Third Person P.O.V
It was two days after Jasiri and Edwin's date and both of them have not really contacted each other since. Actually Edwin did send three text messages apologizing for any way he could have made the date unintentionally awkward but so far he received no response yet.
Both of them decided to try to only focus on work to try to make themselves forget that night. It did not take long for each of their colleagues to notice these behaviors.
During their lunch break, the group of colleagues from both the Genetics and Fossil lab, plus Beshte, started to notice the absence of their two friends. Makuu turned his head towards the seat in which Edwin usually sits and became curious.
"Hey guys, have you seen Mariani anywhere? Is he out sick today or something?" Makuu asked.
"Oh, Edwin said he wanted to review some results from some of the chromatogram results of some of our lichen genome samples to make sure they were properly collected and prepared, and he also wanted to help out at cleaning some of our lab equipment." Vuruga said.
"Hmm...That's funny, Jasiri said something very similar with some of our fossil x-rays and the same thing about cleaning some of our equipment." Makuu said with an inquisitive tone.
While the group of friends continued to eat, two floors above them, Edwin just finished double checking the chromatographs and began to clean all of the beakers in a supply cabinet. While he was doing this, Ma Tembo was observing this behavior and was confused whether to be concerned or intrigued that Edwin has a sudden interest in cleaning the equipment. Even when she knows he is organized and detailed-oriented with his work, but not at the obsessive level of cleaning the unused equipment. After looking at him for a minute, she decided to go back into her office.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the building, Jasiri was voraciously scrubbing some of her equipment in the sink, washing and drying each tool with an intricate amount of detail. One of her interns, a young man with short brown hair, walked in to see Jasiri cleaning her equipment and became curious.
"Hi Dr. Fisi,do you need any help cleaning that equipment?" The intern said.
"No Yosef, I'm fine. You can just wait at your station until further instruction." Jasiri said with a slight hint of irritation in her voice.
"Okay, no problem." Yosef said with a slight hint of nervousness in his voice as he returned to his research station.
This routine continued for Edwin and Jasiri for another three days, with slight changes in each of their behavior being noticeable among both of their colleagues and even a few of their interns.
Until that Friday, Edwin was again beginning his meticulous cleaning routine. He heard the footsteps of someone coming in and he turned to saw that Beshte apparently came in for a surprise visit.
"Oh hi Beshte, I thought that you're working on the lower floor today." Edwin said with his tone slightly perked up a little.
"Oh yeah, I am but I'm on my lunch break right now...which also happens to be the same lunch break that you have missed for almost five days in a row. Your colleagues told me that you became a little reclusive lately, more obsessed with work than usual, is everything okay?" Beshte said with a concerned look on his face, which caused Edwin to put down the micropipette he was holding.
"I'm fine Beshte, I've just want to improve my focus in work. I felt that I have been distracted lately and I don't think that's really weird or anything to be concerned about." Edwin said in denial and tried to focus again on re-sorting the row of micropipettes in front of him.
"Actually….I would have to agree with Beshte on that one." A voice called for Edwin and Beshte to look at Ma Tembo taking one of the micropipettes from the rack Edwin was organizing earlier.
"Okay, are there any aspects in particular that raise your concern?" Edwin asked.
"Well for starters, you have been using your lunch breaks to obsessively clean beakers and flasks that were already clean to begin with, also you seem to only insist on talking about solely work-based manners with your colleagues, even when it comes to simple questions such as 'how is your day?' and even when I understand your dedication to your work, and I'm pleased to see that but based on what I see, it seems like that something is bothering you lately. Do you want to talk about it with us?" Ma Tembo said, directly staring into Edwin's eyes.
Edwin stared at both of them for a few seconds, until he sat down at the lab station in front of him.
"Okay, it has nothing to do work, in fact I think work is going just fine. I've just got some personal stuff that's kind of bothering me lately." Edwin replied.
"Edwin, even when I know this is a workplace and I'm your supervisor, don't hesitate to ask me if you want to talk about it. When I was a calf, my father used to always tell me that it is always better to talk through your emotions because if you hold them back, it will only lead to trouble." Ma Tembo said while she and Beshte sat at nearby lab stools.
