Casey loved being in her wolf form. She just did. Despite all that it put her through during the last several years and even now on a daily basis. She just liked being a wolf. Period. Exclamation Point. End of Story.

Thus why she spent a good portion of at least every other day plodding around the expansive grounds to the mansion on four furry feet instead of two decidedly fur deprived feet. She loved the way the wind felt in her fur, the way that her senses were just so much better in this form, and best of all, she loved the fact that she felt as if she could get away from it all. Her troubles, her worries, her responsibilities. Even if it was just for a couple of hours--she was just a wolf. Nothing more and nothing less.

Not to mention it was good training. To see how long she could say shifted until she ran out of energy. To see how long she could run and push herself. Could she run more when she had higher energy stores? Or would it only burn faster and leave her more drained. Or maybe if she had lower energy stores--she could maintain a steady pace for longer periods of time? All good questions she thought and things that could mean the difference between life and death if she got caught in a fight. And so this was why she spent two hours every evening running around. It didn't seem like much to others--but to her, this was serious training here!

Only now--the training was done for the evening. The large 'grey wolf' panted softly as she flopped down onto the cool earth. The last rays of suns that bathed the earth as the orb of light was lowering itself into the great unknown was warm on the wolf's fur. It felt good to the canine mutant. Casey laid there for several minutes--catching her breath and some rays before she went back in. Oh man how much would she love to just go to sleep right now. In this form...under the stars...it sounded interesting...maybe even a bit fun?

But--nah she couldn't do that! She'd get yelled at for sure. By someone she was sure. She could hear the laundry lists of reasons why it was stupid or reckless or not safe. Oh please. She did not want to hear that tonight. Specially not after a self training session when she was hungry and exhausted.

So for the sake of not getting yelled at--the wolf shifter picked herself off the ground and plodded to the nearby bunch of bushes. She always kept a bag of clothing in a hidden place where she knew where they would be. She did this every time she went on in her wolf form--which was a good plan seeing as how her clothes didn't shift with her. Huh and people wonder why she goes through so much clothing. She got within the brush where she knew she would be hidden at all angles...and began to process of changing back into her human form.

It was quick and fast happening within the blink of an eye--though it didn't make it any less painful. Casey hissed softly as a stinging sensation radiated out from her muscles and joints. Always the joints--specially the knees and the elbows. Oh well--nothing a hot bath, some Epsom salt and a few Motrin won't fix.

She reached out for her bag and it was only then she made a rather starling and less then amusing discovery...

Where were her clothes?!

"Shit!" Casey hissed under her breath and she looked around frantically for the bag. Oh she could not go into the mansion like this! No way in hell! Oh the embarrassment! She was sure this was the place. Absolutely, positively sure of it! She always put her stuff in the same place. The exact same place...every single time! Now where were they? "Oh c'mon...really? she asked no one in particular as she shook her head....

This was gonna be a long evening---she could just feel it.

The snow was falling all around him as Julian floated effortlessly around the mansion. The small white flakes on the stark darkness of of the evening made for a background that was both surreal and serene. It was so quiet around the mansion with most everyone gone for the holidays and it was driving Julian absolutely insane. The lack of people meant a lack of things to do or people to do them with. Which meant that his little jaunt around the mansion this evening had less to do with the view and more to do with being all wound up with nowhere to go.

The last two hours had passed by uneventfully with little activity whatsoever, that was of course with the exception of that one student that looked like a blow-fish or something, yeah about him, Julian was sure that he enjoyed be manipulated into a spiny snowman on the front lawn of the mansion, god bless telekinesis for being able to entertain when no one else can. Hold on, stop the presses, what did we have here scampering about the ground. A wolf? Wait no, that had to be Casey, and if Casey was scampering around in her wolf form that could only mean two things. First that she was naked, which is awesome. Second, it meant that Julian was gonna have yet another chance to live up to the name Hellion.

Slowly he floated down to a tree nearby to where he knew that she stored her clothes, granted it might have been considered creepy that he knew where she hid her clothes, but seriously he was twenty-one not forty, why wouldn't he wanna see one of his classmates sans clothes? Obviously this wasn't the first time he'd be on one of his little boredom flights and it obviously wasn't her first run, and was surely not the first time they two activities had crossed paths.

Pulling an apple he had gotten out of the fridge before his little flight, Julian perched himself in a nearby tree, after properly floating her clothes up and out of reach of Casey and slightly out of sight, he began to munch on it quietly as he waited for her inevitable return to her hidden stash. Quietly as he ate he let his mind drift for a few moments to pass the time his mind wandered over the last years lessons and got a bit distracted, so much so, that he didn't even realize Casey had returned and shifted back into her human form and was now looking for her clothes, he did notice when she spoke however; which meant the evening was about to get a lot more fun.

Shit!

