The City's Ghost-- OPEN

[moe]

A dull gaze passed in a half-circle across the remains that were once standing high as a prosperous city. He looked ahead of himself all the way to the right and all the way to the left and occasionally took a backwards glanced over a shoulder. All the while dark sunglasses shaded his eyes from the evening light that was still rather bright. He scrunched his nose at the odd smells of the city. Even someone with human senses could tell it wasn't right. Maybe more things happened here than plants overtaking buildings.

He took in a breath as if to confirm his suspicions then exhaled in a tune, whistling to cease the silence. Roji didn't mind it too much, but he had to do something to ease his nerves. Each time he took a trip he was reminded by his mother there were unknown dangers everywhere. I'll see you for dinner. He said in response, a similar reassurance leaving him with each departure. She carried more concerns than him and it made him think she was hiding something. It didn't really matter to him if he met someone of a different group and it sounded like his mother was referring to strangers.

Sometimes he wondered if others were that hesitant to meet him. Surely a young-looking, short redhead in dirty, fraying clothes wouldn't be that intimidating. But, in todays world any person seen is feared because of how deceiving looks could be. It wasn't just another human it could be anything. He, himself wasn't entirely human. With ease he neared a building's wall and continued walking like it was part of the deserted road. For a brief moment his whistling stopped as his body become transparent- everything was there of him down to the freckles on his face but the grim landscape could be seen through him now. Gradually the transparency took over him. The wall itself seemed to turn one intangible with contact the way it happened. Puffs of smoke hovered around where he passed through in the last signal of his presence. Truly he appeared to be a ghost of the streets that still went about like no conflict happened between no one any time. Not here. Melodious whistling told one very much otherwise of any troubles here. The sound was more muffled in the building but very much audible with broken windows and whole sections of walls missing allowing the sound to still go out.

[Melinda]

The lights from outside reached into the broken windows of an abandon building, like the rest of them it had begun to fall apart from neglect. Inside was a visible convenience store, the shelves were now empty and the place was clearly a mess. Shelves lay scattered on the ground with old leaves and dirt scattering the floor around the windows. Inside there was a single closed door, a sign hung from a nail telling the public it was for staff only. Leading to the door was visable tracks of some sort, like those of a large dog.

Crouched in a locked office for hours was not her type of fun, and being unsure of who locked her in here, Ally was worried who was on the other side of the door. Staying in wolf form was a little reassuring, she was stronger in this form. She would wait as long as it took, but when the door opened she would be ready for who ever was on the other side. Her only hope at the moment would be a Jabari pack member finding her, there were three others in the scouting party. She had hoped that something was left in the store, and of course was fooled into a trap of some sort.

She couldn't smell any of the other groups, but there was a small human scent lingering in the air. It was here earlier to, but she dismissed it being to confident once again. But humans were not to much of a threat, but being stuck in here was not good. If no one came for she needed a plan, maybe break out the windows, but turning her head Ally noticed they were barred shut. With a frustrated snort she glanced back at the door, she could try kicking it open in human form. But she would be weaker, and wasn't up for that just yet.

[cyrus]

With a jerk, he was up on his feet, eyes wide and searching the seared walls that hid him from the streets. Weariness washed over him again, the sleep that he’d been torn from drawing his eyelids down but he didn’t what had wakened him. It was late. He’d gone out to trade at the market and had never ended up being able to even start bartering. The fights in the market were vicious and he, as usual, got himself involved right in one. The machete, or whatever it was, had gone right through his old leather jacket and left a nasty gash. Xander had meant to take the thing but he’d forgotten by the time they were leaving. The girl he’d helped had gone her own way with hardly a thank you but he put it to her apparent shyness. He laughed at himself, sometimes he wondered if he was kind-hearted or just desperate. The plan had been to sleep since it was already dark but head back before the sun would be setting again to get the cut on his arm sown up.

