estoria | [CLOSED] A Matter of Weapons

Entry tags:

darin altway,
raven

[CLOSED] A Matter of Weapons

Who: Darn and Raven (

fishyoldman )
When: IC: 7/27
Where: The Spoon Smithy, AKA Darin's temporary base of Smithy Operations.
What: Darin's had Raven's bow for awhile now and now that it's fixed he should probably bring it back
Rating/Warning: Dumb old man and Dumb young man

[As per the norm, Darin's holed up at work. Usually, this can be attributed to his enthusiasm and creative spirit. But lately, he's been in a more somber mood.]

[He's only been in the colony for about a month, and already a handful of people know about what he is. Not that they've caused a panic, or people are looking to burn him at the stake, but that's more people than he cares for knowing something he's kept hidden his entire life. Not only that...there was the matter of that weird fox he had following him around. It was clearly linked to him but, just as soon as he had noticed it, it was gone.]

[Only to be replaced with one of those cybernetic animals. A broken one.]

[The dilapidated CyBuddy sits in a heap on one of Darin's work benches. He's tried taking it apart. He's tried fixing it. But nothing he does seems to matter. He even messed with the idea of turning it into parts but...he can't seem to bring himself to do it.]

[With a sigh, his gaze moves to another area on his work bench, where Raven's bow sits. It's been finished for some time now, but with all of this memory commotion, he had forgotten to bring it back.]

Ah dammit...I should probably bring you back to your owner, right...?

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[Darin jumps and, in a flash, switches the bow to its blade incarnation. Needless to say, Darin's gotten used to the thing, and the fluidity of its transformation is pretty noticeable.]

[Darin sighs and reverts the weapon back into its bow form.]

Geez, Old Man! You trying to give me a heart attack?!

Were your ears burning or something? I was just on my way to see you.

[Raven jumps back with a yelp, shielding himself with his arms.]

H-hey! Watch where ya point that thing! [For someone who complains about being old all the time, he sure can move fast when under threat. He doesn't relax until it's back in bow form.]

Sheesh... I didn't hear from ya, so I thought I'd drop in.

Yeah...sorry.

I had your bow done for a little bit but then that weird...memory craziness happened.

[Darin rubs the back of his neck.]

I guess with the random memories I was losing, I just forgot to bring it back! Hahahaha!

[That's a lie. He just didn't want anyone else finding out more than they needed to know about him. Either way, he hands the bow back to Raven. It's practically as good as new.]

Anyway, I put a brand new bowstring on there. I managed to get one that was thin but the tensile strength was higher than average. You should be able to shoot it further now. As for the gouges in the bow itself, I filled them with a resin compound that I researched around here. Stronger than normal treated wood but flexible enough that the bow won't suffer. I sharpened the blade of the sword, oiled the hinges so that the transformation is about two tenths of a second quicker now...

[He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a notebook, flipping through some pages.]

Oh, yeah...I tightened and replaced the screws holding the whole thing together. Some of them were stripped good, but that shouldn't be an issue now. I'm looking into some materials for arrows that might serve you well too. Aside from that...

[He snaps the book closed.]

How's it feel? You know it best, after all.

[That seems like a wishy-washy excuse, and Raven would know, considering he's an expert on wishy-washy excuses. Even so, he doesn't challenge him on it, because he's distracted by the bow. He takes the Divine Cannon with almost reverent care, turning it over and running his hands along it, murmuring to himself.]

Let's see...

[He turns away from Darin and tries the mechanism to snap the bow into a blade. Satisfied -- it really had gotten faster -- he snaps it back into bow form, then raises the bow to test the bowstring, pulling it taut as if to aim an imaginary arrow. It'll need a test run on an actual target range to really check if its firing speed really has improved, but just from a cursory look at it, he can tell it's in better condition than before.

He lowers the bow, and turns back to Darin. He looks happy, albeit a little distracted compared to his usual self.]

...Thanks, kid. Ya really went above and beyond anything ya needed to do for this old relic.

Hey, it's like my dad used to say. 'Old weapons are the best weapons.' If they last long enough to be ancient, you know they're made well.

I'm glad you like it though. Make sure you refer me around. I could use some more work, and your bow was definitely something I enjoyed working on. I've got half a notebook filled with notes and sketches on it.

If anything happens to it again, I can fix it no problem.

[He runs his hand through his hair.]

Sorry again about...y'know, disappearing like that. I guess I just lost track of things.

[His gaze falls absently on the broken CyBuddy on his work bench.]

It's been a crazy week or so.

I'm sure its original owner would appreciate the hard work, too. [His smile quirks a little.] And sure, I don't mind doin' a little advertisin' on top of the fee.

