded to your supersecret lair, you're carrying me." She pauses to pull out her earbuds and stick them in her ears. Then she closes her eyes and holds still, waiting to be picked up.

"Of course I'm carrying you..." He says, adding some more after she had already put her earbuds. "... My princess."

================

Caio closes the door of his room, glad that no one saw them, and locks the door before removing Skyler's earbuds. "Here we are."

Skyler opens her eyes and looks around. "You left the dorms for this?"

"It was not a decision with comfort in mind for sure... More like a team bonding idea. That I think will work."

He takes his phone and selects a playlist with Brazilian pop rock music, before coming for her. "I don't know how out of control this will get, bet let's try something... Each music has around 5 minutes of duration, so whenever the music chances, we change who is on control..."

Caio suddenly slides his hands from her waist to her butt and then to her legs as he picks her up and puts her against the wall. "I'll go first, because I'm pretty sure you'd kick me if I 'ladies first' you." He looks at her eyes and then her mouth. "Anything you want to tell me before?"

Skyler pushes him away. "Wait. Too fast. This isn't-- I'm not... ready." She tries to wriggle out and away from the wall.

Caio immediately let's her go.

"Sorry," she says as she moves to the center of the room, wringing her hands. "I'm still... thinking about the wolf thing. The bad wolf thing, not the, um, sexy wolf thing."

Caio sits on his bed. "We don't need to rush anything... Here, sit with me. Take your time... We can just talk."

Skyler doesn't sit. Instead she begins pacing back and forth, fingers nervously fidgeting. "Oh, my God, I'm doing the thing," she mutters to herself.

Caio can't help but overhearing her. "Sky? What thing?"

Caio had a strong suspicion that this could be Skyler's first time, considering the whole 'no-friends', 'no-social-life', 'likes-to-be-alone' things. He did not want to assume anything, though, and make she feel even more scared, insecure, and uncomfortable. "I feel you are not used to it, but you can tell me anything... I want you to trust me, to be comfortable with me... You are special to me, and I do not want you to feel scared, or pressured."

"The thing!" Skyler responds. "You know, or maybe you don't, being a guy, the thing where a girl comes over and at first she's really into it and wants it, but then all of a sudden she changes her mind and the guy doesn't understand and then it becomes just a recipe for disaster." She continues pacing and fretting.

"I never thought-- I mean, I assumed this would never happen to me, because when I make a decision I want to stick with it. I was looking forward to this all day. I was... I..." She smacks her forehead. "What's wrong with me?"

"Sky, we waited for our first kiss because you wanted it to be special, and, because of that, it was special. It was the best kiss of my life." He says, getting up from his bed and approaching her.

"We can wait to sleep together for as long as you want, and I only want to do it when you feel you are ready, when you feel it will be special for us."

"Just don't assume I will not understand you... I want to and I will if you let me in..."

Skyler visibly relaxes. She even starts to smile. "You want to have a talk about phrasing?" she says with a giggle.

She steps into his arms. "You're right. I was trying to force it. Thinking we could pick right back up where we left off." She looks up into his eyes. "That night I felt safe with you. Wrapped up, comforted, and... and okay, I'll admit: owned. First safe, then sexy."
Skyler leans her head against Caio's chest. "Now I wonder if the wolf is all that safe."

Caio embraces Skyler, smelling her hair. "You were all worried and tense, and now you are relaxed and smiling. I'd say my phrasing was perfect."

"I'm being honest with you when I say the Wolf would sooner die to protect you than harm you... The Wolf is all instinct, and even if he has the instincts of a predator, he also would protect his pack."

"How about we forget the Wolf for a moment and enjoy ourselves? We could watch a movie, talk, kiss, hang out, or even go somewhere else."

Skyler buries her face in his chest. "Right, right. I'm the wolf's chosen mate," she says, her voice muffled by his shirt. "Okay, let's just hang out here. Snuggle, and talk if you can manage to not keep killing the mood."

"Small correction... you are my chosen girl." He then picks her up, princess style, and then drops her on his bed, kind of like a sack of potatoes... just to surprise her. He then lies down by her side, offers his arm and chest as a pillow for her, and gives her a kiss on her forehead... the safest place not to tease her by accident.

"Corny," she says but smiles anyway. When he joins her on the bed she snuggles close and breathes him in. "I can hear your heart," she whispers as her head is lying against Caio's chest.

After a while, just enjoying her presence and talking about various harness topics, Caio asks a question he had been wondering for a while. "Sky, do you plan doing anything with these hero classes? Like becoming a "hero" yourself?" He says hero with air quotes, since he never really liked the word.

She lifts her head briefly to look at him, then rests it back on his chest. She groans. "No, I have no plans to put on a crazy costume and look at villains' auras. Even if this whole 'merging' thing I can apparently do turns out to be useful, I just don't think I would ever want to do anything with it. Either I get consumed, or I walk around in someone's 'ecto-psychology' or whatever... it's not much of a power."