"Yeah, there have definitely been some times where I had to talk about some of the personal stuff I've went to, ranging from events before my transformation, after transformation and even some things during my service in the army that affected me emotionally." Beshte said in an understanding tone.
After this, Edwin is starting to feel a little more comfortable and thought that it probably wouldn't hurt to try to talk about the emotions he is going through.
"Okay, well something came up last weekend which caused me to have some conflicting emotions and.." Edwin said before Beshte flashed a look of realization, after just realizing what he is talking about.
"Wait… did something happen with your date with Jasiri last Saturday? Because Jasiri has also been missing from our usual lunch breaks, did something go wrong?" Beshte said.
"Oh you went out with Dr. Fisi from the fossil department? She's such a delightful woman." Ma Tembo said.
"Oh yeah, she is, but I just hope she doesn't hate me now." Edwin said with a more depressed tone.
"What do you mean 'hate you'? I know she's not the kind of person to immediately hate someone. So what exactly happened on this date?" Beshte asked.
"Well, I first picked her up from her building to go to this tea place, but on the way she wanted me to make a quick stop for her to transform into her hyena form. After she transformed, we went to the tea place and there was this cashier and a few customers that kept staring at her, even when I confronted the cashier about it, I was an idiot not to confront the customers about it. Even after we ordered and drank our tea, I noticed that she was visibly apprehensive, but I initially thought it was just first date jitters because I had them myself. Then what really went wrong was that I accidentally spilled some of my tea on my side of the table so I grabbed some napkins to clean it up and for some reason so did Jasiri. At some point we accidentally touched each other's hands and we stared at each other for about a minute. While we stared at each other, I felt this connection which was enhanced by the small concentrations of oxytocin flowing through my endocrine system. Despite this connection I felt towards Jasiri, I didn't think she felt the same way because she got really nervous, made a possible lie to me about an appointment she had and just left the restaurant. I want you guys to tell me exactly how much I screwed up? It's probably a lot isn't it? But even when I accept that she might not have the same feelings of me, but I'm still concerned because I tried texting apologies to her but it's been a couple of days to which she still hasn't responded to yet, and I'm just worried that she hates me and I just feel so guilty that I screwed everything up." Edwin said.
"Woah...Okay. First of all, that was a mouthful to digest and second if you are asking me, I don't think you did anything wrong." Beshte said.
"You don't?" Edwin replied
"Of course not, based on what you told me, your behavior was completely appropriate for the events that went on. First of all, even when it still bothers us, we found ways to ignore the staring from the humans around us when we are in our hybrid forms so I don't think that was what bothered her. Also I think Jasiri probably understands that the hand thing was an accident but I don't think she left out of disgust because if she did, she would have flinched immediately, but you said she also starred for a minute right?" Ma Tembo said in an inquisitive tone.
"Yeah, we stared for about a minute. Are you implying that she may feel something back?" Edwin curiously replied.
"I'm not necessarily saying that, but her continuing to stare at you for a minute in that instance that she could have been pensive about something but I can't seem to… wait I know what it is." Ma Tembo said.
"What is it?" Edwin asked.
"Well perhaps she might be concerned about ruining her friendship with you if you guys have a relationship but end up having a bad break up. But there is also the more likely scenario that she might have some nervousness about dating since her last serious relationship." Ma Tembo said.
"Wait is this about that guy Janja who was killed or is it someone she dated after you guys came to the human world?" Edwin asked.
"It was a relationship she had a couple years ago, she dated this guy we know, and despite the first three months of the relationship being decent, that was when it all ended. He had some insecurities which he took out on Jasiri. After nearly a year in this relationship, she ended it on her terms and certain rules were established between the two. I guess she's afraid that either something similar will result in pursuing a future relationship or it could be just insecurity of going back on the dating field." Ma Tembo replies.
