#Thread: Hazel | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

dirtwatchman · 12 days ago

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PARTIES: Hazel (@appalachiannightmare) and Caleb (@dirtwatchman) LOCATION: Eluria Cemetery TIMING: Mid-May CONTENT WARNINGS: Some limbs are lost... SUMMARY: Hazel reveals what she really is to Caleb, by accident of course.

Son of a biscuit? The hell- No! No time to worry about that.

It had been a minute since Hazel had seen Caleb. Ever since she had found a place of her own and moved out, life had just gotten busier, between working and somehow trying to stay out of trouble. She hadn’t even been in Wicked’s Rest a year and already, Hazel was finding this town hard to get used to. But her devil seemed to thrive. With the multitude of deaths, whether it be animals or humans, the berserker found food sources popping up left and right. While poor Hazel seemed to find herself keeping The Generic Store in business by the amount of soap and bleach she was purchasing weekly. Suspicious in any other town, but not so much here.

“I don’t get why people would constantly want to trash such a peaceful old cemetery.” As she picked up the remaining pieces of a headstone that had been destroyed, Hazel tossed them into the rubble pile. “Is there any way this can be stopped?” Her attention turned to Caleb. She respected what he did; taking care of the dead and all. It really took a special person, and she wasn’t sure she could do it, especially because though she didn’t have the full story most of the time, she was responsible for a lot of deaths. A thought that never really sat well with her, and something she mostly tried to push out of her mind for the fear of what kind of mental breakdown it would cause.

Moving to the next busted headstone, Hazel caught sight of the death date year, “Wow. This headstone is from the early 1900s. How do you even replace somethin’ this valuable? Let alone, remember who all these belong to?” It was a job she didn’t want to be responsible for, but she would help Caleb as best as she could. He was her first friend in Wicked’s Rest after all.

There was a question that Caleb kept having to ask himself; How was he supposed to grow thicker skin when people as soft as Hazel were part of his life? Or Jonas? Or Oliver? It was something that kept plaguing him over and over. The need for survival in the paranormal world, the need for a backbone, it all kept being outweighed by the need to hold on to the people he cared for. He didn’t know how to balance the two at all. Becoming cold while a friend wanted to help do a job that she didn’t have to help with? It didn’t go together too well but he couldn’t help saying yes when she had offered. The power imbalance of his two worlds shifted back to the ‘normal’ side the moment she reached out and picked up the first piece of broken headstone and Caleb found himself smiling softly at her words, retreating into the comfort ‘normal’ provided.

He needed to stop letting that happen. There was too much at stake - his business, his life…his battered heart.

It was too late to stop it that night, though, and so all he could do was let his world continue to shift back even if her statement did concern his other one. He knew why it kept happening. Caleb knew that Eluria was very popular among the undead and that all of this vandalism was a result of the fighting that came with that. Peaceful was not the right word to describe this place. Wasn’t like he could tell her that, though. “I couldn’t tell you why. I don’t think it’ll stop, unfortunately. From what I hear, this has been happening for a long time.”

Looking up from the wheelbarrow he was placing a few pieces in, he took in the old headstone, shaking his head at the thought of it all. “There are different ways to get them replaced but it all comes down to money and who was buried there. Because that stuff matters even in death, I guess.” Which…was so damn sad. “You know, you don’t have to help me with this. It’s a lot sometimes.” Not to mention, the cemetery wasn’t exactly safe. For all he knew there was a vampire watching them waiting for their moment to strike Hazel. Crazy to think that he assumed he was the only type of supernatural thing out there only a few short years ago and now he couldn’t seem to get away from it all.

Hazel continued to pick up the busted headstones as she listened to Caleb speak. It was sad to think that people didn’t care about the resting place of the dead or how a piece of etched stone was the only thing that a lot of these people had left to remind the ever changing world that they had once existed. How many people still spoke of memories about Little Johnny or Mrs. Davis? Or had they just become another casualty to time moving on? Hazel feared that’s what she would become, or, in the case of her life back in Tennessee, had already become. Did anyone really care that she was gone? It made her sad thinking about it. And with a slow, deep sigh, trying to catch herself before the tears set in, she put her sight back on Caleb, “Well, I think what you’re doin’ is admirable. You’re allowin’ the memory of these people to live on, even if just by a headstone being replaced. I hope that when I’m dead and buried, if somethin’ happens to my final restin’ place, there will be someone like you to take good care of it.”

