Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The seat Dominic was sitting on had never felt more comfortable, the cushioned part aiding him with his constant back pain. His eyes were half-lidded, threatening to close at any moment if allowed. Thankfully, however, he had some self-restraint and resorted to staring down at the screen of his laptop. Any words and notes he might've written down earlier were completely forgotten in his mind, all of them blurring together into a mesh of scribbles on a glaring white backdrop. He should have changed it to dark mode before class started.

What time was it? He didn't bother checking, moving his eyes feels like too much effort at the moment. If others got up from their seats, so would he. Yeah, that's a good plan.

Without noticing, or perhaps caring, he allowed his eyes to close.

'Just for a moment.' he promised himself.

He could hear someone talking, none of the words truly sticking to him, like oil and water. How much time had passed? He considered ignoring it until, finally, he recognized that the words were aimed toward him. Opening his eyes in a flash, he blinked a few times to remove any blurriness that might have remained. Ugh, the room seemed brighter than before. Did the clouds pass by the sun already?

"Mr. Vahter, I'll need to have a word with you after class." the woman in front, his professor, spoke, her voice loud and clear. It snapped him back into the right state of mind, right, he was in the middle of a class. What was said before this? He shouldn't have rested his eyes.

"Ah, okay..." he mumbled a response half-heartedly, not looking forward to speaking to her. Nothing against her, personally, Mrs. Grunewald is a lovely professor, but she's horribly uptight about order in her classroom. Hopefully, he wouldn't be getting an earful from her again. He has long since run out of excuses for falling asleep.

As class slowly came to an end, Dominic warily got up from his seat. His back ached even more than when he first sat down, but what was new? He stretched before gathering his stuff and shoving it all haphazardly into the backpack. For a second he considered pretending he forgot about what his professor said, but that would only lead to Mrs. Grunewald chasing him down the hallways, scolding him.

He lagged behind, slowly shuffling against the sea of students hurrying for the exit. He heaved a sigh, approaching Mrs. Grunewald with the same excitement as a criminal for his execution. She was waiting for him, sorting through random papers that Dominic could bet his arm on having nothing of importance written on them. Her eyes snapped to him as she heard him step close, clearing her throat.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Vahter..." She drawled on. "Thank you for offering your time."

"Uh... Yeah..." Dominic's hand tightened on his backpack. "Did something happen..?"

"Nothing of note, no. Unless you have something to confess..?" She stared at him over her glasses. "Anyways... It's about your final project."

"Is something wrong with what I have shown so far?" His heart sank a bit, dreading the idea of having to change anything.

"No, your plans seem fine. It's about your partner." She sighs. "I know I promised that you could work on your own, given the odd number of students in my class, but the situation has changed. You shall partner up with the new transfer student- hm.." She trailed off mid-sentence.

Dominic wanted to bash his head against the nearest surface. A partner?! This late into the semester?! He already had everything planned to the smallest details! How was he supposed to shove a second person in them?

"I see... Shouldn't they also be here then? For this conversation?" He gritted through a forced smile, all to keep the murderous glare from his face.

"That's the issue." Mrs. Grunewald's face was drawn into an unpleasant frown. "She was supposed to have already arrived, yet she's been absent to all her classes today. I knew she'd be trouble..." The last bit seemed like a slip of the tongue, an unprofessional little blunder that Dominic couldn't care to bring attention to.

"That's... Concerning. I hope she is okay." And maybe she changed her mind and dropped out of the course. He felt a tinge of guilt striking him as he thought about it. It would be easier for him, yes, but life isn't fair. He'd get over it eventually.

Mrs. Grunewald shrugged, giving him an equally lost look. "You'll get to meet her, I'm sure. You're young, you'll manage to get along somehow."

Keeping his definitely genuine smile, he could only nod. Words were things that have failed him on more occasions than he can count, ruining his image right in front of a professor is the last thing he'd want. 'Hopefully, sooner than later,' he bitterly thought. The silence between Dominic and Mrs. Grunewald dragged on, making him feel uncomfortable. He quickly bid the woman goodbye and walked out the door.

"Great. Now I'll have to rework my whole plan..." Dominic huffed as he ruffled his already messy blond locks, ruining his appearance even more. This was going to seriously suck.

╰┈➤

Ah, the photography section; The loneliest corner of the University library.

Dominic scrolled through the Instagram feed on his laptop, many books stacked and open on the table he was sitting at, untouched ever since they were first put there. His seat let out an uncomfortable creak as he leaned forwards to look at the pixels on the device better. 'Are they seriously satisfied with this?' his nose scrunched up as he examined the image that had unfortunately slid onto his screen. He could list off a handful of changes that needed to be made to have the photo pop, hell, he had even written up a comment to the poster. For you, dear reader, it was something that started with a lovely 'You should've chosen a different angle'. What a nice guy.

And.. Send. That should help them with fixing things up for their next post! That's only if they're even willing to take his advice. He knows that he wouldn't if it was a stranger! Sure, he could have just ignored it and went on with his day… done something more productive, like actually read what he's supposed to for his final project. Ehh.. he'll get to that in a second. Seeing that he didn't get an immediate notification back from the poster, he felt almost disappointed. He pouted to himself and moved the laptop to the side to make more room in front of him.

The books on the table wouldn't read themselves, after all. He gingerly picked one up by its corner, being surprised that it wasn't one of those paperback ones, considering the funding for this place, and dragged it towards himself to actually be able to see what's on the pages. The sunglasses didn't help, but it was a part of his whole getup! Anyway- "The Conquest of Nature", a pretty badass name for something he had to read for class. That would be the first and most likely last time something like that happened to him.

It definitely wasn't his first choice for a read, but you can't exactly escape from work given to you by a professor. A shame, really. He positioned himself closer to the table and straightened his back, having looked like something akin to a shrimp just a second ago. That might just be the cause for his back pain. "I should have gone into the biology course instead.." he ruffled the back of his hair, deciding to shake the thoughts out of his head and just start reading.

╰┈➤

"Ugh, these god-damn German hallways!" Rika growled as she rounded a corner into an identical looking corridor. Her platformer shoes echoed onto the cold marble. There was no one around to ask for directions- not that she would ask them, anyway. She didn't need help.  She could handle herself perfectly fine. It's just that the University was gigantic, too much for her to see in the week she's been here.

Eventually, she spotted the "Library" sign, pointing at an unremarkable set of mahogany doors. She breathed out a sigh of relief- there had to be someone in there, if worst came to shove. She checked her bangs in her phone's reflection, ignoring the dozen or so notifications on her newest post. She'll check it out later, if she felt like it. She took a deep breath before pushing the doors open.

The smell of old books hit her nose immediately, making her frown. " Mon Dieu... They really should open a window here." She looked around, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of shelves. Surprisingly, it was mostly empty. Perhaps everyone preferred to use their phones nowadays. She understood.

The word "Photography" caught her eye immediately. She glanced at the Information Desk, but the Librarian must be on break or something. Shrugging, she just walked in, bee-lining straight for the section she'd been eyeing. Photography was the sole reason for her being here- it was her passion, and so she sought it out whenever she could. Her current assignment was right up her alley too- score!

She was more than familiar with the nature around Rouen, the dark trees and dynamic skyline peppered by tall cathedrals; her stay in Heidelberg had been quite short and uneventful thus far. She needed to quickly familiarize herself with the environment if she wanted to hold onto her scholarship. She also felt no joy knowing that she'd have to work alongside some other student. She couldn't stand most people on her best days- having to spend time with a stranger that will probably have terrible ideas and no direction sounded like hell.

As she turns into the section, she notices another student sitting at a table, a stack of books almost covering him entirely.

The student looked to be in his early twenties, tanned skin and bleached blonde hair in a strange haircut and clothes to boot. He seemed too engrossed in whatever he was reading to notice her standing there. Who could ever blame him?

Some of the books looked familiar to her.. ah, right. She needed them for her project! Considering the blond was sitting there, it meant that he had got them from a nearby bookshelf, nobody willingly carries so much further than necessary unless they're masochistic. Already making a mental note not to bother the man, she walked around him to the shelves not too far from the table to find what she needed.

Yet no matter how much she scoured through the many glorified blocks of dead wood, she could not for the life of her find what she needed. Maybe a different shelf?

Instead of being graced by Lady Luck, there were only empty spots where what she needed once sat. Her expression dead-panned, not that it was very pleasing beforehand. Her gaze flickered to the blond to the right of her but she made no move to get any nearer.

So, she just stared. Sending telepathic messages to the man that would not be heard.

The burning stare she gave the blond must've knocked him out of his trance, eyes glancing up from one of the many books laid out on the table. At least, she assumes as much, considering he was wearing sunglasses.. inside. Who does that?

"Can I help you?" He asked, the tone of his voice showing that he wasn't exactly comfortable with the situation, nor was he amused in the slightest.

"You have the books that I need, there's no more copies." She responded almost instantly, hands running to the pockets of her pink cargo pants. The silence that ensued afterwards was more than awkward, both of them just dumbly staring at eachother. One more so than the other, Rika would think.

It took a few more seconds before the man opened his mouth in a 'o' shape and reached to grab one that he had set aside not too long ago. "The Conquest of Nature" it read on the cover.

He was about to hand it over to her before backtracking. "Why do you need this? It's very niche." He raised one of his eyebrows as he spoke, probably judging her silently for her pick. He had no right to speak, though. He had been reading it too.

"Your choice to wear sunglasses inside is niche," she spat without thinking. "It's for a project I have to do for my class, now can I have it or not?" Rika was beginning to get impatient, tapping her foot on the floor rhythmically.

The blond's eyebrows scrunched up and a frown formed on his face from her comment. How rude. He was intrigued, though, not many courses required this book specifically, "What course do you take?" 

The girl rolled her eyes, taking a step closer to him and puffing out her chest. Somehow, she looked intimidating even with her small stature. She considered just yanking the damned thing from his hands, but thought better.

"I don't see why it's your goddamn business..." She huffed, when the man still expected an answer. "Photography. Happy?"

"Photography..." He hummed, falling deep into thought. Three seconds later, his eyes widen again. "Wait, no way-" He looks Rika up and down, which only makes the girl angrier. At this point, it would have been simpler to just give up on the book and grab it when he was done.

"Mrs. Grunewald's?" He pushed, squinting his eyes with suspicion. "This cannot be happening..." He mumbled, mostly to himself. Unfortunately for him, Rika had very good hearing.

"What's with the tone, you weirdo?!" She hissed, feeling the need to suddenly defend herself.

The blond didn't reply for a second, silently mourning his own future. He let out a long, suffering sigh before haphazardly placing the book on the table before turning properly in his seat. "Nice to meet you, I guess. I'm your partner for this project."

"Merde..." Rika matched his expression. This was possibly the worst day of her life. Since moving here, at least. "How do we change that, quickly." She stares down at the guy, barely contained anger brimming in her eyes. She wasn't aware this would be a group project! She refused to take any part in it.

"We can't. Trust me, I would have already done something about it if I could." Starting to also get annoyed, the man glared back. At least they had that in common- this shared dislike for each other and everyone else.

The awkward silence returned, this time heavy with tension. The bigger, louder part of Rika's mind was screaming to just slap the guy and then hunt down their teacher and figure out a way to sit this one out. But then, there was a smaller, more grating part of her that sounded a bit too much like her mother, looking at her with distant disappointment and telling her she was not the child they raised. 'You're too angry at the world, ma callie...' it whispered. She cursed under her breath again.

"Okay. Alright. Lovely!" She sounded close to snapping. " This is about to be such a fun experience. Name's Rika." She uncurled her arms from across her chest, trying to calm down by taking long, measured breaths.

"I'm Dominic." He shrugged, looking at her strangely, like she's grown a second head. "Wanna uh... take a seat?"

Another heavy sigh. "Yeah, fuck it, why not?"

