CURSED

Though they had just met a few short hours ago Kyleigh was starting to gain a certain kind of trust being around Cooper. They both were pretty powerful beings with lots of secrets. so maybe that was why she felt like he sort of understood her better than most. Because normally she would never agree to go to a secluded beach with a total stranger unless of course she was thinking of making a meal out of them. But with him she had no desire of violence towards him, not anymore. Earlier when they first met? Yeah she could have clocked him in the jaw just for the thrill of it. Just proved to her that the longer you were around someone and gave them a chance, the more you might find out they weren’t so different than you. Still she would keep him at arm’s length, not trusting the animal around him and the animal not trusting him around her. “Well the use of a strong sedative did help a bit.” Kyleigh wished she was joking, but if it hadn’t been for that little gift she got a few hours before her flight departed she never would have been able to make it there. “Good music and ear pods helped too. Couldn’t do the in flight movie though, it was horrible.” So bad in fact she couldn’t even remember what it was. She made it though, and had another one tucked away for when it was time for her to go home. As soon as they were close enough for the sand to start the half lycan stopped and took off her sneakers, smiling when she felt it touch her toes. “Yeah when you learn what you really are and that there’s this whole other world out there no point in thinking about sanity any longer. I mean you see that stuff in movies or read about it in books, but you’re taught that it’s just fantasy. Then one day that line blurs to the point that you start to question everything. That’s pretty cool that you’ve done those things though. When I was in Florida a few years ago I went swimming with the dolphins. Very tame in comparison to sharks but it was cool. Even the sand feels different here and it’s much prettier.”

She didn’t know why, but for some reason it did not surprise Kyleigh at all that Cooper had done the shark thing. Maybe it was because he was from Australia, or maybe he just gave off that kind of vibe but she was rather impressed with it. Getting fully out of the car she took a deep breath and all she could smell was the sand and the ocean, the waves crashing against the shore hitting her ears. Oddly enough it put her more at ease, her eyes closing for a brief moment to enjoy the peace. It was very quiet here, not another car in sight and for a second the thought that Cooper might have brought her here to kill her without interruption did cross her mind. Of course she quickly dismissed it, almost laughing out loud at the idea that he could do such a thing. Yeah he might be able to hurt her with his abilities or by his own bare hands, but all she would have to do is give into that darker side of herself and it would all be over. Reaching into the back seat she grabbed her back pack and gently closed the door, giving him a look at the mention of falling from the sky for the thrill of it. “Oh hell no. I can barely handle being on a plane for a vacation let alone being on one just to jump out of it. I mean do your thing and all that, but I much rather like being alive and not leaving that choice up to some rope and nylon.” It seemed as if someone like her, a monster by nature, really shouldn’t be afraid of anything but she was half human after all and still had all of their faults. “Surprised isn’t really the word I would use.” She continued as she walked around the car and up beside the redhead so they could head towards the beach. “Impressed is more like it. If you’re willing to get into a tiny cage to swim with a shark, then you’re probably willing to do a lot of other dangerous things. And if you tell me that you have jumped out of a plane, then I’m really going to start questioning your sanity.”

“You could have if you kept pushing.” Was the reply given as Kyleigh kept her eyes out on the road. She always tried her best to keep that animal hidden from others and the world even if they weren’t normal humans. She was a monster, the one thing the half lycan always remembered when she hunted was the look of pure horror in her victims eyes before it was replaced by the terror. Most of the time she couldn’t give a single shit about what others thought of her, but those were the few moments that always stuck with her and gave her such a poor self image. Unlike her Aunt who was rather proud of what she was and what she looked like in her other form. She did wonder if Cooper ever felt like that himself, if he was ashamed of the curse placed upon him or if he thrived in it. Funny how you meet a stranger and can bond over something so terrible. But something that did pull her gaze from the road was when he said that they all did things they would regret, that they didn’t mean to hurt people and then how he reacted to it. In her mind that meant that he too had knew what it was like to carry the guilt of harming the innocent but he didn’t want her to know that. So she let the moment pass for the time being but she would remember it and ask him about it at another time. “Let’s just be happy you didn’t make it any hotter. I can get very cranky then and it does get harder to hold the beast back.” Letting out a laugh at his comments about those crazy assholes that actually wanted to swim with the sharks, Kyleigh waited until the car was off before she removed her seat belt. “That is one thing I will never do. One, I do not like being caged. It’s like being in jail and that absolutely sucks. Two, I may be dumb but I’m not stupid. Those things are going to figure out how to break those cages one day and whomever they get it’s their own fault. But that does make me feel a bit better. Look at you being a nice guy after all! I’m kind of surprised.”

Noticing that she was kind of staring at Cooper the half lycan finally pulled her eyes away from him but still listened as he talked. While she would never wish his curse on anyone she sort of in a way understood how hard it must be. Granted there were a few situations herself that being what she was could come in handy, but really it was mostly just hiding it and trying to blend in with the world. “I get it in a way. I can control my turns usually but when the full moon comes it’s pretty much out of my hands. Sometimes when I get angry I can feel it creeping up on me but if I can distract myself in time I don’t go all wolf on anyone. The last time I did… well that person isn’t here anymore so I guess that situation kind of resolved itself.” Not how she had wanted it to end up but sometimes shit happened that you couldn’t control. She could tell they were getting closer to the beach, it was getting more sparse beside the road and less cars were around them. Kyleigh was happy that Cooper didn’t think her question was stupid or anything, though she was trying her best not to just blurt out every single one that came to her mind. “I figured as much but you know, I had to ask. You see things on TV and it’s like holy shit, is Australia even real? I wouldn’t mind seeing one of course, but with a very large fence between us and a trained professional right there. Guess the worst I would have to worry about is a shark or maybe some crabs.” Though the thought of becoming Jaws’ next meal was not appealing either but she kept that to herself. Kyleigh’s curiosity about what a beach looked like here was taking her over and she figured she had talked Cooper’s ear off enough already.

