[ action; backdated to monday afternoon, locked to lyall (and lyall's roomies if they want in!) ]

[seabeast]

Lyall always returns from work at around this time of day, so after a long sabbatical, Stella sees fit to return to his front door. She was unimpressed with the sweet time he was taking to get back, time he could be using to open the door for her and possibly feed her some junk food.

Junk food. Heavens knew she could go for a hot burger patty right now.

It does occur to her that Lyall's situation may have changed in the months she was gone, and there may not be room for her anymore. Still (and she repeated this to herself, fluffing up her narrow chest), she was a very independent creature, with enough letters to get by and enough common sense to stay out of trouble. She hadn't fallen victim to any particular Echoes that would make living on her own harder... She could take care of herself. She watches from his front door. If he doesn't let her in, she could always take of herself.

Comments

[professorwolf]

And the cake very nearly falls right off its precarious balance. Lyall only manages not to drop it by a quick feat of rebalancing, one which looks pretty silly, actually. "What the-- Stella?!" It comes out with surprise, delight, and actually a little relief. "Where have you been? --Nevermind, you can't answer that without a laptop or something. God, Stella, I was worried about you!"

Have a little babbling, there, Stella. He really has been worried. A little worried he'd somehow eaten her, that first full moon, actually.

[seabeast]

Silly. Yes, silly is the correct word for this entire matter. He's silly for sounding so absurdly relieved at her return. She sniffs at him once. She was very, very silly for worrying this entire time that he wouldn't.

Worrying? Was that what she had been doing?

Anyway, she gives him a rather pleasant headtilt, given the disdain that she treats him with the majority of the time. Worrying aside, she had been wondering if his bumbling and good humor would have made him more of an asset than a target. It seems as though he had held up well, after all.

She pads over to the door, pushing at it with her paw and looking up. The faster they get inside, the faster they can have a real talk. Not that she's exactly looking forward to that, but if she wants air conditioning this summer...

[professorwolf]

"Yes, yes, all right...." He recovers his keys again to unlock the front door. "I must warn you, however, I have a houseguest right now. And he looks a tad bit... well, different. Try not to be alarmed when he comes out?" Because he will, Lyall's sure, and between his size and appearance, even someone like Stella might be frightened.

"A number of things have changed since you've been gone." As he opens the door, she might in fact notice that said door has been replaced, along with all the windows, with much thicker specimens. The furniture in the living room has also been partially replaced, and those that she'll find familiar look a bit worse for wear.

[seabeast]

... This is much more foresight than she gave him credit for. Ignoring his warning of a strange looking houseguest (who?? she hopes the addition of one more guest won't make her meals smaller), she pads into the center of the room and does a slow turn in place, taking in all of the differences. Thank heavens for her much improved eyesight...

When she's done, she looks into his face once she can catch his attention and squints. Hard. What in hell's name have you been doing, Lyall?

[professorwolf]

Lyall shuts and locks the door behind him, and flips on a light, since the blinds are all closed at the moment. It's safest that way, given Hajime's appearance. He turns back to watch her, and smiles just a bit at her almost-glare. "It's going to take a while to explain it all, but probably the biggest change is that every full moon going forward, I'm turning into a large and angry carnivore in a very painful fashion. I don't suppose a ferret will have heard of werewolves?"

[seabeast]

No. A ferret will have heard of no such thing... "wolf" apparently is in her vocabulary, but the entire word is beyond her comprehension. She'll shake her head and then shift it to the side, indicating that he should continue. In the meantime... man, now that she thinks about it, this place does smell a bit... wolfy. And what's that other smell? Stella has not gotten used to the scent of bugman. She leaps up to the nearest piece of gouged furniture, giving it a good sniff. Forewarned is forearmed, and she'd like to get this scent identified in her olfactory as soon as possible.

[professorwolf]

"It means just what I said: that on the full moon, I turn into a rather angry wolf. I was, er. A little afraid I'd eaten you on accident, when you disappeared for so long...." He looks apologetic at that, and sounds it, too, if she can pick up on both. "I'm glad to find out I was wrong and you're all right."

[seabeast]

... Really. She supposes she should feel sorry for that. After all, he must have been very worried. He even has the gall to sound sorry for something that never happened! How irritating. Stella finds his overt displays of concern unnecessary, but is once again reminded that this is more or less a way of life for him. And yet she keeps coming back like a bad penny.