Chapter Text

13:09

The café, once they entered it, was mostly empty. It was odd, in Rika's opinion, for a café to be this desolate in the middle of the day, but Dominic seemed to pay it no mind. He even seemed pleased by it. The place looked to be stuck in time, somewhere in the early 90s, with various indie band posters haphazardly stuck to the walls, covering the yellowed and peeling wallpaper. It was surprisingly green, with the smell of wet dirt and flowers permeating even through the constant waft of roasted coffee beans.

They approached the cashier, a disinterested looking young woman, maybe roughly their age. She had very messy dark blue hair, with long... side bangs? They were a bit too long and fluffy, in Rika's opinion, but who was she to judge others' appearance. She looked up at them once they got close, pinning them down with a glare accentuated by the pink coloured contacts she wore.

"Hi there!" Dominic waved casually, squinting through his sunglasses at the already dim menu. "Can I get a... uh..." He hesitated, eyes flickering between all the options, some of which he hadn't even heard of before.

At his side, Rika sighed and gave a roll of her eyes. "One Americano, please."

Dominic turned to look at her with pure fear in his eyes. Silently, he begged her to help in any shape or form. The cashier looked at them weirdly, swaying from one foot to the other with one paper cup already in her hand. Rika cursed under her breath, before glancing over the menu and then back at Dominic.

"And the big guy wants an Affogato. Extra sugar." The cashier's eyes flit between them, a slight curiosity in her eyes.

"Thanks..." Dominic mumbled, giving Rika the shakiest smile he could muster. "I'll go get us a table." And with that, he shuffled off into the café, walking like he was very familiar with the place. Maybe he was.

Rika shook her head again, leaning against the counter while she waited for their drinks. The barista got started on their drinks after a slight pause. At least she didn't seem very chatty, thankfully.

"Your boyfriend?" Or maybe not. Curse everything.

"Gods no!" Rika's head snapped towards the other woman, a look of pure disgust in her eyes. The mere idea of dating that man sent shivers down her spine. Like dating your brother, or worse. "We've just met. Classmates." She corrected, crossing her arms over her chest.

The cashier seemed to pause at that, eyebrows raising slightly. Her lips, painted black with matte lipstick, curled into a half smile. "I see. So you're single, then?" She asked, voice going an octave or so lower. Rika knew the tone, recognized it in her own voice from a lifetime ago.

She considered not answering. It would be very reasonable and not at all rude, she thought, given that it was nowhere near this random person's business. But then, what did she have to lose? She's just gotten to this town, knew one person, and that just barely. Maybe this would be the start of a new friendship, if everything else failed.

"Yep." She shrugged. Her voice came out angrier than she intended, as it usually did when she got too into her head. The cashier's smile never once faltered, as if she didn't mind how unapproachable she was. They didn't talk anymore. The barista kept pretending she wasn't staring at Rika, while the blonde pretended to not notice the eyes burning into her soul. She paid for the drinks out of her own pocket, realizing Dominic never handed her any money. Of course. She wouldn't bring it up either way. It wasn't that big of an amount.

She started walking in the direction Dominic disappeared in, praying the man would be easy to find. Surprisingly enough, he was.

It was a quiet spot near the back of the café, away from most prying eyes. Paranoid much? A singular oval-shaped table sat in a corner, two seemingly comfortable wooden chairs with cushions next to it. Right above the table, nailed onto the wall, was a blackboard. Odd choice for decoration, even more so considering there were no other old posters of bands neither Rika nor Dominic listened to near it. Instead, on it was a chalk drawing of a person made of vines and leaves, staring off into the distance with a hollow look.

It made her skin crawl. She decided to brush it off and quicken her pace to sit down across from the blond waiting for her and the drinks. Finally sitting down, she quietly sighed in relief from being able to rest her legs. There was no public transport available for this side of the city, so both of them had to walk for quite a bit from the University. Not too bad, but quite annoying, considering she had roamed around the school grounds for an hour beforehand.

"Thanks," Dominic mumbled out with a pleased smile, gingerly picking up his cup of sweetness disguised as a caffeine drink from the table.

Rika rolled her eyes at the man and took a sip of her own drink, cringing lightly as the liquid burnt the inside of her mouth. She decided to set it back onto the table with a small glare, childishly wishing curses upon the liquid. As her gaze turned back to Dominic, she could've sworn that she caught him snickering to himself. And here she was, so gracious as to not ask him to pay her back! How dare he.

"So," the man started with a cough, breaking the semi-awkward silence between the two of them. "There's a trolley that goes up the nearby mountain, I've already gone to check the place out in my own time-" he stopped for a brief moment, staring at Rika with a look that said 'No thanks to you', "-And I've asked the landowners for permission to take pictures, if we manage to somehow get too close to their property. We won't have to worry about any accidental legal trouble with that." He looked almost proud of himself, a small grin on his face as he spoke.

The hell's he so sassy for? She just got here. Rika couldn't help but roll her eyes at him again. "Yeah, I bet you have everything planned out. What, got the owner's signatures down on paper as well?" A wry smile formed on her face.

"Yes, actually."

Her smile dropped as fast as it formed, an exasperated look decorating her expression. "What is this for, a future business portfolio? You don't need to be this thorough!" Dominic didn't seem to be too fond of her criticism, and only scoffed as he bent down to open up his bag and rummage through it. It took a few, very unbearable, moments for him to get out what he was looking for. A hand camera!

Dominic quickly checked it over, opening and closing the lenses, possibly zooming in and out and checking for any possible damage that could've accumulated inside his bag. It was borderline obsessive, but it could've just been really expensive. She somewhat understood. University already takes a good chunk out of you, unless you're there on a scholarship.
Once he was sure that it was in perfect condition, he set it on the table with a 'clank!'.

"This is what we'll be using for the pictures. I recently got a new SD card, so we shouldn't have any problems with storage." He explained as he tapped the camera a few times, just to really lay down the info. Seems like he wasn't ready to give up being in charge of the project just yet. Who can blame him?

"Okay. Well, how are we both supposed to take pictures then, genius?" Rika squinted at the blond, unamused. It would be so much easier if both of them used their separate equipment! Was he worried about the difference in quality?

He seemed shocked at her rebuttal, eyes wide, stuttering out some bullshit that the woman would hopefully be okay with. "We- Uhm, We can take turns with the camera." He shrugged.

Rika stared at him with empty eyes, her eyebrows drawn into a frown. She let him stew inside his own stupidity for a few more long moments, before turning around with a flourish. She began digging through her tote bag, mumbling some choice words in French as she did so. From it, she carefully took out a small pouch, unzipping it to reveal a baby pink digital camera, the front of it covered with random stickers. Some were old and faded, almost peeling, while others seemed more recent. A very suspiciously heart shaped one was torn and poorly removed, bits of paper and adhesive still stuck to the metal.

She shook it around like it was a valuable prize. "I got my own equipment to use. You can keep your heavy piece of junk to yourself." 

"Junk?!" Dominic spluttered, leaning back into his chair like the words physically harmed him. "I paid a lot of good money on this! It's of very good quality!"

"I bet." Rika nodded, but did not look or sound convinced. "I still prefer what I have here. And it makes a lot more sense than your great idea of taking turns like we're in kindergarten."

The man seemed at a loss for words, his mouth opening and closing over and over. Rika felt no sympathy for him, only mild annoyance. She spared him no more time for rebuttal, pushing through with the force only a tiny angry French girl could. "And besides, you really need to relax. I get that you're all pissed off because I'm here, and I get that you hate my guts or whatever, but this entire process would be a lot less painful if you just. Let. Me. Help." She hissed the words, slamming her camera onto the table with a lot less care than Dominic. Almost like she secretly wished the thing would break.

On his end, Dominic seemed to be stuck between arguing against her words and apologizing, not quite sure which one of the feelings he'd rather let win. Eventually, thought, it seemed like a stroke of common sense hit him, or maybe he too got tired of constantly butting heads. He let out a long, suffering sigh, fiddling with the grip of his camera.

"Alright." And then again, firmer, like he was reassuring himself. "Alright. Fine, we can use both cameras. Do you uh... Have any suggestions for other spots, then?" He offered, like an olive branch. Peace, if Rika so chose to accept it.

She did. "Honestly..? I haven't got a clue, man. I landed here like... a week ago. I've never even been to Germany on trips before." She muttered, remembering her by-now cold coffee. She took a long swing of it, not even wincing at the bitter aftertaste.

Dominic could only sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And yet, you decided to argue with me about this.. alright."

Perhaps he was being too harsh with her. Being in an unfamiliar enviourment is never easy, he understands. "How about this, then. We both use our own equipment, switch them around every once in awhile-" he glanced down at Rika's camera, internally grimacing when he remembered how she had slammed it down on the table before looking back up at her. "-And we use the spots I've picked out. We can go from there, right?"

Rika glowered at him, considering his second offer of the hour. There was no point on continuing the argument.

"Alright, that works for me." She sighed, poking at her camera. "So? Where's this damn trolley stop at?"

╰┈➤

"So this is your wonderful photo shoot location?!" The short girl near shouted, anger apparent in her voice.

"What's wrong with it? It's perfect for the theme and it's far out enough that no one's going to steal it from us." Dominic called out over his shoulder, not even turning to check on her.

"That's the problem! We're in the middle of nowhere!" She roared, even angrier. "I'm wearing platforms!"

At that, Dominic did pause. He looked down at his own shoes- Dr. Martens leather boots, then back at Rika's sneakers. "That... Is a personal issue. Also, shouldn't you have an easier time with thicker soles?"

"If I break my ankle because of you, I will strangle you and present your corpse as the center piece!"

"Grim. Also very overused. Aren't you supposed to be creative?" He quipped, barely blinking at the death threat.

They weren't getting anywhere like this. Ignoring their bickering, the two were slowly making their way up a relatively steep hill. On either side of the thin dirt path they were following, tall spruce trees swayed in the chilly mountain wind. It gave Dominic the creeps- he kept checking behind him, which meant he kept accidentally locking eyes with a very angry Rika.

For her part, the shorter woman was trying her absolute best to keep up, but the uneven ridges on the ground kept twisting her ankles every which way. And every time she made any sudden movements to balance herself, Dominic's head would snap towards her, making her feel more and more on edge and, if she allowed herself the weakness, embarrassed.

After the sixth time, she growled out a curse under her breath, stomping her feet and almost slipping. "Will you stop doing that?! It's already shitty enough that I have to struggle behind you like I'm a toddler!"

"Huh?" Dominic froze. He tilted his head like he wasn't entirely sure what she was talking about. "You need a hand..?" He tried to offer, feeling a little bad for dragging Rika out on a trek so unexpectedly, without even giving her the time to change into something more appropriate.

As his words registered inside Rika's brain, three things happened in rapid succession.

One, the woman let out an ungodly roar, shaking a fist towards the sky. Two, she bent down with a speed neither of them was aware she possessed and ripped her left shoe off. Three, she flung the damn thing like it was a football.

Dominic flinched, just barely managing to dodge the makeshift missile in time. He followed it with his eyes, watching as it bounced with a thud against the trunk of a tree and then promptly rolled down the side of the mountain, never to be seen again. "Um."

He turned to Rika, disappointment etched on his face. "Wh... Why would you do that?"

"You were asking for it!" The situation hadn't quite caught up to her.

"I wasn't..? Also, now you're literally missing a shoe. There's no way you'll ever get that one back."

"I wouldn't have lost it if you weren't a coward and just took it like a man!"

"That would have been stupid and you know it!"

"Fuck you!"

They stood silently for a few minutes, just staring at each other- Dominic with mild confusion, Rika with barely contained anger. The wind howled between them, the sound comically loud.

"Why are you the way that you are?" Dominic caved in, breaking the silence.

"You were the one staring at me, probably laughing at me in that dumb little head of yours!"

"I wasn't looking at you! This forest is damn creepy! I keep thinking there's like, I don't know- clowns or something!"

Rika's anger was momentarily forgotten, giving room to bewilderment. "Why are you the way that you are?!"

"You threw your shoe at me! Unprompted!" He argued, ignoring her point entirely. "Clearly, I had a great reason to check behind me! You tried to kill me!"

"Nuh-huh!"

