The Complete Pixie Survival Guide

Little attention was given to the landscape as it passed Tobi by. She already knew what it would look like, even if she happened to glance up for a moment to stare at it- it was snow, snow, and guess what? More snow. It had been six full months since her Dad died...stepdad actually, but he was more of a dad to her than she had ever known, the biggest influence on her life. She barely remembered the past six months, but her mom had sent her up here to the land of frozen hell (Ohio actually) because Tobi had been scaring her with her recent behavior. She just couldn't seem to get her mind out of the swamp it was stuck in, and not even her talkative grandmother, who was actually talking now, could bring her back... Suddenly fingers snapped in her face, and Tobi practically jumped five feet in the air as wide eyes turned to Grandma Betty in completely surprise. The sweet old woman chuckled, shaking her head, and pointed out the green pickup truck's window. "We're here. Have a good day at school, sweetie, and try to make some friends. I should be able to pick you up, but if I'm not on time, I'm on an ambulance call." With a kiss on the cheek, she was once more sent out to face the cold, wrapping her arms around herself as the truck disappeared from sight. The town of Paradise, Ohio, was so small, apparently, that everyone stopped to stare at her. Focusing her gaze ahead, she sludged through the snow towards the school entrance.

Caden was standing outside of the school when he saw the new girl approach. Word travelled fast through the town and everyone was acting eager to meet this new girl in town. He didn't know what the big hype about her was, but he was obviously curious enough to find out. Her grandmother was a Were-tiger, and she spoke so highly of her. Supposedly she was nothing like the Weres, but he might as well do Betty a favor and welcome her. He had to admit that she was cute. He liked the way that she walked with a bounce in her step and her hips swayed with an authority. Caden wasn't one that was overly outgoing or anything. He tended to avoid anyone that wasn't a Were, and kept to his own little circle of friends. He liked it better that way anyways. No humans to have to hide a good portion of his life from... He sighed a little as he watched her get closer. "Hey!" He called in his sweet voice. Many girls had said it was sexy, but he wasn't overly cocky about it. "You must be Tobi. I am Caden Moonstar, and I will be your tour guide for the day. Please keep your hands and feet inside the hallways at all times." He smiled a little himself when he saw that it made her crack a smile. She had looked so stoic and unhappy before... "No, I'm just messing with you..." He responded again. "I'm really not a tour guide, I don't think we have any of those in the school, but the name's Caden and I'd be happy to escort you to the main office."

Wading through stares and snow slush alike, Tobi found hope of reprieve blooming in her chest as she came to the steps to the school. She should have known that she wasn't going to make it inside without being intercepted first though, and those hopes fell as someone stepped in her path. She looked up at the boy- he was tall with strong shoulders and beneath the jacket he was wearing, she could imagine there were muscles as well. It wasn't that, that really caught her attention though, so much as the fascinating, almost crystal-like blue eyes he had that mesmerized her until she remembered how to speak. Forcing herself to remain still though and act like she hadn't just spaced out for a moment, she gave him a weak smile though honestly she had no idea what he had just said, glad when he said his name, probably for the second time, so she wouldn't have to embarrass herself with asking. "Thanks, erm, Caden, but I think I can get to the office on my own. It's kind of...right behind you," she pointed out, motioning over his shoulder where she could see the sign- put there undoubtedly for people who didn't know where to look. Pressing her lips together, she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and pushed her backpack further on her shoulder. "Thanks again," she said, giving him a small nod before moving around him and pushing open the door, a wave of heat meeting her almost immediately. She paused in the doorway a moment, stilled by the blessed heat that could melt the icicles that had to be clinging to her, and realizing she was just standing in the doorway, she went ahead and pushed inside.

