[h3]Darius [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/2798916]→[/url][/h3]	[@whist]
	Grant's behavior reminded Darius of a large number of people who he'd known in his life, all people who regretted the people they were or became. From the way Grant spoke, Darius figured the young, arrogant lawyer was Grant himself, and all of Darius's questions about minor details in Grant's life were answered. The boy built a profile of Grant in his head. [i]Grant Raskstål.[/i] A name, Swedish. He didn't quite know how to spell it, but he knew exactly how to pronounce it. [i]Probably almost 30. Lawyer. Swordsman. Nice. Regrets the man he used to be...[/i] And then there was the body on the ground. [i]That's[/i] gross. [i]Like, wicked gross.[/i] Darius plugged his nose and turned away from John's repulsive, now-decomposing corpse.

	[b]"Y...Yeah..."[/b] The sight was now burned into his mind. Goodbye, innocence. Darius made a point of leading Grant away from the corpse and deeper into the forest. The sooner they found a significant place the better. While they walked aimlessly away from the shrine, he shyly looked at Grant and gave a tentative smirk. [b]"I'm a Texan, born and raised,"[/b] the only child of the Sterling family said without even a hint of a Texan accent. Just a plain American accent that showed more of his personal voice than it did of his geographic origin. [b]"My parents divorced when I was 6, and I switched back and forth between them each weekend. But I mainly lived with my dad during the week since I went to school from there."[/b] That was the story of his early life. [b]"Obviously I don't have much to talk about... I was kinda looking forward to becoming an adult and being able to be myself without any fear. I don't know. I liked cosplay, art, writing, German."[/b] Pfft. All his hopes and dreams for the real world went down the toilet. Now he was stuck here in the Cradle with little else to do other than toil until he could make an escape.

	Having a normal chat was difficult against the morbid sight they'd just seen, but at least Darius didn't have to fear approaching the darker aspects of his life. [b]"I admit that I was a little depressed before I came here,"[/b] Darius said. Perhaps this was everything he wanted. An escape from the real world. In a reality different from his own, however, he really understood what it was like to be left to his own devices. This could either turn into hell or paradise, and he had a bad feeling in his stomach that it wouldn't be the latter. And no, it was not the corpse. [b]"But now I take back what I was feeling before. I [i]wish[/i] I could go back there now."[/b] He shook his head. There was no use in drowning in his own sorrows and self-hatred. He had to be stronger if he ever wanted to leave. [b]"Sorry."[/b] As they walked, Darius made a point of walking extremely close to Grant. Although Grant was a nice man, Darius didn't quite want to make it seem like he was coming onto the lawyer. Especially considering what they'd just seen. Rather, Darius walked close to Grant this time not for a romantic plot but for safety from any sudden danger. It would probably come across differently regardless, given what was considered normal for two men in the society Grant and Darius came from.