fight or flight [CLOSED] ●

[Benjamin Stark]

The thin male pushed pale fingers through his thick red hair as he walked toward work. He could have ran and been there in half the time, but he was rather too lazy for that. His familiar walked along at his feet, making yowling noises every now and then as she yawned. Aayla hated getting up early just as much as he did, but he simply sucked it up and moved on. Waking up early for work was part of being an adult, and no matter how hard it was to shift himself from the bed on some mornings, he usually didn’t show up late. While it was true that his work wasn’t exactly conventional, it still had rules that he had to follow.

He removed his hand from his pocket and curled his fingers around the door handle, giving a little tug to get it to come open. He’d step through thereafter as his bobcat made a beeline for the nearest chair and hopped up in it to get some sleep. That didn’t really sound bad, and if anyone was already here, they were in the back or the bathroom or something. He shrugged his jacket off and placed it on the hook as he stretched his hands over his head. His back gave a satisfying crack and thereafter he would fish his headphones out of his pockets and hook them up to his phone. The music he played was rather quiet, but it was a good way to pretend to ignore people if he needed to.

He flopped down into a chair next to Aayla with a sigh. Why did it have to be so early? So cold? He didn’t understand it. It would be much better if it was midday in July, but then, it would probably be way too hot. The truth of the matter was that there was really no pleasing Benjamin no matter what. He stretched his arms out on the table in front of him and brought his phone up to browse some sort of site, though before five minutes had passed his eyes had already closed and he had already fallen asleep.

--
Diana Maksim, Zachariah Grants, Valerie Fiore
post in whatever order you guys want to lol

[Diana Maksim]

She was sure she'd heard the door chime a moment ago, but no one called out or anything. Dina sighed. Why couldn't whoever it was just have called out? Their voice would have given her a clue as to which hunter was there. It could still be a customer, though the bail bonds were not open to business for another few hours. Still.... People were really stupid when it came to things like looking at the hours of operation or the fact that the neon 'OPEN' sign was not lit.

Diana decided to let whoever it was wait for a while. If it was a hunter, they would come to the back eventually. She'd brought donuts and a Box'o'Joe from DD again this morning. The coffee aroma would reach him or her eventually. But they best hurry. The tall woman with the withe hair and blue eyes had an almost insatiable appetite. Her metabolism was supper high, especially after her morning workout and ferociously after ever using her gift. She'd bought two dozen total, only one being mixed. The other had just one kind and it wasn't long before she was already on her 6th. "Their loss. These are so delicious" she mumbled with a mouth full of a bite of strawberry jelly doughnut. She wondered if they would buy her excuse about them being out of Jelly doughnuts again. Truth was they were never out. In fact, they made extra knowing Diana would grab a dozen each morning. Few ever made it into the hands of her hunter friends.

The oldest of the Maxim girls washed it down with coffee before deciding she'd best check to see who the person in the office was after all. Diana stepped into the front room and stopped. It was a hunter alright. The rookie ObiWan looked to be sound asleep on the couch sitting next to his familiar Aayla. 'Seriously?' She thought. It was only ten minutes of so since she heard the door chime and the rookie was already asleep. A mischievous smile creeped onto her features. 'Well, she'd just have to do something about that.' She though before whispering "Artemis"

The snow leopard kitten materialized at her feet and Diana knelt to whisper in her ear. She lopped away towards the couch and jumped up to the arm of it next to Aayla. Artemis could be seen and heard, but though she looked and acted solid, she was but an apparition. She had no solid form. This didn't stop her from pawing at Aayla playfully while purring and mewing softly. She was just doing her job at being a distraction to the much bigger cat.

Meanwhile, Diana fished her phone out of her back pocket and slowly walked towards her target. She selected her music app and scrolled through her extensive list of music to Teenage Riot's first album. Burn, Berlin, Burn. She set the volume to maximum as she approached Benjamin. "It's time to feel 'the Force' Obi-Wan" She whispered as she quickly pulled the earphone jack from his phone and plugged it into her own. She pressed play on the song she knew had a super loud thunderclap at the very beginning before almost equally as loud heavy metal blasted.

[Benjamin Stark]

The fact that his power was constantly active was what made the redhead so tired all the time. It ate away at his energy reserves and caused him to need to sleep and eat a lot more than the average person. Of course, it was helpful to always have it active either way. He was constantly graceful, quick, and agile. Besides, it wasn’t like he hadn’t slept a lot before he got the power anyway. At least now he had an excuse for it. Either way, it would seem that wasn’t going to stop his co-worked from pranking him. Even though only ten minutes had passed since he fell asleep, he was pretty far gone. The soft growl of his familiar next to him as she was bothered by the cub didn’t seem to cause him to stir at all.

