(no subject)

[bittybat]

WHO: Damian + everyone
WHAT: prompts + quests later
WHERE: everywhere
WHEN: october
WARNINGS: none yet
NOTES: a sad boy trying not to be sad

Prompts in the comments!

Comments

i. hawthorne_heights_silver_bullet.mp3

[bittybat]

[Sitting at the well was a subconscious thing. Damian looks more gloomy than he has been lately, almost like he had looked when he initially arrived. Sour, coarse; now he also looks tired. But maybe he's just concentrating on what he's doing.

One leg is folded as he sits on the edge of the well; the other dangles along the side toward the ground, but doesn't swing. On the bent leg, he has the stitched, handmade journal open. The left page is filled with odds and ends, sketches of animals, people, buildings, and plants around Chroma.

The right is blank except for what he's only just started. The brief, simple lines and shading of something not yet revealed. He doesn't take his eyes off the page, doesn't look up at all. Whatever he's crafting, it can only be something from memory.]

What do you want?

[His voice sounds a little more gruff than usual, too.]

[stripedown]

[ Kisa is nowhere near confident enough yet to come running up to anyone with any semblance of joy and excitement, especially when she's not entirely sure they'll welcome her doing so. And Damian's been kind to her, she knows, but as soon as she catches a glimpse of him on yet another round (to familiarize herself with this town), Kisa pauses.

There's something wrong. And as she stands there, trying to puzzle out what's wrong and very politely not looking at what he's working on, he speaks up and she barely suppresses a flinch.

But since he's not looking up, even if she answered, he wouldn't know. So she doesn't open her mouth just yet. ]

[bittybat]

[After a bit, he finally lifts his head and glances over at whoever has decided to come stand near his personal space without saying anything. His face isn't angry, but his brows are drawn together, and he looks so serious... up until he realizes it's Kisa.

He doesn't soften completely. At first, he looks surprised, and then perhaps a bit awkward, as if he had not expected her.]

What is it?

[stripedown]

[ Well. He's not glaring at her, and he's not acting terribly snappy, which is enough reassurance for Kisa to not just quickly excuse herself and leave Damian to his business.

Even though she definitely feels the urge to fidget under the weight of that stare.

"You looked alone."

Which is probably a very obvious statement, since. He was definitely by himself.

But that's not what she means. ]

[bittybat]

[His mouth opens, and then his mouth quickly closes. He looks away, then down at the notebook for a long moment. Thoughtful, deciding.] I am alone. [The sarcasm of it dies before the words leave his mouth, and it ends up sounding sadder than he intended.

He meant, Obviously, but it came out more like, There's no one here for me, even if this isn't true. He glances up at her again.]

Are you just going to stand there the whole time?

i want to see my little boy

[withwisdom]

[ she doesn't come by the well to see damian, so much as she's just checking the location ahead of a very unfortunate adventure. content to leave him be as she peers down, but still his mood does not escape her notice. of course the opposite is true too and he catches her looking to him, to which she sheepishly smiles. ]

Forgive me, I don't mean to pry - [ but ] - is everything alright?

[ he's always been a rather mellow or distant boy, but it feels more off today. ]

countdown to hug

[bittybat]

[Wow, it's so hard to be mopey when two of the purest girls are the ones who come check on you. Thanks, he hates it.

Luckily, he may be a little snot, but he's a little snot with some manners, and he glances up after a moment at the sound of Zelda's voice. He doesn't answer right away, almost like he's trying to find the words he wants.]

I guess.

[He doesn't want to worry them. Being upset, he acknowledges, but moving on is his goal. Compartmentalize. Keep going.]

it's happening!!

[withwisdom]

[ "i guess" is about as close to "no" as a sullen child will get to expressing their sorrow; at least in her experience being a sullen sad child herself. but this seems a lot different than the mood he was in during the memory spell. it's quiet and reserved.

her eyes are drawn down to his book and her hands lace in front of her. she can't see exactly what he's doing in the moment, but the way the book falls open lets her at least get a glimpse of the pencil work within. ]

Your nature art is impressive. It has a great sense of detail even for the simplistic drawings.

