The lone wolf

It had been three weeks since the incident in the desert, three weeks since Ellie became a murderer, three weeks since Ellie became a monster, and in those three weeks what had taken her whole life to build had been tumbling down around her. First she had cut ties with her friends, she’d had anger issues ever since the incident, and she was worried  if she had to put up with anymore of their annoying bullshit she’d hurt them. Secondly she hdd been kicked out of college after shouting at a professor who had low balled her grade on a history assignment. Thirdly she kept having these dreams once a week or so where she was trying to hold back this monstrous wolf from eating someone outside a random houses trying to wrestle it and draw it away with other types of meat, while she seemed to always succeed so far there had been a lot of missing pet signs in the neighborhood lately, sightings of a wolf roaming the city, and she kept waking up outside nude or in tattered clothes. Finally she hadn’t heard anything from her supposed packmates; specifically that shifty ratbastard who turned her had just run off leaving her feeling like she had some sort of magical ill advised teen pregnancy, and the city life was starting to feel… constricting. She sat on her couch drinking PBR one evening and contemplated just running off into the desert or something, maybe trying to track down those packmates, she had lost her job (dealing with customers had been was too infuriating.) She had lost her progress toward a degree, but above all she lost her friends; what the hell else was there to lose?

As she sat there, ruminating in her anger, drowning her sorrow in hill billy beer, a scent caught her nose. Heavy, musky, wild, the scent that had filled her nose on the night of her first change, the scent of a werewolf. The wolf inside didn't like that, this was her turf, her packmates were no where to be found so it was hers now only fair. Other wolves intruding on it wasn't gonna fly.

Well Ellie didn't know anything about territories or any of that, but she did know having unknown wolves around made her angry. She felt an unconscious territorial response that she couldn't place, but the instinct alone, drove her to put down her beer, throw on a jacket, grab a silver dagger she had bought off ebay after her last encounter (with a wrapped handle of  course), and go say "Hello" Now used to her more feral inclinations, instead of  using the door and climbing down the stairs, she leaped out the window onto the branch of a tree outside then swung down. Upon hitting the ground Ellie tucked the dagger into her coat pocket, and began tracking these wolves, so she could give them a stern talking to about... pissing her off for no discernible reason she guessed.

She found them outside some crappy hole in the wall bar, they were four in number, each wearing the leather and patches of a motorcycle club. Seeming to not notice her approach they continued to banter, breaking out into laughter and trading insults whilst leaning on their bikes.

Ellie didn't show her knife right away, but she couldn't help, but take a hostile posture, nor was she one for beating around the bush so to say. She walked right on up to the group with fire in her eyes they may have her outnumbered and some of them may be a bit taller but she most certainly had the edge in her body basically being a broad fairly unattractive yet intimidating slab of muscle, when she reached them she almost growled "Just what the hell do you four whelps think you are doing here?"

Standing up from her seat on her bike, one of the wolves measured up to Ellie and smirked wryly. The woman wasn't exactly small either, and her entire demeanor could be summed up in one (admittedly pejorative) phrase 'diesel dyke' . Cracking her knuckles she responded with a smoky staccato "We were waiting for you of course Darlin."She chuckled , dark eyes flashing dangerously as her compadres backed her up. The group had one other female and two dudes, "I figured when I sniffed a new wolf in the area, you'd come running out eventually but shit bitch you came quick! Ain't all that surprisin' pups are often territorial."

"You got something to say to me then or are you just gonna stand there looking like one of your friends just shoved their tiny dick in your face?" The not particularly concerned nor impressed "pup" asked no less aggressively though she didn't bother cracking her knuckles as she sized the group her, her demeanor wasn't that of some "Bad" gangster type, it was that of a pissed off redneck no less aggressive, but with no respect for any kind of posturing, and prone to do something incredibly stupid in response to any attempt at intimidation.

"You bet that sweet ass of yours I do...It's a question...the limp-dicked bastard who turned you, Delsin....we've rode all through this county and we ain't found him...you any idea where he is?" She replied, grinning widely in response to the aggression.

Ellie didn't see any harm in answering this question, so she humored them for now though a look of frustration crossed her face when that name was mentioned "If I did do you think I'd be living in an apartment downtown trying to figure all this out on my own? I ain't seen him since the night I was turned" She actually had been a bit tuned out then what with all the murdering she had done that night, he might have said something about where he was going, but if he had she hadn't heard it or she didn't remember, so much had happened she probably hadn't listened as much as she should have been "Mighta said he was going somewhere, but hell if I remember my change was... distracting. So that it then?"

"Aww well ain't that just unfortunate?" She replied, grin still as wide as ever as she beckoned for her friends to go scram. Without a word each go on their bikes and in a cloud of smoke and the roaring of engines sped off down the road. "To thank ye for the trouble of coming out here all nice like, can I give ya some advice?" She asked as she brushed back her short cut hair to get it from her eyes.

"You can give as much advice as you want, so long as you're heading." Ellie said, not relaxing in the slightest, she knew damn well this woman was dangerous, and didn't like her chances if it came to blows in a head on confrontation, this woman smelled powerful and she was no doubt experienced, none the less fear did not play upon her heart her eyes scanned the woman, and had plotted out what she figured were the best means to defend against her there was little else to do besides cower, and that was something that was well and truly out of the question.

The she-wolf laughed raising her hands in mock surrender " Alright alright...The previously mentioned bastard, Delsin Locklear, the one who left you out here figuring this all out on your own? You can't trust him not one god damn bit, he's a forsaken after all. Member of that tribe of yahoos and scalp chasers on that rez in Utah, you wanna come to terms with this? Lemme guess he told you he turned you on accident yeah ?"

"I shot him in the face a couple times when he was skulking near my camp and set him on fire a bit, so I can't exactly hold him clawing me in response against him now can I?" Ellie asked plainly, though she didn't exactly have any care for her opinion on the matter "I don't particularly trust him. I don't trust you either though." Ellie said quite openly.

"Makes sense, trust kinda brings diminishin' returns these days. Regardless I doubt it really was an accident, he got sent down here as a recruiter after all. That's why we're tracking him down, he came down here to swell up ranks, like a Navajo pied piper."

"I should have known it would be those damned natives..." Ellie joked dryly, she'd have to talk to him about that when he returned... and by talk she meant yell... and maybe stab if he didn't find some real convincing answers "The advice is appreciated Is that it then?" She asked.

"Other than that? No not really, name Darla by the way, it was a pleasure. We'll be in the city for a bit, and I don't mind helpin' out new wolves so if you need some help just sniff us out." She replied as she began to climb onto her bike and rev up it's engine.

"Appreciated..." Ellie said and left herself, as she had a beer back home to finish, and no compulsion to stay here, she'd give Delsin a few more days to come to her... if not, she was going to go find him at that reservation Darla mentioned

As she entered the house she heard the rev of a motorcycle engine indicating that the biker had finally left. Yet she couldn't shake the strange feeling that she'd gotten involved in something much more complicated than she knew.

Either way she was going to talk to Delsin this week... one way or another... she  had two days before she had to  clear out of her apartment, if he wasn't back by then she was going to find him