#if you give a cat a bonedoggle

[chasseurdeloup-retired]

If You Give a Cat A Bone(doggle) || Morgan and Kaden

TIMING: Before Constance was yeeted forever LOCATION: The woods PARTIES: @mor-beck-more-problems and @chasseurdeloup SUMMARY: Morgan and Kaden take Anya the cat for a walk and make friends. Sort of. 

Walking cats always looked kind of funny compared to dogs. Probably because most didn’t put up with it long enough to bother. There was something charming about it, though. And there was something nice and grounding about walking with Morgan and Anya around the East End. Especially on a Sunday. Kaden was sure Abel would be jealous that he didn’t get to come but he had a feeling Anya wouldn’t love his dog as much as his dog would love the cat. “I’m still impressed you got her leash trained,” Kaden told his friend as they walked. There were so many topics he just didn’t want to touch. Not right now at least, not in public. Distractions were better anyway. Like she was deciding to test his compliment, Anya started pulling on the leash, darting after something in the distance, probably a rodent of some sort, maybe a lagomorph. “She might be worse at walking but she’s definitely better at hunting than Abel.”

Morgan laughed dry in her chest. “Oh, this is all Anya’s spirit doing the work,” she said. “You should see her when she actually--” Likes me, is what she was going to say. Because it was almost eight months since she’d been impaled by the side of the road and Anya still, at best, only tolerated her presence. At this point, she was more Deirdre’s companion than Morgan’s, perching on the banshee’s lap, trailing behind her when she went to any of the rooms in the house, and glaring at anyone who she thought infringed upon her time with her. Granted, Anya no longer attacked or hissed at Morgan whenever she walked into the room. Sometimes she would sit in such a way that her paws touched Morgan’s leg while the rest of her lounged against Deirdre, and Morgan would press back just a little so she could feel her leathery toe beans just a little better and feel so fucking grateful. It was hard not to be bitter at such a small allowance of affection when Morgan used to be the one she clung to and protected.

It wasn’t much of a surprise when the cat bolted out of her grip.

Morgan swore and took chase. “She’s good when she’s not permanently pissed off I died,” she grumbled. “Anya! Anya!” Stupid cat. If Morgan was still a witch, she could borrow her eyes and see where the hell she was running off to, but no. That would be too easy. “Help me look?” She called.

Kaden would, she knew, but it never hurt to ask.

They followed Anya’s trail away from the park and near the woods that surrounded Strawford. She wasn’t exactly being subtle, just a little shit. A hiss rattled through the air. “Someone’s pissy,” she said, unimpressed. Maybe her prize squirrel had climbed too high up a tree, maybe she’d got herself stuck on something, and-- “Oh, shit.” Or maybe she had decided to pick a fight with a bone critter Morgan had never seen before.

Kaden saw the leash slipping from her grip and lunged to grab it before the cat could bolt off, but it was too late. Goddamnit. “Putain de merde,” he grumbled to himself. Of course he was chasing a cat. On his day off, too. He took off after the cat before saying another word, he didn’t even look to check if Morgan was running with him or not. “What do you think I’m doing?” he shouted back at her. “And what do you mean pissed off that you died? She’s--” That was stupid. He knew damn well animals had personality and opinions. That wasn’t his question. His real question was why were they walking the disagreeable cat? Catching cats was a pain in the ass. Catching disagreeable cats was something close to hell. Thankfully, she was easy enough to follow, probably because the leash was slowing her down. Not enough for him to grab it, unfortunately.

His arm shot out in front of Morgan to hold her back. He didn’t even hear the hiss, didn’t see the cat’s hairs stand on edge. What he did see was the fucking bonedoggle across from them, growling at the cat. Shit. Fucking shit. Anya had a squirrel and was swatting at the bonedoggle to stay away. He pulled out a knife and slowly crept towards the monster. He just had to get between the cat and the creature. “Get Anya,” he said to the zombie sharply. He threw himself at the monster, hoping he could distract it from the bones. Easier said than done.

“Well if you had a magic connection with someone and they broke it one day and turned up smelling wrong, you’d probably be pissed too,” Morgan huffed. “She was my familiar, Kaden.” As much as she hated losing the one best friend she’d assumed she could count on in her death, Morgan got it. There wasn’t an abundance of hard theory on familiar connections, but her tie to Anya had been at least somewhat emotional as well as metaphysical. Which meant whatever it really felt like when she died, Anya suffered something like it too. And if losing a magic connection was anything like losing magic itself… yeah, might as well blame the lady dumb enough to fuck it up and come back different. Not like they could talk it out.

She didn’t understand Kaden’s plan to divide and conquer. On the one hand, the critter looked pretty angry, on the other hand, it was kind of...a dog? A maybe-demon dog? Couldn’t they tackle it together, maybe take some bones back as souvenirs?

She should have listened. Kaden lunged to wrestle the creature and Anya saw a chance to assert her dominance. She lunged, faster than Morgan could catch her, and scrabbled her claws around the creature’s side, trying to tear into it. Morgan ran to pull her off but the creature, still wrestling with Kaden, thrashed. The black cat yowled. “Anya!” The cat flew off, claws flexed, and crashed into Morgan, who bundled her up in her arms. “Why are you such a stupid, stubborn cat?” She whispered. Anya flailed, still ready to fight for her pride. Whatever this critter was, they needed to get rid of it. Morgan jumped to her feet and put her body between Anya and the demon-bone-dog. “How do we make that thing go away?” She asked.

Kaden didn’t know shit about magic and familiars, not really. He knew what they were, sure, but not on the deep level that the former witch did. He’d never really understand. But the plan was clear enough. Didn’t matter right now. He might not understand shit about magic, but he understood bonedoggles. And how fucked they were right about now. Before Kaden had much chance to try and find a clean spot to shove his knife through the creature, the cat had lunged at it. “No!” he shouted. Fucking hell. He didn’t need the cat getting stuck to the goodman monster. Instead of attacking, he reached out for the flailing cat and caught a lot of claws. The bonedoggle wasn’t interested in engaging with the humans, it lunged out, teeth bared and snarling at the carcass in question. There was nothing going to get in the way of the monster and its bones, not even a hunter. It barreled into him and knocked him to his knees. Kaden cursed, but lashed out with the knife as the monster darted past him. All he managed was to scrape the blade across the bone armor covering the creature.

