hellhouse | (no subject)

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WHO: Katherine Danvers & Open should you like to risk it
WHAT: Werewolves don't do well in cages
WHERE: The empty room, first floor
WHEN: July 2
WARNING: She's a werewolf, and this house is a trap, so.

Kate had been here over a month. She usually had to change at least once in a months period. But trapped in this cage, she had to fight it. But she was physically only able to fight so much for so long. She had felt itchy, antsy, and like she was crawling out of her skin from day one.

Wolves were not meant for cages.

She could feel her wolf under her skin, demanding to get out. For more than a week now she could see the wolf under her skin, and so Kate had been avoiding people. Her temper was short, her mood was bad, and frankly, Kate was a threat to them. But Kate was also only going to make it worse on herself. The longer she put off the change, the more brutal it was going to be.

Kate had woke up that morning and knew she wouldn't be able to hold it off any longer. She had wandered around the house and eventually found an empty room, save for some photos on the wall. She had gone inside and closed the door. If the door vanished, good. Fine. It wasn't like she could get any more caged, and at least trapping her inside would keep anyone from coming in and out.

Moving to the furthest wall from the door, she lowered herself to the floor. She could keep fighting it, and it would eventually take over. The walls would close in on her, and her mind could end up being more wolf than she could control. Or she could give in.

Her bones began to break, though Kate didn't make a sound. Instead, she pulled off her clothes, tossing them into a pile in the corner and prayed she didn't end up ripping them.

She dropped to her knees, bones breaking and reforming, hands and feet forming from hands to paws and claws, and yellow-blonde fur sprouting from her skin. It was beyond painful, but nothing she was not used to. Soon enough, it was over. Instead of a blonde woman, she was a blonde wolf, bright blue eyes surveying the room.

Despite the shift, she still felt just as trapped. Wolves did not do well in cages. Her human side would know better than to make any sound, but her wolf side had been contained for too long. Growling, she began pacing the room, the wolf desperately trying to find a way out that the human side of her had failed to do.

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Now that he and Cleo have grouped with Cleo's friend, Rikki, from home and a pair of men Rikki had brought with her, Derek feels okay leaving Cleo to look for supplies or explore their confines because he trusts that she'll be safe with them and she won't end up trapped in a room with no windows or doors again in his absence.

He's already tried and failed to use brute force to get them out of the house. Now, he's resigned to the fact that he's going to have to find the escape and that it's probably not going to be an obvious one. Therefore, he can't help himself from wandering through the house with interest every now and again.

Derek makes it a habit not to walk into rooms when he opens the doors to see what's inside them. He'll take note and then when he's not alone, he'll actually go into some of the rooms. This time, he's found the following behind doors: three bedrooms, a decrepit hair salon, a brick wall, a hallway that looked like it stretched for miles into the darkness in the distance, and an empty room with a pile of clothes in the corner.

...and a wolf pacing just out of initial sight. His eyebrows lift. Well...that can't be good for the humans in the house.

Derek isn't afraid, though. He crouches in the doorway and holds a hand out, clucking his tongue to get her attention. "Hey girl, you okay?" he asks. "Did you get stuck? It's okay. You're okay." His eyes shift back to the clothes in the corner and it clicks. "You're one of us, aren't you? I won't tell anybody," he promises and then lowers his voice to a whisper as he reaches to pet her. "I'm like you," he adds, showing her a quick flash of glowing eyes and offering her a tentative smile.

Her ears twitched back when she heard someone outside of the door. Her human brain going shit, while the wolf part of her was curious to see how this was all going to play out. When the door opened, she froze, and then slowly backed up against the way. This person was in trouble, especially if they reacted quickly and decided to run. The wolf in her would chase.

Then his scent hit her. It wasn't like she was use to, but it was there. It was different, but she made brain stop and switch tracks.

He was talking to her, and if course Kate couldn't respond. It took him all of a few seconds to guess what she was, which wasn't surprising. When he reaches to pet her, she pulls back, a low growl escaping her throat. She wasn't positioning herself to attack, but she was not meant to be petted. The only time she let that shit fly was when she had to trick humans into thinking she was a dog.

The glowing eyes made her sit back on her hind legs, tilting her head in confusion and curiosity. Wolves did not do that where she came from. Tentatively, she inched a little close. Kate inhaled deeply, making sure it was the smell of wolf that she was getting from him. It was, she was sure of it. But was it possible there were other kinds of wolves?

Nothing about this place was really making sense though. Things and people did add up. Maybe he was just different from her, and it had nothing to do with what she knew from home.

