Just Another Training Day (Guy LeGrange)

[Andrew Wylen]

Andrew felt like he had been wrapped in tinfoil though he was sure his sister would have disagreed, after all, she had always been the one suggesting he add a bit more “flare” to his wardrobe, apparently bland grey shirts and jeans didn’t cut it. Well thanks to the new uniform policy, this year it seemed she would be getting her wish as the young shifter walked down the hall, adorned in a –only slightly wrinkled- white collared shirt and pitch black pants that looked just as outlandish on the messy haired teenager as they would on a ruffled dog, which ironically, was a theory soon to be tested.

Well, it can’t go that much worse than last time right? Andrew continued to ask himself with varying degrees of desperation and fear; he hadn’t seen Mr. LeGrange since- well, since Devyn had all but ripped Rell’s arm off, a memory which he sincerely doubted he would ever forget. Not that it hadn’t had positive side effects, for one, hardly a single one of his former tormentor’s could look him in the eye now, not that it stopped the steady current of dark whispers or chiding insults thrown at him on a regular basis, but still, an improvement. Andrew sighed, looking around for a moment before realizing he must have taken a wrong turn; it had been half a year though he still got lost easily in the school, glancing up one second to find himself in a deserted hallway or desolate stairwell that left him running into his classes, fourteen minutes late and panting for breath. He bit his lip, suddenly very glad for the decision to start walking to the training session early as to avoid a second incident like the previous one, he got the feeling that if he wasn’t right on time the teacher wouldn’t hesitate to leave, he had already gotten one warning and besides, he wanted this second lesson, despite the slight anxiety he was curious as to what would happen. Andrew had transformed three times over the summer, first with Devyn then twice alone, once he had managed to turn his pillow into a chew toy, as for the third, that hadn’t been much better. He could transform, the mental image of Devyn in wolf form charging him seemed to do the trick, though it just didn’t help him control it, he hoped guy didn’t bring back those toys the boy wasn’t sure if he could live with himself if he tried to gnaw another one.

Training room. Andrew blinked, staring at the words for less than a second before he pushed open the door, gulping, with the thought; it might not go to bad… hopefully.

[Guy LeGrange]

In truth, Guy should've arranged more direct training sessions with Andrew. He generally made sure that his various students participated in the wider training sessions that regularly happened across campus. They certainly didn't want to leave their students without any type of training for the coming months. That didn't stop people from attending, and of course, Guy got those notes. Some students did have valid excuses, and he supposed that Andrew certainly had his share. His control over his power was, after all, shaky at best.

The trainer still sighed as he looked over the file. He sat perched on a chair in the back of the training room, his feet safely nestled on a rung of the chair just below him. He swiped through a few more things, mostly hoping that the information would change with each swipe. Well, maybe the young man had been doing some training on his own, or training with Devyn... though Guy wasn't completely certain the latter would be a brilliant idea. Solway had become somewhat emotionally unstable of late, and Guy wasn't entirely sure they should be letting her deal with anyone, let alone someone as impressionable as young Andrew here.

The door opened, and "young Andrew" stepped through. Guy looked up and nodded. "Excellent, you're early this time. I'm guessing you didn't want to have a repeat of the last official session," he looked over Andrew's uniform, chuckling a little. The staff had a variant too, though Guy didn't wear it currently. mostly because he had to wear padded protection, just in case. "When you come for these, you should be ready to give a report of the 'homework' you've done since our last meeting. Since you haven't been attending any of the other training sessions?" he paused, letting the strange question hover there for a moment. "I expect to hear that you've at least done some self-training, or possibly training with a partner?"

[Andrew Wylen]

The door opened with a metallic click, swinging forward to allow Andrew to view the training room once again, the only differences from his previous encounter being that for one, the floor wasn’t littered with all manner of Petsmart merchandise and secondly, though it could have been his imagination, he could have sworn there were not this many claw marks last time.

Guy sat off to one end of the room like a rather stout noble, lording over his hall, phone held in one hand like a scepter, the other flicking across the screen, every swipe only seeming to add to the disgruntled un satisfaction portrayed across the man’s face. Andrew had a moment of panic, glancing at the clock mounted on the far wall hoping against hope he hadn’t accidentally been late, but no, a single glance silenced those fears, opening up a whole new array of questions. After a second or two the instructor peered up, emotion, thankfully, fading as he spoke in a vaguely commending tone, eyes catching his uniform with a small chuckle. The action did little to help the nervousness the boy felt welling up inside him, but at least probably meant he was safe to come all the way inside. Andrew stumbled slightly, unused to the tight black shoes and barely managed to not fall flat on his face, which would no doubt not have helped his teachers perception of him, instead the he managed to grab onto the handle, steadying his weight until he finally could close the door as meanwhile a red tinge worked its way onto each cheek.