"Yuh-uh!" He hit back with a small frown on his face, glancing down at the other, singular, shoe on Rika's foot to make sure that it wouldn't be thrown at him as well. Now that he really thought about it, must be uncomfortable walking around like that. Oh well, that's her issue, not his.

The petty argument continued for a few more minutes as they continued walking, Dominic slowing down to make sure Rika wouldn't fall behind. He didn't particularly like the girl, but he wasn't an asshole. Plus, going back would just be a waste of time, money and resources.
It didn't take long for them to arrive at the sacred spot, only being about a 30 minute walk from the station. Dominic took to immediately setting up his camera on a tripod, pulling that out of a hidden pocket in his backpack. Making sure that It's nicely stuck in the ground and wouldn't fall over with a breeze, he let out a noise of satisfaction. "Alright, we're pretty much good to go."

Considering Rika didn't have much to set up in the first place, she had been leaning against a nearby tree with her shoe-less leg in the air, not wishing to dirty her sock even more. Washing it all off would be a hassle once she gets back to her dorm, it made her scowl from the mere thought. Hearing Dominic call out to her broke her train of thought and she nodded, waving her own camera to him as a sign that she was ready, too.

"You think we'll see a wild animal while doing this?" He asked, fiddling with the camera's zoom option.

Rika could only shrug, taking pictures of animals wasn't in their project's description and they didn't usually just waltz up to humans, either. "I doubt it," she looked up at the sky through the leaves of the tree she was under, thankful that the sun wouldn't flash her blind this way. "We haven't seen any thus far, why would we now?"

She had a point, he supposed.

"I... guess." He hummed, a tinge of disappointment covering his tone of voice. He had really wanted to see a deer, they're cute. Another time, perhaps.

A snap of a twig nearby alerted both of them that they weren't alone. Dominic glanced at Rika with a smug look, placing his bets on the sound being from a wild animal. "What did you say about not seeing any, again?"

Muffled sounds of two people talking was heard, one seemingly more irritated than the other. Dominic's expression dropped immediately, much to Rika's pleasure. Serves him right for speaking too early.

"Did you say something?" She smiled at the blond, imitating his earlier expression.

The man glared at her, but kept quiet, nursing his broken ego.  They stood there in silence for a few seconds, both equally as noisy. The voices sounded like whoever was approaching the area was involved in a pretty fired up argument.

"Brian, I swear to god, if you walk in front of the camera one more time-"

"I thought I was supposed to be the star of the show." Supposedly Brian argues back, his voice more amused than anything.

"We're not filming that anymore, stop playing around on the job." The other guy argued back, right before both of them came out into the clearing.

The newcomers froze like deer in headlights as they noticed Dominic and Rika.  Ironically, one of them was also clutching a camera, though from the looks of it, it was meant for filming rather than photography. Rika let out an intrigued noise as she peeled away from the tree, mud be damned.

The one with the camera- shorter, burlier, with very impressive sideburns, groaned loudly. The one next to him, taller and rocking an, albeit obnoxious, yellow hoodie, also seemed to frown.

"Piss off, this area is off limits to visitors." Rika shouted at them from afar, with the confidence of someone who owned this plot of land. Dominic looked at her, bewildered, as he stepped in front of his set up defensively.

"I could say the same to you two!" The guy  with the camera shouted back just as angrily. "We're filming- erm... Our final here, so you gotta leave."

"Final?" Dominic chimed in.

"You look like you're in your 30s, old man." Rika added, causing Dominic to gape at her once more. Did she act this way with every new person she met? No wonder she looked like she had no friends.

"Old man?!" The guy squeaked, to the amusement of his friend. "We are barely in our early 20s!" He defended himself.

"Don't drag me into this, she was talking about you." His buddy snorted. For an insane moment, Rika almost wanted to agree with him, but that would mean being nice to someone. Not her brand.

"Whatever! You're changing the subject! You kids can't be here-"

"Kids?!" Rika screeched at the same time as Dominic made a confused noise. "This is our spot for our final! We got the owner's approval and all-" Dominic did, but whatever. "You are the ones that need to leave."

They were getting nowhere. Dominic considered the benefits of just leaving Rika there to deal with whatever spat she started, but then realized it would only gain him another shoe to the head. He abandoned his camera behind for a moment, stepping in the middle of the argument, physically and metaphorically. He stared at the two people, wondering if he's seen them before or not. They did not appear familiar, but then again, he often struggled with remembering faces, features blurring and muddling together, glancing at people only through the protection of his shades.

"We're not really looking for a fight." Ironic, but he had to find a way to defuse the situation somehow. "We've had this shoot scheduled for months now. I don't know what you two are here for, but it doesn't matter to us."

"Unfortunately for you," The guy in the hoodie spoke up, calmer. Perhaps he could be reasoned with. "We're friends with the owner. We got their direct approval to start filming our show here. Long term, too, so I think it's smarter to find a different location for whatever project you got lined up." Ah, so that was also a hard refusal, though dressed up more prettily. They were fucked.

"That's so strange, because the owner never told us anything about this-"

"Probably slipped their mind. Want us to call them?" Dominic remembered the old lady he had to talk with for weeks before getting her signature on paper. Getting her to understand most words and sentences was infuriating enough even without the distortion of the phone. If they tried to get any answers from her, it would take hours. The sun was already beginning to set, therefore they were running out of time regardless.

"Ugh..." He rubbed a hand over his eyes, feeling thoroughly exhausted. "Whatever. Yeah, alright. You can keep this. We'll... We'll figure something out." He felt a headache already forming, pressure building up between his drawn eyebrows.

Rika wanted to immediately argue against his decision. She felt even more anger build up as she stomped up to him, grabbing him by the front of his shirt. "What?!"

"Don't." He stressed out, hoping whatever shared experiences they built up today would be enough to form any semblance of a telepathic link. He needed her to trust him for a moment. "It's going to be alright."

She opened her mouth, then closed it again. Frowned, hand clutching at his shirt so tightly her acrylic nails squeaked against the fabric. Then she let go, turning on her good foot and crossing her arms, looking away.

"Wonderful! So glad we've come to an understanding so quickly-" Hoodie guy beamed.

"Are you barefoot..?" Camera guy blurted out.

"Mind your own goddamn business, Salaud."

"What did you just call me?!"

"Anyways." Dominic put an abrupt stop to it all, fixing up the front of his shirt as he spoke. "Good luck on your um... Filming, or whatever. We have to really hurry now." He did his best not to sound too salty about it all. He was very much salty.

Glancing back at the men one last time, he went and picked up his camera and the tripod it had been on. At least this wasn't a ploy to steal any equipment they had brought along, which was a silver lining. Anyone could be hiding in the woods, after all. Maybe he was being paranoid. Maybe not. He couldn't help it.

He checked over that everything was safely tucked into his backpack and zipped it up, mumbling out incompehensible curses in a different language under his breath. He picked up the bag with ease and lifted it over his shoulder by one of the straps.

Dominic turned around to look at the last place he saw Rika standing at, praying in his mind that he wouldn't see an assault-in-progress happening. It seems something took pity upon him as all he saw was the girl throwing him a scowl and waiting impatiently to get going along with the two strangers sending him a glance or two every few seconds, whispering to one another. Better than his original worries. Barely.

"Come on." He waved Rika over, honestly just wanting the situation to be over with already. She did, albeit slowly, singular shoe and all. The sight made a ghost of a frown fall on his face, maybe he should find her something to lean on so it'd be easier to walk?

A long and sturdy stick should work, he'll keep an eye out.

Once Rika and Dominic were side by side, he called out to the two men with an awkward smile and wave: "Uhm, goodbye. I guess?"

Awkward as all hell, for sure. At least he was being polite, that should lessen the chance of him being jumped while walking back. Rika didn't think the same and stared at him with an expression one could only describe as 'what the fuck are you doing??'. He rolled his eyes at the sight, choosing not to explain his motives in the ear-shot of others.

As the two blondes walked away, the man holding the camera held his gaze on the girl's back specifically, glaring daggers and most likely cursing her out in his head.

╰┈➤

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!"

Dominic winced at the girl's screeching, shielding his face in case she decided to get violent again. He had enough of being grabbed today. Or ever, really.

"Hey, hey- calm down.." he tried to reason and took a step back.

"I thought you had a contract with the land owner? What gives?! Now we're going to have to find a different spot and start from scratch!" Rika groaned, covering her face with her hands to emphasize her annoyance. A bit dramatic, if you'd ask Dominic.

"I do- I just.. listen," he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, lifting his sunglasses a bit so it wouldn't be uncomfortable. "I'm not giving up on this spot yet-"

"But you agreed t-"

"I wasn't finished." He hissed out, not hearing out her complaints any longer. "We'll come back by sundown once those two aren't here and take our photos then. I'll bring the lighting, you're in charge of sustenance."

Rika was about to interrupt him, again, before closing her mouth and appearing to think about what he said. It didn't take long for a cheshire grin to form on her face, eyes sparkling with mischief. Guess he finally said something right.

"I like the sound of that."

Chapter Text

19:00

Cold, damp and, honestly, kind of creepy: Those were the words that described the area best at the moment. Nobody has to even mention the word 'dark' alongside the others, considering it surrounded the two students as far as the eye could see and even beyond that. The only source of light was the one pathetic flashlight Dominic had brought with him. Well, he brought two, but the other was a spare in case something happened to that one. It had almost been left on the trolley, but a sweet older woman called out to them about it. Dominic had thanked her profusely, Rika had to drag him out before the doors of the vehicle closed, and they'd have to ride back and forth again. She didn't know about him, but she refused to spend so much money on tickets in one day.

The two of them walked in silence, the bickering that both of them had grown accustomed to gone just like daylight hours before. Dominic led the way, both because he knew the area better than Rika did, and because he could see much better than her. She didn't mind, if something popped out from behind a tree, he'd be the first to go. Oh, and she wouldn't have a chance of tripping on anything either. God forbid, she loses another shoe.

Obviously, the blond in front of her kept checking back behind himself again, right at her. Instead of searching for clowns or bogeymen, it seemed that he just wanted to make sure that she hadn't somehow fallen behind, slowing his pace every once in a while. It would've been oddly sweet if she didn't feel like he was underestimating her being able to take care of herself.

"What is it?" She asked, crossing her arms. The straps of her bag dug into her shoulder as she did, making her wince. Dominic didn't grace her with a verbal answer, only offering an awkward smile as he half spun around to face her (somehow not blinding her in the process) and almost tripping over his own feet. She was almost proud of herself for having prophesized the person that walked ahead tripping, perhaps she should change career choices?

Rika snickered at him. "Dumbass."

"Oh shut it.. We're almost there." Dominic grumbled as he found his footing again, paying extra attention to the grassy ground to not immediately trip again. Rika was familiar with a few landmarks, such as the oddly heart shaped rock half stuck in the ground, so she believed his words. It wouldn't be much longer until they finally get to start working on their project.

At that moment, both of the blondes had the exact same thought: This was a lot more work just to take a few pictures than it should have been.

That meant the last few bits of travelling along the trail were spent in total silence once more. Rika gripped the straps of her bag, alternating between glaring daggers at the uneven ground and begrudgingly checking up on Dominic, just to make sure the guy didn't trip a second time or something. At the very least, they had both been smart enough to dress for the occasion- darker clothes, longer pants. The most comfortable shoes they had that still gave them enough protection against sharp rocks and stray branches.

The place that Dominic had been so up in arms about turned out to not be any different than any of the dozen or so other meadows that litter these forests. When Rika asked him about it, he paused, scratched his head like he didn't quite get why she was disappointed. He then started going on and on about lighting and composition and how the sun was filtering through the leaves just right when he first saw it. Gently (with a lot of insults) Rika had to remind him they were there at night time. There wasn't any damn sun to make things special! 

