In the Woods Somewhere (Tsukkiyama)

You Can Stick Around

The human boy kept returning. He would show up to the faerie ring day after day after day after day. The boy, Yama, brought gifts with him on most visits, sometimes small honey pots, other times a basket of wild strawberries. Kei vehemently refused to show Yama that he liked the presents. He refused to show Yama anything at all, including himself. Kei may have been watching this Yama boy, but there was no way he would ever let the human know that.

It took well over two months of Yama's visits for Kei to show himself again. Two months of small but sweet gifts, two months of hiding in the trees, and listening to Yama talk about his day in the human village. It took two months for Kei to realize that Yama was not going to give up on the whole friendship endeavor.

When Kei finally showed up in person to accept the gifts that Yama brought him, the human boy gaped at him, slack-jawed and with wide eyes full of wonder. It was stupid for the boy to be surprised, Kei thought. After all, what kind of fool brought treats to someone without expecting them to show up. Apparently, that exact kind of fool was standing in front of Kei and holding a small strawberry tart. Kei arched a brow and held out his hand expectantly, motioning with his fingers when the human was too slow in handing over the snack. "I have... taken notice of your persistence," Kei commented before taking a bite of the treat.

Yama nodded fervently, "I'm glad, Tsukki-san I-" The boy abruptly stopped, blushed a delightful red, not unlike the strawberries, and buried his face in his hands.

Kei, even with all his fae training in trickery, could not stop his heart from racing and his body from flinching at the nickname. It was too close to his family name. How did this human know his name? Or at least part of it. Names had power; if this mortal boy had somehow gotten hold of Kei's name, he was done for. Still, he forced himself to remain calm. Clearing his throat and shooting Yama a death glare, Kei made sure to speak slowly, as to not show his nerves, "What did you just call me, human?"

Yama trembled like an aspen in the wind and fidgeted with the hem of his well-worn shirt. "I-I uh... I called you, uh... Uhm... I called you Tsukki. Uhm! Be-because, you... Uhm... you look like the moon?" Strangely enough, despite his shaking, Yama did not look afraid. There was no fear in the human's eyes nor on his face. Nervousness, perhaps. Mortification, definitely. But not fear. How peculiar. Despite the lack of fear shown by Yama, Kei internally sighed in relief. It was nothing more than a stupid nickname. An extremely coincidental nickname, but nothing that would give the human any power over Kei. He gave Yama an appraising glance, debating if he should let the boy call him Tsukki. On one hand, allowing the nickname would imply some sort of camaraderie, which Kei had no interest in. On the other hand, if Kei told Yama to not call him by the nickname, there was no doubt that the human boy would pester him endlessly until Kei gave him a replacement. Clearly, one option was far more work than the other.

"I suppose that is an appropriate enough thing to call me since you are so insistent on it," Kei said, with as much feigned indifference as he could muster.

Immediately, Yama's face lit up. His mouth split into a delightfully innocent smile, not that Kei would admit it. With much more vigor than in any of the previous times, in which Kei had not made his presence known, Yama launched into a mundane but joyful recollection of his day. Kei, placated from the strawberry dessert, sat down and, for the first time, truly listened. Yama's life was decidedly mundane, Kei decided. Plain, uneventful, and achingly human. From how Yama spoke, it seemed that most humans were without magic at best and fearful of it at worst. It was all exactly as the books said, humans were primitive, uneducated beings with no respect to nature or the gifts it bestows.

Except for Yama, who seemed to possess an unusual understanding of that which ran through the blood of the fair folk. The human had no knowledge of magic himself, of course, but had somehow imbued it into the foods he made. Kei almost asked Yama how he made his sweets and honey the way he did but decided against it, too prideful to admit not knowing something.

Eventually, tired of Yama's mundane stories, Kei started to offer details from his own, significantly more interesting, life. Not anything too special, he was not so stupid as to let this man in on fae secrets, but stores of Akiteru and his excellence were safe enough. Kei never mentioned Akiteru by name, that would be stupid, but Yama was bright enough to figure out that Kei was speaking of his brother. Unsurprisingly, Yama was far more interested in tales from Kei's life than he was in his own. And why shouldn't he be, Kei thought, the realm of the fae was far superior to the droll life of humans. And so the conversation went. Kei, sitting in the faerie circle and speaking of his grand life, and Yama, settled right outside the ring, clinging onto every word and occasionally adding commentary of his own.

Strangely enough, Kei could almost feel the forest approve of Yama. Birds and prey and predators alike passed by the human without a care, when they would usually refuse to even show face. The toadstools in the ring practically glowed with health, now fully healed by Yama's honey. The trees and bushes too, seemed to enjoy Yama's presence, their branches brushing the human boy gently with the help of the wind. It was not very often that the forest treated someone so kindly after so little time, let alone a human. There were even some fae who would get lost and tricked by the woods, despite spending their lives there.

Who was Kei to argue with his home; if the forest welcomed Yama, then maybe Kei could learn to tolerate him. The boy seemed harmless, and Kei had a sneaking suspicion that he could learn from Yama, even if the boy was too clever to hand over his name.

The two only noticed nightfall when the moon was high in the sky, and the more magical plants of the forest started to glow. It would be dangerous for Yama to stay any longer than he already had, and both boys knew it. The forest sang in an eerie warning, owls hooting their worries to Kei while the frogs and toads trilled out their melody. As much as the forest seemed to like Yama, it was time for him to leave.

Said boy slowly rose and brushed dirt and leaves off his trousers, preparing himself to walk back home. He turned to Kei and shakily spoke, "Will, Uhm, can I expect to see you tomorrow as well, Tsukki-san?'

Kei contemplated, the boy's company wasn't entirely unpleasant: perhaps it could even have been considered enjoyable. Kei sighed in resignation, "Keep bringing food... And forget the honorifics," he was always going to lose the battle for friendship anyway.

Yama's entire being lit up as he vibrated with sheer elation. Kei couldn't help but stare at the human's eyes, which despite their brown color, shone brighter than all the stars in the night sky. The sight was almost beautiful, almost. Kei knew better than to think that the brilliance of this human was anything other than a passing light trick. Yama, finally packed up and ready to head out, turned back to the path and sent one final wave to Kei for the night. "This was fun! I think we are to become the best of friends, Tsukki!"

Kei huffed, but replied with a minuscule smile of his own, "I will see you tomorrow, Yama".

AN: sorry about being late! My computer crashed on me lol!