The Preserve; Sunday Evening

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

Skulking about in the preserve might not really be the best idea Jasper's ever had but it'd been something he'd wanted to do for awhile now. Most of this island was a mess of wide open spaces, water and small, dark alleys that were one cigarette smoking guy in a trench coat away from a film noir.

Pushing those thoughts out of his head, Jasper concentrated on his surroundings. A lifetime of living and traveling with Billy meant that he'd picked up a few tracking skills. He knew how to make his footsteps whisper quiet, how to blend into the shadows and how to disappear when you didn't want to be seen. Typically, if a murder happened near a forest, the police went there first, stomping sloppily through mud and potential evidence. Not Billy, never Billy. He knew what the cops would do and did the exact opposite. Billy Dent took pride in running the cops around in circles.

Was that why Jasper was out there? Figuring out ways to escape if he ever did the unthinkable? This place had one main exit which meant if he ever did anything, that's where the biggest mass of cops would take up residence. He'd have to figure out other ways to escape.

Jasper blinked at those dark thoughts. He hadn't really meant to think about how he'd leave if he ever decided to take up his father's crown. He wouldn't do that.

"People are real. People matter."

They matter only in that they make it fun for us, Jasper, my boy. Make a friend, son, and make it even better. Mmm, when they trust you and realize what they've done... Exhilarating. Watch the eyes, listen to the noises, feel their silky, soft skin turn cold underneath your hands.

Jasper shivered and stepped over a fallen log, keeping his mind busy with mentally mapping checkpoints and the general perimeter of the preserve. Big enough to disappear in but not not big enough to be forgotten. He leaned against a tree, blowing out a breath. The moon illuminated the spaces nearby but Jasper made sure to stay in the dark.

[ Open if you're out in the preserve. He's being a little creepy (so warning for some mild creepiness!) without realizing it so feel free to freak out out or try and deck him or whatever. ]

Comments

[rhymeswithtable.livejournal.com]

It was an excellent evening for - what? For exploring! Mabel had knitted about fifteen thousand sweaters by now, and Waddles was napping back in her room, so she'd decided to put her adventuring skills to good use tonight by going for a walk in the preserve to check out the little green deer she'd heard about.

So, here she was, armed with a camera and a backpack that was mostly just holding her grappling hook, wearing a sweater with a funny-looking owl on it, and... mostly just wandering around lost. It was dark. Did deer even do things in the dark?

Well, too late for that now. Maybe she could find some other elusive Fandom species of the nocturnal persuasion, like a--

"Hi!"

-- Like an elusive 'guy against a tree.' Those were pretty rare this time of year.

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

If he'd been anyone else, he might have jumped in surprise but it'd been pretty easy to tell he wasn't alone when she'd gotten closer. With his mood the way it was, he wasn't sure whether a visitor was a good idea or a bad one.

But, civility.

"Hey," he said, tilting his head. "Didn't think anyone else would be out here."

[rhymeswithtable.livejournal.com]

"Well, you know," Mabel chirped, gesturing broadly with one hand up toward the night sky. "It's a great night for this, and a little exploring never hurt anybody, right?"

Unless you ran into a creepy guy in the woods, maybe. But how likely was that to happen?

"I was looking for the deer, but I guess I lost track of the time. It is too late for deer now, isn't it?" A beat. "Prooobably."

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

So unlikely! Guess Mabel just had some good luck tonight. The one night a creepy guy hangs out in the woods, right?

"Probably," he agreed, nodding and not moving from his spot against a tree. "You out here hunting this late?"

Was there anything but hunting and watching that you could do with deer? He didn't see a weapon though.

[rhymeswithtable.livejournal.com]

Mabel was, alas, pretty darn unarmed. Unless you counted the grappling hook in her bag, along with about half her body weight in puffy stickers.

She had her priorities straight, here.

"Hunting, me? Naah. I just heard that they were teal and I wanted to see for myself. My brother would go crazy if I managed to get footage of a teal deer more easily than he took care of the office moose."

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

Wait.

