bittybat | (no subject)

[While he tries not to get embarrassed, it's unavoidable. It creeps into the edges of his face, and he tuts under his breath in disbelief. Kind. Him.

But the little goat gets a rub on the back of the neck. Look, he would say animals don't count, but he appreciates and values the love of animals almost more than he does the love of people. If people hate him, so what. Screw them.

If an animal hates him? He's failed at life.] Animals deserve kindness because they love you unconditionally as long as you treat them with respect.

You don't have to baby me. I know I'm not perfect. [It doesn't seem like he feels weighted by this admission. He looks ahead, but there's a hidden smile about him from the compliments.]

[ maybe it doesn’t mean much that dextera likes damian, when dextera’s social circle for most of his memory has been people who hated him and dextera was all right with them, but… if it makes damian feel even a little bit better about how unpleasant he can be, isn’t that a good thing? dextera smiles, just slightly. ]

I’m not “babying” you.

[ he thinks? is this babying damian? ]

Thank you… for bringing me out here.

[Yeah, Dextera is probably one of the few people who don't baby him. Or treat him like a bothersome teenager. Thanks, big bro Dex.]

Don't thank me. You did it yourself. You had to try sometime. [Before he can say anything else, Capella gives a sudden, loud (probably excited) scream as they emerge from fully within the forest. Good thing they brought back the sun.] Heh.

Are you going to keep her with you and the chickens?

[And... the chocobos, too, right. Think of the cute small goat snuggling by a large yellow chicken and sleeping. Nice.]

[ dextera lets out a breath of a laugh, too… mostly because he understands that feeling. the world has become a little warmer, with the return of the sun, but it’s mostly nice how much more alive things seem. the few colors that there are in this town seem brighter. ]

I can. [ but… ] You don’t want her?

[For a moment, he peers at the sweet, silly goat. After being able to trot, she seems to be doing better. He gives her a reassuring pat along the head between the horns, then some scritching below the chin.]

I can let her stay at Father's house. She could help them clean the area by grazing. But you helped her, so you can decide.

We could let her wander and see where she ends up, but she might get into trouble without guidance. For now, she should probably have a place to stay.

Joshua and Estelle want more chickens. We might not have room.

[ the additions to the coop are certainly… going… but in any case, by the time joshua and estelle finish making something that’s worth looking at and get to work on breeding the birds, they probably just don’t have space for a whole entire farm in bluo. ]

Does your father like goats?

[cut away flash forward to bruce wandering back up to the flavo cottage to find a goat out front eating and he's Tired]

He'll like this one.

[Because it doesn't matter whether or not Bruce likes goats, Damian is going to bring a goat back, and his father isn't going to do anything about it. Or Damian will kick his ass.]

You can come visit her. Or I can walk her to your house sometimes.

[He thinks Dex is going to be sad is all?]

[ dextera would be a little sad to not see capella after basically creating her and all. when damian proposes taking her for walkies, his expression brightens somewhat—he always looks so naturally gloomy that it’s easy to tell. ]

Come over anytime.

[ whether or not he has a goat, even. ]

[Even if he doesn't show it, Damian is a little relieved by the look.] Alright.

Come on. I'll show you father's house in Flavo while we take Capella, and then we'll go back to Bluo. [He's quiet for a long moment, though not moving. It's like he wants to say something, but he's either debating not doing it or talking himself into it. Finally:]

I know you're probably worried about the bird. About how purifying the animals in the forest sacrifice one of them to give us the more stable version. It's okay if you don't want to try again.

And even though you're worried about your powers, I don't think what you did was wrong. Don't ever let anyone tell you that they make you a bad person. [Not even yourself.] We just simply have to find the correct way to utilize them.

[ hearing damian say something like that—no, hearing him say this, specifically, in the words that he’s chosen to use, sends a little flutter of panic under dextera’s skin even if it’s a kind of relief to hear it, too. ]

…

[ dextera takes a breath, and touches his throat. although guren’s marks are the more visible between the two sets of bruises, his own thumbprint slots perfectly enough against one of the bruises that it calls attention to even a faded part of him.

he nods, and lowers his hand to speak. ]

I just wish my brother hadn’t been the bird.

What's done is done. [He reaches out to take Dextera by the wrist gently for a moment, squeezing it reassuringly.] He's here now, and that's what matters if it's important to you. You have to forgive yourself before you can appreciate and focus on the second chance you've been given.

No one said you can't atone for things you've done. It's what I did. [He frowns.] During the Year of Blood, my rite of passage, I did many horrible, bad things. I blinded someone who was very kind to me, I killed all of Goliath's family, I stole ancient artifacts and ruined cultures.

I don't think I'll ever be able to give back what I've taken, but after dying, I realized... I may squander any chance. So I tried what I could, to right my wrongs. Then I could stop worrying about what I had done and live.

[ atonement… he’s already atoning for so much, what’s one more addition to the pile? it’s just that he knows his brother would forgive him if dextera asked it, and that doesn’t feel right. he hasn’t earned it. just the same as his brother feels he hasn’t earned the right to dextera’s company, dextera hasn’t won his brother’s forgiveness just yet. ]

…

[ he nods, only momentarily covering damian’s hand with his own—an acknowledgement of the touch and reassurance. ]

Thank you. Again. I wish we didn’t understand each other like this… but I’m glad we do.