Caden watched in amazement for a moment as her dark hair faded away into the main office. He couldn't believe her... He had been joking around with her and trying to act funny, and the odd girl barely cracked a smile! He felt a smoldering annoyance, but he didn't let it get to him. Betty had warned him, along with the rest of the Weres, that she was a "stubborn little chick" but he hadn't imagined her being so hard to break. He knew he wasn't the most popular boy in the school or the one that everyone wanted, but he surely had girls swooning over him and at his command with only a smile. She was different... She was different in more ways than one. She had long, messy dark hair that fell over her shoulders and down her back like dark waterfalls and a nice body to be complimented by those waves. Her eyes were the most enchanting though. They were a dark brown that reminded him of chocolate and they seemed to shimmer with curiosity and beauty in the light. Betty hadn't lied when she spoke of her granddaughter with such a prestige. Tobi was indeed beautiful, and he wished that she hadn't blown him off like she did. He may have been a werewolf - though she wouldn't know that since Betty had warned that Tobi didn't even know about her - he was not a big bad wolf. He was only trying to be a welcoming Were and help her get situated in the school. He felt almost like a stalker as he ignored the ring of the bell to first period and took a seat on the floor outside of the office. Whether Tobi liked it or not, she was going to have a tour guide for the day; she may have been quite stubborn, but he was going to be more stubborn... "You really didn't think I was going to deny my duties as tour guide just because you said so, did you?!" He asked her as soon as he noticed her small body emerging from the office.

(Sorry, makeup work is killing me >.<)

After heading into the office, Tobi found herself in surprise once more as she was welcomed with warm smiles and a motherly attitude from the secretary, Mrs. Nyx. Apparently, Grandma Betty had been talking about her, and so the kind old woman fluttered about her, commenting on how skinny she was and that she needed some meat on her bones. Well, this was like most elderly people, and she didn't take it to heart, gratefully getting her schedule along with a map of the school so that she could find her way through the halls on her own. The bell for students to get to first period rang while this happened, and the halls were nearly empty by the time she finally managed to escape the office. With a slight sigh, she stepped out while simultaniously looking to her map for directions. As a voice came from her side though, she practically jumped out of her skin, turning startled eyes to the familiar voice, forcing herself to calm down as she saw Caden sitting against the wall just on the other side of the office door. She blinked at him for a moment, pursing her lips. Honestly, she hadn't expected him to really talk to her again since she had blown him off- people were that way and besides, she wasn't really looking to make friends at the moment. But to wait for her outside the office door? She began to wonder if something might be wrong with this boy. She had to admit that he was handsome, and she had even let her mind contemplate it on first meeting, but with the death of her dad, she simply felt haggard and maybe even broken, and she wasn't really willing to let anyone else in yet. Not so soon, and definitely not from someone who seemed so damned persistent. "I thought you might, actually. I have a map anyways, and you'll be late to your class," she told him, blinking once more for a moment. Then, figuring he might say something else since he had waited outisde the office: "Look, I'm sorry, but..I'm not really ready to make friends at the moment. You're really nice, and when I am ready, I promise I'll come to you first." Offering him a small smile, she hoped that might work and he would back off a little. She really didn't think ill of him, just...maybe he came on too strong? She couldn't quite pinpoint it.

(Haha, no problem! xD)

@ Mizzie

Caden couldn't help but sigh a little as he saw her again. Maybe it was just the fact that he had been so distracted by the need to make the Weres proud and help her, but he hasn't really noticed her before. He had seen her, of course, but he hadn't been paying quite enough attention apparently. There was something so mysterious and beautiful about her that it was something he had never really noticed before in any of the girls that he met... And he knew plenty... Still, she had beautiful eyes and a perfect body. He almost wanted to voice this opinion to her, but he felt that might come off too direct and stalker-ish for the first day of knowing one another... If she ever talked to him again after this anyway. There was something about her that made her reluctant to the way that he approached her, with only kindness and helpfulness on his brain - and possibly the thought of helping another Were out with her granddaughter. Betty had told them that Tobi had experienced much tragedy and pain lately, though that was as far as she would go into the details... He hoped it was this that had made her seem so edgy, not his total forward-ness. He frowned a little as she refused his help again. Here he was, entranced by this beautiful girl and she didn't seem to care at all. There was a wall up that he couldn't break down, though he hoped she could climb over it fast so that they could have a friendship. There was something about her that Caden liked already, and all he had seen of her was her hostility and resistance in regards to him. They parted ways, though he could have easily walked her to class because his class was just down the hall from hers, but she had refused any such assistance. He smiled a little at her stubborn resistance to him. She was in for a treat though, because he was going to make her like him - one way or another....

