dinosize | anomaly 008 . pairing & spam

[ He spends a long time going over the file before he contacts her. Early life first, then moving on. Coming on the manner of her death is a sudden and brutal shock, and he has to fight down nausea for several minutes before he starts to calm down again. Flips through the list of her victims, trying not to think about the quantity, but just on the reasons. Finally, he breathes out and turns on the comm. ]

[ private to clementine ]

So. I might find someone to teach me werewolf hunting. Is that what you said?

[ spam ]

[ Catch Stephen around with a toolkit, fixing wobbly tables and chairs in common areas and the cafeteria. Feel free to have him fixing something specifically requested.

Alternatively, catch him floating down a river in CES. Chillin'. In a canoe. Like you do.

Also alternatively, he can always be found going for runs, at least once a day, up and down the stairs and in whatever environment the CES provides for him.

He has hardly said a word to his friends since Nick arrived. But he'll be doing his best to pretend nothing's wrong. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He chews on the inside of his cheek, glances away and back towards her. He doesn't know what she's feeling. He can guess, but it's only a guess. ]

I died locked in a room with predators from the past and from the future. I remember them raking my guts out. I watched. I felt my ribs snap.

[She shudders visibly. Fuck. The copper tang of her own blood is still on the back of her tongue. It'll never go away. Never. She felt her neck break. Can feel her neck breaking. She knows the precise configuration of every muscle. Every. Her skin peeling off, and Olivia--]

Don't tell me that. What am I supposed to do about that?

[Gotta do something about that. Make it go away.]

[ It drew a reaction, but the fuck if he knows if that's good or not. Probably not. He put a rifle in her hand and reminded her of what it was like to die.

She is supposed to do nothing. Nothing, because he's the warden, and because at least he got to choose. ]

Do what you like.

I'm in the mood to feel a little less trapped. And hunting, I can do.

[A little less trapped. It's laughable. Maybe he really doesn't know. Maybe he doesn't understand how trapped she is - maybe he's as stuck here as she is. But she doubts it. He's got to be lying.]

[She wants to trust him. He's quiet, and trustworthy, and doesn't seem cruel. But people can turn - quick as the moon rises. What he is now has nothing to do with what he can become.]

[If she kills him now, he'll just come back angry. Part of her knows she's rationalizing, but then again it's true: she's got to come up with a more permanent solution if she's going to do her job.]

Fine.

[She looks up at him, impassive. She wants a drink. She wants five.]

I'll go with you.

[ Gives her a long look, and then he turns away, picking the most likely direction and going for it. (Doesn't worry him that he's turning his back to her. - Well, it does, a little, but not enough to mind.)

He pushes them both hard, and doesn't talk much. It's a quick pace until they find a fresh enough trail, and then it's as quick as they can while still being quiet, still being sure they're on track. If she indicates interest at all, he'll let her take lead and show off how she tracks.

He expects them to keep up with one another. He expects that most of their communication will be the simple kind between two predators, not requiring any words.

Stephen isn't so good at words, anyway.

He moves smoothly and quietly, finding pathways that wind through the trees, spotting the subtlest of signs that the creature they're looking for could have passed this way. This is his element. ]

[The thing is that Clementine does her best work when given someone to lead. Stephen doesn't present the force of personality that her previous employer had, nor does she have the benefit of belief that came with the Order of the Dragon; but this is simple enough work. She can follow him in it until another path, another option presents itself.]

[She wonders if this was planned out deliberately. Debates acting out, just to see what he will do, what his contingency plan for that will be. Her gun is at his back; she could press it against the base of his skull and see which way he twitches.]

[But he moves smoothly and quietly, and he doesn't ask her questions, and she finds herself acquiescing to calm despite herself.]

[She doesn't show off. She lets him lead. He's good enough, and there will be time, later, to show him what she can do. Think of him as a superior officer for the moment. Don't let him catch you looking at him sideways. See what he makes of it, see what he gives away.]

[When she catches a print that he doesn't, a few broken twigs, she gestures silently. This way. But that's all the indication she gives. This has got to be the most silent conversation she's ever had.]

[She likes it. Which, to the paranoid majority of her brain, means the other shoe's about to drop.]

[ Stephen, on the other hand, is growing more reassured rather than less. He's not oblivious to Clementine's tension, but there are a hundred reasons for it, and he's never been all that good at reading complex emotions. What he does know, for sure, is that she gradually relaxes and shifts into a rhythm with him, and that's something he'd much rather try than take some swing at talking out her past like a therapist. This is the best way he knows of to earn a measure of trust.

It's rare that she catches something he doesn't. He's good at this. But when she does, he's impressed, and he doesn't attempt to hide the smile on his face. Gives her a little nod, in acknowledgment or thanks.

The deer aren't aware that they're being stalked (it's three of them that Stephen and Clementine are following, one male, one female, one immature that Stephen guesses is also male, and nearly mature, judging by the size) so the two of them make good progress, and it's not too long before they catch sight of the animals grazing ahead.

Stephen settles behind a tree and flips the safety off on his rifle, staying careful about where he points it. He glances to her and gestures - she takes left, he takes right? ]

[The smile is - confusing. Surprising. It's not praise, exactly, or gratitude; it's communication that she doesn't fully understand in context. Pride? She doesn't return it. Just stares at him for a moment too long, then looks deliberately away.]

[His gestures are easy enough to follow, though. When he takes the safety off, she does, too, nodding to the right. She'll follow his plan.]