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Post by Nancy Wheeler on Mar 7, 2018 16:25:37 GMT -5
Nancy was looking for trees.
It wasn’t the most interesting homework assignment she’d ever received, but it gave her a legitimate excuse to get out of the house without her parents asking questions. Some of that was because of all the strange things happening to kids in Hawkins. Some of it was because of all the sneaking off Nancy had been doing lately. It was understandable that her mother would be a little over-protective. It was also annoying.
Okay, so technically, she was supposed to write a paper about the breeding habits of different kinds of trees, which didn’t require any actual tree observation. Especially in winter when there wasn’t any tree breeding going on. But, her parents didn’t know that.
Nancy had another motive to her excursion into the woods. She did want to look at the trees. So far, it seemed like that Upside Down business was done. She hadn’t seen any monsters in weeks, and there was no sign of that black goo anywhere. But, she didn’t buy it.
One time Nancy had ended up in the Upside Down because she’d crawled inside a tree. It seemed like a good place to look for any kind of evidence. As good a place as any, anyway.
Nancy walked through the woods bundled in a pink fluffy coat and a white scarf. She wore a matching white hat and gloves and she had a backpack on. There were books in it, of course. There was also a can of hairspray and a lighter, the most inconspicuous weapon she could pack. Just in case.
She walked through the woods holding a plastic blue flashlight. It wasn’t dark yet, but it would be soon and she wanted to be prepared. She also didn’t like having nothing in her hands. It made her feel vulnerable, somehow. At least she could give something a whack with the flashlight if she had to.
Nancy stopped when she heard a noise behind her. The snap of a twig, maybe. A footstep? She turned around, her eyes scanning the trees.
“Hello?” she called. “Is somebody there?”
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OOC Note: Anybody can join this thread. More than one person can jump in, too!
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Post by Eleven on Mar 7, 2018 20:15:02 GMT -5
Pink. Eleven was almost sure she'd imagined it. Spring colors didn't belong between these dormant trees. The acorn that she'd been levitating plopped to the ground with a soft thud and rolled under the leaf litter where she couldn't see it anymore. The hat that had been on her head when she'd left the cabin she hadn't been supposed to leave was now in her hands and filled with a few dozen of the nuts. The girl hugged the hat closer, clinking the strange haul together, as she squinted in the direction she'd seen the sudden pop of color.
The coat Eleven wore was brown and hid the bright red of her flannel shirt to let her blend in with the trees. Not that she was actively trying to. She knew she'd be in trouble if Hop came home and noticed she was gone, but the girl didn't really care. He'd already locked her in a cabin for basically forever. What was a few more months? Hopper really should have expected it by now. Eleven was prone to wandering, and her small adventure to Chicago hadn't curbed that wanderlust.
Still, she was supposed to stay in the cabin.
Eleven hated the stupid cabin.
Worst of all, the television signal had gone out. She was expected to stay in the cabin, all alone, without any television. The entire day. It was practically torture. Like those devices in the Dungeons and Dragons book that Mike had shown her. Only with a broken tv and instead of an Iron Maiden. The cabin, cold without windows and dark with the coverings they'd nailed in place of the glass, probably could have passed for a dungeon.
So, like any prisoner worth a movie, she'd made her escape.
Pastel flashed ahead of her in the woods again and Eleven moved forward curiously. Most people stayed on the trails. Most people didn't come this far in. She couldn't decide if that meant this was a good or a bad thing. So she'd crept quietly closer until she was able to recognize the figure in the pink coat with the white hat. While there was one Wheeler that the little psychic adored above all the rest, she knew the entire family fairly well.
Eleven jolted into an excited sprint, not looking where she put her feet anymore, and raced at the familiar figure. She didn't answer Nancy's call, which probably made the sudden rush of footsteps all the more unnerving, until she popped out of the brush and skidded to a stop a few feet to the older girl's left. Acorns popped out of her hat at the motion and bounced on the ground like hailstones. Her gaze hit Nancy for perhaps a sweeping second before glancing beyond her.
"Mike?" the curly haired girl asked hopefully, eyes searching the woods desperately for that beloved pale face. It was nowhere to be seen and so she settled sad brown eyes on the Wheeler she didn't know as well. "Did Mike come?" she demanded to know, straight to the point. Then her eyes snapped to the flashlight.
"Searching?" she asked, thinking of Will.
