TRYST // Philza X Reader

9

You talked with Phil for a while more and finished the bacon before he excused himself, saying something about having to go tend to his animals. You weren't that bothered without the company - there were plenty of books in the house (all of which looked older than you) and it wasn't too long that you could feel the tiredness creeping back in, now fueled by your full stomach.

You fell back asleep, and when you woke up again, the sun was just peeking up over the horizon - night had passed.

Phil was running a comb through his hair when you stirred, pulling the strands into something more neat than a bedhead before jamming his green and white striped hat overtop. "Morning." He said. "There's eggs on the stove if you're hungry."

"Oh, thanks." You said, swinging your legs out of bed and hobbling over to the stovetop on the other side of the room. Your ankle was feeling considerably better now - that healing potions had really done it's job. Perhaps you would be able to take the splint off today.

Two eggs sat in a pan on the stove, still warm from when Phil had cooked them up. You grabbed a fork from the cup of clean silverware nearby before hesitating. "Is there a plate somewhere...?"

Phil shrugged, going to grab a coat from where it was hanging on the wall. His slipped into it, wings extending through large holes cut into the back before they tucked themselves neatly against his back again. "Just use the pan." He said, slipping his feet into heavy boots.

You took the pan from the stove and carried it over to the table, setting it down before you settled yourself into a chair. You started on the eggs as you watched Phil grab a bag and sling it over his shoulder, starting towards the door. "Where are you going?"

Phil glanced back at you. "I've got to tend to the farm." He said, sounding a little surprised that you had asked at all.

"Oh." You said, popping another bit of egg into your mouth. "I didn't know you had a farm."

"Yeah, I've been living off the land for a while." He said, opening the door. Out on the deck, the morning light was still soft, and you could feel a rush of cool air breeze inside, brushing over your legs. "You're welcome to anything in the house while I'm out." Phil said. He stepped outside, and before the door swung back shut you caught a glimpse of those crow's wings unfurling. He swooped down from the deck, and then he was gone.

You finished your eggs, attention turning to the scroll on the table. Still sealed.

You would get him to open it somehow. Through sheer persistence alone, if it had to be.

You spent a few hours in the house - reading Phil's books, looking around at his collection of shiny rocks and taking the splint off your ankle (which was looking much better and barely hurt to put weight on anymore) - but it wasn't too long before the single room cabin started to feel a little suffocating.

It was then that you decided to go out on the deck.

The sun had gotten higher in the sky, and now the day was warm. You stepped outside, letting the door swing shut behind you. The sun bleached wooden paneling was smooth from wear under your feet, and a simple railing protected the edge. Peering down over the edge, you could see the expanse of spruce forest around you.

No sign of a farm though.

You paced around the whole deck, peering through the trees as best you could to no avail. Perhaps the farm was also suspended in the air - but that wouldn't have worked well, the water that would have been needed to grow the plants would have been dripping down from the platform constantly. You were just about to give up the curiosity and go back inside when you turned around and saw the ladder.

It was hidden around the corner of the house, pressed up against the trunk of one of the tall spruces that held the whole house up. You hadn't seen it when Phil had first brought you here - you hadn't thought a ladder would even exist, but you supposed that most of his visitors wouldn't be able to fly.

All the better for you to be able to find that farm.

You started down the ladder, careful not to spend too long with most of your weight on your bad ankle. It was a long way down, but soon enough your feet were touching the soft ground littered with pine needles. There was almost no undergrowth here thanks to the acidity from the pine, and that was what allowed you to see the well trodden path leading away from the base of the tree.

You followed it through the trees until you came to a small bridge across a river. Across the stream, a little shed, and then an expanse of plants. It was discreet, you would hand him that. If you weren't looking close, you would have just said it was a batch of weeds on the banks, but looking at it now, you could see the methodical pattern in which he had planted everything.

In the center of the patch, Phil was pulling up a potato plant. He only noticed you loitering around when he looked up to brush a strand of hair out of his face. "Y/N?"

"I was curious and bored." You said. "You didn't say there was a ladder down."

"Your ankle." Phil said, getting up from where he was crouched in the farm and flying over the river with two quick flaps of his wings.

"It's fine." You said. "I was careful coming down, and it doesn't even hurt that much anymore."

Phil hummed, a small smile playing in the corner of his lips. "Here then." He said, handing you a pair of gloves that had been tucked into his pocket. "You came down here, you might as well help."