Werewolf hunting for a job

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

Date: April 10, 2003
Status: Public (Rose, Adam, War) - Complete
Setting: At the entrance door
Summary: Rose Heerkens comes to Lower Tadfield


Rose scrunched up her nose when she entered the town. It wasn't a large town, but the cars stank. How she longed to turn around and run, back to the hollow tree that had been her sleeping place last night. Or anywhere else that didn't stink. She'd never understand how humans could live with it.

She had to remind herself rather forcefully that she had no choice. If she didn't want to roam England on two or four legs for the rest of her life, without a pack, then she'd need money. A lot more than the few pounds her backpack held.

She missed her twin terribly, had missed him since the moment she'd had to leave the farm. So she wanted to get back to her real pack, and that meant she needed enough money for a flight to Canada. And she wouldn't get that money hunting in the woods, sleeping under bushes or in caves.

With a small sigh, Rose began walking down the road, keeping her eyes open for a restaurant or something similar. Unlike her brother Colin, who was with the police at home, she didn't have any experience with jobs, but she was pretty sure she could work as a waitress in a restaurant. Or maybe a chambermaid in a hotel, if she found one. Both jobs shouldn't be too hard if she could just ignore the smell of the town. And she would ignore it if that was her ticket back to Peter.

She didn't find what she was looking for in town and was already resigned to having to travel to the next town when she saw a rather large house at some distance to the town. It stood on a hill and maybe she could find work there. She didn't know if it was a hotel or a restaurant or maybe belonged to a wealthy family, but she hoped they could use an aide there.

So Rose started walking again and followed the road to that house. She took a look at her clothes to make sure they weren't too dirty. Not that she herself cared about that but she'd found out some time ago that humans made a huge fuss about dirty or crumpled clothes and she didn't want to be turned away from a potential job because of something minor like this. She decided the state of her jeans, sweater and sneakers was acceptable - as in 'not overly mud-spattered and totally crumpled' - and cautiously walked the last few meters up to the door.

Before she knocked, she eagerly and curiously sniffed the air. The scents she got were strange to say the least. Humans, yes, but different from any human smell she'd encountered so far. Rose decided to be on her guard when she met the inhabitants and then knocked resolutely on the door.

Comments

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

The door opened a short time later and Rose had to tilt her head back a bit to see the person properly. That she had been used to since school as humans tended to be taller than her. What she wasn't used to was the dominance she felt from the woman. Challenge seemed to roll off of her in waves.

Rose's hackles rose, she wanted to bare her teeth and growl and she had to fight hard to restrain herself. This woman was armed and Rose wasn't stupid. And she wasn't here to fight. Fighting wouldn't get her closer to her goal.

Nevertheless she had to clear her throat several times before she was sure she could talk without growling.

'Good afternoon, ma'am. My name is Rose Heerkens and I'm looking for a job as a chambermaid or a waitress.'

[swords-love-me.livejournal.com]

War sensed, rather than saw, the answering challenge in the girl, so at odds with the jobs she was asking for. Her eyes flashed fiery red and she looked her up and down.... not an average girl, certainly, but no immediate challenge, either.

Her voice was smooth, a steel blade through the air as she replied, "I can't offer you a job here. Sister Mary was in charge when I arrived... but now Adam's back, you'd need to speak to him."

She watched her carefully for a response, any sign of why she was really here. No one at the Manor came just for a job.

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

The eyecolour of that woman was strange enough, but when her eyes flashed red, Rose swallowed. This woman wasn't human. But she hadn't tried to hurt her yet, and Rose herself wasn't human either, so she gave a mental shrug. She would be careful with this one - and it might be wise not to turn her back on her - but she wouldn't give up this easily.

Something the woman had said caught Rose's attention. Sister Mary she had said. Rose could only hope this Sister Mary wasn't like Mr. Biehn and his nephew. Or perhaps she should simply try very hard to not let anyone know what she was. That would be safest.