"Oh okay, I guess I can understand that. I just wish there is a way that I could let Jasiri know that I'm not that type of guy because I've texted her several times but she hasn't even replied once." Edwin said.
"I'm probably sure she knows that, but I guess the best thing you can do at this point is just give her some space, just to let things cool down a bit." Beshte said.
"I guess that makes sense, thanks for the input guys. I think I'm just going to go back to cleaning the beakers…" Edwin said before Ma Tembo walked in front of him before he could retrieve the beakers.
"Oh no you don't….You've been using your lunch breaks to clean those same beakers all week. For the remainder of your lunch break, you use your office or the break room to have an actual lunch break. I'll get Makini to clean the beakers." Ma Tembo said with a light smile on her face, in which Edwin started to become less tense.
"Okay, I guess it won't do any harm to take a half hour break." Edwin said.
After having this conversation, Edwin started to head to his office with Beshte following him to try to engage in casual conversation for the remainder of their lunch break.
Meanwhile, after a couple of minutes on the other side of the building, Jasiri was using her lunch break to clean her equipment… for the fifth day in a row.
Makuu eventually came back into the fossil lab from his lunch break to see his colleague aggressively cleaning their equipment.
"Jasiri, we need to talk." Makuu said.
"What do you mean? What's the matter? Did something come up for you in our research?" Jasiri asked.
"Oh no, it has nothing to do with that. It's just that I've been concerned about you lately." Makuu replied.
"What do you mean concerned with me, I'm doing just fine." Jasiri said while she was rinsing out a brush she was cleaning.
"Doesn't seem like it to me. You've missed our lunch breaks all week to clean equipment, you're more tense than usual, and you haven't been really talking to anyone lately. Also, for some reason Edwin from genetics has also been missing lunch breaks, though I'm not sure why." Makuu said.
Jasiri paused what she was doing and turned towards Makuu with a somewhat surprised look on her face.
"Wait? Edwin has not been at the table lately? Is he sick or something?" Jasiri asked.
"Oh no he's not sick, according to Vuruga, he has been using his lunch breaks to both recheck certain data they collected and…" Makuu said before making a realization about Edwin's behavior with Jasiri's.
"...cleaning equipment. Wait does your recent behavior have anything to do with your feelings towards Edwin?" Makuu asked.
Jasiri's face began to blush to an almost crimson color, flashing a look of embarrassment towards Makuu.
"Whaaat… I don't… I don't know what you are talking about? Me? Having feelings for Edwin? That's crazy…." Jasiri awkwardly replies, desperately trying to get out of this conversation topic.
"Aw come on… You really think I wouldn't notice the way you stare at him whenever he is not looking, you talk about him constantly when we text and I think at one time I saw you checking out his ass." Makuu replies.
Jasiri was in a difficult position, because despite wanting to hide her emotions at the moment, but Makuu has been like a father to her since they first started living in human society. After staying silent for about 30 seconds until she decided to tell the truth.
"Fine. Last week, Edwin asked me out, I said yes to see if the feelings I have for him are real. But even before the date, I felt a little nervous about it for some reason, I just blew it off as first date jitters and thought nothing about it. When Edwin picked me up, I asked him to park his car at some point so I can transform into my hyena form. He was so understanding and so open-minded, and when we got to the tea place he took me to, he even confronted a cashier who kept staring at me in my hyena form. Despite that, there was still some kind of insecurity inside of me I couldn't determine what it was. After ordering our tea, we casually talked for a while and then at some point, Edwin accidentally spilled some of his tea and I decided to help clean the spill and as we were cleaning the spill….we touched each other's hands, probably thinking it was a napkin. While we held each other's hand, I couldn't help but stare into his brown eyes as he was staring at me back. As I kept looking on, I felt something almost connecting me to him… something just felt so right and so comfortable with him...so comfortable that it is familiar. In a way, it was too familiar and I cut the date off early saying it was a therapy appointment. I feel so guilty for just leaving Edwin like that and he even texted me a few times to see if I'm alright but he'll probably think I'm crazy if I tell him the reason I left the date early. I tried to make an appointment with Joyce to talk about it but she had a family emergency this week." Jasiri said as Makuu was starting to approach her.
