[Darin makes no real effort to move. It's taking everything he's got to keep breathing.]
Never...listen...
Stubborn ass...
[He chokes out a laugh and continues talking. If he doesn't say this now...]
He was right...y'know. My clone. Shadow. Whatever. [Cough] Everything he said was right but...he forgot one thing. One crucial thing.
[The pain is enormous. He feels like his entire body is on fire. He hears Diomuhr fighting to take control. And despite the pitched battle going on inside his own soul, to Shiro, his body feels cold and it only grows colder by the second.]
He never said...how thankful I am. To have you. To have Pidge, Hunk, Keith, Lance, and Allura.
[As he speaks his eyes sting. And it's only at that moment, when he can't find the strength to bring an arm up to wipe them, that there are tears rolling down his cheeks. He didn't know what was going to happen to him now and that terrified him. But what scared him more was losing these people who had taken him in. Given him a place. Suddenly, the all-important words he so desperately wanted to say were escaping him. He wanted to tell Shiro to tell the team how much they meant to him. To tell Pidge that he was sure she would find her brother, to tell Hunk that he's never met someone so kind and caring, to tell Keith that he wished he had the chance to know him better, to tell Lance that he was proud to be compared to someone so full of life. To tell Allura that he wished they had more time together. In the end, the tears just flowed faster than the words could come and, using all the strength he could muster, he reaches over to grab Shiro weakly by the shirt.]
[Then he gives the man, his best friend, the brother he always wished he could have, the biggest smile he could.]
Thank...you...
For being...
My family...
[His voice was gone. He couldn't speak anymore. Instead, he slowly reaches behind his back and clumsily unfastens his dao and its sheath. He pulls it off of his back and practically shoves it at Shiro, though with what little strength he had it seemed more like he was dropping it towards him.]
[Hold onto this for me. A black blade for a black paladin. Made of something stronger than anything I've ever known. A perfect weapon for defending. It suits you way more than it suits me.]
[And then slowly, his eyes glaze over, his gaze fixated on the unseen. His muscles relax, and everything goes dark. His heartbeat is faint, but there's no sign of consciousness, no response from his body. And when his head slumps over, the only thing that truly remains of Darin is the small smile creasing his lips.]
no subject
Never...listen...
Stubborn ass...
[He chokes out a laugh and continues talking. If he doesn't say this now...]
He was right...y'know. My clone. Shadow. Whatever. [Cough] Everything he said was right but...he forgot one thing. One crucial thing.
[The pain is enormous. He feels like his entire body is on fire. He hears Diomuhr fighting to take control. And despite the pitched battle going on inside his own soul, to Shiro, his body feels cold and it only grows colder by the second.]
He never said...how thankful I am. To have you. To have Pidge, Hunk, Keith, Lance, and Allura.
[As he speaks his eyes sting. And it's only at that moment, when he can't find the strength to bring an arm up to wipe them, that there are tears rolling down his cheeks. He didn't know what was going to happen to him now and that terrified him. But what scared him more was losing these people who had taken him in. Given him a place. Suddenly, the all-important words he so desperately wanted to say were escaping him. He wanted to tell Shiro to tell the team how much they meant to him. To tell Pidge that he was sure she would find her brother, to tell Hunk that he's never met someone so kind and caring, to tell Keith that he wished he had the chance to know him better, to tell Lance that he was proud to be compared to someone so full of life. To tell Allura that he wished they had more time together. In the end, the tears just flowed faster than the words could come and, using all the strength he could muster, he reaches over to grab Shiro weakly by the shirt.]
[Then he gives the man, his best friend, the brother he always wished he could have, the biggest smile he could.]
Thank...you...
For being...
My family...
[His voice was gone. He couldn't speak anymore. Instead, he slowly reaches behind his back and clumsily unfastens his dao and its sheath. He pulls it off of his back and practically shoves it at Shiro, though with what little strength he had it seemed more like he was dropping it towards him.]
[Hold onto this for me. A black blade for a black paladin. Made of something stronger than anything I've ever known. A perfect weapon for defending. It suits you way more than it suits me.]
[And then slowly, his eyes glaze over, his gaze fixated on the unseen. His muscles relax, and everything goes dark. His heartbeat is faint, but there's no sign of consciousness, no response from his body. And when his head slumps over, the only thing that truly remains of Darin is the small smile creasing his lips.]