“Smelled something I never had before, wanted to check it out,” she shrugged. “Wanted to see if you were a local or not. A threat or just another damned soul trying to survive,” and she let her gaze sweep over him in a very critical fashion. “I’m not trying to cause shit or bring anything down on you,” she promised, but didn’t expect him to just take her word for it.

“This place is quiet and I’m considering calling it home for a little while,” she admitted, seeing no harm in telling him. It wasn’t like she was hard to find if someone wanted to, but at the moment she didn’t have anyone breathing down the back of her neck.

His brow furrowed, not exactly expecting that answer. Though he knew there was the association of fire to him, no doubt smelling of smoke but subtle. Now he’s being told she smelled something she hadn’t before and if she was a hell hound, wouldn’t she know what that smelled like? “I’m local, not from down there.” He huffed out, still keeping dark eyes on her. “How do I even have a scent that stands out to someone who spent time in hell?” He questioned. Though he did realize she was trying to leave and he was now taking up her time more and he usually didn’t do that. So he took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair to make himself relax more, the last thing he wanted was to raise the temperature around him again. 

Happy that she wasn’t annoying the hell out of him and that he did still want to go to the beach, Kyleigh sat back in her seat and just watched Cooper operate the car. It really wasn’t that much different than her own back home other than everything being on the wrong side, but still her curiosity about it all was getting the better of her. “It’s just… we see how you all drive on TV and stuff, but in person it’s so different. It’s like don’t you all get confused or scared but this is normal to you and sometimes it’s hard to remember that.” Cooper not being offended by her question about him being able to go into the water made her feel even better, though now she was curious about the other interesting fact he had just told her. So if he got pissed off while swimming or anything like that he could just make the water boil? That was like a super power in her eyes. “That’s kind of cool. I mean I’m sure you don’t think so but if you ever got stuck somewhere and needed clean water to drink you could just think about something that makes you mad and there you go, safe water!” It was said with a laugh, the half lycan hoping that things could be kept lighter between the two of them now. The last thing she wanted was for them to get into another argument while he was driving on the wrong side of the road. His neighborhood soon made way to a main road, the scenery around them capturing Kyleigh’s attention. She didn’t say anything out loud right away, just sort of kept her eyes focused out of the window and took it all in. “Man even the roadsides here are pretty nice to look at. By the way, there aren’t going to be any giant crocodiles in the water are there? Wait, can they even survive in salt water?” At that point she felt like she was more talking out loud than anything else, but if Cooper wanted to answer she would definitely listen to what he had to say.

Privacy was something the half lycan valued deeply, even when in her human form. She hated to be looked at in any way, and having to walk around a beach in a bathing suit of all things was not high on her list of priorities. However, this was her vacation and being that she was on a giant island of sorts she figured she could at least try it. And Cooper had been kind enough to take time out of his day to take her to one. Granted she would have liked to have met him under different circumstances and she still felt a bit bad for that, but she was happy that they could come to be peaceful with each other. She could even dare say she made a friend while she was there, if that’s how things worked out. The fact that he considered the color of his hair to be normal had her looking up at him with an amused look on her face, though she supposed with him seeing it all the time that it was normal for him. That did bring up the question in her mind if all of his hair was the same color, but since she was not about to go there with someone she just met, she kept that one tucked away for another time. “Oh yeah we can still go. We don’t have to spend a long time there either, I don’t want to take up too much of your day.” When they got to his car she opened the door without much thought but the second she sat down she noticed the one big difference. “You know I forgot for a moment that the steering wheel isn’t on this side? Man this is so crazy! The mail trucks over in America are like this, but I’ve never actually been in one of those.” She was tempted to take out her phone and grab a picture, but since she was going to be there for two weeks Kyleigh figured she would just wait for another chance. Once Cooper was seated beside her a thought came to her mind and this time it came out of her mouth before she could stop it. “The water’s not going to mess with your fire thing is it? You don’t stink, so I’m assuming that you can take showers and stuff but the ocean is different. I’m sorry if that’s rude to ask but if we have to change plans that’s okay with me too.”

Used to not really talking much while around other people, Kyleigh didn’t jump to start another conversation with Cooper and she had the feeling that he did appreciate that a bit. She was still kind of in that tourist mode, trying to take in everything she was seeing, hearing and scenting as they walked along the pavement. For the most part anyone would think they were back in their own home town taking a casual stroll with a friend, it really wasn’t that much different. Of course the second someone opened their mouth you would be able to tell something was off but she actually didn’t mind the accent. It was nice, gave her ears something else to enjoy other than the ones back home that she was already used to and annoyed by. “There aren’t many natural beaches back in Boston.” She did offer after a few moments, glancing towards her new friend before her eyes went back to the front. “A couple of man made ones and some lakes, so I figured while I was here I probably should try to see a real one that isn’t frozen or too cold to swim in most of the year.” The few short weeks they were graced with summer made it too crowded to do much when it came to the water, and since she avoided crowds at all costs it was just smarter to stay inside where it was cool. For some reason the idea of Cooper actually taking the time to dye his hair that color was hilarious to her, Kyleigh’s hand coming up to cover her mouth after a few giggles escaped. “Okay not that there’s anything wrong with that but you dying your hair is hilarious! I could see people paying a lot of money for that color though, it’s nice. And I would still say that even if I didn’t know what you had going on, or at least an idea of it.” Was she growing even more curious about that? Yeah, always. But out of pure respect she wouldn’t ask unless he brought it up first and then he probably would ditch her somewhere in the Outback with all the questions she had.