She starts drawing circles on Caio's chest with her finger. "What about you? If you kill the wolf and become a regular dude, what do you think you'll do with your life?"

"You do not need to wear a cape and fight criminals to help... There is other stuff, like investigations and interrogations that your power would be incredibly useful... If you want to, of course."

When asked about what he'd do if he was a normal person, he answers in a heart beat, as if he had planned it out all along. "Graduate, start to work and study to become a professional chef, marry a nice girl, have a family, travel the world..."

"Wow," Skyler says in response. "That-- that's cool."

Caio can't help himself from pulling Skyler even closer to him, giving her a small kiss on her lips as she looks at him. "You are really special and sweet, Sky. Don't think many people would consider that cool, specially compared to being a 'hero'."

"And you, how do you see your life in the future?"

Skyler gets quiet for a moment. "I don't know," she says after she thinks. "I try not to set anything in stone. Just take opportunities when they come, and be flexible."

She sits up and stares at him with that look of concentration, where her eyes seem to focus on spaces around him. "I wish I knew what all this meant. Maybe I could tell your future, or figure out a way to beat the wolf for good." She reaches out and lightly touches the air near Caio's head like she was brushing away spider webs. "Do you feel that?"

"No... But don't let this stop you from trying whatever you want. The more you understand your power, the better."

Caio reaches for the meditation book he borrowed from Percy. "Like, I've been trying this mindfulness thing, trying to perhaps dampen or diminish my aura so it will be easier for us to be together... Did you notice any difference?"

She sits up, straddling Caio across his chest. Again, she looks at him in concentration while she moves her hands around his head. "I'm moving it around. You really can't feel that?" She dips her hands like she's drawing water from a stream.

Caio closes her eyes, figuring it would help. After a couple seconds, he answers. "I certainly don't feel anything in terms of the five senses, now in terms of emotions... let me think about it for a while... keep doing whatever you are doing, just in case."

After another minute, he speaks to her again. "Hum... this is strange. Have you watched that movie 'Inside Out'? Where the characters are emotions inside the head of a little girl?" He asks "I feel just like that, as if you we were slowly tinkering with my emotions... like nothing changed in my situation with the Wolf, but I'm not nearly as worried about him anymore, as if he was just an afterthought..."

"You are really beautiful, hot, and are on top of me, but for some reason, I'm not thinking at all about having sex right now, so that is for sure something you did... just please undo by the end of these tests." He jokes.

"That's a lie, because you just said it," Skyler observes. "If you weren't thinking about sex, you wouldn't have brought it up. Are you messing with me?"

She leans back and puts her hands on Caio's chest and grins sultrily. "Let's see if you're being honest." She pulls up his shirt and begins tracing her short nails along his chest. "How does this make you feel?"

"I'm not!" He says, laughing, strangely happy. "It tickles a little bit, and makes me feel like I'm the craziest plot twist ever, like, we came here to have sex... then we decided not to and just to snuggle, but that did not keep from thinking about it, since you are still close to me and your perfume and stuff... then you are on top of me and I'm not thinking about it at all, but you are teasing me to do think about it, even if we are not doing it." He says all of this as if it was the funniest thing in the world.

There was an easy way for her to be sure if he was telling the truth or not, but no guy would ever tell a girl he was into to touch his dick when it is not hard.

Skyler smiles as well, but it's laced with concern. "I don't know if I'm messing you up! I did see that movie, and what if I destroy a core memory or something? Or wipe out one of your emotions for good?"

She leans back down and gently touches Caio's aura a little more. "But if we're going to stay boyfriend-girlfriend, I don't want your libido to go away."

After a little more gentle nudging, Caio feels warmth and heat flow back to his crotch, but he also feels extra protective. Raise Savior, lower Freak.

"I think that's back to normal," she says, unsure.

Caio gets a wild boner as his libido is suddenly restore, causing him to shift a bit his position to make it less uncomfortable. To do so, he puts his hands on her legs and waist. "Yup, you fixed! Very fixed."

Looking into her eyes, he asks her, serious. "Skyler, would you like to be my girlfriend?" Even if they were already acting like so, it was apparently important for him to ask it officially.

Skyler's eyes widen when Caio confirms his libido's back. She remains patient while he makes sure he's comfortable. When he asks her to be his girlfriend, she puts her hands over his, where they're holding her waist. She pulls her shirt out so his skin is touching hers. Her skin is soft and cool.

A teasing smile plays on her face. "Only if you can be my boyfriend."

"Hum... Let me think about it." He says playfully, as he sits on the bed, causing Skyler to slide to his lap.

His hands move to her back, one on the small, pulling her closer to him and causing her body to press against his, while the other hand goes to her neck, lifting her mouth to receive a passionate and long kiss. In contrast to her, Caio's skin is unnaturally warm.

