Your Can't Be Serious [draco]

[Anonymous]

A black figure streaked through the hallways, its body lithe and flexible. It looked like a rather strange cat that had feelers on its head. It's green and gold looked nowhere but forward, seeming as if it knew just where it was going. Partially, it did.

He had to get to this place on time, just had to. Why else would someone slip a note under his door? Besides he was late. Left, right, up a set of stairs, right, left, down another set of stairs, around a cruved hallway and into a lift.

The lift was crowded so nobody really noticed the black feline animal dive in. "A2 please" he said. It wasn't like anyone would notice him talking, but instead mistake him for a humanoid. He thought like a humanoid, he spoke like one, sounded like one... he was born one. It was just he wasn't one right now.

Slowly, the doors close as someone pressed yet another button on the pad, the lift moving smoothing through the system. He sat, paws together as he waited patiently for his level to come. After all, pacing wouldn't do much help. A person coughed slightly, but other than that, nobody else made a sound.

Moments later and the doors opened again. A large sign hanging from the cieling read 'Level A2.' Darting out of the lift like a lightning bolt, Tore raced down the halls. Gotta make it on time... Gotta make it, he thought mentally. He took a few more turns, going as fast as he could.

He nearly ran past the door and probably would have if it weren't the last one in the hall. He slid to a stop, bumping lightly into the wall. A light red mist crept around his body, the frame shifting and changing within the mist's hold. When it cleared away, a young man stood, blue and purple hair. His eyes were green and gold in color, surrounded by pale olive skin. Ruffling his hair and bit before shifting his too tight uniform, Tore pushed the open open.

The door slid open silently, revealing an empty room full of chairs and desks. Stepping into the deserted room, Tore called "Hello? Anyone here?" Nobody answered. He took a few more steps into the room, looking around with an unamused face. "This better not be some sort of joke. I could be training right now."

[Anonymous]

Remi loved these little tricks.

He sat on a desk, legs crossed at the knees his hands behind him supporting his weight on the desk. Of course the boy would see nothing. Remi would be invisible to everyone but a more powerful psychic and himself. A smirk played with his lips when the boy walked closer and Remi tilted his head slightly and frowned. Poor thing, failed the first test already.

A pity.

He stood up, an even six feet, dressed in a simple white dress shirt, white tank top underneath and jeans with shiny black bots. Remi’s eyes were a pure pastel pink, bright sunflower yellow hair reached his shoulders in messy layers and his skin was a deep tan.

While he did stand out all on his own, the thing that people usually first noticed would be his scars. Two of which were on his face, a tell-tale gift from his candidate days. From above his right eye down to under his left eye, and from his left ear towards his nose. They crossed at the bottom, and while they were hardly pretty to look at, they left just enough scar to be noticable but not enough to disfigure his face.

Completely visible now, Remi leered at the tall young man and pursed his lips. Hmm.  “Hm, You could be training?” Remi tilted his head to the side and pressed his the tips of his left hand fingers to his lips and pursed his lips. A roughed up looking wedding band was around his ring finger. “First things first, Tore,” Remi looked at him, up and down, eyes lingering a little longer in some places than others before he moved to another row of desks to leave the class room stopping directly at the door.

”I’m going to be your mentor, if you can get my name from me I’ll not punish you for not sensing me in the class room.” He’d have to think of something.  He’d of course go easy on the boy, if he had prior experience it would be easy to get his name.

So, Remi stood by the door, his arms at his sides, mentally murmuring his name and rank.  Remi Talbotte, Pilot Noble. Then he went a little deeper, if the kid could grab this he’d probably kiss him. Make his job fifty times more easy if the kid knew how to actually do stuff unlike all the other useless weak little candidates. Twenty-Eight, widower, Tore is my second candidate.

Both thoughts cycled through his brain, his name cycling quite a few layers above the extra information. Both being thought of at the same time, one being projected over the other. Remis smiled, and while it should have been oddly creepy, it was a warm smile that made his eyes light up.

[Anonymous]

Tore flinched, his head shooting around as a figure suddenly appeared in just to the right of him. Now that was just trippy.

After the initial shock had died, Tore wiped the look of surprise off of his face and listened. He had to say though, the scars and eyes were kind of distracting. And the fact that he leered up at him was even more so distracting. It was like looking down at a child that sought to have it over him. Only difference was that it wasn't a child and the man did have something over him. Whoopee.

He knew his name? Oh... Right. He was a pilot. Psychic and all. An eyebrow twitched as he all but noticed the pilot's eyes lingering in a few places. He just wasn't into older men. And, from the ring, he assumed that this man was married.

His eyes followed the pilot, his body turning as he could no longer move his neck without breaking it. Shit, that was a test?, he thought, instantly scolding himself for thinking that. He couldn't just expect to walk in and have a pilot not test him. That was just... idiotic.

Ohh, chance to redeem himself. Focusing mentally on the pilot, Tore's face became blank. It was hard to get in, but eventually did. After all, his adoptive father had been a pilot. He tilted his head slightly, as if listening to something. "Remi? Remi Talbotte." Again, he stopped and tilted his head a little more. An ear twitched as he tried to make out whatever it was the pilot was muttering after his name.

