Oh, Merlin. It's you. (Ominis x Reader)

Fear Part I

Authors note: This chapter ended up being so much longer than anticipated the more I wrote it so I'm splitting it in two.

The main quest this chapter focuses on is pretty heavily based on the Absconder side quest in the game as I died to that multiple times on the easier difficulty rip.
TW: Depicitons of gore, violence, onset blindness, and mentions of death (yours/characters)

Stay tuned for part 2 where he takes her home!
_______

It had been five days since the last time you spoke with Ominis. Five dreadful days. At first, you had been sad. Hurt by his curt words and ever curter, rash decisions. Hurt that that delusional part of the back of your mind that really, truly believed he might have feelings for you was crushed in an instant. That you never even really meant that much to him after all. Then you became angry. Anger and frustration that he was giving up so easily. That he never even listened to what you had to say to him. That he was just abandoning you in this school without him.

You tried to busy yourself with other people. Gravitating towards Imelda and Poppy who were welcoming but the least bit of a distraction as their frequent flirtations only made you miss your own. Then there was Gareth Weasley, who hopelessly accepted your invitations to hang out every time, but ultimately always led to the two of you getting in trouble. He didn't seem to understand you as Ominis did, he was always a little too preoccupied with some other plans for mischief. Natty Onai had been a great bit of support, but she did not laugh with you the way Ominis did. If it was possible, the girl was too kind and you missed the sassy remarks Ominis would make as the two of you gossiped. You had even contemplated hanging around Leader Prewett... Just kidding, not really. But you imagined that would have been a funny joke to tell Ominis.

Unfortunately, Sebastian had been no help at all to your emotional distress either. He seemed to be in the same limbo as you, moping around the castle as if in a catatonic state. The two of you still ate your meals together, but neither of you ever had anything interesting to say. Most days ended up passing in silence.

You had only seen Ominis a few times throughout those days. Never even close enough to make out those little moles on the side of his face. He usually seemed to be in a hurry. Rushing out of classes or making long strides to evade large crowds. He looked just about as uncomfortable as Sebastian and you. Though your heart longed to reach for him. To comfort him. To ask him one amongst the multitude of questions you had for him, you never did. It seemed hopeless and you were too hurt from the last time he had spoken to you so dismissively.

When socializing did not fill the void that Ominis provided you, you turned to busying yourself with quests and activities instead. Frequently taking longer trips around the nearby countryside on your broom instead of traveling by floo-flame. If you weren't already so proficient on a broom, you would have reveled in how nice it felt to be good at something. Nothing seemed to be able to bring you joy. At least not in the way you had throughout the last few months. You imagined it was all good practice for when Ominis actually left. The thought sent shivers down your spine. How hopelessly dull your life had become, and he wasn't even gone yet. You still had two more years left at this place after you finished this one.

Your work with Professor Fig and ancient magic was on temporary hiatus as the Keepers set up a new trial for you so you didn't even have something productive to be distracting yourself with. You turned instead to helping villagers when you could. Whatever simple gratitudes they expressed seemed to chip away at the darkness corroding your insides. You had completed most with ease, some requests being so simple you wondered why the villagers didn't even try to set out on them themselves. That was until a particular one.

You had been purchasing potion ingredients at a small stall in one of the tinier towns in the countryside, called Aranshire. Per usual, the townspeople had all sorts of questions for you, loving the chat and news you frequently brought them. However, the man at the stall seemed to challenge your skills. Already in a pissy-mood from this week's revelations, you were simply not having it. The man spoke of a friend of his who had ventured into the forbidden forest about six months ago looking to slay a beast he described so grandly as the Absconder. You had never heard of such a foe, but his descriptions were making your skin crawl. An eight-legged spider, taller, harrier, and more viscous than an entire army of spiders put together. You were never a fan of the forbidden forest, or spiders, or anything he described, to be honest. But something about the way he spoke of the beast intrigued you. Perhaps it was the apprehension in his voice. The disbelieving tone that he didn't really believe a young girl like you could take it on. Or defeat it. Or return his friend's pocket watch for him. Upon one more eyebrow raise from the man you accepted the quest hastily, desperately trying to prove your worth to the world. Prove that you were something stronger and more dangerous than it had predicted of you. Maybe even prove to yourself that you could still do hard things without Ominis.