daybreakacademy | CLOSED POST ♞ ICHI'S GONNA HAVE 3939292 THREADS

Since Peter has shown her the wonders of dumpster diving, Ellie has actually taken it upon herself to try it a few more times on her own. True, it's still pretty gross but the pros significantly outweigh the cons. After all, look! She got a new phone from doing a single dive with Peter so imagine what she could find afterwards! Not that she'd probably know what she's picking up but she figures that she can just grab whatever that looks decently good and then run it back to Peter so it's fine.

After looking around for a bit, she finds a dumpster that she thinks she can jump into. However, before she does any jumping, she gives the side of the trash compartment a loud knock or two. Gotta make sure that she doesn't run into an angry hobo, right?

[ ellie has actually gotten to really like peter. he's a nerd but he's pretty cool. so, it's not very surprising that she actively has been trying to hang out with him (if it's cool with it but psh, she would probably stick her nose in his business even if he wasn't). this is probably another one of their hangout sessions when ellie decides to pop the most random question out of nowhere. ]

Hey, so... you got your powers because you were bitten by a spider, right?

[ ... this isn't going to lead to anywhere good ]

[ Cool is ... probably an overstatement for Peter! But he's an interesting dude to hang out with, at least, and he's usually doing something fun. Climbing buildings! Dumpster diving! Picking crickets out of Lumère still despite it being like a week later or whatever!

Today he's on his couch (there's a plaque, Kano made it) in Lumière, idly fixing some junk he scavenged the other night. It's an ancient game console - or will be, once he figures out what's wrong with it. ]

Oh, yeah. I think it had Blight or something?

[ He holds out a hand, showing her two white pinpricks on the back of it. Thin white scar lines trail away from the insertion points, like webs. ]

[ embrace the cool, peter. if ellie says you're cool, you're... probably at least 40% cool. anyway, ellie sits on the floor and leans over to see the bite marks. she then leans back and looks him dead in the eye. ]

Okay, just hear me out but... what if you bite my hand?

[ He. Uh. Stops? And looks at her like she just spontaneously grew another head. ]

Dude. I'm not contagious.

[ and she looks back at him like she just asked a totally normal question. ]

But how do you know?

Because - look, how would I even infect you? The spider bit me with fangs.

[ He grimaces, showing her his incredibly human teeth. ]

You kiiind of have fangs.

[ points to his canine teeth. close enough? ]

Dude, there's no venom in there. I swear. Like, if I bit you, it wouldn't even do anything.

Okay, if you know for sure that it wouldn't do anything, then there's no harm in trying, right?

.........

I can't actually think of a good rebuttal to that.

Haha, I win! Ellie, 10, Peter, 0.

[ yeah, she just gave herself ten points for that. ]

You can't give yourself points!

Also if you seriously want me to bite you, you're gonna have to wash your hands.

Wh-- screw you, my hands are totally clean!

[ are you calling her dirty-- yeah, she's dirty. ]

Nope. Soap and water and disinfectant. Or no spider-powers.

Ughhh, fineeeee.

[ she whines super overdramatically as she pushes herself up and drags herself to the nearest washroom. she will take her sweet time washing her hands but disinfectant? where the heck is she going to get that? psh, it's fine, peter won't know. she just washes them, wipes them clean on her jeans, and then comes back, holding out her hands. ]

Okay, there, how about now?

[ He makes a show of inspecting them? But his spider-senses can't sense disinfectant, and they look clean enough so.

Guess he's doing this. ]

... You're really sure you want me to bite you. Really, really sure.

[ waves hands, rp timelines are confusing, but! assume this happens while they're at the chocolate stand and ren just made minako a super cute drink. ellie has seen everything since the two were sitting up in a tree (why was ellie watching them? um, that's none of your business) and has now "surprisingly" popped up right behind them. ]

I didn't know you two knew each other.

