Work Text:
Well, it was something.
Tommy stepped back from the tree stump he decided to call home, where a tall spruce tree once stood. It was a tight fit, but he could just about hollow out the inside for a place to sleep, and the thick roots made it easy to hide the entrance. It was fine. Great, actually! He liked his walls to be slowly rotting. Mhm!
It was almost like his old home that he tucked in the hill side, far, far, away, but nothing could beat his old handiwork. Not when he didn’t constantly look over his shoulder. When he actually befriended some humans before they ultimately betrayed him, over and over. He couldn’t think about that now. He had a job to do. Even if that job was self appointed.
He needed to make the rounds through the forest today. While remote, he did recall seeing settlements nearby, and he needed to be ready at a moment's notice. Get a lay of the land. It was weird to him, not knowing the ground underneath him like the back of his hand. He missed it.
So with the rising sun and morning dew, Tommy left.
-
Late afternoon sunbeams filtered through the trees when he saw him. A short, dirty blonde bat hybrid wearing a red sweater waltzing through his woods. The nerve! He wasn’t even being remotely sneaky, holding out a camera and talking quietly to himself. Who talks to themself? Not Tommy, that’s for sure.
He ignored the fact that he used to do the same thing, back home. But that was totally different, and that wasn’t his home now. No time for vlogs.
Tommy whispered to the trees, and let his magic run wild.
-
Grian muttered to himself, frustrated. He was supposed to be at Decked Out 3 hours ago. Somehow, he managed to lose sight of the trail and now he was lost. Thoroughly, utterly, lost. It was like the forest was working against him. Sometimes, he thought he heard laughing ringing all around him. The forest was laughing at him! Maybe he was going crazy.
He pointed the camera at himself after trudging through a bush. “This is actually mental. I go off the trail for some sweet berries once, and you get lost for hours!” Grian sighed.
The longer he walked, the thicker the foliage got. Treetops seemed to close in, the old spruce looming ominously. He probably couldn’t fly out of this now even if he wanted to. The whole point of the early world tour was to simulate the experience of a new world, and that included limiting his flight. (Most people did not have wings, after all.) Now he wished he ditched that rule as soon as he lost the trail.
Woosh!
More laughter rang through the forest. This was getting ridiculous.
“Hello?” He called. “Hellloooooo?”
“Anyone there? Help?”
-
Tommy couldn’t help but laugh as he followed the poor sap he trapped in the woods, flying from tree to tree as needed. Man did he look ridiculous now, dirt and rips covering his fancy red sweater.
He could tell the bat was starting to get desperate, calling for help after hours of stoic silence (and the occasional comment for the camera. Couldn’t fault the guy for wanting a good vlog.) Now was his chance!
The fae flew down behind the man and tapped his shoulder.
“Aeasphguf!” He yelped. Tommy laughed. “You called for help?” He tilted his head innocently, wings folded down.
The bat took a moment to brush himself off, taking a step back. “I did. I happen to be lost, as you might be able to tell.”
“Oh, why yes of course!” Tommy nodded. “Would you be able to give me your name, kind sir?”
The other narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Well, I don’t give my name to strangers, but you can call me G.” Tommy gaped at him. That trick always worked!
“What do you mean you won’t give me your name? I wasn’t going to do anything bad with it,” He bemoaned. G quirked his eyebrow. “What do you mean you weren’t going to do anything bad with it?” G looked him up and down. “You don’t look like a hermit… What are you, some kind of forest creature?”
“I’m a fae! Not some forest creature-” Tommy quickly cut himself off with a hand over his mouth.
“Oh. OH.” G started maniacly laughing. “I don’t suppose you have anything to do with my current predicament then, huh? Huh?”
“Well- I-” Tommy stuttered, before remembering he was better than that. “Yeah! I am! What are you doing in my woods!”
“Your woods? These aren’t your woods! You have no claim to this land!” G said incredulously.
“I live here!” Oh no, it was happening again. He was getting kicked out and he would have to go on the run, again. But G said something that surprised him.
“Fine, your woods, whatever,” he grumbled. “I was just passing through. Would’ve been out of your knotted hair if you didn’t mess with me.”
“My hair is not knotted!”
“It so is!”
“Whatever. So I get in trouble for protecting my territory!?” Tommy asked.
“What? Protect it?” The bat put on the most confused expression the fae had ever seen.
“Yeah, from people like you,” He sneered, wings flaring.
G put his hands up. “Listen, listen, you seem young-” I’m not young! “-so I’m not going to hold it against you. What’s your name kid?”
“Tommy-” Why did I answer that?????
“Right, Tommy, pleasure to meet you, I’m Grian, no you cannot have my name but you can call me that. You seem nice, I won’t hurt you, can you please get me out of here?” He sounded weirdly exasperated.
“M not a kid,” he mumbled.
“What was that?”
“I’m not a kid!”
“Sure, sure, you are big and strong and scary.” Tommy’s wings fluttered at the complement. Grian rolled his eyes.
“Fine, I’ll walk you out, since you’re being so nice.”
“Thank you.”
-
Tommy had expected the walk to be quiet, but Grian kept making small talk, asking him all sorts of questions. It was getting annoying.
“How’d you even end up on Hermitcraft?” He asked him.
My best friend exiled me and there was no way I was going to hang out with a teletubby all day. “Nunya business.”
“Okayy, something easier then. Favorite colour?”
“Red.”
“How old are you?”
“Rude!”
“I was just curious! You seem… inexperienced at the whole fae thing.”
“No I’m not! I’m the best fae that ever faed!”
“Right… okay…”
Tommy kicked a rock. So what if he ran away from home before his father had the chance to teach him? He didn’t need to be taught! He was a natural, free spirit!
Finally, he could see the tree line, the light at the end of this awful conversation. Tommy grabbed Grian’s wrist and started running, stopping at the edge of the forest.
“Oh, would you look at that, you’re free!” Tommy rushed. Grian rolled his eyes, gasping for breath and tugging out of the fae’s grip.
“Thanks for that.” Sarcasm laced the bat’s tone.
“You are very, very welcome,” Tommy bowed dramatically.
Grian turned on his heel and began walking away. “I’ll be on my way then!” He called.
Despite wanting this, Tommy couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment. No matter. He would go find some bunnies to play with or something.