Chapter Text
“Answer, if you want to live.”
3rd person POV
The forest was a source of calm for Olruggio. He had always been very fond of nature and the peace it brought him, amidst his life of working a monotonous job in the city. Therefore, when his parents passed away in a car crash and left him behind as the sole heir of all their assets, Olruggio took possession of everything, including their secondary estate. It was a small house in the woods, where the deceased parents sometimes went to spend a few days during the summer.
With the secondary estate and the primary one also came a large sum of money. A sum so large in fact, that it prompted Olruggio to leave his job, sell his parents’ primary home, and retreat to their secondary estate to spend the rest of his days there. He thought he would be very happy there. And he was, for a while.
On a day like any other, sunny and warm, Olruggio decided he would go take a walk inside the forest surrounding the house. Gearing up with walking boots, his phone, a bag of dried fruits, and a bottle of water, the man went out early in the morning for his walk, hoping he would get to see some small animals along the way.
For a while, he didn’t see anything other than vegetation as he wandered around the forest. He heard leaves moving every once in a while, but Olruggio was not lucky enough to see anything resembling an animal. The man took breaks every so often, sitting on rocks, and checking his location on his phone. Luckily, he had a bit of a signal in the forest.
When he decided he’d had enough with his breaks, Olruggio would rise up and walk around some more, exploring the nature surrounding his estate. He had a great time, though he did find the forest strangely empty for a place that was so far from civilization. He would’ve at least expected a few birds, but there was nothing…
After a few more hours of walking, it was time for Olruggio to go back to his house for lunch. After he checked his location one last time, he started heading back towards the estate, still hoping he would see some animals along the way. He ended up not seeing even the slightest hint of a bird or even a rabbit. The forest seemed utterly empty.
Emerging from the foliage surrounding his house, Olruggio finally got back to his starting point, but stopped dead in his tracks. There was a stranger beside his house. From afar, it looked like a young girl, but she had hair as green as a tree’s leaves, and there were vines wrapped all around her, with one seemingly floating above her head, like a halo. She was also wearing white robes that seemed like they were glowing under the sunlight.
“What the fuck…” muttered the man, before jumping out of the forest. “HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!” he screamed at the girl as he ran towards her.
Turning her head towards Olruggio, the girl froze in place for a few seconds before she turned her back to him and ran towards the forest with eyes full of fear.
***
Hidden away in the bushes at the border of the forest, a satyr, an elf, and a cloaked figure were talking among themselves as a dryad investigated a house.
“What is Coco doing?” asked the young satyr.
“She’s looking around the house, she says Mother saw a man living there,” answered the elf.
“But there isn’t anyone here usually… Only the two old beasts, every once in a while,” said the satyr.
“Yes, but it seems the house belongs to another man now,” stated the cloaked figure. “We must figure out if he’s here for us, or not.”
“If he is, we’ll–”
“HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!”
The three creatures shut their mouths and panicked at the sight of the dryad being charged at by the man. She tried to outrun him, but he quickly caught up to her and grabbed her by the arm.
“LET ME GO! LET ME GO!” screamed the dryad as tears welled up in her eyes.
“Agott, go help her! Do anything you can, I’ll fetch Qifrey!” said the satyr before she ran away.
“I’ll cover you, Agott,” said the elf as she grabbed her bow from the ground.
The cloaked figure nodded and, in a flash, took on the appearance of a human girl. She ran out of the forest hurriedly and charged at the man.
“LET HER GO!” screamed Agott as she went up to Coco and stood between her and the man.
Surprised by the interruption, the man let go of the dryad’s arm and took a step back.
“What the fuck? Who– What are you?” he asked.
“That is none of your business! You must leave the premises of this forest at once!” said Agott.
“Okay,” started Olruggio as he facepalmed. “Where is your mother, girls? I’m sure she would be disappointed, seeing you snooping around people’s houses like this.”
“HOW DARE YOU UTTER MOTHER’S NAME, YOU MONSTER!” screamed the shapeshifter in a voice like that of a demon.
“Agott–” started Coco, frightened.
Within the bushes, the elf was ready to shoot an arrow at the man, but was stopped in her tracks by a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw that she could let her guard down, as help had arrived. It was Qifrey, one of the most powerful creatures within the forest.
“Let me handle this, Richeh,” he told the elf. “Thank you for standing guard, though. And thank you for fetching me, Tetia.”
The elf and the satyr nodded and stood back.
“Now, now,” started Qifrey in a loud voice as he stepped out of the forest. “Isn’t this a bit much?” he asked, smiling.
“Qifrey!” exclaimed Coco as she turned and ran to him, before hiding behind his resting wings.
“Hello, Coco,” he said. “Agott, Dear, please calm down,” asked Qifrey with a smile.
As the girl obliged and joined Coco behind him, the human stared at them all, clearly thinking he’d eaten something that was making him hallucinate.
Before him stood a man with white hair and a piercing blue eye. His other eye had seemingly been torn out of its socket, as the eyelids were closed and withered where they should’ve usually been healthy. The man was also wearing a pale, beige skirt and had two draped pieces of fabric covering most of his chest. They were tucked under a dark brown belt at his waist. But the most surprising thing of all was that behind the man were two wings resembling those of a butterfly. They were of a bright blue, with white dots all over their ends.
“What–”
“Not. A word. From you,” declared Qifrey as he shut the man up. “Coco, Agott, join Richeh and Tetia back in the forest. I’ll be right there,” he told them with a smile.