The Instructor spoke again and this time he could reply even if not entirely without embarrassment as he remembered the day, but at least it was something. “y- yes- s- sir, er- a- a couple t- times, w- well, o- once with D- Devyn, a- all the r- rest of them were by myself.” It took all of Andrew’s willpower to stop from remembering the taste of pillow stuffing, left hand fidgeting restlessly at his side.

[Guy LeGrange]

Guy chuckled, raising his hands. "Relax, Wylen. You don't have to stress, not here. Though technically we'll be putting you through the ringer today. I'm sure you'll be cursing my name and quite likely throwing up or what have you before the day is through."

Guy couldn't help but chuckle again as he took a few steps closer to Andrew. He swept his gaze up and down the young man, trying to see if he could read the fear and what have you. Andrew always seemed nervous, ready to run off at the slightest hint. Yet at the same time, this was the young man that had been quite willing to step up and defend Devyn.

"If you recall, we're going to be pushing your limits today. You'll likely be carried out of this session and dropped right to the infirmary," Guy nodded a few more times, before waiting patiently, knowing that there had to be a lot to process and respond to there.

[Andrew Wylen]

Guy gave a low laugh elevating both hands in a calming gesture that let Andrew pause in his stammered response listening as the man spoke. A shiver ran up the young shifter’s back raising gooseflesh to his skin, testing my limits? Andrew couldn’t help but feel slightly terrified by the idea, he had been ready to transform once, make a fool of himself most definitely, but twice? Three times? How much could he even do? Andrew didn’t know that himself, in fact the boy had never actually tried to transform more than once every couple weeks, let alone in a single day, was it even possible? All of his excitement at being able to moderately control his power disappeared followed by a cold gnawing fear of the unknown.

Maybe he’s just exaggerating, Andrew thought briefly, but with a single glance at the man’s face he knew it wasn’t true, no matter how much he hoped it was. Guy nodded, seemingly to himself and meanwhile the boy’s mind raced through a hundred separate emotions, uncertainty, trepidation, hesitance and so many more that for a second he thought he could barely breathe.

Andrew gasped, chiding himself for look like a complete fool before shaking his head, almost dog like, he had noticed the odd habit, trying his best avoid doing it, but it was more so a subconscious action than anything else and right now he wasn’t really too worried about such quirks.

“s- so, u- uhm” Andrew gulped, raising his gaze to catch the man’s eye “s- should- I- I ah- d- do anything, t- that m- might m- make it easier?” he wasn’t really sure what he meant though it was the first thing that came to mind and besides, what exactly are you supposed to say after someone tells you that in twenty or so minutes time you’ll be vomiting over the floor and probably be hauled off to the infirmary; not exactly confidence inducing to say the least.

[Guy LeGrange]

{I just realized that you accidentally misspelled "training in the title there; no big deal or anything, but I figured I'd let you know}

Yes, this was the session that made so many students just hate him. Guy was used to that, used to it to such an extent that it didn't even phase him anymore. He wasn't here to make friends, at least not with them. He was here to push them to their limits, sometimes to push them beyond that, and see what happened.

"I can't give you too many particular, Wylen," he replied, nodding, "seeing as I'm not entirely certain of how it works for you. I'd recommend doing some stretches and what have you. I have some heavy duty painkiller on hand if you feel you need it, but I'd really rather do this as naturally as we can. the idea is to learn what you can do when you push yourself, though admittedly in a controlled setting. That will give us a good measure of where to go from here."

Guy nodded again and then took another breath. "So whenever you're ready. And we've plenty of time, so don't feel like you have to rush things. We're going for stamina here, not necessarily speed, especially with your particular ability.'

[Andrew Wylen]

Guy gave him a long stare, then listed out a few small recommendations which basically boiled down to one simple fact: it didn’t really matter what he did, it was going to hurt, a lot. Andrew finally nodded gulping, painkillers might be a welcome relief though the instructor wanted an accurate assessment, besides, he doubted they would help much in trying to control himself, as for the stretches, well the way he saw it, if he didn’t do this now there was no way he would ever work up the courage to try again. With that, not so very inspiring thought, Andrew took a few paces forward, and shut his eyes in concentration.