As that music blared in his ear, Benjamin reacted basically exactly the same way as anyone else would to a startling wake up call. He jerked violently away from the cause, his hand missed the couch by a few centimeters, and he went toppling into the floor. Though, of course, due to his power he was able to twist even in the short of amount of space between himself and the floor. He landed on his hands and feet, his back slightly arched to make him look almost hysterically like the angry familiar who had just landed on the floor next to him. The bobcat’s ears were laid back, her teeth bared, and a growl rumbled dangerously in her throat even as Benjamin’s voice echoed angrily through the building. “What the fuck are you doing?!” He demanded, his red eyes flashing like fire even as he placed a hand on the well-muscled chest of his bobcat to keep her from lashing out.

After a moment, he rose fluidly to his feet, snatching her phone off the ground and ripping the earphones from the jack, flinging it at her thereafter. “How old are you, anyway?” He snarled. Even standing he had to look up at her, the expression on his face was hot and full of loathing. He’d disliked Diana for a long time, and she was doing nothing to improve his opinion of her. His foot flashed to the side quickly as Aayla pounced, causing the cat to knock into it with an angry curse. “Stop it!” He snapped at his familiar, feeling even more annoyed than before.


--
Diana Maksim, Zachariah Grants

[Diana Maksim]

It was expected that he would be startled awake, that was the whole point of her little prank. She' backed away quickly in anticipation. She did not want to fall victim to flailing arms or legs and be sucker-punched. Diana couldn't help but burst out laughing at his reaction. He literally fell out of his seat and though she'd have to admit that his recovery was gracefully beautiful. It was the look on his face that had her doubling over in laughter.

His angry loud words drew her eyes to him, but she was out of breath and couldn't speak through her laughing. She had a hand on her stomach and the other stretched out with the flat of her palm out as if to say "stop" or "wait". His eyes and expression didn't bother her. She'd seen him glaring daggers at her before. It was nothing new. However, when She glanced at the cat at his side Diana suddenly realized there was danger, yet she couldn't regain control. Ben's hand on the cats chest to hold him at bay was welcomed. Diana was in no position fend off an attack, and she took a step back instinctively as she tried to regain control.

Diana gasped for breath as Ben straightened and picked up the phone and unplugged his headphones. He tossed it at her, but she'd anticipated that and reached out and caught her phone, even as she said "You break it, you bought it". She was still giggling when he snarled a question of her age at her. She'd sobered enough to snap back quickly. "Hasn't anyone told you that its not polite to ask a lady her age?. But If one is as old as one feels, then I'd say 17 or so. While you, my sleepy friend, act to be every bit of the old crone Kenobi from the original episode IV." She said mockingly.

The next thing she knew she was on her butt and scurrying back. She gasped as she caught a flash of movement from his familiar and was so unprepared that she tripped over he own feet in an attempt of backing away and trying to put herself into a defensive stance. "EASY GIRL!" She yelped, and sat forward, her hands outstretched in front of her. Ben had stopped the bobcat from pouncing, but Diana was no longer smiling. She would never admit it later, but she was scared at what almost happened. Without her power being activated, she knew she would have taken damage, even though she was confident she could have blocked teeth and claws from causing any serious injuries. That is, until she was on her ass and would have been easy prey to the big cat.

It was humiliating to be in the position she was in. Her checks and ears heated, but there was nothing to be done. Karma was such a bitch. "It was just a prank, Aayla. No harm done." She assured the cat. Her eyes were wide and narrowed in irritation. "Not a star wars fan, I gather." She tried to joke, but it fell flat, even to herself.

Diana regained her feet and stood quickly, her blue eyes on the cat. She wanted to go for her mark and spew a some sarcastic remarks, but she was not stupid. Goading the cat and Ben into a possible fight to save face was stupid. It was time for her to keep her mouth shut and back off before someone got hurt. Still.... Diana was Diana. "Everyone's a critic" she mumbled crossing her arms across her chest.

[Zachariah Grants]

A bang of the front door being knocked open and slamming the wall echoed through the area as a large white tiger carrying a backpack across his back came padding in. Heavy paws weighed down on the wood as the beast drew inward, the muscles in his back rippling fluidly with his stride. He stopped momentarily, and a stripped tail swished right, slamming the door shut again in one motion before he proceeded forwards again. Nostrils flared, and a soft growl escaped from the tiger. Had this been a normal creature, surely he would have been on the prowl with such gestures.

