undergrounds | A Little Bit of Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust [Closed]

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A Little Bit of Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust [Closed]

There's been a small surge in supernatural related news in the media lately. It's only because Daryl's investigating Maria on Simon's behalf that he's even paying attention to said news. But a small story in the one of the local tabloids about a missing little girl that 'flew away' from home caught his attention. It wasn't that he normally gave such things any credence, but after reading it and the very heart-felt plea for the girl's return as quoted from the parents, Daryl thought it sounded just a little too real to be ignored. Maria could wait a few days.

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Daryl had not been in a good mood after running around the day before to find someone to break the curse on him. It had taken all of the rest of the daylight hours and more than a few of the nighttime before they'd gotten someone who could do the job. He'd barely gotten any sleep himself because after he'd been turned human again, he'd had to go back to the girl's house for his bike. Which took far too long with public transportation being what is was after nightfall. And then, while he was there, he'd decided to get something from the girl's bedroom to help him identify her scent while they searched. Because the playhouse was now closed tight and off limits.

When he got back to Hillingdon around three in the morning, he'd thrown himself on one of the couches to get a couple hours sleep. He woke up just before dawn and sought out Annie. Despite her abysmal showing the day before (okay, so it wasn't that bad. She'd done what she could with a very stubborn and foolish fae. he just didn't like having to ride the tube in his bobcat form with all the other passengers watching him in fascination. the leash hadn't helped, either), she was still Daryl's best bet for having someone familiar with the fae in general helping out.

He found her in the library, looking like she hadn't slept at all. Not a good sign, but he wasn't feeling all that charitable. Still grousing over his forced transformation.

"Those books tell you anything?" he asked, sounding as grumbly as he looked.

No, it had been an abysmal showing. She was supposed to be good at this, a trained fighter. But Annie was only proving herself what she knew: she sucked at her job. It was a miracle she survived the massacre at District 4.

When Daryl found her, she hadn't even bothered to change her clothing since the day before, red hair even more of a mess than usual.

When Daryl entered, she looked up with a small gasp. He had to hate her, now. But she nods. "the needle- her sword- it's, uhm, a special metal. found only in the other realm in one mine. it's, ah, I think where she's gone? The refinery is at the mine. and probably where the needle is."

It was a good start. Daryl pulled a chair out and turned it around so he could straddle it. "What if she just left it somewhere on accident?" He asked after a moment of thought. "At her old home, maybe?"

Not as much as a possibility as the fae sending the girl to pick up a special order considering how possessive she was of it, but a possibility none-the-less.

"Oh!" She sits up a bit straighter. "No, no, I like that! She hasn't been in Kayla's playhouse for long, right? She had so much work to do, still."

Annie blocks a yawn with the back of her hand. "We'll have to find her old home, then."

"We can check both," Daryl offered, pushing the pad of paper towards her. "You write down where that refinery is and see if you can figure out where her old home is. I'm gonna go get you come coffee."

"Already wrote it down." Annie indicates to a notebook at her left-hand side that she'd already been filling out. "But I'll- I'll look for the home."

She pauses, looking back at the books, then back up to Daryl. "Thank you. And, uhm. I'm sorry. Really, really sorry. About yesterday." She shifts, turning her attention to her boots.

He didn't meet her eyes as he grunted and stood up. Walked out the door with that as the only acknowledgement of her apology. He preferred not to dwell on it. He was more upset about the loss of a good 18 hours of search time. 18 more hours for the kid to be convinced to eat some food in the Other Realm.

Daryl returned about fourty-five minutes later with two hot coffees. One for each of them. He set both down on the table and pulled put a small bag with individual creamers and some sugar packets.

"Didn't know how you took it," he said in a soft tone, retaking his seat and sliding one of the books toward himself. "So what kind of fae was that, anyway?"

Yep. He's furious with her. Annie is completely convinced at this point.

Annie's expecting him to return a few minutes later, but she's surprised when it's nearly a whole hour later that he arrives. But she still accepts the coffee, and starts to pour sugar into hers. She likes it sweet, to no one's surprise. Finnick's sweet-tooth had rubbed off on her.

"Lots of sugar," she tells him. "And, ah, I can't pronounce it?" She gestures to the book that had a description and illustration of the fae and a highly unpronounceable name.

