Daryl Dixon (
unsleeved) wrote in
entrancelogs2014-02-11 03:29 pm
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020] whoa, my thing went off, is your thermostat okay?? [closed]
Who: Daryl & Peter Pan
Where: The Library! ...Nope I lied it's the woods.
When: Morning of the 11th?
Rating: G for hugs and candy canes and shit
Summary: Someone is messing with Daryl's room!! Who could it... Possibly be??
The Story:
[If he'd actually been out here as much as he should have been, it's likely he'd have noticed this sooner.
This being the trail he's following today... Even if "trail" is probably too strong a word; some bent branches and indistinguishable indentations in the muddy snow that don't belong to any animal he's used to seeing out here do not a proper trail make, but he'll manage. It's his thing, after all, and despite his somewhat lax attitude lately, he does still want to keep his skills sharp.
And it's not even that he's not concerned (not yet, anyway...), but the disturbances in the woodland status quo are just too obvious to ignore, and he's... Well, he's curious. No one else that he knows of spends enough time out here for their presence to pique his interest like this.
And so now he's wandering, crossbow in tow, occasionally kneeling to inspect a branch or clump of vines hanging down, half-buried in dirty snow.
...It's his idea of a party, honestly. He's glad to have something interesting to do that isn't the bullshit he was dicking around with on his device. This? This is more like it.]
Where: The Library! ...Nope I lied it's the woods.
When: Morning of the 11th?
Rating: G for hugs and candy canes and shit
Summary: Someone is messing with Daryl's room!! Who could it... Possibly be??
The Story:
[If he'd actually been out here as much as he should have been, it's likely he'd have noticed this sooner.
This being the trail he's following today... Even if "trail" is probably too strong a word; some bent branches and indistinguishable indentations in the muddy snow that don't belong to any animal he's used to seeing out here do not a proper trail make, but he'll manage. It's his thing, after all, and despite his somewhat lax attitude lately, he does still want to keep his skills sharp.
And it's not even that he's not concerned (not yet, anyway...), but the disturbances in the woodland status quo are just too obvious to ignore, and he's... Well, he's curious. No one else that he knows of spends enough time out here for their presence to pique his interest like this.
And so now he's wandering, crossbow in tow, occasionally kneeling to inspect a branch or clump of vines hanging down, half-buried in dirty snow.
...It's his idea of a party, honestly. He's glad to have something interesting to do that isn't the bullshit he was dicking around with on his device. This? This is more like it.]
no subject
You know why? Because he's a boy who likes to play games, he sometimes gets bored, and he lives and breathes spying on other people, even when he's spying on people not of Neverland. It's more fun to know more things than your opponent. For that matter, it's fun to know more things than most people!
As a consequence, when Peter designates the forest his new safe haven, Daryl's presence doesn't go unnoticed. He respects a person who knows how to live on the land, but he's only ever been a greedy boy at heart. He can't just allow he and the man to be neighbors and leave it at that. He needs to know more. He needs to know who he's dealing with. He needs to know his authority won't be questioned.
Hence the trail Daryl's following.
If the hound can keep the lure in his sights by following the faint signs of passage Peter's left for him, the tracks will eventually lead Daryl to a camp, if not his camp. It's well-guarded against idle eyes with camouflage, and Peter's boot prints don't start appearing with regularity until the border. Being only in his middle teens, the foot prints are smaller than a man's, due for another growth spurt or two. The area itself is small and the fire in the center is cold, gone untouched for a few hours. He has, however, taken the time to move the snow out of the circumference of the camp, making it clear someone's been there.
There's not many personal touches to hint at the owner--a drying rack here, a few knives and shavings from carving wood there--but at the rear of the camp is what might qualify as the camper's "house." There's a latticework of branches neatly twined together to make a small dome, the opening requiring a person to either crouch or crawl to get through. If Daryl dares to enter, he'll find a sleeping mattress made out of materials from the forest and a single book lying askew beside it. The book is a manual on tracking. Peter's left a message within its pages for a curious Georgian resident if he thinks to look.
Open it, and a slip of paper will fall out with a message: Looking through other people's things is rude.]
no subject
Even if he doesn't realize exactly how apt "challenge" really is.
