thisavrou_log | If You Listen Close, You'll Hear the Sound / of All the Ghosts That Bring Us Down

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original character: darin altway

If You Listen Close, You'll Hear the Sound / of All the Ghosts That Bring Us Down

Who: Darin, Open to Close and Semi-Close CR!
When: This week
Where: Kauto: Region 5 Hospital
What: Darin's been comatose since his bout with his shadow and it's time to wake him up with SCIENCE
Warnings: Probable blood and physical trauma

While his condition has stabilized since the shadows were officially defeated, Darin definitely isn't in the best of shape. His wounds are taking much longer to heal than they normally should, his skin is pale, and he's showing no signs of any real mental activity. In short: he's comatose. But, there's a glimmer of light in this dark cloud. Using experimental technology, someone (or a group of someones) can reach into Darin's consciousness and maybe try and pull him out of it. The problem? This might not work at all. Or things could go from bad to worse for everyone involved.

What's the worst that could happen?

I-The Hallway-
Interestingly enough, Darin's head isn't just a massive void of empty space peppered with memories of some really great explosions. Nor is it a palace with massive golden statues proclaiming just how amazing he is. It's just...a really long hallway. Each door is unmarked and unlocked, but if you put your ears to them, you can hear muffled voices coming from within. The hallway doesn't seem to have an end though. Pick a door, who knows what you'll find?

II-The Night It All Went to Hell-
One of the doors leads to a rather quaint hillock overlooking a quiet port town. It's dark out, but there's plenty of light from the spattering of stars and the twin moons; red and white respectively, giving the scenery and almost ethereal violet hue. There's a modest home on the hillock itself...which seems to be the source of some commotion. There's the sound of a fight, then some yelling. And then, finally, the spark of a fire being started...

III-Life Goes On-
This door leads to a bustling street in the port town itself. At the end of the street is a rather large smithy, and there appears to be a full garrison of knights standing about the premises, waiting impatiently. The sea are brings the fresh smell of salt on the breeze, and some of the knights are complaining to an older, stout looking gentleman about the rust on their gear. Meanwhile, a beleaguered, blue haired youth, no more than ten years old, is doing his best to measure up an impatient knight for some new armor. Except he's gone and tripped himself up with the measuring tape and fallen into one of the large barrels of water, sending a mixture of laughs and groans rippling through the platoon.

"Why do you even keep this kid around, Acteon?! He's more trouble than he's worth!"

IV-Something's Not Quite Right-
This door leads to an even larger marketplace...not just a port side town anymore. No, this is a huge bazaar in some forgotten nation's capital. There's stalls selling any kind of wares you can imagine: exotic fruits and spices, weapons and armor, fine silks and furs, if you can dream it, it's likely being sold here! Some well armored and equally armed guards push by you quickly though and head towards what seems to be a throng of people circling up. Follow them and you'll see a large man looming over that stout smithy from the previous door, who is in turn standing in front of a gangly-armed, teenage Darin.

"What's all this about?"

"Your brat! He comes up to my stall and he...he breaks my weapons right in front of my paying customers!"

"Look, I was just showing these fine folk what inferior gear looks li--" Darin is cut off by the larger weaponsmith.

"MY GEAR IS THE BEST IN THIS REALM!! ACTEON, EITHER REEL YOUR FREAK IN, OR I'LL HAVE HIM IN CHAINS!"

Darin's smug look turns enraged, and he's already jumping over Acteon to try and throttle the man.

"WHAT'D YOU CALL ME YOU SECOND-RATE--"

The guards are already dogpiling on Darin which...doesn't necessarily slow him down. He pushes through them, and instead of attacking, just turns and runs for the nearest alleyway.

V-Chain of Command-
This door leads to...almost nothing, really. In fact, all that can be seen in this low light is what appears to be a massive steel gate. The bars reach up seemingly forever, and beyond the gate, there is nothing but blackness. The doors to the gate are pushed open slightly, but they're not fully open yet. Something appears to be keeping the doors themselves from being forced ajar completely. That something is Darin, hanging and covered in hundreds of chains, all of which are wrapped around the many massive iron bars. He appears to be hanging limp, but upon closer inspection, his arms are pulled taut, the muscles flexed and tight. As if, though unconscious, he's fighting to keep the iron gates shut.

-WILDCARD-

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Wait, what?

What?!

And just like that, Allura is in pursuit, and doing a much better job of tailing him than the guard. Part of it is because she does want to see where this is going. But...

