bakerstreet | Daemon Meme

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[meme] au

Daemon Meme

In the universe of the His Dark Materials trilogy (or the movie The Golden Compass), every person has a creature called a dæmon that accompanies them all their lives, and is emotionally and metaphysically a part of them. Dæmons are often described as sort of external souls (while the part of the personality in a human's body is the spirit).

Basic Dæmon Facts:

- They take the shape of animals
- They can talk, no matter what their shape
- Children's dæmons can change form at will; around puberty they 'settle' and become one animal permanently
- Neither the person or the dæmon chooses the final settled form, but it always reflects their personality (although not necessarily in obvious or simple ways)
- They are almost always the opposite sex as their human
- If a dæmon feels pain, so will their person, and vice versa
- Being physically apart from one's dæmon causes horrible emotional and physical pain
- Dæmons frequently talk to and touch each other, in ways that reflect or complement their persons' interactions, but dæmons talking to humans other than their own is considered strange, and touching humans not their own is extremely taboo; it generally occurs only between long-time lovers. Touching someone else's dæmon without permission is a terrible violation.

How it works:

Just design a dæmon for your muse and put as little or as much information as you like about them (shape, name, link to a picture or species wiki if you are so inclined) in a comment, with your muse's name and series in the subject. Check out other people's dæmons and let your dæmons interact too.

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It was rare for Poe to have a full day off. No meetings. No debriefs. No patrols or missions. No, it was completely free and so far, he'd managed to do a whole lot of nothing. It was bliss.

Early morning found him still in bed, but once he woke up, he was out of the base and into the forest surrounding it, his Daemon perched atop his shoulder. Some might wonder why he wanted to spend one of his few days off outside in the heat when he could be still lazing about in bed, but he had his reasons.

Finn and Lorr -who had finally settled on a name for herself- liked being out of doors, mostly because neither of them had had much of a chance to be anywhere like outside for as long as they could remember. They never roamed too far from the base, the forest was largely uncharted and while D'Qar was small enough that they'd likely be found again before long, it wasn't a risk either of them wanted to take.

Finn was recovering well, and had become the resident expert on all things First Order, though he often reminded them that the longer he was away, the more likely things were to have changed to prevent other troopers going rogue as well.

Right at the moment the pair of them were about a half mile into the woods, where they could still find their way back easily, at the edge of the river that powered at least one of the base's backup generators. Finn was sitting on the bank watching Lorr splash, chasing schools of the little silver-blue fish through the current.

There was no alarm when Poe heard the splashing. Really, if someone this close to the base wasn't a friendly, then guards would've already picked them off and alerted everyone. In fact, Poe suspected who was out in the forest, but it was Ishara's keen eyes that caught sight of Finn and Lorr. She winged back to settle atop Poe's head, teasing him as he approached the other man.

Poe's Daemon was as loquacious as he was, and damn near as flirty too. She enjoyed a good joke and was already quite fond of Finn, even deigning to perch on his arm or head from time to time when it helped her have a good spot to lecture Poe from. He knew it was unusual for her to be so at ease touching someone else, but he just wrote it off in part due to his own affection for Finn. Affection as well as something more if Poe ever decided to pursue it, which he likely would if he knew that Finn wouldn't mind.

"I thought you'd still be in bed."

Lorr, all gangly legs and happily waving tail, kept ducking her head into the water to blow bubbles through her nose, something that made Finn smile, which was probably why she kept doing it, because they were free now, which meant that he should be smiling as much as possible.

He positively grinned at the hail from the other man, "Stay inside?" He shook his head, though the objection clearly wasn't serious, "Obviously you don't know me very well." Finn had never found Ishara's affection strange, most of the trooper's daemons slept in a pile or under bunks and would lean against whatever person was nearest even if it wasn't their own, something that Lorr had taken to doing at meals or during long briefings, just sitting quietly and leaning against Poe's shins as often as she did against Finn's.

Once Ishara saw what Lorr was doing, she winged over to settle beside her, cackling with laughter as she waddled almost close enough to be splashed if she wasn't careful. There was no way to miss the open affection in Poe's eyes as he watched both Daemons at play and even as he set himself down beside Finn, his gaze never left the two of them.

"I know you well enough. I also know that recovering from injuries is tiring and I also know that the General has been pumping you for all the information she can get. I guess I just thought you'd be resting up while you had the chance."

Finn shrugged, kicking one of his feet in the water just a little to scatter the fish that had started to drift close, apparently curious, "I'm resting. Don't see me doing anything super-exhausting right now, do you?"

