She always thought her forest was somehow special. Different. In the afternoon, when the light struck it just right, it glowed golden and looked like something right out of a fairy tale. Sometimes, when everything was just a little too much, she liked to pretend that it was.

The path she walked today was one worn by travel, the countless times she had tread there wearing through the fallen leaves to the dirt below. Her small cottage, inherited from her grandmother earlier that year, was slowly disappearing from view behind her. The bright green of the early summer leaves welcomed her ahead, the rustling of leaves heralding her as animals scurried out of her way— but she froze at one larger than the rest flashing behind the tree trunks.

Heart beat quickening, she peered forward and tried to step quietly as she followed the animal. A deer? These woods weren’t so far from civilization that she would have to worry about something dangerous… still, she kept her distance as she slowly crept forward, coming to the small vale she like to come and sit in. The trees were thinner here, the sun warmer. She froze as she got close enough to realize that she wasn’t the only one who found sanctuary here.

On one of the large rocks scattered through the clearing sat a young man, his striking features drawing her attention as helplessly as she was drawn to his light. With hair so blond it was nearly white and skin porcelain pale, he seemed to reflect the sun and personify it. He was propped backwards across the rock with his arms supporting him, paying her no mind as she took another thoughtless step forward. Who is he? She thought helplessly. Where did he come from? There were no other houses in the area, not for miles, and his plain, off-white shirt and pants didn’t seem like hiker’s clothing.

“E-excuse me—”

His head snapped around to look at her so quickly she jumped back a step, surprised. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you…” His deer-in-the-headlights expression was making her almost as nervous as he seemed to be. She was still on her property, right? A quick glance behind showed that, while the house was no longer in sight, the bright flowers that edged her lawn by the woods could still be seen in occasional pops of color. Definitely on her property, then. By the time she turned her full attention back to the young man in front of her, (”boy”, she realized, would not be an accurate description) he seemed a bit more relaxed, his piercing gaze no longer directed at her but wandering across the trees and stones that decorated the landscape. He didn’t seem to care enough to respond to her.

So she tried again. “Excuse me,” she started, and was happy to find that her voice was solid now. He was unusual, but just another person; he must have gotten lost, or maybe there was a new house in the area that she didn’t know about. “Are you lost? Do you need help? My house is just a bit that way, you can use the phone…” She had pointed enthusiastically towards her small cottage, but dropped her arm when he showed no inclination to response.

Her response swung between indignation and concern, but settled on concern. Something about the airy way he was looking around, she decided, and moved forward into the clearing.

“Did you hear me?” She wondered briefly if he was deaf, but as she stepped closer he looked right at her, cocked his head to the side, and nodded. “And…?” She trailed off, wondering what happened next. If he didn’t want to go, should she leave him there?

“Thank you,” he said nullifying her original concerns and creating all new ones.He slowly pushed himself from him place leaning on the rock and stood, offering her a light smile from an otherwise emotionless face as he, apparently, waited. Seemed like he was taking her up on her offer, then.

Suddenly double thinking the wisdom of inviting a stranger into her house, she turned back down the path that lead to her sanctuary-like home. He followed close behind, the forest suddenly silent despite the sounds of squirrels and birds that had been there earlier. As though everything… paused. Watching. Waiting.

Unsettled by the thought, she began to hurry faster down the path. Bring him home, let him use the phone, get him out. He had hardly spoken three words to her, and as much as she wanted to relax, she could feel the building anxiety. A strange, attractive man sitting in her solitary path in the woods, and she invites him in. Of course, what else would she do?

“Excuse me.”

She nearly stopped dead as he spoke, then slowly turned to face him. She hadn’t caught the strange lilting accent to his words before, or the richness of his voice despite its quite tone. He was a few feet away up a slope, making his was down it with more grace than she had mustered moments before when she shoved through the underbrush.

“Oh,” she realized that she had probably let it snap all back into his way, and quickly grabbed the rough brush again to pull it aside. “Here. Sorry about that…”

He nodded in acknowledgment before sidling past, only to pause as he got closer. “Not that, though,” he murmured as he watched her settle the brush back without letting it snap. She used it as an excuse to ignore the strangely warm tone to his voice. “Your hand.”

He reached out before she could say a word, only noticing the small scratch as he pointed it out. She would have waved such a minor wound away, but his long, soft hands wrapped around hers as he pulled her hand upward— and gently ran his tongue across the scratch, raising his gaze to meet hers as he lapped gently again. His eyes are as light as the rest of him, she noticed, before realizing that the first thing she should have done… was snatch her hand away.

I’ll be lost in these eyes. The hand was the least of her concerns now.

Hello all!

It's been forever but Im so freaking excited to be back. Please bear with me as I get used to this again; I'll do my best to keep with my original timetable of a chapter every other day, but please be patient!

As usual, I only have a rough idea of where I see this going (whoops) so if you have anything you want to see, comment or message me! I'd love to hear your ideas!

And, going off that, comments are basically lifeblood to me so pleeeeeeeaaasssseee don't hesitate to say hi! I love to hear from you! Hope you enjoy the story, I'll be back soon with more!