9 ♐ The trials of being a father

Entry tags:

9 ♐ The trials of being a father

Who: Darkleer, Gamzee, and Equius
Where: The Highblood House
When: Sometime in the afternoon
Style: Action
Status: Closed

[Well, he supposes he's held it off long enough.]

[Besides, he tries to reason with himself, this will be a good distraction from the troubling, foggy memories which dog his every footstep. That feeling that he's messed up horribly. It's a feeling that makes him want to just huddle against a pile of something and lay there morosely.]

[Fortunately, Darkleer doesn't like 'lazing about'. So embarrassing talks with the kids it is.]

[Poking his head into the living room, he clears his throat slightly.]

Gamzee? Equius?

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[Gamzee curiously lets his head roll back where he is on the couch, glancing at Darkleer. He had just been messing around with his newly reappeared SFC. This thing was so much better than those weird dreamberries they had last week. Not only did this thing not show any dreams, but it was also shaped like a starfish. Come on, how could you fuckin' beat that?]

Yeah?

[Equius looks up too; it should come as no surprise to Darkleer that he's sitting next to Gamzee on the couch.]

Yes?

[Okay. He can do this. Right.]

The two of you aren't busy, correct? I've been meaning to speak to the two of you.

[Hamzee stops fussing with his SFC, just dropping it to his lap to give Darkleer a curious look.]

I ain't got no fuckin' shit planned.

Me, neither.

[He's already worked with the chocobos once today, and doesn't have anything else on the agenda.]

Is everything okay, Dadleer?

That's good.

[He thinks???]

[Finally entering the room properly, he goes to sit down on a chair and braces his elbows against his knees, hands clasped together.]

I was simply thinking... You are getting older and it's obvious you're getting more curious about your relationship. I know I haven't quite properly discussed it with either of you, so...

[Yep.]

[Oh.

Gamzee shifts forward slightly in attention. Okay, even he gets what's the deal here. And he really really wants to know.]

You mean...

[Equius almost falls off the couch in surprise, but then he too leans forward, watching Darkleer intently.]

Okay.

[Kids you are somehow making this more awkward.]

I am referring to any acts of pailing, Gamzee, yes. [He coughs into one fist.] There are no Imperial Drones here, so there is positively no rush. Please keep that in mind.

[First order of business: once this is all over, thank Signless. A lot. Profusely a lot and very often too.

He nods a little at the reminder. He knows there are no drones here. He'd be pretty boned if there were, what with his distaste for filling the black quadrant.]

Aight.

[Equius nods; he'd be pretty boned if there were drones here too. He can't imagine they'd look too fondly on a young troll who inadvertantly killed his pailing partners.]

But... for when we are ready?

That's right. For when you are ready.

[At least that much is clear, then. One hurdle done with?]

There are other specifics we should go over, but I just want to be sure we are all on the same page. Is there, ah, is there anything in general that you do not know about it?

[Kids, he will not judge you if you have watched porn or seen animals mating or whatever. Just please tell him he does not need to have a Sex Ed class in the living room.]

[Loads of things, really! He's only had the standard drone teaching module on pailing, focused on instructing young trolls on their pailing duties. But maybe he and Equius could figure out that stuff together once... the first stuff had been conquered.

Really, there is only one thing he does want to know.]

How, uh, how the fuck do you all know whether you be ready or not?

[Equius doesn't say anything, just looks at Darkleer sadly. He knows all about the basics, and what would have been expected of him in Alternia and everything... he just doesn't know what to do about the STRONG thing.]

[That is a very good question, and one that most don't get a chance to ask because of how Alternia simply is. But Darkleer has been trying to figure this out for quite a while for the two of them, and he thinks he has an answer of some sort.]

First of all, Gamzee, you want to make sure that both of you want to do it. As embarrassing as it may be, the two of you must learn to talk about such a thing together and make sure there are no misunderstandings. This is a large step in a relationship, after all, especially for two trolls as young as you two are. There will be concerns the two of you will have.

Speaking of which... [Taking a deep breath, he nods to Equius.] You may want to wait a while longer until you are slightly more confident in yoursef, Equius.

