FOUR DAYS AGO
AND
May 24th, 2021 | Happy Harbour, Rhode Island
0757, Friday"Hm." Viktor eyed his surroundings, his eyes briefly stopping at each large tree surrounding his position. Quiet and only a click away from the HQ. Hidden away in nature Viktor found solace. Removing a knife from his cargo pocket, he approached one of the large trees. He'd start here.
0810, FridayDaphne squinted, staring at the forest surrounding the HQ. She tried to recall which trails she walked before. They all kind of looked alike. The teen girl shrugged, it didn’t matter all that much. She plugged in her headphones and turned on her current favorite. There were a whole bunch of plants left to discover. It was a fun upside to her power, it turned a simple walk in the forest into a treasure hunt.
0850, FridayBeep beep beep beep! Beep beep beep beep!Viktor shot a glare at his digital watch and quickly shut off the beeping that indicated a quick stopping point. Reason being that he wanted to look over everything from the files collected during their mission. Not all the team were "morning persons" and even fewer would start their day reading files. This would give him the chance to look them over on his own. Maybe even take them to his room.
He eyed his work carved into the bark of the tree with the same stoic look he gave most things before stabbing his knife deep into the tree, right below the carving. And with that, Viktor made his way toward the HQ.
0858, Friday“Nope I already have this one…...or is this different?”Daphne quietly talked to herself, looking at two leaves sitting on top of the other cuttings she collected. She frowned, determining the differentiating qualities about each. It wasn’t as easy as it seemed. Every leaf was different but some really looked alike. She stared at the path in front of her with a thoughtful expression. Would it really matter if she got some plants mixed up?
She would figure it out later. There were plenty of botanical books in the library. Passing by the treeline, something caught her eye. It shimmered and it was stuck in the base of a tree. She walked up to it. It was a knife….
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. An uncomfortable feeling settled in her stomach. Over half of the blade disappeared into the bark, her first instinct was to pull it out. Daphne pulled out her headphones and turned off her music. If the owner of the knife was coming back she wanted to hear them coming.
Daphne’s hands were trembling long before they reached for the hilt. She pulled at it and quickly realized she needed to put a little more muscle behind it. With one foot on the base of the tree, she steadied herself and pulled again.
It wasn’t budging. Her face flushed green at the effort she put in. After a couple more attempts she was forced to give up. Whoever put it in there was strong. She sat down in front of the tree. There was a carving right at the base, she hadn’t seen it when she zeroed in on the knife. It piqued her curiosity.
It looked unfinished, but if she used her imagination she could kind of see a face. She brushed her fingers past what could be considered a mouth. Daphne transformed. There was something she wanted to try. She touched the center of the lips and imagined the remaining facial features of the tree.
“He...Hello?”“It is morning…”Daphne raised her brows in surprise, almost pulling her hand back. She’d never gotten a response this quick and especially not on her first try.
1207, FridayWith light footsteps and now sporting a backpack, Viktor approached the tree he had jabbed his knife into.
"I think I can finish you with what I brought." He said as removed his backpack and set it on the ground. He then dug into his backpack and removed a hammer and a few different-sized chisels, laying them out on the forest ground. Before choosing what might be the most appropriate chisel, he stood up to face the tree.
"Hmm."Viktor gave the tree a long stare before removing the knife with a swift tug. He sheathed and pocketed it though he was sure he'd need it for finer cuts along the way. Grabbing a chisel and hammer, he went to work on the tree. He worked swiftly yet meticulously on carving the face of a bare-faced middle-aged man with a pensive expression. He then moved to another. This one, this time a smiling woman with long still hair down the sides of her face. She appeared welcoming while the male face appeared unapproachable.
It had taken a few hours, but Viktor had gotten two trees done. He packed up his equipment before noticing a smaller-sized shoe print than his own at the base of the first tree. He looked around, remaining as quiet as possible, but all he could hear were the natural sounds of the forest and hadn't spotted anyone either. He looked back at the print and shrugged it off before making his way back to HQ.
1428, FridayDaphne skipped lunch, getting by on sunlight and a couple of sips from her water bottle. It was something she didn’t do often because it still freaked her out a little. The hunger went away and she felt full without eating. Usually she did eat something after her photosynthesis, more so to retain a sense of normalcy, not because she needed it.
She decided to stop collecting for the day. It was almost getting to be too much work to process them all into her diary. She enjoyed it, but at the same time didn’t feel like spending the remainder of the day cooped up inside the library trying to match up her cuttings to their plant family.
Back at the HQ Daphne went to the lounge. She was in the mood to bake something. Opening the tap to wash her hands she thought about what to make. Yesterday she saw a whole bunch of cherries in the fridge. If they survived Ja’s feeding frenzy she could make a cherry cake. With her fingers crossed she opened the fridge. Two tubs full of dark red cherries were safe and sound.