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Post by Nancy Wheeler on Mar 9, 2018 19:05:28 GMT -5
Nancy’s wide eyes scanned the trees for movement, her ears listening for any little sound. Anxiety rose in her stomach and suddenly she realized coming into the woods alone had been a bad idea. What was she thinking, wandering out here by herself just before dark? She could have called Jonathan. Although there was a good chance Jonathan would have realized the badness of the idea and talked her out of it. It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought about it. She had. She’d given it a lot of consideration before she’d marched off with her flashlight and her backpack with her casually rattled off cover story. She’d just thought there’d be nothing to find. That was the best outcome, right? She was just making sure. It wasn't as if she was hoping to find something strange in the woods... was it? Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest as she heard a rushing sound: rustling leaves and snapping twigs. Nancy very nearly screamed as she turned her head toward the noise, no idea what she’d find there or what she’d do with whatever it was. It took Nancy a few seconds to register what -- who -- she was seeing. There was quick movement, and then someone standing there. Relief flooded through Nancy as she realized it was Eleven. Elle. Jane. She had a few different names. Nancy kept track. “Oh,” Nancy breathed. The relief was evident in her voice. As the younger girl looked past Nancy, Nancy turned her head reflexively, wondering if there was someone or something behind her. Then Eleven made her curt inquiry: Mike? Nancy turned her attention back to her brother’s friend and smiled. It was cute, whatever she and Mike had going. It had been a tough time, with Will going missing and everything that came after. It was nice to see him happy. Eleven, too. Nancy could only imagine what her life had been like before. She didn’t like to think about it much. When Eleven asked if Mike had come, Nancy shook her head. “No. He’s not here,” she said apologetically. She felt bad at the sunken face that elicited from Eleven. When she asked if Nancy had been searching, the elder girl looked down at the flashlight. “Oh. No. I mean, I am searching, but no one’s missing.”It struck her as important to clarify that right away. Too many people had gone missing. Some hadn’t come back. She thought briefly of Barb and felt a pang of guilt. Nancy forced a smile, willing away the difficult memories. “I’m looking at the trees,” she said. “Trying to see if any look… like they might lead there.”She almost didn’t want to say the words 'Upside Down' aloud, as if saying them would will the place into existence. What a silly thought. Nancy frowned, suddenly looking around to see if anyone else was with Eleven. Usually Chief Hopper was pretty watchful. “Is Chief Hopper with you?” she inquired. She didn’t want to come right out and ask what Elle was doing out there. That seemed intrusive, somehow. Instead, she dropped her voice and took half a step closer. “Is everything okay?” she whispered. -- Eleven |
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Post by Amber Fletch on Mar 10, 2018 12:46:24 GMT -5
Amber wished she was with Samson, her beloved dog. If she was, she would let him off leash, and then he would run around like crazy. She always loved to see that. The woods were their second favorite place to go, normally. On days like today, when it was too cold for even Samson to go swimming, the woods were their top pick. Samson had been dead for a while, but she was still grieving. She was even still going for their daily walks, even though they always made her sad, and always wishing that he were with her. Amber had wondered off the trail, a little ways, because she wanted to go to her favorite tree. It was her favorite tree because it had a low branch, and a log in front of it. When she found it, she climbed onto the log, and then onto the low branch. She climbed up onto the next branch, before she stopped and sat. Jackson, her big brother, did not allow her to climb any further up then this, and it was not even very high up. HE thought it was unsafe for her to go and higher up, but he thought that lots of things were unsafe for her, not that he ever considered the idea that he might be one of those things. Someone spoke, and she suddenly saw two people nearby. She wished she had been paying more attention to her surroundings. She knew that, if she had, she would have noticed before now. She often did not pay too much attention to her surrounds. Unfortunately, she used this fact as evidence toward her belief that she was an idiot. She looked at the two girls. They seemed absorbed in their own conversation, so she hoped that they would either not notice her, or ignore her. It sounded like something might be wrong, so Amber got a little worried. She did not know them, but she often could not help caring about others. She was not sure why, but she had always been that way. Amber recognized the older girl, although she was not sure where from. She did not think she had ever seen the younger girl before, but she was not sure. Tag: Nancy Wheeler and Eleven |
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Post by Eleven on Mar 10, 2018 23:17:46 GMT -5
Eleven's hopeful expression crumpled when Nancy said that Mike hadn't come with her. The girl's hopes dashed, joining the acorns at her feet, and she exhaled a visible puff in the cold air. It would have been amazing to have Mike come and visit her, but she was content enough with Nancy here to entertain her. Curious brown eyes fixed on the older girl as she explained what she was doing here.