Caio takes his time, stretching the moment and alternating between a soft caress and a harder pressure. He pays close attention to Skyler's reactions... This would be her night, as he is completely focused on making her feel good, happy, and loved. Him feeling good would be just a welcomed consequence.

Caressing her belly, he adds. "So... was it how you'd expected?"

Skyler looks at Caio and blushes in embarrassment. She throws her arm over her face, then peeks out from under it. "And you make a dorky face when you're pleased with yourself," she teases as her body squirms. She rolls away from him and pulls a pillow over her head.

Just then, there's voices that can be heard outside Caio's door. Skyler sits up suddenly and starts reaching for her clothes.

What do you do?

Caio rests a hand on her shoulder as she teaches for her clothes, a little worried, since technically she wasn't supposed to be here. He whispers to her. "I don't think they will notice we are here... Damn, wasn't expecting them to be here at this time. But don't worry, I'm with you and you are my girlfriend now." He tries to calm her, surprised as to how good it feels to say they are together.

"They will probably leave and then we can get out... Will then speak to Shin about allowing you access to the base in the future."

With Horizon revealing his identity at the school and Steel Guardian not being a thing anymore, the only member of the team that still had a secret identity was Percy, so if Skyler knew who he was, there was just the point of she knowing the location of the base against her being allowed to be there.

If she's reading his aura, it's definitely one of worry, depression, anxiety, with spikes of anger needling out on occasion. This is someone who desperately needs a therapist but feels he needs to keep a strong front for the team.

Skyler looks really uncomfortable. "Thanks, I think. But I don't need all this. I'm not joining your team or anything, so I don't need my own room here."

She falls silent again until they reach the street level. She holds his hand the whole time they walk along the streets, but despite her silence Skyler doesn't seem to be in bad spirits. She stands on her tiptoes to kiss him when she's about to take the turn toward the campus.

"She's a cute one," comes a gruff but feminine voice from the shadows. Skyler gasps, and breaks the kiss as she looks around into the shadows for the source of the voice. A pair of yellow eyes appear in the dim street lights.

"You smell like you've been marked, so you're safe from us. Why don't you run along home, little girl. We need to talk with Caio for a little bit." Lua steps out of the shadows, a slight but feral-looking woman. "Go on."

Skyler clings tightly to Caio as she shrinks from the woman.

What do you do??

He puts his hands on Skyler's shoulders to calm her down. "These are some old friends of mine, don't worry... Go home Sky, and tell Max that I'll probably be late for the game night." Caio says all of this as calmly as possible, but in truth he was deeply scared... Something that Skyler should clearly see. His only hope was that she could get away from them and understand his message.

He gives her a light kiss before releasing her. "Love you." The last two words were extremely painful to say... Not because they weren't true, but because he wasn't sure he'd be able to say then later.

Pierce the Mask: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (1, 5) + 3 = 9 What are you really planning?

Skyler's eyes go wide at Caio's admission. She backs away slowly, staring at him briefly before turning her attention to Lua. She gives her a wide berth, then giving one last worried glance at Caio, turns and sprints away.

Lua casually watches her go. "She's weak," she observes before stepping closer to Caio. Her eyes languidly look over the Bull, not really focusing on him.

"You still think you have control. But the Beast has tasted your blood, and it won't be long now." She finally makes eye contact. "Little lost wolves cry out for their pack. Why not come to Mamãe willingly? You don't need to make this painful... for the ones you love."

She's planning on having Caio join her pack for good. What do you do?

"No... you think I still have the control, otherwise you'd have just waited in the shadows and probably back in Brazil until the Wolf had overcome me, as I was sure he would do." Caio says, realizing her actions did not make sense.

Lua had her pack back in Brazil and even if new members were not easy to find, it still made little sense for her to come here looking for him... He was probably important to her plans, but why?

"Not that I would ever willingly join you, but even if I did, it doesn't mean the Wolf will... He'd sooner fight you for the leadership and then make you his mate..." He says. He certainly can't beat the three werewolves on his own, so even if he did not believe he could beat Lua, fighting her alone was still much better than all of them together. "Next full moon? You pick the place."

Provoke: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 3) = 8 Provoking Lua to a one on one.

Lua's eyes lose their focus while Caio speaks. Nothing he says to her seems to register. His bravado, his threats, his challenge, he could be talking to himself for all the reaction he gets from her.

"I know, my sweet. It flaps its mouth, makes 'wah wah' noises. Like what it says is wind in the leaves. You shall be free soon," she says, but not to Caio. She runs a hand through his hair, then grips it tightly. She addresses Caio directly with a succinct, "No."

Her eyes turn yellow suddenly, and she stares directly at him. Caio gets a brief falling sensation. He feels his head slam hard against something and his body goes limp.

"A child does not speak so to its elders," he hears before his consciousness fades to black.

You wake up, dazed, on the street where you met Lua. Your head is hurting, but otherwise you seem fine.