Ryker's Guide (Mild)

Candor

Carbry

They were silent, though Carbry wasn't sure what to make of whatever was between Daryl and him. The man never objected to their arrangement, nor did he ever balk from Carbry's attention when the other two were around, but Carbry was certain that the intimacy was superficial. Considering Daryl's ability to put himself in dangerous situations without batting an eye, Carbry didn't understand the timidity that came from the man in his presence. But Carbry also knew that there was a distinct possibility that pushing for an explanation might put a wedge between the two of them that might ruin what was happening.

Everyone loved Daryl, easy to get along with and humble enough that he rarely let his ego get in the way. The man could charm people even without that part of him that was increasingly irresistible to any supernaturals. But he remained aloof, more so than even Ryker had, though in a less abrasive way.

Carbry pondered this as he poured out the whiskey he had bought on the latest trip, sliding one glass towards the cowboy before turning to reseal the bottle and put it on the shelf behind him. They gently tapped glasses, and each took a careful smell, then a small taste of the delectable liquid, though Carbry felt his heart rate quicken as he watched Daryl experience it. A throwback from Lucifer, perhaps, but the man was nearly explicit when he enjoyed whiskey. It was almost enough to distract Carbry.

Almost.

"You are one of us here, you know that." He pushed, gently, keeping the frown off of his face when Daryl's expression told him otherwise. "Why do you doubt me?"

He was getting an emotional reaction from the other man, Carbry could sense the change in the man's scent from mostly human to a variety of other species that existed in Daryl, though he didn't appear to shift at all.

"I won't deny that I belong to the peripheral group of accepted people within the Knight Corp family. And I don't begrudge any of it." Daryl was forcing himself to be polite, his voice coming off slightly rigid. "You've done a great deal for me that I'm grateful for."

"Why do you insist on putting these barriers between you and the world?" Carbry frowned and put down his glass. "You are cared for, Daryl."

Pain flashed across the cowboy's expression then, fleetingly, but Carbry caught it, and it made his heart ache almost as much as Daryl's words. "No. Everyone finds the idiot hick cowboy an amusing distraction that can be cared for when things are good, but when things get serious and you have to close ranks, I end up on the outside of them."

"Bullshit." The accusation hurt, more than just a little bit.

"Look. I get it." Daryl shook his head and closed his eyes, putting his own glass down and pacing away. "I understand, you have a large group of amazing people that you manage and take care of. There are only so many people you can intimately care for before it gets to be too much. And for me to expect any more is selfish, I am an outsider. My attachment goes so far as my connection to Ryker and Meriwa."

Carbry shook his head, but Daryl kept talking.

"I lost my family when I fell into this world, Carbry. They were still alive, but for over a year I couldn't go anywhere near them or any of my human friends. My entire world was ripped away from me and I was shoved into this one here. I'm an outsider because I'm a freak. I shouldn't exist, you and Knight Corp, everyone here, you're natural. I'm a science experiment and have to be careful about who I go near, for fear of becoming weirder, causing people to become uncomfortably enamoured with me, or me to sense just what a horrible person they are. Meriwa got that. Sam a little bit too. We were loved, but we were all outsiders."