If anything, now that they were here after the sun, the place even looked a little creepy. A thick layer of fog was starting to roll in, enveloping their feet and most of their legs. It felt damp and cold, even through the thick pants they were both wearing. Rika tried to not react too much, not shiver too visibly. If Dominic would have asked- which he didn't- she would have blamed it on the temperature going down. There was nothing to fear about some damn trees swooshing and some wild animals shuffling out of view. Nothing to make her blood run cold.

"Right." She sighed, hands on her hips as she looked over the entire area. Her bag had been carelessly dropped at her feet. "You picked this place because of the lighting, which we can't actually use anymore. Now what?"

Dominic didn't answer right away. He was a bit preoccupied with tying his flashlight to a decently tall branch. It was a poor man's attempt at a studio light, smaller and shakier than one, but good enough for their purposes. Dominic still grumbled, wishing he had other options, disliking how... unstable everything felt. Like the flashlight, one gust of wind away from plummeting towards the ground.

"Well..." He gestured towards his creation. "Something like this, I guess. And then we can take turns holding the light."

"Great, more kindergarten play. I never thought I'd have to take turns with objects like this ever again." She groaned as she crouched down to rustle through her bag.

"That's just incorrect. You have to take turns with other things even as an adult, like bathrooms and elevators and stuff-"

"Do you ever shut up?! Or are you obsessed with always being right?!"

An awkward silence. Ok- so maybe that wasn't how Rika wanted the words to come out. Once again, she bit her tongue, feeling the rage inside her build to a roaring boil before breathing it down to a simmer. In for 4, hold for 7, out for 8. The numbers spun around her brain until even the image of them made her angry. Counterproductive, so she stopped altogether.

"...Sorry." She sighed, lowering herself into a defeated kneel onto the cold grass. "I didn't mean to snap like that."

Dominic swayed on his feet for a moment, as if not quite sure what he was supposed to say to that.

"It's okay."  It wasn't. He felt a little hurt by her words. "I guess it's hard to control your reactions, considering how much stress you must be under..."

Rika looked up at him, eyes squinting to make out the faintest shaky smile on his lips. Her guilt drenched out any remaining anger she may have felt. "It's not just that... Ugh, whatever, it doesn't matter. I'll try to be more careful with how I say things from now on. I..." Another pause, a little hesitation. "I don't want us to keep butting heads at every step. It's starting to wear on me."

Dominic gasped at that. An actual, honest to god, gasp. It echoed a little in the silent meadow, making Rika's heart drop slightly. And then he was smiling properly, so wide little smile lines formed in the corners of his mouth.

"Oh, thank god! I really wanted to say the exact same thing, but I didn't know how to bring it up without causing more problems." He sounded relieved, which only offended Rika a little bit.

"Hah... Yeah, sorry about that too." She huffed, finally getting up from the ground. There were faint grass stains on her knees, visible even on the dark navy material. She patted at them for a few seconds, before giving up when it didn't do anything. "Let's just move on from this mortifying topic and snap some pictures, yeah?"

And snap pictures they did. Once they got into the swing of things, it was actually pretty smooth sailing. Dominic was a perfectionist with every small thing and Rika had a unique perspective on things that added a fun twist to what would have otherwise ended up looking a bit too standard. Once they both learnt to put their pride aside, they learnt that together they could create something they both felt satisfied with.

It happened as Dominic was trying to frame the perfect shot, a white flower bud framed by the moon, backlit by his makeshift contraption. The wind shook the tree, stronger than before. The light dangled, swayed. The branch creaked. All of a sudden, his shot was ruined as the knot snapped. It was only due Rika's quick reflexes that the poor flashlight didn't suffer an unfortunate fate, smashed against the ground. They both froze, breathing heavily.

"Aaalright..." Dominic was the first to talk. "So, I never really claimed to be an engineer-"

Rika snorted. "I never thought you were one. It's a wonder it didn't fall sooner." She flipped the object in her hand, giving Dominic the smallest heart palpitations. "Well, at least we got a few pictures-"

"You're not asking to leave already, are you?" Dominic interrupted her, gripping tightly onto his camera.

"Well, we can't really keep struggling like this, especially not without a stable light source."

He let out a sound that was a bit too close to a whine for Rika's tastes. He remained crouched next to the flower, holding onto the camera like a little scolded child.

"But Rika..." He pinned her with his most convincing puppy dog look. "This is an edelweiss-" He gestured to the small flower.

"So?" She placed a hand on her hip.  It didn't look like anything special to her- a white, kind of fuzzy, with weirdly misshapen petals that kind of reminded her of a bunch of starfish stacked on top of each other. If anything, it was kind of ugly.

"No, you don't get it!" He waved his hand again, as if pointing at it would make it make sense. "Not only is this a super rare flower protected by the government in most countries, but it's not even supposed to be here! It usually only grows on the sides of mountains, on rocks and stuff! There's so much vegetation here, the soil is rich in nutrients; it hates this kind of environment! So the fact that it is here, thriving somehow, is one of the coolest things! I have to take a picture of this!"

Rika realized, with sobering clarity, that this is the most Dominic has spoken in one go. Her hand tightens on the flashlight, her patience running thin by the second. Ok, so the ugly flower is a little more special than she first thought. Who'd've guessed?

"... If I help you take your damn picture, will you shut up about this?" She groaned, cursing in all the languages she knew inside her head.

"Yes!" He replied almost instantly, the pout melting away from his features like it was never even there. Emotional manipulator, that guy. "Just one picture, I promise! I'll even make it up to you! I'll uh... I'll treat you to a coffee!"

"You literally still owe me for the one today." She rolled her eyes.

Well, he didn't know that. "I'll pay you back for that! And I'll even cover the trolley ride back!"

Rika gave in. Of course she did, there was barely nothing she could do or say to change his mind. Besides, they were bonding, kind of. Putting their pride aside. She looked down at the flashlight- turned off in her stunt to catch it, then slowly approached Dominic. She was about to comment on something, probably something snarky, when something completely different caught her eye on the other side of the meadow.  She stilled in her step, eyes zeroing in on what stood out to her.

"What? Just get here, come on..." Dominic hadn't quite caught up to the situation, impatiently crouched next to the plant.

"No, shut up, like actually." She shook a hand at him wildly. "I think there's someone here." 

In the distance, between the dark branches and crowded leaves, a faint light kept shining, like something was moving. It was a bit too stationary for another flashlight, but still entirely too human to be just a trick of the light.  Dominic followed her line of sight, finally understanding what had gotten her so worked up. That... Definitely did not look good. He slowly stood up, flower momentarily forgotten.

"Should... We investigate?" He tentatively spoke up, voice naturally coming out as a whisper.

Rika swallowed. Her hand shook slightly as she stepped closer, making as little noise as possible. "That is such a stupid idea. Let's go."

Just like characters in shitty slasher movies, the two marched towards the light. This time, literally. Neither of them would be dying tonight. It wasn't too long until they ended up a few meters from the source of their curiosity. Now that they were closer, a faint repeating sound could be heard. Heavy rain and an ear-bleeding ringing, one would think they had tinnitus. Dominic slowly blinked as he continued listening, baffled. He hadn't felt any rain these past few minutes- neither is he now. Rika would also complain, so what else could it be?

Deciding to be the brave one out of the both of them, he threw a glance at the confused girl as he shuffled closer to the noise and light. It was too dark to really see what face she could've been making, but he had a pretty good guess it wasn't very pretty.

Peering out from one of the many spruce trees around he finally saw what was lighting up the area: A TV. Okay, cool. A TV out in the middle of nowhere, smack dab in the middle of the mountains and forest. He frowned at the sight and almost felt embarrassed to feel so nervous, even if this was still weird.

"What is it?" Rika spoke out from behind Dominic which caused him to flinch, having forgotten she was there for a split second. He waved her over half-heartedly and she wasted no time in doing so, letting out a scoff once she too saw it.

"How nice, the forest spirits knew we're staying over so they offered entertainment."

"Knock it off, this wasn't here earlier today!" Dominic hissed at her with a sense of urgency, brows furrowed together. Rika laughed at that. "What, so someone specifically put this here right as we planned to come here?"

Now that she said that out loud Dominic felt a little stupid. "Well, no, but-"

"That's what I thought." She hummed as she walked up to the TV and crouched down in front of it. The screen's quality wasn't the best, a little grainy. It showed a stormy view from what's most likely a camera pointed through a second or third story window, the sky covered in dark grey clouds. The top half of a tree- or few, too dark to tell, swayed in the wind, adding a somber and uncertain feeling to the whole scene. Rika was about to open her mouth, but all thoughts jumped right out as the screen turned black with white zeroes (and letters she didn't have the time to make out) covering the whole thing.

"What the fuck?!" She hissed, having gotten the opposite but just as bad of a flashbang burnt into her retinas. She could still see the faint outline of every zero on her eyelids as she closed her eyes to recover. The TV turned off immediately after and left the two of them in darkness, the flashlight in Dominic's hand turned off as he had no need to use it just seconds earlier.

Dominic's eyes flashed with worry, not that Rika could see it, and he stepped closer to her. "Are you okay?"

Rika rubbed her eyes harshly and snapped her head to the faint dark outline of the man, squinting as if it would help her see any better. "I think I just got blinded, but.. yeah."

An awkward silence fell between the two of them until Dominic realised that he should probably turn on the flashlight again, so he clumsily tinkered with it until it turned on. Obviously, as luck would have it, the thing was pointing right at his face so he too was blinded. He let out a small yelp as his grip on the flashlight loosened, dropping it to the grassy floor with a soft 'thud'. It flickered for a second from the impact, but remained on.

"So much for worrying about being careful." Rika snickered, it felt like she was laughing at Dominic a lot today.

The blond didn't grace her with an answer, holding his face in his hands at a feeble attempt at recovering from the sudden attack.

Rustle, rustle.

The two snapped their heads towards the sound, eyes wide. An animal? No, the forest had been quiet. They would have heard something approaching them from further away, this was too close. Maybe three or so meters? Dominic slowly crouched down to the forest floor and gingerly picked up the hunk of metal and glass, holding it close to his chest. As he was doing so, Rika had moved closer to him, most likely because the sound had come from the direction she had been in.

That's when Dominic realised. The forest was quiet.

"Shit," he cursed under his breath, eyes locking with Rika's own uncertain ones. "Someone's here."

Rustle, rustle.

The sound was closer now, two and a half.

Rustle, rustle.

Two.

Rustle.

One.

Snap!

He could see someone peering at them from behind a tree. He shakily lifted the flashlight to shine onto the figure, eyes trained on them. Dirty white hoodie and face- no, was that a mask? He had no time to ponder about it as the figure suddenly dashed towards the two of them.

"RUN!" Rika screeched, practically jumping into the air and bumping into Dominic's shoulder as she ran past him deeper into the darkness. The sudden scream and shove disoriented the man, and it sent him careening to the forest floor. His face slammed against the dirt and he could feel bits of it enter his mouth as he let out a yelp himself.

It took him a second too long to push himself off of the ground to run after Rika, barely noticing the whooshing sound of a fist hurdling towards him.

'BAM!'

He felt the fist of the aggressor hit the side of his head, causing him to fall down onto the ground again. He hissed out in pain, overwhelmed from not being able to see anything, feeling a throbbing pain in his head and knowing the imminent danger. Oh, and not to mention the fact that Rika left him for dead!

The white hooded person grabbed Dominic by the neck and applied pressure, effectively cutting his airway. He clawed at their wrists and tried to pry their hands off of him, deciding not to waste his energy on asking what they're doing or who they are. His efforts were in vain, however, as the person didn't let up. It didn't add up- he couldn't feel much muscle from them, and their overall figure didn't seem very athletic. He could be wrong, though. It is quite dark.

Those observations weren't helping him at all and he could feel his head growing lighter, the small amount of what he could see growing blurrier by the second. He glanced around for anything that would be able to help him and set his sights on the flashlight he had dropped earlier. It seemed to be in reach, and the best weapon at the moment, but his main worry was that the person would stop him from grabbing it.

What did it matter? If he failed, he’d be dead regardless.