No matter how many times you did it, the gut wrenching feeling of having all your cells tear themselves into a new form was none the less unpleasant. Attempting such a thing now was no different, so as he imagined Devyn charging towards him, energy rushing through his veins he had just enough time to clench his teeth before the wall broke.

Fire, everything burned every cell and every nerve exploded in a brilliant flash of white hot pain that, while it passed quickly, still felt to Andrew as though entire minutes had come and gone during the process. Finally he lay, panting on the floor, once tight clothes loose against the Labradors ruffled coat and he was quick to shake them off. The boy turned back looking at Guy, suddenly feeling unbelievably playful, what would that phone taste like between his teeth?

Wait, when did I get over here? Oh sorry Sir. Andrew gave a small whimper; taking a few steps back from the man’s heals where he had been pawing up at the narrow device. Yeah, back on task, transforming. He shut his eyes again trying to turn back, it never accrued; instead he caught a very interesting scent coming from the back corner which demanded his immediate and total attention.

[Guy LeGrange]

Guy watched, fighting the urge to wince as the boy transformed. The painful shifters were always a bit painful to watch, all the muscles and bones rearranging and what have you. Guy wished there was something he could do to help in those regards. Most of them ended up at least dulling the pain, but that sometimes took years to accomplish.

Well, that was part of what Guy was doing here now. He sighed, watching as the dog began bounding. He shifted his phone out if its reach, as patient as ever. "Push yourself, Wylen," he said, his voice stern, demanding, but certainly not harsh. "You need to focus! Get a grip on the mind that's at work there and hold onto it! Now, as soon as you can, you need to use your ability again. The moment the man is in charge of the beast, you assert it. Grab onto that consciousness and force yourself to think of your human body. You are not a dog; you are a mutant, so act like one."

Guy knew Andrew could do it. The young man had shifted before; he would shift again. He would grow used to it. He had to. There was simply no other option.

[Andrew Wylen]

Andrew sniffed the greasy smudge, muzzle less than an inch away and taking in all kinds of smells, some nauseous, some pleasant though not one of them were not interesting. Was there something I was doing? He dismissed the thought, or rather it kind of drifted away, like a leaf blown by an autumn breeze, wow what would that feel like on my fur? An autumn breeze? Andrew bet it would be better than this stagnant air which permeated the room and tasted like dish soap, but speaking of dish soap he wondered if it would smell better, probably. right now a metallic sweaty scent filled the space, not to say he disliked it, even bad smells held secrets within them, case of point the instructor smelled vaguely of-

GUY! Sorry, sorry! Forgot! This time I’m really in control! Andrew backed away with a sharp whine from the man once more, tail held shamefully between his legs and paws shuffling beneath him awkwardly. Alright one, two, three! He clenched his eyes shut, a rush of pain, burning, swelling, crashing as though he were a boat among a massive storm. Then nothing, the boy knelt, panting, hands stretched out in front of him and sweat running down his arched back, spine sticking sickly from beneath barren white skin all but ghostly pale in comparison. Andrew blinked wearily, his mind confused and befuddled for a moment as it slowly drew his thoughts back into a comprehensive form. T- That wasn’t too bad, he thought, not entirely truthfully, staring at the floor, one down, just a couple more to go. He bent his head forward into a burst of dizzying, gut wrenching agony.

Andrew tore off across the room, mind soaring and jumping from one thought to another so fast he could barely keep up with them, not that he particularly wanted to, besides, what was more fun than this? Just lolloping about free as a bird? Wait actually, no, not birds, he hated birds, nasty little pompous-

The boy barked angrily up at the ceiling making sure there weren’t any birds up there. There weren’t and Andrew settled down, circling a couple times before he found a comfortable position to sleep, for one reason or another he was terribly tired. Eyes drooping, tail gently sweeping the floor, he gave a long yawn, yes, this was the life, he kind of wanted to chase something though, maybe the angry man over there? Andrew lifted his head staring for a second before disregarding the idea; after all, he was rather exhausted. He let his ears fall, disappointed, tail drifting lazily about. That is it! His tail, Why hadn’t he thought of that sooner, he had done it once before, truly it was the perfect idea, a clear stroke of brilliance on his part to which in that moment, he took great pride.

