The White Dragon Sanctuary

She smiled and this time it was open and friendly. "Eleanor. A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Dresden. Now... I assume you would love a shower and a shave. Or at least a shower. Would you like a room?" She held the key up once again, watching the wizard's face with interest. She was usually this open and friendly. Ash had picked her for that trait. It was just that she sometimes needed a second try. Something about wizards just put her on the edge. Now Dresden knew what.

I let out a chuckle and nodded. "Indeed I would. A room sounds very nice, thanks. And pleas, just call me Harry. Being called 'Mr' makes me feel old." I think i'm going to like this girl. She obviously didn't like Wizards that much and I could not blame her. Many Wizards were assholes.
A familiar "Woof!" filled my ears and I turned to the door to see my Foo Dog, Mouse. I grinned at the giant Caucasian Mountain Dog look alike. I was sure that one of his parents was a woolly mammoth. He was built on the scale of those statues outside Chinese restaurants, though—broad chested and powerful, with that same mountainous strength built into his muzzle. His coat was a dark and almost uniform grey, marked on the tips of his fuzzy ears, his tail, and his lower legs with solid black.
"Hey what took you so long, buddy?" I asked him, expecting only another "Woof!" as an answer, which is the answer I got along with a wag of the tail. I rubbed under his ear with a grin and turned to Elenore. "Elenore, this is Mouse, my Foo Dog. Mouse meet Elenore."

Mai, an older Wizard in the Council once told me that Foo Dogs only choose the most worthy and extraordinary person to be their master. Now, I am not sure about all that but Mouse sure as hell did find me. He stuck with me since he was a puppy who could fit in my coat pocket. He is certainly one of my most loyal friends and damn powerful when he wants to be.

Eleanor smiled, delighted to see such a creature at the Sanctuary. "Well hello there!" She cried out, coming out from behind the bar and leaving the key for Harry. She crouched down to the dog's level and patted her lap, beckoning it over. "It is a pleasure to meet another Mouse!" She chuckled. She thought for a moment then called a dog treat down from the top shelf above the chiller. Since Ash loved animals so much, she had all manner of treats. Eleanor offered the treat, positively beaming at the dog. Hopefully, it wouldn't go curl up in a corner or something.

Mouse did what Mouse always does, which was wag his tail like crazy and draw himself closer to her. Mouse loved being attended to, though not as much as my cat Mister. Mouse gave Elenore a quick lick on the cheek before eating the treat in one bite. Mouse sat down still looking at her and panted as if to say "I like you already!"
I chuckled and took the key from the counter. "You guys have fun, I'll be right back. Mouse, you protect her" The last bit was serious. Mouse could hold his own against a Vampire and win. You don't mess with Foo Dogs. Especially ones that could get up after being hit by a truck going over 50 MPH. Mouse was that dog.

I took a quick shower, though I savored the hot water, (My apartment didn't have a hot water heater so I got nothing but cold showers). I shaved my stubble and got back into my clothes. I walked back downstairs with a satisfied smile

Eleanor smiled and scratched behind the dog's ears vigorously. On any other day, she would wrestle with it and-considering it's size and strength- loose terribly. Today, or tonight really, she was so tired... so tired...
The young woman crawled across the floor, amused by the way the dog followed her. She sat on the sofa and gradually slumped over. By the time the wizard came down, she was already fast asleep.

I smiled at the sight I beheld. Elenore was fast asleep on the couch and there sat Mouse, right next to her being the perfect guard dog. He wagged his tail when he saw me, though he didn't move from his spoke.
"Good boy" I said with a smile as I walked over and set a blanket atop Elenore's sleeping form. "Sleep well, kid" I then found a e-z boy recliner near the couch and I set myself up there, resting my staff on my shoulder.
I stayed up all night guarding her. And I found that I would do it again anytime.

Eleanor moved quietly around the bar, cleaning already spotless areas and trying to keep busy. She wasn't being useful enough. So she found little things to do. Trash and recycling had already been driven out to their facilities on the other side of the hill. What next? No cobwebs, no damage to be fixed... She had already dusted off all of the surfaces in the room. Still not enough... What next? What next?

