Ivan took his side of the two-man saw, just as he always did. He faced his work partner – as irritated as doing so made him feel – and carried the tool towards a thick trunk. It was the same as any other day.
"We don't get paid enough for this," Alfred muttered, looking incredibly morose at the prospect of work.
"Not enough is better than nothing," Ivan retorted softly. They were not the only ones sawing in the area here; other groups and pairs had set off to begin clearing in different places. More than half of this forest was to go.
Ivan didn't particularly think it was very wise to be going about and causing deforestation like this, but he was paid for his work as a lumberjack, and the money was quite needed. He was smart, and he could have gotten degrees in science or music. Alas, he had been too poor to attend a university, and he still was. This job was the best he was going to get with his physical skillset. As he and Alfred got to work on sawing the hulk of wood in front of them, Ivan's stomach rumbled.
"Dude, wanna break for lunch?" Alfred chirped, although he didn't wait for an answer; he scampered off, abandoning the saw. Ivan let out a soft sigh. Alfred was quite precocious, but he was also erratic and hyperactive. As he went to follow after him, he heard soft whimpering.
"Hello?" he called quietly, walking towards the origin of the sound. "Is someone there?" After walking a dozen steps forward, Ivan's eyes fell upon a meek man, face sheltered with a thick brown hood. "Excuse me, sir, is everything alright?" he asked softly, crouching. Now that their faces were closer, he could see that the man was crying. "Sir?"
"Get away from me," the man snarled harshly, throwing his hands forward and fiercely scratching Ivan's arm with too-sharp fingernails. "You're disgusting."
"What?" Ivan gasped, taking a sharp step backward and holding where the man had scratched him. "What was that for?!" There was a moment of pause, and then the man looked up, a hint of craze in his morose amber eyes.
"Murderer!" the man cried, getting up from where he was sitting and grabbing the material of Ivan's shirt. "I can smell the blood all over you! Murderer!"
"I couldn't hurt a fly!" he whimpered, frightened by the stranger's actions.
"Then why have you murdered so many! Killer!" the man shouted, aggressively pushing Ivan and slamming him into a tree trunk. "Disgusting!"
"I am not a killer!" Ivan yelped, helpless as he was forced up against the trunk. "Please, there's no need to attack me like this!" Slowly, the stranger released him, and simply stood in front of him.
"You're a killer," he muttered. "The trees are crying for their fallen, they're crying because of you," he spat, gritting his serrated teeth.
"The trees?" he mumbled. "O-oh, I-.. I'm just doing my job!" Ivan huffed, taking a lame step back.
"Your.. job?" the man tilted his head, and as he did so, strands of long copper hair became visible out from under the hood. "What kind of job involves murdering innocents and dividing families?"
"I assure you, I'm doing no such thing," Ivan huffed quietly. "Please, sir, calm down."
"Why would you work as a tree-cutter?" the stranger growled, although his temper had been soothed a fair bit.
"I don't do it because I enjoy it," he stated. "I only do it because I need the money. Now, who are you?"
The man stepped forward and sniffed about Ivan, crinkling his nose every now and then as he smelled something unsavoury. "Hm.. You don't smell foul like the others.. I deem you a worthy voice," the man nodded, and removed his hood. Ivan's jaw dropped, and he took a little step back. Prong-like horns jutted out from the man's head, and green pointed ears protruded from where normal human ones would have been. "My name is Yao."
"W-what-" Ivan stammered, pointing to the ears and horns in shock. Now that he could see it, Yao's hair was revealed to be long and braided at the back, with flowers decorating it here and there. Yao seemed not to notice Ivan's discomfiture, and simply licked his fingers.
"Your blood is surprisingly pure," he gasped, and his ears flickered. Fretting, Ivan looked down to his arm, and where Yao had scratched him before were three thick gashes, almost as if a lion had clawed at him. He was bleeding, yes, but not very profusely. "May I have some more?"
"What are you," Ivan whimpered, staggering back and covering his arm. "Are you human?"
"Please," Yao whined, taking steps towards him and looking up at him with innocent eyes. "C'mon, it's been so long since I've had pure human blood to taste."
"Please leave me alone!" Ivan cried, pushing himself up against the same trunk he had just been thrown against.
"Usually it's just yucky animal blood," he cringed, and licked hungrily at his fingers, trying to get whatever was left of Ivan's blood off and onto his tongue. "Please!"
