Hancock. Goodneighbor Cafe. 8:30 A.M.
It was a dreary morning. Clouds blanketed the sky, an angry purplish-grey that promised storms in the afternoon with an occasional rumble of thunder for emphasis. Fog filled the streets. Hancock sat sipping his morning coffee in the town's little cafe as he awaited for his order. A few locals sat at the counter, drinking coffee and quietly chatting. The diner was otherwise empty except for him. "Can I get you a refill, John?" Donna, the cafe's waitress asked with the hint of a southern drawl. "That'd be lovely, thank you." He set the paper down and folded his hands under his chin, watching as she poured. "Who was it this time?" She asked, gesturing to the paper between them as she set down the coffee pot. The front page read in big bold letters:BIGFOOT. IS HE AMONG US?
followed by a grainy black and white picture of an upright form hidden in foliage. Hancock sighed defeatedly. "Raven again, eh?" Donna chuckled. "It's an improvement from where she was.""I suppose." He pushed the paper away and took up his coffee. "Your order should be up in just a minute."
She said with a smile before picking the coffee pot back up and walking back to the kitchen. A shadow moving down the main street caught his eye before disappearing behind him out of sight. The bell on the door of the cafe then tinkled, announcing the new arrival. "Speak of the devil." Hancock muttered over the rim of his coffee.Raven. Somewhere outside of Goodneighbor. 8:00 A.M.
It felt good to run.
A dark shape flowed through the forest like water. Each leap and bound it made seemed like it was just floating. An obsidian wolf was at a dead run through the trees. It then suddenly skidded to a stop and cocked its head. For a few seconds it was motionless and then it sprung to the side. A scream broke the silence of the forest as a rabbit scurried from it's hiding place, the wolf on its heels. They moved in tandem through the foliage until the wolf put a small spring into its step and closed in on the rabbit. The death was swift as she slammed a paw down. Panting, the wolf stood a few moments catching its breath before it began to devour the rabbit. It didn't take long and once it was satisfied, it turned and headed for the town.8:30 A.M.Upon reaching the edge of the town, the wolf stopped and shook the dew from its fur. The change came easy to her today. Fur gave way to clothes, nails shrunk and turned from black back to a translucent pink, a snout turned back to a nose and mouth. A shiver ran through her and the young woman pulled the hood up around her face. Her eyes darted around nervously but eventually she decided to move on. She hadn't been too far outside of town and it wasn't long before she was at the door of the town's single diner. As she pushed open the door, the bell tingled.
"Ah, Raven." She heard a familiar voice call her name and dropped her hood before turning to see no other than Hancock himself.
"Howdy.""Have a nice run this morning?" Her face was smeared with dirt and blood, as was her hands.
"You have something a little... all over." Hancock pointed to his face. Raven cocked a brow and self-consciously pulled her hood tighter around herself before standing and ducking into the bathroom. She came back out a few minutes later looking more like a normal girl before sitting down across from Hancock just as Donna came with Hancock's order. "I got an Eggs Benedict here for ya with biscuits and gravy on the side just like you like it." She set the order down before Hancock along with silverware.
"Thanks, Donna.""Sure thing, hon. What about you, Raven? You want anything?"
"I'm good. I already ate, thanks." Donna nodded a farewell before she went off to serve other customers.
"So care to explain this?" Hancock slid the paper over towards her. Raven avoided eye contact and only shrugged.
"You can't keep doing this. There's more than just you living here. Humans may be ignorant, but they aren't stupid, Raven." She only shrugged again.
"You really have to be more careful.""Sure.""I mean it. You can't keep joking around like this. If this 'evidence' keeps coming up, it's going to put us on the map. If we get put on the map, we are going to start being investigated. You know what happens if they dig too deep? They show up and-""I know, ok!" She snarled, curling her lip back in a very wolf-like way. A few of the people at the counter turned their heads for a few seconds but didn't pay much attention otherwise.
"We all have to be more careful." Hancock said quietly, watching with hidden concern as Raven seethed across from him.
"Something's coming soon."((I might play with a few formats of posting. I'm not sure which way I want to do it. Colors for every time they speak is harder than just a set block of color. Hmm...))