A human scent reached his noise and brought him back to the realization that he hadn’t figured out what had woken him. A moment after, the whistling started. It seemed softer now but as he strained his ears, it sounded as if it must be closer. He rolled his shoulders, stretched out his limbs and looked around from his sleeping spot on the second story of a mostly-standing building. The sun was still bright and he had to shield his eyes for a minute, pushing his dark hair out of his face with the same motion. The sound was below him but he couldn’t make out any person. Crouching down, he looked closer figuring they must have been hiding. By why would they be whistling then? Not seeing anything, he jumped down to ground level with a quiet grunt and looked again, “Hey!” There was a mixture of curiosity and frustration in the gruff word and he started slowly forward towards the noise.

Another scent reached his nose, unmistakable even as he’d never smelled it before. It was another werewolf, faintly. There was a moment of regret as he considered the possibility of an ambush. If the two were working together then they might be a strong pair. Too late though. If nothing else, Xander would try to be friendly, “Do you know what time it is?” The question was asked mostly to the empty street and the idea of not seeing the people was softened only in that he could still smell them. Looking to the sun, it was even an honest question; sleeping for a few hours on the streets was a luxury and somehow he’d managed to ruin the only plan he’d had for the day with his laziness. Typical.

[moe]

Now rummaging inside the building Roji began to hear a voice outside of it- too deep to be a woman's. "What," he asked with a turn of his head. He instinctively stopped as if someone stopped him in the streets advertising a product. He listened somewhat as he kicked and poked at the ground with the tip of his boot, hoping for something to be uncovered that was useful but instead saw dirt and vines. Despite how much he kept looking back in the direction of where he thought the man was he didn't see him in here yet or in the view of windows or cracks. He hadn't paid attention very well to what it was he said so Roji was confused on what he wanted or asked for. He lost a dime? Or he was saying he wanted one? Or he just liked dimes out of all coins? A hobo maybe? What? That was odd to say. Roji began to wonder if he was even talking to him or if was two scouts meeting up with each other and he was just eavesdropping.

He looked quickly around the room-- deserted. It seemed empty of supplies as well, but he hadn't checked the back room. He could see the door from here and was tempted to have a look inside to see if there was extra storage of items once held in the store back there. Coming across old chips even sounded nice. He hadn't had something like Doritos in ages. He swore he'd go berserk if he heard the sound of a bag of chips opening nowadays.

Wanting to see what was happening outside his steps thumped back towards the wall he passed through. In wanting to continue his little search, he stayed inside. It felt better to be inside the building anyway instead of being in plain sight or in the sun's heat. His eyes looked at the dark bricks in front of him awkwardly as he was without the normal presence of a person being there that which he could see. "Was that to me," he asked somewhat loudly on purpose so maybe it could actually be heard. "You ought to come in here or something if you just want chitchat..or if there's an entrance." He then realized it might not have been very smart to be that close to an old wall and so blinked and backed up a few steps. What he heard from the stranger hadn't made much sense so it sounded like he was just saying things to have conversation. He could understand loneliness at these times. "If you're alone, that is," he added, eyes falling down from the wall. Roji would honestly rather not have two strangers around him at once. Such a thing would make him rather jumpy. One person was fine. Two is iffy.

[Melinda]

The air that she breathed in was stale and smelled of mold, she couldn't wait to escape her trap. Her captors would regret ever tricking her into such a place, a nice room would have meant more to her. This room was nothing but an old dump of a storage room, she would be glad to leave it behind her. On the other side of the door she could pick up noise now, the sound of someone whistling came into contact with her ears. But who could it be? Her captors or someone that could let her out of here finally? Taking a few steps closer to the door in front of her Ally, paused before pressing her snout against the bottom part of the door. With a small snort and a nose full of dust the she wolf sneezed.

Backing up a few steps, Ally planned her escape. She just needed the door open a inch or so, she would be able to dart out and away from here. Hopefully she would be able to find another pack member, if not her territory was within running distance. Though she needed to make sure the pack was safe, leading anyone strange to the pack could put them all in danger. On the other hand, the two scents she was picking up didn't seem human. So maybe they weren't her captors, but still a possible threat.