[messianic]

[Well, thanks to Clark's message to the town at large, Minato's pretty aware that Bruce is gone now (it's sad, but...).

There must be one person taking this even harder, right?

(Someone who deserves happiness, and yet constantly...)

Minato settles next to Damian after he finds him, hands tucked into his pockets as he sits there.]

... Do you mind the company?

[bittybat]

[The scratching of the charcoal continues. It's not too fast. Slow, precise strokes. An outline. He doesn't lift his head still even now, but he can tell from the corner of his eye it's Minato before the boy talks.]

No. [He's a Wayne. If he had really been looking for solitude, he would definitely not have put himself in the middle of town.] What are you doing out here? [It sounds like he's trying to make conversation, even if his voice is a tad bitter.]

[messianic]

Hm... Looking for you.

[Well!

At least he's honest, though he keeps his gaze mostly focused on the town around them, and not Damian and what he's drawing.]

[kryptomight]

To hang out with you.

( to stay close to damian, is more like it. jon read bruce's letter, but he doesn't need a piece of paper to know that losing a father, even temporarily, is enough to effect even the strongest of men. boys, really. and he's here to help, however he can.

this time just happens to be by sitting on the well next to damian, swinging his own legs with palms pressed down into the well siding. )

Sooo I thought about the challenge you gave the other day.

[bittybat]

[The fact something is bugging Damian (and Jon knows what it is, of course) is apparent when he doesn't give Jon's presence any kind of exasperated noise for the heck of it.

If Damian is too tired to be irritated, then Damian is either a) a fake, or b) Really Upset.]

What about it? Did you come to forfeit?

[kryptomight]

I would never forfeit.

( but he does turn to face damian, leaning in a little closer to look over his sketchbok if he won't fight jon on it. there's a low, thoughtful hum. )

But I don't want you getting hurt either. Are you sure you want me to do it?

cheer up emo kid

[extrapolating]

[ Elizabeth approaches carefully, since she's actually been looking for Damian. Ever since she'd seen what Mr. Kent had said about Mr. Wayne having left, she felt that it was important to go see Damian and... Well, she's not completely sure. Offer her condolences, she guesses? It doesn't seem like something he'd necessarily want.

Her suspicion is proved true at his surly tone, and she wonders, briefly, if maybe she should have waited a bit longer. She turns the silver thimble around her pinky, but it seems like it would be more awkward to just leave. But she at least doesn't try and dance around the subject too much. ]

Sorry— [ Though she does feel the need to apologize for potentially bothering him, just based on his tone. ] I wanted to find you and make sure you were... doing okay.

i love that it's been very good girls forcing him to not be rude. sucker.

[bittybat]

[The silence and deliberate unwillingness to glance up yet seems to be his effort in trying to wrangle his sour mood. Someone being aggressive with him is what he knows how to handle, something he can react to, but this softness.

Finally, he lifts his head, trying to keep his jaw stiff. What betrays him is his brows and eyes, both bent with a small measure of sorrow.]

I'm fine.

i mean if you were mean to this trio that'd be terrible so fair

[extrapolating]

[ It's immediately clear that he's absolutely lying, but naturally, she's not at all bothered by that in this case. It might even be the kind of reaction she would have, after all. She takes a few steps closer, and gently asks: ]

Can I sit with you?

[ She doesn't call it out, because just by asking that, it's probably clear enough that she doesn't believe him... ]

ii. relient_k_more_than_useless.mp3

[bittybat]

[Sometime after the first few days, Damian can be see thieving something from the garden. The accomplice and equally dead-beat dad is sitting nearby as watchout: Pennyworth the Cat, lazy and unbothered by the legality of the theft. He's probably grooming his tuxedo body when he isn't busy watching Damian be a menace to gourd society.

Damian's not exactly subtle about the stealing. For quite a bit of time, he's wandering around looking at the plots, a knife in hand, and then he finally decides on the right one. The best one. The perfect one.

