tippytoes: (h1H1UmY)
ᴍᴀʟɪᴀ “ᴏʜ ʜᴀʟᴇ ɴᴏ” ᴛᴀᴛᴇ ([personal profile] tippytoes) wrote in [community profile] undergrounds2015-06-20 09:30 pm

they used to sing about the birds and the bees;

dirty paws and furry coat; (a)

It’s easier, now, to be human. Now that she has something like a pack. It doesn’t mean she prefers it by any means. Being human is still difficult, still something she doesn’t ‘get’. It might be easier to blend into the streets of London as a human, but Malia’s never really cared about easy.

Which is why she’s back to old habits, trotting around an area with multiple coffee shops, looking for breakfast. Or lunch. It’s late enough in the day to be either, at this point. It’s a particularly busy one that’s she decided to poke her face into the dumpster for, and she’s just managed to catch them after their morning rush, which means a lot of half eaten scones or donuts or toast or some kind of breakfast sandwich.

Her back paws are scrambling on the side of the dumpster as she tries to climb inside, and she finally does with a loud ‘Oof’. With that, she starts tearing through the bags.

After she’s eaten, she sticks to the shadows as best as she can as she makes her way around the city, doing her best to stay out of the way of people. She’s really not in the mood to deal with animal control now, thanks.


she ran down the forest slope; (b)

Sometimes, she remains human, because it’s the right thing to do. She has to learn eventually to navigate her way through this space. She can’t stay an animal forever. It helps having a family, even if it’s a small one. The gaping wound in her heart is still there, but it’s slowly starting to scab over.

She really hates having to pay for things, though. Malia may have found a family, but she has no income to speak of, and absolutely no job. She probably couldn’t get one even if she wanted one; she never went to school, still doesn’t go, and she has no credentials that she knows where to find them.

Malia’s standing outside that same coffee shop she was at for breakfast, now at the front door instead of the back. She’s got her arms crossed and she’s glaring at it like it’s personally offended her. It smells great, and her stomach is growling and she’d like to go inside, but--

But she can’t buy anything. And she’s sincerely contemplating just turning into a coyote and snagging lunch that way.

Ugh. Humanity.


the forest of the talking trees; (closed to derek hale)

Malia wasn’t going to argue that she probably needed a phone. Allying herself with her cousin’s pack meant that they were going to need a way to communicate with one another when they weren’t close by that wasn’t a series of complicated howls.

She was seated in the passenger side of his car, wrinkling her nose a little at the plastic smell of it.

“You really don’t have to do this,” she says, fastening her belt. Even though she knows that, yes, he kind of does. There was just some vague memory of her mother teaching her to be polite when it came to expensive gifts, and maybe still a little bit of wariness because of who Derek shared a surname with. She knows enough about Peter to know he probably won’t be an issue. It doesn’t keep her skin from crawling when she thinks about it.


( brackets or prose is fine, and if you have a different idea for a thread you'd like to use, feel free to leave it as a starter!! )
constantprisoner: (Default)

A

[personal profile] constantprisoner 2015-06-21 06:37 am (UTC)(link)
Sirius has been sticking to human form for the time being, at least while he reacquaints himself with the city. His dog form is useful for not being noticed, but it's hard to try to make contacts or get people to tell him things. Plus the hassle of shifting back and forth.

Even so, he keeps to the alleys and sidestreets, not wanting to draw attention to himself. He's still a wanted criminal after all, and the last place he wants to go back to is prison.

At least, that's the plan until a coyote catches his eye, and Sirius is pretty sure those are rare around these parts. Curiosity overrules logic in this situation and he goes to follow it.
detectiveofthewest: (Heiji: urk)

A

[personal profile] detectiveofthewest 2015-06-21 06:09 pm (UTC)(link)
"Hey!" By now, Heiji's sort of used to chasing animals out of the dumpster; there was a surprising amount of them in London, including his own (very) distant relatives. "It's garbage day today, you shouldn't be -- oh."

Well. The animal inside wasn't quite what he'd expected. "Sorry, I thought you were someone else. ...But you still shouldn't be in the dumpster."

Heiji himself smelled rather distinctly of fox, at least to a sensitive nose.
rules_winter: (large and in charge)

B

[personal profile] rules_winter 2015-06-21 10:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Traveling the wolf territories during the day is less likely to cause her problems just yet and so that is what she is doing, looking for a cellular phone store, when she sees a girl, standing outside a coffee shop, glaring at it as though it has done her a personal wrong. Mab paused on the sidewalk to watch her, cool gaze fascinated for a moment. Perhaps a fight with a friend who'd gone inside? The girl has an odd signature magic about her, like a wolf but not. It is always fun to catch the attention of a high ranking fae. In that usually it's not great for your personal well being. But who knew. Mab was trying to be friendly with the wolves for now.

Finally her curiosity got the better of her and she stepped up next to the girl, looking at the door that has her so upset. She can see their reflections in it and that is how she looks the girl in the eye, through her reflection. "You are angry with the store or someone inside?" She asks, all polite curiosity.
constantprisoner: (Default)

[personal profile] constantprisoner 2015-06-22 05:13 am (UTC)(link)
Well, that was not how Sirius had hoped this would go. Clearly he's losing his touch.

