#Bauke | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nicsalazar · 2 years

Text

A bauk in the park || Rio & Nicole

TIMING: Current LOCATION: The woods PARTIES: @3starsquinn & @nicsalazar SUMMARY: Nicole rescues Rio from a bauk. CONTENT WARNING: None

Rio should have expected this from White Crest. He had barely been back in town for a week before something had gone horribly wrong. Usually Rio at least had the knowledge and foresight to know what exactly was trying to kill him. This time though, it had gotten him before Rio had even seen or heard what was coming - which was scary enough in itself. One moment he had been alone in the woods and the next he was waking up in some damp, musty cave in the pitch black.

The Hunter senses kicked in quickly. Rio blinked his hunter senses into focus and glanced around, at first seeing nothing besides the walls of the cave surrounding him, but in the corner he spotted a pile of something white. Oh crap. Were those bones? This was not good at all. He quickly tried to think of anything he might remember before being knocked unconscious, or anything that may explain how he had woken up in this cave. But he had nothing. Just that something far stronger than him had knocked him out, and an unknown amount of time later he woke up in this cave, head pounding and soaking wet. The only other sign of life came to Rio as his hearing slowly took over his other senses. Even with his night sight, Rio couldn’t see something, but he was becoming uncomfortably aware that he wasn’t alone. There was a crunching sound, no- a chewing sound somewhere in this cave. He really needed to get out of here.

It was, perhaps, too late for Nicole to still be wandering about in the woods. It had been a relatively peaceful walk, the kind she seldom enjoyed anymore. So checking for the time had been the last thing on her mind, allowing herself to wander until her legs couldn’t go anymore. It was dark, yes, but it had been worth it. Besides, she made sure to keep her senses alert to her surroundings.

Which is how she initially spotted the other hiker, too far in the distance to be of any danger. She had already forgotten about him, when the strangled sounds of the man being captured reached her ears. And his captor was– Nicole’s body tensed, identifying the growl of a bear. Her initial instinct was to run and help, and she was glad that she didn’t obey it without consideration. She couldn’t just go chase a bear away, could she? Then again, could she let a man become a meal right in front of her?

Her body didn’t seem to care about her internal conflict, legs already in motion. Nicole sped up her pace, shortening the distance. Trying to think of a diversion tactic in the meantime. Get it to turn its attention towards her, maybe, and leave the human alone. If she ran the way her supernatural abilities allowed, then she could outrun the beast. The bear did a great job disguising itself in the shadows though, so much that Nicole wondered if it was a bear at all or some sort of shapeshifting spirit. The creature didn’t seem to be devouring its prey, in fact the man had been knocked unconscious and he was being dragged somewhere else. Odd. And so, she found herself stalking the pair all the way to the bear’s den.

Steps lighter not to draw attention yet, Nicole entered the cave, immersing herself in darkness. But she didn’t have to, she realized, stomach fluttering with nerves. It had never been so easy before, all it took was to blink and then the cave revealed itself to her, amber pupils glowing amidst the dark. She spotted the man on the ground, and she approached quickly, forgetting about the predator for a second. “Gotta go, quick” but a growl came from deep within the cave, and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. So there it was.

All Nicole knew a second later, was that a heavy shadow figure was trying to bring her down.

There were footsteps coming, something that should have concerned Rio deeply if he wasn’t sure they were human. Or at the very least, bipedal. This was confirmed when from a corner of the cave, a woman ran up to him. Gotta go, quick. The woman whispered next to him, and Rio couldn’t argue that. He pushed up with his arms, trying to ignore the pinch of pain that immediately shot through his leg. But he didn’t even have time to focus on the pain before he heard something else. Something much worse than the crunching noise from before, and it was a lot closer too.

And then it was just… there. Rio had no other way to describe it. One moment the cave was empty aside from himself and the woman who had come in to rescue him and the next there was a creature growling and leaping on top of her. It seemed to be some sort of bear, so dark that even his vision could barely pick out its features, and the only way that Rio could describe it was that it had crawled out of pitch blackness. It was on the woman in an instant, and Rio only had a few moments to think. He rolled away, pushing back onto his feet and digging into his pocket for his phone. If this thing was a shadow it couldn’t like light, right?