More than that, the fresh air and sunshine seemed to be doing him some good, and had certainly improved his mood if nothing else. Even just getting out into the courtyard or onto the airstrip had been enough for him the first few days, and then someone had pointed out that he could wander further if he wanted to, and he'd taken that as an invitation and wandered as far as he dared most mornings.

There really wasn't any other protest so Poe just shrugged and leaned back on his elbows, his gaze drifting up to the sky above them. Few ever got to see this side of Poe and most wouldn't believe he could ever be still, much less so laid back. For someone who always seemed to be on the go all the time, he certainly did enjoy it when he had the chance and just let himself go.

"You got me there. I don't blame you. I like to come out here when I have the chance. Sometime soon, I'll show you the waterfall Ishara and I found just after we first got here."

He couldn't help but smile at that as well, not that he'd won the argument, since it hadn't been one, but that Poe had agreed with him, and more than that was relaxing as well, it wasn't often that Finn saw Poe that at-ease, not unless he was elbow-deep in X-Wing parts, or when he was asleep, though Finn hadn't seen that often, either.

"Yeah? I'd like to see that, sometime. We haven't gone very far, wilderness survival was one of the few classes we didn't get good marks in. Not ruthless enough for it, I guess."

"It wasn't one of my favorites when we were back in the Academy."

Poe rarely talked about his past and for good reason. Ishara knew to keep quiet about that much at least, though there wasn't much else she kept her beak shut about. Now that he knew that Finn enjoyed things like this, he silently promised to take him out late at night as well, just to see the stars that littered the night sky.

There was a laugh from Ishara but if she was laughing at his wistful thoughts about kisses under stars or something Lorr was doing, she gave no clue.

"I got used to living in forests when I was back home on Yavin 4. This kinda reminds me of it, even if Yavin was a lot hotter."

"We didn't get forests or trees very often, not like this. Usually when we did it was in a simulator, and that's definitely not the same." There was no smell to them, for one thing, and Finn had found, quite quickly, that he really liked the smell of trees -and plants in general- and while he would never say that he'd been deprived of things, he was slowly beginning to discover just how much he had been.

It would seem that Ishara had been laughing at Lorr, because the canine bounded up out of the river, landing easily between the two men and shaking herself hard, spattering them both, something that made Finn squawk indignantly, though he laughed a moment later himself, reaching over to ruffle her ears with an affectionate: "Brat."

Poe's Daemon cackled with laughter as she flapped her way out of the splash zone and Poe's laughter echoed hers. It was easy to see why so many seemed to flock to Poe's side and why he'd never lacked for company in the past. These days, however, he was a bit more subdued though every now and again, one could catch a glimpse of the old Poe.

Ishara easily alighted on Poe's upturned knee, clearly winking over at Finn before she shook herself out and let her crest relax just as much as Poe seemed to be relaxing.

"You're kidding, right? Lorr's a sweetheart. It's Ishara that's a brat."

Lorr had rolled over, belly up, front paws relaxed and tongue lolling, something else that just made Finn laugh, shaking his head at Poe's statement even as he scratched at the flare on Lorr's chest, "She is, though, she's just better at hiding it because everyone thinks she's innocent."

Much like Finn himself for that matter, people were continually underestimating him because they thought he must have been terribly sheltered growing up as a stormtrooper. In a way they were right, he hadn't had a lot of life experience, but it didn't mean he didn't know things, his education and worldview had been skewed towards the glory of the Empire and the First Order, but he wasn't stupid, nor as simple as some people seemed to think.

"Sounds like someone else I know."

He shot Finn a sidelong look before he let himself lay all the way back, hands behind his head as he let his eyes droop half-lidded. The sudden change made Ishara squawk in protest as she worked to right herself before she muttered a few choice words and winged off to go preen Lorr's damp fur.

Some might underestimate Finn and that was their mistake. The people that mattered didn't and if they did in Poe's earshot, the pilot was always quick to fix that little problem. In fact, he'd gotten into a fistfight with a member of the ground crew just after he'd dragged Finn to meet General Organa and while he'd been reprimanded, everyone that had met Finn agreed that he wasn't someone to discount.

"I happen to think she's adorable, just like someone else."

Finn, likewise, had settled back, eyes gone completely closed, just enjoying the dapple of sun and shade as the breeze stirred the limbs overhead, smile still very much in place.

"You know someone else like that?" He asked, still entirely amused, "I'm shocked by this." He wasn't, not even a little, and while he suspected that it was him Poe was talking about, he wasn't sure he could handle being wrong on that count, though he hadn't quite been able to peg why the thought of Poe liking people bothered him, it wasn't like the man hadn't had friends before Finn came along, he was bound to have close friends already.

