Elenore "Ellie" Cosburg's Story

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Sweat beaded and rolled off of the Librarian of the Mercy Falls' Community Library's forehead. He wiped it away with the back of his hand absentmindedly. He hated the heat. In weather this hot, it was one of the few times he couldn't shift at will. Morgan sighed, shielding his eyes from the bright overhead sun. He couldn't seen them, but he certianly could smell them. By them, he meant the other two werewolves of his pack. Sam, and Ellie. He hadn't been their alpha for more than a month, but it was worth it. He finally had closure for his family, and the two were good packmates. He also was no longer on his own.

Another scent crossed his nose, making Morgan smile. He could smell Jace, the clocktower boy, running around, with Fritz in tow. The boy made regular trips to the library, always inquiring after mysteries and thrillers, which Morgan was always happy to help him find. The boy had a gift for reading, something Morgan could appreciate.

A couple of teenage girls walked by where Morgan was standing, and began giggling after they passed him. He could tell by their scent alone they weren't locals, and from what he heard from their frantic whispers, they were laughing at the fact he was barefoot. Well, that and practically swooning over the fact that his bare chest could be seen. He had a shirt on, but it was a button-up top that he just let hang open. The girls made him roll his eyes. Girls never did anything for him, they were a bunch of giggles and make-up and just not worth his time. He hadn't met a girl yet who could change his opinon.

Ignoring them, Morgan gave out a low whistle. Sure enough, the little Finnish Spitz came running, and Morgan knew Jason would soon follow, to find out where the puppy went. "Hey there, little guy. How's my little man doing, huh?" Morgan knelt down to give the small dog a good rub.

The AC was broken. The store was stuffy. The gummy worms were literally melting in their plastic containers. No one would ever want to buy colourful melted gummies. Samuel would know, melted sugar tasted horrible.
He had a cheap dollar store fan pointed right at his face as he stood behind the counter. Normally he liked working at the candy store, but on days like this one he'd rather be sticking his head in a freezer than stand and wait for imaginary customers to show up.
Probably half the town is at the stupid carnival. Sam thought grudgingly, watching as a fly buzzed around the shop, failing to realize that all the windows were made of glass. Why can't I be at the stupid carnival?
Sam liked fun. Carnivals were the home of fun. The two went hand in hand like graham crackers and marshmallows or celery and cheez whiz.
Speaking of which, Sam was hungry. The solution? He'd get something to eat at the most interesting place in the boring town of Mercy Falls. The carnival.
Hopefully Jane... wait, Jill... June? Sam shook his head. Whoever his boss was, Samuel hoped that she wouldn't mind him closing the shop early. Again.

As soon as he stepped outside, the heat hit him like a punch to the head. Minus the pain, of course. He flipped the sign on the window from 'COME IN, WE'RE OPEN' over to 'SORRY, WE'RE CLOSED' with a list of times and days that the shop was supposed to be open for business. However, when Sam was on shift those times seemed to change.
He locked the door, made sure it really was locked unlike the last time when it wasn't, and off he went down the street.

As Samuel walked towards Eastice Park he became more aware of the scents of Morgan Alistair and Elenore Cosburg. For anyone else living in Mercy Falls, being able to smell people who weren't even around you at the time would be considered weird. Heck, even Sam still thought it was odd. But a great nose was one little ability that came with turning into an oversized furry animal whenever the temperature dropped. After eight and a half years of it, Sam finally was a bit more used to being whatever the hell he is. A werewolf. Unfortunately he wasn't living up to the charming expectations in movies.
Like Samuel, Morgan and Ellie two people who were just as weird and who kept the same secret. Which was great, having two other people who were just as much of freaks as him made it all the less lonely.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
Elenore groaned. That clock was getting annoying, but that was partly her fault. She'd hit snooze so many times this morning, it might as well have broken by now. Ellie pounded her fist on the clock, or at least aimed for it, but it wasn't that accurate since her eyes were closed. She hit the nightstand a couple times, the third time finally hitting the clock, and a small sound rose, as if something were powering down.
Now I can get some sleep...
She thought, rolling on her side, only to be massacred by a ray of sunlight. Ellie let out a muffled whine, rolling again, only to be greeted by the floor and a loud thump.
"Why can't I sleep in?!"
She bellowed to herself, standing up, and rubbing her now aching back. Nonetheless, she wasn't in the shape to shift either, so that also adds as a discomfort.
Sighing, Ellie walked over to her dresser, pulling out a blue tang top, and some gray worn out shorts. She changed into them, and came down the stairs. Ellie headed straight for the kitchen, where she kept her 'funds'. After her parents died, thankfully, their money didn't die with them. Ellie wouldn't know what to do without it. When her parents died, she stayed in the house, and kept their money. Of course, she didn't pay the bills, mostly because she didn't know how, and the house lost electricity, and soon her ownership. But since the house was so old, and was the scene of a crime, plus had an Elenore breaking into it almost all the time, no one wanted it. Ever since, Ellie has thought of the house as 'hers', and she kept all the money her parents had in a small cabinet in the kitchen.
Ellie took out about thirty dollars, pausing before taking an extra ten, knowing that the prices of food at the carnival were going to be outrageous, like always.
She headed out the door, the cash tucked into her back pocket. Almost as if on cue, she could smell Sam, and Morgan. She had already been able to smell them inside, but now it was a stronger scent. She stood still for a moment, wondering where she should go.
The Carnival is in town...Why not go there?
She thought to herself, her feet already leading the way. Soon she had found herself at the Carnival, and starring up at plenty of rides.