As soon as Dominic felt the taste of iron on his tongue, he let go of the person's wrists and reached for their mask. Once his fingers gripped the edge of it, he pulled it a little to the side to obstruct their vision and immediately went for the flashlight. He felt the edges of it graze his fingers and he couldn't help but smile.

Flashlight acquired, he gripped it tight and slammed it full-force into the person's head. The crack of metal against the person's skull was met with a pained growl, their grip loosening just enough. That was all he needed to pry their hands off of him and kick them away. The back of his heels dug into the ground as he pushed himself backwards and jumped up, dirt flying around as he did so.

He barely had a moment to orient himself to his surroundings, momentarily having forgotten where he was. Rika had run in a specific direction, and that was all he needed to know— he bolted, following her imagined trail.

Behind him, footsteps pounded on the ground, each heavy thump an intentional warning. They wanted him to hear. And he did— every step, closer than the last.

Dominic's breath came in ragged gasps, each one burning his throat as if he'd swallowed a mixture of glass and sharp rocks, sprinting through the dense underbrush. The ground was uneven, roots and rocks jutting out every which way. He was surprised, and a bit worried about how Rika was holding up.

He hadn't seen her fallen over body anywhere yet, so he supposed that was a good sign.

A sharp snap echoed— a branch breaking under his pursuer's weight. It sounded close, too close. He forced himself to focus, he'd worry about Rika once he'd see her again. If he'd see her again.

The dim light filtering through the few gaps of the trees offered him little comfort, but it highlighted a brief opening. A narrow path winding between thick tree trunks. His eyes immediately lit up, a spark of hope igniting inside of him. Dominic knew this area! He'd passed through here when he first came to scout the area out, having worried about his clothes catching on the edges of branches at the time.

He spun to the left, feeling the branches nick and tug at his uncovered skin and clothes. The adrenaline allowed him to not feel the sharp stinging, having him pick up the pace. It didn't take too long for him to reach the main trail leading back to the trolley stop, memories of moments just earlier in the day flashing through his mind at hypersonic speeds. Gods, he really hoped Rika had made it. Maybe called the police, even. Was there any service up here?

He'd figure that one out once he saw her, he promised himself.

A faint light shone further ahead and Dominic couldn't help but laugh in pure joy: he'd be out of here soon!

Dominic's joy was short-lived as the hooded figure burst out of the treeline, aiming right toward him. "Oh come on!" He groaned, this time in annoyance more than fear.

He just wanted to finish his project, was that too much to ask?!

Dominic remembered the flashlight he was holding and flicked it on, holding it out to shine right at the person's eyes in anger. "Just leave me alone already!"

It worked out.. really well, in fact. The person doubled over and hid their masked face in their hands, screaming in what seemed like in agony. If he wasn't in a life-or-death situation, he would have laughed about understanding their sensitivity to light. They get what they deserve.

He didn't waste a moment in getting away from them, the trolley stop coming closer with each step he took. Once he was close enough, he noticed someone else doubled over, panting from exhaustion. Rika!

So she really hadn't keeled over somewhere in the forest! That made his heart feel lighter, no survivor's guilt for him! He called out to her.

"RIKA! Over here!"

She raised her head, turning her head around until her eyes finally locked onto his face. Her expression morphed to something similar to relief as she pushed some of her bangs out of the way. She looked nothing like her usual self, her cheeks bright red and leaves sticking out of her hair. There was even a small scratch on the side of her face, right across her left cheek.

"You're alive!" She gasped out, stumbling towards him. She looked him up and down, checking for any obvious injuries. It was too dark to see much, even with cheap light fixture above them. There wasn't any blood, at the very least, so any injuries he may or may not have could probably wait until they were somewhere safer.

"Merde... What was that?!" She continued to speak, checking the darkness around them almost obsessively. The silence made them both feel like little rats in an observation chamber.

"Not... Entirely sure." His voice came out raspy, throat and lungs burning. They just stared at each other for a moment, matching looks of despair, before a rustle from the bushes snapped them out of it.

They turned their heads in the direction of the sound in perfect sync, dread filling Dominic's soul at the idea that whatever freak chased him down all the way here was somehow back. He really thought he'd blinded them for good that one time!

It's all quiet again for a breath longer, both of them slowly shuffling away from the noise, almost subconsciously. The wind howled between them, sending shivers down Rika's spine. And then, just as quickly as before, the figure leaped from one of the trees, looking like a ghost and less like a person as they landed near them in a crouched position.

They hissed quietly, shielding their eyes from the faint light, which only confirmed Dominic's suspicions about their weakness. However, it must have been just dim enough to not impair them fully, as they slowly got up on their feet and inched towards them. Dominic swore under his breath, thinking quickly and fiddling with his flashlight. His hands were shaking too hard to properly press the button, fingers weirdly numb from a mixture of the cold and the dwindling adrenaline.

Rika, extremely exhausted and done with all the senseless running, summoned all her anger. It was pretty easy, considering she was always a little pissed off at something or the other. She used the strength from that and the instinct to survive to slam her bag against the head of their attacker, causing them to stumble backwards and hold a hand over their forehead.

"Do something!" Rika roared back at Dominic, knowing this little stunt only bought them very little time and it would not work a second time. If anything, it might just cause her death if she attempted something like that again. She didn't get too good of a look, but just from the feeling of her bag hitting them and the small reaction they had, she could tell they outclassed both of them in power and resistance.

"I- I don't know! Uh-" Dominic stepped a little closer to Rika, newfound respect for her mixing with a slight need for protection. "Oh! The light!"

"What about it?!"

"They're sensitive to it! Like, they'll get blinded!"

"So just use that damned- Oh my god."

She only had to glance at him struggling with that flashlight to groan and yank it from his hands. She quickly and smoothly clicked it on, shining it with scary precision right into the hooded person's eyes- or the best approximation of that. Just as before, they let out a pained noise, scurrying away and pressing their forehead against the dirt. They slammed one of their fists against the ground, roaring in anger. Right, probably not their smartest move, to piss them off even more, but what else were they supposed to do?

"Right, right- okay! Okay!" Rika took a step backwards, turning to look at Dominic. "Now we run!"

And run they did. Until their legs almost gave under them, until they felt dizzy. Rika almost threw up from the sheer exhaustion, but managed to somehow push through it. Once they made it out of the forest and into the city, a lot of their fear slowly melted away. Surely, the forest freak wouldn't follow them into the brightly lit, still busy streets! But the paranoia remained, causing them to check around street corners and stick to the best lit areas they could, avoiding alleyways like someone could just jump at them from behind a trash can at any second.

They decided to hunker down inside Dominic's dorm room. Apparently, the guy was lucky enough to get paired up with the kind of  roommate that is barely home, so no one would bother them or ask them about anything. Rika was too tired to even complain or say anything. Dominic was also quiet, though that was hardly different from what she got to see of him before.

Perhaps both of them were just glad to be alive.

HI!!! Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, I know that we loved writing it! Here's a little treat for waiting! Rika, drawn by SP1DERF3ATHERS!

Chapter Text

23:46

Dominic's dorm room was simultaneously exactly what Rika had expected and completely different. It still had the exact same layout as every other dorm room the college provided- cramped and a little annoying to navigate, but with all necessary features. However, it was extremely obvious which side was Dominic's; the man had really gone above and beyond with personalizing it. 

His bedsheets were a dark gray, with green accents that kind of reminded Rika of the forest they just escaped. On the pillow, sat almost like a king, was a curled up snake plushie, almost blending in the dark colors. It was pressed up against the wall, under a somewhat small window, looking out into the backside of the University, over the currently gloomy park. Right below the bed, a fuzzy carpet that had definitely seen better days. The window next to the crowded desk was covered with thick, burgundy coloured blinds. 

The off-white color of the walls was barely visible, most of the surface covered in various things- band posters, game characters, random stickers from events and the like. And right in the middle, the focal point and the thing that gave Rika pause: a cork board, littered with so many pictures it was a wonder it could still hold itself up. Some were, almost comically, connected with red string and pins, while others had sticky notes and pieces of paper tacked to them, covered in Dominic's signature handwriting, a little messy but still readable.

She stood in front of it for a long moment, just staring and taking it all in. In all honesty, it looked a little creepy, but it reminded her of her own dorm room walls, the exception being that her picture collection held sentimental value. While hers consisted of mostly people and places she'd been to, Dominic's seemed to hold an array of things- abandoned places, old-timey portraits, popular cryptid sightings. There were also some different things, pictures he'd clearly taken himself, mostly of this room or rooms that seemed to belong to this college. At first, she thought he must be interested in the architecture, but a tiny sticky note in the corner of one, labelled "evidence of shadow figure #4", made her reconsider. 

She decided not to bring it up. Not yet, at least. Maybe once they got closer- and that was a thought that really shocked her to the core. Why did she already assume she'd be getting closer with this man? She was supposed to dislike him!

That realization was startling enough to snap her out of her thoughts and tear her eyes away from the board, trying to bury any and all thoughts related to it so deep inside her mind, they might as well not even exist. She turned to look at the source of her current misfortune, the man of the hour himself.

Dominic looked rough. And she was not using the word lightly or to insult him. It was difficult to see in the darkness, while they were running for their life, but now, in proper lighting, she could easily spot deep purple bruises around his neck. There was also a noticeable bump on his forehead, just under the messy tangle of his hair. For the first time since they had met- which wasn't even that long ago, though it felt like it's been years- he wasn't wearing his sunglasses. They were pushed up onto his forehead, revealing heavy eyebags and surprisingly beautiful blue eyes. He was rubbing at his face with one hand, staring into space like he was barely conscious of his surroundings. Rika felt a strange mix of emotions, mostly straying towards pity and sympathy, the weight of them making her already stinging chest clench painfully.

The reality of everything that had just happened finally started sinking in.

"That was kind of a bust, huh?" Dominic croaked out almost pathetically, throat sore.

It was kind of impressive how seemingly nonchalant he sounded after evading possible death. Rika couldn't help but deadpan at him, crossing her arms. "You don't say?"

Dominic didn't grace her with a snarky response, instead, he lowered his glasses back in front of his eyes and sighed. It took a few awkward seconds for the man to move, and even then, he seemed to be on edge. Rika couldn't exactly blame him.

He dropped his bag onto the floor and stared at it for a moment before plopping himself down onto his bed, right on his back. With the way he was positioned, he kind of looked like a cut in half starfish.

"Do you think we'll be able to go back to finish the project?"

That question made Rika freeze, having taken the silence as an invitation to look at his mess of a cork board more closely. She turned her head to look at Dominic with pursed lips. She had no idea on what they should do now, either. On one hand- she loathed the idea of going back. What if they get jumped again? She wasn't risking death for school! Overconsumption of caffeine is as close to death that she will ever get. Though, she really didn't fancy the idea of losing her scholarship over missing work. Especially now- like, she just got here!

Rika shrugged at him, taking one of the pinned photograph edges between her fingers to examine it. This specific one showed Dominic's desk filled with papers and indistinguishable pictures, quality ruined by taking the photo with shaky hands. It was obvious from the blurriness around the edges, "What do you think?"

Dominic frowned.

"..I do still want a picture of that flower." He mumbled, mostly to himself, as he fidgeted with his fingers. Suddenly, Rika didn't feel as bad for him anymore. Was he being serious? After all of that, he's still thinking of that stupid plant instead of his (their) own safety?!

She ran a hand through her hair, messing it up even more. The other went to pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. Rika let out a long groan, she couldn't believe this guy. "Are you kidding me?"

At her angry words, he flinched and seemed to curl up on himself a bit more.

"You can't just be thinking of.. that!" She spread her arms out to emphasize her point more, as if her yelling wasn't enough to already drive the point through his skull, "You got strangled, we were chased by some.. crackhead serial killer, not sure if we can return.. and you're worried about the flower?!"

She felt her eye twitch, it was uncomfortable.

Dominic felt the same way, and he slowly sat up on his bed, crossing his legs as he looked down at the floor. Specifically, his bag. "That's.. not what I was trying to s-"

Rika cut him off immediately. "Then what are you saying?!"

