+ ((( Rainbow in the Dark ))) +

To Hide A Divide (Part 3/4)

Purple rested his hand on Orange's shoulder. Orange looked up at him, meeting his eyes. "You can tell me. You know how well I keep secrets." Purple told him.

Orange didn't move for a while. Purple was patient the entire time, waiting for him to answer. Just as Purple was starting to think he should go ahead and leave, Orange finally spoke.

"It's...it's to keep me in line." He finally confessed, his shoulders slumping. Purple looked at him curiously, and Orange continued.

"I...I saw something I shouldn't have...it's to make sure that I don't...act out on it." Orange said, speaking slowly, as if he were trying to find the right words.

Purple glanced over the paper in his other hand, able to see it better in the new lighting. "What does this mean?" He asked, handing the paper to Orange. "It says that it can also trigger Predator forms?"

Purple knew that Orange couldn't read, but he still wanted to show him the proof, just in case Orange didn't believe him. Orange took the paper and glanced at the sketch with a sigh.

"Unfortunately."

"But...you wouldn't try that again...would you? You almost died!" Purple said, looking at Orange with concern. Orange shrugged, and Purple wasn't sure what to think of it.

"Purple, can I tell you a secret? But you can't tell anyone, not even Cyan." Orange said, and Purple hesitated for a moment before nodding. He was willing to listen to anything that Orange had to say, especially if it was something that had been weighing on him.

"Okay..." Orange said, taking a deep breath. "A lot has been going on for me...and I...don't want to kill the intruders anymore." He said, looking back up at Purple.

Purple was silent. He didn't know what to think. Orange didn't want to hunt intruders? The same hungry dino who almost always got the most kills during hunts? He had no idea how he was supposed to react to this information.

He realized that he hadn't spoken in a few long moments, so he decided to try and come up with some sort of response. At least the mechanism on the collar made sense now.

"Well, if that's what you want..." Purple said, still at a loss for words. "But...doesn't that mean..."

"That I have to hunt them against my will from now on? Yeah, it does." Orange scoffed. Purple was surprised. When he had told Orange that he understood 'everything,' he didn't think that it was like that.

"I...don't know what to say, Orange..." Purple told him, trying to seem nice.

"Then don't say anything, please. Just don't tell anyone about the collar, don't tell anyone about what's really going on, okay? I don't care if you're disappointed in me, just please, don't tell the others." Orange said, taking Purple's hands in his own smaller ones.

Purple stared at him, shocked. "I-I'm not disappointed in you." Purple said, confused. Why would Orange think that? Is it because he thought Purple enjoyed killing them?

While Purple had never seen the fun in doing the killing, he had simply wanted to keep his friends safe. He wanted them to have a peaceful life for as long as possible, and that was his way of doing that.

Orange looked surprised as well. "You aren't?" He asked tentatively.

Purple shook his head. "No. I'm just...concerned. Are you sure you're okay? Do you need help?" He asked Orange.

Orange looked sad for a second, then shook his head. "No one can help me."

Purple clenched his hands into fists, "I can help you! If you need, I can get Blue, and we can go put Red in his place-" But he was cut off by Orange.

"No! Don't do that...please. I-I can't have you do that." He said, looking fearfully at Purple.

"Why not?" Purple demanded, feeling protective of Orange.

"I-I..." Orange said, his breathing starting to grow heavier. "He-he'll hurt me...please don't..." He said quietly, pleading with Purple, squeezing his eyes shut.

Purple stopped, realizing that he may have been going too far. As he saw tears prick at the edge of Orange's eyes, he felt a rush of concern replace the protectiveness and fiery determination that he had felt only a couple seconds ago.

He wanted to tell Orange that he could take care of it, but Orange was pleading with him not to. It would be crossing boundaries if he did, wouldn't it? As much as it hurt him, he knew that he had to let Orange come to him before he could take any action.

He drew his hands away from the curled up form of Orange

"Okay," He whispered, "Okay. I won't. But Orange, if it gets any worse, please tell me." He said, watching as Orange started to calm down.

After a couple moments, Orange finally picked up his head and looked back at Purple.

"....Okay." Was all he said.

Purple, sensing that he should probably leave, pushed himself off of the ledge, landing on his feet on the rocky floor.

He crawled back up the wall and opened up his vent, which had swung closed after he had first entered. Just as he was about to disappear into the darkness again, he heard Orange's voice again.

"Purple?"

"Yeah?"

"You're a good friend."

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And that's a wrap for today.

I hope you enjoyed! Next chapter is the final one in this part!

Stick around, and I hope you have a good day/night!

Next Chapter: Tø Ħıðe Æ Ðįvîďẽ (Part #/4)