Wishful Dreaming

17

It was well into the evening now, with some of the animals beginning to quieten down in preparation for the night that would come in the next short hours. Although Mono and Seven may have been sitting in one spot chatting for several hours without moving much, that didn't mean that they could completely trust where they had landed up. With newfounded energy, they had no trouble scouting out the areas for any signs of trouble, finding nothing out of the ordinary for a forest.

There was one very notable finding, being a crystal clear creek running lazily down the rockbed. Seven stared at it with an awestruck expression, having never seen water so clear and undisturbed. Mono, who also enjoyed the beauty for about a few seconds before realizing he felt like he was dying of thirst, took a tentative sip from his cupped hands out of the water. It didn't taste weird, or too strongly of anything at all, so he assumed it was safe to drink more. Any other time he would be more careful when he found a water source, having come upon ones that made him sick several times, but with the berries being safe and him being so thirsty, he couldn't find it in himself to care. Seven didn't even think twice after he saw Mono drinking out of it, trusting Mono's judgment without much thought himself. He's done that so much lately without realizing it, and if he thought about it then, it would probably amaze him how far he's gotten.

It was also this sense of ease and calmness that caused Mono to splash some water at Seven after they were done replenishing their thirst. Seven retaliated by splashing back at Mono with a quiet giggle. Chasing that small laugh, Mono splashed again, this time dodging when Seven tried to splash back. They went back and forth for a while, until Seven was practically soaked and tired of Mono always moving away from his attacks, ending up trying to push Mono in the creek. Said boy fell backwards with a yelp, grabbing onto Seven as he fell, dragging them both into the shallow water. Now they were both jumping and splashing, laughing more than they ever had. It was almost like they were allowed to be kids again, having fun without worrying about everyday essentials.

They played for another hour, feeling as if they could never get bored or tired, as if the day would never end. Then Seven took a good look at Mono, and attempted to wipe some of the dirt that stubbornly clung to the taller boy's hair. Mono let him, finding the careful tugs and rustles soothing after having no physical touch on his head for a while with his paper bag covering it. When Seven was satisfied with the now slightly untangled and cleaner mop that Mono claimed as hair, he let Mono do the same for him when he asked. Perhaps they could do this more often if they decided it was safe to stay here, because it sure seemed nice.

It was getting cold, forcing the young boys to climb out of the creek bed and use the last of the sun's rays to dry themselves, sitting flat on a warm rock and talking about silly things, such as the shape of the clouds. Mono was sure he'd done this a lot when he was dreaming, but coming up with shapes and scenarios from fluffy white puffs with a friend was decidedly a lot more fun.

Then it was nighttime, and the world returned to being dark, but this time it felt different. No longer were they looking at how dull and lifeless everything felt, but how the moon made everything become like glitter, shining with a mysterious beauty. The crickets and other nocturnal animals came out, welcoming the night with their songs and loud chirps. Even the night was much louder and comfortable than the wilderness that Mono stayed at for far too long. If he knew a place like this existed, he would've searched for it a long time ago. Seven agreed when Mono spoke the thought into words, though he was much more solemn.

Mono ended up spotting a nice bush close to the river with thick leaves and tons of woven branches. From there, he and Seven were able to wiggle themselves into a spot underneath it, Mono explaining how he did this a lot when he was trying to stay out of sight from The Hunter. The boy also found himself discussing with Seven how he also used to sleep in trees every once in a while, enjoying the weird comfort the height brought him. Seven only responded saying that he had odd things that comforted him too.

No matter how much they wanted to continue talking, to keep growing closer with each new tidbit they learned from the other, they eventually grew tired. Mono yawned, his exhaustion becoming more evident with the passing time, and Seven was soon to follow. They fell asleep, wrapped up in each other's comforting presence, and before too long, each other's arms. It was the best sleep they've ever had, sleeping well into the next day, waking up and finding more things to like about the forest and one another.

If this was a dream, well, neither of them ever wanted to wake up.

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Sorry that this chapter is much shorter than the last two!! I just wanted to write cute fluff with them having a good time like normal kids. I also apologize for my terrible writing or different style or whatever happened in this chapter. I had to read this informational text, and it felt like all my creativity was drained out of me. I was also really sick for several days, sleeping about eighty percent of those days. I know these aren't good excuses for my writing, but my writer's block went from like 30 to 100 really quick but I still wanted to write. I hope it isn't too bad and that you still find some sort of happiness from the two best boys bonding and actually getting what they deserved, or the fluff I promised in the tags lol. I was going to make this more dialogue heavy to make up for the rest of the story, but then I realized that I suck. Have a good day or night wherever you are!! <3