Changed (Rex)

[Marshal Bishop]

The greatest disguise for a shapeshifter was often the most threatening one. Of course, in Marshal's mind there was only one person people didn't wish to screw with in the forest. Rex.

The Redheaded gang leader was an idol for Marshal. Marshal respected him, looked up to him, wanted to be him. Rex was his savior and his all knowing leader. Marshal's god to an extent.

However, recently the shifter had begun to lose faith. Sightings of Rex spanned between weeks at times. Talking with Rex had often been short lived, quick and lightly comedic, always leaving in the question of Marshal's obedience.

If Rex were a king then such interactions made Marshal feel like a jester. A simple clown made to cheer the boss up before he would disappear to plot or to clear his head for another two weeks.

Such isolation paired with no other longstanding friendships left Marshal feeling abandoned, leaving him losing faith in his master among other things.

It had been three weeks since Marshal had last seen Rex, the young man took a trip through the jungle in the skin of his King. He stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked in a similar swagger as a younger, better known Rex. He had no idea that he was on a collision course with the man himself.

[Rex]

Rex's plate was quite full lately...Thanks to the current standing tournament, which he, and two others of his group, were placing themselves in the public eye...Rex...Wasn't planning on showing much, if anything at all in this test of powers, but he wasn't so sure of the other's. His relationship with Veronica, and Marshal, was distant to say the least...With him and Veronica even clashing recently, leaving them on bad terms. Thanks to this, the news of the two joining the tournament came as a rather bitter surprise...He didn't want them risking something like this, if they started to show, or win to much, interest might start to grow, and from there, he wasn't sure what would happen...The island's were shifting, changing, things ain't as peaceful anymore. Leadership's within' the two ranks were being challenged, strife between the two fractions were building...And...He wasn't sure of this yet...But he was worried recruitment, and further branching out was about to start happening, within' both ranks...He felt that the title 'neutral' wasn't about to stay around for much longer.

"Ahh...." He clenched his right eye shut, and paused in place. He'd been suffering some major headaches, and body pains lately, just simple walking around seemed to put strain on his body, and his limits he'd built up to hold his strength back, were failing more often then ever before, something...Was going on with him, the power he had control with...Seemed to be growing, enhancing, it was becoming harder to even praise, without breaking things, and he seemed to gain less, and less control over it all.

He huffed through his nose, and began to turn around, a quick visit to the nurses office couldn't hurt...He needed somethin' for this headache,especially if it became as bad as recent ones...Though...When he turned around to walk away...His eyes met with a very...For lack of a better words familiar face. "....." He paused for a moment, really...Contemplating what exactly he was seeing, before a small smile played at the corners of his lips, and he took a few steps forward, before patting the males chest, with his knuckles. "Wow...You've gotten pretty good at that Marsh...Though...You do know I'm abit older then that...Right?" He said, pocketing his hands, and smiling up at one of his best friends, Marshal. Someone...He couldn't be happier seeing.

[Marshal Bishop]

Marshal remained stone faced, as Rex was known well for by outsiders. There the two stood, face to face, Marshal giving his unyielding attention as he mimicked Rex's expression of confusion and analysis on Rex’s face. It took the natural ginger longer than expected to figure out what was going on; but in the end, the smile on Rex’s face was evidence enough of his understanding. “H-“ Marshal had only started to speak before being interrupted with a closed fist to the chest. What would’ve been a simple tap for an average joe was a punch with Rex.

Marshal gave a cough as he stumbled back, shifting into his usual tall and blonde self. He gritted his teeth, mildly annoyed of Rex's lack of control. "It's not like anyone sees much of the real Rex these days." He spoke with a bit of edge. Even if the disguise was outdated it worked for the vast majority of people.

The gang was divided to say the least, the family broken. Even Marshal was unsure if it was being pulled apart or if the gang had fallen to pieces. Meetings between any two gang members were a rare sight. No single member stood ready to defend another. There was no organization, no communication. And with Rex briefly handing power off to an outsider, it was no wonder why a divide had formed.

"Out for a smoke, then?" Marshal could smell it, lingering off of Rex from earlier. It was more of a bland conversation starter, a way to break the ice without getting the wind knocked out of him. Though, whether Rex was out for that reason remained or another was still unknown.

[Rex]

Before he could take in anything Monty was trying to tell him, or rather vent to him, something blaring just came to Rex's attention, something he couldn't just brush off. He...Didn't try to hit Mont...Not even wind him...By all means he pulled his tap. He's had his strength long enough to know when, and how to control it, and how to limit it's effectiveness but...Seeing Mont's reaction, and seeing the effect the blow had on him...He wasn't so sure anymore. Was he losing his mind? Or is it some other beast all together? He...Really didn't know, and not knowing...Was driving him crazy. 

He found it'd be best to leave this for another time, Mont...Didn't seem to happy with him. He heard the way he spoke, the tone, and knew something was eating away at Mont, something he seemed to want to say...Though...By the phrasing of his words, it could be evident that he'd said his main point already. "...Yeah....I needed a place to think..." He left the conversation there for a moment, as he considered what to do next. He, wasn't the best when it came to emotion, and his more tactical and observant knowledge didn't really help either. "I..." He paused himself once again, trying to find the best word to put this. He moved his hands up, as if to speak with them, or try to explain his case better...But simply stuffed them into his jacket pocket. The silence was getting awkward fast, and he wasn't exactly sure how to break it well...Still he had to try something.

"Look...I...Didn't mean to be so scarce lately I...I've been busy...Trying to find out about this school...How it works...What's been going on...And...What's going to happen....I'm sorry...I need to do this though...For all of us..." He...Figured that wasn't going to go over well, but he had to explain it the best he can. The problem was he knew so little about this island, and he needed to change that...Heck it was because he knew so little, that he had to make big, rather rash, decisions. For better...Or for seemingly worse. 

[Marshal Bishop]

(LOOC: mentally substitute the name "Mont" with the name "Marshal" for the post above to avoid confusion)

The noise of jungle life couldn't cover the silence between the two old friends. Regardless of whatever Marshal thought or felt regarding the unintended abandonment, it was comforting to see Rex. "A lotta people wanna know about this place." He spoke, standing up a bit straighter, walking the hit off by pacing around Rex, each step aimless.

There were a lot of rumors on the island of what the island was: an island getaway, a death camp, a front for human testing, and a super-soldier training camp were among the popular guesses. Marshal didn't know what to think of it. He didn't care much for the many far out conspiracies of what the school may have been. It didn't really matter. Despite Marshal's outgoing personality towards the student body the shifter hadn't liked the island life all too much. Sure, he could survive with the kind of food they had on the island and get by with being friendly to most of the people he ran into, but Marshal couldn't help but feel trapped.

Even if the island were some sort of haven, Marshal would want to leave. There's no place like home, and home was the south side of a bad town. "what did ya find?" Marshal watched his feet with each foot fall, only lifting his head to Rex when asking a question, as if to read a reaction from the sternly uncomfortable Rex, perhaps it was a matter of awkward silence. Or perhaps that's just how Rex was now. It was a sad thought.

[Marshal Bishop]

The distance had grown since Marshal had made it to the island. Rex had become increasingly reclusive, almost a hermit of the forest at this point. Rex even smelled like the forest, as well as a hint of stale cigarette smoke. Perhaps it was the distance that made Marshal a stranger. Or perhaps he always was.

For the longest time Rex had been calling Marshal by another name. It was this that made Marshal wonder if Rex even knew who Marshal was.