Julian laughed with no regard if she heard him, and then turned a bit, apple still in hand and looked down from his lofty perch in the tree at the now naked Casey.

"Lose something did we Casey?"

The sheer amusement playing across Julian's face was immeasurable, and her reaction only served to fuel his amusement even further. Granted it was a bit childish, but it was Christmas break, the one time of the year when everyone was a kid, it was only right he be allowed to as well.

Julian exerted his will a bit and slowly her panties floated over near her, but just slightly out of reach of the now naked wolf-girl. Pranks like this were always fun, you just had to make sure that the victim couldn't throw fireballs, because then shit got real, in a quick and nasty way. Julian had learned that from experience.

"Might these be what you're looking for Casey?

It might require calculus to actually measure how big of a grin was spread across Julian's face right now, he only concern was that Casey wouldn't take to his joke and might decide to come up there and attempt to wipe that grin off of his face in a less than gentle manner.

Casey heard that laugh and knew exactly what had happened to her clothing now. And a flush of red hit her cheeks and face so dark that it would have made Jean's hair look pale. Julian. It was Julian. Oh no! You had to be kidding her! She glanced up at the large oak that was behind her and was able to make out Julian's form as he sat atop a branch looking down at her. Oh god and he could probably see her from up there (her blush darkened at the very thought). Casey had always been a modest being--thus why she kept a bag of clothing with her for when she shifted and why she made sure she was hidden when she did change back.

But this--this was not under the modest card here! Never had she felt more embarrassed then she did at this moment. She half contemplated shifting back into a wolf, but then she wouldn't be able to communicate with Julian and then she would probably never get her clothes back then!

She glanced up as Julian asked her if she had lost something. She couldn't help but snort, "Oh I have no idea." was the accent drenched and utterly sarcastic answer. Oh he should have seen that one coming. But seriously, he couldn't have kept her clothes up there for long. It was winter time! And there was snow on the ground. She couldn't very well stay out here like this--she'd freeze!

Of course--the other seemed to have not noticed...either that or he was in a prankster mood at the moment. And then he would probably only give her the clothes back after messing with her....

....fuck.

"Julian." she said in a rather simple like tone that she hoped wasn't betraying how embarrassed she was. This was so not in her plans for the night (she just wanted to relax now) and not to mention she was starting to get a little chilly here, "Gimme back mah clothes please." she said doubting that he would, but there was no harm in hoping right?

...Right?

Please? Oh my god really? Julian had expected that he would get a reaction out of the wolf girl, but he had never expected such meekness from someone who was the physical embodiment of one of nature's most fearsome predators. He had heard of a wolf in sheep's clothing, but this was exactly the opposite, this was a sheep in wolf's clothing, and lucky for Julian, he had her at a decisive disadvantage, what with being naked and all.

"Now why my dear Casey would I want to do that?"

Such a comment may have seemed to be completely cold-hearted, when in fact it was his own strange way of complimenting her naked body. Julian might have been an asshole and a jerk a majority of the time, but he did have his own strange way of showing that deep down he wasn't as distant as most people thought he was.

"Covering up such a wonderful work of nature would be a crime, surely one as primal as you can appreciate that sentiment"

Perhaps it was her age, or some part of her younger years that Julian simply didn't know about, but her modesty was something of a puzzle for the young telekinetic. Why would someone whose mutant powers put them in touch with the most primal instincts and senses available to them in the world be worried about being naked. Truthfully, in Julian's world the mutants had nothing to be ashamed of in any sense. They were Homo Superior, as such there was nothing about them that should treated as anything less than perfect and here was a perfect example. The female of his species on display in all her glory, her physical form at its peak, and there he sat, controlling the situation without lifting a finger, his mind at its evolutionary peak, proving that they truly were the next step and not simply some fluke to be gawked at and hunted.

For when in the history of the world have the sheep ever hunted the wolves? Julian put these ideological thoughts aside and focused on the current situation he found himself in. Beautiful naked women and her only hope of changing that situation rested on the shoulders of the New Mutant known as Hellion. Such a situation indeed.

The most amusing part of the whole situation wasn't just that she didn't have her clothes, it was that she hadn't noticed them floating about the leaves of the tree wrapped in his signature green aura that was an obvious sign of him using his telekinesis. He wondered exactly which was more embarrassing for her, her unmentionables floating about like green snow flakes, or the fact that Julian was now very much aware of the sign and shape of any birthmarks she may have had. It was the little things in life that one had to appreciate, or in this case, a pair of nicely sized things that one should appreciate,

And Julian was definitely appreciating them right now.

Okay so Casey wasn't the fiercest body on the planet. Specially in her human form. And she knew that. She was modest...she was socially inept at times...meek perhaps?...and more then just a little shy in her human form. It was just who she was in this form. And what had come from going through what she had gone through in her earlier years. Being shunned, then watching your parents get killed and being driven out of your hometown really messed with one's confidence here! She just couldn't help it.