But what else was there to do but follow? He quickens his pace to keep her in sight. This is probably not the smartest idea he's had, but hopefully it's lower down on that list compared to others.

He resists the urge to call out, since that definitely wouldn't help. There had to be something that would.
rules_winter: (glasses)

[personal profile] rules_winter 2015-06-22 07:55 pm (UTC)(link)
The girl is delightfully straightforward. Mab, living in a world of fae who will talk in circles, and humans who know to take care delights in the young woman's bare response. Although she has to wonder "What is... dumpster diving?"

Mab will certainly get to an offer, but some things are important to understand.
detectiveofthewest: (Heiji: I was sweatin' bullets)

[personal profile] detectiveofthewest 2015-06-22 08:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Heiji made a face. "Oh, come on, I'm not gonna eat that! You just got your mouth all over it!" Sick, Malia.

"...Anyhow, I work here, so I don't need to dumpster dive. You shouldn't, either. The London Police shot a coyote earlier this year." He rubbed at the back of his neck, frowning a little. "People are scared of wild animals."
rules_winter: (cape)

[personal profile] rules_winter 2015-06-22 08:38 pm (UTC)(link)
That earns a disturbed look from Mab. It would not kill a fae but it certainly would not be pleasant either. "I see."

She returns her attention to the shop in front of them and considers it for a moment. It would be a shame to let such an honest girl go too soon. Rarely has a human with a taste of magic about them be so open with her. "Perhaps we can come to an agreement." She offered. "I would be happy to purchase some food if you might do me a favor in return." It might be a bad choice for Mab to be considering using Malia as a source for understanding humanity. But she doesn't know that Malia struggles with a similar problem.
Edited 2015-06-22 20:38 (UTC)
detectiveofthewest: (Heiji: deduction)

[personal profile] detectiveofthewest 2015-06-23 02:35 pm (UTC)(link)
He didn't care if Malia was coyote shapeshifter Beyonce, he still wasn't going to eat any mouth scones. Ugh blech.

"Sure, but they're not gonna know that." That naked shapeshifter thing was something he'd heard of, but never actually seen before. He was just grateful the dumpster was there because that would have been awkward.

"So whatcha eating two day old scones back here for? We got perfectly good day-old ones up front."
Edited (this is better) 2015-06-23 20:34 (UTC)
rules_winter: (gaze)

[personal profile] rules_winter 2015-06-23 04:37 pm (UTC)(link)
"I have... been away from London and people for some time. I am not accustomed to some of the language." And it's true, her accent sounds like an amalgamation of America and something European. "It would be useful to have someone who might explain a turn of phrase such as you have."
constantprisoner: (respectable)

[personal profile] constantprisoner 2015-06-24 05:52 am (UTC)(link)
Sirius bends down so that he's at her level, holding his hands out in a way that is hopefully non-threatening and showing her that she has nothing to fear. Mentally he's cursing the fact that everything he does always ends up looking worse than it should.

"It's okay, I'm a friend. Just curious is all. Sorry for scaring you." He speaks softly.
looksatkings: (3)

B

[personal profile] looksatkings 2015-06-26 01:20 am (UTC)(link)
Tybalt was not a reckless man, but neither was he overly cautious. Perhaps a fae shouldn't be wandering around wolf territory, but he had been born and raised in London, had first ascended to his role as King of Cats here. Why should he obey some arbitrary territorial borders? At least not during the day. He wasn't going anywhere particular, just wandering the streets, getting a feel for this newer, flashier London.

The scent of wolf hung over the area, faint, but obvious to his heightened senses. But that was to be expected. What he hadn't expected was the scent of something different. Still canine - his nose wrinkled in disgust at that. Far too many dogs here already. But his interest was piqued, so he followed the scent to it's source - a girl glaring at a coffee shop, but seeming to make no move to go inside. Well. Even more interesting.

"If you're hoping for a handout, you're going about it all wrong," he said in a totally conversational tone.
Edited 2015-06-26 01:21 (UTC)
rules_winter: (aren't you interesting)

[personal profile] rules_winter 2015-06-26 06:03 am (UTC)(link)
"You already have." Mab pointed out. It was true. And it probably said something about Mab that Malia knew more about current language among humans than she did. She turned her head to look directly into Malia's eyes. "Unless you believe otherwise." And there was the food to consider. Malia might be too honest for her own good. "I only ask that you try." She offered.
looksatkings: (8)

[personal profile] looksatkings 2015-06-26 12:36 pm (UTC)(link)
"Then one has to wonder why you're out here, looking in, rather than inside enjoying a drink and a pastry." His tone was mildly curious, not accusing.
detectiveofthewest: (Heiji: words words words)

[personal profile] detectiveofthewest 2015-06-26 03:35 pm (UTC)(link)
The difference was that coyotes never wore clothes!

"Ain't going to charge you for 'em." What did he look like, a monster. "I can put 'em in a bag, too, if you wanna take some back."

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