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starandquill · 4 years

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Hunter’s Game

My excuse to write an interaction with these two and also to write a poem about Cater sknkjgdn cross-posted on Ao3!

Characters: Rook Hunt, Cater Diamond

Summary: Rook finds Cater in the woods and decides to mess around with him. Cater soon learns he can’t outsmart the hunter in his own game.

The sun was low on the afternoon horizon and a soft breeze rustled the leaves in the forest. There within the chilly undergrowth, a hunter stalked their prey. They were a skilled predator, a figure obscured in the shadows refracted by the leaves above with footfalls so delicate and swift that not a leaf or stick was left behind disturbed. The hunter watched with sharp eyes through an obscuring bush as their prey, a figure across a grassy flowered clearing, shifted directions and bright green eyes narrowed as their main target was left perfectly open.

Quickly and seemingly with the grace of an eagle taking flight, the hunter raised their weapon and an arrow alongside it. Nock, aim, pull back. All done in several swift movements. Release.

Thunk.

The arrow struck its target perfectly and Cater's phone was knocked from his hand just before he could snap a photo of the flowers in front of him. The Heartslabyul student exclaimed his surprise in the form of a shout and immediately spun on his heels to face the direction the arrow came from with wide eyes and a defensive arm raised, magic pen in hand.

"Ah, my apologies~" Rook took this moment to slide out from the bush. Once more with enough grace that only a singular leaf remained stuck to the fabric on the shoulder of his uniform. A leaf which he then plucked and cast aside without breaking eye contact. "I missed."

Cater knew very well that Rook was not the type to miss and that the close-eyed smile and exaggerated shrug the self-proclaimed hunter gave him was a sly mockery that made his eyebrow twitch.

Despite this, Cater forced himself to return the smile, pocketing his magic pen. Both knew exactly what the other was really thinking and inwardly both were staring daggers, but they kept niceties.

"Ah! No problem." Cater said, particularly making sure to let a bit of his annoyance drip through between the cheerful tone. He reached down to retrieve his phone, brushing some dirt off of it as he looked it over quickly for any cracks in the screen. When he found nothing damaged, he quickly shoved it in his back pocket and looked up again to see Rook had already crossed the space between them and was now standing practically in front of him. With the same shit-eating grin still plastered on his face, Rook knelt down and retrieved his arrow from where it had fallen, returning it to his quiver and slinging the bow he'd been carrying with him around his shoulder as well.

When he stood back up to his full height, a silent exchange passed between their smiling expressions. Cater's read something along the lines of 'Hey you shit-faced bastard, you could've cracked my screen. There are, like, a million other things out here to aim at. What did I do to you, dude?' And Rook's expression assured in return that he was perfectly capable of using enough strength and precision to pierce the device clean through and that Cater should count himself lucky Rook had decided to merely knock it away with one of the blunt arrows he saved for non-hunting purposes.

"I was aiming at a bird." Rook finally said. "Such a shame, it seems it flew away now." He says this with a dramatic sigh. Cater noted he was making an effort to purposefully emphasize the obvious lie. He tried not to fall victim to whatever it was Rook was clearly doing.

"Sorry to hear that! Good luck with the rest of your.. Er.. Hunt! I was just taking some photos of these pretty flowers here and I'd like to continue if you don’t mind." Cater gestured toward the bright yellow and blue scattered among the grass of the clearing they were standing in. When Rook remained uncharacteristically silent, Cater shrugged and went to retrieve his phone again. However, his hand was stopped short as Rook caught him by the wrist. Instinctively, Cater moved to twist his hand from the other's grasp but Rook's grip was firm and that shit-eating smirk remained.

"A trickle of color amongst a sea of green, colorful raindrops fallen upon the ground. Oui, le fleur, a true beauty of the forest.” His eyes pierced Cater’s. “Do you know what else is beautiful, Monsieur Magicam? The thrill of the hunt. Since you're here and a hunt is always better done in a pack, I'd like you to help me catch that sneaky little birdie."

"Ehh?! Wh-" Cater protested as Rook began to pull him into the trees. "Hey!"

There was no bird! Rook was no fool and neither was Cater. Cater was well aware he was just playing games and Rook clearly knew of this fact, yet he smoothly continued the lie and used it to his advantage rather forcefully and expertly without revealing his intentions. The hunter had cornered its prey merely to force the prey to hunt for it. What sort of game was Rook playing at? Or rather, what sort of game was Cater being asked to play?

"Come, I saw it fly off this way." They were nearly in a jog at this point. Rook was clearly athletic, his speed leaving him practically dragging Cater along behind. He leapt easily over rocks and protruding roots, leaving Cater to stumble over said obstacles.

Finally, Rook paused within the shade of a young tree, seemingly completely unfazed by the length of which he had run. When they halted to a stop, the Heartslabyul student doubled over, gasping desperately for air as he looked to Rook, who appeared to be smelling the air for scents that carried in the slight breeze. Again, searching for nothing in particular but keeping the facade.

It wasn't as if Cater was unfamiliar with spontaneity of mischief. After all, it was quite the familiar theme among the Heartslabyul dorm. He knew a game of wits when he saw one. Aha! That was it! If Rook wants a game he'll get a game. This was a game two could play at and two would play indeed. ..Or perhaps, more than just two..

A wide grin spread across his face.

"Don't you think it would be easier,” Cater suddenly said. “If we split up to find it?"

Before Rook could even open his mouth to speak, Cater used Split Card. He got a boost of confidence from the look of genuine surprise that crossed Rook's eyes for all but a tenth of a second and it allowed Cater just enough energy for all four versions of himself to split off and scatter into the trees.