So Rose smiled at that strange woman, a smile where she carefully kept her teeth covered by her lips.

"Could you please show me where to find this Adam, ma'am?"

[swords-love-me.livejournal.com]

No flash of recognition, so not one of his humans, War thought.

She shrugged, and said, "Might be anywhere. It's a big place. Could be in the bar or restaurant - I can show you where it is? I'm heading there myself."

War turned to lead the way without waiting for an answer, her senses alert to any sudden movement behind her. The girl didn't seem like she was about to attack, but you never knew.

"I'll stand you a meal at least," she threw over her shoulder. There was a power in the girl that intrigued her... and it was always better to know power, especially if it was going to be close at hand.

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

Rose didn't hesitate before she followed the strange woman. But she inhaled deeply to commit her scent to memory. With as much nuances as possible. And she stayed alert and let her eyes wander. She didn't want to be surprised by someone jumping out of the shadows.

Her ears twitched with every little sound and her nostrils flared with every new scent. Intent as she was on smells and sounds she still didn't miss the offer for food. Her mouth began to water slightly as she thought about a nice and preferably bloody steak. Nothing against rats and frogs and rabbits, but she had been used to cooked meals at home and it had been a while since any of her food had even come near an oven. Let alone seen spices. And she quite liked the little extra a short contact with a frying pan and some spices could add to good meat.

"Thank you ma'am, I'd appreciate that."

[neutral-adam.livejournal.com]

Adam sat in the bar, looking over some bits of paper he had strewn over the table in front of him. A few notes on some of the current residents while he tried to work out if there was a way not to get them to kill each other. He'd expected to have a few of all sorts here but he was expecting it to be more people like Crowley and Aziraphale - the rank and file of the war between heaven and hell. He hadn't really expected the lieutenants of God and Lucifer to be turning up and accepting his hospitality.

His notes on how to find common ground between them were sadly lacking though. And he really wasn't sure where people like Loki, both of them, and the sphinx fitted in, making his notes on them sadly lacking. He really needed to get around to talking to them but he'd been worrying too much about dreams recently.

What he really needed was a distraction from it all - a nice chat with somebody, a bit of socialising to take his mind off it. He folded up his bits of paper and stuffed them into a back pocket. He picked up his pint drank some more and then looked hopefully over towards the door.

[swords-love-me.livejournal.com]

War pushed open the door to the bar, and nodded towards the table. "That's Adam there," she told the girl. "I'm getting a whiskey. Want a drink?"

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

Rose followed the woman and took a quick look around. She found the man her guide indicated to her as Adam sitting at a table, drinking something. Before she approached this Adam, who didn't seem busy at the moment, Rose answered the woman.

"A glass of water would be nice, ma'am." And I hope she hasn't already forgotten about the food she offered.

Then she ran a hand through her hair, adjusted her backpack on her back and walked over to Adam. She inconspicuously sniffed the air to get his scent and let her eyes wander over him once. He was taller than her, nothing new there. And just like the woman, he didn't feel or smell like any human she ever met. But he didn't feel or smell exactly like that woman either. Just another kind of different. Which didn't tell her anything about him at all apart from the fact that she would have to stay alert and cautious.

But at least he didn't feel like challenge personified. She smiled with her teeth covering her lips so as not to challenge him.

"Good afternoon, sir. My name is Rose Heerkens and I'm looking for a job as a chambermaid or a waitress. The lady who let me in indicated you were the one I had to talk to about that..."

[neutral-adam.livejournal.com]

Adam smiled to himself as war walked in followed by somebody he didn't recognise. This was much better than trying to plan politics and diplomacy.

He overheard the girl talking to War, being very polite and proper sounding. Seemed likely she was after something...

He took a proper look at her as she made her way over. She was clearly athletic, well muscled, and looked like she was from sunnier climates than england from her tan.

He smiled at her as she made her way over, and then felt himself cringing slightly as she spoke to him.

