*------ Animal

[Malakai Andrew Baldwin]

Here we go again, I feel the chemicals kickin’ in
It’s getting heavy and I want to run and hide

I do it every time, you're killing me now
I won’t be denied by you, the animal inside of you[/center][/font]

Spring’s heaved its first breath that week at Hogwarts. Finally the weather had begun to cooperate. Gone were the days of the icy, biting wind. Now, there was only a light breeze and the sun shone down; its happy radiance heated the once chilled land. Malakai seemed to be having more time by himself than with anyone else. Luc was becoming busy and stressed with… well, everything. As were the remainder of kids in his year. Where the underclassmen were scampering about, itching for it to be summer vacation. It was after supper when Malakai roamed the grounds thinking. Always thinking. About the Legion. About his family. About himself. About Nikki. Stuck in a predicament was he of where to go next. What was he to make of his life after Hogwarts? Who was he to become? If he wanted anything good out of himself, Malakai felt the first thing he would need to do is quit smoking. Though it relieved momentary stress, it almost created more than it abolished. The haunting memory of his grandparents’ death still struck a chord in him. And it panged even more knowing that the very thing that put them in their graves was the one thing he knew he could always rely on.

Malakai let out a hearty sigh as he tramped around the forest. He loved being a human but this body was just so infernally noisy, especially around serene areas as the Forbidden Forest. You could hear a pixie’s wings flutter. Any and all movement echoed and bounced off of the trees, making any intruder evident. The silence of day had begun to be overruled by the low murmuring of the sounds of night as dusk bled around him, making the lighting difficult to see through. Curse his human eyes. Not only were they dull but they could only see so much in dim light. A low grumble emitted from the back of Malakai’s throat.

With ease, there was no longer a man marching amongst the brush but a sleek, black panther. He slinked in and out of the shadows cast by the tall, looming trees. Large paws padded noiselessly through the thick as Malakai stalked deeper into the forest. The darkness had all but consumed the forest but sight was not necessary, for the sounds of night had all but set in. Taking care to find a tree big enough, the panther climbed to a thick branch just high enough for a person to pass under and draped himself over it, allowing one front leg and his tail to hang limp. Absentmindedly, he watched the ground attentively, waiting for anything interesting to come his way. Meanwhile, the tip of his tail curled and twitched around in the air out of concentration.

What are you waiting for?
Say goodbye to my heart tonight !

Words;; 461
Tagged ;;Crystle Nikki
Outfit;; meh. too lazy to make one.
Lyrics;; Neon Trees---Animal
Credit;;Broadwayislove@Caution
Notes ;; Heh. I hopes you like eet ^^[/right][/size]

[Nikki Renee Jolie]

Nikki slipped out of the castle at dusk and snuck her way through to the forbidden forest. She hadn’t done it in a while, but every now and then she would go out and practice her wandless magic alone. She belted across the forest at such a quick pace her light footsteps barely made a sound. With the wind racing in her ears she evened out her breathing until she knew she was far enough where they wouldn’t hear the explosions. She stopped and grabbed her small spellbook that she had created over the years with each spell she had mastered and side notes. The book was small and covered with dirt and dust. She blew on the cover, looking around her, her ears perked for noise, and chose a couple warm up spells. She thumbed through the pages and ran her finger down the aged, dirty, stained pages. Sighing, she closed the book and put it back on the inside pocket of her hoodie. She removed the hood from her face, exposing her curly hair, and dark brown eyes. Looking up in the trees for a good one to hit she found one. She held her hand out in front of her, at full extension and yelled, Bombarda! and immediately a pulse flew out of her hand and hit the tree, leaving only a huge burning hole in the center. She noticed that even after the sell had been cast, the leaves were ruffling. Holding a firm gaze, and not moving an inch, she slowly raised her hood back on covering her face, and was glad she was wearing jeans, to cover her not-so-discreet bright red converse. She gazed around; staring up at the tree tops and became more aware of her surroundings now. Her now, darker eyes scanned the clearing carefully. She started to back up against the tree behind her and raise her hand to cast another spell on it, when from the foliage she saw a pair of bright green eyes. Stopping short of breath she held her heart and walked up underheath the tree where she could see his tail flicking back and forth and his green eyes staring down, amusded. With her hands on her hips, she removed her hood once again and inched her finger, signalling him to come down. Her facial expression was releaved and happy to see him, but she still stood stifly with a smirk on her face. She tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for her panther friend to get out of the tree.

