Branches of Time.

difficult peace.

(cw: *later on + accidental* $elf-harm)

(june 23rd, 7:10pm)

Difficulty Chart looked up at the sky, slowly getting up from where he sat on the ground. Going through the pathway to get to him in reverse - despite it seeming impossible for the player to. Or well, seemed to be.

It had been almost two weeks since, but DC still couldn't fully grasp why that happened. But hey, at least he knew Danger was okay...

That didn't mean that he'd always be okay, though. Or for Serenity. Or for himself. Someone else could get hurt, and it could be someone else Difficulty cared about.

But at the same time... he didn't fully understand how a certain someone was so calm about everything, even something as horrifying as this. She was usually calm, but... Danger was her brother, and yet she isn't freaking out about it?

Difficulty Chart stayed silent near the entrance, contemplating leaving to go hang out with Dark and Danger - the only two he felt were reacting enough to it.

Even when he initally thought Dark Markery didn't seem angered by what happened, they managed to talk about it whilst Danger was having a nap.

...

"If I'll be honest Difficulty... I am. I was pissed off at [Player] over it, and I still am, but... no point holding a grudge on a dead person, right? But also, when I first got there, and looked into Danger's eyes... I knew I couldn't deal with myself right then."

"...That's... actually a good reasoning..."

"I'm sorry if it seemed like I didn't care, but trust me - I do. I just... care more about Danger's wellbeing than getting angry at someone who's already dead. Like, where's the fun in that?"

"Heh, guess you're right about that."

"You can't even say you 'wish they were dead', because they already ARE dead!"

...

Speaking of... they had actually grown a lot closer to each other. Beforehand, Difficulty and Dark were pretty much frenemies, constantly fighting to see who could win in the most random things - like drinking water.

Well that was Danger's idea... and he literally only did that to trick Dark Markery into drinking water for once-

But now, they were almost like best friends.

Maybe tragedy really can bring people together sometimes...

"Oh, hi Difficulty!" Serenity called out, having just spawned in. "Sorry if I'm late back, Zen was... umm... I don't think they'd want me to say... yeah, I was... busy."

"...It's twenty past seven. You left when it was four o'clock sharp." Difficulty Chart replied, his hands shaking already. "YOU'VE been gone for over THREE HOURS! Do you not understand what could've happened to me in those three hours?!"

"I- Difficulty Chart, I said I'm sorry-!" Serenity said as she backed away, trying to repress the tears in her eyes. Looking down at the ground, the grey, metallic looking spawn-point blurring into the white underneath it.

"Do you know what could've happened to YOU?! WE ALREADY NEARLY LOST DANGER, I'M NOT LOSING YOU TOO!" DC cried out, almost grabbing Serenity's hands. However, she flinched out of impulse, backing even further away.

She was now almost six inches away from the edge, trembling with fear.

"I-I'm sorry!" she mustered out, before finally letting out her tears, although silently. Difficulty Chart stood still for a couple minutes, as Serenity's crying progressively got louder, until she was sobbing knelt onto the ground.