[He nods, both in agreement and acceptance. He trusts Dextera with this information, after all. Ad it's... kind of cathartic.] It took me a long time. I had a lot of things to fix.

Don't give up, or I'll kick your ass. [Or, at least, he'll scold Dextera a lot.

He knows Dextera will get there in time.] Alright, enough hen clucking. Our goat is escaping. [He points ahead of them. Capella is enjoying herself too much. She's just going right along. If they can't keep up, she doesn't care.]

[ damian’s indelicacy gets dextera to lighten up again, at least, and he lets out an amused breath before trailing after damian and the goat.

where is she going? who knows! but she needs to be headed to flavo, so that’s where dextera gently tries to guide her. luckily, she’s not that stubborn about having someone herd her in the right direction.

he catches damian’s attention when something occurs to him, a moment later. you know… ]

I haven’t met your father.

He doesn't talk to a lot of people. [But thinking about this as they go along after the goat, he feels it may not accurate describe Bruce as well as he'd like it to.] You should meet him when you can. His name is Bruce Wayne.

People think he looks mean or as if he doesn't want to talk to them, but they're wrong. [Time to tattle on his dad.] Father loves people, and he especially loves children. He wouldn't try so hard to make Gotham a better place to live if he didn't love people.

Someone told me once Father gives more than he asks. He's always giving. He would rather listen to others than talk about himself, and people find it hard to converse with him.

But don't let that stop you from trying.

[Dextera already has experience! If anyone is like Bruce at all, it's Guren.]

[ damian’s father, like damian himself, sounds like a kind person with a difficult-to-breach shell. dextera doesn’t think with any confidence at all that he could manages to slip between the cracks of someone so carefully guarded, but if he’s learned anything in his time in chroma, it’s that people don’t work the way he expects. ]

You make him sound—wonderful.

[ someone who’s truly altruistic… surely there are a lot of them here in town, but it’s different to hear someone directly described that way. ]

[Amazingly, Damian smiles. It’s reserved, but there. If anything can make him smile, it’s his dad. And animals.] He’s a good man. The best one I know.

He may be with a woman. Her name is Selina Kyle. She’s his fiancee. You can meet her too.

[ thanks for telling dex about your hot stepmom ]

A family.

[ dextera doesn’t know what damian thinks of selina, but it doesn’t seem bitter—based on everything he knows about damian’s birth mother, just about anyone else would be preferable. ]

I hope… you can get along… with my family, too.

[DON'T SAY HIS STEP MOM IS HOT HE'D DIE]

I talked to him some. Your brother. [He's just gonna ignore the "family" bit because... it makes him incredibly embarrassed to think about! He's still getting to know Selina. As long as his dad is happy that's all that matters.] He's very...

...fatalist.

…

[ dextera nods at that, going quiet for a few moments. fatalist does seem like the word for him, doesn’t it? his brother, whose prospects are accept that his death was a necessity of the universe, or struggle against a future that’s already been decided. ]

He can’t be anything else.

He can. [Of all the people, Damian is one of the few who knows this best of all.] With help. He doesn't have to think he shouldn't exist here. It was different in your world, but we're not in your world anymore.

He's going to have to learn... how to be a new person. Just like I did when I went to live with my father.

[ …it doesn’t sound pleasant for anyone involved, least of all for XIII himself, but dextera understands what damian is saying. the problem is that dextera doesn’t want his brother to be a “new person.” he wants his brother to be the same as he once was, unchanged and timeless from when they were happy.

it’s not fair, he knows, but… ]

I hope… you’ll help him. Like you’ve helped me.

Only if he wants to be helped. He has to meet me halfway.

[Bruce's cottage bursts out of the edge of the woods on the Flavo side. It's surprisingly modest, not that many people here would understand exactly how modest in comparison to the Manor. Gently renovated, it's still being remodeled and worked on pieces at a time. A quick fence has been built near the back--four fire-breathing geese are there.

Ace greets them from the front, standing abruptly and cautious. He barks uncertainly until Damian whistles, then his tail goes up to wag, his ears lift. He hurries over to see the--oh. A GOAT.

Ace is more interested in getting to know the goat, and the goat, while unbothered, doesn't seem to care to have dog breath in her face, thanks. She screams lightly in Ace's face, and the dog's ears fold down.]

[ for better or worse, the cottage’s appearance does distract dextera from worried thoughts about his brother—it’s true, in any case. if his brother doesn’t reach out, nothing will change. it’s just difficult to imagine that he will. ]

…

[ poor ace. poor capella? but more importantly, dextera notices the fence at the back, and he hesitates. ]

The geese?

[ why ]

I caught them with Midoriya's help. In case they come in handy.

[In fact, they seem to know Damian's voice sort of like any other animal. They have Gathered at the edge of the fence, peering through it at him and Dextera and Ace and the goat with eldritch, all-knowing eyes. Watching. Waiting.

Damian loves them.]

Don't worry. I'm not planning to put any other animals inside with them. They're too feisty.