Flowers bloom and die on every step he takes; new sprouts grow out of every tree his hands touch. Owls, foxes, weasels, wolves, snakes, they all run with him, hunt rabbits, squirrels, mice.
Their eyes are his eyes, he sees every corner of the forest through them.
Their ears are his ears, he hears every breath, every step, every jump.
In that moment, they are all part of him.
And he is part of them.
The forest has become one with Dominick.
The Deer runs without stopping for a second, it jumps over lakes and changes directions in just a blink. It tries to trick his eyes, tries to confuse his ears.
But it's useless.
Dominick howls and the wolves howl back, they tell him where they'll herd it.
He jumps and the owls lend him their eyes, to skim the treetops.
He whistles and the foxes pounce on the animals that try to hinder his path, that try to distract him.
He takes a step and the snakes feel the vibrations on the ground, they tell him which way is the best.
They run all night, run until the sun rises and the prey can't keep going, the owls can't help.
They run past the afternoon, when Dominick begins to leave the foxes and snakes behind.
They run until the moon comes out again, and the wolves finally give up.
They run and run, until finally, only The Forest and Dominick are left standing.
In his clearing, the place that gave him peace, that taught him to get something that was only his, that gave him a home, a place to belong. There, The Deer stops, its legs bend under its body, the flowers and mushrooms grow around it.
Its head leans forward.
And Dominick knows what to do.
He knows like he has known so many times before.
How he knew how to wait.
How he knew when the wait was over.
How he knew how to hunt.
How he knew to offer his name.
How he knew how to run with the wolves.
How he knew how to dance with Arlequin.
Dominick has always known, he just needed to realize that.
His hands close around the antlers of The Forest, the flowers coil around his fingers and the butterflies fly on his arms.
And then.
He tugs.
The Forest dies when its head is rip out. Its body falls and decays in seconds, it becomes bones and becomes dust, becomes flowers and mushrooms and trees that will grow more and more.
From that circle of pure life, a new Deer will be born.
And The Forest will live again.
In his hands, the old head of The Forest remains. It's antlers still glow, the butterflies and the moths still fly, the flowers still bloom their impossible colors, the mushrooms of dreamlike shapes still let spores out.
It's a gift, for Dominick.
When he puts the skull on his head the antlers don't weight on him, the bones don't obstruct his sight, it doesn't restrict his movements.
It's perfect.
And it's with it that Dominick walks through the forest once again. The trees shaking around him, the animals watching him from the shadows. They all say goodbye.
The trees open and there are the Hunters. On horses and deers, with company or alone, with wolves barking and playing around their rides.
And leading all of them.
Arlequin.
"Welcome, Dominick." He doesn't need more than a hand to get him on the unicorn, for Dominick to rest his head on his chest, for him to close his eyes, and be sure, for the first time in his life.
This is where he belongs.
The trumpets sing, the cheering rises, the hooves thunder.
The wolves howl.
The Wild Hunt leaves.
And Dominick leaves with them.
YOU ARE READING
The Wild Hunt
RomanceTrapped in a home where he doesn't belong and surrounded by a town that views him as a freak, Dominick finds solace in the forest outside of his small town, becoming little by little one more of the creatures in them. But when he traps something he...
