Chapter Text
Grian didn’t know how long he had been walking through the winding forest. The trees seemed to stretch on forever, and he had lost his compass ages ago. He ran in here to lose some bandits, but now he almost wishes he had just tried to fight them off. His feet hurt, he’s cold, and he’s sure this is how people go missing.
It was quite strange how the bandits refused to follow after him. This seems to be the perfect opportunity for them to get everything of his and have no one be the wiser.
Though…he thinks he did hear one of them shouting about how these woods were cursed…But that’s just nonsense, right?
Yep, it just has to be a simple bandit trick. Just them trying to scare him into coming back out so they can ransack his pack for everything he’s got.
But now thinking back, he’s strangely reminded of those tales of the fae. Those that draw people in with music, that trick people with riddles, ones that charm you into telling your name so they can have more of a hold on you, ones that offer food and drink to weary travelers so they can steal them away. But those are just tales right? Just made up stories to teach children not to go near or accept anything from strangers…
He jolts when he hears a twig snap and frantically looks around the surrounding area. He sees nothing but the trees, which doesn’t mean much. There could be many wild animals stalking him in these woods. He just had to run into the one bit of woods where he has no idea where the exit is, didn’t he?
Grian tries to walk calmly in the now dead quiet of the forest, whatever made the twig snap strangely disappearing. Should he start running or should he pretend that he didn’t hear anything? He doesn’t think he could run all that far, his tiredness and having to run through all the trees could get him caught almost immediately, but continuing on like normal could prove to also be just as bad of a choice.
He keeps walking like nothing happened until he hears the sound of a rushing river and the faint sound of a harp. Oh great…music in the middle forest. He’s officially gone crazy.
It’s almost like…
He shakes his head. No, it’s not like those stories at all. It’s probably just someone wanting to practice without getting bothered. He just needs to find the river and the person and hope that they have some directions on how to get out of this forest.
And hope he doesn’t run into anything that wants to harm him…
When he reaches the river, he doesn’t hear the music anymore. What a shame, it sounded lovely too…
He shakes his head. Stop thinking about the music! The sun's going down and you lost possibly the one way you could of gotten out of here safely.
He walks along the bed of the river, hoping it will eventually lead him out of the forest. As he walks, he spots a little clearing with a stump in the middle. He continues on, not thinking much of it until he spots a glint out of the corner of his eye. What was that? Did someone leave something out here? Was it whoever was playing the harp?
Against his better judgment, he starts walking towards the stump. His curiosity is going to get him killed one of these days…
Grian makes it about halfway to the stump when he suddenly looks down and stops. There’s a curved line of mushrooms and flowers…no, not a curved line. It looks to be a circle, he can see flowers running behind the stump as well. Weird…
He turns back towards the river and jolts again when he sees glowing eyes looking at him from the water’s surface. Whatever it was ducks back down into the river before he can get a good look at it, but he’s glad he didn’t try to cross it. Just was-
“Well hello there.”
His body freezes. How? He was completely alone a few moments earlier. How is someone behind him now? There’s no way…
He glances down at his feet and sees that in his panic, he had stepped backward into the ring of mushrooms and flowers. Oh no…This can’t be one of those fairy rings…right?
“You know, it’s considered rude not to respond to someone who greets you.”
He doesn’t dare look behind him, but he can’t bring himself to move either. It's like he's frozen from panic. So, he just continues to look down at his feet, hoping whoever it is behind him gets bored and leaves him alone.
“I swear I’m not as scary as you think I am, I just want to see the face of the person who stepped into my clearing.”
Don’t look. That’s how they get you. You look at them, you let your guard down, and then they steal you away to be pranced around like a pet until they get bored of you.
“Did my friend in the water scare you? Aww, I’m sorry…I’ll scold them later if you like.”
Stop talking to him. He’s not going to look at you, so stop trying to make him look.
“Can you please look at me, my little pixie?”
“I’m not a pixie!” Grian shouts, almost looking behind him before forcing his gaze back to his feet.
The person behind him laughs. “Really? But you're on the smaller side like one, are you sure?”
He feels his face burn in anger. “Aren’t pixies supposed to be the size of butterflies? As you can see, I’m human sized, so not a pixie.”
"Some are. Some can also be around your size."
"Well, I'm not a pixie. I am very much human!"
“That's a shame. Pixies are quiet fun. Mischievous little things, but fun. One of my best friends was a pixie…well, that was before they stopped coming around here. It was like they disappeared.”
“Sounds rough…” He says before he realizes he should probably stop talking to them. This could be a trick to get him to turn around, make him feel bad for them so he turns around to look at them.
