“It has to be perfect,” Todd says as he pins a yellow balloon to the wall. “He’s never had a birthday before.”
“I’m pretty sure he’s had a birthday Todd, he was born, wasn’t he?” Amanda rolls her eyes.
“Well, a celebration then.” Todd sighs. “I just want him to have something in his life that’s not terrible, ok?”
Amanda raises an eyebrow, but she jumps off her perch on the counter to pin up another balloon. Across from them, Sheriff Hobbs and Tina are laying out plates on the table.
Todd twists his head, looking for anything they might have missed—a banner, balloons, food, color. Lots of color. It looks like a unicorn threw up in there.
“How did you find out it was his birthday?” Farah asks with a frown.
Amanda nods. “Yeah, I asked him once and he said he couldn’t remember. I don’t think he even knows how old he is.”
Todd shakes his head. “Apparently Riggins had a theory that his psychic ability only worked when he wasn’t too grounded in reality. They put him on 18 hour days for a while, then on 28 hour days. He doesn’t know for how long.”
“But he remembers his birthday?” Farah asks again.
Todd shrugs, hoping that he’s managing to hide his embarrassment.
Fortunately, he doesn’t have to last for too long. The door rattles as someone tried the handle and finds it locked.
“Umm, Todd?” Dirk’s voice calls out through the door. “Todd, I don’t have my key and I couldn’t find Farah or Amanda.”
“Just a second Dirk!” Todd shouts.
He spins on the spot, gesturing wildly at Amanda and Farah and getting a strange sort of victory rush when they correctly interpret his vague flailing. Farah snaps off the lights and Amanda drags the Sheriff and the deputy behind the counter with her.
It takes Todd two tries to get the keys into the lock, and he really, really, hopes that the others assume it’s because of the dark and not his suddenly shaking hands.
He pulls open the door with a flourish.
“Todd?” Dirk says slowly, “is everything ok?”
“Sure Dirk.” Todd smiles. “I have a surprise for you.”
The dim light is making everything seem tense somehow, like there’s a storm in the air, like charged anticipation. Dirk is smiling at him with a wide-eyed, sort of hopeful look, and it’s doing something to Todd’s stomach.
Still, there’s time for that later, a lot of time, hopefully.
Todd grins as he pushes the door shut and leads Dirk further into the room and—
“Surprise!” Amanda bellows, leaping up from behind the counter and flicking on the lights. The other three shuffle awkwardly to their feet behind her.
Dirk gazes around at the colourful room with wide eyes, his stare coming to rest on the banner.
“You… threw me a birthday party?” He asks disbelievingly.
“Surprise?” Farah says.
“But—I don’t even know when my birthday is I—Blackwing.”
“We made you a new one Dirk,” Todd says quietly. “A new birthday with your new family.”
“Everyone should have a birthday,” the Sheriff says helpfully, ambling out from behind the corridor.
Dirk beams.
*
Later, much later, when everyone has gone home and Dirk and Todd are the last ones left in the colourful kitchen, Dirk finally turns to him. “You chose me a new birthday,” he says.
“Well, you needed one,” Todd says flippantly, trying to ignore the sweat starting to build up on his palms.
“But you chose today,” Dirk says carefully.
Todd shuts his eyes. Busted. “Yeah Dirk,” he manages.
They stand there for a while as the kitchen clock ticks quietly on, and even with the nerves Todd knows that he could do this forever, with Dirk here in his kitchen. Dirk really has no business going back to his own flat when he could be staying here, with Todd.
“It’s the day we first met,” Dirk says finally. “This, today, this was the day we met, a year ago.”
Todd’s hands are starting to shake again and he shuts his eyes tightly. “Yeah,” he whispers.
There’s a shuffling, and when he opens them again, Dirk is right there, just a breath away.
Right, seeing as this was my ridiculous idea I’d better actually post something. Here is my ficlet for day 1 of 30 Days of Dirk. The randomly generated word was: Dress.
