Fallen but Found || PoruKoru

Level 3

YEAR 851 - SHIGANSHINA DISTRICT - FEBRUARY

"Porco!" Colt called out, brushing the leaves out of his hair. "No fair!"

Porco stuck his tongue out at him from the other end of the lake, brushing off the water on his body and cackling like an evil villain. "We never set any rules, remember? Anything goes!"

Colt huffed as he dove in as well, swimming towards where Porco stood. Once he came up for air, Porco offered out his hand for Colt to use. He grabbed it, using it as leverage to raise himself out of the water and onto the sandy beach above.

"You did well though," Porco smiled blindingly, all previous teasing gone. "I'm sure you'll beat me soon!"

Colt chuckled as he stood up, grabbing his friend and walking around the lake to where they kept their dry clothes.

"Yeah.." Colt said, smiling back. "I will."

Colt gasped as he opened his eyes, sitting up immediately.

As he trembled, taking deep breaths, it looked at him with an expression Colt interpreted as worry. He had seen it multiple times when it had taken care of him before, but this one seemed a little different.

Colt turned to look at it , trying to calm it with a small smile.

"Don't worry, it was just him again."

"Someone?" Colt managed to choke out, "Help me! Please!" It was no more than a soft whisper, his chest being so compressed that it was hard to talk. Colt looked around for his friend, for someone, desperately trying to push the guy on top of him.

He hadn't wanted trouble. His ball had just fallen into the boy's yard, and he was trying to get it back. He wasn't trespassing; he promised!

But the boy didn't listen. Instead, he had pushed Colt onto the grass, standing on top of him and cackling as Colt struggled on the ground. It wasn't like when Porco cackled. It was eviler, scarier. The ground was digging into his back, some rocks also making themselves known as tiny, sharp ridges on the ground. He gasped for breath, feeling his breathing coming out in short bursts, felt his face turning blue-

And then Porco was there, flinging himself at the boy who was at least 5 years older than them, and Colt could breathe.

But seeing Porco somehow took his breath away. Again.

Colt didn't know why Porco kept entering his dreams as of late. Sometimes he thought about his friend, but it was never as recurring as this.

And the dreams weren't always happy. Even though most of the time they were childhood memories, sometimes they were fabrications of his mind- twisted forms that he created whenever it wasn't there and he'd been left alone for far too long.

Sometimes it was a titan eating him, maybe a piece of the wall falling down on him and killing Porco.

But the worst ones were when it was Colt's fault.

When he didn't move fast enough, or scream loud enough, or notice earlier.

He knew that they weren't real, but they might as well be since he didn't know whether or not Porco was even alive.

Maybe it was all the insecurity that made him look around for Porco, that made him search for a person who was as good as dead to him.

Because he had survived, right? So it wasn't completely unbelievable to think that Porco couldn't have as well, right?