Sam had been walking along the sidewalk, minding his own business and wondering what he'd grab to eat at the carnival when he tripped over someone.

...Well, not tripped, the person wasn't an elf. Samuel more or less stumbled backwards like he had just walked into a spider web and was trying to get away. He also dropped his dollar store fan, which now, he realized, had felt like the only thing keeping him from falling over and passing out on the road.

When he regained his footing, he looked down at whoever he had slammed into and was about to apologize when whoever the person was beat him to it,
"I-I-I-I...I am sooo sorry," The person -a lady- stammered, "I-I-I w-wasn't looking where I was going...and I didn't mean...I-I-I'm not normally so careless...I." The lady suddenly stopped talking. After a few seconds of Samuel wondering whether he should go ahead and say something, the lady finally continued, "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

Sam raised an eyebrow, "Am I okay?" He repeated, finding the question funny. There he was, standing at 6'1", and then there was her, who couldn't be any more than 5'5"-5'6".
Sam smiled, "Perfectly fine! The real question is, what about you, ma'am? You were the one apologizing but really I should be sorry. ...Bit of a dimwit, they say I am." Samuel narrowed his eyes, "Which is actually kind of rude."

He took another look at the lady in front of him and, being normally good at remembering faces, was surprised to be just recognizing her now.
"Hey, you're the new one around town!" Sam blurted out, his expression looking like a pet who hadn't seen their owner for a month. "It's nice here, right? Boring though, I admit. But there's this carnival thing going on at the moment and it's probably the most interesting thing anyone will ever see in Mercy Falls..." Sam pointed down the road where he could hear the sound of the uptune music playing.
He liked the event, there was food, music, games, perhaps another fan thingy he could buy, and judging from what his nose was telling him, Morgan and Ellie were there, too. It was the holy grail of everything Samuel liked.
He glanced at the new lady in town and smiled, "Just putting this out there, wanna come with me?" he invited, probably being overly-friendly.
That or sounding like some sort of serial killer who was waiting to lash out at her.

"Not to be creepy," Samuel added quickly, holding up his hands, "Just thought that it'd be the nice and neighborly thing to do."

Elenore looked around, smiling.
"What to go on first..."
She mumbled. She took a few steps, marveling at the rides, right before she spotted the Vortex. She absolutely had to go on that one. It had always been her favorite. She broke into a run, but stopped halfway, crossing the path of a booth, with cotton candy bigger than her head. Now, Ellie had no idea what to do first. The cotton candy looked so delicious...there was only one left. And yet, the line to the Vortex was growing...She didn't want to wait forever! Ellie bit her lip.
If I get the cotton candy first, I might get nauseous if I go on the Vortex after I eat it...But if I go on the Vortex, someone might buy the cotton candy. Wait! If I ask the guy to keep it for me, when I go on the ride, no one will buy it! Now to just get him to cooperate with me...
Ellie made her way over to the stand.
"Hi! Um, I was wondering, could I buy that cotton candy in advance? I'll be right back, I just, well, it's a long story, but do you mind if I give you the money now, and I can come back in a few minutes, and you give it to me?"
Her smile was hopeful, her face bright. The man looked at her,
"Yeah, about that...No."
Her smile faded, into a pleading look,
"Pleeaasee?"
She bellowed, jumping up and down.
"Well, there is one way..."
The man trailed off, with his hands making a give me more money impression. Groaning, Elenore took about five dollars out of her pocket. The cotton candy was originally two dollars, so Ellie was giving him an extra three dollars. The man, now smiling, took the money, and nodded.
Ellie's smile returned, as she ran over to the Vortex.

