Chapter Text
๑‧˚₊🦇꒷︶ଓ︶꒷꒦⊹๑‧🩸˚₊꒷︶ଓ︶꒷꒦⊹๑🦇‧˚₊꒷︶
ㅤㅤAchilles’ eyes flashed open suddenly, after a short-lived, dreamless sleep, and he felt a brief shiver down his spine from the cold breeze that invaded the tent, the breeze of winter. As his vision tried to adjust to the darkness, he remained in bed where he was, listening to Patroclus’ quiet, calm breath beside him, the sound making him relax instantly. The tent’s whole air was extremely cold, so he gently pressed himself against Patroclus, who was laying on his side, facing him as he slept, and Achilles got so close they almost touched noses, so close he could feel his sweet scent, a mix of the smell of summer, honey and walnuts, and he drank it in. The warmth of his body comforted him as he covered them both with their fluffy fur blankets, gently caressing his fingers across his lover’s soft raven hair.
ㅤㅤHe loved watching him sleep, he looked so peaceful, delicate, calm, free from all the stress of the war they’ve been stuck in for so long. He looked so serene, Achilles cursed any and everyone who had ever disturbed his peace and who didn’t allow him to feel that way all the time. How could they do such a thing? He thought, sleepily tracing the lines of Patroclus’ face, loving the feeling of his unperfect, yet soft brown skin against his, that even though he couldn't see well, he knew exactly what it looked like, what every tiny bit and piece of him looked like, just like he knew himself. For a long moment he remained like that, his eyes slowly closing as he waited for sleep’s inevitable embrace.
ㅤㅤThen, a noise, outside. Objects being moved, clearly a human sound. Achilles remained where he was, insisting on trying to fall asleep, not wanting to get away from his love's closeness. Probably the men guarding camp. But the noise repeated, and he frowned, suddenly realizing how painfully dry his throat felt. With a sigh, he moved away from Patroclus and got up, stepping outside of the tent.
ㅤㅤThe moon was high up in the sky, and off in the distance an owl could be heard, its call echoing through the night. The camp was empty, and only a few tents had light coming from inside. As he made his way to get water, some fireflies floated in the air like tiny glittering stars, and he heard the noise once again.
ㅤㅤAlmost like a cat, he turned around to face the direction it came from, and his eyes landed on a dark figure rather nervously examining the contents in a box. The gleam of blades in the moonlight revealed the items inside, and Achilles realized he didn’t recognize who it was. His hand instinctively moved to the hilt of the sword he carried.
ㅤㅤUnfortunately right when he was going to sneakily approach them the figure noticed him and ran off with a surprised gasp, like a clueless rabbit who just noticed a fox staring at it, and just like the fox Achilles ran after them without saying a word. I can get this over with quickly.
ㅤㅤBut the figure was surprisingly fast, even to his standards, and pranced through the vegetation almost masterfully, as if they knew everything like the palm of their hand, that now held a single knife they managed to grab on the way out. Achilles had to avoid some sharp twigs as he chased them, which wasn’t exactly difficult, but it was getting annoying.
ㅤㅤOnce they reached a forest and he could feel his sweat on the back of his neck, and the figure was audibly panting as it continued to run, it suddenly disappeared in the darkness. He braked, looking around to see if he could spot the person, but all he saw was an infinite maze of tall trees and shadows. His shoulders dropped, and he let out a disappointed sigh.
ㅤㅤSome crows called in the distance. As he turned around to walk back home, he heard a sinister hiss from beyond the tree branches, and he looked up. Nothing, but he tensed, as if he could sense something was watching him. It could be anywhere, and he wasn't even sure if the hiss he heard was the one of a human. All of his senses were telling him to hurry up and get out, and so he started to run away from the forest, but another, louder and angrier hiss erupted from the dark, and suddenly he felt the weight of something very heavy throwing itself at him.
ㅤㅤHe gasped as his head hit the ground with full force, briefly making him feel stunted, but in a span of seconds as he was grabbing his sword he felt something sharp pierce through his neck, a pair of teeth as sharp as needles, and he let out a scream. His hands struggled under the humanoid creature he couldn't see because of the darkness, trying to push it away from him as despair began to take over, but somehow his strength wasn’t enough. With his vitality fading, eventually he felt his limbs become weak, his eyelids heavy, and slowly everything became dark.