#either sugar has a scent AND you can recognise other people by sniffing them

[rudjedet]

I, congenital anosmic, tend to have two modes of engagement with scent-related epiphanies:

1. what do you mean "sugar has a scent" you are pulling my leg I'm sure of it 2. what do you mean "people don't normally recognise eachother by their scent" you can recognise fucking grass when you smell it

[wolfesadventureold-blog]

First Pursuit

(Previous day - Departure)

Day Two - 1/03/18

Dear Diary ~

6:00 am.

I’ve just about woken up. I had an odd nightmare about getting shiftblock (the inability to shift - it can occur at any time or be triggered, and lemon juice tends to sort it out) in the bathroom and panicking about being stuck as a child. In the nightmare, the door handle was so high that I couldn’t reach it in the form of a child. I have strange nightmares. Very strange indeed.

I now need to get dressed, brush my teeth and neaten my hair (It seems to have decided to look like a bird’s nest this morning, and that isn’t exactly the look I go for these days. Maybe it was when I was at university, but certainly not now. I didn’t realise how ridiculous it looked). After that, I’ll go down and ask around at breakfast for a few hours to see if anyone’s seen Axel.

My main plans for today are to inquire in the restraunt during breakfast (I have a bizarre talent of making a bowl of cereal ask for several hours whilst still looking like I’m eating it), and then I’ll search for a few werewolves at the beach to see if Axel’s scent has been detected by anyone. I have his scarf in a carrier bag in my rucksack, so they’ll recognise it if they’ve smelt it anywhere. If I find someone who knows his scent, I’ll ask them to show me where they found it, and see if it leads anywhere. Hopefully, by then it’ll be mid-afternoon, so I will be able to ask around at any fish and chip shops. I know that there’s a cheap one in the area that we went to last time we both came, and I also know that fish and chips is his favourite food of all time. If he’s been here, he’ll have visited a fish and chip shop.

After all of that, there are two likely outcomes: I’ll have found a lead on him or I won’t have found one. Sadly, the latter seems a little more likely. If the former happens and he’s close by, I’ll track him down as quick as I can, even if it means being up all night. If the latter happens or he’s not close by, I’ll spend another night here and work things out in the morning.

9:32 am.

Good news and bad news. The good news is that no one stared at me for putting my rice krispies on toast. The bad news is that Axel left yesterday evening. However, this could be useful. It means that he’s been predictable. And a predictable Axel means a happy Victor. In other words, I should be able to guess where he’s going next, simply by thinking. I’ve lived with him for two years, and as a shifter, I pick up on people’s behavior patterns very quickly. I have to put on different personas to accurately pretend to be someone, and I know him very well. I can think how he thinks.

The other bad news is that it’s snowed overnight. A lot. I hate snow. This is also bad, because I planned on asking around to see if anyone’s noticed any frozen puddles, but all of the puddles will be frozen today. I should probably make my way to a busy café and ask people if they’ve seen him - or better, ask the wolves if they’ve scented him. As I mentioned earlier, Axel and I have been here before. I know of a café that’s frequented by mostly werewolves and vampires. They’ll notice that I’m a shifter almost immediately, but that’s fine. Shifters are accepted into the magical community here, unlike some places. It’s never nice to be part of a rejected species. The name of the café is “The Poisoned Lily”, which deters most humans and draws in those of the magic world. Anything with magic in its veins knows to never touch a lily.

12:44 pm.

I’m in the café now, with a cup of tea (milk last of course, very strong, one sugar) and a piece of cheese on toast. I very much like cheese on toast. Most places have a few cafés or pubs that are mostly visited by magical creatures or magic users, but this one is mostly used by vampires and werewolves, so I keep getting a few stares or glances. It’s run by werewolves, but they can easily get the stuff that vampires drink, so they tend to come here often as well. There’s even a pair of werewolves staring at me right now, so I might take that opportunity to ask them. You don’t pick fights in places like this, especially if you aren’t part of either species. Both species will get very territorial if they think I’m causing trouble. This is technically their territory, and they have the right to kill me if the alpha of the pack running the place thinks it’s the right cause of action. This is the reason why I usually wait for the right moment to ask people things. Picking fights is a bad idea, no matter what you are. They seem to have finished their conversation, so now might be a good time to ask.