"My name's adam. Call me sir and I'll think you're talking to my dad.

"As for job, I'm sure sister mary would like help. First though I gotta ask you why here?"

He was a bit unsure of her. There was something about her that tickled something in his head but not in the way that any of the other guests did. Maybe she was just a normal human about to get in way out of her depth.

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

This Adam seemed nice. And young. Rose wasn't sure she'd like to work for this 'Sister Mary' but if it was the only way to get a job here she'd do it. She'd just have to be very careful. Would have to any way with two strange persons in this house, one definitely not human

"Adam then. Well, I've been travelling and my money won't last forever. And I don't like big cities very much. I want to be able to walk outside during my free hours and have grass beneath my feet, see meadows and trees."

Rose shrugged, still smiling.

"I saw this house and thought it was worth a try."

No need to tell him the whole story, after all. She hadn't told lies, only omitted one thing or another.

[neutral-adam.livejournal.com]

He wasn't sure if he'd expected the answer "I figured a house full of supernatural beings could use another one like me" or something but there wasn't much to take from the answer she did give. Except that she'd been travelling and that was always going to be something fun to talk about at least.

He was quite happy to employ her but thought he should at least go through the motions...

"Got any experience of this kind of thing?" He really didn't care for the answer unless she said that last time she'd tried this sort of thing she'd ended up burning down the place. But then, this place had already been burnt down once so what harm could it do...

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

Adam seemed to accept her explanation of 'why'. She thought for a moment about how to answer his next question. On their farm nobody had cared for tidying up. It was no use with them constantly changing form, clothes lying everywhere in case someone visited. Only with that other pack in London had she been forced to clean her room and iron her clothes.

"I haven't worked as a chambermaid before, but I know what a clean and tidy room should look like. So I don't think there will be a problem."

But one problem came to her mind. If she worked here from now on she couldn't simply disappear into the woods at nightfall and sleep in a hollow tree or a cave or under a rock. She would need a room somewhere. Maybe they had quarters here for their aides? She decided to ask Adam.

"Is there a room I could stay in? I didn't see any hotels in town and I'll need a place to sleep."

[neutral-adam.livejournal.com]

"Sounds mostly qualified to me. You can get a room here and food too. On the other hand pay isn't great because of the perks. There is one more thing I need to check with you first though..."

Adam tried to work out how to test how well she'd cope with the idea of angels and demons and gods... He decided to go for the direct approach. If she freaked out better she do it now rather than at some more incovenient moment...

"Are you going to be able to cope with the idea that some of the residents here are angels, demons, various gods and harbingers of the apocalypse. With the occasional mythological beast and probably I've forgotten somebody somewhere."

Some people would just gloss over the bits that were beyond their comfort zone or credibility. They'd just nod and smile and say, "that's fine" and when asked later all that they'd remember is something about "unusual guests". If she flipped out and started screaming and running away then well, she'd still probably forget.

He was pretty sure that she was going to cope better than to run away. He certainly hoped so.

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

So the room problem wasn't a problem at all. Good to know. The next thing Adam said had Rose swallowing. Gods? Hopefully not Mr. Biehn's God. And angels? As in biblical creatures, serving that God? Great. Where did I land myself? She swallowed again.

"I think I won't mind them being here as long as they don't attack me. What mythological beasts do you have here?"

She couldn't smell another werewolf here, but she just wanted to be sure.

"How am I supposed to address the residents? Are there things I shouldn't do?" Apart from telling them what I am, of course. Wouldn't be wise to risk those angels reacting the same way as Mr. Biehn...

[neutral-adam.livejournal.com]

"They won't attack you. Its in the rules. They're all allowed to stay here for free but they've got to not hurt anybody, look after the place. And not destroy property," he glanced at war, "and be nice to one another."

"If I were you id just address them politely. They've all got names which will probably do or you could try sir or madam."

"Mythological stuff I think we've got the sphinx here. I think that's it though. War might be able to correct me though when she's back from the bar."

