First beat

[toocoolforthis]

Well, I can't say I've ever been this late to school before.
Unfortunately, I can't claim to be awesome enough to have played hooky for half a year.
Maybe next year.
In the meantime, I'm back.
I'm sure you're all either completely ecstatic or completely disgusted, so please, contain your looks of horror and/or joy.
A simple "Sup, Dirk" will suffice.

Comments

[strideallknight]

i doubt it
gray
why
ive rocked white briefly before so i dont see how gray would be all that different
who says im even going to have one to begin with
bro might be disappointed on getting any grandkids from us

[toocoolforthis]

Because I'm sure I could manage to make it look the appropriate amount of old.
And of the two I could try it on, you're the one less likely to have a midlife crisis and try to strangle me for it.
And he'll just have to deal.
Or put all of his hopes in Rose, who even knows.

[strideallknight]

[Okay, Dave's response is a little late because holy fucking shit that mental image is much too hilarious.]

i think we should do that to him anyway
he needs a premature midlife crisis
all hope is on rose then

btw i have something i need to tell you
like this is pretty fucking urgent
where can i meet you and when

[toocoolforthis]

[Bro can totally see this, but Dirk doesn't care.]

Hell yes.
He's telling me that he's gotten rusty since I left.
I won't stand for it.

Oh yeah?
I'm free right now, my luggage is up in my dorm already.
The Great Hall should work.

[strideallknight]

thems fighting words
tell me how that goes

ok can we meet up somewhere private
family business that needs sorting out

[toocoolforthis]

But of course.
If you don't see the results for yourself, anyway.

Sure thing.
[And that seems like a call to filter this, so Dirk casts the spell.]

Our best bet might be to grab an empty classroom.

[strideallknight]

[Dave does the same, with no small amount of relief. The less who know about it, the better, if only for Bro's sake.]

charms classroom should be empty for an hour or so
plenty of time for us to talk
meet you there

[And he's off to go to the classroom.]

[toocoolforthis]

Got it.

[And Dirk is on his way, too. It's been a while, but after years in school it's not going to take him long to get to the classroom, especially since he's making his way there with purpose. Whatever it is Dave wants to talk about, it seems pretty serious.]

[strideallknight]

[And serious it is. Dirk can probably tell when he sees Dave that he's nervous. He just doesn't know how Dirk will handle this, considering protectiveness runs in the family pretty damn strongly.

So, when his brother gets there, he nods, casual as he possibly can.]

Yo. I was worried you'd change into a zombie and I wouldn't recognize you.

[toocoolforthis]

If I was a zombie, I wouldn't have been writing in the journal.

[Dave's nervousness is almost contagious, but since he's trying to keep it casual, Dirk continues in that vein, crossing his arms and leaning casually against one of the empty desks.]

So what's this urgent thing you need to tell me?

[strideallknight]

[Dave pauses for a little while, gathering his thoughts and choosing his words carefully.]

So...Bro and I? Got into a strife. Normal stuff, right? But we were on the Astronomy Tower and...things happened.

[He really doesn't want to paint Bro in a bad light, so give him a second or two.]

I almost fell off the tower 'cause he shoved me or something like that. It was my own damn fault for putting myself in that position to begin with. I don't think he realized how close to the edge I was, and frankly neither did I until it was almost too late to say "whoops."

[toocoolforthis]

[It's a good thing he doesn't try to paint Bro in a bad light, because although his time away has let Dirk get over his irritation with Bro about certain things, Dave holding a grudge over this would certainly be enough to make Dirk hold one as well.

Instead, he stays very still as he thinks it over. When he speaks, his voice is soft, and each word is spoken carefully.]

It doesn't sound like him to not be aware of distance like that. This was a normal strife?

[strideallknight]

[At the very least, Dave knows Dirk well enough to understand this fact. Grudges are taken to the grave most of the time.

Okay, well, this can be either somewhat good or very very bad. He's hoping for the former.]

Yeah. Normal thing. Or it sorta was. That was around when his brother died, so....

[toocoolforthis]

[Oh.

That helps. Dave saying that... well, it puts things in perspective. It makes it so that this isn't about Bro being negligent, or dangerous. It's about Bro being a fallible human being. Dirk still doesn't like that it happened, but he can't be angry at Bro for it the way he was starting to be.]

So you almost fell. But you didn't.

i need to put more icons on this dude but this is the only one I've got that comes close so far

[strideallknight]

[Dave relaxes, in no small part relieved that Dirk sounds like he understands.]

Yeah, I was stupid. I figured that it'd be good for him to take his mind off of it, and obviously you can see how that backfired spectacularly in my face.

[He hesitates for a moment and takes a deep breath. It's really difficult for him to admit this, but he needs to say it to at least one of his brothers. Bro is out of the question. The guy doesn't need more guilt.]

There's one other thing. Keep it from Bro, okay? He's got no idea about it and I'm keeping it that way for a while. [Another small pause as he crosses his arms across his chest and looks away.] After that incident, I've kinda...avoided the open towers. And tall buildings with panoramic views of what looks to me like a huge fucking drop all the way down. I'm good on a goddamn broomstick, but anything else? Nope, fuck that.

I know your pain

[toocoolforthis]

[Dirk watches and waits as Dave talks. Then, when Dave finishes, he steps forward and puts an arm over Dave's shoulders.

He's been gone for months. He's totally allowed to give Dave a hug by the Strider code. That's a thing he can get away with.]

I won't let him know.

[strideallknight]

[Dave sags a little, needing that support more than he thought. Not that he's going to put his full weight on Dirk, but he needs the breathing room, at least for a short while.]

Thanks, man.

[When it seems like the moment is starting to stretch into awkward, he straightens up.]

So, think you can school me on astronomy? I've kinda been skipping the class and learning on my own, but I might've missed some shit that was supposed to have been covered.

[toocoolforthis]

[Dirk squeezes gently for a moment, giving Dave a sort of one-armed hug, then lets his arm drop when Dave straightens.]

Fourth year stuff? Sure, I can do that.

[strideallknight]

If you couldn't do fourth year stuff, I'd be worried you spent too many nights staying up late studying your ass off.

[toocoolforthis]

But that's the only way to do astronomy.

[strideallknight]

Smartass. That's not what I meant and you damn well know it.

[toocoolforthis]

You're the one who left yourself open for it. [He thumps a fist on Dave's shoulder gently.]

[strideallknight]

It was terrible and you should be ashamed of yourself. [There is a mocking eye roll.]

[toocoolforthis]

[He will ignore any and all mocking eye rolls because they're conveniently hidden from sight behind Dave's shades.]

Do I need to explain irony to you again? It was great, and you're just a philistine.

[strideallknight]

[In some ways, it's terrible to have shades, but mostly it's good to have them.]

No, it was awful and cringe worthy. I think you've been studying too much.