[ OPEN? CLOSED? ] as you die, you will understand.

[passio]

WHO: dextera + others! i’m open to anyone but please tell me by PM or at pavaal if they haven’t had at least like, one conversation.

WHAT: dextera forces himself to face all the people he bailed on after dying.

WHERE: the town!

WHEN: forward dated to late june, and probably the 1st and 2nd of july.

WARNINGS: death death death

[ for the first time, dextera wakes up from death to a sky that isn’t red. it’s all as grey as the world around him, and slowly, the memories return to him—the bogeyman, his brother, the feeling of his very soul being taken from his body. then, there’s a long expanse of nothing. now, his consciousness has returned.

he keeps out of the way at first in this sketchy body, staying private, staying safe with a friend he’s sure won’t tell—there are things he’s not ready to talk about, and faces he’s not ready to see. after a few days have passed, though, and his features reform, color returns, and his voice continues to stay just out of reach, he can finally be seen around town again.

he saw the post. he knows guren announced his death. he’s just hoping that no one will ask about it, if they see him. ]

...

[ as ever, he's silent. ]


( i'll be posting closed prompts in the comments for people who want them, otherwise... go HOG WILD. )

Comments

[passio]

[ dextera knows that fist and scythe have griped about chasing down cats for various purposes before, and he knows that cats are supposed to be fickle and capricious—but that’s sort of fun. as much as dextera likes routine, it’s good to have something he can never hope to predict, too. ]

…

[ his hands are shaking because he is so absurdly excited. before he reaches out, though, there’s an extremely pressing question has has to know. ]

Meow?

[bittybat]

[There’s a sudden, but lengthy pause.

And then Damian actually bursts into laughter. It sounds both very not him and very him all at once. Genuine laughter, boyish, not dripping with malice or pettiness. He isn’t sure why this is so funny, but he doesn’t seem to mind that Dextera has seen a break in his countenance.

He just likes animals, okay.] Meow. [It makes him think of Selina. He squats down and reaches out to run some fingers down Pennyworth’s back. The cat gives an urgent, strangled meow as Damian stands back up. Pennyworth lays into Dextera’s legs, offering some arched rubbing.]

[passio]

I…?

[ dextera doesn’t understand why damian is laughing, and the surprise of it is enough to get the softest of sounds from his throat, but it’s not actually a problem. he’s not offended. the curiosity quickly turns to amusement of his own, and then interest when pennyworth shamelessly rubs against his legs.

it’s a meow!!!

dextera has never seen a cat before his time in his town, only heard them, but there’s a kind of instinctive understanding of how to approach animals in the way he stoops slightly to let pennyworth sniff him. once it seems acceptable, he strokes the cat down its back. ]

[bittybat]

[While Dextera gauges and dances around the strange, ridiculous boundaries and manners of a cat, Damian watches Dextera instead. Initially, he thought perhaps Dextera couldn't speak at all. The throat "not good."

But it seems like Dextera has the physical capability. Hm. He doesn't bring it up. Cassandra doesn't talk either even if she can, and Damian understands and respects whatever this lack of verbal communication is. Honestly, sometimes words get in the way.] I named him after our butler.

They both wear tuxedos.

[Pennyworth is a little feisty, but mostly spoiled. He arches into the fingers a few times with tail up, and then he begins rumbling. His white feet start kneading the grass gently.] If you sit down, he'll get in your lap.

[passio]

[ it’s a long, complicated story, of which his voice is only a piece. if anyone, damian is probably most primed to hear it, but it’s just a matter of sitting himself down and actually saying it all. there’s so much. it’s hard to relate to anyone, when it feels impossibly vast.

luckily, he’s not thinking about that, because there’s a cat in front of him and he’s easily pleased by these simple things. ]

Heh heh.

[ a small breath of a laugh, and he does just that, letting the cat climb into his lap with barely suppressed glee. ]

Thank you. [ to damian, but honestly, he could be thanking pennyworth as well. ]

[bittybat]

He's a cat, and he'll treat you like a cat, too. He doesn't know any better, only that you smell a little funny, you're naked, and you're bigger.

If he's happy, he'll "knead" you, like bread. [The thing that is currently happening now that Pennyworth is in Dextera's lap.] It's what he's doing now. His claws might hurt, but he doesn't mean to hurt you.

He doesn't like for you to hold his paws or tail. He'll let you pick him up for a short time, but will get fussy and want to get down or get on your shoulders instead. He won't like being held upside down. Cats have sensitive balance, and they use it to land on their feet if they fall, so being held that way is unnerving.

If his tail is up, he's happy. If his ears are back and his tail is down low or bristled, he's upset. He'll also hiss. If his tail is thumping or trashing on the ground, he's getting ready to be an ass, so be prepared to have your feet or hands attacked.

[Damian turns to slowly head off over the yard, back toward the street.]

You'll learn things the more time you spend with him.

[passio]

[ it’s a lot to remember… but it somehow seems intuitive as well. what it mostly sounds like to dextera is that as long as he doesn’t impress himself upon the cat at every given opportunity, they can have a long, happy life together. if he waits, pennyworth will come to him, and at that time only can dextera get his fill of touching animals.

it’s not a bad deal. he knows people like that. probably one of them is walking away right now, to head back to wherever it is he goes when he’s not checking on dextera’s chickens for him. ]

…

[ he nods, only briefly wondering what it would feel like to have his palm kneaded because he’s always curious about points of pain like that, but he avoids that impulse and raises a hand to instead wave goodbye to damian. ]

Later. Let’s talk more.

[bittybat]

[Not wrong. At all.

For a while, Pennyworth will be content to entertain Dextera. He'll come and go as he pleases, as cats do, but may sometimes be found scratching or meowing at Dextera's door--if Dextera makes the mistake of giving food. Dextera might have to relocate the cat right now in order to get up off the ground.

Damian throws back a few signs as he leaves:]

See you around.