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The late morning light flitted warmly into the main room of the little old cabin, sending rays of sun down onto the table where the Scrybe of the Beasts sat. quiet, gentle music came from a record player resting in a dark corner on an old shelf that was collecting dust. Tall, thin candles’ flames flickered, illuminating the table further.
Leshy was organizing- cards, teeth, eyes, pliers…
no other noises could be heard apart from the music and occasional rustling of cards being shuffled about. Leshy enjoyed this peacefulness, grateful that none of his neighbors were deciding to pester him at the moment.
Suddenly, a sharp, rusty noise was heard, breaking the blissful spell. The music grinded to a halt and Leshy turned to look, noticing that the record player had ceased to spin. He slowly stood up and walked over to examine the object and identify the problem. He took off the record and carefully put it away before picking up the record player to see what was the matter. There was an audible and unusual shaking sound coming from within as it was lifted into the air, as if something inside it had come loose.
Leshy sighed, putting the record player into a foraging satchel and wearing it over his shoulder. He left the cabin, shutting the door behind him with a small thud, and started his quest to look for someone who could fix the problem for him. He started by wandering around in the woods very near to the cabin, hoping that one of his subordinates would be of service.
The Prospector had mysteriously disappeared, so Leshy went in search of the Angler. He soon found him in his usual spot, fishing in a little pond near to the cabin.
“Angler…” Leshy said rather than a proper greeting, “my record player has broken and it needs to be fixed.”
the Angler turned and shook his head.
“Sorry, Leshy-fish… cant fix… dont know how.”
“i understand.”
Leshy walked away without another word, heading in the direction of the Trapper’s hunting grounds.
The trees soon cleared, revealing a grassy, sunlit grove. The Trapper was hunched down near a rabbit hole, setting up a trap. He turned and stood as Leshy approached, surprised to see him in this neck of the woods.
“Oh! Leshy! Wasnt expecting to see you ‘ere… is there trouble?”
“you could say that.”
Leshy took the record player out of the bag, which had now become even more beat up since he had been walking around with it for so long.
The Trapper took a look and sighed.
“Sorry… i dont think i can work on it.”
“hm.” Leshy narrowed his eyes and put it back in the bag, walking away in a sour mood.
he continued to walk deeper and deeper into the forest, not bothering to ask the other scrybes for assistance. None of them would want to help, especially not his ex. The two of them hadnt interacted in a long while, not since the incident, but Leshy had heard rumors that P03 had recently remarried a frighteningly handsome young man from a distant and mysterious land. He could admit he was happy for him, even though he still hated him.
He continued to walk on and on for hours until the sun, still high in the sky, started dipping towards the west. The trees began to grow taller and change, the sounds of the forest growing louder and less familiar, the grass becoming softer and lighter in color. Leshy soon realized that he no longer knew where he was. He looked around with a furrowed brow, searching for anything even remotely familiar. Seeing nothing, he continued on in the direction he assumed he had come from.
The unknown woods only grew thicker as the sun continued its trek across the sky, and the Scrybe began to grow mildly concerned. He was about to sit down and take a rest on a large, mossy boulder when the sound of an axe chopping wood was heard not too far off in the distance. Following the harsh noise in the hopes that he could ask whoever was wielding the axe some directions, Leshy soon stumbled upon a small clearing where the trees were much younger and shorter than the rest.
Little stumps sprinkled the grass, a pile of logs resting by the trunk of a larger tree at the edge of the clearing. The person who had committed this carnage stood in the very center of the area, chopping up logs into smaller pieces so they would be easier to carry.
Leshy, from behind the safety of a large bush, observed the creature with curiosity. It was a little man, much shorter than him, who appeared to be made completely out of wood. His head floated a few inches above his shoulders with no neck to connect them. He was whistling a familiar but nameless tune, seemingly unaware that he was being watched.
Leshy continued to watch for a few moments longer, puzzled by the entire situation. He had observed and captured the images of numerous strange creatures in his lifetime, but he had never before seen anything like this.
The stranger put his axe down and stared straight into Leshy’s direction with his dark, hollow eyes.
“Do you have anything to say,” he started in a calm but slightly annoyed voice, “or are you just gonna keep creepily staring at me?”
deciding that the little man wasnt much of a threat, Leshy emerged from hiding and stepped into the light.
The stranger walked towards him and looked up into his orange eyes, his hands on his hips.
“Well? I dont have all day, you know.”
“i… im looking for someone to repair my record player.” he opened the bag and pulled out the even more broken object, the sunlight illuminating its damage.
The stranger took the record player out of Leshy’s large and menacing hands and started walking off into the forest, resuming his whistle.
Leshy was so shocked by this that he stayed behind instead of trying to take his item back.
The stranger stopped just before the tree line and turned his head all the way around to look back.
“Follow me. I think this record player might possibly still be salvageable.”
Leshy nodded and slowly followed, the two of them wandering through the tall, mossy trees.
“Im the Wood Man, by the way. What do they call you?”
“Leshy.”
“hm… sounds… vaguely familiar, somehow.”