"Answer my questions!" demanded Ivan, although his cowardice shone through his false bravery. "What are you?!"
"Oh," laughed Yao, pressing himself up against Ivan. "I am a forest spirit. The guardian of this particular area. And you are to be my voice."
"Your voice?" he stammered, turning his head when Yao leant in towards his neck. "You have a voice, you're talking now!"
"If any other human walked by us right now, they would only see or hear you," Yao explained quietly, dragging his coarse tongue up the side of Ivan's throat. "Not many can see my kind anymore. Now, your blood, please."
"P-please get off of me," Ivan whimpered, not sure whether to laugh or cry. "You're making me very uncomfortable."
"Aw," Yao sighed, stepping back and simply putting a hand to Ivan's chest. "Being my voice means that you're to carry on my messages and will to the humans. You're a murderer, like they are, so perhaps they will listen to you."
"Please stop calling me a murderer," he sighed weakly. "You don't realise how weird asking someone else for their blood is?" he mumbled, cringing. "If I do this voice thing or whatever it is, will you stop bothering me?"
"Oh, heavens no." Yao mused. "You don't have a choice in this, and I'll bother you either way, you disgusting murderer," he laughed. "Blood please."
Slowly, fearfully, Ivan lifted his bloodied arm, and Yao grabbed it, before promptly dragging him away. As much as Ivan tried to resist, Yao was incredibly strong for his size and could drag Ivan away with ease. When Ivan finally stopped being dragged, he was plopped in a grassy cleft and ushered to sit down. "Here," sighed Yao. "It doesn't smell like death as much here." He sat down, picked up Ivan's arm, and waited for some kind of signal.
Ivan, incredibly nervous and frightful, simply glanced down to Yao, the forest spirit, the hermit, whatever he really was. He wondered when he'd wake up from this ludicrous dream. Yao took this as his signal, and began to hungrily lick at Ivan's wounds, getting red smears to either side of his mouth. He finished his cleaning, drinking, whatever it was, and sat back up properly, licking his lips. "You humans, oh boy," he chirped.
"Okay," mumbled Ivan, glaring down at his arm and biting his lip. "That was weird and slightly terrifying."
"It was tasty!" Yao exclaimed, leaning forward childishly and grinning. Now that he was on his knees, Ivan noticed a swishing whip-like tail behind Yao, and he almost jumped. He then remembered that this was obviously most definitely a dream, so he dismissed it as his mind's creation. "Oh, you're like a buffet of deliciousness," he cried, tail lashing back and forth excitedly. "I'm very glad you're the one who's going to be my voice!"
"Okay.." he said quietly, trying to act calmly until he awoke. Which he surely would. This was a dream. "Uhm, I should probably go back to the others. They'd worry if I'm away."
"Oh!" Yao gasped, sitting back down. With his sharp fingernails, he sliced a clump of grass, and handed the tips over to Ivan. "Here you go. Follow the scent of this back here when you return to me tomorrow!"
Ivan, terribly confused, took the grass and sniffed it for good measure. It smelled odd, a little like milk and honey. "Uh, alright." He murmured, standing up. Fortunately, Yao did not stand as well, simply remained sitting there in the sweet-smelling grass, grinning up at Ivan with bloodstained lips.
"I'll see you then," Yao purred, flicking his tail back and forth even faster, giving the impression of being happy or pleased.
Confused and addled, Ivan stood and began to walk off back in the direction of the other lumberjacks. He paused in his tread and turned, only to catch a glimpse of Yao purring and rolling around in the grass like a feline would around a patch of catnip. This had to be one of the weirdest dreams he had ever experienced. For now, he stowed the grass away in one of his pockets, and trundled back.
"Dude, where'd you go?" gasped Alfred as he caught sight of Ivan, hurrying up to his workmate and huffing. "You like disappeared! And what happened to your arm, oh my god-"
Ivan, under the assumption that this was in fact a dream, grabbed Alfred's face in his hand, and brashly shoved him away. Oh, boy, he wished he could've been doing that in real life. "I am going home," he stated in a huff, before charging out of the forestry and doing just as he had said.
When he awoke the next morning to the smell of honey and milk, Ivan blinked his eyes open, only to find that the grass from his breast pocket had fallen out and landed near his face. Oh, fucking shit. That was not a dream.
hello new fic
ok so i kind of lost all muse for i cant imagine life without you and im sorry
but like i have LOTS OF INSPIRATION for this idea ;))