batmanschmatman | 064 [voice]

I checked. He's gone.

~~Why is this happening?~~

~~Arthas said~~

Will you open the CES for me?

[He's tired of trying to talk about stuff like this over a public line. And really, he just wants to trash something right now.]

Sure.

[Dick totally understands, little guy. :|]

Thanks.

[He's there not two minutes later. He'd already been on the deck when he saw Dick's post.]

[Dick shows up not long afterwards, managing an incredibly forced smile and something that might have been "Hey" before taking the Batarang out of his pocket and opening the door for David.]

Your warden item's a Batarang. [Under ordinary circumstances, David would make a joke about it. But he doesn't really feel like joking right now. He doesn't even try to smile.]

[In his agitation he doesn't think to set the CES; as a result it sets to the woods (http://www.danheller.com/images/California/Yosemite/Trees/forest-sunrays-10.jpg) behind Cassie's barn. Surprise crosses his face for a second, but he recovers quickly.]

I wanna ask you about something. Something Arthas told me.

Yeah. [It had seemed like an obvious, simple choice.

He wasn't actually sure if David wanted him to stick around, but once he spoke again, Dick slowly closed the door behind him and joined him in the woods. He noticed the surprise, but didn't comment on it.]

What's up?

[It really was an obvious choice - David just hadn't known warden items could be objects like that. He thought they had to be cell phones or other types of devices.

In all honesty, he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted Dick to stick around either. He really wanted to scream and shout and break things, and he didn't want an audience. But he also wanted to talk to someone about what Arthas had told him, and with Tim and Costigan both gone, Dick was really the only person left he could talk to.]

He asked me what I thought of being a Death Knight and we got to talking. He told me he thinks this place is like... like purgatory or something. And.. people who disappear, [He doesn't say Costigan's name, but his presence hangs over every word.] ... they just get lost forever, in oblivion.

He's wrong, isn't he?

[Dick is quiet for a long time. It's something he hasn't been able to shake, that question of what happened and would he ever see him again, and had it been his fault for not being a good enough warden or influence, and he could feel it gnawing away at him, the knowledge that Costigan was gone or stuck somewhere or dead and he'd failed him, even after he'd promised he'd always be there and he'd get him out of here. He wanted to scream and shout and break things, and he's barely keeping it together.]

I hope so.

I'm sick of seeing people I... decent people, keep vanishing. [David rounds to face Dick, and the frustration, the impotent fury, is written all over his face. He's not good at hiding his feelings at the best of times, and certainly isn't any better at it now.]

I wanna do something about it. Arthas says there's nothing I can do, he says that the Admiral himself can't do anything about it, but if he can't, this stupid place shouldn't even exist!

Edited 2011-09-10 02:54 (UTC)

I don't know how it works either, David. I wish I did. [Dick's voice is very flat, almost but not quite defeated. At this point, he's seriously considering changing his deal to rescue Costigan anyway, but there's a part of him that wonders if that's selfish and not fair to the people he'd originally signed himself away for.]

It's not that right! It's...

[David looks away, deflating a little at the dull apathy in Dick's voice. Crane's words about the Barge beating everybody down are a lot harder to dismiss now.]

Costigan wasn't a lost cause. He was doing fine. Hell, he was practically more of a warden than Bourne was! [He whirls, fist drawn, and swings at the nearest tree trunk. There's a dull thunk as his fist hits the wood.]

Edited 2011-09-10 04:03 (UTC)

[That shocks Dick out of his stupor immediately, and he crosses the distance between them quickly, brow furrowed in concern because he is an expert at punching things when angry, and that sounded like it hurt.]

Woah, David, hey! Calm down. Let me see your hand.

I'm fine!

[David grits his teeth as he talks to keep from hissing; that did hurt but he'll be damned if he admits it. He holds his hand close to him, half-not wanting Dick to look at it and half-not wanting to look at it himself. As much as it hurts, he wants to punch the tree again. The release had been way too brief.]

Come on. Please? [His voice and expression are gentle, honestly concerned about what the angry teenager's done to his hand. He doesn't move to touch him though, since he doesn't know David well enough to know how he'd respond while this angry.]

[In all honesty, David's not used to that kind of concern, and he's not sure how to respond to it. So after a moment of angry glaring, he relents and drops his eyes.] ... Fine, whatever. [Slowly, he moves his hand out from under his other arm and holds it out. It's still balled into a fist - he punched that tree pretty hard, and his knuckles are bleeding copiously.]

[Dick hisses in sympathy at the sight of the injury, and immediately starts thinking of the best solution.] Okay. We need to get you cleaned up. I'm guessing this isn't something you want to go to the infirmary for?

[Just an hunch. And Dick's got plenty of medical supplies in his room to help patch him up.]

It's no big deal. [David tucks his hand back under his arm again the moment Dick lets it go. He feels a little embarrassed by the vigilante warden's scrutiny.] I'll be fine, just forget about it.

David, you're bleeding like crazy. You might need stitches. [It's always been a lot easier to fret over other people being hurt than being fretted over himself.] Come on, let's get a bandage on that and we can come back here when it's done.

I'm not gonna need stitches. [Oh God. He can just see it now. Perry would never let him live it down. Hell, Bourne would never let him live it down.] I'll be fine, I'll... [he sighs.] ... you're not gonna let this go, are you?

[Dick's mouth quirks into a small smile, although the air of sadness and just emptiness brought on by the loss was still there, and would be for quite some time, in all likelihood.] No. Come on, it'll take five minutes. Fifteen, tops. Buy us enough time to come up with a cool war story for it.

Alright, alright. As long as I don't have to go to the infirmary. [His frustration and bitterness over everything that's happened is now compounded by confusion; someone being concerned about him is so rare that he's not quite sure how to respond to it. It wouldn't even be a problem if I still had my powers.

[Dick starts leading the way back - not that they were far from the exit - keeping an eye on David as he does so. This is actually helping ground him, just like someone needing his help always does. It gives him something to focus on other than how upset he is.] What do you mean?

Morphing heals you every time you do it. [He's still keeping his clenched fist tucked under his arm as he walks, uncertain whether he's frustrated at Bourne, the Admiral, or himself most.] I could morph something and morph back and my hand would be fine.

Neat trick. Wish I could do that. [He heads out of the CES, making sure David's still following, and since his room's on the first floor, it's really not much of a walk. If David's lucky, no one will even notice he's messed up his hand.]

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