"Pie? No... Pilot... noble" he said, frowning. He hadn't a clue on whether he was saying the right stuff. Hell, he could be reading the mind of somebody who was walking past. He was about to pull back when something else was whispering around in the pilot's mind. He probed a little deeper, searching for it. He was beginning to get a migraine.

"Twin plates... widdle one... Tore Ishmael second... Can in a date?" Tore said, his nose and brow wrinkled. Now he was sure that wasn't right, but it was so hard to tell what Remi was thinking. He thought so quietly. "Scratch that last reading, it's not correct" Tore said at last, his facing coming out of the blankness. How could it be? Nobody in their right mind would be thinking that. Not even in their left.

[Anonymous]

“Yes, it was a test.”

Remi tilted his head and smiled again before looked around the room, hmm.  The pastel pink eyes focused on the young man and he pursed his lips and then just stared. Candidate turned into Can in a date. A smile bloomed on Remis face and he shook his head.  Well, at least he heard him. Good enough for him.

It was good to know the kid wasn’t a complete failure.

”Yes, I am Remi Talbotte, Pilot Noble.” He gave a quick polite nod of his head and then moved behind him pressing a hand to the small of his back and pushed him towards a seat. Of course he paused. The boy was huge, and the desks were built for teenagers. “Huh. It appears you’re too large for these classrooms.” Remi frowned slightly, “ Follow me.” His voice was soft, it didn’t suit his personality so far.

While Remi walked down the hall, his hands were shoved into his pockets and he moved with a brisk speed, wisps of his sunflower yellow hair brushing it past his ears, showing off the very slight point to them. Remi obviously wasn’t completely human, which would be rather obvious if they took note of pink eyes. He was in fact half fae, his mother. So what mind tricks he had all had to do with illusions.

He loved them and was good enough for his age and rank.

It took about five minutes of the brisk pace before they came to an empty room with a chalk board and empty tables and chairs. “Sit and tell me what you know about being a candidate so far.” Remi all but pushed the boy into the room and closed the door and locked it.  Another pleasant smile was flashed towards Tore and he crossed his arms over his chest and tapped a finger against his forearm.  Waiting.

[Anonymous]

Tore was a tad freaked out by the sudden smile on his mentor's face. Was him smiling a good thing or a bad thing?

Must be a good thing because his first reading was confirmed as correct. Score for Tore. The next thing he knew, he was being pushed towards a desk. He didn't resist. But the pilot wasn't seriously thinking of putting him in one of those chairs, right? Not with his current size. But there was no stopping him from changing that...

Tore blinked but followed after Remi, almost having to run to keep up with the pilot's fast pace. He almost lost sight of him a few times, having nearly ran into quite a few people. That and he tripped over cleaning equipment. He was tempted to call out to Remi to stop, but didn't want to seem incompetent.

He was glad that they finally reached the classroom. He was panting from near running for 5 minutes. "Remind me... never to try... and chase you" Tore said, breathing heavily. He obeyed his mentor's orders and sat in a chair gratefully. At least this one was big enough to fit his ass.

"I erm..." he started, trying to think about what he knew about being a candidate. "Well, it's no easy job. Intense physical and mental training are part of everyday life, designed to test and improve candidate capability. If you don't meet the standards, you're drafted off to TRIM... And nobody wants to go to TRIM. Only 80% of candidates pass the first six months of training.

"Pilots mentor candidates in their own time, much to the benefit of candidates. The first stage of training has little to none of psychic training, mostly consisting of Aedolian history, mathematics and sciences. And... that's it" Tore said. "I haven't finished my 6 months of the first stage yet."

[Anonymous]

Barely noticing that his candidate couldn’t keep up, Remi was blinking owlishly for a moment. Why was he panting? A psychic tendril brushed against Tores mind, sipping the information he needed and he just stood there, blinked, and frowned at him. The boy was a good four inches taller than him and he had trouble keeping up? Remi shook his head and rolled his eyes slightly, the kid would obviously have to practice his running or… Walking at a fast pace.

The kid could have told him to slow down, this one might be stubborn. Remi tilted his head to the side and paced around the class room while the boy prattled things off. “Good boy.” He said in a form of praise, while his hands were behind his back and his chest was out, looking straight ahead. “You should know that once the six months are up I’ll be by you more often.” He moved to stand behind Tore, “Until then, you’ll be seeing very little of me.”

Tore had missed orientation, he’d gathered that much. “You’ll have classes, and you’ll meet other candidates.” He placed a hand on Tores shoulder and leaned over him to look at his face, “ While you’re here, you life is in my hands. I want no lip, I want no temper tantrums, or I will deal with you accordingly.” Remi still wasn’t sure how to deal with a candidate who was taller than him, very possibly physically stronger when it came to brute force. Though Remi had the upper hand with all the mental mumbo-jumbo, the boy wouldn’t get far away.

He had a dragon as well.

”Now, we can do two things.” Remi moved away and began to pace again, his hands now resting in his pockets, “ We can go meet Khuno, or we can talk a walk around the ATC and then go see Khuno.” Remi turned around to smile at Tore, “Either way, we’re going to meet my dragon. He” She… Remi could never remember what it liked being reffered to as, “ Likes meeting candidates.”

Remi moved towards the door and placed his hand on it, it unlocked and he looked over his shoulder with raised eyebrows towards Tore. “I’ll walk slowly so you can keep up.” He hadn’t moved yet, his arm was down and waiting for Tore to stand beside him before he began to walk towards the Dragon Hold.