She stepped over and tossed another chunk of rock into the wheelbarrow, “Sometimes I think money is the devil’s work. Barterin’ is one thing, but overchargin’ at the expense of someone’s grief or even their demise is another. That’s just my opinion though.” Hazel had a lot of opinions, she just usually never spoke up about them. But Caleb, she was comfortable around, because he had been one of the first people she had met in Wicked’s Rest. Someone who gave her a chance to get her bearings before going off in the world to live on her own again, so speaking her mind and being honest about certain things, she hadn’t minded as much.

“I want to. You helped me out when I really needed it, so I’m here to help you out. That’s what friends do, right?” She shot him a quick smile as she grabbed more random pieces of headstone, “‘Sides, I ain’t got nothin’ better to do today. And I already finished my shift at Video Vault. Beats goin’ back home to an empty cabin.”

“I think you’re giving me more credit than I deserve.” Because this was his job. He wasn’t the one paying to have these things replaced. In fact, there were more than a few places in the cemetery where there were no funds to actually replace the stones. They were nothing more than jagged pieces sanded down to not stick out of the ground too much. The ones he’d had to gloss over like that while he worked there were on a list he was keeping up with, the names of the dead on each location, but Caleb was hardly the saint she was making him out to be. “If it wasn’t me doing it, it would be someone else. It’s a big place with a few different caretakers.” She was far kinder than was comfortable for him. Even with people like his niece in his life he’d gotten to a point where his comfort came from within the anger and intolerance of others. It was what he knew and what he was trying to learn to navigate.

Navigating kindness? It was getting more and more difficult. But he couldn’t help the silent appreciation he held for people who showed it.

His lips lifted softly, Caleb’s views on money and greed were plentiful but he couldn’t say much for a guy who was charging to feed the undead. “I think those opinions are something that most could agree on. Anyone who doesn’t have tons of money anyway.” Which was the majority of the world.

‘That’s what friends do, right?’ He looked up at that while crouching next to the largest piece of stone on the ground. Looking up at her, he was silent for a minute, his thoughts hanging on the word ‘friend.’ It wasn’t that he didn’t think they were friends, it was more the fact that he thought she deserved better. He might have helped her in the beginning, sure, but there were so many things about him that would end up pushing her away in the end. Was the pain of that worth it? He wasn’t sure anymore.

Deciding to ignore the words, he started to lift the piece of rock, his words strained as he replied. “You could go out and have fun.” Rich, coming from him. “I hear there’s a few clubs that are nice around here.”

“No, I think I’m givin’ you the right credit you deserve. Ain’t nobody else out here pickin’ up pieces of somebody else’s life tryin’ to keep things lookin’ decent. Take a little pride in yourself, Caleb. You’re a good guy.” Hazel didn’t know everything about Caleb’s life. In fact, she barely knew the man, but from just the few months she had spent living with him and getting to know him better, it seemed like he genuinely cared for people. And not once did she ever feel unsafe, but also Hazel rarely felt unsafe. In fact, she was usually more concerned for the people around her than she was for her own well being. Her devil made sure of that.

Hazel grabbed a few more jagged pieces and tossed them in the wheelbarrow, before wiping the sweat off of her brow and moving to a nearby tree to lean up against it. While she had been impossibly strong when her devil came out to play, most days she was constantly reminded of how skinny and scrawny she really was, but she did have some muscles and she made sure to flex what she had, “First off, Caleb Ellsworth, you know I don’t go clubin’. Ain’t never stepped foot in one, and ain’t about to. And second, who said this hangin’ out with my best friend ain’t fun? Hard work, yes. Not fun? No.” She narrowed her eyes and glared at him for two seconds to let him know she wasn’t playing, before her expression loosened up, “And hey, maybe we can go get an ice cream or somethin’ after all this hard work. Your treat.” Hazel let out a laugh as she let her body slide down the tree into a sitting position; her legs pulled in close to give him room to keep working.