Kate moves away from the corner, slowly sniffing around him until she's away from the walls and has a little more space. It's just not enough space. She can't run. She can't actually be who she is trapped in this hell. All she can do is stretch, before flopping down on the ground with a soft whining sound. He was something like her. He had to get it. What it was like being trapped inside when all you wanted was forest. Tress, grass, fresh air and other animals.

To the wolf's growl, Derek held his hands up defensively. "Not tactile like me. Got it," he observed aloud with a sheepish smile. For a few moments, he just watched her as she tried to decide whether he was a threat or prey or neither. Finally, she settled on the ground with a whine and Derek lowered himself to sit in the doorway. He didn't want to enter the room, lest they both end up trapped like Cleo had been, but he also didn't want to leave lest a human stumble upon her with less preferable results.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Nowhere to run," he empathized, because he could really only assume she was suffering the same frustration he was. There was a reason he hadn't turned forms, yet. His wolf is less in control, even in full form, so he wouldn't pose a threat. It was just that there was nowhere to run, so what was the point?

Derek sighed a little, leaning against the door jamb. "It's not outside, but there's a hallway that I got stuck in for a few hours once. If we could find that, you could get a decent run in. Hell, I might even transition and join you," he suggested absently. She couldn't answer him, so it wasn't like he was having a two-way conversation, just thinking aloud. "That's assuming I could find it again. Who even knows with this stupid place..."

Edited 2019-07-10 11:17 (UTC)

Like him? She'd never met another werewolf who enjoyed being petted, but sure. There was a whole lot of differences between them already. She watched him sit, her tail thumping against the floor, anxious to move but nowhere to really go.

A hallway sounded abysmal. But it was probably also her only option. It wasn't like she had anywhere else to go. But going and looking for it was risky. Especially if they walked into people, or some ghost, or something that might set her off. Kate was fairly sure she could control the wolf, she always had, but this was a new kind of environment that did not sit well with either side of her.

Though maybe next time she should go looking for that hallway and start there. Or maybe now. She could shift back and call it a day, but the wolf wouldn't be satisfied. Kate didn't like the sound of the word stuck, but what choice did she really have.

Kate thought over her options, both of them being shitty, before getting to her paws. Might as well give it a shot. She looked at Derek, then turned her head to look at her clothes, then back to Derek with a rather pointed look for a wolf. Help a girl out, won't you?

For a short while, the two of them just sort of sat there in silence. Derek imagined she was considering the options and weighing them, trying to decide whether she ought to just stay put or trust him and hope for the best. Derek didn't know who was in there, so he didn't know whether she had any reason to think she could trust him. If it was Rikki hiding in there, then he'd like to think that she'd feel comfortable trusting him by now, but if she was some woman he hadn't met yet, then there was no reason to think he wasn't about to lead her to the slaughter. Then there was the whole gray area in between.

She seemed to decide it was worth the gamble, though, and she stood, looking back at her clothes before looking back at him. Derek laughed. "Jesus, if I wasn't also a werewolf, this would be the actual weirdest non-conversation I've ever had. Yeah, I got it," he said, pushing himself to his feet. "Stand in the doorway, so the door doesn't shut us in, will you?" he asked, waiting until he was sure that the door wasn't going to do exactly that and then crossed the room to retrieve the pile of human clothes in the corner. "Let's hope I can find this thing again."

Derek headed back out of the room and closed his hand into a fist briefly before flicking his fingers outward to open his hand again, claws extended. He'd taken to leaving marks on the walls in his wake so that he could find his way back where he'd come from, and it had largely been working except for the fact that the claw marks only tended to stay until they all went to sleep. By morning, he always had to start over again.

Running his claws against the wall as he walked, Derek was careful to scent the air and listen every few seconds, wanting to make sure that if he heard or smelled any humans coming around, he could duck into a room with the wolf so that she didn't scare anyone. If the wolf was stronger than the human inside, a scared human could sound like a lot of fun to chase and Derek wasn't going to let that happen if he could avoid it.

It took several minutes to find their way to what Derek was pretty sure was the right hallway. It was hidden behind a door this time, but it looked longer than the light was willing to allow them to see. "Last time, I walked down this hallway for like three hours before it finally ended. That should be plenty of space for running. It's not the woods, but in a pinch, it could be worse."

Derek shut the door behind them and started to undress, not bothered by the fact that he wasn't not alone. She was undressed; he imagined that nudity was as big a deal to her as it was to him, which was to say not at all.

Once he'd disrobed, Derek crouched to gather all of his things and hers into a pile, tying them into a little makeshift bag made out of the shirt he'd been wearing. He didn't trust leaving their things here and hoping they could find them again at the end of the run. He'd run with them in his mouth just to be sure. Then, satisfied he'd secured their belongings, Derek stood again and closed his eyes, letting himself shift. His shift was smooth and painless, quiet and almost graceful and he dropped to all fours as the fur took over and the wolf came out in kind. His dark eyes lit up blue again with energy and contentment; this was his favorite form. Not in this house, but generally speaking. Finally, Derek tilted his head down to pick up their things in his teeth, looked over at her to acknowledge her, and then took off, tearing down the endless hallway to run off some of his energy.