[Anonymous]

Tore was a bit surprised by this, but made no thought of it. He simply accepted it as part of life. After all, you'd have to be an idiot or procrastinator not to pass the first phase. Ane Tore was none of the above.

"Of course. I didn't expect to come here to be taught in isolation. Not unless I do something that doesn't meet to your standards..." the shape-shifter said, side-glancing at his mentor. He was sorely tempted to test Remi when he could turn into a creature with small brainwaves. After all, he wasn't completely stupid and it could come in use when facing possible traitors.

A small smirk crossed his face. The pilot could be reading his mind right at this moment, analizing every thought. Not that he cared. It wasn't like he was a traitor or thinking any embarrassing thoughts.

"I don't have any choice in the matter of meeting your Khuno, do I?" Tore asked with a sigh as he stood. Oh well, the sooner he got orientated with one of the beasts, the less nervous he'd be around them later.

He moved over to stand beside Remi, looking down at the man. "Lead the way, Boss" he said, holding his arm out into the hallway as a matching gesture to his statement. He had no idea where dragons resided so for now, he'd be following Remi around like a lost puppy. And that he did.

[Anonymous]

Pastel pink eyes looked over the tall boy again and he frowned slightly, mind was just racing with random things. “It’s not so much that I’m reading your mind, as I am catching what you project.” Remi brushed a hand over the top of his own head, “When you think, untrained minds simply…” Remi moved his hands outwards away from his head and made a sound effect that was somewhat close to ‘whoosh’. “Everyone can hear ‘em.”  A quick nod and Remi began to walk, his hands knuckle deep in his pockets.

Blinking twice, Remi turned towards Tore, stopping completely. “You need to get one thing straight first.” He announced before he turned back around and began to unbutton his dress shirt, fingers were dexterous over the buttons as he walked towards the dragon hold, Remi never turned around but the front of his shirt was completely open. “It isn’t my Khuno.”  He glanced over his shoulder and then turned down a hall way.

Every person they passed stared at his chest, palled slightly then looked around as if they’d done something bad. Looking up and around, Remi pushed his sunflower yellow hair past his ear and went down another labyrinth of hall ways, windows, doors, walls and more walls. All white, all looking exactly the same. The only thing that changed was the scenery outside and the pace Remi was walking at, it slowed, it went faster, but not at a speed where the boyo couldn’t keep up.

It took a few minutes, possibly close to ten, before they were at the Dragon Hold. And what a sight it was, possibly far to small to house such huge glorious creatures. “Khuno is over there… Somewhere.” Remi waved his hand towards the far side of the large room. Hardly a room. More like a... small city.  What a horrible pilot a voice murmured to the both of them, Tore and Remi, First you’re late to meet it, then you make it take the long way.

The disembodied voice held no gender or mechanical whirr, it was smack dab in the middle, not masculine or feminine. As they moved closer to Khuno’s ‘hiding place’ the voice god louder, soft murmurs not saying anything. Remi followed it, he could never remember which one held his dragon.

Then there was a lounging gray dragon, its head was large, and it sported a beak with hooks instead of a muzzle, beautiful blue eyes looked out from behind long curved horns. Everything about this dragon was a lethal as it was beautiful. It’s large wings grew off of its arms and folded up and made a criss-crossing blanket. Its claws were long, sharp and black. Though, from the ribcage down, it was almost completely metal, only the flesh around the spine and it’s tail, which had nasty barbs, were untouched by the metals icy kiss.

Remi turned around and looked at Tore, his chest was scarred, the lower abdomen and the shoulder. “Khuno is picky…” Remi looked over his shoulder at his lounging dragon, who was blinking at them curious, waiting, watching. “Is it he or she today, Khuno?” He, of course. You keep asking that Remi, but you always know the answer..

Remi asked because it was the only annoyance he could get away with. “Dragons are… High tempered creatures.” He buttoned up his shirt and held a hand up to keep Jace from petting Khuno. “Don’t touch him unless he asks you to. Khuno has nothing against gutting candidates.” He frowned slightly and glared over his shoulder towards his dragon. ‘Be nice, Khuno.’ The gray creature snorted and eyed the two before lifting its head to look directly at them, nodding it’ head slightly in case the candidate did want to touch him.

I’m always nice, Remi, you should remember that when trying to provoke my temper.

[Anonymous]

A white Dragon several yards away was eyeing the newcomers down mercilessly. His glowing yellow eyes with dark red stripes beneath them were unblinkingly vigilant, and his body was completely still. His natural scales were slightly iridescent, and his metal parts were dark, for contrast. Red light panels ran down his legs, and his claws were the same dark metal as the horizontal plates on his neck and belly. His Pilot was perched on his back, dutifully polishing the hooked spikes that protruded from the Dragon's spine. "Azrael, what are you thinking?"

The Pilot in question was tall and very thin, not to mention rather overdressed for polishing a Dragon. His outfit was elaborate, mostly dark red fabric accented with creamy off-white, perfectly matching Azrael's coloration. His lank, black hair was tied back to keep it out of his face, and his jacket and shirt sleeves were pushed up to his elbows.Irritatingly, though, the sleeves of the jacket just kept sliding back down, mainly due to the fact that it was too big for him. It hadn't always been; he hated buying clothes when they didn't fit properly. Lately, however, it seemed his eating habits had changed.

