Epping Forest - Cat Hunting

[Connor Marshall]

And Connor resolutely kept looking in the other direction. Maaaaaaybe they should've sent an all-girl group... "Clothes are in the bag, luv. I'll just keep not looking..."

[Stephanie Kaltiera]

Stephanie sprung up after Lillian, grabbing the clothes from Connor on the way. "Lillian! It's okay, it's okay," she said moving quickly towards the brush. "We brought clothes for you."

[Lillian Clearwater]

Lillian peeked her head out from the brush. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying. "H-how do you know my name?" she whispered, her bottom lip trembling. She spared a glance to Connor's back and looked back at Stephanie with wide eyes.

[Stephanie Kaltiera]

Stephanie smiled reassuringly at Lillian, handing her the clothes.

"Put these on. It's cold out here without fur, and Connor is getting tired of staring at the ground. I'm Stephanie. We talked to the head of your orphanage when we heard about what happened earlier. We...well we do things like this to help mutants like you. Like us."

[Connor Marshall]

"Ground's fine! No rush!" Connor joked without looking over his shoulder. "This rock's getting my arse wet, though!"

[Lillian Clearwater]

Lillian took the clothes in gratitude and hugged them to her chest. "...Mutant..." The word was foreign to her lips, it would take some getting use to. Her ears and tail finally retreated and she was relieved to look like a normal girl again. Quickly, she shimmied into her given clothes. They were loose on her small frame and quite baggy. Timidly she tip toed out from behind the brush. "Thank you for the clothes, but you should go...leave me..." she said with tears in her eyes.

[Connor Marshall]

"Uh huh, and what're you going to do after we leave, luv?" Connor said, waiting until she was done dressing to turn around. "World's not exactly friendly to people like us when we're all on our own. 'Specially without anywhere to kip up that's got a roof." He stood up, stretching his legs again. "We know what we're askin' and we know what we're getting into here, luv. We don't want to make you do anything, but... Come on. How can we leave you out here."

[Stephanie Kaltiera]

"And why would we leave you here, alone, in the woods?" she smiled gently. "Like Connor said...We came to take you with us to our school, if you'd like a safe place to go. Warm beds, other people like us....it's a pretty wonderful place."

[Lillian Clearwater]

Lillian fidgeted nervously. "...I don't know," she said softly, avoiding eye contact. She shuffled her bare feet in the dirt. "What I did...the orphanage... What if it happens again?"

[Stephanie Kaltiera]

Stephanie smiled reassuringly at Lillian. "Well, most importantly we're going to teach you how to control your powers. But we also have much more...understanding students at our school Because they are all like you. They are all going through a very confusing time in their lives. They all have different powers that frighten or confuse them."

"We can help you. I went through the same thing after I had my first change I was terrified. But going to school and learning how to deal with my wild side? That made such a huge difference in my life."

[Connor Marshall]

"You wouldn't be the first one that did it, luv. They know how to deal with that sort of thing," Connor agreed.

[Lillian Clearwater]

She looked from Connor to Stephanie and nodded timidly. "Okay..." she said in a small voice as she wipped the remaining tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'll go."

[Connor Marshall]

Connor smiled reassuringly. "You still have anything back at the home you want, luv? Not going to make you go in there ta get it, of course."

[Stephanie Kaltiera]

"Great," she smiled. "I think you're gonna fit in just fine. And I'll finally have a fellow shifter to swap stories with."

[Lillian Clearwater]

Lillian had to take a moment to collect her thoughts. She didn't really want to think about the orphanage, about what had happened and what she was leaving behind, but there were a few possessions that were near and dear to her that she wanted to take with her. "My reading glasses...they are folded on my night stand," she said softly. " My hairbrush, which is in my nightstand drawer...and underneath the bed is a mouse shapped cat toy...it's special to me." Her bottom lip trembled. The mouse toy had been Sir. Purrington's favorite toy and was all she had to remember him by.

She couldn't shake off the feeling that she had seen Conor before. He looked quite familiar. "...Thank you."

[Stephanie Kaltiera]

"We'll make sure that we get all of your things," she smiled reassuringly. "We'll stop there on our way back to Maldon. You don't have to even leave our van if you don't want to. You ready to get out of this forest and go home? We can get you more food there or even on the way. You're probably still starving. Shifting takes a lot out of you."

[Connor Marshall]

"Don't worry, luv, I know the place. I'll get all yer things. Don't have anything stashed away anywhere in the building? Stuff you didn't want anyone else getting into?"