He does eventually make it to those tracks, identifying them as belonging to another person, just as he'd suspected... Though he does raise a brow as he hovers a hand over an indentation that's clearly too small to be a man's; a woman's, maybe, or one of the younger residents here. In any case, the discovery of blatant footprints is more than enough to spur him on, and he eagerly scans the area for his next clue as he follows them through the woods.
It isn't long after that that he comes upon the camp, and after a mental pat on the back, he of course gets right to it, inspecting the fire, the nearby shavings that indicate there's somebody else here who into that sort of thing. Interesting; he wonders why he hasn't come across them until now.
From there he spies the "house", and naturally can't help himself from checking it out. He's not snooping, exactly, but he is curious... A feeling that increases tenfold when he spots the book inside the hut. No, really, who the hell else does that shit around here other than him?
Crouching, he reaches in to grab it, and in doing so dislodges the paper from between the pages. He scoops it up and reads it.
...
Huh. Well that's interesting. A bit concerning, too- clearly someone's expected him or someone else to come by here and find it- but he doesn't show it.]
...You got me.
[Hear that, whoever you are?]
no subject
A pity the man's aged far beyond his age requirements.
Peter does hear the admission, and it does bring a smile to his face, but he doesn't deign to appear so soon. He'll let Daryl go about this business and see what he does next.
It's when a person least expects a surprise that it becomes the best time to spring one.]
ARE WE GETTING A LOST BOY EVENT BECAUSE
...But when no one does, he decides to take his "disturbance" a step further by plopping himself down and thumbing through the pages of the tracking book. Chances are he knows everything in here and more, but hey. Couldn't hurt.
He also can't shake the feeling that this particular book had been left here for him- because he sure as hell don't believe in coincidences- and so he figures he may as well express his appreciation.
Yeah, that's right, he's making himself right at home.]
I WANT THIS...
Now, it's just a cold and quiet camp, one that's served its purpose. Got your attention, stranger? Good. The book itself isn't one you'd find in the twenty first century, though it comes from Earth. It's travel writing from another time, utilizing technology that someone from Daryl's age might find archaic.
A hint, from Peter to his guest.]
aggressively sobbing about it t b h
Flipping through the aged, yellowing pages, it's hard to miss that it ain't exactly modern- though he does note that the methods described, while undeniably primitive, are more than satisfactory. Hell, some of them look and sound like things he'd put together during that one event.
This book doesn't seem to have nets made out of sleeves, of course, but not everyone is capable of that kind of absolute genius.
He continues to thumb through the book- careful not to tear or mark the pages, because he does have some decency- occasionally humming, or narrowing his eyes at a particularly ridiculous contraption.]
One day I will make this thing happen.
Daryl can spend as much time as he likes in the camp that, in truth, Peter has never used for anything besides setting the stage. Having done his homework, however, he has an idea where Daryl has disturbed the forest and left his mark on the land--more than that, he has a good guess where Daryl will go next.
When the man finally gets tired of his investigation, he'll never guess who he's going to find back at his own camp. Those boot prints dug into the earth around the now roaring fire will probably give Daryl a hint... as will the youth stretched out leisurely beside it.
No one has to tell him to make himself at home, he's already done it.]
YESSS GOOOOOD
From there he spends a little time checking over the camp, its setup and some of the tools he now recognizes from the book, but all things considered there isn't a whole lot to go on. He's not done, of course, but once he feels like he's seen all there is to see he figures he may as well head back to one of his camps. All of that trapping shit's made him hungry and he knows he'd left some game at the cap closest to here.
He makes it about halfway before he catches sight of the smoke filtering up and over the bare trees, and once he does he quickens his pace; he's expecting America, or possibly Blake, but what he gets when he finally make it back is... Something else entirely.
The kid stretched out comfortably as you please is unfamiliar to him, but he does a decent job of hiding his surprise with his customary veneer of disinterest. He drops his crossbow down next to the log and cocks his head to the side just slightly.]
You don't look lost.
COME TO ME, BABY DARYL.
You could've kept it, you know.
