Hopetale

Chapter 1: Fallen Angels

*Hope POV

Hope was born different. In both the literal and metaphorical sense. He and his brother had apparently fallen from the surface world. Fondly, he recalls his first memories.

LIGHT filtered through Hope's closed eye sockets, as if urging him to open them. Hope complied, opening them to see a field of flowers, a small skeleton sprawled out in front of him. Hope had never seen the other skeleton before, but something in his SOUL felt connected to the small skeleton. Like two halves of a whole. A warm feeling bloomed in his chest as he watched the other sleep soundly. 

Shifting into a sitting position as softly as Hope could manage, he gazed at their clothes. Both of them were dressed in a turtleneck sweater, black shorts with white stripes on the side to match. The only way anyone would be able to tell the two apart would be by sweater colour, their faces were nearly identical. Hope's sweater was white, whereas the other skeleton's was black.

With nothing else in the immediate area that could hold his interest, Hope's eyelights drifted to their surroundings. It appeared they were in some sort of cavern. The only discernible LIGHT source was the hole above the yellow flower field in which they were currently in. Anything beyond the flower field was plunged in darkness. He should wake up the other skeleton quickly, lest they were both in danger. 

Just as Hope moved to tap the small skeleton on the shoulder, a small gasp reverberated from Hope's right. Now frantic, Hope attempted to sit the other up, desperately shaking the other skeleton's shoulder. Footsteps echoed on the cavern floor, leaving Hope absolutely mortified. As a last resort before they get eaten by the presumed 'monster' in the dark, Hope hit his bony palm against the other's cheek, effectively shocking the other awake. White eyelights saw the world for the first time, quickly settling into an analysing glare that sent a rush of FEAR down Hope's spine. Not that he would ever admit it.

Both skeletons were jolted out of their stupor by the sudden whoosh of a newly lit flame, steadfastly approaching them. Hope stood up, dragging the other skeleton with him.

'Maybe we could run away when the 'monster' comes? Could I persuade the 'monster' to not eat us? Whatever happens, I will protect the other skeleton!' Thought Hope. (You are filled with DETERMINATION.)

As if newly re-energised, Hope pushed the other behind him, shielding the other with his arm.

*Lucid POV

Lucid drifted around calmly in the dark. It was warm and comfortable, making him want to never leave. The darkness welcomed him, as if he were their child. Despite the expanse around him being VOID of any sources of LIGHT, Lucid could clearly see his own limbs and body. 

A bony appendage reached to touch the sleeve of his black sweater, feeling the texture of the wool between his fingers. His other arm extended to fumble with the folds of his turtleneck, only to stop short when the VOID around him shook. It shook again more urgently, as if a warning. Puzzled, possible theories swirled in Lucid's mind, only to be interrupted by a slap that caused him to black out.

Lucid opened his eye sockets, only to see another skeleton. He was no longer surrounded by nothing. The skeleton looked beyond relieved to see Lucid and based on the position the skeleton's free arm was in, it was safe for him to assume that this skeleton was the one responsible for slapping Lucid out of his comfortable VOID. 

Looking closer at the skeleton that Lucid was propped up against, the skeleton donned similar clothes to Lucid, the only difference being sweater colour. He narrowed his eyes, focusing more on the others outfit, missing the expression of FEAR on the other skeleton's face.

 Lucid felt a pull in his SOUL and looked down at his sternum. He felt the tug once more of a connection in the roots of his SOUL to the other, as if they were related in some way. Perhaps because of their sudden existence together.

Lucid's pondering was swiftly disturbed by the distant sound of a flame being lit. He snapped his head towards the sound, eyelights focusing in on the flame floating in mid-air. Footsteps followed the depletion of distance between the flame and the edge of the flower field, startling the other skeleton into standing up, dragging Lucid with them. The other skeleton looked scared, but pushed Lucid behind them, as if to shield him. His SOUL beat faster, a warm sensation squirming about in his rib cage.

(You are filled with BRAVERY.)

Stepping out from behind the other skeleton, Lucid took up what felt like a defensive position in front of the other. If push comes to shove, he would always protect his brother. 

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A/n: You can expect about maybe a month or more between my posts, as I only write in my free time. Thank you so much for reading this story. If any of you are Honkai fans, I wrote another fanfiction titled Herrscher of Quanta. Its a bit low effort, but my motivation for that story has already run out. After fricking TWO chapters with no real content. Eh. Please note that I am a beginner writer, so any helpful suggestions will be appreciated.