It took him a second to continue, silently observing the girl to see if she'd go on another tangent the second he opened his mouth. He felt oddly self-conscious, which was strange. He wasn't one to care for others' words.. or opinions, for that matter. Perhaps it was because both of them were now in a non-spoken survival-pact of some sort.

"I don't want today to have been a waste." He breathed out, resting his cheek against his hand as he leaned forward, "We can.. try to find a different area, but I have a feeling it wouldn't matter much." His eyes didn't meet Rika's own.

Something in the way he spoke made Rika pause. Her anger was still somewhat burning, but his tone of voice rubbed painfully against an old wound in her heart. Maybe she needed to give in a little more, even though she still thought going back there was a death sentence.

After a few minutes of tense silence, she sighed. "Alright."

The sound startled Dominic so much he snapped his head towards her, peering at her with a gaping mouth. He opened and closed it a few times, looking a bit like a fish on land, before finally settling on a tentative: "Really..?"

"Yes." She already regretted agreeing. "But! I have a few conditions."

Dominic sat up straighter, giving Rika his full focus. It was almost shocking- he hadn't seemed disinterested up until now, but he always had this air of casualness about him. All that was gone now, replaced by something reminiscent of a elementary student on his first day of school. She crossed her arms over her chest again, making herself seem a little smaller, less intimidating. The fact that she had to do that when she was a full head shorter than him was insane in and of itself.

"We lay low for a few days. You just- do whatever you normally do, go to your classes, be a normal human. Sunday, bright and early, we go back. Hopefully, by then, whatever freaks are left in that forest will have left."

He nodded vigorously, his hair bouncing every which way. "Sure. Yes. I can do that." He sounded a little unsure still, but a lot more hopeful. "How about we meet again at the cafe? My treat, I promise!"

╰┈➤

 Saturday evening, right after a very annoying late lecture on photojournaling, Rika waddled into her dorm room, barely awake enough to remember to lock the door behind her. She carelessly threw her sneakers with her other shoes, right next to her favourite platforms. She stumbled into her room on autopilot and stood in the middle of it for a few seconds, seriously considering just going to sleep without taking her make-up off. With a suffering sigh, she decided against it, knowing it would be a horrible choice.

Whatever, at least tomorrow was finally Sunday- a day free of lectures and courses, perfect for some well deserved rest. Or it would be, if she hadn't agreed to meet with Dominic. It was still crazy, that she actually gave into his idiotic plea. It would be a horrible, terrible idea that would only end up in chaos and danger once again. Every bone in her body, every fibre of her muscles was screaming that at her, telling her to take it back, to reconsider it, to just ghost the guy and protect her own safety. But that would go against all the things she'd promised herself. If she betrayed his trust like that, all her progress would immediately go down the drain. And besides, the guy was crazy enough to go back even if Rika decided to abandon him. She couldn't possibly let him wander by himself in the forest- who knows what kind of dangers he'd find himself in, without even realizing! He barely even reacted in time on that cursed night, the sound of the scuffle Rika heard as she dashed away ringing in her head still.

No, she will go. She will make sure everything goes smoothly, that nothing chases them again. Now that she knew what kind of threats were out there, she would not let the same thing happen again. That was another promise to herself, added to the slowly growing pile, one she intended to keep for more than just that one day.

╰┈➤

 Dominic's eyes felt dry and heavy. The bright light of the computer screen was the cause of it, lighting up a small area of the otherwise pitch black dorm room.

His desk was a mess, as always. Forgotten books, notes and homework laid scattered around with crumpled up granola bar wrappers. His appearance matched the scene perfectly- unruly locks no longer framing his tired face. He was hunched over on the chair, tapping away on the laptop's keyboard with more force than necessary.

"Cryptid sightings.. no.. man in the woods-" His eyes skimmed over the many headlines of a somewhat popular online news site as his fingers hovered over the keys. None particularly caught his eye and he couldn't help but frown. Someone else should've come across a potential serial killer in the area, right!? Well.. it wasn't like he was completely sure that the person in the mountain was a murderer, but he had almost become a victim! So if they weren't yet, then he would have been the reason they became one!

Okay, so maybe he's a bit delusional.

Dominic slowly took in a breath of air, stale from not having opened up a window in the many hours he had sat still in the dorm room. He couldn't help it, though. What if someone crawled their way in once he did? His paranoia wouldn't allow it to happen. No, he convinced himself that he was just staying safe.

He had attempted to attend his classes that day but failed to even go a few feet from the front door, immediately feeling multiple sets of eyes on him. There had been no one around, but he had convinced himself he was being watched. It wasn't anything new, really, but the latest encounter had him feeling off. That was the reason he had spent the entire day attempting to figure out the identity of whoever attacked him and Rika instead.

It seems luck wasn't on his side today, however. He groaned as he put both his hands over his face, leaning into his chair from annoyance.

"Noh kurat küll.."

The chair creaked uncomfortably, making Dominic suddenly become alert from the noise. The room felt darker than before, both with the lack of lighting and aura. He spread the fingers of one hand apart, glancing at any and every corner he could see at the moment. He saw nothing, but he expected as much.

No, wait a second.

Dominic moved his hands away from his face onto his lap as he stared out of the window that showed the back of the school.

Trees shouldn't move like that, right?

╰┈➤

"So, will it be the same as last time?" The barista chirped, batting her eyelashes, covered in thick layers of mascara, at Rika. Rika stared at her with a frown. She was acting like they were regulars, which may have been correct for Dominic, but not Rika. It was only her second time coming over, and while she was a little honoured to be so memorable, she was extremely suspicious. While having never worked in a cafe before, she was very keenly aware of just how many people came in and out of places like this. It made no sense for their order to stick in her mind like this.

"... Yes." She nodded slowly after an awkward break. "Probably."

The barista beamed a smile at her, then got to work. Rika kept glancing back at the door, then at Dominic, standing in a corner at the furthest end of the counter. He hadn't looked comfortable enough to be on his own, so Rika sighed and told him to wait where she could see him. She was making sure everything was fine, that no weird people walked in, no one was approaching them or giving them weird glances. It was familiar, something she knew how to do almost on autopilot.

"Oh, by the way..." The blue haired girl started talking again, not getting Rika's silent pleas for peace. "I've been meaning to say that last time you were here too, but I really like your shoes. I think they really suit you." Her voice was a little too saccharine to Rika's jaded ears. It only served to deepen her frown, though the compliment was somewhat appreciated.

She glanced down at her feet. Right, her favourite pair of platforms. She had spent quite a bit of money on them, anxiously waiting for them to be delivered from one of those online shops you can never truly trust. The same shoes she... Had thrown at Dominic on that cursed day. The ones she should not be able to wear right now.

Her blood ran cold. This... shouldn't be possible. Her eyes snapped towards Dominic, suddenly all his paranoia not seeming as far fetched. The sound of the coffee cups being placed on the counter made her flinch, snapping her out of her little internal freak out. Her hand shook as she reached for them, which probably looked strange. The payment process passed by in a daze, Rika's mind miles and miles away, thrown back into the midsts of that forest.

The barista, if she noticed anything weird, didn't say anything. Just smiled at Rika as she turned away. Usually, that kind of smile would have been polite, if not a little sweet, but for some reason, in light of her recent realization, it only felt cold, fake. It took a lot of self discipline to not let it get to her more than it already did, deliberately putting one foot in front of the other as she walked, almost like a robot.

Dominic looked at her with something a bit too close to worry, which only made the confusing swirl of thoughts in her brain spin faster. He tried to talk to her, ask her something. She pushed past him, side stepping at the last second to not bump into his shoulder.

"Not now." She gritted out, eyebrows drawn. "Not safe."

"Oh." Was the simple answer given to her by the male, his sunken eyes blankly staring into hers. Christ, had he even slept?

They both sat in mostly silence for the next few minutes, the only sound being shallow sips taken from their drinks. To Rika, hers felt more bitter than usual. If she stooped as close to insanity as Dominic, she'd think it was poisoned.

Okay, sitting like this felt uncomfortable by now. Her drink was getting cold, his was too.. the ice cream in it melting. The condensation sliding down the glass right onto the table. She didn't want to leave any trace of either of them behind. Not here, not today. Maybe it was the smile of the barista that set her off... or perhaps it was the small child that kept staring at the two of them with their big eyes.

Dominic was the one to break the silence as per usual. "Are you okay?"

The question was long expected, long overdue, yet it still surprised her.

Rika's eyes narrowed into slits. "Do I look okay?"

"No, not at all." Dominic started, flinching as Rika opened her mouth to speak before cutting her off before any sounds could escape. He didn't feel like being misunderstood this time. "You've been glaring at that kid for a while now, I think she's about to cry.."

That seemed to bring Rika down to earth. Right, they were out in public. Staring at strangers was, in fact, odd. And rude.

"Oh." It was her turn to respond stupidly. Dominic snorted at that, covering his mouth with his free hand.

The atmosphere between them immediately lightened. Right, they were out in public. Nothing would hurt them here. It was safe.

"Okay," Rika sighed out, "So.. remember when I lost my shoe?"

Dominic's expression fell as she mentioned it and he immediately went to grab his bag, pulling out his wallet. "How much?"

Rika blinked a few times, not understanding him. "W-What?"

"How much did they cost?" Dominic asked her again, pulling out a couple 20's in preparation. "You seemed to really like them, and I feel ba-"

Rika cut him off for the hundredth time, eyes practically popping out of their sockets. "No, you don't have to do that!" Her voice came out louder than expected, which caused a few nearby customers to turn and look. She didn't have to stare back to feel as if her back was being pricked by hundreds of needles. Dominic took it upon himself to apologise, which helped in people going back to their own conversations.

Nosy bunch, they all are.

"Like I said.." Rika spoke again, quieter this time. "You don't have to."

"What, why?" Dominic tilted his head to the side, confused. "It's really not a big deal, I-"

"Shush!" She waved her hand at him almost aggressively to get him to shut up. It worked. "I don't need you to pay me back because I'm wearing both of them as we speak."

Dominic opened and closed his mouth a good five times after that, no sound coming out. Like a fish out of water, except without the pathetic flopping on the ground.

Rika gestured for him to take a look for himself and turned herself to the side on the chair, propping her legs out so that he wouldn't have to crack his spine in half to look under the table. He stared at the footwear, small frown on his face. He couldn't really tell if they were the same shoes or not, even though he should have- he had one of the damn things thrown at him, for fuck's sake! However, he chose to trust Rika, considering these were hers, after all. And, on closer inspection, one of them was clearly more battered than the other; despite being obviously carefully cleaned, there were more scratches in the leather and a big dent in the side of the heel.

"Oh. Uh- how did you find it..?" Dominic looked back at her, with more questions than answers. "Wait- you said we shouldn't go back! You went there just for a shoe?" He added, once the realization hit.

"Do I seem that stupid to you?" Rika bit back, shuffling back into a more comfortable position, hiding her feet under her chair. "I definitely didn't go back. And besides, how would I even find one single shoe in all those bushes and whatnot?"

Dominic hummed, acknowledging the faults in his own logic. But then, how did the shoe get back to Rika? He voiced his thoughts out loud, the words a little shaky.

"That's the problem." Rika swallowed, lowering her eyes to peer into the wood grain of the table. "I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?!"

"I mean I don't know!" She only barely managed to stop herself from shouting, wary of the people around them and their heavy stares. "I went to classes yesterday as usual, got home really late and they were there. Next to all my other shoes. Inside my locked dorm room. I was so exhausted I didn't even notice until just earlier."

Confusion, then realization. And then, finally, pure panic settled in Dominic's soul. Even with his sunglasses covering most of his face, his fear was easily readable. Suddenly, all his sleepless nights, spent unblinkingly staring out the window did not seem as irrational. The implications were staggering. Someone had been there. Earlier than they could have ever guessed, hidden so perfectly out of view. Someone, who knew who they were, who knew where Rika lived. Someone who could easily break into a guarded University and then into a locked room, while leaving no evidence. A whole other beast when compared to the frantic chaser.

