{EDCT} Met by Moonlight

[Will Spencer]

Quinn was going to get an ear-full. A social gathering of his peers in Glacier National Park for a week of camp fun!....Not what William would have signed up for on his own. His mentor/trainer had done it for him because she thought that it would be a good idea. It was a way for him to get out and away from school as well as escaping his own personal situation. Apparently she thought that a few days out of Bellefonte would miraculously cure his leukemia, or perhaps she was just trying to get him outside so that his inner beast would stay inside and stop ruining everything at the school. But really her main reasoning had been because Cassidy Carstyn would be there and Quinn was reading into things way too much.

It was the first night, curfew was in a few hours, and Will found himself far away from the rest of his peers. Campfire sing-a-longs weren't his thing and he wasn't particularly fond of the bonding game telephone. If he was going to get through this week, he was going to do what he could to relax. The outdoors he enjoyed plenty, especially at night when it was cool and the moon rose to cast a blue shade over everything. It was serene and even his beast could appreciate the peaceful sight ahead of him. 

Away from the lights of Kalispell, the stars shown brighter and more of them appeared, sprinkled about in the navy blue sky. William was nestled against a tree, one leg pulled up with his arm resting on top of it while his casted arm remained at his side. After this week, he was sure that he'd be able to finally get it off. Or rather, he hoped. His eyes were focused on the sky and the blue of the moon reflected off the blue in his eyes, making them icy in comparison to the aqua they usually were.

A noise came from behind him and he lazily turned his head to see who had decided to bother him, expecting the tactile anesthetic that Quinn had sent to keep an eye on him, but instead was surprised by who had found him instead.

[Cassidy Carstyn]

Her bunkmate was noisy, there was no going around that. She had been on her phone since they came with her boyfriend despite the fact that the reason for this trip was to get away from technology. Or at least that was Cassidy's reason.

She had told Adrianna and everyone in her contact list that she would be turning her phone off throughout this camping trip and that was what she did.

Cassidy had been enjoying herself though, bonding with a few of the people she knew and some she didn't. Although, she would be lying if she said she hadn't been distracted by Will Spencer's presence. She hadn't thought this was his thing but she was glad he had signed up.

In hindsight, following him into the woods at night was probably not the best idea she had so far. It was creepy by any standards but she just wanted to know what he did away from people.

She hadn't banked on him being really aware of his surroundings but he did shift into an animal, which usually meant heightened senses. She should have been more quiet. Even so, she held her hand up when he turned and spotted her.

"H-hi." She waved and gulped inaudibly.

[Will Spencer]

William was amazed and sort of dumbfounded by the sight in front of him. He had never been one to ogle at a woman's beauty or even comment on it. Which often resulted in people thinking that he was into men which was most definitely not the case. And although he did rarely notice if a girl had decked herself out to play up her looks, he wasn't dense enough to miss the beauty in the sight before him. The way the moon was glinting off her hair and how it made her eyes appear a little darker than they were. The way her skin showed flawlessly by a harsh light. It was distracting, entirely so. And frustrating because why did she make him pay attention to such silly things?

Clearly she hadn't meant for him to catch her because she looked nervous and a little embarrassed. Will offered a slight smile, which appeared as nothing more than a twitch of his lips. His mind was still elsewhere, stuck on what he was escaping from by being here, so the effort was lacking. Still, he was happy to see her. If anything was going to make this awful time worth it, it would be having someone he actually could converse with. "Ill met by moonlight, proud Tatiana," He quoted with a short laugh before patting the trunk beside him.

"I may shift into a mountain lion, but I assure you I won't bite in this form. It'd be a bit peculiar if I did," William said as he watched her. The only way he was going to make it through this without having some kind of meltdown was by joking his way through it. She wasn't going to ask him any questions that would make him cringe or recoil, so he was safe with her. And he didn't have to worry about harming her because, well, he couldn't place what it was, but the beast was always at its calmest when she was nearby. It did worry him a bit, but he chose to ignore it.

Will cleared his throat, "Not keen on the sing-a-longs yourself, aye?"

[Cassidy Carstyn]

The quote made Cassidy snort. "Did you just call me a hussy?" She asked, though she made her way over to the trunk with a sheepish chuckle at the mild threat Will posed.

Sitting down, she tugged at her hair band to release her thick curls before bunching them up again in a loose and messy bun, a few tendrils hanging loosely, framing her face.

Cassidy pulled her legs up to tuck underneath her before turning to him when he asked his question. She gave out a low laugh and shook her head. "Not entirely. Might scare the little froggies if I sang along."

Fiddling with her thumbs, she wondered briefly why he wasn't walking away. Though they didn't have the worst time on their study date, Cassidy still wasn't entirely certain how Will felt about her. Adrianna's words were still ringing in her ear.

"Um...does it hurt for you to shift?" She asked, not wanting the silence to settle.