As Caden said nothing and allowed them to part ways peacefully, Tobi let out a rush of breath she hadn't known she had been holding. She wasn't quite sure whether it was from relief or maybe (doubtfully) from regret, but it whooshed out of her all the same, and she headed down the hallways to her first period class without another word spoken. Using her map, she guided herself to an English room, one of her favorite subjects really, and did her best to avoid piercing, curious gazes as she found her way to an empty desk. Once seated, she put her backpack down and fished out a notebook and pencil, tucking her hair firmly behind her ears as she looked up, reading the warm up, then copied it down while simultainously answering it as well, blissfully ignorant to the probing stares with the distraction of work at hand. As the class period likewise wore on, she learned that the class was in the middle of reading a play by Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, which she actually happened to have read once before. So at least she wasn't completely lost. When the class was over, she re-emerged into the halls without incident or encountering Caden, a bit slower than the rest because she did have to find her way around on her own. She was stubborn though. When she did get to her class, biology ironically, she came to see that almost all of the partnered lab tables were filled, except one. And who should be sitting at that free table except the one studen who had openly approached her today? Moving her feet into motion, her eyes searhed around the room once more before she did finally sit beside Caden without a word.

Caden arrived to his first period late, of course. He couldn't help but think about how Tobi had told him that he would be late if he helped her. In all respects, he would've been late either way, and he wished he could have at least walked the pretty girl to class. No, instead he walked in solitude and ignored the teacher's continual questioning of "why he was late." He avoided all of the stares and questions that he was getting from his friends in the back of the room. Caden had always been such a punctual person, so this made then wonder. To be honest, none of them were quite as aware about Tobi since Betty had employed him specifically to take care of her. None of the other Weres knew that, and he didn't exactly feel like sharing. She didn't exactly welcome his help alone, so why make himself fight for attention while having a crowd surrounding her? Caden took a seat in the front of the class and pretended that he was going to pay attention. He usually did, but today was an off-day... He took out a piece of paper for notes and pretended to be doing the history notes from an old-looking PowerPoint. Every time he closed his eyes though, an image of Tobi flashed in his mind and he sat there uncomfortably. He wished he could just leave, but all too soon first period was over. As he walked down the hall, he wished he had seen her schedule so he could at least take different routes to find her or catch glimpses of her. Instead he got to second period early and just sat down. It wasn't long after that that he scented the sweetest, most beautiful aroma he had ever smelled... It was so familiar too, so he looked up to see Tobi standing in the class. He looked around to take inventory of the class and his heart sped up when she had to sit by him. "Well, we meet again!" He teased slightly as she got settled beside him.

(Friday! ^_^)

For the second time that day, Tobi put her schedule and map up in her notebook, knowing trying to study the two without actually walking in the halls would be useless. As she did so, she heard Caden speak. It seemed like despite what she had said earlier, he was going to keep trying anyway, and she didn't like being rude to people. Sometimes blunt, but trying to stay polite all the while, and even evasive, but not rude, and she knew if she ignored him or tried to avoid him, that's how she was going to turn out being. She almost felt like she was being pushed into a corner...Glancing over at him, she brought her shoulders up in a small shrug as she shifted a bit on the stool. "Yeah, looks that way. This is actually a creepy coincidence," she said in a quiet voice, not sure how the teachers were here yet, or whether she should be talking at all really. As the tardy bell rang, she turned her eyes to the board to check and see if she had a warm-up or bellringer of any kind, thankful when she saw that biology didn't have one. Likewise, their teacher was at his desk, seeming to be engrossed in something on his computer screen, and she caught aimless conversations floating by her ears from the other students, stares piercing her. She knew in all likelihood Caden would talk to her, probably because he wanted to and could get away from it, but at the moment, she would have preferred a quiet room with the distraction of work set in front of her to steal her mind away momentarily. Deciding it was a futile wish, she settled into her seat in a more relaxed manner, rather than perched on the edge as if she might get up and run at any second.

