An Eternal Flame | Druig Fanfic ( UPDATES on Fridays )

Dún na Rí Forest

The Emerald Isle was filled with lush green seas leading to vast and dense forests of old. Druig let his feet carry him along the beaten dirt paths through the untamed countryside, looking to this new land to tell him he's home. He hummed old tunes from Mesopotamia to himself with the sounds of buzzing insects and cooing birds accompanying his foreign tune. 

He watched animals scurry about attending to their business. The land was rich with life in every way. Grey wolves roamed the countryside in packs, even stalking up to the Eternal. They were strong and intimidating despite their childlike curiosity when encountering Druig. 

"Hello there," he whispered. He welcomed the wolves in his company, but they fled, ears perking up and chasing after their lunch when a flurry of rabbits bounded past almost teasingly. Druig watched them bound away, howling and barking. He turned to keep moving, but one wolf stayed behind sitting beside Druig and looked up to him. 

"What about you, then? You still full from breakfast," he laughed as he scratched the wolf's head. 

The wolf almost smiled at him, panting with his tongue out. Druig said goodbye and kept walking. He heard an extra set of feet crunching the leaves behind him, so he turned to find the wolf walking after him. "Come now, you can't leave your family. You'll get lost." The wolf ignored him and looked in the direction of its pack. It whined and looked back to him. "Go on, go after them!" Druig pointed, but his hand fell back to his side in defeat. The wolf only sat and looked at the Eternal, still smiling in his canine manner.

"Okay, fine then. Just know that I'm not your next dinner, if that's what you're thinking."

The two walked together. Sometimes the wolf would run in front of Druig, so it could turn around to frighten him. He laughed every time, happy to be accompanied by a new companion and friend. Pine martens scattered in the tall grass nearby, standing on their hind legs to peep at the Eternal walking past them. They tried to come close to him, but his movement made them scatter back to their homes, or perhaps, it was the wolf that scared them back into hiding after growling lowly. Druig shushed his new friend, "Don't scare them off, they could've been just as friendly as you." The wolf huffed and kept on. Then, he witnessed a mighty elk with antlers so vast, they weighed the animal down as it walked towards him. 

The wolf didn't growl, but rather, it tilted his head down as if to bow. Druig wondered if it ached the elk to carry the weight of such a crown. He had to crane his neck to see it entirely, because it stood as twice as tall as him. Anyone who crossed paths with the elk would be terrified of such a magnificent beast, but Druig felt calm in its presence. When he listened closely, he could hear the animal. It spoke to him in a language he could not understand. There were no words, but there was an almost songlike chant he could hear. The elk stopped when Druig stood in its path. It's breath warmed the air around it. The animal huffed loudly before looking beyond him. Druig stepped to the side cautiously, and let the animal continue on. He decided to begin following it keeping a safe distance.

The trio entered into an opening of the woods, but Druig had passed this area already, and this opening was not there before. He whispered to himself, "Where are you taking us friend?"

The wolf hesitated before following Druig into the forest. As it looked back, the branches surrounding the opening began to creak and moan as they reached across to block out the view of the path. The wolf whimpered and ran to walk alongside Druig nearly tripping him. Druig paid no attention and said nothing as the elk walked deeper into the forest. They were cut off from the path and trapped here, but Druig felt his heart begin to race as it did on the beach.

Druig kept thinking he saw the trees swaying unnaturally out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned to catch them, they stood still with only the breeze rustling their leaves. A raven flew above him and perched itself on a tree. "Now, who are you?" The raven spoke his words back to him, almost mockingly. He laughed in disbelief, "Do you understand me?"

The raven tilted its head and cawed, no longer mimicking him. His new wolf friend whined quietly where the elk had been. Druig turned to realize the elk was out of sight, and now a large tree stood in its path. "A lot of things keep disappearing on us, don't they, friend?" The wolf looked to him, puzzled. 

A voice broke the air around them, "Cé tusa?"

Druig looked around, but he saw no one. He thought the dense forest impeded his logic momentarily. He convinced himself he heard something.

The voice rang out again, but this time it was marked with impatience and volatility, "Cé tusa? Conas a fuair tú anseo?"

He didn't full understand the language, but he knew whoever was speaking to him saw him as a stranger, so he spoke calmly, "I am Druig. Who are you?"

Out of the tree in front of them stepped out a human who was enveloped by the moss and bark. Druig stared, shocked by whatever this creature could be. The voice sounded like it belonged to a woman, but he had never seen a woman that looked like this. It couldn't have been human.

"Druid? An bhfuil tú mar an gcéanna liomsa?"

His eyes began to shine with a golden hue. The girl stepped back driving a foot into the ground, roots twisting and growing around here legs holding her steady. The forest grew darker as if the branches had begun to block out the sun's light.

The raven was now on a nearby branch. It spread its wings to show its intimidating size. It screeched loudly at him. He put his hands up to show he held no weapons, while he placed his own thoughts gently into her head. She shut her eyes tightly and spoke her mysterious language in forced whispers, the trees seemed to echo her. The girl's stance reluctantly relaxed, her eyes opening to mimic his own. 

"I've not come here to harm you. My name is Druig, and no, I'm not like you. Not exactly."

The roots sank back into the ground letting the earth fall back into place, and she stood tall repeating the foreign name in confirmation, "Druig."

He smiled as friendly as he could, speaking once more into her mind to help her understand, "I am Druig. Do you have a name?"

She stared at him. Her eyes held confusion, and Druig wasn't sure if she could understand him at all. She approached him. The earth hugged at her heels as she stepped closer to him. "Do you understand any of what I'm saying?" he spoke again. He tried to enter her mind, but there was something blocking him. 

He looked to her lips to see them shining as if dipped in honey. She held his gaze while she spoke, "Tá do draíocht gan chumhacht anseo, Druig."

He barely understood her words before his vision became blurred, and he fell to the ground. Before his eyes closed, he felt his wolf friend licking his face.