Byzantium

Stage 3

Ivy didn't have any diners or seedy bars to go to for the morning so Elise decided to do her own thing. She wanted a place for her wolf to feel comfortable so she grabbed some gardening tools she had seen in the garage and took them to the backyard. Elise almost dropped the tools at the sight of it. She had expected it to be unruly since the front yard was that way, but the backyard was an absolute jungle. Monstrous looking trees lined the edges of the yard, seemingly growing with the brick wall that separated the yard from whatever was beyond. Elise sighed and knew she'd be working all morning just to get the yard to look relatively nice. She started with uprooting the weeds and shifting the soil so that if she wanted to plant something else, the ground would be soft and supple. She did this in her wolf form to make things easier for herself, and didn't think twice at how dirty she would get.

By the time she had finished the yard, Elise's fur was covered in dirt and muck was caked underneath her nails. She didn't care, though, she just wanted to finish her project.

Naked and back in human form, Elise trimmed the monstrous trees to make them look less scary. Ivy came out into the backyard as Elise trimmed, wanting to know what all the noise was. She huffed about giving the neighbors heart attacks and told Elise to wear clothes at all times, making it an official rule. Elise nodded and waited for Ivy to retreat back into the house, then remained naked. She gathered the clippings and branches into a pile at the corner of the yard then mowed the lawn, at least what was left of it. With the weeds gone, Elise could see that there wasn't much healthy grass. There were mostly brown patches and little deserts of soil. When she was finished mowing her mediocre backyard lawn, she watered what was left with the kinked up hose she found at the side of the house. The backyard looked better but it definitely wouldn't be hosting any barbeques yet.

Just for fun and wanting to relax, Elise rolled around underneath the trees in her wolf form and ran around chasing flies and sun spots. Her tongue lolled out of her jaw as she ran around in the grass clippings and broken branches. She knew she'd have to clean up the mess eventually but that would be easy when the time came. She also knew she'd be a very muddy wolf when she was done playing, but that too would be easy to fix. She was just happy to have time to waste. It was the first time her mind went blank in a long while, and she enjoyed the nothing.

The sun fell lower in the sky and Elise eventually grew tired. She flopped onto her back and rested for almost an hour before deciding to head inside to grab some trash bags for the clippings and branches and general trash. She leapt through her pet door and landed primly back inside the house.

In the same moment Ivy came out from behind a door nearby and Elise finally knew which door lead to Ivy's bedroom. Oddly satisfied, Elise shook herself off, mud flying from her fur and coating the walls and flooring. Ivy stood flabbergasted, her mouth hanging open. She couldn't believe Elise had just come inside and ruined everything in under two seconds. Face red, Ivy stomped over to Elise and grabbed her wolf by the scruff of her neck and begun to drag Elise further into the house.

Elise shrieked and almost reverted to her human form but thought better of it, knowing if she did that Ivy's hold would be painful. Elise shook her body but Ivy wouldn't let go. Where was Ivy taking her? Elise found out after a few moments when Ivy hauled Elise's wolf into the bathroom tub.

"Leave me alone!" Elise shouted, finally able to return to human form. She tried to jump out of the tub but Ivy pushed her back down.

"No," Ivy growled, turning the water on high. She plugged the tub and water begun to fill it quickly.

Elise frowned and huffed as Ivy held onto her body, forcing her to stay in the tub. Waiting for precisely the right moment, Elise attempted to escape again and jumped from the tub as fast as she could. Much to Elise's surprise, Ivy tackled Elise to the ground and wouldn't budge. Elise transformed back into her wolf form, hoping it would be easier to run away. Unfortunately, it was not. Thanks to the fur, Ivy was able to get a firm grip on Elise's coat and pull her back into the already halfway full tub. Elise thrashed wildly and cried out, sending water flying across the bathroom, but none of the ruckus made Ivy let go. Elise managed to get her paws and snout over the side of the tub but she was so panicked that she didn't try to escape, she only tried to breathe without getting water into her nose and mouth.