Too many people at Hillingdon didn't know how to make their coffee right as far as he was concerned. Too British and too much afternoon tea. Daryl had not only gone and made sure the right kind of beans were in the house kitchen, but headed to a nearby corner store for the sugar and creamers in a brand he approved of. So when he came back to a freshly brewed pot, it was dark and strong. The kind he liked to toss a single creamer in but could drink black if he wanted to.

Daryl studied the picture and it sure did look like the one that had gotten the better of them. Too many strange characters in the name, though. He couldn't tell if that was just the fancy handwritten calligraphy or if it was another language entirely. Could just be one of those Welsh words that sounded nothing like it looked in English.

"This help you figure out where it's previous home might be?" He asked in a slow drawl as he flipped the page to study the rest of the description and whatever known facts the book had on the creature. It wasn't long. Just that page and the next. Not a lot to go on.

"They typically don't stray too far from the refinery. Usually there's a group home? A big sort of nest near it." Annie shrugged. "It's not a lot. I'm really sorry."

But hopefully taking a sip of the coffee made it better?

"It's enough," Daryl assured her, voice easy, if still gruff. "Finish your coffee. We'll leave when I'm sure you're awake enough."

He then went about drinking down his own in just a few gulps as he tried to memorize where the refinery was so he could find it fast when they got to the other realm.

"Okay." Annie nods and starts to work on her coffee. It's a bit harder to swallow than Daryl makes it look, but she doesn't take too long to finish it- she hopes. Setting it down, she jots off a quick text to Finnick so he knows she won't be around. She'll just... not tell him the details so he doesn't worry. He's got a lot on his mind, already, with the elections.

"Ready."

Her bags were next to them already. "But we should bring food and water." Especially if they ran into Kayla, the poor girl had to be starving.

Daryl stood up, grabbing the coffee cups to return them to the kitchen on their way out. He lifted them and wiggled them in the air, "We can get some snacks while we're putting these up."

Then he was off. Long strides taking him through the house quickly. The cups got rinsed out and left in the sink. The cabinets got raided for snack foods that wouldn't go bad rather than hitting up the fridge. The Other Realm was a weird place where time didn't have the same meaning as it did in their world. An hour there could be minutes here, or it could be months. A lifetime there could be twenty here or a day. At least according to all stories of it that he'd heard. Daryl hadn't actually been in the Other Realm before. This was a major first for him.

"Alright. Got some chi- crisps," because 'chips' were french fries to him, "and we can grab a bottled water at the store before we get to Brent. The witch that broke the curse last night, she gave me a stone that should be able to find the entrance we need. Only works once though. But we gotta start at the place the kid left and follow it from there."

And he was going to paying for her help for months. His paycheck was decent, but it wasn't that decent.

Annie had insisted on going with Daryl to get the curse broken. He needed an interpreter, and after what had happened to Finnick, she didn't trust any witches as far as she could throw them. She'd offered to pay, given that she felt it was her fault. The offer was still on the table- her family wasn't short on money.

Daryl gets the smallest of smiles as he Britishifies his Americanisms. "Thank you," she says. "I've got a couple of quid for the water, too." She'd never been to the Other-Realm before, either. So it would be one hell of an adventure. Hopefully, if they got into trouble, she could mention Finnick and avoid some trouble. He was in good standing with the Seelie Court, their newest Lord.

"I remember- uhm. Daryl? If- if you want, you know I'm still, ah, willing to pay the witch."

Daryl's shoulders tightened visibly, as did his hands, but he otherwise acted as if those words had never left her mouth. His feet carrying him through the house to the front door while he adjusted his weaponry, "Silver's their weakness, so if you got any weapons or warding amulets made of that, make sure it's at the ready. Don't know how hostile or not they're gonna be."

Annie quickly looks down. great, she'd gone and offended him. awesome start to the day, Cresta.

"I've got them," she said quietly at the risk of speaking too loud. She had silver and iron jewelry she wore everywhere, except when she was with Finnick. So today was no exception. "we should be alright."

Daryl gave another nod and he headed out to his bike. He was silent as he pulled the extra helmet out and handed it over. Silent as he got on and started it up. Silent as he waited for her to put her hands on his belt. And silent even as the engine roared to life and would have drowned any words he had.

The ride wasn't too long since Hillingdon was closer to the kid's house than Annie's place was. Daryl parked his bike safely in the garage and pulled out the tracker, following it as it led them to the closest entrance to the Other Realm. This, in turn, led them to a park and set of bowed trees that were vaguely shaped like a doorway when looked at from exactly the right angle.

"Looks like this is it."

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A Little Bit of Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust [Closed]

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