Happy Valentamy's

Stumble Through the Veil

I WROTE A FAE!!! It’s not quite the same, but it is inspired by @.valrayne-faeu.

I don’t live in Fae Lands, but I’m not a stranger to supertitions surrounding mythological beings in the modern day and I’ve been places where people tell me do’s and don’ts when entering a spiritual place… That’s to say, I’m self-indulging as someone who gets flustered by that sort of stuff, writing a reader-insert being flustered by fae stuff hehe 👉 👈

Also I’ve been asking Llama a lot of questions to make sure it’s closer to the source > < thank u for helping me besfren

(Fae!Nightmare/F!Reader)

You were just a visitor. You were only meant to come and leave quickly. You never intended to meddle with the fae, but it seems they had other plans for you.

—————

Am I stupid right now? You think to yourself, as you trudge through the grass in between grand, tall trees, with so many leaves that it covered most of the sky.

You were a simple tourist, visiting the countryside, where you decided to take a nature trail. You read up on the brochures and asked the locals about the best (safe) nature trails, and all sources said Nosergh trail was a fairly pleasant one, perfect for beginners and casual travelers.

Of course, you also heard the superstitions that the surrounding the forest the trail takes you by. A lot of locals say the Nosergh forest is a place where the veil is thin and naturally, had lots of fae stories associated with it.

You made sure to go during daytime hours. You wouldn’t call yourself a superstitious person, but hell if you aren’t going to heed them, coming from a place with many superstitions yourself. You thought to yourself Ok, don’t mess around in the forest, got it. Even if it didn’t have the myths surrounding it, it was a good idea not to enter a foreign forest without a plan anyway.

You had both a phone and a free map you got from the information center back in the village, so you were confident. There were hundreds of reviews on this trail when you looked it up earlier, and you’ve seen photos of families going through here. Realistically, there was little to worry as long as you stayed on the path.

There was a fork in the trail at one point. But you were sure the one that went to the right was one that’d take you to the next village over, which would be a few hours worth of walking, so you took the other way, into the forest. It should only take you through the outskirts, and actually was a highlight of the trail.

You were sure you’d taken the right way, but the longer you walked, the less… obviously tread-on the path you took looked. The dirt path was getting smaller and smaller to the point where it only fit space for one person to tread on. The trees grew bigger, the leaves thicker, and you heard… sounds you didn’t recognize.

You stopped early on, wondering if you might’ve taken the wrong path, especially since everything seemed more… nature than trail at that point. You looked both at the map and your phone to try to figure out where you were. But while you were sure you’d taken the right way, when you looked at the map, you can’t figure out where on the trail you’re in, and worse, your phone couldn’t get any signal.

And now here you are. You start to feel panic clawing in your chest, and you tried your best to swallow the feeling down. The map’s stuck to your hand with how sweaty they are, your throat dry and your head’s pulsing while you turned around, looking at the path you came from.

It looks thin, much thinner than the one you followed into the forest. You start to doubt yourself- are you even on the path? Are you following an imaginary one that was really just the foliage making a weird pattern on the ground? There was so much growing on the floor that their leaves are tickling your ankles.

Right when you look down around your feet, you notice some mushrooms, growing in a peculiar but awfully familiar pattern.

A fairy ring.

“Eep!” You yelp, jumping away from it like you’d just been electrocuted. “Um. Wow, they really are in a shape of a ring, haha,”

A part of you really was in awe, having only heard of them in stories. As a kid you thought how wonderful it must be to have these naturally occurring, in some far away place. Seeing them now with your real eyes made you feel a little like you were living a dream.

The rest of you however, starts to feel really anxious, your brain replaying the stories the locals told you: About people disappearing or being taken away, or about someone who offended the fae and paid the price for it. What’d happen if you had stepped in that thing? Were they going to be angry at you? You don’t want to anger anyone, let alone mythological creatures that may or may not exist. When you’re standing in their alleged realm staring at one of the things closely associated with them, it’s hard not to let your mind think of all the different scenarios.

When you look at the time, you realize it was getting late, too. The sun’s still bright in the sky now, but if you clowned around in the woods, the sky would get dark quickly, no doubt. Also, it’s already starting to get cold.

Ok, calm down. If you stay calm, you can figure something out. You’re fine. You just need to think. You tell yourself. You reach to the side of your backpack, taking out your water bottle and taking quick, ‘calming’ gulps.

“excuse me, are you quite alright?”

The voice calling out to you makes you choke on your drink. You cough and hack the water out of your throat, tears stinging your eyes as you try to take a proper breath, clumsily putting the bottle back in your back.

“oh- i apologize. i didn’t mean to startle you!” The voice is sonorous, soft, almost hypnotic. “i was only trying to see what you were doing,”

You slowly turn around after you wipe yourself off and tried to look a little more presentable, finally having a good look at the stranger.

