InsaneJournal

Tweak says, " Scotty doesn't know!"

bound_delia (bound_delia) wrote in bound_rp,
@ 2014-12-10 17:24:00

Entry tags:

complete, daryl rochester, delia fallon, private

so hey, let's be friends
Date: December 10th, 2013
Time: 11pm
Location: The wooded area around Memorial Park
Characters: Daryl Rochester + Delia Fallon
Description: As Delia tries to find some of her missing items in the woods, she encounters a newcomer in town.
Status: Private, Complete.

It didn't seem like that long ago, Delia had locked herself out of her car at some god awful hour in the morning and had to walk from the hospital all the way back to her home in Memorial Park. During that trip, she had encountered a vampire who seemed keen on making her his dinner and she had been forced to shift to escape him, leaving a bunch of her clothes and other personal items scattered around the wooded floor of the park. It had been quite some time since then, and she had still been unable to locate her earrings and a necklace she cared about.

Work had ended not long ago, and after she came home she immediately grabbed a flashlight and went to go look for said missing items. Daylight didn't seem to be doing much, as the fog and general winter weather didn't allow for any glinting of the missing pieces to reflect off the sun and allow her to see them. And it seemed stupid to go out at night again, after she had nearly been eaten and all that, but she was quite competent and capable - there was no reason, in her mind, to be afraid of going out there at night. If she was, it just meant that he won. And that was the last thing she wanted. For some stupid vampire to have made her afraid of the dark.

So with a lovely and quite powerful flashlight in hand, she headed back out in her scrubs to try and locate her jewelry. As she walked, she stuck the flashlight under her arm to tug her hair out of the bun she'd been wearing at work, the hair-tie starting to give her a bit of a tension headache. The curls spilled out over her shoulders and she massaged her head briefly, taking the flashlight back in hand and sighing. She was starting to think maybe he stole the items as she neared the area where the prior scuffle had taken place, no reflecting of gems in sight.

Delia was focusing quite a bit on finding the lost treasures, combing the soft forest floor with her eyes peeled - and that meant that she wasn't paying total attention to her surroundings. She should have been more careful, and with how jumpy she had been lately she knew it could lead to an unexpected shift if she were surprised by anything in the forest, but she was sure at this time of night there wouldn't be anything to worry about, it was only eleven after all. Vampires didn't usually come out until a bit later, and in her current state of tiredness and frustration it was possible she wasn't really thinking about anything else startling her in the night.

(Post a new comment)

bound_daryl
2014-12-13 09:36 pm UTC (link)

So, Daryl had been injured. Slightly. It was a scratch, really, even if it was bleeding. It had been a bit of a scrap, an elderly gentleman with a beard and his dog who claimed ownership over the shop doorway he had decided to sleep in. Daryl was above kicking dogs, so when it had bitten him, he had grabbed the scruff of its neck and pulled until it released him. He wouldn't have minded, but as soon as he'd been confronted, he had gathered his things, ready to move on. He'd done nothing to antagonise him, nothing to deserve the dog that was set on him, but there it was. So, his leg ached, and he could see it bleeding through the fabric of his jeans, but he had certainly suffered worse before.

Who knew, perhaps an unsuspecting would swoop down on him, thinking the injury meant he was weak. Oh, how wrong they would be. He walked quietly, enjoying the calm chill of the night. He walked further than he had meant to, and after a time, he found himself lost in the woods, quite literally. He was not entirely certain when he had ended up there, how he had managed to find a forest so close to the city, but there it was. It was certainly a safer place to sleep than a shop door. As far as Daryl was concerned, he had nothing to fear, not any more. He was the scariest thing out in the dark tonight. He pushed his collar up against the cold before his steps faltered and he had to lean against a tree, cursing. Leaning over, his guitar shifting in its case on his back, he pulled up the left leg of his jeans and frowned at what he saw. So, it was a bit worse than he'd thought and he would need to make enough come tomorrow to afford a little bit of medical attention.

