It was clear enough that he didn't come here only because of the poster. He could have just as well do it by himself. Actually, that was exactly what he did. Even if I did try to say something, or do anything to help, his knowledge was beyond mine. So eventually I decided it was best to just shut up. Jake did his job like a robot. His hand moved non-stop, smoothly and so fast that the beautiful cursive handwriting for a result was just inhumane. I mean, I can't write that fast even if I do mistakes after every two letters. And at the same time his eyes kept flitting at those notes we had taken while we were in the woods. Well, before we had to make a run because of the hyenas. By the way, Jake also had Melany's notes with him, from which I could only make out that he had planned coming here.

The strange thing was that again and again I found myself searching his eyes, which seemed distinctively dark at the moment. Every time they flitted at the notes, they reminded me of something otherworldly, surreal. And what more I thought about it, that more difficult it was to look away. A part of me was just so enchanted with all that supernatural stuff. I had no idea if he had noticed my staring. He should have had by now. But he didn't give me even one glimpse.

At one point he tilted his head a little to reread the text he had written before. And I saw his eyes from another angle. Then it hit me immediately, why they had seemed so different. There was this transparent layer on them, like you could see on a cat's eye if you looked from the side. It came to me so suddenly that inadvertently I flinched, hitting my knee on the desk.

That earned me Jake's attention. A smile appeared at the corners of his mouth, his pupils reducing into thin vertical lines on the bright greenish background.

"Can't get your eyes off, eh?" His voice sounded amused.

I had pulled back a little, staring at him with wide eyes, not knowing what to say. If before his eyes had me... yeah, enchanted, then now they filled me with slight fear.

He turned his gaze back at the poster and carried on writing. "If you're wondering, then it's easier to do the job like this," he explained, not looking at me anymore. But a while after the incident, I still remained like a statue, my heartbeats accelerated. It had scared me, because it reminded me of that night at the old schoolhouse. I might be aware of the fact that he's not human, but it doesn't mean I'd act like everything is normal when I'm face to face with a guy with cat's eyes. Eventually I gathered my courage again, of course, and leaned forward to the desk, waiting for him to finish. And waiting to get him out of my house.

Finally he put down the pencil, giving a quick look at his work. He had written down every species from our notes, added a short description, lifestyle and stuff like that. And the only source he had used were our notes. I tried not to be too astonished. It must be coming from the fact that he's half an animal himself. He just has more knowledge of the animal kingdom. I should also mention that the whole job only took him about fifteen minutes. But there barely was a white spot on the paper.

Jake pushed the sheet towards me. "Wanna do the illustrating?" His dilated pupils reduced a little when he looked at me, but this time they still stayed rather dilated. I had to suppress shudders.

"So you aren't that good at drawing?" I asked, adding sarcasm in my voice.

"I just thought you might wanna do something yourself."

I took a sharp breath, keeping back a sigh. "Okay, but you'll see it tomorrow at school," I replied, putting the poster away.

"Will you go now?" After a few seconds of silence he still hadn't showed any signs of leaving.

It looked to me as if he kept himself from rolling his eyes at me when he stood up and slowly sauntered towards the stairs. I followed him to be sure he'd leave. But when we had made it downstairs, he stopped at the kitchen to look back at me.

"Um, Selina, could you offer me a glass of water?"

I raised an eyebrow, but sighed and approached the sink, took a glass from the cupboard above it and filled it.

"It's clean," I said, knowing that not all accept the water from tap as drinkable. But I guess an animal wouldn't mind it anyway.

He didn't say anything, took the glass and drank it all, faster than I ever could. For some reason I imagined him licking the water as cats normally do.

"Thanks," he said, handing the glass back to me. I was still a little confused at this request for water of his. Slowly I put the glass in the sink. I had assumed he just wanted to come up with something again, to put off his leaving. But this sudden need for water didn't look feigned.

Jake shook his head, blinked many times before closing his eyes completely and took several deep breaths before opening them again. This time he had his human eyes, pupils surrounded with irises which I'm not too sure if they're grey or very light brown. But the color was soft, and though they seemed unusual, I'd say they were the most humane part of him.

"Everything okay?" I asked before I could even think about it.

"Oh? Uh... yeah." He looked at me again, like for a moment he had somehow forgotten my presence. "It comes from the... change of habits. Brings some side effects. Though, changing forms too often always makes me thirsty. Or hungry."

