Video; un: petalpink

[pinkblinded]

[Gaura is honestly rather used to getting lost. He's been fired from enough jobs for being late to work because of it, after all. So now he feels like maybe that happened here? Yes, he's had everything explained to him but that certainly hasn't stopped the confusion.

But after going in circles for several hours he's finally discovered this feature and he's giving it a go.]

Hi there. [He gives a smile. A look he's figured out is usually the thing to get someone to help.]

Could someone help me out? I seem to have lost my way to my apartment and nothing is really looking that familiar. Is Koreatown familiar to anyone at least?

Comments

[inthewood]

I spent years studying the stories and found one in England that seemed to align. Through careful research, I located a place that matched the stories: Greenhollow. The estate happened to be for sale, so I bought it from the Rafelas. You can imagine my surprised when I was walking through the adjacent wood and discovered that Wildman himself! I learned he'd been the avatar of the ancient Wood for over four hundred years!

[pinkblinded]

[Gaura's eyes went so wide at that.]

...four hundred...

[inthewood]

Four hundred years! And it all happened by accident! He lost his magic and immortality when he and my mother cut down the ancient oak.

(( His tone shifted to something a little sadder as he continued. ))

They were searching for me as I'd foolishly let myself be carried off by the Lord of Summer, a very powerful fae creature that haunted Greenhollow every year. It's because of him that Tobias became tied to the Wood to begin with.

[pinkblinded]

[The tone of his voice changed but he isn't quite sure what it means. Without being able to tell facial expressions apart he finds he can't always tell what a tone of voice means most of the time. It's amazing how closely tied the two things are.

But with the rest of the story told he assumes it to mean sadness. So he reaches out to rest a hand on Henry's. Just to offer his support. This tale is one of Henry's past so it's not like he can change anything. But he can be there for him now.]

[inthewood]

(( Maybe it's for the best that he can't see the way Silver's eyes go distant, a haunted shadow creeping over his face. It passes quickly enough and he picks up with the story. ))

After they took down the tree, they discovered the ancient faerie barrow beneath it! Once that was destroyed, with the Lord of Summer (and myself) in it, Tobias lost his magic. And after some months... I discovered I had gained it!

[pinkblinded]

[His eyes widen at that.]

Were you alright? Having that magic in you?

[inthewood]

Not really, if I'm honest. I struggled with the way time moved differently and I could just get lost in the flow of it. Whole days could go by and I didn't even realize it had been more than a few minutes. But there were good things too! Being able to actually communicate with the Wood. Making plants grow and bloom whenever I wished it. I'm glad it's gone, though. I was bad for the Wood. Not like Tobias. I was too selfish to really care for it properly.

[pinkblinded]

Does he...have the power again? [He's not sure how it works exactly.]

[inthewood]

No. It was given to the last faerie. Did you know, if you eat faerie fruit you change? Well, if they eat human fruit, they change, too. So he ate an apple I gave him and became part of my world. And the Wood approved of him.

[pinkblinded]

So the Wood has what it needs and Tobias is part of your world?

[inthewood]

Yes! But my mother keeps him very busy with work. He goes adventuring with her to help find the dangerous creatures that still roam in the world. He's very good at it.

[pinkblinded]

[He smiles warmly at that. It's nice that this man can go do things like that. And that Henry is safe now.] I'm so glad you're both alright now. That you can find happiness.

[inthewood]

(( A wistful look comes over his features. Tobias was special to him and he missed the man terribly. It's part of the reason he offered to let Gaura live with him: he was lonely. But the more time he spends with him, the more he's glad he made that choice. Gaura is lovely company! ))

Shall I tell you about my how I met the last faerie?

[pinkblinded]

[Giving his hand a squeeze, he nods excitedly.]

Please!

[inthewood]

(( Silver's face brightens and he turns his hand to clasp Gaura's with obvious excitement. ))

I met a young lady who, in her childhood, had been spirited away by the faeries. Faeries don't know how to take care of human children, though, and often abandon them. This young lady grew up and remembered the way to Faerieland! I still had the power of the Wood at the time, and we followed a road made of moonlight on water to a mystical tree that opened up and let us inside!

[pinkblinded]

[He gasps softly, fully engaged in the story. A young woman who led the way back to the faeries? That's amazing!]

[inthewood]

When we arrived, the land was barren except for monoliths scattered around the landscape with same carvings I saw in the barrow under the old oak tree. That's how I know it was faerie-made! Ah, but I digress. Miss Maude -- that's the young lady's name; she's my mother's apprentice now -- Miss Maude, Tobias, and I were in this desolate landscape. We walked for almost a day (( and his tone implies what an ordeal that was! )) before we came across the ruins of a great kingdom and one single, solitary being.

[pinkblinded]

What happened to the other faeries?

[inthewood]

I think... I think time moves differently for them, like it did for me and Tobias when we had the magic of the Wood. The last faerie told me they drown in time. Sometimes it goes soft and seems to slow down so every minute feels like days. Other times, a week can pass before you can blink your eyes. I suspect it's like that for them, too.

[pinkblinded]

Oh. [He can't help but to feel bad for them.] That's so sad... And that one is alone now too.

[inthewood]

Oh no! He has Bramble and all the other dryads of the Wood!

[pinkblinded]

So he's the last but he has friends?

[inthewood]

Yes. I would be his friend, too, were I still there. For me, being the Wood's keeper was a very lonely time. I wouldn't want anyone else to feel that way.

[pinkblinded]

[He smiles warmly at him and gives his hand a squeeze.] You have a good heart.

[inthewood]

I just think it's hard for some people to be alone.