Hellboy threw a towel around his shoulders as he finished up with the sparring grounds. He never would have suspected that it would be a pretty good workout; he had to steer clear of the punching bags but the weight sets were pretty decent, and he'd been at it almost all day...just now noticing that everyone had gone, "Ah, crap." he muttered as he reset the weights and headed back up to the Inn.

He hadn't noticed that it had gotten so late, not that it was unusual, like it wasn't that unusual to be ignored; happened all the time down at the Bureau...ever since Clay died, all he had left was Liz, Abe, and...whats-his-face...fish-tank! That's it! Well, there was Roger...but he didn't really count, he wasn't a talker...

As he stepped through the door, he was brought out of his thoughts, "Well, why didn't anyone tell me we had guests?"

Eleanor looked up. "What guests?" She asked, a little shy. She set down the statue of a wolf she had been polishing as she spoke. The stranger was quite interesting and if she weren't in such a shy mood today, she likely would have walked over and examined his arm. But Eleanor was one of those girls who lived life passionately and she occasionally had days where she simply didn't think she deserved attention. The words 'strange girl' floated idly through her mind and she paused to reflect on them.

Hellboy walked over to the counter, taking off his coat, he set it aside as he inspected the wolf statue, "Kitten, your cleaning like you've got something to hide, and I've only ever seen anyone like that when they have guests." he said as he looked away from the statue to the girl.

"Now, come on. Tell Hellboy what's eating ya." he prodded gently, giving the girl the best smile he could.

Eleanor was a little confused. This was obviously the Hellboy who was in room eight. Ash had stopped by earlier and informed her that they had two regulars... But... Kitten? That was a name she was not familiar with. "Perhaps you have me confused with someone else, mister..." She said thoughtfully. She folded the jacket absentmindedly.

"I have just been busying myself with work to pass the time. Not really much for the training grounds and I have been through the ruins and the caves many times. So that leaves cleaning and housework to do." She said with a shrug and a smile very much like Ash's.

"Wait...what?" said Hellboy, getting confused as he rubbed his eyes, taking another look at the woman in front of him, "Ah, crap." he said as he backed away from the counter, "Great, I royally screwed that up, just great," he said to himself, mentally berating himself for the mistake.

Clearly, he'd been outside too long; Faintly, the words of a long dead corpse came back to haunt him in Russian, "Red Monkey" and boy...he certainly felt like it. Turning back to the girl, he opened his mouth to say something, but the words didn't quite come to him, as he began pacing. Looking away from her, he found it was easier to talk, "Look, I'm sorry, little lady. I mistook you for someone else. A cat-like girl, kinda has a few things in common with you...er, as much as I've seen since I've been here."

Walking over to grab his coat, his suddenly felt ugly; it didn't really bother him a lot of the time, but he was more than aware just how different he was. Turning his gaze to the floor, and his face away from the girl, "Look, I'm just tired is all...later." he said, as he walked away.

Eleanor smiled kindly. "It happens somewhat often, actually." She said. She picked up a silver whistle off of a shelf on the wall and blew on it. It made a sound which only dogs and people with dog-like attributes could hear. "If you are looking to talk to her, she'll be in shortly." the young woman added. She glanced up at him, wishing she could get into his thoughts. What did he think of her, she wondered.
Such insecurity, child. she chided herself. She had gotten too used to rating her own self worth from the opinions of others.

It was about that time that Ash walked in the door in heavy winter clothing. She wasn't shivering which meant that she had recently transformed. She assessed the room quickly in case she had been called to deal with danger. As soon as it became apparent what the situation was, she smiled kindly at the girl. "You have been very busy I see. Why not take a break?" She suggested, giving the employee a chance to leave if she so pleased.

Hellboy looked up at the woman, then looked back at the door from which Ash had just come through, "Wait...so she...you mean you? But I thought..." stuttered Hellboy as he looked between the two. Ash didn't own the Inn? "Okay," said Hellboy, holding out his stone hand in a halting manner, "So I guess you own the place," he said, pointing his stone index finger at the woman behind the counter, "And you already know who I am...so, if you don't mind...who are you?"

Eleanor chuckled. "Oh nonono. I don't own the place. Ash does. I'm just one of her 'children'" She smiled softly. "Ash took me in about a year ago. In return for my work, I get her protection." There was a pause. "She is like that..." The girl trailed off. She was not very good with words in the presence of strangers. She disappeared into the kitchen and out through the South door.