"What exactly is the reason that you left the date early?" Makuu asked.
"Well first, it has been partially due to insecurities with dating I've felt lately. Second, I guess I'm just worried that I will get into another bad relationship like the several I have been in since we entered human society. There was Milo and Risteard back in Milwaukee, which were both brief. Then there was that one month with a dental student in Los Angeles before he dumped me, two bad attempts at online dating and then there was the time when I tried to date someone from our former Pride Lander group and….you know." Jasiri said with an awkward expression on her face.
"I definitely know about the last one… I can't believe the damn CEO let him continue to work at the museum after he literally beat the crap out of you. To think I once had respect for that guy." Makuu angrily said.
"To be honest I'm not that surprised given his connections, although he's at least following the parameters of the restraining order I placed on him so I know that he must be at least 100 feet away from me at all times. So fears of getting into another bad relationship was also part of why I left my date with Edwin early but the main reason I got nervous and left was that the comfort and familiarity I felt with Edwin reminded me of Janja. When Edwin and I held each other's hands, I was starting to feel… guilty because even when I know he's dead, I still felt that I was cheating on Janja when I was out with Edwin. I know it's probably ridiculous, but for some reason I occasionally still felt this way every time I went out with someone since Janja died." Jasiri said, developing a slightly depressed expression on her face while lowering her head and sitting down at a lab station behind her. With Makuu slowly walking towards her.
"Jasiri, after I lost my entire crocodile float to the drought, I initially thought that I would never make any true friends again, but then I got to know you when we entered the human society as a seven year old kid and me as a twenty something adult, why we transformed to humans in those age groups, I don't know, but anyway each year we navigated through human society, I started to open up to other people step-by-step and yes I've encountered some assholes on the way but I've also met some really good people too. The more time I spent with people who actually cared about me, the more I moved on from my initial grief. Though of course, I've never forgotten my float, but I no longer dwell on the grief I had twenty years ago." Makuu said. Jasiri so raised her head to look towards him.
"You know Makuu, this is one of only like six times where I have seen you truly express your emotions, and even when we have had our rough patches, I am glad to have had someone like you look out for me over my years of navigating the human world. You have truly evolved over the two decades I've gotten to know you. Thank you for giving me some advice on the whole Edwin issue." Jasiri said.
"No problem, and I think you should reply back to Edwin and just tell him about why you were nervous." Makuu said.
"Okay, but I'm not sure if he would respond well if I say 'Hey Edwin, I'm sorry for running out on our date last week, I was nervous because I was afraid of either getting into another bad relationship while also trying to get over my long dead mate. Do you want to talk about it?' He would probably think I'm crazy." Jasiri said.
"Maybe I wouldn't use those exact words but I would just text him casually about how you have been feeling and then slowly introduce each issue through each point of the text conversation." Makuu said.
"Okay, thanks for the input." Jasiri said as she turned around to head to her work station until hearing a voice intrude.
"Hey Dr. Fisi, Hey Dr. Mamba, is there anything that I might help with?" Yosef said as he entered the room. Makuu suddenly gained an obviously irritated expression on his face.
"No Yosef, we're fine, just head back to your station…." Makuu replied as Yosef got back to his station. Makuu then orientated his head next to Jasiri's ear.
"Actually he could help us by minding his own damn business.." Makuu whispered, which caused Jasiri to snicker a little bit.
Two hours after she returned home from work, Jasiri was just lounging in her living room, in her anthropomorphic hyena form and she was just watching reruns of a show that she has been streaming. She was resting comfortably in a pair of black sweatpants and a white UW-Milwaukee t-shirt. She then grabbed her phone from the coffee table in front of her, to again look at the texts Edwin sent her, in which he expressed concern for her welfare as well as apologies for making their date awkward.
Even when she knows that she should reply to his messages, she still has a feeling in the pit of her stomach in which she is uncertain of what to say. She was debating it for a few minutes but then placed her phone down at the coffee table.
