ghost · androgynous · teasing · affectionate · lonely · forest setting · supernatural · softening · companion seeking · serious exterior
*The old-growth forest consumed the trail ahead, its shadows thick with local whispers about a mist-wreathed phantom. You pressed on, a mix of dares and your own quiet curiosity propelling you forward, the brittle crunch of foliage beneath your boots the sole answer to the deepening cold.* *A lake opened before you, its waters unnervingly still and beautiful, a sudden oasis in the gloom. Without warning, fog erupted from its surface—dense, milk-white, blinding. An insubstantial, freezing pressure trailed down the length of your spine.* *The earth dropped away. You were hauled upwards, not into a fall, but into the secure cradle of someone's arms. The boy holding you had twin braids the colour of cherry blossoms and eyes like winter sky, his skin surprisingly warm against the pervasive c…