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Morgan's nose caught another scent. He smiled. It was Ellie. He saw her little confrontation with the cotton candy man, and frowned. He watched her run off to ride the Vortex and then walked up to the booth. The man looked at him as he put the cotton candy behind the counter. "Sorry bud, just sold out." Morgan glared at him. "I don't think so, buddy. I'll be taking that cotton candy, and the extra three dollars you made the girl give you."

The man looked around quickly. "Um, sorry, but I don't know what you're--"

Morgan grabbed the guy by his collar. "Shut it. You can't hide that from me, especially when it's my little sister you're ripping off. Do you really want to make this harder?"

The man flinched, and quickly handed over the cotton candy and three crumpled dollars. Morgan grabbed the money, and the shoved the guy backwards. "Thanks." He grabbed the cotton candy and walked over to Vortex. He leaned on the railing, waiting for Ellie to be done.

Elenore stepped through the gate onto the ride. The Vortex was one of her favorite rides. She could always remember when she was younger, and her parents thought the ride was too dangerous. Ellie had always rolled her eyes at them, and went on anyways .Every time, she proved them wrong.
Ellie smiled, and slid into a slot on the ride. Once everyone was on, she could hear the machine start to purr, and the wind blowing in her hair. It was one of her favorite things about this ride, other than the view. First off, you could see people screaming their faces off, which amused Ellie, and the whole Carnival itself. Spectacular, it was.
Ellie then caught a scent. Morgan, mixed with cotton candy. That, above all, rose suspicions. Was it only when she spotted him, leaning against the rail of the Vortex, with the cotton candy of which she paid for back at the stand, in his hand. Either he was being nice, and got her the 3 dollars back, or he bought it, and the person at the booth totally ripped her off, which, he had already done. That was what Ellie suspected. Soon, the ride slowed down, and Elenore walked over to him.
"How come you have my cotton candy?"

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Morgan laughed. "Not much for thank you's I see." He dangled the three dollars in front of her face, and made her jump for it when she grabbed at it. He finally handed the money to her and then popped a piece of cotton candy in his mouth before handing her the bag. "You're welcome, pup. You should be more thankful, not to mention less of a pushover. You shouldn't have let him play you like that, Ells." Mogan stood up, stretching. He glanced around them again. The waiter girl from before had disappeared, giving Morgan mixed feelings. He looked back at Ellie.

"So, what have you been up to, pup?"

"Not much for thank you's I see."
Elenore smiles, as soon as Morgan dangles the money in her face. She grabs for it, jumping a few times before Morgan gives it to her. He popped a piece of the cotton candy into his mouth, and handed her the bag. She then shoved the money back into her pocket.
"You're welcome, pup. You should be more thankful, not to mention less of a pushover. You shouldn't have let him play you like that, Ells."
Ellie sighed, stuffing some cotton candy into her mouth.
"I know, I know, but how else was I supposed to assure my cotton candy? It's kind of hard to intimidate someone when you're eleven. And thank you, by the way. See? I'm thankful,"
She grinned.
"So, what have you been up to, pup?"
Ellie sighed, taking another bite of the cotton candy, swallowing before she spoke,
"Nothing really...What about you?"

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Morgan sighed. "Too much of absolutely nothing. I need to run, to stretch Hunt, kill, eat. And I can't do anything in this heat. It's really putting me on edge."

Then he smiled again, and got a look in his eye. "You know, you could always snap at them. Little fire cracker like you, pup? Eleven or not, you can be one hell of a fighter, human or not." Morgan smiled down at her. He couldn't help but praise her, the girl was good at what she did. And she'd been bitten four years ago. Sometimes he wondered who it had been that had bit Sam and Ellie. It might have been the same one who had bit Morgan, but no, he didn't think so. The one who had turned Morgan had given him his greatest gift, but he had taken everything else away in order to do so.

It made him feel strange to think about it. "I suppose we could always try standing in a freeer for a bit. Think we could get ourselves to turn that way?"

"Too much of absolutely nothing. I need to run, to stretch Hunt, kill, eat. And I can't do anything in this heat. It's really putting me on edge. You know, you could always snap at them. Little fire cracker like you, pup? Eleven or not, you can be one hell of a fighter, human or not."
Morgan looked down at her. Elenore sighed, shrugging a bit,
"I don't know..."
She looked down, and kicked a pebble. She always felt like she could be doing better, no matter how hard she tried. It drove her crazy sometimes. She huffed, taking another piece of the cotton candy.
"I suppose we could always try standing in a freezer for a bit. Think we could get ourselves to turn that way?"
Ellie looked back up, smiling once more.
"I suppose, but what happens when we go out in the heat again?"