Luckily for both Diana and Ben, this was not a normal beast, however. The backpack was the clue as to whom it was, not like the two shouldn’t have recognized him to begin with, anyways. Zachariah’s form was distinctive even among those blessed with the power of shifting due to the nature of the white coat he dawned. Perhaps it was his hair’s natural paleness taking precedence over normal color, but not once had he been able to dawn fur with pigment aside from the black stripes of his big cat form. Apart from the white and black of his coat, however, Zack carried a tinge of red along his coat predominately at his front paws. No injury would be found immediately on his form leading one to believe he had indeed been hunting though for what was questionable at that point.

A snarl escaped from the cat as drew up to the two humans and their respective familiars, and teeth bared themselves briefly in not only a show of intimidation but a tone of silence. Whipping sideways, he strode over to a corner knocking a chair out of his way before flopping on the floor and crossing his paws before resting his head atop them and shutting his eyes. It was clear to those who knew him that Zack wasn’t in a good mood. Whatever it was that had both set off his shift and agitated him this badly at the early morning hour had left him sour, or so it seemed.

[Benjamin Stark]

He was fuming. He was absolutely fuming. Insults, mocking remarks, and snide comments danced on the tip of his tongue, begging to be released. He was so mad it made him feel slightly sick to his stomach. Benjamin had a temper, this much was true, but no one seemed to make him angry like she did. She pressed his buttons perfectly, and she was one of the few people in the world he thought about physically harming. He could be calm. In fact, his base personality was calm. He didn’t like fighting, confrontations, or pranks. All he wanted was to be left alone, or perhaps befriended, but neither of those things were happening here.

Still, even though he held the familiar at bay, he got a sick sense of satisfaction from watching her fall backwards. The color on her cheeks was really only icing on the cake, and he made no move to disguise the self-satisfied smirk that appeared on his features. Aayla was still pacing back and forth behind him, her ears laid back and her teeth bared. He wasn’t quite sure if any of his co-workers had figured it out yet, but watching the cat was a good indication of his mood. So even though he was smirking, Benjamin was still angry at Diana.

Just as he opened his mouth to retort, the banging of the door interrupted him. He jerked away from the noise, his mouth snapping closed. Red eyes landed on the pale form of the tiger, and despite knowing just who it was, his stomach clenched uncomfortably. He’d read Aayla’s body language enough to know that Zack was not pleased even before the growl was directed toward himself and Diana – as if the slamming and banging of the door hadn’t been hint enough. His eyes followed the tiger as he moved away, wincing as the chair was knocked to the side.

He sighed, scowling once again at Diana before he made his way over to the couch. He flopped down on it, stretching his legs out so that his body took up the length of it – making it clear that no one was welcome to sit next to him. “Aayla!” He snapped at the bobcat as she tried to approach Zack. Honestly, he hated how much she fawned over him (especially when he was shifted), it was embarrassing. She paused and considered him, and he snapped his fingers and pointed to the ground next to the couch. “Now.” He tone offered no room for disobedience, and thankfully she turned and padded over to him, though rather than laying in the floor she jumped up on his torso. He grunted a bit, holding his breath as she settled and sprawled over him. Thereafter he would run his fingers absently over her head, his gaze traveling to Zack occasionally. He was curious about what happened, but decided it best to remain silent.

[Diana Maksim]

The look on Ben's face was just too much. She knew he was pissed beyond anything she'd seen since the first day she put his face in the dirt, but It was his fault really. The whole group had underestimated her when she challenged them for a chance at joining the team and made it easy to take them down. But that was then, and this was now, and she just couldn't stop laughing.

It took Aayla almost pouncing on Diana to make her realize that she was encroaching on dangerous territory. The shock sobered the eldest of the Maksim girls. Had Ben not stopped his familiar, things could have gotten ugly. Still, Diana was confident that her teammate would not attack her over such a harmless prank. She'd not injured him physically. Maybe bruised his pride a bit, but nothing to fight to the death over.

He was smirking down at her as she laid there on her bum a few moments later. The satisfaction on his face would have set her off normally. She would not suffer a male getting the best of her. But she was not stupid. She'd started it, and if Karma decided to call her on it, then so be it. She'd quickly regained her feet, but her face still burned with the humiliation of her blunder, even as she tried to downplay it with some bland humor.

