LJ Idol Week 4 - Bow to no one
The are two types of people, is what they say. But that's not true. There are hundred of types of people. This was especially true for Marcus Raul who, as fate would have it, was a were-animal.
Now there were a several different types of were-animals that lurked and hid and lived all across the world, but they were dying breed, unable to mate due to dwindling numbers and all too often settling with humans to bare or sire human-looking offspring without fur or fang to recommend them. As time went on, the were-animal in its many forms and shapes was dying out.
But that was just something he'd read in a book for Marcus Raul, who was a proud and defensive were-tiger living in the jungle of a great city nestled up against the warm ocean. And though he had met just a few of his own kind, the fact that they were dying off never really entered his mind. He was too busy living to think about dying.
Marcus went to school with humans. It was boarding school, so no one ever got the chance to question where his parents were (both dead since he was five years old) and that was a small silver lining in an otherwise dark and stormy cloud that was Marcus' life. As one of the only were-animals in the school, very few paths for social interaction were left open to the tiger. He could be a thing to be marveled at, an oddity put on display. That path he refused to take. He would not stoop to being a thing to be gawked at. Apart from that he could try to be as human as possible. He would never look human, what with his furry face and tiger striped hair, his fangs and thick paw-like hands and claws. However he could, if he was so inclined, cast aside his culture and act like a human. But that disgusted him and he would never stoop to that either. So in the end he had only one path. He was the outsider, the other. He made his peace with the fact that he would never belong.
But he was not without any relief in his school days. The actual work of being a student never ceased to delight Marcus. He devoured the books and lessons he was given and did splendidly well on tests. His teachers might had loved him if they ever interacted with him in an academic manner. Unfortunately the only time he spoke in front of a teacher was to explain his latest fight with one or another human student.
That's what led to the latest in a long line of detentions. He arrived five minutes early to the room in which he was to be held for the hour of his free period, having nothing to delay him anyway. He walked in, nodded at the teacher in the front of the classroom and took a seat by the window. The afternoon sun was shining outside so brilliantly, Marcus could nearly feel it on his furred, tiger stripped face. He closed his eyes and imagined the taste of the air on his tongue. He was nearly gone from the captivity of his detention through mental will power, when a tap on his shoulder awoke him to reality.
The teacher, a pretty human with brown hair and blue eyes that seemed too deep for her young face, stood next to the desk Marcus had claimed for the period and smiled at him.
“I called you several times,” she explained.
Marcus shrugged and looked away from her. “I was entering “no mind”. I didn't hear you.”
“No mind? That's a Buddist practice isn't it?” She paused and he nodded curtly. “Do you meditate often?” she asked and leaned her slim body against a neighboring desk. She wore a pants suit of light greyish blue with pink accents in her jewelry and nail coloring.
“It helps keep me calm,” Marcus answered and wished desperately that this teacher would find something better to do with her time than bother him.
“I think most people around here would agree that's a good thing, considering how many fights you get into.” She smiled in a way that she no doubt thought would come off as warm and friendly but Marcus was unmoved by the expression. If anything it made him more tense than before.
“Is there something you want?” the were-tiger asked as he crossed his fur covered arms over his chest.
“I want to understand how a straight A student ends up spending his free periods in detention everyday for fighting. You're a smart kid; don't you know better than that?”
“I don't start the fights,” Marcus defended.
“But you don't walk away either. What are you fighting for? What do you have to prove?”
The were-tiger regarded the woman through narrowed yellow eyes. For a few moments he didn't speak and the two just looked at one another. Marcus hoped his silence would compel the woman to leave him alone but the teacher just smiled peaceful and waited him out. Finally, Marcus sighed and looked away, defeated.
“Do you know I'm the only were-tiger in this school? Do you know I'm one out of a few dozen were-animals in general at this school. People used to pull my tail and tug on my ears. I'm a freak.”
“You're not a freak,” the teacher said gently.
“I am,” Marcus insisted. “I know that I am. But I won't let anybody bully me. If they want to bother me, then I'll fight them. If they want to see how far they can push me, then I'll push back. I don't care.”
The teacher frowned and shook her head very slowly. “There's got to a be a better way for you to live, even as a tiger among humans.”
“There isn't,” the tiger muttered as he turned away. “This is the way things are. That's it.”
Marcus directed his attention out of the window, ignoring the woman with a finality that couldn't be overlooked. He counted in his head, waiting for the woman to take the hint. When finally he heard her get up and begin to walk away, he breathed out in relief. He didn't need or want her help. He could take care of himself.
