Word Count: 1.6k (exactly lmao)
The best time of year to take a walk through the forest down the road from your house was during the fall. The leaves had burned into an array of bright yellows, oranges, and reds that left a satisfying crunching noise with each step taken. The path that weaved through the trees was decorated by the park district, scarecrows and skeletons peeking out from dead branches or sitting on old tree stumps.
For some odd reason, there was a new fork in the path that you swore was not there the last time you had walked this way. You were intrigued; so you made your way down the path, not noticing as the trees that had hidden the path suddenly grew back.
The air grew warmer after you stepped passed a certain point, as if you had an extra five seconds of summer.
The winding new path led to an enclosure of trees, a circle of the path situated in the middle. A large, singular tree stump stood in the midst of the circle.
The sunlight peeked through the surprisingly full tree branches. It was majestic, and you wondered why you had never found this before.
You were drawn towards the center and you sat down on one edge of the stump. It was quite enormous, you could easily lay across it with extra space around your body.
Directly across from you, you noticed the big oak tree that seemed to be dominating the other trees. It was easily the biggest tree in the area. Its bark was a lively brown color with lots of ridges focused in one spot. Nature worked in funny ways.
“That’s not nature, sweetheart.”
Your heart skipped a beat, and you held a hand over your heart. Did someone just respond to your thoughts?
“You’re a pretty damn loud thinker,” the voice said again.
Instead of thinking something more stupid, you responded out loud. “Who are you?”
The voice faltered for a second. “Just call me Ash.”
“Where are you?”
“In front of you,” Ash informed you, their voice soothing and smooth.
There was no one in front of you. The voice seemed to be coming from every direction as if being played by a stereo. What was happening?
Suddenly, the large tree in front of you had eyes. They were a brilliant hazel color, flecks of gold and green swimming in them.
“I’m here.” Ash’s voice was now coming from a mouth that had appeared just as quickly as the eyes. Before you could take another breath, a body emerged from the huge oak tree with a face. The face on the tree melded into the body as it lifted away from the tree.
The figure was male, nude as the day they were born. His skin was almost a normal color, but there was a green tint to it that reminded you of mint. Large, wooden horns emerged from the long, curly hair, twisting into a beautiful arc. He had long fingers that looked almost webbed. There was a smattering of hair across his chest and southern region.
You forced yourself to look away at his length, biting your lip as you distracted yourself by looking at his horns. He noticed this but only smiled kindly.
“What are you?”
“I’m a dryad,” he told you. “What are you? A siren? A succubus? There’s no way you’re anything else.”
“What? I’m a human.” You’re not going to lie; supernatural beings had always intrigued you but the fact that this one had a huge boner kind of turned you on.
