Opossum-(mxm) (Rever series Eight)

Opossum Thirteen

He felt... stressed. 

It clearly wasn't coming from his own mind, but at the same time, the sense of uneasy dread enveloped him so thoroughly that he couldn't find a way out. 

He also couldn't see anything, which wasn't really surprising, since his mind was normally comfortably dark, but then...

What is making me feel so stressed? 

His life was going pretty darn well now, and he'd just moved in with his idol and an adorable—wait a minute.

"Ammo?" Ian questioned as he wandered through his mind, moving carefully and listening closely. 

He didn't hear anything in response, but as he moved, he could feel the air around him grow more tense with each step he took in a certain direction. 

"You're over here, sweetheart?" 

He was used to feeling stressed and depressed, as it had been his two main emotions before he saw Grim in that Affinity ad. Now he had hope and excitement, though the stress still inched its way into his thoughts every now and then. 

"It's going to be alright," he told him as he finally caught a glimpse of something far up ahead. 

It felt like it took nearly half an hour just to get to the faint outline he could see, but he never slowed. Neither did he speed up, though. He understood what it felt like to be scared and depressed. And sometimes, when people reached out too quickly and tried to force you to accept help before you were ready, it actually did more harm than good. 

Once he was reasonably close, Ian sat down in the darkness and put a calm smile on his face. 

He couldn't see all of the young man, but that was perfectly fine. 

Depression and stress could eat up parts of your soul if it got bad enough. 

"Ammo, it's nice to finally meet you in person," he said quietly as he kept his eyes focused off to the side, not wanting to startle his new friend. 

There was no audible response, but that was alright. The response he did get wasn't comfortable, but he embraced it all the same.

"I'll help you hold your burden for a while," he said as he relaxed his body, even as wave after wave of anxiety and stress flowed into his system. 

It was a struggle to keep himself calm, but he knew that Grim was still home, watching over them both. 

"He'll take care of you, too. He's an absolute sweetheart," he told Ammo as the mostly-shadowed form moved the slightest fraction, as if he was turning his head to look in his direction. 

Ian smiled and leaned a little closer but kept his posture calm and relaxed. 

"Sweetheart, would you like a hug? Or maybe something smaller?" he asked, reaching out a hand slowly. 

"Perhaps just a hand to hold?" 

The top of the shrouded body tilted slightly, as if considering his question. At the same time, Ian began to see bits and pieces of Ammo's features begin to appear from within the dark miasma. 

After quite some time, he saw a wisp of darkness inch closer to his still-outstretched hand, but hesitate every few moments as it got closer, then withdrew over and over again. 

Hmmm, maybe...

Licking his ethereal lips, he looked around in the darkness until he could sense his other half. It didn't seem like it was a fan of their intruder and was staying at the edge of his mind, pacing and grumbling quietly.