#estella.

The realm of possibility had widened the moment Jenny had witnessed a vampire feeding from a stranger. The world held more than it had previously told her and she was going to find out exactly what secrets were hidden in plain sight. She figured things like werewolves, ghosts and witches were plausible to also exist, but weird Scottish animals? Those seemed a little less realistic. More like something online would lie about, just like the cryptids people obsessed over. The realm of possibility had widened, but it wasn’t endless.

But sure, she was curious. Which was why she had agreed to meet the person who said she owned a haggis-creature at a public place. The common was nice enough, reminding her vaguely of her own time in college, and Jenny wished she had friends to have a picknick with in the grass. It was starting to get nice out, after all.

She walked along the path, approaching the gazebo at which they had agreed to meet. As she popped her head into the small, open structure, her eyes fell on what she had only seen on Google Images results. “What the fuck,” was her greeting to both creature and owner, who Jenny hadn’t even began looking at.

__

She was nothing if not determined. Maybe too much so, depending on who you asked, but determination led to success and Estella really liked the idea of success. So when the girl had called her a troll online, she had decided she had to prove she wasn’t lying. Also that she wasn’t a literal troll. She knew very well what internet trolling was, but still, the whole thinking she was a troll was offensive. No offense intended to trolls, she was sure they could be great, but she was so much prettier than they were. Sunshine was bright and joyful! Trolls were not.

“I told you I wasn’t lying!” Perhaps her voice fell a few registers too high, but that didn’t matter so much to her right now. “This is Oberon Harris Boglet, and he is a haggis!” She patted her pet on the head. “Wild haggis, technically, but that feels unfair since I guess he isn’t wild.” Estella knelt down. “Do you wanna pet him? He won’t bite!” Oberon Harris Boglet seemed at least interested in the girl, which was a good sign. The girl also wasn’t fae, and was probably human (just because most people were), but that was fine! Plenty of human people were a-okay. Her brother was human, and Henri was human. If anything, Estella liked humans too much (supposedly). “I don’t lie. Just like, FYI for the future and stuff. Lying is icky.” Or at least it made her feel icky, significantly so. “He likes grass.”

—

She hadn’t even known about this creature called haggis before. Jenny knew of the food, which seemed abhorrent to her, but when it came to mythological animals from Scottish origin her knowledge was limited to the Loch Ness Monster (who might also be real). But apparently nothing was too crazy for this world any more, so if vampires could walk around it, then why not a weird dog-like thing? She stared at it, mouth slack and wide, her thoughts going a thousand miles an hour.

“It looks like a fucked up mole-wiener dog hybrid,” she said. Her gaze finally fell on the excitable girl accompanying the animal, who definitely seemed too cute for an internet troll. “So you decided on a name? Where’d the Boglet come from?” What did that even matter?  She looked back at the animal with three names. It was kind of cute, sure. Mostly very weird and breaking everything she knew to be true about the world. “Where did you find him? What — how do you even find an animal like that? Why are you not shocked about this?” Jenny wasn’t sure about petting it yet. “Cool, sure, I’m still not wholly convinced because you’re so relaxed about this, and this is not a real creature, but it is?”

—

“Hey!” She frowned. “I don’t think he likes that kind of language. Also I mean, even if it is a strange hybrid, I don’t see anything wrong with that! It makes him unique. Except not technically, ‘cause more of them do exist in the world, but it makes him special and I mean that in a good way, not the weirdly cruel way that some people sometimes do. “He’s also not the food, FYI. I’d never eat that stuff, it seems cruel and mean and I don’t like cruel and mean things, even for food.” 

Estella nodded. “Yeah-huh, I did decide on a name. Boglet was a suggestion from a lady on the internet and it’s cute and he’s cute, so I went with it. I found him when I was out for a walk, and he seemed sad and alone and so I took him with me.” The girl’s question about why she wasn’t shocked was incredibly valid, and she wasn’t sure exactly what to say, the whole inability to lie of it all. “I guess I just got happy that something that people think should just be in books or ideas is real. It makes me have more hope in the world.” Which she had plenty of already, but more was always good. “He’s real. He’s – well, we’ve been known in town here to have some unusual fauna and flora – different apparently than many other places.” She shrugged. “So he’s here and he belongs here. Do you want to pet him?”

