I saw the long distance fall

[alcyone]

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[icaronycteris]

[ the beast had proven smart and backed away. hideous lips pulled away from a more hideous maw to reveal several rows of teeth as it limped into the relative safety of the darkness. bruce didn't give it much time to live. not bleeding. not surrounded by other hungry creatures.

eyes slide away from damian. without looking, he motions for the boy to come forward. he completes the rest of the trip in stony silence. even after the pale halo of moonlight shines down on the steps, he refuses to relax. they surface to an identical and worlds apart city. the buildings intact. the streets clean. streetlights casting their glow. no people. he studies a darkened window. ]

That was the second time today you behave childishly in regards to a dangerous situation.

[ in this, his dual masks are similar: both favor blunt appraisals. and this boy seems to respond to nothing but force and blunt words. twice is a coincidence, it is said, but in his experience twice is already a pattern. what he's seen of one today is a worrisome.

he turns with a ripple of the black cape. the flashlight has since been clicked off. his eyes glint in the darkness. ]

I don't want to see such behavior again. Is that understood?

[littlestguano]

[Irritation and frustration have crossed the threshold into anger, and Damian clenches his jaw, his small body radiating his displeasure.]

Dangerous? You think that was dangerous? That was nothing! We were never in danger! [He curses under his breath and stomps a few feet away before whirling back around.] If you weren't so busy coddling me, you might have noticed I can handle myself!

[icaronycteris]

Your training means nothing except for what you choose to do with it!

[ the cold of the mountains returns to him. the mist of every exhalation. the creaking of the treacherous ice beneath their feet.

no matter how fast he runs, his past inevitably returns to him. ]

You're very skilled. But this is not the way to prove yourself. Shows of strength and valor, fighting until you cannot move, that is the League's way. You're better than that. You're better than them.

[littlestguano]

[Whatever (no doubt infuriated) rebuttal he'd had planned stalls in his throat, and he pales, swallowing back a response. That the League existed in this other Bruce's world is hardly surprising. That he had so quickly pegged him for a (former) member shouldn't be either, but it is. World's best detective or not, no one aside from Ravager made mention of his past with the League while in Haven. Very few knew. He was sure Cassandra had guessed, but she'd remained respectfully silent on the matter.

During his stay in Haven, the times he has openly spoken about his past amount to a single conversation with Ravager alone.

It's not that he's ashamed (he's not.) But people here...they didn't know and it made them behave differently around him. It made them assume he had earned the right to Robin. It made things simpler.

It jars the persona he has crafted here, brings him crashing down to reality. He's shaken. (Afraid.) The last thing he wants-needs-in Haven is to have to prove (again) that he is not just an al Ghul.]

I am Robin. [It's an answer to a question that hasn't been asked. Fuck the League. Fuck everything, he is not going through this again. He is better than the League, but that's not what Damian hears. Prove it to me. Show me you're better. Show me you aren't like them. That's what he really means.

He has already done that.] Coming here was a mistake.

[icaronycteris]

[ batman was meant to be a symbol. a symbol of fear, yes. something scarier than the scary people so the good people would no longer have reason to be afraid. underneath the frightening motifs and the dark archetypes, it was a symbol of hope.

robin is one of its own. though he hates the thought of it, though he cannot picture why or how it was ever allowed to come into being. but that doesn't matter. it exists, and it is a symbol that carries meaning of its own to each of these children. meaning that he does not fully understand. ]

If you want to go, [ he says evenly, ] you should get clean first.

[ he tips his head forward, waiting silently for damian to join him. ]

[littlestguano]

[He doesn't see the point in cleaning when he has to go through the tunnels again, but he does pull out his sword and without a word, head for one of the houses in Haven North. He doesn't care if Batman is following. He hopes he isn't.

When he gets inside, he uses a tattered bed sheet and some water from the canister on his belt to clean the grime off. He might have complained if he wasn't too distracted to care.

The anger from before has dissipated, leaving him feeling only hollow and tired. He wishes it would come back, tries to refuel it but has no success.]

[icaronycteris]

[ clearly batman is going to sling robin over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

he follows — of course, he does — filling the small room. he leaves only to walk into the bathroom and test the tub. clean water begins to fill it. ]

Robin! [ he knows the kid is still in the other room. he's been waiting for an escape attempt since damian trudged up the steps to the house.

the bathroom makes for an odd sight. decorated in reds and oranges, the shower curtain pushed aside, the tub filling up with water and batman sitting on the lip, watching the swirling water. ]

[littlestguano]

[It takes far longer than it should for him to make an appearance, but he does show up in the doorway, glare in place and still silent.]

[icaronycteris]

Here. You can clean the rest. [ he nods to the other stains. ]

[littlestguano]

[He hesitates for only a minute before stepping in and beginning to clean his shoes and what parts of his cape had monster innards coating it.

He's oddly subdued in comparison to his aggression from before. Mentions of the League had too many other thoughts churning in his mind. Batman would assume the others knew. He would assume Grayson knew.

The thought made him sick.]

...you can't tell them.

[icaronycteris]

[ simply: ] I wasn't going to.

[ a beat. he lets the end of his cape slip under the water. ]

Don't tell anyone about me, either.

[littlestguano]

[His shoulders lose some of their tension.]