[cyrus]

There was a long silence after his shouts but he could hear someone shuffling around inside of the building. He edged closer, attempting to make out of shapes or silhouettes through the doorway or barred windows but saw none. He should come inside? Now that didn’t seem like too good of any idea since he couldn’t even see who he was talking to. And only if he was alone? Now it that didn’t sound like a goddamn trap then he wasn’t a werewolf. In key with that he shifted, a relatively unassuming human turned suddenly into a massive wolf, even by werewolf standards. Thick black fur was dusted with greys along his snout and down his spine. His paws and the tip of his tail were completely white but speckled with dust from the debris. He couldn’t see the human so there was no way to communicate yet but as he stepped cautiously through the doorway he let out a low growl.

Ears pinned back, he stalked forward and sniffed at the air, definitively human and most likely another werewolf somewhere in the back. It was easier to know her now, and he could tell that it was a she wolf. It felt as it. Inside the building, he could see the door she was hiding behind, even the shadow that fell across it from the windows in the room. The air was heavy but not tense, they didn’t seem dangerous but that was how to most dangerous attackers pretended to be. Sniffing again, he knew where the human should be and almost saw something. ‘Show yourself’ He commanded he dust and shadows, feeling almost foolish that he was making enemies of shapes. He growled again, a little louder. It seemed like there must have been something happening here with so many people but hell if he could guess with empty shelves taking up most of the space.

[moe]

He jumped at the sound of a sneeze but managed to say "B-bless you..?" quietly after the little scare. He wasn't sure what to think of it. He stared at the back door where it seemed to have come from. Clearly there was someone back there who hadn't said anything to him the whole time he was in here. He watched the door as he patiently listened for an answer from the man, but sadly heard nothing. He made a face for a moment. I know I haven't lost my mind. There was someone there..Maybe I was just butting into a conversation. Roji walked away from it, figuring he either left or would show up inside once he let go of whatever fears he had. He realized he might have sounded a bit suspicious. Maybe it was something he said that scared him off. A small smile was on his lips then. If he's that easily scared by words I can't imagine how he is when faced with the danger themselves.Thoughts briefly went around such a topic as he made his way down on of the collapsed isles, staring at the door he was beginning to get nervous about.

A growl and noises of heavy steps made him crouch down for whatever reason, probably thinking that would hide him. What the hell's growling at me? I haven't done anything! He crawled on all fours slowly so as to be quiet. "Guh!," he gasped. Easily the largest creature he'd ever seen was looking around the abandoned shop, and seemed like a pretty hostile creature at that. It probably was the smart thing to listen to a huge animal and do something as simple as showing yourself, but he didn't. To him it was like a killer with a gun in their hand asking you to show yourself. I think I'll pass. Even in his thoughts his words were starting to shake, though. Roji crawled behind the counter near the door. His left hand went under his jacket and pulled out the closest thing he had to a bat.

This thing- werewolf, whatever, was coming back to get whoever was in here, wasn't it? In getting he didn't mean get the person and take them out for coffee either. That werewolf looked big enough to eat a person if it wanted. The person behind the door seemed scared, too. They were silent, or what he could tell. He didn't hear the person still while he was right next to the door. Roji had to stop himself from reassuring them, thinking he'd be overheard by the werewolf edging itself more into the shop. He reached his free hand up and turned the knob- locked! I should've known, I should've known! Why did I just go on and try to open it?! They could've gotten themselves out if that was the case! His thoughts went on as he continued. The werewolf had to have heard the knob turn and seen his pale arm no matter how dark it was and that fact just made him curse to himself out of his ignorance. "I know, mom. I'm stupid," he said to himself as well, thinking this would be an ideal time for her to scold him about his ways. He already felt like he gave himself away anyhow so didn't mind talking. He tried to quickly unlock it and then was able to open it. "Run," he told the captive.

