Beast Speaker, Monster Tamer

71: Revise and Revise

Curfew at ten. Blaziken reminded Elise as she quietly slipped out of the dorm entrance. Remember that, Elise. Don't go far.

I know. You've told me this

It was the end of a long day, the lull of what people had dubbed the 'intermission period' seemed to stretch forever in all directions. For the other students, it was just a stretch of days where they were to finish summer work. For the hero-course, it was the grueling, relentless pace of constant training. Despite almost everything being the same, there was a distinct shift in the air, especially when it came down to her and Bakugou. She couldn't help but pick up the extra attention that Class 1A drew. More distinctly, she and Bakugou. Waiting for lunch in line were met with backward glances and walking through the school grounds saw groups of students taking glimpses at them as they huddled together. Elise saw them, all too aware of the bulky compression sleeve beneath her clothes and the tired look that haunted her face. Each only compounded on top of the sense of displacement that had been hovering around her ever since Kamino.

A feeling of displacement only made all the worse when everyone in the class knew that Recovery Girl and Aizawa were still limiting her. More often than not, the teachers doubled back to check on her while leaving her peers alone, limiting and restricting Elise from pushing herself as much as she liked. Thus, the past few Ultimate Moves training sessions were reserved for improving her capacity to handle the transport and direction of multiple Pokéballs. It left her no time to work on the other move that she had pulled in front of Ectoplasm that one day.

This led to now, heading off toward the place where Aizawa often with her and Shinso, this time under the guise of a dark sky. Each day passed brought the looming deadline closer down her neck, an iron yolk geting heavier. The fear of not making it in time haunted Elise, so she pushed the limits set in place by the doctors. Obeying them, but just barely, as she worked herself in her free time to get stronger.

That move I pulled... Elise mused, letting her feet take her while her mind drifted. The half-shift. I've been itching to figure out how it worked because it didn't feel like the few other times I've tried. I need to work with it more and figure out what exactly it does.

Asphalt turned into grass as she stepped onto the wide-open field. Like the trip here, the space was devoid of people. Thankfully it was well-lit so she had a clear view stretching from end to end. The girl made her way from the path to an area where it wouldn't be too obvious that she was there. Once happy with where she was, the girl rolled her shoulders and took a deep breath, seeking out the powers of her quirk.

This time the features of a Luxray took over, tuffs of black and blue fur sprouting out over her cheeks like sideburns and she felt her ears changing. Her nails became white claws tipped with more fur and she was forced to free a pronged tail from the confines of her clothes. Her shoulders prickled, itching as the spiky fur there caught on her shirt and underneath her compression sleeve. Static danced over her skin and when Elise opened her mouth, she felt the sharp points of fangs there. A burning warmth took place in her chest.

Huh.

So it works with other forms too, then. How interesting.

Elise gave an experimental flick of the tail and jumped when it responded and smacked her in the shoulder. A line of errant golden electricity crackled off of her and charred an unfortunate patch of grass at her reaction. There was a moment of silence as she stared at it. This time, Elise deliberately flicked her tail, and a bolt of electricity arced over her head to strike the grass in front of her. She then patted her newly transformed ears, feeling soft fluff there as they wiggled. Around her the world sounded sharper and louder and the girl picked up the sounds of approaching footsteps, whirling around and crouching as she waited for the person to come nearer. Elise blinked and then her vision was washed with gold, the world changing to the same shades. There was a brighter signature approaching from the path leading to the field and she watched it closely. Squinting, the form became clearer, and details of who she recognized as a student became known to her.