slayers_desire | the kind of future you don't want to have ((future!verse))

I'm always being watched here. Anyone coming to get me out would need to bring a lot of firepower. And it wouldn't be right to leave all these people here.

He still doesn't approve of killing. But ever since the Kandorians took over, he knows that there's no avoiding it. People died when Zod rose to power. Lots of people. And while killing Zod won't bring them back, it might be the only way to stop him.

If it's even possible, now.

She loves him for the fact that he still puts others in front of himself. They would notice if others started disappearing too, I suppose...

Her frustration at the situation just feeds her want to do something. Is she even making a difference out here? Everything seems so hopeless.

Mentally, she hugs him tightly. What should I do?

Keep fighting the good fight. Do what I can't anymore. And keep as many people alive as you can. She's one of the only things keeping him from falling into despair, these days. Though it seems hard to imagine ever being able to come back from this.

Part of him wants to ask who her target is tonight. But it's easier not to know. How is everyone else?

We have been working hard to protect innocents. Wherever we find them. Dark Oak doesn't consider herself an innocent before.

I... do my job without talking to them much. It might sound selfish, but she has felt alone. And has worked alone. Except for the times when she got her job assignment.

His heart hurts when he thinks about the sort of person she's been forced to become. The kind of life she has now. I'm sorry. This isn't what I wanted for you here.

But there is no where else I would be. She never once thought about leaving his dimension in this situation, without an ally such as herself. She never once thought about abandoning him.

Everything she does is so he can be free. So they all can be free.

Do... do you think of me differently now? Dark Oak had to embrace the darkness to survive Zod's rule. And while little scares her, the one thing that frightens her to the core is that she would lose his respect.

I don't think badly of you, if that's what you're asking. He thinks of everything differently now, including himself. He thought he could be a hero, the world's savior. He got millions of people killed, and propelled his worst enemy to the top. And he blames himself for everything that's happened because of that.

I don't think badly of you. Another mental embrace. A soft mental touch to his face, and through his hair. Almost like she is there.

Like they are sleeping next to each other in his bed, at the farm. Like they did before things got so bad.

He wishes he could touch her for real, to be able to hold her and stroke her hair and be with her. I miss you.

I miss you too. She could be there without them knowing. But that would hurt more... to be so close to him and not be able to touch him. To hold him.

At least there is the physical distance to keep her from showing affection. From showing his enemies a weakness they could exploit.

She tunes back to the streets, her prey appearing outside now. I should return back to work.

He's reluctant to go back to the silence, to having to hear little more than the downtrodden people being held captive with him. But he knows that her work is important, and he can't be so selfish to keep her from it. I love you. Stay safe.

The only reason that Dark Oak doesn't keep the link open is because she is about to kill someone. A Kandorian. And while she knows that Clark understands her job... she doesn't want him to experience it through the bond.

The job itself is quick and painless. She goes in shadow form. Use Kryptonite to weaken them. And snaps their neck, ensuring that they are good and dead before leaving.

Then reports back to Watchtower.

Chloe still goes by her codename, although the Watchtower base was deactivated to keep it from the Kandorians' attention when the takeover happened. She rarely smiles anymore, and never sleeps without a kryptonite knife in her hand. Nor does she talk about personal issues anymore.

"Status of target?"

"Decommissioned." One shame is the loss of a friendship between Dark Oak and Watchtower. Neither talk about personal issues. They were once so close. And now...

"Prisoner K was verified as well."

There's a bit of a pause at that. Chloe still harbors a lot of resentment about Clark's choice of confronting Zod as he did, and the consequences that followed. But she still does worry about him, deep down.

There's a lot of people she still worries about. At least they know that Clark is alive.

"Good work. Are you heading back now, or do you have another errand to run?"

"I have an errand to run." Dark Oak still requires blood. And without the safety of the farmhouse, or the protection of the Watchtower base, she has to rely on other methods.

"All right. We'll leave the light on for you. Watch your back." Finding food is hard enough for the ordinary humans in the resistance, and she won't begrudge anyone the opportunity to eat when they can. No matter what that food is.

Dark Oak is very selective for her eating habits. She only does it when she has to. And attempts to find an animal first. She would rather not sharing the feeding passions with any human. Not when Clark is being treated like an animal himself.

Leaving, she goes out to the streets. This time hunting for a different reason.

One good thing about the streets outside of the ruins of Metropolis is that wildlife is flourishing, reclaiming some areas that humans have abandoned. Birds, mice, raccoons, even deer have become more used to wandering around small towns without fear of being hunted by humans.

Some in the resistance, like "Agent Green," have taken on secondary tasks providing food for their comrades in arms. And she might see him at work, tracking a deer through town, unaware of her presence.

Altering her path, Dark Oak tracks "Agent Green" as he tracks the deer. He interests her, a hunter like she is. And perhaps she can help secure more food for those who need it.

He still keeps an eye on the sky as he goes, and a lead-sheathed meteor rock knife on his belt. But out here, away from the city, most of the Kandorians don't care what the humans do so long as they don't make any moves of resistance. And occasionally they blow up something to keep the humans' spirits down, and keep them from building.

Oliver keeps a steady pace as he follows the deer's tracks, eventually coming up on the beast grazing on someone's lawn. He crouches in the shadow of a dead tree, sighting down an arrow as he draws the bowstring back.

Dark Oak stays back and just watches. Not making any sound. Not casting any movement to alert the creature. It is a beautiful animal, and looks like it will feed plenty.

((have to help my dad with stuff, might not see you until tomorrow))

Oliver lets the arrow fly, and it buries itself in the deer's side, piercing its lung. The deer bolts, but doesn't make it far before it drops, and Oliver makes sure that it's dead with another, closer-range shot. He's satisfied with the hunt, and backtracks slightly to retrieve a salvaged, insulated cooler to pack the meat into once he has it cut apart and wrapped.

((All right, see you then))

She waits while he cuts it apart and wrapped. Mostly to watch his back as he works. The blood smells good.

Clearing her throat, Dark Oak steps out of her shadow spell. "It looks like you had good hunting."

Edited 2012-02-03 04:06 (UTC)

He looks up sharply and his hand goes for his knife, but he aborts the movement when he sees her. "Good enough, yeah. I think everyone was getting a little sick of rabbits and raccoons all the time."

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