"Got any questions? I'm sure there must be something you wanna know..."

He was impressed with how shed taken it. Actually asking for more detail was something he'd not expected. Maybe she'd met some people like this before...

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

Rose listened to everything Adam said. It didn't sound too bad. He didn't mention anything about her having to worship any of those Gods. And the not-hurting-anybody-rule sounded just fine to her. But being nice needed clarification in her opinion.

"'Being nice to one another' as in always hugging each other, smiling and never arguing, or as in not attacking each other, but arguing and bantering allowed? And I thought the sphinx was a tall statue in Egypt?"

That had her thinking for a moment because they couldn't have that big statue she had read about here. Had that statue been created after the model of a living being? Then the rest of what Adam had said caught up with her.

"War? As in apocalyptic horseman War? The lady with the flashing eyes?"

War opened the door and invited me in? War offered me a meal and a drink? Rose was slightly shocked at that. Knowing supernatural beings existed and meeting them personally really where two completely different things. It certainly explains her feeling dominant and challenging

[neutral-adam.livejournal.com]

"Nah, not hugging and stuff. Just nice. Not trying to kill each other and stuff. You know." He'd phrased it better before but his mind wasn't that focussed on things right now.

"And I've not met the sphinx yet. Not been round that much. I think there are stories about the sphinx telling riddles and then killing people when they get it wrong. Which they usually did. Apart from one guy who didn't. I forget how it ended though. And yeah, War. Not sure what she'd think of being called a horse*man* though."

Adam was glad that Rose looked like she was going to hang around. It would be good to have somebody a bit more normal around here of nearer his age. Sister mary didn't really count...

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

Rose certainly didn't have problems with the rule not to kill anyone. I hope those angels abide by this rule. The sphinx sounded somewhat dangerous but again, a slong as she followede the rule... And yes, she could see that it hadn't been polite to refer to War as an apocalyptic horseman. Apocalyptic horsewoman or not, that glass of water and the promised meal would be nice now that I know I can stay.

"Alright. Could you tell me which room in this house I can use? I mean, War invited me for a meal, so I'd like to stay right here for the moment, but afterwards I should probably get settled in, take a shower and go find this Sister Mary to ask what to do. Could you describe her to me? Is she a nun?"

Rose longed to stretch her legs - preferably her four legs in fur-form - before she moved into a room here, but it was too risky. If she didn't want these people to know what she was, she couldn't change anywhere near the house. You can stretch your legs as much as you want as soon as you have enough money to go back to Canada.

[swords-love-me.livejournal.com]

War crossed the room carrying her whiskey - the bottle and a glass - and a glass of water for the girl.

"Here," she said. "I went ahead and ordered steak for us both - you didn't look much like a leaf-eater." She had a dim view of vegetarians. People who couldn't kill animals didn't tend to be much fun in battles.

"Adam," she said, with an acknowledging nod in his direction. "Whiskey?"

She was wary around him, in some senses, but if he'd drink whiskey it'd be a point in his favour.

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

Rose took the offered glass of water and smiled at War, still minding her teeth. She really didn't want to get into a fight with War. She didn't think her chances of winning were very high.

"Thank you, ma'am. Will the steak be rare? That's the way I like it best. And do I address you simply as 'War' or would you prefer something else?"

Something else came to her mind all of a sudden and she looked back at Adam.

"Wait a moment. If you really have Gods, angels, demons, mythological beasts and so on here and you are still the one in charge, then who or what are you?"

[neutral-adam.livejournal.com]

Adam looked embarrassed at Rose's question. And answered war first, "Yeah, alright. Don't suppose you fancy grabbing me a glass while you're up do you? Or I guess I could drink whiskey from a pint glass..."

He looked back at Rose hoping that she'd have lost interest in her question but it seemed she didn't have the midn of a goldfish and 4 seconds later she still seemed to want an answer to the question.

