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 Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2017 12:24 pm
Prompt While making your way through Destiny City, you wind up taking a path you’ve never taken before. Maybe you’re following directions, maybe you got lost, maybe you were just looking for a shortcut—things were going good, until you wind up needing to pass through a graveyard. It seems normal enough—until you pass by a grave and get powerful chill down your spine. When you stop and look at it, you see the gravestone has your name; beneath it, your birthday and today’s date. If you leave and return, the gravestone remains, but the name and dates look like they’ve been clawed off.
Punch covered and sad, Danny had to admit that even though the attempt at attending a Halloween party had been ruined, it was nice knowing that his friend was still there for him, no matter what sort of ruckus he caused.
The Garden hadn't been on any normal route that he'd been used to traveling - they had opted to walk the handful of blocks from Danny's house to the event, but now the blonde prince-for-the-night was questioning whether or not that had been a wise idea. It didn't take long before he realized he'd gotten them lost and....
Well, this certainly added yet another damper to the evening.
"I... don't know where we are anymore," he finally confessed, glancing back in the direction they came and then returning to the view ahead of them. The Botanical Garden wasn't even in sight anymore, of course.
Jeez, Danny, can't you do anything right?
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Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2017 1:41 pm
Danny might have been feeling miserable but Tristan didn't seem to mind that they had left the party and were now making an attempt to return to his apartment to change and unwind. It had been a silly idea of his and if he had known how upset his best friend would get when things went array.
They walked hand in hand, a habit that Tristan found himself developing with all of his close companions besides Fiona. He let the blonde lead, busying himself with taking in the landscape as they walked right up until the man confessed that he was lost.
Green eyes flicked over and his smile was soft. "That's okay," he assured, squeezing their joined hands before he took in their surroundings again. "I think that looks familiar, let's go that way." His free hand pointed and he didn't wait for an answer, instead tugging the blonde along with him.
"I know tonight wasn't what you had hoped for but," he paused, glancing at his companion from the corner of his eye. "I'm thankful you came." Not that he had tried anyone else. He had wanted to come with Danny after all. "I know I'm kinda flaky," he admitted, ears reddening, "but you've been amazing in spire of...well everything." The showing up at his door bleeding then passing out on him and refusing to go to the hospital.
Even the aftermath when he woke up from that horrible dream.
More quietly he said, "I'm lucky to have you for a best friend."
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Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 3:22 am
He didn't resist when Tristan took over the lead - it was probably for the better, honestly, seeing how Danny was letting his emotions get the better of him and obviously screwing up his common sense. How could he have managed to get them so lost?
The brunette’s kind words had him looking away, one hand casually brushing up through his hair out of habit. Fingers knocked into his crown, nearly making the entire golden circle come toppling down. Flustered, he struggled to catch it before righting it on his head once more.
"You're too nice to me, Tris," he mumbled, still embarrassed over ruining their joint evening together. Sure, the guy had a problem when it came to texts and, well, showing up bleeding to death on doorsteps...but those minor issues aside, Danny felt like the lucky one in their friendship. "I don't know why you put up with m--"
Pausing, the blonde tilted his head curiously at the graveyard coming up in the distance. If he didn't know any better, he'd say the buildings off in the distance looked like the neighborhood outside of his own.
One finger stretched out and he tugged at Tristan's hand. "Hey... I think that could be a shortcut? Maybe?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 8:35 am
Tristan was about to stop and frown at Daniel McKay for saying he was 'too nice' when he pointed out the graveyard. For one short moment, his companion was off the hook as the brunette squinted at the graveyard. He was a little anxious when it came to something like that, as he couldn't help but think about how there was a grave for the person he used to be somewhere in the city but...
"Yeah, let's go." He tugged him forward, long legs carrying him towards the stones that crawled out of the ground.
"Hey Danny?" His voice was quiet and he wasn't looking at the man. "Please stop acting like spending time with you is an inconvenience." It was more somber of a topic than he would have liked, but he needed it out there. "You're my friend. My best friend and there's nothing to 'put up' with, okay?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 9:01 am
His mouth was dry and he was feeling nervous - Danny wasn't sure if it was because they were passing through a cemetery in the middle of the night or because he was being gently reprimanded by his best friend.
"Yeah, okay," he mumbled, trying to sound nonchalant as he shrugged one shoulder. He too was avoiding eye contact, feeling a little ashamed that he'd managed to make himself sound so pitiful in front of the other boy.
Green eyes scanned the faded tombstones as they walked by, the moon's light shedding the faintest of outlines to help them read the stones. Most were old, a handful had more recent departure dates on them. Danny couldn't help but morbidly wonder how some of these unfortunate souls died. Amanda Carlton. Steven Hardy. Cara Peters. Daniel McKay. Jerome Holland.
Wait.
