Into The Woods

Victor Creed/Daisy Johnson

SabreQuake

Theme song:

Duran Duran - Hungry Like The Wolf

"I'm so sorry," Daisy said weakly, watching as May swiftly bandaged the bullet hole in Hunter's arm.

"It wasn't your fault," May said automatically, but Hunter's expression told Daisy it wasn't true even before he spoke.

"Don't coddle her, May. You don't do her any favours. They were alerted when that stick cracked under her foot. We'd have been twenty feet closer if not for that."

May said nothing, focussed on pulling the bandage tight. "There's not been much time to train her in wilderness skills," she said finally, as close to an excuse as Daisy had ever heard her make.

"Time to fix that," Hunter said drily, "because next time the bullet might be a few inches higher and further to the right, and I'd rather keep my good looks, thank you."

Feeling horribly guilty that it was her mistake that caused Hunter to be wounded, Daisy threw herself into the training he and May organised for her with enthusiasm. A week later, they told her that they'd organised a 'graduation test' for her.

"Okay," she said a little warily. "Am I going to have to eat more bugs?"

Hunter grinned. "Maybe."

"Ugh."

"We're going to drop you off." May handed her a small backpack. "Make your way back to the Playground. On foot. No cheating."

"As if I would!" Daisy gave her an indignant look.

"I know. Hand over your phone. We've got a tracker on you so if you get horribly lost we'll come in and get you."

She made a face, but handed it over, and not very long after that she was standing in a forest clearing watching the quinjet lift back off into the sky.

"Okay," Daisy said to herself, "time to take stock."

The backpack turned out to contain a map, a compass, a full water canteen, a small rolled sleeping bag, and a rain poncho. Unfolding the map, she sighed at the sea of green. A small X drawn in red had 'Destination' written on it. She looked in vain for another marking.

"Damn."

It took her the rest of the day and climbing a mountain to figure out where she was. By the time she identified the peak on the map, the sun was dropping rapidly towards the horizon and Daisy realised she needed to find shelter. And food. It was fall, so there was a reasonably good chance of some berries, somewhere…

Dinner was a handful of berries and a few hazelnuts she cheated and quaked open. They didn't do much to quiet her growling stomach, but she'd need to be a lot hungrier than this before she'd kill and eat a rabbit like the little grey one she'd seen bounce across her path earlier.

Clearing a patch of ground, she set rocks to build a firepit, and held two pieces of wood together, grinning to herself as she vibrated them faster and faster. Smoke curled upwards quickly and she soon had a comforting little fire blazing. Banking it carefully, she wriggled into her sleeping bag and settled in for the night.

The following morning, she set off almost as soon as she woke, only pausing to bury the remnants of her fire and stow her gear. The Playground was fifteen miles or so away over rough country; she might make it in a single day, but she'd need to move fast.

Victor Creed lifted his head, sniffing the air, startled, as a very unfamiliar scent suddenly caught his attention. His lips curled back from his sharp teeth.

It had been a very long time since a human strayed into his hunting grounds. Well, he'd see the nosy bastard off, all right. People disappeared in the woods all the time and never came out.

Except… his nostrils flared. A woman. He grinned suddenly. Well. Maybe he'd have a little fun with her first. It had been a long, long time since he'd been with a woman. Long time since I interacted with anyone. I'm a monster. Humanity doesn't want me, and I don't want them.

He slipped away from the small cabin he'd built with his own two hands, not making a sound despite his size. It wasn't long before he caught sight of the woman - girl - he paused behind a tree, rather shocked. He'd expected a hunter, someone with a rifle, probably a hard-edged older woman. But this young, lovely girl wasn't even armed as far as he could see, nor was there any scent of gunpowder reaching his nostrils. A small hunting knife rode her belt, and she was practically dressed in tough cargo pants, hiking boots and a plain cotton T-shirt, a small backpack over her back. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a clip behind her head; it wasn't long, chin-length he guessed, a pretty shade of dark brown with lighter streaks.

She paused even as he stood watching, settled for a few moments on a fallen tree, taking out a water bottle and drinking, looking at a map and using a compass, making markings before packing her things away again and getting up.

The girl moved with an easy, economical grace, watching where she put her feet, regularly checking the compass in her hand and making slight adjustments to her direction. She paused a couple of times, foraging for food, Victor realised, as she plucked berries from bushes and ate them from her hand as she walked. He followed her silently, fascinated despite himself. What was she doing? Where was she going, a beautiful young girl alone in the woods? There were no recognised hiking trails anywhere close by.

Curious, he trailed after her, a tall, silent shadow among the trees.

It took Daisy a while to notice that the woodland creatures had fallen silent. She paused mid-stride, looking around. There was no sound but the soughing of the wind through the trees.

Predator nearby, she thought, remembering Hunter's lessons. Bear, probably… her hand tightened around the hunting knife before she laughed quietly at herself. It'll be no threat to me if I move on quickly. Still, she made herself release the knife, hold up her hands and send out a gentle wave of vibrations, feeling the reflections, looking for the bear…

There was something massive and alive behind a tree not too far away. But it wasn't in the direction she planned to go, so she didn't think she needed to worry. Walking on again quickly, she didn't slow her pace for a good fifteen minutes.

Victor stood stunned for a few moments, until after she was out of sight. And then, jaw set, he started after her again, even more careful to make no sound, nor let his scent drift to her on the breeze. Because she had powers, which meant she was a mutant, which meant the X-Men were looking for him again.

The back of Daisy's neck prickled. And the birds were still silent, except for the occasional alarm call. Now she came to think of it, that massive creature behind that tree really hadn't felt quite like a bear - not that she was quite sure what a bear would feel like - spinning around suddenly, she flung out her hands again, sending out a slightly stronger wave of vibration.

There!

