The Hollidaze is Here Again - Open To All

[forgeabettertomorrow]

WHO: Darin Altway and you!
WHERE: All around
WHEN: Throughout the month of December
WHAT: Various shenanigans
WARNINGS: Mentions of extreme insomnia and holiday stress

-A- Nonah: Darin's Forge
[It had been a few weeks since the events of the swear-in ceremony on the moon. As the days wore on, Darin went from being his usual, upbeat self, to someone far more withdrawn. After working things out with Allura, he made an appoint to work normal hours at the forge. But that still didn't change the fact that he'd been averaging only a few hours of sleep per night, thanks to the fact that he can feel Diomuhr's presence now.]

[Anyone who comes by to see him will find him distracted. He has bags under his eyes and he's slightly off-color; paler than normal, despite not being sick.]

[Distracted by his thoughts and the presence lingering around him, he's also doing something he's never done before: making simple yet egregious mistakes. It's one such mistake that ends with Darin taking the piece he was hammering away on, a shield, and picking it up in his bare hands and crumpling it like it was nothing more than an aluminum can. He then pivots and pitches the solid ball of crumpled steel through the roof like a missile, complete with high pitched whistling sound as it disappears from sight.]

...Great. Now I have something else to fix...

-B- Maurtia Falls: Aegis Force HQ
[Darin was no stranger to exercise. In fact, before he was driven away from his home, he made an appoint to train his body every day. It helped maintain the illusion that his strength was natural, but it also helped him learn control and restraint. He'd more or less restarted his regiment again when he was Ported in, but Aegis Force HQ really gave him a place to cut loose and blow off some steam. And this blue-haired idiot was a kettle ready to boil over. Thankfully, someone showed him how to calibrate and use the Danger Room, which meant less time trying to figure the damn thing out. With all of his mental frustrations, Darin wanted to really go all out. After setting his opponents to 'robots' and cranking the difficulty to maximum, Darin enters into the simulation.]

[What follows, for about half an hour, is the sound of what one might assume is just explosions going off. Apparently 'maximum difficulty' is no joke when it comes to Danger Room settings, and Darin isn't taking the challenge lightly. Peek in on him, and you'll find him tearing through robots of all shapes and sizes with a ferocity that he's never shown before. The booming echoing out from the chamber isn't from the robots, it's from the force of Darin's kicks and punches. He's not even using his dao today, and at the rate he's going, he's going to destroy his limbs.]

Leave me...alone...! WHY THE HELL WON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE!?

[From his tone, it's possible he's not talking to the endless stream of robots.]

-C- De Chima: Shopping Center
[With Christmas fast approaching, Darin's taking a trip to De Chima's largest shopping center to get some ideas for presents. He's likely going to make most of the presents he wants to give out himself, but he's in some desperate need of some inspiration. He wanders from store to store, glancing over a list of names. Try to sneak a peek to see if your name is on the list? He might be too distracted to notice.]

[Or maybe you're in the food court, watching as shoppers bustle around. There's a hell of a commotion heading your way though. If you happen to squint, you'll notice a blue haired doofus running full tilt as a mob of angry shoppers chases him through the mall.]

YOU'RE ALL FREAKIN' CRAZY!! IT'S A DAMN TOY!!! YOU TICKLE IT AND IT LAUGHS AND SHAKES!!! KIDS CAN ALREADY DO THAT THEMSELVES!! WHY DO YOU NEED A TOY FOR THAT?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH EVERYONE?!

[Yup]

-D- Dawn of the Delts: Closed to Keith
[Okay, so the Danger Room might have been a bit too much. At least he can still hit the gym like normal. The only problem here is that he still has to make an effort to hide his power.]

[He yawns as he goes through a 'routine' that would make most people want to collapse. Now that he has a place where he can really push himself, this place seemed like small potatoes. What he really needed was a challenge.]

...Huh. Wonder if Keith is around. Last time we sparred, he was in demi-god mode.

...I wonder if he remembers me going toe-to-toe with him.

Comments

A. Forge

[minorgod]

[ Yato was just walking up to the forge building when the shield - or what was left of it - went zooming out through the roof. He forewent the knock and stepped inside, already looking concerned... but that quadrupled when he saw Darin's physical state. ]

Hey, spill. What's the matter? You look terrible.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[He's sitting at his workbench, face buried in his hand as he rubs at his eyes. When Yato walks in, he gives his cheeks a little slap so they regain color in a weak attempt at composing himself before he realizes who it is.]

[A wave of relief washes over him and he slumps back onto his stool.]

Yato...oh man are you a sight for sore eyes...

[minorgod]

[ Darin... really looks like he needs a hug, a stiff drink, or both. For the moment though, Yato will just drag another stool a bit closer and plunk himself down on it. ]

What's going on, Darin? I've never seen you like this before.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[Darin runs a hand down his face.]

A lot's happened. And I'm kinda...struggling to process it.

I don't even know where to start, the last few weeks have been hell.

[minorgod]

Why didn't you say something earlier?

[ Not that Yato knows what 'it' is yet, but he feels like he's let his best friend down by not having any idea this was going on until just now. ]

I guess... what's the first thing that you noticed was wrong?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

I don't know why. I'm just...

[Let's start again.]