—

“I doubt he speaks English, and even if he does, he seems like he likes to cuss.” He didn’t, but there was no way to prove either of their points and Jenny would not back down. “I didn’t say there’s anything wrong with it. I mean, I might have implied it, but it’s not wrong, it’s just … weird. Really fucking weird.” She took her comments about hating cruel mean things to be an attempt at convincing her that she wasn’t a strange internet person. It had to be overcompensation. “Cool, I’d never eat it because it’s gross.”

Boglet was far from one of the names Jenny would consider cute, but she wasn’t going to hammer that opinion down. Especially not as the other continued talking, keeping with the cutesy theme that she had going. “Oh,” she said, kind of stumped. That was wholesome, what she’d said about it giving her hope. That kind of tracked for her too, though it had mostly related to vampires being real. “I get that. I guess. Like the world being broader than you think it is? Makes way for opportunity.” She was not sure if she was making sense, but there was a tinge of sincerity in her voice that had not yet appeared. “Have you … seen a lot of unusual flora and fauna? I’m new to town, but I’ve noticed some of the oddities. And that it’s …” She shrugged. “Well, special. I like it.” She held out some of her fingers for the haggis to smell.

—

“Okay, but counterpoint, he might speak English or maybe Gaelic, and what about him gives him the ‘likes to cuss’ vibe?” She wasn’t even being intentionally argumentative, she was just genuinely curious about if ‘likes to cuss’ was a vibe that people could pick up on, especially since the woman seemed to get vibes. Estella might not have liked the arguing, but she respected what knowledge people seemed to have. Humans could know so much, it was astounding. “Okay, well, there’s nothing wrong with weird, I don’t think.” If there really and truly was, then Estella herself would be in a whole heck of a lot of trouble. “It’s also gross, yeah.”

She seemed to have stumped the human woman (or maybe she wasn’t human, but she wasn’t fae and for that sake, Estella would just consider and assume her to be human, at least for the time being. If they hung out again, then she’d see where things went. “Yes. Exactly. Opportunity is such a beautiful thing, and I like to think that the world is so big and so unexplored and so brilliant and giving – and there’s some parts we shouldn’t explore, because they deserve to be secret, but there’s also so many places that deserve more honor and exploration than they’ve been given.” Had she seen lots of unusual flora and fauna? Per what most people would expect, yes. Even her lambs were technically plants. “I have, yeah! I’ve lived here my whole life, so I guess I sort of got used to it after a period of time?” Estella smiled. “It is special. I am glad you agree.” The woman held her hands out for Oberon and the haggis came over to sniff her, before nuzzling into the palm of her hand.

—

Oh, she wanted an explanation. Jenny tried to find the right combination of words to convince the other that this strange animal was down with cursing. “Um, do you see that face?” She said it was if whatever it was that was supposed to be noticeable was obvious. “That’s the face of someone with a foul mouth. Mischief and chaos in the eyes.” At least they were in agreement that being weird was okay. There were definitely weird things that Jenny found a little less than okay, or that she judged heavily, but this was the kind of weird she could get with. It was the kind of weird from books she read as a child. “Good, we’re in agreement on that. Weird is good. Haggis bad.”

The other spoke earnestly, but vaguely. She wanted her to tell her very plainly that fantasy creatures were real, that it was not just about a world as wide as ones imagination but actual mind-breaking stuff, sometimes. She confirmed, at least, that there was unusual flora and fauna in town. “Strange, right? The whole world seems to think that these creatures are something of myth and stories and here we are.” The haggis nuzzled her hand and she felt her heart melt a little. She wondered if it would get along with Edward. Jenny rubbed its head. “Like if haggises are real, what else is? Unicorns? Centaurs? Griffins?” She avoided saying vampires, as she didn’t need confirmation on that. “Maybe what you say is part of it, the um …” She tried to recall. “Some things being unexplored, because they ought to remain secret thing.”