[Will Spencer]

William blanched and realized that he had in fact implied that she was some prostitute that he'd met in the night. Oops. "No, no I didn't mean it that way. It was just the first quote that came to mind," He said in a rush. Probably not his smoothest moment, though he wasn't sure why he even tried to be smooth in the first place. Cassidy wasn't one to get easily offended, not nearly as easily as her twin, who seemed to take everything personally. Still, he wasn't pleased with the quote he'd pulled. Probably should have thought before he spoke.

"Aye, you and me both, dearie. Never 'ave been much of a singer. Least of all with those mind-numbing tunes," No, Will wasn't a singer, though he could carry a tune. That was only due to his musical talents with a piano. He wasn't tone deaf, but he was not the next winner of American Idol either.

As she settled into the seat beside him, he readjusted himself and spread out his long legs, resting his casted arm beneath his uninjured one. He stared straight ahead for a moment, his mind still wandering and distracted. Her words stirred him and he glanced towards her before looking down. She'd asked about his ability. The one thing that he hated most in this world was his ability, but he remained calm as he answered her. "It does, yes. My bones have to transform into a different shape altogether, so it's as if they're individually breaking in a matter of a few minutes." Gruesome, perhaps, but he figured he'd be honest with her. He had no reason to lie about that.

As long as she didn't delve further into the side effects of his ability, he was sure he could remain honest with her.

[Cassidy Carstyn]

The way Will's body language seemed to change had Cassidy stifling her giggle. His recovery was met with a hair tuck and she smiled. This almost flustered side of Will was something Cassidy didn't mind being witness to.

Although she was a huge fan of camp singalongs, Cassidy knew where her strengths lay. When she was alone, in her shower with the express knowledge that nobody was around, she would gladly and enthusiastically rock out to whatever song of the week she was crushing on at the moment.

Even in the dim light, Cassidy saw the faraway look Will was conveying before he floated back to earth to answer her question. She winced, knowing how that felt. She had healed many a broken paw since she had control over her abilities and every time was met with her own bones breaking and resetting. Despite knowing how much it hurt, she wouldn't pass up the chance to help out an injured animal.

The urge to reach out and try to heal Will's arm was so overwhelming but given the relief she had seen in him the last time she had tried to but stopped had her thinking twice. Absentmindedly, the vet's assistant patted her own arm and sighed.

"Don't be alarmed but I actually kind of followed you out here. I'm not a stalker I promise. I just...thought you might need some company." Cassidy said, her voice thinning at the end. A sheepish grin emerged on her lips as she twirled the lock of hair that had strayed from her bun.

[Will Spencer]

Will glanced at her again when she admitted to following him. She wasn't a stalker, she said, but he wouldn't have pegged her as one anyway. Though if he thought about it, she was quiet and innocent enough to probably get away with it. All she had to do was flutter those pretty eyelashes and anyone would happily accept her stalking. Or maybe he was only speaking for himself because most people didn't quite accept stalker-like behavior. He couldn't even justify his own reasoning for accepting it. He cleared his throat and looked down at his arm.

The cast was blank, solid blue, with nothing written on it. He'd seen in movies before, how everyone signed a cast if their peer had one. It didn't ever make sense to him, in fact, he'd always thought it was silly. What was the point of having a bunch of names of people he hardly knew, staring at him from the cast. Did it have some meaning? A sign of care? Will had never been able to figure it out, but as he stood at it, he knew that even if he did think it was an interesting idea, there would be few names written on his. Everyone knew he had it coming.

His bleak thoughts paused for a moment and he sighed, "What would make you think that?" He hadn't said it with the sting he would have directed at anyone else. It was more jokingly, just lacking the ha-ha part. The truth was, Will knew Quinn was right when she had told him that now was as good a time as any to make friends, to change everyone's outlook on him. But he didn't know where to start. He did want company, he wanted someone to give him the time of day, but he was so uncertain of himself that he worried it would never come across that way.

[Cassidy Carstyn]

When asked what made her think he needed company, Cassidy realised how presumptuous she was being. "I..."

She nibbled her bottom lip before shrugging. "I can be honest with you, right?" She asked.

[Will Spencer]

Will watched as she seemed to freeze and shrink back into herself again. He hadn't meant to make her uncomfortable, but to be so blunt with his question, he supposed it wasn't surprising. If he'd been talking to the other Carstyn, he'd have gotten a lengthy, snide answer that included more of an opinion than what he had asked for. It was sort of a breath of fresh air talking to a girl who didn't just say whatever she wanted and actually was cautious with her words because she didn't want to overstep any boundaries. Will could learn a thing or two from her.

Her question had him looking down, and yet he nodded, "I'd prefer it."

William often recoiled from brutal honesty when it came to what people thought of him because he couldn't quite handle it most of the time. People thought the worst of him because that's what he showed. Had he given her a reason to think the same? All he'd done was quote Shakespeare and talk about how much of a terrible dancer he was. Then again, he had practically called her a trollop with the line he'd used in a Midsummer Night's Dream.

Oops.

[Cassidy Carstyn]

Once he gave her the permission she sought, she nodded and inhaled deeply. They didn't know each other that well so what she was about to say could rub him the wrong way. She didn't know. But he did just say he would prefer the truth so she was going to be truthful.