[ hello :) ]

[ It just happens that he did make her a super cute drink! Look at all that whipped cream and the chocolate shavings on top, it's a work of art that she's going to happily consume. Or she would, but when Ellie makes her presence known, Minako spins around to greet her. ]

Ellie! [ Where did you come from? But more importantly, as she looks between Ellie and Ren. ] Yeah, we're neighbors. I didn't know you two knew each other.

[ They live on the same floor, but. ]

Edited 2019-01-18 00:06 (UTC)

Hey kid! Get a chance to pick any locks yet?

Not yet but it's going to come in real handy after a test.

[ nothing like trying to sneak in and get some answers :') but also trying to steal back whatever she gets confiscated ]

But yeah, we met a little while ago. He taught me some cool things.

[ like the lock picking that they're just casually discussing ]

[ Ren do you realize what you've just unleashed upon this school? These nasty crime children (yes, he's included). Her smile stretches as she laughs. ]

I'm sure he has! [ BUT LET'S NOT TALK ABOUT CRIME. ] He was just showing me what an amazing, awesome barista he is.

[ She holds out the cup happily in response. ]

He gave me a free drink.

[ Minako, everything here is free... ]

I'm still learning but I'm glad you think so.

[He smiles a bit sheepishly]

...also all those drinks are free.

[ WHY DOESN'T MINAKO WANT TO TALK ABOUT CRIME she should join this crime squad ]

Whoa, that looks awesome! [ now turning to ren with a very excited face ] Can you make me one like that?

That shouldn't be a problem. With or without coffee?

Without. Make it so sweet that my teeth fall out!

No problem, coming right up.

[Ren will get started on that and leave the girls to chat]

[ and now that ren's attention is elsewhere, ellie looks at minako with a cheeky grin. ]

Soooooo... hanging out with a guy up in a tree and getting him to make you drinks...

[ she's not saying anything but oh boy, that tone sure is... ]

[ She sees that grin, Ellie. ]

He offered! And I was there first, he just happened to climb up there too.

[ It's true, but that sure does sound like backpedaling with the way the words tumble out of her mouth. ]

[ ellie's used to kano occasionally disappearing and then reappearing later on. it's nothing new. he did that a few times before when they were younger so when he does it again at daybreak, she doesn't think much of it at first. everyone needs their time apart and alone, right? right. but as the days go by and kano still hasn't come back to their tiny dorm room, ellie descends into full-blown panic. it wouldn't be so bad if he just answered his goddamn phone and replied to her texts but it's like he completely dropped off the face of the earth and that is not something ellie needs to deal with right now. she really does not need to deal with this now. ]

[ she's always had a problem with being left alone when she was younger. it's just a common fear amongst orphans, right? being trapped in an unstable home with kids constantly coming and going, it's not surprising that she has issues with abandonment, but since the incident a month and a half ago, it blew up her monophobia to whole new levels. she does not and can not think that kano is off somewhere, maybe dead in some ditch because he's a fucking asshole who can't text people where he is before he just disappears like the jerk that he is. and so much for maybe changing her ways and actually attending classes for once because she has spent the last few days skipping classes and looking for his dumb ass but, of course, to no avail. ]

[ so now she doesn't know what to do. she's searched everywhere and spammed his phone enough that it probably blew up from the million texts and missed calls she sent him. she's practically did everything but wait for him back in their dorm room. she supposes that there's not much else she can do but fidget. so she sits on her bed, wrings her hands until they're red, and thinks of all the possible ways that she will kick his ass if she ever sees him again. ]

[ When you open your phone after three days and find the inbox filled with a hundred messages and 2% battery life, it's a bit of a scary situation and honestly, Kano had just pocketed his phone after that. There wasn't much he could do, after that, getting hunted down by the floor RA and getting an earful from her, having the misfortune of encountering Minako upon entering the dorms and getting a faceful from her, and by the time he drags his feet to his bedroom, he pretty much wants to just sleep and forget.