The first thing you noticed about him is that he’s a skeleton. A skeleton with bones as dark as midnight, clad in what looks to be clothing fit for royalty. A cape draped over him from his shoulders, clipped with a moon emblem, making him look larger than he already was- wide chested and tall; Your eyes are right around his sternum. Various accessories made from various twisting woods and beautiful leaves decorated him, an ethereal crown of branches resting on top of his skull. One brilliant cyan eye stares at you with an intensity you can’t describe, while the other was covered by a strange black substance.

You stood there, feeling well out of place in your casual wear and the backpack hanging off your shoulders. You don’t even look like a local, let alone someone that belonged in an apparently enchanted forest. You look at him from the top of his beautiful crown down to his pointed shoes, then back at his face.

That’s. That’s 1000% a fae you’re looking at. Right?

Oh. Oh ok. The panic’s coming back with a vengeance. Do you remember the rules? You think you do. But not all of them. You can’t remember the details right now.

“let me start again. greetings. are you troubled, stranger?”

He’s talking to you. Would it be bad if you told him you were lost? Would that make you more of a… target or something? Or do they not care about that?

You’ve been quiet too long. Say something!

“Oh, um, yes, haha… I’m just completely lost,” you answer honestly, laughing awkwardly.

“ah, i see. you must’ve been trying to take the nature trail, weren’t you? poor thing.”

“U-um… yeah! That’s right! Uh…” Would it be bad to acknowledge that you’re talking to a fae? Is it better to ignore that?

He stands there, relaxed, then tilts his head. “hm… you have a question on your mind, don’t you? please, ask.”

“O-ok,” your voice wobbles. “Are you… are you fae?”

His eyes crinkle and he smiles… warmly at you?

“what do you think?”

You feel like shrinking in on yourself, and decide not to answer nor pursue the subject.

He laughs behind his hand. “that’s fine. i was wondering what brought you through this trail, hm? has anything caught your fancy?”

Despite your apprehension, you don’t see the harm in making small talk. Maybe it might be better for you, too.

“Definitely! I live in the city, so when I get the chance to go, I love going somewhere with more green than smog. The air smells good, and there’s no sounds of traffic around. It’s just you, the wind, birds, some bugs. There’s so many pretty flowers just… growing everywhere, and the trees are huge. I love hearing the birds chirping and chattering every so often, it really puts you at ease,”

You’re not lying. Even if you were scared of being surrounded by said huge trees at the moment, those are all the reasons you wanted to go on this nature trail in the first place.

“you have an eye for the forest then,” he says, apparently pleased with your answer. “i too, adore these trees. they are ancient, and have stood here for centuries. if you stay very quiet and pay close attention, you can hear the forest speaking. listen,”

He urges you, and you do as he says, keeping still and focusing on your ears. After a few seconds, it’s as if the sounds of the bugs in the grass and the rustle of the leaves transform into voices, whispering to you. You couldn’t decipher their words, and you feel a shiver run up your spine that you try your best to hide from the tall, dark stranger in front of you.

“That is… interesting,” you say at length, wondering if it was something mystical or something else. “I’m very glad to have met you, but I think it will be late soon, and I should be heading home now,”

“but of course.” He concurs, walking past you, “come, i can show you the way back. cutting through the woods would be faster than going down this winding, confusing path.”

He steps off what little dirt path you were standing on, into the grass.

You narrow your eyes at it. You don’t think you should follow him. You shouldn’t trust a fae’s word, and he’s literally going off the path. But also, not all fae are malicious, right? Maybe he really wants to help, and if you trust someone to understand how to get around this forest, it would be the fae that thrive in it. But… but what if he’s taking you to somewhere spooky? You-

He turns around to face you, a teasing… impatient? Look on his face. “come on. like you said, it will be dark soon, and if you went back the way you came, you wouldn’t get out of this trail before sundown. it’s best you hurry.”

You bite your lip, and you can really feel how wet your hands become, and ignoring the storm in your mind, you step onto the grass over to where he stood. You know for a fact that whatever it is he was thinking, being polite is the choice you’re 100% sure about. Maybe he’ll get you home. Maybe he won’t! Who knows!! You’re fine with this, definitely!!!

You trail behind him pensively, without a plan of your own. You watch the ground for any suspicious looking mushrooms, and it felt like there were things that kept moving just out of your peripheral. You look to the stranger, and you aren’t sure if his presence is comforting you or putting you on edge. Is it better to be accompanied by him in the quickly darkening forest, or to be alone? You can’t tell what his motives were, whether he was tricking you or if this was a random act of kindness on his part.

And it’s still getting colder. You felt a breeze, the chill getting under your skin. You goosebump and shiver, your arms were shaking, and you try to rub them as best you can to keep warm.

He notices this and addresses you.

“you look cold, my dear. here, let me help you,”

“Oh, uh…”

The skeleton shrugs off his grand, heavy cape, and offers it to you with an outstretched hand. Meanwhile, your mind became loud again. Would this count as a gift? You’ve heard that you should never accept a gift from a fae. But you’ve also heard that refusing their gift would be considered very rude. Which of those applies now? What are you supposed to do? Ugh… You don’t think you’re cut to live somewhere people deal with fae.