—

"Oh." She scratched behind Oberon’s ears. “Well, I can respect the chaos vibes. I just didn’t realize he had a foul mouth.” She frowned at the thought for a moment. “Not like that makes him bad or whatever, I just didn’t realize. That’s all.” It was, even though she didn’t especially enjoy the thought of one of her animal companions being someone who cursed in excess. But it wasn’t a big deal. Then why did Estella keep thinking about it as though it were? “Weird is good, and haggis that isn’t my animal is bad. Yes.” That much she could focus on and that much was better to focus on anyhow.

“It is strange, I guess! Where are you from? I’m only asking because I haven’t seen you much before and I’ve lived here my whole life. Which, I mean, could still mean you’ve always been here but just with the questions you’re asking… yeah.” Oberon seemed to like the other woman, and that made Estella feel at least a little bit more chilled out. “I’m not enough of an expert to comment on those things, but maybe!” She wanted everything possibly real to be real – even some of the less savory beings of legend, because it was still cool and everything had a right to exist in its own way. “It’s very possible. But see? I told you I wasn’t a troll and I’m not a liar. You believe me now, right?”

—

“I mean, he’s a Scot. As far as I know, they all have quite interesting vocabularies. Going around calling people –” She lowered her volume, as Estella seemed sensitive. “– cunts and whatnot on a daily basis. Not that I think he uses that particular word.” Jenny looked at the strange creature, wondering why she was going on a tangent about what words it liked to use, as if that mattered at all. This was a fantasy creature, but it was also in front of her. Vampires were real, haggis creatures were real, and so was probably everything else she had ever read about in a fantasy book.

She tried to ground herself in the conversation. “I’m from New York. Also strange, but for very different reasons than here — people also have strange pets, but they’re mostly just a weird exotic breed of dog.” The creature’s fur was a little rough, but it was nice enough. It was easy to mindlessly pet it: that’s what she did with Edward all the time after all. She nodded, looking up. “I believe you. Sorry for the false accusation, it’s just…” Jenny stared at the haggis again. “Weird, that this fantasy creature is here, and real. And that it isn’t AI or PhotoShop, because I can touch it. And it’s weird that you’re so relaxed about it. No offense, but it is. Like, most people would take this to a vet or a doctor or a scientist.” She knew what tended to happen in those cases, because of books she’d read. “I wouldn’t – but … you know. It’s a lot.”

__

“That’s fair, but maybe he surpasses stereotypes and is unlike what you would expect. I mean, you didn’t expect him to be real, so maybe there’s something there…” Estella chewed on her lip for a moment. “Oh yes, he doesn’t say that for sure.” Thankfully, the woman who she’d met up with seemed overall accepting of Oberon’s existence, even if that acceptance came along with bits of confusion here and there. But that wasn’t something to make a fault, it just was the way that some people were, and that was okay. “Also, just so we’re clear, I don’t like AI. I don’t like lies all too much, and AI just feels like one ginormous lie to me. But yeah, you can touch it and we can both see it and so it’s not fake!” She was perhaps driving the point home a bit too much, but right now, that didn’t matter too much to her.

Estella’s eyes widened as Jenny continued. “The city then, I’m guessing? I mean, maybe the other parts also have exotic dogs too, but I feel like that’s a City city thing. I guess sometimes there’s weird breeds of dogs here…but probably not like there.” She massaged her fingers against the back of her neck. “Oh – I’m not offended by that. I’ve been known to pick up worms and bugs and all sorts of things ever since I was a baby, basically — and I know this is miles weirder than any of that would be, but it’s fine. I don’t mind being called weird about that. I’m glad you wouldn’t take him to a scientist. That means a lot.” There was a certain pull to make Jenny promise that she wouldn’t. But for now, she’d refrain. I’m glad you were willing to come out and let me prove this.”

__

“Yes, he could be a very posh scotsman, with all the manners in the world,” she acquiesced, letting go of her very convincing arguments. Unless there was something magical out there that could talk to animals, they’d never know what kind of words the haggis liked or didn’t like using. “Uhhh, good to know.” Jenny didn’t have a big opinion on AI, even though it seemed she should have one. She tended to change it depending on who she was around, but privately she used ChatGPT for plenty of things. It was best not to share that with all people, though. They got judgy. Or they claimed generative AI was the future … Jenny really didn’t care, she just wanted her grocery list made for her. “Images made with AI tend to look like absolute shit — or lies, as you put it.” 

