Sundrop & Moondrop x Reader

When Can I See You Again?

(Story belongs to the wonderful @shinyhyacinth on Twitter!)

Cryptid AU!! Enjoy!

Camping had been a traditional pastime for your family when you were a child, and that continued into adulthood as you took regular trips with your friends. Consequently, you were keenly aware of what essential tools you needed, especially for one of your favorite hobbies- night hiking. 

It required a certain amount of stamina, proper packing that was neither over- nor -under prepared, and a distinct sense of adventure. Adventure and stamina, you had. A trail map of the unfamiliar, dark forest you were currently standing in the middle of? Not so much. You sat down on a rock beneath a huge, towering maple, brought out your canteen and took a long drink of water.

"Dummy." you muttered to yourself, flicking on your penlight and pulling out the map you had brought.

It was of New Jersey. Point Pleasant, New Jersey. That was the last time you let exhausted-past-you pack for a trip. They were a dingus, apparently.Present-you heaved a sigh and stuffed the map back into your pack as you stood. You had a decent sense of direction, and the moon was nearly full tonight.

It shouldn't take too much backtracking to reach the last trail you had known the direction of and go from there.You threaded through the trees, stepping carefully. The last thing you needed was a sprained ankle. Hopping over a large root, you paused as a soft sound reached your ears.It was almost... a coo?

Some kind of high-pitched purr? You strained to listen, but it didn't come again. You moved on, racking your brain to think what kind of nocturnal animals lived in this part of the country. It had been such a cute, trilling noise too, and you wondered if whatever had made it was equally as adorable.Your sneakers crunched on the dry leaves that littered the forest floor.

It was the beginning of autumn, and in the daylight all the trees were a lovely gradient of reds, yellow and oranges. But at night the color wasn't the primary feature of the woods- for you, it was the soft, quiet atmosphere. The deep silence, devoid of human noise, only the presence of the nocturnal inhabitants of the forest surrounding you.

This was one reason you weren't particularly concerned with the lack of an accurate map. It was very difficult to feel troubled, blanketed in soft darkness and soothed by the brief, quiet, innocuous little sounds of the night.There came a sharper coo than before, one that trailed upward in its tone until it was too high to hear.

You stopped again, turning carefully around in a circle to look for its source. You had travelled a little ways since the last time you heard it, and that meant...Something was following you. You crouched and peered into the underbrush nearby, then looked up at the dark trees that weaved across each other above you. No motion was to be seen, just the shadows of the shifting branches and leaves in the wind.

There was a chirp behind you as you inspected the bushes again. Slowly, you turned on your heel, staying crouched so you wouldn't startle whatever little creature had appeared. It certainly sounded adorable. Your eyes met one large, segmented, fuzzy foot. The moonlight was enough to see the yellow of the fur that covered it.

You looked up, and then up some more. Large, scarlet eyes stared down at you. You blinked as the chirp came again, the glowing eyes tilting as the creatures head cocked to the side. In the moonlight, two giant antennae flexed and bounced with the motion, each looking like a long, delicate orange feather.

Your heart raced, and you took several deep breaths as you forced yourself to stand slowly. Its eyes followed you, head tilting to the other side as you straightened and faced it fully.

"H-hey there, little friend." you said softly, taking a small, careful step backward.

"What uh. What brings you out to see me, hm?" It made the cooing noise and followed you.

You swallowed, moving backward again, though you were unsure where you would go. The creature's feet made barely any sound, even on the dry leaves as it delicately crossed them. You marvelled at it despite your retreat, as it stepped into a pool of bright moonlight. It was huge.

At least ten feet tall. It walked mostly upright, a small hunch in its rounded shoulders. Though man-shaped, it was certainly unlike any human you had ever met. Covered in dark yellow fluff from head to toe, it's large scarlet eyes set deep in the soft fluff of it's surprisingly gentle looking face.

It reached out for you, and you took another step back in alarm. The hand it had reached out with was clawed, the fuzz stopping just short of it's very human looking hands. On top of that, the arm it had extended was not one of the ones visible by its sides.

Four. It had four arms. It had stopped as you moved away, retracting its arm and making soft chittering, chirping sounds. Its head was rounded, and the color pattern of the fur on its face quite resembled a crescent moon. The feathery antennae were indeed massive, and wiggled gently as it watched you.

You stared for a moment. The thing was absolutely adorable. Ten feet or ten inches, it would have been adorable. It took a few more steps, and reached out for you again, slowly. This time you didn't shy away, and the hand gently touched your cheek. You let out an involuntary sigh, the soft, smooth texture of the hand somehow immensely comforting.

It stepped closer still, the chirping growing softer. You looked up at its immense figure, and at this proximity you could see its mouth. It had teeth. And it was smiling at you. Your eyes grew wide as it leaned down to you, another two hands sliding around your waist before you could react, and bringing you closer.

A long, dexterous tongue slid from its maw, and delicately licked from your collar up the side of your face, before disappearing back into the smiling mouth. It made a trilling sound that tilted upward in tone until it again disappeared, too high for your ears to hear.You couldn't move. Whether it was the soft arms encircling you, the strangely comforting behavior, or a terror you weren't coherent enough to register, you weren't sure.

It leaned closer still, and there was the rustling as of silk that accompanied its movements. You glanced down and realized it was the sound of a huge set of wings, dragging along the ground.

"Hhhhhello, lllittle mmmoonbeam." the voice was a soft, gentle coo against your ear, and you jumped at the sound, startled.

Their antennae caressed your face reassuringly as their hand cupped your jaw and tilted your face up to theirs, gently.The red eyes glowed softly as the huge hands around your waist lifted you to snuggle into their soft chest, and the smile grew.

"Hhhave you commme to plllay with usss?"

(to be continued)