Kaden saw the monster unhinge its jaw, ready to bring its teeth down and around Anya's sides. His eyes went wide, he didn’t wait for Morgan to step in, he just threw himself into the monster’s side, pushing it aside. And he felt his shirt get stuck to the fucking side of the monster. Shit, shit, shit. He pulled his arm back, his shirt tearing away at the sleeve. The bonedoggle turned and faced him, growling, spit spewing and ready to tear into the hunter, possibly take his bones for its collection. Fuck, fuck, fuck, he had to get away and he couldn’t count on his knife right now. His palm dug into the dirt beneath him. Dirt. He took a handful and threw it at the monster’s face, temporarily blinding it. Kaden scrambled to his feet and back to Morgan. “Killing it might help!” Anya seemed to agree, the cat was doing everything in its power to claw the bonedoggle’s eyes out. “Its spit is like fucking glue so don’t let--” The fucking cat was getting near the goddamn monster again. Putain.

“Like GLUE?” Morgan shrieked. There was no time to process; the bone monster was already thrashing its head, trying to throw Anya off. “Shit, shit, shit…” She dove for the creature, clinging to it with all she had. Her legs were too short to reach all the way around something that big, but she dug in with her thighs and clamped her arms around its snout, forcing its jaw shut. Anya’s eyes met hers, steady and inquisitive. What are you doing? Morgan couldn’t tell if she was judging her or not, but she clenched her muscles around the creature’s jaw harder. “Anya, off!” She barked.

Anya glared. She tore her paw across the creature’s face, cracking one of the bones at last and leapt off, making a dive for her decayed squirrel corpse and running into the bushes with it.

“So, about killing it?” Morgan cried. She couldn’t see Kaden from here. The creature was bucking and thrashing harder than ever and she didn’t want to know what would happen if it slobbered on her hand. “There’s not a chance we can just play fetch with this guy and make a run for it is there?” The creature grunted and smacked onto the ground, trying to throw her off next. Morgan grunted as her bones bent into her organs. “Maybe you should just do your thing! Before my bones liquify!”

“Once a bonedoggle is after a bone, it doesn’t like to just fucking drop it,” Kaden said, about to throw himself at the monster. Didn’t get a fucking chance, Morgan was already there. Okay, he just had to find an opening, a weak spot. Take it down. “And I think the same fucking thing can be said for your cat.” It was possible she was a more tenacious hunter than his dog. The one he got to help him hunt. Putain de merde. “Hold on a little longer!” he shouted. It was handy that Morgan was damn near indestructible. Almost. Still not quite. He didn’t want to risk her life for too long; even zombie bodies hit a breaking point. He didn’t want the bonedoggle to find it. He wasn’t sure he could handle that. Still, it looked like she had a pretty damn good handle on the monster. Hell, it was impressive and of itself.

Right, Kaden didn’t have time to appreciate her hunting methods. He flipped his knife over in his hands and threw himself towards the creature as it rolled on the ground. His knees dug into the monster’s back legs, pinning it in place. She just needed to hold onto its muzzle one second longer. His knife plunged down into the creature’s exposed belly, tearing through and ripping open its guts. Death would come soon. But not fast enough. The bonedoggle’s face broke free from the zombie’s grip and saliva went flying. Kaden’s arm shot up to shield his face, ducking away and shutting his eyes tight. Putain de fucking merde.

Morgan crashed to the ground flat on her face. She could hear the critter snarling and slobbering as it died. She curled up on herself as much as she could, ignoring the terrible angle of the arms she’d landed on. Then it was quiet, and Morgan couldn’t move her fingers as she struggled to sit up. Most of the critter’s saliva landed on her sweater, but enough had fallen on her fingers to clump them together. She picked herself up, wincing as her bones righted themselves, and pulled off her sweater before anything else could turn sticky. “Are you okay?” She called to Kaden. “I could use that knife of yours, if you’re in one piece.” She held out her stuck, scrunched up hand. “You don’t have to watch them grow back, I’d just really like to be able to use them again.” She looked around the underbrush and saw Anya’s bright eyes peeking out, her squirrel clutched in her mouth by its neck. She padded out and sat in front of Morgan sniffing her with care before brushing her head against her knee. “This is all your fault, you know,” she said, but there was no malice in her voice. She hadn’t seen the sly smile of her cat’s mouth in profile in so long, she almost didn’t mind all the trouble it had cost. “Thank you,” she said to Kaden again. “You saved me and my favorite brat.”

“I’m alright,” Kaden said before even properly assessing the situation. He checked and found out the folds of his shirt was glued to his jacket. He sighed. “My clothing, not so much.” He should stop getting attached to any article of clothing. He should know better. But he’d liked this shirt. Oh well. Kaden had just watched her bones twist and her body catort into positions no standard body should. Even then, he tilted his head and furrowed his brow at her ask for his knife. “Are you going to cut in between your skin? That’s not--” Then it hit him that she’d be just fine. She’d regenerate. “Right,” he said and handed over the knife. He didn’t really want to watch but he supposed it didn’t really matter and watched anyway. She’d said something before about her body being a fact and she had a point. He should probably just treat it that way. As hard as it was to just accept the wings at first, it would have been a hell of a lot easier if he’d accepted Bea’s advice to treat them as a fact. The problem was, of course, that those facts clashed with so many lessons taught to him as fact growing up; lessons he still hadn’t properly reconciled. He wasn’t sure he’d ever manage to.

Seeing her reunited with her cat brought a smile to Kaden’s face. It made it easy to forget the regrown fingers and the bonedoggle carcass piled a few feet away. “Don’t mention it,” he said, reaching out to see if Anya would let him pet her. No offense either way, cats could be particular. “Just doing my job.” It was the reason he really did like working in animal control, moments like this, when people and animals could be safe and sound even if it didn’t last.

Morgan gave Kaden a double take to make sure he really wasn’t going to look away. She wrinkled her face up in a universal signal of ‘are you sure?’ before bringing the blade down as quickly as she could. She winced and looked away as her old fingers tumbled into the grass. She was getting used to the regrowth by now, but watching pieces of her fall away, useless, no longer a part of anything or anyone. She whimpered with pain and watched as new bones sprouted and coated with sninew and blood. Morgan flexed them, testing her grip and her nerves. They always felt the same, no farther or closer to living sensations than before.

