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Who: Guren & Dextera
Where: The Forest
When: 10/27
What: Well, to get out of the dog house he has to take Dextera on a forest trip, and it turns out their big gay bond really helps things
Warnings: None? I'll edit if necessary.

[They've been walking for so long, but Guren refuses to even consider turning back. The feeling is different now— there are no animals anywhere, and the gaze on them has a different intent. He can feel it watching, wanting to test them. That proves that they're onto something.

It honestly makes the first part of the trip pretty relaxing. Walking side by side with Dextera, just spending time with him, doing something that's risky, something like a challenge. Just the two of them. At some point, he smiles and mentions that this isn't such a bad trip, even if nothing happens the whole time.

But eventually, they do come across something. There's a dried out river ahead, a simple raft on the side, and... a pile of rocks? Guren squints at the objects as he approaches.]

This looks like it's going to be a pain. Any idea what it's for?

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[ dextera shakes his head.

he’s in a bit of a different mood for a trip like this, especially after what happened with crowley—he’s not mad at guren anymore, even if he was for a bit, but all that really means is that this forest trip is a way to clear his mind of everything that’s happened between them this month. ]

We have to cross.

[ obviously, but dextera doesn’t really know how. they could just walk across, couldn’t they? the stones must be here for a reason, though, and he picks one up with a frown. ]

[Guren is so used to screwing up, and so used to Dextera forgiving him, that he's not even thinking about any of that. Well, not right this second, anyway. It does occur to him every so often as they walk, and he does hope this can help, in plenty of ways.

But right now, they're... focused on something else.]

You've read a few things in the library, right? Anything stand out with a boat and rocks?

[As Dextera investigates the rock, Guren tries to step across the dry river bed. He intends to go slow, to test it, just in case there's something wrong with it— but it's as if he can't cross it at all. No matter how hard he tries...]

[ a boat and rocks…

they’re clearly supposed to find a way to cross the river, but unless this is some kind of a puzzle hiding a dam, they’ll never have enough to make that boat actually sail.

he looks up just in time to see guren unable to cross as it is, however, and his frown deepens. ]

…

[ before he answers, he turns the stone over in his hand. ]

We need water.

[He's not going to let this shitty rock puzzle test stop their advancement. So, he's quiet at Dextera's obvious statement, staring at the rocks, stepping back over to the one Dextera has. And, for a long time, he's quiet like that.

Thinking like this place... fairy tales, mythology, the unbelievable. He moves Dextera's hands slightly to place his over the rock first, and then nods.]

Put your hands over mine and squeeze as hard as you can. I want to see if this might work.

[ dextera immediately picks up on what guren is saying, because luckily, his thoughts were already headed in that direction. like blood from a stone—or water, in this case, which is something he’s seen crop up in a few fairy tales. ]

…

[ there aren’t enough rocks here to fill the whole river, but that’s a problem for another day. taking a deep breath, dextera squeezes hard.

he wants this to work. they’ve come too far into the woods to turn back here, and they haven’t even learned anything. it’s just a little, but with that thought, some water begins to leak out of the stone, as if forced from its very atoms. ]

Haha. This is ridiculous.

[But it's a little funny, squeezing the water out from the rock like a sponge. It takes so much more effort, though. Want. Thankfully, they're both extremely motivated. Maybe they'd even be able to do it on their own, but Guren would rather do it together each time.

And so, once this one is drained dry, he sets it aside and grabs another stone, holding it over the damp riverbed and looking to Dextera.]

We can do each of them like this, and it'll probably be enough, no matter how little water there is.

[ that, dextera isn’t sure about, but he doesn’t want to believe that the town will withhold the tools they need to get through. maybe there’s always a trick involved, but success must be possible. ]

…

[ they dutifully squeeze each rock, draining every stone until dextera’s arms ache with the effort, and—as expected, what they get is little more than a puddle reflecting the trees above. it’s not at all enough to make a raft move, but it’s all they’ve got.

setting down the last stone, dextera shakes out his wrists and then looks to guren. ]

Is that really enough?

