A Restless Reliance

"A Restless Reliance" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread written on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
His arms ached in ways he hadn’t been able to comprehend prior to this moment, but Dario knew it was in the name of progress. He raised himself from his bed, noticing that Milae wasn’t there… but, that seemed to be typical.
So long as he’s safe.
The deer pulled himself to his feet, and maneuvered himself toward the common room of the home graciously provided for him. He’d only made this walk a handful of times, passing the two closed doors to his ri-
Why is this door open?
Dario felt a chill fall down his spine, as he knew Milae wouldn’t leave any doors open, nor would he find it necessary to require entrance to a guestroom. He cautiously approached, pushing the door slightly more ajar and poking his head in. His antlers caught the frame and made a fairly decent cracking sound, startling him. Once he regained his composure, he opened his eyes and noticed a small frame occupying the one guest bed in the room. The female figure was familiar to him, and the more he examined it, the recognition clicked.
Why is Akkey in my house?
akkeyagentofhelheim
She hadn’t had this dream in a long time.
Shifting shadows. A body on the ground with smoke rising from his chest. A rotting soul. Snapping jaws of a wolf. Tendrils reaching for the farthest corners of her mind.
A scratching sound.
Get out.
Dario heard her expel a quiet sigh, still in her sleep, then some worrisome words.
“Bring me the goat.”
dario-the-deer
The chill in his spine had now manifested itself throughout his entire body at the words that left her mouth. She was most definitely asleep, but her tone was ominous. Dario had no idea what was going on, but he couldn’t be too careful in this situation.
“A-Akkey? Are… you awake?”
He slowly walked himself closer to her, his hands in front of him and ready to work if need be. With the slightest touch, he pushed her shoulder in an attempt to wake her.
akkeyagentofhelheim
Her hand flew out in lightning quick speed, grabbing his wrist in an uncharacteristic iron grip. She opened her eyes and he saw it dark and unseeing, staring up at the ceiling.
dario-the-deer
He tried to recoil at her sudden contact with his wrist, but her strength forced him to remain where he stood. He’d not felt his heart beat this hard since Milae’s possession-gone-wrong, and he pulled as hard as he could to get away. This was absolutely terrifying for the deer.
“Akkey! Wake up, Akkey!”
akkeyagentofhelheim
Bring me Milae.
The words echoed in her ears again and again as she unknowingly held onto his arm. Dario struggled, trying to pry her fingers open, but to no avail. It started to hurt. She sat up slowly, staring in front of her, unaware of him beside her.
dario-the-deer
“Akkey! Please, let go of me!”
The deer was now visibly frantic, still pulling with all of his might. He watched as she rose to stare directly ahead, still seemingly ignorant to his presence. He knew how strong she had the capacity to be, and it absolutely terrified him.
This is how I’m going to die.
akkeyagentofhelheim
You’re so selfish, Chief.
Akkey blinked, the shadow in her eyes gone. Her head was pounding, and she brought a free hand her forehead. The familiar words still rang in her ears, and she had an idea of what just occurred in her mind, “Damn… again.” she mumbled to herself. Thank gods no one was here–
There was a harsh tug on her other hand, and she glanced sideways. Only then she noticed Dario towering over her, terrified, and her gripping his arm with considerably less force than the beginning.
“Oh shit-!” she let him go and leapt out bed, “Shit, Dario, I’m so sorry! I didn’t–!” her knees buckled and she fell to the ground, energy still spent from the night before.
dario-the-deer
Upon her release of his arm, Dario fell back and onto the floor as well. He could feel his heart nearly beating out of his chest, and his breathing was incredibly quick and heavy. Hearing her voice with sincerity was a welcomed change of atmosphere, though he still felt a sliver of fear in the back of his mind.
“It-it’s fine, Akkey. I’m good. Are… are you alright?” He moved closer to her, his arms still shaking substantially as he did so. “I didn’t mean to frighten you… but that was… a lot.”
akkeyagentofhelheim
“I’m fine…” she exhaled from her spot on the floor. She passed a tired hand over her eyes, “Gods, I’m so sorry… It’s… It’s complicated, I’m just glad it wasn’t anything worse…”
She glanced at his trembling arms as he came up to her, and bit her lip remorsefully, “That… it might bruise. I’m really sorry… Are you sure you’re okay?”
dario-the-deer
Dario inspected his own arm, running the opposite hand lightly over it with a glow. It wasn’t anything serious, but he wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to practice an old skill. The stag returned his attention to Akkey, a friend seemingly consumed by guilt over the situation. He focused on his breathing in an attempt to alleviate some of the tension.