"That's it?! Just like that, you drop your grudge and get along with her?!" Her parkour skills remain impressive. Even when obstacles get in her way, she bounds over them easily, and maintains her infuriated expression. "Since when have you ever been that easy-going?!"

Darin continues his breakneck pace through back alleys and channels, occasionally taking to the rooftops to avoid patrols. More and more guards are crawling out of the woodwork, and Darin and Iris are getting dangerously close to the city walls, where all kinds of soldiers are stationed.

At Iris' direction, Darin leaps from the top of a three story building and hits the ground running, aiming for the very wall he was hoping to avoid.

"Are you sure about this?!"

"Trust me, there's a drainage duct that leads outside of the city walls! The grating on it has been broken for months, we can use that to get out without passing through the main gates!"

Darin nods and, sure enough, finds the duct just like Iris said. Quickly, he pries apart the rusted and broken metal with his bare hands, then steps in. He waits while his eyes acclimate with the darkness before he heads off. About ten minutes later, he comes to the end and kicks the grate off of the exit. He climbs out and places his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

Iris, on the other hand, pumps her arms up into the air, staying latched onto his back with her legs wrapped around his waist.

"WOOHOO!! What a rush! That was great! You were bouncing all over the place! Where the hell did you learn to move like that?! And the way you smashed through that grate?! You're definitely not normal! So, where to next?!"

Darin cranes his neck around and gives her an incredulous look.

"We?! I'm not going anywhere with some snooty grand duchess! You can turn your ass right around and march back into the city! It's thanks to you I don't have a warm bed to sleep in tonight!"

"Excuse me?! It's thanks to you that I don't have a house to sleep in!"

"YOU'RE A GRAND DUCHESS YOU DON'T NEED TO SLEEP IN A SHANTY!"

"Nope. I'm coming with you. And if you complain about it, I'm just going to pretend to be a blushing damsel in distress. After all, you just totally kidnapped the Lady Iris Galvan, only daughter of Grand Duke Roderick Galvan."

"I DID NO SUCH--"

"YOU WOULDN'T SERIOUSLY--"

It's about now that Darin is just letting fly with every conceivable curse he can think of.

It's interesting, being able to move around without any worry of the people around you.

Allura's own route was different. While Darin was able to shake the guard, she was able to keep better pace; and when he went down into the drains, she was able to pass through the gate quickly, without causing any stir, and wait for him on the other side.

"I really am like a ghost, here," she murmurs to herself. If she were supposed to be part of this scene, he would see Allura approaching him from the side. But he's giving his full attention to this woman. Iris. This is a scene for the two of them.

"... are you fine with never seeing her again, either?" It's meant to draw him out and, maybe, talk sense into him. But the tone is cold, enough to surprise even herself.

There is no answer to her question, instead, she merely gets to watch the scene continue to unfold.

"If you think for one second I'm going to tote around some pampered, spoiled, royal brat then you've got--" Darin starts.

"You're not really a murderer are you."

Iris cuts him off as she climbs off his back and Darin can do nothing but stare. The quisitive look he's giving her should explain plenty about where his mind is.

"When they revealed who I was, you could have taken me as your hostage. You allegedly murdered a diplomat from the north, right? That's why tensions are so high at the border right now. But you had another way to elevate things literally in your grasp and you've been trying to push me away this entire time." Iris continues.

"You're not a murderer. When I held your hands I 'saw' Diomuhr in a vision but I still don't know what that means yet. And I get the feeling you're not going to tell me." As she says this she marches right up to him. Darin is silent, looking from her to the ground. That is until she reaches up and takes him by the face, making him look at her.

"Which is fine. I'm just going to follow you until I get to the bottom of all of this. I know an adventure when I see one, and you, Darin Altway, might be the greatest adventure of my life!" Iris literally beams, and if Darin had anything to say about it, his bluster is instantly defused. His cheeks turn crimson briefly before he yanks away and about faces, putting his hands on his hips.

"Geez..." he huffs.

After a minute or so of silence while Iris tries to peek around back to get a look at his face, knowing full well she not only cornered him, but played him like the innocent small town guy that is (and the smug look on her features shows this plainly), he finally sighs in resignation.

"Can you fight?"

"You don't ask a lady something like that~"

"I'm not." He retorts dryly.

This is followed by a punch so strong that Darin rockets through a nearby tree, sending it toppling over.

She winces in sympathy at the punch.