The next wave of vibration was designed to incapacitate whatever it was, send it flying - but it was no longer there. And then a massive hand curled around her throat from behind and lifted her off her feet.

She would have screamed, except she couldn't get a sound out. A rough, harsh male voice growled in her ear "What's a little girl like you doing all alone in the woods?"

Daisy's eyes widened with shock. She had to make him let go, she had to… she grabbed onto a thick wrist with both hands and sent a sharp wave of vibration through it.

"Looking for the asshole who calls grown women little girls," she gasped out as his grip loosened. She fully expected him to drop her, but he didn't; his arm jerked and tightened again, something sharp nicked her throat - and then he did drop her.

She was higher in the air than she'd thought - how big is this asshole anyway? - fell to her knees as she stumbled, twisted around, her hands already coming up. And then she paused as her eyes met those of a huge guy, standing calmly there looking down at her, licking a drop of her blood off a long, brutally sharp-looking fingernail - was that a claw? She gaped up at him.

The girl - no, the woman, his woman, his soulmate - stared up at him, soft lips parted, dark brown eyes very wide. Victor licked his claw again, tasting her, her blood, her sweat. She tasted like perfection. Addictive. He had to rein himself in, the instinct to push her down, to taste all of her, warring with the realisation that he'd already frightened her. Slowly, he lowered his hand to his side and dropped to his knees, trying to make himself smaller, less threatening. She had a small hand flung up towards him, shaking slightly, and he reached out to touch her small, slim fingers very gently with his own.

"What's your name?" he rumbled quietly.

She stared at him from wide, spooked eyes - but she didn't look frightened, and there was no fear scent on her. Just a look of concern coming over her face.

"Daisy," she said finally, "Daisy Johnson, please, I can help you - did you take fish oil tablets?"

"What?" he blinked at her in surprise, as she leaned forward, wrapping her little fingers around his.

"Before you changed. Was it the fish oil tablets, or something else? How long ago?" Daisy leaned closer, looking at his eyes. His pupils were slit like a cat's, bright green, and his teeth were too sharp to be fully human.

Victor cocked his head, staring at her. "I've been this way for over a hundred and fifty years," he said quietly. "I was born like this."

"What?" it was Daisy's turn to blink in surprise. "You weren't exposed to Terrigen?"

"Ah," suddenly he understood. "No. No, I'm not Inhuman. I'm X-gene."

Daisy stared at him, at her soulmate. He was massive, he'd towered above her before dropping to his knees. She suspected he was even bigger than Mack. He had short, untidily clipped brown hair, thick stubble and a squarish, handsome face set off by those spectacular eyes.

He was very attractive to her sensibilities. She took a deep breath and realised that was a mistake when she caught his scent, a woodsy, musky scent that made heat coil through her body, moisture well between her legs. His nostrils flared and she realised he was probably scenting her arousal. His eyes hooded, lips parting, and he ran his tongue over his lower lip slowly.

"I don't even know your name," she managed to gulp out, her eyes still locked with his.

"Victor. Victor Creed." He leaned closer to her, his slitted pupils flared, almost completely round. "I can taste you on the air," he whispered. "So sweet, my Daisy…"

She shuddered at his possessive tone, swayed towards him unconsciously, and a second later his arm had snapped around her, taken her down to the ground, pinned her beneath his powerful body.

The moan that escaped Daisy was pure arousal, making Victor growl in his throat just before he took her mouth with his own, plundering, possessing. She moaned again, clutching at his shoulders, pulling him closer. Legs wrapping around his waist.

"Phil!" May burst into his office, and Coulson looked up from his desk, startled. "We've picked Sk-Daisy up on approach, she's been hurt…"

"What?" Phil was up and running almost at once. Daisy was two days later than May and Hunter had predicted she'd arrive back, he'd been worried sick, and it seemed that his worries might well have been justified.

"Hunter and Mack went out to meet her…"

Phil got to the main doors of the Playground just as the three came out of the trees. Daisy was pushing the two men off, insisting that she was fine, no, Mack you can not carry me.

She didn't look fine, to Phil's horrified eyes. Her clothes were badly ripped, barely retaining her modesty. Her hair a tangled mess, deep red bruises across her neck and chest that looked - oddly like love bites, actually.

"What the hell happened to you?" it was Bobbi who exclaimed it, having come up behind May and Coulson while they stared.

Daisy's smile was radiant. "I met my soulmate."

"Oh," Hunter said in suddenly enlightened tones, "well that explains everything."

"Where is he, then?" Bobbi asked curiously.

"We thought I should come on ahead. Make sure you guys didn't freak out or anything when he turned up, since you know he's with me now." Her smile was still radiant, and Phil found himself smiling along with her.

"Well, tell him to come on in. I'm delighted to meet your soulmate, Daisy," he told her honestly. While he was a little concerned about her physical state, he'd seen the aftermath of soulmates meeting for the first time before. And considering that their first meeting was out in the wilderness - well, it could be worse.

Daisy had turned, was making a beckoning gesture towards the trees. Despite the forewarning, May still went instinctively for her gun when a giant of a man stepped out of the treeline and came striding towards them.

"Holy shit," Hunter and Bobbi breathed in unison.

Mack only stared, and sighed as Daisy sprinted towards the man, leaped up into his arms and started kissing him as though they'd been parted for weeks instead of only a few minutes. "I guess I'd better lay in a supply of bleach."

May slowly eased her gun back into its holster and looked up at Mack, her lips twisting in a wry smile. "Forget the bleach, Mack. Get napalm."

With thanks to amusewithaview, LadyWinterlight and nerdykat for inspiring this pairing and supplying the last couple of lines during a hilarious session in my chatroom!

(Amuse, you better write that Victor/Remy/Darcy Short. I am DYING to see it!)