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It's only around one am when Cerise is creeping out of her dorm. Cedar doesn't really sleep, she just rests, Cerise can tell that she knows she's sneaking out. It's a common occurrence at this point, but she doesn't really care. Sure Cedar can't keep a secret, but when asked about Cerise, it's never the first thing on her mind. So the half-human creeps out without a sound.
By the time she makes it outside, she's finally able to run. She takes off in a sprint, her hood with her but not on. She likes feeling the wind in her hair and against her ears. She can hear Ramona running from the other side of the school, their dorms placed in awkward locations. They meet at the track, their typical meeting spot. If anyone comes near, they can run and hide in the enchanted forest. Sometimes the two girls run laps just to do something. The two enjoy stretching their legs frequently.
The full moon is in two days, meaning that Cerise needs to be extra careful about how she acts. She gets hungrier than usual and is often moodier. It's really a hindrance to her more than anything. Her eyes start glowing about two hours after the moon starts to rise, but Cerise can feel them change colors. If she half-lids her eyes and pretends she is tired, no one notices.
She wishes she had a dorm with Ramona. They wouldn't have to sneak out nor would they have to act like they hate each other. If they kept quiet, no one would think anything. They could pick up each other's slack a little more and have more time to be sisters.
A sigh is heard, and the younger glances over to see her sister next to her. Her shoes are off along with her socks, leaving her bare feet against the metal. It's not a particularly cold night but the coolness of the metal is grounding. Both of them have always preferred being barefoot, they like the feeling of grass and dirt under them.
The sight reminds Cerise to do the same, the metal under her relaxing her as she gazes back to her sister, who is now sitting next to her.
"How in Ever After do you get out of damsel in distressing, but I still have to take general villainy?" The older asks, the usual bitterness in her words is gone from the day, replaced with a feeling of normalcy. Cerise prefers this side of Ramona but knows that the act she puts on is just to show.
Cerise has no idea how she's managed to evade damsel in distressing for so long, but Ramona's asking a rhetorical question, she knows that her sister knows that she knows the answer to the question she just asked. She just needed to break the silence. "You know the answer to that sis," she finally replies, the words familiar to her because she's responded to hundreds of questions that Ramona has asked her before. "at least general villainy has cooler people." She continues, "I don't think I could handle being with a bunch of princesses pretending to be weak and wait for a man to rescue them. It's unfortunate Darling's stuck in that class. She hates being confined to prissy princess practices. I don't know how she stays sane."
"Yeah, yeah I know. It just sucks because I hate being watered down to a bitchy 'werewolf' who does nothing but be an old lady and then get killed." She says, the disdain in her voice makes her seem almost angry. She's really not, she's just frustrated. "Sometimes I wish I could transform, but that's never going to happen." She continues, her voice saddening in tone but remains steady.
"You know I hate the fact that I have to hide my ears, any other trait would've been easier to hide but no. I'm lucky to be able to present so normally." The younger replies, she knows exactly how her sister feels but there's nothing they can do. Despite Cerise having less of physical traits, she has more mental traits. She's physically stronger but acts weaker to present less suspicious. She can run faster than her sister and she's almost as fast as a grown wolf but slows herself down so suspicion doesn't arise. She's braver and louder than her sister ever will be but they've looked at lessons to change how their voices sound.
Ramona has to push herself every day just to be loud and make her presence known. In reality, she probably has anxiety and if it weren't for her story, she'd be basically invisible and reading all day. It's one of her favorite pastimes aside from running. Cerise prefers physical exercise but that doesn't stop the urge to howl at the moon or her eyes from turning yellow. Ramona's just ever so slightly slower than her sister but pushes herself during races against her to make her seem faster. She also knows that Cerise slows herself down to keep them evenly paced.
"Yeah, it just sucks. Just to present less outlandish is so much work."
Cerise's nails are thicker and tougher than normal human ones and grows more body hair in general. She files them thinner and shaves more often than other girls just so it doesn't get too out of hand. Her hair is naturally thicker too, but that doesn't cause suspicion in general. Ramona's hair is thinner, much closer to a human's than a wolf's. They both got their brown hair from their mother but that doesn't stop the white streak from growing in both of the girls' hair. Ramona dyes it to seem cooler and leaves it more unruly to try and seem more abrasive and confident than she truly is. Cerise's is more naturally unruly but she spends time on it every morning to tame it down, she can at least blame it on bedhead.
"It really is," Cerise replies, her eyes fixed on the stars slowly moving in the sky. The moon is also moving, but plenty slow. "It's such a hindrance to do my hair every morning or file down my nails every few weeks."
Cerise loves meat, she eats it for breakfast lunch, and dinner. Ramona enjoys meat, just not as much as her younger sister. She eats a lot of it to seem more wolf-like. Ramona would much rather have a picnic with a book than go hunting but likes moving around nonetheless. Cerise would rather go play hunting than sit down for a picnic but loves nature just as much. Their sense of smell and hearing is evenly attuned, both can hear a bird call from a mile away or smell the food being made while being across the school.
Ramona chuckles before a response comes from her again, one full of love and light-hearted enjoyment. "Yes because hair and nails are the worst. I hate eating so much meat, I may like meat but not that much." A laugh is heard from the younger
"Want some berries? I brought some for you, I know you love a good late night or early-morning snack." She opens a small container from her satchel she brought with her, offering it out.
"HAH! Sure, funny, I brought something for you too." Ramona reaches in the folds of her thin jacket and pulls out a small bag of beef jerky she got from the vending machine earlier. The two exchange snacks and savor every bite.
"What I would do for a slice of mom's pie right now though.." Cerise says, trailing off as she watches the forest for any movement. Carmine's probably asleep with her pack at this hour.
"Or a bowl of dad's beef stew!" Ramona replies, family recipes have always been their favorite but the two just can't help but laugh at memories from their youth. How the two scratched through the couch or how they frequently came home covered in mud.
Oh how they'd do anything Ever After to be with their parents right now, but for now, the duo are content with being together, them alone.