“Dress up?” Farah raises an eyebrow.
“Infiltration,” Dirk stresses, “we need to learn what they know, think how they think, act like they act!”
Farah holds the lurid orange pumpkin costume up to the light. “They’re children Dirk,” she says.
“That doesn’t matter!” Dirk says. “This is training Farah, it’s important. We need to learn how to blend in with our environment.”
Farah stares at the monstrosity doubtfully. “And your costume is?”
“I will be posing as a detective,” Dirk says with a smirk.
“You already are a detective.”
“Yes, but I’m the sort of detective who doesn’t look like a detective, in order to avoid detection.”
“So you’ll be dressing as a—a bad detective?”
“Precisely.”
Farah shakes her head and worms her way into the costume as Dirk wanders off. By the time she’s struggled through, Dirk is back and wearing a long brown trench coat and deerstalker.
There’s an orange bucket in his hand and he’s bouncing up and down like an excited child and—Farah suddenly gets it.
“So, we need to fit in with the kids, infiltrate, learn?” She asks slowly.
“Exactly.” Dirk’s excitement is palpable.
“Must have been different—being a child with—abilities?”
A flash of pain darts across Dirk’s face even as his grin holds rigidly in place. “No. No, not different. Everything was normal. I had lots of friends. Why would it have been different?”
Farah stares at the full-grown man as he nervously clutches at his bucket, about to go out for what she’s pretty sure is his very first Halloween.
She straightens up suddenly and makes a decision. “No reason. Nothing different here. I just--” she swallows and gives him a faint smile, “I didn’t get to do much of this as a child,” she admits.
“Oh.” Dirk pauses for a second, taking that it. “Well no, I mean, I didn’t exactly do this sort of thing much per se—but still, even more reason for us to infiltrate!” He perks up again, glancing down at his bucket. “Learn what they know, think what they think. All the more reason for training!”
He’s excited again now, grinning widely, twitching restlessly, but Farah can see the nerves, buried underneath it all.
She smiles back at him, suddenly glad that Todd and Amanda have gone out on their brother-sister try-to-get-to-know-each-other-again-dinner. There aren’t many people as bad at emotions as her, but Dirk’s probably one of them. Maybe they can work it out together? Maybe, for once, she doesn’t have to work it out alone?
Farah stands tall in her ridiculous costume, ready to brave the world of normality and try to convince it that she fits, and suddenly she understands that there’s no one better to do it with.
“Dirk?” She says quietly. “I’m glad you’re here.”
There’s a pause, and when Dirk speaks his voice is hesitant, careful. “You are?”
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Day 3: Why did you pursue daemonism in the first place? How have you benefited from getting in contact with your daemon?
I guess I pursued it cause I thought it would be beneficial for me?
I'm struggling big time at University, especially when I'm alone, and I started struggling with my depression loads.
Since getting into contact, its alot easier to control my emotions. I haven’t had a breakdown (yet!), and generally find myself freaking out a lot less?
I cant think of a good way to word it!
I also find it easier being by myself - before I would melt down if something small went wrong, and now I can handle things alot better!
We’ve been flicking between this and an African Wild Dog for the past few weeks.
For ages, the list included foxes, wolverines, and a few deer - but they all felt forced. The AWD and ‘yeen are the only ones that felt natural.
After reading through and doing a lot more research on both forms, we realised that the AWD didn’t really fit so much. <font color=“#4040BF”>No it did not! Bleh.</font>
I guess I was kinda forcing it on him, after watching loads of documentaries on them, and spending almost a solid week painting!
And after reading the analysis of Spotted Hyenas it <font color=“#4040BF”>fits you almost perfectly</font>
Oh shh. There’s few very small differences - and in none of the core traits! It’s the closest we’ve come!
I guess only time will tell… I need to go back on my medication for depression soon, and that could change things completely. Also need to go back on ‘the pill’ soon, that could mess up my hormones and change things too.
<font color=“#4040BF”> We’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we</font>
