Manipulated (Zakkol and Forlorn)

[vibrantsystem]

'Oh,' was all Theo was able to say at Sophie's reply concerning her siblings. While Theo was indeed finding this all very interesting, he was also surprised when Sophie asked him about his life story. The thing was though, it paled a little bit when compared to Sophie's-both in how sad hers was and in how interesting it was. Never the less, Theo was stilling willing to give her his.


'Well,' Theo began, starting. 'My parents were...wealthy, to say the least, and I lived in a large house out in the countryside, where there no schools and whatnot. Because of that, I had a private tutor, who took me through school and such, before I was sent off to high-school. The problem was, I lacked any social skills, and didn't have any friends and had to be that weird lonely one. Not that I really cared, of course,' Theo paused, thinking. 'But I'm fine enough now, even if I do prefer to live on my own simply out of preference.'

 

[Forlorn]

"So uh, what do you do for a job-or are you still in school?" Sophie nodded as she spoke. Hopefully his parent never found out about his 'problem', for she had not a clue how'd they react. As she awaited a response, she picked up their plates and put them in the sink. She barely knew how to run a dishwasher, so she just poured soap on them and turned on the sink.

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo paused for a moment, unknowingly thinking of the same thing as Sophie. Just how would his parents react? They'd never really cared for animals. They didn't hate them, but they didn't love them either. Theo had never had a pet growing up, and when he finally moved away, buying a cat was the first thing he'd done. Or one of the first. Not the first-first. Somehow though, he got the feeling that his parents wouldn't particularly be thrilled at the idea of their son being able to morph into a large, predatory canine animal and manipulate an element.


'I'm still in school, actually,' Theo said, his tone nonchalant. 'I'm doing a university course at the moment on architectural studies. Its only really interesting if you're doing the course. Everyone else tends to find it boring,' he added with a wry smile.

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie let out a soft giggle as she came and sat next to Theo. "You're right, I've never held any interest towards architecture, sorry" she sighed "anything man made in not really fond of. I mean, they took everything from me" her voice trailed off. After a few minutes of silence, she asked where she would be sleeping. "I don't mean to intrude but I'm exhausted" she muttered, exhaustion plaguing her face.

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo had reckoned she had been looking fairly exhausted. Tired. Finished. Sophie was an interesting character, he had to give her that, with the way she seemed disgusted by anything man made. Theo felt like reasoning with her, but he was simply too tired to actually try, and she seemed fairly exhausted too, given her previous statements. And it wasn't the best idea to argue with her anyway.


'Uh,' Theo mumbled, looking around. 'You could sleep on the couch, if you want?' He offered. 'I don't mind if you sleep on it as a wolf, you know. It'd probably be more comfortable for you that way anyway, given it might be rather awkward having to have you legs bent the whole night.' Theo explained, before getting up from his seat and pushing it in under the table.

 

[Forlorn]

"Sounds good to me" She replied with a smile. Turning into her wolf form, she snuggled up on the couch and curled into a furry ball. The woolen fabric was soft and gentle on her tired hide, lulling Sophie to sleep immediately. She began to purr, almost like a cat, as she slept.

 

[vibrantsystem]

-Skipping to Morning-




​

Theo woke up, grasping the air in front of him. He'd been dreaming, and evidence was around him. He was lying on the bed, the sheets and pillows tossed around the room. Looking around, Theo figured he must have been having vivid dreams, or possibly nightmares in order to cause such a mess. He occasionally had nightmares, and would sometimes throw the pillows around, but never tossing the sheets off himself.


Getting up, not bothering to change into slightly more suitable clothing (a pair of cotton shorts and a large white t-shirt being Theo's night attire), Theo left the room, but not before picking up everything and piling it onto his bed.


In the living room, Theo stood in the door frame, unsure of if Sophie was awake or not. He rapped the frame lightly with his knuckles to check.

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie awoke to the faint sound of tapping. She stretched, and noticed her legs hanging off the couch. "Darn, I must of changed amidst my sleep" Her legs were indeed sore, but she didn't mind. Jumping at the sight of Theo, she quickly remembered where she was. "Sorry, I'm still not exactly used to being around other humans-especially boys" she said with a small laugh. "So, you hungry? I could grow us some oranges, or apples, pears, avocados-your choice" she chirped. Growing things was a delight for Sophie, she loved observing the twisting of bark and sprouting of leaves. Trees were her specialty.

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo tossed his head back, laughing at Sophie's comments on the being around humans and males. And that was when a thought struck him. 'Yes Sophie,' Theo said, addressing the matter of eating. 'We could make a fruit salad or something if you'd like,' he suggested, before changing the subject to something that he'd been wishing to ask for a while now, and every time he went to, something else would stop him.