Just as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished. Once Rio focused the phone light on it, the thing groaned in protest and then fell away from the light, into a corner of darkness before disappearing entirely. A million thoughts were running through Rio’s brain, but all of them involved mentally scrolling through his database to try to figure out what this thing was. Some sort of Mara? The disappearing act sure seemed like an illusion of some sort. He supposed at the moment it didn’t really matter. All that mattered was that it was gone for the moment, and now was their time to escape. “Hey. I owe you so many thank you’s. But right now we should probably get out.” He spoke to the woman, holding out a hand to offer her help.

Jaguar vision was soon lost as Nicole tried to defend herself against the beast. She was no match for its immense physical strength. Her lungs begged for air, clouding her thoughts as the enormous weight crushed her slowly. Still, she stubbornly pushed against it, muscles shaking from the exertion. She only needed enough time for the man to get on his feet and give her a hand. Which thankfully, he did. The beast's muzzle hovered just above her head when something lit up the cave, blinding the bear in the process.

While scrambling to escape from the source of light, it cried out in pain, tripping backwards. Nicole didn’t process what was happening, only pulled her own phone to copy the guy’s actions. The bear was not the most graceful as he escaped from the light. It only confused her further. What the fuck was that beast supposed to be? And why was it hurt by the brightness?

“Yes. Yeah–” Nicole replied without thought, still recovering from the crushing weight of the beast, mouth agape as she followed the shadows on the wall. Would it come back? Bring reinforcements, maybe? All it mattered was to escape while they could, a voice in the back of her mind chimed in. So she took his hand and got to her feet, patting the boy on the back. “Go,” she nodded ahead (or backwards? She wasn’t sure), shaking her phone around to illuminate the ground, in hopes of finding traces of her own footsteps. “That way, yeah” She remained in her spot for a moment, catching her breath, and stupidly hoping to get another look at the creature. She wished to understand. But it seemed the light coming from their phones was enough to deter the bear from reemerging.

Nicole walked backwards – to avoid an ambush – until she caught up with the young man. A few minutes in silence, the pair found the entrance. And she could finally feel her throat again. “I... saw you get dragged. The fuck were you thinking?” It was an incredibly bold question to ask, considering she had dared and stalked him right to that same cave. But well, she felt entitled to being a hypocrite. She hadn't pulled off the most heroic rescue, but at least she made sure the bear didn't get him. It had to count for something. Recalling where he had parked his car, she guided them east, following the trail that would lead them to it. Looking up and down at him, she examined him. “Broke anything?”

They were both lucky that the woman seemed to pay attention on her way in the cave. Rio couldn’t even remember being dragged here, let alone try to find a way out. The way that his heart was exploding in his chest, he wasn’t even sure he would be able to focus his senses to try to find his way back outside.

The woman was smart too, using her own phone for light and facing the opposite direction as Rio. It kept both sides of their path lit and assumedly kept that bear-like creature from reappearing. The two stayed almost completely silent, the only sound coming from her periodic directions telling Rio where to turn and which path to follow. Without her, Rio wasn’t sure he would have been able to make it out at all. Or at least make it out before whatever that thing was found him again. He wasn’t sure they were safe now. They both walked on eggshells waiting for the shoe to drop and for it to attack again. If before had been any indication, the bear could come from literally anywhere.

Rio waited until they found the exit and were outside the cave before he finally let out a sigh of relief. He hunched over, hands on his knees as he sucked in a few breaths that he felt like he had been holding for the last twenty minutes. “Holy crap” Rio muttered, mind still reeling. He hated not knowing something. Especially when that something had tried to kill him.

Apparently, the woman took the opportunity to talk too. “I- I don’t know” Rio didn’t know how to answer that. He didn’t know how to tell her that he had been trying to walk to an old abandoned building in the woods that was invisible to the naked eye and protected by magic. That sounded even crazier than trying to logically explain what that supernatural bear in that cave was. “I was taking a walk and… I never even heard something coming.” That might have been the most baffling thing of all. “Are you okay? Did you seriously follow me into a cave because you saw me getting dragged?” Rio asked, incredulous but also amazed, “Wow. That’s brave.”

Anything broken? The question reminded him of the pain in his leg. In the darkness, Rio could tell that his jeans had been torn and his leg was bleeding, but he couldn’t tell how badly since the blood on his jeans was mixed with mud and water from the cave. “No. I’m fine. Whatever it is, it'll heal.”