I’ve asked the wolves, and they seemed rather friendly. They both smelt the scarf, and one of them said that one of the pack members smelt the same when she came in, so I should ask her. He said that she’s the one with ginger hair always tied in a very tight fishtail plait, so I’m going to finish my tea and go to find her. I’ll shift my way there; I don’t want to be detected if I’m going to go undetected. Without a photograph to study, I won’t have the time to mimic every detail without being close if I’m doing it without walking. It’s very busy here, so no one will think anything if I push past a few people. Pushing past people lets you touch their hand or arm without them noticing, an easy way of shifting to them without watching them first. There’s a vampire giving me the evil eye from the table behind me. She’s behind me, but I can see her reflection in the side of my mug. I don’t like that look, so I’ll have to leave my tea. If I shift to numerous people on the way until I find a pack member, anyone who’s been watching me should lose me by then.

1:03 pm.

I spoke to the werewolf girl, and it turns out that she helped Axel out when he was lost in a busy place. It was too noisy for him, so he panicked and nearly shifted. If she hadn’t got him away in time, he would have shifted in public. Not good. It might be slightly less obvious if I shift in public, but a werewolf trying to resist a shift can experience quite a bit of pain. That’s why they usually give into it, but obviously not in places like that. He’s going up to Tintagel to throw off the hunters, but then he’s planning on leaving tomorrow evening. If I want to catch him, it would be a good idea to get there as soon as possible. I asked her if they have WiFi, but they didn’t. I need to find out how to get to Tintagel from Newquay as quick as I can. It looks like the best cause of action is to go back to Journeybreak and connect to the internet there. It’s free internet, but I’m always terrible at connecting to it. I’ll ask for help.

1:52 pm.

Someone helped me connect to the WiFi in potentially the most patient way. I just shifted to an elderly man and asked for someone to help me “connect my phone to the wiffy”, and they helped me immediately. I’m in my room looking online now. I wanted to shift back, as my own hands are a lot less stiff than that particular elderly man’s hands.

Looks like I can get there by bus, and it should only cost me about £10. 

4:12 pm.

I’m now waiting for the werewolf near the castle visitor centre. I’m currently sheltering under a steep bit, but the wind is so strong that I’m getting snow on my diary, so I’ll have to shift soon. Tintagel Castle is closed today, due to the bad weather, so we’re taking advantage of that. We’ve both agreed to meet in wolf form, so I had better shift before he arrives. If he’s over ten minutes late, we’ve agreed that I’ll meet without him.

6:17 pm.

It went brilliantly. He was quite quiet, but he’s brilliant at his job. We tracked him from the bus stop down the path to the castle, where he had a rest for a long while, and then we tracked him as far as a nearby café, and we couldn’t find any more scent after that. Clearly, it would be weird if we just walked in and the werewolf went and sniffed everywhere in the café. Axel didn’t leave the café through the front entrance. We parted ways and I’m now sheltering in the café, waiting for a good time to shift to Axel and ask if the man at the counter knows where he went. The werewolf gave me the evidence, I thought it through. If he didn’t leave through the front entrance he could have left via a back door, a window, or some other entrance. And he can’t have done that without speaking to the man at the counter. Ah, simple logic. As soon as the man turns his back, I’ll shift to Axel and speak to him. He’ll likely be confused, as Axel just left, but I’ll question him about what happened. Axel isn’t running from me.

6:19 pm.

Axel already left. A few hours ago. He said he was going to Bodmin Parkway to get to Southampton by train. If I leave now, I’ll be able to get to the train station as soon as possible. I’ll get there at quarter past eight, and then I can check what time I can get the train. I need to hurry, so I’ll come back to my diary when I’m on the bus.

6:31 pm.

I’m on the bus. Barely, but on the bus. I’m completely exhausted, but I can’t rest yet. Not when I need to get to Axel. I don’t have signal on my phone, but I’ve ran out of data, anyway, so I wouldn’t have internet even with signal. I’ll read my book to keep myself occupied, and then I’ll get off the bus when it arrives.