"Right." He breathed out, voice higher pitched than normal. "That's... Not good."

"Yeah." Rika fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Definitely not good. We probably stumbled into something much bigger than you or I can handle."

Another silence fell between them, somehow even more uncomfortable, as they both wrestled with their own thoughts. The idea of going back there was starting to seem less and less appealing by the second to Dominic, even the prospect of finally taking a picture of such a rare find not making up for the clear risk of either or both of them dying. As soon as he was about to open his mouth, Rika slammed her hands flat on the table.

"We are definitely going back there." Her eyes shone with startling determination, verging on fury.

"Wh- didn't you say before that it was a stupid idea? I think this makes it even more stupid-" He tried to argue back, meekly, still reeling a little from her sudden change.

"Maybe. But these fuckers are playing with us. They think we're some weak fools, messing with us like it's a game to them! I refuse to let anyone make me look like an idiot. We will go there and we will find whoever is responsible and get them arrested."

Dominic pinched the bridge of his nose. While he understood the girl's frustration, he was against that choice. "Rika. I'm going to be so honest with you right now. You're being irrational."

If looks could kill, he would be a rotting corpse in the blink of an eye.

"Last time we almost died. I saw the pearly gates of heaven-"

"You would not go to heaven." Rika snapped back, insulted at being called 'irrational'. She was being perfectly rational! In her own head.. at least.

"Not the point, but thank you for your input." Dominic glared back at her, words spoken through clenched teeth. "I'd rather go through the pain of starting the project from scratch than put our lives at risk. And before you mention the flower, that was before either of us knew about a serial killer stalking us!"

"We don't know if they are a serial killer, though." She shrugged.

Dominic's eye twitched and he felt light-headed. "Is there any reason you feel the need to constantly speak over me and not let me finish?" He breathed out, keeping his voice (and tone) low. They've embarrassed themselves enough in this establishment, and Dominic really didn't feel like being kicked out for their volume. "Are you so in over your head that you believe you could take everyone on with just your anger alone? Like that time with those film students- there was no need to be so harsh! They were just working on their final, and you.. called them a salad! What does that even mean?"

"I actually called him a Salaud." What made that comment worse was Rika raising her hand, as if she were in a classroom.

"That's what I'm talking about!" He groaned, feeling the urge to rip either his own or her hair out from the stress. 'Deep breaths, Dominic.'

"I- urgh..! Fine!" He breathed through his still gritted teeth as he slammed the 20 Euro bill he had taken out from his wallet earlier onto the table with more force than needed. "Tomorrow, right after classes end. Happy?"

Rika, surprisingly, didn't get a chance to respond as Dominic briskly walked away. "Keep the change."

╰┈➤

Dominic slammed his head into his pillow repeatedly, mumbling curses that only he could understand to himself. His face was beet red, embarrassed at his cringy one-liner before he left the cafe.

"Ohh my gooooddd..." He groaned out as if in pain.

His dormmate stared at him in concern from the other side of the room, having 112 on speed-dial just in case.

Anndd cut! And as a gift- a drawing of Dominic done by the other author TedWrites~

Chapter Text

11:11

So, not actually setting up a meeting spot was really backfiring on Dominic.

Eleven minutes late to his and Rika's meet-up, God-knows-where, had the man biting at the inside of his cheek nervously. Strangely enough, it was a quiet day, with not many students out and about. Most were caught up in their classes and those that weren't.. were in their dorms, most likely sleeping or cramming last minute to catch up with things they put off. Surely, that should have made finding the eccentric girl easier! As luck would have it, absolutely not.

The halls were barren, no soul to be seen. Aside from Dominic himself, of course.

He sighed and ruffled the top of his hair, frowning. "I should've asked for her number.." just as the words left his mouth, he cringed at himself, "Not in that way, God.."

"Have you finally gone insane?" An annoyingly familiar voice perked up from behind him, causing him to let out a yelp that echoed down both sides of the hall. Embarrassing.

A burst of laughter came from the owner of said voice, the girl holding her stomach with one hand while pointing at him with the other. "You should have seen your face!" She cackled out, adding onto the embarrassment the man was feeling.

"Were you following me?" He squinted his eyes at her.

Rika's laughter subsided for the most part, and she wiped a tear from her eye. With a slight giggle, she graced him with the answer he wasn't exactly hoping for. "Oh, yeah. No, absolutely. For the past seven minutes or so, actually."

Oh, so all he had to do was look behind himself the entire time? What a waste of time. "You should have said something, then." He grumbled.

"And not let you make a fool out of yourself?" She tilted her head to the side with a playful smirk, "Nah, that wouldn't be funny." He should have expected that response.

They took a few seconds to look at each other, now that that embarrassing moment was over. The slight, thumping headache that Dominic had been feeling since the day had begun got significantly more noticeable. He had thought he was lightly dressed, not wanting to appear too eager, but next to Rika, he looked like a proper adventurer. For some reason, the girl decided that the best thing to wear for their infiltration mission was a crop top and baggy, ripped jeans. Not even combat boots or anything comfortable- just a pair of beaten up converse. No bag either, just a wooden bat perched onto her shoulder.

"Are you trying for the baseball team?" He asked, gripping the straps of his backpack. It was heavy and bulky, almost weighing him down. However, it held all the important necessities, like food and water, a first-aid kit and, most of all, his trusty, multi-use, non-stick pan.

"I wasn't considering it, but if you offer your head as target practice, I might." She rolled her eyes and swung the bat down towards the ground. "You're the one that looks ridiculous. Are you planning to go camping or what?" 

He glanced at his own outfit. It felt appropriate for the occasion- work boots, sturdy pants, a thick jumper and his favourite leather jacket, the one he'd thrifted years ago. Hell, he'd wear this even on a normal day out, considering how unstable the weather was getting. "I don't get you, honestly. We're going into the woods, you know? The dark, wet, rough woods. I thought we were supposed to prepare for a take down."

"Yeah." She nodded, surprisingly complacent. "I know. And I did."

He stared silently at her, his eyebrow twitching just barely over his shades. She swung her bat around again like it explained everything.

"Right. Sure." He groaned, knowing he wouldn't be able to argue with her on this. "If you think that flimsy piece of wood is enough to protect you, go for it."

Rika's eyes narrowed, expression switching from casually amused to something with a bit more edge. She hummed, giving him a cursory glance, her grip tightening on the handle of the bat. In the blink of an eye, she swung the thing, stopping just inches away from the side of Dominic's head, the force of it rustling his hair. As if to add salt to the wound, she raised a cocky eyebrow at him. "When I'm the one holding it, yes."

"...Point taken." He gulped, side stepping away from the bat, suddenly a lot more aware of everything around him.

Rika smirked at the sight and slowly moved the bat away from Dominic, tapping the end of it on the floor repeatedly with quiet thumps as if it were a cane. It made Dominic even more nervous. To anyone that might run into them in the hallway, this would look either like a mugging or a gang get-together. He didn't want to be a part of either.

He took the initiative and gestured to Rika that they should start moving. The more they fooled around, the less daylight they'd have.

He really didn't want to be stuck in the forest when night fell. He was running out of throat medicine, too.

╰┈➤

The dark clouds covered what would be the beautiful blue sky, not helping with the atmosphere whatsoever.

It had rained early in the morning, leaving behind many patches of wet grass and puddles of rain.

It felt miserable- darker than Dominic had hoped, more humid than Rika's hair preferred. There was an almost palpable tension between them, a balloon of unspoken thoughts and opinions that was about to pop at the slightest chafe. Rika was well accustomed to it, thrived in it even, but the same could not be said about the taller blond. Dominic felt like there were tiny ants crawling up and down his spine, ghostly shivers of anxiety.

"Um... So, how are we supposed to... do this?" He shuffled on his feet, gripping both straps tightly. He glanced at Rika from the corner of his eyes.

She turned her full body to look at him, bat propped on her shoulder. "Good question." Her head turned to the side, surveying the meadow they were in.

It looked somewhat like the first one they stumbled upon, though it would be hard to tell. Green grass, tall trees. Lots and lots of mud and puddles. If Rika struggled enough, she could even maybe imagine the path they took that night, through the bushes. Right...

"We could try and find that TV again." She offered, squinting at the treeline.

Of course. That sounded reasonable! Dominic nodded, taking a deep breath before looking through the grass. He was looking for something, the perfect landmark to help them.

He let out the smallest, most suffering little gasp as his eyes zeroed in on a white smudge on the mud. His flower. The one he was risking it all for. Massacred.

The rain must have been too much for the poor thing, the mud too unstable for its rock-loving roots. It was flattened to the ground, dirty and wilting. Guess there goes his perfect centre piece... He let out a sigh, walking towards it. Rika tilted her head but followed without a fuss, which was surprising. 

In fact, she didn't seem nearly as worried as Dominic. She had been weirdly relaxed the entire way there, idly playing with the bat as they hiked like she was stepping back into comfortable, familiar shoes. It both relaxed and unsettled Dominic. On one hand, he was more than glad to have her around, since she at least seemed able to protect them both if need be, but on the other, she was scarier like this.

As if to prove to his point, she rummaged through her jean pocket, producing a pack of pink, cherry flavoured chewing gum. She took one, pointing the packet in Dominic's direction, offering him some. For a second, he considered it, but ended up shaking his head. He didn't want to risk accidentally inhaling it and having it stuck in his throat.

'No, that would just be embarrassing.' He thought.

They walked towards the edge of the meadow, past the wilting flower, following Dominic's guidance. He had impressively good memory, at least when it came to places he'd been to before. It all looked the exact same to Rika, which meant she was more than happy to put her life in his hands, if only because it meant they would be getting somewhere.

It took a lot longer for them to find it, which was strange considering it should be easier in  the light. But now, unfortunately, they did not have a literal glowing beacon to lead them. Only Dominic's memory and their instincts. They do get there eventually, only to be met with a new problem. In the spot where the TV was, only empty space greeted them. The TV was gone, leaving behind a square of dry dirt.

"Noh, mida kuradit..!" The young man groaned, slumping against the nearest hard surface- the mossy trunk of a tree. "Did the damned thing grow legs and walk away or what?! Or do these freaky people have nothing better to do than to haul furniture around this cursed forest?!"

Rika let out a full blown chuckle, squatting near the patch of dirt. "They were crazy enough to haul it here. Who knows what else they do?" She touched the area with one finger, frowning as she poked at it. "Might be still nearby, though, so don't be too loud. Unless you want another choking session."

"Wha-" Dominic faltered, standing up straighter again and looking around like a panicked meerkat. "First off all, I do not, thank you very much. Second, how do you know that? Did you... see something?"

"The dirt. It's dry." She got back up, fixing any wrinkles on her outfit. "Must've been here recently."

Dominic stared at the ground, connections firing in his brain at rapid speeds. He had been too stressed out and preoccupied with the fact that their main lead was gone that he hadn't stopped to observe his surroundings. Stupid mistake on his part, one he wouldn't normally make. Who knows what else he could've missed? He took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind. Of course, the rain had just recently stopped...

"Are there any foot prints in the dirt?" He asked. His sunglasses were not helping him with discerning any faint shadows in the already dark mud.

"Oh yeah, plenty. Headed roughly that way." She pointed with her bat, towards thick bushes. Not even a path, which meant following the foot prints would be difficult, if not impossible. But Dominic was smarter than that.

"Cool. We should head in a straight line that way, then." He readjusted his bag, making sure all his zippers were firmly closed. The last thing he needed was for something to get caught on a branch and fall out.

"Why?" Rika questioned, still rooted in her spot. She seemed less willing to blindly follow Dominic when the territory was unfamiliar.

He took a deep breath, fixing her with the most serious look he could muster. "Because there's no path. Not only that, it doesn't seem like there's any notable landmarks. Chances are whoever took the TV, which is very heavy by the way, headed straight in the direction of wherever they needed to go."

The girl blinked, considered it, then shrugged. "Alright, since it seems you're suddenly a professional at tracking people down in the woods. Creepy, by the way, but useful."