“what’s the matter? did the cold freeze you over already?” He jokes, “you know, i can’t keep my arm stretched all day.”

You decide to accept.

“O-oh, yes, of course!” You sputter, “thank you!”

… The fae blinks, his eye widening, and suddenly you have a feeling of dread washing over you, wondering what you might’ve done, and…

Thank you.

You said ‘Thank you’ to a fae. That’s considered rude.

“W-wait- I wasn’t supposed to… I didn’t mean to, I’m so sorry!”

The fae’s bony brows raises higher on his face, his smile spreading. You aren’t sure if it’s malicious or playful. Perhaps it was both.

Hold on- ‘Sorry’?!?!

“Uh- I’m not supposed to say sorry, am I?! Sorry! Ack-” you trip over yourself- god you were so confused and your head felt hot, “I mean! I’m. Not sorry! I take it back! Wait. B-but how do I apologize to you, I?!”

Your ramblings were quickly cut off by a deep, rich laugh coming from the skeleton, his great chest convulsing with his force, his head thrown back. It’s good you were cut off, you think, or else you might have dug yourself a deeper grave unknowingly.

“ahahah- ah!” He howls, “oh, aren’t you a cute one! it’s like watching a pup run in circles chasing its own tail,”

Your cheeks flush red, feeling like a fool at all your stumbles. What was the point of listening to all the local’s warnings if you were just going to trip over all of the rules? At least the fae found humor in that instead of experiencing murderous rage.

“it’s been so long. i don’t think i’ve met a human as entertaining as you are, my dear.”

“I um. I’m deeply… truly not-sorry for what I’ve done,” you mutter. You knew there were other ways to ‘say sorry’, but right now, your mind was blank.

The fae chuckles. “that’s alright. perhaps you will get better at it. i like you, so i’m willing to give you another chance. what was your name again? i didn’t catch it earlier.”

“R-right, I’m (Y/n)! I didn’t-”

He makes another face, his grin turning into a smirk, and his cyan eye flashes brightly for a second.

“Oh my god.”

Your stomach flips, and you feel your legs turn to jelly. You had willingly given your name to a fae that didn’t even bother hiding his nature- so cheerily too! You were too eager to grab at any second chance he was willing to give you that you jumped on anything he asked of you. If the ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry’ were forgiven, it didn’t matter now. He has your name. Even before you heard the locals talking about it, you were pretty sure giving them your name was the one thing everyone knew not to do.

“(y/n)... (y/n),” he repeats it, like he was testing it. Every time he said it, your body involuntarily shudders. “hm… i like it. it feels nice on my tongue. out of all the names i have, i think your name is my favorite.”

You groan, dejected, covering your face and sinking to the ground.

“I can’t believe I did that,”

You know better. You think out of all the foreigners coming through here, you should be one of the more knowledgeable ones. You feel so ashamed of yourself. He must think you were pathetic and ignorant!

“This must be the stupidest fae-human encounter in history,”

“you’d be surprised, human.”

You peek from between your fingers.

“you don’t seem dull. far from it,” he grants, “you don’t come from around here, do you? in fact you don’t look like you come from this land at all,”

You shake your head in response.

“like i suspected. and for someone who isn’t from here, you are surprisingly knowledgeable… you simply got flustered. at least you didn’t throw caution to the wind like so many before you,”

You look at the ground while fiddling your fingers. You feel a bit better, if a bit perplexed at your situation. Sitting on the ground and being reassured by a fae was the last thing you expected when you set out for the nature trail today.

He chuckles. “what a nervous little thing you are! you tried so hard to adhere to our rules but stumbled over your own feet… i must say, it’s quite adorable. you needn’t worry about offending me, dear- i don’t take offense to honest mistakes.”

You perk up hopefully.

“R-really?”

“yes, really. you may call me night, sweet thing.” He introduces himself (a nickname, in all likelihood). He extends a hand to you, and helps you stand to your feet.

You feel a bit of relief wash over you.

“Oh, than-... that’s kind of you Night,” you say gratefully.

Night starts walking again, and this time you walk next to him. You look at the sun, starting to set now.

“Does that mean you’re going to lead me to the nature trail now?”

“what? hah… hahahah!” He laughs again, “of course not. i will be taking you home with me now,”

“H-huh?” You stand there, still holding onto his cape mindlessly. He comes to you and takes it out of your hands, draping it over your back and clipping it on.

“B… but you said you could show me the way back,”

“it’s true, i do know the way back to the trail. i never promised to take you there,” he explains casually.

“... Oh,” you sounded simply. “But, why are you taking me? Did I do something to upset you?”

“the contrary, actually. you’re such a delight, and it helps that you’re a very pretty thing indeed,” gently, he takes you by the arm. “it’d be such a shame to leave a flustered creature like yourself to wander all alone in a dangerous place. it’s much better if i take you with me, where i can watch you and care for you,”

You blink in astoundment while Night pulled you forward.

“walk with me, (y/n). i can show you that this is better for you. you might even enjoy yourself so much that you’ll never want to leave.”

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mosaika-blue

2 months ago