Chapter Text
Crickets. Leaves rustling. An owl's hoot. The moon peered through the canopy, spying on the woodlands populace. The night air was crisp and cool, bringing a chill to the bones of all who entered it.
Apricity was wide awake, held in place by the claws of fear.
Prowling around the rim of their camp was a creature she’d only seen in artwork.
It stalked, only the soft sound of crunching and snapping flora giving it away. The fur draped over its wretched bones was smooth and muted, apart from its belly that was matted with muddy debris. Its tail bushed out into what looked like jagged sticks. Four eyes held a reddish glow, its bright yellow pupils sharp and aimless. The beast's ears were shaped like veiny leaves, perched on its head beside antlers made of branches. It possessed a wolflike body, but its back was far too arched to be natural. Its lips were lifted in a permanent snarl, baring its dagger-like teeth.
Holding her breath, she watched as it just… paced circles.
Round… And round… And round and round.
It never stepped inside the clearing—not once. Its eyes stared forward, as if lost in a trance. Padding quietly, it barely made a sound—a stealthy predator at its vile heart.
A Wolf of the Bane. Banes’ Wolf, for short. She’d only heard about them in stories. It was smaller than she imagined. Her father and village elders portrayed them as the size of a horse. It was much more akin to a coyote's stature. They were supposed to be extremely aggressive, solitary hunters. They killed for sport—not unlike their more natural counterparts.
She had a guess as to why it hadn’t stepped foot in the clearing. Yet.
They were extremely lucky.
In spotty patches around the area were wolfsbane flowers—which, according to the stories, meant it would remain somewhat passive. Not friendly. Not by a longshot. But if they stayed still, they should be fine…
Dream shifted in his spot by the dead fire, mumbling something under his breath. His mask faced the sky. She’d been surprised when he went to sleep with the thing on. She was sure it was uncomfortable.
Crunch.
The sound of the Banes’ Wolf breaking a branch had evidently woke Dream.
She could tell by the way he tensed, his mumbles abruptly stopping.
The wolf had stopped, too. No longer could she hear the gentle rustling of a predator creeping.
Dream tilted his head, glancing towards her. The wolf was currently behind Apricity’s back, out of her view as she laid on her side.
Lifting a finger to her lips, she whispered. “Don’t move.”
She wished she could see his expression. Anything to tell her what he was thinking. Anything to give away what he was seeing. Her gaze stayed locked on the lifeless black eyes of his mask.
She nearly choked, refusing to move as she felt hot breath on her neck.
A low growl rattled in the wolf's throat, dangerously close to her ear. Her eyes were watering, terror painting her expression. Its breath smelled of wet soil.
There was a wolfsbane flower beside the mini fire pit.
Please. Please. Please.
She shifted slightly, inching her hand over the ground, discreetly tugging on the stem of it.
It wasn't budging.
The wolf lowered its snout to her neck, inhaling deeply.
She could see Dream reaching for his sword out of the corner of her eye. He better not.
Come on…
She slowly exhaled as the flower finally came loose.
Thank prime.
She carefully held the purple bloom over her neck, praying that this would work.
The bane wolf snorted, drops of hot, but quickly cooling saliva spraying her flesh. The creature hesitated, trying to decide whether to take a bite or not.
But it stepped back, deterred by the scent of the flower.
She sighed in relief, screwing her eyes shut.
Its looming presence moved away, retreating back into the dense brush. The crickets were still chatting. They had never stopped, as if Apricity hadn’t been this close to getting her throat torn out.
They sat in tense silence for a long time. Neither was willing to speak for fear of lingering monsters, nor were they tempted to slumber once more.
Only when the sun's slender hands brushed against the scenery did one of them speak.
“... What was that.”
Apricity flinched. His voice was jarring after the period of mute anticipation.
“... Wolf of the Bane,” she was barely audible. “More commonly called Banes’ Wolf. We are lucky. I’ve only heard tales… and they all spoke of them growing passive in the presence of wolfsbane blooms.”
