bigapplesauce | Bewere

Current Music: January 27, 2013 (backdated)

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Bewere

Yuri sighs as he trudges down the corridor. He's been feeling grouchy the last few days, his temper shortening and his hunger growing. In other words, he feels just like he does every month. Even though he's just had dinner, he finds himself thinking longingly of breakfast.

He also finds himself thinking of Daine as he checks each of the doors he passes, making sure for the fourth or fifth time that they've been put back together right. He made her promise not to come visit him -- or at least, he told her she had as good as promised and that he'd hold her to it, even if she said no such thing herself. She should never have come to see him the first time, and he won't have her on his conscience because she came again and got hurt or turned. Caught up in his thoughts, he isn't careful enough with the second door, and burns himself on a spoon. Without making a conscious decision to do it, he lashes out, hitting the door so it swings and rebounds off the wall, rattling the silverware. Sheepishly, he sticks his fingertip in his mouth and hurries on -- he has time yet before the transformation, but it's getting harder to keep his head.

He's several steps into the room with the cage before it registers that he's not alone. Freezing in the middle of the room, he lets out a huff that's halfway between annoyance and despair.

"Get out."

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Yuri's hackles go up, but he doesn't come any closer. You're prey, he informs her with a snarl. Without the thrill of the chase, though, that niggling voice at the back of his mind is back. He does know that name. He does know Daine.

You brought that boy down there! he suddenly exclaims angrily, teeth bared as he surges several paces forward.

Daine unfolds her wings a little, but doesn't take off. He's starting to remember things, and if he gets swept up in another chase, she'll lose him. No, she replies firmly. I'm sorry he upset you, but I didn't bring him. He just found us on his own. It was an accident.

That just earns a sound of frustration. Nothing in this world makes sense. Impossible, he argues, though he's not sure why he's so sure that's true. Things would be so much easier if he could just grab the owl and eat her. He's wising up, though, to how fast she is.

If I really wanted him there, why would I have shoved him straight back out? she asks, tilting her head at him. Odd's bobs, Yuri, I was trying not to upset you. That was the point. And it had gone ever so well. Like last month, when I told you stories.

I don't know! Yuri lets out a roar of frustration. How is he supposed to know what she wanted? He feels confused, and a little bit like he's done something wrong. He doesn't want to feel that way; he wants things to be simple and fun.

The faint twinge of guilt she feels from him is encouraging. I just wanted to help you, Yuri. That's why I'm here, remember?

As long as he's more or less stationary, she sends out another general inquiry into the park. There aren't any two-leggers in the immediate area, and none have emerged from the base. The crows have returned to their roosts, though she doubts they'll actually allow themselves to sleep until this mess is resolved. The owls are ready to help if she needs them, but she tells them to hold off for now.

Yuri groans and swipes at the nearest bush with his injured paw. It doesn't help in the slightest.

This isn't fair! he objects, giving her a dirty look. He turns and sniffs the air, tilting his head to eyeball the moon. I'm going, he decides, finally lucid enough not to be completely obsessed with the thought of catching Daine -- but not so clearheaded as to remember that he really should be lying low right now.

Daine shuffles along the branch, unsure if she should let him wander, assuming he picks a safe direction, or if she should try encouraging him to chase her again. I'm coming with you, she announces, flapping over to a branch that's high enough above him that he can't leap for her.

Yuri snarls up at her, but keeps walking. As he nears the trunk of the tree that is her current perch, however, he has a sudden flash of insight. He rears up, thumping his paws against it and drawing his claws down the bark in his efforts to shake the tree and dislodge her.

Hey! She has to bate furiously to keep from toppling off the branch, and once she's upright, she releases her grip and rises into the air with a screech.

For the first time since he started ~~pmsing~~ feeling the hints of the change in the last few days, Yuri laughs. It's mainly recognizable as a mental laugh; the huffing sound he makes doesn't sound all that different from when he was trying to catch his breath. Enjoying himself, he scores deep scars down the tree before thumping back to four feet -- and then three as he's reminded of his hurt paw.

Hilarious, Daine deadpans, heart pounding. A moment later, though, it occurs to her that they could make a game of this. She lands in another tree a few yards away and glares down at Yuri with a snooty, Don't do that again.

With the kind of glee that belongs only to the sociopathic, Yuri immediately bounds over to the new tree and slams his paws against it in the same way, claws digging in. He watches expectantly, face turned upward.

Daine's ready for it this time, so the outraged scream and frantic flapping is more feigned than genuine - not that she expects Yuri to have the presence of mind to tell the difference. She even manages to lose a few small feathers, which drift down towards the bear. I told you not to do that! she snaps at him, aghast, before landing in yet another tree. She has to clamp down on her own amusement, endeavoring to project nothing but fear and anger. She rather doubts Yuri would appreciate the joke so much if he realized she was in on it.

It's what you get! Simple minds, simple pleasures. Or swap 'sadistic' for 'simple.' Yuri's more than happy to mangle a third tree in the interest of making life difficult for Daine; while making her flap off isn't as satisfying as killing her, it's fun. Besides, it feels good to dig his claws into something.

