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monstergirlsproject · 10 years

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One shower, three anxiety-riddled wardrobe changes, twenty minutes worth of fussing about hair (before giving up and wearing a hat) and one burnt drive-through coffee later, Lumina managed to find a parking spot near the sciences building at Rhode Island Community College of the Arcane Arts and guided her old Buick Regal into the spot, just off-center enough to give her room to open the massive steel door and get out. Caffeine having done nothing to quell the shake in her hands, she fumbled briefly with her keys before managing to lock the doors and stuff the keys in her backpack. Taking a deep breath, she straightened her knit beret and crossed the parking lot, wary of the frustrated drivers circling the parking lot like sharks.

"Mikasi!" She heard the call echo across the lot and it took a moment for it to register that someone was yelling for her. She briefly considered pretending not to hear it and walking away, but grudgingly turned around.

Zack Shelley was fairly easy to spot in just about any crowd at six foot three, but the yellow argyle sweater vest pulled across shoulders too broad for his otherwise slight frame made him painfully obvious. Lumina shielded her eyes to keep the morning sun from glaring off of her glasses. What on earth had he done to his hair? Was that a… bouffant? As he stepped out from between the cars, a much smaller figure that had been concealed behind him came into view. She was closer to Lumina's height at about five foot seven, but lean and dark, with long black hair parted in the center that looked too sleek against an atrocious, chunky vintage cardigan, tossed on over what appeared to be a pumpkin orange peasant dress and clogs that made her gait as stilted and awkward as her wardrobe. For all her faults when it came to dressing herself, Isobella Mallard was the most painfully kind, gentle soul Lumina had ever met, and she found herself glad to have stopped.

"Zack, we've been over this before. Are we on the res?" Lumina asked with the weary tone of a primary school teacher.

"Shit, sorry Mina," Zack apologized, touching the back of his neck and staring down at the heinous cowboy boots peeking out from under his jeans. No wonder he seemed even taller than she remembered.

"Izzy, on the other hand, I've missed," Lumina pulled the thinner girl in for a tight hug.

"I'm so glad you're home," Izzy beamed. "The old crew, back together. Well, almost."

"Inara is around," Zack shrugged. "Or she will be later, anyway. She's in our Social Psychology class this afternoon."

"Awesome, I miss her," Mina took a sip of her coffee and frowned. Burnt and cold. Lovely. "Last time I was out here she was visiting her aunt in San Francisco."

"Oh man, I didn't realize you hadn't seen her since right around when she started hormone therapy," Izzy noted. "She looks amazing. Wait till you see her."

"Yeah, she looks good," Zack agreed. "I don't know when she'll be around today. I offered her a ride, but she said she didn't have class until later and wanted to sleep in."

"Can't blame her," Mina yawned. "I would be back in bed if I could be."

"I still think it's way too early in the morning for a science class," Izzy chided playfully. "I mean, come on. Physiology? This early?"

"Once I adjust to the time difference it will be fine," Mina dismissed.

Izzy looked down at her phone. "Speaking of time, I've gotta go, my class is like halfway across campus. See you guys in Social Psych?"

"I was actually going to go off campus for lunch before that class," Zack shrugged. "Do you guys have the period before free?" Both girls nodded. "Ok. Want to meet here and take my car? I figured we could go to George's for burgers. I'll text Inara and see if she'll be around."

"Sounds good," Izzy smiled. "I really have to go so I'm not late for class. See you later."

#chapter one part two #trying to keep the segments smaller and more manageable #but finding an appropriate spot to break it up is tough #soooo here's two more of the main cast #inara will be introduced soon as well #I'm trying to find ways to sneak in references to her being trans early on to establish it clearly #because her being trans isn't crucial to the plot and I don't want it being overlooked #but I also don't want to shout it from the rooftops in any way that might make the other characters seem insensetive or judgemental about it #because we haven't really introduced any characters yet who haven't known inara since childhood #and most of her friends who have stuck around probably knew to some degree before she ever came out #they just didn't really care because it wasn't a big deal to them

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monstergirlsproject · 10 years

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It was 5 a.m. on a rainy monday in early september, and Lumina Heinrich couldn't sleep.

She stared at the cracks in the old plaster ceiling of her childhood bedroom. She'd counted them a thousand times, but not in years. The spiderweb pattern was a welcome distraction as she let her eyes wander over every line in the dim half-light of dawn, trying not to think too hard about where she would be in a few short, sleep-deprived hours.

Feeling the arm tucked under her head start to tingle, she sat up and stretched before it could go numb. Dark chestnut hair fell in a tangle around her shoulders, and a stray lick of shock white strands fell across her eyes, earning a glare of disapproval from her. She huffed, blowing it out of her face, only to have it fall back across her vision, almost as though the hairs themselves were aware of how much she hated them, and rejected any attempts to dye them with silent glee. Anxiety churned in her stomach as she mentally played out the awkward smalltalk that she would have to sit through at school, just like always. 'Oh, you must be a shifter. What do you shift to?' My dad is wolfkind. 'Oh, cool. Do you take wolf form, too?' Nope. I'm the one in every hundred thousand therianthropes that don't actually shift. She broke the stifling silence with a bitter little chuckle to herself. No one ever knows what to say to a shapeshifter who can't shift. Condolences and awkward silence generally followed. She was used to it by now.