A few weeks ago...at the swear-in on the moon. Hell broke loose and Lucina was...she was possessed by something. I don't know. We fought. She cut me with Falchion and...

Gods, Yato, it was the worst pain I'd ever felt. Ever. My wounds were smoking and then...and then...

He woke up, Yato.

Diomuhr woke up.

He's awake now. I can feel him.

[Darin almost sounds manic in his explanation and he keeps running a shaking hand through his blue hair.]

[minorgod]

[ Yato hadn't attended that particular Swear-In... he'd gotten out of the habit of going to them, which seemed in hindsight to be a mistake. But he goes very still when Darin reveals that Diomuhr has awakened.]

You're sure? Feel him how?

[ Even as he asks it, he's extending his own senses, just to try and pick up what the intruder feels like to another god. ]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Like...a shadow with weight. Like you feel like you're being watched, but you can't figure out where the eyes are.

[Yato might be in for a shock. Darin might have had a lifetiem's worth of practice suppressing his strength, but he doesn't know the first thing about suppressing his aura. The sheer scale of this presence, this inky black shadow that hovers about Darin extends out. It fills the forge, and permeates beyond the walls. There is definitely something there, with Darin at the epicenter. It's like smog. It's exactly like Darin described; a shadow with weight to it. It almost stifles.]

[minorgod]

[ Yato definitely does reel back at Diomuhr's scale. He's used to experiencing gods of his own relative scale - that is, ones he can get his head around their identity. Some of them have vaster auras than others, particularly when their powerfully established like the Seven Gods, but this is a whole different scope that he's used to feeling. It takes him a good few minutes to even process what he's sensing, during which he's oddly quiet.

Despite this however, it makes Yato's own nature come sharply into focus: not the playful, dorky god that people know him ask, but one created from a truly heinous wish: a magatsukami, a God of Calamity. A god to be feared and treated with caution, no matter the small glimmerings of Fortune stirring within him. ]

That's... well, I wouldn't be sleeping well either.

[ A weak attempt at a joke, but his eyes say he's not making light of the situation. ]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Darin's sweating now, but can't figure out why. Having sensed another god-like aura, it appears his is coalescing towards him, withdrawing itself. Almost as if the aura itself were spreading to feel out where exactly it was. Having been spotted, it shrinks back for the time being.]

I get a few hours of sleep a night but then I wake up when I just...feel him. Watching. It's making me into a mess.

[minorgod]

[ Yato watches Darin carefully for any sign of relief when the heavy presence seems to withdraw, but even still, it feels like only a temporary gain. ]

Is there anything I can do to help?

[ Please say yes, he hates to see you like this Darin. ]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

I don't know. I have no idea.

He's never been awake before. I don't know what he's doing, I don't know what he's thinking. All I know is that if I let up for a second he might swoop in and take over. He almost did at the swear-in, and he almost killed Lucina.

I almost killed Lucina.

I'm half tempted to turn myself in to Aegis or the government. Have them lock me up and throw away the key.

[minorgod]

You didn't almost kill her. It's not you if you can't control it, Darin. I get that you're taking responsibility for it, but there's a difference between responsibility and fault.

[ He considers Darin's suggestion for a moment, but ultimately shakes his head. ]

No. That's just delaying the problem, and potentially putting more people in harm's way. There needs to be a different way to deal with him.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Then what? What do I do?

[He sounds...desperate. His strength sapped due to exhaustion.]

[minorgod]

The first thing you need to do is get some rest. You're not thinking clearly.

[ a pause, then a bit gentler ]

Would it help if I kept watch?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

I...maybe...

I don't know. I couldn't ask you to do that.

This is driving me crazy. It's never been like this before.

What if...what if he's awake because I'm closing in on the day of prophecy in my world? What if he knows it's close and he's preparing??

[minorgod]

You're not asking, I'm offering. And better me than someone who wants to help but won't have any way to defend themselves.

[ Yato holds his hands up to get Darin to slow down. ]

Look, let's just focus on you in this world right now, yeah? We can't do anything right this minute about your world.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Screw my world. I'd never go back to it if I had the choice...I care about this one...!

If Diomuhr is awake, then everything I've built, everyone I love, they're in danger.

[minorgod]

[ There's been a growing pinch at the back of Yato's neck since he walked into the forge, and it's telltale enough that he knows what's happening. The why is entirely another reason, but one problem at a time. ]

You still can't make any decisions without a clearer head.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Fine.

...Fine.

I'd...I'd appreciate it if you stayed over. Just so I can get some sleep. Maybe you can do something if you feel his presence or...something.

[minorgod]

[ It's as good as Yato can hope for, and he doesn't even try to hide the relief at Darin allowing him to do this small thing. Instead he just nods; both in agreement and reassurance. ]

I'll be exactly where I am when you get to sleep.

[ It's a promise. ]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

...Dammit. There's just one problem.

I...live with Allura now. She doesn't know. If you come home with me, I'd have to explain to her why you're in my room when I should be asleep.

[minorgod]

[ Yato blinks. ]

When did that happen? Congratulations? Just tell her I drank too much and you brought me home to sleep it off.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

A...few weeks ago? Before the swear-in. Why are you congratulating me?

[minorgod]

You didn't tell me!

[ True, he normally hangs about the forge, so he hadn't been paying close attention. ]

You and the princess, huh?