The Dragon stirred beneath him, as though to assure him that all was well. He spoke in a somewhat adolescent, yet commanding male voice.It strikes me that the Candidate over there is twice your size, Lyn.

Had Llewellyn Intram been almost any other Pilot, he would have thought of some snarky comment. He raised his head to look down Azrael's line of sight. He recognized Remi Talbotte's electric yellow hair, and looked at the Candidate next to him. "I wouldn't doubt that for a second, actually." The boy (almost certainly, he was male) looked about Intram's height, maybe taller, and was definitely more muscular. "Do you mind if I go introduce myself?" Intram only had a few spikes left to polish, and he hadn't made it his business to introduce himself to any of the Candidates yet.

Azrael always regarded Intram as bordering on irritatingly courteous. However, the Dragon was grateful his Pilot hadn't been one of those jerky Candidates who considered himself superior because he was humanoid. As long as you come back and actually finish this today. It's been forever since I've been properly polished. The Dragon lowered himself smoothly to the ground, careful not to shake so much that Intram had to steady himself on one of the newly-polished spikes. When Azrael got to the ground, Intram jumped off, landing on two feet and a hand. "Thank you!"

Intram pulled the tie from his hair and stuck it in his pocket, still holding his polishing rag in his hand as he walked over toward Remi and his Candidate, a mysterious grin on his face. "Good day, gentlemen, Khuno," he said almost boredly, bowing his head to the higher-ranked Pilot and his Dragon, mainly out of habit.

"Is this your new Candidate, Remi?" he asked, taking the opportunity to examine the Candidate more closely. He was indeed tall, a bit taller even than Intram. "He seems nice."

[Anonymous]

Tore found the pilot's way of explaining rather comical. A slight grin tugged at his features, however, he kept himself under control. Hell, he didn't want to lose his mentor because he started laughing at him. That would just suck.

Following the pilot, Tore nearly bumped into the shorter man as he suddenly stopped and turned around. It was a good thing he didn't, because he was sure he would have gone right over the top of Remi.

An eyebrow raised at the statement, however he didn't comment. OK, got that straight. He followed again after Remi, almost blushing at how his mentor walked down the halls with an open shirt. This man obviously didn't give two squats about what other people thought of him. That or he thought he was one of the most attractive people in the facility.

Tore was almost sick of the walls, windows and doors already. Didn't the designers have any sense of making a room or hall unique? Obviously not. Tore was tempted to come back later and splash paint up and down the halls. A smirk crossed his face at the thought. Sure, he'd probably get into so much trouble that he'd be sore for weeks, but at least this place would have color, if only for a small while.

He was so caught up with the thought that he nearly tripped over another object that was placed on the floor. Good thing it nearly did though, otherwise he wouldn't have noticed Remi speaking again. He blinked owlishly. "You don't know where the dragon is?" he asked.

Tore itched at his ear as the voice murmured at them. He always hated getting itchy ears when recieving telepathic communication. He had to say though, the voice was rather 'godly', if you could call it that.

As they came to the dragon, Tore stopped in his tracks. It was beautiful! That and it looked like it could tear off his head with it's small fing- claw. He felt a rather strong urge to be like a rat and inspect. After all, dragons were grand creatures and he had been curious about them for quite a while.

Before he could do anything of the sort, Remi warned him not to touch Khuno. That was OK too. Eyes were just as good as hands. "Are all dragons as... beautiful as this?" Tore whispered, almost afraid that speaking normally would invoke the beast's wrath. He hoped all dragons were this beautiful. Because then he'd never get an itch to betray them. Not that he had ever had one, but one never knew.

A new voice caught his attention, bringing his eyes to another pilot. This one neared him in height, yet Tore himself was still more muscular. Was he the only person with this particular amount of muscle? It made him feel rather... out of place.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking closer at the humanoid. He decided that this man gave him the creeps. That and he seriously needed to eat more. Sub-consciously, his body began to shift. Small puffs of red smoke formed around his ears and the bottom of his spine. His ears became those of a cat; large and triangular. And at the bottom of his spine, he grew a fluffy tail that reached just below his knees. All fur matched his hair in color, having blue and purple patterns over them.

Idly, his eyes began to wonder. He felt safer with Khuno than with this new pilot. Something just didn't seem right about him.

[Anonymous]

Ah. A guest.

A distraction.

Which meant lest time he had to have this kid follow him around and show him the basic ropes to being a pilot. Mainly having a dragon and keeping it happy so it didn’t eat you. Remi ran a hand down his chest and eyed Khuno. He’d get into trouble if Khuno used Tore as a new scratching post. Subtly he stood between the boy and the dragon. Pastel pink eyes leered at Intram when he came near though, mental shields went up and Remi was torn between being between his Dragon and Tore, or Intram and Tore.

Either way, if one or the other got grumpy, Tore was going to be a drooling husk… Or just a husk. “Yes, brand new. Late and everything.” Remi tilted his head and looked Intram up and down, he looked… Very… Creepy… That was a good for for it.  “Still fresh.” A smile and Remi looked over at Khuno who was eyeing Intram, giving a nod of his head before turning away and curling up to sleep. “ Tch.” Remi muttered before rolling his eyes at his dragon and turning back to Tore.

