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Unbreakable Curse [Saria and Clementine]

Gasping sharply, Grayson whipped his hand back from Vincent's cheek, unsure why the touch had hurt. Was Vincent burned? "I have no idea where we are or what the hell just happened," Gray replied in a shaky voice. He stood up on wobbly legs and shed his jacket, gently covering Vincent and taking care not to touch the male's skin again. "Look I'm gonna go climb and tree and see if there's anything around. If we're in the middle of a secluded wood...well, my survivalist instincts are not that good." He kept telling himself to just focus on the hear and now and not thinking about Vincent bleeding out or anything else.

Eying the nearest tree, Gray was able to reach the lowest branch and heft himself up. From there, it was easy enough and he scaled the tree like a pro, used to such things from his childhood. When he broke through the crown of the tree, he gasped. Nothing but trees and trees for miles. He saw something to the north and it look...no. It couldn't be. He squinted and suddenly felt very nauseous at the sight of a something that clearly held Japanese architecture. Just where in the world where they?
 
Vincent shivered and closed his eyes, grateful for the jacket as he briefly recognized the start of shock creeping through his body. He flexed his fingers and dug them into the earth and thick grass beneath him, for once thankful for the kitsune magic that had melded with his own from the curse. He felt warmth flow into him as he drew on the fresh magic that was all but dead where and when they'd come from. The pain eased to a dull ache and he groaned again, starting to try to sit up before thinking better of it for the moment.

He cracked his eyes open and was only vaguely aware it was light enough to be daytime. Or was the moon really that bright? He'd almost forgotten how clear the sky could be without any kind of pollution. He breathed in the sweet, achingly familiar scent of the woods and wondered if he was really home. He'd always known somehow he'd end up back here one way or another, (was that crazy of him?) but... he certainly hadn't expected this. He smiled faintly and closed his eyes again with a whispered, "Tadaima."

He licked his lips and cleared his throat, grimacing at the taste of blood. "Grayson... See anything?"
 
"A temple or some kind," Grayson replied as he hopped down from the tree. His face was ghostly white and his eyes a little too big in his face. "An honest to god temple. Or else its a really good replicate. Where are we Vincent?" Gray knelt down beside him, anxiously wanting to touch Vincent but not wanting him to be screaming in pain again.

"Why aren't we in your apartment anymore?" Hysterical. That's how Grayson sounded right then. He was trying very hard to keep it together because Vincent was hurt so badly, but Gray was clearly coming unglued.
 
Vincent blinked up at Grayson. Temple? Temple was good, right? It usually meant a village at the very least within a reasonable distance. "Uh... I think... whatever spell that was... brought us to Japan," he said weakly. He couldn't really believe it no matter what his senses were telling him. He grimaced as he rolled onto his side, fighting a wave of nausea and struggling into a sitting position.

"You okay?" he asked, reaching over to grasp Grayson's arm. "You're not going to lose it on me are you?" He didn't really have the energy or strength right then to try and keep Grayson sane and just hoped he could hold himself together a while. He wasn't sure how long it would take for it to sink in himself, though he was fairly sure he'd handle it easier than Grayson, all things considered.
 
"Okay? Okay?!" Grayson cried, raking his fingers through his leaf strew hair. "No I am not okay. We're in gods know where JAPAN because of a so called SPELL. This doesn't make any sense. You're practically bleeding out and about to fall over and we're sitting in the middle of nowhere." He was panting a bit heavily, looking a little crazy.

"Look. Let's just try to get you someplace more comfortable alright? At least it'll give me something to focus on. Is it okay if I touch you? I'm strong her to carry you on my back. The temple I mentioned is that way," he pointed to a northerly direction. He squatted down in front of Vincent, fully intending to carry him.
 
Vincent winced and scratched his cheek as Grayson lost it. Sort of. At least he still seemed somewhat in control. "I'm not bleeding out.. anymore," he said with a weak smile. "And I think I can walk if you give me a few more minutes..." He groaned and shifted to prop against a tree, sagging it against it and seeming pale, though the effects of the spell were already fading. What damage it had done, he wasn't sure, but he was alive and could still access his magic. That was something.