[To the apology, he waves a hand dismissively.] It's fine, kid. We've all been pretty distracted by stuff.

[The CYbuddy hasn't gone unnoticed. Raven's kept his own back in his apartment, the remains of the poor little dove that had been following him around for a while. It was sad, but more than that, it was worrying. He knows from back home that nothing good can come from fooling around with spirits.]

Next time CERES gives ya trouble, ya don't need ta be a stranger. We're all in this mess together, y'know?

[Which is a roundabout way of saying Raven can look out for him, at least if he wants him to. Things like memories can be pretty sensitive, so he understood in this instance why Darin might want to keep his distance, but maybe in future...]

[He laughs. A dry, sardonic laugh, a far cry from his usual boisterous personality.]

Yeah, CERES. You may not want to make a promise like that, Old Man. I'd hate to have it bite you in the ass.

[Darin huffs and runs a hand over his face. That...That was cold, especially for him. Raven's just looking out for him and he knows it.]

I'm...I'm sorry. I just don't...

I don't do well with faceless beings meddling with my life. It's too much like home. It's too much like my world. And I'm worried that the next time CERES decides to 'mess' with me, it's going to be bad news for everyone in the colony.

[It's obvious that at this point, Darin hasn't been sleeping too well. He turns and walks over to the CYbuddy and props the broken thing up, looking at it with a distant look on his features.]

Last thing I want is anyone getting hurt.

['Last thing I want is to hurt anyone.']

[Raven moves to sit down with a sigh. The past few days really have taken their toll on a lot of people, and Darin seems to have had it rough in particular, so he just listens quietly. Said in a slightly different way, what Darin is saying would almost sound like a threat. But Raven can read between the lines enough to grasp at the real meaning.]

Hey, I might look like a frail old timer, but I'm tougher than I look. [He's not just boasting, either, considering his track record. CERES doesn't seem to want him to die all that easily.] You... wanna talk about it?

[If it's going to be bad news for people, a warning would be nice, if nothing else.]

[Darin taps his hand on his work bench. At first glance it might almost seem like it's out of annoyance, but really, it's out of anxiety. Truth be told, he hasn't been...well, comfortable with the way things have been going since he arrived here.]

[Things went south the first day when Muzét tethered with him and he got a sudden rush from the surge of his own mana. Mana he didn't even know he had. To make matters worse, ever since then, he's been keenly aware of the other presence inside of him. Moreso than he ever was. It's like it got woken up. Couple that with the fact that people were learning more about him than he ever cared to admit out loud? Yeah, he was frazzled.]

Let's...Let's just say I'm not exactly a lucky person. You know how we were told when we got here that our worlds were gone? That we were sort of...I dunno...salvaged somehow? Well, my world was already pre-destined to be destroyed. Prophecies and all that stuff.

Normally, I wouldn't give that 'prophecy' crap a second thought but I kind of...

I sorta...

[He rolls his hand at the wrist, searching for the words.]

I have some...inside knowledge on the matter.

[Raven listens, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.] Well, if it makes ya feel better, I was dealin' with a world-ending calamity before I got yanked over here too. Guess we were fighting the wrong threat all along, if the Flamines were what we shoulda been looking at.

[There's quiet frustration in his voice. Raven didn't give a damn about anything recently, and the moment he started caring was the moment the rug was pulled out from under him.

Too bad that whole caring thing doesn't just have an off button again, as much as it would be the easier option.]

So, your world was screwed too, Flamines or no Flamines. And there's more to it than that? [It's an invitation for Darin to continue.]

Was yours brought on by Celestials and Archfiends too?

[Darin turns and leans back against his own work bench, crossing his arms across his chest.]

In my world...there's a prophecy.

[He clears his throat. He's heard this prophecy his entire life, so reciting it comes easy. It helps that it's in verse.]

'Seven souls from a silvery moon.
Seven heralds of impending doom.
The Earth shall heave, the heavens shall cry.
The time is now, the world shall die.'

[He sighs.]

Legend dictates that before my world was created, there was a war between the Celestials and the Archfiends for dominance of all of the realms. Being evenly matched, both sides met in council. The seven strongest of the Celestials met with the seven strongest Archfiends and decided that their war would be decided by a third party. With that, they pooled their powers and created my world, then created humanity.

They would watch humanity grow and thrive and if we wiped each other out, then the Archfiends would be declared the winners and have rightful claim over all the realms. If we managed to stave off global war and self-annihilation for five thousand years, the Celestials win and peace would befall all of the realms.

[He pauses to let this sink in for Raven.]

