Chloe and Tao made their way up to the master. They got ready for bed in silence just enjoying each other's company, passing wanton glances at each other. Chloe watched as he stood in front of the mirror. Clearly he was obsessing about something. He sighed as he pulled his pendant out of his pocket and held it in front of himself then he slowly put it on.
"Why the sad face?" Chloe moved to sit at the edge of the bed.
"I stopped wearing this when I realized that I have done nothing but mess up the path of my life and my cousins," he turned to face her. "But I can't help feeling like that I need to have it on, that I need to have that contact on my skin. Does that make sense?" he asked leaning against the bureau. Chloe nodded.
"Tao," she smiled. "It's a part of you, whether you think that you're worth it or not, which is crap because you are."
"Princess," he sighed. " You have such a generous soul, and your faith in me is incredible. But its truth. I messed up. I created a mess, and now,"
"Now, Clark is in training.
"But for the right reasons?"
"Whether it's not for the right reason, I think he's learned that burying his head in the sand isn't the way to be. There are enough people who care for him that will show him the way. To catch him when he falls, like I'm here for you."
"Well." Tao's expression became predatory. "I think I need to repay MY hero then." He slowly stalked toward her and crawled onto the bed. He grabbed her ankles and pulled her to him.
"Well I'm all for rewards." Chloe smiled and he then kissed her showing her the gratitude he felt.
000000
The beasts belly was full, he sat in the cave he found cleaning himself. He forgot how good it was to hunt. The sounds of screaming prey, the thrill of the chase, the feel of his teeth sinking into soft flesh. And oohhh the taste of fresh blood, he was well sated, for now. It had been a long time since he'd had fresh prey. He needed to rest to let his meal digest. It was so satisfying that he may just go hunting sooner.
0000
Davis couldn't believe he'd survived his week of work. It had been a mess of trauma and truly sick people. It was quitting time, 6 am. He had packed all of his stuff the day before his last shift. All he had to do was finish his paperwork, top off his gas tank and get to the hills. Vacation at last.
B y 7 he was on the road, his radio cranked, he made great time to the park. During the trip he was able to shed the stress and drama from his job into his music. He had earned this trip and didn't want to be haunted by the faces of the people he saved and the memories of the people he couldn't.
He got passed the rangers at their station with ease. He got his map and drove another 30 minutes to his camp site, it was out of the way, and there were no other campers around. He parked then spent another 30 minutes getting his tent up and setting up camp. When he finished he crawled into his tent to take a nap and recharge for a long hike.
000
Davis was enjoying his vacation. He felt more human than he had in a long time. He hated to admit that he was getting burned out, but he really was. He may go back to be a sharper more compassionate Paramedic. He had nearly one day left, so he thought that he would push the limits of his back packing capabilities. He loaded up and left early that morning to see how far he really could go.
000
The beast had grown bored. He'd eaten his full, but the hunt wasn't fun anymore. It was like having the prey brought on a platter, they were weak, couldn't run and were easy to track in the wooded areas. He needed another disguise, another way to hunt, this planet would be suitable indeed. If he built his strength to its maximum level than he could focus on what he does best, destroying. He stood from his hiding place, scooted the bones from under his feet and stretched. Oh yes today, he would find a new disguise.
000
By noon, Davis was exhausted. He was sure he pounded down at least 5 miles. His legs and lungs burned but dayam, it felt good. He was in an area of the park he hadn't been to before and it was thrilling. Davis came to a hill overlooking a gulley and stopped for lunch. He was totally oblivious to his surroundings.
000
The beast was aggravated. He had not seen any more of the humanoids and he was starting to get a little hungry. He had wandered far from his nest and stopped to sniff the air, he growled, there was a humanoid close by, and it would either be feast or his next mask. The beast slid behind a tree, the humanoid was asleep. The beast moved to stand over his prey; the pinkling opened his eyes and screamed, a sound that could be heard miles away.
000
Davis woke up in his tent, the last thing he remembered was that he was on a hike, or at least he thought about hiking. He shook his head, stretched, he looked down and he was naked, another oddity. Davis dressed quickly, thinking he'd gotten too much mountain air, he dressed quickly and started to pack up his camp site.
000
In the week since Clark restarted his training, the JL had to step up their game. Tao began to flex his powers to the max, making saves in areas really far from Metropolis. A.C was doing double duty as well doubling as Green Arrow. Chloe had put her reporting on the back burner, so she could help the guys as much as she can. As she sat scanning the news media for any new trouble, a splattering of reports of missing persons came to her attention. People who were last seen in the Metropolis wilderness areas and failed to check in. She started jotting notes down, something just felt wrong.