What had he asked? “Oh… Khuno is very vain, so… But yes, many dragons are very pretty. There are a few very brightly coloured ones too and… What the…” Remi trailed off and stared, a hand by his face. He had been moving it to motion towards all the other dragons. Though that was before the boy had cat ears and a tail, fuzzy brightly coloured ones. “It’s like ever bad Gay Romance Comic I’ve ever have the unpleasantness of viewing.”

Remi forced the boy to stand still, mental tethers holding him rigidly straight, when he looked around and grabbed the tail to examine it. “… Well… Huh.”

He knew they existed,  he’d just never seen one before, never seen a semi-shift either. Remi looked at the boy, his mind wrapping around his while he looked.  There it was. “Shape-shifter” He said simply before looking over at the taller Pilot. Intram.  “Ever seen anything quite like this…? It appears that he can’t really control it either…”  Remi ran his hand down Tores back lifting off to hold onto his arm an inch or two past the tail.  “Unless he turned for you.”

Remi tweaked an eyebrow and looked at Tore. “Do you want to be a pretty cat-boy for Pilot Intram?”

[Anonymous]

Intram grinned inwardly at the withering look Remi gave him as he approached. I'm really beginning to suspect I'm the most-frequently-leered-at of all the Pilots, Remi. He hoped the other was listening, with all those walls up. You're so antisocial.

Both Tore and Remi were staring Intram down as though he were in a circus. Business as usual. He just kept smiling pleasantly. No walls, no defensive body language. “Yes, brand new. Late and everything,” Remi replied, hardly looking him in the eye. “Still fresh,” he said with a smirk.

"That's good to know." He looked back at Tore briefly, who had sprouted cat ears and a tail since last he saw him. Intram's expression took on a puzzled note, freaked-out, even. It was barely perceptible, though. Interesting indeed. He caught a sentiment from him that the Dragon was preferable company, and Intram almost laughed. It's nice to know I elicit such reactions without so much as an introduction.

Intram noticed Khuno, who had spared him some attention. The dragon nodded his head once, and went to sleep. His grin came back in full force. Thank you! he thought brightly. I won't do anything I can't fix.

Remi started talking again, apparently answering an earlier question. He paused in mid-sentence, staring at his Candidate's most recent body modifications. His face took on a horribly disappointed expression. He looked about to fling a hand to his forehead. “It’s like ever bad Gay Romance Comic I’ve ever have the unpleasantness of viewing.”

Intram barely suppressed laughter as Remi examined his candidate. "Why, Pilot Talbotte! I had no idea!" His grin expanded to encompass most of his crooked teeth. His voice got very sarcastic. "I would never have figured you for that type."

“Shape-shifter,” Remi explained, looking over at him. “Ever seen anything quite like this…? It appears that he can’t really control it either… Unless he turned for you.”

Intram blushed a bit, and covered his face with one hand. "Oh, I'm flattered. That's so cute!" He turned to the Candidate, still grinning, now more out of genuine amusement. Remi looked at him seriously. “Do you want to be a pretty cat-boy for Pilot Intram?” The taller Pilot snorted, failing to contain his laughter. Remi, your serious tone is just too much!

[Anonymous]

Tore's face became rather unamused as Remi spoke about him as if he were a brand new pet or something. I'm still here, you know, Tore thought directing it at Remi. Oh well. It wasn't like Remi was trying to brush him off to another pilot... Was he? If he was, he hoped it wasn't this one. He'd get nightmares for weeks.

"Hmm? What?" Tore asked, glancing around. "Did one of my piercings come out...?" he asked, looking himself up and down. He hadn't realised that the ears and tail were there, much less that they had taken on his natural hair color. Gay Romance Comic? Where? Tore glanced around behind him, freezing as he saw the new body part. "Oh you didn't" he muttered, eyes widening as his eyebrows pressed together in morbid shock.

Next thing he knew, he was standing straight and couldn't move. He gasped as Remi grabbed his tail. The was the second most sensitive body part he had at the moment. And not in a good way either. "The tail... the tail... don't grab the tail!" Tore muttered, trying to flick it away from Remi's touch.

"I could have told you that..." Tore said between gritted teeth, his fingers curling and uncurling. Hell, he could have told him without the mental tethers. "Wh-what? I do  so have control!" he exclaimed. Most of the time he mentally muttered moments later. He regretted saying that.

A light blush covered his face. "I'll be a pretty flying away cat-boy soon" he murmured, wanting to shift into a small butterfly. Hell, who'd kill a pretty butterfly? It was embarrassing enough that his mentor had grabbed his tail and examined him like a second grade moron, but to suggest that he'd turn into a pretty cat-boy for Intram, much less anyone... It was just not right. He only turned into a pretty cat boy for pretty uke boys.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to stand on my own now. I detest being prodded and examained. If you must, I'd rather it be in private where I wouldn't feel like such a freak for being a shape-shifter." His ears were firmly pressed back on his head, his nose slightly scrunched to show his displeasure. A darker blush spread over his face as Intram laughed. Just what he needed.

[[He takes himself WAY too seriously.]]

[Anonymous]

A delighted smirk pulled at Remi’s lips and he brushed a finger gently down the underside of the tail while looking at Tore. He removed the mental tethers and pressed a hand to Tores shoulder. “Now, now, Intram, you know how horrible a sense of humour I have since my wife died.” His fingers were firmly on Tores shoulder and he lift an eyebrow before pursing his lips and looking over his shoulder towards Khuno. Lazy.