Anya sniffed the new fingers and scraped her mouth across them, tail upright and perky. If anything from the past few minutes had bothered her, it didn’t anymore. Curious, she moved onto Kaden, giving him a once over and a long, steady look before she decided he was good enough for one pet across her fur.

“Just doing your job, huh, cowboy? Do you say that to all the damsels in distress you rescue?” Morgan laughed and guided Anya back into her lap, fixing her harness and leash. “If you come back round to the ranch, I’m sure I can rustle you up some pie to show my gratitude.” She put on her best Texas drawl for him and got to her feet, Anya now safely in tow with her prize. To Morgan’s surprise, she rubbed against her leg and looked up with an expression that was almost friendly.

Kaden didn’t want to gawk at the oddities of her body as it was and he flinched a little as he watched, but he had decided not to look away. And so he didn’t. It was the only way to deal with it. Not unlike pain. The more you were exposed to it, the easier it was to handle. Training taught him that much. Probably not how his mother would prefer he applied his training. Too fucking late. She was more than dead and buried now. She didn’t even exist. Right. He wasn’t sure if it was better or worse to keep his eyes on her newly grown fingers or the dead ones that the cat was planning to chew on.

“How, uh, how does pain work? For you?” Kaden asked, before quickly second guessing himself. “I mean. If you don’t mind me asking. I just. I-- I mean, I saw you now and you--- I just was curious.” He rubbed the back of his neck and felt like a fucking asshole. Like he was being insensitive or something. “You don’t have to answer that. Sorry. That was stupid. You--” He couldn’t even finish his thought and just took the knife back and wiped it clean on the grass and then the hem of his shirt before putting it away. At least he got to pet the cat. It wasn’t long or much (he expected nothing more, to be honest), but it still was enough to bring his heart rate back slower, steadier.

“Very funny,” Kaden answered, rolling his eyes. Wouldn’t lie, he appreciated the brief moment of levity. The weight was still there, but it was a little lighter. “Normally I only do one or the other. Rescue the cat or fight the monster. This was a great two for one deal. I think that earned me two pies.” Not that he needed any more baked goods in his apartment. It was more than enough work to give them all away half the time.

“It’s different,” Morgan said. “I mean, that hurt, and I’ve always been an awful cry-baby. My mother always said so. But it’s not, uh, proportionate, to the way humans would reckon it. And I don’t get to feel anything too gentle, so sometimes, in the right context, a little hurt can feel nice. I guess if I had to rank it, that’s something like a four or a five? But for you, losing an extremity would be a lot closer to ten, right?” She shrugged and wiped the corners of her eyes. “It’s okay, Kaden. I’d rather you ask than wonder or lean on whatever’s in your hunting manuals, if that’s even a thing.”

Morgan’s expression grew warmer. “Well I declare, officer! I think you might be right. But only ‘cause you’re such a good friend. I’ve got mama’s pecan pie on the stove right now, and I’ll let the second one be hero’s choice.” She laughed and beckoned him over. She hadn’t expected much out of the day, but for an outing that involved full-ass monster wrestling, this was pretty okay.

“Right. Good, uh, I mean thanks. For, you know.” Kaden said, nodding along as he listened. It was a far cry from “zombies are dead, they can’t feel anything.” Part of him anticipated that much by now though a piece of him still felt the chill of the shadow of his training. It wasn’t all entirely wrong, just sometimes taken too extreme. Sometimes not. Finding where the line was wouldn’t be an easy one, not from what he could tell. If he even wanted to redraw the line. It was possible he was still surrounded by exceptions. Only time would tell. “Pain’s sort of on a weird scale for me. Not, uh… I mean not like yours. I don’t think. But you know. Hunter. Training. That.” He wiped the dirt and grime he could away from his jacket and jeans. “I don’t know if I’d know a ten when it happened. Or ever call it that.” Most of him had stopped trying to sort the good and bad of his training and just accept it for what it was.Sometimes he wondered all the same.

“Is this where I say ‘no need, little lady’? Or something to that effect?” His attempts at mimicking her current accent didn’t quite sound right. Even he knew that. He laughed at himself a little. Only a little. “Anyway, I think it’s probably a good idea to get home before any more bonedoggles show up. And so Anya can’t make another break for it.”

[deathisanartmetzli]

TIMING: A few nights ago

PARTIES: ​ @deathisanartmetzli​ @reformed-teentective​

SUMMARY: Metzli and Poe go on a run together.

WARNINGS: None!

With each passing day, it was growing easier to feel like a person. Thanks to Dr. Sheppard’s treatment, Metzli had taken to exercise and hobbies a little too far before, but they found a balance. One that was tipped over by their curiosity. They had found a random bone in the middle of a trail they were running on, and just like clockwork, their luck had turned as they were giving the item a sniff. A bonedoggle, a beast they weren’t familiar with spotted the vampire and greeted them with a growl. “Oh fuck.” They muttered, taking a small step back as the beast replied with a guttural bark. Saliva dripped, viscous and unsettling. In a blink, the canine disappeared into the dark—which should’ve been impossible. Vampires could see in the dark with ease, but it was as if the dog had fell into some sort of portal. And indeed it was. For the dog leapt from out of the darkness, sending the two rolling, fighting for dominance.

Metzli won momentarily with a kick, sending the bonedoggle backwards, still holding the bone in their hand. With the moment of reprieve, they scrambled to their feet and booked it down the trail, away from the beast. Plenty of distance, they thought, was put between the two, and when they checked, the front of them was rammed into something. Whatever it was, it exclaimed, but Metzli couldn’t care less. The bonedoggle could be heard only paces away, forcing them to immediately tumble back to their feet and continue to run. “Good luck!” They shouted, picking up their speed and passing on the burden to a stranger. Better him than themselves, they thought.

