Community Zine

“I was looking,” Dimitri relents, and then he’s loose, taking a half step away. Too
close, yet too far to keep that lingering warmth between them.
Together
“For what?” The request to aid is at the tip of his tongue, and though unspoken Dimitri
grins, shaking his head. Felix bites down on his lip, an odd flicker at the base of
his neck.
“Peace, I think. Just, a moment to reflect.” His eyes meet Felix’s own again, the same
dull blue as always. With his stupid noodle hair, and his shallow smile, Dimitri gives
Felix one last look before taking another step back. “About being a beast, I suppose.”
He’s receding. It’s barely a flicker of a thought in Felix’s mind before his mouth is
working again, teeth clicking together in the cold.
“That’s stupid.” Dimitri blinks, an uneasy edge to his mouth again, though Felix
charges on regardless. “Tackling your issues alone is a stupid thing to do.”
“But, didn’t you—”
“Well, I’m not a beast!” Dimitri blinks twice more, agape, and when Felix grabs at
his wrist he relents, letting the other force him forward again. “If you want to find
peace about that, then you should consult an actual human instead of—of this! Just,”
his voice wavers in the moment, the echo of his own shout rekindling in his ears,
“I’m here.”
“Facing all your problems alone is why you became a beast to begin with.”
At the very least, Dimitri’s gaping face is a pleasant ending to his night. Snorting, Felix
pulls away, making sure to take a wide step to the doorway. It’s far too late for this
nonsense, and if either of them plan to get any sleep tonight, they had best do it now.
“Go to bed, boar. I’ll be here tomorrow, understood?”
“Understood!” Ah. Felix was wrong. Dimitri’s unsteady smile pulls into a full one,
mesmerizingly bright against the dark shadows of the church, the spilling of colors
onto the dirty tile floor. That. That is the best ending to his night.
--
Writer - Shidreamin / @shidreamin
Artist - brotome/ @brotome
Felix heard every one of his running footfalls as if they were being pounded into his
soul. He couldn’t be too late, he couldn’t fail. So he ran, faster than he ever had, the
noise of battle just an anonymous din around him. The urgency was suffocating, and
his lungs burned from the exertion. I can’t be too late. I can’t –
He comes to a halt as he rounds the corner, the scene before him searing itself into
his brain. Byleth, their professor, standing strong, with the Sword of the Creator in
his hand, unravelled like a whip, waiting to strike with a singular purpose: Dimitri’s
death. Dimitri, his King, the wild boar, his childhood friend, everything and
nothing, was on his knees, Areadbhar out of reach, staring up at his opponent, fury
written into the snarl on his face.
The dark light of archaic magic fills the air as Hubert steps out from behind the wall.
He is composed, indifferent perhaps, a trap door spider merely waiting for its meal.
Or the loyal hound set on guard by his master, to make sure that the fight in front of
them goes undisturbed.
Without hesitation, Felix moves as if to counter with a spell of his own, waits for
Hubert’s focus to shift to preventing the spell from forming, before knocking him
to the floor. He gives the sorcerer a kick in the head for good measure and keeps running,
knowing that if he can just get to Areadbhar that they had a chance.