He was just staring at her again, a little taken aback by how assertive she was being. His tongue was poised to argue but Caleb stopped himself when he realized that she wasn’t going to let him do so. She would just come back with more reasons as to why he was a good man and he would get more and more uncomfortable. Eventually it would lead to him blurting out that he was a murderer and it probably wouldn’t end well. So instead he just nodded his head at her. “Heard you, loud and bright.” Would he actually gain a little pride? Probably not. But at least he could move on and not feel like he wanted to bury himself under one of the headstones.

Now they were ‘best friends?’ Hearing that, Caleb promptly dropped the heavy stone right on top of his foot. He had the good sense to grimace at the slight shock of pain but not as much as a man should have with that much weight coming down on his toes. God, he wouldn’t be surprised if one popped off. But he was too busy trying to process the words again. He felt like that video of a woman trying to calculate things going through the timeline of their friendship and wondering how that had happened. Again, the zombie wasn’t against it, he just hadn’t realized she felt like he was worthy enough to be called that.

He supposed he did give her a place to stay. And yea, they hung out frequently even if it was crap like this. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t so far-fetched. Bending down to pick up the rock again, he nodded at her. “Yea, I’ll get you some ice cream. I know a good place for it.” He was finally able to toss the thing in the wheelbarrow and wipe his hands on his jeans, turning to face her again until he spotted something in the near distance; something that was coming straight towards them. Fast.

“Hazel, get up now.” It was the most forceful he had ever been with anyone. His voice cut through the night air, Caleb moving towards her as he looked back at the approaching figure. It almost looked like a dog from there but the way it was running meant it was anything but. “I need you to run, don’t worry about me, just go.” Because there was no way they were both outrunning it and he wasn’t letting it get to her if he could help it.

The day Hazel met Caleb was the day things had started to feel right. It was like the universe was telling her this is where she needed to be. That there was someone here who was willing to accept her and be her friend. And while Hazel had sometimes found that in the other places she had traveled, things here had just genuinely felt different. Granted Caleb didn’t exactly know what Hazel was or that she was harboring something evil inside of her often made her wonder if he would still want to be her friend or accept her was a question she often asked herself, but as of right now, she was going to ride with the fact that she had actually found someone again who wanted to be around her and wasn’t afraid of her.

“Oh son of a biscuit, that looked like it hurt! Are you okay?” She had watched as the slab of stone had fallen right on top of his foot knowing it had to have done some damage, but before she could shift her weight and get back up, he seemed to be going about his business even talking about getting her ice cream. Must not’ve hurt as bad as I thought.

Brushing it off, she leaned back against the tree getting settled again noticing that the sun had already set without her realizing it, “Wow. A hard day's work can really distract a girl. I didn’t even notice the sun had set.” A cool breeze through the trees and headstones caused Hazel to shiver slightly despite her body temperature usually running higher than normal as the scent of something rotten drifted up her nose, “You smell that.” Before she could get another word out, she heard Caleb’s sharp warning to get up off the ground, and without hesitating, Hazel scrambled to her feet and turned around to see the dead creature running towards them, “Oh c’mon. What in the holy buckets is this? Can’t I ever catch a damn break in this town?!”

Her eyes shifting between Caleb and the monster coming at them, she grabbed Caleb by the arm, “If I’m runnin’, you’re runnin’!”

Son of a biscuit? The hell- No! No time to worry about that. There was a monster to outrun and Hazel apparently wasn’t going to leave him behind. “Dammit, Hazel. You have to go.” But Caleb started to run with her instead of staying behind, the dog-like creature not far behind them. If it caught up, which it most definitely would, he would just do what needed to be done in the moment.

Another problem? Where the hell were they supposed to go? The crypt was too far away and his truck wouldn’t hold this monster back. His brain was trying to work overtime as he mapped out the cemetery in his head which left his common sense to suffer. Caleb tripped over one of the headstones, his gangly body toppling and rolling a little way away from the bastard stone. At least that one didn’t break though. He wouldn’t have to worry about-

Spoke too soon. The creature that was after them ran straight into the stone and pretty much obliterated it in its quest to get to the zombie. Its attention was solely on him, that much was clear as it slowed its movements and stalked his way. “Hazel, just go! I’ll be fine.”

