fourstrings | the woods are lovely, dark and deep

[ What’s so special about this tree, huh?

For Wolfwood, the answer is simple. He’d done a job that pissed off the wrong people, was going to have to move again and dreading packing up all his shit, when a man pale as moonlight and broad in the shoulders as your average wagon had walked up to him like he was trying to put his feet through the earth instead of on top of it and told him he was now a guard. And Wolfwood had laughed – guarding is a shit job, too much sitting around, the payoff too brief when someone finally tries something – until the man produced a bag of more money than Wolfwood had ever seen in one place. He'd said yes, obviously. Before he’d asked what he was to guard.

He should have asked.

He’d roared with laughter when he saw the tree, which had gone… badly. The man who was paying him told him (in a voice that sounded very like he hadn’t used it in a long time) that he had already accepted the payment, and if he wasn’t going to take his job seriously there would be more serious repercussions than paying the money back. So Wolfwood thought… fine. It was out of town, there was a little cottage for him to stay in – not right next to the tree, but close enough to see it. Tough not to, really; it was big, must have been old as hell. And it was… nice, out there. Quiet and green with a well for fresh water, a river running to a lake that would be good for fishing, plenty of game to hunt, and a few wild fruit trees scattered around if he got a sweet tooth. He could use some peace and quiet after things had gone so badly. So he settled in, and became a guard for a tree.

It's still hard to imagine why a tree is worth enough money that Wolfwood will never need to obtain more of it, but he’s grown fond of it. He’s not sure what kind of tree it is; the bark is pale and smooth but knotted and burled in ways that mean Wolfwood almost sees pictures in it when he runs his hands over the trunk. The leaves change colour with the seasons; riotously green in spring and summer, bright and cheerful gold and red in autumn. But trees like that drop their leaves in winter, and this one… doesn’t. Those leaves turn dark but they stay on, providing shelter for all manner of woodland creatures while everything is cold and wet. And he starts to imagine he understands why the moonlight man is so fond of it, too. There’s… a feeling about this tree. Wolfwood find himself returning to it often, sitting under its branches to whittle (other wood, not this one – you don’t take risks like that when you’re paid this much), sometimes talking to it because there’s not another speaking being out here since the one time a dude approached it with an axe and Wolfwood had sent him off with a promise that if he came back the axe would be going through his skull. He gets attached. He rests under it as he makes things, eats his lunch under the shade of its branches. Gets drunk one day, tells a story about his escapades as a street urchin and thinks he hears the leaves rustling on this still and breezeless day, lets himself think that the tree is laughing along with him and pours a little of his wine at its roots like sharing a drink. When summer comes and the sun beats down hot he strips off under its branches, goes for a swim in the lake, and when he returns to the tree to doze while he dries off before dressing again he could swear the branches shift until the shadow of them keeps the sun off him, safe from burning. A woodpecker lands in the branches one day, starts hammering at the bark with its beak, and Wolfwood is nuts enough out here with no company but the tree by now that he swears he feels a wave of disapproval when he pegs a stone at the bird to move it away.

Sorry, tree, he says, but some lunatic paid me good money to make sure you’re not damaged. He runs a hand over its smoothly knotted bark, and tells himself next time he’ll just shout.

It’s a quiet life, but nice. He’s been there nearly a year. Complacent. Which is why it’s the thud of an axe that wakes him, not the sound of people. He rushes out, dressed in the pants he fell asleep in but sword in hand. There’s a brief yelling match – apparently this tree is magical and the men want the wood for – some shit, Wolfwood doesn’t listen. Swings his sword instead. He doesn’t actually want to kill them, because then he’d have to deal with disposing of bodies. That’s probably what gets him, in the end. They leave, injured but not imperilled, but one of them throws an axe at him as a parting shot. Not as bad as it would be if they’d swung it, but he knows from the sick, hot pain deep in his thigh that the bone is broken. It’s some kind of mania that keeps him on his feet until they’re far gone, and only then does he allow himself to go to the ground, drag himself back under the shelter of the tree and wonder how the fuck he’s going to get back to his cabin and tend this wound. He puts a hand over the shallow gash they’d made in the tree like the one he has pressed to his own leg, and counts himself lucky that these idiots apparently didn’t know how to use axes on men or trees. ]

This is a fine fuckin’ mess we’re in, huh?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

spiculatus

[ eventually — and reluctantly! — vash is forced to break the kiss just to see if he can remember the trick of breathing again.

and once he does? his gaze is caught by the sight of a little vine that’s managed to wriggle its way in through the roof, and… sometime in between wolfwood kissing him and now, flower into a handful of tiny, brightly colored blooms.

vash opens his mouth. shuts it again almost as quickly. and now that blush is making a triumphant return. ]

From:

anthophilia

[ Wolfwood, on the other hand, has forgotten he needs to breathe at all and is a little put out when Vash pulls away. The sight of him looking at something and blushing catches Wolfwood's attention though, so he turns to follow Vash's line of sight and -

that definitely wasn't there before. He knows because just yesterday he was up there planning to patch the tiny hole in the roof before the weather got cold again, and deciding to count it as ventilation for now. He turns back to Vash with a grin. ]

Friend of yours?