“Awesome!”She whipped up a cake studded with halved cherries and popped it in the oven in under twenty minutes. It filled the kitchen with the sweet smell of pastry. Meanwhile she was sorting out her cuttings.
Awh no…..Her face fell when she saw one of the leaves got ripped. She looked at it up close, trying to recall which tree it had come from. Daphne was pretty sure it was from the tree with the mouth carved into it. That wasn’t too far from HQ, she could swipe one more after the cake was done.
1519, FridayViktor entered the lounge with sweat glistening his face and damp gym clothes, one of the sets Daphne had purchased for him. Plain black shorts and a dark blue sleeveless shirt with a winky face emoji at the center of it.
The faint smell of dessert had led him here from the gym. Dessert was not always his go-to meal post workout, but he couldn't help but at least investigate the cake that sat on the counter with only a slice or two cut from it. Not hesitating, as he thought of the short-lived existence of this cake once Ja inevitably caught a whiff of it, he cut himself a small slice. He wondered who had baked it as he bit into it. He'd have to commend them for a job well done. Looking around first, he cut a second live and moved to the couches where he could watch some bad television.
1552, FridayDaphne was standing in front of the same tree she went to earlier. She was dumbfounded staring at the two carved faces, a look of disbelief on her face. She kneeled down and brought her face closer to the carving, looking at the details up close. Their noses nearly touched and she smiled, leaning back.
They were so lifelike…
It gave her a sense of wonder, like seeing something beautiful for the first time. It could just be her, but for some reason the faces seemed to make talking to trees easier. She decided to test it again. Daphne brushed the angry brow of the male tree.
Turn your frown upside down, she joked.
“Can I borrow one more leaf?” She asked, keeping her verdant fingers against the bark.
“Take one, yes” The tree replied, the wording of the sentences the plants made was a little different to human speech, but Daphne was getting used to it.
1552, Friday
A deliberate audible crunch of leaves was made by Viktor as he entered the small clearing where Daphne and the two carved trees were located. His eyebrows furrowed as he had caught the one he believed left the shoe print from earlier.
"What are you doing here?" Viktor asked as if Daphne was trespassing.
Viktor startled her. She jumped up from the grass, the scare transforming her back immediately. The teen girl swallowed and regained her composure. Daphne brushed some dirt from her knees and gave Viktor a wary look.
“I was….talking to this tree.”It was probably time to go back to HQ. She retrieved her bag and tucked the leaf in between the pages of a book. She took a couple of steps forward, ready to leave. Viktor would have surely let her too, but Black Canary's advice from yesterday nagged at him.
"Daphne. You can continue talking to the… grumpy tree. I just didn't expect you to be here… again." He was sure it was her who arrived earlier.
Again…?Daphne’s brows furrowed together, she was confused. He was right she’d been here earlier today, but how did he know that? He dubbed it the grumpy tree, probably because of the carving. It did look kind of grumpy, with a scrunched up face. Kind of like…..Viktor actually.
Looking at the similarities between her teammate and the tree was probably going to make her laugh. She looked away from both the tree and Viktor, thinking about what she could say.
“Actually it’s….”Daphne definitely progressed in her communication with plants. Some things were still challenging though. The things they said to her were more primal, similar to perhaps an animal. They spoke about needing water, light, and protection. Other times it was like she was talking to a person and they were able to understand and comprehend complex parts of life. She stopped herself from saying anything negative about her powers in front of Viktor.
“Never mind” Viktor raised an eyebrow as to him, this meant she was holding something back.
“You know what’s funny…” Daphne started, turning back to face the trees.
“Those faces help me talk to them, for some reason it makes it much easier”"Does it?" Daphne nodded. She couldn’t explain it, but it did.
He looked around all of the other trees around that could be prospects for his hobby.
"Lucky for you there will be more trees with faces among other things out here in due time… What do they even tell you? How do they feel about what I've done?" He was curious.
Viktor’s sudden interest in her powers caught her off guard. She glanced at him, an unsure look on her face. Not being yelled or sneered at was strange, his behaviour confused her. Daphne decided to trust this was a genuine conversation.
“It depends on what they want to say, sometimes they ask me for things they need, or share what they’ve seen happen”Potential to be used as spies…She paused, not catching on right away. Feel about what he did?
Wait…..
Viktor made those faces? Did he….
Daphne blinked a couple of times, the surprises kept coming. She tried for a small smile at Viktor, instead of the usual deer caught in headlights look she often had around him.
“I don’t know what they think about it, but I like them.” Her answer didn't seem to shift his expression. Viktor was not hungry for validation, so there was a bit of an awkward silence between them.
"Thanks, Daphne." He turned away to start walking back, but turned his head so he could see her behind him
"Coming?" She glanced back at the trees, deciding between the grumpy tree or the grumpy guy. She went with the latter and followed Viktor. Daphne had her eyes on his back. For once she didn't feel like she was reporting for duty when talking to Viktor. It was nice.
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