a/n: I have a discord server now! Come and talk to me about stuff!
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(Just erase the spaces in there to make it all one link!)
The night air was cooler than Wolfbane had expected it to be. He had thrown on his sweatshirt before leaving the dorm, but still, the wind sliced through his body down to the bone.
Maxentius, who was walking alongside Wolfbane in a silence almost as cold as the night air, had at least thrown on his winter cloak (though it was not yet winter) to serve as protection against the wind. The cloak in question was made from a deep indigo wool, and, from the little peaks that Wolfbane could see of it, the inner lining was made from something akin to silk. The bronze fastenings glittered at the base of Maxentius' elegant throat, reflecting the pale moon.
The third member of their investigating trio was several paces ahead of Wolfbane and Maxentius. Aster, unlike the other two, was not wearing anything to protect them from the frigidity. Not even a heavier shirt. The only thing that they had was their satchel, which they were clutching to their chest with a certain fierceness.
"Aster, I hate to be a bother, but you still have not explained just exactly why we're traipsing down to the forest in our pyjamas." Maxentius said with dripping sarcasm.
Aster only hazarded a quick, almost panicked, look back at Maxentius before speeding up. Wolfbane picked up his pase, and Maxentius followed suit.
"You will find out when we get there, I promise." Aster called back to them, and clutched their satchel tighter against their chest.
Both Wolfbane and Maxentius had tried to get Aster to tell them why they were going to the forest (whose name was Forbidden), at such a late hour, but they had refused and told the two boys the same thing: They Would Find Out When They Got There.
Maxentius huffed, but continued following along nonetheless.
Wolfbane supposed that the thrill of a mystery outweighed the long walk in Maxentius' mind. Wolfbane, however, wasn't sure that he would have braved the darkness had his worry for Aster not overridden his fear.
They weren't acting like they normally would. Wolfbane has never seen them so spacey, for lack of a better word. Although Wolfbane supposed that wasn't absolutely true. It was more like Aster was on a one track focus that they couldn't shake. For the past half-hour at least, the only thing that Aster would talk about (if they talked at all) was The Thing In the Forest. The Thing that had shaken Aster's so much that they couldn't even stand to describe it to him and Maxentius.
They Would Find Out When They Got There.
Up ahead, Wolfbane could finally see the horizon of the Forbidden Forest. The moon, forever regal in the night sky, shone down on the tops of the trees and highlighted the red leaves. In the pale light, they looked more similar to drops of blood than fall leaves. Wolfbane shivered.
Maxentius brushed the back of his hand against Wolfbane's and leaned in closer to him.
"Do you want my cloak?"
Wolfbane fully grabbed Maxentius' hand, and felt much better once he had done so.
"Won't you be cold, though?" At this, Maxentius rolled his eyes, but the action was with mirth and not malice.
"That wasn't the point of the question, little wolf." Wolfbane smiled at his own personal endearment. The wind wasn't quite so cold anymore.
"The point," Maxentius continued, "Is that you are very cold at the moment, and I am actually beginning to sweat. Therefore-" He raised his eyebrow at Wolfbane, and left the rest of his sentence unsaid.
"Uh, yeah!" Wolfbane said, and Maxentius unfastened the bronze at his throat with his free hand. "Sure."
Maxentius slipped his hand out of Wolfbane's in order to settle his cloak over Wolfbane's shoulders. Wolfbane had been right in his assumption that the lining was silk.
Once the cloak was settled, Wolfbane grabbed Maxentius' hand once again. He relished in the newfound warmth between them. What Maxentius had been saying before Aster had come to fetch them had really worried him. Who was the 'Lover-Boy' that Maxentius had spoken of? It couldn't be Mordecai, they both saw him as a younger brother of sorts. He would have no reason to insinuate any sort of romantic feelings between the two of them. The only other guy Wolfbane could think of that would even deserve the title would be-
But, there was no way that that could even be a possibility.
It wasn't even like Wolfbane had a- a 'crush' on that redhead in the first place.
And even then, why would Maxentius be so (dare he say it) jealous of Ryot?
While he was thinking, a faint blush had appeared on Wolfbane's cheeks, though Maxentius attributed it to the cold.
