It was certainly a lot cooler as the duo stepped back out into the fresh air again. Daarin had even subtly shivered behind the older boy, displeased at the sudden drop in temperature. Danny hadn't seemed to mind.
It had only been a few hours they'd been in there, it seemed. It certainly felt shorter than that, while also a lot longer, at the same time. They had both stalled the leave of the somewhat warmer interior of the caves, Daarin beaming as he realized that Danny had liked them, too. He obviously wasn't ready to go, stopping along the way to catch an eyeful of more glowing crystals that somehow appeared even more vivid at night. They even had waded in the warm pond that filled the entire bottom of the cavern, while some cooler water from outside had continued to trickle downstream into the cave.
It was when Danny had stuck his hand through the outer stream, that he realized how late it must have been. It was freezing cold by now, and Daarin had quickly followed after, silently guilty of Danny having to leave while it was so cold and dark out.
The sun left little, thin streaks of orange and violet light over the hills, outlining the trees and brush in the distance. Sunset was well past, and even the birds had already all settled into their nests.
Their leisurely walk had turned into a run not long after Daarin had mentioned his sightings of a Manticore around this time of day, a few times. Danny had suddenly been more than eager to head back home.
In a matter of minutes, they reached the thin river, both commenting on the sudden disappearance of the daytime creatures who constantly fed here, which was now plainly empty, except for a passerby bat that flickered by, flittering swiftly across the water.
Just before Danny had turned his attention away and stuck out a foot to cross the thinner end of the stream, Daarin had grabbed his hoodie.
"Uh, wait! This water's nice, too. Usually doesn't get as cold..." he glanced away, releasing the teen's jacket, "We could... take our time..."
Without awaiting of his approval, he'd switched over to his feral form, glancing up once with bright blue eyes, and scurried over to the edge of the river. He dipped his head just inches above the water, sensing for warmth. And when there was none, he cautiously stepped a foreleg into the water, his ears flicking back in pleasure, as the mild-cool stream sift through each strand of his fur.
Danny followed suit, wordlessly, not changing into his own feral form, allowing his hoodie and everything else to get wet. It'd probably feel a lot better than having wiry, clammy, fur stuck to his skin, anyway.
They crossed the river slow enough, Daarin specifically, who splashed a leapt a bit as he took a few tentative steps closer to the other side. The stream wasn't too wide, either. It couldn't have been more than five meters, or so, although it took them minutes just to reach the other side.
Once Danny had crept back up onto land, glancing wistfully back at the stone cliff, Daarin scampered up after him, violently shaking his coat before switching forms again. And somehow, his clothes were no more than just a little damp.
"Alright... there's this really awesome place that'll help you get back up to the top-land instead of having to climb down the way you came! Come on!" He ran off, down the further west side where Danny hadn't been too familiar with quite yet. And somehow, he managed to still keep up his energetic, chipper voice, even this late in the afternoon.
"Alright, look!" Daarin had pointed proudly up at a collection of vines that had someway wrapped around and through firm pieces of stone that looked as if had been chipped off in just the right way, that someone could walk up and down on. Almost like stairs.
Danny broke a smirk, observing the unusual rock formation. "I'm... going to assume you carved this?"
"Yep! Part-way, at least! I was exploring once, and I found this weird eroded part of the cliff, so I 'made some arrangements' so I could explore further! Never really got to it, though," he smiled lightly to himself, almost solemnly.
"I hope it works out for you, though. I did make it so anyone could cross between sides without getting hurt like you did... Wish I was there to let you know before you injured yourself,"
"It's good," Danny waved a hand, offering a small smile, "Besides, I'm a lot better now. Doesn't hurt anymore."
He held out his hands, turning his palms up so the boy would be able to see the thick lines of scars that ran from his fingertips to midway into his wrist. But it was obvious that they were healing, the wounds having stopped bleeding already.
Daarin only nodded, partially ashamed from being so worrisome. But he'd still felt unsatisfaction cling and claw at his chest like an imp.
"Promise you'll use the safer route next time?"
"Yep." Danny had nodded, "And the time after that."
"You'll come back again.... Right?"
