Highschool Memories

With Tyrik's past among the senior year of high school, Tyrik was now assisting his girlfriend with her homework assignment for their History Class. Though, he did wonder why she wasn't meeting him halfway and helping with their project regarding the stories of Chinese mythology and the story, Journey to The West. "I am a bit disappointed that we didn't get assigned to Norse Mythology... I could talk about the stories of Odin, Heimdall, and Thor as if there were my bedtime stories. Why are we assigned to some story regarding a monkey man?" Announced bitterly by Valerie, which did give Tyrik some insight as to why she didn't exactly want to help with the assignment.

"Didn't Heimdall only get mentioned in six poems or something? Compared to figures like Odin, Thor, Sif, and Loki... I would say that Heimdall is a minor character in mythology." Asked Tyrik with some degree of confusion. "Sure, he serves a big role in the MCU, yet that is the movies and comics of Marvel than the actual mythological lore." He added on with a sense of confusion as Valerie blushed a bit as if she did not intend to express that she was a bit of a nerd herself for the Nordic Myths.

"I mean... You're not wrong... Though, I may have... Read a whole lot of Norse Stories when I was growing up..." Admitted Valerie, clearly flustered by this slip-up as Tyrik chuckled a bit.

"Hey, I was kind of the same way when it came to Arthurian mythology." Comforted Tyrik as he hugged Valerie to calm her nerves. "Plus, it is okay to show that you aren't the stereotypical bratty cheerleader from time to time, Val... Despite how much Ricky seems to be suspicious of you..." He finished as Tyrik began to ponder why this was the case when it came to Valerie. She may have been a bratty woman, yet she hasn't shown anything, which would make it seem like she was a bad person. Then again, there was the possibility that his autism was not allowing him to see these cues. "Changing the topic... There is a detail that has been bothering me regarding the story of Journey to The West... There seems to be a bit of debate on who helped Tripitika through his journey toward the end. Some say that Wukong stood with him until the end, while some depictions say otherwise." Tyrik explained with a sense of confusion why an ancient text had this inconsistent detail. Valerie did express some interest in this detail as well, at least in her own way.

"Think that you can finish this for the both of us, sweetie? I have to head out to party with the girls." She announced as Valerie kissed Tyrik on the forehead with a tone of voice that gave a clear hint that she was not asking. But telling him that he needs to obey her. Tyrik looked to his side as he ultimately complied with the command. "Happy to hear, my sexy boy toy. If you finish this quickly, I may give you a little treat later." Valerie announced with a sultry voice, carrying a sinister ring.

"I think I can manage... I guess..." Tyrik timidly replied as he blushed a bit due to the minority erotic tone within Valerie's voice. With that, the young Adier was quite pleased with Tyrik's compliance. Granting him a kiss on his forehead to thank him before taking her to leave for the night. Yet she was not expecting to run into Ricky on her way out.

"Well, excuse you, gorilla man... Perhaps you should consider not standing in my boyfriend's doorway like some creep." Valerie scoffed as she wafted her hand to knock away the stench of tobacco. "Also toning down the amount you smoke daily would be helpful, too. You smell like a rotting ashtray." The cheerleader announced with some disgust towards the scent.

Ricky growled a bit with gritted teeth before he glared at the woman. "Dillweed... So, how are things going with the school assignment you two have?" He questioned with an accusing voice as if he already knew what the answer was.

"Have something to say to me, Bucko?" Valerie spat out with a malevolent tone as if she was more than capable of taking out the towering Filipino before with little effort. "Because if you want to throw hands with me. I will be more than willing to grant you that desire." She declared as Valerie approached Ricky with a small flick on his chest to intimidate him.

"Girl..." He said in a deep and brawny tone, "You and I both know that even with your mediocre foresight, you won't like what happens if you try to reenact how tough you think you are in your mind."