It should have been something satisfying to watch. In fact, it should have been a downright relief, and made her give a little more respect and sympathy for Iris. How many times had he given her grief for not acting like proper royalty? But it's difficult, and she quietly theorizes to herself, "This wouldn't be so difficult if you weren't currently in a coma."

Or maybe it's that she's only able to watch, still. One more way in which she's not actually 'in' this scene.

And yet dutifully tagging along.

"Unless that bump was enough to knock you awake, I'd rather we not visit more memories like this one."

As if in acquiescence, the memory appears to freeze. The air grows stagnant and then there's a loud bang, as if power is being cut.

Everything around Allura turns black, as if she's hovering in a void.

There's silence and as far as she can tell, there's nothing around her. Nothing to see, nothing to watch, but there is the distant rattle of chains, and the sound of muffled talking. Two voices, distinct and yet indecipherable.

Finally, a lone door appears in front of her. It's worn and seems like it's almost about to fall off its hinges. But the voices and the chains are coming from the other side. If there was ever a sign that someone was orchestrating what she's seeing, it couldn't be louder and more obvious than this. But Darin being as emotionally closed off as he is, would he really be the one showing her these memories?

Edited 2017-08-16 21:36 (UTC)

I can't be sure either way, actually. Darin did say that it was Diomuhr doing all this. But is this really something that would be picked out by something so grand and evil as a so-called demon lord? It's not exactly torture. Seems more like Darin being petty.

On the other hand, the sound of chains does seem to fit something more sinister at play.

Still, she didn't get as far as she did in life by running afraid at the first sound of trouble. She steps forward to the door and pushes it open, cautious but undeterred.

The door leads to nowhere in particular once again. Just more empty space. There's the sound of rattling chains again, only angrier. More urgent. Finally, Darin's voice booms out in the emptiness of his mindscape.

"I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE! I DON'T WANT YOU HERE!"

As if to drive the point home, a veritable cavalcade of memories bombard Allura. Every time they've fought, every time they shouted and fired off insults at one another, every time she berated him and every time he fired back with seemingly little remorse. Driving home the point that her presence was never wanted in the first place. Excerpts of less than flattering conversations play in a booming cacophony, stills from events where they've butted heads fill the void.

The moment where she stared at him incredulously when she learned Shiro had invited him to live with her and the rest of her paladins, hangs in the air, the overwhelming sense of not being welcome or belonging grips like an icy vice to the air of this space. Every lie and counter, every anger-filled retort, every distrusting and skeptical look from both sides plays on in an endless loop while the rattling of chains gets louder.

"LEAVE."

This is incredibly rude. She holds up her arms to guard against the memories, out of reflex, as if they were going to physically hit her.

Unfortunately for Darin, she's actually starting to get used to being drowned in painful memories. And on the other hand, she's long since fed up with losing people.

"Then that's just too bad, isn't it?! Because I don't care what I have to put up with! I'm not going to abandon you that easily!"

"Why? You've already seen it, haven't you? You can't make me see reason. You can't make me come around. In fact, you saw just minutes ago how much your opinion matters over someone else's."

The voice is full of arrogance and disdain.

"It hurt, didn't it. It hurt watching me with someone else, someone of noble blood working so closely with me without being stonewalled every step of the way. I saw it on your face. You have questions now but no answers, and in the end, that's why you want me to wake up, isn't it?"

"Because you want answers to those selfish questions."

Is Darin saying this?

Something doesn't quite match. The voice is certainly the same, but the words aren't like anything Darin's said. But on the other hand...

... I'm not talking to him. Would his thoughts sound like this?

"You..." Her expression firms. "You can't be serious. If that were the case, do you think I would have tried to wake you up before seeing that? I wouldn't even have come here in the first place."

That's not going to be enough.

"I'm waking you up to help you. Because whether or not you realize it, this isn't the right answer."

"I never asked you to come in. I made peace with my fate. I told Shiro as such." The voice counters.

"You came here because it's what you wanted. Not what I wanted! And here you are trying to 'save me?' And what do you think will happen if you do? Do you think I'll fawn over you? Do you think I'll see you in a different light? Do you think I'll just overlook all the times you made me feel inferior?"

The tone is almost mocking in nature.

"You're imposing what you believe to be right upon me. You, the galactic princess, the bringer of peace, are doing what's right because it's your job to protect the weak. To save them from themselves. You think you can hide it but I've seen the way you've watched my memories; the faces you've made, the disapproval you've projected."

Another muffled growl and the clanging of chains.