The bobcat paced behind her master and Diana could only glare back into Ben's red eyes in defiance. 'Don't you dare say anything' she challenged with her blue eyes. 'Laugh and die' she added as she stared him down. But the threats were empty. She knew she would turn her back and retreat into the other room. Things had gone far enough. She was just looking for laugh, not a fight. Diana's relationship with her fellow hunters was not exactly kosher, but they were her allies. Comrades at arms. She would even go as far as to call them "Friends".

Its not like she wanted to cause them harm. It was just a prank. And her standoffish attitude was just... Diana. Its how she treated everyone that was not family. Nothing personal about it. She could be nicer maybe, she guessed.

It looked like Ben would say something to ruin the moment of clarity she was having, when a loud bang took her attention away from him. Diana might have jumped at the sound, but to prove her point of trusting her team, she held firm knowing that Ben and Aayla were in the room with her and would have her back.

A rather large white tiger came through the door a moment later. You'd think there would be panic, but that was no ordinary tiger. On its back was a backpack, which would have been extraordinary if the two hunters in the room didn't already recognize the tiger as a fellow hunter.
"Zack?"[/I] She asked, but it was not intended as a confirmation of his identity. It was concern for him. He did not reply. The tiger stopped, but only to swish his tail to close the door. The bang of the door closing in result was proof of the tiger's immense strength. Diana would never admit it, but she had doubts in her ability to win a bare-hands battle with him, even with her gift activated.

His body language and actions as he passed the the stunned Diana warned her she needed to be cautious. He was in a bad mood. But why? The red tinged fur on his paws only hinted at a possible cause. The snarl and barring his teeth at her was just rude. Diana crossed her arms at her chest as her narrowed eyes followed him to the corner of the room. Knocking over a chair, was also just petty. There was a sarcastic remark on the tip of her tongue that she fought back. Zack obviously did not want to socialize right now. And she already had Aayla and Ben pissed at her.

Diana sighed. There was another sigh that mirrored her own and she glanced at the source. Ben was scowling at her as he walked to the couch and stretched out. Diana would only cluck her tongue at him. "Realy?" She asked out of annoyance. But the judgement melted from her features at Aayla's actions. Ben called her and ordered her to sit at his feet. She walked over, but she ignored his orders and climbed on him instead. "Atta girl" Diana whispered with a smirk of her own. "Don't take any crap from any man." She mumbled as her arms dropped to her sides.

Diana turned on her heel and left the room. 'Whats their problem?'. One sour puss was enough. Now she had two grouchy cats to deal with. And Ben, of course. Was he really still holding that grudge against her?.

Once in the other room, her features softened and she frowned. 'Am I really that bad?' She thought to herself. 'I thought guys liked to play around. I'm not the only one with the pranks. Bubba plays them all the time. No one hates him. Is it because he's the boss?' She asked herself.

Diana crossed her arms again, but not in defiance this time. She was holding herself. She leaned back on the wall and stared at the floor as she remembered her high school years. Back when she was angry at boys because of the attempted rape. But it wasn't like that now, was it? She didn't hate guys any more. She'd closed that chapter in her life. She was just herself. She'd always been competitive. She'd always risen to challenges. She was always out to prove herself equal or better than her opponent.

Her head leaned back and she looked up at the ceiling before closing her eyes. She'd been popular back then. Back before she changed. She'd never found a boy worthy of her affection, but there was no lack of interest. She'd been asked out a bunch of times. None could keep up with her though. And she had loads of girlfriends. But she cut ties with them to protect them from who'd she'd become after the attack.

Now there was no one. Just family.

The rest of the world couldn't be wrong. It had to be her. But what was she doing wrong? She knew the answer. She just could not accept it yet. There was a grand canyon of a gap in the difference between how she treated family and how she acted like around, and treated everyone else. She never stopped pushing people away.

Diana opened her eyes and pushed off the wall. She stared at the coffee and donuts she'd bought for her.... friends. Diana sighed. The team was the closest thing to friends she'd had in years. Maybe she needed to tone things down a bit. But then who was she then? Or was her old and new selves simply too warped to be distinguishable any more. She shivered at the thought. 'Am I really such an ugly person?' She finally asked herself. She was not referring to her looks. She was confident she was cute.

Before she knew it, she was walking into the main room with the coffee and donuts. She put all of it down on the desk and proceeded to make two cups of coffee in the manner she'd seen them prepare their coffees before. She said not a word as she placed Ben's on the floor before him, and set two donuts that she thought were his favorites next to it. She was blushing. This was humiliating, serving him like a maid. But on the other hand, if she'd been at the mansion, she would not have hesitated to do something like this for her sisters and brother. Her features softened and She stood. The other fourteen donuts were gently set down next to Zack with his coffee. She wasn't looking at him as she did it. She looked deep in thought as she internally fought who she was with who she wanted to be. It was no easy to fight the feelings of outrage and humiliation that kept trying to force their way out.