Remi listened to Tores mind reel and he couldn’t help but smile slightly. “Aw, Tore… Pretty uke boys?” He tilted his head to the side, not having a clue what an uke was. Though Remi had picked up enough of this boy to figure something out.

Tore liked the men-folk.

If only he was a homophobe. It would have been so much more fun to be this boys mentor. As it where, Remi was part fae, and they usually had one life-partner and his was already dead. Subconsciously he played with the ring on his finger and  then rubbed it against his jeans.  “Pretty boys… Tore?” Remi gently ran a finger over the boys chin before casting a look towards Intram, ‘I said the misfortune, I don’t look at those things regularly but… One can be curious.’ the mental message sent, open so that if Tore wanted to he could hear it, Remi tilted Tores chin down to look at him.

It sucked having a candidate taller than you. “No turning into pretty butterflies. I have no problems killing them… The Dragons don’t…” He turned Tores chin to the side and then pursed his lips. “You’ll probably find plenty of the other candidates… Pretty…” Another smile and Remi let go of Tores chin and took a few steps back.

“ I suppose you’ll have to learn how to control those special powers of yours as well… “ Remi crossed his arms over his chest then looked between the two. “Shall we get lunch? Perhaps you’ll be able to see the other … Pretty… Candidates.”  A smile and Remi tilted his head to the side, “If you don’t want any of the pilots knowing everything about you with a single brush of their mind, you should learn how to place up simple barriers.”

He began to walk, at a slow leisurely pace, hands at his sides. “As far as I know, Tore, there are only… Five or six male candidates, including yourself. There’s a harpy, a nasty little thing who will probably shipped off to TRIM at the end of the grace period, a gorgon, Half snake with, “ Remi wiggled his fingers, “ Snakes for hair.” He paused for a second, trying to remember any other interesting facts of the candidates, “There’s a singer from some band, he’ll be interesting to watch snap… Two space pilots… hmm… The rest are relatively normal, I think.”

Remi tapped his lips then stopped.

“Oh yes… Just so you know Tore.” He turned around and smiled at his candidate, then gave Intram a look. “ There are far worse Pilot Mentors than I am.” A grin, which completely changed his face from scarred grumpy man to happy young man, very likely what he looked like before his wife died. Another small smile and Remi was turned around and slowly walking to the cafeteria.

[Anonymous]

Intram grinned amusedly at Tore's apparent ignorance of his situation, even more so when he discovered what the two Pilots were staring at. Remi touched Tore’ newly-sprouted tail, and some very intriguing feelings shot through Tore’s head. "The tail... the tail... don't grab the tail!" he said, unsuccessfully trying to pull it away from Remi. “He likes it,” said Intram calmly, staring straight into Tore’s green and gold eyes.

Tore seemed thoroughly opposed to the idea that he wasn’t in control of his shapeshifting. "Wh-what? I do so have control!" he said. Most of the time, he thought subsequently. “You’ll have to stop contradicting yourself if you ever want to get anywhere in life,” said Intram preachily, looking away at nothing in particular.

He also took offense at the idea of changing for Intram. Only pretty uke boys, echoed Intram mentally. Remi noticed as well, aloud. “Pretty boys... Tore?” Then he looked over at Intram. I said the misfortune, I don’t look at those things regularly but… One can be curious. “Right,” Intram said aloud. I’m bi, and you’re “curious”. The straight man is a myth in this day and age. Except, maybe, for Roman.
 
Intram smirked at the idea of any one of the Pilots sparing a butterfly. Remi turned Tore’s head to one side. ”You’ll probably find plenty of the other candidates… Pretty…” Intram turned his eyes back to Tore, and walked around so the Candidate was facing him. “Some might even think the same of you.”

Remi stepped back. “ I suppose you’ll have to learn how to control those special powers of yours as well… “ Intram nodded. “Shall we get lunch? Perhaps you’ll be able to see the other … Pretty… Candidates.” “That’s a splendid idea,” replied Intram. “I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting many Candidates either.”

The yellow-haired Pilot started sauntering vaguely in the direction of the cafeteria, rattling off descriptions of various Candidates. Intram followed, his hands in his pockets. Remi stopped abruptly. “Oh yes… Just so you know Tore,” he said, with another disapproving look at Intram, “ There are far worse Pilot Mentors than I am.” Intram looked back over his shoulder at Tore. “You could say that. I don’t think I’m a bad mentor... rather, the Candidate I had last year was a horror.” He arranged his hair around his shoulders as he walked. He slowed his speech down a bit, and lowered his voice. “She deserved everything I did to her.”

[Anonymous]

Just as things seemed as if they couldn't get any worse... they did. Hair stood on end along his tail as Remi all but molested him via the new appendage. Tore tensed, his knuckles going white as he forced himself to keep a moan down. This was just humiliating. "I do not" he said between clenched teeth.

As the mental tethers were released, Tore crossed his arms over his chest, head bowed. This was not his day, was it? And all because of the stupid ears and tail!! He was 19 years or so old and he still couldn't control the things? It made him feel like a failure. And to hell if he was, because he was determined to show his father that he was not.

