Silver (Victuuri)

Jasmine

The next few weeks tripped by like a rosy dream. Yuuri visited Viktor every day, and slowly got to know him better. Every new fact that he learned about him, no matter how small, made Yuuri’s heart feel as if it was about to burst with joy. Viktor liked music, he had a small pink birthmark on the back of his neck, he was from a land far away… Yuuri catalogued all of these things carefully inside, saving them so that he could return to them later.

Not a single person had noticed Yuuri’s absence, which was a relief but also a little disheartening. This was confirmation of his suspicions that nobody really noticed him. While he enjoyed the freedom of being practically invisible, he did miss his family. He hoped that his mother and father would return soon from meeting with foreign diplomats and that his sister would find some free time to spend with him between her lessons. And maybe he could bring Viktor back home with him and-

No. That would never work. He couldn’t admit to himself what exactly he was yearning for, and anyway, it surely would never happen.

Yuuri sighed and stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom. He wanted very much to pay a visit to Viktor, but he had to wait for Yurio to come and guide him. He'd tried to go on his own once, but quickly realized that he had no idea where he was going and had to turn back. It seemed that the forest morphed and changed every single day, although Yuuri still wasn't sure if he was imagining things or not.

A loud meow startled him from his thoughts, and he sat up. There was Yurio, looking bored. Yuuri had left the shōji slightly cracked so that the cat could slip in. He leapt to his feet. He was already fully dressed, so he just wiggled on his geta and watched (slightly amused) as Yurio sauntered around his room like he owned the place. The cat crawled under his bed before he could stop him, and emerged dragging a sheathed tachi in his teeth with some difficulty.

“Oh, I can't take that. I'm not very good at using it,” Yuuri hastily excused. Yurio subjected him to a withering glare, and tugged the sword closer. He dropped it at Yuuri’s feet, and Yuuri bent down to pick it up.

It was heavy in his grip, and he was scared he might drop it and dent the floorboards. What would he need this for? Nerves twisted in his belly, and he unconsciously rubbed the stone that Viktor had given him. He had been taking it everywhere with him; he found that it offered him some comfort, and every time he touched its smooth surface he was reminded of Viktor and felt a little better.

Yuuri swallowed and tucked the tachi into his obi. He adjusted his cap (he had retrieved it from the garden), then walked out into the courtyard. He would have taken the side exit, but he was afraid of running into someone in the hallways. Fortunately there was a party going on that night, and with all of the guests and entertainment, Yuuri and Yurio were able to slip out of the gate relatively unnoticed.

Yuuri was grateful that he would not be there among all of the rowdy, intoxicated men. He found such events dreadfully tedious, and all of the unfamiliar people made him panic. With any luck, no-one would notice that he wasn't present.

The pair snuck around the outside of the palace and entered the forest. As always, Yuuri got goosebumps and shivered as they crossed over the border between the familiar and the unknown. The woods were dead quiet today. There wasn't a single bird cry or squirrel chitter, or any movement at all. Not even a breeze disturbed the treetops. Yuuri felt like something was off, and he continued with an uneasy feeling. There was more tangled underbrush than all the other times he had been there, and his robes kept catching on it and tearing. Even Yurio was having some trouble, clawing at the ferns and shrubs irritably when they stuck to his fur.

Eventually the vines, branches, and bushes were blocking every possible way to progress, and Yuuri understood why Yurio had insisted that he bring the sword. He drew it, and the curved blade gleamed in the noonday sun.