6: Fear
The trunk was dark, dark enough that he couldn't see a thing. The car was moving, he could tell by the sound of gravel under the tires and a slight nausea behind his eyes. With the darkness pressing in like a tangible being, Dick was only able to tell where his younger brother was by feet. He could definitely hear the small boy shaking though, like a leaf waiting to fall off a tree in the Autumn.
"Dami?" He gently pulled the boy into his arms. "You okay?"
"Y-yeah. I'm not scared or anything." Dick chuckled lightly at that.
"Alright, but, you know, there's nothing wrong with being afraid, especially of the dark," he said. He felt Damian snuggle a little closer, hopefully listening. "Fear is a natural reaction. It's a warning. It says 'be wary.' Not feeling fear is not a good thing in any dangerous situation. It can make someone reckless, meaning they go into situations without considering any of the potential consequences. Fear of the dark is in no way an irrational feeling. Everyone, no matter what they claim, is or was afraid of the dark."
"Mother said." Damian started, and then stopped himself. Dick nudged him to go on. "Mother said that fear is a weakness, and, and weakness is not an option."
"I think we've established your mother is wrong about a lot of things, but in many cases, you need to form your own opinion. Fear, being afraid is only a weakness if you let it be. Courage and bravery, as well as strength, does not mean you're not afraid. True strength means accepting your fears and facing them, embracing them. Everyone is afraid of something. It's what you do what those fears that defines you. If you accept your fears, then they're not as scary anymore."
"Everyone has fears? Even Tati?" The slight plea echoed in Dick's ears, and he tightened his hug.
"Even Tati. Believe it or not, Tati used to be terrified of bats."
"Tati was scared of bats?" The disbelief was evident in the younger boy's tone, displacing some of the fear.
"That's right."
"But… Isn't he surrounded by bats?"
"That's what he did with his fear. He embraced the fear and turned it around to scare bad guys and help people. You know what, I'm sure his fear of the dark led to him deciding to go out at night. Well, combined with some other factors.
"So, a fear of the dark is good?" Damian questioned, trying to pick out his brother in the darkness.
"Yeah, so long as you don't let it hold you back." He paused, thinking of something. "Dami, can you repeat after me." He felt a nod. "Alright! Ready? I am afraid."
"I am afraid."
"But that's not going to stop me."
"But that's not going to stop me."
"Good. Now, whenever you get scared of anything, I want you to repeat those words, either out loud or in your head. Then, I want you to face those fears. Show them how brave you are. Do you understand?"
"Uh-huh. Thank you, Dick."
"Of course. I love you, Dami."
"Mmm. I love you, too." Damian mumbled. Dick smiled. There was a few moments of peaceful silence, before the car hit a particular hard bump. Damian gave a squeak of fear as they jarred out of position.
"Shh. Shh. It's okay. You're fine. Umm. Hey, how about I teach you some songs? Songs are good. Music."
BEHOLD! The ultimate lost scene. This is actually a pretty iconic scene that I lost before I could type it up, and I couldn't remember how I wrote it. I finally found it in my AP Lit notebook today. The conversation takes place around the time of the video where everything kicks into action, on the way to the shed. I know they got out the normal way when they arrived, but they switch cars a couple times on the way, just like they changed cars on the way back. It seems short, but it would have been part of a longer chapter.
Fun Character Development. Dick's actually terrified in this scene, but he's controlling it to put on a somewhat strong face for Damian. This conversation is partly him convincing himself, so he won't panic or draw in on himself. Ever since the initial kidnapping, where Dick spent about a month in the dark. One week switching between car trunks and vans blindfolded, and three weeks in a small box on a boat with little to no light coming through the small air holes. The fear was increased when Logarithm threw him in a dark cell for a week after the escape and played mind games with him. The trunk is actually a step up from that because the situation is familiar for him, allowing him to relax somewhat.
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