From:

spiculatus

[ it should be impossible for vash’s cheeks to get any pinker, but never say never! ]

… I think he’s trying to tell you that you got the job. [ embarrassing! this is sapling behavior! ]

From:

anthophilia

'preciate the vote of confidence, little guy.

[ He winks at the little frond, and then turns back to Vash - not pulling him into another kiss, not yet, but settling his hands on Vash's hips in a loose, warm hold. ]

Don't let him boss you around, though. Still might change your mind after you try my cooking.

From:

spiculatus

[ well he’s still embarrassed to have shown his hand like that, but it doesn’t stop him from melting happily into wolfwood all over again. wrapping his arms loosely around the man’s shoulders, fingers teasing at the soft little hairs at the nape of wolfwood’s neck. ]

… you really mean it? You want to stay?

From:

anthophilia

Yeah.

[ It's... an odd feeling to be so open about this so soon. He's not usually the type to bare his soul, but Vash brings it out in him, maybe. That and it'd be a dumbass idea to lie to someone with magical powers who used to be worshipped as a god. Just because he didn't believe in fairies doesn't mean he hasn't heard stories about crossing the fey! ]

I wanted to stay here for as long as I could manage it before I met you like this. When I thought it was just a place that made me feel at peace for the first time I can remember. Now I know it's you making it feel that way, I'd be crazy to leave.

[ And then, because he may be at peace but he's still a fucking goblin sometimes: ]

Anyway, now I know how hot you are I wanna see if this whole bedding a nymph thing is all its cracked up to be.

From:

spiculatus

[ that first bit makes him light up with a smile as bright as those little blossoms overhead, but the last line? he lets go of wolfwood all at once, giving him a little swat.

(and a giggle to go with it, in case wolfwood was really concerned that he’d taken any offense.) ]

Who said you’re bedding anyone? I don’t know if you’ve done enough chasing!

From:

anthophilia

I didn't say I thought it was guaranteed! Just that I wanna take a run at it!

[ Laughing though, slipping a hand around to the small of Vash's back to try an haul him back in again. ]

I'm startin' to think my chances are pretty good.

From:

spiculatus

[ no way, vash can’t make it that easy on him! which is why he spins right out of wolfwood’s arms again with ease. he’s light on his feet when he puts a little bit of space between them, daring wolfwood to chase after him. ]

One kiss is all it takes to make you that confident?

From:

anthophilia

[ Hey now! They're on to a good thing, here! And it's clear Vash is teasing, but the way he spins away puts Wolfwood in mind of dancing. So when he chases after Vash it's not to catch him up in another hold, but to take his hand and bow down to kiss it, like the idea of Wolfwood as a courtly gentleman isn't... fucking ludicrous. ]

When it feels like the first one I've ever had and even flowers are peekin' in to check it out? You bet.

From:

spiculatus

[ oh! how could vash resist letting himself get caught in a trap like this? there’s a flush to his cheeks, but a smile on his face, and this time he’s doing nothing to try wriggling back to freedom. ]

Who knows? You might have some pretty good reasons.

From:

anthophilia

Hn.

[ Well, if Vash isn't gonna pull away - Wolfwood straightens, and uses that hand he's still holding to pull Vash in close again and hook an arm around him. ]

If you want me to chase you, I'll chase. But I think what you're really lookin' for is someone to walk alongside ya.

From:

spiculatus

[ oh.

vash can't help himself from settling against wolfwood again, sliding his free arm around him and leaning in to press a kiss to his temple. ] You've already got me all figured out, huh?

From:

anthophilia

Some wishful thinking thrown in there too.

[ He's always been good at predicting what people are going to do - in dangerous situations, at least, as much as his recently broken-and-healed leg might contradict that - but less so at knowing how they feel. But it feels like there has to be a reason for the way he was drawn to Vash, even when he was a tree. Some need in Vash that recognized the need in him and called out to it.

It's a nice thought, at least, and he wraps himself around Vash in welcome. ]

Feels right.

From:

spiculatus

Pretty good at wishful thinking, then.