Another sleepless night meant another late night walk. Poe had formed a habit of this. The past few years held a lot of memories of late nights stalking around town, sitting in his car or falling over fences. He wouldn’t exactly call those good memories, but for better or worse the habit had stuck with him. Now he found it hard to get to sleep once the sun fell, usually electing to sleep during the early hours of the morning instead. At least until his dad woke him up to help with the food truck or his step sister’s stupid cat woke him up by sleeping on his face. This wouldn’t be entirely bad if it wasn’t for the fact that he usually coupled this insomnia with strolls around the streets of White Crest in an attempt to tire him out. When he felt that urge to start digging into things sometimes just walking around the town would quench that thirst, if only temporarily.

Tonight had been one of those nights, but apparently it was about to be anything but normal. The sounds of a struggle from a block away drew Poe around the corner and under a street lamp. Just a few down, on the edge of the light he saw a struggling figure rolling around with some kind of animal. His glasses didn’t work miracles, and it was hard to tell exactly what it was from the distance he had between them, but he wasn’t inching to move closer either. Part of his brain told him to turn right back around and sneak away. Call animal control or something from a safe distance. Another part told him to find a middle ground, that an added voice may scare the animal off. He took a single step forward, trying to figure out his game plan when the person found their footing and launched the creature off of them, pretty far too. “Shit” was the only word he could find to describe the scene.

Luckily for that person, they had found their way to their feet and were now running, right in Poe’s direction actually. “Woah. Are you ok-” he started asking as they got close enough, but the person flashed by them in an instant, completely leaving him under that street lamp as that… thing barreled towards them. “Oh you asshole!” Poe yelled as he also turned to run, only to have the dog bite out at his ankles, stopping Poe in his tracks and knocking him face first into the pavement.

Hearing Poe reprimand them was pretty amusing, even affording them a laugh. But, something urged Metzli to slow their sprint. They were trying to be good, weren’t they? Self-preservation, putting themselves first was what mattered most and came the easiest to the vampire. Regardless of the absence of their soul, they were different now. They had to be. “Dammit…” they grumbled, knowing they had to be selfless. Probably get injured and ruin yet another good set of clothing in the process. They just hoped it would be fun. “¡Ay! ¡Malo perro!” Metzli exclaimed, spinning their hips around and darting back in the direction of the soon-to-be victim. Quickly, they unholstered their knife, gripping it with unrelenting purpose as they gained on the scuffle.

Bodies collided with a yelp from the bonedoggle, a knife digging in between ribs and yanking a shard of bone with it. Metzli growled and swiped in front of them as they separated and rolled away, defensively standing in front of Poe. “Get back!” The beast growled, frothy drool cascading down its jowls, motivated by its clear ire. It didn’t look right, none of it did, and Metzli already knew they were in for a hell of a fight. One they didn’t ask for and didn’t want to partake in. They thought maybe Poe could repay them with a taste for their troubles. He smelled human and they were saving his life. It stood to reason that there could be a payment. Heroes got paid, didn’t they? The smart ones did at least. “I would start running if I were you.” They swiped again, lunging over and over to dissuade any want to pounce on the prize it sought after. “¡Córrale!” They commanded with a snap, as if he’d understand their Spanish. “Get to it! This thing ain’t one for pets and belly rubs. You can thank me later!”

Poe’s face collided against the pavement, sending his glasses off his face and sliding across the blacktop. Face down, Poe couldn’t see the creature looming over him, but he could definitely feel it. Its paw pressed against the back of Poe’s thigh, claws pressing through his jeans and digging into his leg, and he felt the back pack that he was wearing pull from him as the creature bit into it and tried tearing it away. Poe took the opportunity to slide his arms free, crawling from the back to try to put some distance between him and the monster, but was surprised to see the mysterious person from before rejoining, blocking the path between Poe and the monster.

Without his glasses everything was blurry, but Poe could make out the figure vaguely. All fours, dog like, but seemingly bigger and more grotesque. Poe hadn’t quite made it back on his feet yet, instead twisting his body to get a better while he lifted himself off the ground with his palms. He tried looking around for his glasses, but he found it hard to focus on anything but the person standing directly in front of him, towering over Poe as he continued to kneel on the street. Eventually, Poe gave up and climbed onto his feet, just in time for this person to start yelling at them about running and warning them that whatever this was, it wasn’t friendly. “I don’t even know what the fuck that is!” Poe yelled back, but he couldn’t argue with the person’s advice. “I think we should both run!” Poe tried, tapping at the person’s shoulder before turning away from the monster and hoping to make a break for it.

All the vampire could do was blink and grunt as they moved, a little bewildered at how Poe struggled. He was looking for something, and that something nearly got crushed beneath a sneaker. “You’re an idiot.” Metzli blurted out, continuing to swipe at the dog as they registered the glasses and grabbed them. “Here!” Poe wanted them to go with him, and in retrospect, it was actually quite admirable to stay in a situation that was too big for one’s pantalones. He was a human in front of a dangerous beast, ignoring another monster’s commands. So, naturally, Metzli thought that made him a stupid human. A very stupid human.

“I don’t know what this is either, but I can handle it!” A swipe. “Just…!” Another swipe. “...Run!” But then they tumbled backwards and growled alongside the bonedoggle as it tackled and bit at Metzli. For a few moments, they struggled, plunging their knife into the gaps between ribs. Well, that was useless, wasn’t it? There was no purchase to be found in flesh, nothing for their knife to properly plunge into. The pair angrily growled and snapped, two animals fighting for dominance una feral scuffle. Animalistic traits demanded fear, but none could be found in either party. It was a fruitless tactic on both ends.

Kicking as hard as they could, Metzli sent the bonedoggle flying in the air, darting their gaze to Poe with blood-red eyes. “Okay, we’re running.” Without any approval, they hoisted the young man over their shoulder and sprinted through a blur of trees and lamp posts. They could hear the saliva that dripped from the dog’s jowls as it rumbled several barks and growls, running right at the vampire’s heels. “Okay! So!” They yelped, adding more speed to their run. “Uh, I’m Metzli, and that’s a really mad bone-dog-thing! I’m gonna keep running and then you’re gonna owe—” A branch crunched, but not just any small branch, it was a big one, and several shards of bark broke free from it as Metzli tripped, sending both of them harshly to the ground.

