Shapeshifters ¹ [Isaac L.]

JUUROKU

" So you have to post something or your follower count will drop! "

" Why does it matter if my follower count drops? "

" Miya! " The Queen finally lost her patience. " Just do it! "

The blonde stifled her laughter, humming lightly as she half-heartedly snapped a photo of the spread— a fruit-loaded acai bowl with a croissant to one side and a matcha latte to another— paying heed to Lydia's instructions to 'tag' her and 'geotag' the cafe. Privately, the fox wondered if anyone even cared what she ate for lunch.

Judging from the twenty likes she got in the first minute of her posting: they did.

The girls, sans Allison who was off somehwere (likely canoodling with a certain wolf), were cosy in one of Beacon County's cafes with brunch offerings. The architecture was reminiscent of the establishments Miya would find herself indulging in in Williamsburg, the scent of freshly ground coffee pleasing to her keen nose, and the soft sunlight from the window they were situated by warmed her just right. While the fox did prefer her matcha paired with the traditional wagashi, acai bowls and croissants weren't bad on occasion.

Peering at the strawberry blonde over the rim of her coffee cup, it seemed to Miya that Lydia... antsy. Even more so than she had been since her episode in the woods.

The girl sat nearly on the edge of her seat, back ram-rod straight, gloved hands clasped firmly around her coffee cup to keep them from shaking. Though imperceptible to a benign eye, the vixen noted the lashings of concealer that Lydia had powdered and patted into the purpling skin under her usually bright eyes— now dead, hazy, and unfocused.

" Lydia, Lyds, " Miya cooed soothingly, slowly reaching a hand across the table. Lydia nearly jumped a foot in the air at the contact. " What is it? Talk to me, please? "

" It's nothing! " The girl snapped, pulling away and shuffling back in her seat. Miya's lips pursed but she didn't stop trying to catch the other girl's gaze.

" Obviously something is bothering you, Lyds... Who do I have to fight? Point them out and they'll have to— ah, what's the term Stiles used?— square... something...? "

The fox didn't enjoy playing the fool but the little tilt of Lydia's lips up was a salve to her bruised ego.

" Square up. "

" Ah, yes, " Miya nodded sagely. " Sqaure up! "

The fox was chuffed to hear the light snort of laughter that escaped Lydia at the absurdity of Miya speaks like an aristocrat Yamato using internet slang. Though the brightness that surrounded them slowly dimmed with the spark in Lydia's red-rimmed eyes. 

" I... " Lydia breathed shakily, her tongue wetting her lip. " I feel like I'm losing my mind. " The admission opened the floodgates. Her breathing grew heavier and her hands wrung together tightly. 

" I'm seeing things, hearing things— things that, that, that no one else can! " Lydia's voice was shrill and the look in her eyes so... harrowed, that it sent a pang of something unpleasant through Miya. " Something has changed, Mi. Something's horribly wrong with me and I don't know what to do. I'm so scared all the time...! "

It was like watching porcelain crack before her eyes. Jackson ending their relationship, Hale taking a chunk out of her— and now Lydia couldn't trust her own mind? Miya would be more surprised if Lydia wasn't terrified. 

Pulling her chair around the table and gathering Lydia in her arms in one graceful motion, the vixen brushed her fingers through the weeping girl's mused curls; not caring a bit about the wetness on her collarbone or the sureity of mascara stains on her crisp white shirt.