fandomtownies | The Preserve; Saturday Evening

This hadn't been a good day. Jasper hadn't known what to think when he'd woken up distinctly female. For a guy who had a few fears tied to the female gender, it'd freaked him out enough that he'd had to get out of his room pretty damn quick. He really didn't want to be questioned on this because he had no answers and that wasn't typical.

If there was a question, he liked to have an answer. For this, all he could do as shrug and blame this island. That just felt weird. It made him feel like he was more of a permanent resident than a temporary visitor.

Last week, he'd spent time in the preserve and this week, he was glad for that. He knew where to walk to find a nice, quiet spot where he could sit down and take a few breaths. The shirt he'd put on was too big and the pants had to be held up by a belt that was notched at the very last hole.

Ain't you a pretty one, boy. Just think of this as naturalistic observation. You get good at living like a girl, that'll make it easy for you to grab yourself a girl later on. Walk a mile in their shoes...

Jasper wanted to retch but didn't. Instead, he ran his hands through his too long hair, pulling at a tangle and growling ominously in frustration. Anger lived underneath his surface, simmering and well controlled, but it was there.

Calm down, Jasper. Breathe in. Breath out. Ain't no good in getting all worked up. This'll all smooth out.

Jasper exhaled. The fact that his father's voice was helping him through this made him shudder but it was helping. He kept walking, picking his way around trees and through fallen leaves. Maybe he'd just stay out there till he was male again.

[ Open if you're out in the woods ]

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Again, if you're going to hang out in the Preserve, Hanna is going to run into you. But not necessarily recognize you.

Hanna almost ran straight into the new girl-- she had to stop running with headphones, really. Much as she loved the music, it really did cut down on her awareness.

"Oh! Sorry."

Despite someone almost running into him, despite being a totally different gender, Jasper's demeanor was still utterly calm now that he'd gotten himself in control. Almost cold.

The apologetic words were waved away with a dismissive hand. He said, "It's fine. No harm done." But left it at that for now. He brushed some of the longer hair out of his eyes and blinked.

Hanna tilted her head, taking the moment to drink some of her water. After a second, she said, "I'm Hanna. Are you new here?"

"No. We just haven't seen each other." That wasn't true but a part of him couldn't help at playing, couldn't stop wondering if he could pass as someone else. "I keep to myself."

Hanna accepted that, although.... "So what is your name?"

She hadn't noticed most of the guys who were girls today, because she'd spent most of it in her room with Velcro. But there was something just slightly off about this encounter.

"Ginny." The name came to him quickly and he only recognized it a few seconds later as the name of a teacher back home. He'd never taken any of her classes but she ran a club afterschool so he'd seen her name. "I didn't think anyone else would be out her tonight. I just wanted a quiet place to think."

Hanna nodded. "It's good for that." She paused, stretching out one leg, and said, "Do you wish to talk about it?" People had been randomly kind and listened to her problems since she got here; returning the favor to someone she hadn't met seemed fair.

"No." He shook his head. "I'm fine. Thank you for the offer but not."

He didn't think he'd be someone that offered to talk about someone else's problems upon first meeting but maybe he wasn't a good meeting.

"It's not important anyway. Just small stuff."

Not really but an easy enough lie.

Hanna gave Ginny a small smile back, and said, "Small things can be bothersome. Would you like to join me on my run?" ... only now she noticed what Ginny was wearing. It seemed likely Ginny would trip and hurt herself in such loose clothes. "Or perhaps not." She frowned at the outfit. "You would need new clothes first, I think."

"I don't have much money. Hand me downs from my brother back home," he said smoothly, pretty impressed with how easy it was. Not to lie but to lie this thoroughly.

Billy would be so proud. And that, for some reason, made Jasper proud. Later, that'd make him want to vomit.

"I'm not much of a runner anyway. Lazy. I like to walk."

"Ah." Hanna nodded. "I know what that is like." She smiled. "I'll leave you to your thinking, then. I need to finish my run." Then she added, "I'm in room 411, if you want to stop by some time."

"You're very kind to stop and talk," he told her, nodding. He wasn't going to go so far as crafting a whole new personality but a part of him wanted to. Just because he could. "If I had something to offer in return, I would."

He reached into his pocket and came out with an unopened pack of gum. "This is about all I got and it's not much."

Hanna gave a small laugh. "It is the thought that counts, yes?" An odd saying, but true here. "I will take one piece, thank you. But not all you have on you."

Jasper nodded and opened the gum quickly, putting the ripped pieces of paper into his pocket to avoid littering. He pulled a stick out and handed it to her.

"Enjoy," he said, nodding.

Hanna was bugged by a niggling sense of familiarity... but she shook it off, took the gum, and smiled. "Thanks. I will see you later!"

She probably wouldn't see this version of him but he didn't say anything. Instead, he lifted his hand and waved.

"Thanks for stopping," he said, smiling. "Have a good night."

The Preserve; Saturday Evening

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