Poe would have taken the insight personally if there weren’t more pertinent matters at hand. Luckily, one more problem was solved by this mysterious stranger when Poe’s glasses were shoved into his hands and Poe quickly adjusted them back onto his face, thought he wasn’t sure he should have. Once his eyesight was corrected, he could actually see the dog- or whatever the fuck it was- clearly. And if he hadn’t already been like ninety-eight percent sure that the supernatural existed, he sure as hell had to be convinced now. Either that or someone spiked his dinner with something strong as hell.

Unsure if it was adrenaline or if Poe was actually going into shock, he actually took this news of a bony, supernatural dog pretty well. “I thought you had this handled!” Poe yelled once the dog tackled the knife wielding stranger back to the ground again. He was pretty sure that he should step in to help, but apparently this person really did have this handled, because they kicked the dog off of them after a few seconds and jogged over to Poe, scooping him up and taking off towards the treeline.

“I fu-cking-de-test-this!” the inflection shifting with each step as Poe was carried through the woods. Metzli was the name of the savior. Or at least the attempted savior, considering Poe wasn’t convinced either of them were getting out of this unscathed. As Metzli ran through the woods, Poe faced the opposite direction and spotted as the dog closed in behind them. As Metzli yelled, Poe was ready to cut them off to warn them about the dog until it leapt forward, farther than any normal dog could, and tackled them. Poe hit the ground on his side, rolling a few feet before being stopped by a tree trunk. “God damn it” Poe muttered under his breath, regaining his breath and climbing up onto his feet just in time for the dog to do the same. He grabbed the closest thing he could find to a weapon, a big branch and swung at the dog, knocking it sideways slightly without actually doing any damage. “Shit. We’re totally going to get eaten by bones aren’t we?” Poe questioned, standing by Metzli and waving the stick wildly in an attempt to ward the dog off. “You don’t suppose it likes fetch do you?”

There wasn’t time to answer snarkily to Poe’s statement as Metzli ran as hard as they could. Truth was, they didn’t care that he didn’t like being bounced around like a bag of potatoes on the vampire’s back. They were doing him a favor, and the idea that he wasn’t filled with gratitude was a little irritating. Could they do anything correctly? Was their pursuit to mimic having a soul pointless? As much as they tried, they couldn’t feel anything but irritation for the young stranger. That and desperation were the only things that filled them as they tried to be a hero, to be something other than what they were forced to believe their whole life.

Maybe Emilio was right. Maybe—No. He couldn’t be right. They had to make it work somehow even if was for them. Metzli was doing something good despite having something to prove. So they snapped out of it, not letting Emilio’s violent words win as the canine caught up effortlessly. It pounced, catching the pair as its target and sending a breathy grunt out of them. Teeth sank in immediately upon purchase and they yelled out in pain. Black ooze seeped out of their wound, thick and opaque. “¡Chinga tu puta madre!” Their free hand searched for their blade while the other gripped bone to keep jowls away from them. With nothing to be found, Metzli took to ripping out bones and tossing them away in hopes of a distraction. They groaned, not seeing a change in target. Trying Poe’s suggestion for fetch didn’t do any good. “¡¿Qué quieres?!” Shifting their weight, they managed to find their way atop the bonedoggle as it snarled and snapped towards its own back. They slammed the creature against the ground several times, growing annoyed. Their hold was strong enough to keep it in place for the time being, but they knew it was only a temporary fix. Eventually their strength would wane, so they had to figure out how to stop the beast.

“I don’t know what this fucking thing wants! It just started chasing me after I picked up this stupid bone.” Metzli nudged their head towards their back pocket, straining to keep the dog in place. Saliva burned their hands and the bite wound they had already acquired burned the same way. They’d have to let Macleod look at their wounds later. She’d probably know how to keep it from getting infected. But that was a matter for later. The bonedoggle was getting harder to keep in place. “Grab my knife, grip it tight with both hands, and…keep it up. I can’t hold this fucker down forever, and I don’t know how to kill it.”

Despite the near death and still possible death experience, all Poe could think about was that he definitely owed Metzli an apology for calling them an asshole. And he definitely owed them, which was a concept Poe was very unhappy about. He hated owing people favors. Which definitely shouldn't be the thing he was most worried about at this moment, but he was just going to blame adrenaline for that.

Metzli continued to grapple with the supernatural dog creature, which definitely piqued Poe's curiosity. The monster had tackled Poe exactly twice since the chase had begun, the first being right as Metzli passed by, and the second while he was being carried through the woods with Metzli. It was possible the first attack had been the dog actually leaping for Metzli and getting Poe instead, right? There had to be some reason why it seemed so attached to them and not Poe. Either that or the dog didn't think Poe would taste good, which was actually quite offensive.

At some point, the dog had gotten a hold of Metzli, and Poe could see dark blood escaping from the bites in their leg. It was so dark it was hard to tell how bad the wound was, but Poe shook the thought away to focus on more pressing matters. Poe found Metzli’s discarded knife, but didn’t really have any ideas on how to use it. There wasn’t much to cut or stab at. “Wait- what did you say about a bone?” Poe finally asked, their earlier words finally clicking with him. It was a shot in the dark, obviously, but Poe found the piece of bone sticking out of Metzli’s back pocket and grabbed for it, holding it in his hands for a long moment as he considered his options. He couldn’t see much, not with the trees blocking out the only source of light they did have. So instead of trying to find an open space, Poe settled on the next best thing. He shoved the bone into the open dog’s mouth. Then he readjusted the knife, trying to prepare for a plan b.

“Hey! That’s my ass!” Metzli attempted to buck away, but doing so would force them to let go of the canine, which was something neither they or Poe wanted. They nearly growled with their teeth bared in a threat, but then the bonedoggle huffed, sounding like it was relieved. “What in the fuck?” With the beast calmed, Metzli was able to slide of its back with ease and no sign of a simmering threat. Somehow, Poe had managed to turn off the heat and quell the waters of the anger that the vampire had caused. It actually looked happy, and started to walk in circles as it gathered what other bones Metzli had managed to pry off. The more it placed, the more boost it had in its gait.

Metzli began to scoot backwards, trying their best to make their way out of a situation they shouldn’t even have been in, but then the bonedoggle’s head snapped toward them. “Oh come on. I don’t have anything else!” It growled, slowly, wickedly walking toward them, and Metzli swallowed. Their black blood stained the ground and they just knew more was about to be spilled. That was until they saw where the dog was looking. “Have it!” One final bone sat next to them, and they quickly threw it to the beast with a sigh of relief. “Thank fuck.” Falling backwards into the grass, Metzli finally relaxed despite the searing pain all over their body. As long as the crisis was averted, they didn’t care what happened next. Except that they got what was theirs and got on with their night. “Give me my knife back! You don’t need it anymore.”

