✓ DYING MOURNINGS, original

eighteen : aces

┌─────━┿──┿━─────┐

𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 : 𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐒

└─────━┿──┿━─────┘

I dreamt of Ace again later that week.

He stood on the edge of a cliff I was far too familiar with, his back to me. I could feel the breeze moving through the trees and I could hear the creek or whatever was far below the cliff. I had never looked over the edge during the daytime, I wouldn't know if it was a creek or rocks waiting for me at the bottom.

I approached him slowly and didn't get the chance to reach him before he spun around, spewing black blood that felt like acid against my skin and stunk like it was already rotten. He gurgled and groaned, blood foaming at his mouth and he spoke only a few words before I woke up in a cold sweat.

"I'm coming and you'll finally be dead."

I clutched at my chest, taking in deep breaths as I settled my heart rate and laid back down. Looking over, I checked the clock and sighed at the time. Only three in the morning. By the time I fell asleep again, I found myself with Ace again on the cliff.

Everything was the same, even the demon blood leaking out from the corners of his mouth and down from his eyes like thick, running mascara. He didn't seem bothered to see me this time around and it felt more natural as I came to stand beside him.

"Not so scared now, are you?" he asked, stuffing both hands into his pockets.

"Is this real?" I asked instead, giving him a curious glance. It felt real, more real than the first dream tonight and the one I had last week.

"It's as real as you want it to be," he replied with a shrug. He scuffed his feet against the grass and peered over the edge. "We can jump, if you'd like."

"Why would we want to do that?"

"To see if this is all real."

I shook my head, taking a precautionary step backwards as I said, "So, you going to tell me why you keep showing up covered in blood?"

He continued to scuff at the ground, kicking up grass and mud with the toe of his boot. He seemed like himself, even the mole under his eye was the same as far as I could see through the thick blood. It seemed that my consciousness was playing on the idea Crow had presented me.

"Ace?"

He looked up and met my stare. "Blood is a gateway into a person," he murmured, reaching out a hand as if to touch me but stopping and letting his arm fall back to his side. "Cage works with blood in the form of geatas, it's similar here." He ran his fingers down his face, smearing the black before looking at it coating his hand. "A simple spell and poof, we're here together."

"This is real, then?"

He shrugged. "As real as you make it."

"But is it truly real?"

He looked out towards the vast emptiness at the bottom of the cliff before nodding. "These types of geatas can drain someone, mentally and physically. It's hard to maintain if you're not strong enough."

"And are you?" I asked. "Strong enough?"

"When I want to be," he shot me a smirk. His eyes seemed brighter here, more blue than I had ever seen before. He looked almost childlike, his face softer, his demeanor not as strict or rigid. He was different here in the dream.