Silent two-way conversations or talking to other wolves was just part of life for her. Maybe this guy was largely on his own and didn't spend time around other wolves. Once he had clothes, she followed behind him, alert and listening for the sounds of anyone else approaching. She had no idea how people would react to werewolves being in this house. Yes, there was ghosts and this place was trying to kill them, but she didn't want to be looked at as something that might part of that bad.

When they did find the hallway again, Kate was both relieved to see that she couldn't even see the end, but also uneasy at the same time. Whoever was responsible for this had to be powerful.

Much like conversations between wolves being ordinary for her, so was nudity. It just came with being a werewolf. The only thing that took her by surprise was how fast he shifted. She could do it in a minute or so, but not instantly. It was basically magic. If she wasn't sure about the difference before, it was confirmed now. He was a werewolf, but somehow, the two of them were very different kinds of werewolves. She would have to bring that up with him later once they were back on two feet.

Kate didn't have too long to react though, because he was giving her a look and then he was taking off down the hall. Not missing a beat, Kate took off after him in a full blown run. It wasn't the same as the woods, but it did feel good to be able to stretch out and use her muscles to their full extent. However this hallway worked, at least they could go.

If only there was something the could actually chase down.

It felt nice to be able to finally run in wolf form. He was constantly listening to make sure he didn't hear any of the humans approaching, stopping on occasion suddenly to focus his ears if it sounded like someone might be, before picking up his pace again. He'd never been able to run with another wolf before, though, and that was maybe the best part. Derek had a handful of family members who could go full wolf, but they'd all been long dead by the time he'd evolved enough to do it. Malia could go full coyote, but she didn't necessarily have a lot of — if any — control over that so, to Derek's knowledge, she just didn't do it. It felt a lot better running with the other wolf than it ever had running alone, which almost seemed to balance out the fact that they were still indoors while they were doing it, at least for Derek.

When they finally reached the start of the hallway again after getting to the other end and turning around which, Derek could only guess, was at least an hour or two later, he slowed to a trot before finally stopping, setting their makeshift sack of clothes down. A part of him really wasn't ready to transition back out again, but he really needed to get back and go find the supplies he'd used as an excuse to leave the group on his own to find.

There was a pause wherein Derek stood still on all fours, closing his eyes to focus. A moment later, he was transitioning out, shifting into a furry human form before the fur faded away, leaving him in his full human form. Derek crouched again to take apart the clothing so that he could separate his clothes from hers and, once he'd extricated his things, he started to get dressed. "Something was in here with us earlier," he commented as he pulled on his boxer shorts, frowning and looking around. "I could hear it, but I couldn't see or smell anything. That's why I kept stopping. I don't think it's here anymore, but maybe you caught something I couldn't..."

He wasn't really sure whether she was going to transition out again, so he dressed slowly to give her a minute to catch up, if she needed to. If she didn't come back out, he would just carry her clothes back to that room for her.

Edited 2019-07-16 13:47 (UTC)

The run almost exactly what she needed, minus the venue. They could run without stopping, or slowing down. She might have been able to go a bit longer, but at least she felt a little more at ease.

When they reached the end, or back to the start, it took Derek again next to no time to shift. Lucky asshole. Kate didn't have it as easy, and it wasn't so graceful. In fact, it was private, because being between forms left her vulnerable. If there was one thing her kind didn't like, it was being caught vulnerable.

Kate sighed when Derek was putting on his clothes, almost in envy. She couldn't respond back until she had a mouth. So, when he was done changing and talking, she nudged him to turn away and keep his back to her.

When she was sure he wasn't going to turn around, she settled in to start the change back. It didn't take forever, but it took a little over a minute, bones shifting, fur retreating back into her skin. When she was human again she got to her feet and reached for clothes on the ground. "First of all, let me say I'm a little annoyed that your change takes like less than a second. Jealous." She said lightly as she started pulling on the pieces of fabric.

Derek would turn to see a tall girl who's hair was the same blonde as her fur had just been and the same piercing blue eyes. The mass she was in human form was actually equal to the mass she was as a wolf. "But yeah, I heard it too." Like he said, no smell though. "It's not often I hear something I can't smell."

Which really only left a small possibility of things. "Though if there's one thing I'm learning about this house, is that all the rules I thought I knew are pretty much out the door, so I have no idea what it could be."