"Of course I will." He flashed a look again, as Daarin returned the smile. And Danny saluted before grabbing a vine and hauling himself up, successfully. He dug his boot into a deep and well crafted crevice in the side of the stone, leaving his enough room to glance back at Daarin, who stared up in silence.
"I'll... see you again soon, then?"
"Definitely." he could've sworn he could feel a warm smile from the boy.
He glanced down again at the young mutant, who waved wildly, like he couldn't see his own arm in the dark of late evening. Danny returned a brief wave, flickering around, and hurrying off into the woods. They could both hear the crinkling of leaves beneath his feet as he retreated back into the woods.
There hadn't been much room for a bitter sigh, as Danny mazed around the trees and trailed his still sore palm across the bark as he went along. There wasn't a need for stopping, either. It was at least obvious enough that the forest in the near-night was certainly not the best place to wander, or give any wild mutants a noseful of the scent of prey lost in the trees.
If that hadn't been blood chilling enough, Danny had huffed at the constant reminder from Dipper back at home, that most of the creatures in this world were blood-thirsty mutants that wouldn't resist a second from tearing through a wanderer's body and feast on them while they were still alive.
And the thought of Daarin hanging around in the lower lands where predators could catch a clean eye from high up above and attack him at once. Needle sharp claws and fangs eating at his body as he thrashed and choked out cries for help--
The halfa only shook his head to clear the thoughts, hurrying down the path he'd taken earlier as if worried he'd forgotten which way he came from.
It hadn't been too long before Danny realized that there was someone else there, either.
THUD-THUMP
That head-pounding sound that echoed in his ears again. Someone was certainly there. His breath trembled, as Danny swung around, but if course, no one was there. Strange. But certainly not strange enough.
After a few nervous seconds of dodging around, realizing that no one was really there, the teen sighed, trekking forwards, just a bit faster this time, not wanting to meet any new visitors anytime soon. He caught sight of the shallow, murky river again, dropping his shoulders as the sign of home being close had eased at least some of the tension.
This time he crossed the lake with ease, keeping eyes peeled, glued to the path through the bushes back towards the direction of the house. Although even from here as much closer as he was, there was still no sign of it, just yet. But the soon coming shine of welcoming porch lights would soon greet him, and the creatures of the woods, Danny was sure. And whatever else was there on his tail, trailing behind him like a shadow.
If at least a portion of those childish campfire stories had been at least somewhat accurate, then he'd be safe as soon as the lights bathed him with their golden shade. It had sounded a bit off, but at least Danny had felt safe as soon as he would set foot in Ivor's territory again.
Most of the walk back had been a breeze, despite the still constant sense of being followed. The air chilled as the sun further vanished below the horizon, and the slow rising half-moon casting new white outlines over the trees, awaking the night creatures, like the bats that now flittered between the trees.
But a cluster of woolly bats had suddenly all scattered, flailing off in multiple directions, emitting frightened screeches. Danny stopped in his tracks. Something had startled them.
While one or two of them had momentarily clung to his hoodie before flying off even further to escape the danger, Danny stood frozen still slowly backing against a tree on the other side. There was definitely something in those trees. Moving. Walking. Coming closer, without a doubt, and it was something big.
The teen shuddered, listening intently to the rustling and crunching somewhere around him, though his strained breaths had muted his ears. He backed further, flinching as bark began to claw at his jacket, leaving almost nowhere to turn and run. And unfortunately, he hadn't had any sort of protection alongside him, except for some dampened plastic wrappers in his front pocket.
There was the crunching again, growing louder, closer-- whatever or whoever it was, knew he was here.
Whatever was up in there, he'd have to fend off with only his bare hands.
Then the branches twitched, rattling the leaves. Then a short silence.
"Danny?"
The rustling only grew more violent, as a few familiar fingers poked through the greenery, forcing the thin trees and vines out of the way. He stuck his head out of the space, almost drilling the pocket knife through the vines.
"Ivor--"
The clinging of the knife falling and hitting rock echoed throughout their silence, shattering it like fragile glass. Then two arms grabbed the teen, encasing him in a tight hug. Ivor. It certainly was Ivor.