He glanced at Grayson and bit his tongue, not sure it would be a good idea to tell him they hadn't just been transported to Japan. As well as he was taking it for the moment, telling him they'd traveled back through time would likely be asking too much. He wasn't a hundred percent certain they really had no matter what his senses were telling him. He pressed his fingers against the tree, drawing energy from it and breathing a soft sigh of relief as the pain faded to a more manageable level. "You don't need to carry me, but... I could use some help up."
 
Grayson sighed heavily out of frustration, but he did offer his hand to Vincent to help him up. "C'mon," he said, a little more gently this time. He needed to just focus on Vincent and getting the man taken care of. Despite what Vincent said, he still looked peeky to Grayson and he'd rather have Vincent under a sturdy roof and into a warm bed before anything else. Stooping, Grayson picked up the jacket he'd covered Vincent with earlier.

"Here. Put this one please. I don't want you watching a chill. It might be a little big, but it'll do," he held the jacket open for Vincent, clearly not going to move until Vincent shrugged it on.
 
Vincent grunted as he got to his feet, planting a hand against the tree to get his balance before blinking at Grayson and the jacket. He made a face as he imagined finding people and being seen wearing such strange clothing, but there was nothing to be done for that now unless they wanted to walk around naked. He smiled faintly and slipped the jacket on. "Which way to the temple?" he asked, leaning against Grayson as they started walking. He eyed Grayson out of the corner of his eye, clearing his throat. "You... tried to stop me from being sucked into that portal, didn't you?" He vaguely remembered being grabbed before being sucked in.
 
Grayson immediately wrapped his arm around Vincent's waist, helping to support him further. He turned red when Vincent pointed out what had happened earlier. "Er...yeah. Yeah I did I guess." He seemed to think about it for a second, lips pursed. "I wasn't about to let you get sucked into some kind of black hole. You would've done the same for me I'm sure."

He fell quiet as they walked though the, thankfully, non dense forest. He thought he was going in the vaguely right direction, at least from what he'd seen from atop the tree. "You know what's going on, don't you Vincent?" Gray finally asked, voice quiet.
 
Vincent snorted softly. "That was kind of stupid, you know..." he murmured, though he was rather touched that Grayson would do something so reckless for him when they hardly knew each other. He focused on walking and didn't respond to that right away. What was he supposed to say? Oh, yeah, by the way, I'm a cursed soul from ancient Japan that lives as a fox during the day and can't really die? He could just imagine the reaction to that. He sighed softly and straightened, carrying a bit more of his own weight as they walked.

"Not fully, but... somewhat," he finally answered. "You activated an old spell and... when it couldn't find whatever artifact it was linked to it... bound onto me instead... At least that's my educated guess." He paused and sighed again. "And if I'm right then... that vortex was a link between where we were and where I came from." Strange, how calm he felt about it all or how easy it was to accept that as facts. He had no idea what kind of spell that was or what its intention had been, but it likely didn't matter for now. Survival came first. Finding a way to get Grayson back home could come after.
 
Grayson was quiet as Vincent explained everything. His stomach dropped and he had the sudden urge to just bend over and puke. No wonder Vincent was so calm about everything! All this talk about spells and curses would have been something Grayson would have scoffed at even a day ago. Now though, it was impossible to ignore what was staring him right in the face. They were in a forest in some remote part of Japan and Vincent was supposedly some ancient type of thing if Grayson was understanding things right.

"Let's just get you somewhere safe," Grayson muttered, not even wanting to delve further into what was happening.
 
Vincent nodded faintly and followed Grayson's lead. He felt his strength coming and fading by turns as they walked. He tried to get an estimate of where they were but Japan had a ton of forests and he hadn't been back here in ages. Quite literally. His lips twitched at that and a soft laugh escaped him and then he was screwed. Once he started he couldn't stop even though he knew he likely sounded hysterical and maybe a bit unstable, but no matter what he'd seen and gone through, the more he thought about it, it was still unbelievable to think this could really happen outside of his wildest dreams.
 
