Oh my god I actually finished a oneshot after a thousand years

Okay quick explanation - so DJG3N6 and I love to roleplay a lot and recently we created a brainchild together, an entire AU called Just Swords and Dragons. It's basically if Corruption is turned into dragons and Fresh is their king (he's a fucking massive dragon btw if you haven't guessed). Meanwhile, the Pures stay human and they consist of my Quartet and Jun's Quartet. Yep, both our worlds are mashed together again :)

The plot is basically set two years after the start of a dragon apocalypse and the survivors (the Pures) have made a secret hideout and hunt for food every week to survive as well as killing any dragon straying too close (it also keeps them all from getting bored)

They managed to stay there for two years until, during one of their hunting sessions, Cyan and Tetra brought home a new survivor, a scared, lonely girl. And then shit starts to go down again cuz that girl is no ordinary girl

In this AU we ship Tetra and Cyan together so prepare for a lot of f l u f f in the future ;D

We're gonna reveal more about this AU soon, but for now, enjoy this oneshot!

Two years ago...

Flames licked the smoke-filled sky and it looked like the whole world was on fire. Screams echoed across the fiery streets and the hungry silhouettes were everywhere, often snatching unfortunate, exposed people regardless of their gender and age. Another explosion could be heard and the earth shook once again as the seventeen-year-old Cyan continued to sprint for his life, crashing through a part of the forest that wasn't touched by the inferno yet, running far away from the burning city.

He had never been so terrified so far in his life. It was supposed to be a lazy Sunday where he could take a break and spend a whole day with his friends at his apartment playing games and talking, but a warning came out of the blue and when they looked out his window, the sky was covered with the approaching hostile creatures...

And now he had been separated from his friends because of the chaos, and he was left alone with nothing. Not a single precious belonging as everything he owned in his apartment was supposedly already burnt to a crisp. Not even his phone, which was busted when he tripped on the street fifteen minutes earlier. He had no way to contact his friends... and most likely never see them again.

Panting, he wiped the ash from his red and sweaty face as he continued to run, desperately hoping that nothing was on his tail. But today was nobody's lucky day, and hundreds had perished in the sudden apocalypse back in the city. Who's to say that he wouldn't be next?

Eventually after what felt like ages running, Cyan skidded to a halt and slumped against a boulder, gasping for breath, legs aching and his whole body sticky with sweat. His throat was parched but he didn't have his usual water bottle — and there was no sign of any water source nearby. He felt a pang as he realized what all this could mean.

I have to stay alive on my own, he realized, horrified. Seek shelter, find food and water, flee or fight if necessary... now I wish I paid more attention to Scouts lessons.

He gave a heavy sigh and forced himself back on his feet. It would only take less than an hour for the raging fire to reach this part of the forest, so he needed to get a move on. And he had to find at least one water source around, otherwise he'd die of thirst pretty soon. Wow, this is some serious Hunger Games shit. I never expected to be thrown into the Games at this age...

Suddenly, he froze as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up like a porcupine's.

It was the primal instinct of danger, like he knew that he wasn't alone. Every inch of his senses was screaming at him to run, but he had a horrible feeling that if he tried to flee, he'd be dead within seconds. So he stayed still as a statue as the deafening silence lingered.

But the silence didn't stay for long and Cyan swore he heard a subtle rustle from behind him. Alerted, he sprang forward — just in time as something large and heavy thudded to the ground where he was standing on.

Letting out a terrified scream, Cyan immediately broke into a sprint as he heard an outraged ROAR from behind, shortly followed by the sound of heavy footsteps pounding after him. Oh sweet Treesus, he was being chased. Blinded with panic, he broke through the greenery without even caring how much noise he was making anymore, because the large dragon behind him would've alerted any other creature nearby anyway.

The panicked chase didn't last too long; because as soon as Cyan reached a smallish clearing, the dragon spewed a large ball of fire that exploded upon hitting the ground behind Cyan's heels. He let out a yell as he fell face-first into the grass, causing stars to swim in his vision. The soles of his shoes were most likely burnt off and his feet was searing in pain. Biting his lip to cope with the pain, he tried to crawl away - but then he felt a crushing weight pressing against his back, pinning him firmly down.

It was hopeless. He was going to die.

But before the dragon could do anything damaging like tearing off his limbs or something, Cyan heard a scream — it sounded more like a war-cry than a scream of agony — and there was the whistle of a flying blade and something sharp sinking into flesh.

The dragon pinning him down suddenly gave a roar of anguish, taking its claws off Cyan's body and allowing him to scramble away. He turned around to see the creature properly for the first time — and it was a deep purple colour with bright blue accents, wide wings and frighteningly long, sharp fangs and claws... and one missing, heavily bleeding eye with a throwing knife embedded deep in its socket. As the dragon retreated and lopsidedly flew away, his saviour leapt from a higher ledge, leaves stuck in his (his or her? He couldn't really tell) bright cyan hair and striped scarf trailing behind him. Cyan gaped — he was surprisingly small in stature. Smaller than him, in fact.

"Oy, you! Guy with blue hair!" cried the knife-thrower urgently, and Cyan snapped back to attention. "Get out of there if you don't wanna die!"

"What for? It's flying away," Cyan pointed out, but the boy shook his head.

