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WHO: Ellie
WHERE: Fountain, Storehouse, Inn, House 15
WHEN: Ellie's arrival (August 1) & the first few days after
OPEN TO: Jessica Jones + Open
WARNINGS:Nothing for now, will update as needed

Fountain (closed to Jessica Jones)
The last thing she remembers is water. There had been so much water, and not enough time to get Joel out of the bus he had been trapped in. The water overcame her and filled her nose and mouth, and eventually her lungs. When she blacked out, the last thing she could recall feeling was terror. As she wakes up surrounded by water, that terror turns to panic. Both combine to make her thrash away from the force she feels gently pushing her upward. It's enough to get her moving but not good enough to bring her anywhere near the surface.

Her first instinct screams to find Joel, but it doesn't take longer than a couple of seconds for her to realize that he's not here. She's not in the same place anymore, she must've been washed away somewhere else. She can tell that the water here isn't necessarily as deep as what she had been drowning in before, sunlight visible from where she is. She can't swim, so her struggle is mainly flailing limbs and an attempt to claw her way up while ignoring the burst of nausea she feels as her lungs burn in protest.

Storehouse
Okay, so she's not just going to let her clothes and shit be taken without at least trying to get them back. Ellie doesn't have much in the world and the fact that what little she does have was taken from her doesn't sit right with her. Not like the way she woke up here or the fact she has no idea where she actually is makes her feel warm and fuzzy, but it's not knowing where her things are that really get to her. She stubbornly refuses to believe they're just gone and takes to looking for them. Eventually, she ends up at the storehouse. It looks like where things are stored, so maybe this is where all the stolen stuff is kept?

She's not exactly quiet while she's digging around, ranting and raving about just what she's going to do to whoever touched her stuff when she finds them.

Inn
It doesn't take long for Ellie to find out where it is she's supposed to go in order to find work. She's so conditioned to having to earn her keep that she doesn't even stop long enough to consider she might deserve a break. The census is at the inn, and there she can find a way to register herself and make herself officially useful. She ends up exploring the first level of the inn after doing so, finding her way right to the kitchen. She's starving, and her stomach comically growls right in time with her eyes spotting some things just sitting around.

Not really sure if it's cool for her to do or not, she creeps her way in so she can grab an apple. But why stop with just one apple when you can have two, and maybe a potato or two to go along with them? She ends up juggling it all and winds up dropping an apple in the process. Her teeth firmly bite into the other apple to hold onto it, and the potatoes are set aside as she chases along after the runaway fruit. It rolls and leads the way right to a pair of shoes that get her to stop in her tracks and glance upward. Are they here to stop her?

House 15
Ellie's like an old lady, spending way too much time out on the porch of her house. The inside is huge, way bigger than anything that a girl her age needs. Maybe if Joel were here with her, it'd be different. But he isn't, so she accepts the house and thinks of it as her castle. Sure, she runs around the house a lot and feels weird having so many empty rooms. But it's space that's all hers, something she's never had before. Military school didn't exactly allow private rooms. As much as she loves spending time inside a huge house alone, it's the porch that she spends the most time on. In her first week there, she spends hours sitting on the railing and just observing life around the settlement. She even sleeps out there, meaning that it's easy for her to jump up to attention and throw rocks at anyone that's out late making too much noise.

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"Depends. Are you gonna throw a rock at me when I leave, too?" Not that he actually wants to leave. He wants to make sure she's okay, staying in this big place alone. It reminds him of Will and Mike's house, but at least they'd been close enough for him to ~~spy~~ check on. He lifts an eyebrow and holds out his fist for a bump. He has no idea if that's a thing kids do anymore and it's probably hella lame, but so is he so better for her to have low expectations. He tips his head to the side. "We're cool."

"I dunno..." She makes a big show out of having to think over whether or not they're actually cool. "You've got me between a rock and a hard place." The terrible puns are just getting geared up, and she laughs at herself whether or not he thinks she's funny. He does, however, get a fist bump. She doesn't really do these, but she's game for learning how old people here do things. It's cool.

"You need to be boulder, you know? So I won't take you for granite."

Her fist bump turns into an explosion as she raises her hand up, putting way too much effort and energy into the motion for it being so late. "Yeah," she decides after her hand drops down to her side. "We're cool. Starting with a clean slate."

He blows it up when their fists meet like a total cool dad, stop!!!! When she laughs so does he, and then he can't stop when she keeps going. Yeah, that's the Ellie he knows alright. He arranges his fingers into his familiar OK symbol and shakes his head.

"Comin' in crystal clear. I didn't even have to gravel."

"Don't worry, I don't have a heart of stone." His OK symbol is flashed right back at him, before she turns her hand so she can get an up close look at it. It's not really one she's seen all that often, but she knows what it means. After that she settles down, resting one of her hands on her hip. He reminds her a lot of Joel, she realizes. The second guy here in a short period of time that does.

"So uh...what're you guys really doing out this late, huh?" She figures there must be a reason that a total dad type is out running around with dogs after dark.

"Maybe it was on our agenda to get rocks thrown at us by the new girl," he jokes before dropping the subject entirely and forever. Ellie would learn how quick he was to forgive any trespass against himself really. "Aurora's got trouble settling at night. I thought letting her run might help her get to sleep."

