[John hesitates at the warning growl, then slowly, slowly sits down on the ground, just out of her reach.]
Sally. I'm just gonna talk so you get used to my voice, okay? I don't... I know you wouldn't want me here. But this is a part of you. No matter how dangerous the wolf can be, it's a part of you. And I feel... like I should know you. All of you. I want to be here. I want to be here for you.
[ but now he's just running his mouth, and the words are just slightly beyond the wolf's comprehension, so she doesn't bother. constant vocalizations are a habit left for humans, birds, and other prey-type creatures. not wolves. so she turns to pace not to the back of her room, but smack dab in the middle instead. like a display of ownership of the room as a whole. and she turns her back to him now, and she lies down on the floor. see how many fucks she gives about whatever you're trying to say, john? zero. ]
[He sighs, trailing off. There's really no point in talking anymore.] Sally.
[He pulls out a bag from his jacket, reaching in and pulling out a chunk of raw meat. He quickly sets it past the boundary of mountain ash and retracts his hand. He pats the floor to get her attention, or maybe the smell of the meat is strong enough.]
[ the meat smell definitely catches her attention, her chin sliding around from its former facing-away position to eye the meat now instead. then a glance up at john, wary but not in a fearful way.
and then she's on her feet, padding over toward the meat but making sure he sees her lip still curling first - to deter him from any kind of bullshit. but through some sort of canine lapse in logic, the fact that she didn't see him put the meat in means it doesn't quite click that the barrier isn't two ways. as far as she's concerned, he's locked out just like she's locked in.
so she steps just barely past him now, far enough to plant a paw on one end of the meat while her teeth close down on the other. don't mind her, just tearing this mystery steak in half in one jerk. ]
[John watches her carefully making her way over. He looks away when her lip curls, trying to show deference before he really blows that shit to hell. She gets close, and his eyes flick back up. She tears into the meat in a way that should really frighten him, but he's set to pet her already.
He doesn't think; he just does it. He reaches out his hand to run his fingers through the fur on her shoulder.]
[ boy is he gonna get an earful if sally finds out about this. to the point where he'll likely reconsider whether or not it was worth it.
for now, it almost seems like he's getting away with it, but that's about the farthest possible thing from the truth. her reply just comes on delay - he caught her with a mouthful of meat, too full to properly bite, and she has to hastily choke it down before she belatedly jerks around to snap hard at his hand with another audible snarl. but even if his hand's out of the way, damned if she isn't biting at the barrier with the side of her jaw as if she's trying to get her teeth to catch on something she can rip away and let her at him. the growl in her throat's one of indignant frustration, because whatever placation she felt re: his presence a minute ago's been blown all to bits by the fact that the barrier doesn't go two ways.
but she can't bite through, she can't. and that makes her so damn mad with no way to get ahold of him to get that frustration out. with a furious huff, she grabs the remaining half of the steak and shakes it hard, eyes fixed on his. if it were prey, its spine would've snapped. she vaguely remembers doing this same thing to a smaller wolf-dog not so long ago, but that comes with a sour taste so she's just shaking the meat a little more furiously instead.
and that's when it happens - a corner of the meat, the floppy torn-up end of it, dips straight through the barrier as she savages it. that stops her short, breathing hard, clearly still worked up (the hair on her neck's still on-end and the growl's still not quite gone away) but you can almost see the cogs turning behind her eyes. see the math adding up in ways it shouldn't, not for a wolf.
then the meat's tossed roughly outside the barrier, out onto the floor where it lands with a wet slick sound. but oh, she's not done. after a second, she's whirling back toward the already half-wrecked furniture, wrapping her jaws around the corner of the more heavily-damaged of the desks and roughly tipping it over into the middle of the room. then she seizes one of the legs and jerks hard, pulling it loose.
And the wolf swings back toward the barrier with the desk leg in her mouth, setting it flying at the doorway. it misses, colliding just inside the door frame and ricocheting off past john at a sharp angle, but her point's been made. she stares long and hard at him now. ]
[He gasps so hard that it feels like it rips through his throat. His hand flies backward and into the doorframe, saving it from Sally, but carving off a little bit of skin and probably making for some lovely bruises later.] Ah!