Ash sighed. "I'm sorry. She is still very skittish. That was Mouse. She doesn't trust many people." She watched out the window as the girl made her way down a narrow, unmarked path which led to another house. That house belonged to the staff of the Sanctuary and was the only off-limits area on the grounds.
The feline woman opened the refrigerator and pulled out two beers. "You know, I had intended to spar with you yesterday." She said, smiling. "Never got to it, it seems. Perhaps we will do so another time." She opened the beers and offered one to Hellboy. "But now may well be the time for stories. Tell me something about yourself."

"Tell you about myself? What's there to tell, I mean, really?" he said, following Ash's gaze as he accepted the beer and took a swig, "Jeeze, just keeps getting confusing," he said more to himself than anything. "Look, Kitten, it's sweet that you're asking...but you don't have to pretend to be interested...I'm used to it..."

He looked back at her, then looked away, "Don't worry about it, kid, you'll get your chance, though I have to say, that's a sweet weight set you have out there. The numbers looked a little weather worn, but how much was that anyways?" he asked, guessing about 800 lbs, but it had been a while since he worked with that much, what with humanity always being in danger of something that needed to be bashed.

It's like the only think he was ever good for...saving lives, then being hated afterward.

"The maximum is one thousand pounds." Ash said with a hint of pride. She had honestly been interested in Hellboy's life, but she wasn't one to press for answers. People say what they need to in the end. Still, she could sense the man's depression and this bothered her quite a bit. Frankly, anyone being depressed upset her. She smiled sadly and moved along. "Sometimes, I feel like challenging myself you see and human weight levels just won't cut it."

One thing which could definitely be said about Ash was that she was well toned. There wasn't an ounce of fat on her body and she liked it that way. After all, who had ever heard of a fat tiger? She shifted her position so that she wasn't directly facing Hellboy. It was a less confrontational stance.

"Really?" he asked, more off-handed than direct. He had added it all, even going as far all looking for stuff to put on it to make it challenging. He shook his head, "I don't usually need to challenge myself, got enough on my plate most of the time..." he said, flexing his right arm, even his stone fingers before he remembered he was in front of someone who wasn't Liz or Abe.

Shaking his head and deflecting his glance to the ground, he took a quick swig, and headed off to his room, pausing briefly to turn his head towards Ash, not looking at her, "Look...just....just call me Red, alright?" he said, resuming his walk to his room in silence.

"Alright. See you around... Red." Ash's voice floated up the stairs to reach his ears. He might have missed it if he wasn't listening for her. She cleaned up the beer bottles, having never touched her own. She wasn't much of a drinker, but she found that a beer in hand made her appear much less dangerous. After a long silence, she opened the door and slipped out into the night. She stood bathed in moonlight for a moment before she changed into the form of a wolf. Her white fur would contrast terribly with the background, but she would make do. It was time to hunt.

Hellboy smiled as he heard the girl say his nickname, and admitted to himself, it was nice to be accepted by someone who wasn't part of the Bureau. He made his way to his room, silently opening the door as he took in his room, "Nice digs, feels just like home." he said, noting the quaint cozy feeling the room gave off, "I could get used to this," he said, yellow eyes slowly gazing over the room until he saw the balcony, "And what do we have here?"

He strode over to the glass doorway to the view as he looked out over the scene, giving it an appreciative whistle; he then caught a flash of white as he spotted an unusually large snowy-white wolf dart out into the forest.

The white wolf which now slipped through the large dog door in the front entrance still had flecks of blood in it's fur. It situated itself by the fireplace and settled down in a more fitting shape- a kitten with very old eyes.

Ash was a little tired, but satisfied with her hunt. She had eaten enough to last her for the next week and a half. She licked a spot of blood off her fur, noticing a very shallow scratch about one centimeter long on her left front paw. She hadn't really noticed it when she got it, but it now stung like all annoyingly small injuries do. At least it wasn't bleeding.

Ash sighed softly. How SLOW could things get? She paced impatiently around the room. What was worse was that she was spoiling for a fight and there was none to be had. What was to be done? The place was spotless, she had grown tired of Halo, there was no need to hunt... Now what?