[Lillian Clearwater]

"Food sounds nice," she admitted, though mostly to herself. Lillian didn't really feel like she was heading 'home', as Stephanie had called it, but it sure seemed like a better alternative than roughing it out in the woods. "I don't have much..." She said to Connor, eyeing him suspiciously." Just the things I mentioned and perhaps some clothes..." Lillian looked down at what she was currently wearing. "And I may need more if this random shifting is to continue." Her stomach gave a loud rumble and she blushed with embarrassment. She placed her hands on her stomach and dug her toes into the dirt. "So...your van...it's close by?"

[Connor Marshall]

"Hey. You grow up in a place like that, even the little things mean a lot. Just don't want you leaving anything behind." He looked at Steph, then pulled the keys out. "Only takes one person to go pick the things up. Get 'er something ta eat while you wait?"

[Stephanie Kaltiera]

"Ten minutes walk, roughly. We did bring some shoes too, if you like," she smiled.

"And I wish I could say that you wouldn't have issues tearing up clothes again but that would be lying horribly. I still wreck some clothes even now. You...well you get more comfortable with your body. But we also can get you some undergarments that will shift with you somewhat. Same stuff this uniform is made of," she demonstrated, picking at the sleeve of the uniform.

Steph looked back at Connor and nodded. "Drop us off at the first decent place to get some carnivores some food, meet us back there."

[Connor Marshall]

"There's a place on the other side of the block from the orphanage. Guy that runs it's a good bloke, won't take to anyone stirrin' up trouble there. Should get some peace and quiet for you," Connor said, picking up the bag and taking the shoes out of it.

[Lillian Clearwater]

Her eyes lit up at the mention of shifter friendly undergarments. Ripping clothes was embarrassing enough, but ending up completely stalkers after shifting back was another issue altogether. She felt the compulsive need to reach out and touch the fabric of Stephanie's sleeve until Connor pulled out the pair of shoes. She snatched them up in haste and sighed in relief when slipping her feet into them. "They fit perfectly..." Lillian said in awe, wiggling her toes inside the shoes. "Peace and quiet would be nice too.."

[Stephanie Kaltiera]

"Well, we did ask about you since we had a feeling you might not have much in the way of clothes left after what happened, so I'm glad they fit well." she smiled, leading them back up the edge of the ravine towards the van. A little less than ten minutes later they'd reached the road again, just as the last bits of light faded into darkness. A big conversion van was parked along the side of the road.

"So lets go see about some food, and then get back to Maldon and get you settled. You've got shotgun," she smiled, putting a reassuring hand on Lillian's shoulder.

[Connor Marshall]

"Yup. I'm just the bloody pack mule," Connor mused as he hauled open the sliding side door.

[Stephanie Kaltiera]

"Do you want to drive instead?" she smirked.

[Lillian Clearwater]

Lillian smiled for the first time since meeting her new friends. She grabbed the passenger door handle and tugged the door open, climbing up into the seat. After closing the door, Lillian spun around in her seat to peek over the headrest at Connor. Her grey eyes narrowed slightly. "Have I met you before?" she asked him.

[Connor Marshall]

Connor chuckled. "Probably. Spent a couple years at the home meself, 'fore they passed me on to another one when I turned seventeen. So if you've always been there y' probably saw me having to scrub the floors or something after a toss-up they caught me in."

[Lillian Clearwater]

She narrowed her eyes further, in suspicion. He seemed to be honest enough....and he DID look familar... "It's quite possible," Lillian said quietly, lightly drumming her fingers on the headrest. "You do seem to have certain physical characteristics that would lead one to believe you to be a trouble maker."

[Connor Marshall]

Connor give his best 'who, me?' shrug. "Sticks an' stones, luv. Didn't do any long-term damage, so I regret nothing."

[Stephanie Kaltiera]

Stephanie smirked into the rearview mirror, eyeing Connor and throwing the car into gear. "Your instincts are probably right."

[Connor Marshall]

"Don't know what you're talkin' about, luv," Connor said, innocently.

[Lillian Clearwater]

Satisfied with her analysis of Connor Lillian spun back around in her seat to face the front. She turned her attention to the passenger window, staring out at the moving scenery, and allowed her mind to wander off. Big mistake. She thought of Sir Purrington and immediately returned to her previous grief stricken state. Lillian did her best not to cry, swallowing the incredibly painful lump forming in her throat. New friends were nice, but she wanted Sir Purrington back.