He puffs a billow of smoke in her face, making her recede in disgust, her back getting a slight shiver from the glare she was receiving. Ricky then continued with his warning, "And just so we're clear. If you think I'm above hitting a woman just out of principle, you're DEAD wrong. I'll drop you where you'd tandem if you think you've got the gall to take me on. So make sure to get in touch with reality before you get yourself killed." He then towered over her, forcing her back into the walls all of her previous courage and gusto went from her body. Now, only her primal survival instincts were kicking in. But just as soon as she felt as if she were about to die, she was just as quickly filled with a sense of calm when Ricky suddenly backed off as if nothing had happened. He continued to smoke his pipe, acknowledging she had been disgusted towards it, and ignored that fact. But just as soon as s she felt as if she were about to die, she was just as quickly filled with a sense of calm when Ricky suddenly backed off as if nothing had happened. He continued to smoke his pipe, acknowledging she had been disgusted towards it and ignored that fact

With Ricky ending his threat, Valerie's demeanor shifted at quite a speedy pace. Catching Ricky off guard as Valerie approached him with radiating energy. Her eyes narrowed as she gave off a sly grin. "Well, just to let YOU know, if you think my foresight is the only thing I've got up my sleeve, you might be caught off guard. Take your advice and back off, bucko. After all," She declared as Adier walked past him as Ricky suddenly felt multiple devastating blows from nowhere, "It is not helpful to judge a book by its cover." She finished off as Valerie gave out a small laugh as Ricky tried his best to recover from the wind being knocked out of him. Leaving Ricky utterly confused by how Valerie was able to land these various strikes without him coming to perceive them as they came. Taking one small glance back toward the shaken Kapre, "Seems like you are so bent out of shape. Maybe consider hitting the gym for some cardio more often." Valerie remarked as she chuckled with glee.

Ricky spat out in rage as the arrogant woman took her leave for the day. As he walked into the home of his best friend, Ricky was greeted by Tyrik's mother. "Everything okay? I couldn't help but notice Valerie giving you a hard time... Also, I haven't noticed this kind of behavior from her before." Amari announced as she brought Ricky inside and allowed him to rest on the couch in the living room. "Mind filling me with what happened just now?" The Private Investigator requested as she closed the front door, her detective instincts kicking in regarding the true nature of Tyrik's supposed girlfriend. Amari had her share of doubts when it came to the school's lead cheerleader, but it didn't help that her son was, unfortunately, lacking the ability to pick up on this on his own. Even though she knew Tyrik was quite the smart kid. Yet, it did not mean he fully understood how social interactions and the subtle cues work as well as identify them.

Ricky took some time to recompose himself from Valerie's unseen assault before he responded to reply. "I have been suspicious of her for quite some time, Miss Kage. Valerie just feels off to me, and the more she bounds with Tyrik, the more I am seeing why. She is using him for her own entertainment. Yet Tyrik doesn't seem to believe me when I bring this up to him..." The Filipino explained as he started to refill his smoking pipe before it was swiftly snagged by Amari.

"No smoking in My House, Ricky..." Amari declared with a frightening tone associated with any maternal figure, enough to frighten any man. After all, a mother's rage is one scary thing to experience for anyone who is forced to endure the experience. With that, Ricky was quick to nod as a means to show that he understood the threat and did not want to invoke her wrath any further. With a small sigh, Amari returned Ricky's pipe to him before heading into the kitchen to prep tonight's dinner for Ricky and Tyrik. "So, how were things at school?" Miss Kage asked as she pulled out a cookbook to ensure she did not screw up with dinner... Again... Not to say she wasn't a great chief, well she is mostly. Thankfully, she has been improving thanks to the cookbook given to Amari by her late husband, Rilbry Hopkins.

Before these memories could proceed, Esmeralda had abruptly smacked Caliburn out of Tyrik's hand in pure fright. As these unpleasant memories flooded his mind, Tyrik's body was being morphed by his Dragon Half. As Tyrik came back to reality, he saw how aggressive these changes were as scarring, torn skin, and blood dripping all over his body were seen before him. "What the hell happened to Me?!" Tyrik shouted with fear, yet his voice was incredibly ripped apart. His transformation this time was not into an anthropomorphic state but completely feral in nature as these changes slowly reverted themselves.

"You started to change uncontrollably... It was like you were becoming some kind of animal bent on destruction as you declared that you gonna tear apart some person named Valerie..." Esmeralda explained as she did her best to heal the distorted limbs and bones back into a more human state. 'I don't know who this woman is, but I am gonna make sure she pays greatly for what she has done to Tyrik...' Esmeralda vowed in her thoughts as Tyrik couldn't help but start to cry due to the physical and mental pain he just endured.