sixthiterationlogs | (no subject)

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Knives? Yeah, okay. I can do that." She's good with knives, though she doesn't have to elaborate on the context. Or at least she thinks she doesn't, not until Kamala keeps talking and Ellie ends up floored. She pauses mid drawer searching and stares for a few moments, trying to decide if this is all some big cosmic joke.

"I don't remember the last time I saw a baby," she softly says, ducking her head to pay full attention to the drawer. No knives there, so she moves on to the next. This one has what she's looking for, and she pulls one out so she can go set it on the counter near the sink.

"How many times have you been kidnapped?"

Kamala actually does feel kind of sorry that it's been a while since Ellie has seen a baby. They're very cute as she learned from one of her many adventures as Ms. Marvel. She wisely keeps that to herself. Instead she starts off with washing the dill plant and passing it over to Ellie while she talks. "Three times which I know makes me sound like some damseled princess, but in my defense two times involved forces beyond anyone's control." She makes a show of picking up the garlic and removing the teeth from the bulb instead of skipping to the banana plant next. This part sucks to admit, but she doesn't want to rewrite history.

"The first time it happened I trusted the wrong person. I thought they cared, but they just wanted to control me. When I said no to them they didn't take it well."

Kamala washes and Ellie cuts, and they form a nice assembly line together. It's soothing in a way that only repetitious work can be. There's no surprises, no danger. Just her and a knife, hacking up vegetables.

"You can't trust anyone that's an adult," she somberly asserts, giving a little shake of her head. "The last jackass that I said no to tried killing me."

It sucks that her new friend understands what that's like, but she has a feeling that in any version of Earth that's out there, the adults pretty much suck. She wonders what it is that makes that a steady constant.

It's weirdly soothing. Kamala can't help thinking of Nakia with her hair down, making sleepover treats with her. It's not the same, but it does make Kamala feel a little better despite the conversation. "Gross. I'm sorry they pulled that on you. I've gotten lucky so far about people needing me alive." What a strange thing to be grateful about, Kamala thinks. She waits a beat before adding, "Some you can trust when you're in a place like this. I trust the guy I live with. He's always kept me safe while I was away from my parents."