She nodded, “Yes, the city. There are exotic dogs everywhere, but they are overrepresented on the Upper East side for sure — and in LA, I bet. This isn’t a dog though, is it? What do … you reckon it is?” Jenny had no idea. A scientist probably knew the answer, but bringing discoveries to scientists always ended up badly for said discoveries. She didn’t want to aid an evil scientist. “The weird thing is how chill you are about it, not that you decided to adopt it. I get that urge, but … like, this isn’t natural, right? This is supernatural.” There she’d gone, she’d said the S word. “And you act like it’s totally the normalest things ver. This isn’t bugs or worms. This is a … a haggis.”

__

“I just don’t want to judge him just yet. Or really ever, but he’s still new in my life and it doesn’t feel fair to pass judgement when I am still getting to know him.” Thankfully Jenny didn’t seem too fazed about any of it, and Estella continued to feel the absolute highest bits of gratitude because of that. “Yes, and it’s weird what it can do – but I mean, some people would say that it’s changing the world – which, true – but I don’t like the idea of things changing the world not for the better. I like when things get better, not when they are made worse.” But this wasn’t the time. Maybe if she and Jenny hung out again, then they could both philosophize about whatever they wished. But right now, she had to stay focused (at least as best as she could) and besides, her current conversation companion was pretty cool, and she’d lived in big and fancy cities, which meant she had to know a lot about what was up with the world.

The city. Cool. “Cool.” Estella said. “I’d imagine it’s the same over in LA, yeah. They seem to like all sorts of unexpected things over there.” Jenny asked what it was, if it wasn’t a dog. “It’s a haggis. I don’t know if that’s a special breed of something, or something all its own.” She shrugged. Not that it really mattered to her – Obie was who he was, and she loved him for it. She understood that some people (including the woman in front of her, it seemed) wanted definite answers, and Estella wanted those too, at least sometimes – but when it came to animals, she was simply content to take things as they were and not ask too much about it. “It is probably supernatural, yeah – but I don’t know. I’ve lived here my whole life. This feels normal to me. I could freak out, but if I made a huge deal about this, then the bad scientists might come and take him away, or he might feel offended. So I just figure being excited about it but seeming chill is probably the best route to go.”

—

“I mean, judging animals is kind of lame anyway. Some people will make their hobby out of it, just going around hating on pets and whatnot. The only thing we should judge him on is his cuteness, and he’s got a ton of that,” she said, easily yapping away. This was such a breezy conversation and she was glad for it — Jenny yearned for the simple and whimsical, not the deep and hard talks she kept imagining for herself. “That’s a good take. Not liking it when things change the world for the worse. Very controversial opinion these days, though.” She wasn’t looking for a very political debate, though. 

“New York’s better, anyway. I like seasons and stuff. But I’m not gonna lie, I’ve seen more unexpected things here than over there or in LA.” She stared at the other for a moment, not satisfied with her answer that it was a haggis. At least Estella did not beat around the supernatural bush. “Okay! Okay, so you admit — you know about supernatural things? What else do you know? Can you tell me more things?” Jenny hoped she wasn’t coming off too strong, but it was a battle lost. “What other things have you seen in your life that made you act chill even though they were very strange by my standards?”

—

“I agree so much.” To further highlight just how much she did agree, Estella nodded. “It’s like, why hate pets? Or most any animal? It’s okay if you don’t like every single animal that exists, but to make your hobby all about hating pets or any animals is major lame vibes.” It might have not been the nicest thing to say, but people who didn’t like animals were not someone she wanted to be around. Even if people like Jenny and Henri might be a bit hesitant about her particular set of pets, they still liked animals in general and they weren’t rude to her about it. Which she respected. Jenny was also just like, extra super cool and Estella felt giddy about it. Hopefully Mickey could meet Jenny sometime, because Mickey was also super cool and hopefully they’d get along. “Yeah, it shouldn’t be controversial, but it is.” She wasn’t going to get too deep into all of that though.