“Hmm?” Rook called into the forest. “Playing games with a hunter are we? That's never a wise move.” A pause, no Caters answered. “But I guess I do enjoy a game of hide and seek. Alright, I give you 10 seconds to hide, Monsieur Magicam. Let's play a game. I know there are four of you, so if I find the real one, you must help me find my little bird. If I guess incorrectly, you win and you're free~” A beat. Then, “Neuf.” Another beat. “Huit.”

Cater realized he had begun counting and took off into the trees. The other Caters realized this too and all of him set off in completely different directions. The real Cater stumbled through the bushes as if his life depended on it (and perhaps it truly did) looking desperately for a place to hide. He glimpsed a dip in the ground ahead and dropped down into a creek bed where he flattened his back against the grasping roots of a tree. He then allowed his breathing to steady and his heart rate to calm. Mud stuck to his uniform and shoes from where he crouched and his hair had come undone at some point and cascaded across his face, obscuring parts of his eyesight.

“‐Deux. Un! Let the hunt begin~!” Rook’s voice rang through the trees. There were several beats of silence, then Rook's voice echoed from somewhere distantly off to his left.

It was.. Of course he was reciting poetry, leave it to Rook Hunt to add such a thing to the most unusual of situations.

"A card for the hunter, a card for the prey.

Neither side knows what the other might play.

A four of diamonds, or a joker?

A risky game, this game of poker."

Cater sank lower into the creek bed as Rook’s voice grew closer, praying that he’d chosen the best place to hide out of the other Caters.

"His pawns cannot protect him yet.

For they can only move ahead.

The others turn their path astray.

While the king can only outrun the fray."

He frowned. That was.. There was a deeper meaning to Rooks echoing words.When the hunter spoke again, he was closer. Much, much too close.

“He who waits upon his throne

Is first to fall when left alone.

He begs and pleads them, but alas,

They took the crown right from his grasp.

Diamond diamond in the mud,

the hunter calls out for your blood.

If you so truly wish to hide,”

A moment of silence.

“You really shouldn't shine so bright~”

It wasn't like Cater to freeze, and yet in that moment he'd been listening so carefully for Rook's next words so he would know when to run that he'd underestimated the hunter's location. When Rook spoke that last verse, he sounded as if now stood directly above the creek bed, close enough that Cater could hear his breathing. Rook took a breath, likely preparing to speak those final lines of his oddly morbid poem.

..When an obnoxious ringtone went off.

Cater's reflexes were automatically programmed to reach for his own cellular device when he suddenly stopped himself upon the realization that the ringtone was not his own.

“Bonjour!” He heard Rook answer from above him in a cheerful voice, an immediate switch from his previous tone. He was close enough that Cater could hear the murmurs of another voice on the other end of the line. “Roi de Poison! Is everything alright?” An exasperated tone answered and he heard Rook hum in surprise at something. “Really? Are you sure? Alright alright I'll be there soon. Au revoir~!” The other end of the call said something in a loud voice, likely protesting the abrupt hang up, but Rook ended the call regardless.

"It seems the little birdie got lucky. Ah well, I'm sure I'll catch it someday! You win today, Monsieur Magicam. Enjoy your victory, it's not every day someone escapes my hunter’s grasp~” He chuckled, then Cater heard his footsteps turn and begin to walk back the way he came. He let go of a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding as Rook’s steps grew distant and nearly slumped down in relief before remembering he was crouching over a mud puddle. As he stood up, he allowed his clones to disappear and his full magic returned to him. Regardless of the abrupt end, it was clear the hunter had given up on his game for the day as the previously tense and threatening air had dissipated entirely. Cater dug around in his pockets for a hair tie and double checked that his phone was still there. He tied his hair back up and went to brush the drying mud off his pants, knowing how much he'd get reprimanded by Riddle for returning in such a state regardless of his efforts to tidy his appearance.

The setting sun cast long shadows among the trees and the orange-red colors of the sunset sky above reflected in the water of the small creek making the steadily running water look much too similar to that familiar red paint that dripped from the roses in the Heartslabyul gardens before a party.

..Or perhaps a trail of blood, running over rocks and away from the ashes of the fallen and defeated among a broken battlefield.

He shook his head. No! Bad Cater! Stop that, you’re thinking too dark!

As he began wandering back through the forest the way he came, the hunter's poem remained on his mind. He hated admitting it to himself but though Rook hadn't gotten to finish his game properly - whatever that meant - the hunter had most certainly won. Whether intentional or not, the words cut deeper than any arrow would. That hunter.. He knew much more than he would ever say. Cater suddenly paused, drawn out of his thoughts as he remembered that he hadn't even gotten the chance to do what he originally came there for. Putting on a bright grin, he pulled up his phone and snapped a selfie.

#walkinthewoods #NRCforest #beautifulsunset #prettyflowers #checkoutthiscreek

Uploaded.

Anyone looking at the photo would not see the exhaustion behind his smile or how dirtied his lower uniform was. They wouldn't know the oddity of an afternoon he’d just been through and it would always continue to stay that way.

Humming a cheerful tune to himself, he began the walk back, the only goal currently on his mind now being to return before Riddle’s set curfew as it was quickly getting dark.

Much farther away, and hidden once more within the darkness of a shadow cast behind a gnarled tree, those green hunter’s eyes watched the Heartslabyul student as he left with a knowing gaze.

"Though ages to polish a diamond may take,

To sculpt to perfection without a mistake.

No gem is flawless, no effort doth matter.

For with enough pressure, that diamond can shatter.”

#twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland fanfiction #cater diamond #rook hunt #fanfic #apologies for my odd writing style sjgdgjgn #looks kinda like a ship but i swear that wasnt my intention pff #star writes

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