Grayson's arm tightened almost protectively around Vincent's waist, helping to both support him and keep him close. He grew truly alarmed when Vincent starting laughing like a freaking maniac and finally ground to halt, merely standing there while Vincent laughed himself stupid.

"Vincent? Are you okay? Please don't tell me you're cracking up." Grayson gave the man a little shake, anxious to continue on but without Vincent's laughing broadcasting in all directions.
 
Vincent tightened his arm against Grayson's shoulder, calming after a few moments and taking a few deep breaths.He closed his eyes briefly, shoving aside the conflicting emotions of excitement and guilt and disbelief. When he opened them, the gold flecks in his green eyes seemed to glow and he grabbed both of Grayson's arms with a determined expression. "Sorry. I'm fine, and I promise I'll find some way to get you back home."
 
Grayson leaned back when Vincent grabbed him. He curved his hands to cup Vincent's elbows soothingly, the man's overly bright eyes off putting. Still convinced that Vincent was having some kind of panic attack, Grayson just smiled. "Look. It's fine right now. Don't worry about it. We'll...cross that bridge when we get to it, okay?" He gave Vincent's elbows a squeeze, very obviously ready to disengage and start walking again.
 
Vincent hesitated before nodding and letting go of Grayson to continue walking. The forest around them was soothing and he walked mostly on his own as the effects of the spell faded from his body. He still felt weak but he didn't think he'd suffered any lasting damage. "We'll be fine," he murmured. They needed to find someone whocould tell them where exactly they were, and when. Maybe he could find his way back into the capital, though without knowing what year it was... He tried not to think about the possibility of having another him around and having a chance to throw the future into utter chaos if they did something wrong like in those sci-fi movies he'd seen.
 
"Are you just saying that to make yourself feel better?" Grayson asked glumly. His feet were starting to hurt, not used to so much walking. "Will they even help us? We have no money and they've probably never seen a person of my nationality before." Japanese definitely did not have red hair and freckles. Gray sighed, this time it was him he went to Vincent for some support, wrapping his arm around the man's waist to just to feel the comfort of another, familiar, human being.
 
Vincent couldn't admit to that so stayed silent instead, wrapping his arm around Grayson's waist in return. "Well... They'd probably believe us if we said you were cursed and that's why you look different... Or you could be my apprentice, spell gone wrong, demon child, enslaved traveler from afar," he murmured to himself. He remembered people outside of the major cities were always superstitious and easily believed the unbelievable. "Do you even speak Japanese?" he asked, praying the answer was yes. It would make things easier, but with their luck, he wasn't counting on it.

He glanced at Grayson in concern. "Do you want to rest? The temple could be further away than it looked."
 
Grayson actually laughed. "Vincent. I speak 26 different languages, including a few dead ones." He leaned slightly against Vincent, helping to support and being supported as well. "Perhaps a curse would be the best received explanation. I'll maybe garner some sympathy for my "ugliness."" Tone teasing, Gray continued to walk, not wanting to stop. He was afraid that if he did he would just fall asleep on the spot and never wake up again. His feet would hate him tomorrow, but he didn't care.

"Let's keep going. Maybe we can reach people by nightfall."
 
Vincent snorted softly and glanced at Grayson from the corner of his eye. Maybe things would be a bit easier than he expected. "You're not ugly," he replied simply. "Wouldn't be surprised if a few maidens fell for your unusual looks even," he added with a teasing smirk.

He nodded faintly and wondered if they'd be able to get to the temple before his form shifted. If it did. He didn't look forward to explaining that curse to Grayson. It might just be what set the other male off the deep end, no matter how well he was dealing with things now.

Minutes passed into what felt like hours before he felt the change in the trees around them. They thinned a bit and finally gave way to the temple grounds and he almost fell to the ground in relief. It was late, but he could see the flicker of candles and lamps inside. He stopped and glanced at Grayson, taking a deep breath before calling for help.