[Oh wait, were you talking, Daryl? Peter scuffs his boot heel against the ground, idly packing a little dirt against a rock in the campfire's ring of stones. They both have practice at putting forth veneers of disinterest.]
Oh. [Said as an afterthought, almost. His eyebrows lift.] Funny you should say that, I'm rather familiar with boys who are lost.
no subject
Whatever. Moving right along.]
Guessin' that site was yours, one not too far from here. [He looks just the right size to make those tracks he'd seen, his clothes look about as outdated as that book... The book, which is what he's assuming the kid's talking about. Which can only mean one thing:] You been watchin' me?
[And here he thought he only had to worry about the Mirrors pulling that kind of shit...]
no subject
[A noise of confirmation before he gives the man another smile, one that looks almost angelic at its peak, then dims into something a little more devilish, the curl of his lips creating dimples.]
Only as much as you've been watching me. Yes, that was mine. And well done there, by the way. From what you've done out here, I figured you had some skill, but I needed to be sure. Did you like it? My little test of ability.
no subject
A test, huh?]
Gave me somethin' to do.
[He'll act flippant about it, sure... But the realization that someone's been keeping tabs on him for god only knows how long without him knowing about it is more than a little unsettling.]
So what now? There a point to all this or're you just lookin' to pass the time?
no subject
I thought so.
[He wags his index finger knowingly, taking the man's answer as an affirmative. Peter's not a little impressed with himself, at that. Tracking requires certain talents, but laying one down in reverse for someone else to follow is harder than it seems.
Admit it, you were intrigued, weren't you, Daryl! You're allowed to admire his clever trick.]
Like I said, I had to test you. [He sits up straighter. Peter might as well be the one who owns this camp and is the one inviting Daryl to take a seat.] I couldn't share the area with just anyone. If you were anything less than skilled, we'd have a problem.
no subject
Sure's hell don't want no problems.
[There's a hint of condescension in his voice, and not a little bit of attitude. HE WAS HERE FIRST SO THERE.
No, but in all seriousness... Daryl ain't particularly enthused at the idea of "sharing" the woods with somebody who's gonna keep tabs on him, especially when he's got a sneaking suspicion that there's magic involved.
Not that he's doing much that anyone would be interested in out here, but the fact remains that he likes his damn privacy, like most hermits who spend their time out in the woods and away from people.]
You got a name, kid?
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No, I don't think you would. Being dull is a shame, don't you think so? Especially if you and I are going to be spending time together. I like to keep things interesting.
[His smile is the playful smile of a magic brat, probably the very last thing Daryl cares for, but the very thing he's going to get, anyway. Fate is oh so kind that way.]
Peter. [The charming smile doesn't budge, but something about it still seems to grow a fraction.] Pan.
no subject
.......Daryl no.He's about to make a comment about this proposed togetherness, because he has zero intention of going along with that business... But the name stops his snark dead in its tracks and what Peter gets instead is:]
...You gotta be shittin' me.
[SORRY PETER.]
no subject
At the very least, he has a reputation that requires defending, unlike Daryl.]
A quaint way to put it, but no. I'm very serious.
[As serious as a laid-back fifteen-year-old gets, looking like the world's most darling feral child.]
no subject
Daryl's lip twitches at "quaint", but he keeps his defensiveness over the subject to himself as he peers around the clearing.]
Where your boys at?
[Please for the love of god tell him you're by yourself, Peter. He don't think he could handle a herd of skinny smartasses.]
no subject
If anything, those damn Lost Boys are even worse, since they're the ones firing poisoned arrows and beating people over the head with clubs before a person ever gets to Pan himself. Peter looks for a second like he might just make Daryl's nightmare a reality by answering in the positive, but all the suspense deflates out of the moment when he merely makes a "beats me!" face.]
Where? Home, I imagine. You know this is supposedly Wonderland and not Neverland, don't you?
[Do you need help putting that one together? The cavalier smile returns.
(Spoilers: Peter Pan is much worse than the Lost Boys put together.)]
no subject
Got that, yeah. ...So you're by yourself. [Beat.] That why you're followin' people around out here? 'Cause spyin' ain't gonna make you a whole lotta friends.