"Not creepy at all!" He bit back with a frown, pointing at himself with his thumb, "I'll have you know, I can track down animals as well! So It's.. like.. super similar!"

Rika stared at him with a pitying expression. "Did your father leave you in the forest as a child?"

It took a few moments for Dominic to be able to do anything other than gape at her, coughing into his hand and whipping his head away from her. "Just.. come here."

Rolling her eyes, Rika shrugged with a lopsided smirk and went after him. "Whatever, Tarzan." If the nickname got under his skin, he didn't show it, keeping his eyes on the forest floor.

The deeper in they went, the thicker the trees got. At one point, Rika had made a joke about it being similar to The Wizard of Oz, to which Dominic confessed to never reading the book nor watching the movie. That, of course, set her off on a long rant about him lacking culture and being a disgrace. He didn't know if she was joking or not.. and frankly, he didn't want the answer to that to keep his hopes up.

The foliage softly crinkled under their feet, filling in whatever moments of silence the two had between all the banter. It would be quite a nice trip, all things considered, if the situation was different.

"So, you think we're catching up yet?" Rika piped up, having been playing around with her bat, swinging it in a circular motion. It had hit Dominic a few times, causing him to silently glare back at her before turning back around.

For the umpteenth time that day, Dominic sighed. "Maybe, look- I don't know.. there's almost no traces of anyone being here in the first place." He ran his hand through his hair as he spoke, frustrated. "If only there was an easier way-"

The next thing he knew was his face roughly hitting the dirt. Huh, deja vu much?

"Raisk!" He cursed out in pain, gingerly holding his nose. In the background, there was Rika, who, instead of helping the guy, laughed.

"Gee.. thanks, what the hell did I even trip over?" He grumbled, slowly and unsteadily helping himself off the ground.

"Me, you jerk!" A boyish voice squawked out.

?

"Did you hear that?" Dominic asked Rika, who looked to be two seconds away from swinging her bat at him instead of the perpretator.

"If you didn't, I'd be quite worried!" The voice rang out again, huffing afterward. "Look at the ground, since you keep hitting your face there!"

Dominic and Rika both did as ordered, raising their eyebrows at the... digital camera laying on the ground. The screen was pointed up towards the sky, which meant they could see exactly what was on it. Or, well, who.

A head of long unkempt blond hair, pale skin.. a weird elf-like getup and bleeding eyes. Okay, cool. This was just what they needed! Another freak!

"So, are you, like, a cosplayer or something?" Rika tapped the camera with the tip of her bat, turning her head from side to side as if it would help her understand who she was looking at and how they were able to talk to them like this.

"I'll have you know, that's real insulting." The boy pouted, crossing his arms and looking off to the side with his eyes closed. The screen glitched into lines with a large variety of colours before he appeared closer this time. "I'll forgive you just once! Now, could one of you pick me up, pretty please? The grass is wet and I fear this thing will break!" He begged in a childish tone, like a kid asking their parents for another scoop of ice cream.

"No offense, but I don't thi- Rika, no." Dominic cut himself off by catching the bat Rika had been swinging down at the camera.

"Hoohh! Your friend here is real feisty! Good, good, she'll survive for a long time!" The elf look-alike gave them a thumbs up, winking.

"I don't want your compliments, creep." Rika held back the urge to spit on the camera, finally lowering the bat to her side. She could feel Dominic keeping a sharp eye on her after her little stunt.

"Um.. what do you mean by survive?" Dominic finally asked, reaching down to grab the camera. Rika looked at him like he was crazy. It wasn't like the object was somekind of bomb, so he had no idea why she was so adamant about getting rid of it.

Okay, sure, a talking elf inside a digital camera you find in the middle of a forest isn't something you'd tell someone about without being sent straight to the looney bin, but it seemed the boy knew more than the two of them did. That had to count for something.

"Hm.. well, I'm just taking a quick gander at the situation here! You two look like you're dead-set on going ahead, considering you've been walking in the same direction for a good bit now! Oh yeah, you're not very discreet. Could hear you two from a while back already!" He rambled on, making exagerated motions for each word. He looked a bit cartoonish, in a way.

"Just get to the point." Rika growled out, leaning in towards the screen with an irritated expression.

"Okay, rude! Again!" He stuck his tongue out at her. "Well.. it would be a waste to be petty and not tell you since I've been stuck here for hours at this point.. if you keep going ahead, you'll die!" The screen filled up with sparkles and butterflies as the words were said, the blond boy grinning proudly.

Dominic paled instantly, hands beginning to shake. "Eh.. uhm, what?"

" 'Erm, chat, is this real?' " The boy copied, mocking him with air quotes. "Are you deaf? I said that you'll die, god, are people so stupid nowadays..?"

"You can't just drop that on me like a pile of anvils and expect me to immediately digest it!" Dominic argued back, gripping the camera tighter with one hand while the other was, yet again, holding onto Rika's bat before she could think to swing it down again. Precautions, people!

"Who are you, anyway? How many are around here? Are you with them?" He kept questioning him.

"All good questions! One small issue-" He took a dramatic breath and held his tongue for a few seconds, "I don't feel like answering! Actually, no! I'll tell you my name!"

"Ugh, finally.. some actual info." Rika groaned.

"HOLD YOUR TONGUE!" The boy shouted, the camera heating up for a moment which caused Dominic to hiss and almost drop it.

"Oh, sorry. Anyway!" Suddenly, he disappeared from the screen. Instead of the boy, a slideshow appeared. It was crudely made with a blank white background and neon rainbow text spelling out 'INTRODUCTION!' in bold, comic sans. Disgusting. The voice rang out again, seemingly excited. "Welcome to the introduction of... me!"

The page switched to a newer one. Still ugly, but at least the rainbow was gone. In there were strange facts about the boy, like 'Allergic to water' and 'I want a lizard really badly'. In short, nothing that actually helped them understand who the hell he was.

"So are we supposed to guess your zodiac sign by your water allergy or something? Give us your name." Rika pinched the bridge of her nose, having put her bat onto her back now that she deemed him harmless enough.

"You'd do that? You're so sweet!" He cooed out, appearing once again and making a kissy face toward the screen. "Please.. just switch to the next page.." Dominic sighed out.

"Ugh, killjoy!" He rolled his eyes and blipped out of existence again, moving to the next page, which, surprisingly, held his name!

'BEN'. He seemed more like a Troy or Alfred.. but, sure.

"Ben, that's your name?" Dominic checked.

"No, BEN." BEN corrected, upset.

"What- I just said that.. no matter.. What do you mean that we'll die, seriously?"

"Ugghh.. okay, since you sat through this monstrosity.. There's about.. two... oh! No, three others lurking around right now! If you keep going ahead, you'll get into direct contact with one of them, which will cause your oh so untimely demise! ..If you go back, could you also bring me along, by the way? They won't pick me back up again and if this camera breaks I'm soooooo screwed! Pretty please? I'll help! I'm like, super helpful!" He pleaded, doing a pose and everything. On his knees, hands clasped together as if he were praying. Which, honestly, he probably was.

Rika glared down at the camera in Dominic's hand with pure disgust. "Pathetic. We don't need your help."

The boy gasped, crawling closer to the edge of the screen. "Pleaaaseeeeee???" Sad emojis flew around his face like confetti.

"Uh... Maybe we should listen to him? He did warn us..." Dominic chimed in, eyeing the device suspiciously, as if expecting the thing to burn his hand again any second now.

"And he also wasted our time with his stupid slideshow-"

"But he helped!!" BEN interrupted, still on his knees like a child that was in trouble.

Rika's eye twitched. Her hand gripped the handle of her bat so tightly it creaked. "Shut up before I use you as a baseball."

"Okay! Let's not do that, maybe?" Dominic moved his hand away, shielding the camera from the girl. He pinned her down with his best pleading look. He wasn't even sure why he was so adamant on keeping BEN around, he should be on Rika's side, trying to neutralize threats and unknown variables. But something in his gut told him they'd regret that choice forever if they followed through with it. "Please? Let's take him with us. Trust me just this once..."

Rika opened her mouth, ready to refuse again. Then something flickered in her eyes. She gritted her teeth, taking a deep breath.

"Fine. Fine." For a second, Dominic thought she was about to smack him with the bat, but she only readjusted it, lowering it to the ground, where it would be most harmless. "Let's carry this possessed camera with an annoying ghost stuck to it-"

"Not to be nitpicky, but I'm very much not a ghost!" The boy himself spoke up, having moved from his begging stance into something more relaxed, legs criss-crossed. "Sorry, sorry, just- nevermind. Thank you, you are both just so, so sweet! We're like, basically best buddies by now!"

"Not your buddy." Rika and Dominic managed to snap at the same time, shocking them both. They blinked at each other, then looked away awkwardly. It wasn't often they agreed on something so easily.

BEN pouted again, looking at his legs. "Aw, damn, I see..."

The conversation among them sort of fizzled out, all three of them too shocked by their recent revelations- Rika and Dominic, that they might get along better than they thought, and BEN, that he's friendless. After an awkward pause, Dominic looked around them, noticing the way the forest seemed eerily quiet and significantly darker than when they first walked in. Bad sign.

He quickly pulled out his phone, pressing the on button with one hand, wanting to check the time just to make sure they didn't accidentally waste the entire day just chatting away. Except... It didn't turn on. He pressed the button again, more firmly, but all that greeted him was the black screen and his panicked expression reflected within it. It couldn't have been dead! He made extra sure to charge it fully before leaving home, too worried about getting lost or anything else happening.

"Rika..?" He breathed out, voice just above a whisper. "Does your phone work...?" He raised his head to look at her, biting his lip.

The girl tilted her head, digging through her pockets for a few seconds. She soon took out a pink, sparkly phone, the case covered in tiny charms. She went through the same process as Dominic, pressing once, then multiple times, to not avail. She lowered the device, looking back at him.

"Okay, I know for a fact my phone had more than enough battery before we got off the trolley. What's going on?" She hissed out, her eyebrows pinched in a worried expression.

"I- I don't know? Mine's also not turning on, and it's getting darker-"

"Oh! That. Uh, that might be... my fault..?" The camera's screen flickered with faint glitches for a few seconds, the boy within it appearing almost bashful.

"Fix it. Now." Rika barked, lifting the bat with one smooth, practised movement. 

"I can't! Not from here, trust me! I'd have done it already, I'm not an idiot!" He waved his hands around, trying to explain himself before he would meet with a terrible fate. "I need like, a computer! Or anything like that!"

Dominic stares at him blankly, shaking his head in Rika's direction to dissuade her from violence, as much as he also wished to smack some sense into their new, chaotic acquaintance. "Where on earth would we get a computer from?! I don't-"

"Um!" Rika stepped in, grabbing the camera with one hand and staring up close at BEN. "I could help with that. But, only  if you swear you'll fix our phones and nothing else." She shook the item like it was a small toy, underlining the boy's vulnerability as long as he remained in their hands.

"Absolutely! I promised I'd help! All you need to do is plug me in, I will handle everything!" He nodded eagerly, to Rika's general annoyance.

She passed him back to Dominic wordlessly, like just looking at the blond boy was getting on her nerves. She looked around them for a few seconds, readjusting her eyesight and spinning suddenly on one foot. "Enough from him. Let's go before it actually turns dark. I don't like how this place feels."

Dominic followed after her, tilting his head with a confused look as BEN watched silently. "Where to? Do you have a plan?"

"My dorm room. I have a computer there." She shrugged, not even bothering to look behind her as she tracked ahead.

"Oh, my! I don't think I've ever been invited in a girl's room before!" The camera buzzed as Ben leaned dramatically on one edge of it, fanning himself with one hand.

"Make him shut up before I decide the cost of two new smartphones is more appealing than spending a single extra second in his company."

"Hey, man, you should actually behave... She's not bluffing, I've seen her use that thing."

"HUH?"

As they continued on bantering, their voices faded, leaving behind the peaceful rustling of the trees in the wind, just in time for a set of foot steps to approach the spot they were just standing in.