Arcana One Shots

Safe [Muriel X R]

Art: Deviantart: Miyukitty

I hold Muri's hand softly, telling him that it'll be alright. "Hey, it's okay. We'll be fine." I say but he just stares at the ground with a dark look on his face. "Lucio will get what he deserves! He won't get away with all this." He gives me a fleeting glance before refocusing on the grass. I sigh. Times are rough. I know that but I also don't want him to crawl back into his shell, not after he's come all this way. So far from his past. We went through a lot on our journey and we still are, but I still have hope. I try to think of ways to get his attention, but he beats me to it as he speaks up. "I just... Feel like there's no safe place right now." He sais, his expression turning grimmer as he continues. "No place that's not been affected by his tyranny." I look down trying to counter his words but for a long minute I shift uncomfortably as silence falls upon us. But I yuickly raise my head, my eyes focusing onto his, determined to prove him wrong and wanting to wipe that godawful frown off of his face. "There is one place that he hasn't reached and won't ever." This makes him look up, raising an eyebrow at me with a hint of curiosity in his gaze. "And what would that be?" Muriel asks me and I get up, holding out my other hand for him to grab onto. "It's my oasis." I tell him as he gets up too, warily reaching out for my outstretched hand and gripping onto it tightly. I tell him to sit down across me and closing our eyes we hold both of our hands, forming a circle between us. I start to feel energy flow between us, through our linked hands and down througout our bodies. To and fro, balancing each other out. I let myself go and suddenly feel as the ground beneath me disappears and we start to fall. I open my eyes and relax upon seeing Muriel holding my hands, still here with me. We fall until we reach the ground and despite the hight and exeleration our feet land softly on the grass beneath us. I smile up at Muri, who stands there a little confused.
"Where is this?" He asks me, looking around. We're standing on a field, flowers of my favorite color blooming all around us. In the distance, a lively forest can be seen, next to it hills spread out over the horizon. The sky is a mixture of rose gold and yellow, constantly changing between the two colors. I glance away from our surroundings and look at him with a soft smile, spreading out my arms widely. "This is my oasis, but since you're here with me it's changed." I tell him and he tilts his head in confusion. "It's not an existing place. There's no place like this in our own world. It's a mixture of my and your mind. All that's relaxing, nice, things you like, even your emotions influence this place." I explain and he slowly nods his head at me. He starts to walk in a direction unbeknownst to me and I decide to follow him curiously. He glances down at me and catches me staring, so I avert my eyes with a little blush." Where are we going? " I ask him and he shrugs. "I don't know yet." He sais as we walk across the field, slowly approaching the forest. In a matter of minutes we're deep into the forest, but I don't feel lost. The trees around us sway peacefully in a warm breeze calming my being and making me smile. I look up at my companion and see a small smile on him too. We walk in a comfortable silence until he stops. "It's.. Nice." He sais and I nod, looking ahead of us to see a small pond with ducks disturbing the surface. Everything seems so peaceful here. We sit down next to the lake and I lean against Muriel who wraps an arm around me peotectively. Even though I can't feel the warmth of his body it's a comfortable feeling that spreads through me. We stay like that for a while until I see the bush near us stirr a bit. Muri looks up, though not alarmed he pulls me closer ever so slightly. Suddenly a black wolf trotts ouf of the greenery and stops as it spots us. I immediately think about Innanna, but it can't be her. This one's eyes are yellow. Muriel smiles a bit at the sight of the animal, probably also thinking of his small friend. "I can't wait to see her again." I tell him and he nods. "Yes, me neither." He answers me and the wolf starts to walk over to us, it's bushy tail swaying friendly behind it. He sniffs at us carefully and I reach out to pet it, weaving my fingers through his warm and fluffy fur. Muriel does the same and the wolf immediately jumps into his lap, licking at his face. We chuckle as he tries to shelter himself from the wet kisses. "Thanks you.." He suddenly sais as the wolf nestles himself in his lap, earning soft pets from the big figure above him. I look up at his face, seeing a peaceful expression on him. "What for?" I ask, not really knowing why he had thanked me. He raises his head to look away from the wolf to meet my eyes. "For taking me here. I really needed this." He sais with a soft smile and I lean in to hug him lovingly. "Of course, Muri. I couldn't take your frown anymore, it hurt to see you like that." I say and he huffs. "Why would you want to change it? It didn't influence you in any way." He sais and I cross my arms with a sigh. "Because you're important to me and I'd do anything to see you smile." I say and see how his blush spreads to his ears and he adverts my gaze immediately. "Oh." He sais and I laugh, leaning back against him, petting the wolf. "Everything will be alright. Soon we'll see the others and Innanna again. Don't worry." Unlike last time he slowly nods and looks contently over the pond. "I believe you, Y/N."