Fictober 2019 Day 10 - Prompt: Forest
Title: Forest
Pairing: Watanabe Shota / Iwamoto Hikaru
A/N: Day 10 of the Fictober Challenge I decided to try (here) .
Day 10 - Forest
“So, you’re not from here.”
The young man doesn’t sound judgmental or mocking, just slightly curious and maybe a little uninterested, indifferent. Shota keeps staring at him for a little while longer, can’t quite process the question because it’s still a little unreal to him, meeting someone that deep in the forest.
“No, I…I’m from the town, but I’ve never been that deep into the forest, and I got lost…I think.” Why does something about this part of the forest feel familiar all of a sudden? The trees, full of life, not a single leaf down on the ground, but Shota saw the tress when he first entered, and they were naked, stripped of their leaves. It also feels colder around here, makes him take a tighter hold of his jacket, and yet the other guy is only wearing a long cardigan over his t-shirt, the dark long curls of his hair tied back in a ponytail. Shota is sure he’s never seen him before, and he knows, in his mind and memories, he knows he’s never been to this part of the forest, either.
Why does it feel familiar, then?
“I’m Shota.” He says in the end, because he doesn’t know what to do with that weird feeling inside him, and how conflicted it makes everything. “Do you...by any chance, do you know how I can get back?”
He gets studied, by that stranger, he can see it in his eyes and the way they linger on him, from head to toe. Never was the patient type, wishes the guy would answer him already, or just point towards a direction. What if he’s a murderer? Shota doesn’t get such a vibe from him, though, just something…distant? Out of this world? In a way, he feels a knot in his stomach, the same way that he felt that knot when he realized he got lost.
“What were you looking for? In order to get lost, you have to be walking on paths you’ve never walked before. So you deliberately did not stay on the part of the forest you’re already familiar with. What were you looking for?”
The stare, it’s so intense, as if he’s trying to skip over Shota verbally answering and piercing through his brain to find the answer there instead. It sends chills down Shota’s spine, and for a moment, he’s petrified, even though a part of him wants to run, away from whoever that guy is. How can he tell a complete stranger what he came here for? When that stranger hasn’t even told him his name?
But he’s running out of time, and he cannot take time back once it’s lost…if he dwells here without a purpose any longer…
The pain, in him, it returns, makes his fingers numb. There’s a breeze now, makes the leaves on the trees move and dance, the sound of a thousand whispers. Is he perhaps a ghost? But he’s heard so many stories with ghosts, and this young man here reminds him on no one…
“I’m looking for someone.” He says in the end, the truth slipping out of his lips in a bitter tone. “I don’t know if he’s here, but I have to look for him in all the places I know.”
Silence. The wind, it’s still controlling the leaves, still makes the forest imposing, maybe intimidating. He’s wasting time, isn’t he? Whoever that guy is, he’s probably just making fun of him to pass time.
But then he moves, lifts his hand to Shota’s face, and his fingers, his palm, they’re glowing in yellow, almost gold. Shota takes a step back, but he’s not fast enough, and the guy is too tall and too strong for him, even though all he does it touch Shota’s forehead with it.
It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t feel warmer or colder. But Shota stares up at him, at the closed eyes and the faint frown on his face. The fingers move slightly on his forehead, brushing over his skin, his hair. What is he trying to do?
“You have been here before.” The unknown guy says, and Shota wants to protest, but his lips aren’t moving. “In this part of the forest, you have been here before. When you were younger. But your memories, they have been erased.”
He withdraws his hand, the yellow glow slowly disappearing, and Shota is left gaping at him, now feels even colder than before. Words, many words, but he doesn’t understand them. How has he been here before? How can he not remember it? How can a memory be erased?
But the place, it feels familiar…
“You have been here before, and the forest recognizes you. That is why it let you in so deep. You’re an ally of it, not an enemy. Forgive my late introduction. My name is Hikaru, I am the guardian of this forest.”
Guardian?
So the magic, it’s here too, it’s everywhere…Shota’s mouth is going dry now, and his throat, it feels sore, even though nothing changed from one second to another. Is his head spinning, is it the world spinning? Too much information at once…
“If you wish to return to where you came from, I will escort you until you find your path again. But if you wish to continue looking for the person you mentioned, I can give you instructions. You’re an ally of this forest and its magic, and I trust in your good intentions.”
Time, his time, the seconds, everything is going by, and he’s just standing there, trying to digest what he has been told. He has been here before, his memories have been erased for whatever reason, Hikaru is supposed to be guarding this place…and he needs help.
Help? By the forest?
“I don’t know how this works.” He confesses, and now Hikaru’s expression softens, clearly relieved that Shota is not an intruder, whatever that means. “But I know I have to find him. Before it’s too late.”
“Then I will help you.” Hikaru says calmly, stretches his hand out again, waiting for Shota to take it. “Come with me.”
Magic. He has to rely on the forest’s magic.
