Ryker's Guide (Mild)

Cowardice

Daryl

At some point between the treadmill and the elevator Daryl had forgotten all about how scary Carbry could be. He was lulled back into seeing the man as the loving, thoughtful mate of Meriwa and the best friend of Ryker. The man who had been nothing but doting and friendly toward Daryl.

After all, Meriwa was a super powerful being who could blow a vampire into a million pieces just from a well aimed finger gun, and Daryl still trusted her implicitly. Just because someone was capable of being incredibly powerful did not mean that they would use it against him, and the same could be said for Carbry.

And that strength and power was a little bit of a turn on, leaving Daryl well pleased when he slipped out of bed and went to the washroom. The bruises from Carbry's love bites stayed on Daryl's skin, if only because he held onto his human form to conserve energy. The more human he was, the less food he required, and he was already beginning to feel the gnaw of hunger despite the shake he'd downed before leaving his place.

He had half debated wandering to Carbry's kitchen to get a snack but figured he could at least ask if it was alright, so he stepped back into the bedroom and paused at Carbry's expression. Something had changed, and he saw several emotions cross the man's face as his eyes scanned Daryl's body.

And then when Carbry started accusing him of being irresponsible, just when Daryl had been making the effort not to be, Daryl had shut down.

For one, he wasn't dying or anything. For two, he was a grown man, and he was eating and didn't need a nanny running around trying to feed him chemical concoctions and lecturing him when he didn't clean his plate. And he had already made the decision to make a more concerted effort, so the fact that he was being ordered around like some... some... pet or something, just had his own temper flaring.

And that had been stupid, as Carbry had grown increasingly more and more angry with Daryl, which only made Daryl increasingly angry with the other man. The same thing always happened with Ryker. Because Ryker, when angry, would just growl and eventually shut down just like Daryl did. So when Carbry had started yelling, Daryl had decided he'd had enough and made the decision to just leave.

He could go home and eat whatever he wanted and Ryker wouldn't be back for several days, so he'd not have to worry about more lectures until then.

But Carbry wasn't like Ryker.

He was faster, for one.

And stronger.

Daryl could say that without hesitation that Ryker wouldn't hurt him, no matter how angry he got. And, whereas Carbry had never come anywhere near to hurting him, Daryl knew that vampires were rougher with other supernaturals. Tim and Ryker got into scraps. Hell, Tim had even shaken Daryl up several times and taken him into the training room to train and use that anger. And Carbry had done the same thing to Tim and Ryker on occasion, too.

In short, vampires were perfectly capable of hurting people who got out of line. Even people on the same side as them. And Carbry was livid, causing Daryl to wonder just why he mattered at all.

Meri and Ryke. That's why Daryl mattered. And there was also that idle warning at the end of it all, towards the end of Carbry's rant. Was Carbry referring to Daryl's health and eating habits, or was there some other threat to Daryl's well being concealed within Carbry's words?

If he became too much of an annoyance in Meri's life, in Ryker's life, would he be... disposable?

Images of Carbry's capability to rip those super robots apart without breaking a stride, Meriwa's story about Carbry being able to rip another vampire apart before it could mount a defence, and the cold realization that if Carbry wanted to kill him, he'd be dead before he even realized it screamed through Daryl's brain, which told him that he was absolutely defenceless and now... trapped.

Ryker and Meriwa worshipped this man. They thought he walked on water. And Carbry was capable of charming the pants off of them without even trying. He could make Daryl disappear and convince them he had left them.

And Meri and Ryke would believe him.

All he saw was bristling, furious rage in Carbry's expression, and the animalistic side of Daryl's brain took over. It decided that he couldn't run, and he didn't stand a chance at fighting the man in front of him. Even as Daryl opened his mouth to beg the man not to hurt him, another part of Daryl took over. Even the logical frightened human part of his brain disappeared then, hiding behind the survival instincts of whatever animal came to the surface.