A Halloween Tail

[Hawk]

It was a chilly day by October standards, and Daiyu regretted the decision to leave his jacket in the car as he walked along the sidewalk. Shivering a bit, he sped up his pace through the darkness, kicking the leaves under his feet as he went.

Lifting the paper in his hand, he read the address on it again. The numbers of the houses he was passing were quickly closing in on the number he was searching for, so he picked up his pace even more, hoping the house was on the nice and warm end of the heat spectrum.

It was nice of some of his casual acquaintances to invite him to a Halloween party, especially since he hadn't known them for long. He'd only been at this temp job for a couple weeks, but apparently the manual labor options attracted the college types. And the college types did seem to love their parties.

He underestimated how much apparently, since he had to park blocks away and walk because it was so crowded. He could tell where he was going from a few houses away with the noise coming from a particularly large house-ish specimen. Watching a couple of girls run up to the door from the other direction, he couldn't help but chuckle. While he may have left his jacket behind, he pitied the two with their less-than-warming devil and angel outfits. Miniskirts seemed a little to enjoyable for Hell and a bit too skimpy for Heaven to him, but to each his own, he guessed.

Personally, he always had the easiest time on Halloween, of all days. Release the glimmer on his ears and tail and throw some black paint on an orange shirt paired with black jeans with orange streaks, and he was good to go. Even fairly impressive if he did say so himself, what with his hair being the way it was.

The girls did at least have the right idea in one area, though. Taking the last few strides at a jog, he slid into the door behind them, immediately assaulted by loud music from all around. He smiled as he slid into the crowd, grabbing a drink as he went and heading for an open chunk of wall. Best to get a hold on the group before deciding how to enjoy the holiday with near-strangers.

[ElliBleu]

An oversized witches hat was slanted haphazardly over fuzzy ears, casting a shadow over already darkened eyes. Haziel's legs were twined through the posts of a banister upstairs, idly watching the people mingling below. A few others lounged around him, leaning on the railing or sitting atop the steps for a drink in the relative calm away from the main body of the party. It was hard to keep his tail from twitching as he exchanged small talk, so he twined the very real appendage between his fingers.

Inching closer to boredom, Haziel watched the door. When people stopped the constant trickling in, he intended to take his leave. If he was just going to drink he'd find somewhere less crowded to do so. The few people he knew had since dispersed to other activities, and, assured they had other means of getting home, he had no reason to stay.

He was halfway down the steps when something made him look up from the worn carpeting to once again watch the door.

The hat shifted a bit as an ear tried to swivel forward, tailtip twitching minutely before being forced again into stillness. He paused where he stood, gray-green eyes glued to the ears completing the other male's apparent costume. The momentary fear or being discovered himself quickly subsided as he quirked an eyebrow in curiosity.

And here he thought he'd been aware of all the Shifters in the area.

[Hawk]

Sipping whatever Halloween concoction he'd managed to snag, Dai looked out at the crowd absently. Spiked punch, of course. He was amused by the attempt at subtlety, though the various bottles littered on tables sadly underscored the effort.

With the music blasting, he'd expected a little more dancing. Seemed like this crowd leaned more towards being rowdy and loud in smaller groups. Made it harder for him to join the celebrating, but watching the others having fun and making fools of themselves was almost just as interesting.

Getting that unsettling feeling like someone was watching him, he looked up, and glanced around. It only took a minute for his gaze to meet that of another fellow party-goer. Some odd mix between cat and warlock, if the hat was any hint. Must've been one of those last minute costume throw-togethers.

Blinking, he aimed a small but confused grin at the other, giving an automatic little wave to acknowledge him. He didn't know what exactly he did to deserve a stare, unless it was something about the ears or tail. And generally he could explain their movement away by asking the gawker how much they'd been drinking.

He'd just have to see if this one would have the courage to ask in the first place, he guessed.

[ElliBleu]

Haziel's tail twitched again in growing irritation at the little wave and smile the tiger offered. "Cute." he muttered darkly, unamusedly raising an eyebrow. A frown tugged at his lips, eyes narrowing a bit and moving down a few more steps. There weren't supposed to be any other Shifters here. One, sure. Easier to go unnoticed. Two... well, the way the unexpected encounter made his tail want to bristle and thrash was bad enough.

Far from shy, the puma jumped down the last few steps and right up to the other feline. Sparing a quick glance to either side to assure himself the other partygoers were distracted within their various groups and activites, or too drunk to notice, he lifted a hand to raise his hat the slightest bit and let a furred tawny ear poke free.

Quickly flattening it back against his hair, Haziel let the hat flop back over the far-from-normal appendage and the brim-shadow again help conceal his potentially reflective eyes.