Roji tried to gather himself in order to face it, easing his way into standing like now he was announcing his appearance like the werewolf didn't already know where he was by now. He nearly felt pressured under the large creature's gaze as if he was pressing him down to an even shorter height before him, causing his shoulders to hunch and head bow some in the tension he thought he felt from the werewolf. He didn't look like he'd use the bat-type object he had out at all with how he was acting-- it was held lowly at his side. Killer or not everyone bargains, right? "Um..ah, Mr.Werewolf.. I guess you're upset? And possibly with myself?" The redhead was walking closer to the creature, but not by much. The small steps he took didn't take him very far. His face however was able to be seen with a shaky smile on it wanting to strike a deal. "I can make it up to you..?" His eyes had fallen down to the werewolf's feet, staring at the claws before looking up again after making that statement that really sounded like a question. Roji was aiming to appease him, but while doing so sounded like a child maybe trying to make something sound good to their parent's ears or trying to make up for breaking another's toy. Oh man how he hoped the..whoever and whatever was locked in there was gone by now. He was such a hero in letting them out, and didn't want to ruin that good impression he might've had on them. Shaded eyes glanced around the room for the person and also so he didn't have to meet the werewolf's gaze.

[Melinda]

A few voices could be heard on the other side of the door, but it soon went quiet again and nothing could be heard. The doorknob jiggled and sounded as if someone tried to open the door, but was unaware it was locked until now. Ally moved forward slightly hoping to get her freedom back soon, the pack would soon be searching for her and being trapped would cause to much problems. The pack didn't need this type of trouble right now, they had plenty of things to worry about these days. Deep in thought Ally didn't notice the door was opening until someone was shouting at her, something about running. It only took the she wolf a few moments to take in the view, in front of her stood the person who opened the door. He seemed to be the one that told her to run, he didn't smell like one of the humans that tricked her in there.

Something else caught her attention past the guy to another werewolf, one that was much larger then herself. At first she focused on him as being the bigger threat at the moment, her paws moved her forward as she kept her gaze focused on him. She made sure to keep her guard up, she couldn't afford to be caught off guard without pack mates close by. He didn't have the Jabari pack scent on him, so he must be a member of another group then. Ears flat on her head, Ally let out a low growl as a warning. She would rather not fight anyone at the moment, but would do so if she had to. Though she would most likely loss the fight against the larger wolf, she could only hope that her pack would be looking for her by now.

[cyrus]

There was silence. He’d given his command to protect whoever was trying capture or steal from him and they had ignored it. There was a semblance of movement behind him; he half turned as if there was a third person but the sound of the doorknob surprised him. A snarl echoed out as he jumped back around, the thin arm reaching up for the door. So his companion was hiding there. Another struggle with it; he would be out numbered. With a lunge he came closer, only the remnants of the counter separating them. The door was open now but the human was standing. Hackles up, he bared his teeth at the human but was surprised to see little more than a boy. A pup still if he were truly human which he smelled to be.

Now they were both facing him and he shifted his gaze carefully between the two, deciding who would strike first even when both seemed so hesitant. They played their trick well, holding their bodies uncertainly as if honest trepidation was a concern. Then the boy started speaking. For a long moment he stayed perfectly silent, only the dust made visible by the streaming light passed around him. The careful footsteps brought a twist of his head, an obvious sign of sizing up the one approaching. They weren’t acting together. It was a mistake to trust them, he knew, but it was one of those times where better judgment did not win over tradition.

Shifting back to his human form, he turned his dark eyes between them. Mr. Werewolf? “Xander” The correction was not forceful but not quite friendly. At least he was smiling. Well, now that it seemed none of them were ready to strike out at the other, it was even more uncomfortable. Fighting he knew how to do. Appeasing young men with awkward smiles was deep into unfamiliar territory. A callused hand came up and adjusted the over-sized collar on his neck, scratching at the collar bone it was laying on. “I was just looking for the time…” It sounded like a lie now but it had been his original question. “And to ask, perhaps, why a Jabari was hiding in a closet.” A smile crept along his lips, a tease to whatever situation she’d been in to be so far from her pack. Their scent was on the air only because they’d passed through earlier. There might have been a new person somewhere further down but it was impossible to say just yet.

