hey brother, do you still believe in one another?

[infamousdelsin]

". . . Wow," Reggie says.

He's sitting on Delsin's couch, in Delsin's apartment, and Delsin's just broken the news that Reggie's dead. He'd been standing at the door when Delsin had brought Spark back from his morning walk, and the dog couldn't stop barking at him so Delsin had tucked him into the bathroom to get some quiet and privacy. He's exhausted and his head hurts, and he's got Reggie.

"Yeah," he says softly. "I tried so hard to save you."

"I . . . I know," Reggie assures. He grips Delsin's shoulder. "I remember, Del. You did your best, okay? I know you did." He leans back, arms out to the side. "But, hey. Here I am, right?" He smiles, chin lifting in that achingly familiar way.

"Here you are," he agrees. His eyes are soft and maybe still a little surprised. "God, it— it blows my mind, Reg. You're right here." He reaches and touches his shoulder, and for a second, Delsin almost believes his hand will pass right through him. But it doesn't. It lands firmly on Reggie's shoulder and stays there, and he clutches tightly before yanking him into a hug.

"That's right, Brother," Reggie whispers. "I'm right here. And I'm never gonna leave you again."

It's exactly what Delsin needs to hear, and he grips tighter with a soft, broken sound. He ignores the weird, worried knot in his belly. This is Reggie. Reggie is real, and here, and safe.

---

Later, Delsin is feeling tired. He's always cold, now, which seems to make the fatigue even worse. He hasn't been cold in so long, not since he'd gotten his smoke powers. But now he is, and it's . . . weird. He takes a deep breath: he's ready to tell Reggie he's going to go lay down and rest for awhile. Reggie pops out of his seat like there's a tack under him.

"Hey, Brother, why don't we go for a walk?" he suggests. "You look like you could use some fresh air."

Delsin looks up, and he's about to protest, say that he just wants to take a nap, or something. Then Reggie's hands are under his arms and hauling him up.

"Yeah, come on!" he assures. "It'll be great! You can show me around, introduce me to your friends; I can help you find a job to keep this respectable apartment."

"Creepy apartment," Delsin corrects with a little mumble. Well, it is! It's just kind of here for him, with no precursor, right? Did I just use 'precursor' right? he asks himself.

"Ah, it's not so bad," Reggie says, looking around. "Come on, let's go!"

"Hang on, lemme get Spark." Delsin doesn't like to leave him alone anymore, not since he's been forgetting to lock him in the bathroom. Reggie sighs heavily, but he lets Delsin hook the dog up. Delsin gives him a look, but brushes it off to typical brother annoyance at the barky beast.

Delsin's feet hit the sidewalk heavily, and he has to continually tug at Spark's leash to quiet his barking at Reggie. He leans into Reggie occasionally as they walk, just listening to his voice. It's nice. The cadence is familiar. He has no idea what Reggie is talking about, but that part doesn't matter. It's just for the sake of hearing his brother again.

They're just outside the park when Delsin has another dizzy spell. He clutches to Reggie with a gasp. No, no, no. He can do this. He can breathe through this. Reggie's arms are around him, holding him up carefully. Delsin's sure he'll come out of it. Only he doesn't. This time, the world spins black.

The last thing he hears as his body slumps to the sidewalk is Spark barking.

[ Timed to August 10th, 2014, around two PM. Find Delsin sprawled just outside the park, or have Spark find your character and drag you to him! Either way, he'll be unconscious when you find him and you'll have to shake him awake. Open for forever! ]

Comments

[likethedawn]

Aurora is taking one of her strolls through the park, enjoying the day around her, experimenting by wearing pants, for a change. She finds she actually quite likes them; they may lack the grace of a skirt or dress, but they prove much easier to walk in. She's considering pausing to get something to eat, perhaps a pretzel, when she notices a familiar figure laying prone on the ground, Spark barking rapidly next to him.

"Delsin?" She runs right over to him, kneeling down beside him. "Delsin, can you hear me?" She cradles his head in her hands, looking him over for signs of injury. "Delsin!"

[cagedlamb]

The day had been nice enough that Elizabeth had chosen to sit outside to read. She was engrossed enough that the sudden feeling of paws on her leg startled her. She looked over to find an extremely familiar dog, and the lack of his owner immediately alarmed her.

"Spark?" she frowned, putting her book in her bag. "Where's Delsin?"

She hadn't expected an actual response, but the dog actually seemed to do just that, running toward a direction and barking. Curious and a little worried, she went over and grabbed his leash just in time for him to start pulling her in the direction.

She followed. It all inevitably led to finding Delsin where he'd fallen. Her stomach dropped and she quickly made her way to his side. Though there was no visible injuries to explain what was happening, something was clearly wrong.

"Delsin? Delsin!" she exclaimed. When that didn't work, she moved to shake him gently to see if that helped, feeling a rise of panic welling up.

[storybrooke_savior]

Emma still didn't know exactly what these things were, but they were nothing good. Without knowing the source of it all she didn't know how to make anyone at the station listen to the underqualified rookie that refused to wear a proper uniform.

She hadn't realized just how much everyone in Storybrooke listened to her, and to her parents, until she found herself somewhere that she wasn't the former king and queen's daughter and the almighty Savior.

The barking startled her out of her thoughts, because it was kind of familiar. She jogged towards it and crouched down as the sandy colored mutt came into view, all floppy eared and quivering, leash trailing behind him...

"I remember you," she murmured as the dog whined and yipped and sank needle-like teeth into her sleeve and tugged. Only it looked a lot smaller now, or rather, she was a lot taller.

Emma reared up suddenly and looked around in a panic, swallowing a yell when she spotted a pair of legs about twenty feet away. "Son of a bitch," she swore, taking off running with the dog hot on her heels. "Delsin!"

She skidded to a stop at his side and crouched down in an ungainly slide, rolling him over and shaking his shoulders vigorously. It was the worst kind of deja vu; how many timse were men she cared about gonna nearly die on her?! "Delsin!" she said again, voice cracking with panic. "Delsin wake up! Come on, come on, don't do this, dammit!"

[myonlydefense]

When Stiles realizes that it's Delsin on the ground, he rushes over. God, he has to stop finding people passed out in the park - this is becoming way too much of a routine for him. He hasn't seen his friend in a couple days, so finding him like this only sparks more fear in him. What if he's been here the whole time, what if he's dead --

Oh. He's still breathing. That's good. Stiles leans over him and shakes his shoulder gently, saying his name just a bit louder than normal. He doesn't know what happened; maybe whoever knocked him out is still around.

"Delsin? Hey, Del. Wake up. Delsin? C'mon, buddy. Not naptime."

[breakthroughs]

Even though Shikamaru's never spent more than a few hours' time with a dog, he's had enough experience with Kakashi's mutts all over the village that he knows what a bark of distress sounds like. Having been patrolling around the train station, Shikamaru quickly darts between the buildings, keeping to the shadowed walls before breezing into the park.

A few passerby glance over warily, but Shikamaru's the first one to step forward and crouch by Delsin's side.

"Is he... dead?" a young girl asks, pointing with a light sniffle.

Shikamaru holds up a hand to quiet her, leaning forward and listening for a breath, even as Spark continues to bark. There's a faint brush against his cheek.

"Delsin," he says curtly, pulling back slightly. "Delsin, can you hear me?"