Wary, he kept his eyes on the other. The initial territoriality at the sign of another Shifter was quickly fading, replaced by a cautious curiosity. He was feline, after all, though he had little intention of letting curiosity be his demise.

Unsure of what to do now but still unwilling to let an unfamiliar Shifter wander in what he still considered his territory, Haziel loosely crossed his arms and tilted his head to one side. "Seems Halloween does pull out the unnatural, hm?"

[Hawk]

Completely ready to rattle off his common excuses, Daiyu was shocked at the sight of the less-than average ears moving and very much real on a head other than his own. Shifting back against the wall, he tensed automatically, ears sliding back slightly despite his attempts to keep them in place. He hoped the other partygoers were too distracted with each other to notice his tail, because he was having much less luck at stopping its agitated twitching.

Barely managing to contain an instrinctive hiss directed at being trapped between a wall and a strange werecat, he managed to choke out a "...S-seems so..."

Ignoring the urge to sidestep the stranger in favor of some space, Daiyu shook his head subtly in an attempt to clear it. He'd never met up with another like himself, excepting his parents and a few of their friends. But he'd known them since he was a cub, not had them appear out of nowhere to surprise him. What were the chances of running into one like this, and at a Halloween party of all places...?

Managing to get a handle on himself, he met the half-witch's gaze once again, cautious. Instinctual defensiveness aside, he was simply looking to celebrate the holiday and have some fun. If he'd committed some invisible crime that had the other cat on the defensive, may as well at least clear the air.

Figuring it wouldn't hurt to probe for a reaction, and unable to help his own curiostiy, he tried to relax a bit more as he added, "....I didn't know unnatural at a Halloween party was a crime. But hey, if you're gonna be a wet blanket I can move on to a more accepting party somewhere else...?"

[ElliBleu]

A rather unfriendly little smirk etched itself across Haziel's features at the tiger's reaction, unable to keep his lips from uncovering a tiny sliver of teeth. He'd expected a bit more courage from the strongest of he felines, and couldn't help the amused purr building in his throat as the tiger backed into the wall.

His words brought a low chuckle trickling out of his mouth, raising a hand to wave dismissively. Obviously the tiger had less experience with fellow shifters than Haziel. That or he was one of those incredibly high-strung felines prone to hissing and spitting at anything. Trying to twist the amused smirk into more of a smile and taking a step back in hopes of putting the other at ease, Haziel tilted his head to get a better look at the new Shifter.

"Not a crime at all. Just a bit more unnatural than I was expecting." He took on a more relaxed stance, leaning his weight on one hip and glancing over to a particular group before flicking graygreen eyes back to the other cat. "I guess you haven't been around here too often. There's more of us around so I suggest learning to be a bit more subtle."

He'd rather not be ousted himself for the foul up of another, another Shifter or no.

[Hawk]

The bit of space did wonders for Daiyu, but even more leveling than that was the attitude of the other. Cocky bugger, it seemed, if the smirk he tried to hide meant anything. Granted, Daiyu's reaction probably deserved a bit of it, but still...

Crossing one leg in front of the other while still leaning against the wall, he mimicked the other's idea of holding his tail. Seemed that stopping its natural movement was now a lost cause in light of all this. "...And did you greet all of them like that when you first met them, or am I just special?"

Generally Daiyu would aim for a generally kind meet and greet, but something about this guy.... He made his fur stand on end with his condescending manner. But, at the same time he was interested to meet someone like himself for once. Probably would be almost pleased, if the introduction hadn't been so hostile.

Throwing back a small smirk that mimicked the other's and meeting the man's inquisitive gaze to try to combat his formerly panicked actions, he couldn't help but add, "And I don't exactly have a back-up costume, so unless being a nudist is an acceptable disguise, you'll have to either tolerate me as I am or send me away."

May as well show that he could at least dish as well as anyone else. See how the other liked having his attitude thrown back at him.

[ElliBleu]

A rumbling purr that was almost a laugh trickled form Haziel's mouth, once again having to will his tail into staying still to avoid an unnatural twitch. So Mr. Stripey wasn't just a 'fraidy cat, had a bit of bite to give back.

Good. The nervousness didn't suit a Shifter of any sort.

The sudden change in demeanor was really quite amusing, Haziel's eyes lightening at the rapidfire array of emotions and snarky reply. His ears perked forward beneath the hat as his smirk continued to ease more into a less familiar grin.

"Haven't greeted them at all yet, no. You're the exception since I've never seen you around before. Obviously you're familiar with caution." A shadowed eyebrow arched in interest as the tiger shot him a smirk in return and another barb.