A smile pulled at her lips at his expression of relief. A reluctant one. Nicole didn’t want him thinking what he did was in any way responsible. But she supposed escaping some strange shadow creature twice their size was some achievement. So she gave him a second before patting him on the back again, urging him to keep his celebration short.

As soon as they were out of the cave, Nicole scanned their surroundings, ears attuned for any strange shuffling. She wasn’t sure it’d help. The beast appeared to conceal itself in the shadows, much quieter than any bear she’d met. But hopefully, they’d avoid a second encounter. She listened as he explained himself, confirming what she had gathered until then: It was a sneaky creature for its size. More and more likely a supernatural case. She felt less inclined to grill him just because of that. But before she could further question him, he spoke first.

Nicole didn’t want to acknowledge how hot her cheeks suddenly felt. “It’s not…It’s– It’s not brave” someone who repeatedly told herself not to play hero wasn’t brave, right? “It was… reckless” she admitted, her steps shifting west. “But, I know the woods” probably not as well as Victoria thought she did, down to every sketchy patch of grass, but well enough her instincts had seldom led her askew. “And…I thought it was an actual bear— not— not that. Got some bear spray I thought could help” not really, not when she barely got a chance to reach for her backpack before the beast ambushed her.

None of that mattered, what mattered was reaffirming she wasn’t brave. Just stupid. Once Nicole got confirmation he was physically fine, tension left her body. “Good job— with the…” her hands shook her phone again, before putting back in her pocket, “by the way. Quick thinking. It….It looked scared, didn’t it? Never— don’t think I’ve seen one like that before”.

It was hard to focus on the sounds of the forest when Rio was still breathing so heavily. The pounding of his heart overtook the rustling of leaves. But as he started to level out he began to think of the training he had done with Kaden before leaving town. How appalled he had originally been that Rio was so bad at honing his senses. Admittedly, he still wasn’t great. But the difference was almost night and day because of him. But as he started listening for something out of the ordinary, he couldn’t pick any strange sounds out. He didn’t count them completely safe though. If the monster could mask his presence in the shadows who was to say it couldn’t find a way to mute itself too?

“I don’t know. Sometimes those two are like, interchangeable.” Rio suggested, though it came out as more of a question than a statement. He shrugged, indicating that he didn’t actually know the right answer. “I mean- I definitely think you could be one or the other. But that’s like way too deep of a conversation for someone who just got kidnapped by a…” Rio paused as he considered the end of that sentence, “bear? I guess?”

Then she was complimenting him, which considering the situation Rio certainly didn’t deserve. He wasn’t sure he could have made it out of that cave without her. Not before it found him. “Oh. Well, thanks. It was a theory more than anything else. We just got lucky. It definitely didn’t like the light.” That sat with him for a while, he was already thinking of getting into the Scribary and trying to find a book mentioning the creature. Aside from shadow bear that didn’t like light. In a library full of books, it wasn’t much to go off of. “But I mean that thing was so…” Rio tried to find the right word before abandoning the attempt immediately, “cool, right?” He said, before immediately shaking the thought away and turning towards the woman. “I mean like, objectively it was terrifying. And I’ve always been afraid of… well, just about everything honestly. I was totally petrified. But that thing just melted away from the light. It wasn’t just hiding, it was gone. That’s insane. Like insanely cool.” Considering it had probably intended on killing them, he probably shouldn’t be fangirling over the thing right now. But he honestly couldn’t help himself.

“By the way, I uh-” Rio paused again. The constant hesitation was his small attempt at second guessing his words before saying them. It only worked like thirty percent of the time. “I appreciate your help.” He tried to avoid thanking people if possible. The thought of the promise he owed Lydia still haunted his dreams. “My name’s Rio.”

Rio wasn’t entirely wrong, and Nicole hated having to confront her own hypocrisy. Had someone else done what she did, she’d be the first to call it brave. And sure, she would have questioned their common sense right after, but the fact remained true. “Guess you’re not… off” she gave in, face still flushed. “Gotta be a little both if you wanna survive this town, no?” was she brave? That seemed so– Fearful people couldn’t be brave. “Oh. Definitely a bear…but not… the normal kind” that’s as far as she wanted to ponder. She wasn’t sure how much he knew or how dangerous he could be.