There was movement through the trees. A light and movement. He approached slowly, carefully, moving as silently as he was able, given his injury. It was annoying, really. He was so quiet usually. He held his breath as he walked and let it out when he saw that this was no threat. It was just a human. A doctor, it looked like, if he trusted the scrubs she wore. He revealed himself with hands up, limp and all.

"I seem to have had a run in with a man and his dog," he said, voice clear and almost as though he were joking, "I'm a bit lost, looking for a hospital, and I wondered if you could help me."

(Reply to this) (Thread)

bound_delia
2014-12-13 11:00 pm UTC (link)

It was the footsteps that reached her before the voice did. If she hadn't been so on edge maybe the whole scene to come could have been avoided. If she had waited before she reacted, her secret wouldn't be outed. But she was on edge and she didn't stop to think. It was a fight between her instincts to flee and her logical to keep everything hidden. She had had to move enough times in her life to know you couldn't just out your supernatural secrets to anyone, because people like her often suffered persecution for the things they had been naturally born with.

And so instead of taking that moment to realize what was going on, from inside the nurse's scrubs burst out a small hummingbird that jetted into the air. The clothes fell promptly to the ground and she mentally cursed herself, realizing he was both not a vampire and not looking to kill her. He was actually looking for medical attention. So she came to the ground a few feet away, human again. "Avert your eyes and don't even think about trying to attack me. I'm going to put my scrubs back on."

When he obliged - or even if he didn't - she went ahead and grabbed her clothing and shoved it on as quickly as possible before she folded her arms across her chest. She was very well prepared to tell him he had imagined the whole thing, infection in the wound and all that, convince him that he was hallucinating or something because shifters just couldn't exist, that was such a silly idea! But she would wait to see how he reacted first.

"I'm a registered trauma nurse, I could check you out before you drown yourself in debt going to a hospital." Although who knows, he might have really good insurance. Judging by the look of him, though, she wasn't all too convinced that he was anyone who wanted to go to any sort of doctor to get treated, as was the case with most people who didn't have ridiculously good insurance. And of course, bribery with free medical attention always helped keep her secrets, too.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bound_daryl
2014-12-13 11:15 pm UTC (link)

Daryl blinked. And blinked again. His body had tensed and his immediate reaction had been to go for the rather large knife he kept with him at all times, but when a bird of all things had fluttered from the scrubs that fell rather cleanly to the ground, he faltered. He would never falter when attacked, and if this bird happened to do so, he'd not hesitate, but for the most part, it seemed... just pathetic. He held his knife aloft in a looser grip than he had utilised when first met with the shock of the woman who had quite literally changed her shape before him.

"I take it you're not a vampire," he said, already knowing the negative answer. He had hunted enough of those to know every sign there was. "It's just a dog bite," he said of his own injury, watching warily as the nurse dressed herself. He would not avert his eyes. There was nothing lecherous in it. It was about staying alive. If he behaved like a gentleman, he might never do so much as breathe again. "Times like this I miss the NHS," he said, even laughing. He could see no danger in her, but he didn't drop the knife. That was the difference between alive and dead for Daryl.

"What are you, then?" he asked then. He'd come across nothing like this in all his life.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bound_delia
2014-12-13 11:24 pm UTC (link)

"Not a vampire. And given the vibe you're giving off, I take it you aren't one either." It's why she should have thought about it more, too. Humans, even hunters as he was seeming to be, didn't give off the same supernatural vibe that other people like her did. Her urge to shift into another animal agitated her far more when supernaturals were around, and his presence before the knife did not make her really feel like she had to change and escape. So he was only a threat if he wanted to use his knife, which she could outrun. Probably. If she shifted fast enough,

"Dog bites can get infected easily, since their saliva has so many germs our bodies aren't used to. Not to mention it seems to be bleeding a good amount." She stood very still, watching the knife that he did not put away. "I can stitch what needs to be stitched, clean it, and bandage it for you. I have all that in my bag." She shrugged, nonchalant. "And I would appreciate it if you both put the knife away and did not tell anyone about what happened here." Because more than just her job was at stake here, her whole life would be uprooted if he tried to blab her secret.

