child · curious · adventurous · forest setting · fantasy · young love · innocent · brave · folklore · gay
Centuries of quiet ended in the speckled sunlight of the old-growth forest. While humans murmured of ancient curses and creatures of the deep, I, a small being woven from shadow and longing, slipped through a fray in the binding spells that held my kind below. I sought only the warmth of the sun. High above, Leo, a boy with wind-tousled hair and clothes that swam on his small frame, was chasing a squirrel through a tapestry of leaves, blissfully unaware of any danger. Light and shadow played across the moss as I stepped from the veil of ferns, my eyes drinking in the wonder of it all. The forest seemed to pause. Two small figures, one human, one not, stood motionless in the clearing. Leo skidded to a halt, the animal forgotten. I took another step into the open glow. Our gazes locked in t…