Nobody was missing. That was great. It meant El didn't have to use her powers to find them. Her head tipped to the side in a wordless question wondering what Nancy was searching for if it wasn't a person. The answer she got was puzzling.
"Trees?" the younger girl echoed. Her brow furrowed. "To the Upside Down?" She could say it. Even if Nancy couldn't. The idea of a tree being a door didn't seem terribly strange to the little girl who could levitate a person. Eleven didn't actually know anything about trees beyond them being tall, and there being a lot of them.
Then Nancy asked about the chief.
"No," Eleven replied, Hopper wasn't home yet from work. Her gaze scanned the trees, lingering on a spot where she could have sworn she saw movement. It had been too large for a bird. "Hopper comes at nine-one-five." He'd left early that morning, and had been gone forever, but that was normal. He had an adult job. It meant he was gone a lot. And it was boring and lonely without the television for background noise.
Of course, she had no idea what the time was now.
Hopper could be coming back now. But it was unlikely. He tended to stay out after dark. When Nancy moved closer and her voice changed, Eleven's eyes widened. She studied the other girl's face, eyes unblinking, before she slowly shook her head.
Everything was not okay. The television was broken, she was lonely, and she was still cooped up in the cabin. Explaining all these things seemed like an impossible mountain of words. Eleven hugged her hat to her chest. The acorns inside rubbed against each other audibly as the girl's gaze went back to the tree. A face was staring back at her. Eleven studied Amber for a few seconds before glancing at Nancy again and pointing at the tree.
"She come with you?" the girl asked.
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Post by Nancy Wheeler on Mar 11, 2018 12:29:22 GMT -5
Eleven seemed puzzled when Nancy said she was looking at trees, until she explained further. The younger girl clarified aloud that they were talking about the Upside Down and Nancy nodded. It was funny how sometimes younger kids were braver than she was. When Elle said no, Hopper wasn’t with her, Nancy frowned slightly. Was she supposed to be out here by herself? No, probably not. But, she was a kid. She couldn’t be expected to just sit in some musty cabin all day. Vaguely, Nancy wondered if Mike had any toys he’d be willing to lend to Elle to keep her from going stir-crazy. Nancy might even have some stuff stored away in a box somewhere, but she had no idea what would interest Elle as far as toys went. Mike would probably have a better idea. Nancy’s frown deepened when Eleven shook her head -- no, everything was not alright. She didn’t seem too upset, but Elle could be difficult to read sometimes. Just because she didn’t look upset, that didn’t mean there wasn’t a lot going on inside her head. “Do you need some help?” Nancy asked. Then something seemed to catch Eleven’s eye and she asked Nancy a question that made her crease her brows. “What?”Nancy followed the younger girl’s gaze and saw another girl in the woods. She looked to be about the same age as Mike and Elle, if Nancy had to guess. Now Elle’s question made sense. “No,” Nancy said. Nancy took a slow step toward the blond girl, smiling and giving a wave. “Hi,” she called. She wasn’t someone she recognized as one of Mike’s usual group of friends, though she did look familiar. Sometimes they adopted new people into their group and Nancy took a minute to catch up. Elle had been a new addition once. Now the redhead, Max, was the newest to the group she knew of. Had she seen this girl playing with Mike? "I'm Nancy. Wheeler," she added. "Mike Wheeler's sister?"The last part was a question, as if she were asking the girl if Mike's name or hers rang a bell. -- Eleven Amber Fletch |
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Post by Amber Fletch on Mar 13, 2018 11:42:55 GMT -5
Once Amber noticed the girls, it was hard not to hear their conversation. Once she heard it, she started listening to it. She tried not to, but she could not help it. She hoped she would be able to forget all she heard, later, but that seemed unlikely. Amber wondered what the Upside Down was. She had heard of, and even seen, Chief Hopper, so she knew who he was. She still wondered what their relationship with him was. She knew that she would, of course, not ask these questions, but that did not stop her from thinking of them. Amber got scared, when the other girls did notice her. The problem with being up in a tree was, there was not anyplace to hide. If she got down from the tree, she would be even closer to them. She could not climb further up it, because her brother did not allow. Also, she did not think that she was physically fit enough to so, and she thought it would be rude and suspicious if she just started running away. She was not a good tree climber, even though she liked being in tree’s, and feared should not have even tried to climb the tree herself, but she had. The older girl introduced herself, and also mentioned her brother’s name. She knew the Name Mike Wheeler, from teachers taking attendance in class. She tried to place a face to that name, but she could not. There were so many faces at school that it was hard to keep track, especially for her. She did not talk to anybody, unless she had too. “I’m um… I’m Amber Fletch," she answered, nervously, “Jackson Fletch’s sister.” She suspected that Nancy was a high school kid, which would explain why she looked familiar. Jackson was also a high school kid, So she might know him. Plus, Nancy felt the need to mention her brother’s name, so Amber figured that she should do so too, although Nancy had said it as if she were asking a question, but Amber had not been able to figure out what it was she was asking, so she just did not say anything about it. She wondered who the younger girl was, but she did not ask. Tag: Nancy Wheeler and Eleven |
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Post by Eleven on Mar 13, 2018 20:07:45 GMT -5
Eleven shook her head in a distracted fashion to Nancy's question of whether or not she needed help. She didn't know if there was any way that the older girl could actually help her, and anyway, the person in the tree was far more interesting. Eleven had never seen a person in a tree before. She hadn't even known it was possible and so her wide brown eyes stared up at Amber in awe as she followed after the eldest Wheeler child to get closer.