"I'm a shifter. We change shape, obviously, as you saw. Into pretty much anything we've seen with our own eyes. It's a fear and defensive response." She shrugged. "I thought you were the same vampire who tried to attack me a few weeks ago. I panicked and shifted." That was more than enough explanation but she felt the need to give reason for why she had behaved so stupidly - rationalizing it more for herself than for his benefit."Do you want help or not?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bound_daryl
2014-12-13 11:44 pm UTC (link)

The knife was away the moment she confirmed her lack of vampirism. Well, here was an ally of sorts. At least, she did not sympathise with their kind. Not if she had been attacked by one. He took his guitar off now, let it rest against the trunk of the tree he had been leaning against.

"I've had worse than this before," he said of the bite, but he could see where she was coming from. It hurt, obviously, and the blood coming from it was something of a worry. Hopefully it wouldn't attract anything, at least until he was able to fight it off, whatever it was. He sat down on the frosty greenery beneath and rolled his jeans leg up again. The bleeding had slowed some, probably the adrenaline from the unexpected transformation he had witnessed, but he felt calm now. Still, it looked messy and did need some sort of cleaning. "Don't expect I need many stitches," he commented, but what did he know? Not a lot. He'd studied music, not medicine.

"Was being a trauma nurse so wise a choice for someone like you, then?" he asked. "Sure, you must panic some there?" A shifter. He would have to look into that one. Still, a nurse did not suggest any intent to harm people. Quite the opposite.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bound_delia
2014-12-13 11:51 pm UTC (link)

She relaxed a bit when he put the knife away, and the uncomfortable feeling of need to escape or shift finally dissipated completely. She breathed a sigh of relief and put her hands on her hips, clearly more relaxed than she had been a few moments ago.

"I'm sure you have, but that doesn't mean you should ignore things that aren't as bad as things you've had before." She sounded very much like an irritated nurse at that point. So many times people had put off getting something treated because they had had worse and it never ended well. Even a small papercut could turn into something nasty if you did not properly clean and treat it. "Probably not, but I'll have to look at it first before we can make that call."

He asked if being a trauma nurse was a good idea and she laughed. "Probably not at first, no." She said, her features easing a little as she remembered all her days in nursing school and whatnot. "But I had to learn how to control it anyway, so it just took a bit more focus and calm. When I'm there, it isn't danger I'm feeling, so it's a different kind of anxiety that doesn't press the oh my dear, shift now button quite like being almost attacked by a vampire does. I am not usually so easy to change like that, but this place has a lot more... vampires and other things than any other place I've been."

She wiped her hands off and gave him a quick be right back, before she ran and grabbed her bag and came back. She really did not live far from this spot, so she was back in a flash and hesitated as she stood nearer to him. "Can I?" She said, indicating his leg and her bag of medical goodies.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bound_daryl
2014-12-14 12:07 am UTC (link)

Daryl found himself smiling slightly at the mention of more than a few vampires in the area. Not for long. He didn't say as much, though. There was no point in outing yourself as this girl had done. He was just some homeless man who had run into a vampire once or twice. That was it. "Well, I wasn't ignoring it. It didn't happen that long ago, and I was planning on gathering the money I needed to treat it tomorrow. Know how it is, don't you?" he asked, companionable. He watched as she went to fetch her bag and returned to him, quick as you like. "Go ahead," he murmured, only slightly tense now, as one always was when they had to allow this sort of thing to happen. Who could really relax when someone was tending your wounds? Still, a nurse was a nurse, even if she wasn't a doctor. Nurses were more trustworthy as far as he had experienced.

