Work Text:
Roswo let out a quiet sigh as he stepped deeper into the bush, watching Blake build yet another masterpiece. He couldn’t lie, he had always respected Blake’s creativity. Every idea he had, every build he made… They were all wonderful.
It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out what Roswo was feeling. He liked Blake- no, he loved him! He couldn’t help but love everything about him. Blake was perfection, he was everything Roswo could ever dream of. He did not have a single negative thing about him, which couldn’t help but make Roswo wonder. Was all this perfection was just what he saw?
But, it didn’t matter. He loved Blake, that’s all he needed to know. It was his admiration that grew into love, and that was okay. He’d just watch Blake, follow his steps, and feel closer to him.
And there he was, oh boy was he good looking. Roswo couldn’t help but cover his mouth as he watched Blake work. He worked so elegantly, so efficiently… It was hard for Roswo to take his eyes off of him and get to work.
He opened his inventory, taking out everything he’d need to work. He raised his head as he peeked through the grass once again, Blake was building a small cottage for animals, not for himself. That’s because he was so selfless! Roswo couldn’t help but smile.
He followed each step as Blake started building. Roswo of course made the cottage he was building a few meters bigger than Blake’s, so that they could put all their lovely pets inside once Blake and him got together. He placed the wood down, marking each side he’d have to place planks down to.
———
Roswo was proud of his build. He hadn’t exactly copied Blake’s every step, he knew he could never build as perfectly as him. But, he tried his best. And it was good, he knew it. Now, all that was left for him to do was to walk up to him and show him his build.
“Hello Blake! Can’t believe I found you here.” Roswo came out of the bush nearby, dusting off his clothes. He did not want to look bad in front of Blake.
“Oh, hi there Roswo! What are you doing?” Blake cracked a smile as bright as the sun, making Roswo flush a deep red.
“Well..” He instinctively covered one cheek with his hand as he looked away. “I was just seeing watch you build there- y’know…” He couldn’t stare Blake in the eyes.
“So, you wanna see the inside or what?” Blake held his hand towards Roswo, making him freeze for a moment. This was how kind Blake was… offering to immediately tour his new build for someone like him! Oh, he was so nice. How could Roswo refuse!?
“Sure..!” Roswo slowly accepted Blake’s offer, letting him hold his hand and lead the way.
He couldn’t focus on anything. Not on how perfect the cottage was, or how cute the small details he had put were. All he could see or sense was Blake’s hand. The touch of his palm, the strength of his pull. Roswo couldn’t help but shiver in excitement and joy. He wished the cottage was bigger, maybe they’d hold hands longer…
…
His cottage sure was bigger, wasn’t it?
“And, that’s it! You can pet the pigs if you want to!” But Roswo wasn’t listening.
“Hey, I actually took a lot of inspiration from you… So, I have a build that I’d like to show you. Can I get your thoughts on that..?”
“Oh, really! I’d love to see that! It’s lovely to hear that you’ve been inspired by me..!” Blake couldn’t help but smile even wider. Lately, he hadn’t been feeling like himself. Like he was doing something wrong, he had began doubting his art. It was incredible to hear that someone looked up to him.
“Alright, I’ll take you there!” Roswo grabbed Blake’s hand as they ran together into the forest. They ran past the flowers and the trees, past the animal that turned their heads to stare wide eyed at them. Past the shadows screaming for help inside the damneds hell. Until they finally stopped at the cottage he had build by his hands.
“Woah, it looks… a lot like mine…” Blake couldn’t help but point out the real obvious similarities.
“You are my biggest inspiration, of course it’d look alike!”Roswo brushed Blake off, tugging at his hand to show him around.
The spark in Blake’s eyes grew as he gazed amongst the cottage. His work looked a lot shinier in someone else’s hands.
“This.. is wonderful. Really.” He mumbled, which made Roswo smile.
“Actually-“ Roswo cut Blake off. “We should… build something together.” He smiled widely as he expected an answer from Blake.
“Oh, but Wykull invited me-“
“We don’t talk about Wykull.” Roswo’s smile fell.
“Okay..?” Blake sighed. “It’s not that important anyways, let’s do it!”
-~-~-~-~-~-~
Blake let out a long breath as he stared at their masterpiece. A small cafe just for the two of them, right by a lively river. They had already set a table just for the two of them to sit.
Roswo could barely hold himself together, they had built a dreamy cafe just for the both of them. Something special that they had made together. And they had a table ready, just for the two of them.
A date…
They both sat at the table, staring at each others eyes. Roswo did not eye the empty third seat, he didn’t even know why it was there, or why he had put it. Had Blake put it? Surely he had something planned. For now, all he had to focus on was Blake’s beautiful eyes. And the most excellent tea he had ever drank. It was perfect in every way.
But, Blake’s look felt wrong. His eyes carried a deep sense of worry. Roswo couldn’t help but reach into his hand, making Blake come back to his senses.
