[color=FFF2D8][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/WHxJd1p.png[/img][/center] [center][h1][color=7DB9B6]Elodie Ashbourne[/color][/h1][/center] [center][color=black][sup]____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center] [center][color=D9A0B0][b]Location:[/b][/color] Sean's truck—-->Vex Apartment • [color=D9A0B0][b]Time:[/b][/color] Night[/center] [center][color=D9A0B0][b]Interactions:[/b][/color] [@FunnyGuy] Sean [@Tpartywithzombi] Vex • [color=D9A0B0][b]Mentions:[/b][/color] [@Tpartywithzombi] Vex[/center] [center][color=black][sup]____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center] Elodie had just barely recovered from Sean calling her pretty when he threw on his Hollow mask and said, in so many words, that she might get to tear something apart tonight. Her eyes had widened. Not because she was afraid–well, okay, she was a [i]little[/i] afraid–but mostly because it was starting to hit her that this was real. He wasn’t humoring her, wasn’t keeping her around like a weird little pet project. He trusted her. Enough to bring her along for something dangerous. And somehow, that was more terrifying than the threat itself. She swallowed hard, nodding quickly as she grabbed her sweater and followed him out of the truck, mind spinning. Her footsteps were quiet but quick, her eyes flitting between the buildings and shadows. When he gave her the rundown on Vex, she nodded again, her expression tightening with focus. [color=D9A0B0]"No fae, second floor, clutter, bleeding equals bail,"[/color] she whispered under her breath like a mantra. And then they were moving. Elodie trailed just behind him up the stairs, her limbs taut with anxious energy, the bottle of scotch left behind in the truck–not because she forgot it, but because it suddenly felt wildly out of place. The hallway was dim. The door came closer. Sean's presence shifted beside her, something coiled and precise, and the moment he burst through the apartment door, she flinched. Everything happened fast. Too fast. The gun. The sweep. The broken furniture. Elodie hovered near the doorframe, hands clenched at her sides, trying to look everywhere at once. And then she saw her. Vex. The she-wolf was pale, sweating, and somehow still looked like she could snap someone in half if she had to. Elodie was halfway to awe before the pang hit again, low and sharp in her chest. Sean's hands were careful. His voice, clipped but calm. Concern lived between every syllable. Not romantic, not obvious, but there. Enough to sting a little. She turned her focus elsewhere. [color=tan]“Elodie. Go to her freezer and get me something that’ll work as an icepack... Don’t trip over anything.”[/color] [color=D9A0B0]"On it!"[/color] she squeaked, already moving. The apartment was a mess of debris and glass and memories she wasn’t privy to. She tiptoed across the chaos like a deer avoiding traps, murmuring little apologies to upturned furniture as she nudged things aside. When she finally wrenched open the freezer, almost breaking the door in the process, she flinched before her eyes scanned the contents with laser focus. Frozen peas? Not a bad choice. They could easily conform to whatever they needed to. She then went on a hunt for a hand towel to wrap them in. It was never good to put something straight out of the freezer on bare skin. She found a hand towel, but gasped and dropped it as she saw some wet mystery stain on it. She glanced around for a moment longer before her eyes landed on her own sweater. That would do. She returned just in time to hear Sean finish his gentle-yet-firm scolding of Vex. There was something about pizza and forks and crop tops that Elodie deliberately chose [I]not[/I] to ask about. When he turned to her again, she blinked. [color=tan]“This is the amazing Vex. Vex, this is Elodie, my cinnamon cherry muffin."[/color] Elodie stared at him. Not the gun, not the messed-up apartment, not even Vex, though that was certainly a lot to take in too. No, her brain had locked onto one very specific thing. [i][color=D9A0B0]My… cinnamon cherry muffin?[/color][/i] There was a small, audible noise from her throat. Something between a cough and a shocked wheeze. She blinked at him, slack-jawed, her undead brain stuttering like a cursed jukebox. That wasn’t just some offhand crack, it was him bringing up her name options she’d mentioned in the truck. Cinnamon. Cherry. Muffin.. A part of her wanted to crawl under the couch. Another part–traitorous, starry-eyed, probably still feeling the effects of scotch and adrenaline–wanted to bottle that moment and keep it in her back pocket forever. Because as much as it sounded ridiculous, it also… didn’t. Coming from him, it sounded like a weird, teasing little nickname. A pet name wrapped in sarcasm, sure, but still a pet name. Like maybe, just maybe, he didn’t mind her taking up space next to him. Her jaw clicked shut as she glanced toward Vex–injured, feverish, gorgeous even while half-dead. Great. Just great. Because now her brain decided to spiral again, latching onto all the worst, most insecure possible thoughts. [i][color=D9A0B0]He trusts her. He called her his favorite pup. He’s seen her bleed and bite and survive.[/color][/i] Meanwhile, Elodie could barely survive an awkward hallway conversation without wanting to spontaneously combust. She swallowed hard, the weight of everything finally catching up in her chest. The chaos, the danger, the fact that Sean just asked her to watch over his rifle and a werewolf. [color=D9A0B0]“Right,”[/color] she said, mostly to herself. [color=D9A0B0]“Watch the lycan and the murder stick. Easy. No pressure.”[/color] With a deep breath, she moved carefully toward the coffee table and crouched beside it, watching Vex with guarded curiosity. There was pain in the woman’s face–sweat at her brow, a ghostly pallor–but even weakened, there was something fierce about her. Something sharp and self-contained. [color=D9A0B0]“I’ll take good care of you, Vex, until he can get back with that antidote.”[/color] She said softly as she gently placed the peas on her forehead. She seemed to be the kind of person Elodie wasn’t, but maybe wished she could be. And yet… Sean had trusted her to watch over her. Even if he didn’t say it outright, that meant something. She stole one last glance at the door Sean had vanished through, her voice barely a whisper. [color=D9A0B0]“Don’t worry. I’ve got her.”[/color] And for once, despite the hundred flustered, insecure thoughts bouncing around her skull like marbles in a tin can… She meant it.[/color]