It was interesting that she preferred he not watch her transition, but given how much longer it seemed to take her while his back was turned, he wondered if it was just that she had a different transition than his that was, for whatever reason, embarrassing or upsetting for her to have anyone else see. His back remained turned until he heard her speak again and he found himself amusedly thinking to himself only werewolves would be more comfortable letting strangers see them naked than in transition, but he kept his eyes on her face by reflex, so it hardly mattered anyway.

"Yours does take longer...I've never met a werewolf that wasn't like me," he replied thoughtfully as he pulled his shirt on and finished by starting to put on his socks and shoes again. "I've never heard something I couldn't smell. My nose is more sensitive than my ears. It's sometimes true the other way around, but I really don't like that we're on the same page with this. I was sort of hoping I just missed something," he admitted, frowning and looking around again.

A soft, humorless huff of a laugh escaped him at her comment and Derek gave her a weak smile, cocking his eyebrows just once. "Yeah, no shit. I kind of hate it here," he replied. Then, realizing belatedly that he hadn't ever met this woman, he held out his hand. "I'm Derek."

"Likewise, until now. But I've met a man who doesn't seem to know what a cellphone is a woman who lives in space since being here, so I'm willing to believe it." She was reaching for her pants when he was pulling on his socks and shoes. "The only thing that comes to mind that I couldn't smell or hear is a ghost," she said thoughtfully as she zipped the pants closed. "But I've never been able to see those. Only necromancers can. Or those are the rules I'm used to." Demon maybe? She'd never met a demon face to face, so she couldn't be sure. Kate had never asked her mother about that.

Kate pulled on her shirt and then reached for his hand with a smile. She had no shoes or socks. "Katherine. Or Kate" she said with a firm shake.

Now that she was dressed, she turned to look more at the areas around them, listening carefully, watching, and taking the time to breathe and figure out what she was smelling. "I mean, dirt, dust, mold, wood...pretty much what I'd be expecting from a house that needs to be condemed.'

"You have me beat. Cleo was pretty normal, from what I could tell. She's Australian, but that's about the weirdest thing about her, so considering that's not that weird, you definitely win," Derek replies with a small smile. While she finishes changing, Derek leans to peek out of the hallway, more relieved than he'd like to admit to see his claw marks still on the wall leading back toward the rooms he's been sharing with Cleo, her friend, and the Hargreeves brothers.

His eyebrows lift a bit with interest. "Do you prefer Katherine or Kate?" he asks. A part of him is really hoping that it's the former rather than the latter, because he could really do without another Kate in his life any time soon, but then again, there is always the potential of sort of overwriting the bad memories with...less bad ones, he supposes, considering the circumstances of their meeting.

"Yeah, I got that, too. That was pretty much it. And the remnants of some of the other humans that have been walking around in this hallway the past couple of days," Derek agreed. "But I kept feeling like I was hearing someone whispering. Were you getting that, too?"

Kate had an annoyance with Australia that had nothing to do with most Australians, but that wasn't something she really needed to comment on. But so far there were some serious differences about a lot of people. Kate wouldn't be too surprised if this Cleo person ended up not being totally normal.

"Most people call me Kate." she said with a shrug. "Any other nicknames are subject to scrutiny and low chance of approval." Things like Katie, or Kat, or god knows whatever horrible nicknames people had tried to give her. "Danvers, my last name, is also acceptable."

There were definitely humans, or people that weren't human but didn't give off the same scent as wolves. She still had no idea who she was trapped in this house with, but chances were, out of all the kidnapped people she would easily be viewed as one of the biggest monsters. "Sort of whispering? I can usually hear whispering pretty easily, but I couldn't make out what was being said. Almost like it was muffled, or in a language I don't know."

She noted the claw marks on the wall, assuming they were Derek's, and then cautiously moved to check one of the rooms closest to them. If someone was whispering, they might as well find out who.

"Kate then," Derek agreed with a nod. "I'll just leave it simple. I don't particularly like making a point of pissing people off by misnaming them if I can avoid it," he added with a lopsided grin.

He nodded to acknowledge what she was saying and that he'd observed the same phenomenon. "Yeah, that's actually a better description. It's whispering but I can't hear it as well I as I normally could, so maybe a human couldn't even hear it at all, which I guess wouldn't technically make it whispering at all," he agreed, frowning. "Whatever it is, I can't tell what it's saying, so it's not helpful."

Nothing about this stupid house was helpful, though, he supposed.

He, too, was following the claw marks in the wall with the hopes that it would lead him back where they'd started, if nothing else, which meant he'd be able to get back to his group. Whatever, he would take what he could get. Part of him wanted to know what was making that sound, but there was another part of him that was sure it couldn't be a good thing, whatever it was, and maybe feigned ignorance could also be bliss?

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