Turning into an angry wolf would explain all of the doors and windows, and the damage on the furniture too. She does a circuit on the sofa, then hops onto a nearby chair to get to a windowsill, peering at the new window settings briefly before looking back at him, inspecting him for damage. After all, if he lives with another supposed man-creature, and they're in close quarters... She suddenly hops to the piece of furniture and starts sniffing his coat sleeve furiously, inspecting him up and down.

[professorwolf]

Lyall almost steps back in surprise, but he catches himself. " ... everything all right?" he asks, having not expected the sudden inspection, and not quite sure what to make of it, to be honest. Suspicion? Concern? Annoyance? "I suppose I must smell a bit different now, I'm sure. I have a hard time working out my own scent, even now, unless it's particularly bad for some reason. I guess it's too much a part of me to really notice."

[chalicejoker]

It is at this point that Hajime has heard Lyall talking to the ferret, although he's not yet picked up on who or what the ferret is. He had been in the kitchen, poking at the ingredients for some udon, when he heard the noise. Nothing at all unusual about a bug-man trying to decide what to cook for dinner, right? Even if all he could cook was Japanese. "Hey," he calls out as he enters the living room, in much the same way as he'd done the rest of the time he'd stayed here. "Who are you talking to?"

Now he notices Stella, and he's a bit confused. "...is that a ferret?"

[seabeast]

... Well, he doesn't seem too banged up. Still, she'll do a quick circuit around Lyall, taking in the new wolfy Lyall scent and eying him for injuries. His movements didn't seem any different... If he's injured at all, it doesn't seem to be affecting his everyday life. That's good.

She backs towards the kitchen, then looks up at the kitchen entrance when she hears the voice and footsteps oh HELLS TEETH WHAT IN THE NAME OF MERCY IS THAT

She barely has the time to note that he's saying something before a panicked, high pitched bark escapes her and she hop-shuffles backward towards Lyall. What. What!?

[professorwolf]

"Hajime, this is-- whoops!" Lyall hastily sets the last of his things down on the slightly-mauled coffee table to crouch down and put a hand down on Stella's back. "It's all right. That's Hajime, he's that roommate I told you about and told you not to be too alarmed at? He's fine, he just looks a little funny, that's all."

Glancing back up at Hajime, he smiled faintly. "This is Stella. Another roommate, of sorts, and yes, she's a ferret. Also as intelligent as you are, and on the network."

[chalicejoker]

Oh, great, he'd terrified a ferret. Awesome. Hajime looked down at Stella. "Uh...hi." He'd never been much good at introductions, and now there was a ferret involved. He was assuming she could talk; the other animals he'd seen on the network had been perfectly capable. Would she even respond to human body language? He was now holding his hands up, palms out, in what he hoped was a peaceful gesture. "Didn't mean to startle you..."

[seabeast]

Stella's back takes a moment to settle into a looser arch. This... massive bugman is a person? It certainly doesn't seem like he alarms Lyall at all, but that eases Stella's concerns by only a tiny fraction. Only when Hajime speaks does she dare ease herself closer to study him more thoroughly. Only when she's satisfied that he won't lunge at her will she move closer to take a good sniff at his hands. Yes, that was the scent that had been throwing her since she walked in. So that explains that.

After some contemplation, she looks back up at Hajime, then back over at Lyall, sniffing hard once. No matter how well meaning his warning had been, Stella felt as though it hadn't been enough. Then again, how the hell are you supposed to get someone ready for a surprise like that?

[professorwolf]

Thankfully for all involved, Lyall picks up on the assumption. "She doesn't talk, not yet anyway, but she understands us. I taught her how to read and write, before she vanished on me. I'm assuming she still remembers that. --you didn't lose your memories, did you, Stella?" he asks, as the thought occurs to him. "Is that why you disappeared? I know some of us have, if they go too far outside the city."

[chalicejoker]

Hajime's staying pretty still and not making any sudden movements as Stella sniffs at him. No need to alarm the poor ferret any worse. "Really? Reading and writing?" Hajime sounds a little dumbfounded at that. He looks at the ferret again. "That's pretty impressive."

[seabeast]

She pauses, then very deliberately shrugs with a tilt of her head. Necessary. Not impressive in the least. Words are easy enough for her; she picks it up like a nearly disappeared path in the woods. Simple.

She sniffs once before headbutting the proffered hand once in approval. All right... Now that she has his scent, he can stay. For now. One false move and she will find a way around that visor and to his eyeballs.