She knew he'd need the calories to turn back to human form. Or immediately after, anyway.

[Zachariah Grants]

Flopped in the corner, eyes closed, Zack could have appeared asleep had it not been for the fact his ears had not dropped in weariness. In fact, behind closed eyes, he was surprisingly aware. In a form that relied on hearing and scent more than anything else, he could gauge where they were and what they were doing. He could smell Aayla’s closeness and hear her thumping paws as she drew near. He recognized the stern rebuke Ben gave in response, and perhaps for a second or two, the tiger’s lips might have pealed into a more human smirk. He enjoyed when she’d rub up against him fur to fur like some kitten even if he’d tear off an arm if anyone dared pet him in the same manner. He was not a housecat and would not be treated as such, especially in a king of beasts form. He would not allow another to look down on him with an outstretched hand.

The sounds of Diana retreating to another room echoed briefly in Zack’s ears, but he paid it about as much mind as he had the bobcat approaching: none what so ever as far as anyone could tell. In reality, he was listening carefully to her footsteps, where she’d come to stop in the other room, and how she was standing thereafter. While he had little interest in what Diana was actually doing, Zack couldn’t readily turn his hearing off anyways. It would require a shift back before he could get back to ‘normal’ hearing, and he was too exhausted to surmount the task just yet. No doubt it wouldn’t remedy his mood to be in human form anyways. Having all of his organs rearranged was never a fun thing, really. The level of pain it put him in was almost not worth the pros.

He’d nearly fallen into a nap when the sounds of Diana returning echoed in Zack’s ears again. As she approached, a sapphire eye opened slowly to regard the woman who seemed to be thinking over something. Lowering to the box of doughnuts and coffee, he considered briefly knocking over the coffee and just drinking it off the floor but decided against it in a second thereafter. Instead, his massive head would shift sideways and he’d gobble down six doughnuts easily. The boost of sugar wasn’t immediate, but actually eating food made him realize just how hungry he was. He’d finish the rest of them in under a few more seconds before throwing his shoulders to one side and causing the backpack to fling off. It landed next to him with a soft thud and a clamor of keys but nothing earth shattering.

Inside the bag were the clothes he’d shed. After tearing shirt after shirt on transforming, he’d gotten into a system of what to do and what not to do when entering his tiger form. This fell under the category of what to do in the case of clothing. Whenever he decided to transform back, he’d find a place less sightly to do so and get his clothes back on. For now, at least, he had regained something with the food and would consider turning back later, sometime. A heavy sound, reminiscent of a sighing purr escaped from Zack thereafter before Zack gave a small nod in thanks, or whatever it was, and sighed heavily again.

[Benjamin Stark]

Benjamin was trying not to pay attention to either of them. He forced himself not to look at Diana when she spoke, which was easy enough since he was distracted by Aayla making herself comfortable on him. Her forepaws rested on his shoulders, her hind paws rested near his hips, and eventually her head would be rested on his chest as she let out a little huff. He closed his eyes, taking in several deep breaths to calm himself. When the bobcat realized what he was attempting to do, her deep purr resonated in his ears, vibrating his chest. He smiled softly, wrapping his arms around her torso, pressing her closer to himself. More than he would ever admit, Aayla help him. She made things more difficult when he was angry, she was too protective of him, and she was horrifically vulgar when she did speak, but she was always there when he needed her. He supposed she was finally filling the role of the “companion animal” so many of his therapists had suggested he get in the past.

He didn’t even notice as Diana left the room, though Aayla’s twitching ears would make it obvious that the bobcat was still well aware of everything that was going on in the room. Once it was just the three of them left in the room, she would stretch her neck out and nuzzle up under his chin. He lowered his face slightly, placing a kiss on her cheek before his breathing evened. For all intents and purposes he looked to be sleeping, but he was still vaguely aware of his surroundings. Not to the degree that Zack or Aayla were, of course, but he certainly hadn’t lost consciousness. No, he was finally just relaxing once again.

