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Scott didn't get a lot of people wandering through his woods.
At a certain point, the rumors of the charismatic, soul-stealing fae that lurked in the forest had spread too wide and even new travelers avoided him. In Scott's opinion, it had made things terribly boring. He would give anything for a little conversation. Just a sweet little nibble of a soul, or a name or two. Something more than tending to the same rebellious shrub for a decade on end.
Scott had been wandering through his domain, making sure nobody had left any iron. People still did that on occasion, since nobody had been around to tell the tale of what happened the last time someone tested his patience like that. But leaving survivors really was annoying. Oh well. He had been wondering if he should go cut his hedges into even cooler shapes when he felt it. Someone had crossed the threshold of his forest. There was a human.
Okay. Now was not the time to lose his head. Scott had to remain calm. To handle this like he always did, with perfect poise. He walked calmly through the woods, since the human didn't seem to want to leave yet.
Finally, after stalking the woods and giggling to himself, he did his usual entrance. The trees parted. The sky seemed to vanish overhead. And Scott stepped into view.
The human seemed completely unafraid, though perhaps a more accurate way to describe him was oblivious. He had on his head the stupidest headband Scott had ever seen, which matched his equally stupid crocs. The human looked up, then at Scott. "Um. Hi."
"Hello," Scott let one of the trees pull back a little to let a beam of moonlight shine down on him. Theatrics was more than half the battle. "It has been a while since we have received any travelers. What brings you to my woods?"
The human's face lit up. "Oh! Wow. You look nice."
Scott would say the same, but he was literally incapable of lying. "I exist only to be beheld by eyes as brilliant and perfect as yours." There. Perfect.
"Thank you," The human went a little pink. "Do you… live here?"
"You could say that," Scott extended a hand. "You can call me Scott. And what might I call you in return?"
And without hesitation, the human replied: "My name is Martyn Frederick Littlewood, I'm 33 and turning 34 in August. I live at-"
"Okay, whoa." Scott felt the force of a True Name hit him like a falling tree. Martyn had just voluntarily signed his soul away to Scott for literally no reason. They hadn't even made a deal yet! What was he thinking? Scott had been preparing himself to slowly, sweetly, pry the human's secrets from their lips, but this wasn't a fight at all!
"I didn't even say why I was here yet," Martyn said. Scott raised an eyebrow. It didn't matter, but he really did want to talk to someone and if that meant holding off on munching on a soul, then it was worth it. Besides, he could feel Martyn's soul, and it tasted how his outfit looked. "I want you to steal some souls. There's this guy, Grian Xelqua Moon, I was hoping you could take his since he's been heckling all my LARP sessions." He looked up at Scott expectantly. Scott had felt the power of a True Name, but it zipped past his mind. Martyn had tried to give him someone else's name.
"And you thought that giving me your full government name would accomplish what, exactly?"
Martyn's face shifted to a more quizzical expression. "Don't you need that to work your magic?"
"Yes. But now I have your name, and don't need to bargain with you in any capacity," Scott said slowly.
There was a long pause that rang throughout the woods. A pixie giggled audibly. "Oh," Martyn said. "Can you still take Grian's soul though? I did give you his name."
"Yeah," Scott said. "But I can't remember that. It just sort of escapes me no matter what."
"Then how did you get my name?" Martyn asked.
"Because you gave it directly to me. I can only get someone's name if they tell me with intention. And you did do that."
Martyn looked like he wanted to melt into mulch. "Did you not know this?" Scott laughed. "If I could just steal souls by hearing about someone, I would just get myself a phone book."
Martyn dug around in his bag and pulled out a fork. "Hah! Iron! Try to take my name now!"
Scott politely poked the tip. "That's silver, dearie."
"Is this what I get for not reading up on fae before coming here?" Martyn asked, and yeah, that explained a lot.
"Yeah, I'm probably going to steal your soul right about now," Scott replied cheerfully.
"Are you sure you don't want to go take the souls of a few people? I promise it won't take too long, they're all oversharers."
Scott thought about it. This human was offering to give him more conversation, and more food. It had been so long since he had dined on fresh souls. Besides, Martyn's essence tasted nasty. So a deal it was. Scott took in a breath and launched into the usual spiel. "Do you, Martyn Frederick Littlewood, promise to bring me five souls before the full moon's end?"
Martyn stumbled from the force of his True Name, and the feeling of a deal's shackles locking in place. "And if I don't follow through?"
"Then I will come to collect what I am owed," Scott's smile was more teeth than merriment now.
Martyn gulped. "Deal."
Scott snapped his fingers. "This conversation is over. Feel free to leave these woods, since I would not recommend wandering in further."
"Why, are there horrors beyond my comprehension?"
"Yes." Namely, the state of Scott's rose garden after the massive fit he had thrown the other day. He was a little embarrassed about that. "Well, off you go."
Martyn practically sprinted out of the woods, and Scott couldn't help but laugh after him. He really had missed talking to humans.