“I miss them a whole lot, I think I may have drove them away. We got into a bit of a fight the day before they went missing. They hid a ring that I was going to give another one of our friends, and it wasn’t in the place they thought they put it. We both said some things and when I went to apologize, they were nowhere to be found.”
Grian hums. Kinda a stupid reason for a fight, but also kinda understandable as well.
“In all honesty, I wish I could see them one last time. To say sorry, of course. I could have easily gotten another ring, it wasn’t like the one that was lost was special or anything.”
“What did they say before they went missing? Anything hinting to where they might’ve gone?” He shouldn’t be getting invested in this, but some part of him really feels bad for them…
“No…Nothing about where they might have went…They told me ‘I wish I could forget that I was ever your friend!’ Well, that was after I yelled at them quite a bit.”
“That’s still something real rough to hear from a friend…”
“I deserved it though. I threw a few insults at them, stuff I knew would get them mad. It was cruel of me, I know that now, and I regret those words everyday.”
The tone of their voice is so sad. He shouldn't feel so bad, but he does. He shouldn’t want to turn and look at them, but he does. He should try to figure out how to get out of this mess, so why does he want to comfort the person behind him?
Against his better judgement, he slowly moves to look at the person behind him.
On the stump, there they sit. A man in green robes, long braided hair, scars all over their face and hands, and a lyre harp leaned against the stump near their feet. They could almost pass for human if it wasn't for the pointed ears and what looks to be…green streaks running up their legs? What?
They give him a toothy grin and he tries not to flinch at how sharp their teeth seem to be. Maybe this was a mistake…
“Well, it’s nice to put a face to mister I'm-not-a-pixie! What brings you to this neck of the woods?”
He wrings his hands. “I…I was running away from some bandits.”
They hum. “Well, that’s certainly a good reason. But why this far into the woods? You could’ve just hid somewhere near the road and waited for them to give up.”
“I wanted to make sure they weren’t gonna follow me…”
They give a quick laugh. “No one sane enough would enter these woods. Haven’t you heard the rumors? There are fae in these woods…and they don’t take too kindly to humans entering them.”
Their smile begins to unsettle him. Maybe he should have just let the bandits have him, at least he knows what they would have done to him. He doesn’t know what the man in front of him is going to do.
Grian clears his throat. “Well, if you point me in the right direction, I’ll be out of your hair and we can both forget this interaction ever happened.”
They just smiled wider. “And where’s the fun in that? You came this direction because you heard the music, right? Why don’t you come closer and rest up a bit? I’ll even play you a little tune to help you relax.”
They reach down for the lyre at their feet.
“No!” He says a bit too quickly, making the man stare at him. “You don’t have to do that. I wouldn’t want to take up any more of your time.”
“Oh, it’s not any trouble at all! You’ve been running for a while now, haven’t you? Even if I give you directions to the next road, you may end up collapsing before you even get there, and then that’s a whole other problem.”
“I have somewhere I need to be though. People will worry if I don’t make it back before the sun starts to set. Thank you for the offer but I really must be go-ING!” He tries to take a step back but something pushes him forward into the circle. He falls onto the forest floor and looks back to see what pushed him, but sees nothing out of the ordinary. Just trees, bushes, and the river.
Was it the thing in the river? No, that would be impossible. He would’ve been able heard the footsteps and he doesn’t think that it would be able to turn invisible. And it surely wouldn’t be able to get back to the river that fast without making a seeable ripple in the water.
He gets up and tries to leave the circle again. This time, he feels something wrap around his leg and pull him back down. Looking back at the man, they give him a small smile, no evidence of them moving at all. The only thing that seems to move around them is the grass flowing with the wind.
Sighing, he shuffles himself around into a sitting position. Something certainly wants him to stay, and he doesn’t want to see what it may do if he continues to try to leave.
He refuses to get any closer to the man in green robes though…
“That was a nasty fall there, you got yourself all dirty.”
Grian looks down at himself. His pants and hands do have dirt on them. Well, they wouldn’t be dirty if something didn’t push him.
The man pulls a small square of cloth from his robes. “I can help you clean up if you like.”
He tries to not pull a face. “I’m perfectly capable of cleaning myself, thank you.”
“Well, you still have to get close for me to hand the cloth to you. I’m not that great of a thrower.”
He sharply exhales from his nose. He doesn’t have much of an option. He already knows he doesn’t have anything to clean himself in his pack, he didn’t think he would get dirty at all during his journey. Then again, he didn’t think he run into bandits either.
He slowly gets up and makes his way to the man, stopping a few feet away from their stump. This is as close as you’re gonna get him, a foot or two out of arm's reach.
"Well, now I can get a good look at your cute little face! You sure you don't want to get any closer?"