8:20 pm.

I’m at the train station. I’ve found a timetable booklet, and I can check that for train times.

I’m too late to get all the way to Southampton now, but I can at least look into whether or not he left on the trains. Ideally, I would ask my friend Irene to help me by turning me invisible with her air magic, but she’s back in Ekkionport. Either way, this is a very little station. The best I can hope for is to find some form of information about when Axel was here. I have a picture of a vampire on my camera, so I can shift to him and use the night vision. Axel would have been one of the only people here for the last train - potentially the only person here. All evidence would point to him. If he was here at all. However, I know him. I can find out if he was here. The ticket machine would have his fingerprints. I bring fingerprinting powder with me because fingerprints are my speciality. I shift to the person, leave a fingerprint on a smooth surface and take a close up of it. Then I compare it to the fingerprints I find. I keep a small amount of luminol and an ultraviolet torch with me in case I have to check an area for vampire attacks, too. There are a lot of messy vampires in South Wales, believe me. It’ll also be useful to know if Axel bled, if I can find a hotel room he stayed in.

The ticket machine had prints all over it. I should have known. Stupid me. It should have been obvious. But despite all of that, there’s a ticket on the floor for the last train. I’ll fingerprint that to see if it’s his.

Bingo. He’s on a train to Southampton. He’ll get there this evening, but I can get there tomorrow morning. I’ll have some catching up to do, but he has a false sense of security now that he’s there. He won’t be as paranoid. However, I need rest. I’m low on money, so I can’t afford to sleep in another Journeybreak (if there’s one nearby, which there probably isn’t) or any other form of cheap hotel. I’ll have to sleep outside tonight. But that’s okay. Wolves have thick coats, so if I sleep outside a wam building in wolf form, but still hidden, I should be all right. I’ll be cold, but I’m utterly exhausted. I’ll go to sleep now and get up early to find a job. The earliest train leaves at ten past six. I don’t have enough to ride the train, but no one checks the luggage area for seagulls... or shapeshifters pretending to be seagulls...

Anyway, if I’m to get any sleep, I’ll need to put my diary away. This is Victor Wolfe signing out.

[victorwolfejournal-blog]

First Pursuit

(Previous day - Departure)

Day Two - 01/03/18

Dear Diary ~

6:00 am.

I’ve just about woken up. I had an odd nightmare about getting shiftblock (the inability to shift - it can occur at any time or be triggered, and lemon juice tends to sort it out) in the bathroom and panicking about being stuck as a child. In the nightmare, the door handle was so high that I couldn’t reach it in the form of a child. I have strange nightmares. Very strange indeed.

I now need to get dressed, brush my teeth and neaten my hair (It seems to have decided to look like a bird’s nest this morning, and that isn’t exactly the look I go for these days. Maybe it was when I was at university, but certainly not now. I didn’t realise how ridiculous it looked). After that, I’ll go down and ask around at breakfast for a few hours to see if anyone’s seen Axel.

My main plans for today are to inquire in the restraunt during breakfast (I have a bizarre talent of making a bowl of cereal last for several hours whilst still looking like I’m eating it), and then I’ll search for a few werewolves at the beach to see if Axel’s scent has been detected by anyone. I have his scarf in a carrier bag in my rucksack, so they’ll recognise it if they’ve smelt it anywhere. If I find someone who knows his scent, I’ll ask them to show me where they found it, and see if it leads anywhere. Hopefully, by then it’ll be mid-afternoon, so I will be able to ask around at any fish and chip shops. I know that there’s a cheap one in the area that we went to last time we both came, and I also know that fish and chips is his favourite food of all time. If he’s been here, he’ll have visited a fish and chip shop.

After all of that, there are two likely outcomes: I’ll have found a lead on him or I won’t have found one. Sadly, the latter seems a little more likely. If the former happens and he’s close by, I’ll track him down as quick as I can, even if it means being up all night. If the latter happens or he’s not close by, I’ll spend another night here and work things out in the morning.

9:32 am.

