The State of Love (Solev x Doormatt)

Chapter 2 - A Visit From Colourss

Idiot. Doormatt thought to himself. Why didn't you say anything back?

Seth seemed just as uninterested in the tour as Doormatt, but they ended up doing another loop around the Sanctuary while engaging in meaningless conversation.

Doormatt was feeling much better than earlier, but now reality had begun to settle. He was a visitor in place he was unfamiliar, there was a good chance things would go astray. He contemplated leaving right then and there, but so far everyone was being nice, Elanuelo was making sure of that. They had already offered their hospitality so it would be dumb to refuse it until he figured out his next move.

"Are you going to eat that?"

The high-pitched voice took Doormatt from his thoughts. He was sat on a bench eating some of the food Seth had handed him earlier. He looked over to see a smaller girl staring at the food in his hands.

"Oh this?" He turned the apple over in his hand. "No, do you want it?"

She nodded and grinned as he handed over the red apple. "Thanks. Someone's been stealing all the food from the farms."

Doormatt thought back to what Seth had said earlier but remained quiet. "That's wild, man."

"I know, right?" She shook her head and bit into the apple. "Anyway, my name's Mercy. You're the guy Solev found near the border, right?"

Doormatt sighed internally, hoping word hadn't spread about who he was. "Yeah, that was me."

She hummed in response, swallowing her last bite. "So, why were you running?"

Doormatt froze. "What?" He never mentioned anything about running.

Mercy shrugged. "You must have been running from something, right? Well, what was it?"

Doormatt thought back to yesterday. The hunger, the pain, how weak he had felt and how few hearts he had left. Doormatt was a brave person, but that day he had never felt so close to dying.

"It was the hunger." Doormatt said. Mercy stared at him, as if waiting for him to continue, but Doormatt left it at that.

"Well," Mercy started awkwardly as she tossed her apple core, "you're here now, I guess. I wonder if..."

Mercy trailed off and her eyes locked on to something behind Doormatt. He followed her gaze and his breath caught in his throat at the sight.

Colourss was standing a few feet away near the centre of the Sanctuary. Mercy and Doormatt weren't the only ones to notice, either. A small group had started to form around the leader with Elanuelo at the forefront. 

"-looking for Solev." Colourss finished.

Solev? Doormatt wondered. What could Colourss possibly want to do with Solev?

His mind wandered back to the night before, all the running, pain, hunger... and Colourss. He thought of Colourss' ruthlessness and how he refused to help, the condemnation over a milk bucket...

"Solev's not here right now." Elanuelo told Colourss firmly, not submitting to his intimidating stare. "You can speak with me."

Mercy moved forward to where the rest of the Sanctuary was, watching the intense interaction. Despite the warning and intense panic at the back of his mind, Doormatt's curiosity pushed him to follow behind her, inching closer to the enemy leader.

"I said I'm looking for Solev." Colourss repeated, not giving into Elanuelo's offer.

A decent-sized crowd has form around the pair, everyone silent to see who would speak next. 

Elanuelo met Colourss' stare with equal power. "Like I said, Solev isn't here-"

"Who's asking for me?"

The voice came from the side. Every head turned to see Solev making his way towards the center of the circle, capturing Colourss' attention. 

The enemy faction leader's expression shifted only slightly before resuming his cold stare. "Me."

Solev stopped before Colourss, his shoulders relaxed and his body language far more relaxed than the rest of The Sanctuary at the moment. He dusted the dirt from his clothes, clearly having just come from the fields. "And who are you?"

Whispers broke out amongst the crowd. How was Solev speaking to the enemy leader with such confidence? So much attitude? Was he not afraid of making a new enemy?

Doormatt looked at Solev who faced Colours with his chin raised high in a way that radiated natural leadership. His chest stuck out as he challenged his opponent, except Solev's shoulders were far broader, and Colourss was much shorter. Doormatt's stomach sank at Colourss' expression. It was the same one he saw the other night. 

The memories caused Doormatt to tense his muscles and clench his fists as he realized the panic was rising inside him. What was Colourss doing here? How would this end? Would Solev become the next target?

Doormatt shifted his weight onto one foot, back to the other, then shifted again in anxiety. His breathing was picking up. There was no way this would end well, right?

Quickly the group of people at the center of the sanctuary shifted as they reacted to this interaction, causing Doormatt to lose his balance and fall forwards through the two girls before him.

His fall was minor but it was enough to draw everyone's attention, even that of Colourss'.

Doormatt met the man's eyes and froze. Colourss stared at the boy for moment before his eyes widened and his features darkened as he put the pieces together of who he was.

"You-"

But within that same moment, before anyone could react, a familiar hissing sound could be heard faintly from below him. Doormatt was still in shock from Colourss and was frozen in place on the ground, but the others around him reacted faster. People screamed and pushed themselves backwards but it wasn't fast enough to evade the wind-knocking impact that met his body just seconds later.

An overwhelming ringing sound filled his head. The sensation was so strong that he could have sworn he felt the blood pulsing through his brain. The world was white around him and his body was once again in even more pain that before, but soon the world came back to his senses just as fast as it left.

The numbness was replaced by intense pain on his left side. Doormatt tried to move his body to relieve the pressure but to find himself trapped under a large weight. Doormatt shifted in place in an attempt to free himself only to realize the weight pushing him to the ground was none other than Solev. 

"Solev?" Doormatt's eyes widened at this and he began to squirm, hoping to catch the boy's attention.

Solev wasn't responding though. His body laid heavily over Doormatt's, unmoving. He looked down to see a large gash at the back of Solev's legs. 

What was that from? Was it the explosion? Why is Solev on top of me? Was he shielding me?

The shaking of his shoulder was enough for him to realize there were several people around him yelling and trying to get to Solev. Upon realizing this, Doormatt quickly released his arm and allowed the other Sanctuary members to grab hold of Solev.

"Doormatt!"

Doormatt was staring at Solev's lifeless form. Two members attempted to lift him but to no avail.

"Doormatt!|

Doormatt blinked and finally saw Elanuelo in front of him, his eyes wide with concern.

"Doormatt!" He said again. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Doormatt couldn't speak again. His eyes quickly scanned around him to see numerous people sprawled on the ground, either injured or unresponsive with several people attempting to to help each one. He didn't even bother to look for Colours.

Doormatt nodded yes to Elanuelo, but he wanted to run away, far, far away from the Sanctuary. From Jungle. From Snow. From everything. He wanted off this island.

But he couldn't bring himself to run. Not now, not yet, and certainly not somewhere far. Not when all he wanted to know was whether or not Solev would be okay.