It seemed like he might have laid there for a while before Aayla shifted. He could feel her head raise up off of his chest as the soothing sound of her purr left the room quite suddenly. His eyes snapped open, his head turned in the same direction as hers, and he watched as Diana walked over. What was she…? He blinked a few times as he finally noticed the beverage and food in her hands, and a blush lit up his own features when he noticed the one on hers. He pushed himself into a sitting position with a grunt, the bobcat having once again gone limp on him when she realized Diana’s intentions. Thereafter, the redhead would pick the doughnuts up from the floor and eat them quite ravenously. He’d had breakfast back at home, but his power tended to burn through his calorie reserves constantly, so he was always hungry.

“Thank you…” He mumbled, looking at the white haired woman for all of a second before he looked away again with a blush. His coffee would be picked up and sipped on more slowly thereafter, a soft grimace on his features as Aayla kneaded on of his thighs. He refused to consider what Diana's gesture might mean, because that would only embarrass him more.

[Diana Maksim]

Simple words spoken by Benjamin brought color to her cheeks. She did not look his way or say anything at first. She froze in mid-step for a moment instead. Her initial reaction was to be embarrassed. That quickly turned to humiliation, and then anger as she struggled to understand why she was having such a reaction. Had she been with her siblings she would have been happy to be acknowledged and thanked. That was a great contrast to the 'How dare he look down on me' feeling that rose up at his words.

Diana never before gave her reactions a second thought. She never really thought about what she said and did on a daily basis. Now that she'd paused and was paying attention, she saw something she didn't like. Something ugly. What would she have said if she didn't stop herself just then? Many words crossed her mind. As she studied them she realized that all of them were snyde or sarcastic. She closed her eyes for a moment and continued over to Zack.

Again she paused when his head shifted to gobble six doughnuts at once. A few more bites and he'd polished off all of them with crumbs being the only clue to there being anything there in the first place. A reminder to the memory of pastries past presence. Diana stood slowly as the tiger shrugged off his backpack. It landed next to his with a small clamor of jingling keys. The heavy, husky rumbling sound that escaped him surprised her as wide eyes glanced at him. Diana wasn't sure, but she thought it might be a purr. A smile creeped into her features as he nodded at her. She glanced at Ben and was surprised to see him blushing. She swallowed the lump that had somehow formed in her throat. "You're... welcome" She replied softly after that moment of reflection.

Why was something so simple, so difficult?. She'd hunted along side these guys a dozen times in the last few months. She trusted them with her life, yet she couldn't relax around them. Yet it's always been like that, hasn't it? Diana knew she could not change who she was, but at least she knew to show just a little bit of character from now on.

What was that old saying she heard once?... Character is how you treat someone who can't do anything for you? Or something like that.

She walked away towards Robbin's desk slowly as she thought about that question she'd asked herself in the back room. "It's not like I did it for you." Diana said quickly more to herself than anyone in particular. She reached out her hand for her coffee cup and found it was shaking for some reason. The hand balled into a fist as he mumbled "What the hell is wrong with me?." at herself. She opened and closed her hand and shook it out before taking her cup and downing its contents in one gulp as she wondered why she felt she had to say that to them.

"Look, I'm... " She began and then stopped. 'This is the best I can do right now, k?' She thought to herself.
"There's more coffee if anyone wants any" She said then changing the subject. She kept her back to them and stared at the bottom of her empty cup as she continued to come to terms with herself.

[Zachariah Grants]

Unlike his two counterparts in the room, Zachariah wasn’t thinking too much or feeling too much, really. The tiger mode brought forth a simpler mindset than the complex thought he held when in human form, and now that the room had quieted to where he could relax somewhat, the large beast was holding no spite or malice towards them. He was irritated with himself but for other reasons. It had been a bad hunt; his human mind and animal instincts could agree on that at least. Food briefly subsided these feelings as a spike in energy was accepted. Shifts were exhausting and painful. Had he thought he could chase down his target without this new leverage, Zack would have. In the end, however, even his shift was futile in comparison to the power his target had brought forth. It sucked. Before Zack had realized it, he’d wolfed down the rest of them. Oh well.

As the smile crept onto Diana’s face, the tiger’s mouth parted in a similar manner. It was un-animalistic to show such expressions, but Zack could. Watching Diana move back to the desk, Zack crossed his forelegs before himself and rested his massive head on them once more. Ben seemed to have the right idea for a nap right then and there. A furry ear would flick sideways, however, when Diana spoke. Though it was a quiet verse, he’d heard it, and a heavy expulsion of air from his nose would ensue. It wasn’t like she did it for them? Hah then who was it for? If he were in human form and less exhausted, Zack might have sneered more. At the moment, however, the mental feeling was enough to suffice.