Not to mention being out here with nothing on just felt wrong okay! It went against the things her ma had taught her when she was younger. Maybe if there was no one else around, then things might not have been so bad. But obviously that was not the case here.

He spoke and Casey couldn't help but stare right up at him and glare. Primal? Who was he calling primal?! She was not primal here! Just because she could turn into a wolf didn't mean she was an animal in all forms! She had human instincts just as much as wolf ones. And her human instincts were telling her that she needed clothing right now! Yes one might say that she had been slightly insulted at that. But once again it was her past coming into play here. Considering the last couple of times she had lost control of her feral instincts--it had ended in one man's death and a boy's leg getting broken in five places. She hated loosing control like that...and for Julian to insinuate that she was primal like that all the time...well she would be happy to show him different (just not now mind you).

All in all it was a rather touchy feely topic for the new mutant member. And one she didn't like delving into very often.

"Because--" Casey sputtered out through slightly gritted teeth, "Maybe I don't wanna..." she paused again...oh how she wanted to spit out a really nice come back to that. A snappy comment that would have put him in his place. But the thing was--she just couldn't think of anything to say. She was not only embarrassed to hell and back, she was now slightly angry towards the other.

She looked up at him and inwardly twitched as she saw her clothes floating around like the snow itself. Okay so maybe that part didn't bug her as much as it should have. It was just clothes after all. I mean who hadn't seen clothes before? That part of the equation didn't really concern her as much as the getting them back onto her body part of things did.

She simply stared at her clothing...just stared. Insider her mind trying to formulate ways of getting them back...

What? Was she five years old? Granted no one really liked being outside in the snow naked unless they had done so willingly and were more than like up to something, but man had she killed the spirit of his little prank, all the way down to its core. Julian was many things, but he wasn't cruel and given the progression of her reaction, any further refusal to return her clothes would end up being exactly that; Cruel. So with a greatly dissatisfied ego, Julian focused a bit and with a gentle motion the clothes all floated down to Casey, folding themselves neatly in a pile that hovered directly in front of her.

It was a very lame ending to what could have been an awesome prank, but plans of mice and man and all that jazz. Julian shifted in the tree and swung his lefts out of the branch and looked back down at Casey. So much strength, so much promise. It seemed like she was yet another student who couldn't let go of their baseline ideas as to what was right and proper. Homo Superior did not need the ideals and morality of a species that was not just inferior in every way, but one that feared and and discriminated against them because they never they were obsolete.

"Take you're clothes already, I can't stand to see pretty girls cry"

The laughs were over and now the conversation between the two had become as colorful as fresh fallen snow. He imagined this would be the part where she started bitching him out, since now he didn't have any sort of leverage over him. Typical. Sweet when they want something and spicy when you didn't. Granted that seemed to be more of the rule rather than the exception.

As she started to dress Julian turned his eyes up to the sky once more, thinking of all that he wanted to do with his life and all that he could achieve. It wasn't out of a sense of morality more just his desire for something more than simply being a student, even if he was Junior staff. He didn't want to simply be just any mutant, he wanted to be someone the younger generations of Homo Superior would look up to.

Strange goals for a guy whose primary forms of entertainment consisted of women in various states of undress, beating the shit out of anyone stupid enough to cross him, and generally having a good time. I mean, everyone needed a hobby right?

Casey was a mixed bag of...well everything. And she was no idiot okay--she knew that very well. Standoffish and a bit cool towards people she didn't really know and a sweetheart and outgoing towards those she did know. It was like she had two faces at times....and it unsettled her if she had to be honest here. But really she couldn't help it at times.

She had been looked down on, beaten and betrayed so many times, it was just a knee jerk reaction now. From her so called friends in Houston to even her own grandparents--they had all turned their backs on her and her family when her mutation had came about. And it hurt--more then anyone knew. And she never wanted to feel that again. And so she didn't trust people at first...that's all there was to it. Even the Professor, Jean, Scott--all of those guys. She didn't trust anyone at first. They all had to earn it and this guy was no exception.

But he spoke again, and her glare only intensified. Her crying? Okay so not what she had meant! In honestly as embarrassing as it was, the entire thing with her clothes really didn't bug her. She wasn't mad at that at all. Like she said--embarrassing, yes. Infuriating....no. Though she wouldn't lie and say that she wasn't glad when her clothes came floating back down to planet Earth. She grabbed them and began to get dressed.

She was more indignant at the primal comment more then anything else he had done or said. Just because she changed into a wolf didn't mean she had the mentality of one all the time. Perhaps she was too sore about that...over reacting maybe even, but it had stung. And stung badly.

"You've got the wrong idea...but whatever." she was honestly not even going to start with that, "Thanks for giving me my clothes back." she said being polite mostly out of habit and it was a part of her natural being after all.