His fingers wrap around Hikaru’s, hand shaking with fear.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Pairing: Watanabe Shota / Iwamoto Hikaru
A/N: Day 10 of the Fictober Challenge I decided to try (here) .
Day 10 - Forest
“So, you’re not from here.”
The young man doesn’t sound judgmental or mocking, just slightly curious and maybe a little uninterested, indifferent. Shota keeps staring at him for a little while longer, can’t quite process the question because it’s still a little unreal to him, meeting someone that deep in the forest.
“No, I…I’m from the town, but I’ve never been that deep into the forest, and I got lost…I think.” Why does something about this part of the forest feel familiar all of a sudden? The trees, full of life, not a single leaf down on the ground, but Shota saw the tress when he first entered, and they were naked, stripped of their leaves. It also feels colder around here, makes him take a tighter hold of his jacket, and yet the other guy is only wearing a long cardigan over his t-shirt, the dark long curls of his hair tied back in a ponytail. Shota is sure he’s never seen him before, and he knows, in his mind and memories, he knows he’s never been to this part of the forest, either.
Why does it feel familiar, then?
“I’m Shota.” He says in the end, because he doesn’t know what to do with that weird feeling inside him, and how conflicted it makes everything. “Do you...by any chance, do you know how I can get back?”
He gets studied, by that stranger, he can see it in his eyes and the way they linger on him, from head to toe. Never was the patient type, wishes the guy would answer him already, or just point towards a direction. What if he’s a murderer? Shota doesn’t get such a vibe from him, though, just something…distant? Out of this world? In a way, he feels a knot in his stomach, the same way that he felt that knot when he realized he got lost.
“What were you looking for? In order to get lost, you have to be walking on paths you’ve never walked before. So you deliberately did not stay on the part of the forest you’re already familiar with. What were you looking for?”
The stare, it’s so intense, as if he’s trying to skip over Shota verbally answering and piercing through his brain to find the answer there instead. It sends chills down Shota’s spine, and for a moment, he’s petrified, even though a part of him wants to run, away from whoever that guy is. How can he tell a complete stranger what he came here for? When that stranger hasn’t even told him his name?
But he’s running out of time, and he cannot take time back once it’s lost…if he dwells here without a purpose any longer…
The pain, in him, it returns, makes his fingers numb. There’s a breeze now, makes the leaves on the trees move and dance, the sound of a thousand whispers. Is he perhaps a ghost? But he’s heard so many stories with ghosts, and this young man here reminds him on no one…
“I’m looking for someone.” He says in the end, the truth slipping out of his lips in a bitter tone. “I don’t know if he’s here, but I have to look for him in all the places I know.”
Silence. The wind, it’s still controlling the leaves, still makes the forest imposing, maybe intimidating. He’s wasting time, isn’t he? Whoever that guy is, he’s probably just making fun of him to pass time.
But then he moves, lifts his hand to Shota’s face, and his fingers, his palm, they’re glowing in yellow, almost gold. Shota takes a step back, but he’s not fast enough, and the guy is too tall and too strong for him, even though all he does it touch Shota’s forehead with it.
It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t feel warmer or colder. But Shota stares up at him, at the closed eyes and the faint frown on his face. The fingers move slightly on his forehead, brushing over his skin, his hair. What is he trying to do?
“You have been here before.” The unknown guy says, and Shota wants to protest, but his lips aren’t moving. “In this part of the forest, you have been here before. When you were younger. But your memories, they have been erased.”
He withdraws his hand, the yellow glow slowly disappearing, and Shota is left gaping at him, now feels even colder than before. Words, many words, but he doesn’t understand them. How has he been here before? How can he not remember it? How can a memory be erased?
But the place, it feels familiar…
“You have been here before, and the forest recognizes you. That is why it let you in so deep. You’re an ally of it, not an enemy. Forgive my late introduction. My name is Hikaru, I am the guardian of this forest.”
Guardian?
So the magic, it’s here too, it’s everywhere…Shota’s mouth is going dry now, and his throat, it feels sore, even though nothing changed from one second to another. Is his head spinning, is it the world spinning? Too much information at once…
“If you wish to return to where you came from, I will escort you until you find your path again. But if you wish to continue looking for the person you mentioned, I can give you instructions. You’re an ally of this forest and its magic, and I trust in your good intentions.”
Time, his time, the seconds, everything is going by, and he’s just standing there, trying to digest what he has been told. He has been here before, his memories have been erased for whatever reason, Hikaru is supposed to be guarding this place…and he needs help.
Help? By the forest?
“I don’t know how this works.” He confesses, and now Hikaru’s expression softens, clearly relieved that Shota is not an intruder, whatever that means. “But I know I have to find him. Before it’s too late.”
“Then I will help you.” Hikaru says calmly, stretches his hand out again, waiting for Shota to take it. “Come with me.”
Magic. He has to rely on the forest’s magic.
His fingers wrap around Hikaru’s, hand shaking with fear.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..