En Memoria

Darkyn felt awful.

Curled up in a little ball in his feline form, he stares across the large underground hall to where Paranorm was fussing over the young leader of the clan they were visiting, Kat. Something ached deep inside his chest, something that he couldn’t put away. The knowledge that his dearest friend, the only one he’s ever loved, didn’t have a single clue as to who he is… It was tearing him apart. He curls up a little tighter while stretching a wing over himself, hoping that he was small and unnoticeable enough in this little alcove.

“Hey, Uncle!” Darkyn’s hopes are immediately dashed as Oliver bounces over, his hooves quietly clacking against the tiled floor. With a delighted expression, he flops to the floor next to Darkyn’s hiding place and crosses his legs, waiting for his greeting to be returned.

Slowly unfurling himself, he grumbles. “Hey kid.”

“Are you…” The boy glanced across the room, then back to his guardian. “...thinking about him again?” He asked, tilting his head to the side a little and shuffling a little closer.

Darkyn can only sigh. “Yeah… is it that obvious?”

“Well, I mean, you’ve barely said anything all day, you’ve mostly avoided people, and you’ve been staring all sadly and longingly into the distance ever since we discovered your old friend here.” Oliver counted on his fingers as he lists off everything, trying not to smile a little as he sees Darkyn’s disgruntled face.

“Thanks, I never noticed.” Said sarcastically, earning a little chuckle from the boy. He stood up and stretched, shaking himself out before shifting into his human form in a swirl of sparks and flame to sit on the floor next to Oliver. It’s not until he hears Kat tell her guard to calm down, that he realises that they’re both staring at him, Paranorm glaring at him with intent.

He had never wanted to sink into the floor more than that exact moment. 

In turn, Oliver called out a sheepish apology, waving his hands, before turning back to Darkyn - who had proceeded to curl himself up with his knees against his chest. “Are… you okay?”

“...No.” He admitted in a quiet voice, letting his head drop and trying not to mutter an “ow” as his goggles suddenly impacted into his head as they hit against his knees. “It was stupid to think that he’d remember me. It’s been so many years… He died, for the Stag’s sake, why on earth would he remember anything?” He bit back the urge to say that he wouldn’t remember himself if he died, knowing that it wouldn’t make anything better.

Oliver frowns at him. “You sound a lot like you’ve just given up. It’s not even been two days, and Darkyn, Captain of the Vanguard, has just given up?” He leans over, and pokes his guardian in the arm, hard. “If I knew anything I’d say that you’d been replaced by some weirdo trying to lure me into a false sense of security. That’s the most out of character thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

“Well, you don’t entirely listen to me all the time, do you?” He picked up on the joking tone of Oliver’s words and got another hard poke for it, this time sitting up and rubbing his arm. “Oww, hey, that hurts you know!”

“Good!” Oliver grinned, despite the look Darkyn was giving him. “You need a little sense poking into you. It’s just a little life-revival amnesia, how different could it be to regular amnesia?” Before Darkyn could answer, he continued. “Remember when Finnick smacked his head real good on some rocks and couldn’t remember anything after a healer got to him? All it took was some rest and Heather taking him through the lake gardens for him to start to regain his memories back, by the end of the week he was back to normal!”

“So what am I to do, kidnap him and take him back to the Sanctuary and see if he remembers anything?” He couldn’t help but feel like a child, with his arms crossed against his chest, eyes rolling and sarcasm dripping into his words.

Oliver stared at him, face scrunching up in confusion. “What? No! What I mean is, find something he’ll remember! Like, sights, smells, sounds, whatever would be familiar! Watch the sunset together, or make him his favorite food, or something!”

“Yeah, and I’ll look like an idiot when it doesn’t work.” He huffed, trying to stare a hole into the closest wall. 

The boy smacked the back of his hand against Darkyn’s leg to get his attention, and for a moment, there’s a look of knowing that’s far, far older than both of them. “It will work.”

Swallowing a little nervously, he stared at Oliver for a moment, then sighed, rubbing his face and eyes with both hands. “Fine… Fine. I’ll figure something out.”