[Raven doesn't answer that question just yet. Maybe he'll explain about his world later, but better to handle one thing at a time. So he gets comfortable and leans on the workbench, chin propped on one elbow as he listens, and a bitter smile crosses his expression.

Humanity being the creations of some all-powerful deities, used as nothing more than tools... Now wouldn't that be fitting?]

Well, with a competition like that, it really seems too close ta call.

[Said as someone who's really seen humanity's best, and also their worst. He's seen how they're just as capable of self-annihilation as much as enduring peace.]

Who was winnin' over in your world? Before the mess over here started, anyway.

Well, if the legends are true...which, for the sake of this conversation they are, we had less than a year before the big lunar eclipse that was supposed to mark the deadline. And so far, while there have been a few notable wars throughout history, we haven't managed to wipe ourselves out.

[Darin sighs. This next part...is going to be a bit tricky to explain without outright telling Raven his circumstances.]

But...as we've gotten closer to the big deadline more and more things have been happening. For one thing, the church that spreads the word of this crazy prophecy is becoming more and more like a cult the closer we get. Tensions between nations are high since everyone is building up military might under the guise of 'being prepared for the worst' but could just as easily turn around and point them at the nearest country that disagrees with them...

And then...there was the murder of a notable visiting ambassador in my country's capital...

[He lets the sentence hang for a minute before he finishes.]

...That I was framed for.

[Plenty of that parallels everything going on in Raven's world, so he doesn't look too surprised, even if the details aren't identical. But that... last part catches Raven offguard.]

Aww, c'mon, seriously? Who'd buy that a harmless lunk like you is some kinda hardened assassin?

[It's a compliment, probably.]

These things work better if ya keep people guessin'... Unless someone had something ta gain from framin' ya.

Well, it's apparently easy when the culprit was identified by a witness and was described to look exactly like me.

[Darin runs a hand through his hair.]

Blue hair isn't exactly common. In fact, I've never met another person from my world with blue hair. I used to get made fun of a lot for it as a kid, but whatever. Either way...aside from the fact that a witness described me perfectly fleeing the scene, she also mentioned I had blue hair.

The city guard knew me well enough thanks to me and my old man making their weapons and armor for so long that it was an easy connection. I had been in the capital the day of the murder with my dad too, selling our wares.

[It's that last part that Darin kind of tentatively touches base on.]

Yeah...the real murderer did have something to gain. They knew I'd come after them to clear my name. They knew I'd track them down.

And...well, I did.

Right before I wound up here, actually.

[Here comes the hard part...]

His name is Dromas. He's my brother. My twin brother.

...Oh.

[Raven goes quiet, then, as the implications of that sink in. So not only did he meet his long lost brother, but the guy was acting like his enemy.]

That's rough, kid... I'm sorry. What did you do when you tracked him down?

[He's guessing it wasn't exactly a heartfelt reunion -- if even they had a chance for anything before CERES whisked him away.]

I screamed because Dromas was killed when I was five.

[...It's true?]

[Raven, on the other hand, actually doesn't look so shocked by that plot twist. Though he does appreciate the honesty of that response, if nothing else.]

That figures... Death ain't always enough to stop some people. [Cerealia being a prime example.]

Then what happened?

Yeah well, he was kind of the last person I expected to see but...it made sense.

His soul was taken by the Archfiends. He was trained...twisted...into a tool for their agenda. He was trying to incite a war and he's going to try and start more unless I can stop him.

By framing me, he was trying to get my attention. This is all a big stupid game to him, just like it's a big stupid game to whatever higher powers have a stake in all of this.

He and I were always different. Special. It's why the Archfiends took him and...molded him into what they wanted.

[He grits his teeth and clenches his fists until his knuckles turned white. Until they hurt. Would he have suffered the same fate if he were killed too?]

Sad ta hear stories like these repeat themselves, even in other worlds.

[Raven frowns, expression grave, and mutters it to himself more than to Darin. Then he focuses his attention back on the younger man.]

Right, so... They were using your brother as a pawn to get to you. Did they want to nab you too with him as the bait, or get you outta the picture altogether?

[Maybe the questioning is a little blunt, but in these situations, hard facts are a little easier for Raven to deal with than being comforting.]

[Darin sighs. There really wasn't any avoiding it now.]

[He takes a deep breath.]

...I don't know if they were using Dromas as a pawn. I think...I think he escaped on his own. He's doing his own thing. He's warped now. Crazy. He kills with no thought or care. Like it's second nature to him now. When I managed to catch up to him, he'd wiped out an entire town just because.

[He runs a hand over his face when he remembers the carnage.]

As for me...yeah, they probably wanted me too. Like I said...Dromas and I are...

