I'm working on them. [While the two of them, the goat, and Ace aren't exactly close to the fence, right now the geese aren't kicking up a fuss or throwing huge puffs of fire in every direction. Simply watching and waiting. Maybe Damian actually has been working on them by the looks of it.] I wouldn't get in the fence with them by any means.
Now that Superboy is here, he can assist me in their training. [He peers at Dextera's face, searching.] I'll keep Capella away. They haven't tried to escape. I keep them here with father because he lives far enough away from the town.
[ dextera got burned by the geese when he tried to gather them with noctis and izuku, and he’s not eager to repeat that mistake, for a quest or ever, really. ]
…
[ he makes eye contact with one of the geese, and it stares back, too knowing for his tastes. ]
[Not getting near the fire-breathing geese is absolutely valid; however, Damian is the epitome of Living On the Edge, and he has a fondness for monstrous pets. Titus is a Great Dane, Goliath is an almost 8-foot tall, five hundred plus pound... bat... dragon.]
He's decent. More importantly, he's fire-proof. [He watches Dextera watch the geese.] Their names are Grayson, Todd, Drake, and Brown. [He thinks he's fucking hilarious.]
[ dextera doesn’t recognize the other names, but grayson he catches, and he wonders if it’s habit for damian to name his animals after people he knows. the cat, and now one of these fussy geese. maybe one day, there will be a lamb named dextera wandering around. or a rat, or something. ]
[He hurries off to disappear into the cottage for a few moments, and when he returns, he has a thin rope and a folded cloth bag. This he ties to the base of Capella's neck, and the other end he ties to a tree a few feet away from the front of the house. It's long enough she can wander a bit, but short enough to keep her from wandering too far.] Ace, stay.
Watch her for me. [He offers the dog some head rubs.] I'll be back. Stay. [Returning to Dextera, he hands over the bag.] Here. I'll walk you to the edge of Bluo. I need to come back to watch Capella and start on a fence. [The next time Dextera comes, Batcow will be there keeping her company...] Kent made them. We have plenty. They aren't the greatest because we lack the ingredients, but they're good.
[COOKIES!]
Thanks... [It's a quiet thanks.] For trying with the animals.
[ dextera takes the bag, quietly awed—it’s more kindness than he expected from damian, even if he doesn’t think that damian is especially unkind. they’re friends. damian trusts him, and dextera trusts him in kind. friends, apparently, give each other cookies.
he’ll treasure them by eating them. he nods his gratitude. ]
[Damian nods.] Me, too. We'll try again some other time. [He won't ask Dextera to do it again unless Dextera offers. He's a tiny scientist, but he's got empathy.] Maybe we'll find something to help lift the limitations of the forest.
Don't blame yourself for what happened to the bird. I think it would have been glad not to be joined so grotesquely together, even if it didn't survive. They're both free... in their own way.
Do you understand? That it isn't your fault.
The bird and your brother... Your mind is attempting to bridge a coincidental connection between two unrelated things simply because they have similar circumstances. Your hands didn't kill the bird. The bird died because the splicing was already shoddy, and it had nothing to fall back on when they were split.
[ dextera doesn’t know how to do better unless he practices, but it’s not the kind of thing he’s willing to practice. if he could at least learn a way to simply disappear the parts of the other animal, even that would be preferable to what feels like sacrificing one half to save the other. ]
…
[ damian’s words are a comfort, even if he’s straightforward about it. ]
I’ll try… to understand. [ he can’t promise anything, when the timing is too close to the return of his brother, and all he can think about is how much they didn’t want to be split apart, and how much it hurt to lose his other half. it’s not the same and he intellectually knows that, but getting himself to believe it is another thing when he’s so quick to punish himself.
[There's just something about Damian not being a moron. He isn't convinced Dextera won't keep thinking about it for a while, or even forever. But there isn't much he can do about it, he doesn't think.]
Don't eat all of those at once, or you'll get sick.
[Leaving Capella and the cottage to Ace, he escorts Dextera to the connection of Flavo and Bluo. His walk is too erect and formatted for a thirteen year old boy. Too... trained. On the way, he's quiet and, of course, slightly ahead in the lead. His eyes look in front distantly, and it's easy to see he's going over a lot of something in his head. The Wayne brooding. Dextera will find--later when they meet--Bruce has this same look sometimes.
