Dark SBI & Fluffy Oneshots

Warmth in Waters (prequel)

A/N

Just another oneshot set in the fae universe I've built. This one is a prequel to "Fate in Forests", but you don't need to have read that to understand this. I highly recommend reading it though!

Hope you enjoy! <3

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Wilbur had just turned seven years old when he first discovered the forest.

It was a place of beauty, a startling contrast to the metal architecture he was used to growing up in. Full of greenery, moving vines, and flowers that danced to a rhythm that nobody could hear. A bright sun that cast great, moving shadows beneath unnaturally large tree canopies, and a moon with such silver moonlight that it felt tangible.

Wilbur had never seen a place like this other than in the picture books he read, though he was quickly learning that printed paintings could do such a fantastical place justice. On the paper, they couldn't fully mimic the soft, billowing breeze that brushed his brown curls to the side, nor the warm heat that made him feel a contentment that was a previous alien. Though the tedious brushstrokes were amazing, so real he could almost feel the soft grass pushing against his cheap shoes as he flipped through the pages, they didn't show how the tendrils of leaves wrapped around his ankle with every step.

He giggled as the green tickled his bare legs, enraptured by how lifelike and human the movement seemed. As if the grass were alive and living, just as he was.

But he knew that was impossible. The potted plant his mother kept by their windowsill didn't move that much, even though it was well-kept. He'd even helped water it on a few occasions! And only a few puddles of water had gotten on the floor as he struggled to lift the heavy can.

But here, there were so many plants! Except these weren't in pots like the ones in his apartment, no, these were all brightly blooming through the dirt rather than dark cracks between concrete.

He thought this place was quite a bit prettier. He had always liked plants, rare as he saw them.

Wilbur laughed again as the grass nudged him forward, impatiently forming a wall behind his legs and gently pushing. It couldn't really move him, but Wilbur oblige their commands and began to take a few steps. How could he not, when they acted so funny?

The plants drifted to the side as he walked, the middle ones pressing to the ground as though they were wilting, life seeping from their bright petals to fade into the brown. Wilbur cautiously trod over them, glancing back to watch in fascination as they lifted up at his absence, opening their petals to the sky to catch rays of sunlight. Instantly, they regained coloration, hues of purple and blue igniting like a flame.

He laughed to himself again– he just felt so happy being here, as if he had found his second half that he never did in his home– and continued on his way through the makeshift path. Around him, tree branches shifted so that a cascade of leaves fell onto his head, making him shriek in surprise before he realized that a crow wasn't attacking his nest of hair. The scream turned into another yell, this one was full of joy as more leaves fell around him, not bothering to brush them off as he jumped into the piles that quickly formed on the ground. The grass beneath the leaves wove itself into a blanket so that his impact on the ground didn't hurt. Leaves flew back into the air with every leap in a splash of greens.

Wilbur grinned, laughing loudly as the piles crunched around him, picking himself and jumping again and again until he started to feel tired.

He glared at his legs, wondering why they suddenly felt so heavy when he tried to jump. After a few small attempts to jump into the leaves, legs burning with every leap, he decided to walk past the piles and merely follow the path. The leaves flew back upwards with a single, strong gust of wind and reattached themselves to the trees.