Jace wondered around the carnival for a bit, Fritz following after him. "Let's see. Where to go first." He said to himself trying to find a game that the puppy could play with him. After searching for five minutes, they came across two games. One was the Fish Bowl, where you try and toss a golf ball into a fish bowl to win that fish. The other was the Duck Pond, where you grab a rubber duck out of the flowing water and depending on it's color you win a certain prize, it was a game of luck.

Jace looked at the two games, then down at Fritz. "Which one do you want to go to first?" The puppy barked and headed towards the Duck Pond. "Game of luck it is." He smiled, following his dog.

Reaching the booth, Jace handed the man four dollars. "Two ducks." He told the man, patting the edge of the table. Fritz understood this and jumped up onto it.

"Alright kid. Whenever you're ready, grab a duck. If the bottom's black, sorry no prize for you. If it's blue, you get to choose a small prize. Yellow a medium prize. And if you get lucky and grab a red, then you get one of the big prizes." The man informed him.

Jace nodded, then looked to Fritz. "You got that boy?" The puppy barked, meaning he understood. Let's see. The ducks with an outfit are probably the black and blue ones. Since kids are going to be more attracted to them and there is more. So the plainer ones must be yellow or red as there is only a few of them. The boy thought, trying to analyze the trick to the game.

Fritz barked again, sticking his head into the water and withdrawing a rubber duck. The bottom of it was blue. "Good boy. You got yourself a new toy." He praised the pup and picked out a small purple bear. "Here you go. And now it's my turn." He placed the bear in front of Fritz, who grabbed it in his mouth right away. Jace finally grabbed on of the plain ducks and, to the carnie's surprise, was yellow. "Let's see, I'll take the duck." It was just a regular looking duck, but he liked it for some reason.

The two then headed over to the Fish Bowl booth. Jace paid six dollars this time for two balls. He tossed the first one, but sadly it missed. Then he lightly tossed the second to Fritz, who hit it towards the bowls with is muzzle. To everyone's surprise, the golf ball made it into one of the fish bowls."Well kid, that's some lucky pup you got there. Here you go."The man handed Jace the fish bowl and the two left.

"I didn't intend on getting a fish...Nala with eat it if I bring it home." Jace sighed, looking around. Might as well just give it to someone. He thought, spotting Morgan and a girl around his age. Fritz ran off towards the two before the boy was able to say anything. Not again! He ran after the puppy, stopping in front of the two. "Fritz! Do I need to put you on a leash?" He scold the pup, then glanced up. "Ah. Sorry about that.." Apologizing, he looked to the girl. "Um..I can't take care of this fish because I have a cat who'll probably eat it. Do you want it?" He asked the girl, thinking that she looked somewhat familiar.

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Getting off Vortex, Chloe was laughing. Her friends were fairly dizzy, but spinning rides didn't bother her. "Alright! Next ride should be...That one!" It was Zipper another ride that spins. The girl was strangely fond of spinning rides, as she never got dizzy or a headache. Her friends, on the other hand, sometimes didn't appreciate this aspect.

Nevertheless, the three girls headed to Zipper. Though, Chloe stopped for a moment, feeling like someone was staring at her. She looked around, but there were too many people to tell who it was. Shrugging, the girl ran to catch up with her friends.

In line, Stella retrieved her phone from her back short's pocket. "Chloe, my mom wants me home in an hour to watch my little brother. So I'll be leaving after this ride. Kay?" This made the girl pout. It was only three in the afternoon.

"Alright. Guess me and Beca will hang out and have fun without you." Chloe stuck her tongue out at Stella, causing the three girls to laugh. "I have to leave at 7 anyways. Tony is making me do another shift. Man, he's so annoying."

Suddenly, there was a pup running towards her and Morgan. A boy about a year older than her ran after it.
"Fritz! Do I need to put you on a leash? Ah. Sorry about that.. Um..I can't take care of this fish because I have a cat who'll probably eat it. Do you want it?"
Ellie watched as he offered her the fish bowl. She shook her head a bit,
"Oh, I'm sorry. If it lived with me, it'd probably die of starvation..."
She trailed off. It was true though, if the fish didn't die even before winter came, she wouldn't go near it, unless she wanted to eat it.
"Sorry,"
She repeated.

Jace sighed, as the girl declined the fish. "Ah, well that can't be helped I guess." He looked around some more. Then he spotted a girl, about five years old, coming their way and crying.