When they reach the destination, all he says is:] There.
[ dextera watches damian’s walk, an idle observation of someone who has much more on their mind than it would seem. they’re both thinking about too much, but that’s just like them.
at the edge of bluo, dextera nods, and doesn’t press whatever damian is brooding over. if he wants to tell it, he’ll tell it. ]
See you again.
[ a little wave, a tiny smile, equal parts grateful and yet conflicted over his own feelings. then, he returns home. ]
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Now that Superboy is here, he can assist me in their training. [He peers at Dextera's face, searching.] I'll keep Capella away. They haven't tried to escape. I keep them here with father because he lives far enough away from the town.
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…
[ he makes eye contact with one of the geese, and it stares back, too knowing for his tastes. ]
Is he good with animals? Superboy?
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He's decent. More importantly, he's fire-proof. [He watches Dextera watch the geese.] Their names are Grayson, Todd, Drake, and Brown. [He thinks he's fucking hilarious.]
Do you want to go inside, or are you going home?
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…
[ dextera doesn’t recognize the other names, but grayson he catches, and he wonders if it’s habit for damian to name his animals after people he knows. the cat, and now one of these fussy geese. maybe one day, there will be a lamb named dextera wandering around. or a rat, or something. ]
I should go.
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[He hurries off to disappear into the cottage for a few moments, and when he returns, he has a thin rope and a folded cloth bag. This he ties to the base of Capella's neck, and the other end he ties to a tree a few feet away from the front of the house. It's long enough she can wander a bit, but short enough to keep her from wandering too far.] Ace, stay.
Watch her for me. [He offers the dog some head rubs.] I'll be back. Stay. [Returning to Dextera, he hands over the bag.] Here. I'll walk you to the edge of Bluo. I need to come back to watch Capella and start on a fence. [The next time Dextera comes, Batcow will be there keeping her company...] Kent made them. We have plenty. They aren't the greatest because we lack the ingredients, but they're good.
[COOKIES!]
Thanks... [It's a quiet thanks.] For trying with the animals.
no subject
[ dextera takes the bag, quietly awed—it’s more kindness than he expected from damian, even if he doesn’t think that damian is especially unkind. they’re friends. damian trusts him, and dextera trusts him in kind. friends, apparently, give each other cookies.
he’ll treasure them by eating them. he nods his gratitude. ]
I want… to save them both. One day.
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Don't blame yourself for what happened to the bird. I think it would have been glad not to be joined so grotesquely together, even if it didn't survive. They're both free... in their own way.
Do you understand? That it isn't your fault.
The bird and your brother... Your mind is attempting to bridge a coincidental connection between two unrelated things simply because they have similar circumstances. Your hands didn't kill the bird. The bird died because the splicing was already shoddy, and it had nothing to fall back on when they were split.
no subject
…
[ damian’s words are a comfort, even if he’s straightforward about it. ]
I’ll try… to understand. [ he can’t promise anything, when the timing is too close to the return of his brother, and all he can think about is how much they didn’t want to be split apart, and how much it hurt to lose his other half. it’s not the same and he intellectually knows that, but getting himself to believe it is another thing when he’s so quick to punish himself.
he exhales. ] Thank you.
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Don't eat all of those at once, or you'll get sick.
[Leaving Capella and the cottage to Ace, he escorts Dextera to the connection of Flavo and Bluo. His walk is too erect and formatted for a thirteen year old boy. Too... trained. On the way, he's quiet and, of course, slightly ahead in the lead. His eyes look in front distantly, and it's easy to see he's going over a lot of something in his head. The Wayne brooding. Dextera will find--later when they meet--Bruce has this same look sometimes.
When they reach the destination, all he says is:] There.
no subject
at the edge of bluo, dextera nods, and doesn’t press whatever damian is brooding over. if he wants to tell it, he’ll tell it. ]
See you again.
[ a little wave, a tiny smile, equal parts grateful and yet conflicted over his own feelings. then, he returns home. ]