"I'm Adam Young. I'm human. I'm..." He hesitated, slightly tongue twisted. It wasn't something he had to explain often. He didn't want to tell he that technically he was the son of lucifer and given a unique roll by heaven and hell to start the apocalypse. It was things like that that made somebody not want to talk to you any more.

"I'm umm... well, I was meant to bring about the end of the world. But I decided I liked it so didn't." He glanced sideways at war, hoping it wasn't going to bring any bad memories back that would agitate her. "So yeah, I still got the power. 'specialy here in Lower Tadfield. Its, like, my place so nobody can challenge me here."

He looked at her, hoping not to see any sings of fear, horror or anything else. He hadn't given some of the more awkward details. She'd probably find out eventually but first impressions were important and he didn't want to give her *too* bad a first impression...

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

Looks like I found the alpha male was Rose's first thought at Adam's explanation. She had to swallow again. Then she shrugged. If he'd wanted to kill her, he could have already done - if he really was as powerful as he claimed to be. And he still seemed nice for a human.

"I suppose I should hope you keep liking the world. I'm rather fond of living."

She smiled again and finally sat down at his table, keeping her backpack firmly next to her right leg.

"I hope you don't mind?" she asked.

"What about a room I could use? And what does this Sister Mary look like? Is she a nun?"

She repeated her earlier questions as those still weren't answered.

[neutral-adam.livejournal.com]

Adam grinned. "Can't imagine the world will ever get boring. There's so much wicked stuff in it."

"There's not really people here except the special sort so just find yourself a room you like. Might need to change you round if it gets really packed. Course, you might need to clean it up a bit first."

"As for sister mary..." Adam described what she looked like for Rose. "Probably near reception somewhere. Maybe in the office. Dunno. And she's sort of an ex-nun. She's not really that religious though I don't think. More just inherited religion really.

"I'm sure she'll tell you about it though. She does like to talk."

[swords-love-me.livejournal.com]

War came back and slid a glass across the table towards Adam. "Help yourself," she said, pouring whiskey into her glass.

She hooked a chair out with a foot and settled into it. "Steak shouldn't take too long," she said to the girl, nodding towards the kitchen door.

"Heard he" - she gestured at Adam with her glass, the whiskey slopping up against the side - "told you a bit about us here. Any questions?"

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

Rose looked at war and still had to make an effort not to growl. She didn't know yet how she'd live in this house without getting in a fight with the woman some day, but she would try her hardest.

"Thank you," she addressed War. "Yes, Adam told me about some of the residents. Would you prefer 'ma'am' or 'War' when I address you?"

[swords-love-me.livejournal.com]

"Huh." War knocked back her whiskey.

"Go for Scarlett. Not everyone round here's been introduced yet."

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

"Alright, Scarlett it is."

Rose took a small gulp of water before she put her glass down again.

"Will the steaks be brought to the table as soon as they're ready or do we have to go into the kitchen to get them?"

[swords-love-me.livejournal.com]

War gestured towards the kitchen door with her head. "They'll bring them when they're ready. Shouldn't be long now."

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

"Alright."

A small grumbling noise could be heard from the direction of Rose's stomach, and the girl blushed slightly. Really, couldn't her stomach have waited those few more minutes till the steaks were here?

She tried to cover the awkwardness with another question.

"Is there a particular reason why there are several - I don't know, which word would cover angels, demons, gods, mythological beasts and apocalyptical horsewomen all at once? Is there a particular reason for them to be here, now?"

[neutral-adam.livejournal.com]

"Dunno. There weren't any invites or anything. People just turn up and I try to make them welcome. Near enough anyway. Now they're here maybe they'll learn tolerance and stuff."

Adam was a little uncertain about why they were all here. He'd set the hotel up as a kind of sanctuary and a kind of neutral territory. He'd been thinking about people like aziraphale and crowley when he'd done it. He really hadn't expected half of the people that had turned up and certainly not as rapidly...