"There's a moose in the office?" Really? "It doesn't even have opposable thumbs."

[rhymeswithtable.livejournal.com]

"There is totally a moose in the office," Mabel enthused, pulling out her camera and turning it on so that she could find the video footage of Dipper in his moose costume, being aggressively nuzzled by said moose.

It was hilarious. Mabel was very proud.

"Dipper and I found out about it when we went to try to find out how the school knew we were going to be here, even if we didn't technically sign up or anything," she explained. "Oh, yeah- Hi! I'm Mabel! Who I guess henceforth shall be known as that girl whose brother was hit on by a moose."

Good job, Dipper.

"My theory is that he has very dexterous lips."

The moose. Not Dipper.

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

"Jasper," he said absently since his attention was pretty taken by that video footage. He even snickered once, lightly. "Why'd he dress up as a moose? Doesn't look like the guy in the office was really going anywhere."

He snickered again.

"Unless he wanted the moose to hit on him?"

[rhymeswithtable.livejournal.com]

"Well, the moose didn't want us to go inside," Mabel explained, "to go poking through the filing cabinets or whatever else is in there. So I figured a disguise would help him fit in better."

A beat.

"It worked a little too well."

Oops!

[100leader.livejournal.com]

Clarke was out with a flashlight, doing her now-weekly check of the portal that landed her here. Usually she never saw anybody so imagine her surprise when she turned her flashlight on Jasper.

Seriously, she was surprised, there was a shout and everything.

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

"You're being loud."

Or maybe he was just very attuned to things around him. Still, he didn't jump when the light hit him.

"Hi, Clarke. You're out late."

Did that sound creepy? He didn't mean it.

[100leader.livejournal.com]

"The same could be said for you," she said. "What are you doing out here?"

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

"I told you I was going to come out here at some point," he reminded her. "I was just checking it out. Isn't it considered relaxing to take a walk through the woods?"

He tried to smile but it didn't reach his eyes.

[100leader.livejournal.com]

"Most people do it during the day."

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

"You're out here." This time, his smile was a little more genuine. "Does that mean you're not most people too?"

[100leader.livejournal.com]

"I spend a lot of time out here," she said. "Still trying to find out how I ended up here."

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

"So, I can't be out here too?" he asked, tilting his head curiously. "That doesn't seem fair."

After a second, he snickered quietly.

"Sorry I scared you."

[hexentotchen.livejournal.com]

Hanna was running through, intent on the music in her headphones, but always paying attention to her surroundings.

Think on your feet. Even when you're asleep.

She saw a figure slightly off to the side in her peripheral vision, and slowed down as she approached.

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

It was a busy night in the preserve, wasn't it?

Jasper heard the running first but didn't move. When he spotted someone, he stayed still and kept watching, expression unreadable.

[hexentotchen.livejournal.com]

When she got closer, Hanna slid her earphones off, recognizing Jasper. "Hey." Taking out her water bottle, she took three gulps, then squinted at him. "Training?" Give her a second to get her breath back.

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

He shook his head. "Walking. Checking things out." His training took place elsewhere. "You out here exercising this late?"

[hexentotchen.livejournal.com]

"I could not sleep." The room was too quiet, Velcro was dozing, and she hadn't found anything on the television that she wanted to watch. Better to exhaust herself than be tossing and turning.

"Checking out what?" Hanna offered him the water bottle, if he needed it.

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

He waved the water bottle off.

"No thanks," he said before adding, "I'm checking out the woods. Pretty, isn't it?"

He'd been checking for more than that but he didn't say so.

[hexentotchen.livejournal.com]

"Pretty," Hanna echoed, taking another sip, then added, "Dangerous. Potentially." She paused, getting her breath back, electronica leaking out of the earbuds around her neck. "It's good to know what is here." She sent him an ironic smile. "Like in class. Even if we do not have to use that knowledge."

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

"Mmm." He wasn't sure what he thought of that class. "Bunch of arguing goes on there. I don't know if anything really gets done."

There were a lot of opinions to be had.