Description: Riku eats dreams? Idk.
AN: Instead of updating Two Beats, One Heart, I decided to make this lol. Not my best work just a thing. The cover art is by Ramsku but if you didn't know that STOP READING THIS AND CHECK THEIR RIKU ASK BLOG. SERIOUSLY.
For the longest time, Riku lived under the conception that 'Dream Eater' was just a name. Good Dream Eaters or Spirits 'ate' the bad dreams and left good ones, while bad Dream Eaters 'devoured' good dream and caused only nightmares. Good Dream Eaters we're protectors of the people who slept, while the Nightmares caused only malicious chaos. Both lived in opposition to each other.
He knew he himself had taken on the role of a Dream Eater, unable to at first be confused by the symbol because he couldn't see his backside. Whenever he merged with another Dream Eater, there was this mutual respect. They both had a job to do: to protect Sora.
After the exam was over, he thought all of his Dream Eater duties would be done. He thought incorrectly.
One night, after falling asleep, his eyes opened on a yellow stained glass pillar; his face pictured below him. There was an orb floating in the center just in the air over a small pillar, just a few steps away from him. As he approached it, he could sense the dark energy of a bad dream radiating off of it. What was it doing here?
Something about it appeared absolutely mesmerizing. Unlike when he'd been slowly been dragged into the mouth of darkness, this object had a tantalizing pull that immediately took hold of him. Without even processing it, his wide eyes slowly turned into crosses and hand reached up to touch it.
His stomach growled and he was temporarily snatched out of his trance, hand coming down to hold his tummy. He longed for something to eat, craved something delicious.
There was a part of him, deep inside, that told him this orb was food.
Hunger, hunger, food, want, need, devour-
A ravenous longing was inside him, calling out to eat. Swept up in his appetite, Riku seriously considered the multi-colored orb in front of him. If he had maybe a stick-
As Riku focused on his hand, he could see clutched within it a thin stick. It was perfect for what he needed. At first he was careful when stirring the jelly-like orb and wrapping it around his stick, but soon, vigorously began moving it in order to create a heavier version of cotton candy.
He tentatively tasted it, before he fell in love. It was amazing; not knowing what this was, but not caring because it was just so delicious! Soon, all of the multi-colorful substance has been consumed, his stomach satiated, and the sugary concoction leaving a buzz within his body.
Riku now had a new urge, to create with all of this vibrant and prosperous energy coursing through him. He needed to focus it into something viable and constructive. So, he thought of the one place he thought of as the best in the world: destiny islands. Running across the shore, splashing his friends in the water. There was that one time they'd found that treasure chest on the shore and decided to split the contents between them. Reminiscing about the times brought a smile to his face and a warmth in his chest.
When the silver haired boy opened his eyes, there was a new orb contained within the space between his hands, a fuzzy video of his fond memories playing within it. He placed the orb with carb back on the pillar, feeling it deserved to be displayed there. Satisfaction coursed through him, some part of him knowing what he did was right, while everything else had no clue what he exactly did per se, but that he didn't regret doing it.
With a relaxed sigh, he fell back into the waking world.
"I had the weirdest dream." Sora explained, slumped over a desk. Him, Riku, and Kairi were eating lunch together.
"When? During Math class?" Riku proposed.
"Wouldn't bet against it, knowing how much you tend to sleep, Sora." Kairi teased. Sora pouted, sifting back and crossing his arms.
"Ha ha, really funny," Sora said "No, I mean, the Dream was surprisingly… jarring. I had been having a nightmare, and then suddenly I was whisked away to Destiny Islands, no transition at all."
"Dreams are weird, so what? Nothing new here." Riku answered with a shrug. He finished eating his rice balls, cleaning up his portion of the desk.
"This Dream… it was when we were kids and we'd found that box of items, like, uh, that old ballerina music box and rusty compass that had J.C. inscribed on it." Sora explained. Riku almost choked. No, it couldn't be; the exact memory he had thought of last night?
"Ooh that sounds cool. Did you keep any of the stuff?" Kairi asked.
"Yeah, it's around somewhere," Sora waved off, digging into his food.
"Hey Sora?" Riku asked.
"Hmph?" Sora answered through a full mouth.
"What was your nightmare about?" He questioned. He just had to know, it seemed impossible, but…
"Oh it was at a carnival or whatever, eating cotton candy and going on scary rides." Sora replied. "It sounds pretty stupid talking about it out loud."
Cotton Candy. Cotton Candy. The ODDS, Riku couldn't ignore them. Only one way to find out.
That night, Riku ended up in the same place. Now that he knew this was a nightmare in front of him, he was less inclined to eat it. Yet, gee, was he ever still hungry, if his rumbling tummy was anything to go by.
Riku at this point had 2 theories. The first one was that after not being in the dream world for so long, his Dream Eater half was trying to make up for lost time by having him literally eat any nightmare he could get his hands on; or, being within the Dream world required energy to be active within, and his Dream Eater side was more than happy to oblige. Riku came to the conclusion that it was a little bit of both.
There wasn't an outside force persuading him to do this. No, when he became Sora's Dream Eater, he must've started creating some sort of side to himself that would allow him to fit that role. Sora's nightmares, well, he didn't want his friend to be scared or experience any of them, so Riku reasoned that he was sort of helping the brunet out. Plus, nightmares wear just so tasty and delicious-
No, Riku, stop, it's just your inner Dream Eater talking - snap out of it! He found himself wiping some drool from his chin as he unintentionally started to ogle over the nightmare before him. While looking at the stained glass below him, he started to notice how he'd gain wings or weird eyes whenever he gave into his desires, his body gaining some Dream Eater qualities. No matter what pair of pajamas he wore, however, the Dream Eater symbol would proudly display itself on his back.
His inner Dream Eater mewled and whines inside him, the ache in his stomach reminiscent of the paws of one such animal lightly prodding him with need. Nightmares weren't supposed to be like candy, yet here Riku was, trying to resist the urge to devour it whole.
"Well, as long as I'm here, I might as well." Riku said with a sigh, reaching out his hands to cup the air below the orb. A bowl materialized in his palms and the dream fell into the container to form a rainbow ice cream shape. With a spoon, Riku tried to restrain himself from eating it too fast, but it wasn't long before he had greedily gulped down the whole thing.
His wings behind his back flapped lazily as his cross eyes appearing glazed over. Riku's inner Dream Eater half was busy absorbing the nightmare, converting it into that fuzzy feeling from last time. The bowl and spoon disappearing as he started to regain some sense from the previous euphoria. This part next was another thing he had theorized about.
As a Dream Eater, he needed to create good dreams for Sora, something to leave in the nightmare's place. He didn't know what to do this time, really. Last time, he'd just given in and put the first thing that came to mind in Sora's Head. Now that he was aware, however, it was harder to fulfill a previously unknown standard set in place. What was he supposed to do?
Without much effort, he gave into instinct, creating a new dream like a musician constructing a symphony. The sound of "dearly beloved" softly filled the air as he weaved that melodic world into a dream for Sora to swim through.
He was pretty proud of it, and he knew his inner Dream Eater was, too; his wings fluttering with excitement.
Sora was safe.
AN: I might continue it but it may get dark so whatever.