Shadows- a Danplan fanfiction

A For Effort

"Alright, Joe. I'm Hosuh, and it's nice to meet you too." The healer said calmly, to the nervous male.
"Are you from here?" He proceeded to ask.

Joe looked to the side. "Well.." He began to explain awkwardly.
"I live in a village close to this forest, but I'm kinda lost here...
I don't get out often..."
He concluded with embarrassment.

Hosuh sighed disappointedly, he had hoped that Joe knew the area and could maybe help him find his way back to his friends.
"Alright, we're stuck here for a while then, because I don't really know this place either." He mumbled.

"You mean, we have to stay at this place?" The brunette asked uncertainly. "I-isn't that dangerous..?" He stuttered.

Hosuh laughed lightly at the man's worry, though he could understand.
Thinking about it, when he had left his village he'd been just as nervous.
"It's gonna be fine. At least I remember the place were I lost sight of my friend. We'll wait there and eventually the others will come and get us." He comforted the other.

"The others? How many of you are there?" Joe asked frightfully.

Hosuh gave him a confused look. "We're four. Why does it matter?" He wondered.

Joe scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Well, that's not what I meant. Are all of you...y-you know?" He rambled fearfully.

At first Hosuh didn't understand what he was getting at.
Then something clicked. "Oh." He said sounding slightly disappointed.
"You mean if we can all use magic." He mumbled unhappily.

This caused Joe to feel slightly guilty. He didn't mean to be rude, but he couldn't really help it. Being surrounded by four magic users couldn't possibly end well.
"N-not that I mind it's just, not something I'm used to." He explained feeling ashamed for making the other feel bad, especially since he'd been so nice to him.

Hosuh sighed. "Guess  I can't blame you." He settled things.
"Now follow me, my friends and I will help you go back to your village." He told the other.
Then he started walking toward the place where he'd lost sight of Anne.

Joe followed him closely, always scanning his surroundings carefully. Paying attention to every detail, for the fear of missing out on something potentially threatening.

The walk was short and silent, with no anomalies.
They arrived quickly and without anything hindering them.

"Alright, we're here. Now we just have to wait." Hosuh announced.

Joe looked around nervously. "Um, are you sure your friends will come?" He asked insecurely.

Hosuh smiled. "Of course they will. We trust each other! We're like a family!
I bet the people from your village worry about you too." He said confidently.

Joe shook his head. "I doubt it, they sent me here, even if they know I can't fight." He didn't really sound sad, more awkward than anything else.

"They don't seem really nice." Hosuh said, without really thinking about it.
He quickly realised he was being a bit rude, and immediately apologised. "Not that I know them of course, sorry for assuming that."

Joe laughed. "No, it's fine. Though you shouldn't say stuff like that in front of them. They can be really scary." He shuddered slightly at the thought.

"Scarier than us witches?" Hosuh questioned sarcastically.

Joe jumped up slightly, surprised by the different tone.
"I'm really sorry about earlier." He proceeded to apologise.

Hosuh frowned. "Are you just saying that because you're scared of me, or do you mean it?" He asked, looking the other directly in the eye.

Joe tried his best not to laugh, but  Hosuh's version of a threatening stare was not scary in any way.
It was more hilarious than anything, especially how hard he tried.
Hosuh's face looked red and he would always unintentionally blink, it was all around as threatening as a cupcake.
Joe broke out into a fit of laughter, not able to contain it.

Hosuh just looked at him like a confused puppy. "What's so funny?" He asked.

"It's just, you're not exactly scary." Joe said between laughter, which caused Hosuh to smile.

"I tried my best." Hosuh mumbled in embarrassment.

Joe shook his head, as he calmed down. "Yeah, I doubt I could do better anyway. You get an A for effort." He reassured Hosuh with a smile on his face.

The healer was glad that there was more to the man than his fear of magic.
He was about to continue their conversation, when he heard something move in the bushes.
He heard footsteps to be precise.

Joe heard them too, just that his reaction was a bit more extreme. "WHAT WAS THAT!?" He yelled in thoughtless panic, holding on to Hosuh's arm and basically strangling it.

"Calm down." Hosuh mumbled silently.
"It's probably just-"

But he didn't get to finish his sentence, because he was soon interrupted by Anne.
"Look Daniel, you and Stephen weren't the only ones having fun." Anne joked smirking at Daniel wickedly.

Daniel and Stephen just glared at her.

Hosuh was mostly confused by the situation. "We have a lot to talk about I guess." He mumbled awkwardly, looking at his friends, then at Joe, who was still strangling his arm.
That was going to be a long talk.

Author's comment:
Alright people, here's a new chapter.
It's a bit short, and kind of a filler, but it needs to exist.
I hope you liked it nonetheless.

I'm sorry for the slow updates, it's just sort of difficult to find a good time to write.
I'm actually writing this at the beach lmao.

Welp, see you soon, girlfriends, boyfriends and none binary lovers!