Curses

Ocean Sands and Hermit Crabs

Yuno finds himself in that nothingness void again.

When he wakes in that strange vast redness it feels vaguely familiar this time.

Something is different now though. He had felt so alone before, cut off from his friends and the link between him and his spirits.

This time however...he can still feel Asta.

He twists in the air, struggling to move without gravity or land beneath his feet to aid him. He has trouble aligning himself but he is eventually able to do so as he unsteadily twists himself in the direction of his brother's presence.

He feels his breath get caught in his throat at the sight before him.

Asta is here, floating in the void and restored to his full height. His gangly limbs are splayed out underneath him as if somehow grounding him and he's nose to nose with a creature that looks a lot like him.

Yuno's seen that beast before. Now that he's here the memory of his encounter is beginning to come back to him.

Asta is sniffing at the other shadowy figure who merely blinks slowly at him and allows the curse to do as he pleases.

His brother leans back and his lips curl to form an inhuman smile as he chatters to the other shadowy creature.

The red eyed beast bobs his head in a nod and chatters right on back.

"Asta?" Yuno calls in confusion.

He doesn't sense any apprehension through their link, in fact he seems rather content. Asta has never once allowed himself to relax if there was the threat of danger, so he reasons that whatever this thing is they aren't here to hurt him.

He's wrong.

Without warning the winged beast lurches furrowed, teeth bared in a deadly snarl and eyes burning like fire.

"YOU!"

"Yuno!"

He lurches awake with startled gasp, eyes frantically searching his surroundings.

Leo is blinking sleepily at him from across the room, sitting up right but still tucked up in his bed.

Still confused, Yuno finds himself blankly staring at Leopold as if he somehow has answers to what his mind had just conjured.

"Uh," Leo starts, sounding a bit hesitant before he lazily points to the floor "your shadow spirit thing is awake."

Yuno follows Leo's gaze and see's that-yes Asta is awake and present in his physical form.

He's hunched low on all fours; five leaf grimoire on the floor in front him which he stares unwaveringly at.

"Asta?" Yuno tries.

His heart is still racing but his dream is already starting to become a foggy mismatched memory.

His brother ignores him entirely, still fixated on his grimoire.

The spirit's claws bat at its cover weakly and he makes a low rumble as if sad.

Yuno is overwhelmed by a strange sense of longing and grief being poured through their link. His eyes feel hot as the force of the emotions causes tears to sting the back of his eyes.

He's never felt so much...sadness from Asta before.

"Hey," Yuno tries again, voice low and comforting "Asta, what's wrong?"