[Gamzee stays quiet, pondering that response, just giving a slight nod to show that he had heard his words. Okay. Until they both want to do it and can talk about it openly. that sounds good enough. While whenever you feel it is right was also good advice, it did come with that complication that right now? His heart and his bulge definitely weren't in constant agreement on that.]

[Equius deflates as Darkleer explains, and leans back on the couch, staring at the floor. It's not that he disagrees with anything his ancestor has told him... far from it! He agrees quite readily with the idea of waiting and communicating. What he has a problem with is how long he might have to wait. Right now, he's convinced he'll never get control of himself, meaning that they could communicate and be ready like champs, and it wouldn't make a difference.]

... how long?

[He sees that, Equius. So Darkleer just reaches over and gently takes his descendent's hand in his.]

I cannot give you an exact estimate. However, when you can fire a bow, you'll be ready. You're already coming along very well in your training.

Does he need to be any fuckin' good at it?

[No, seriously. Gamzee is on a deadline here before his bulge explodes.

Well, that is what it feels sometimes, ok?]

[Wow, Gamzee. Just... wow.]

[Equius knows that Gamzee doesn't mean that in a cruel way, but it's just a reminder of all the things he can't do because of his chaotic strength, and he deflates the rest of the way. Yeah, Darkleer pulled it off, but he had two hundred sweeps to do it, and he's implied that his first times pailing were awful, and everything is awful and everything hurts.]

Gamzee.

[Notson, we really need to get you a brain to mouth filter or something. Think before talking!]

[Sighing, Darkleer pushes himself away from his chair and kneels in front of Equius, hand still on his.]

Talk to me, Equius.

[What, he didn't really... mean anything... bad, right?

He just--

Maybe he does not to think more before talking.]

So... a really long time, then.

[Be patient with him, Darkleer; he's still very young, and the thought of having to wait, of another thing denied to him because of his STRENGTH, is just a little more than he can bear right now.]

Hush.

[A tap, right to his wrist.]

I told you how young I was when I first joined the Archeradicators and when I first had to fill my duties to the drones. When you do finally fill your first pail, of course it will not be the most elegant of occurrences. It will no doubt be very embarrassing. But your strength will only be a small part of that.

[He cups Equius' face and gives a small, dry smile.]

You're still young. Inexperienced in so many things and that is what really truly make a mess of it. That is simply the way of things. If it turns out to be awkward, learn what you did wrong and learn from it. That's the only way to stop being inexperienced.

As for your strength, there are ways to work around that. I didn't know that when I was younger; I was rather naive in that area myself. I had no one I could turn to.

I... [An awkward pause.] I hope that I could help you with that.

[Okay, that is exactly what he wanted to hear. Because underneath everything was a deep, overriding fear that he could hurt, or even kill, Gamzee while trying to pail him, and if Darkleer knows how to not make that happen, Equius is going to take every advantage of it.]

[He comes to life, sitting up straight on the couch and reaching out with both hands, gripping Darkleer's wrists hard and looking right at him, his desperation and hope warring on his face.]

How? What do I do?

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 1 of 3

9 ♐ The trials of being a father

no subject

kept getting distracted from this tag, had to give my dad a computer lesson

that sounds adorable

I dunno, if it is anything like my mom it is the lowest circle of hell.

today we're learning about iTunes! he's ripping CDs and adding album art

the magic of technology

Just don't teach him about plurk.

oh god no!

you might want to keep him away from tumblr too

all of dreamwidth

he must never know of my online personas

I think you already outted me to my da', Kathryn. 8U James Chironus Darkeer and all

did she send you socks too?

ahahahaha, whoops

nope just letters 8U!

love letters?

christmas and birthday cards! I did sign them with a <3, though...

whoops wooing married women brb 8U

make her a pretty nest

your mating dance will have to be better than my husband's, though

what if my nesting skills are totally badass?

totally cool to skip Gamzee while they talk, btw. just let me know.

but how is your mating dance, James?

Just... maybe.... a little rusty

hmph. you'll need to improve