(Untitled)

[neptune_sleuth]

Veronica had spent more time out exploring the island in the last few days than she'd bothered to do for months now. She taken her daily jog and struck out in a different direction every time for the last few days, sliding out of the routine she'd settled into, changing it up constantly. The need to get up and go somewhere, to not be stuck here in

Comments

[heartlikesteel]

He had tried to be casual about it, but when Sam had mentioned that Veronica was missing, Ellen had noticed a flicker of caution, of worry. Behind the offhand comment was a lingering doubt about where she was. This wasn't just a trip to the beach.

So Ellen was out, patrolling the beach, and keeping an eye out for someone she'd heard described as small, witty, and blonde. She had headed out early in the day, near after dawn, and had brought water and food for the walk, not stopping for much of anything.

She came around a bend in the jungle and there, out in the middle of nowhere, was a little blonde girl. And at that moment, this kid was nothing but trouble. Ellen dug her heels into the sand, striding to where Veronica sat, seemingly untroubled by the whole goddamn world.

[neptune_sleuth]

Veronica looked up at the new arrival through narrowed eyes, her own flicker of concern running deep below the surface. Well, this was new. She vaguely recognized the woman from long ago, and all that she could remember, all that really mattered, was that she was connected to Sam.

She also, at the moment, looked less than thrilled.

Slipping an earbud out, Veronica looked up, cautiously blank. "Looking for me?" she asked sweetly. The whole thing where she'd walked right up to her pointed to yes.

[heartlikesteel]

Adorable. "Yeah, I'm looking for you." She let her hands fall to her hips, her brow furrowed, suddenly furious. "I don't even know you and you're already being a goddamn brat." She wasn't sure when she started talking like a momma again, but she slipped into it like her Levi's-- comfortable, easy, and hard to get off if she didn't want 'em off. She narrowed her eyes. "And don't you dare try and pull any of that bullshit on me, sweetheart, I do not have the patience for it, and you do not want to make me any angrier than I already am."

[neptune_sleuth]

Veronica arched an eyebrow, head tilting higher as she pushed herself to her feet. Even then she was small, shorter than Ellen by a good deal. She squared her shoulders, lips pursing. "Alright, no bullshit," she said simply. "Why don't we start with you telling me what it is I've done wrong so I don't have to go down a whole list of possibilities?" Folding her arms, she canted her head to the side and waited, unwilling to be stared down.