Forcing herself to sit up, she raked her gaze over their still shadowy surroundings.
“We’ll have to stay near them at night,” she muttered. “Add that to the list of requirements.”
Dream sat up, running his hands through his hair.
“... I thought it was going to eat you,” he muttered dryly.
“You’d let it?” She frowned, turning to him.
“You told me not to move,” he recalled, sitting on his knees. “So I didn’t.”
“... I suppose you’re not wrong.” Apricity started to pack up, hurriedly rolling up her bedroll. “Let's get moving. I feel like we’re still being watched.”
“Mm,” he grunted in acknowledgement, standing and stamping out the embers to ensure they were dead.
How awful would it be if the forest were to catch fire?
“Is there anything else you want to share about the… bane wolf?”
Apricity met the eyes of his soulless mask, cinching her now full bag tight.
“Not that I can remember right now,” she murmured, still a little shaken. “I’ll let you know if anything comes to mind.”
A gentle breeze ran its fingers through her hair. It felt nice; like a gentle kiss after a nightmare. A little odd, though. A breeze in the middle of the woods…
“... is there anything you want to share about your arm?”
Dream turned away, falling into a muted routine of packing up camp.
That was a no, then. She’d have to wear him down. It wouldn’t be that much of a problem; she had plenty of time to do so.
He’d given her absolutely no information after she’d found him last night. He’d simply gone to bed, putting his hoodie and glove back on like nothing had happened. As if he hadn’t sounded near tears, having a mental breakdown in front of her while his arm was green and glowing. Though, it had stopped glowing when he had calmed down a bit. Maybe it was linked to his emotions. It was probably why he had wanted to come back to the woods again; one mystery solved… ish. And at the cost of having many, many unanswered questions.
“Let's go.”
He stood at the edge impatiently, before pausing as he stared down at a patch of wolfsbane. “... should we take some with us?”
Apricity followed his line of sight, wondering the same. “Good question. Um…”
Crouching, she gingerly reached down and picked up several stalks. The indigo petals were soft and almost shimmery.
“Yes,” she murmured, “that’s probably smart.” She grinned, attempting to lighten the mood. “Just don’t eat them. That wouldn’t end well.”
“You aren’t funny.”
Obviously, he wasn’t in the mood for jokes.
She sighed heavily, their purple saviors in hand as she followed behind him. She had picked enough to make a flower crown, if she weaved in some strands of grass and daisies she found along the way…
And that's what she did. The motion of making something was familiar and soothing. Perfect after the scare from before.
“What are you doing now?” Dream’s head tilted to the side, annoyed. It was her turn not to answer him—to just grin to herself as her fingers intertwined the stems together. “Would you like a crown? I can make it just green, if you want.”
“No.”
Rude.
Soon adorned with a lovely purple, green, and white crown, she turned her attention back to The Backwoods.
It honestly hadn’t changed much compared to where they had made camp earlier. Maybe the trees stretched a little higher, or maybe the plants were a little richer. But that was about it
Dream was more uptight than usual. She could tell by the set jaw, hand on the pommel of his sword, and hunched shoulders.
“Hey, Dream,” she started, her voice rippling through and breaking his sullen silence. He glanced back, still walking.
“What,” he snapped.
“You’re going to have to tell me about your arm at some point. Maybe I can help.”
He didn’t reply. This was quickly becoming a pattern with him.
“We’re a team.”
“No. You’re an annoying leech that decided it didn’t want to let go. Feel lucky that I let you come.”
Ouch.
Apricity blinked, a bit hurt. She had to remind herself that he was probably just in a foul mood… She’d be in a bad mood if her arm looked like that, too. She wondered if it hurt.
Still, she couldn’t help but remind him of her usefulness. Because she was. She… she was useful.
“... you’d probably be dead right now if I hadn’t known about the wolfsbane flowers,” she whispered.
He heaved a sigh, his shoulders dropping.
