darkinferno | [narrations + overflow]

[Sora's mind is far, far away now. He almost doesn't see the forest around him, and trudges aimlessly forward, ignoring the scenery in favor of the more pleasant surroundings in his head. The stray sticks and debris scratch at his hands and face, and catch at his clothes, but he can't feel them anymore. Everything feels like a blurry polaroid, shifting and merging until the world make him dizzy.

His head is painting a far more appealing picture.

Instead of a forest, there's a beach, and instead of a tiny house with only two people, there's a big house with a big family, more people than he can count. His dad is there, smiling, his brother is there, smiling, and his mom is happier than he's seen her in years, face free of the wrinkles that recent years had given her.

He wants it, wants it more than he's wanted anything in his life. He wants to go back to home, back to when he played on the beach in the sun all day and there were no problems that he had to push through. He's so tired of being who he is. He wants to go back to when he didn't have to be anything, when his smile was real all the time.

And then, just like that, the illusion is shattered.

From behind, he hears a voice. In the haze, he can't quite place it, but it sounds so, so familiar, and it almost feels like two voices on top of each other.

Sora, don't chase the dreams! They'll lead you nowhere.

Sora blinks, and the beach is gone, to be replaced by trees and glowing flowers. He stops walking. His arm is outstretched in front of him, like he was reaching out for something invisible, and he quickly lowers it. Now, he starts to feel the sting from the cuts on his face and hands, but he ignores them. The heartache is far worse.

There's the crunching sound of someone running up behind him, and slowly, still dazed, Sora turns to look to find Dante running to catch up with him. It hits him that one of the voices he'd heard must have been Dante.

But, who was the other voice? Were there two Dantes?

He reaches up to rub at his eyes, trying to get rid of the last of the dream.]

Where'm I?

We're in the forest.

[As he reaches Sora, Dante glances around, trying to place where, exactly, they are. They've been wandering for a while; the both of them are drenched to the skin in the rain that's still pouring down, the dreary grays of the sky beginning to darken as evening nears.]

And it's getting late.

Come on, we should get out of here.

[It's almost a subconscious movement, how his hand comes up to try and clap Sora on the back of the shoulder before setting off, trusting him to follow.

"Sora's heart belongs to the darkness now."

Yeah, well, not if he can help it. Just because he apparently fucked up doesn't mean he's going to let anybody else repeat that history.]

Don't trust anything you hear them say. It's all lies, no matter how much you want it to be true.

[Sora is slow to react to Dante's words, the meanings not registering while his brain is still trying to catch up. It's a bit of a shock to his system, and he shivers slightly. Whether it's from the shock or the cold rain dripping into his eyes is anyone's guess.

It takes even longer for him to answer Dante and start to follow him.]

Yeah.

[It's just a dream. Just a dream. It's not true, it's just a dream, he tells himself. He trails behind Dante as they walk, occasionally turning to look behind him, as though the visions might follow. Eventually, he begins to hyperfocus on Dante's light-colored hair, a beacon in the dark forest, just to keep himself going.

It's only when they near the edge of the forest that Sora stops, the true weight of what had happened finally hitting him. He stands, mouth opening and closing, trying to find the words to describe what he's feeling and failing. He has so many questions, but none of them are coming out.]

I... What... just happened?

I don't... really... know.

[It's hard for Dante to admit. He doesn't like not understanding how the two of them were drawn there, how they were pulled under the influence of whatever was the source of all of that. He doesn't like the memory that's just swept him, either, or how eerily similar the entire experience feels.]

Whatever you thought was out there... it isn't. That's all.

[Why does he keep getting wrapped up with this kid? Dante folds his arms, looking away from Sora, his voice growing a little harder.]

I don't know what you thought you heard out there. But it was stupid to go chasing after it.

[Never mind that he's just as stupid.]

You were chasing it, too...

[Sora pouts slightly at the reprimand, crossing his arms. He's a little salty about being told off by someone who can't be more than a few years older than him, who got put under the same spell as he had. It's mitigated by the fact that Dante did just save him.]

If you heard what I heard...

...Nevermind. Anyway, I guess we should get out of here.

[He starts again towards the edge of the forest, and he can see from here the grass that lies on the edge of it. They're both soaked through, and honestly it's kind of uncomfortable. He can feel the shivers running through his skin, and it's not the first time it's happened this week. At this rate, he'll probably catch a cold.

Sora doesn't look to see if Dante is following, but he wants to. He doesn't know why, but he kind of wants to know him better, even though he's pretty sure Dante doesn't really care about him.]

["I did hear what you heard."

He has to fight to keep from snapping back at Sora, but the scowl slips onto his face regardless. Sure, he might not know what Sora heard, walking through those trees, but he'd heard more then enough to try and persuade him on that he can guess. He'd been tricked too, and having to give up that promise is one of the toughest things he's had to do in a long while. Sora's not the only one hurting here.

But saying that would only invite an argument, and for once, Dante's not up for one. Instead he'll just follow along after Sora, back toward the edge of the forest.

And once they've reached the edge, stepping back into the clear air of the city, Dante will sigh and glance Sora's way, jerking his thumb over his shoulder toward where the RC jeep he's commandeered sits. It's looking a bit ramshackle now with all the mods Dante's done to it, a cover zip-tied over the open framing to keep it relatively dry in the downpour, mini-LEDs clipped to the top rail for some sort of light in dark places, paperclips and bread ties and rubber bands creating a makeshift seatbelt system.]

Look. You want a ride home?

[Don't take it as a sign of friendship. It's just that it's getting dark and pouring down rain and Sora looks pathetic enough with his hair in his face as it is. He's an asshole, he's not heartless.]

[Sora stops walking and looks back at Dante when he speaks. It takes him a moment to register what he's said, and then he takes another to think about the offer. There's no Buck here for him to ride, and it's pouring rain. The sun has already mostly gone, and it'll likely be pitch black by the time he's halfway back to his house.

Honestly, he doesn't have much of a choice but to accept Dante's offer. It's better than walking, anyway.

He nods, and then walks back towards Dante, rubbing his arms slightly for warmth.]

Sure. I'd appreciate it, thanks.

[narrations + overflow]

It took me two days to digest how good that tag was jfc

i'm so glad you enjoyed it u

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[narrations + overflow]

It took me two days to digest how good that tag was jfc

i'm so glad you enjoyed it *u*

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i'm so glad you enjoyed it u