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Eyes.
Eyes everywhere.
Expanding across an inky sky of black, fuzzy if you stared into the emptiness for too long, headache inducing if you tried to understand where solid ground formed and what led into a gaping maw of void that consumed anything unfortunate enough to fall into it.
D3rLord felt the eyes drag across every inch of his skin, roving over it almost hungrily, digging through his protective armor, peeling back layers of skin like an orange. Trying to get to the fruit underneath, squishy and easily squashed.
He felt like a bug being examined, every twitch, every little movement or sign of fear cataloged and stored for future reference.
No matter how hard he curled into himself, arms wrapped around his tucked in knees like a toddler terrified of the dark, he could feel Its gaze still scratching across his body. No matter how much protection his layers of clothing and armor may provide, it stripped him bare, raw underneath its gaze. Dignity crushed between black, claw tipped fingers long ago. Left broken open wide.
Exposed.
Vulnerable.
Like prey, trembling in the tangling bushes of a forest, fear coursing ice cold through his veins and stilling any possible attempt at running. A stalking predator flanked and veiled by shadows, the sight of its true body unknown and intangible, only a pair of glowing yellow eyes staring and staring and staring.
Yellow.
The eyes are yellow, burning, scorching golden yellow.
Not the shimmery golden color of his armor, glittering in sunlight, A subtle warmth flowing through that made him feel safe. Protected. Reassured.
A harsh gold that cut through muscle and dug deep into his bones, drilling through his skull and wrapping slithering tentacles of yellow around his brain. Squeezing and prodding and poking and adding more kindle to the roaring flames licking across his skin. Hot hot hot.
A voice whispering in his ear, then growing stronger, doubling in its numbers, calling and luring him into it. To that gate. To that mystery. Gnawing at him, questioning and pulling and so inviting.
Puzzles he could crack easily, A small ego boost, urging him onwards, deeper into that shadow filled cave, unfamiliar terrain that only made his curiosity grow tenfold.
Curiosity killed the cat after all. Or would it rather be, curiosity killed the knight?
D3rLord clawed at the metal of his helmet like an animal desperate to rid itself of its cage, blunt nails scraping down and forcing a thin screech of protest out of the headwear.
Gripping at the scraggly, fur like red material coming out of the comb of his helmet, D3rLord yanked it off after a few struggling tugs.
A short breath, A gasp caught in his throat, escaped as he threw the headwear off into the empty distance, only vaguely registering the sharp metal clank of it landing.
The wispy, flame like charcoal black curls of his "hair" flared upwards as they were freed. Flickering and fanning out eagerly in the empty air. He rarely ever takes off his helmet, lets his "true form" show, he's never allowed the sight to be shared with anybody else. Willingly.
Or...
Has he?
A fuzzy, static memory plays somewhere deep in the recesses of his mind.
The eyes get dimmer, farther away. Tentacles recoiling from his brain, A respite that allowed a grateful sigh to slip out of his mouth, lost to the darkness.
Something, someone emerald colored and solid in the mushiness of his brain appeared like a person shaped fog, smelling of green apples, comparing his odd, feathery body to the crackling flames of a campfire. His voice was bright, energetic. A bubbly laugh as D3rLord gave him an incredulous look and shrugged.
They're warm. And soft. And gentle. And it hurts, something about it hurts, hurts so tenderly. D3rLord reaches, fingers extending out as far as they can go, to cradle, touch, understand what is causing his chest to squeeze and heart to thud like a fluttering bird.
A stab of pain crashes through his skull, forcing a choked cry out of his throat. An arrow straight through the memory, cracking it and letting the pieces crumble into the hungry void below.
The eyes leer at him, snarling and judging his fragility, laughing at him.