Good news and bad news. The good news is that no one stared at me for putting my rice krispies on toast. The bad news is that Axel left yesterday evening. However, this could be useful. It means that he’s been predictable. And a predictable Axel means a happy Victor. In other words, I should be able to guess where he’s going next, simply by thinking. I’ve lived with him for two years, and as a shifter, I pick up on people’s behavior patterns very quickly. I have to put on different personas to accurately pretend to be someone, and I know him very well. I can think how he thinks.

The other bad news is that it’s snowed overnight. A lot. I hate snow. This is also bad, because I planned on asking around to see if anyone’s noticed any frozen puddles, but all of the puddles will be frozen today. I should probably make my way to a busy café and ask people if they’ve seen him - or better, ask the wolves if they’ve scented him. As I mentioned earlier, Axel and I have been here before. I know of a café that’s frequented by mostly werewolves and vampires. They’ll notice that I’m a shifter almost immediately, but that’s fine. Shifters are accepted into the magical community here, unlike some places. It’s never nice to be part of a rejected species. The name of the café is “The Poisoned Lily”, which deters most humans and draws in those of the magic world. Anything with magic in its veins knows to never touch a lily.

12:44 pm.

I’m in the café now, with a cup of tea (milk last of course, very strong, one sugar) and a piece of cheese on toast. I very much like cheese on toast. Most places have a few cafés or pubs that are mostly visited by magical creatures or magic users, but this one is mostly used by vampires and werewolves, so I keep getting a few stares or glances. It’s run by werewolves, but they can easily get the stuff that vampires drink, so they tend to come here often as well. There’s even a pair of werewolves staring at me right now, so I might take that opportunity to ask them. You don’t pick fights in places like this, especially if you aren’t part of either species. Both species will get very territorial if they think I’m causing trouble. This is technically their territory, and they have the right to kill me if the alpha of the pack running the place thinks it’s the right cause of action. This is the reason why I usually wait for the right moment to ask people things. Picking fights is a bad idea, no matter what you are. They seem to have finished their conversation, so now might be a good time to ask.

I’ve asked the wolves, and they seemed rather friendly. They both smelt the scarf, and one of them said that one of the pack members smelt the same when she came in, so I should ask her. He said that she’s the one with ginger hair always tied in a very tight fishtail plait, so I’m going to finish my tea and go to find her. I’ll shift my way there; I don’t want to be detected if I’m going to go undetected. Without a photograph to study, I won’t have the time to mimic every detail without being close if I’m doing it without walking. It’s very busy here, so no one will think anything if I push past a few people. Pushing past people lets you touch their hand or arm without them noticing, an easy way of shifting to them without watching them first. There’s a vampire giving me the evil eye from the table behind me. She’s behind me, but I can see her reflection in the side of my mug. I don’t like that look, so I’ll have to leave my tea. If I shift to numerous people on the way until I find a pack member, anyone who’s been watching me should lose me by then.

1:03 pm.

I spoke to the werewolf girl, and it turns out that she helped Axel out when he was lost in a busy place. It was too noisy for him, so he panicked and nearly shifted. If she hadn’t got him away in time, he would have shifted in public. Not good. It might be slightly less obvious if I shift in public, but a werewolf trying to resist a shift can experience quite a bit of pain. That’s why they usually give into it, but obviously not in places like that. He’s going up to Tintagel to throw off the hunters, but then he’s planning on leaving tomorrow evening. If I want to catch him, it would be a good idea to get there as soon as possible. I asked her if they have WiFi, but they didn’t. I need to find out how to get to Tintagel from Newquay as quick as I can. It looks like the best cause of action is to go back to Journeybreak and connect to the internet there. It’s free internet, but I’m always terrible at connecting to it. I’ll ask for help.

1:52 pm.

Someone helped me connect to the WiFi in potentially the most patient way. I just shifted to an elderly man and asked for someone to help me “connect my phone to the wiffy”, and they helped me immediately. I’m in my room looking online now. I wanted to shift back, as my own hands are a lot less stiff than that particular elderly man’s hands.

Looks like I can get there by bus, and it should only cost me about £10.

4:12 pm.

