undergrounds | May logs for Ellie

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May logs for Ellie

1. Wandering in Dangerous Territory, May 17th
The fact of the matter was, Ellie was playing hookie. There wasn’t much of the school year left anyway, and it had been such an...intense year that it had become very hard to care about it. Ellie thought that if her teachers knew she was turning into some angry animal once a month, they’d cut her some slack. Since they didn’t, though, Ellie cut the slack for herself. Generally, she tried to pick a new place every time she skipped, so no one would get suspicious. There were only so many times her story about being new and not having enrolled in school yet would work in the same area--even if school was supposed to finish soon.

So Ellie was kicking around the Thames, heading from Lambeth to Southwark. The market in Greenwich was tempting, more because it was something to do than to buy anything. The walk past the Thames was nice, too, as was getting to see the Globe from the outside.

Ellie looked up at the building. It was old architecture, and it didn’t seem like it should hold anyone. It wasn’t ugly, but it wasn’t something she loved, either. Against the overcast sky, it just looked washed out, as compared to some pictures she had seen, where it was bright against the blue sky.

There were red flags out. Ellie remembered the flags had to do with the play being put on in the globe, but she couldn’t remember what matched with what. Red, black, and white for the flags, and comedies, tragedies, and histories for the plays. Since comedies and tragedies were opposite, maybe those were for the white and black flags? Ellie frowned at her feet contemplatively, kicking at a stone on the sidewalk to see it bounce.

2. Full Moon with No Pack, May 10th
In western Richmond, there were joking rumors about a werewolf. No one actually saw anything, of course, but every now and again horrible sounds had been heard through the streets at night. Most figured they were actually stray dogs, or even cats in heat, but still the jokes persisted.

At about 9:00 on May tenth, Ellie made her preparations for the night. A space on the second floor, with a lobby and four rooms branching off from it. Once it had probably been an office space of some kind, but it had been since abandoned. There were some trees that led to windows which were mostly boarded shut, with a couple of exceptions. Ellie wasn’t worried about the windows--they were probably too high for her to get to. Instead, she pulled the downstairs door shut and locked it. Then Ellie stripped her clothes off and left them, with her knife, in a cabinet which she overturned in front of the door. As a human, she could pick it back up, but it would have to be slid backwards to get at the door, which opened into the room. Ellie thought that unless she broke through the door, it would be fine. It wasn’t great material, but the one downstairs was a little better.

Then, all there was to do was wait.

At 9:30, a dark red wolf slowly staggered to its paws, wincing as her muscles protested. She had hurt, not long ago. She was still hurting, but she made herself move, glancing around in every room. There were many smells, some that smelled like prey, appetizing, but it wasn’t new. That was infuriating--this place was infuriating because she wanted out. Out, to chase and eat and hunt.

The wolf suddenly turned on her paws and raced across the space, jumping at the last moment to slam her shoulder into the boarded up window. Glass broke, and she snarled as it tangled and sliced her, but now she could smell the outside.

Ellie stood on her hind legs to start gnawing at the wood, fury building as she wasn’t able to catch a hold with her teeth. It hurt.

3. On the Subway and Poking Around Werewolf Territory, May 20th
Taking the tube was almost second nature to Ellie. She’d grown up in enough cities that she could navigate well enough, and she’d been wandering around London for months. This was the first time it had ever been nerve wracking. Ellie shifted unhappily as her stop got closer to her destination.

Ellie wasn’t sure if she would actually...talk to anyone yet. She just wanted to get a feel for the area, and try to figure out who was living there. She’d only been given an address, but--hopefully--this would help.

4. Wildcard
Want to write your own starter? Go right ahead!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ghoul's in the process of leaving East End territory as Ellie is coming in. He's supposed to set out for Richmond. Some shit about worrisome interactions happening, check it out, blah blah- but he never makes it there. He becomes distracted by the smell of an unfamiliar wolf, one who's not pack and who doesn't seem to be escorted by a member of the pack. That could be dangerous. Rival wolves haven't been a huge concern lately, but they remain a very real possibility.

Feeling a little territorial, he tracks her down. It takes a bit longer than it should because he's still not the best at this and there are a lot of people around, okay, but when he pinpoints the source of the smell he's surprised to discover she's way younger than he expected. So her being here is probably fine. She can't start shit all on her own, can she? She's only a puppy.

Still, leaving her unsupervised doesn't feel right. He follows and watches her for a while, waiting until the crowds thin out before asking, "You lost or somethin'?"

There's a smell around this part of the city. It's very faint, just under all the other smells, but no matter where she walks, Ellie can smell it. She's not sure what it means--apparently when the whole wolf thing started, it didn't come with a manual on what everything meant.

Still, it smells familiar. When a voice comes from behind her, Ellie tenses. Her hands were already in her pockets, but she grabs at her switchblade, though she doesn't pull it out. Just in case she needs to threaten someone--most people don't need to be stabbed to back off. Ellie turns, nostrils flaring without conscious thought, but she doesn't smell anything in particular. She just looks him over. Young guy, maybe a teenager, maybe not. His jaw is set so it looks like he has baby cheeks like hers, but he doesn't walk like a teenage boy. He knows where all his limbs go. Ellie decides he's about twenty, give or take.