Caden watched Tobi with a smile. He could see a little crease forming between her eyebrows as she debated what to do. It was such a small crease there that no one would normally notice it, but Caden was a werewolf - he was weird like that. He also seemed to have that affect on people as he watched her with whether she wanted to speak to him again or continue her recent habit of blowing him off. He just shook it out because he was used to it. Caden Moonstar seemed to have that affect on people. Either you loved him or you didn't... It was no real loss though, because he was used to it and there were plenty of other girls that would be happy to talk to him. Still, it was this one girl that he was hellbent on talking to... No part of him could lie that this need to talk to her was strictly to welcome her for being a relative of a Were. God, that would've been about the biggest lie that he would ever tell... He didn't know exactly what to say to her either because of the confrontation that happened earlier. His "we meet again" made him sound stupid enough! He didn't want to make that mistake again and make her dislike him because of his inability to hold a conversation. It was her fault anyways; it was her beauty that was distracting him from vocabulary skills and turning his brain to muah. When she turned her beautiful dark eyes on him, his heart fluttered and he sat up a little straighter. He wished he could just throw the map away that was resting on the table in front of her and force her to let him lead her, but he resisted. He scrunched his eyebrows together a little when she said it was a "creepy coincidence." "Well, Tobi," he started. "It's not really creepy. We are the same age; we were bound to run into each other at some point." He nudged her with his elbow. She thought that her hostility could turn him off from talking to her, but she knew nothing about him...

She had only really settled back in her seat when she felt Caden's elbow lightly nudge her side, causing her to inadverdently move to the edge of her seat again. Mentally chastising herself for it, Tobi knew given half a chance, she would have smacked a book to her head for that. He really didn't deserve her to act so weird around him, not when he seemed so friendly and she was usually a friendly person herself. Her body felt like it was reacting on its own though, and it was some weird instinct that seemed to be affecting her movements. When she looked at him, he looked like the sort of guy who would stick up for his friends and everyone else who needed it as well, but at the same time, there was just something..off-putting that she couldn't name. It was the same sort of aura that Grandma Betty had too, now that she really thought about it, but she was semi-used to her Grandmother and could actually feel comfortable around her. Nothing about Caden seemed to feel 'natural' in any sense of the word. With all of these fthoughts forming in less than a couple of seconds, she gave a small shake of her head at what he had just told her. "No, that's not what I meant," she said with a small sigh. "I figured somehow I would bump into you again. So far, you've proved your persistence." At that statement, she gave him a knowing, if not calculated glance. "What I meant was the fact that we ended up paired together, when someone else could have easily sat by you or you by another person," she went on to explain her earlier statement. She didn't honestly think he might be following her or something- she had never had a stalker in her life, and she didn't think she was going to make one now, much less out of a highschool boy that just seemed overly outgoing and nice. That was a conversation for another time though, she suspected.

Caden watched her sit unsettlingly in her seat. She was on the edge of her seat for a while and then she settled. He regretted nudging her with his elbow when it made her slide to the edge again. He felt like she was going to run away from him at any moment and he almost wanted to hold onto her to avoid the risk of her prancing away from him. He figured if she did so, he would lose all chance of ever getting to talk to her again. He then noticed the way that she was looking at him. It was a hard determined look.... One as if she had known and had forgotten a secret so that it made her scrunch her eyebrows together in hard work of trying to remember what it was. He understood exactly what it was that she was thinking of... His stupid aura that he couldn't get rid of... It was a symbolizing factor for the Weres and it was slightly a pain in the butt. All people could see it, but being a Were was a hidden thing so many people didn't know what it was. He only ever ran into problems with it when there was an uninformed family member of a Were who encountered another Were. It always got those people thinking about what it was that made them seem so familiar yet different. Being a Were was a pain in the ass to keep hidden, not that he was exactly opposed to running through the woods and feeling the wind rushing through his fur. He listened to her stutter about her reasoning for what she had said previously and he wanted to stop her from talking - he wanted to capture her juicy, delicious-looking lips in a kiss... If only he could have things his way... "It's fine, Tobi! I was just messing with you!" He felt the urge to nudge her again but avoided doing for fear that she would really run away. "At least we're making progress. Lets start over. I'm Caden Moonstar! Nice to meetcha!" He held out his hand to shake.