The first thing he really noticed was this creature was definitely not a dog. It mostly used its hind legs, had the head of a human, but that was the only trait they shared. It was ugly, with little spikes running down its body, and it seemed to have a taste for him. He probably wouldn’t be fine. But it didn’t want Hazel. She had a chance to get away from this. “Just go!”

Hazel took off running after Caleb. Whatever this thing was, it was determined to get them. Determined to make them a meal. Determined to…As soon as Hazel saw Caleb hit the tombstone, she cringed. Now, that really had to hurt! But she also realized that whatever this ugly shriveled looking barnacle licker was, it wasn’t actually after her. No, it had its dark eyes set on Caleb. Her friend. And she couldn’t have that.

Stopping mid run, Hazel bent over straining to catch her breath. She knew that just as a simple human alone, she wasn’t going to be able to help him. To stop whatever this thing was. Which, why was it solely after him? It was a question for later, but it did seem to linger in the back of her mind. “Okay, devil. Our friend needs our help. As much as I don’t want to do this right now and possibly lose his friendship. I’d rather lose it from a living person than a dead one.” Oh, the irony in the statement she had just made.

“Hey, you crusty lookin’ piece of shit! Over here!!!” Hazel started to jump up and down and wave her arms to get its attention, but it wasn’t working. “Plan B it is.” Grabbing a piece of yet another broken headstone, Hazel chucked it hard at the humanoid monster; her aim hitting it square in the back of the head. And as soon as it did, its eerie gaze turned onto her, “Well devil. It’s now or never.”

Hazel could feel her heart picking up and suddenly the all too familiar ringing in her ears began when the shift started to happen. Chest heaving up and down, the young woman collapsed to her knees on the verge of passing out, and as she did a loud and shrill cry released from her throat as the devil inside of her took control. Bones breaking. Head twisting in unnatural ways and grotesque images of fur, fangs, and claws coming out while unneeded bits of flesh shed from her body. And within a matter of minutes, Hazel, once a scrawny twenty-three year old now stood as a towering wolf looming over Caleb, the headstones, and the monster that was trying to kill her friend.

“Hazel stop!” She was going to get hurt. Sure, the monster’s focus was on Caleb and didn’t seem to sway even as she called out to it but eventually it was going to get tired of ignoring her. Probably after it ate him. Its razor sharp teeth were about to sink into his flesh when something hit the back of the thing's head causing both him and the monster to look her way. Her words didn’t make any sense. What devil was she talking about? Why was she just standing there?

When he got his answer he wanted to take the questions back. He watched as his friend transformed, mutating into something he had never seen before. “There are werewolves too…?” He should have known, right? When there were vampires there were always werewolves. Besides, he knew other types of shifters, this just made so much sense.

What didn’t make sense was one of the kindest people he knew actually being one. Any lore he had ever seen, which was mostly tv or books, had always made it seem like wolves had bad tempers. But she was too sweet, too kind, and now she was a monster in her own right.

The monster standing over him was distracted enough that Caleb was able to kick it away from him. He scrambled back, finally getting back on his feet, but what was he supposed to do next? Hiding behind what Hazel had become felt too cowardly, even for him. So, when he spotted the rock she had thrown he dove for it and chucked it back behind him…only to hit the werewolf instead. “Fuck! Can’t I do anything right?”

The berserker bared her fangs snarling at the monster looming near Caleb and started to lower her body ready to pounce on it. Her target was clear. It was the thing that was threatening Caleb. The ugly grayish ghoul that was close to turning its attention back on her friend and taking a bite out of him, and she was ready to rip its head off. That is, until she felt the chunk of broken headstone hit her in the snout.

Growing quiet and standing there somewhat stunned, it took a moment for the berserker to realize what had happened, and when she did, she shifted her glowing red eyes from the ghoul to Caleb. Now, she had two targets. The ghoul AND Caleb. And the lingering feeling of the hard stone on her snout only further angered her leaving a low growl coming from her throat. The question was…which one did she want to take out first? But her answer came quickly when she felt a sudden swipe of sharp claws tearing through the fur and flesh on her leg.

