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TW/CW: N/A
Prompt: N/A
Characters: Grian, Pearl
Style: Backstory
Word Count: ~530
AU: Mortuus AU
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It was dark when they met. The night hung low in the sky, clinging to everything it touched. It had been a chance meeting, on an old road, both far from home. He had tried to avoid her, hurrying past with his hood up. She had stopped him anyway.
They were not strangers. Instead the two had grown up together, had the same friends. They had even lived together for a time. That time was long over.
She looked at him, with a lonely sort of sorrow in her eyes and a longing for things that could exist no longer. He noticed the small things that had changed since he last saw her, a small scar on her nose, the twitch in her wrist. Evidence of a war hard fought and lost despite everything.
"Why did you leave us?" Her voice was barely a whisper, scared that this was an illusion that could easily shatter. He hesitated.
"I had my reasons." He spoke flatly, a harsh comparison to how she remembered him.
"You didn't even say goodbye..."
"You would only have tried to change my mind, I couldn't risk that happening."
He remembered the day he left far too clearly. He remembered not looking back despite knowing that he would likely never see them again, convinced he was doing the right thing.
"Please come back. We need you, I need you."
"But you don't!" He raised his voice, finally telling her the fears that had their part in driving him away. "Just stop lying to yourself! You don't need me. You never did. You were the smart one. You were always everyone's favourite kid. Even my own parents preferred you! And then you joined the server and it felt like even my own friends preferred you."
"I didn't know" She whispered, "That was my problem i suppose. I mean, I always tried to help others, to be there for them. I think that I'd known you, looked up to you, for so long that I couldn't imagine you being anything but happy."
"I know you didn't know. Why would you. I'd always been the one that never spoke up. You had no reason to assume something was wrong."
"Please, just come back, we miss you."
"I can't go back. Ever."
"But I don't understand why. What aren't you telling me?"
He looked away from her, trying to decide if putting her in danger was worth it.
"I didn't want to."
"What?"
"They said they would hurt you and the others if I didn't join them."
"The ∴ᔑℸ ̣ ᓵ⍑ᒷ∷ᓭ ?"
"Yeah."
She paused before she spoke.
"Promise me that you'll at least write to me."
"Ok... Maybe when it's safe for us to meet again we can join a server together. Just like before."
"I'd like that." She smiled as she spoke. He walked past her, leaving her behind again. This time, however, there was hope. Hope and understanding. Hope that they could meet again, and understanding that it might never happen. He didn't look back, confident that this time he was not leaving forever, simply going on a journey to seek safety so that they could meet again.
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Word Count: ~500
Someone remind me to never write dialogue again. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this oneshot, until the next one, bye! ~Mors