Ghosting Reality (Stardew Valley/My Time at Portia Crossover)

Ghosting Reality

A chill wind blew through the valley, making the trees rustle every so often giving off the feeling that something ethereal followed in his footsteps. A deep breath brought the chill air out of the darkness and into his lungs, making a shudder running down his spine followed by a lingering puff of air escaping from his mouth and nose.

The path down the mountain remained unclear even in the bright starlight, making Sebastian feel even more hesitant in heading down into the valley that late at night. His hands shoved into his pockets, his teeth grinding together while he stood right outside of the door, his shoulders hunched ever so slightly, his tongue tracing the roof of his mouth in dreaded anticipation.

"Seb."

Hearing the voice of his younger half-sister made Sebastian nearly jump out of his skin. Stepping aside so Maru might come out of the house, closing the door to the home their mother built with her own hands; Maru's tawny-colored skin appeared eerie in the porchlight, a stark contrast to his overly pale skin. She reached up pushing a lock of red hair away from her face and eyeglasses.

"Well?" His sister looked at him with anticipation.

"You're the one who asked me to come with you," Sebastian snapped, fully regretting his tone of voice when Maru's mouth twisted into a frown and her eyes narrowed sending an all-to-expected glare his way. He glanced away, into the chilling darkness of the mountain path and took a deep breath, blocking out the anxiety he felt from her looking at him that way—leaving the lingering feeling Maru hated him.

"I thought you liked this kind of thing."

His lungs sucked in the cold air, feeling constricted by everyone's preconceived conceptions regarding how he should think and act. Sebastian tilted his head back, looking up at the stars in the sky in an attempt to find some level of comfort despite knowing he headed right into a social engagement the young man would very much rather avoid. A well-placed finger pocking the back of his arm made him turn to look at his sister, who continued glaring at him.

"Seriously, you and Abigail are both into all this spooky stuff," she muttered, still not clarifying what she meant by spooky stuff beyond the fact they were heading to Emily and Haley's place.

"Don't pretend you're trying to connect with me on some level, when in reality you just want me along chaperoning because you know very well Demetrius wouldn't let you go to this thing unless I went with you."

"Fine." Maru started down the path, her tone of voice indicating definite disgust. "Be that way."

Sebastian took a deep breath, the chill in the air still making him feel ill at ease regarding the situation. He followed after Maru, disliking the thought of her complaining to Demetrius about—well, whatever she decided to complain about; mentally, he lectured himself, reminding himself an argument with his step-father was the last thing his constantly anxious mind needed right now, only for his mind to sharply jump to the anxiety caused by any social engagement involving more than just Sam being present. Even the ones involving Abigail sometimes made him feel like throwing up and hiding in his room; the result being burying his head in his computer programming work and playing gameson good days and burying his head under a blanket on the bad ones.

Of course, he found himself forced into the entire matter because Maru wanted to go and his step-father wouldn't let her go on her own, neither did she want Demetrius to go with her.

Sebastian sucked in the chill air, the fog which enveloped the valley feeling like clammy fingers on his skin. His mind wandered to the skeletons in the caves, suddenly wishing he might be dealing with them and their shaking bones rather than living people. A branch snapped under his foot, bringing his focus back to matters at hand. "So..."