It wouldn't matter to them. [It's different. He may have trained with the league, with Shiva, with any number of killers. He had never taken a life.] But I will not tell them. [It's only fair after all.]

[icaronycteris]

[ the water darkens, fouled by what they carried with them. he busies himself getting ends of his cape clean. alfred isn't handy to help him; he can't call on lucius for a replacement. once more, he owns nothing but what he carries on his back.

he will make it be enough. ]

Makes no difference if it did, [ he says evenly. ] My past is mine.

[ almost thirty years have edified him. it's his in a way little else is because he has not made a monument of the rest. his to remember and his to regret. ]

[littlestguano]

[That gets Damian's attention and he fixes his gaze on Batman's back. It's a sentiment he can understand and it's not one he ever expected Batman to agree with.

It is still besides the point, but it catches his attention none the less.

It's not that surprising that Batman trained with the League of Assassins though Damian knows their training would have been very different. Bruce would have trained under Ra's without ever intending to become like him. He would have used him to acquire his skills and knowledge. Ra's would have allowed it out of respect for the man. It's possible that things had gone differently in another universe but he can't see it deviating too much. The League would always be the League and Batman would always be Batman.

His gauntlets are left to the side as he scrubs at his discarded boots with hands and fingernails. He remains silent, nothing to say now that he knows Batman will keep his secret.]

[icaronycteris]

[ he doesn't need to look to be aware of damian. despite jokes to the contrary, most of them alfred, bruce can read a situation. the tension in the small bathroom is palpable despite the open lack of hostility. bruce has no idea how to deal with it and since one coping mechanism ( intimidation and threats ) isn't appllicable here, he opts for his other solution to life's problems: ignoring it.

his cape is removed, the excess water drained from it. he picks up damian's cape next to repeat the action. it also gives him the chance to study it a little closer. while wringing the water out of the tough fabric, he regards damian. ]

Do you still want to go back?

[littlestguano]

[He never wanted to go back, he only wanted to be away from Bruce. Now that his anger has died down, it doesn't matter. Besides, Batman would obviously insist on accompanying him.]

That would be a waste of time. I assume you'll want to see the library? As our time is limited, it may be best to go there first.

[icaronycteris]

[ after snapping the cape open, he slides it around damian's shoulders. the similarities between the boy's armor and his own help; he affixes the cape without difficulty. then he stands. ]

Once you're finished, we'll go.

[ he leaves the little bathroom without another word. ]

[littlestguano]

[What is he-oh. He stands there for a moment, trying to comprehend what just happened. That was entirely unnecessary, he knew how to dress himself. Of course it happened too fast for him to protest it. That's the only thing that kept him from lashing out. By the time he's formed a decent scathing retort, Batman is already out the door.

After a beat, Damian kneels to lace his boots and when he's done he exits the room to go and find Batman, pausing only a moment to tug his cape down an inch.]

[icaronycteris]

[ he's outside, standing like a sentry on the sidewalk. once damian is close enough to hear, he cants his head. ]

Lead the way.

[littlestguano]

[Well that's a change. One that he isn't going to acknowledge because he doesn't need permission. It won't take them long to get to the library and the walk over is fairly uneventful. The monsters never do leave the tunnels after all.

He stops when they get to the building, motioning towards it with his head.]

We're here.

[icaronycteris]

[ he proceeds into the building without a word. as his steps disturb the floor, a faint cloud of dust suffuses the air. the cause becomes very obvious very soon: when he lifts a book, the pages crumble as if they had aged a thousand years in a second. he returns the empty cover to its place on the shelf.

turning smoothly on his heel, he slips between the stacks like a shadow. someone had been smart: information was carved into the walls themselves. some more recent. some much older. kneeling on the ground, he passes gloves fingers over a message clearly written by a child. he remains there for a moment, head bowed, before getting up and walking away.

the second floor proves no different, except replacing fiction for non-fiction. the third is full of computers. the soft flashing glow of 'no network' illuminates his face when he turns one on. he pulls a tower forward to examine the cables behind it. once finished, he slides it back into place. ]

[littlestguano]

[Damian follows at his own pace, occasionally stopping to check something out for himself. It crosses his mind that he could likely leave now and get enough of a head start that Batman would not catch him, but it now seems like too much effort.

When Batman enters the third floor, Damian remains on the second. He's tempted to retrieve his charcoal and sketch pages from where they're hidden in one of the walls, but he doesn't dare risk Batman catching him. Checking on them will have to wait until he's back here alone. Instead he finds a book in Cantonese that he can flip through if he is extremely careful and he begins skimming the pages.]

[icaronycteris]

[ and then batman comes down and, finding damian reading, waits there observing the child until he's noticed.

I am depressed about lego movie not being nominated, this is the realest tag you'll ever get. ]

[littlestguano]

[There are very few people who can get away with observing Damian without his notice. Batman is of course, one of those people. While he remains unaware he continues to flip through the book, but after a short time he puts it down, frowning and muttering to himself.] Children's drivel...

[Another minute passes before he picks up on his silent audience and his shoulders tighten as he straightens up before turning in Batman's direction.]

Finished?

[icaronycteris]

I am.

[ but if damian would like to continue reading "children's drivel," he will certainly not disagree… ]