“New York’s also just pretty and doesn’t it have better public transit than LA? That seems like a win.” Then Jenny was asking about more supernatural things and Estella wondered if maybe she’d gotten herself in too deep. But she wasn’t about to back down now. “I do yeah. Know about supernatural stuff, I mean.” She had to pause and think about the next question for a moment. One of the obvious answers was herself, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to play that card yet. “Well, I have some fire salamanders too. Also a vegetable lamb pair. I think those would qualify as very strange by your standards?”

—

“Right? Like, I get being a hater, sometimes it’s fun — but animals? Especially cute little pets? Like, hating dolphins is warranted, those are creepy and weird creatures, but a dog? Come on.” She shook her head. “It just shows lack of character.” Jenny could not comprehend why someone would not like pets. Having an animal companion just was an objectively good thing, and there was plenty of choice of pet to go around. She as glad that Estella didn’t dive into her comment in detail, that they could just skirt around it and say ‘bad things are bad’ and let that be it. 

She nodded, “That it does.” Not that she’d taken the subway that often. Jenny and her family had a driver, and if he was busy, there was plenty of cab money. Sometimes there was no avoiding the subway, but she had always hated it. She barely thought of it, much more interested in what Estella was saying, how she was lifting the veil for her. She was deserving of this information after all, and so many people were gatekeeping and gaslighting it. She felt chest constrict and then grow two sizes, relief and excitement coursing through her. She was being given what she wanted, and though that was something she was used to it was still refreshing in this particular case. “Sorry, what? What are those — yes, those sound strange! I need you to elaborate.” She swallowed, added in a calmer tone: “Please. What is a vegetable lamb? And fire salamanders?”

—

She liked humans who were open to learning more about her world. Estella only hoped that she could make it so that Jenny agreed how fae were the very best there was. It might take a bit of poking and prodding, but she had full faith in herself that she’d be able to do it. She also would eventually need a human for her own plans, and even though she didn’t plan on any harm coming to the human, she knew it would have to be a human who wasn’t Henri or Mickey. She’d experiment on her father, but she doubted she could ever get him to agree to that or trick him into it. She wasn’t for sure going to use Jenny, but it was something to make note of. Except making note of how useful a human could be did make her feel a couple different levels of gross – but only for a little while. Humans liked her, at least usually, and she wasn’t going to hurt Jenny.

“Neat.” Her father hated the subway. She liked it well enough, but that wasn’t important right now. “A vegetable lamb is a lamb that you grow. Like a plant. They reproduce like plants but otherwise are lambs. Basically. They are super cute but some people like to eat them, which stresses me out so much. They have never done anything wrong, ever.” The fire salamanders now, right? “Fire salamanders are salamanders that can run really hot. It can burn people, or bother people. Usually I’m all good.” Mostly because I am the sun. “But they are also relatively harmless, they don’t want to cause pain and they aren’t, like, bad. They’re also pretty smart!” Estella grinned. “Do you wanna see pics?”

—

Estella told Jenny easily what the mysterious creatures she’d named were, not holding back a bit. She needed more people like this, people who just gave into her demands. It was so much easier this way, not having to haggle with people’s criticism and cynicism and just being informed about all that was around her. What gave all those people the right anyway, to keep her in the shadows? It wasn’t like she was going to spread the information around recklessly. It was just fair if she knew what the world held on a supernatural level, especially considering her ambitions.

“Yes! Yes, I’d like to see a picture,” she said enthusiastically, eyes moving around the Common for a moment. “I .. the lambs, they sound so cute.” And she did have to wonder about getting a vegetable lamb rack. Would that make it vegetarian safe? Jenny stopped herself from asking, not wanting to stress Estella out. “You know what, I’ve got an idea — I’ll get us some frozen yoghurt, we can go sit down and talk some more? I’ve got no other plans today … you in?”

