Dance with a Grimwalker | Golden Guard x reader

13

Darius beckoned you to follow him, stepping over the void in a pair of shoes coated in abomination clay.

"Come on, you can do it. I taught you this. You can relax."
Darius smiled and held his arms out like he would to his child taking their first steps.
The two of you were patrolling together today, walking across the outer edge of the moat surrounding the castle.

"Darius..."
You were nervous. Your tutor shook his head and told you to focus on your breathing.

"Remember the footprints I put down on the floor for you, to follow when I was first teaching you to dance?"
You looked at the drop beneath the two of you staring at the spikes beneath the coven head's footing.

"It's like following those. It's just one foot after the other. Focus on your magic."
The drawbridge to the rest of the isles had been taken down, so Darius was relying on teaching you a new abomination spell to help you walk over the gap.

He looked you in the eye,
"I'll be here to catch you. I promise."

Swallowing your fear, you took a step forward while spinning your wrist, letting the abomination clay you cast hold you up over the air beneath it.

Wobbling, then settling. You were still standing. Darius still had his arms open, surprised by your ability to get the spell first try.

"Honestly Copper, I don't know why you doubt yourself. You're better at this than I am."
He let out a small laugh and regained his balance.

"Oh Titan, I looked down."
Your comment made him laugh harder.

"As long as you focus, you'll be alright. You've been through enough already to not let fear get the better of you."
Darius seemed to grow more melancholy after saying that last sentence.

"How long has that Golden Guard been doing solo missions now?"
Darius asked, looking ahead of him as the two of you started to pick up the pace, keeping his steps even enough to not have to look down.

You sighed, looking to the ground, slightly less confident in your stride.
"A week. We haven't patrolled together for a while now."

You felt your stomach sink. Hunter hadn't spoken to you for a week.
It felt fake, but the look of upset he'd give you whenever you walked by him would make you feel worse.

You needed to speak to him again, at some point.
Ideally, tonight.

Darius went quiet.
"Well, it meant I got to spend more time with you though."

Of course he appreciated that the two of you got along. The fact that you and Hunter weren't working together meant the Golden Guard was back to being by his lonesome on the regular.

"Yeah... Thank you, Darius."
You attempted to smile, knowing you hadn't attempted to face Hunter about everything yet.

A subtle smile spread across Darius' lips.

The two of you admired the world around you, the sudden lack of surroundings as you stood in the middle of the perimeter, without a floor beneath the soles of your shoes.

The feeling of completely empty space surrounding you was somewhat calming.

Until the worst happened,
"Darius, I'm out of clay..."

You mumbled, noticeably more nervous as Darius looked over his shoulder, realising you had left a trail of your own clay footprints behind you.
He chuckled, realising you hadn't spotted the difference yet. It was rather endearing, you were still his apprentice after all.