“... sorry.” His voice was low and reluctant. It almost sounded like it was painful for him to utter the simple word.
A smile grew on Apricity’s face, and she skipped a step to walk beside instead of behind him.
“Apology accepted.”
She resisted the urge to poke and prod anymore. She didn’t want to push him back into brooding mode.
The walk lasted long. The sun was high in the sky when they stopped beside a river to get some water.
Apricity crouched beside the glittering waters, dipping her hand into the crystal clear liquid.
The space was absolutely enchanting. The sound of a running river was like music to Apricity’s ears. The sun that shone down was warm and comforting. The plants around the water were bright and verdant—even more so than it was where they had been before.
It was strangely so. Vines and flowers spilled over the river’s shore, dipping into the water, waving with the current.
She hummed suspiciously, pulling her hands out of the refreshing liquid and sitting on her haunches.
She felt a little sick as she spotted several small, brown, wormlike creatures in the shallows where her hands had been just seconds before. They wriggled and writhed, trying to bury themselves in the sodden sand.
“Don’t drink the water,” she quickly warned. “Really don’t; It looks infested or something.” Wrinkling her nose, she drew her gaze further up, examining the deceptively pretty flow. Definitely infested. The water was ridden with the parasitic looking things. Her mind briefly flashed with the imagery of them trying to burrow into her flesh rather than the river bank.
Shaking off her hands, she hastily inspected them for signs of the worms as she stood.
The area was still pretty—now with a strong weight of foreboding.
“Does it feel… off, to you, Dream?”
No reply.
“Dream?”
She looked around, her heart picking up as she failed to spot him.
Where was he? Was he gone? Oh no, how could she have lost him?! He’d been there just a second ago!
Wait.
She stiffened, brows furrowing.
He was right there… just a little further up the river rather than down, like she had thought. She let out a heavy breath of relief.
That’s fine. That’s just great. But why on earth hadn’t he responded?
He was perched on a large, smooth stone by the river’s bank, staring across.
“If nymphs are real,” he began slowly. Apricity’s gaze followed, a frown etched on her face.
“Then naiads are too, aren’t they?”
“...”
Across from them was a large smooth rock with hundreds of runes carved into it. They were messily placed, spilling over each other. She couldn't read any sort of old runes, but even if she could, she doubted it was legible.
“Uh, maybe, I’m not sure,” she started quietly, stepping up beside him. She tugged on his sleeve, silently begging him to move away from the flowing water. She did not want him to fall in. Who knew if it was actually parasite infested or not? She didn’t want to risk it. Besides, the runes couldn’t mean anything good.
“I don’t know if that thing has anything to do with naiads, it probably doesn’t, but we should leave right now either way. I have a bad feeling. And there’s something wrong with the water.”
“Hold on,” he mumbled, shrugging her off. “I…” He trailed off, his body going rigid.
The air held still, becoming pressurized. Apricity inhaled sharply, pulling his sleeve more insistently.
“Dream,” she pleaded. “Let’s go. It’s not safe here.”
“...”
He didn’t seem to be breathing, his attention focused solely on the runes.
“Dream,” she hissed, grabbing the wrist of his uninjured arm. “Let’s go.”
He wasn’t hearing her, she could tell. He was in a trance like state, zeroed in on the stone. His body started to radiate heat—particularly from his bitten arm. His hand was twitching. The tainted limb lifted slightly, as if he wanted to reach towards it.
She had to do something about that.
Looking between him and the stone, she quickly made a decision. They couldn’t linger. There was a rapidly growing sense of danger, making her shiver with goosebumps. And she swore the engravings on the stone were starting to glow. Green. Like his arm.
She stomped on his foot. Hard.
“Ow!” he shouted, whirling towards her and biting. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”
“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you! We need to leave!”
He shook himself off, shooting fleeting glances at the stone.
“Fine, fine.” He chased after her as she broke into a sprint, her back prickling with the sense of something angry.
It felt as if she had just saved him from something. And that ‘something’ was displeased with it.