“Now,” he said, his gaze darkening before the human. “Why are you here?”
“I could ask you the same,” said Olruggio.
“I am the one asking questions here,” said Qifrey in a stern voice. “Answer me.”
“Only if you tell me what the fuck is going on.”
“Haha! No. You are not worthy of explanations from me,” said the fairy.
“Fucking hell…” muttered Olruggio. “My name is Olruggio, I’ve been living here for a month or so.”
“Well, that wasn’t so hard now, was it?”
Olruggio stared at the fairy with the eyes of a man who was about to throw a punch.
“I wouldn’t even consider hitting me if I were you. I would overpower you by a lot.”
“Right,” said Olruggio as he rolled his eyes. “Ok, can you leave me alone, now? I won’t even ask questions about you all–”
“No,” declared Qifrey. “You have seen us, you must undergo Mother’s trial.”
“The what now?”
Leaving the human without an answer, Qifrey summoned a mist of blue sparkles from thin air. He then recited an incantation, before everyone in a 200-meter radius vanished amidst the sparkles.
***
When the sparkles vanished, Olruggio found himself within a clearing in the forest. He hadn’t seen it on his walk that morning, but he found the place to be quite enchanting. At least he would’ve, if it hadn’t been for the fairy beside him, who was staring him down as an executioner would stare down a death row prisoner.
Taking in his surroundings, Olruggio saw that in the middle of the clearing was a huge tree that was probably a few hundred years old. At its base were four creatures. A creature made of black mist, wearing a black cloak, a satyr, an elf, and the green-haired girl from earlier. The four of them were sitting down at the base of the tree, staring down at the man.
“Listen,” said the fairy after a few seconds. “Mother is speaking.”
Olruggio couldn’t hear anything but the rustling of the tree’s leaves.
“She is asking you to tell Her your name,” said the fairy. “And I recommend you obey, if you want to live.”
“Olruggio. I am Olruggio,” said the human, clueless as to what was going on, but deciding his life wasn’t worth arguing with the fairy.
The tree’s leaves rustled again, and the children stared at them.
“She asks what your intentions with the forest are.”
“Nothing! I was simply exploring this morning, nothing more.”
“Hmm… And why are you living in this house?”
“Because I got it after my parents passed away.”
Qifrey was taken aback by Olruggio’s answer. Still, he continued asking the questions he was told.
“Have you any idea what your parents did to this forest?” he asked.
“They took away some of it to build their house? I don’t know, I wasn’t even born when it was built.”
“And what are your intentions with the forest, going forward?”
“I just want to live in peace here, without the city and without the people.”
Qifrey nodded, and suddenly, the deep voice of a woman rang through Olruggio’s head.
“I sense no bad intentions coming from you, Human. Though I do not deem you worthy of my grace just yet, I will allow you to live within my arms. Be careful, though, for any harm towards the forest shall be punished accordingly.”
Wide-eyed, Olruggio stared at Qifrey, almost asking if he knew what was going on.
“This was Mother’s voice,” said the fairy. “Her physical form is that of this tree,” he said, pointing at the century-old tree. “She has allowed you to live in the house, only if you swear not to harm the forest. Otherwise, you will be punished.”
“How did she talk to me?” asked Olruggio.
“Mother’s power knows no bounds. She is all that allows us to be, and all allows us to live. We come from Her and go back to Her when our lives are over. She can talk to humans as She pleases with Her power, but rarely uses it. She would rather talk to us normally, though only the enlightened may understand Her.”
“I see…”
“She said you can reside within Her arms; within the forest.”
“So I passed the trial?”
“Yes, but you’re on thin ice. You clearly do not believe in Mother’s power, and for that She is saddened. Only respect over Her gifts and believing in Her will get you Her blessings.”
“And how do I do that?”
“It is not my place to tell you, for I do not trust you to love Mother. I am convinced you will only hurt Her, for you are only human, after all.”
Olruggio was silent for a second.
“Win my grace first. Then, maybe I will allow you to love Mother,” said Qifrey as he spread his wings.
Olruggio was about to say something, but Qifrey summoned his sparkles once more and sent the human back to his house. Once he had vanished, Qifrey knelt on the ground with a sigh as his wings softly fell on the grass behind him. The children rose up from the tree’s base and went up to him.
“Are you okay, Qifrey?” asked Tetia.
“Yes, thank you for asking. This was just… A lot. It had been a while since I’d last talked to a human,” he said, putting a hand over his right eye’s socket.
“I’ll take care of him if he ever tries something,” said Richeh as she put a hand over her bow.
“Now, Children, aren’t you all a bit harsh?”
“Mother!” exclaimed Coco.
“Allow yourselves to get to know him. I know only too well that you’re not fond of humans, but give him a chance. He might surprise you; not all humans are evil.”
“Mother, I fear you are too lenient with him,” said Qifrey. “He is the son of those who destroyed you–”
“Yes, but did he not say he had no intentions of hurting me? I would tend to believe him. Besides, I have a feeling that getting to know him will do you all much good.”
“I believe you, Mother,” said Agott.
“Yes, me too,” said Coco.
“... Though I am skeptical about this human, I will give him a chance, since you asked,” said Qifrey.
“Thank you, Qifrey. I really do feel like being close to this human will do you good.”
The fairy nodded, but was wary of it all. Humans could never do him any good. Not after what they did to him and his people.