Re: Woods: Claire/Daniel
Paranoia burned ice cold in her stomach, and she immediately looked around the woods for anyone following, or perhaps listening. What if Daniel was in danger if he went home? "Last night? Probably someone under the effect of the drugs," Though she knew that would do little to appease him. The territorial nature of his kind was very well known and often relied upon by hunters. Which was why the news that someone being in his house raised her hackles. Claire knew there was at least one other Inquisition member in town. Carver was here for other reasons, personal reasons, on top of being here to spy on the Bellatora. But, even the most incapable member of the Inquisition would have left no evidence that they had been there. "Is Mimi okay?" Because to her, a living creature was far more important than the status of property.
Claire didn't often swear, but she did. There was nothing wrong with doing so, as long as there was no blasphemy in the words. Sometimes the anger or frustration behind them made her pray for forgiveness, but the actual vocabulary was little more than a vocal punctuation. "It is fucking stupid not to wear them. Put them on. Just in case. It's only me here, and I think they're cute." So that last part wasn't important at all, but she loved those sunglasses. She'd had them for years. Bought them in Heathrow Airport before she came to New York to investigate the incident in Mapleton. Somehow, miraculously, they'd survived her travels.
Claire flopped down against the trunk of the tree next to him and rested leather-clad forearms on bent knees. If she never saw him glare at her like he had, like she was prey, it would be too soon. She cared about what happened to him, what he did, as if she had some sort of personal investment in him beyond simple friendship. Claire needed to know she was right. That he wasn't some monster that deserved to be eradicated. That he was one of God's creatures and should receive the same unconditional love as any other. "Is the pain very bad? We can- I mean, if you want to try, we can remove it. To help get you home quicker." All she could see was him shifting about under the cloak whenever he moved and it struck her as oddly calming. At least he was alive... well, relatively speaking. She was happy to wait as long as he needed, the day surely had taken its toll on him, but getting him somewhere safe would ease her mind much more.
And if that intimate offer wasn't enough to key him in on how bad his injuries looked? To a woman that had detailed knowledge of how people looked turned inside out? She was either going very soft, which was entirely possible given her affection for Daniel, or he should obviously not be seen by the public.