"It's gonna come back, trust me," he said, and Cyan, not knowing much about dragons, decided to take the boy's word for it. He immediately scrambled to his feet — but let out a gasp of pain when he remembered his heels were rather burnt. As he kicked off what remained of his shoes, the boy with the scarf leapt off the ledge and ran over.

"You hurt?" he asked swiftly, and Cyan nodded, gritting his teeth. The boy nodded.

"That's okay. C'mere, I'll help you." He offered Cyan his hand and, grateful, he took it. With difficulty, he managed to stand up, and with his hand slung over the boy's shoulder, he managed to limp away from the scorched clearing. It wasn't a serious burn, but goddamn it was painful.

Thankfully, that particular part of the forest wasn't so barren anymore and they found a nearby cave. The boy managed to drag Cyan into it and as they pressed themselves against the wall in silence, panting and trying to control their breathing, they heard the first roars of the wounded dragon searching the abandoned clearing, and the heavy thuds of its feet finally faded away as it went completely the opposite direction they took.

The two released their breaths and slid onto the cave floor, and Cyan gingerly pulled his feet closer to examine the damage. The burn wasn't too serious, but the skin was red and angry and it would certainly take a while to heal.

"That looks pretty bad," the boy spoke up. "You probably need some water."

"I don't have any," Cyan murmured — and then he suddenly realized just how thirsty he was. "My bottle's burnt to ashes along with everything else I owned back home, and I couldn't find a stream."

Wordlessly, the boy nodded, reaching into his coat and pulled out a small bottle of water. "It's not that much, but it should be enough. And I bet you're thirsty, too, so feel free to use all of it."

Surprised, Cyan's face visibly brightened up. "You mean it?"

The boy smiled and nodded. "I can always refill it later. I know a couple of clear streams around here somewhere."

Immensely grateful, Cyan opened the water bottle and drank at least half of it. God, it was refreshing. His thirst wasn't completely gone, but his throat was no longer dry and he could think a little clearer now. He then pulled his feet closer and slowly poured water on them, letting out a relieved sigh as he felt the cool liquid soothe the angry red marks.

"You okay?" the boy asked, and Cyan nodded as he screwed the bottle shut, smiling.

"A lot better," he said. "Thanks. I mean it."

"No problem."

There was a short silence as Cyan rubbed his feet a little before stretching his legs, sitting more comfortably against the cave wall.

"So... are you some sort of dragon hunter?" he asked.

The boy looked amused. "Never knew about dragons till today, so no."

"You seem to know an awful lot about them, though."

"Just earlier experience," he shrugged. "I mean, I had to encounter a dragon face-to-face earlier before I met you and barely escaped. Only a few cuts and bruises here and there, though. I eventually lost the fucker, though it did try to come back after losing me once."

"Damn," Cyan commented. "Sounds pretty rough. I just had to get out of a burning building but I got separated from my friends in the process. Ran for a good while through the forest, but when I stopped to take a break, that dragon came outta nowhere. Could've died if you didn't intervene. Thanks, by the way," he added genuinely.

The boy smiled. "My pleasure," he said, then stuck out a hand. "Tetragon, but just call me Tetra."

Cyan shook his hand. "Cyan. Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise."

Silence. "So, uh," Cyan said awkwardly, "I didn't really think a kid would be able to do something like that..."

Tetra looked surprised. "A kid? How old do you think I am?"

"I dunno, fifteen?"

He looked away, giggling. "Flattered, but I'm actually eighteen."

Cyan blushed. "Oh."

"Yeah, a lot of people get that wrong."

"Huh. So were you like, the son of a hunter or something?"

"I'm not a guy."

"...Oh." Goddamnit, he got everything wrong. He looked away in embarrassment. "Shit. Fuck me."

"Nor a girl, for that matter, and I'll pass, thanks."

"Oh. Ooooooh... Right. Sorry."

After Cyan got over the embarrassment, the two spent some more time talking to each other, until eventually Tetra went outside to find a stream and refill their water bottle. They came back twenty minutes later to a stressed Cyan, since he thought they got lost or hurt. But they came back unscathed and surprised him with two bottles.

"I actually had another one in my coat when I gave you my second one," they explained, handing over the bottle Cyan had used earlier.

It was already nighttime before but their adrenaline had numbed the two of all the exhaustion of the chaotic day. As the already-cold temperature dropped further, the two found that trying to sleep without each other's warmth was torturous. Especially Cyan, who wasn't wearing any shoes.

So at about four o'clock in the morning, when Cyan was almost able to fall asleep, Tetra crawled from their cold little corner over to Cyan's area and settled behind his back, shivering. They wrapped their scarf around their arms and snuggled a little closer until the shivering gradually stopped.

"Don't look too much into this..." they mumbled sleepily before they finally fell asleep. "Just cold, that's all..."

Surprised, Cyan groggily looked over his shoulder to see the now-sleeping Tetra, hugging their scarf and looking peaceful. With their face relaxed and not tightened with the usually hardened expressions they had when they were awake, they actually looked like a child now. Smiling, Cyan turned back to his original position, savouring the warmth Tetra was emitting like a hot water bottle.

He may not be able to see his old friends again, but he was glad that he was no longer alone in this situation now.