"You want me to wake up because you need someone to prove yourself to!"

"You really must think I'm a fool, then," she replies in a soft, dismissive tone. "Fawn over me? Please, I'll be lucky if you don't find a reason to hold that against me, too."

She's going to start walking. Given the lack of scenery, there's no real telling if this is 'forward', or if there is a 'forward'. But if she can try to physically move past this, maybe the conversation will move as well.

"If you're going to accuse me of imposing anything, then at least get the details right. Because I don't know how long you plan on sleeping, Darin -- a week? A year, or maybe 10,000 years? -- but before you go learning this lesson the hard way, let me tell you that you won't gain anything from it."

"You'll have to stand and fight eventually, so you may as well do it while the people you care about are still alive, and you're not filling the void with a handful of mice."

No offense to the space mice, of course.

Edited 2017-08-17 19:54 (UTC)

The memories fade, giving way to a silhouette of Darin facing down Allura.

"Is that was this is about? You're lonely?" The silhouette accuses.

"Is that why you've latched on to me at every turn? Nagged me incessantly? Because your precious paladins won't allow you to exist outside of your ivory tower, so you find someone, anyone, who can conveniently keep you company while you whittle away the time?"

The shadow crosses its arms, looking down its nose at her.

"I have important things to do than to play pretend with a bored princess. I have my own world to worry about and my own ambitions and you know what? Neither of those things include you."

The chains grow louder.

"Why are you convinced that this is for myself? Weren't you the one scolding me for not being selfish enough?"

At this point, she's reasonably convinced that this isn't actually Darin. Besides what she pointed out, that talk of 'ambitions' doesn't ring true to him. Dreams, perhaps -- but there was always that touch of melancholy when he talked about those, like he thought he would have to give them up.

Still, she's going to keep addressing him the same.

"I don't want to lose a friend. But more than that, I don't want a friend to lose everything for the sake of a duty."

"Because you are choosing to ignore what I want. You are ignoring the choices I've made all because you think you know better."

He lowers his head in thought, tapping is foot in annoyance.

"Fine." He finally concedes.

"I'll accept your help. But only because there doesn't seem to be an end to your incessant nagging."

And with that, he offers her his hand.

She doesn't take it right away.

This could be a trick. In fact, it most likely is.

She looks at him, to see if he's meeting her eyes.

But what if it's not? He would never forgive me for keeping him hanging like this. If it means a choice between that, and fighting this supposed ender of worlds...

"Whatever it takes."

She reaches for his hand.

He is, indeed looking Allura in the eye. That eye contact is broken, however, when the sound of metal creaking and snapping is heard in the darkness.

Darin's voice booms out from seemingly everywhere.

"DON'T DO IT, ALLURA! HE'S TRICKING YOU!"

"Darin" snarls and turns his head, just in time for a severed chain to loop around his theist and yank him into the darkness.

"WILL YOU GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! HE'S TRYING TO TAKE OVER YOUR BODY! SEAL YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS! YOU NEED TO LE--"

He's cut off by the sound of struggle and fighting, and then, ominous silence.

Fortunately, Allura has good reflexes. No sooner did she hear the 'D' in "don't" and her hand was retracted and she had somehow put an extra foot or two of space between herself and the imposter.

Unfortunately, she seems to have no intention of following instructions.

"Darin?" And then, more desperate: "Darin!!" She runs forward, into the darkness, as if she expects to find him somewhere in the abyss.

His battered frame is expelled from the darkness and lands at her feet. Countless heavy chains drape across his shoulders and weigh his limbs down. He struggles to get to his feet, but the weight of these chains is unnatural. They stop him from standing up, leaving him with no choice but to stumble on his hands and knees.

He starts to crawl back from whence he came.

"Leave, dammit...! I can't let him endanger you too...!"

"Please...I'm begging you...you need to leave for both of our sakes..."

His voice is hoarse and pleading as another shadowy figure steps forward. This one has no definitive shape; it's a shade. A projection of something much more powerful than either of them. All that can be seen clearly are two sickly yellow eyes, intense and arrogant.

What do you do now, Princess? Surely you don't mean to fight. After all, you're not even truly aware of what I'm capable of, even when I'm being restrained.

As if on cue, he shows her a memory. The memory Darin had of the events on Eosoros, when Shiro got hurt for his sake. When Darin lost control and butchered countless warriors with nothing but his bare hands. Blood and viscera dripping from Darin's hands as he stands over the mounds of torn and mangled bodies.