"Danny.... my goodness," the half-deer breathed, removing himself from the embrace to place his hands over the boy's shoulders. "What were.... where... Wh-what have you been doing out here? Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm fine, honest.." And to Danny's fatal mistake, he'd held up his hands. Ivor gasped, taking both wrists firmly in his hands. "I really am--"
"What in hell happened?" he almost sounded distressed, "Your hands?"
"I... fell."
"A bad fall that must have been." Ivor shook his head, refusing to release the boy just yet, "We'll have that fixed up soon as I get home. In the meantime..."
Finally releasing his hands, with his right, he fished out a small, elongated key from his pocket with a strange mix of gold and pale silver chaotic swirls that appeared as if the old thing had been rusted or rot. Unfortunately for the 'halfa', his senses had immediately picked up the rotting scent the wafted off the key.
"Storage closet," he dropped the key into the teen's hand, "Left portion, right shelf, bottom right--"
"Wait, uh, what the heck's this for?"
Ivor smiled tiredly, "You'll see once you get there. Now hurry on! Woods aren't safest at night," His foot had skimmed over stone, before Danny had spun back around in a split second before he could take off back to the little house.
"Where are you gonna be?"
"I have things I need to take care of. I'll be sure to make it home by midnight. Be safe, alright?" offering the teen another brief embrace, he smiled once again, before heading off, the shadows cloaking him as he too-soon had disappeared.
Wasting a final glance into the darkness, Danny nodded to himself, gripping the key tight in his palm enough to pierce already ruined flesh, and hurried off back to Ivor's place.
"Any sign of him?"
"Uh.... no. Not yet, at least." Dipper muttered, leaning against the window neglecting the juice box he'd squeezed the life out of with a hand. "And I'm not going back out there. It'd deathly black out tonight, and I'm not too sure I--"
"No." Twilight shook her head briskly, settling herself in one of the cots furthest from the window, right by the bathroom, "I'm not going to permit you to go out there, anyway. He'll find his way back, hopefully."
Dipper grimaced, massaging his temples and removing himself from the window. And hesitantly, stretched over to reach and close the curtains.
"What do you mean, hopefully?"
"I mean...." the mare paused, leaving the mug just at her mouth, "I mean, you know..."
"No. I don't know-- what are you trying to tell me?"
"I mean, maybe Daniel would return..." she placed down the cup, avoiding his eyes, "...If he decided not to ditch us."
"WHAT?!" The cervitaur exclaimed, his outburst startling the alicorn, flicking an ear in slight annoyance. "Are you claiming that Danny left us? What sort of parasite crawled through your skin?"
A really obnoxious one. Twilight bitterly thought, "Nothing. But it would certainly have made sense if he did. And I'm not saying I don't blame him. I'd certainly blame him."
"You're speaking as if he really did leave us!" Dipper whined, grabbing a handful of his hair, tipping his hat back until had fallen off, onto the bed. His eyes had quickly dodged around, before he fell to his side, yanking the blanket from underneath him to cover with. He returned a sorrowful glance.
"What did you do this time?"
For a few long seconds, Twilight had only stared into her mug as if the answer was lost in the drink. It had only occurred to her now that maybe her earlier mistake of lying to the teen about being able to get back really hadn't helped them at all. And she might have had to come clean once and for all. For Equestria's sake.
And of all the little knowledge she earlier had with the younger teen, she had a clear understanding that Dipper was not one to make mistakes; mistakes such as falling for even a little white lie, and let anyone get away with it. At least, not too easily. And with Daniel already not too keen about their earlier deal, she really could not afford to loose also a trustworthy friend who possessed the knowledge that would have a helping hoof in solving Equestria's dilemma.
Twilight was not returning home with another basket of disappointment buried in food again.
"I didn't do anything, Pines. I simply had just made a deal with Daniel not too long before you arrived. One that was evenly beneficial on both sides. It's just that... he might not be up with the idea that this little pact may have offered him the short end of the stick?"
Dipper widened his eyes, wrapping the blanket tighter across his form, "What are you--"
"Look, I--" the words stopped in the back of her throat, as Twilight sighed, shaking her head. "Take a long shower. There's gonna be something we need to talk about, and I'll need you wide awake for this one."