[Malakai Andrew Baldwin]

Mice and other small vermin skittered along the ground and, occasionally, an owl would glide by but nothing particularly sparked Malakai’s interest. Watching the ground impassively the big cat began to feel slightly fatigued. Out of the darkness, a tiny spider dropped right in front of his nose. He swung at it with a large paw. Once the pest was gone, he settled himself back down on the branch with a heavy sigh. Resting his large head atop one of his fore limbs, Malakai solemnly closed his eyes, figuring that if anything interesting was to come along they were likely to make a racket enough for his sensitive ears to pick up on.

Automatically, his ears cocked in the direction of which the sound of light footsteps was audible. Malakai’s eyes snapped open, holding stock still but still searching for the noise maker. The footfalls sounded too evanescent to belong to a man. Soon a feminine figure stopped and stood just below him. Malakai’s luminescent, jade eyes studied the girl, attempting to decipher who she was. She looked oddly familiar but her hood was up and he found it near impossible to properly identify her without taking a look at her face. The girl took out a book and studied it for a moment then placed it back into her hooded sweatshirt. Malakai watched attentively, slightly confused, thinking to himself, who comes into the middle of the Forbidden Forest to read? But then, the girl lowered her hood. It was – but before Malakai could call out to her she cast a wandless spell onto the tree he was in. Unable to control impulse, he flinched in mild shock; his slight movement caused the leaves of the tree to rustle.

Nikki noticed it. Malakai internally panicked. She had placed her hood back up and her hand was raised, ready to cast a defensive spell at any sound or movement. It was in his best interest for her to simply find him as opposed to him exposing himself. Out of impulsive defense, he was sure Nikki would hex him into oblivion. He sat as still as possible. After all, He didn’t want to lose an ear… or even something much more valuable.

Malakai’s bright green eyes locked with her warm brown ones. Nikki appeared relieved and stepped closer to him so she stood just below the branch on which he rested. She gestured for him to come down. A rebellious gleam twinkled in his emerald eyes. It was almost as if the cat was smirking as his head shook slowly from side to side. Malakai inclined his head towards the tree, indicating for Nikki to join him.

[Nikki Renee Jolie]

Nikki removed her hood and stared up at Malakai. She crossed her arms over her cotton t-shirt and sighed heavily. Well at least you’re not anyone bad.. she said with a smirk. She motioned him to come down and his big cat-like head shook itself. Cocking an eyebrow she pointed to herself, then the tree as if saying, ‘ You want me up there??’ His tail flicked back and forth and she suppressed a laugh. Looking up into the tree for a good foothold, she jumped at least three feet in the air, landed with her hands gripping a branch and sat down next to the cat on the same branch with a smile. Not hard at all.. she said with a smirk and a wide smile. She began petting the cat softly, scratching his ear and his lower pelt, staring into his emerald eyes with a smile. Looking down at the tree, she saw the huge hole she had just burned. With a cocked eyebrow she sat back and chuckled softly, Well… I did that didn’t i.. she said with a nervous chuckle. She had never noticed how powerful she was. She rubbed her thumb across the broad jaw of the cat and smiled. There was something that she found amusing as he was a cat to her; she liked it and then she didn’t. One because who didn’t want to be an animagus? Just thinking about running at maximum speed got her pulse going. And two, she didn’t like it, well because he couldn’t talk or do any normal human things. So she shrugged and leaned against the cat slightly, and continued petting and rubbing him, since there was little left to do to a cat.