"What's it to you?" Ellie's all bristle, not scared but a little nervous. Defiant just for the sake of being defiant.

Correction: she's a mouthy puppy.

That's fine. He's been known to occasionally have a nasty mouth too, so it's not a quality he can really fault her for. Doesn't mean he has to like being on the receiving end, though. He gives her a flat look, then tilts his head to the side just a smidge. He likes to think he's someone who is (sometimes) taken seriously, but the motion ends up looking dog-like in a very unintimidating way. "It's my side'a town."

Well, it's not his-his. Technically, it's the pack's. Katherine's. But it's easier to say it this way. "You lookin' for somebody?"

Ellie turns the look right back at him, though she doesn't mimic his head tilt. "I didn't know there were sides." Ellie makes it sound accusing, like he was stupid enough to think there could be sides of a city. It's more proof of her ignorance than anything.

"None of your business." Still, Ellie glances down the street, where Barking and Dagenham stands tall against the water a few blocks away. Google had told her that was the right building, which strikes Ellie as a weird place for the person to send her. It's probably a trap.

Which is why she's sniffing around the area. Ellie told an acquaintance from her school where she was going, so if anything went too badly, they would at least know where she disappeared.

(Not friends. They just have an agreement to cover for each other--Ellie covers for Julia when she goes to shoot up, and Julia covers for Ellie when Ellie goes to turn into a wolf. It works out.

She makes to walk through the guy, glaring and trying to shoulder her way through. If he doesn't move, though, she's just going to face plant into his chest. She's got a better chance at intimidating him than a six-foot-something man, but not by much.

The glare does say she's seen some shit and isn't afraid to show Ghoul exactly how she came out on the other side of said shit.

At first, he looks puzzled. Of course there are sides! There's not a single square inch inside of East End territory that doesn't stink of pack. Can't she smell it?

He hasn't yet had the thought that she can, and just doesn't understand it.

The idea won't come to him for a while, either, because now she's marching right up to him like she's planning on stomping him if he doesn't move. Which he definitely does not. This is clearly a challenge, and instinct refuses to let him bow down to someone who isn't even his alpha. Could make the pack look weak. Vulnerable. If she's a scout for another group of wolves, stepping away would be the wrong move here.

It's a game of chicken neither of them wants to lose, so of course, she bonks right in to him. He doesn't look mad, though- actually, he snorts in amusement, poorly holding back a brief grin. "You're fulla piss and vinegar. Fuck's sake, kid." It's funny, but only because she can get away with it. He holds up his hands, using them as a buffer to get a bit of space between them without having to move. "You're lucky you're little, that shit right there would get you tore up otherwise." Ghoul sighs, shaking his head and looking around. "Where's the rest of your pack? They ain't right, sendin' you in like this."

Ellie is half tempted to try and attack him because he's laughing at her, but even she knows that's a shitty reason to go after someone. She does take half a step back. There's no real way to recover from that.

Piss and vinegar. That reminds her of something an old friend would say. Now that Ellie thinks about it, it's probably a good thing this guy is American. If not, she might have stomped all over his British sensibilities.

"...wait. Pack?" Despite herself, Ellie feels a spark of hope, even though she's still mad about not being able to get him to back down. But, pack. That's the kind of thing a werewolf would have, right? "I don't know what you're talking about." The way Ellie says it makes it sound like a question, though.

"Yeah, pack. Y'know, the thing you run around with?" Ghoul is looking very unimpressed all of a sudden, but only because he thinks she's got the worst acting skills he's ever seen. Of course she has a fucking pack.

Right?

"If they wanna make a move on us, they ain't got any business usin' you as a spotter. It's dirty." Oh, he's got some words for this (nonexistent) pack of hers.

Ellie would say she doesn't belong to a gang, but that's not what this guy is saying. Pack. Like a wolf pack. Maybe that's what the person meant, when he gave her that address. Not just people who could help, but people who were like her. She's suddenly excited, though it's tempered with wariness. They might help her, but they might not. What reason is there to help out some dumbfuck teenage werewolf who's only been a wolf for four months?

"I don't have one." Ellie draws herself upright a little, to look him in the eye, but it's not defiant anymore. Just searching. "You're one? A werewolf?"

So much for secrecy. But the crowds are thin, and not many people are paying attention.

Ghoul watches her with a skeptical stare, like he doesn't quite believe her claim of not having a pack, but the expression turns to one of surprise when she asks her question. Then confusion.

"Yeah...?" Now he sounds unsure, and he's caught off guard enough to forget they're in public for a minute. "Fuck, keep your voice down, you can't ask that shit out here like that," he half-whispers harshly. He suddenly doesn't know what to think of this kid anymore. Usually people have him pinned as a wolf instantaneously. "But, I mean. Can't you tell?"

He has a quick moment of internal panic- maybe she's not one after all? But, no, after another breath he's fairly sure he's not mistaken. She definitely smells like she should be a wolf.

The fuck?

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:D Yes, that'll be a fun thread!

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Ellie's not the smartest wolf in the pack. >> or out of it, in this case.

Poor dumb puppy...

She's a very dumb puppy, but we love her anyway

/Pets her with a ten foot pole

she'd probably try to eat it tbh

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