Crimson eyes moving from Caleb, Hazel looked down at the ghoul and without hesitating, opened up her wide maw and chomped down on the monster's head and shoulders before she violently started shaking it and chewing on it like a chew toy. And when she had finished playing with it, she tossed the headless thing off to the side and put her laser sharp focus on Caleb as if something deep inside of her was stressing him to run.

He did not like the attention that the wolf had placed on him. It looked like he had pissed Hazel off with his bad aim and he cursed again under his breath. Now there were two things that wanted to kill him, huh? Caleb quickly considered whether he needed to say goodbye to anyone but he didn’t really have time for that, did he? No, he was about to be eaten by something and it would be too quick for a phone call. Maybe a text? He was a slow typer though. He’d hate to get half a message written only for him to be ripped apart before he could hit send.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a weird sound, the zombie looking up just in time to watch Hazel shake whatever it was that was trying to hurt them like it was nothing to her. “Holy…” This was almost incredible to watch. He would have been amazed if he wasn’t so scared out of his damn mind especially now that the other thing was dead and he had missed his opportunity to get the hell out of there.

Now Hazel’s red eyes were back on him and he got the feeling that she wasn’t quite done playing with her food. “Oh…here we go.” Quickly getting to his feet again, he turned and started sprinting back towards the direction they had just come from. “I’m sorry!” He called over his shoulder, still running full speed. His long legs were the only reason he hadn’t been caught yet but she was right on his heel. He could feel Hazel’s hot breath against his back, baring down on him, and he quickly veered left. “Hazel! It’s fucking me, stop! I am not your dinner!”

Hazel easily took off running after Caleb when he had finally decided to run. She had loved a good game of berserker and mouse, and knew that when she finally caught her kill, it was going to be well worth it. Long gangly legs to swing him around by. A cute little head to lick before gnawing on it. And boney arms to chew on for the final course. Speaking of arms…the way they had swung back and forth had her lunging ever so often trying to catch one. But just as she would nearly snip one with her snout, it would move forward again causing anger to spike through her massive body.

The brief consideration to pounce on him quickly crossed her mind, and she was just about ready to, but something stopped her in her tracks, because heading straight towards them were more of the ugly looking grayish ghouls ready to avenge their fallen comrade that had become Hazel’s meal earlier. And though her target still remained on Caleb, the familiar sight of what she had just taken out for scratching her meant four more had been added to the meal plan.

If he had to breathe, Caleb would have been a dead man. Like, an actual dead one that would never be able to run again. He’d never been a runner before. Every time he had tried something that was cardio related he’d always gotten too many of those stupid stitches in his sides and given up after his first go. And whenever he had run from things? It was a good thing he had long legs or else he never would have gotten away before.

But this? Running from a wolf that was behind him only to come up on more things that wanted to kill him? He wasn’t sure how he was going to get out of this. The only thing he could think of was those comical cartoons or bad tv where they made both enemies run into each other somehow and he felt like that was the only way to go here. It was a split second decision to keep running towards the other ugly ass monsters coming towards him and he could only hope that he could time it just right.

Just before he was close enough for the closest ugly thing to reach out and snap at him, he took a sharp turn, sliding in the soft grass but able to keep upright long enough to veer out of the way. He kept going, not bothering to look back to see if his plan to distract one with the other had worked, knowing that if it hadn’t and he took the time to check on it he would end up as their food. It wasn’t until he heard the sounds of fighting behind him that he slowed enough to turn and look.

The attention of the other four things was still on him but they were delayed. Not able to turn in time to go after him, they had all run into each other, the zombie marveling at how that had somehow worked. He was ready to celebrate, to throw his arms in the air, when he realized that only one was waving around in victory. The other? Missing in action. “Fuck!”

Success! Despite the distraction of the other things coming towards them, Hazel had managed to catch an arm, and when it was locked in her teeth, she yanked hard and fast. But only in the knick of time as Caleb somehow managed to veer off in the other direction. But her little treat would have to wait, because before she could lay down and enjoy her new fleshy chew toy, she was being bombarded by more of the ugly gray monsters left to face them on her own.