I’m now waiting for the werewolf near the castle visitor centre. I’m currently sheltering under a steep bit, but the wind is so strong that I’m getting snow on my diary, so I’ll have to shift soon. Tintagel Castle is closed today, due to the bad weather, so we’re taking advantage of that. We’ve both agreed to meet in wolf form, so I had better shift before he arrives. If he’s over ten minutes late, we’ve agreed that I’ll meet without him.

6:17 pm.

It went brilliantly. He was quite quiet, but he’s brilliant at his job. We tracked him from the bus stop down the path to the castle, where he had a rest for a long while, and then we tracked him as far as a nearby café, and we couldn’t find any more scent after that. Clearly, it would be weird if we just walked in and the werewolf went and sniffed everywhere in the café. Axel didn’t leave the café through the front entrance. We parted ways and I’m now sheltering in the café, waiting for a good time to shift to Axel and ask if the man at the counter knows where he went. The werewolf gave me the evidence, I thought it through. If he didn’t leave through the front entrance he could have left via a back door, a window, or some other entrance. And he can’t have done that without speaking to the man at the counter. Ah, simple logic. As soon as the man turns his back, I’ll shift to Axel and speak to him. He’ll likely be confused, as Axel just left, but I’ll question him about what happened. Axel isn’t running from me.

6:19 pm.

Axel already left. A few hours ago. He said he was going to Bodmin Parkway to get to Southampton by train. If I leave now, I’ll be able to get to the train station as soon as possible. I’ll get there at quarter past eight, and then I can check what time I can get the train. I need to hurry, so I’ll come back to my diary when I’m on the bus.

6:31 pm.

I’m on the bus. Barely, but on the bus. I’m completely exhausted, but I can’t rest yet. Not when I need to get to Axel. I don’t have signal on my phone, but I’ve ran out of data, anyway, so I wouldn’t have internet even with signal. I’ll read my book to keep myself occupied, and then I’ll get off the bus when it arrives.

8:20 pm.

I’m at the train station. I’ve found a timetable booklet, and I can check that for train times.

I’m too late to get all the way to Southampton now, but I can at least look into whether or not he left on the trains. Ideally, I would ask my friend Irene to help me by turning me invisible with her air magic, but she’s back in Ekkionport. Either way, this is a very little station. The best I can hope for is to find some form of information about when Axel was here. I have a picture of a vampire on my camera, so I can shift to him and use the night vision. Axel would have been one of the only people here for the last train - potentially the only person here. All evidence would point to him. If he was here at all. However, I know him. I can find out if he was here. The ticket machine would have his fingerprints. I bring fingerprinting powder with me because fingerprints are my speciality. I shift to the person, leave a fingerprint on a smooth surface and take a close up of it. Then I compare it to the fingerprints I find. I keep a small amount of luminol and an ultraviolet torch with me in case I have to check an area for vampire attacks, too. There are a lot of messy vampires in South Wales, believe me. It’ll also be useful to know if Axel bled, if I can find a hotel room he stayed in.

The ticket machine had prints all over it. I should have known. Stupid me. It should have been obvious. But despite all of that, there’s a ticket on the floor for the last train. I’ll fingerprint that to see if it’s his.

Bingo. He’s on a train to Southampton. He’ll get there this evening, but I can get there tomorrow morning. I’ll have some catching up to do, but he has a false sense of security now that he’s there. He won’t be as paranoid. However, I need rest. I’m low on money, so I can’t afford to sleep in another Journeybreak (if there’s one nearby, which there probably isn’t) or any other form of cheap hotel. I’ll have to sleep outside tonight. But that’s okay. Wolves have thick coats, so if I sleep outside a wam building in wolf form, but still hidden, I should be all right. I’ll be cold, but I’m utterly exhausted. I’ll go to sleep now and get up early to find a job. The earliest train leaves at ten past six. I don’t have enough to ride the train, but no one checks the luggage area for seagulls… or shapeshifters pretending to be seagulls…

Anyway, if I’m to get any sleep, I’ll need to put my diary away. This is Victor Wolfe signing out.

(Next day - To Southampton)