"Yes, pretty boys" he muttered, not a particularly happy pussy cat. Would they notice puffs of red smoke around his fingers? He barely caught the thought that Remi sent out, an ear flicking at the small itch it caused. Remi had been curious about that then, hrm? Tore didn't resist Remi tilting his head to look down at him. It still amused him that his pilot was shorter than himself.

"I'll die pretty then" he murmured, following Remi finger of moving his head to the side. "If you haven't noticed, I'm not the social type" he said dryly. An eyebrow lifted at Intram suggested that other candidates might find him to be 'pretty'. He just hoped they weren't girls. It was hard enough to tell them that he didn't like them in that way, but to then explain that he was gay and that they wouldn't have any chance anyway... That was just brutal.

Tore's mind once again began to wander, thinking of ways he could teach himself to shield his mind from others. Maybe if he did make friends with one of the other candidates, he could train with them. After all, he was already late in the term. He came back to here and now at the mention of his name. "There's worse? Hard to imagine that" he said, making a rather displeased face. And he didn't even want to ask Intram what he did to his previous candidate.

Sighing rather loudly, Tore closed one eye before two puffs of red appeared around his ears again. He was attempting to change them back. However, he only succeeded on moving them. Now they stuck out from the sides of his head. "This is screwed" he said, yawning. It seemed that he'd have to wait until later in the day to shift back to himself. "Now I feel stupid and tired" he muttered, blinking to keep his eyes from closing.

[Anonymous]

“Oh, I know.”

Pursed lips and a smirk graced his face as he eyed the boy. Poor thing. This was just the tip of the ice-burg. Tore would have to learn to let little prods at him and his sexuality, which seemed to be a semi-touchy subject, bounce off of him. Emotions were of no use to a pilot. Remi wasn’t training him to have him turn out exactly the same. He’d learn how to nearly switch personalities completely. The Pilot and The Person.

After his wife’s death, Remi hadn’t been able to become the person. It flashes through every now and then, but for the most part, Remi is The Pilot. Remi leered at Intram and made a face, lips pulled thin then smirked when he got to the end. “Roman is far from straight… He fucks Candidate girls and boys if it’s to get his point across.” Remi paused for a moment, “Excuse me.” He quietly apologized for swearing.

Remi escorted the pair to the cafeteria, keeping relatively silent, tuning in on their thoughts. Tores were particularly interesting, turning girls down who thought he was pretty because he was gay. He looked over his shoulder for a moment and eyed Tore. Interesting. “Worse… You seem to be whole, your ego a tad bruised and the fact you like a mans touch more than a woman known to two pilots… But you’re whole.” Remi reached up slightly to grab Tores chin and bend him towards Remi until they were an inch apart, he turned Tores head so his lips were next to his ear.

“You’d do well to avoid Roman.” He said softly, his sweet peppermint flavoured breath hot against the newly moved kitty ear, “He gives you options. You can hurt less, or hurt more…” Remi let go of Tores face and began to walk towards the cafeteria again, “But either way you’ll hurt… Ego, physically, mentally…” He waved his hand and then stopped sighed and moved back to Tore.

It seemed that shifting was taxing on the boy. Remi looked him up and down again, maybe because there was so much of the kid. He put a hand on Tores back and gently pushed him down towards the hall. “You’re not stupid, you’re very talented. Surprisingly so, you heard the underlying thoughts, even if you couldn’t decipher them.” Remi smiled kindly towards Tore and then waved a hand to Intram, “You can go on ahead or keep our slow pace.”

“Many candidates who come here didn’t know they were psychic. You’ll have no trouble with the physical part of this trip through hell.” He rubbed down the boys spine, in a calm soothing gesture instead of one made to creep him out. “We’ll get some lunch into you and then I’ll show you to your dorm. I’ll inquire to Gabriel about training you and his candidate, the singer-boy, from what I know he hasn’t attended a single class yet.” Remi smiled again, “You can make a friend and get caught up at the same time.”

It took a few minutes but Remi had finally gotten them to the cafeteria, pushed Tore into one of the seats and went and got them food. He returned with it and turned to Intram, “You’re a big boy, you can get your own food.”  He placed the plate in front of Tore and began eating his own meal, “Eat or I’ll force you to do it.”


((OOC: Sorry for the huge massive amount of pushing your guy’s characters around x3 But they would be walking through the hall forever. P: ))

[Anonymous]

Intram smirked at Tore’s vehement denial that he liked having his tail stroked. That’s so cute. You do too like it, he thought, not trying to send the message to him. He had felt the Candidate’s reaction, and it was far from unpleasant. He would have to remember that for later use.

Remi shot him another look. He was right; he hadn’t been the same since he lost his wife. “Roman is far from straight… He fucks Candidate girls and boys if it’s to get his point across.” Intram laughed in reply. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean he has to like it.”

Tore seemed highly grumpy. "If you haven't noticed, I'm not the social type," he said. Intram grinned. “Psh, like any of us were,” he said. “I, for one, couldn’t have cared any less for people, before I became a Candidate. We’re effectively forced to like each other.”

He found it interesting that Tore was so worried about having to break it to the girl Candidates that he swung the other way. Intram had never really had any problems with that... of course, at sixteen, he had been a thin, pale child with greasy black hair and a look on his face as though he were imagining everyone he looked at mutilated. No relationship problems at all. “Oh, don’t fret. You’re not that attractive.”

