Work Text:
Wind was the first thing Drake felt when he opened his eyes, looking around in confusion about where he was currently. The Last thing the ender remembers is falling asleep at his desk, how did he appear in this honestly beautiful flower field? Drake took a few steps forward, making sure to not crush any of the flowers as his tail slowly swayed behind him. Drake was silent as he moved and observed, seeing the rainbow arrangement of flowers spread out for miles and miles of land, which was a beautiful sight to say the least. There were so many different types of flowers, in all sorts of variations and colors. You would think it was a perfect lucid dream, but Drake didn't create this.
"What… is this place? This isn't a dream.. i feel there's more people here" Is all that the mage said, stopping his walking to look around fully. The wind was blowing at the perfect speed, it was warm and sunny, but not too hot thanks to the wind. Drake wouldn't lie if he said he finally felt at peace for once, enjoying the calm tranquility of this realm.
At least he was until a very familiar voice could be heard loudly in the distance.
"WHERE THE FUCK AM I??" Is heard nearby, which caused Drake to turn in that direction, his eyes widened when the ender saw who the voice came from, making Drake rush over to the person.
"There's no way.. Grayson?!" Drake calls out as he runs over, stopping just a few inches away from him. Grayson glanced up at Drake, some relief washing over him as the shorter blond spoke.
"Drake! It's been so long!" He said, momentarily distracted from the issue at hand. The distraction didn't last long as the ex-mercenary looked around.
"Where are we exactly?" Grayson asked, eyes surveying the fields of colorful petals.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out.. I just woke up here." Drake responded with, moving to grab one of his items before he pats his pockets, not feeling anything. The worry on Drake's face causes Grayson to do the same, the blonds face dropping.
"Where's the dragon egg?!" Grayson half asked, half yelled, frantically checking everything on his person.
"All my stuff is gone!" The shorter of the two said, looking up at the Mage with slight panic. Drake just nodded down at him, his voice oddly calm for the situation.
"I noticed that too.. this somehow has to be a dream world or another alternate illusion, its way too similar to the experience i had before we followed that airship." Drake explained, and Grayson's face was in a half state of confusion and acceptance.
"O… kay.." Is all the blond says, and he turns to look at this area before staring at a hill in the distance, those emerald green eyes squinting a bit.
"Is that a figure over there??" Grayson asks, and Drake looks over at the area, his entire body freezing as the wind carries a wisp of the mysterious person's soul, the ender's eyes widening as he suddenly darted off towards the hill, leaving Grayson alone and confused before he quickly ran to catch up.
"Do you know who that is??" Grayson asked while they ran, and Drake nodded.
"It's Armen! That's Armens soul!!" The taller said, a hopeful smile on his face as they approached the hill, which surprised Grayson cause he thought it was farther. Drake was tired of running so he just grabbed Graysons arm and snapped his fingers, teleporting the two up the rather steep hill. The flowers were now more specific, instead of the random types and colors they were down below, the only ones on the top of the hill were bundles of Butterfly weeds, Forget-me-nots, Dark Crimson Roses and Zinnias.
There was a person standing in the center of the hilltop, a very familiar brown scarf flowing gently in the wind. Grayson just stared in shock while Drake gained tears in the corners of his eyes, and he took a step forward, his voice slightly broken as he spoke.
"Armen…? Is it actually.." Drake asked, and the raven haired boy glanced back at him, turning to fully look at the Mage with a sad smile.
"You two finally made it.. looks like my will was strong enough after all." Was all Armen said, and without a second wasted Drake ran forward to hug the shortest, which caused Armen to tear up as well, hugging Drake back tight. Grayson had finally recovered and walked over as well, and Armen pulled away from Drake to give Grayson a hug as well.
"How are you here.. what is this place?" Grayson asked once he pulled away, and Armen gave a soft smile.
"this is my sanctuary.. it's where my soul rests before its time to start anew" Armen responded, but his voice wasn't the same, instead of the cheery, bouncy tone that Armen used to have, it was now distant, a bit echoey even. You could tell he wasn't the same anymore, no matter how much the other two wished him to be.
"Start.. anew? What does that mean?" Drake asked, not liking what it implied.
"Until it's time for me to move on. Be born again." The icy blue eyed man said, and Drake frowned knowingly.
"Do you know how long you have? There has to be some sort of way to tell!" Grayson questioned as well, but his voice had changed a bit, it was now slightly shaky, a twang of sadness mixed in too. Armen just shrugged, a sad but knowing look in his eyes as the wind started to pick up a bit, some flower petals being picked up and carried in the wind's breeze. Drake stiffened a bit at the air, only frowning more.
"you're running out of energy, aren't you?" The mage said, and Armen nodded, a sad smile forming as a tear ran down his cheek.
"I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer this time.. I have barely enough energy as it is." Armen said, the wind picking up more and bits of Armens form started to drift off into the wind, like the petals around them. Grayson's eyes widened and he went to grab Armens hand.
"We'll see you again.. Right?? Will we be able to talk again?" Grayson asked, his voice now panicky and tense. Armen shrugged, looking into Graysons tear filled eyes.
"while it isn't my time, it'll take me a while to recover.. this isn't a final goodbye, its just a see you later, okay?" Armen replied, more of his form being carried away by the wind. Grayson felt tears go down his face as Drake ran forward and hugged Armen one last time, holding the shortest male tight
"I'll find you, I promise you won't be alone!" Drake said, his voice slightly aggressive, and Armen just chuckled sadly, gently petting Drake's hair.
"Sure you will bud.. till the next time we speak." And with that, Armens' form had been fully taken by the wind, leaving Drake empty armed and Grayson empty handed. The two boys looked at each other, similar expressions on their faces as they just hugged each other, an attempt to somehow calm down. After they pulled away, they gave each other their whereabouts back in the normal world, so they could hopefully try to reunite once again.
When the two boys awoke at their respective times, Drake just slowly sat up from his desk, a few tears going down his cheeks before he quickly grabbed his backpack and set out to find Grayson.
Grayson had to lay in bed for a little while longer after that whole experience before getting ready for the day, and when he set out he had two things on his mind:
Find Drake.
Get Armen Back.