A lot of people...specially the students and some of the newly minted new mutants tended to get the wrong idea about her. Oh she was harsh...she was a bitch...she didn't know how to loosen up. And blah, blah, blah...whatever else they could have said about her. It hurt a little (as much as she tried to act like it didn't)--but this was just who she was. What she had become due to circumstances. What else was she supposed to do?

She got to her feet after getting totally dressed and she wasn't sure where to go from here. Back to the mansion? Eh with all the people there and some of whom would undoubtedly ask if she was okay? Not something she wanted to deal with at the moment. She wanted to go somewhere and be by herself (something she did a lot of)--but she got the feeling he would have followed her even if she had. Of course he might not have. But we are talking about the guy who just stole her clothes for kicks. And she wasn't about to yell at him? Really? What would that have solved?

Or maybe she could have tried to explain herself a little better at the risk of being heckled and teased to death by the other....

Oh the dilemma...

Women are weird, point blank and period. Granted this one had just now finally gotten her clothes back and possibly the sense of feeling in her toes as well. So perhaps he had gone a little too far with his prank, but wasn't that kind of the idea? Just some harmless jokes between fellow students at the school for special students, why shouldn’t they get to torment each other in new and creative ways. I mean that was how everyone else seemed to view it, even among outcasts certain principles just should not be pressed. This however wasn't feeling right, somehow along the way he had hit on something that had really bothered her and he honestly had absolutely no clue what it could have been. Not that screwing with her wasn't his intent, just that he liked staying on the friendlier side of cruel jokes, just as a general rule that is.

Once she was properly dressed and the threat of violence seemed to be gone, Julian jumped down out of the tree to continue the conversation. The cold was keeping his apple quite juicy and yummy and had finally reached the end of its use, so with a casual flick he tossed the apple core over into the bushes just as easily as he had been floating Casey's clothes above her. These cold nights had gotten so boring what with everyone gone and Julian had truthfully been simply bored and had reverted to more juvenile methods of flirting and entertaining himself. It wasn’t the nicest thing he’d ever done, but it wasn’t a capital offense either.

”Not that it’s any of my business Casey, but why were you out here running around anyway? I mean you could have used the Danger Room and been anywhere in the world. Why run around the same old campus again and again?” Maybe it was the fact that Casey’s mutant power had an animal aspect to it, or maybe it was just Julian being thick headed as always but for some reason he just couldn’t make the connection between her desires to be away from people from time to time and the joy rides he took both on his motorcycle as well as with his telekinesis.

Almost once a week Julian had the urge to simply get away from the school and people and just cut loose. It wasn’t anything like those emo kids who wore too much make up and whined about everything. In fact it was more a sign that he was actually happy in general than anything else, he was simply a free spirit and you can only cage a free spirit for so long before it chew through the bars. Just like that puppy that you put in the cage, it wishes to be out of its cage simply because that obstacle exists and for no other reason than that. Maybe he was missing something and maybe he wasn’t, of course she might also attempt to use him as a chew toy which under other circumstances would be a lot more fun than in the current situation. Only time would tell.

(I hope this is ok, my muse has been super stubborn lately)

Oh what Casey wouldn't have given for a chance to re-do this over again.

She could have lived without the getting her clothes stolen, yes--but she wished she would have made a better first impression on the other. But she didn't. She had jumped to conclusion...snapped first and asked questions later and she was sure the other thought she was either a weirdo or a bitch by now. But whatever. She didn't care she told herself. She didn't care what he thought of her. Let him think what he wanted. She knew what the truth was. And what the matter really was. And that was what counted. She wouldn't let them get to her. And that was her story and she was sticking to it...

Casey watched with an absent look at the other flung that apple core over and into the shrubs with ease. And then she made a mental note to go pick it up off the ground later. She gave a soft sigh. Why did she make things hard on herself like this? She knew the other had been joking with her. Flirting with her a little even. And then she just had to go and take something he said the wrong way. Even if he had hit a sore spot...she could have just shrugged it off and gone on her way. But noooo....she didn't do that. Of course she didn't! She could have just face palmed at herself some days....she really could.

The other spoke and Casey's ears pricked. She honestly had to think about that one for a moment. Why didn't she use the Danger Room? It was high tech...and not to mention warmer. But it was a room. And metallic and not natural. And no matter what she had it programmed to look like, that feeling of man made-ness would never have left her, "Well...I guess its a bit more natural feeling then the Danger Room. And sides I don't always stick around here." she said. Nah she went roaming through the woods of Westchester County more times then she could count. And so it wasn't always the same place and the same scenery.

"So what brought you out here? Don't seem like a nature guy to me." she asked him a question. Turned the tables on him. Have him answer something for a change. And she wasn't kidding when she had said that he didn't look like a nature lover. He really didn't. But who was she to judge? What did she know?