[OPEN] Who put me in your way to find?

[hadnoright]

Who: Daisy Tonner (hadnoright) & you!
What: Catch-All for Daisy
When: August
Where: The forest, the hot springs, downtown, etc.
Warnings: Violence, animal death/hunting, intrusive thoughts, nudity, others added as needed



1. What right had you not to let me die? [the forest]

Those who travel out into the forest during the day may find themselves running into a short, relatively petite human-looking woman bodily slamming into a deer or boar that's almost as big as she is. The creature hits the ground with surprising force and when the woman rises, it's whilst wiping the blood from her mouth and rolling her shoulders.

Most of the time, she already knows someone's there before they say a word. So, the animal-like energy to her posture melts away like it was never there at all and she turns toward her audience and says something like, "Don't mind me. Working."

Unless, that is, you've managed to actually sneak up on her. It's not an easy thing to do, but when she's in the heat of a Hunt tunnel vision can take its hold and it's in those moments where a sudden noise might make the Hunter's gaze snap towards it like a beast startled. And it's in those moments where Daisy is most distinctly inhuman, the odd yellow eyes and the teeth and the animal way she holds herself.

And it's in those moments that it takes all of Daisy's restraint not to give into the sound of blood pounding in her ears, telling her to attack. With a growl, she shakes her head and takes a step back. "Jesus fucking christ. Don't sneak around!"

2. Ooh but did I even know what I was asking for? [hot springs]

She doesn't get aches and pains like most people in her profession would after a while, but that doesn't mean the hot springs aren't relaxing in their own right. So, occasionally Daisy makes the trip up to the springs, strips down and slips into the water with zero modesty nor shame about the nudity.

There are scars all over her body, many in places that should've killed her if she hadn't already been long on the way to inhumanity by the time she took the damage that caused them. The biggest, a starburst-like scar marring the back of her shoulder, is only visible if you're looking when she sits up.

3. If I had my way, I'd have missed you more [downtown]

There is a large blonde wolf lying in the yard of Daisy and Erin's house. The wolf may appear at first glance to be asleep, but in reality if you look closer she's a little too visibly tuned into her surroundings for that. Still, she is relaxing. Sunbathing, even.

Occasionally, a Mawhile appears from another part of the garden to try and bite her tail. She seems completely unfazed by this.

Wildcard

Hit me up to plot something or just throw something at me.

Comments

[hadnoright]

At first, Daisy visibly doesn't get the point being made. Connects a dot too fast, takes quiet a little too literally, before it bleeds into her more thoroughly and she begins to understand.

"...maybe."

[abhorrently]

"I nearly killed one of the priests the other day. So."

The problem with peace is that there's less chaos to hide violence behind.

"You might need to...collapse, a little bit. Let off some of the pressure."

[hadnoright]

"Wait. You nearly killed a priest?"

Fever can drag Daisy back to her own problems in a moment, but that's not slipping by without a reaction.

[abhorrently]

"Nearly, but he's fine. It..."

Her hand moves upward, fiddling with the pendant on her necklace.

"I wanted his head off his shoulders so fiercely I ended up asking him to tie my hands and put me somewhere. And he did, and wasn't weird about it. Waited until it was over and acted like it wasn't even a problem. Even fixed my wrists from where I fucked them up."

A tiny pause.

"I know, I know. I should have called. It just...happened fast."

[hadnoright]

Daisy's mouth snaps back shut before she can say what she was, predictably, going to say, and she huffs a breath. "Yeah, okay. I get that. Next time it gets bad enough, maybe shout. Literally."

Still not foolproof, nothing ever will be when the switch can flip so suddenly, but it cuts out any middle man. Daisy does her best to tune out the background noise, but she'd hear her name being shouted.

"...don't understand how anyone can be that. Calm. When we happen." Which is a very diplomatic way to say 'when someone like us loses our shit'.

[abhorrently]

"Angel's weird. But the sort of weird that plays nice with mine. I owe him for it, even if he won't accept a decent apology about everything...happening."

She shrugs her shoulders, and then glances away.

"...you'd really come if I shouted?"

[hadnoright]

There's a pause, and then a tone to her voice that sounds as if she's almost surprised by her own conclusion now that she's thought about it—surprised, but no less certain. "I mean. Yeah. I would."

There's always something strange about realising in real time how much you actually care about people, now. In realising that there's yet another person she thinks of as one of her people. Maybe one day she'll get used to it.

[abhorrently]

There's a quiet in Fever's response, a subtle shifting of that perpetual awareness that ripples outwards - even after everything, she was almost braced for no. For it to come with some kind of caveat of one type or another.

"Good. Because I'd do the same."

No need to add on any caveats about her lack of enhanced senses, because the sentiment is the same with or without them. There's not a question to her that if Daisy needs her, or even just wants to see her, Fever'll figure out a way. Perhaps all this time, from the moment Daisy extended that understanding, that's been true.