[moe]

As his eyes wandered he saw another werewolf in the room- how many more are there?! He didn't want the whole pack of them in here! He liked company, but wasn't used to this type of company. He watched the smaller werewolf closely as it seemed like she either didn't see him or didn't care, but either way her focus was on the other one. Maybe they'd start fighting and that would be his chance to check the storage room and leave. But- a thud announced the other having closed in on them, and he slowly backed away towards the wall with his bat raised, hovering over a shoulder.

His empty hand was pressed hard against a brick on the wall as he was ready to go through it out of his uneasiness. He hated the silence that feel between them. Werewolves didn't seem like very big talkers, and if so then maybe that's why he never really got to know one. "Well," he breathed, almost to himself as he felt odd between the two animals. Then one of the strangers showed their human form and asked one of the simplest questions he'd heard in a while, causing him to dramatically release a breath he just now realized he was holding. He lowered his bat and blurting out, "Good god, man! You had me thinking I was a meal to go!" Roji relaxed and stashed away the bat, then went to eyeing the other werewolf. "Please turn into a human.. Werewolves remind me of the wild animals out there," he complained. They honestly did. The animals out there now would tear apart anyone for food and he liked to think werewolves were more civilized than that. "Ah..don't take that in the wrong way," he chuckled nervously.

Roji looked at the man again- Xander, he said. "Well, I must admit you really had me going there. I don't know any dog language so I take growls as a threat no matter what you mean by it," he told him in a type of apology. He thought about Xander's other question. "Oh, so you have nothing to do with..," he muttered and looked at the other. "I have a silly story to tell you then. I thought you were coming back to..eat.." He didn't know what to call the other. What if it was a feminine-looking male werewolf? He didn't want to be insulting to Ally. His head was turned towards her now in anticipation of her answer to Xander's question. He was wondering the same thing himself, but he was just beat to the punch.

[Melinda]

The she wolf stood her ground, she was far enough away from the others to run if need be. But it seemed as things would soon calm down, and there would be no fighting. But still Ally kept her guard up, all she needed now was to be caught off guard. She would not be locked away in a small room again, she would rather fight and lose. But as the other werewolf seemed to relax just a little, Ally's fur began to lay back down on her back. Her now showing teeth disappeared under her wolfish lips, and she took a step back to look from the werewolf to the human and back again. The Human was no more then a young pup, but the bat in his hand was still a weapon. One that could be used on her, and do some damage before she got to him. On the other hand the werewolf was still a bigger threat, but to her surprised he turned back into his wolf form first. This was dangerous, for a werewolf is weaker in there human form then in there wolf form.

Ally twitched her ear toward the human as he let out his breath, and was glad she wasn't the only one nervous about the situation at hand. As the Man named Xander spoke to her about being stuck in a room, and had the balls to smile about Ally let our a warning growl. He better treed lightly as long as she was still in her wolf form. But even the human spooke to her, and this would be a problem. He wouldn't pick up on her language unless she shifted, which she didn't want to do. Slowly shifting out of her fur pelt, and into her human skin, Ally made sure to stay away from the other two. "Well I'm finally glad to be in the company of at least someone, even if it is a random Mutt and human." Running a hand through her hair, which was left down today, Ally glanced toward the Human. "By the way, thanks for letting me out of that smelly little room. I suppose if you ever find yourself needing help... let the Jabari know you want to speak with Ally." Shifting her gaze slightly to the Mutt, Ally smirked. "And if you must know I was locked in the room by some pathetic humans, I think there was four of them." With a shrug of her shoulders Ally leaned against the wall.