"Mommy! I wanted the fishy!" The little girl girl cried.

Perfect. As the little girl came close enough, Jace stopped her and her mother. "Hey. I have this fish, you see. But sadly I can't take care of him. Do you want it?" He asked the girl, crouching down on his knees.

"Really! I can have him!" The girl seemed to cheer up quickly, as Jace nodded. She gave him a hug, then took the fish bowl and left.

"Well that takes care of that." He said, mainly to himself. "Oh! I'm Jace by the way." He introduced himself, thinking it was rude of him not to.

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Morgan shrugged with a small laugh. "I suppose I didn't think that through, did I?" He crossed his arms and spotted Chloe in the crowd, the girl he had been staring at before. Why did she make him feel so strange? He watched as they were headed to the Zipper. Morgan made a face. That ride was particularly nasty. His thoughts were interupted by the arrival of Fritz and Jason. Morgan gave them his attention, bending down to pet the puppy. Jace seemed to be offering Ells a fish.

"Nah, Fritzie don't need no leash. You're not bothering anybody, are you, little man?"

He stood up again. "Well, I'll leave you two alone for a bit."

He walked over to the Zipper, standing near the exit gate. He wondered once more why he seemed to be so drawn to the blonde waitress.

"Oh! I'm Jace by the way."
Elenore looked at the boy, Jace. He seemed the tiniest bit familiar...Eh, It was probably her mind playing tricks. She stuck out her hand,
"I'm Ellie,"
She smiled.
"Nice to meet ya."
With her other hand, she held the bag of cotton candy up to her face, taking a bite.

"I'm Ellie. Nice too meet ya." The girl, Ellie, introduced herself, holding out her hand for him ti shake it.

Shaking her hand, Jace smiled lightly. "Um yeah. Nice too meet you too." He was quite shy when it came to girls. As he never knew what to talk about with them. "Being at a carnival alone isn't as fun as being with someone else. So would you, um, care to join me? As it seems like your...brother, has left." Yup, he definitely wasn't good with talking to girls.

Elenore nodded,
"Sure."
She smiled, she could notice he was a bit nervous. It amused her a little... Yet for some reason... She was a little nervous too. It was weird, for her, at least.
"So...What do you want to go on? Or should we play some games?"
She asked, sticking her hand in the cotton candy bag, to take the last piece and eat it. Ellie stopped, and looked at Jace.
"...Do you want it?"
She asked.

Chloe stopped playing after her third try. "I know the game is most likely rigged. But I really want that wolf!" She was pouting again. Stupid game. Suddenly there was a bill on the table. She looked over to see that Morgan was standing next to them. Which he nodded to them.

"You're throwing it wrong. You have to aim at the bottom three, just between the middle one and one of the ones on the end. They're weighted, so you have to have enough force to knock them down. The ones on top will fall because they don't have any support left." He told them, taking the ball into his hand and throwing it. The pyramid instantly knocked over. As he received the white wolf she wanted.

"Well I'm not good at sports. And I'm not coordinated. That's why I kept missing." Chloe said, glancing at the stuffed animal every now and then. She was jealous that he had the wolf and not her.

It seemed like Morgan noticed her staring, as he offered the wolf to her. "Here. You wanted him, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks.." She took the wolf from him, holding it close to her so it hid her blushing cheeks. When guys did this cheesy stuff, it always made her blush.

Beca, on the other hand, took advantage of this. "Ah. Well I see you're all better now. And Oh! Look at the time. I got to go. See ya girly." With that, she waved and ran off.

"Beca! Wait!" Chloe called after her friend, but it was too late, she had disappeared into the crowd of people.

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Jace was thinking of what to do, when Ellie offered her last piece of cotton candy to him. "...Do you want it?"

He felt that he couldn't decline the girl's offer so he accepted it. "Um..Sure. Thanks." He took the last piece and ate it as he looked around. "Well, what kind of rides do you like? I'm down for anything really."He told her, then remembered Fritz was sitting patiently next to him.

He picked up the Finnish Spitz, holding him with one are while the stuffed duck was in his other hand. "By the way, this is Fritz." The puppy muffled a bark as his stuff bear was still in him mouth.

Elenore smiled,
"He's cute,"
She ruffled the Finnish Spitz's head. She flinched a bit, realizing she hadn't answered Jace's question.
"I love rides that spin, but, uh, I can see if you don't like them.."
Ellie awkwardly stood still for a second or two, before quickly adding on,
"I like roller coasters, too."