The immediate response was an exaggerated sigh, but holding her head high as if avoiding the streamline of complaints, she finally heard the bed creak, and Dipper marching off to the showers.
His hand had just grasped the knob before the front door swung open.
"Daniel?"
"Danny!"
To both of their surprises, Danny had burst open the door, shutting it back behind him just as fast. With a spare hand, he held his jacket down midway to his knees, with the key poking out through his fingers. His eyes had momentarily brightened as he raised his head to Dipper, but quickly stormed across the room over to the bathroom door where the 'taur had his hand over just a second ago.
"Uh-"
"Just give me a moment, I really need to shower!" he looked almost like a kid that'd lost his favorite toy somewhere in the mall. "Please..."
"Fine, just hurry? I kinda need to get something over--"
SLAM
"Yeah, he's certainly back, alright,"
Twilight breathed what would have been a laugh, but instead, rolled her eyes almost playfully. "We'll have to finish this off another time, I suppose,"
"So I don't have to shower?"
"Of course you do," She wrinkled her muzzle in mock disgust, "You haven't bathed in days!"
"Yes, that's because I've barely even left the house. I don't really stink, do I?" Dipper raised a brow, as the sound of the shower creaking caught his attention.
"No, but you certainly will begin to. Just don't let Daniel sit in there all night, alright?" Without another word from either of them, Twilight curled up beneath the blankets, turning her back to the younger teen as her breathing had already begun to even.
"Dude."
Dipper groaned, pressing his face against the door, a towel draped over his waist and another over his shoulders. Twilight had long been asleep, and it'd been at least an hour already. His legs were beginning to tire, and it was certainly much colder without a shirt on. No wonder Danny had always walked around and fallen asleep in his hoodie. He could really do for a nice, warm sweater about now.
"Dude, you still alive in there?"
Finally, there was a shifting sound right by the door, "I'm showering."
"N-no. No you're not-- I heard the shower turn off an hour ago! Let me in!"
Danny, from the other side, had nearly refused to answer. Instead, he crept across the bathroom floor, turning back on the shower pipe, and crawling back over to the door.
"Nope, uh, shower's still on." he rolled his eyes at himself, "Water's really nice in here..."
Something about the way his voice had trembled suddenly placed more concern. His fingers nervously tapped against the door.
"Danny... you okay in there?"
"...."
"Yeah, it's all good. Hey, can you toss me a spare shirt or something?"
"Why?"
"It's cold."
A dead lie.
Dipper shook his head alone, well aware that Danny'd been wearing the same shirt and hoodie for weeks now, well through the Autumn. Sure, fall was certainly cold at times, especially in the middle of the wilderness. But Danny had been gone long enough that a clear image of him injuring himself deep in the woods was fast to appear.
He huffed, deciding to play along, as well.
"Alright. You'll have to pass me your old shirt, then. Twilight'll have it washed in the morning,"
"That's... not necessary. I can wash it myself. Right now." There was a poorly hidden clatter over the counter before the sink had turned on. He wasn't really going to hand-wash his shirt in the sink, was he?
Dipper groaned, pressing the side of his head further into the door until it creaked. "Come on, man, we wash our hands in there!"
There was a pause, in-between the sound of the faucet still running. Then the sound of the towel rank clanging.
"Don't worry, I'll wash it out." he sounded exasperated by now, and the cloth in the sink had already been drowned in water. And there'd been the long and tedious sound of the shirt being dunked back into the water, and then being wrung out again. Then the water had been let out of the sink, scrubbed out a bit too noisily with a rag, and then filled up again.
This was certainly not going to end anytime soon, and Dipper figured this out easily enough. In fact, it wouldn't be too far fetched to think that Danny had been stalling, reluctant to leave to bathroom until everyone was asleep. It wasn't too difficult to figure out.
So with a bitter sigh, Dipper finally removed himself from the door, feeling as if his skin had been glued to the wood with honey. Instead of turning back to bid a goodnight, he instantly headed over to the rows of cots to turn in for the night. His fingers intertwined with the loose yarn strands decorating the ends of the smaller, old blanket that lay rolled up near the edge of one of the beds along the further column by the restroom.