"So, are there many like you?" he asked before pausing. Of course there were. There were rarely ever just one or two of a people that failed as far as the test of humanity went. "Well, of course there are, so rather, let me ask a different question. A bird? I suppose you didn't choose that." After all, who would? It was quite pathetic. "Sure, that sort of thing would show up in your blood work, wouldn't it? 'Oh, yes, doctor, that bird DNA is from my parrot at home. He's friendly'," he drawled in an imitation. Why pick a line of work where you had to interact with so many humans, and on such a regular basis? He would not have done that himself, had he been forced to worry about that. Luckily, he wasn't.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bound_delia
2014-12-14 12:20 am UTC (link)

"Well now you can do it for free." She said with a small smile, taking the necessary things out of her bag. First she used the water bottle she had stored in there to wash off the wound, using an alcohol wipe to make sure it was properly cleaned. "Might sting." She warned before she did it, though it probably would hurt less than how it felt to be bit, anyway. Once it was cleaned, she saw that there was really no need for stitches. The bleeding was already abating and a nice, heavy bandage should do the trick as long as he didn't mess with it. "As long as you don't remove the bandage, you wont need stitches. Keep it on and clean for two or three days after I place it, and then you can take it off and make sure you keep it clean. I'll give you extras so that you can re-bandage it after."

She went ahead and started to place the heavy bandage, listening to his line of questioning. "It's not the sort of thing that shows up in DNA. It's like a witch - I have the same sort of mana in my blood but it doesn't register in a test." She shrugged, knowing that very few things could pick up traces of mana in blood if it weren't of supernatural origins. "There are quite a few like me, but not an excessive amount. And I can shift into anything - if I wanted to I could have turned into something more menacing. But shifting, traditionally, comes for a need to protect oneself. Turning into a bird allows for a quick escape and makes me more difficult to catch or harm." Especially a hummingbird, like she turned into. Very small and very quick, even a good shot would have difficulty hitting her with a bullet.

"And we can shift into anything, not just animals." She said, shrugging. She didn't want to make herself seem dangerous, but she was a little offended at the way in which he spoke about her favorite form. "And what's wrong with a bird? I bet you can't fly."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bound_daryl
2014-12-14 12:36 am UTC (link)

"Thank you. I'll do my best at that, but it's not too easy when you're living outside, you know," he said, "Showers are hard to come by, but sure, I can probably see my way to finding a public loo to wash in, something like that," he nodded to himself. It shouldn't be too difficult. He'd managed it before. At a push, there was always McDonald's. They were always open. He would cope, as he always did. It was just life. His life. Maybe he would find another particularly wealthy vampire, get rid of them, and spend his few days healing there. That would be a good idea. He turned his attention back to the woman treating his leg. To his credit, he thought, he didn't wince as the wound was cleaned. It was fantastic news, that it wouldn't need stitches.

"Well, a bird it is, then," Daryl agreed, giving a laugh. He didn't mention that he'd probably have attacked rather than wait it out had she turned into anything less pathetic than a bird. "I can't fly, no," he admitted. "So, what's your name?" he asked then. "I'm Daryl," he said, "Daryl Rochester, but the surname won't help you too much. Not exactly in a phonebook, me," he said. You needed to possess a landline for that, as far as he knew, and to have a landline, you needed a house. Or at least a flat. He still had his mobile. But no one ever phoned him on it. Who would? Besides which, where would he charge it? He only kept the thing out of sentiment. It had his mother's last words on it, after all.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bound_delia
2014-12-14 12:48 am UTC (link)

Homeless. That killed her. She hated to see people who had fallen on hard times like that. Her lips pursed and formed a little frown as she finished up the bandaging portion. He was set to go as long as he took it easy for the day and didn't mess with the bandage, like she had said. She went ahead and got a little kit together, so that he could fix himself up later when the bandage needed to be changed. She even threw in a little extra for future cuts and scrapes. "There's a shelter, in town. I work there sometimes. If you'd like a place to stay for the next few days, I could give them a call."

Delia had started giving free medical attention to anyone in the shelter for the last four or five years. Pretty much since she had come to Crescent Cove. She also didn't ask a lot of questions, because there were a fair few amount of hunters and supernatural creatures who would end up there on hard times with injuries that weren't easy to explain to a normal doctor. She had sort of gotten a reputation for being the one to go to if you needed proper care without having to answer how you got the injury.