They glow brighter. Bright yellow. The suns very core, black pupils melting into yellow and orange and gold shades staring at him, past his own fear stricken look and deeper. Deeper and deeper and deeper and the tentacles curl around his brain. Molding into the squishy substance, imprinting their shape permanently, burning like a possessive claim of ownership. Whispers confirm, trailing through his ears, he can't leave, he'll stay here in this darkness till death finally claims him, he deserves it.
A small, broken off sob bubbles its way out of his mouth against his will.
His voice is small, so frail, so unnatural and alien to his ears.
Glittering tears trail their way down his cheeks, sluggish in their descent and dripping into that vicious blackness. They flow endlessly, staining his face more of the scorching golden yellow color. He can taste it. The rot. It's hot and cold on his tongue, disgusting and sweet, he hates it and craves more of the taste so it can be understood. Incomprehensible.
Hah.
D3rLord. Here.
Sobbing uncontrollably and clutching at his tear streaked face, begging, begging for this pain to leave. For this knowledge to be removed from his small brain. Begging for the eyes to not look so disappointed, he's sorry, so so sorry for being curious.
D3rLord.
"D3rLord?" "D3rLord? Hey!"
D3rLord snapped upwards like a mouse trap being triggered. A choked gasp slipping out, one of his hands flying to his chest as it heaved weakly, heartbeat thundering at the speed of a startled rabbit. His wispy hair flares upwards like a fire having fresh gasoline thrown onto it, flickering wildly.
Soft blankets surround him, originally constructed into a carefully structured nest, now scattered messily like a tornado had decided to just blow through casually. A pillow thrown onto the wooden floor, illuminated by moonlight shimmering through partially drawn open curtains.
Pins and needles tickle across his stiff body, A hundred bugs crawling all across his skin, hot and sticky even if he couldn't actually sweat. Nails dug into his chest, dragging a harsh mark across, A desperate and failed attempt to claw out of his outer Layer of misty "flesh".
He could still feel them.
The eyes. The whispers. The burn. It lingered-
"D3rLord!"
The knight whipped towards the voice, scrambling away like a deer almost struck by a car, nearly tumbling off the king sized bed, making an embarrassingly loud squawk of surprise. One of his arms snapped up in front of him, defensive out of habit.
"Whooa- Hey, it's okay! Just me," Avery explained, voice squeaky. The slime was sat up on his knees, goopy tail curled around his legs as usual. His simple sleep clothes, A white T-shirt and some shorts and quite similar to D3r's, sleep ruffled and unfixed. Slime "hair" semi-melted and partially covering his left eye, expression drawn into a tight scrunch of confusion and gentle concern. His hands held out but not touching, as if attempting to comfort a skittish feral animal, careful not to let himself get accidentally bit.
Avery.
It's... It's just Avery.
D3rLord slumped like a puppet getting its strings cut, his entire upper body lurching forward as he clutched his forehead and groaned, attempting to ease the headache itching its way behind his eyes. Like... IT was still trying to claw through his bone marrow, get to what's inside and infest it. Tentacles curling and coiling.
Avery silently stared for a few moments, his outline a lightly green tinted shadow against the inky blacks of the rest of the room.
He let D3rLord sit, he let D3rLord breathe shakily, he let D3rLord process whatever whirling turmoil was going on inside that expansive head that he could never fully understand.
Then slowly, treading carefully, he leaned forward to place one hand onto D3r's shoulder. Not heavy, not digging, just a grounding and familiar pressure. He was here, he was real.
D3r made a light sound of acknowledgement, face still buried in his hands. "...Thank you. I apologize for.. For waking you," He mumbled, voice raw and deeply lined with exhaustion so painfully quiet. He flicked his yellow eyes up to Avery's olive green ones, briefly maintaining eye contact before slumping against Avery's shoulder. Still keeping his weight limited, not leaning too heavy.
Avery focused on adjusting the other to be more comfortable, shifting D3r so he could lay his head on his chest, sore back getting the relief it needed as Avery laid the both of them down back onto the fluffy pillows with a soft grunt. Legs tangling together, slow breathes mingling till the air was both of theirs, the same ritual as the many other times this has happened.