[Some kindly advice from the least social person on the planet.]
no subject
[But then Daryl has to go and say something that makes Peter snort a laugh, eyebrow making a sharp ascent on his forehead. Peter might have designed this little game, but he hadn't forced the man to play it--that had been all Daryl.]
Says the man who was trespassing in a place he obviously knew he didn't belong?
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Never said I was lookin' for that.
[You started it, Peter. So there!!!]
no subject
[Because Daryl's right, Peter's been spying. Know your friends, know your enemies, know yourself. However, he's also no fool and he suspects the man wouldn't have needed the prompting.
He smiles a knowing smile.]
As I said, you could've kept it. The book.
[He's a spy and a liar, but he's not one to let other people get away with those things.]
no subject
...You write that up?
[He can't help asking, just like he can't help being curious.]
no subject
Oh, no! Not me! That's just something I once found I thought you might appreciate.
[The very thought makes him laugh. Now Daryl really is giving him too much credit. Although Peter's been happily living the nitty gritty life on Neverland, he's never made such an effort to consolidate what he's learned in one place. Perhaps not a lack of things to say, more a lack of interest in the novelist lifestyle.]
Something I came across one of the last times I visited your world. Maybe not your exact world, but one you'd find recognizable as a land without magic, I think. It's interesting to me to see these skills in other places. Some of Neverland's forests aren't much different from this. [He pauses, briefly. Well, there is one difference...] Aside from the greater danger. A person would have to do what you did to find their way.
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But that's a battle for another day.]
How's that work? Movin' between 'em like that?
[Oh god dammit, now he's interested; he finds magic fascinating.]
no subject
Peter's thinking along the same lines as Daryl, however, when the man displays a student-like interest in the subject that's a far cry from plenty of other people he's met over time. Even when their eyes have been opened to its existence, not everyone really believes in magical power. So where does this one fall?]
Are you interested?
[And here Peter had thought the adult would just boo and hiss over being wound up by a child, maybe fall back on learned habits and try to push back like a person defending territory they have no right to.]
Fancy yourself a little travelling when all this is said and done, and you're free to leave?
no subject
Daryl would have called bullshit on the magic thing before coming here, walking dead people or not... But after seeing a kid turn himself into an animal and back into a scrawny kid in the span of a few minutes, well...
Yeah. No denying what's right in front of his face. Even he ain't that stubborn. What he is is curious- who wouldn't be?- and for the second, it's enough to distract him from getting into an argument with Peter Pan over the etiquette of stalking people in the woods and snooping around campsites.]
Not exactly, no.
[It's not like he's looking to go on vacation... But he would like to know if there's a way to hop to and from his world to collect his people and bring them here.
...Not that he's gonna discuss that with this little prick, of course. No, right now... Consider this way of putting some feelers out.]
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Well then, why not take a seat? It is your campfire. We can talk.
[Synonymous with "butt heads until someone cries."]
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Alright. Talk.
[Bust out the graham crackers and milk, it's story time.]
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I said we can do that, not that I'd agree to be interrogated.
[Peter is as casual as can be.]
You need plenty of magic to cross the boundaries between worlds, or know where to look. You've heard of the white rabbit, haven't you? Those special holes of his?
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Got some idea. Ain't seen the one we got here, if there is one.
[Little asshole's probably around somewhere and just as aggravating as the rest of the Residents. Cryptic, allergic to straight answers, and entirely unhelpful.
Daryl prefers to avoid them, if he has the option. Let somebody else deal with wringing information outta them- he don't got the patience.]
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At the moment, however, they're more akin to barnyard chickens, clucking about the farm to flap their wings from time to time and get themselves into tizzies.
But the white rabbit... oh, Peter's heard a little of the white rabbit. He'd asked out of interest, on the off chance perhaps one of the older inductees had learned something about the portals, but Daryl's not a good enough liar to lead Peter astray if he'd wanted to hide information from him. He cluck his tongue.]
No, eh. That's a pity. What of the Hatter? [He smiles a little.] The Mad one.
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That time has passed, though, and so he generally goes with honesty as his default setting.
And while this kid's attitude and air of obnoxious and overblown superiority is annoying, Daryl doesn't see much reason to bullshit him when it comes to talk about the Mansion.]