There was movement inside and he breathed a soft sigh of relief as a priestess of the temple came out. Before she could ask them anything or chase them off he lifted a hand as he spoke in old Japanese, the words and dialect strange yet familiar. "Please, we seek only shelter for the night if you have room to spare."
 
Grayson was practically dead on his feet. He swayed against Vincent, nearly asleep. He'd never walked so far in his life and felt like a weakling for being so tired. He told himself it was because he'd just been sucked into a time warp, but he knew that wasn't all true. He was a little out of shape from sitting at his desk and studying so much. It wasn't fair, but it was certainly true.

Barely understanding the ancient Japanese flowing from Vincent's mouth, Grayson simply knew he was all too glad when the priestess' expression turned sympathetic. She motioned for them to follow her inside, murmuring something lowly to Vincent, words that Gray missed.
 
Vincent was all too glad to follow the priestess and hooked an arm around Grayson, feeling as drained as Grayson looked though it was just a bit further and then they could rest.

She lead them inside to a small room, pulling a couple of futons out of a closet and quickly setting them up. "I'll prepare you some food," she said, looking them over before slipping out of the room.

Vincent murmured a thanks and barely managed to help Grayson over to one of the futons before collapsing on the other with a soft moan. He'd gotten spoiled over the years with having a bed, but the futons were soft enough after walking through the forest. He closed his eyes and breathed in deep, smelling incense and slowly relaxing into his bed with a wince as his aching muscles took the chance to start making themselves known. "I don't want to move for a week," he groaned.
 
Grayson would have slept on a rock if it meant he'd be off his feet. Too tired to even appreciate the ancient architecture of the building, he had simply fallen into bed once it had been presented to him. Out like a light, the only thing Gray had done was kick off his shoes. He hadn't even managed to get beneath the covers of the futon. His glasses were askew on his face, his hair sprawled crazily against the mattress. Before Vincent even spoke, Grayson was snoring softly.
 
Vincent glanced over at Grayson when he heard the snoring, shaking his head faintly and rolling over onto his side to watch the other male sleep. He was more sore than tired and wasn't sure he'd be getting any sleep at all. He sat up long enough to thank the priestess for the food, closing his eyes as the taste brought back old memories. There was nothing quite like eating rice from a clay bowl in a temple in the middle of nowhere in Japan.

He stretched back out on the covers and rubbed his fingers together, the spark of fire coming far easier than it had in the future when humans had snuffed out the light of magic. He was really...home. Now that he was here and it wasn't just a dream, he had no idea what to do. Hunt down the kitsune who had cursed him? He'd likely die. And he needed to get Grayson back home, if it was even possible. He had a feeling that spell hadn't been meant to take them so far back. He sighed softly and rubbed his face, glancing at Grayson and reaching over to gently remove his glasses. "Sorry..." he murmured, brushing stray strands of hair from Grayson's face.

He rolled over onto his back, staring at the ceiling and eventually drifting off to sleep despite himself. Once dawn started to break, he turned back into a black fox sprawled on its back, paws twitching ever so often as he...snored.
 
Gray didn't so much as twitch when he was touched. He slept well into the next day, his body still aching from all the walking when he woke up again. Groping for his glasses, he found them nearby and pushed them onto his face. He yawned and sat up with a huge stretch, his back popping. The futon was definitely not a goose down comforter, that was for sure.

Thinking that he couldn't be more surprised than he'd been the other day, Gray learned that the was terribly wrong. When he turned around to see if Vincent was still sleeping, he nearly screamed at the sight of the black fox sleeping where Vincent should have been. Breaking out into a cold sweat as he brain yelled at him that things were not like he was thinking they were, Gray tried to get a hold of himself.

"V-Vincent?" He asked in a croaky voice, reaching out to lightly brush his hand over one of those furred ears. It was impossible. Vincent had not turned into a fox. No. Just, no.
 
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