"Don't apologize, doofus. I was still awake anyways, saw you thrashing around n' stuff," Avery murmured back, threading his fingers carefully through the puffed up feathers lining D3rLord's neck. The knight melted like putty instantly as he started scratching at the soft downy. Releasing a drawn out sigh of ease.
Avery let the silence linger in the still bedroom air, put all his attention into easing the tension still biting at D3rLord, both physically and mentally.
Thread deep into the feathers, scratch, and then pull out and repeat. Rub his shoulders, specifically where those knots would form because of their frequent sparring sessions. Avoid touching the wings on his head. Avery repeated the basic information through his head, the motions practically etched into him by now.
"..Another nightmare?" He spoke, not breaking the silence, simply weaving his voice into it. Hushed and soothing, never prodding too deep if he knew he shouldn't.
D3rLord hummed, contemplative, before letting out a half hearted sigh. "Yes. It was the same one, but..." D3r drummed his fingers idly against the bed sheets, expression monotone and unreadable.
"Buuut?" Avery paused in scratching at the downy feathers, head leaning slightly to the side so he could better look at D3r.
"You were there," D3rLord responded, flicking his gaze upward at the slime, something warm worming its way into those tired eyes. A kind of... Admiration? Apprehension?? Adoration??? Hidden deep, still buried behind hesitation, but being allowed to briefly shine through. The exact emotion hard to pinpoint. But maybe Avery doesn't have to understand. It seems good. And he'll still be here if D3r wants to let that look strengthen one day.
"Really? That's new, right? You've said it's usually just you and theee..." Avery paused, mouth thinning into a line before he just mumbled out, "the guy." He winced, cringing, he's never been quite sure if mentioning the King's name will make D3r's anxiety worse or not.
"Prff.." D3rLord breathed out a short chuckle, the rumble echoing through Avery's chest and making something flutter inside him, bright and fierce. A smile stretched across his face as well, somewhat awkward but filled with equal dorky joy.
"Yeah, “The Guy“, but I saw you as well this time. I think. It was more so just this weird... Feeling, like warmth and safety, but familiar," D3rLord's voice quieted slightly as his spoke, just barely above a whisper, like the wind gently flowing outside. But Avery caught each word, latching on as a warm flush settled across his face, making the slime burn a darker green.
He couldn't stop his tail from trying, and mostly failing, to wag. Roughly dragging across the sheets and pulling at a corner of the blanket.
D3r shot the goopy limp a look, smile curving up into a bit more of an amused smirk, but he mercifully decided not to mention it further.
D3r looked back up at Avery, eyes locked now, previous hesitation gone as he just stared. Golden yellow burning into deep green, Avery once though he'd find the yellow disturbing after everything that happened, but no.
Not if it's D3rLord. Never D3rLord. He'd let those eyes eat his soul, scorch it with the heat of the sun, and then offer more of his skin to be burned.
"Thank you, again... Avery," D3r murmured, tenderness lining each word, soaking it with a kind of silent love that was so... So D3rLord. It hurt, squeezed Avery's chest in a vice grip.
God. He'd go through everything again for this man. Read that stupid book, go through those stupid worlds, spend 12 hours planting stupid flowers, block the stupid gates, deal with the stupid fucking King in Yellow, just to get back to here eventually.
"Yeah, anytime," Avery breathed out, drawing his fingers back through those soft feathers, D3r letting his entire body finally go fully lax with a content hum, more of a blissful purr.
Truly vulnerable, not being forced to have his clothes and skin and muscles peeled away by bright yellow eyes searching and searching and searching.
Trusting. Just trusting, again and again, every breath he takes, chests rising and falling against each other.
Maybe the nightmares won't be so bad next time.
And if they still make his entire body go rigid, breath hitching and breaking into sobs, feathers puffing up defensively.
Avery will be here.