PUMPKIN.

It's not the largest, but big enough it can be massacred for the sake of spooky. He tucks it under one arm and absconds with it. If someone is there catching him in the act, he really only pauses for half a second--

--before continuing right on like he's not doing anything at all.]

[spiria]

[ She hasn't really been here long enough to recognize that act as thieving, really. She's more curious about why he has a pumpkin to begin with. Kohaku starts to follow him, jogging a little to catch up and match his pace. ]

What are you going to do with that?

[ Rest assured, Damian, she's not here to bust your chops for stealing. She's just curious. ]

[bittybat]

[Technically, at best, it's borrowing since it's a community garden he helps tend to occasionally; however, he definitely could have let Dave know? smh]

Carve it. It's a tradition.

[He pauses long enough to peer at her. Pennyworth at least gives her a sweet meow of greeting. He's much better company than Damian could ever be really.]

There's no calendar yet, but looking at the position of the moon and the stars, the weather changes, and counting the hours of the day and night, it should be just passed the fall equinox.

[spiria]

[ As Pennyworth greets her, she kneels down and holds a hand out toward him. Hello, kitty! Damian continues walking pretty quickly, so she gets up to follow him so that she can keep talking.

She is pretty interested in this tradition he speaks of. ]

That sounds interesting. What do you carve into the pumpkin?

I'll drown you in threads I'm merciless

[swordfucker]

[Guren knew that Bruce was gone. He knew that Damian must be struggling with that. But since they're so alike in so many other ways, Guren also bets that Damian doesn't want to be pitied or coddled— he'd probably rather deal with it on his own. So, Guren gives him a few days before he actively tries to find him, all while making it seem casual.

It's easy to. He's always on the move, and he's actually got a house in Flavo that he's been making trips to regularly, so it's convenient that he spots him here. Apparently...stealing a pumpkin.]

You're making it look like you're stealing cookies from a jar. I doubt anyone cares if you take something from the gardens. [He steps right on after him to follow, hands shoved in his pockets as he looks from Damian down to the pumpkin.]

Are you going to cook something? [Carving pumpkins isn't really something he's seen much of, and even if it was around, he's not the type of person who would have seen it. Too busy, training under waterfalls and all that.]

i love it

[bittybat]

[Don't feel bad Guren, Damian hadn't been aware of pumpkin carving--or Halloween--either until he went to live with his father. Maybe that's why he's set on doing it. It reminds him of being in Gotham. It's something Pennyworth would do just so the manor didn't feel so empty.

He doesn't stop for Guren, but he doesn't try to speed off either. If Guren wants to follow, Damian isn't making a fuss, which is perhaps somewhat strange. Guren doesn't even get any kind of usual irritable acknowledgment.]

No. If you want food, you can carry the innards to Ignis, and he can make something with it if he's not too busy fawning over kittens.

I'm going to carve it. [Pennyworth gives a pitiful meow somewhere behind them, and this is the only reason Damian finally stops and turns to look back. Pennyworth is prancing after, forlorn "wait for meeeeee" meows wavering with each bounce. The cat had stopped to pretend not to care for following, but they got too far ahead. Cats.] It's a tradition for Halloween.

[swordfucker]

I don't need anything. I've never had pumpkin before.

[Orange? He's never lived. He has no idea if that's even the normal color or if it's one of those regain colors, honestly. Once Damian stops for the cat, Guren stops as well, eyeing the cat too, now. He wants to pet him... but not while Damian is here.]

Halloween... You think it's the equivalent to some time in October, then? [He's just thinking about how old he is, and how the anniversary of the apocalypse always seems around the corner, don't mind him.] What do you usually carve? A face?

iii. wildcard

[bittybat]

Wildcard me here! Damian can be found around town through the month, especially over near Flavo. People might be able to see him moving things from the boathouse to Bruce's cottage there. If not there, he's cleaning up the church here and there, or you can post to his inbox here to get in touch with him!

You can also ping me at moetan if you need me!