[hadnoright]

Daisy lets out a breath that straddles relief and a laugh. "Still getting used to this. Aren't we."

There's an irony to how starting to care more, and to be cared for, is as much a part of the unease itching under her skin as the too-quiet of the last couple months. Everything was simpler, when she could be wholly selfish. When she didn't care so much. When she didn't have to look ahead, worry about the consequences.

[abhorrently]

"Used to what? Living?"

She knows what Daisy's talking about. She does, but she wants to play dumb, blame the hole in her head, the ache behind her shoulder. If she looks too closely at things, she'll start needing to kill, just to alleviate that pressure that builds up. Endless storm clouds in her ribcage, and no way of letting them free.

[hadnoright]

"Sure. That. And caring. Being cared about."

This is the thing, about Daisy. For all her avoidance and discomfort with talking about tricky, personal things, she's surprisingly self-aware at times and very good at being blunt.

[abhorrently]

"You're somewhat stuck with it, Daisy. You tangled yourself up too closely with me and other people, and now suffer the consequences. It's part of being someone with connections, or so I've gathered."

There's a question in her mind, but she buries it. Fortunately, Daisy isn't another psychic, can't drag it from her by force. It gets to hide under earth, shrouded, until maybe it feels like the right day to dig it back up.

[hadnoright]

Dryly as anything, like it's really just that simple, "People stopped letting themselves get pushed away. Wasn't for lack of trying."

[abhorrently]

"Trying, but their hands were already holding yours, so to speak."

If she smoked, this would be the time for a cigarette. As it is, she makes herself chuckle, short and humorless.

"If I make a joke about being domesticated, how quickly would you try to kick my ass?"

[hadnoright]

Daisy flashes a sharp smile that only plays at being truly dangerous. "Depends how fast you could run."

[abhorrently]

"If you give me a head start, you'd enjoy the pursuit more before making me take all my words back."

She's fast, but not as fast as a Hunt avatar - this she knows and accepts.

(Is this the time? Probably not. Does she care? Also not.)

[hadnoright]

Daisy makes a low 'mmm' sound. "Tempting. Hunts really have been. Lacking."

And then she doesn't have to think about the complicated emotional stuff for a bit longer. Bonus.

[abhorrently]

"I might not be able to give you the fear, fair warning, but it still could be fun."

Because she knows and trusts Daisy, that if her teeth are in Fever's neck with killing intent, it's for a damn good reason. A distraction, that's all this would be, in the end.

[hadnoright]

Daisy idly shrugs a shoulder. "Sometimes the Hunt's good on its own. Used to get a surprisingly strong kick just going for girls in bars."

Not a meal, but... something a little more fun, a little more satisfying. And definitely distracting.

[abhorrently]

"Used to?"

The look on Fever's face says enough, as if she isn't thinking about how vivid the image still is of the day they actually decided to start talking.

"I've never gotten to pretend a friend's a true stranger before. Here I thought I'd just start running and see where we ended up."

[hadnoright]

There's a brow quirk before Fever goes on, and a bark of a laugh when she does. "I mean. Keeps things fresh."

[abhorrently]

"I can work with that."

She mulls the idea over in her head and comes to some conclusion.

"Okay. Give me a few minutes. And when you find me, we don't know each other."

That's all the warning Daisy gets before Fever turns on her heel and darts away into the woods. She's swift, and it feels freeing to just go, knowing that her priority is to simply evade Daisy for as long as she can manage. Pretend she's someone else, someone being truly hunted down.

[hadnoright]

Daisy plays fair. A few minutes go by before she actively seeks out Fever's scent on the air, even if she never quite stopped being aware of it. Then she cracks her neck, takes a breath, and runs after Fever's trail.

[abhorrently]

She knows Daisy's tracking her, which is why she doesn't let up. Zigzags, doubles back on her own trail, takes a quick diversion on trees with low enough branches. Pretend. Let your mind slip back into something like being pursued, the agitation of it, giving yourself over to the experience. Something that plays with the edges, like a knife pressing just enough into her skin.

She could cast a haste spell, she knows, but it would leave traces. The light in her eyes, the scent of her magic being utilized, and it's all for nothing if she loses concentration. To not use it requires more focus than to use it at all.

When she pauses to take a breath, she's still on the edge, listening for sounds that could be Daisy.

[hadnoright]

Intelligent prey is so much more satisfying than the relative simplicity of the same animal instincts time and again. Daisy never truly loses her trail, but she has to think, she has to stay quick, and it's already a better Hunt than she's had in weeks.

She's quiet, as she chases. Unnaturally so. It's that odd dream logic of the Fears that plays around the edges of even their most physical extensions of will. The Hunter is nigh upon silent, until it's most threatening for her not to be silent, then there are little things—footsteps and breathing where there wasn't before, hints of movement in the near distance.