Wolfbane leaned his head against Maxentius' shoulder, and his glasses began fogging up with his breath. He took them off of his nose, quickly apologizing to Maxentius for having to move his hand again, and gave them a perfunctory wipe before re-settling them on his face.
Once he could properly see again, Wolfbane saw that Aster was standing very still at the edge of the forest. Still grasping Maxentius' hand, Wolfbane quickened his stride (as did Maxentius) to catch up to Aster.
The grass of the castle's lawn gave way to decaying leaves and moss. Aster's foot was toeing the proverbial line. Wolfbane knew (and he assumed that Maxentius had come to this realization as well) that once they stepped over the "line", that they wouldn't be able to easily return.
"Aster," Wolfbane said with only the slightest tremor in his voice. "Don't you suppose that this could have waited until the morning?"
Aster turned from where they had been staring transfixed at the forest to look at Wolfbane and Maxentius. Their eyes looked much more clear now, as opposed to the single-minded fog that had been there before. "If we would have waited until the morning," they said. "I would have thought this was all a dream."
Before the other two could properly process what the other had said, Aster had already resumed their long legged stride straight into the forest.
Maxentius let out a soft string of curses and hurried after Aster, pulling Wolfbane along by his hand. The minute that Wolfbane's foot crossed over the line between lawn and forest, two things happened.
The first event that happened to occur was that a shiver laced up Wolfbane's spine not unlike the briefest caress of death. The atmosphere was so much more dark than out in the lawn. The leaves on the trees blocked out the already dim light of the moon. The limbs of the trees that were already bare looked like skeletal phalanges. Caress of death, indeed.
The next thing to happen (which happened almost simultaneously as Wolfbane's shudders, mind you) was both breathtakingly wondrous, and ominous. The moss, which covered a vast majority of the surrounding area, had taken on a phosphorescent glow. Wolfbane gripped Maxentius' hand tighter (he was sure he felt Maxentius return his grip). Where had the light come from? Who or what was controlling it? The ominous feeling snaked around Wolfbane's ribs, but he couldn't help but admire the beauty in the sight.
"Aster, is this what you wanted to show Wolfbane and I? It is quite pretty, although I don't see why you were so insistent on us needing to see it tonight."
Even as Maxentius spoke, it was plain to see that Aster was just as surprised as the other two. Clearly, they had not been expecting this. Aster did not respond.
The light from the moss wasn't enough to read by, but it was enough to navigate by. A small toad, no bigger than a small coin, hopped across Maxentius' slipper, and away into the dimly lit grass.
The glow from the moss began leaching from the surrounding area into one singular path in front of the three of them. Maxentius' brow furrowed at the sight, clearly wary of what they were supposed to do.
"Well, uh," Aster began weakly, bringing a thin hand up to run through their green hair. "This wasn't at all what I wanted to show you guys but you know what they say. When you, uh, get a sign-" they trailed off into silence.
'"I think you mean 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth', although I wouldn't exactly call this a gift horse."
Oh Maxentius, Wolfbane thought with weary mirth. Always ready with a quippy remark. Is 'quippy' even a word? I think I meant 'witty', although 'quippy' sounds nicer to me. The blond shook his head to clear his runaway thought, and reached over to tap Aster on the shoulder.
"Appropriate sayings aside, I'm getting really worried." Wolfbane clutched his free hand in Maxentius' cloak that was still draped around him. "I know we joke and skip class all the time, but we could get expelled for this, and I don't like the dark."
Wolfbane took the liberty to lace his and Maxentius' fingers together, as opposed to the light cupping that they were doing before. Maxentius' thumb stroked over his knuckles in response.
"Just trust me," was what Aster said in response to Wolfbane's slight plea. "You'll see-"
Before Aster could even finish their sentence, a sudden fury swept through Wolfbane.
"When we get there? Is that what you were going to say?"
Both Maxentius and Aster were taken aback by Wolfbane's sudden abrasiveness. It was not usually like him to lash out, but Wolfbane was at his limit.
"I-"
"I'm leaving."
With that final testament, Wolfbane ripped his hand out of Maxentius', and briskly walked back out of the Forbidden Forest.