Poe stood silently as he watched the creature finally calm down. Metzli climbed off of it and the dog began to almost calmly collect the remaining bones around it, all signs of aggression that had been there just moments ago now completely gone. Poe thought it was too good to be true. That one wrong movement would set the beast off again. That was probably why Poe didn’t move at all. Just watched in awe as this creature that shouldn’t even exist collected pieces of its own bones and then waltz over to Metzli to nonverbally request the return of the final piece lying next to them.

“I can’t believe that just happened.” Poe finally spoke once he was convinced that the monster wouldn’t be returning. In a lot of ways, Poe’s entire world had just shifted, though it wasn’t exactly due to anything he hadn’t already suspected. And here he was, calmly mulling over the ramifications of seeing a dog without flesh and accepting it with nothing more than a sigh. Metzli distracted Poe from thinking too hard about it, demanding the knife back. At the mention of it, Poe felt his fingers twitch and tighten around the hilt of the blade. He didn’t even realize that he had still been holding it. “Right uh- don’t worry I don’t want your knife anyways.” He handed it back over towards them, barely paying attention to them as he was still staring off in the direction the creature had left. “I guess I owe you a thank you” Poe mentioned, briefly breaking his stare to look over at the person who had tried to get Poe away from the monster. “So thanks. The name’s Poe, by the way.”

It wasn’t until that exact moment that he remembered that Metzli had actually been attacked by that thing. “Oh shit. Your leg.” Poe finally, finally snapped back to reality. “Is it okay? Do you need me to like, drive you to the hospital or something?”

The dog was finally yards away and Metzli relaxed into the grass, rolling their eyes at Poe’s disbelief and subsequent gratitude. ‘I outta fucking bite you and take that as a real fucking thank you.’ Metzli groaned to themselves, grabbing the knife and shuffling to their feet with a struggle. It was a shitty attempt to hide their eyes and fangs, but they didn’t want to deal with the responsibility of explaining the supernatural. They just wanted to get home and eat before the idiot beside them became a late night snack. “No hospital. Get away from me and go home.” They began to limp away slowly, doing their best to ignore the beating heart growing louder in their ears. God, they wanted to just let their vampiric senses take over, but that wouldn’t be right. Being a decent person was really unfair. “Next time, don’t fucking walk around at night…idiot.” With their hands curled into fists, they walked home. At least there, they didn’t have to hide. At least there, they could eat. At least there…they weren’t a complete monster.

[inspirationdivine]

Perchance To Dream || Lydia and Jared

Timing: During the POTW Parties: @themidnightfarmer @inspirationdivine Summary: When Jared’s glamour fails, he seeks out a safe place to hide and reflect

He’d never had so much trouble keeping himself in check. Jared was usually very disciplined with his glamour, it was firm even while he was asleep most nights even. But it seemed exhaustion was unlike any other external factor, and he found himself actually having to concentrate hard on keeping his appearance ‘normal’ as he went about his shopping. He was slipping, he felt himself slipping before he caught his reflection in a window as he passed by, he was losing control and his skin was fading out of it’s fake hue. It was only a matter of minutes before he’d lost it, and with how brutal his natural appearance could be, he needed to get home fast. He cursed having walked into town. Of all days to have decided not to have the safety of a closed vehicle. There was a bubbling panic in his stomach as he passed yet another dark window, able to see his eyes shifting from blue to purple. “Fuck.” and he took off running. He didn't think about where he was going, but when he arrived at the gates of Lydia's home he felt saved. He sprint into the gate and around the garden out of sight of any prying eyes. Or he would have had he not been tackled to the ground.

Lydia was completely unaware of the situation happening just outside her garden. She had a backlog of emails as long as her that she was busy with, and a kitten toying with her left hand, keeping her distracted as she tried to type. “Hey! Gentle,” she scolded the tabby cat when she was bitten a little too hard. Just then, O walked in urgently, speaking fast. “We have neutralised a threat in the garden. Tall male individual with grey skin, purple eyes, please advise.” They were watching her carefully, in case she began to panic. Lydia started at the zombie for a long moment, before putting the pieces together. “Oh! That’s Jared! Tell Jeremiah to let him go!” She told O, standing up and picking up Niamh as she followed O out to the garden, where Jeremiah did indeed have Jared in a head lock and pinned to the ground. “It’s alright! He is a friend!”

He was still trying so incredibly hard to get his glamour under check that his skin rippled like an awfully colour blind chameleon. Jared, despite this, sat completely still. He hardly even moved his chest to breathe as he was locked and held into the grass. As soon as he was released however, he rolled backwards and out of the reach of his captor to look up and find Lydia with his eyes. Grass stained and dirty now, but he still managed an exhausted smile when he found her. “I uh...didn’t call again I guess?” he said quietly hoping for a joke but really just regretting forgetting that she might have taken steps far beyond anything he’d known about before the mushrooming had happened. In fact it felt silly now that he had insisted Cap stay with her considering the small animal yawned as he emerged from a hedge to greet him only now. 

“No, you didn’t. Fortunately, I like you anyway,” Lydia laughed, giving him a careful, warm hug, careful to avoid the grass stains as she did so. “It’s good to see you.” Lydia turned to smile at the little distant Raiju that she had grown rather fond of seeing loitering in the corners. Jared had been right, she had appreciated its companionship, and had barely noticed it was there. “Someone, at least, has been anxious for a visit. Why don’t you come inside? It’s been a while, and I’ve missed you. It also looks like your glamour is having some issues.”

Jared accepted the hug with as much enthusiasm as his tired and slightly sore form could muster, he kept the smile on his face just for her as well. The nymph spared the security team a glance and then looked down to offer Cap a scratch behind the ear for all his good work guarding, even if Lydia had much more qualified people on hand now. He was happy to move away from the very intimidating team that were slowly dispersing around them from the threat he’d posed moments ago. He definitely didn’t want to not have Lydia's favour coming over unannounced; he decided in that moment, from now on he’d text (or he’d try to remember to call but there were never any promises). Following her inside he informed her “That’s why I sprinted over, I was planning on coming to visit this week, and then I sort of got trapped and I figured….you were the safest place to go since I was having so much trouble.” He waved a hand however and added “But it’s uh...no big deal I guess...how have you been. Feeling good with all your new security in place?”

