"Iris?" River blinked, momentarily dumbfounded. What were the chances that Iris, one of the only people who didn't outright look down on him, ended up in the same Dream Realm spot that he did? And more importantly, how was she still alive?
"Oh, thank the Spell–it's really you, River. I thought you were a Nightmare Creature." Iris sighed with relief and began to quickly shuffle over to River to help him up onto the cliff. She wore a cloth outfit of deep black fabric with silver embroidery lining the high collar and cuffs in delicate, flowing patterns. The shirt cinched at the waist with a simple sash and was paired with long pants and shoes that cut off right above her ankle. She also wore matching shoes of the same dark fabric.
The sight of Iris fully dressed made River uncomfortably aware of… his own lack of clothing. It hadn't mattered much when it was just him and the Nightmare Creatures—he'd been through worse on the outskirts. But in front of another sleeper? Especially one that he'd come to consider somewhat of a friend? There's no way he could allow himself to suffer an embarrassment like that.
"Wait wait wait, don't come any closer!" River quickly shouted, trying his best to hide his current predicament. "Just…just give me a second."
"Okay…?" Iris came to a sudden stop as she tilted her head slightly in confusion. Before coming to a brief understanding after watching armor materialize over River's form and letting out a small laugh. "Seriously? I thought you were hurt or something. Didn't take you for a nudist, River."
River, finally clothed, pulled himself up onto the ledge. "Yeah, well, excuse me for not wanting to have a heartfelt reunion while naked." He briefly looked away from her, still feeling the lingering sting of embarrassment.
Iris stared off into the distance, pretending to be in deep contemplation. "Really? I don't think I would have minded that type of reunion." She stopped for a second, her face shifting into one similar to that of a mischievous little kid. "Not like there'd be much to see anyways."
But before River could respond, she continued speaking, her posture seeming lighter. "Seriously though, you have no clue how glad I am to see you."
River stared at her for a bit, feeling slightly uncomfortable and unsure of how to exactly respond. He still wasn't used to the whole idea of people being nice to him.
"Yeah…" He shifted slightly before changing the subject. "But…uhm, do you know where we are?"
Iris didn't seem too bothered by River's sudden change of subjects and walked towards the edge of the cliff. "I'm not too sure. I don't think Professor Cecilia mentioned anything even similar to the geography of this place—especially the ocean that seemingly vanished out of thin air."
"I was hoping you wouldn't say that." River exhaled slightly before walking up next to her.
They stood there for a few seconds, overlooking the crimson forest, before Iris spoke up. "Do you think we're in some undiscovered part of the Dream Realm?"
"Honestly? Yeah… not only does this place look completely different from anything we were taught. Even the Nightmare Creatures I've run into don't ring any bells."
Iris's head suddenly turned to look at him, shock evident on her face. "You're telling me you've already run into Nightmare Creatures? How did you make it out alive?"
River flinched slightly as he was suddenly reminded of the creature lurking in the caves below them. "It's… a long story. But to sum it up, I somehow killed three Awakened Monsters and then almost got turned into paste by what was probably a Fallen Nightmare Creature."
Iris stared at River for a while, her face shifting between surprise, confusion, and disbelief. It was as if she wasn't sure which emotion to feel or act on. "You're messing with me." Her voice wavered between doubt and accusation, but when River didn't immediately respond, her brows furrowed. "Wait—you're serious?"
River was used to his flaw, making people not trust him even in the most mundane scenarios, so it was understandable why Iris didn't exactly trust his words, especially since the doubt must have been intensified by how unlikely it was that he'd be able to accomplish such feats.
So, if he was being honest, it was impressive that she didn't outright call him a lying bastard. But, despite knowing that, it didn't make her doubt any less annoying.
River let out a tired sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Yes I'm serious. I don't exactly get a kick out of lying about something like that." He shot her a look, his voice edged with irritation. "Glad to see you have so much faith in me."
It was a little petty of River to snap at her for something that wasn't really her fault, but he honestly didn't really care. He was sick of people constantly looking down on him.
Iris blinked at River's sudden snap, her expression faltering for a brief moment. "I—" She paused, then let out a breath, trying to soften the moment. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like I don't believe you. I just... it's hard to wrap my head around, you know? We're both sleepers afterall. I just don't think I'd be able to do the same if I was in your situation."
River didn't respond right away. He could clearly tell that she still didn't believe his story in the slightest, but there really wasn't much he could do about it. It was just the way his flaw worked.
"It's fine," he said eventually, voice flat.
After River spoke, the silence lingered for a bit, quickly turning awkward. Unable to bear it, Iris let her usual teasing grin appear on her face again. "But, hey, maybe I should be glad I wasn't in your situation. I don't think I'm cut out for fighting Nightmare Creatures in the nude."
River, understanding her attempt to lighten the mood, decided to play along. "It wasn't exactly my proudest moment. But, at least I was sitting up here all dolled up when I'm supposed to be finding a gateway."
Iris put her hand against her chest, pretending to be offended. "Oh, so you think I was just sitting around, huh? I'll have you know, I actually explored some of the cliff while you were busy…" She raised her fingers in air quotes, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Fighting Nightmare Creatures."
River rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't even know the first thing about figh-" But, then suddenly cut himself short, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Wait… you've explored this cliffside?" River hesitated somewhat as he spoke, something about her story not sitting right with him. "And you didn't run into anything?"
On the surface, it made perfect sense—if she'd been here as long as he had, of course, she would've explored. But, when River flees to this cliffside, he sees multiple Nightmare Creatures climbing up the cliff for shelter. So… how was it possible that she hadn't run into any Nightmare Creatures?
Iris blinked at him, tilting her head. "Nope. Not a single Nightmare Creature."
River frowned. "That doesn't make any sense."
She raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
River hesitated for a second before responding. "When I was running to this cliffside to take shelter from the storm, there were multiple Nightmare Creatures attempting to climb up this cliff. If you explored parts of this cliff, how is it possible that you haven't run into a single one?"
Iris's expression faltered for the briefest moment. "That's…." Her voice was quieter now, almost like she was speaking more to herself than to River. Then, as if nothing happened, her face went back to her usual expression. "I don't know. Maybe they just weren't around when I was exploring?"
River narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at her. "Yeah… maybe." He could tell that she was clearly hiding something, but he wasn't sure what exactly.
But before he could press further, she clapped her hands together. "Anyway! Enough about that. We should probably set up camp or something before another storm rolls in. Come on, follow me."
Without even waiting for him, Iris had already turned away and walked further into the coral forest that was perched on top of the cliff. River lingered for a moment, watching her with a sense of unease. Something was off, but pressing her about it now wouldn't get him anywhere. Exhaling quietly, he reluctantly followed, his steps slow at first before quickening to keep up.
***
Iris led him through the small coral forest almost perfectly, only losing her way a couple of times before they found a place to sit down and set up camp as the sun almost fell over the horizon. But before they settled down for good, they made sure to grab a couple of supplies needed to set up a fire.
'Well, at least she wasn't lying about exploring,' River thought dryly as he sat down on a pile of seaweed. From what he sensed, it seemed as though there truly were no Nightmare Creatures on top of the cliff. It was eerily deprived of any form of life besides the two of them as if they were the only ones here. He couldn't even detect that creature in the cave anymore. Still, despite her story somewhat adding up, it was clear that she was hiding something.
So, until he figured out what she was hiding, he made sure not to get too close to her. He didn't know what she was capable of after all.
Letting out a tired sigh, River turned his head towards the east, where the skies were already beginning to darken. He could even feel the slight rumbling from beneath him as he watched the ocean begin to appear just as swiftly as it had before. Just the mere sight of the black waters brought back bad memories.
'I'm already starting to hate this place." River bitterly thought; it had only been a day or two since he got here, and he had already experienced more hardships than he ever expected. But at least there was no sign of a storm this time.
Turning his gaze back to Iris, he watched as she finished getting the fire started. Shortly after the fire began to grow brighter, she sat down on her own pile of seaweed and looked up towards River. "So… what do you think of our brand new home?" Her usual cheeky grin returned as she gestured to their shabbily made shelter of seaweed and coral.
"It's… great," River muttered, his voice betraying his actual feelings. Their campsite was anything but great. The fire struggled to stay lit, the makeshift beds of seaweed were a sorry excuse for comfort, and the so-called seats were barely more than uneven lumps. It was in such poor shape that River promised himself that he would never let him or Iris become an architect. He was pretty sure that their shoddy craftsmanship would do more damage to the world than the Spell ever had.
Iris raised an eyebrow at him, clearly unconvinced. "You're a terrible liar, you know that?" She smirked, nudging a stray piece of seaweed with her foot. "But, hey, I'll take the compliment. Welcome to the height of sleeper luxury."
River looked over the campsite again before shaking his head. "Luxury? I think I'd sleep better in the outskirts than I ever could here."
Iris' eyes widened slightly at the piece of information. "You're from the outskirts?"
River looked up at her with a confused expression. "You didn't know?" His voice carried genuine surprise as if the idea itself was ridiculous. He was under the impression that it was common knowledge that he was from the outskirts based on the police-issued outfit he strolled in with on his first day at the Awakened Academy.
Iris looked up towards the sky before looking back at him. "I mean I had assumptions… but I didn't want to just outright assume, you know? It wasn't any of my business anyways."
River blinked, still slightly taken aback. "I figured it was obvious," he muttered. "I showed up to the Academy in a police-issued uniform after all. Didn't exactly blend in with all the Legacies."
Iris tapped a finger against her chin, feigning deep thought. "Now that you mention it, I do remember you looking like you just got out of some bootcamp." Her lips twitched into a slight smirk. "But honestly, I never really paid much attention to all that 'where are you from' nonsense. I was much too worried focusing on my own survival."
River scoffed. "Guess that makes two of us."
Iris tilted her head. "So, the outskirts, huh? What's it like?"
River stared at her for a moment, debating whether he actually wanted to answer that question. His time in the outskirts weren't exactly fond memories of his. If he had the choice, he'd rather forget all about it. It did nothing but bring back memories of his life before he was stranded on the outskirts. A time when his parents were still alive.