"Flying is pretty fantastic." She said, her features softening a little into a smile. She stood up and wiped off her hands, using another one of the alcohol pads to sanitize her hands since they had come into contact with his blood and whatnot. She zipped up the bag and then extended a hand out to him. "Delia. Delia Fallon. I am in the phone book, and I live just a short way from here." She was still rather confident in her ability to escape from him if need be, and so far he did not seem to be someone who wanted to harm her... so she decided to continue being helpful.

"You look like you could use something warm to drink, and a good meal. You could come in for dinner, if you want."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bound_daryl
2014-12-14 01:09 am UTC (link)

He smiled slightly. "Thank you for the offer," he said, leaving it at that. He had stayed in shelters before. They were all very well and good, but they took him away from the action of things. He had missed a vampire attack once when he had been staying in a shelter. It wasn't ideal. His way of life went hand in hand with his true calling in life. But for the next few days... he could be no help to anyone while he recovered. No, it was best that he let himself recover for once. As she had said, things ignored could only get worse. "Thank you," he repeated, having made up his mind, "That would be great if it wouldn't be a problem to?"

He shook her hand from the ground and then used the trunk he'd let his guitar rest against to pull himself up to his feet. "It's good to meet you, Delia," he said. Nurse Fallon. Well, it was something to remember should he ever need to get to the hospital in this place. Then there was the offer to go back to hers. "Thank you," he said, again, and he was sure he was saying so far too much, but he had a great deal to be thankful for. "I've not eaten today," he admitted fairly readily. Or yesterday, but there it was. The crowds were tough in this country. England had always paid well. Here, he'd have to exist on the kindness of strangers, it seemed. Still, he felt the hints of suspicion. He always did, no matter who they were.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bound_delia
2014-12-14 01:15 am UTC (link)

He didn't seem willing to accept her help, as if there were something more important on his mind. But after what seemed a few minutes of debating he thanked her, asking if it would be trouble. "Not at all. I volunteer there frequently, I'm sure they would be glad to house you while you let that wound heal." She smiled happily, always glad to help someone who needed it. Especially one who took her for what she was and did not freak out or try and harm her in some way. It was also a ploy to keep him from sharing her secret, though she would have helped him anyway.

Daryl also decided to go ahead and accept her offer for food and she smacked her hands together and said "Wonderful." She didn't offer to help him carry his things, because she felt that might be emasculating and possibly make him refuse any of the rest of her help, so she just grabbed her bag and headed back towards her car, the search for her missing jewelry thoroughly abandoned once more. She was probably never going to find it, anyway.

The walk was short back to her place, a small little cabin-like home nestled in the woods nearby a street and a few other houses though she had quite a bit of space and her home was fairly private. She went inside, leaving the door open for him behind her trusting that he would close it. Inside on the counter were a few grocery bags, and she went ahead and started making what she had already planned on having - a quick pasta. Which was nice for him, because it was a starch and very filling. "So how long have you been in Crescent Cove?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bound_daryl
2014-12-14 01:24 am UTC (link)

He picked up his guitar, shouldering its straps so his weight would be more or less balanced to put the least amount of stress on his leg. "That's all I would need," he said, "Just a few days, then I would be out of their way," he added, in case that helped. He knew the general view on people without places to live. Traditionally, it was not exactly a favourable one. Still, the short lived kindness of strangers was nothing to be turned away from, and Daryl would always accept it happily. It often led to other opportunities, after all.

He walked at her side, to her car, then to her home. "What were you doing in the woods, then?" he asked, though perhaps it was a nightly ritual of hers. She didn't live too far away. He had no idea, really. Still, he would have thought a vampire attack might keep her away for at least a few nights. Obviously not. "Not long. I came to America three, nearly four, years ago. But here, only a week. Not long at all." He let his guitar rest by the front door which he shouldered shut behind him, then he was following her into the kitchen. It was all wooden colouring and warmth in here. Quite the contrast to outside, but he didn't take off his coat. He'd rather warm up, honestly.