It's incredibly late by the time he comes back, slipping his key into the keyhole and turning it as slow as he can as not to make any noise that might wake Ellie up when she should be sleeping early to get up for class the next day. The door has always opened easily and noiselessly— he'd taken special care of that, ever since he claimed this room for his own three years ago, so it wouldn't give him away whenever he needs to slip out for a breather— just enough for him to slip inside and let it shut and automatically lock behind him. ]

...Are you up late or awake early? I can't tell.

[ He can't just outright ask, "What's wrong? Are you having trouble sleeping?" ]

[ it's not until kano speaks up that ellie notices that he's back in the room and she stares at him with an indescribable expression. is she relieved? happy? pissed? upset? the thing is, even ellie doesn't know what she's feeling and she can't find the right words. ]

You--

[ she gets up from the bed and walks over to him. she doesn't stomp, doesn't charge, doesn't rush, she just slowly walks and stops in front of him then looks him in the eye. she fumbles with her words again. ]

Wh-- Where the hell were you?

[ The lack of reaction is worse than anything else she could have done. Yelling, punching, knifing him in the gut, those are all things he could have prepared himself for and worked with, but the lack of anything- the uncertainty, the worry- That's not something he knows how to handle. ]

Outside...?

[ Oof. A flimsy excuse- and it sounds like an excuse, even to his ears. Ah- alright, he'll just fall back to the old MO and run his mouth until she gets mad, and he'll know how to deal with that. ]

I wasn't anywhere in particular!! Just outside! I was just taking a walk, you see? There's so much space outside, you can go quite far without running into traffic or guards or any of the sort!

[ of course in any other situation, ellie would have gotten mad. just yelled at him until her throat was sore and she got all the steam out of her, but it's different. circumstances have changed. things have happened. she can't just blow up at him and sweep this under the rug. they actually have to deal with this. ]

[ she just stares at him with that same indescribable expression, silently saying nothing for a full second, before she takes a deep breath. ]

... where were you?

[ she repeats again. ]

[ Is it not going to work... It wasn't supposed to be a big deal; he never thought people would be upset at him for doing what he's been doing for years, had expected shouting when they did confront him and hadn't gotten any of that, and this 180 from everything he's grown up learning is sending him reeling a bit, so that he has to duck his head and kick off his shoes and haul himself up onto his bunk so he can give himself some time to think of what to say and how to say it.

Ellie doesn't seem to want to punch him in the gut at the moment, so he pats the mattress next to where he sits, legs dangling over the edge, so she can sit next to him if she wants, and/or push him off the bunk when she finds her anger again. ]

The mountains, mostly. Outside Soleil. You don't have to go very far, but if you make the right turns on the paths, the mountains cover up the town and the school and it's dark, like you're all alone in the world. I can take you sometime, if you want.

[ she watches him climb onto the bunkbed and she doesn't follow him immediately afterwards. she watches him first and debates amongst herself if she should sit next to him. after a second, she makes her decision and climbs onto the bed as well. she lets her feet dangle and grips onto the sides of the mattress, looking downwards. her breath is shaky and she's trying to find her words. ]

You... You can't just leave like that. You can't just fuck off and not answer your phone.

[ bits of anger float on the tips of her words, but it's contained. she's not blowing up on him like she usually does. something keeps it at bay. ]

I get that you did this before but you can't do this shit anymore. You gotta let me know if you're going to disappear.

[ Two days ago, Ellie didn't even have a phone. But that's a petty retort and he bites it back, knowing just how much she had worried by all the evidence still stored in his missed calls and text history, that he never touched or replied or barely read because... why?

"I didn't disappear" didn't go over well with Imelda, nor Minako, and if he insists again with Ellie, he might not leave with all his teeth intact, so he flops backwards onto the mattress as a sign that he's not going anywhere, at least not tonight. ]

I don't intend on disappearing- not forever. Not on you. If I told you, wouldn't you just be worried anyways?

That's not the point!

[ she finally snaps, turning her body to face him properly. she's still trying to hold back, but ellie has never been quite good at holding back the flood. ]

I don't care if you disappear for a day or a week. Yeah, no shit that I'm going to worry no matter what but at least I know you didn't just vanish and die on me.