"Retract the claws before ya hurt someone. Only meant you might wanna keep those," he made a quick, subtle gesture for the furred ears and tail, "From acting up. There's others here that share the bloodline, but many who don't even know it exists. And I'm sure you at least share my disinclination to be ousted to potentially hostile parties~"

A little puff of air to readjust his bangs hid another laugh that threatened to spill over. "Meandering about clothe-less might be suitable when changed, but I do think that might draw even more attention than the being shifted would. Subtlety's a friend of our kind, after all."

The cougar made no move to leave or to stop the other from doing the same. Ears were still pricked forward beneath the oversized hat and he tilted his head back a bit to get a better view from under the wide brim. With a corner of his mouth twisted up into a lopsided almost-smile, he tugged on the edge of his hat in a rather antiquated manner of psuedo-politeness. "Haziel."

[Hawk]

"Oh, so I finally merit an introduction, huh?" Daiyu couldn't help but respond. Apparently first impressions could be overrated after all, since it seemed the other was quickly leveling out to be tolerable. Or at least almost tolerable.

Grinning widening at his own thoughts, he flicked an ear once almost tauntingly. “I’m not a cub, you know. I have a good idea of what I can and can’t pull off without others noticing. And if I have my ears hidden every other day, people probably wouldn’t believe they suddenly popped up overnight.”

Tapping the toes of his crossed leg on the floor a couple times absently, he didn’t even bother to resist the urge to continue. “Thanks for the lecture, though. I’ll try to be a good kid from now on, eat my vegetables, hide my unique qualities. You’ve been ever so enlightening.”

Realizing he’d somehow become the rude one, Daiyu released an amused, if not slightly embarrassed chuckle. He hadn’t been worked out of being nice and polite in a while. Leave it to him to do it to the first werecat he’d met on his own.

Closing his eyes for a minute to quell another chuckle at the sheer irony, he pushed off the wall to put himself within reach of the other. Raising a hand to him in search of a handshake, he added with a grin, “Sorry, let’s try this again. I’m Daiyu. Nice and interesting to meet you, Haziel.”

[ElliBleu]

His smile just grew and grew as the tiger kept talking, rather happy for the hat that hid his ears that just wouldn't sit still. Normally he'd keep the grin in check lest the much-too real fangs draw the attention they were wont to do. But on Halloween these humans covered their own pitiful canines with poor plastic imitations so he let his teeth show, bright in contrast to the shadows over his eyes.

He extended a hand and the puma immediately raised his own to curl his fingers around the offered digits. He bit back a purr, again tilting his head to move shaggy bangs from his face. "Mmm. Likewise, Daiyu~ Glad first impressions don't frighten you off." Giving the tiger's hand a firm shake Haziel let go and turned his lingering smile to glance over the various groups littered around the room.

There were at least two Shifters he knew about within eye range... Though uncommon it was hard to believe Daiyu had encountered so few that Haziel (who didn't really think himself that ferocious looking) would have had those wals of hostility slamming into place. Birds of a feather flocked together, so it went, and most Shifters were no exception to the rule.

Flicking his attention back to the tiger, Haziel hazarded a question. "Haven't found many like yourself, I take it? New around here or are we just getting better at blending in?"

[Hawk]

Releasing a minuscule shrug that fell somewhere between self-conscious and nonchalant, Daiyu glanced around the room. Haziel made it sound like others like them were all over. Would he really not notice them at all? His initial thought was probably not. How could you find something if you didn’t look for it?

Knowing he was about to sound a bit odd, Daiyu turned his eyes back to the other cat’s, grinning. “Sure, I’m new. Probably more has to do with me never really search out people like myself, though.”

Retreating the couple steps to rest against the wall again, he took another drink of the party punch. Miracle he hadn’t spilled it, really. Figuring the last statement deserved some clarification, he continued, “I’m more of the wander-to-go-unnoticed type. Not originally from around here and all.

“Consider yourselves perfectly fine at blending in. The secret’s obviously safe with me,” he added, winking at Haziel co-conspiratorially. The tail he’d released for the handshake moved amusedly behind him as he contemplated how they’d went from where they were a minute ago to the nice conversation now.

Leaning in just slightly, he cupped a hand around his mouth to add in a joking stage whisper, “But you should know that going around and showing off your unique qualities to random strangers may put a damper on the blending in. Seems they give us away, if what I was told a minute ago is true.”

[ElliBleu]

Haziel cocked his head and watched the tiger back himself against the wall again, the tiny smile returning. He shouldn't really have been surprised by Daiyu's apparent overlook of all the Shifters he had probably crossed before. He was a feline, too, after all. Not exactly the most social of beasts. And if he didn't miss the company of fellow zoanthropes, he really had no reason to seek them out.

Despite the logic, it still seemed a bit off to Haziel. As solitary as the puma was, he enjoyed other shifters. particularily birds. They had such a lofty perspective on life. Amusing to say the least.