[Guren isn't sure at first, and so he's quiet, rubbing his own wrists and pushing his given bracelet aside to do so. The water barely makes a puddle in this river. They might be able to balance the raft on it a little, but it would be a pain, and he's not sure if it was a necessity to be put there, or just a hint.

So, he steps forward. Nothing stops him, and he steps further again, his feet in the water. Nothing bad happens. There's no ominous feeling, no alarm.

So he turns back, smiling just slightly and offering his hand towards Dextera.]

Looks like it. Come with me.

[ dextera’s boots are too thick for the water to even think about getting him wet, although once they’re in the river, he can see that there’s more water than it looked like. it splashes along his soles as he moves into the river to join guren, and—he sighs, just a little amused. ]

That wasn’t so bad.

[ his commentary before he takes guren’s hand so they can cross the water together. they’re deep in the forest by now, but it doesn’t feel nearly as dangerous as it has all the times before.

maybe it’s because he’s with guren. ]

[It always starts not so bad, and though Guren decides not to be so concerned out loud, he still squeezes Dextera's hand a little as they slosh through the shallow water. When they reach the other side, he doesn't let go of that hand, swiping his thumb over the back of Dextera's instead.

It's been a fair amount of time since they met. Since Dextera first took Guren's hand and since he first let him. The longing after that, the comfort.]

It's almost like a date, I guess. [This is a horrible date. He doesn't look at Dextera with that comment, too embarrassed.]

I mean, if you want it to be.

[ it’s strangely peaceful now, between them, as if they’ve been dating for years and everything the town could throw at them is just a small, negligible obstacle. it isn’t at all true, of course, but there’s something to the feeling anyway. ]

Heh heh.

[ he nods, and squeezes guren’s hand in return. ]

If it goes well, we’ll call it a date.

I guess I'll have to make sure it goes well.

[Ducking just slightly as they walk, he leans in to kiss Dextera's cheek, fondly.]

I'm lucky you're still willing to even talk to me, at this point.

["Guuuureeeen~." The voice calls out to him with a giggle, but it sounds different from usual. It's enough to turn his attention forward, eyes sharp, trying to see if there's something he might pick up. He doesn't realize that even Dextera could have heard that call from Mahiru.]

[ dextera has only heard that voice once before, and inevitably, his eyes snap that direction as well and his grip on guren’s hand tightens. the way she says his name—that’s mahiru.

he doesn’t know why or how he can hear her, but he can, which means this must be one of the town’s tricks. ]

…

[ he looks to guren’s face, following his lead here. ]

...You can hear her?

[That's his first question, and it's very important, in his eyes. His group had seen the illusion of Shinya when it offered its hand. So hearing this... He reaches into his mind, searching for an answer, but Mahiru seems to be silent, and he can't tell if that's the forest messing with him, or something else.

"You don't have to look so worried, Guren. It's only me."

Then, she appears, stepping from between the trees in her usual uniform. "The real me. And now, we can finish saving everyone else... together."

His grip tightens on Dextera's laugh, and her response is a laugh tinged with sadness.

"You've already left me behind, haven't you? I knew that you would, in the end... But I can bring him, too, if you come with me." There, now just a few feet in front of them, she offers her hand grandly.]

[ it’s an offer, dextera suspects, that’s too good to be true. he doesn’t know enough about mahiru to say whether or not her offer can be believed at all, but it’s tempting, even for him—but then, dextera is weak to the possibility that someone will fix things for him. ]

Guren.

[ dextera catches his attention, but he can’t keep his eyes off mahiru for very long at all. ]

An illusion?

[ it’s the town’s favorite trick, but made so much more complicated by the fact that the town seems to know more about them than, occasionally, they know themselves. she might be telling the truth. ]

...Mahiru is dead.

[So it has to be. He sighs it out, tense, uneasy. It feels like just reaching and taking that hand would solve everything. It would put them at ease. But he can't trust even his own feelings in this place.]

We need to keep moving.

