milliways_bar | (no subject)

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Dick wasn't expecting to see the bar.

Ever again, really. He had become used to the bar being somewhere he could access through tents and doors in the circus. It was a new part of his world, sure, but it was a part of it.

Then his world collapsed in front of him and everything changed and suddenly he found himself living in an orphanage in Gotham City run by nuns.

He's had to deal with that new, horrible world, and he hates everything about it. Hates how it's not the circus, but at the same time, he's sort of pleased that he doesn't have to be at the circus, to see Mister Haly or the animals or any of his friends, and not see his parents. This new world is horrible, but because it's missing everything, it's not missing them specifically.

That's what he'd think if he was capable of coherent thought on the subject right now.

As it is, Dick couldn't explain exactly why finding the bar appear on the way to his dorm feels like a betrayal.

The boy stands in the doorway, fists clenching at his side as he glares at the bar for daring to still exist, and still be bright and loud and friendly when everything on the other side of the door is broken.

He glares for one second,
two seconds,
three seconds...

And then he vanishes into the rafters.

[OOC: If you can find him, completely open! But be open to very short threads, if he doesn't want to talk. DCU!Dick.]

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"Mel was able to get to me before La did anything more than make some big waves. Though...he really did hurt her pretty badly.

He's not bad or evil or anything, he was just really angry and showing up here unexpectedly confused him."

"Who's Mel?"

Wait, no, that's not the question he mosts wants an answer for.

"Why was he angry?"

"You don't know Mel? Mel Fray, she's great! She works on Security here, and when I first arrived her and Mike took me in. She heals really fast on account of the fact that she's a Slayer, so she was okay in no time."

He pauses between answers. Along with his smile all but disappearing, Aang also looks away from Dick.

"La was...is angry because someone killed Tui. A man Zhao thought that he killed the Moon his army could finally defeat the Northern Water Tribe."

Yet another thing Aang wasn't there in time to stop...

"Oh."

Dick adds nothing more to that, looking down at the bar below them instead, angry at everyone. But especially Zhao, because Zhao is a name he can focus anger at.

"yeah," he says miserably. "When we left we were in the middle of a siege, and La was about to go on a rampage. But since time freezes in my world when I come here, I thought maybe it'd be nice to take a break from that for a while."

"Guess that makes sense."

He never thought of using this place to take a break. It doesn't make sense for him because - no matter where he is, it doesn't go away.

"But he's a fish again now?"

Aang nods.

"Yeah, a really sad and angry fish. Not that I blame him. I just...I'm not looking forward to going back because ... well because I don't like the idea of him using me for violence."

"Will he do it again if you go back?"

"La's the Ocean, and the Fire Navy is off the coast of the Northern Water Tribe. I...I think he might try to drown them all."

The very idea of it makes Aang's stomach churn.

"Can you stop him?"

"i don't know."

La will tell him they'll deserve it. That because they have knocked the world off balance they must pay the ultimate price.

Dick thinks that if they deserve it, they should die, but he doesn't want stuff happening to Aang.

Stuff that happens to you that you can't control is the worst.

"Maybe Mel can help. Or X."

"Maybe," he doesn't sound even the slightest bit convinced as he says this.

Dick grunts, because he's running out of ideas, and is out of his area of expertise.

"You think he might have calmed down? Like maybe he's less angry now."

"I hope so, but I can see why he'd still be angry. We'll be back, but Tui will still be gone."

"Yeah."

Dick looks away from Aang, turning his face away into the shadows in order to hide the fact that his eyes are watering up again.

That's the thing, isn't it? This isn't going to change. It's not going to get better. His parents ares gone and it's never going to stop hurting.

Silence falls between the two boys as Aang considers his next words.
Back home Aang has learned that when this sort of silence creeps in it's his job to dispel it. Especially seeing as this sort of thing tends to happen the most when discussing the demise of his people.

"I've talked to him about it. Told him I understand where he is, what he's feeling, and the anger that comes with it...but, he's a fish."

After a while just talking to a fish feels kind of...silly.

Yeah.

That.

Dick, now that his face is under control again, cants his head backwards towards Aang.

"And he's in that temple outside?"

Aang nods, his attention more on the people below them than the other boy to his side.

"Mel tells me he was in a bowl with dancing girls painted on the side when he was found, but he's in something a little more dignified now. Maybe that's why he's not talking."

"Maybe it's because he doesn't have lips and a tongue."

Dick knows nothing about fish.

"That'd make talking hard."

There's something about the way Dick says that, that makes Aang laugh.

"Probably. Plus it's not the solstice, and we're short a Spirit Oasis."

Dick looks at him again, debating whether or not to tell him he doesn't get the relevance of those things.

"Guess you'll just have to take him home and see what happens."

Dick can still smile. Maybe fish can still - do that thing fish do.

"Yeah, I guess. If I can get home. It's not like I was paying all that close attention when we arrived, and everything I've tried hasn't worked."

"The door doesn't work?"

"Uh uh, and no amount of bending opens it for me either. We're kind of stuck here, La and I."

Then he leans backwards and hangs from the rafter upside down.

"There are worse places to be, I guess."