The black-haired Pilot lost himself momentarily in thoughts of his previous Candidate. She had been his first, and most of the other Pilots agreed that she was a piece of work. Intram, wishing nothing but good things for the girl in her future as a Pilot, had aimed to train her well, without doing anything anyone would have considered untoward. Naturally, she had been a complete bitch the entire time, talking back when she wasn’t whining about the training being too hard, or insulting Intram personally. At one point she had even appealed to Roman to switch mentors, at which point he had been called in to speak for himself.

Not one of my better memories. That’s what most people would probably call “rock bottom.”

After many painful minutes of rifling through Intram’s memories, Roman agreed to let the man keep his Candidate, and Intram vowed to try his best. He did, too, for a while. Everyone has their limits... and eventually Intram hit his. He hadn’t so much snapped as... let a different part of his mind take over. The part that would have been a serial killer if he hadn’t overridden it and trained it to be a Pilot. He had driven her to madness and hardly realized it.

It wasn’t my fault.

By the time he realized what was going on again, he was in the cafeteria, and Remi was walking back with food, presumably or Tore and himself. “You’re a big boy, you can get your own food,” he said. Intram shrugged by way of a reply. “I’m not hungry.”

[Anonymous]

Tore listened as Remi went on about a person named Roman. Now who the fuck was Roman? He sounded brutish. Like... A spear throwing, vine swinging, dragon killing barbarian. That or a rather muscular space pirate who secretly likes to dress in corsets. The second sound more appealing.

"I rather be forced to eat a scorpian" Tore muttered. Large crowds made him nervous. Unless of course it was a crowd of gays and bis at a nightclub. But that was a whole different thought pattern.

"Pshh, I could care less what you guys think. I'm more interested in what the hotties think" he said, glancing around. Even though he was gay, he could be a typical guy too. Or at least he tried to be. "Whole? I'm a shape-shifter candidate, not a poe-" he began, caught off guard by Remi's hand grabbing his chin again. The sick bastard liked to play with him, didn't he?

"Make me hurt? Somehow, I can't help but think you mean that in a kinky, sadistic way" he said dryly, trying to ignore the pilot's breath. He could feel the hairs on his spine sticking up. Damn it all! If only he had practiced protecting his own thoughts! Then Remi wouldn't be constantly making him feel like this!

Another yawn made its way to his lips escaping out into the open. Maybe he should practice that too. He gave a small wiggle of his tail, making sure it was still there. After all, that little stunt of Remi's made it feel like it was going to drop off. "Mmm, I could beg the differ at the moment" Tore said. Can in a date. Who the hell came up with that from the word 'candidate'.

He allowed Remi to usher him along, too tired to really care. He gave a small 'heh' at Remi's comment. His father had been training him for the physical part for years. A relaxed sigh left his throat at Remi's rubbing. He was too tense. "Y'know, you don't have to do that, right?" Tore said, glancing at Remi over his shoulder.

Sitting down in the one size too small seats, Tore sat rather awkwardly, shifting to try and get comfortable. "Damn chairs and lack of energy" he muttered, looking up as Remi returned. An eyebrow perked yet again at Intram. "Why'd you come to the cafeteria if you weren't hungry?" he asked. It was made for people to eat, right?

"Don't have to tell me twice" Tore said, eating in large mouthfuls. He could care less what the food actually was, as long as it made him full and he didn't have to know what animal it came from or what animal manure was used to grow it.

[Anonymous]

A smirk played on his lips and Remi looked down at his food. He’d been too occupied before to really listen to the kids thoughts. Of course he caught them, he was too trained to let anything simply pass through his brain. Roman being a spear throwing, vine swinging, dragon killing barbarian. Remi could feel Khuno rumble at him for thinking of the word “Dragon” and “Killing” in the same sentence.

His fork scraped through the food and he poked his plate, watching the boy. The man? It always made him smile when he thought of the candidates who were old enough to be pilots. Get found when you were thirteen, suffer through it until you were eighteen, become a pilot, get a dragon. Something like that. Remi looked at Tore and smiled slightly.

Despite what everyone was thinking, Alaric no doubt, Remi’s past candidate before he lost his wife, Remi would try to stay tough as nails on this … Young man. Candidate and Young Man didn’t mix. It made Remi’s touch itch. Blinking he looked at Intram. “You’re not hungry?” He leered and then shook his head, he’d always known Intram was weird, just didn’t know how weird he was. Remi put his final forkful of food into his mouth and chewed slowly.

Poor kid was beat.

But it was barely past noon! Remi smiled slightly and stood up, wiped his hands on his pants – He’d never been able to break that habit, he was glad his daughter was being raised by his parents and not here, he didn’t want her to turn out… - Remi looked over at Intram – like the pilots. -. He’d wished Tore was a little younger, it wouldn’t feel as weird.

“C’mon. I’ll give you some of your homework and then show you to your dorm. You seem tired.” Remi placed a hand gently on the young mans shoulder and squeezed softly. “I’m going to assume the shifting thing, “ Remi gently ran a finger over his ear, “takes a lot out of you, hmm?” Pink eyes flickered towards Intram. “I have work to do once I see Tore off, and I do believe you haven’t finished polishing all of Azrael’s spikes?”