He paused and glanced back at the tombstone he was sure he'd mistake but no. No, there it was, staring right back at him... Daniel McKay, born May 7th, 1992. Deceased....
A freezing chill slipped down his spine, curling up at the base. The deceased date was today's date.
Oh my god.
Oh my god.
Flashbacks to conversations in his hospital room resurfaced. How his friends, even his family had abandoned him in that sterile, horrible setting without any sense of comfort. Whispers of the inevitable death, of never leaving the room alive.
Had it all been a dream? How was it possible?
His hand dropped from Tris's and he found himself chewing on his bottom lip. By god... where had this stone come from?
"T-T-Tris..." he whimpered, one hand gesturing out towards the marker.
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Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 9:30 am
He had been ready to sigh, pause in their trek home and grab the blonde man by the shoulders until he looked at him while reasserting that he was being completely, absolutely ridiculous when Danny froze. Immediately Tris tensed up, the grip on the other man's hand tightening as worry threatened to get the better of him.
Was something about to attack them?
He could power up and defend them--
Danny's hand was gone and he turned, slowly to follow the direction of the gesturing hand. He had been prepared, his fight response rearing it's head so that he could protect his cherished friend only to find that there was nothing before them but gravestones.
That made sense because they were in a graveyard. So why was...?
Oh.
Green eyes found the marker with one Daniel McKay etched into the stone and he too froze, breath sticking to his throat. His gasp was sharp and audible when he noted the date.
"Hey, hey," Immediately he was putting himself between the marker and his best friend. Hands grasped the man by the shoulders and he nearly shook him. "That's not right okay? You're alive and breathing and there's no way in hell I'm letting you die okay? You got me, I'm here."
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Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 7:05 am
He squeezed his eyes shut, willing away tombstone Tris quickly moved to block. Danny had rather hoped that he'd just been imagining things... but for Tris to make the comments he did meant that he too had seen the gravestone marked with his name and date of birth.
Memories came flooding back to him, faint words, almost like dreams, that he'd never been able to shut out of his mind.
.... he's probably not going to make it....
......no signs of progress....
......we need to start considering alternative options...
"I don't want to die."
His voice was quiet and child-like as he moved forward, his body starting to slightly shake. "What if I wasn't supposed to survive, back at the hospital? What if death came back to finish the job?"
It was nonsense... surely it had to be nonsense, right?
"I... I wanna go home, okay?" Grabbing at the ends of Tristan's costume, he clung close to his best friend. "Please don't let them get me..."
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Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 7:34 am
Tris's hands first reached for the blonde's face, intent on making Danny look at him instead of whatever nonsense was on the gravestone, but he was being clung to instead and his arms wrapped around the man instead. Tugging him close, his cheek sat atop soft pale hair.
"Shh, shh," he hushed, one arm was slung across Danny's shoulders with careful fingers sliding through blonde locks and the other started at his waist before the hand was moving up and down in what he hoped was soothing rubs. "You are not going to die." There was certainty in his voice that he hoped carried properly.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you, I promise." It might have been a foolish promise, considering Tristan didn't have the best track record when it came to things, but his friend was scared and he was going to do his damnedest to make him feel better. "You were meant to survive, okay? It's-- someone's probably playing a mean prank."
Why anyone would target Daniel McKay, he didn't know.
He waited until he thought Danny was in a better state before he carefully extracted himself and once again laced their fingers together. "We'll get you home, promise. I'll...I'll stay the night if it helps?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 7:49 am
"Y-Yeah, I'd... I'd like that, if you didn't mind."
He knew he was being pathetic - Tris was right. Of course he was right. It was probably some attempt at humor gone awry or someone (who???) being cruel for the sake of being cruel. He didn't know anyone that would stoop to that level but... well, he was pretty clueless sometimes, right?
Danny wanted to apologize yet again for causing such a fuss, but when he opened his mouth to do so while taking one last morbid glance back at his own tombstone, the remaining color in his pale cheeks evaporated from his face.
The name... the name was gone. The birth year, the death date... there was nothing there but faint letters torn up by some ferocious looking claw marks across the marble surface.
"W-We need to go. Now."
He didn't make any further comment, choosing instead to grab his best friend's hand as he practically raced his way out of the cemetery and (hopefully) into the adjacent neighborhood of his own.
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Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 8:21 am
"Okay."
Agreeing was easy, Danny was freaked and needed to be comforted and if that meant that he spent the night with him then he was going to. "Remind me to-- " the thought was lost, because the demand came and he swallowed, nodding before his long legs carried him forward.
He needed to let Fiona know he wasn't going to be home that evening, but he could worry about that once they were back in Danny's apartment. Right now, he needed to focus on getting them out of the graveyard and to the complex.
Long legs carried him across the pathways until he saw something familiar.
Before long, the complex came up and he was relieved. Maybe they could but the rest of that night behind them.
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