(Sorry it took so long! Spaced >.<)

As Caden spoke almost as soon as Tobi finished speaking, and with what he said, she pressed her lips into a tight line, seeing him sort of go to move then decide not to. She guessed it was probably because he noticed her reaction earlier from the prod in the ribs, though in her defense, she hadn’t been paying attention at the time and hadn’t expected someone to nudge her. Besides that, there also seemed something off about the town in general that weighed down on her. Ever since her Dad had died, at random intervals, she kept seeing a man standing at the side of the road or off in the distance, obsolete to most except that after a couple of times of seeing him, she came to recognize him. On the way from the airport just a couple of days ago, Grandma Betty had nearly run over him because the idiot was standing in the middle of the road. This morning, she found gold dust sitting in the snow near the house, and she was sure that because she hadn’t disturbed it, it would still be there this afternoon. She pushed those thoughts back though, so that she more focus on the now, and the complete mystery in front of her named Caden Moonstar. Blinking at him for a moment as he held his hand out to her, she didn’t really see the reason in ‘starting over’ as he had said it, but took his hand anyway, his palm almost covering her entire hand, she noticed, and she gave his hand a small shake. “Meine name ist Tobi White. Ich freue mich zehr zu kennenzulernen,” she said with a small smile, figuring since she had slipped into German, he wouldn’t actually know what she was saying. It translated: My name is Tobi White. It’s nice to meet you. It was a bit formal, or so she had been told, but in this case it seemed fitting at the same time.

Caden partially liked the way that she was still looking at him in curiosity. He squirmed a little under her glance; he wasn't used to be scrutinized as much as she was to him. He kept to a usual Were friendship base and disnt usually dabble with having human friends. He had heard about Tobi coming into town long before Betty had asked him to take care of her while she was in school. Had she not done so, he probably would've avoided her at all costs. Having a human friend was such a difficult task for any Were... How could you even consider yourself "friends" when you had to hide more than half of your life from them because it wasn't right to tell a human the Were secret. Hell, human relatives weren't even to be told about their Were family members, do they were often put in precarious situations... Caden had made it a point to stick with his Weres - they would be more loyal anyways... As he thought about it, he questioned what he would've done had Betty not asked him. He doubted he could have stayed away from her anyways, given her imploring dark eyes and full lips. He was trying hard enough to impress her while she wanted to avoid him. He wouldn't change that for anything; he liked the sparkle in her eyes. "Ahh, German!" He complimented, thinking it was quite sexy. "I don't know any German but I'm hoping that you said something along the lines of what I said! Hell, even if you didn't, you could've insulted me and it still would've sounded beautiful." He knew he was going to catch her off guard with saying such a thing, but he didn't care. He couldn't help but smile a little when he realized what he had said, even though he as trying to make himself be more calm than rushing things. "Finding your way around the school okay?" He asked, trying to break the ice without delving into something that she would be uncomfortable talking with him...

At what Caden said about her speaking in German, she startled, leering back a little, though not exactly noticeable and then came straight again. German was a very pronounced language, so she thought that it made sense he would recognize it if he had heard it before- no sense in asking how he had known which language she had spoken to him in, so that obviously wasn't what had stricken her. No, it was what he said towards the end. She definitely had been caught off guard by that comment, and for a moment she studied him with a new sort of curiosity before shaking it out of her head and gathering herself up, trying hard to keep a neutral face and act like what he said hadn't bothered her in the least. If she thought about everything previously he had done as well, added with this new revelation, she came up with the synopsis that either he was a really nice person who reached out to everyone- this she had a hard time believing though. Or, he was probably interested in being more than just acquaintances with her, and probably thought that though she had brushed him off, saying that she wasn't for making friends yet, he thought he would change her mind. That's if her logic was right, and it hardly was. Sighing without realizing it, she nearly pushed her head into her arms, wanting to disappear and maybe sleep. She paused as he began to speak again, glad it was on a lighter subject. "Mmhmm," she murmured with a small nod of her head. Almost as soon as that left her mouth though, their teacher finally seemed to realize he had a class waiting and began with the lesson, rescuing her from further conversation and possibly embarrassing herself, and so as the class started, she gladly turned to face the front, opening up her notebook and poised her pen, ready to take notes he was bringing up on the projector.

