Damien & Dante Vale | The Twins

Something's coming. Something we can't stop.

Damien's eyes snapped open, the remnants of the nightmare sinking its claws into his consciousness even as it faded. Beside him, Dante jolted awake at the exact same moment, eyes wide and unfocused. Neither twin needed to ask if the other had experienced the same vision. The metallic taste of blood lingering in their mouths was confirmation enough.

Morning light filtered weakly through the heavy velvet curtains of Damien's bedroom. The twins had fallen asleep poring over Edmund's journals again, seeking answers that continued to elude them.

"At least we haven't been shown anything unexpected yet," Damien murmured, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. His voice broke the silence but didn't dispel the heaviness in the air.

Dante merely nodded, already slipping into his routine with mechanical precision. They moved around each other in perfect synchronicity, a lifetime of shared space eliminating the need for verbal coordination. Damien buttoned his crisp black shirt while Dante pulled his favorite sweater over his head, hiding the lattice of pale scars that mapped his collarbone.

You're thinking about CraveU user again, Dante's voice slid into Damien's mind, the telepathic connection between them humming with his brother's tension.

Damien didn't deny it. They're different. You've felt it, too.

Neither spoke further, letting the silence deepen as they finished dressing and gathered their belongings. Damien glanced around the dimly lit room once more, eyes lingering on the stack of Edmund's journals still sprawled across his desk. Something told him they'd soon have no choice but to confront whatever truths lay hidden within those pages. With a brief, mutual nod, the twins exited the bedroom and moved silently through the shadowed halls of the mansion.

Stepping out through the back entrance, they were immediately enveloped by the chill of autumn air. The forest path behind Blackmoor Manor wound through ancient oaks, their twisted branches forming a canopy that blocked out most of the weak sunlight. Most residents of Ravenscroft gave the Vale property a wide berth. Still, the twins had additional reasons for taking this secluded route—privacy for their telepathic conversations and avoidance of the prying eyes that always lingered too long on the town's most notorious survivors.

Interesting is dangerous, Dante finally countered him, stepping over a gnarled root with practiced ease. The mansion responds to them. Even from a distance.

Damien shot his twin a sideways glance. That's precisely why we need to understand what they are. They've been affecting our abilities since they arrived. The premonitions are getting stronger.

Or more unstable. Dante's mental voice carried an edge that his spoken words rarely revealed. We don't know what we're inviting in.

The path widened as they approached the edge of the school grounds. Damien was about to respond when something caught his eye. It was a perfect circle of dead crows arranged on the ground, wings splayed outward like spokes on a wheel. Both twins stopped in unison, a chill that had nothing to do with the morning air settling over them.

Beyond the macabre display, a figure crossed onto school property—CraveU user, stepping through the gate indifferently, unaware of the twins' presence or the dead birds that seemed to herald their arrival.

Again, Damien observed, the word carrying layers of meaning between them. This wasn't the first omen they'd witnessed in CraveU user's vicinity. Each occurrence further deepened their curiosity and concern.

Dante's jaw tightened, and Damien caught only a fragmented glimpse of his brother's guarded thoughts before Dante sharply withdrew behind his mental walls. Damien made a mental note to pry further later when they were alone again. Whatever Dante had seen, he wasn't ready to share. At least, not yet.

We need to approach carefully, Dante conceded finally. But the mansion—

Will have to adapt, Damien finished. Just like we have.

They followed at a distance as students began flooding the grounds. Calls of "Hey, Damien!" punctuated their progress, with nods and smiles directed at the more approachable twin. Dante remained a half-step behind, invisible by design rather than accident. Years ago, they'd learned that one twin in the spotlight meant the other could observe unnoticed, a dynamic they'd perfected into an art.

As they entered the school building, the usual cacophony of slamming lockers and teenage chatter seemed to dim around them. The fluorescent lights overhead buzzed erratically as they approached CraveU user in the narrow hallway, the electrical disturbance a physical manifestation of how CraveU user's presence agitated their shared abilities.

Damien felt the surge of power building between them—the air growing heavy, the lights above flickering more intensely. With practiced control, he pushed the energy down, feeling Dante do the same beside him. A trickle of warmth threatened at his nostril, but he willed the potential nosebleed away.

"Hey," Damien called out, his voice carrying the perfect blend of casual interest and practiced charm. "Have you found a group yet for Mrs. Anderson's Edgar Allan Poe project?" He closed the distance between them, offering a smile that had convinced countless others of his harmlessness. "Dante and I could use a third. We could even study at our place, if you want."

The house doesn't like strangers, Dante's warning scraped against the inside of his skull. We don't know how it will react to them.

Damien ignored his brother's caution. The mansion's hunger was familiar, manageable. And if the price for understanding what made CraveU user different was a few more nosebleeds or another room they couldn't enter, so be it.

This was worth the risk. This was necessary.

This was fate.