So he brought along the scrappy old sheet, dragging it behind him while his eyes clouded with exhaustion. Suddenly the thought of being beneath the covers on the nice, soft bed sounded like heaven.
Dipper had just settled in, embracing the warmth of the covers and the yarn blanket draped over his shoulders, until he groaned, realizing he'd left the lights on. He was sure that Danny would be able to find his way with the lights out, anyway. Besides, the fireplace was lit with a thin flare that would offer anyone enough light to guide them to the bed. Of course, unless the halfa had other plans than heading straight to sleep, which now seemed way more likely.
But dismissing his thoughts, Dipper headed over in the direction of the front door (convenient how the closest light switch had broken) still half-asleep, and tracing his hand across the left wall to find the switch.
Splish.
The soft sound under his hooves had disturbed him from his near sleepwalking. Stopping to remove his hand from the wall and rub his eyes, the youngest of the three glanced down to gaze at what had spilled on Ivor's wood floor. And with everyone either asleep or 'unavailable', Dipper would have to find the mop and clean it up himself.
A puddle of blood.
At first, it hadn't looked like there was very much of it, until Dipper had blinked awake in terror, eyes catching sprinkles of a dark and sickly red, ranging between a bright green that began seeping through the floor. There was more than just a very little of it; there was enough that it'd splashed and matted his fur. Dew drop sizes of crimson to full puddles, trailing from the front door as if a predator had dragged the dead body of it's long gone prey over to the center of the room.
Dipper felt sick to his stomach. He only stared wide-eyed at the mess he stepped into, quivering violently as he fought against every screaming instinct in his body, slowly backing away from the scene. Only he trailed fine sized stains the more he stalked away.
His breathing grew shallow. How did I not notice this before...?
Danny, of course. And whatever happened out there, it could've killed him.
He wouldn't speak about this either.
Danny... was still washing out his shirt. His probably blood-stained shirt and hoodie that either of them could've found him wearing, laying out in the wilderness somewhere, unconscious. That, if hungered creatures didn't be too quick to feast on his body.
He had to talk about this. With someone. Not Twilight; she wouldn't.... No. Ivor wasn't here, and he didn't want to worry him any further. Or have him upset about the ruined floor. There was really no one else out there. And now that the truth was suddenly so clear how far out in the forest they were, far from any civilization as they could see... there really was no one. Deserted.
He wanted-- no, needed to speak with Danny.
What would he do if he knew Dipper had become suspicious of his whereabouts? And when he was alone in the bathroom with his bloodied shirt, and no one to coax him out?
Unfortunately, it might not have been the best idea to really bring up the situation.
He could probably bring it up another time.
Or he could forget it ever happened, pretend he never saw anything. Or heard anything.
It sounded like a better idea.
So Dipper retreated quickly back to bed, disguising the creak of the cot as he squirmed back into a semi-comfortable position. One final glance at the window, and half of him expected to be greeted with a matted muzzle of a fierce beast, breath creating clouds against the outside glass. Nothing was really there, though.
So he focused on the steady breaths as Twilight slept soundly only a few meters away. So he shut his eyes, too, although the rushing of water from the bathroom sink grew to block out every other sound that he tried to focus on. Soon, it was as if that was the only sound in the world, as if he was there, too.
Hours had probably passed, even after a light, brief windstorm he could hear beside him, just beyond the window, sleep had arrived, while not at the same time. His eyes were closed, mind wandered, but he wasn't really asleep. He had to.
Danny had known he was still awake, somehow. His partial conscious mind told him so. Or maybe he was already in bed, sleeping soundly, too, dressed in light, soft clothes again, that didn't reek of blood and metal.
He was pretty sure he was asleep now. Himself, at least. Maybe Danny had settled in, under the warm blankets with a pillow beneath his head and smiling to himself in his sleep as he had pleasant dreams of... pleasant things, he supposed.
So Dipper sighed as the tension melted away, turned on his side with his forehead against the window wall. Everything was better, now. Because nothing ever did happen.