Sigh No More[tag: open]

Jim laughed a little. "That's one reaction I haven't gotten yet," he replied. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I just...got caught up in things, I guess, and...well, you know now. That's why...I'm so moody sometimes, or looked exhausted. Eva saw me transform and Brie figured it out, but...I guess they wanted me to tell you myself." He ran a hand through his hair again as he nodded. "I just feel like...Patronuses, they're so protect you...shield you from Dementors and stuff, and...the wolf in me has done nothing but hurt me and...drive me crazy. And yet...now it's my freakin' Patronus? Is...something implying that I should...embrace this part of me? I just...I don't know if I could ever do that, ever."

"Yeah..." He supposed that at least made sense - though werewolf moody and exhausted was going to be hard to distinguish from teen moody and exhausted. "I don't know, man. Maybe, like, one day your wolf form or whatever will protect you? Like, maybe embracing it isn't so easy, but it's still a huge part of you, right? Whether you want it to be or not. Maybe something's trying to tell you it's not all bad?" Of course, he couldn't pretend to know the half of what Jim went through when the full moon rolled around, but he was doing his best to understand.

((Gah, sorry I keep disappearing. Stupid life distracting me from things like rp.))

((lol It's okay. I have such a short attention span, I'm constantly hopping on and off RP sites all day.))

Jim gave a hollow laugh. "Yeah, like this curse could ever be a good thing," he said sarcastically. He realized how cold his tone sounded though and shut up for a moment, hoping he hadn't freaked Todd out. He cleared his throat. "Um, yeah, I...kinda had the same thought," he replied. That was the truth, at least. One of his theories was that this was just his body telling him to embrace the wolf in him, to accept it, to let it fully become a part of him. And he hated it. "I just...can't see how it can be good, in any way," he said. "I've...hurt people, made them afraid of me. Near the beginning of the school year...Maggie, Emily, and Eva saw me, as a wolf. You should have seen the way Emily looked at me for the next few weeks after that. She was petrified of me, could barely look me in the eye. It took a lot of coaxing from me and Eva to get her to trust me and not think of me as...dangerous."

Todd's eyebrows sprang up but he stayed silent. Yes, it was obvious he didn't really get the werewolf thing at all. He winced when Jim told him who all had seen him transform. He'd seen Emily in some of his classes, and it was difficult to picture her next to his friend's wolf form. "Shit, man..." he murmured involuntarily. Another bright response, dumbass. He was getting sick and tired of his own lack of words lately. "I don't know what to tell you. Even if that is what your body's trying to say - to embrace it, I mean - it doesn't seem like that is really possible for you, 'least right now. I think you might need to tell your body to shut the hell up." He shook his head and leaned back on his elbows, squinting at the distant shore opposite them. "Is there, ah, anything I could do to help at all?" It was highly doubtful. It wasn't like anyone could just make Jim stop being a werewolf, and if someone could, it certainly wasn't Todd.

Jim gave a wry smile. "Yeah, you and me should start a campaign, maybe my body will get the picture then," he said, finally able to joke a little bit. He knew that Todd couldn't do much, but he appreciated his concern nevertheless. At least he cared and had the desire to help. That was enough to do a bit of good. "Just make sure people stay away from the Shrieking Shack, I suppose," he replied, shrugging. "That's where I go during the full moon. People still curious now and then and like to explore at night, which doesn't make things any easier for me. Just...I don't know, keep spreading rumors that it's haunted or something. That's sometimes enough to make people stay away."

Todd chuckled and went back to plucking blades of grass from the ground. "Shouldn't I spread a rumor that it's boring?" he wandered with a small smirk. "Like, my brothers used to go there all the time just because people said it was haunted. Gave 'em a thrill. Why not tell people they'll get...hepatitis or something if they go in the Shack? Or that it's got really, really moldy ceilings? Or that the foundations are weak? Man, I got a lot of depressing rumors I could shower all over this school."

Jim laughed a little. "That could work too, I suppose," he replied. "I'm not sure how turned off people are by...disgusting stuff, though. Usually it only works if they see it rather than hear someone talk about it." He shrugged. "But, I haven't exactly tried spreading rumors like that though, so maybe it works after all. Who knows? You can give it a shot and see how it works out."

"Mm, I'm sure I could cook up some kind of substance in Potions and tell everyone it's this new, rare mold that only grows in the Shrieking Shack," Todd said, nodding enthusiastically. Perhaps he was getting a bit too excited about freaking out his classmates, but it all sounded like so much fun - oh, and of course there was the fact that this was to help his fur-burdened friend. "I will get to the spreading of disgusting rumors immediately." He stood then, stretching out the kinks in his back.

"Oh, you're good at Potions? Sweet." Jim knew that most people tended to detest that class, for one reason or another. Jim was just average at the class himself. He chuckled at Todd's enthusiasm. He seemed pretty excited at this idea. "Thanks," he said, glad that Todd was willing to help out, and wasn't too put off by him being a werewolf and all. It seemed like most of his friends weren't too concerned about it. And he was grateful for that.

"I kind of suck at Potions, actually, but all I have to do is try to make something and it looks like mold anyway," he smirked. Though perhaps that was an exaggeration - he certainly did well enough to pass, but he wasn't going to be on honor roll any time soon. "No problem, man. Listen, I gotta go study for some Ancient Runes test, but I will update you on the status of the Shack's repulsiveness soon!" He performed a mock bow before turning to jog away. He was glad, of course, that Jim had told him, and was determined to help him out any way he could.

"Good point," Jim acknowledged. Maybe it was better to be bad at Potions in this case. It was more likely that a flop would look like mold rather than a successful potion. He laughed again at Todd's little mock bow. Yes, enthusiasm was a good sign right now. If Todd could have fun with this, then it would be all the better for him. No doubt Evaine would be pleased to hear about it. "Alright, see you later," Jim said, waving at his friend before reclining back on the grass. He was actually feeling a little better now.

END