“i am… fairly well known where i come from.”
Wood Man nodded, picking up the pace slightly as the sun started to set. The forest ended, giving way to a massive valley. Snow topped the surrounding mountains, and the sound of a waterfall could be heard in the distance.
Leshy slowed and stopped as he noticed a pile of debris that looked as though it may have once been a house.
“What is this?” he asked.
“Oh, that.” Wood Man walked over to Leshy’s side. “A little girl and her mother used to live there, but then the house got stepped on by a giant.” he stood in silence for a second before turning and continuing to walk, not waiting for Leshy to ask more questions. “Come on, we’re almost there. I wanna get back before the trolls come out.”
Leshy was slightly frustrated by the fact that there seemed to be so many more unknown creatures in his forest, despite the fact that he had lived there for decades and had previously assumed he’d seen it all.
As twilight fell, the Wood Man led Leshy to a very interesting looking house built near a tree. Golden-orangey light came from the many windows, giving the surroundings a welcoming glow.
The Wood Man opened the door to his home and stepped inside, turning around to welcome his guest in.
“wait are you waiting for? Come on in.”
Leshy crouched down and squeezed through the little doorway, standing back up once he was inside as the ceiling was just high enough to accompany his 7 ft tall frame. He took a seat on a stool by the roaring fire in the living room, trying to act as polite as he was capable of.
The Wood Man set the record player down on a table and disappeared into the kitchen, soon returning with two mugs that appeared to be filled with warm mud and twigs.
“Would you like any tea?”
“no, thank you.”
“more for me, then. How about mushroom soup? Ive got a pot going in the kitchen and its almost done.”
Leshy nodded. That was his favorite soup.
Soon his new friend returned with a pair of warm, steaming bowls of soup, and the two sat quietly together in front of the fire while enjoying the meal.
As Leshy spent more and more time with the Wood Man, he started to come to a startling realization. Normally, in this sort of situation, he would have tried to find a way out of it as soon as possible, but something about the little forest spirit made him feel a strange, fuzzy sort of warmth inside- the kind of feeling he hadnt experienced since long before the divorce. He looked down at his companion as he sipped his bowl of soup, more and more thoughts flooding his head.
Could he really let himself fall in love again? The wounds from his relationship with P03 were still fresh, the pain still far too great. He feared that if he moved on too soon, he would run the risk of causing and/or experiencing even more pain, and we wasnt quite sure that he could truly handle any more of that.
Wood Man put his now empty bowl down onto the coffee table and stood up.
“Now to take a look at that record player…” he took a screwdriver out of a nearby drawer and went to work, Leshy observing silently as his record player slowly came back to life. “There,” Wood Man said after a while, putting the screwdriver back in its drawer. “Lets see if it works. What kind of music do you listen to?”
“hmm…” Leshy thought for a moment. “Nature sounds, birdsong, flute and other things that are similar.”
“im not sure if i have any records like that, but,” he went over to a shelf and pulled one out, “i want to see what you’ll think of this. It reminds me of you.”
the way he said the last sentence made Leshy’s heart rate increase. Was he simply being a friendly host? Or was he hinting at something more?
The record was placed down on the player and it began to spin, and soon the gentle, warm, summery sounds of a guitar floated from the now repaired box.
Wood Man pulled up a stool, settling down very close to Leshy’s side.
“This seat taken?” he asked with a chuckle.
Leshy shook his head, focusing deeply on the music.
“I find this one somewhat relatable, in a way,” Wood Man said simply with a shrug.
“Hmmm…”
a voice was soon audible, accompanying the guitar in the song.
“I dont wanna be your friend… i just want to be your lover… no matter how it ends, no matter how it starts…”
“e-emphasis on the ‘somewhat’” Wood Man stammered, his chill facade slipping for only a moment before being reinstated.
“I… i understand, i think,” Leshy whispered slowly as the song advanced, the warm, fluttery feeling continuing to grow in his stomach.
At this point, neither of them really had anything to say.
Leshy was lost in his thoughts, wondering if his friend had feelings for him as well. They were sitting so close together that Leshy felt the Wood Man’s shoulder brush against his arm, making his suspicions grow even more. He had only met him earlier that day, but he had gotten the impression that he was not usually a very touchy person. Something more was almost certainly going on here.
The song on the record ended, breaking the odd spell.
Leshy immediately stood up, almost sharply.
“I should go,” he said, almost nervous.
“It is getting late.” the Wood Man removed the record and placed it back in its sleeve on the shelf where it was before, making sure that everything was in its right place.
Leshy reached for the record player to place it back in his bag but he was interrupted.
“Ypu might want to carry it with your hands this time, you know. Just so it doesnt get broken again on the way back."
Leshy nodded and picked it up, walking over towards the door.
“Well,” Wood Man remarked before his guest departed, “i can say with certainty that i had a very not terrible time with you. I would not be opposed to doing this again sometime.”
“that sounds acc… good. That sounds good.”
the two shook hands, holding it for an interestingly long time before finally letting go.
Leshy walked through the front door and left without turning around. He had a lot of things he needed to think about.