'Sophie?' Theo asked, his voice soft. 'Do you belong to a pack? Please don't be offended. It is just that I'm rather curious about the fact you aren't really used to being around males and other people in general.'

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie's face turned from excitement to solemness. "No. I uh, never tried to. I mean I've been chasing my sisters my entire life and have never had the chance to settle down." She scratched the back of her head, "Ive always wanted to though, it would be exciting" she said with a grin. "Wy, do you wish to? I don't even know if werewolf packs exist".

 

[vibrantsystem]

'Oh,' Theo mumbled, cocking his head to the side subconsciously. 'It's just that I was assuming things again, with all the stuff about werewolves and media and whatnot. My mistake,' he apologised swiftly, turning a bright red colour. It seemed to Theo that he was just as new to the werewolf world and Sophie was to the human one. Just how long had she been chasing after her siblings?


'Shall we go outside?' Theo asked, motioning with a jerk of his thumb. 'That way you can grow the trees and such,' he explained. 'And I don't really want to join a pack, thank-you,' Theo added with a smile. 'I'm not even that accustomed to being a werewolf yet,' he said with a laugh, walking out of the room and heading outside.

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie walked outside and thrust her fingers into the ground. In order to grow something as massive and impressive as a tree, her fingers much touch the earth. More ordinary feats could be performed using her feet, as long as they were touching the ground. With a pulse of energy, a peach tree sprung from the earth. Next to it, an orange tree reached towards the sky, accompanied by bountiful fruit. Several apple trees sprouted nearby, along with some apricot trees. Soon, the entire area was populated with various fruit bearing trees. "Pick what you'd like" she said with a proud smile as she walked over to the peach tree and grabbed a plump peach. "Oh, I forgot" she yelped, probing the earth again. Three cherry trees sprouted, and a few nectarine trees. Wiping the dirt of her hands, Sophie said: "ok, now you may pick"

 

[vibrantsystem]

Even though Theo had seen Sophie's process of sprouting the plants, it was still spectacular to see an entire orchard sprout from the ground, the leaves growing lush and green, and the branches tangling around each other, with ripe, plump fruit growing and covering the branches, causing them to droop slightly under the immense weight of the fruits, while the grass seemed to glow slightly, becoming a slightly brighter shade of green around Sophie.


'Wow,' Theo breathed, immediately cursing himself for how stupid that had sounded. But then again, what else was there to say. He now had an orchard in his backyard. While Sophie's power was extremely useful for things such growing plants, Theo was under the impression his was all but useless. When was he ever going to need to manipulate water? When would it be helpful?


Taking several cherries, three oranges, two peaches, four apples and a few apricots, Theo gave his thanks to Sophie. 'That was fairly spectacular,' he compliment, beaming at her.

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie blushed at his compliment and uttered a small "thank you". Touching each tree, fruit would drop into her basket at will. "My power has been vital for survival in the wild" She said with glee. "While I can't manipulate the ground or anything, I can grow practically anything from it".


Inside, she began chopping the fruit. "Hey, I know what you can do! Can you take all this fruit out and wash it for me with your powers?" She asked as she handed him her basket.

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo laughed, shaking his head. 'Oh no,' he said, smiling. 'I don't think that I can manifest water out of thin air,' he said, his smile beginning to fade. 'Even though you can for plants, I don't really believe that I can for liquid. Although, I could try, if you want me to,' Theo said, changing his attitude towards Sophie's suggestion concerning the washing.


Focusing, Theo extending his palm and stared it, trying to manifest water. Curiously enough, it started to happen, with the a few drips of water appearing in the space above his hand. And then suddenly, above his hand, a sphere of water exploded in being, oscillating above the palm of his hand. Theo stared it at it, shocked.

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie was transfixed, wondering how he managed to do it. "Are you perhaps manipulating the condensation in the air?" She asked in a mystified tone. "I need dirt to create something, I guess that makes you the superior one" she said with a joke. "well technically I can create very small things without the earth, here look" she uttered as a tiny flower bloomed from the tip of her finger. She placed it on his head with a cheeky grin.

 

[vibrantsystem]

'Charming,' Theo smiled, taking the hand that didn't have the water above it and moving it to his head, brushing the flower off. 'But I really do think that manipulating the water vapour in the air might be how I did it, you know?' He asked, his smile fading. 'Since that is the only thing I can think of for how I may have pulled that stunt off,' Theo said, trying to reason.


'Anyway,' Theo said, changing the subject, 'shall we head inside?' And then to persuade Sophie to follow, he carried the water sphere over to the fruit basket and let it "roll" off his hand, where it exploded over the fruit upon contact. 'Cleaned,' Theo said, walking away back around the house.

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie followed and began cutting the fruit. Humming a tune, she worked on her basket as Theo worked on his. This was the happiest she'd been in years; she missed having someone to care for, even if he was still somewhat foreign to her.