[Malakai Andrew Baldwin]

“Well, at least you’re not anyone bad…” A deep rumble came from the back of the panther’s throat and his eyes lit up as they would if he were laughing. Malakai watched, mildly impressed, as Nikki climbed the tree effortlessly. Not many people he knew were all that good at it. Then again, he didn’t know many people in the first place. He studied her attentively. Her disgruntled, light blonde hair. Her soft jaw. Her delicate nose. Her warm brown eyes. Her supple lips. She looked like she didn’t try to be perfect like everyone else. As if, Nikki embraced her imperfections and wore them proudly. Though they had just met, Malakai knew it was something he admired her for. But, before he could think any longer about her, a hand was scratching at his ear. Closing his eyes, Malakai hummed inclining his head to one side. “Well… I did that didn’t I…” Eyelids rising, he peered at the gaping hole Nikki had left in the tree. The cat bowed his head as if to agree with her statement. Despite how odd it seemed, Malakai was willing to admit that he enjoyed being petted. Something, he guessed, from being born an animagus. You are a part of the animal and the animal is a part of you. Simply a part of the territory. Even in his human form, he occasionally finds himself with cat-like tendencies, despite how much he tries to suppress them.

There were two things he disliked about his animagus form. One, he wasn’t able to communicate – verbally anyway. And, two, he couldn’t see in color. Though his eyesight may be better and things appear sharper but the vibrancy that color provides is unsurpassed. Malakai was capable of seeing whites, blacks, greys, browns, blues, greens, and purples but no shades of red. It felt like some horrible hindrance or even handicap.

Nostrils flaring, the panther sighed deeply. At the end of the day, as much as he would like to, he cannot spend all of his time as an animal. In a particularly lazy mood, Malakai changed slowly back to his human form. He let out a small chuckle, as Nikki’s hand was still in his hair. He sat on the branch facing her, one leg tucked to his chest where the other hung in the air. Resting his chin on his knee, Malakai looked at the branches around them, “Out here practicing, Tinkerbell?” he spoke, his American accent evident, “Or is it more than just that?” Turning back to Nikki, he smiled warmly. He wanted to know more about her. She seemed like more of a puzzle than anyone he’d ever met. But he had a funny inkling there was much more to her than what she lead on.

[Nikki Renee Jolie]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Nikki was petting his ear, feeling him lean into it and start to purr like he had done so many times before. She laughed and scratched his back pelt with her nails softly, and smiled at him. The only bad thing was that she learned the animagus’ could not talk when in this special form and she sighed as she looked down at the damage she had just caused and took a deep breath in and rolled her eyes, thinking, Nikki, control yourself next time and you’ll do better.. Looking back at Malakai now, he was slowly morphing back into his built and toned human self. She removed her hand from his hair and chuckled nervously. Nikki didn’t know if it was the amount of time that had passed between the last time she saw him or what, but he looked better than ever. From his five’o’clock shadow that etched his chiseled jaw and cheek bones, or his narrow nose, or his cute wrinkles on his forehead that bunched up when he was thinking of something. She snapped out of her daydream that she knew she was probably staring at him for a second and heard him say something. Hm..? Oh.. she said before taking another look at her handy-work, Yeah.. I.. I’ve never had a proper place to practice and so I use to come out here all the time.. she said letting the silence after her words linger and listened to the sounds of the forest at dark. She looked up and watched as the moon began to its way to the center of the sky-line. When she looked back at Malakai, she moved herself so she was straddling the branch, letting both her legs fall beneath her and tilted her head to the side slightly with a smile as she could see the outline of his face as the sun went down more and more.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NOTEs: ehh, crap in a short amout of time ;)
TAGs: Mal <3
CREDITs: chhyeah, mee?!
MUSEs: Lil Wayne, Unplugged on MTV
SONGs: Fireman by Lil Wayne

[Malakai Andrew Baldwin]

Brow furrowing, Malakai was puzzled as to why the school did not provide for her a room in which she could practice. Then the thought came to him, "Why not the Room of Requirements?" Malakai lightly inquired, tilting his head to the side in curosity. Nikki was perhaps the first person he knew well that was capable of wandless magic. Not to mention, he was wondering if it was a thing you were born with or something you would work hard for. He assumed both; the same way it was with being an animagus. Many questions bubbled in his mind, begging to be asked. But Malakai refrained; he knew full well that if he allowed one to be asked all of the rest would've felt left out and want be asked, as well. And he wasn't too keen on sounding like a bafoon because he wasn't fully versed along the perameters of wanless magic.