“I’m- I’m good, I promise, Akkey.” He moved himself as close to her as he could, sitting with his legs opposite both sides of the young woman in front of him, checking her over for any obvious injuries. Noticing the lingering adrenaline, Dario directed all of his attention towards steadying his shaking hands. “Does… does this happen a lot?”
akkeyagentofhelheim
She exhaled slowly as he checked both of them over, the tense atmosphere from before slowly disappearing. She clasped her hands in front of her, “It used to. It took some work, but I get by. It’s just that lately…”
Akkey pressed her lips together, “An old enemy came back. There are ways to keep myself under control, but it’s not easy. Sometimes it just breaks through like that…” She glanced up at the half breed, towering over her even seated, still a worried crease in her brow.
dario-the-deer
He reassuringly placed a hand onto hers, and hunched slightly to look her in the eye.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Akkey. I don’t understand your situation, but I have definitely had my fair share of nightmares.” He looked down at the hand over Akkey’s, and pulled it away quickly. “I… I’ve lost control myself. Done plenty that keeps me awake at night, so if you ever need someone to talk to about it, I’m always here for you.”
He noticed that the front door was still open and took to his feet to close it.
“Do you remember coming here?… or much of anything from tonight, really?”
akkeyagentofhelheim
She smiled appreciatively as he went to shut the door, shakily getting to her feet to sit on the bed. She ran a hand through her hair in thought, “Y-yeah. Uh, I was testing out some portals for Milae, but it took out a lot from me, so he brought me here to rest… I need to thank him. And you, for letting me rest here.”
Bring me Milae. She sighed upon recalling the words, flicking her eyes to the side. Not happening. I’m not doing that. There’s gotta be another way to get Eir back and Frigga off our trail.
“Sorry,” she said, noticing she had gone silent, “Uh…yeah, after that I fell asleep. Then the next thing I knew I had my hand around your arm.”
He took to the bed Akkey sat on and placed himself next to her. He stared forward at the wall, still slightly shaken, and yet simultaneously exhausted.
“Yeah… I won’t lie to you, I was absolutely terrified in that moment that you were going to kill me.” He leaned his weight to fall into her for a moment, trying to remove some of the tension from the conversation. “But I like to think that I could take you. I’ve still got some secrets up my sleeves.”
akkeyagentofhelheim
“Is that a challenge? From the deer who only recently managed to loosen up enough to move water?” she replied, with a level of sass and humour as her nose wrinkled up in good nature.
dario-the-deer
The stag chuckled under his breath, taking to his feet and imitating the motions they had practiced before.
“Bold words from somebody who couldn’t do the same!” He continued the rhythmic pattern, before quickly grabbing a pillow and launching it at Akkey.
akkeyagentofhelheim
“Wah!” her immediate reaction was a smooth side step, but she had forgotten that she was still tired from the experiments before that, and stumbled slightly as the pillow hit her on the shoulder. She grinned, throwing it in return but not aimed quite well. But that was fine as a soft hum of a portal appeared and a second, smaller pillow inconspicuously dropped from above him, threatening to get itself caught in his antlers.
dario-the-deer
He had reached up to grab the pillow in an attempt to launch it back at Akkey, but the height of his antler’s caught the object before he had a chance. He let his arms flop down to his side, acknowledging the defeat.
“You win this time, bud.” He managed to dislodge it from his tines and let it fall to the ground at his hooves. “I’ve got some work to do; I didn’t anticipate the portal.”
akkeyagentofhelheim
“The potal’s always a nice surprise,” she laughed under her breath, taking her seat on the edge of the bed once more. She really was more tired than she thought, “We can always have another day to train, if you like. I’ll be happy to help.”
dario-the-deer
Dario took note of her body language; it was obvious that Akkey still needed some rest, and he could use the same.
“I would absolutely love that. For now, I think both of us have had enough excitement for one evening.” The stag made his way to the door, stopping right before he passed through to turn back to his friend. “Listen, Akkey… if you ever, you know, want to talk about things… I’m here. I don’t know what you’re dealing with, but I have plenty of nightmares that I can throw at you if you ever feel like having a downer of a night.” A playful wink followed his words, hoping that she would at least entertain the idea of commiserating at some point.
akkeyagentofhelheim
She met his gaze, and there was a slowness, a defeat in her movement, but also gratitude and understanding. She returned it with a smirk, “That sounds like my jam. I might take you up on that one day.”
Category:BOTGD
Category:Act I
Category:Events
Category:Dario Hjort
Category:Akkey Black