—

Jenny was delightful. Estella was incredibly grateful that she’d wanted to meet in person, even if it had initially started out as Jenny not believing what Estella had said, but now she seemed to, and she wanted to know more. There were probably rules of some sort regarding what she was supposed to tell humans, but she was also not one to turn away a curious soul. Especially not if it might help her get a new friend. Or at least respect (which could maybe one day move up to worship??) – she knew so much and it seemed greedy to keep all of her knowledge to herself.

“I have loads of photos – so yes, of course.” Estella began to open her phone to all of her photos when Jenny’s suggestion got even better. “I’d like that very very much, yes. Can I get extra strawberries on top of my froyo? I’ve also got no plans, so my day is as free as I want it to be.”

—

It seemed Estella was enthusiastic about her pets, which was a good thing to know. Jenny wanted her to talk more about these supernatural creatures, and so she’d play into the other’s hands. Besides, she totally got that about the other. She could talk on end for at least an hour about her own dog, who was the cutest and smartest creature to roam this earth.

❂ estella was born in mapleview. her father left her mother before she was born and moved abroad, leaving her mom to raise her all alone. it was difficult for them both and estella was often shipped off to stay with other people and play with new kids whenever her mother had to go to work, but she was doing everything she could to make sure ends at least touched. 

❂ even from a young age, estella was a scrappy kid. her mother would be called into school because she’d been distracted or have started on one of the other children and as time went on... her mother lost her patience. the house dynamic shifted when her mother met a man - oh a lovely rich man as she called him - and suddenly estella was a ghost to them both. that girl needs to be taught a lesson... she’d hear her mother’s boyfriend shout and worst of all, her mother would agree. when she was twelve, she was sent to boarding school in virginia.  

❂ estella still acted out but now she was far away enough that her mother could ignore the letters and emails from the teachers concerned about este’s welfare. she was told she needed to channel her anger and eventually she found some respite in a hobby not many of her female friends shared... boxing. this meant that she often worked out alone, hammering her fists into a pad until they stung. and then she’d punch harder. 

❂ years went by and estella did feel herself improve. she bit back less and focused on her boxing. she made friends, she fell in love for the first time, and she totally fell out with her mother and her... male friend. all they did was pay for her to keep going to school. just enough money to keep her at arm’s length so her mother’s child didn’t ruin their little pipe dream life wherever in the country they were.

❂ by 23, estella could confidently say she’d found herself. she was a well-known boxer in amateur circuits and had discovered a small passion for singing. she’d had a band during college and it gave her another outlet. after leaving college she moved all over the place, singing in bars and competing in fights and then... eventually, she found her way home to mapleview.

❂ coming home didn’t hit her with waves of nostalgia. in lots of ways it was uncomfortable but her mother was no longer there. another family was in her childhood home and if this was where she was supposed to be... she had time to make up on. brief visits in the summer had been few and far between so everything felt fresh. 

❂ estella had now been in town for almost three years and still competes in fights on occasion and can be found training often. she can also be found enjoying karaoke or performing at any open mic just for the kick of it but her main focus is on her job as a firefighter... sometimes that gives her purpose.

possible connections:

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

hair color: light brown

eye color: brown

height: 5′10

tattoos/piercings: estella’s arms and legs are pretty heavily tattooed. one arm looks a little more patchy than the other but she can name most of the reasons for them.

birthmarks/scars: este has a notable scar through her eyebrow from a previous split. she also has one of her jaw and several on her arms and hands. 

other notable features: n/a

FAMILY

mother: roisin flynn (estranged) 

father: miguel de león (estranged) 

siblings: none (that she knows of)

children: n/a

pets: n/a

PSYCHE

mbti: ENFP

character archetype: the warrior

ennegram: eight

moral alignment: chaotic neutral  

THIS OR THAT

coffee or tea: neither

morning or evening: evening

sweet or savory: savoury

cake or pie: pie

cats or dogs: dogs

baths or showers: showers

MISCELLANEOUS

character aesthetics: bloody knuckles and busted lips, late-night karaoke sessions, tight plaits, tense smiles, heavy uniforms, cats in trees, seeing red, overwhelming pride

highest level of schooling: college educated

what they do do relax: box, sing, run, workout, bother other people, drink

favorite season: autumn