"Habits?" I asked a little hesitantly.

"Yes, habits." He smiled. "The guys have been looking for me for quite some time already. So far I have managed to stay away from them. They would laugh at me." He snorted. "Which means, I'm afraid of talking to them." The last sentence was said more to himself, I think.

I slowly nodded, though I was confused. "Your gang?" I asked.

He nodded. "I've been avoiding them."

"Uh huh. Well, they asked about you when I came from Blue Mist's birthday."

Now Jake was the one to have a confused look. "They came to talk to you?"

I nodded. "And I'm not sure what else they would have done if someone by the name Shane hadn't saved me," I added accusingly. "And talking about that," my voice now thoughtful, "that Shane guy came alone, but still your friends seemed scared of him. Was there a reason?"

Jake thought about it shortly. "Honestly, I know no one called Shane. And if he was alone against all seven of them..." He trailed off.

"He is a savannian," I assumed. Well, actually I was pretty certain he was.

"That's probably true, yes... Maybe a grizzly. They often have these periods where they grow incredibly fast, so they can be real giants."

"A grizzly can take seven jaguars?" I asked, frowning.

Jake shrugged. "They're savannians, so it's possible. But he can be anything, really. Maybe even an elephant? Why do you ask anyway?"

"Why do I ask? If I should happen to bump into him again, it would be good to know what I'm dealing with," I said, remembering how Shane found me at Mist's Dining Place after the incident. Though, it doesn't certainly mean we do meet again.

"In that case the best idea would be to avoid him." Jake shrugged. "As long as I haven't seen him, I can't say who he is."

With a sigh I leaned on the counter. Is it even possible to avoid a savannian? Thinking to Jake, I'm guessing not.

"But what habits were you talking about before?" I asked, changing the subject. Suddenly I realized that instead of wanting him to leave, I was keeping him here myself now.

Jake seemed hesitant before answering. "For example... I try to keep myself from fights... and then my eating habits."

I stared at him, almost as if I was frozen. Eating habits? Change them how?

Seeing my reaction, he laughed, but silently, as if he was somehow embarrassed. "I... I have thought about it lately," he said slowly. "I have thought about it a lot, and I... don't want people who know me - who know me enough - to be scared of me. So I thought that I'd at least try to stop hunting people."

 I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. I wasn't even sure if he meant it, but if he lied, he was a damn good liar.

"You convinced me to try, actually," he added a minute later, his voice even less audible now.

"Me?" Is he 'fooling around' again, like he said before?

"Yes, you." Jake attempted a sweet smile at me.

"Um... How is it going then?" The only answer that popped into my mind.

"Good, so far. Only I feel hungry more often than ever. And I'm not so used to catching animals. The fur tends to get stuck in my mouth." He winced.

"Animals," I repeated, deep in my thoughts and staring blankly in front of me.

I suddenly had a vague idea. Pushing myself away from the counter, I approached the fridge. Jake eyed me silently as I grabbed something from the bottom shelf and extended my arm towards him to hand it over. It was actually kind of comical.

Jake looked down at my hand, then back at me. "A carrot?"

"Yup, it's healthy. No meat, which I guess should make changing habits a lot more easier."

"You're kidding me?"

"Nope." I didn't pull my hand away, so eventually he took the root, though a bit hesitantly.

He stared at it, looking almost puzzled, until he finally said, "Okay, didn't see that coming."

"What? You don't eat vegetarian foods?"

He shook his head. "No, it's not that..." He gazed at me for a moment, sighed and took a bite from the carrot. "I guess I could come here again when I get hungry," he mumbled after he had swallowed, but I heard the smile in his tone.

Then I heard the front door click, which meant that mum came home. Jake finished off the rest of the carrot pretty quickly. "I gotta go," he said, sent me another sweet smile and left towards the front door.

"Jake, wait," I called after him, making him stop. "I wanted to say that I don't want you always following me. You being here today and we talking hasn't changed the way I see you. I still don't like you."

Jake only grinned and waved at me. "See ya," he said, before leaving through the living room. There he met my mum, greeted her shortly, and gone he was.

Mum came my way, eyes still on the front door. Then she sent me a questioning look, where I distinguished a little excitement and amusement. "Who...?"