“This is close enough for you to throw the handkerchief.” He sits on the ground again, making it clear he’s not getting any closer.
The man rolls their eyes but keeps a smile on their face. They toss him the cloth, which he easily catches and quickly begins to wipe his face.
“You like doing things yourself, don’t you?”
Grian scoffs. “I think you’ll find very few people who are willing to let a stranger hold a cloth to their face.”
“Touché.”
He quickly moves on to using the cloth to dust off his pant leg. He can feel their eyes on him as he continues to clean himself. Don’t they have anything better to do than look at him?
“You hungry at all? I have some fruit and bread in my bag.” They pull a small bag from behind the stump. Has that been there the whole time?
“No thank you, I have food in my pack.” He has some possibly stale bread, but he’s not going to take any food this man tries to give him.
They sigh. “You don’t want any food and you don’t want to hear any music…Just what am I supposed to do to get you to relax?”
He gives a dry laugh. “Tell me how to get back to the road, maybe.”
They cross their legs, revealing the vines running up them, and pulls a berry from their bag.
“Ok, I’ll tell you. But can you tell me something in return?”
“What?”
They toss the berry into their mouth. “Could you tell me your name?”
Grian bristles at that. There’s no way he’s going to do that, not in a million years.
“...If you tell me yours first.”
They give a quick laugh. “You really don’t trust me at all, huh? Is it not a fair trade, learning the way out in exchange for your name? Do I need to offer you something else?”
He huffs. “You act like I don’t know what’s going on here, that I don’t know what you are.”
They tilt their head and give him a wide grin. “And what is it you think I am, pixie boy?”
“You’re fae. I’m not sure what type, but I know you are a fae creature."
"Oh, what gave it away?" They say sarcastically. "Was it the pointy ear? The sharp teeth? Or the plants that are making their way up my legs?"
He feels his face burn again. "I know the stories! I know what happens to people that are dumb enough to trust your-” The sound of a flute weaves it way into the clearing.
He wildly looks around for where the music seems to be coming from. It sounds like it's coming from behind him, so that would be...
Turning his head to look behind him, he makes eye contact with the river creature again. This time, they're standing up in the river, only what's below their knees seems to under the water. They seem to be mostly shaped like a man, but the sun is behind them and he can't make out any of their features except for their eyes and that they're holding something to their mouth. The flute just seems to get louder the more he looks at them.
He tears his gaze away, covering his ears, and makes it to his knees before he nearly topples forward. Exhaustion is already setting in. No…not like this…
“Do you not like the flute? Would the lyre be more to your liking?” The man reaches for the harp yet again.
“Stop…don’t…” He can feel himself sway back and forth. Is it already too late?
The man looks at him and gives a soft smile. “Why, of course. You need a place to rest your head, don’t you? Will my lap be sufficient? I swear I’m comfier than I look.”
No…He wants the music to stop…He doesn’t want this…
They beckon him closer with a hand and he feels strangely compelled to move to them. He fights it as much as he can, but his sluggish limbs slowly move him closer to the man in a crawl. No, this is the opposite of what he wants. Please…someone stop this…
He gets stopped a few inches away from them, sitting back on his legs as he does. His head lifts up to look them in the eye and he tries to keep it from lolling to one side. They’re still looking at him with that soft look. He hates it. He wishes he had the strength to smack that smile from their face.
They reach a hand towards him and slowly traces it down his face, cupping it when they’re done. It takes the last of his control to not lean into the touch. Get your hand off him, you stupid fae creature.
“It’s ok,” They say in a soft tone. “I’m not going to do anything to you, I swear.”
Their hand makes its way to the back of his head, gently tugging him forward.
“Please…no…” He can only grip at their robe as his head gets pulled onto their lap. He can feel them slowly petting his hair, trying to lull him deeper into his drowsy state. And succeeding.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe. You always have been.”
The flute finally stops, but he’s already too far gone. He couldn’t move even if he tried, his body feels like its made of lead. And he’s already losing his grip on the bit of robe in his hand.
“It’ll be just like old times. Would you like that? Doesn't that sound nice?”
What are they talking about? He hasn't ever met a fae before. He would’ve remembered if he did…
He tries lifting his head, only succeeding in moving it to rest on their thigh more. He can feel his hand begin to slide down the robe.
“Just let yourself fall asleep, Grian. I got you. I’ll keep you safe like always.”
They begin to softly hum a tune. Why…does it sound so…familiar? Just who are you?
His body relaxes before his mind does. His brain is still trying to spur him to move, to no avail. His vision goes blurry as his eyelids begin to close. He can still feel them petting his head as he begins to drift off.
Why…do I feel like I know you…
The last thing he’s able to register is his hand coming in contact with the dirt as his eyes close.