It became clear as they navigated the forest, that Rio was one of those people who rambled endlessly when they were nervous. Nicole wasn’t uncomfortable with but… if he was nervous and she was nervous, then who would be leading the conversation? She continued strolling in silence, because having to process all of words coming from his mouth required a lot of energy. Cool wasn’t the first word that popped into her head in relation to the beast, but she appreciated how honest he was.

“Me too— the afraid part. Not the… not the cool part” Nicole sort of understood what he was trying to say, though. That curiosity had gotten her in trouble in the past as well. It almost did just now, as she followed a mysterious creature into its den. She did want to know what that thing was. As a park ranger, having information about special wildlife could make the difference between life and death. She tried to think of a word Leah would use to describe such an encounter instead. “Ah…Fascinating, maybe?” big word, she could almost hear her saying it.

“Rio” she acknowledged, ignoring his attempt at a ‘thank you’. It wasn’t needed. Or rather, Nicole didn’t know how to accept it. She glanced at him uncertain. Not because she didn’t want to do what she was about to do. But because she didn’t know if she was supposed to. If he’d find it odd. All of this –socializing– was still a learning curve. Every single day. “My place isn't too far. Uh– have you eaten anything? Wouldn’t hurt…” she trailed off, because fuck maybe if she didn’t finish her sentence he could ignore it. She had been too worried about her words that she forgot to introduce herself. “Oh…Nicole. I’m– that’s my name”.

Gotta be a little of both if you wanna survive in this town. Rio laughed at the accuracy of her statement. Now did not feel at all like an appropriate time to laugh, especially for someone like Rio who had never felt any type of joy in violence or danger. He had spent most of his life trying to actively run from it. But that was the White Crest effect, apparently. At some point this town broke everyone, forcing them to either succumb to the insanity of it or die in denial. Rio had never wanted to do either. He had wanted to leave town and never come back. And yet he tried that and here he was, back again and far past that breaking point. “Trust me, like two years ago I would have run out of that cave screaming my head off and never walked into the woods again. Assuming I even made it out of the cave in the first place. So I get it.” He wiped at his forehead, pushing his damp hair that had stuck to his skin away from his face. He had barely realized that his bangs had been obstructing his view because he had been so focused on following this woman. “Still not saying that I’m like, ready to walk into a death trap or anything. I just uh- well I appreciate people who are willing to help those in need. So thanks.” He didn’t know how to say it any more gracefully than that. He was lucky that it came out as a coherent string of words at all.

“Fascinating is probably a better word than cool.” Rio agreed, snapping his finger as the adjective stuck. He always found supernatural creatures like that fascinating. Though he had quickly learned that he preferred reading about them in Scribe journals and texts rather than seeing them for himself. At least the deadly ones. He still hadn’t quite figured out what this bear creature was, but he was pretty sure it counted as deadly. “Uh no, haven’t eaten anything. But I don’t want to bother you. I can just uh- well if I can find my car I can probably make it home safely without being kidnapped by another bear.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, considering whether he actually knew how to get to his car or not from here. “Nice to meet you Nicole. Or like- well it’s nice to meet you now. It wasn’t quite as pleasant before. But that wasn’t because of you, obviously. It was because of the bear. Or that thing that sorta looked like a bear. You know what? We both obviously know that you know that I’m not implying that it wasn’t nice to meet you because of you and I definitely meant that getting attacked by a shadow bear thing was the bad part of that encounter.” He breathed a heavy sigh once he finally finished rambling and rubbed at his temples. He was giving himself a headache.

About two years ago, Nicole was sleepwalking into the cave of voices. Stealing ancient bones from cemeteries to bring back a dangerous spellcaster back to life. A spellcaster that would later plot the demise of the town. It wasn’t until Rio recalled his own journey that she realized how long she had been dealing with White Crest’s bullshit first hand.

She should really stop going near caves, apparently. “Good. Never be ready to walk into death traps. Cling to that fear” Nicole patted his shoulder, confident in her own advice. Clinging to fear may be the only thing keeping her alive at all times.