I'm not alone out here, but it does get...lonely. [ he nuzzles against wolfwood's temple, humming a low note again his skin. ] I'm really glad you wanna stay.

From:

anthophilia

Me too.

[ Which is probably a weird response, but it's nice to want something so benign for once. He's so used to wanting to get paid, wanting a job to go smooth, wanting to get out of tricky situations with all his limbs intact - it's nice to just want something nice. ]

How 'bout you? That fish has gotta be just about ready. What are my chances on you wanting to stay after dinner?

From:

spiculatus

[ okay, it's probably a little mean, but vash can't stop the little giggle that escapes. ]

Depends... on how good dinner is! [ and then he's pulling away, but not before pressing another kiss right against wolfwood's forehead. ]

From:

anthophilia

Better get it off the stove before it shits up my chances then, huh?

[ Vash pulled away, but Wolfwood's still moving to put a hand on the small of his back and steer him over to the little table to sit while he plates up! He's not used to trying to make food look pretty, but the bright green of the fiddleheads against the pearly white of the fish does a lot to cover for his ineptitude - enough to make him pleased rather than genuinely nervous as he delivers the food to the table, slipping Vash's plate in front of him like he's serving some fancy lord before he takes his own seat. ]

From:

spiculatus

[ this is… nice! almost like wolfwood wants to show off for him, but not… the way a worshipper might attempt to impress their god? is this… just part of dinner with friends? or does it have more to do with the way that wolfwood kissed him just a little while ago?

either way! it makes a giddy feeling go skittering through vash’s chest, and it’s tough not to try to reel wolfwood back in for another kiss before the other man ends up stepping away to go get the food.

but when he puts the plate down? vash lights up at the sight of it, immediately leaning closer to investigate. ] Wow! You did this with stuff that came from my forest?

From:

anthophilia

Yeah.

[ Proud as punch. When he decided to make a go of this rather than just half-assing the tree protection gig, he made a few trips back into town to get some stuff to fix the cottage up (and get a supply of things he couldn't do for himself, booze and coffee and the like) but these days if he leaves, it's to check in with his brother. He's gotten good off this living off the land thing! ]

Cheated a little with the herbs. Pulled up good-lookin' plants when I found them and brought them back here to grow at the house, but they're still from here.

From:

spiculatus

Seems like this place really has taken a liking to you.

[ beaming over at him! because sure, maybe vash had given things a little nudge here or there, but all the hard work? that was wolfwood!

it really does make it seem like he was made to be here all along!

but there’s still the taste test, right? which is why he takes a fork, grabs himself a bite, and… well, he was gonna try to pause for dramatic effect, but there’s no helping it. he lights up all over again, nodding enthusiastically and only just remembering to swallow before he speaks. ] It’s good! Really good! Wow!

From:

anthophilia

[ Wolfwood's right on the verge of making a smartass and probably arrogant comment about how it's almost as if the forest was getting a little encouragement (he's still convinced that trout swam itself into the trap no sooner than the moment Wolfwood put his hands on the rope), but Vash's reaction stops him short. Pride again, and pleasure at seeing the look on Vash's face. Yeah, it's a gorgeous face - no point pretending about that - but it's the expressions on it, he thinks, that have him so stupid about the other man. The way he flushes and gets wide-eyed when Wolfwood compliments him, they way his eyes sparkle with mischief when he's being cheeky, the way there's no room to doubt that he's genuinely enjoying the meal. Even the worry and sadness he'd seen earlier.

It's like there's no guile about him at all, no desire to hide what he's feeling. It might be the least human thing about him, but Wolfwood adores it. ]

Good food, great wine, and amazing company. I'd say we're doin pretty well for ourselves, here.

From:

spiculatus

We are, huh?

[ and there’s a definite note of pride in it. after all, it’s been a long time, and maybe there was a part of vash that was afraid he’d lost whatever knack he might’ve once had for human companionship!

but this? it’s easy, comfortable, exciting and familiar all at once. not too hard to imagine doing this every night for as long as wolfwood will let him. ]

You win. There’s no way I can leave after a dinner this good.

From:

anthophilia

Good to hear.

[ Very pleased with himself. His ovrconfidence paying off has been a pattern in his life, and it's gonna get him into trouble one day, but it's never worked out as good as this. Too soon to be planning to make a life together, but what the hell? Seems like a once in a lifetime opportunity. A beautiful man, and whole new world of possibility for him to learn about, and everything he needs is here except -

hm. ]

Is there a rule about how many people you can show yourself to? I got a brother. I've been visiting him sometimes, but if I shift out here for good he's gonna want to see the place. Be nice if I could introduce the two of ya.