A weathered flag that's by the sea // OTA

[dauntless_son]

WHO: Declan Lynch dauntless_son and YOU!
WHERE: De Chima mostly
WHEN: February
WHAT: recovering from CNC2020, out and about in De Chima, Valentine's Day maybe
WARNINGS: brief mention of suicidal ideation, violence; will update.



I. Now different lives I lead, my body lives on lead

With Ronan back at the Meadows, Declan is back at work.

Most of his morning is spent planning an exhibition with an artist, going over the logistics of how and where to install it, how much space to take up, and so on. His early afternoon lunch break happens at a nearby cafe; the weather is just nice enough to justify sitting outside. He spends some of that time at his little table with an open notebook, jotting notes for potential advertising avenues for the new show.

After lunch, his afternoon is split between acting as a docent for people visiting the gallery and paperwork. It beats folding pamphlets for a politician, but only just. His ambitions are buried deep enough that he's not entirely sure how to uncover them again, or if he should at all. In his gray suit with his bland smiles, Declan is background noise in the gallery. Charming during conversation and immediately forgettable after. It's for the best.

When the gallery closes for the night, Declan locks up and takes himself for a walk down one of De Chima's busy stretches. He stops to look at menus posted in windows, thinking he doesn't really want to go back to his empty apartment yet.

II. I despise you sometimes, I love to hate the fight

A. One of Declan's first orders of business not long after arriving had been to find a boxing club or gym, somewhere he can hit a bag until his shoulders burn and his hands go numb. With everything that happened in the week after his return from that other City, that other life, Declan's had a lot of things to work out. Every hit on the bag is a thought lingering in his head.

Ronan's suicidal spiral, which started with his brother showing up drunk on the floor of his aparment, ended with the return of Kylo Ren. He hasn't heard much from Ronan since then (wham, the bag swings hard on that one). At least Ronan is alive. If nothing else, that is true.

Done with his warmup, or just bored of hitting something that can't hit back, Declan re-wraps his hands as he heads for the currently empty ring. He might not look like much, but Niall Lynch made sure his sons' second language was violence. Declan speaks it fluently, though rarely.

"Hey, go a few rounds?"

B. Later in the week, Declan finds a shooting range. The pistol is a relatively new acquisition and it's been a few months since he had any target practice. He knows there are people here with extraordinary power, but given what he's recently learned about his own, having backup is just common sense.

How many people depend on their gifts? Kylo Ren lost his mind the moment he was cut off and now Declan has memories from another life that have shown him exactly how his ability can be weaponized. Declan's survival has depended on being innocuous for so long and this is no different.

He feels a little better after he's emptied a clip.

III. I felt I was invincible, you wrapped around my head

[Want to go on a blind date with Declan Lynch for Valentine's Day? Let's do it. All genders welcome, new CR and old CR. You can say a friend somehow made it happen or they met on a random dating app or something. Ping me at givemedragons if you want to go over ideas.]

IV. Wildcard

[Find Declan around town in De Chima or message me to plot a scene.]

Comments

[ficcion]

I mean, I can't promise we will find much of anything, but it could be interesting.

[ Different world, kinda-sorta same streets. Who knows? Sophie nods eagerly. She needs to get out more herself, anyway.

That's when their food arrive. Sophie gives the dish a cursory look before grabbing her fork. ]

Here goes nothing...

[dauntless_son]

[ Declan actually waits for Sophie to try her meal, genuinely curious and hoping she likes it. When she finishes her first bite, he lifts his eyebrows expectantly. ]

What's the verdict?

[ficcion]

I expected it to be a lot spicier.

[ So she gives it a pretty damn awkward thumbs up. ]

Yours? I suppose you already knew what you were getting into...

[dauntless_son]

[ He smiles faintly and looks down at his own dish. ]

It's good. You're welcome to try some if you're feeling brave.

[ It isn't a spicy dish, just a bit of heat. The kind that might make one's nose run but won't burn on the way down. ]

[ficcion]

[ After a moment of hesitant chewing, Sophie takes a sip of her drink and extends her fork tentatively. Just a bit, just to see.

Her eyes widen at the not-spiciness, but it's not unbearable. That said, she's a lightweight when it comes to spicy foods.

There's some generous drinking afterwards. ]

...I guess it's an acquired taste. Not bad, though. You want some of mine?

[dauntless_son]

[ Declan successfully suppresses a smile when Sophie gets that look on her face and practically dives for her drink. ]

It kind of is. I grew up with stuff like this available.

[ They'd have "take out" at home, or he'd have it when he traveled away from the Barns and Henrietta. Dutifully, he reaches across the table to take a small forkful from Sophie's plate. It's good. More mild than he's used to, but good. ]

We'll try the diner next time.