When Darkness Burns (Burned AU!RQ)

[Chapter Three] • The First Death •

Prepare for the angst to begin :)

Fyi, Sabre doesn't have his bandana... yet. I have something planned for that.

!!! Warning: Character Death, Mentions of Blood and Injury !!!

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° Sabre's POV °

Red continues to lead me to where we will meet up with his friend. We walk through a serene forest, though I wish we would take a break. Whenever I ask for a small break, Red waves it off and says that we need to get there as soon as possible. Every time he says it, it seems as though he gets more and more scared and worried, but whenever I ask him about it, he ignores me or tells me not to worry about him. 

The longer we don't take a break, the more my back hurts even more. I know I'm going to have a scar there. I don't want to ask if we're almost there because I don't want to see annoying or pushy, but I also just need a breather. 

"Red, can we please take a break? My back is starting to bug me, and my legs are sore," I whine once again. He turns towards me, annoyance seeping into is gaze. 

"We're almost there, Sabre. I'm sure you can handle it A little more," Red says, his voice going really deep and disorted at the end. I flinch away at the sudden change in his voice and tone. His eyes go from a rose red to a blood red, dark spots forming at the edges. He slowly walks towards me, a creepy smile on his face. 

"Uh... Red? You're, uh, you're creeping me out dude," I say as I slowly back away, keeping a distance between us. 

Red seems to snap out of whatever was happening upon my words, his eyes now filled with fear and sadness. The dark spots dissapear, and his eyes return to their normal rose red. He looks up at me and stares at my eyes. He frantically rushes towards me and tightly hugs me, seeming to ignore that most of my back is burnt. I wince in pain due to how tight his hug is. Red notices, and lets go of me, but has his hands on my shoulders. 

"I-I'm so so sorry, Sabre. I don't know what happened I-" Red splurs his words, his tears muffling his voice some. 

"Hey, it's okay. You didn't do anything, just spooked me slightly. Your eyes did go a little darker red, along with dark spots appearing in them, but no huge huge change," I reassure him, bringing him in for another, but loser, hug. 

He hugs me back, wrapping his arms around my neck as to not irritate my back anymore than it already is. I wrap my arms around the middle of his torso. He lays his head on my shoulder, as I'm a head taller than him. I can hear him quitely sobbing, so I rub comforting circles along his back. 

"Let's continue, ok? You said we needed to hurry," I suggest, and he nods. He brings his head off of my shoulder and stares into my forest green eyes. I look down at his rose red eyes and give him a small, reassuring smile. 

Red let's go on my shoulders and takes the lead again. I silently follow him, still worrying about what happened earlier. He says that he's okay, but I know that something is wrong.

~~~

We stop at a small clearing in the forest. The clearing consists of many flowers and a lake that stretches farther than I can see.

Red and I are currently sitting on a log, waiting for his friend to show up. Ever since we got here, Red has been twitching and fidgeting with his fingers the whole time. He looks like he's zoned out, lost in his thoughts. I don't disturb him, wanting to give him space.

I sharply turn my head to the right when I hear a rustling in the bushes. It seems to have also caught Red's attention.

I open my mouth to ask Red something when a figure emerges from the forest. They have pumpkin coloured hair that's tied back into a ponytail, amber eyes, a light orange t-shirt with copper coloured jeans that are ripped at the knees. The orange figure has slightly tanned skin, a contrast against Red's ghostly white complexion.