"I don't know if it's intentional or not but you seem a little...cut off from everyone else." Cassidy looked down at her hands as she fiddled her thumbs. She actually felt a little anxious as to how he would react to her words.

"I just thought you would like the company."

[Will Spencer]

William took her words into consideration and after a brief moment of thought, he let out a short laugh. She wasn't wrong, and frankly, he wasn't surprised that she had noticed. Especially as he was sitting far away from everyone else. He didn't have Gabe, he didn't have Quinn and he couldn't quite tolerate Dean enough to bond with him on the camping trip. The truth was exactly that, he was cut off from his peers and it was intentional. He couldn't deny it, but he also didn't want to have to explain to her why he was intentionally distancing himself from everyone. He didn't want to feed her the same half-truth that he fed everyone else.

That he was dangerous and he didn't want to hurt anyone. When the truth was much more than that. His death would only hurt those he got close to, and it wouldn't be fair to them.

He leaned his head back against the tree and sighed, "Well, angel, it would appear you're quite perceptive. I s'pose I am a bit cut off, but I don't mind the company. It's all a matter of the right kind of company, which yours happens to be the only kind I can tolerate at this point." He glanced at her before his head lolled back to looking straight forward. Perhaps he shouldn't have admitted to enjoying her company as much as he had.

[Cassidy Carstyn]

A small gentle smile curved on the young woman's lips when she heard Will's admission. Yes, she was very giddy that he said he didn't mind her company but she wasn't going to let that ruin the moment with an overreaction.

She folded her hands on her lap and turned to him. "I don't know why you distance yourself from people but I'm glad you don't with me." She admitted. No use holding back. He was being truthful, as far as she knew. "Adrian is wrong about you."

[Will Spencer]

She didn't know why, and she didn't need to know why now. As long as Adrian kept it under wraps, he was safe to do so as well. The drug therapy was working, he'd been doing better and the doctors told him that they might rectify the situation before it became a worse one. Still, he couldn't hold onto the hope of surviving the cancer because even if he did, he still only had two years left to reach his lion's maximum life expectancy and one way or another, he knew he would be dead soon. To tell the sweet girl in front of him that he should have listened to her sister, that it wasn't her company that was the problem, but rather that it was her keeping his that was the problem. He was going to crush her if she continued being friends with him.

But for his own selfish reasons, he still craved her attention. She was the only girl he'd ever wanted to spend time with.

Her comment about her sister being wrong made him frown and he looked at his folded hands that were wrapped around his knees. Adrian wasn't wrong about him, not completely. "I'm still not entirely convinced that she is wrong. Perhaps she's wrong about how I'd treat you, but I still think she's justified in worrying about my influence on you, luv." Because his influence would only result in her attachment and her despair.

Will shook his head, "Sorry, you've caught me on a rough day. I promise I'm not always this glum." Which might have been a lie if it weren't the fact that her presence in his life, her contact in his phone, and her smile in his head had made him feel a bit better over the past few weeks. With the rough patch between him and Gabe not quite being reconciled, it was comforting having at least one person who didn't hate him at the moment.

[Cassidy Carstyn]

Cassidy frowned slightly at Will's words. She never liked it when people underestimated her. She knew where she stood and she always stood firm. Yes, she was soft-spoken and yes she was a little soft on certain people but that didn't mean she was susceptible to influence. Especially if the person saying it had to actually tell her they would be a bad influence on her.

Shaking her head, Cassidy shrugged before responding.

"It's fine. Everyone has their bad days. I just wish you wouldn't be so hard on yourself."

Even as she said it, she wanted to take it all back. They didn't even know each other that well, hardly at all. She supposed she just didn't want him to think that he was a bad person.

"Anyway, were you planning on just sitting here and staring at the very dark trees? Because I was thinking of getting some s'mores cooking. Wanna join me?"

[Will Spencer]

Her wish was something he'd never be able to promise to her. Nearly ten years of self-hatred didn't just go away, especially with as little time as he had left. So he remained silent at her words and thought better of continuing to dwell on himself and his faults. She didn't want to hear him whine anyhow.

Will glanced at her when she changed the subject and at her offer he could feel the temptation tug at him. Normally, he wouldn't be interested in the slightest bit, s'mores weren't quite his thing and frankly spending time with people outside of his usual duo wasn't either. But Cassidy had followed him into the woods, had showed some form of care for him and what he was feeling, and she was different. She wasn't overly flirty, she wasn't attention-seeking, she was just herself and he appreciated that for what it was worth. What was the worst that could happen if they spent the rest of the night until curfew cooking s'mores and talking about less intense and borderline depressing topics?

He ran his hand through his hair before pushing himself up from his tree stump. After brushing himself off a bit, he reached out his hand to her and offered a smile, "I've not made a s'more in probably fifteen or so years. Is that pathetic or what?" He laughed and shook off the feelings of before. This camping trip he'd been sent on to have fun and to make friends. Not to dwell on his life. He had plenty of time for that back home.