Now there were a several different types of were-animals that lurked and hid and lived all across the world, but they were dying breed, unable to mate due to dwindling numbers and all too often settling with humans to bare or sire human-looking offspring without fur or fang to recommend them. As time went on, the were-animal in its many forms and shapes was dying out.
But that was just something he'd read in a book for Marcus Raul, who was a proud and defensive were-tiger living in the jungle of a great city nestled up against the warm ocean. And though he had met just a few of his own kind, the fact that they were dying off never really entered his mind. He was too busy living to think about dying.
Marcus went to school with humans. It was boarding school, so no one ever got the chance to question where his parents were (both dead since he was five years old) and that was a small silver lining in an otherwise dark and stormy cloud that was Marcus' life. As one of the only were-animals in the school, very few paths for social interaction were left open to the tiger. He could be a thing to be marveled at, an oddity put on display. That path he refused to take. He would not stoop to being a thing to be gawked at. Apart from that he could try to be as human as possible. He would never look human, what with his furry face and tiger striped hair, his fangs and thick paw-like hands and claws. However he could, if he was so inclined, cast aside his culture and act like a human. But that disgusted him and he would never stoop to that either. So in the end he had only one path. He was the outsider, the other. He made his peace with the fact that he would never belong.
But he was not without any relief in his school days. The actual work of being a student never ceased to delight Marcus. He devoured the books and lessons he was given and did splendidly well on tests. His teachers might had loved him if they ever interacted with him in an academic manner. Unfortunately the only time he spoke in front of a teacher was to explain his latest fight with one or another human student.
That's what led to the latest in a long line of detentions. He arrived five minutes early to the room in which he was to be held for the hour of his free period, having nothing to delay him anyway. He walked in, nodded at the teacher in the front of the classroom and took a seat by the window. The afternoon sun was shining outside so brilliantly, Marcus could nearly feel it on his furred, tiger stripped face. He closed his eyes and imagined the taste of the air on his tongue. He was nearly gone from the captivity of his detention through mental will power, when a tap on his shoulder awoke him to reality.
The teacher, a pretty human with brown hair and blue eyes that seemed too deep for her young face, stood next to the desk Marcus had claimed for the period and smiled at him.
“I called you several times,” she explained.
Marcus shrugged and looked away from her. “I was entering “no mind”. I didn't hear you.”
“No mind? That's a Buddist practice isn't it?” She paused and he nodded curtly. “Do you meditate often?” she asked and leaned her slim body against a neighboring desk. She wore a pants suit of light greyish blue with pink accents in her jewelry and nail coloring.
“It helps keep me calm,” Marcus answered and wished desperately that this teacher would find something better to do with her time than bother him.
“I think most people around here would agree that's a good thing, considering how many fights you get into.” She smiled in a way that she no doubt thought would come off as warm and friendly but Marcus was unmoved by the expression. If anything it made him more tense than before.
“Is there something you want?” the were-tiger asked as he crossed his fur covered arms over his chest.
“I want to understand how a straight A student ends up spending his free periods in detention everyday for fighting. You're a smart kid; don't you know better than that?”
“I don't start the fights,” Marcus defended.
“But you don't walk away either. What are you fighting for? What do you have to prove?”
The were-tiger regarded the woman through narrowed yellow eyes. For a few moments he didn't speak and the two just looked at one another. Marcus hoped his silence would compel the woman to leave him alone but the teacher just smiled peaceful and waited him out. Finally, Marcus sighed and looked away, defeated.
“Do you know I'm the only were-tiger in this school? Do you know I'm one out of a few dozen were-animals in general at this school. People used to pull my tail and tug on my ears. I'm a freak.”
“You're not a freak,” the teacher said gently.
“I am,” Marcus insisted. “I know that I am. But I won't let anybody bully me. If they want to bother me, then I'll fight them. If they want to see how far they can push me, then I'll push back. I don't care.”
The teacher frowned and shook her head very slowly. “There's got to a be a better way for you to live, even as a tiger among humans.”
“There isn't,” the tiger muttered as he turned away. “This is the way things are. That's it.”
Marcus directed his attention out of the window, ignoring the woman with a finality that couldn't be overlooked. He counted in his head, waiting for the woman to take the hint. When finally he heard her get up and begin to walk away, he breathed out in relief. He didn't need or want her help. He could take care of himself.