Constable Benton Fraser (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
maintiensledroit) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
singillatim2024-02-09 12:17 pm
maintiensledroit) wrote in singillatim2024-02-09 12:17 pm
[open] the lamp is burnin' low upon my table top, the snow is softly falling
Who: Benton Fraser, Diefenbaker, and you!
What: Woodworking, guitar playing, ice skating, and more
When: Through February
Where: In Milton, at the basin, in the woods, others tbd.
Content Warnings: mention of animal butchery, hunting, others tbd.
i.
[ Even in this icy weather, it's a good idea to preserve meat rather than simply stashing it, raw, in the snow, and so Fraser can be found in the first weeks of February in the woods, seeking out a likely-looking tree trunk, either fallen or still standing. Once found, he brings tools and begins hollowing the thing out, working steadily with Diefenbaker either lazing beside him in the snow or off in the woods, hunting for himself.
When the log is hollow, he hitches Dief in a jury-rigged harness attached to leather straps around the log and together they haul it back to the house where he's been staying with Heartman. Once back in town, Fraser can be found hammering nails and hooks inside the hollowed trunk, humming quietly to himself as he works. He'd be more than happy to answer any questions, should someone stop by to ask what he's up to. ]
ii.
[ Before he found the right trunk, while he was out in the woods, something else had happened in the early days of the month. Diefenbaker had gone stock-still and focused at his side, and when Fraser looked up, he'd seen the thing that had so caught the wolf's attention: a dog, enormous and mossy, watching them from among the trees.
No amount of calling and cajoling brings the best toward them, but when the dog had begun walking off Dief had followed without hesitation, leaving Fraser to come along or no as he would. They'd followed the strange animal on what began to feel almost like a path through the woods, strangely clear and easy to move along despite no signs of having been cleaned or kept up by man. It was hardly a surprise at all when the path led to a cabin he'd never seen before, sitting empty and cold but neat and sturdy for all that. He'd left Dief outside with the strange dog and gone to look for any signs of life.
There were none. The cabin was empty and mostly bare of supplies, but in the bedroom he found an impossible treasure: an old six-string acoustic guitar, tucked carefully away into its case. Even better, when he'd carefully lifted the thing out to inspect it, he'd found the case contained even more riches: extra packets of strings, a few picks, even a somewhat stiff capo.
Now, when he's finished work for the day, Fraser can be found on the porch steps of the house on Thompson's Drive with the guitar in his lap. On the first evening, he'll be there stringing it; on subsequent evenings someone might hear the rippling sounds of a fingerpicked accompaniment and a pleasant baritenor voice singing along. ]
ii.
[ But the Mountie isn't always in the woods. After an excursion to what remains of the outdoor gear store, he can also be found down on the frozen Basin, accompanied by the hissing sound of his hockey skates over the ice as he makes long loops or short sprints or simply skates backward in long, graceful swoops. Or perhaps someone nearby might hear the smack of a stick hitting a puck and the muffled thunk of said puck driving into a snowbank.
There's another stick and more pucks on the bank, just in case anyone would like to join him in his games. ]
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It sounds like you were a very independent girl.
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I'm the youngest daughter, so for a long time I had little to do aside from roam on my own and cause grey hairs to appear on my father's head.
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I recently met a girl in Chicago a little like that.
[ He can't quite hide his mild amusement, or the warmth at the thought. Christina was a challenge, but she was a bright, active, lively girl and he'd liked her. ]
The girl I was chaperoning. She led me on quite a chase through the city. She was determined to experience everything she could.
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[Don't worry, Randvi has not forgotten the gunmen.]
I might have been similar in another time. I once convinced my friends to help me slay a white bear so we could gift the pelt to my nephew.
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That must have been quite a feat. How did you do it?
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[She laughs quietly.] Sometimes I'm amazed that I survived into adulthood.
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It sounds as though you've been fierce your whole life.
[ No wonder she'd come out here to confront him. After taking down a polar bear, is it possible to be scared of anything else? ]
I never did anything like that. Mostly I helped to hunt caribou and moose for the village.
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[He’d indulged her often but that was still one of the kinder descriptions.]
Do not sell yourself short! Moose can be fierce opponents.
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[ He thinks there are moose around here, although he hasn't seen one, and that concerns him, too, enough that his gaze turns faintly unfocused and his brow creases. ]
Especially here, if they're anything like the other wildlife I've come across.
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And even if they were sick, or starving... none of it seems quite right.
[ For example, there are too many of them. Where are the caribou? He keeps wondering, and so far he's found no answers. It's as though this whole land is under some kind of invisible infection. ]
It's a relief that whatever might be affecting them isn't affecting Diefenbaker.
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It is strange. Especially cut off for this long, you would expect the populations to balance themselves. [There should not still be this many ill or starving wolves.]
[This is a bit of a delicate question, but…] Your… friend. Is he affected by the Darkwalker when it comes? That terror?
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Yes. I've never seen him so afraid of anything.
[ Now he does hesitate, if only slightly. This is a strange thing to admit, but: ]
I have never been so afraid of anything.
[ He'd be the last person to tout his own courage, but whatever effect the Darkwalker has on all of them wipes away all conscious thought and ability to think, to even attempt to fight back. It's like being a child, caught in a nightmare. ]
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[The first time, she had resurfaced to the sound of her own sobbing. Randvi hadn't wept so openly since before she’d married.]
I wonder whether the Darkwalker existing in and of the forest has driven the beasts that live there mad with it. The fear. If it were like that constantly in the village we would not have survived it.
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But it only seems to be affecting the predators… at least as far as I can tell. The deer are skittish and few and far between, but they don’t seem to be aggressive.
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That is true. I'd expect to see more stampedes if prey animals were frightened as well, as in a fire.
It may even be that this god is weaponizing a creature with which it has an affinity against us. The one in the dream wore wolf skulls. I wish we knew more.
apologies for being so late, fade for a fresh start later?
There's much we need to learn... if we can.
[ Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea for him to spend some time with Methuselah, to learn what he can. ]
For now, I think it will help for us to come together when we can. I'm glad you came to speak to me, Randvi. I hope we'll be able to talk again.
no worries! Just in time for a new snag in the Kate saga it sounds like