"Stop it..." Darin whispers, lowering his weary head.

She's standing strong, her expression firm. The vision is far more unpleasant what she was shown before. And yet, she's still not leaving. And still a terrible listener, despite those big ears. On the other hand, it seems as much uncertainty as stubborn pride -- she's not simply jumping to an answer, but thinking through her response.

"... you're right," she replies. "I haven't the first idea. However, I never came here to fight you."

She turns from what she's being shown, and down to Darin. The man she came here for, not the demon that's trying to distract her from that.

"And maybe I don't have to."

It's a simple enough theory. Diomuhr may be boasting about his strength while restrained, but he hasn't overpowered her, even despite a direct mental link. Meaning Darin's holding onto control of the situation. On the other hand, he's battered and weak.

Well, this is the mindscape, isn't it? She's going to start channeling, and see how this works out. Not a direct link, simply channeling energy out, like a force.

"What are you doing..?" Darin doesn't understand. He can't parse what exactly Allura is doing. But what's more alarming is the fact that Diomuhr is changing his shape again. It's slight, almost barely noticeable. The build stays the same; it matches Darin's almost exactly, but the hair changes and the clothes follow suit.

Darin scrambles to his feet. He knows what's coming.

'Diomuhr' steps forward, but he's not wearing Darin's visage any longer. Not exactly, anyway. The face is the same, but the hair is a deep forest green and instead of being short and spiked back, hangs just beyond his shoulders. His eyes are an intense blue, and while he bears Darin's characteristic smirk, there is much more malice held in that look than Darin could ever hope to muster. To Allura, while the face is the same as Darin's the hair color should give the identity away, considering the first memory she saw. And if doesn't, the edges of a jagged scar starting between his neck and his left shoulder can be seen just along the fringes of his black sleeveless shirt.

I don't really know what you're trying to do, Princess, but a little show of force like that isn't exactly something to deter me. But if we're going to show each other what we're capable of...

He lets the ominous statement hang as he lifts a hand up. Darin doesn't wait for whatever's about to come next. He uses whatever strength he can and darts forward only to be backhanded away with the same uplifted hand. The blow is terrifying, it sounds like a point blank artillery strike and the way Darin's entire frame snaps and lurches, then gets propelled into the darkness only reinforces how powerful the attack was. If this were real, there would be the very real sound of bones cracking and snapping from that one strike alone.

"Darin!" She runs after him, chasing him down the featureless landscape. She crouches down next to him, and even cradles his injured body in her arms. And then looks up at Diomuhr, angered.

"You! You really don't understand anything besides brute strength, do you?! You said it yourself -- I don't mean to fight!"

But her hands are glowing. Resonating with her own lifeforce.

"All I'm here to do is to help the one who's restraining you, and reinforce the bars around your cage."

That, in itself, is a fight you are not prepared for.

The voice is chiding. Mocking. And the form approaches with a confident gait.

You seek to bind me? Child, you're not even familiar with yourself, what makes you think you can so surely contain me? Where does your faith come from? Him? He gestures at Darin as he tries to pull himself out of her arms, to steady himself.

He doesn't even trust you to trust in him. You're a nuisance to him. He's only protecting you because he owes it to his dear friend, the black paladin. He's protecting you because he doesn't think, for one second, that you're even remotely capable as a person. And if you don't believe me...?

He waves his hand, conjuring another memory. A memory of Darin writing in one of his journals. This entry happens to be on Allura.

'I've never met someone who could possibly be a bigger pain in my ass. She just imposes herself on me! All the time! She looks down on me, acts like I'm some sort of brute, when she doesn't know a damn thing about me! It's no wonder her only friends are those spying little mice! I swear, if it wasn't for Shiro, I'd tell her to her face just exactly how I can't stand her!'

"... and what about it? You know as well as I do that he still spoke that way to my face, regardless. I haven't forgotten the way we used to fight."

Which is why she doesn't look shocked or stunned by the revelation. Maybe that wasn't the point, though. She's hardly reveling in the memory, a fresh and painful reminder of how little they got along at first.

"I know that he didn't trust me. Whether that's my fault or his depends on which one of you ask. But that's why I worked at it, and why I still am working at it. And even if I've made it hard for him, I'm sure he's worked to forge my trust in him as well."

She narrows her eyes. "And I do trust in him. That's why I'm sure he can contain you. All I'm doing is seeing him through it safely."

If You Listen Close, You'll Hear the Sound / of All the Ghosts That Bring Us Down

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