Diana cut into his thoughts again, and the tiger opened one eye to regard the white haired woman. Whatever she had been about to say, Zack let it go. He didn’t hold people to things they didn’t want to say. He’d bash someone in the face if they tried to do it to him, after all. Instead, he’d allow himself to be reminded that there was coffee in front of him still. Glancing sideways at it, he slowly sat up a bit preparing himself to comically lap this damn constrained thing up. At the very least his tongue was long enough for the first bit, but before he could pull it back, Zack had moved a little too much. The sound of ceramic on wood would be masked by the sploosh of hot coffee spreading out along the floor and the sharp his that would escape from the tiger when it reached out to his fur. Sitting up and back sharply, he curled his tail around his feet protectively glaring at the liquid on the floor. A snarl escaped from him as if he dared the damn hot liquid to come any closer.

[Benjamin Stark]

He was so uncomfortable. He didn’t really like it when things changed, even if this was a change that would be perceived as good. It was still different and he didn’t know how to handle it. He knew thanking her had been the right thing, but beyond that? He had no idea. He had no idea if things were going to change permanently, or if she was just feeling extra bad and it would never happen again. That’s what made him nervous. Given the fact that he didn’t have any sort of heightened senses (when it came to hearing anyway), he didn’t hear Diana’s muttered words. Aayla did, though, and her yellow predatory gaze moved to the white-haired woman. While the bobcat’s face couldn’t make human expressions exactly, it was quite clear that she was sneering.

He bit his lip, his gaze rising to Diana as she spoke something he could hearing. She was what? Fuck. This was stupid and he hated it. Why was she acting like that? She could just go back to acting normal, right? That’s what she should do. Even if it meant she annoyed the hell out of him, at least she wouldn’t be acting weird anymore. He and Aayla both jerked a little when the noise of the spill sounded from Zack’s direction. Red and gold eyes looked over at the same time, and when Ben realized what had happened, his lips twitched. He looked down, covering his mouth in an attempt to stifle his snicker.

After a moment, though, he rose fluidly. Aayla slid to the floor gracefully and padded in Zack’s direction, though she kept a good distance from him and the coffee on the floor. She had no desire to get her paws wet either, after all. Ben moved across the room, grabbing a roll of paper towels. Thereafter he strode over to Zack, Aayla at his heels. He squatted in front of the tiger and placed the towels between the liquid and his paws as a barrier before he began cleaning it up. Though he remained looking down, the grin on his face was sort of hard to miss. Once the liquid had been sopped up, he sat back on his heels and grinned at Zack. Aayla seemed to take his closeness as an invitation, padding forward and running the length of her body along the tiger’s with a purr.

[Valerie Fiore]

Valerie was not happy to say the least of things. As if she wasn't busy enough with work already, now she had too clean up yet another one of the messes left behind by the bounty hunters. Honestly, if they weren't useful to her in catching her prey for her, she would have stopped bothering with them long ago. It was a wonder that nobody had gotten seriously injured honestly otherwise there would have been hell to pay. Though she could use her position as a paralegal to influence the lawyers that would handle the case should any lawsuit be called up, there was only so much she could do.

The door to the bounty hunter office opened with a rather loud BANG as Valerie entered, her good eye scanning for the lone white tiger that had made her life difficult in the first place. Hunter trailed in behind her, happy to see that there were other cat familiars here too. Without much thought as to how the humans would react, the caracal ran towards Aayla and pounced playfully. Valerie didn't much care what the unruly caracal did, she was focused on Zack at the moment and if he didn't have a sufficient explanation about what had happened that morning, nobody would be happy.

Walking over to where Zack appeared to be glaring at the remnants of spilt coffee, Valerie looked down at the tiger,"Could you explain to me why you decided to run in the middle of the street, Zachariah. You caused a rather large traffic accident and you should be grateful that nobody got seriously injured,"she stated in a rather flat, if stern voice before waiting for an answer. Unlike most, Valerie didn't care that he might be in a bad mood, she wanted an explanation and would not wait around for Zack, or anyone, to 'feel better' before she had one.

[Diana Maksim]

Her blue eyes never left the cup on coffee in her hand. Not the sploosh of spilled coffee behind her, nor the rustle and tearing of the paper towel from the roll that Benjamin was cleaning the spilled coffee with. Diana was focuses on the steaming liquid within the cup as if a crystal ball that might somehow show her a vision of or message or something. She couldn't figure out why she was in such turmoil. What she normally did and what she wanted to do now were a stark contrast of each other. Diana knew she could not just jump from one extreme to the other at the drop of a hat. There had to be a happy medium somewhere. She knew she could not hope to break even in the middle. Not on her first try. She just needed to try to temper herself a little at a time.