Daine relocates again, being sure to pick a tree that isn't already home to nesting squirrels or roosting birds. Why are you being so mean? she asks with overblown offense as she waits for the next impact.

Why are you being so fun to chase? retorts Yuri. It's in their respective natures, he decides. She is made to be chased, and he to chase her. Smaller branches snap as he tries to pull down her tree.

Fortunately, the branch Daine has chosen is too sturdy to snap off. She hangs on for the ride for a few moments, flapping her wings to stay more or less upright and screeching, then launches herself off the branch and picks another unoccupied tree to land in. I'm not fun to chase, she objects, affronted.

You'd be more fun to catch! Yuri pounces, but this time he hits his paw at a bad angle on the tree, driving the piece of silver buried between his paw pads deeper. Letting out a cry of pain, he falls back on his haunches -- then swipes out at the tree again in genuine anger.

There was, perhaps, a perverse curiosity that brought Gabriel to the park tonight. Since he met Yuri, he'd been interested to know just how many were-creatures exist in this alternate reality New York. He'd assumed that Yuri himself would be tucked away somewhere safe, but surely there were others that weren't yet protected by the Rebels or Romac.

He teleports into the park, feet stumbling forward a little as he lands. He'd been travelling back and forth a little today, learning his new limits. So far, he'd been able to recharge enough that each jump wasn't too much of a drain. As soon as he lands, however, he feels Daine's presence and something he assumes is Yuri. Daine is projecting distress and he immediately focuses in on where she is and teleports long enough away that he can see what's going on. He may or may not stumble into a tree as he lands.

He muffles a soft curse as he sees what's happening. How did Yuri get out? He needs to get him away from Daine and quickly. He hastily projects a illusory copy of himself closer to Yuri, waving to catch his attention away from Daine. "Hey there, sunshine."

Daine hovers above Yuri, looking down in some concern as he pains his paw. It hadn't occurred to her that he might have something embedded in there, but now she begins to wonder. There's nothing she can do about it, of course, but she feels a twinge of guilt at the thought of how banged-up he's going to be in the morning.

When the illusory Gabriel appears, Daine falters and drops a few feet before recovering herself and flapping out of Yuri's reach. Odd's bobs, what's he doing here?! Conveniently forgetting that he's a demigod and capable of taking care of himself (perhaps because voluntarily approaching Yuri doesn't say much for his sense of self-preservation), Daine calls up her magic and orders, Don't touch him! She doesn't expect the effect to last for long, and she swoops for Gabriel with a screech, trying to drive him away from the bear.

Yuri bites at his paw, knowing something is caught in there. The fur is thick enough that it's not pressed against his skin at every moment, but when it touches him it burns and makes him feel weak. He finds it with his tongue and lets out a sound that's nearly a yelp as he quickly abandons the operation.

His entire body projects an expression of surprise when he hears a human voice nearby -- a proper human voice, someone who can't fly away, who will scream --

Even as he lurches to his feet, though, he feels Daine's magic slam against his mind. His charge is reduced to a few faltering steps in the illusory Gabriel's direction. He stops and stands shaking his head in confusion and irritation. It won't last long; they have only a few seconds before he remembers that he doesn't want to obey that order.

Gabriel might have been a little more inclined to notice what was going on if Daine hadn't been screeching and diving at his (albeit illusory) head. He senses her distress, but he doesn't connect Daine's actions with Yuri's sudden stillness. He obligingly backs up and holds his hands up, but he doesn't want to go very far back and risk Daine more.

"Yuri, remember me? Gabriel." From his hiding place, he looks with some concern at Yuri's injuries. He could probably heal him, but to do that he'd need to get close enough to do it, and have Yuri calm enough to let him. Consciously, he projects a feeling of well-being outwards to others. He might have to knock out Yuri first before he can tend to any of his wounds. The copy of himself smiles benignly. "You're hurt. I can help you, if you let me."

If Daine wasn't already aware of how unreasonable Yuri is, she might appreciate Gabriel's well-intentioned offer of assistance. As things are, all she can think about is Yuri's imminent charge at an unprotected two-legger who's too fool to run away.

Looping back around the illusory Gabriel, Daine shifts into a shape she hopes will give Yuri pause: polar bear. She lands with enough force to shake the earth around her and bellows a warning at Yuri as she moves between the illusory Gabriel and the werebear.

That damned owl -- Yuri tries to focus his mind. Human -- owl still there, but more importantly, a human, right there, ready to be eaten. There's a niggling thought that he knows this person and isn't actually sure he is a human, but really, anything that screams and bleeds will work fine. So why does he feel sick to his stomach as he springs forward, teeth and claws at the ready?

His internal conflict is completely forgotten when Daine thumps to the ground behind Gabriel. For a split second, Yuri sees the white bear as a target: more meat to tear apart. Then it registers that she's bigger than him. Nothing is bigger than him! Stopping in his tracks again, he roars back at her and rears up onto his hind legs. He's really not sure how to deal with this, but looking bigger seems like a good plan.

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