[Darin waits a few moments to be certain Raven is gone. He grabs a stool and slumps down into it, burying his face in his hands.]
[Dammit, why the hell was he so stupid?! Why the hell had he done that?! Why couldn't he just...tell Raven?!]
[Raven was kind enough to check on him. Raven...seemed to actually give a damn about him, even though he really had no reason to.]
['Even though he really had no reason to...?']
[Darin had a sudden guilty pang in his heart. Acteon was the same. Acteon had no reason to take him in when he'd lost everything but...he did. Acteon was a good person. Acteon was proud of him.]
[Homesickness set in and wrapped itself around Darin's heart with the weight of a lead blanket. He just realized that if his world was gone, he'd never see Kenmore again. He'd never see Acteon again. All this time...he'd been so preoccupied with how his world was doomed from the get-go, but he'd never actually processed what that meant. His home was gone. Acteon was gone. Everything he knew, everything he loved...gone. And he was all that remained.]
[He lowered his frame until his face buried itself in his crossed arms on his work bench.]
[Now he knew why it hurt so much. Raven reminded him of Acteon. And in one moment of fear, a moment of being unable to trust the kindness in another's heart, faith that maybe he'd be accepted for what he was...he isolated himself again.]
[He tilted his head to look at his broken and dilapidated CyBuddy.]
Guess you and I are pretty much the same, huh...
[With that...he reached over and pulled the broken contraption closer with one hand, then reached for his tools with the other. He pulled his hair back and tied it off...]
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[Dammit, why the hell was he so stupid?! Why the hell had he done that?! Why couldn't he just...tell Raven?!]
[Raven was kind enough to check on him. Raven...seemed to actually give a damn about him, even though he really had no reason to.]
['Even though he really had no reason to...?']
[Darin had a sudden guilty pang in his heart. Acteon was the same. Acteon had no reason to take him in when he'd lost everything but...he did. Acteon was a good person. Acteon was proud of him.]
[Homesickness set in and wrapped itself around Darin's heart with the weight of a lead blanket. He just realized that if his world was gone, he'd never see Kenmore again. He'd never see Acteon again. All this time...he'd been so preoccupied with how his world was doomed from the get-go, but he'd never actually processed what that meant. His home was gone. Acteon was gone. Everything he knew, everything he loved...gone. And he was all that remained.]
[He lowered his frame until his face buried itself in his crossed arms on his work bench.]
[Now he knew why it hurt so much. Raven reminded him of Acteon. And in one moment of fear, a moment of being unable to trust the kindness in another's heart, faith that maybe he'd be accepted for what he was...he isolated himself again.]
[He tilted his head to look at his broken and dilapidated CyBuddy.]
Guess you and I are pretty much the same, huh...
[With that...he reached over and pulled the broken contraption closer with one hand, then reached for his tools with the other. He pulled his hair back and tied it off...]
Well, maybe if I put some more time into you...
...I'll be able to fix it.