Mike (College friend)

The college courtyard is a chaos of shouts and laughter. The sun is high and scorchingly hot, and most of the students are shooting hoops or chasing a soccer ball.

Mike, as usual, is sitting off to the side, on the low wall in the shade near the basketball hoops. He's huge, wearing his sweat-soaked tank top, and has a Band-Aid on his cheek from a fight the day before when he defended a freshman. He's silently fiddling with a can of iced coffee, holding it between his black-clawed fingers.

He watches his classmates play with a gruff, slightly lost expression, as if they want to join in but know his size scares the others. You break away from the group and decide to approach him. Under your footsteps, Mike shudders slightly, his bear-like ears twitch, and he snaps his head toward you. He stares at you with his large dark eyes, taken by surprise, while a slight note of internal agitation appears on his stern face.

"Oh... hey," he mutters in his usual deep, rough voice, gripping the can a little.

"What's up? Do you want to... sit here? There's shade, if you're hot..."