[ this is particularly new. sure, ellie might have thought about death now and then, but it's not something that was on the forefront of her mind nor was it something that she really considered herself with. after all, every teenager thinks that they're invincible, right? why really worry about you or someone else dying at that age? ]

And I don't have to sit here wondering what the fuck to do and whether I have to look for you now or later and if I'm even going to find you in one piece.

[ his shoulders jolt, but it's smothered in the mattress and so hard to tell from him just shifting his weight to turn his head towards Ellie, face blank and neutral in response to the anger that finally comes out.

Their world's changed a lot since they were kids, he's realizing. Danger isn't adults and stray dogs anymore, but demons and hunters and people who want those like Kano dead and maybe that's the scariest thing, people. ]

...I won't just up and die, like from a heart attack or falling off a cliff, that's not what's got you worried. You're scared of me being killed. Why?

[ That's not a worry people have over somebody out taking a walk, unless that fear got planted somewhere else. ]

[ if there's one thing that ellie didn't miss when she was attending school was all the stupidly crowded hallways. given that she's rather small for her age, it's nothing but constantly being shoved around and having to squeeze past people. ugh. this fucking sucks. she's not afraid to push others out of her way but as soon as she pushes one person away, there's another in front of her and that's how she bumps straight into gohan. only thing is that she doesn't even look up or at him before she lets out a loud frustrated groan and tries to push him back because she is so tired of bumping into people and not having her personal space!! ]

[ Honestly, he couldn't really blame her for getting frustrated. These hallways were already packed on a normal day, so imagine his frustration having to wade through them while transformed. It was really his fault though, he was the one who made the choice to come to work while transformed, making this harder for everyone. So when someone bumped into him, and tried to shove him off, he couldn't help but chime in-- ]

--Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to--

[ His voice was very deep, the kind of voice that accidentally carried. He glanced down at her, before glancing down the stuffed hallway, and finally asked: ]

Do you need help getting to class?

[ it takes ellie a moment to realize that she has bumped into and pushed away something very... fuzzy? it's not until she actually looks up that she realizes that, oh.......... this isn't a regular student...... ]

Dude-- what the fuck--

[ okay, apes aren't like wolves but this still hits a little too close to home, especially when the incident is still fresh in her mind. ]

What are you?

Please don't curse on campus.

[ He says it a little sternly, albeit politely. It's not the worst thing in the world, but Gohan has a thing against cursing. It's not long before his expression softens though, as he goes back to smiling. ]

Anyway, sorry, I'm Dr. Son, I just-- well... I had a rough moon, and...

[ Okay, you can probably guess from there. ]

[ it really doesn't take much for ellie to connect the dots when he mentions the moon and she takes a step back. ]

... you're like some... were-ape or something?

W-Well... yes, but... [ He sighed. ] I figured it'd be easier if I just came to school transformed, rather than... accidentally transform in the middle of class...

... And ruin my clothes...

[ He might be a little defensive about this. Not because he's embarrassed of his wereape form, but because he doesn't like the idea of being naked in class. One hand came up to sheepishly scratch his cheek. ]

Oh... cool...

[ she says but she clearly doesn't seem very "cool" with it. she immediately has her hands against one another, wringing her fingers and kind of keeping her distance. ]

That... won't get you into trouble? Coming in all transformed...?

The faculty's pretty understanding about it. The worst thing that's happened was... well, transforming in the middle of class, really.

[ At this point, he's very much noticed that she doesn't seem all that comfortable around him. Granted, he's also noticed that she hasn't run away, so she's clearly got nerves of steel somewhere in there. He glanced around, making sure he had enough space, before maneuvering to sit on the floor.

Maybe being a little closer to her eye level would help? ]

... Would you like to talk about what's bothering you?

CLOSED POST ♞ ICHI'S GONNA HAVE 3939292 THREADS

→ tyzias

→ peter

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→ minato + ren

I'm still at work but shhh

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→ kano

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→ gohan

just pretend he's a big broad ape since i've got no icons

u got it

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