Daiyu kept talking and Haziel felt his smile growing. At least he wasn't one of those boring new acquantances that seemed so intent on sharing their mundane stories about their mundane lives. He rather liked the tiger, pleasantly surprised to find the biggest cat wasn't as haughty and prideful as the lions tended to be.

Movement caught Haziel's eye and cat-like attention, fixing his gaze on the tiger's swaying tail. The other cat leaned in a bit, something about blending in was said, and the cougar took a step forward. Clawed fingers very un-shyly wrapped around the waving tail near the black tip, looking back up at Daiyu upon it's capture.

He could always blame the feline blood and that catch-moving-thing urge.

"What was that about unique qualities and blending in, now?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and resisting the urge to wave his own tail in example.

[Hawk]

Daiyu’d noticed the other cat was distracted by something, but what it was hadn’t occurred to him until uninvited fingers gripped his tail loosely. As the appendage automatically attempted to twitch away, he shivered involuntarily at the touch. Part of keeping his nature hidden meant not letting people make contact with his tail, obviously. To have someone wrap their hand around it so casually was completely unfamiliar, and felt oddly personal even if it wasn’t.

Realizing belatedly that Haziel had asked a question that probably implied a response, he blinked his distraction away. He tried to recover from his momentary silence with a rebounding grin. “I swear I explained just a minute ago that Halloween was an exception. Apparently you weren’t listening.”

Resisting the urge to make any move to free his tail past the odd natural twitch, he finished off the last of his punch, setting the cup down on a coffee table beside them. Couldn’t really hunt down a trash can when he was leashed by the tail. Or at least that was the excuse he could use for his laziness.

Using the same hand to brush back his unruly bangs, he tilted his head slightly. “In fact, I’m getting the distinct impression you haven’t paid attention to most of what I’ve said. Am I boring you?”

Twitching an ear on purpose this time, he added kiddingly, “Maybe you prefer visual amusement?”

[ElliBleu]

Haziel laughed, as quietly as he could manage, and let go of the caught tail. That whole avoiding attention thing was getting harder and harder. To top it all off, Daiyu insisted upon twitching those furred ears or tail in an incredibly unnatural (which Haziel supposed actually was natural) in apparent neglect of the previous words of caution.

He twitched an ear again- definitely on purpose that time. Haziel rolled his eyes. It was like dealing with a cub out among humans for the first time. A big, obstinate, attractive, talk-back-y cub.

"I am listening and I understand this whole Halloween concept, I really do, but even the most elaborate of their costumes lack a fully functioning set of tail and ears." He gestured a well-manicured hand towards the intermingled groups in a rather blatant attempt at his point.

The puma paused, pulling the floppy hat from his head and replacing it on the tiger's. Maybe that would help him keep those ears still, at least. After shaking out his choppy hair, he turned an impish smile to the other feline. "I can promise you're far from boring me, Mister Daiyu." he answered, shadowed eyes surprisingly bright. "As for amusement... You're far more interesting than anyone else here or elsewhere tonight."

After a moment he blinked, starting to twist into a smirk again. "Besides me, of course." He was joking.

Mostly.

[Hawk]

Daiyu wasn’t sure if being called interesting was a complement, but he laughed nonetheless. If the self-confident werecat was applying it to himself as well, couldn’t be too bad. Nodding in agreement, he made his best attempt at a falsely placating face. “Oh, right, of course.”

Stifling his last few chuckles, he reached a hand up to steady the hat now hiding his apparently inappropriate behavior. He had no idea how Haziel could stand to hear like this in such a busy room. The music alone had made it difficult enough. Now, his ears were swiveling back and forth repeatedly, trying to filter out where sounds were coming from after the cloth dulled them. The hat didn’t seem to be taking the movement too well, so he resigned himself to keeping his hand on the brim.

Not sure how to keep the conversation going, he took a moment to glance out at the rest of the crowd. Grinning as he glanced over the growing party crowd and the various last-minute decorations, he couldn’t get over how weird it was, finding someone like himself at a Halloween party. A Halloween party. The one day he figured he couldn’t give himself away.

And such an interesting someone, at that. Couldn’t argue with the man’s opinion of himself after all. Nor would Daiyu want to, as he in no way disagreed.

Grin widening, he looked back at the puma. “…So, am I sufficiently disguised now, Mister Haziel?” The title was stretched teasingly, and Daiyu wove his tail through his fingers once again to stop its persistent waving.

And then let it go again.

He’d “dressed up” as a tiger, and he may as well stick with the costume. He’d never been questioned before, doubted it would happen now if he was a little difficult. Knowing the other must've noticed, he tried his hardest to hide his amusement. If Haziel wanted something done to permanently stop or hide the supposedly suspect twitching tail, he would have to do it himself.

And was probably more than welcome to.