Finn's amusement was clear and it just made Poe's smile soften. Part of him wanted to tease back and keep playing as they were, while part of him wanted nothing more than to roll over and see how Finn's smile tasted. If it'd been any of his old lovers, he would've already done so, but there was something holding him back when it came to Finn.

But oh, how he wanted.

"I know all sorts of adorable people, but there's one in particular that's pretty damn special. Attractive, too."

"Oh yeah? Anyone I know?" He wasn't entirely sure why he'd asked, bracing himself for disappointment, but he also wasn't going to try to take the question back now that it was out, there wasn't much point after all.

He did, however, arch one brow, eye peeling open to regard Poe intently as he waited for the response, one hand having drifted back to Lorr's side, apparently deciding that he needed the emotional support even before he got an answer.

Ishara had paused at the question, her head raised enough so she could watch everything going on. Poe, while he hadn't moved a bit, was well aware that he was being watched. In truth, being so relaxed had allowed him to let a few things slip even when he hadn't meant to. It wasn't that he didn't mean them. It was just that he felt that perhaps, neither of them were ready for what he was about to say.

Still, he stayed there, smiling softly even though his mind was racing with nerves.

"I certainly hope so since you see him every time you look in a mirror."

He wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that, or to the rush of emotions that swept through him at that, too many to properly count, but disbelief and relief in some kind of hopeless tangle at the forefront.

It was only Lorr's quiet, barely audible: "Go on." That had him shifting over, propping himself up on one hand so that he could lean in and press a kiss to the corner of Poe's mouth, clumsy and impulsive and definitely not smooth, but he wasn't going to take it back, either.

Finn didn't have to be smooth. That was Poe's job. Just when Finn started to move back, Poe's hand shot up, calloused fingers curling along the back of Finn's neck as Poe pulled him in for a proper kiss. It was gentle and coaxing, the only points of contact their lips and Poe's hand warm against the back of Finn's neck.

Ishara ruffled her feathers and burbled a pleased noise before she shot a "About kriffing time," over at Lorr.

The wolf -and Finn was finally beginning to realize that's what Lorr was, not just a dog- rolled over to get out from between the two, just sitting back on the bank of the river and shooting Ishara a broad grin, all teeth and lolling tongue, definitely in agreement.

Finn made a quiet, half-surprised sound at the hand on the back of his neck, though he relaxed against Poe a moment later, just replying to that kiss in kind, eyes dipping closed again so that he could focus on the sensation of it.

When Finn started to respond to the kiss, Poe coaxed it deeper, his hand moving to cup Finn's cheek as his other hand moved to mirror it. His fingers were a ghost of a touch, holding him gently as if Finn were something to be treasured while Poe shifted the kiss into something a bit more carnal.

He finally pulled away, just enough to catch his breath even as his thumbs swept along Finn's cheeks.

"Absolutely adorable."

Finn wasn't panting, not exactly, but something close, smile emerging once more as Poe drew away, realizing only belatedly that he'd leaned into the brush of Poe's thumb against the arch of his cheek.

His tongue darted out over his lower lip, just briefly, and what he finally said, without giving himself time to think better of it was: "You could do that again."

"Do it do it do it!"

Poe had been about to say something Ishara decided that it was the perfect time to tease them. He sighed up at Finn, but he couldn't stop smiling even if his Daemon was being a pain in the ass at the moment. A hand dropped down, warm fingers tracing along Finn's lower lip before he just chuckled and leaned up for another kiss.

Lorr had practically cackled at that, and Finn just shook his head, "Vultures. Both of you." It was fond more than it was exasperated, but it was that as well, and he didn't have anything further to say because that brush of Poe's fingers against his lip was distracting in the best sort of way.

The second kiss was less clumsy than the first had been, though still just as impulsive, that was something that would probably take a while for Finn to get out of his system, if he ever did, he might always kiss like it was going to be the only time he'd get to do so.

If either of the Daemons said anything else, Poe couldn't hear them. Not when he was so very distracted. If he had anything to say about it, he'd be distracted for a long time. For now, he was content to learn the taste of Finn's lips. Later, maybe, they could learn other things.

His heartbeat was a wonderfully painful thud in his chest and before he realized what he was doing, he looped an arm around Finn's waist and tugged him flush against his body. The kiss lingered on and grew more intent until when Poe pulled away, he was almost breathless.

"I think we should stop for now. If we don't, I'm not sure I could later on."

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