The fight was a rough one, and though she was determined to hang onto Caleb’s arm, she tossed it to the side for safekeeping and as a little treat to go back to when she was done. But the ghouls proved harder than she thought and as they scratched and clawed and she scratched and clawed, she let out a few yelps in the process for good measure to spite Caleb for leaving her to face these things on her own. Pain was nearly non-existent, but the berserker knew humans and the guilt they could feel, she was attached to one after all. But when all was said and done, Hazel had come out the victor, despite having to wrestle Caleb’s arm away from one of the final ghouls. But a job well done, meant a treat well done, and picking up the chew toy in her mouth, the overgrown dog happily trotted in Caleb’s direction despite not honing in on where he actually went.

It really was a sight to see. Caleb, with one arm, watching as Hazel chewed on the other before she was once again distracted by the nasty things that had joined their chase. The one good thing about that arm though? The four creatures were too distracted trying to get to it and leaving Caleb alone. It gave him the chance to slip away and try to hide behind one of the large crypts the cemetery held but it didn’t stop him from wincing every time he heard Hazel whimper. Cowering away behind stone as he let the huge wolf fight his battles didn’t quite sit right with him. Hazel was his friend after all and he should have been helping her. But what happens when the friend you try to help turns on you and makes your arm a chew toy?

Before he could decide to stupidly walk out there in the middle of the fight the noises died down. It got quiet for a second with Caleb trying to strain his ears…his ears that didn’t work too well. Not knowing what happened to Hazel, he peaked his head around the corner of the crypt and then looked up…and up…and up until he was looking up into the face of a wolf. His arm was between her teeth but she luckily looked content enough with just that. “...Hi Hazel. I want to say it’s good to see you…is it good to see you?”

Hazel was proud of her work. She defeated ugly ass monsters and had a reward to show for it. The only tinge of a threat she felt briefly spiked when she saw Caleb right in her face, but the berserker knew he meant no harm. She could sense it, and if he did, she’d rip his other arm off and then his head and two legs. It’d be an entire feast. Instead, she snorted a breathy snort sending hot air blowing straight into his face and resumed chewing on the arm placed delicately between her two front paws. The meat was a little tough and rancid, but it didn’t matter. It was still chewy and entertaining.

However, she had found herself slightly whimpering as a chill rushed over her body causing her to shiver, before resuming her light snack of arm jerky. Whatever those things were, their scratches had a bit of a kick, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. And when she finished her treat, she laid her big furry head down on her two front paws and closed her eyes knowing that the shift would soon happen again leaving human Hazel in berserker Hazel’s big furry place.

Despite the giant animal chewing on his arm right in front of him, Caleb didn’t feel like she was a threat anymore. Something had shifted in the time between her chasing him down and then taking out the hideous monsters. Maybe she felt like they were allies now or maybe she was biding her time but he did know one thing; Hazel would never have ripped his arm off on purpose. The zombie couldn’t blame her though. He understood not being able to control his own actions when his other side took over, a side of himself that was sure to make an appearance if he didn’t eat something soon. Healing always took a lot out of him. He’d never actually had to grow back something as large as an arm before but he assumed the recent meal he’d had wouldn’t be enough to keep him from fading into the monster.

Which meant he needed to leave her there. If he stayed and things went bad he was afraid of what would happen. Clearly she could take care of herself but it only took one bite or deep scratch for him to change the course of her life forever. “Hazel?” Caleb was cautious as he spoke up, not wanting to spook her but her attention was needed. His only hand left came up slowly to slightly graze her fur. “I have to leave. If I don't, something is going to happen that one of us isn’t going to survive.” His money was on him. “I didn’t want you to think I was leaving you alone for no good reason. I’m not scared of you.” Okay, maybe he was a little bit scared of her but he wasn’t going to say that with her sitting right there.

Again, he was cautious with his movements as he stood up to leave. It looked like the wolf was already asleep anyway, not really caring what he did as long as he wasn’t a threat. “We have a lot to talk about when we see each other again.” Taking one last look around the cemetery to make sure there were no more of those monsters coming (as if he had done anything to help when they were chasing both of them), he turned and hurried away from the wolf, hoping she would keep enjoying the gift of his own flesh.

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