Nancy and the new girl introduced themselves through their siblings. Eleven didn't quite understand what was going on and so she stayed silent and watching. Her curious gaze slid from one girl to the other. She wondered how Amber had gotten up there, and how she would get down. She also wondered why Amber was in a tree in the first place.
"Stuck?" the curly haired brunette asked Amber, trying to ask her if she was stuck in the tree. She gestured upwards and then down towards the ground again with one hand a mildly concerned expression on her face. Her knuckles whitened against the hat she was gripping.
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Post by Nancy Wheeler on Mar 16, 2018 18:55:37 GMT -5
After Nancy introduced herself the blond girl did the same. Her name was Amber Fletch. The last name struck a chord. When Amber mentioned her elder brother, Jackson, Nancy nodded. She’d heard the name, though she’d never met Jackson that she was aware of. She didn’t know much about the family. Eleven seemed very interested in Amber. That was understandable. She hadn’t been hanging around the other kids as much as she used to, for safety reasons. While Nancy understood that to some extent, she didn’t necessarily agree it was the best course of action. It was like grounding a kid who hadn’t done anything wrong and expecting her to understand. People her parents’ age always thought they were right just because they were older. That just wasn’t true. As Elle inquired as to whether or not Amber was stuck Nancy gave a small smile. Amber didn’t appear to be stuck, but Elle’s concern was sweet. She was a thoughtful kid. Nancy looked up at Amber. “Is anybody out here with you?”It occurred to her suddenly that she might be the adult here, which meant it was her job to make sure nothing happened to either of the girls. Already, her mind was working to figure out where she could potentially take them that was safer than the woods. -- Tag: Eleven and Amber Fletch |
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Post by Amber Fletch on Mar 20, 2018 18:09:14 GMT -5
Not only did both of the girls notice her, but they seemed to be interested in her, and Amber suspected that they were not going to leave her alone anytime soon. Maybe they would if she asked, but she did not want to do that, as she felt that it would be rude and suspicious. She shook her head, when the younger girl, who she did not know the name of, asked if she was stuck. She shook her head again, when Nancy asked if anybody was out here with her, and wondered why she would care about that. Since they clearly were not going to leave her alone, and she wanted the unnamed girl to know that she was not stuck, she climbed down. She kept her eyes down, so they were not face to face, and hoped that they would get the hint and leave her alone. She thought of running away, but she feared that that would also be suspicious and rude. Samson always scared away any strangers that she happened to come across. If he were here, he would have done just that. It was not that she had anything against the other girls, or even that she did not want company. It was just that she knew that she was not allowed. Tag: Nancy Wheeler and Eleven |
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Post by Eleven on Mar 24, 2018 20:07:01 GMT -5
Eleven's eyes didn't leave Amber as the other girl came down from the tree. She stared in open curiosity, watching as if she was trying to memorize the footholds and handholds that the other girl used. When the blond was level with the pair of brunettes Eleven took a careful step closer.
Something was wrong with Amber. She kept her eyes down, and seemed to shrink away in a manner that Eleven found all too familiar. Wide brown eyes flicked from the girl her own age to Nancy, as if expecting the older girl to know what was wrong, before she furrowed her brows in thought.
A memory of her first encounters with Mike came to her unbidden. Perhaps it was Nancy. Perhaps it was the reaction of the strange girl. Friendship, Mike had explained, giving her that smile she was so fond of. It was a foreign concept then but now it was her entire world. She'd made a family through friendship, and wasn't shy about adding to it.
