Re: Woods: Claire/Daniel
Seeing Claire brought much of Daniel's sanity back. The frantic desire to return home before something dire happened was still there, a ball of molten copper down somewhere behind his breastbone, but Claire was here, and there was far less that could go wrong. Claire could stop Daniel from doing anything that might seriously injure anyone else, and she could probably stop him from evaporating into the mess of his subconscious, too.
Daniel didn't know how bad he looked; he knew he hurt, but pain was a different thing to a creature that didn't age. It was more familiar, even acceptable. He was not in the direct sunlight, so he didn't fear for his immediate cessation, and the damage of the afternoon's natural cozy glow was slow and much like an ongoing flame; after a while, the pain did not throb or stab, but simply became... constant.
Daniel made no move in her direction again, a stark difference to his usual European greeting on seeing her, and instead he leaned sideways into the tree trunk, hard enough that it seemed that he would fall. The cloak was over his head before he knew what was happening, enclosing him in a strange scarlet darkness. He was distantly aware of how ridiculous he looked with the red curtain draped over his head and face. He probably looked like a spook. This struck him as funny, since he was currently living his afterlife.
Daniel made a soft growl of frustration when he was unable to order his thoughts, and the scarlet ghost swayed left and right before slowly sinking down at the base of the tree. "It is... better. Thank you." He shifted and put out his arms to try to find the opening, probably not the best idea. "I have to get home," he told her, with more urgency and less dreamy frustration.