“I completely understand. Jared, you are eternally welcome, and I shall ensure that everyone is quite aware of this in the future, regardless of what face you decide to wear next time.” Lydia walked over into her kitchen. “Can I get you anything to drink, or to eat?” The busywork of getting out her glasses made it easier to answer the question. The last few days and the blood weighed heavy on her mind. Her back had healed in a week with as many ups as downs. “I adopted a cat! Niamh, who is floating around in the garden somewhere. My wing has healed. Not everything is quite as it should be, but I can hardly complain. Things are good.”

She was so wonderful, Jared was so pleased to have met someone who was so kind to him even when he’d potentially scared her. What with the breaking and entering of her proprietary after she’d had a VERY bad experience and all. “Uh yeah sure I’ll have some water or something.” he smiled, as he listened to her update him on how she was getting on he let the rest of his glamour fall away. Lydia wouldn’t mind, and it’d help him concentrate on her words more than his exhaustion. “You’re all healed up!! I was really hoping for you to recover, I was telling my kids about you the other night. Can’t wait to tell them you’re doing well.” he grinned. He wanted to give her a hug in delight but wasn’t sure the reception he’d get so instead bounced on the balls of his feet. “And a cat is a great companion, Niamh is a great name.” 

Lydia busied herself with picking out a nice crystal glass for him, getting a lemon from the fridge and cutting a slice of lemon to drop in beside the ice before pouring him the water. When she turned back, he looked as he should, beautiful in his abject inhumanity. “You were telling your kids? What, like bedtime stories for the puppy bonedoggles? Jared, you are the most adorable vicious creatures nymph I’ve ever met,” Lydia laughed, enthused by juist his presence. It washed away the blood and guilt on her conscience as she turned to hand him his glass. “She’s wonderful. Not quite as colourful as your kids, but great all the same. So, what’s up with your glamour?”

“They like to hear stories, they respond well to names they can put faces to, so yeah...I told the bonedoggle pups about you last night.” Jared maybe would have been a little defensive if she hadn’t laughed along with her words. Instead he beamed at her. “Not that they’re pups anymore, they’re young but growing fast.” He took the glass and immediately took a long drink. His hand catching the drips that had escaped the edges of his lips before he spoke again. “I’m real tired I guess? Not being doing too well the last few weeks, but it’ll get better. As soon as I can get some good sleep I’m sure it’ll get better… hopefully.”

“That’s… disarmingly cute. If I hadn’t met them, I wouldn’t believe they were even the littlest bit dangerous, you know,” Lydia smiled right back at him. “Really? How big are they now?” He drank so fast Lydia raised her eyebrows, pouring herself a glass of whiskey to go with his glass of water, before turning her attention back to him. “Has something happened?” Lydia asked gently, leading him over to the sitting room couch, so that they could sit side by side, her wings tucked away at her side. “Do you want to talk about it?” He could tell her anything, but Lydia wasn’t about to pry. That said, maybe if he was so tired by it all so much so that he was losing control of his glamour, maybe it was time to start talking about it.

“Oh well they are cute Lydia come on, they’re little faces are to die for….although they’re definitely not as cuddly as normal puppies I’ll give you that.” Jared joked lightly. He gulped down the water and then excitedly put the glass down so that he could hold his hands out to show her how big the pups had gotten. “Almost ready for their second trip for bones.” The words held pride he knew she might not understand, but he felt he could be himself about his kids with her, even if she didn’t fully agree she wouldn’t shoot him down. SItting down heavily on the couch he leaned back and fought off a yawn and the ache in his bones settled in. “Oh I just… didn’t have a very good time with the mushrooms this year, and then...sleepwalking, I can’t seem to get any rest...nightmares you know in amongst it all.” He shrugged at her and smiled despite his words. “I’m sure it’ll work itself out, I have hope at least right? Can’t be bad all the time can it?”

“The first time we met they were going to eat me!” Lydia protested with a laugh, her eyes widening with surprise as he gestured how big they were. “They’ve grown so fast! I assume that’s wonderful news!” Lydia smiled as he lit up with pride, his eyes bright and wonderful. “Sleepwalking? Is that new?” Lydia asked, her brows knitted as he talked. “Do you still feel bad about the human you killed?” Lydia asked softly, without any judgement. He had seemed cut up about it, in the same way Deirdre had been about Emma, in the same way Lydia’s stomach churned when she thought about what had happened a few days ago with Dot.

“They were not!” He protested in return but focused more firmly on the warm feeling in his gut as she enthused with him. It’d been a while since he’d been able to gush about his kids, just through sheer circumstance, and it was refreshing to have someone to allow him to indulge. Jared nodded slowly, he’d been trying to think of Ronald less and less, but it hadn’t been going exactly to plan. “I never meant to see him again, but I guess I fudged the words when I made him promise not to tell anyone. Forgot to add that he shouldn’t come back either… I… I fed him to the kids… I wish… I hadn’t had to and he’d just stayed away from us like I’d hoped. I wasn’t even in the right mind. It was like a bad trip and all of a sudden I was awake and it was all too apparent that I’d done something irreversible you know?” He wasn’t looking for sympathy, he wasn’t even sure if he was making sense. But the nymph knew that Lydia wouldn’t mind, or at least he hoped. She was so wonderful but he’d understand if she didn’t want to hear it all. He looked up at her from where he’d slouched in the cushions, like she’d have the answers, but he knew that was a lot to ask someone. “I’ve always been a bad shot too, the mushrooms gave me focus where I didn’t want it.”

Lydia shifted where she sat so she could touch his shoulder. There wasn’t more she could offer him really, other than the comfort of just being heard. Sometimes, that was enough. Sometimes, it was impossible to help in any other way.  “You did do something irreversible, but so did he,” Lydia began softly, trying to listen carefully. Well, if she had known he fed human corpses to his kids, that would have been useful a couple days ago. Not that that was the point now. “Even if he wasn’t promise bound to stay away, he wasn’t welcome and he knew it. Humans are far from my favourite, but they have basic modicums of intelligence no less than ours. He came irregardless, to take something from you. Or do you think it was something else that brought him there?”