"I'll text him tomorrow." She said to herself and placed the phone back on the coffee table to continue watching her show.
Jasiri P.O.V:
It's now almost 10:30 in the night already and I'm starting to feel a little tired already, so I turned the TV off and started to head off to bed.
This week has been an emotional rollercoaster, ranging from trying to figure out my feelings with Edwin to trying to resolve my inner insecurities, with the addition of a busy work schedule. You know what, tomorrow is Saturday, so I can just sleep in and text Edwin tomorrow morning.
After arriving in my bedroom, I immediately went on the bed and covered myself up to my chest in my blanket, though there are still some stands of my fur from last night, but I've gotten used to my shedding on my blankets a long time ago. Eventually, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
While I slept, I woke up at 1:00 in the morning to the sound of glass shattering. I turned my head in both directions to see where the noise came from. So far, nothing is broken in my bedroom so it must have come from the living room. I just got out of my bed only to stop where I am standing when I heard light tapping from the living room floor in the next room, which only meant one thing….someone else could be in the apartment.
I decided to tiptoe to my closet to grab something I can use as a weapon. I opened the door and my attention was brought to the set of dumbbells I was using last weekend, so I grabbed the black five pound dumbbell because it was the first one I saw. With the dumbbell in my hand,I began to proceed to the bedroom door, I accidentally stubbed my toe on a nearby wall, and saw I accidentally chipped a toe claw in the process, but that doesn't matter, there could be someone in my apartment.
As I left my bedroom, I decided to check the perimeters of my apartment, including the bathrooms, guest room/office, and kitchen. So far I have no one, I went to the living room to find no one there, but I saw that a green vase that I owned was shattered. I then decided to check if the intruders might have gone into my bedroom...only to find no one there. Even when it may have definitely been weird to find the broken vase, I am relieved to see that no one is in my apartment. My door and windows were locked and no signs of forced entry, so there's a chance that there were no intruders to begin with, a neighbor could have accidentally banged the wall so hard it caused the nearby table to shake, which in turn caused the vase to fall. Either that or my apartment is haunted...yeah right….that's ridiculous, last time I heard neither Kion had any contacts with spirits of their ancestors since we entered human society.
I decided to head over to the cabinet under my kitchen sink to grab a dustpan and brush to handle the broken glass. I placed the dumbbell on the nearby coffee table and took a few steps to go into the kitchen as I reached my hand towards the kitchen cabinet…
"Jas"
I heard a single male voice whispered. I just stood there petrified of the fact that someone is in this house and somehow know by name. I couldn't distinguish the voice directly….but something about it did sound familiar. Is it who I think it is….wait no it couldn't be, I thought I was done with this when the legal paperwork went through. But what if it is...some people have said he gotten worse over the past two years, but on the other hand that could be just-
"Jaaaaas" the voice called again in a much louder tone.
Oh shit! It could be him. Oh fuck, oh fuck! I need to act fast. I saw the knife holder on my counter so I grabbed two adjacent kitchen knives and carried them out of the kitchen and decided to make a B-line to my phone to try to call 911 and began to run towards my bedroom until..
"Jasiri…. Don't be afraid….." the voice said.
"Yes….it's been a long time Jasiri….we need to talk…You know you can always talk to me" a separate female voice called.
I stopped right in my tracks….because I know that voice. I was confused because it couldn't be possible for it to be who that voice belongs to.
"Wait, no no no no no no no..This is not possible, I'm probably just hearing things and I probably need to get some sle-" I was saying to myself while beginning to walk towards my room, until I heard it call again.
"Jasiri….please turn around. We really need to talk to you…" The female voice said.
To see whether I am hearing things or not, I turned around and when I looked in the living room, I couldn't believe my eyes. The furs all over my body began to stand still, I dropped the knives that were in my hand and put my phone in my pocket. While I saw what I saw, a bunch of memories started to flow back into my mind and I was even starting to tear up.
"Wait...how?! How is this possible?! This couldn't be...is it?" I anxiously said to myself.