Urgh.
Being an Animagus had downsides. For Eloise, it was the early starts. Her breed of rabbit usually foraged around at dusk and dawn, making her more active at around eight in the evening at four in the morning in the summer. After the best part of an hour of tossing and turning, with a grunt, she kicked off her covered and thrashed wildly with her slim legs. Eloise was wide awake. Her big green eyes in the darkness could see clearly.
She knew Dorian's bedroom very well. She even had a drawer for her things which consisted of a spare pair of underwear, a hair brush and a colourful chiffon scarf. The idea of leaving a toothbrush here was tempting but she didn't want to accidentally take over his apartment or annoy his flat mates in the process.
The apartment was quiet. All she could hear was the slow ticking of the clock in the kitchen. His room mates were all out. She vaguely remembered that they'd all gone on holiday together. She was wondering why Dorian hadn't joined them before she realised that it must have been a money issue. Sliding out of the bed, she tied her long blonde hair up and
changed, picking her way across the floor, carefully avoiding the stray clothes and occasional empty packet of crisps.
It was light outside now, the sky lightening every second. London was still quiet but the weather was balmy for so early in the summer. Awake and full of energy, she opened the door and jogged down the steps to the street outside. Dorian was working nights at a bar and she didn't tend to sleep well without him next to her so she might as well go ahead and do something.
London, though still foreign, was okay to negotiate. Eloise just had the find the river and follow it. It was a beautiful city. During the day, it was completely different. Buses trundled down the shopping streets, crowded with tourists and rude, brusque people on their way to work. At four in the morning, there wasn't a soul outside. Eloise was a curvy girl. She'd tried (and failed) numerous diets. Wonder ones, promising to drop ten pounds in a week if she only drank rainwater and lemon juice or something equally as stupid. A long time ago, she'd resigned to the fact that she'd always have a pair of hips. It was just easier to try and get a bit healthier.
Her small feet hit the pavement in a rhythm, passing beneath streetlights as the dawn approached quickly. It was an oddly freeing feeling, running. She'd never do it when there was a lot of people around. Dorian usually slept like a log and she was sure that he'd never noticed that she sometimes snuck out. He'd never said anything so far to her about her midnight jogs.
Eloise was out for only about twenty minutes or so before she followed the river and then crossed over it by a foot bridge and came back on herself. Dorian hadn't given her a key and there was no need. She had wands. A key was pretty much just a ceremonial thing that she didn't really need. She ran up the apartment building's stairs and pushed open the door, pink cheeked and panting. She felt revitalised but unfortunately, not the tiniest bit tired. Peeling off her jacket, she draped it across the sofa and stretched, cricking the bones of her back as she let out a soft groan of pleasure as she felt the pressure release. Fab. Time for tea.
The run, though good for her health, was not good for her new
tattoo. Small and fresh, the movement irritated it and caused it to itch. Frowning, Eloise flicked on the kettle, adding tea bags to two cups, making one for her boyfriend out of habit despite him not being there. The idea of a tattoo had been forming for a while in her mind. She had no idea how Dorian would take it. She'd only gotten it yesterday. Being a magical one, there was no need to cover it and let it heal but it was still a little uncomfy.
Pouring the boiling water with one hand, Eloise used the other to adjust the band of her bra, letting the tattoo peek out. The cool apartment air felt nice against her skin, the sweat now cooling and drying. She had the idea of just taking it off and sliding into one of Dorian's discarded shirts. Just as she was about to do so, the front door opened and she froze in the middle of stirring in the milk. Whoops.
