Scented

Who: Cassandra and Jessalyn
When: after school
Where: halls of MSHS

Cassandra had been glad for a relatively normal school day. There had been a lot of actual learning and paying attention and trying not to worry about how the news reporters in this town were completely useless. Her Gramma had tried to assuage her fears that morning over breakfast, but it was hard to take the calming words completely to heart when she was so nervous about the whole animal attack thing.

But it was finally time to go home and Cassandra dialed in her combination on her locker, then frowned at the metal door as it got stuck again. She growled a little noise of frustration and tried tugging on the piece of metal sticking out of the front of it that her lock normally went through. Of course there wasn't nearly as much leverage as she needed. She cussed at the thing under her breath, then tried to pry it open from the top corner. That only made the door buckle strangle in the middle instead of allowing the door to swing free. She smacked the corner of the door back into place with the palm of her hand and made another annoyed sound. Tomorrow? She was asking for a locker reassignment. This was ridiculous!

Jessalyn was happily leaving school, still messing with her phone, now that Gabe had shown her the button to get to the Menu. Why didn't they just write menu on it? That little square with squiggly lines meant nothing to her, certainly nothing that shouted menu here!. Her skirt was dancing about her sneakers, her jacket zipped up to her chin and her hat tugged down far over her ears. She was momentarily distracted from her phone when she heard a banging ahead, and muttered curses that she was sure no one could really hear in the halls but for Jessalyn. Advantages of being a lyncathrope she supposed. She could see the frustrated girl at her locker and smiling a bit, Jessalyn slipped her phone into her pocket before wandering toward the girl, intent on helping.

"Hi," she greeted brightly, stopping beside the girl, her hazel eyes studying the locker. She noted immediately that the girl smelled differently than most and she leaned in just a touch to get a better whiff. Smiling, Jessalyn shifted the bag on her shoulder. "I can help you, if you'd like. I don't mind it. Lockers can be pains in the rear end, I think, and my first year here I could never get it open."

Cassandra did a double take as the girl who'd walked up next to her started randomly talking in a happy little voice. She'd automatically assumed it was whoever owned the locker next to hers, but no, it was a charity worker. Cassandra held her hands up in defeat and took a big step back so that she'd be out of the girl's way. "Please, help yourself! I swear the faculty do this on purpose just to make students' lives more miserable," she said and folded her arms over her chest in annoyance. If the blonde thought she could make it work, then more power to her. Cassandra wasn't so antisocial that she'd ignore an offer of help.

"Oh, yes, I'm sure they do," Jessalyn nodded in complete agreement, the smile still plastered on her face, although she didn't actually think that. The faculty members she had spoken to always seemed extremely nice and Jessalyn doubted they would do anything purposely with the lockers. She reached up and grabbed the metal handle. She shoved it as if to close the locker, though it was already shut and then jerked it up and out, the locker finally giving way and opening. "If you just push it in before lifting up? It should open for you," she explained, pleased with herself that she'd managed to help. "Some lockers are really easy to get open, and some take a bit more strength and patience, but you should be fine now that you know the trick, yes?"

Cassandra's eyebrows shot up in genuine amazement that the girl could get the God forsaken locker open. Just like that. But even she had admitted there was a trick to them. Figured. "Wow. Thank you," she said, stepping up to her locker again and pulling out her big puffy black winter coat. It was down filled and warm and apparently it reeked of her. Normally her own scent wasn't all that strong to her, but there it was filling her nostrils with that weird feral dog smell. Or that was how she identified the scent in her head. Labeled it and filed it away for practical use. It had to be because the full moon was only three days away. Her heart picked up just a bit as she rolled that thought around and tried to shove it away. Without really thinking about it she shoved her jacket up by her face and smelled it. Maybe it wasn't her jacket? Maybe it was just her. Gross, she thought as she pulled the jacket on. Luckily other people couldn't smell her. She hoped.

If Cassandra didn't want people to be able to smell her, she was out of luck. Jessalyn's nose felt like it twitched a bit as the scent from Cassandra's coat overwhelmed her. Her brows quirked together curiously while she watched the girl sniff her own jacket. That looked familiar, didn't it? Jessalyn couldn't help but wonder... and her wondering overwhelmed common sense as usual. Jessalyn stepped forward without thought and took a sniff of Cassandra's arm, not really thinking that she was breaking quite a few boundary rules, but then again she never really did, which is what usually got her in trouble. It was a scent that was the same as hers, yet different!

"What are you doing?" Now Cassandra's face was both disgusted and horrified. She'd been sniffed! And if she hadn't been so absorbed in worrying about smelling bad it would have been even more weird. She stared at the girl like she'd grown a second smiling head for a moment, and then hurriedly started switching books out of her bag for the ones she needed to take home from her locker. The girl was weird and she needed to get home. Showering was at the top of her list of things to do, as was laundry. Both would be futile efforts, she was sure of it, but the compulsion to wash it all away was there.

Jessalyn blinked quickly and then smiled, despite the flush in her cheeks. "Oh! Sorry... it's a weird habit, I think. I thought I caught of whiff of some perfume that I liked and I leaned in to get more of it, which I know it... er, odd. I'm sorry." The girl was definitely not human! Unless Jessalyn's scenting was off, but she was pretty sure the girl was different, like her. She was bouncing on the heels of her feet to ask, but the girl was already freaked out by Jessalyn sniffing her. "I suppose some people find it... weird, I guess."

"I'm not wearing perfume. I just... need a shower," Cassandra said and waved her hand at the blonde girl flippantly, causing her charm bracelet to jingle. What was with girls asking her if she was wearing perfume? Though she had been the one to ask Drea first, but still it was weird. At least it didn't sound like they thought she smelled awful. Cassandra wasn't really sure how she felt about it, but it wasn't something she was getting used to very easily. She kept wishing she'd just get a cold already so she could be stuffed up for a few days and get a reprieve.

Then she wrinkled her nose as she finally shouldered her backpack and zipped up her jacket as her brain finally parsed through the scents she was detecting. There were fewer students in the hallway and for a second Cassandra thought maybe the other girl didn't have a very strong smell at all. But then it hit her like a ton of bricks. That's NOT just ME I'm smelling! The voice in Cassandra's head caused a full body alarm and she stood up straight, taking a few steps back as her eyes widened. It was two scents. Similar but different. And the only place the other one could be coming from was that girl!

"You! Stay the hell away from me!" Cassandra barked, tears already welling in her eyes. It didn't matter that the girl was cheerful and helpful. The scent! She was the same. Had to be! Not that Cassandra would take any chances. A werewolf in her school! She turned tail and ran towards the end of the hall and the exit door there with a panicked half a plan to cut around to the front of the building. Her fingers were mentally crossed that her Gramma was already there waiting in the car.

There was genuine shock now as the girl yelled at her and Jessalyn could do nothing more than stare wide eyed as Cassandra turned and took off. There were only a few people left in the halls, but enough that most of them slowed down and either stared at Jessalyn or watched Cassandra run away. Uh oh. Jessalyn merely stood there for a second before remembering herself and turning quickly to head in the opposite direction to sneak out the side of the building. She didn't know what just happened, but it didn't seem like it was a good thing at all.