Jared let his head droop to the side and his body lean into her comforting touch. “I don’t really know why he was there, but I can’t imagine it was with good intentions. I know people got all muddled up while they were there, the stray sod got a little bit out of control and all while I wasn’t really focused. But he’d have had to get there first.” he hadn’t really considered Ronalds intent on the farm, he’d been too shaken by having shot him. But now that he thought about it, he’d do anything for his kids...and if Ronald really had come back for them and not just shown up by accident like he’d feared, then he was a little less regretful. “I suppose if it was him or one of my kids I’d glad it was him…” he allows the words to escape his lips and then he grimaces. “Preferably no shots would have been fired while I wasn’t awake but I guess that’ how it was, can’t really do much now you know?” He spared her a pained smile, trying to mask the ill feeling swirling behind his eyes. “I feel like I should feel worse? But also I’m too tired to really think all that deep anyway, sleepwalking takes it outta you apparently.” he chuckled weakly. 

As he leant into her touch, Lydia wrapped her arm around his shoulders sideways. It was hardly the most comfortable of positions considering their egregious height difference, but it was comforting to have him so close. “So he was confused once he was there, but that doesn’t mean he hadn’t had nefarious intentions before, whatever that looked like,” Lydia spoke quietly, gently. Clearly, obviously feeding him a biased world view, but sometimes that was what was needed, especially when Jared was so painfully biased against himself. He saw himself as the automatic villain, the cruel creature of the night, who had lost his way on the mushrooms. In Lydia’s humble opinion, it was as if the mushrooms had shown him the way, had made his aim true. The mushrooms had allowed him to react decisively, rather than risking any of Jared’s kids. “No, you can’t do much, but you are still permitted to feel. There is no should when it comes to emotion, only what is.” She gently traced patterns back and forth on his arm. “Sleepwalking? How long has that been going on?”

He felt a little touch deprived at that moment. Jared hadn’t realized how much he’d withdrawn these last few weeks and he hadn’t really felt he would be allowed to reach out considering what he’d done. He’d even stopped himself from giving Lydia a hug earlier. And yet here she was offering him comfort despite what the mushrooms had done to him. He shifted to lean into her, fully letting her ease his mind without question. He wanted to be told he wasn’t terrible, so he was willing to believe her blindly. “Yeah, he couldn’t have shown up by accident.” he decided. “I’m not sure, it could have been going on for ages and I wouldn’t have noticed at first.” he said, “I didn’t realize for far too long that Things had been moved, chores had already been done. But then it got worse, I woke up walking into the lake the other day...that wasn’t so fun. I heard other people are also sleepwalking so… it’s not mushrooms, I thought at first it was but I don’t think it is now.”

He melted into her arms like giraffe shaped putty, and Lydia shifted to accommodate him, so that he had as much space and warmth as he needed. “No, he intended to be there,” Lydia agreed encouragingly, hoping that the guilt would slowly melt away. “He was only human.” She reminded him. But as Jared explained more deeply about his sleepwalking, Lydia’s brows bent in a frown. “You were doing chores in your sleep? That’s almost helpful.” Lydia joked lightly, but she could see that he was entirely shaken by the entire situation, so she held him closer. “Other people? People you know or strangers? That’s… seriously disconcerting. I wish I knew how to help. Do you need anything?”

The nymph stifled a yawn, feeling incredibly safe and warm by Lydia's side, especially with the stress of keeping his glamour steady not buzzing on his skin. “Only human.” Jared repeated back to her, her outlook on species didn’t fully compute with his own ideology, but he supposed if it had to have been anyone, a human like Ron deserved to go the most. “Almost.” he chuckled in agreement. “Except I’d been doing things twice and I don’t really have the cash for extra of anything at the moment. Also the kids didn’t really enjoy whatever they could feel over our connection, got a few bites for being unresponsive.” he waved a hand dismissively at the bites however, he got nibbled all the time it didn’t mean much, he was just more upset that his kids had felt unrest at his state. “A few strangers, but some people I know as well. There doesn’t seem to be a system to it, it’s all just random. Oh god no Lydia it’s okay, it’s just a bit...unsettling I guess? You’re not sleepwalking or anything?”

Only human, Lydia echoed in her mind, because he wasn’t the only one reassuring himself of such things. She pushed that thought aside, unable to bear it right now, not when Jared needed her here. “Oh, Jared, if you ever need money, you need but ask.” She offered gently, but her eyes widened sharply as he described his kids’ reactions. “They bit you? Jared, are you alright?” Sure, he described them as sweet little things, but Lydia remembered the teeth on those Bonedoggles. A nibble was not just a nibble, no matter what Jared said. “That is disturbing,” Lydia agreed softly, making a mental note to ask about it to others, who might know more about dream disturbances. “No, I still haven’t been sleeping too well generally, since the attack, but I haven’t been sleepwalking.” Lydia dropped her cheek against the top of his head, taking his hand with the one not wrapped around his shoulders and squeezing his hand. “If there’s anything I can do for you, you can always ask. I am here for you.” 

“Don’t offer me money. I'm not a very good investment, I don’t tend to ever have enough to pay it back in anywhere near a timely manner.” Jared mumbled in response. He waved a hand, less enthusiastically than before stifling yet another yawn. “They have teeth, anything with teeth can bite, it's normal.” he hummed. At that point his eyes started to close, he was fighting a losing battle. He heard nothing else she’d said, missing her comment of not being able to sleep herself completely. His own selfish exhaustion had decided to flaunt it’s willingness for rest in her face. He’d fallen asleep in her arms.

“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt,” Lydia replied. “But if you insist-” She looked down at him, and he didn’t look back up at her. His eyelashes were pressed closed, casting spidery shadows on his cheeks. He breathed quietly and slowly. Here, in her arms, he would not wander anywhere. He could rest safely here. His weight too, was the first weight pressing down on her all week that soothed rather than suffocated. Lydia’s eyes stretched to the raiju, lurking in the corner of the room, Cap watching Jared curiously. “Come here then,” she murmured, and the pile of two became three.