Di was glad to have come that far in her thinking, at least, before another BANG of the front door hitting the inside wall would finally get a reaction from her. Valerie marched through that door like a Marine on a mission. The resident paralegal/huntress made a bee-line for Zack and Diana glared at Val before glancing at the boys all gathered in the corner where Zack laid. Diana expected dumb things from the boys, but Val was female, and thus should have been above such behavior. Plus she was as close to a Vulcan as a human could get. Wasn't is illogical to abuse the door or something?. Looks like Val's humanity is showing', Diana mused with a suppressed smirk.

Val started chastising Zack, but Diana's attention was pulled away by the sound of splintering of wood from the direction of the door. It seems that the top hinges had had enough of being abused and had decided to protest by spitting out their screws. The door frame was splintering still as the bottom hinge tried to hold on like a trooper, but the weight of the solid oak door tore those screws out anyway. "BLOODY HELL!!" Diana shouted and she lunged for the collapsing door. She surprised herself. It was a perfect English accented curse. From a Russian, it was quite the accomplishment. Her coffee, however, would suffer the same fate as Zack's. Another slowly expanding puddle.

She caught the door before is fell over on its side and strained against the 150lb door with a grunt of exertion. Without her gift activated, Diana grit her teeth as she used all her strength to shouldered the door upright and pushed it back into its frame. Once the latch caught, it stayed put. She put her head against the door and breathed a sigh of relief. Those antique doors made of hardwoods were heavy and dangerous.

Diana turned around and leaned her back against the door to make sure it did not fall again. It looks like she was past her mood swing and back to her normal self. Her slight brows knitted together and her blue eyes, now icy, turned on Zack "And after you explain why you were playing real life frogger in rush hour traffic, one of you can explain to Bolba about the door!" She said angrily, turning her gaze on Val. Diana crossed her arms across her chest and glared at the two culprits. "Thats if Robbin doesn't get here before him and fire us first." She almost growled the words. That door was practically an heirloom to Robbin. Came from her grandmother's house, or something like that. She wished she'd paid more attention to the story. The door was saved but the door frame was a total loss. "This is NOT something we can put duct tape on and walk away" The stern and stoic expression told them that someone was going to take responsibility, because there was no way that any part of the repair bill was coming out of her pay check.


Zachariah Grants

[Zachariah Grants]

Had Zack looked up and noted Ben’s face, he might have roared at him for even starting to laugh. However, his attention was to the liquid on the floor that he was taking a personal disdain in. Damn thing, go away. He would possibly have considered lapping it from the floor but had found one of two things while attempting to drink it the first time: the coffee was hot. As Ben left, came back with a roll of paper towels, and barricaded the spread before cleaning it up, a soft growl escaped from Zack. Good. He didn’t want that stuff anywhere near his coat. As Aayla drew up to him pressing against him, Zack almost purred back. He’d catch himself quick enough and simply press a little to her side briefly instead. She was cute- but tiny compared to him.

The slam of the door echoed in Zack’s ears, and a snarl ripped passed his jaws as his head swung to the woman entering. The slate haired woman that entered was recognizable, but it didn’t diminish Zack’s vicious glare at the noise. Sure he had bashed open and closed the door just a bit ago, but he’d finally settled, and now someone was making racket. The questions that came thereafter earned a growing growl deep in Zachariah’s throat. Could he explain why he decided to run in the middle of the street? No, he couldn’t at the moment, and she should know that given his form. He didn’t like that tone she took either. A snarl rippled past his jaws, and teeth bared themselves.

Diana’s shout and the drop of coffee caused Zack to stop briefly though his gaze didn’t divert from Valerie as Diana righted the door. The icy glare he received from Diana had fur pricking, and a snarl rippled passed his lips at her words too. He could care less about the door or the street accident for that matter either. He didn’t remember how Robbin was connected to the door nor did he care. It was clear enough from the tone of his snarls that if they, either of them, wanted to continue yelling at him, or hell even saying anything to him at all, they would run the risk of having their throat ripped out.

Had he been in human form, Zack might have been more complying. White haired women were normally something he was submissive to. His grandmother, aunt, and cousin knew this well. However, shifted he was different. While he held most of his mental faculties, feral tendencies became a bigger part of him, and both being in a corner and called out on were awakening these again all too quickly. It wasn’t safe- for anyone.