Andrew bounded back to his feet in a circular motion, eyes locked on the appendage and giving a great pounce, yet mouth still coming up empty. Ah well, he could try again and again, until finally the young shifter raced in circles still unable to nip the ligament, though not for a lack of trying. After what must have been several minutes, but felt like seconds, he finally staggered back, conceding defeat, tongue lolled out while he in took breaths as though trying to suck the oxygen out of the room, see, that was how you had fun.

For one reason or another, the teacher didn’t seem to agree, had he been talking? Andrew hadn’t even noticed, but now that he broached the subject he couldn’t shake this oddest feeling…

Now! the boy grasped hold of his own mind for half a second, taking the small handhold to break through the fog that covered his mind, into a roaring fire that consumed him, rolling up his body and burning at his flesh mercilessly.

The pain died yet did not disappear this time, Andrew couldn’t help it, he staggered and lay cowering on the floor, perhaps there were tears in his eyes though he wouldn’t know as the all-encompassing magma like flame broiled in his arms with even the slightest movement, he couldn’t go on, was that him sobbing or was that just his fevered imagination? Andrew wasn’t sure, couldn’t be sure, only one thing was for certain at this point, it was a long time before the pain died away…

[Guy LeGrange]

Guy watched as Andrew hopped about, worried for a moment. He did seem to have quite a bit of pain with each shift, and that alone made Guy worried. Would that dim with time? It didn't seem to. If anything, it seemed to be getting progressively worse. It took all Guy had to remain stoic, his face level, as he watched the boy stumble about, trading the freedom of a dog for the sheer agony of the shift and the complete and utter tear-down of being human that followed.

Soon, Andrew was done, laying there. Guy stood nearby, rubbing his back. "It's okay, Wylen, you did good," said Guy, nodding. "that clearly took a lot out of you, but you pushed through. That shows a lot of strength of will and character, and that will carry you through, particularly with your ability. Physical strength will help, but it only takes so far. At the end of the day, it's our ability to push through."

Guy nodded, then bent down. "So try to think of the pain as good. It's progress. It's your body learning that its going to have to adapt to your mind. But don't move until moving sounds like a good idea. Just wait, take it in. It's going to be fine. You're going to be fine."

[Andrew Wylen]

Soon enough Andrew felt a hand patting his bare shoulder, agony slowly beginning to be replaced by quick jolting throbs through his arm, which -while painful- were a welcome relief in comparison. He tried to sit up, though found moving was far worse and so he remained, curled on the floor, dimly aware that he probably looked like some kind of naked lunatic and honestly, he didn’t really care. The world had become this room, there was no Bellefonte outside these walls, no people, no sorrows and even the encouraging voice was as disembodied as a spirit, its gruff texture meaningless like dancing waves upon the sea. Andrew’s scattered thoughts were barely able to pull one another together, let alone attempt to understand what was being said, none the less, there was something he could remember, the confused haze about his mind slowly beginning to fade; it was Devyn, charging towards the boy across a shining field of grass.

Was there possibly an urge behind the impulse? Maybe? Was there a reason he wanted to transform? He didn’t know; maybe it was to escape the pain, maybe it was to escape the voice, either way the morphing failed to aid in both regards. A wall broke, he couldn’t hold it back, living, cold, burning, seeking, pain, pain everywhere one could possibly imagine, a giant fist seemed to crush him, mangling him horribly, so much so he was surprised as it continued, certain that he should definitely now be dead.

The dog couldn’t remember its name, which is if it ever had one, truly it didn’t remember much at all, or was it anything at all? The wording confused it more than its surroundings, but admittedly it didn’t understand those either, why did it hurt when it moved? Why was everything so blurry? What was the short man doing at its side? The dog didn’t recognize the man, even if it did it couldn’t concentrate on very well between the flashes of pain which were causing it to let out sharp whining barks, writhing on its back as though trying to relieve a persistent itch-

Then Andrew shifted back, gasping, the haggard breaths like that of waking from a nightmare, just this brought with it no relief. He lay, body aflame, the young shifter sure he was going to die, the fingers on his left hand didn’t feel right, to short, not as nimble and they brought with them such a pain that had his eyes not rolled back into his head from exhaustion first, he would have feinted from the contortion anyway…