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[Silent Darrow, Day 2]
It's been a few hours since dawn and since the confusion and horror of the night ended. (It had taken Oliver some time before being able to say it was over, at least for a little while.) Oliver had wanted to keep going, but even he couldn't deny that he needed to rest, needed a few hours of sleep and some time to decide if he was going to deal with what the hell happened overnight.
How does one deal with the ghosts of dead friends and a murderous doppelganger?
Ultimately, Oliver chooses not to answer. They'll rest. They'll try to see if anyone else is out there. And maybe, somewhere along the way, they'll figure out what's going on and how to get home, if there's a way.
How does one deal with the ghosts of dead friends and a murderous doppelganger?
Ultimately, Oliver chooses not to answer. They'll rest. They'll try to see if anyone else is out there. And maybe, somewhere along the way, they'll figure out what's going on and how to get home, if there's a way.
[Pre-Sundown]
And the day will go the same, if the first flicks of shadows Oliver sees are anything to go by.
(Maybe he is back in liànyù, he thinks. Maybe this is where he belongs for all the things he's done.)
[For finding each other, threading with each other, etc.]
Re: [Pre-Sundown]
In truth, I know it can't possibly have been more than a day or two, but it feels like so much longer. It feels like an eternity. I refuse to say that anything might be hopeless just yet, but I also can't say that baking a pie is likely to make anyone feel better right now and that's difficult to handle.
Even without much sunlight, day time is easier. Everything is still creepy, of course, but there seem to be fewer monsters around. (I've still taken to carrying around one of Derek's butchers knives with me at all times, but luckily, I haven't really had to use it yet.)
We're out now, actually. I need to head back to my apartment for some clothes since nothing Derek has fits, and shopping for much of anything is clearly out of the question. Derek isn't far off, his werewolf ears all perked for any weird sounds, when I see a figure a few feet ahead.
It seems human, but I've come to realize that some of the worst monsters down here seem perfectly human at first glance. Instantly, I tense, knife held firmly in one hand as I slow my steps. "I'm... I'm gonna give you one warning, okay?" I say, desperately ignoring the way my voice falters. "I don't know what you are or why you're here, but if you say anything horrible to Derek, I'll come after you."
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It's better than what happened last night, but only by a little.
He doesn't have his pack on, but does have his quiver and his bow out. He feels a bit naked, in a way, but it's better than going out there alone, and besides, he has a few knives on him and a few of his flechettes. There's no need for the Arrow costume, but he is prepared.
So when Oliver spots the kid coming down the sidewalk, he nocks an arrow, but keeps the bow trained at the ground. Because his blond head looks somewhat familiar, and when the kid says something about Derek, Olive realizes he might have seen him at Semele's once or twice.
"That's brave of you," Oliver says, stating it as fact. The boy can't be any bigger or older than Thea but here he is, brandishing a knife at a complete stranger to protect his friend. "I'm not going to hurt Derek. I didn't even know he was here."
He removes the arrow and drops both arms to his sides, both bow and arrow still in his hands if he needs to use them at a moment's notice, but no longer trained on anyone or anything in particular. For Oliver, that's about as much peace as he's going to offer anyone right now.
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It's dumb, maybe, but I feel inclined to believe that he doesn't mean any harm and I relax a little. It helps that he lowers the arrow he's had pointed at my feet.
"He's just over there," I tell him, nodding past my shoulder to where I know Derek's poking around, checking to make sure there's nothing is about to jump out and attach us. Again. "So I'd advise against trying anything if you had plans for that," I tell him, just in case, before relaxing just a little more. "I'm sorry, it's just... we've had a rough couple days. You're really not going to say or do anything terrible?"
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At least he seems to be trying to keep an eye on his surroundings.
"Do you guys have any idea what's going on?" Maybe Derek will have some clue, anything that will help them figure out a way to end the madness.
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That might be the best I can hope for.
I shake my head in response to his question. "It's like we just stepped into another dimension," I tell him. "Have you been getting attacked by people you know? People who turn into black, scaly blob things?"
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"Is it just you and Derek? Have you seen anyone else?"
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The yet hangs silently, mostly because I'm not sure whether or not it would be accurate to use it. This place already seems a lot less populated than the normal version of Darrow. Or at least less populated by beings who aren't monsters.
I'm still watching him carefully, my eyes falling to his bow and then back up to his face. "Have you?"
Re: [Pre-Sundown]
Bitty and Neil are close by, but for the moment Derek is alone. He stands up straight and curls his hands into fists, swallowing hard as Oliver approaches. He doesn't know if this Oliver will spit vicious words at him, or if Derek will have to watch him die. At this point, Derek is so shaken that the thought that this might be the real Oliver barely occurs to him.
He just waits, and steels himself for whatever is going to happen.
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Maybe this is something else, some new weird form of torture, but Oliver can't figure out why it would be. Derek is a close friend now, yes, but he has none of the emotional weight that Sara or Tommy had.
It's knowing Porthos and others are around that has Oliver calling out to Derek as he closes the distance between them. "It's good to see you."
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"It's good to see you too," Derek says after a moment, expression softening a bit. His exhaustion and weariness shows through, and his shoulders slump slightly. "As long as it is actually you."
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He walks over, arms at his side and ready to go for the knife in his pocket if he needs it. Just in case.
"Did you wake up to this yesterday, too?"
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He tilts his head curiously and then looks around, freezing when he thinks he hears that slick slithering that usually means something is coming to torment him. He waits but nothing comes, so he blinks and shakes his head a little before looking back at Oliver. "Did you come alone? Bitty and Neil got dragged here with me."
[Sundown/Ghosts]
It doesn't take long for the shadows to disappear, but the figures that they form this time aren't Sara and Tommy. His bow makes a terrible sound as it hits the marble floor, and it takes Oliver everything he has not to drop along with it.
He'd loved the two people standing in front of him in different ways, and they represented all he'd done, all he'd lost along the way to becoming the person he is now.
In Shado, he'd had an equal, a confidante, love. And she'd died-- for what? For Oliver's own indecision.
Akio had been the most innocent of them all, a child caught in the crossfire of power gone completely astray. They'd tried, they'd tried so damn hard but nothing they did made it worth it. Oliver had still watched as Maseo and Tatsu had to say goodbye to their son. He'd watched as a family he'd grown to love was ripped apart -- and what he'd done afterward, with all that pain eating him up completely flew in the face of what they'd represented. They'd been a safe haven, his only friends in the world, and Oliver had desecrated Akio's memory in the name of revenge.
They both deserved to be alive, truly alive, and not more literal ghosts from his past.