Caden absolutely knew that he had caught her off guard with what he said. Unfortunately for her, he liked the way that her voice changed as the accent morphed into German and became a tone or two higher. He wondered where she had learned the German - Betty maybe? He'd have to ask her sometime... If she did speak the language, he would surely be employing her to teach him. How cool would it be if they could speak their own little language to one another?! He wished he could speak it now... Then maybe he could impress her a little with his talents. He could usually read human girls so well, but he was struggling with Tobi. He didn't know if she was liking the way that he was talking to her or if she was seriously afraid of him. He almost wished that Betty wouldn't have sent him to befriend her so blindly. - She had warned him that she was having some adjustment issues and having a lot of problems from "something" but she had either forgotten to tell him what the that "something" was or had neglected to do so... He understood the limitations that came, but still she had sent him in on a girl that was completely antisocial and facing some crisis that he was currently unaware of. Smooth move, Betty. He liked being able to just talk, as she was letting him do now, but he wanted to be more than just acquaintances. He was used to being touchy with his friends so it was weird to have to keep three feet between them. He sighed a little as class started and he had made no more progress. Still, he found himself dramatically distracted and his eyes continued to wander over to where she was hunched over her notebook. Something about her was so enchanting to him, but she kept herself so forbidden from him... He was going to break through those barriers... Somehow.

As Tobi attended to her notes, probably a bit too intensely, at random intervals during the class period she could feel eyes on her, but not just some random person's stare. She knew which direction the eyes came from, and their exact, crystalline blue color, and the owner's name. She pretended not to notice that he kept looking over at her, and kept at the task at hand, though her mind was somewhere completely different. She didn't know what it was, but she felt herself both allured and almost..well, like two magnets both at positive ends. No matter how many times you tried to put those ends together, they kept pushing each other back. So, at the moment, she guessed she felt like the end of a magnet, or maybe that was the science class talking, but either way, her mind couldn't seem to make itself up, and she didn't know whether she should decide to trust Caden or avoid him. Though, she could always try being his friend until he gave her reason to think she should avoid him.... As the bell rang over head, violently pulling her from her thoughts, she practically jumped before coming fully into her mind and shaking her head at herself, chewing down on her bottom lip until she felt it begin to become sore, while putting her things away and pulling out her map and schedule at the same time as she stood from her stool at the table. She cast a glance back at Caden, wondering to herself if he had really accepted the fact that she aimed to figure this entire school layout for herself. From the look he held, she guessed not.

Caden couldn't help but keep staring at her through random periods in the class. It was like her face was a magnet and his eyes were surely the other side of it. Not that he minded, his whole body was attracted to her, so surely his eyes were part of this; he completely agreed with himself that she was something worth looking at and intended to do so for as long as he possibly could. He had been so determined to at least make himself acquainted with her to please the elder Weres, but now there was more than that... He was determined to actually make her like him back and even befriend him... He was the sad little werewolf that wanted to make friends with the human! God, he was usually the one to pick on other Weres for doing something as stupid as that! Karma was definitely a bitch...He barely paid attention to anything more than her facial features for the class period. He watched her take notes at an intensely fast pace, but there was nothing that warned him to so the same thing. In fact, he would much rather be studying Tobi's face more than anything that could come out of an old textbook! He was quite happy when the teacher finally dismissed them from notes for the day and let them talk for the last few minutes, but she seemed quite resistant to the talking. She went to pull out her map of the school, but he stopped her after she stole a quick glance to see what he would do. He took it from her and flung it across the room. "Princess, how about you just take me up on my offer and let me escort you to class? Actually, that isn't a question, that's a demand!" He asked of her and waited for a response.

As Caden took her map, Tobi opened her mouth to form words or protest- well, that was, until he flunt it amongst the other kids sitting at their respected tables and she lost sight of it. At least she still had her schedule though, and she quickly tucked that away in case he planned on snatching it from her too. It was almost as if he had gone mad or something, though of course she wouldn't know because she couldn't have talked to him for more than 10 minutes the entire day, if that much. And the way he was talking to her now! Well, it seemed he was finally getting some backbone, which was definitely needed with dealing with her, but attempting to tell her what to do? She almost couldn't believe the words that left his mouth. And Princess? That was a puzzle in itself that her shocked mind didn't have time to really comprehend and try to solve. Once she garnered her thoughts together once more, she managed to stare back at him evenly, instead of avoiding as she had been for most of the day. If that was really how he wanted to play it, then fine. She had been told before that she was as stubborn as a mule, and she planned to show this boy just how stubborn she actually was. She forged a sweet smile onto her face. "Well, in that case, and since you say I'm the princess, you're demand is denied, as I have the power to do so," she said curtly, leaving her things at her seat as she wove expertly around him to go find and retrieve her map, seeing as how she did actually need it.