“Are you okay?” He asked, gently rubbing his palm.
“Yeah, sorry I just zoned out.” Blake pulled his hand back, touching the edge of his fingertips. They felt… cold for some reason.
“Is there something wrong..?” Roswo immediately started to worry, had he done something wrong, was he going too fast..? Not that it mattered of course.
“No- yes- kinda..?” Blake sighed, he couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong. Like something was missing. He felt, empty in a way, Roswo did fill that emptiness in his heart, but there was something else. There was something else missing. There was someone else missing.
“You can tell me if I’m doing something wrong…” Roswo looked wronged.
“It’s not you.. it’s just…” His head turned to the empty seat before settling at the plate.
“…”
“Why is there a cake on the table..?”
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Safurn let out a sigh, staring at the sign placed right outside his door. The outside was nearly pitch black, only slightly lit by the very few torches he had painstakingly managed to place down near his base.
“Don’t disappoint me again, Safurn.”
He chuckled, ignoring the sign as he walked into the dark. He held the singular torch in his hand tightly, he knew what losing it meant. He’d never find his way back in the dark, not to mention that there were worse things than simply getting lost…
He walked in the dark for thirty minutes, hardly keeping the torch lit. The cold air the place had nearly froze him, he needed the torch for warmth as well. After he stopped walking, he briefly checked the area for anything that wasn’t supposed to be there. Of course, he felt something watching him from the dark. This place was not safe. He could hear it whispering, laughing, making fun of his pain. He clenched his empty fist.
He kept moving, barely keeping the torch lit as he walked. He knew it would show him a sign, he was sure that the darkness wasn’t infinite, it just kept following him. It was an illusion!
After who knows how much time passed, he finally felt something cold pressing against his hand. A wall, in front of him. He kept one hand pressed against the wall, the other holding the torch as he walked to the right, trying to figure out how much place this wall took. It wasn’t very big, and it wasn’t a singular wall. It was a small house, or at least that was what it resembled. It had no windows, and a stone roof.
There was a door.
He grabbed the handle, he did not step in blindly. He had learned not to. Instead, he opened the door and stood at the opposite side of the handle. He reached inside the pitch black space with the hand he was holding the torch.
He didn’t hear anything.
He sighed, it was clear. He finally gathered enough courage to peek inside the room.
Inside, were a chest. Full of materials for a build.
He sighed, it was time again.
He grabbed the dusty old paper from the bottom of the chest, using the light from the torch to read the instructions. They felt, familiar in a way. Not that he could remember.
He frowned as he checked the instructions for the third time again. Something was wrong, there were a few materials missing. He groaned, throwing the paper inside the chest. He had to go out and find it.
Safurn couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of that, this had happened twice before. It had never ended well for him.
But, what could he do? Starve to death? He had to find those materials, he had to build from the instructions, and he had to live.
He had to work so he could live, so he could work to live again, so he could live to work, and work to live, and live to die. And he knew, there were worse things than death.
So he’d rather live to die.
He gripped the torch in his hand tightly, this was his only source of light and warmth. This was his life he was holding in his hands, he had to be careful.
He walked around aimlessly without being able to tell the time, until he came across another door. A door that lead to nowhere. In his anger, he kicked the door with all his might.
Nothing particular happened.
He saw something run from the corner of his eye, something moved. Something was there. He walked towards the location, just praying for it to be over.
There was a chest.
Inside were the missing items.
And a note.
“Cottage”
“…”
“fucker.” Safurn muttered under his breath as he took everything inside the chest. He had thankfully marked his way back, using the remains of the burnt part of the torch that let falling.
Finally, he made his way back to the sign as he started building according to the instructions. It seemed like a small little cottage for animals. Who’d make a cottage for animals. He certainly did not like his pigs. Those things but him in his sleep, eating chunks of his flesh. He was sure they weren’t even real, like the hell he was in.
After an hour of effort, he finally finished building.
He turned around after healing footsteps behind him, only to come face to face with a sign.
“You will be awarded for today’s bravery.”
Safurn froze, ‘Awarded’..? The only award he had ever got was to live another day, it was playing with him again.
In front of him stood a near empty table, around it were three empty chairs. The one right in front of Safurn suddenly pulled itself back, nudging for him to sit down. He took a long breath before he sat down. What could it possibly be doing to him?
The table was cold, there were two empty cups placed in front of the other chairs, and one placed in front of Safurn. He stared at the cup, there was a strange liquid inside. He wouldn’t dare drink it. But, he couldn’t help but think to himself. What could it be..? Curiosity was about to win him over, the urge to drink. Oh, he hadn’t had anything but lake water for so long.
His fingertips brushed against the cup as he held it inside his hands. He had dropped the torch to the ground, not caring about it anymore. The cup was stone cold, making his fingertips fuzzy. Yet, he couldn’t help but take a small sip.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t poison. It tasted like something long forgotten, something he couldn’t remember anymore.