We're special. We have...abilities...

[He growls a bit. How can he explain this? He can't just come out and say he's a monster.]

[Well...when words won't come, maybe a demonstration would do the trick? He looks over his workspace and his eyes settle on his forge. On the piece of metal he had placed in the fire to heat.]

[He wanders over and grabs the large metal tongs he uses to handle the metal and pulls out the metal rod. It was of modest length, and the piece that was in the fire glowed a bright orange and yellow.]

[He turns to Raven and meets his gaze...]

[Then holds up his empty hand and presses the superheated end right onto the back of his hand.]

[And then screams. Because incredible resilience and ability to heal or not, it still hurts.]

[Raven narrows his eyes and watches him, with no idea what he's about to do next. What he actually does catches Raven so off guard, he jumps to his feet in alarm. Without much thought to whether he'll get himself injured, he reaches forward to try to wrench Darin's arm away before he can burn his hand any further.]

What's the matter with you, boy?! Are you crazy?!

[He'd even smack him upside the head if he wasn't already screaming, because what the hell, Darin.]

[If Raven were to look at the hand he just wrenched away, he'd see the very slightest burn. It's practically nothing. For as long as Darin held the metal to his hand, the burn should have been impossibly worse. If anything, his hand is just...red. And right before Raven's eyes, the redness begins to fade. The 'burn' if one could even call it that, was already beginning to heal. No scar, not even a mark.]

[Darin gives Raven a lopsided grin as sweat pours down his face and he offers the older man a meager laugh.]

Hehe...see...?

Special...

[Raven slowly lets go of him as he watches the injury fade, looking from his hand to Darin's face in disbelief. Though he's less disbelieving at how rapidly it healed -- as surprising as that is -- and more at just what Darin was willing to do to prove it.]

Yeah, you're real special all right. What the heck do you think you're doing, hurting yourself like that?

[He's Not Impressed. If anything, he looks downright irritated, which is a rarity for him.]

It's...not that big of a deal. I get hurt all the time. It takes a hell of a lot to actually hurt me, and even then...it takes even more than that for the wound to even last...

Dromas was similar...he was crazy strong, even when we were little kids. Way stronger than any five year old had any right to be. But he got hurt just like any normal kid. He had strength and I had resilience. We were just...born that way.

[Darin pulls his hand away from Raven's grasp and blows on it a bit, the wound fading away entirely.]

Like I said...it's not that big of a deal to me anymore...

[His voice was sounding less and less cocky as he caught on to Raven's expression.]

No...No worries, Old man...I'm used to this...!

[Raven's eyes linger on his hand until the burn fades away entirely, and his expression becomes flat, unreadable.]

You're used to suffering, so that makes it okay ta put yourself through it just to show off? Gimme a break. [He turns and goes to pick up his bow from where he'd left it at the workstation. He's ready to hightail it out, but first:]

Maybe we'll talk about this more when you've had a chance to cool off.

W-Whoa...Raven, I'm not...

I'm not doing it to show off. I was born this way but I'm not...

I'm not proud of it...

I just didn't really...I don't really know how to...

[He struggles to find the words. 'I don't know how to explain to you that I'm dangerous.']

[The words catch in his throat and he wanders over to his workbench quietly, turning his back to Raven.]

Yeah...we can talk another time...no big deal.

[Raven hesitates. Of course it's a big deal, but Raven doesn't really know how to deal with stuff like this without being able to hold it at arm's length. So maybe leaving it at that is for the best for now.

Still, he pauses and glances back. He doesn't want to just leave Darin feeling bad like this... How does he keep winding up in these situations with all these dumb kids, anyway?]

I'll spell out what I'm tryin' ta say. Whatever you are, I ain't here to sit around and watch ya torture yourself over it. And whatever you wanna tell me, there are better ways to say it.

Think about that, and then we'll talk.

[Darin doesn't turn to face Raven. He props himself up with his palms on the corners of his bench, his shoulders hunched. He visibly winces at 'whatever you are' but says nothing in regards to that.]

[He couldn't argue with him. He was right. There were better ways. Like maybe telling him the truth. Not that he'd care to hear it right this second.]

[Darin merely nods.]

Yeah...m'sorry. I'll ah...

I'll see you around, Old man.

[The wince doesn't go unnoticed. Maybe Raven could have phrased that a little more delicately, but at least the message seems to have gotten across. He's not much for coddling others' feelings, for better or for worse.]

See ya, kid. And thanks again for the hard work.

[He pats his bow to indicate what he's referring to, then heads out.]

[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...]

Well, maybe if I put some more time into you...

...I'll be able to fix it.

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[CLOSED] A Matter of Weapons

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