[And so, he brushes past her, still holding Detxera's hand, eyes focused straight ahead. She continues to call after him, her footsteps following along, persistent. Her offer is spoken once more.]

[ but it will never be that easy.

even if guren has the self control to move past mahiru, dextera is strangely the one tempted by her offer—so he’s already weak, already more vulnerable, when the next illusion appears.

standing before them now is a woman who looks strangely like dextera. something like a relative, maybe, maybe someone’s ideal image of what dextera’s mother would look like. she has long, thick black hair that flows all the way down her back, and her naked body is perfectly formed.

dextera hesitates. she smiles. ]

Ignore her.

[Guren is quick on that, eyes focusing on the strange woman with a certain sharpness. He has no idea who she might be, but he knows it doesn't matter. His hold tightens on Dextera's hand.

Even as Mahiru chides Guren from behind and says he needs her to do anything, he can't just walk away, he continues.]

Focus on me, Dex. Only on me. Don't pay attention to anything she says.

[ dextera wants to listen to guren, but this is the first time he’s seen god since he got to this town, and she looks—well. she looks healthy and whole, and it was only a few weeks ago that dextera cried in the church while begging for her help. ]

…

[ the absolute god’s smile takes on an edge of sadness.

“i understand your fear,” she says. “you’ve walked a long, painful road… but we’re ready to become one.”

her voice is patient and kind, a stark contrast to mahiru’s jeering. she holds out her hand. ]

Dextera.

[Become one...? There's fear in his own chest, his grip tight on Dextera's hand, but never enough to hurt. He has to be careful not to push him away by clinging too aggressively. This is a comfort. A reminder.]

Listen to me. She's an illusion. A demon. Keep moving, with me.

[ dextera exhales harshly. that’s right, guren is here, but god—she knows everything, as a necessity. she may be fallible, but she’s still god, still there, she still needs him. ]

…

[ dextera squeezes his eyes shut, but it doesn’t help much. god keeps speaking to him without trying to force him, her cadence light and almost musical as she entices him with the promise of relieving his pain. he just needs to take her hand.

he forces himself to keep going. ]

[Mahiru hasn't stopped, either, and Guren tugs Dextera by the hand a little closer, letting their arms bump, too.]

If she was real, she wouldn't appear right after Mahiru. This place is trying to tempt us. I'm right here, okay?

[He breathes out, looking to him, checking on him.]

Don't let go of my hand. That's how you know what's real. Got it?

[ dextera wants to go to her so bad it’s almost overwhelming, but guren’s steady stream of reassurances and the physical proximity help him keep his head on straight. she’s an illusion. only guren is real.

if he takes her hand, he might not even have guren, in the end. ]

Nngh…

[ he nods. there are things he wants to say to guren, but he can’t find the strength.

afterwards, he tells himself.

for now, he tries to keep pressing onwards, his free hand twisted into his shirt over his heart as he puts his all into ignoring the soft, loving sound of god’s siren song. ]

[That, mixed with Mahiru's taunts, twisted words trying to get Guren to give in— it's so much. Guren hopes it's going to end soon, but ten minutes pass and they're persisting. Five more, and he realizes he needs to do more than hold Dextera's hand.

So he talks. He tells him that after this, he wants to stay in Flavo for the night. That he's sorry he didn't take him here sooner. That he trusts him. That he loves him.

It's a lot, especially when Guren isn't the type to say so much, but he has to. He needs to. He wants to make sure Dextera doesn't have time to doubt reality, and it's been over an hour, now. Possibly closer to two.]

[ it’s painful.

the longer it goes on, the more specific god’s words become—her promises take on an edge of reality that would be all too easy to fall for, if guren weren’t talking over it, talking through it.

when mahiru takes her turns, dextera tries to return the favor, but inevitably his assurances are more tactile than guren’s. he kisses guren’s hand, his wrist, treating their connection like it’s the most precious thing in the world.

it is. ]

…

[ finally, though, there’s silence—enough to get dextera to look back, and god cants her head with a wistful smile.

“i’d only wanted to become one with you once more,” she says.

when dextera offers no response, she disappears. ]

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