"Theo, I…I have something that needs to be said" she whispered, almost inaudibly. Her happiness was tainted by the thought that loomed over her day and night: she did this to him. Tears brimmed in her eyes, how would he react? what if he kicked her out, or attempted to kill her. She wanted to help him, perhaps even more, yet this could ruin everything. She sighed. She had to say it. "I was the one. I bit you" she said with solemn resolution.

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo had been chopping the fruit and piling it onto a small mountain. The various colours of the fruit's flesh seemed to light up the semi-dark room with their bright colours, lifting the mood, which was more or less needed when Sophie whispered something. Something about needing to say something. Theo wasn't entirely sure what she was going to say, but he was feeling fairly unflappable at the current time, despite the whole werewolf and water manipulation business.


However, when Sophie told him who had bitten him, he paused. Why had she? Sophie seemed like such a nice person to Theo. She'd never hurt him, and she had tried to help him during his transformation. She couldn't have done it. But then again, how did she know about Theo's bite in the first place? How had she known where he lived? It all seemed to slot into place.


'Well then,' Theo said, breathing in deeply. 'Why did you do it?' He asked, pausing mid-slice through an apple.

 

[Forlorn]

"Well you see…on full moons the wolf inside you completely takes over both mentally and physically. Its just like in the movies, the change and everything. Right down to the fact that you are practically inhuman. You just happened to be outside when I was prowling and..well I guess you know…" Sophie's voice sounded broken, she was truly ashamed of what she had done. This boy had a perfectly normal life and she ended up ruining it. Tears streamed down her face. She bawled, water droplets falling onto the fruit she was cutting "I'm so sorry Theo" was all she could manage between gasps.

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo had absorbed the information that Sophie was giving him like a sponge. He knew it would be infinitely useful later on his life, and he wished to remember it, as to not repeat Sophie's mistakes. While he was extremely furious with Sophie and most certainly wanted to attack her horribly now upon learning this information, Theo had to remember that it hadn't been her fault, for the wolf that existed inside of her-inside of him-had come out and caused the problems.


'Calm Sophie,' Theo said, wrapping his arms around her in a warm embrace. The calm was for both her benefit and his, for he was still annoyed. 'There is no need for this,' Theo comforted, inhaling. Sophie had a distinct smell to her. It smelled sweet and earthy at the same time. Theo reasoned it was probably due to the forces she could manipulate, and wondered for a fleeting moment what his scent was.

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie hugged him tight, her arms around his abdomen. "I ruined your life Theo. Forgive me for being upset" she said with sarcasm. Pushing her hair into his chest, her tears worsened. They were beginning to soak through his shirt, something Sophie did not want. Retracting, she apologized a second time and looking at the floor with shame.

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo just stood there, Sophie hanging off his form, crying, telling him how she'd ruined his life. Theo didn't really see that to be true. Or at least not that true. Unlike most people, Theo rarely went out. He lacked friends, and was perfectly fine about that fact, no matter how many times people told him. He was used to be alone, and if he ever did get married, he would show his wife what he was. And if she asked to become like him, he'd do so. For Theo, Sophie's bite wasn't a curse. It was more like something for him to amuse himself with.


'You can stop apologising,' Theo said, smiling sympathetically at Sophie. 'In all honesty, it was probably my fault. It shouldn't have gone outside and put my hand into the bushes,' he said, explaining. 'You couldn't control yourself, and for that, I don't blame you,' Theo ended, his voice warm and comforting. He didn't want Sophie to break down again.

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie sniffled before saying "marriage is such an awful thing. It ruined my family." She was still trembling but had stopped crying. "Besides there are no males where I live, only nature. No one to marry anyways" she said with a slight chuckle. It was an odd sight to see Sophie chuckle despite her red face soaked with tears. "You'll have no problem finding someone though" she said with a sigh. A slight twinge of jealousy arose in her thoughts. Why was that feeling there? She didn't have feelings for the boy did she? Sophie didn't like people in that sort of way, or at least she thought she didn't.


Taking her mind off the subject, she kept cutting the fruit and mixing it together in a bowl.

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo continued to smile sympathetically as he piled the cut fruit into the bowl, moving the mountain that he and Sophie had formed into a consierablylarger bowl, before bustling off over to one of the cupboards that the kitchen area was lined with.


Opening on of the cupboards, Theo pushed around several containers, packets, cans and jars of foodstuffs, before finding what he was looking for. A pottle of organic honey sat there. Removing it, Theo returned over to Sophie, where he began to spoon the thick honey out into a metal dish, which he then heated, causing the honey to melt. 'Shall I tip it on?' He asked, unsure of if Sophie would appreciate the sweetness.