Lumina flopped back on the old four-post bed, toying with the end of a strand of dark hair. She'd promised herself that things were going to be different this year. It was her first time living stateside since middle school, and only close family friends would even remember her now. A good chance for a fresh start. She'd planned to do something dramatic with her hair before the first day of school -maybe bleaching it out and dying it a bright color, or a new, high fashion hair cut, to pretend to embrace the thing that marked her as different- but she couldn't decide and lost her resolve until it was too late, stuck toying with split ends in the small hours of the morning before her first day of classes. Restless with nerves, she checked the clock and did some quick math. It was just past 10am in London. She contemplated calling her mother, but was afraid that hearing that old irish accent and the clatter of a thousand bustling pans in the background of the apothecary would make her just as homesick as the smell of lavender and patchouli that had seeped into her luggage. Resigning herself to her fate of not falling back to sleep, she got up to make herself a cup of tea. She descended the old wooden stairs on careful bare feet, every creak feeling impossibly loud only to realize her caution had been for nothing when she arrived in the kitchen and found her father sitting at the table, his tall, lanky frame draped in a worn old robe and stretched out in his chair.

"Oh, hey, moonpie," he smiled. Basilius Heinrich's face was as alarmingly youthful as it was in her baby photos, though now rather in need of a shave. He still didn't look a day over thirty, though those who aren't familiar with the splashes of white hair that mark most shifters might mistake the flashes at his temples for premature grey.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" she chuckled, reaching for the kettle on the stove and surprised to find it still hot, and with water in it.

"Always one more time, kiddo," he smirked. "There should be enough in there for a cup of tea if that's what you're after."

"Thanks," she rummaged through the cabinet, looking for any kind of tea that wasn't some obnoxiously fruity herbal mess and finding a half empty canister of irish breakfast blend at the back of the shelf. "I don't know how you drink this crap."

"I was married to your mother for thirty years, moonpie," he chuckled. "I didn't really have a choice. Now I'm just used to it. That irish tea might be stale. I think you left that here when you came to visit last summer."

"Eh, I'll take my chances," she shrugged, sitting down across the table from him, hands wrapped around her mug.

"So. Excited about your first day of school, or still jetlagged?" he raised an eyebrow.

"A little of both, I guess," she shrugged, studying her tea as though she expected there to be a quiz later.

"I told you that you could have come over earlier. I made sure your room was clean and ready for you to move in back in July."

"I know, but I had plans for my birthday," she sighed dismissively. "I wanted to spend some time with my friends from high school before we all split up to go to college."

"Fair enough," he nodded, taking a sip of his tea. She could smell the cinnamon across the table. "I just know how serious you are about school and I don't want you to be too burned out from the time difference to pay attention for the whole first week."

"I'll be fine."

"I know you will," he smiled. "You always are."

Lumina and her father sat in sleepy silence for a few moments as he finished his tea and she started her own. He was right, it was a little stale. She made a mental note to ask her mom to mail her some more when she sent her winter clothes.

"So," he stood, rinsing his mug off in the sink. "I hope you don't have plans for next thursday night."

"Not really, it's a school night. Why?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Everyone has been dying to see you, and it's the equinox run."

"Oh, no," she frowned down at her cup. "I really don't want to-"

"Oh come on, Mina. There are only four big runs per year. After this one, I promise, I won't ask you to go until winter solstice. And you don't even have to actually run. Just go to the party. Please?"

"Are you going to make me dance?" she asked carefully.

"I know your fancy shawl is rusty, but Chief Wabiska will be really disappointed if you don't at least do the dance of the elders."

"Ugh, I really don't like dancing."

"The dance of the elders barely counts and you know it," he waved her off, turning his back to her and putting his mug in the dishwasher. "The McAllister's kid can handle it and he's four. You can do it. I have faith in you."

"I guess I'll stop by for a while," she shrugged, swirling her teaspoon absently.

"Thank you," he smiled, turning back toward her and covering the distance in two long strides, mussing her hair and giving her a quick kiss on the crown of her head. "It will be good for you to see everyone. I'm not the only one who misses having you around, you know."

"Yeah, I know," she chuckled. "Zack reminds me on Facebook on a daily basis."

Basilius shook his head, a dry smile perking up the corners of his mouth. "That kid is something else."

"That he is. And he's in my second class of the day. Which is way to early to be dealing with him, to be honest."

"Oh, hush. You'll be glad for the company."

"I'll be lucky if he shuts up long enough for me to figure out what's going on in class."

"Oh come on, he's not that bad," he laughed. "He's probably just used to only seeing you a couple of days a year and has to get it all out of his system. He mellows out. I promise."

"If you say so," Lumina sighed, trying not to smile. Basilius stretched and yawned, glancing over at the digital clock on the microwave.

"Wow, is it after six already? I should go get ready for work. See you after school?"

"Yeah, today's my short day, so I'll probably be home before you," Lumina took another sip of her tea. Yep. Definitely stale. Letting it steep longer didn't seem to be helping the taste, so she twirled the string on the teabag around her spoon, catching the bag against the back of the spoon and pressing it to the side of the cup, neatly pressing the moisture out before standing and bringing the spoon to the trash, unwinding the string and dropping the bag in. She turned back to the table, picking her mug up. "I should probably go get ready for school."

"I guess it's a good thing I sprang for a place with two bathrooms, then," he chuckled. "I should be home by five, as long as I don't get stuck with any late paperwork. Maybe we can go grab dinner?"

"Sounds good," she smiled, then turned and headed back upstairs. She'd been there for three days already, and it hadn't occurred to her until that moment that her father's house was oddly large for someone who lived alone most of the year. A pang of guilt about not spending more time with him started to creep in on her, but she was snapped out of it abruptly when her alarm blared and she nearly dropped her tea in shock. Sufficiently awake and now with shaking hands, she put her tea down, turned the alarm off, and tossed open the top of the suitcase she still hadn't gotten around to unpacking.

#chapter one part one #not totally satisfied with this yet but not hating it either #I tried to get the essentials in without falling down the description rabbit hole #more pratchett and less tolkien is what I'm going for I guess #long post for ts

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