Inception {Dreamnotfound}

5 | Safety Net | 5

-George's POV-

I've never been more thankful for the forest than I am now.

Every time I end up here, I immediately feel better. It's as if this place is another world, shielded from the awful city I've been forced to remain in for months. But now, for the first time since setting foot in there, I don't have to return.

Ever.

Nothing holds me to that place any more. No soulmates to revive, no people to help. No fear of hunters either, or fear that Techno will come after me again.

It's so much more peaceful out here. So much more welcoming, the flowers I became so used to seeing making it feel more inviting than ever. I don't think I ever realised just how safe I was out here, appreciated it enough until I was forced to leave it all behind. Yet now I return to it, with new friends and my soulmate.

Permanently.

Clay collects flowers as we pass by, intrigued by new ones as well as different variations and colours of the types we've previously seen. I notice a happy glow in his eyes every time he sees a flower we've used for colour practice, smiling at the peonies with what looms like adoration.

He also smirks at the polyanthus as we pass by them, most likely remembering how he threw some at Sapnap the last time we were here.

"Don't get any ideas," the now ex-assassin quips knowingly. After yelling the warning, he glances over his shoulder in suspicion, rolling his eyes upon noticing the familiar flowers already in Clay's hands. The older of the two wheezes, catching up to his best friend and tucking a handful of the blueish flowers into his bandana.

Sapnap groans, unable to take them out due to both of his hands being occupied. Karl passed out barely minutes after we left the elite assassin's meeting, and Sapnap has been insistent on being the one to carry him, despite Clay offering multiple times since.

I think he sees it as some sort of punishment.

It's very likely Karl passed out due to blood loss or pain from the wound in his shoulder, and I don't think Sapnap is willing to forgive himself for creating it. So he forced himself to be the one to carry Karl despite his own injuries, as if doing so in spite of himself.

He cradles Karl's head gently against his chest, holding on tightly to keep him as still as possible in case movement hurts him further. It's sweet to see Sapnap doing such a thing for his soulmate, and I can't help feeling bad.

What he did to Karl is nothing in comparison to what I did to Clay. Still, knowing how close he was to almost doing the same thing must make him feel extremely guilty.

I don't think Karl will hold it against him when he wakes up, but I'm worried Sapnap will hold it against himself. Felling like he deserves an outlash, one he probably won't get anyway.

"George, you're doing that thing again."

"What thing?" I snap at Clay, a little more impolitely than intended. "That thing where you zone out and I wonder if I'm gonna have to grab you before you walk into a tree," he wheezes, and I shoot him a glare, failing at first to notice the item he hides behind him. I only realise when it's placed on my head, recognising the familiar feel of flower petals.

"What type?" I ask, not wanting to damage the crown by removing it to check for myself. "Red peonies," Clay smiles proudly, waiting for me to realise why he chose them specifically. "I told you, red suits you. I wanted to find those November flower ones too, the crisanthy-thingys-"

"-Chrysanthemums."

"Yeah, those," he smirks, and I watch his face turn as red as the flowers. "I remember telling you that they represent love, so I thought you'd appreciate them."