He rubbed his eyes, he could feel a tear coming down his cheek. He didn’t know why he was crying. Yet, he couldn’t stop himself.
He raised his head to stare at the other two seats, it felt like he wasn’t alone. He could see shadows of two people, two people that weren’t there. Two people long forgotten.
Two people that had long forgot.
And, there was a small cake in front of him, a bite already taken out of it.
He heard a faint whisper coming from the dark, his ears hurt whenever he tried to listen to it. And yet, he felt sinful at that moment.
“Ḣ̸̡͈͆̊͂̌͋̋̀̅̋͋̚̕a̸̧̧̪̱̫͚̯̼̦̼̤͈̭͖̘͐͊̓̓̓̈́̽̐̍́̓͛͊̉́̂̂̉͂̀̋̏͛̂̾́̈́́̆̓̀̓̚̕̕̕̚͝͝͝͝͝p̷̡̧͖̥̻̠͎̲̭̝̠̟̼̩̲̪̙̗̫̥̮͚̺̮̙̞̤̗̻̼͚̫̦̫̗̞̖̮͇̹̩̬̼̓̋͋͑͂̒̇̿̋̍̍̽̄̄̽̔́͂̑̎̀̍͑̋̉̀͂́̈́̃̎͂͒̂͑̿̐̒͗̐̐́́͘͜͝͝͝ͅp̷̨̡̢̣̻͈̘͉͇͓̦͍͉̪̗̩̣̟͎̰̮̭̬͚͈̼͈̩̠̺̹̩̰̘̼̑̓̆͊͂̽͌͑̃͜y̴̞͓͙͈̳̬̝͖̘̟͚̠̳̺͙̭̙̲̓̈͊̚ ̸̧̢̛̛̝͈̥̙̤̝͎̰͍͍̬̏͛̈̎̅͒͐͌͌̽͋̀͐͒̏̂̀̈́͗͑̇͗́̂̆̒̕͘͝͠͠ͅB̵̡̧̨̛͓̫̜̹̭̫̹̰̥̟̟̟͖͓̙̺̰̥̝̥͇̗̫̻̩̪̝͇͖̲̮̩̦͗͆͂͆̅̑̎̉̊̏̉͂̓̋̆̅̈́́͆̂̃̓̀̇̌̃̒͐̀̋̽̆̒͌̈́̂̚͜͜͝͝͠i̵̡̨̨̡̜̫̳̪̞̠̫͍͈̮̝̹̹͓̮̮̫̬̱̻͖͉͎̭̠̼̜̲̒̋͆̂̑̅̀̔̉͑̀̾̇́̈́̔̔̽́̊̆̉̓͋̓̉̂̆̕͜͜͜͠͝r̸̢̗̗̰̫̤̫̳͚̗̜̣̝̺̫̺̤̪̪̻̥̝̂͌̓ͅt̷̨̛̛͓̗̳̫̦̳͐̈͒̓̄̅̓͊͛̒̾̃̾͗͌͌̍̓̾́̔̈́̓̓́͛̃̈́̈́̈́̊̏̀͑̅͘̚ḫ̶̰̭͕̞̝̩̐̽͊̂̑̀͐̄̇̏̓̂̃̋̀͌̃͌̈́̃̐̈́̈́̃̆͆̓̏̕͘̕͠͝d̷̨̡̨̢̨̡̧̨̡̛͕͖̠̮̞̣̥̹͈̖̝̳͙̱̠͙̝̮͔̜̮̘͇̤̭̰̹̬̮͖͕͓̹͍͚̹̒͐̍̈́̏͑͑̏̿̓̍̈̿͐̾͒̌̋̈́́̿͂͗͗̈́͑̄̈́̑͂̃̑́͋͋̔̽̈͜͠͝ã̵̢̡̨̡̖͎̳̘̠̺̤̱̺͙͔̪̹̻͔̩̟̰͇̻̙̞͙̜̰͇̗̟̘̩̰̊͆̋̃́͛̉͌̑̔̔͂͗͑͒̕̕ͅͅͅͅy̵̧̡̢̧̨̻͉̰̺̰̬̭̗̮̲͍̗̲̭̺̟͓̣͇̞̙̞͎̥͎̙̰̳̖̖̫̮̳̭̙̺͕̫͈̱̌̉̈́̅͊͛̆̽̿̾͒̈́͌́̓̐̔̀̑͆̈̃́̋̓̇̄̔̃̎̓̎͑̎̽̕͘͝”
Safurn closed his eyes, he felt a hand strangle his neck. He knew there was nothing there. The damp air had thought it could fool him once more.
And yet, he touched his neck. His ears heard static, so loud that it made him bleed. Yet he knew that there wasn’t a single drop of blood that left his body. And that he was deaf.
His hands hurt, it felt like it was getting cut. And yet, he knew that he. was whole.
And that he’d never take a bite of the
cake.
Ever again.
Never.