Like taking a baby for a car ride.

Ellie nods, and without saying anything right away she moves to open the front door to the house. It's big and dark and lonely on the inside, but Aurora seems to be picking up on her reluctance to be in there alone and just bolts right on in. It makes her smile a little, because if a dog's willing to go inside it can't be all that bad, right?

"I could go running with her. During the day, I mean. It doesn't have to be at night."

Frank gestures through the door like he's asking if the invitation extends to himself and Aretha.

"Sure, sweetheart. She's not my dog, but I'll ask Kira."

She nods, but eyes him with a single arched eyebrow and a hint of sadness. It's not just his appearance that reminds her of Joel anymore. There's another glaring similarity, one that makes her want to shove him away even though she's just invited him inside. "You remind me of someone. He takes on lost causes that are other people's problems too."

On her nod, he points for Aretha, who trots through the doorway lazily and immediately starts to sniff around. Frank follows after and gives his eyes a moment to adjust to the even darker house from the darkness of outside.

"It's my fatal flaw," he admits dryly, which is actually the truth, but we'll just pretend it's sarcasm. This will totally work.

Aurora bumps into her at just the right time, and she's grateful for the opportunity to crouch down and squish the dog's face with both hands. "Yeah? Well you don't have to worry about me being your problem. Being here alone in this house sucks, but I've got it handled."

"You're not a problem," he corrects gently, turning to face her in the dark. She's also definitely not his problem though. He's not Mayor Hotdog anymore, he doesn't have to find her a place. He can however, gently suggest things. Right?? "You can stay at the Inn, you know. There's lights and people around. You don't have to be alone."

"Lights?" Oh, that's right. She forgets about things like electricity being readily available. Abandoning Aurora, she hurries over toward the light switch on the wall. Aurora chases after her and trips her up, and she laughs as she ends up slamming a hand against the wall and sliding it upward to turn on the lights.

And just like that, they're not in darkness anymore.

"Do you live at the Inn?"

Oh. His eyes squint and he looks up, well. That's one thing he won't have to worry about for sure.

"No. House 6." Usually he'd tack on something like: Come find me if you need anything, or even sickeningly, Our door's always open! He's glad he refrains, that he's not exactly that guy anymore. He still cares, but Ellie isn't his responsibility. This isn't Reims and she's not even the one who remembers who he is. "I've been here about five weeks, if you have questions I might have answers."

"Okay, so maybe I'll come by sometime." There's a split second where she almost fears he might think she's trying to cling to him or something, so she quickly adds on, "With questions."

She can't tell if he minds her knowing where he lives or not, so she makes a mental note not to bother him unless it's absolutely necessary. She's not some dumb kid that needs his help. It's just nice to have someone here she feels comfortable talking to.

"What's the weirdest thing you've seen here so far? Someone said there are monsters or something here."

"Yeah, you can do that. I'll be around."

He does his best to make it sound casual, knowing how much it bothers Ellie to rely on others. It feels like cheating, knowing so much about people who know nothing about him.

"Where the fuck do I start?" Monsters. Ugh. He takes in a thready breath as he tries to order his thoughts. "Since I've been here, there's been earthquakes, lightning storms, killer plants, vampire deer, superpowers, and yeah. Some big monster thing killed a kid." Frank tries to keep it matter-of-fact. He'd never even met Peeta, he can't pretend it matters now. Or pretend he isn't relieved the monsters here can die - apparently just as well as the people here can. As far as he's concerned, it's two counts in the positive even if he wishes Peeta didn't have to die to prove the point. He's still glad it's been made.

"Kids die all the time," Ellie softly points out, fingers touching at Aurora's ear. "I'm not afraid of monsters. I fight them every day back home. It's not a big deal." Regardless of whether or not she thinks he'll worry about her, she doesn't want him to think he needs to. She doesn't have her weapons here, but she can improvise.

"Are you sure the vampire deer weren't just infected?" Because that sounds weird as hell.

Yeah, they do. Frank leaves that alone and nods. "It's a big deal 'cause he died, sweetheart. Just because it happens doesn't mean it isn't sad."

But he knows she's just trying to cope. She's lost as many people as he has. Maybe more. Frank swallows.

"They weren't infected. Just toothy."

"Toothy and infected with vampirism, you mean." Ellie playfully corrects him, giving him a look that says she knows better than to buy that kind of crap.

"And I guess I'm just not used to dying being a big deal." She easily lies, images of Riley turning into one of the infected playing her mind. The things that she had to do, the things that she saw that night...they're going to live with her forever. Haunt her. But it's also made her stronger, desensitized her to the loss of others in a way that definitely isn't healthy.

"I'll try to remember that it is here."

"Alright, maybe I didn't get close enough to find out," he admits, tipping his head in concession. The rest gets a commiserating nod. "Yeah, me either, sweetheart."

He watched his friends die, his family, and at the end of the day it was always him left standing. They can both lie and say it's no big deal, he won't tell anyone, but she's caught onto the most crucial part: not making light of it to people who don't understand.

"That's good. You gonna be okay here tonight?" Frank has to ask before he bails, but he's pretty close to bailing anyway. So speak up now Ellie or forever hold your peace.

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