#this is so gorgeously written we cant even
the heart in pilgrimage
written for @yoifantasyzine, which was an amazing experience <3
4.8k | g | victor/yuuri | inspired by east of the sun, west of the moon
The fall that Victor decides to take a break from the city and retreat to his aunt and uncle’s dacha is unseasonably cold. Usually it stays mild well into autumn, but this year the leaves break like glass beneath Victor’s fingers and he finds himself unsettled by the transience all around him. He feels as stuck as ever.
One night, a month into his stay, a thick frost blows in, winter’s icy fingers claw at the shingles and the cold creeps in through the house’s seams. Victor imagines them like bony tendrils, reaching out to tickle at the side of his neck and sending a shiver up his spine.
A knock sounds — three sharp raps on the door. For fear of letting the cold in no one answers. Victor tries to needle Yuri into answering, but ends up having to open it himself. Yuri smiles; he’s never looked more like his cat than he does now, mouth curled in smug pleasure. When Victor pries the door open, a huge black wolf sits at the door, dusted in fresh snow. The wolf begins to speak and the how and why of his request blurs together under the need mounting under Victor’s skin. All that lingers is the desperation, the isolation, the pleas that could have fallen from Victor’s very own lips. The years of spilling out his emotions in front of an audience, giving them to others for the sake of his art while feeling himself grow hollow, have caught up with him. He did what he could to escape. He could have done without his cousin Yuri’s abrasive attitude, but took the retreat regardless.
But this. This is something different.This is more than just an escape. This is an adventure.
He goes.
Ao3