Malakai studied her silently, pondering how he should go about asking his numerous questions. Just then a thought came to him. A devious smirk stretched across his lips, revealing his ivory teeth. With a flick of his wand and a dull murmuring of a spell, a few mink carcasses floated towards them. Taking them in hand, Malakai slipped from the tree with cat-like grace but then tripped as he went to take a step to set the minks on the ground; then regained his balance. His eyes cast back up to the tree with a smile, "I know you're probably fully capable of getting out of the tree all on your own but would you - for the sake of my manhood - allow me to help you you down?"n Malakai asked with a bright smile.

Once Nikki had her feet firmly planted on the ground, he picked up the minks and began to whistle. Malakai was sure he looked like a complete nutter as he searched the wood around them for any sign of movement. Though, he didn't mind. It would all be worth it. Before another moment could pass, a twig snapped behind him. Malakai spun around and found himself face to face with a tall, all-skin-and-bones winged horse. A happy smile slowly spread across his face. Eager for food, the thestral nibbled at one of the minks. With joy that a child might have feeding a goat, he tossed the carcass. Effortlessly, the creature reached its long, slender neck and caught the mink, and swallowed it whole. Setting on the ground the remainder of bait, Malakai walked cautiously to the animal he had just fed and began to lightly pet it; his fingers dancing across its thick hide. Steadily, he moved to the thestral's side. Placing his hands on the creature's spine, Malakai hoisted himself upon its back with a grunt and readjusted his weight.

Malakai turned to Nikki and reached out his hand to her. He knew he needn't any words; she would understand. It wasn't untill then he realized how crazy he probably looked if Nikki could't see thestrals. Malakai somewhat hoped she wasn't able to because of what that entailed. Then again, he greatly admired the animals and would like to be able to fully share them with her.

(Notes: oh., my. Goshness. I was drifting in and out of sleep as I wrote this, I am sure there are plenty of grammatical, if not structural, errors. Annd I'm sorry. I'llprobably fix the majoriy of them tomorrow morning... I would do it tonight but I'm just too exausted. <3 Sonna)

[Nikki Renee Jolie]

Nikki cocked her head to the side as he suggested the Room of Requirements. She was seriously stupid. She could’ve been using that. But instead she chose the more dangerous one. She sighed and shrugged, I have no idea really..I guess it just slipped my mind.. but I do like the outdoors better than inside a stuffy room.. she said laughing lightly. She adjusted herself on the branch and tucked one of her legs on the branch, causing only one legs to dangle aimlessly. She looked up at him and smiled. There was just something about him and the times they spent together that made her laugh and just feel happy for a long time. She cocked an eyebrow as the silence fell upon the two and she knew he probably had millions of questions to ask her so she waited; but to her surprise he didn’t ask her.

An evil smile spread on his face and she scooted back a little, laughing, What..? she asked licking her lips and seeing him jump out of the tree. She looked down at the ground where he was and saw him accio some sort of dead animal. She screwed up her face and was about to stand up and jump off of the tree before his voice broke the silence. She looked at him and smiled. Sure.. what the hell.. she said smiling and grabbed his shoulders as he grabbed her waist and set her down on the ground. With a smile and a weird glance at the minks, she started to wonder what he was thinking. She started to put the pieces together and took a wild guess, You waiting for the thestrals? she asked quietly not wanting to scare any of the ones already there off. And just like that they started approaching. She sat back and let Malakai do the job and put her hood back up.

She sighed and saw out of the corner of her eye a baby thestral come from behind the tree she was leaing on. It approached her and she slowly stuck her hand out, giving it a chance to sniff if she began to pat and rub its thick skin like coat and looked back at Malakai. By the time she was done petting the baby thestral, she saw him mounting one of the biggest thestral and she slowly walked away from the mini one, careful not to startle it, and stood on the side of Malakai’s thestral. With a smirk she grabbed his hand and jumped onto the thestrals back with ease. She now sat behind Mal with her arm wrapped his middle and a wide grin on her face. Leaning forward she inquired, So.. Where to mistro? she said with a light chuckle and a kiss on his shoulder as she leaned back and waited for him to take off.