"Friends?" Eleven asked Amber quietly, carefully, her large brown eyes fixed on the other girl. She held out a hand towards her, like she'd seen the boys do, but first she plucked a large acorn from her hat and cradled it in that waiting palm in offering. Sharing was something else, like friendship, that El was still constantly learning.
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Post by Nancy Wheeler on Apr 1, 2018 10:53:58 GMT -5
The blond girl climbed down out of the tree and she was, indeed, alone. The troubled Nancy. She, herself, had been wandering in the woods alone. But, that was different. She was older, for one thing. And she also had a project, of sorts. Or, maybe it was more of an obsession. Eleven being in the woods alone was troubling, but not in the same way. Elle was independent - fiercely, at times. It wasn’t uncommon for her to strike out on her own if she felt the need. Granted, Nancy didn’t know the other girl. Maybe she was independent, too, used to taking care of herself. But, she couldn’t just assume that. Elle approached the girl and gave an offer of friendship Nancy found adorable. She watched for a moment, waiting to see how the blonde girl would react. -- Amber Fletch Eleven |
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Post by Amber Fletch on Apr 12, 2018 17:17:06 GMT -5
Amber’s eyes widened, as she was more than a little surprised by the offer of an acorn for friendship. This girl sure was peculiar. She wondered if she might have some sort of mental impairment, but she didn’t want to jump to any assumptions. She starred at her for a little bit, her eyes moving to the older girl and then back. She didn’t want to say no, both because she did not want to hurt her feelings and because she really did want a friend. There was just one big problem with saying yes. She was not allowed to have friends, or to tell other people that she was not allowed to have friends. “Um…. maybe,” she eventually told her. “I don’t know yet.” She hoped this response would be acceptable, but she feared that it might not be. “What’s your name?” she asked, hoping that attempting to get to know her might make her feel better about sort of being rejected, although she was starting to worry that she might be caught. Tag: Eleven, Nancy Wheeler |
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Post by Eleven on Apr 13, 2018 12:53:35 GMT -5
When Amber didn't instantly take the offered acorn Eleven wondered if she'd done it wrong. Her brown eyes clouded with insecurity, and she glanced up at Nancy to hunt for disapproval. There was nothing in the older girl's face that suggested she'd done something stupid and so the curly haired girl's eyes snapped back to the blonde.
Eleven didn't quite know when she was staring in an unnerving way. She stared at Amber without blinking and continued to hold out the acorn offering until the other girl spoke. It wasn't the response she'd been hoping for. Mostly because she didn't know what to do with it.
"Maybe," Eleven parroted back, echoing the words of the other girl. She knew the word. She didn't understand it in this context and the way she glanced at Nancy in baffled puzzlement made that clear. El's experience with friendship was anything but tentative. Lucas might not have wanted to be friends with her at first, but he hadn't phrased it like this. His rejection had been through scowls and body language. Amber's was through confusing words.
Words were hard.
"Eleven," she told Amber her name, understanding how to answer a direct question more than she did the conventions around introductions. Her hand closed around the rejected acorn before she let it drop to the ground.
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Post by Nancy Wheeler on Apr 14, 2018 11:22:39 GMT -5
Nancy watched the two girls with interest. Amber seemed a little put off by Eleven. Maybe she was put off by Nancy, too. When Eleven looked over seeming worried, Nancy offered a smile of encouragement. Honestly, she didn’t know how the other girl would react. All the kids had a hard time making friends at one time or another. Eleven maybe more than most. The blonde replied with a “maybe.” This seemed to baffle Elle, who looked over at Nancy, puzzled. Nancy shrugged back, hoping it conveyed what she wanted to say: “That happens sometimes.” Amber asked Elle’s name and she replied, looking dejected as she dropped the acorn. That broke Nancy’s heart a little. Nancy looked around, wondering if anybody else was going to pop out. Then she smiled at the two girls. “As fun as tromping through the woods can be, it’s kind of cold out here.”She looked over at Eleven. “Do you want to go somewhere fun?” she asked. “Like the arcade?”Hopper would have a heart attack if he saw them out and about. “We can call Sheriff Hopper so you don’t get in trouble,” she suggested. She smiled at Amber. “You can come too, if you want. Do you maybe want to ask your parents if you can play with us?”Nancy didn’t want to pluck some kid out of the woods and find herself on the receiving end of Amber’s panicked parents, her own parents, and probably the Sheriff. Amber Fletch Eleven |
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