[he chokes out in pain, grabbing his hand with the other and staggering backward. He looks up with a grimace, his mind running a million miles an hour. It doesn't occur to him except at the last second that she might throw something in his direction. He dodges out of the way, blood dripping onto the floor. He looks back over at the wolf, breathing hard, his face tight with pain.] I'm sorry.
[he breathes. John closes the door, then hurries away, toward the elevator, and doesn't stop until the doors close behind him.]
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2014-11-05 06:53 am (UTC)Sally. I'm just gonna talk so you get used to my voice, okay? I don't... I know you wouldn't want me here. But this is a part of you. No matter how dangerous the wolf can be, it's a part of you. And I feel... like I should know you. All of you. I want to be here. I want to be here for you.
[He stops for a second, to collect his thoughts.]
no subject
Date: 2014-11-05 07:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-11-05 07:28 am (UTC)Sally, I'm just... I'm scared. I'm scared you're gonna leave like Elizabeth. And...
[He sighs, trailing off. There's really no point in talking anymore.] Sally.
[He pulls out a bag from his jacket, reaching in and pulling out a chunk of raw meat. He quickly sets it past the boundary of mountain ash and retracts his hand. He pats the floor to get her attention, or maybe the smell of the meat is strong enough.]
no subject
Date: 2014-11-05 07:37 am (UTC)and then she's on her feet, padding over toward the meat but making sure he sees her lip still curling first - to deter him from any kind of bullshit. but through some sort of canine lapse in logic, the fact that she didn't see him put the meat in means it doesn't quite click that the barrier isn't two ways. as far as she's concerned, he's locked out just like she's locked in.
so she steps just barely past him now, far enough to plant a paw on one end of the meat while her teeth close down on the other. don't mind her, just tearing this mystery steak in half in one jerk. ]
no subject
Date: 2014-11-05 07:45 am (UTC)He doesn't think; he just does it. He reaches out his hand to run his fingers through the fur on her shoulder.]
no subject
Date: 2014-11-05 08:10 am (UTC)for now, it almost seems like he's getting away with it, but that's about the farthest possible thing from the truth. her reply just comes on delay - he caught her with a mouthful of meat, too full to properly bite, and she has to hastily choke it down before she belatedly jerks around to snap hard at his hand with another audible snarl. but even if his hand's out of the way, damned if she isn't biting at the barrier with the side of her jaw as if she's trying to get her teeth to catch on something she can rip away and let her at him. the growl in her throat's one of indignant frustration, because whatever placation she felt re: his presence a minute ago's been blown all to bits by the fact that the barrier doesn't go two ways.
but she can't bite through, she can't. and that makes her so damn mad with no way to get ahold of him to get that frustration out. with a furious huff, she grabs the remaining half of the steak and shakes it hard, eyes fixed on his. if it were prey, its spine would've snapped. she vaguely remembers doing this same thing to a smaller wolf-dog not so long ago, but that comes with a sour taste so she's just shaking the meat a little more furiously instead.
and that's when it happens - a corner of the meat, the floppy torn-up end of it, dips straight through the barrier as she savages it. that stops her short, breathing hard, clearly still worked up (the hair on her neck's still on-end and the growl's still not quite gone away) but you can almost see the cogs turning behind her eyes. see the math adding up in ways it shouldn't, not for a wolf.
then the meat's tossed roughly outside the barrier, out onto the floor where it lands with a wet slick sound. but oh, she's not done. after a second, she's whirling back toward the already half-wrecked furniture, wrapping her jaws around the corner of the more heavily-damaged of the desks and roughly tipping it over into the middle of the room. then she seizes one of the legs and jerks hard, pulling it loose.
And the wolf swings back toward the barrier with the desk leg in her mouth, setting it flying at the doorway. it misses, colliding just inside the door frame and ricocheting off past john at a sharp angle, but her point's been made. she stares long and hard at him now. ]
no subject
Date: 2014-11-05 08:39 am (UTC)[he chokes out in pain, grabbing his hand with the other and staggering backward. He looks up with a grimace, his mind running a million miles an hour. It doesn't occur to him except at the last second that she might throw something in his direction. He dodges out of the way, blood dripping onto the floor. He looks back over at the wolf, breathing hard, his face tight with pain.] I'm sorry.
[he breathes. John closes the door, then hurries away, toward the elevator, and doesn't stop until the doors close behind him.]