Fascinating was good, Nicole smiled at the thought of telling all of this to Leah. Leaving out the part where she almost got crushed by a bear, of course. “I have a… uh, my—” she shoved her hands further into her jacket, blush creeping on her cheeks again. “There’s someone I know who might figure out exactly what we just saw” she nodded, a half grin playing on her lips. “I’ll tell you as soon as I talk to her”.

Nicole tried to assure him that she wanted to take care of him. That she wouldn’t offer something if it bothered her, especially not an invitation to her own place. It was far from her style. But Rio was going on another ramble, so interjecting something was near impossible.

“Rio” she called eventually, his name still unfamiliar in her tongue. Nicole offered a nod. “I got it, yeah. It’s nice to meet you”. Instead of following the path that would lead them back to his car, she took a slight detour, knowing it’d help them reach her cabin faster. “Don’t want you driving with all that adrenaline pumping” she explained, watching him rub his temples. She had, perhaps, found an even bigger nervous wreck than her. “You’ll get some food at my place—” her fridge was rarely stocked, but she was certain she’d find something. “Then I’ll take you to your car. That sound okay to you?”

Finally, someone in town with some actual sense. Cling to that fear. Rio didn’t have much of a choice in the matter, unfortunately. The real shame was that he had somehow taught himself to ignore the fear and move forward anyways. He blamed all of his reckless, stubborn friends for that one. The ones that he had been forced to swallow that fear and push onward anyways, for their sake and his own. He loved them to death, but sometimes he wondered just how many people in this town had actual death wishes. “No worries there. Fear is definitely present. Along with morbid curiosity, I guess. But fear wins.”

Nicole knew someone that could look into this? Rio could read between the thinly veiled lines. They both knew that this had been supernatural, and she apparently knew someone that might be knowledgeable enough to identify it. That didn’t exactly narrow anything down or prove that the two had a mutual friend. Rio was sure there were half a dozen or more hunters in town that could have named the creature on sight. Most of them were probably at the Silver Bullet right now, if that place was still standing. God, he hoped it wasn’t. “Really? That’d be great. I may be able to look into it too? I’ll uh- well we can exchange contact info and let each other know if we find anything.” They were both skirting around the topic, but that suited Rio just fine. They had escaped potential death together, but at the end of the day they were still just strangers.

Rio breathed a sigh of relief when Nicole cut him off. It was for the best. He was genuinely convinced that he could talk himself into asphyxiation. She took control of the conversation from there on, more telling Rio the plan rather than suggesting. She tacked on a confirmation at the end, questioning his consent so that he could back out if he wanted. But after getting knocked unconscious and kidnapped by a shadow bear, he wasn’t much in the mood to argue. “Yeah. That sounds great.”

Nicole nodded in quiet approval. At least Rio wasn’t as reckless as she had initially believed him to be. In that way, she supposed there weren’t too different. Both curious and scared. “You keep that up” she mumbled as final encouragement, signaling him to take a turn left. His flashlight still illuminated the path for them, as the surroundings became more familiar. She estimated she’d spot her cabin in the distance in a matter of minutes.

“Really” Nicole confirmed, with a coy smile. She knew Leah would be able to figure out what they just encountered with a few questions. Or at least, find the book with the answer. “Oh…” his comment gave her a pause, and she quirked a curious brow at him. He clearly wasn’t oblivious to the supernatural, that much she had gathered. But how much did he know, exactly? She supposed she could test the waters later. When things had calmed down. “That’s, ah—Yeah, it’s better if we help each other out…” in the end, that’s the only thing guaranteed to save anyone from the towns terrors.

Nicole didn’t think Rio was completely sold on her idea, and part of her was proud of that. He had just been dragged to a cave to become a creature’s meal, she would’ve seriously judged him if he didn’t show any apprehension about following a stranger back to their place. Even if she knew she would never hurt him. “Okay”. Mostly, she wanted to make sure the encounter with the bear would be as far away from his mind as possible before he got behind the wheel. After that, she didn’t try to overwhelm him with any more reassuring words, or attempted small talk. The remaining distance towards her cabin was spent in silence. Both of them deserved some time to let the experience sink in their bodies and minds. They would discuss it in more detail later, in the comfort of her own home.

#wickedswriting #p: rio #p: a bauk in the park #p #/rio my loooove 😍

8 notes · View notes