Don't know much about him neither. The cat and the mouse do a lot of talkin', and them damn twins... Came around givin' out fortunes last month.
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Well, it would seem all of the characters who'd have the easiest time leaving this world are absent. Strange, isn't it?
[Possibly not any stranger than turning around and running into some other fairytale persona everywhere you go... But what's life without a few surprises, eh? Peter might not be a native to this land, but he's sure he can still offer a few of his own.]
Fortunes. [That's worth a soft snort.] How generous.
[As he'd reminded Rumple in Neverland, one can't tell the future in a place where time doesn't move. There is no future in the conventional sense of the word. Telling people's futures from outside of this stagnant world, on the other hand... Not that takes a bit more cleverness.]
And what was your fortune? Feel like sharing? Was it anything good?
no subject
[It is strange... Kid's got a point.
Daryl files that away for later.]
Seemed like they thought so. Pains in my ass. [They'd been everywhere, relentless...
He makes a face.]
And hell if I know what they said, I wasn't listenin'. S'all bullshit.
[What? They made a good guess; it ain't like he don't scream "product of my upbringing", he knows that...]
no subject
Peter suspects he's being judged, weighed to see what sort of colors he has. That's smarter than some. Not everyone has the mind to hedge their bets.
He lifts his head high, peering at the man with consideration.]
You talk like you've been enduring this world's magic for a while. Enough to know to watch your step. How long have you been here?
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That hasn't happened here, though. Not yet.]
Year, give or take a few months. [He looks at the kid.] Ain't seen a whole lot of people out here since then.
[Which may or may not be his way of offering an explanation as to why he'd gone rooting around in a stranger's camp. It isn't an apology, it's just...
What it is.]
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A year.
[The answer isn't met with surprise, per se. A year means greater experience with the environment, but it's barely a blink of time in the grand scheme of things; he'd trapped people in Neverland for far longer.
He's not much for apologies, either. It's much more fun having reasons to antagonize others, isn't it! Of course it is!]
Their loss. Why would you care for the accommodations this place has arranged for you, even if it is nice? You must not if you're staying outside.
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Daryl considers that assessment, eventually nodding.]
Ain't big enough inside.
[And Daryl needs his space. ...Even if he's painfully aware that these woods aren't actually as endless as they appear.]
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Those aesthetics aren't so different from my own, you know. You chose the wild unknown over luxury. You wouldn't find Neverland so awful.
[Just a thought.
And it's always pleasant finding people with similar values, almost as nice as having people to antagonize.]
We might just understand each other after all.
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...Y'all got them fairies and shit, don't you?
[Oh lord, that don't mean them little bastards're gonna come here, does it? The last thing on earth Daryl wants to deal with is fucking Tinkerbell. He does not need a bitchy little fairy in his life, not at all...]
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Is this what his stories amount to?]
Do you mean do fairies exist? As a matter of fact, yes. There was only the one in Neverland.
[Tinkerbell is no miniature companion of Pan's, that much can be said of their relationship. He keeps the edge of malice out of his tone, but the fact remains that he'd shown the lost member of her kind a substantial amount of generosity and she'd thrown it in his face at the end. He'll kill Tinkerbell himself as soon as look at her.]
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[Thank god. He really don't wanna have to dig out extra strength bug zappers to hang up out here...
It'd ruin the ambiance.]
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Am I not enough for you?
[Really, first the Lost Boys, now Tinker Bell. One might start to think folk are bored with the very best part of Neverland--that is, Peter Pan. If for him, none of them would have amounted to anything.]
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Fewer people out her watchin' me the better.
[Right now it's just Peter and his ego, and Daryl will just have to deal, he supposes.]
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Unfortunately, it seems there will always be a few, on this side or the other. Those of us with secrets will just have to be extra careful. You haven't buried any out here, have you?
[Just joking! Not that Peter couldn't find out if there's anything worth knowing.]
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[And it's actually true- Daryl is an honest man just by virtue of his indifference to the way other people see him. He don't do secrets.
Omissions, though, that's another story... It's not like the scars on his back can be ferreted out like buried treasure out here, though.]