AN: This work is also posted on archiveofourown, with my account CutestDragonRider. I'm working on a couple single chapter stories right now as well, but hopefully if this gets good feedback I'll finish the next chapter before I'm back at school. This is a story that's placed in an AU where Wally is a forest guardian and Conner is an ordinary police officer trying to figure the former out. May be important to note I'm the only editor for the story really so if there are mistakes, oopsies on me. Hope you enjoy!
The morning fog was finally clearing as they trudged through the forest, trying to minimize how loud their feet sounded against the moist forest floor. Martinez, his fellow officer, was having a grand time doing her monthly hunting, which she had forcefully dragged Conner to attend. For once, Conner hadn't needed much to persuade him to accompany her, even though he detested hunting. Especially since if Martinez shot anything large like a deer Conner would have to help her drag the carcass onto her truck and try to ignore the smell of blood from the bullet wound. Thankfully today the forest was quiet, since many woodland animals were probably trying to stay dry and avoid the rain out in the fields. Martinez grew up hunting though, and could see glimpses of bushes rustling, and then a russet orange creature scurried out, and Martinez realized after a moment it was a rabbit. Conner opened his mouth to speak, but Martinez caught him as she moved away to grab a smaller gun. She placed a finger to her lips and quietly shushed Conner, not wanting to lose what she had spotted.
Not very common, orange rabbits, but she hadn't seen anything for the couple hours they'd already been hunting, so she took aim at the rabbit, trying to be precise despite the fog. Martinez was rewarded with a cry from the creature, which hurried to hop away, it's hind leg injured but surprisingly still able to move, considering a single bullet would be a lot for such a small critter. The rabbit hopped fast, and Martinez lost track of it in the fog, and after a moment of searching a different sound was heard; a man groaning in pain. Conner looked at Martinez and wanted to ask if she was sure that was a rabbit she had shot, but he just told her to stay put while he investigated the noise.
Sure enough, the groans lead to a man that was sat against a pine tree, clutching at a bullet wound in his left calf. Conner paused a moment to wonder what this odd man was wearing. His clothes all looked to be woolen, with a style that reminded the officer of english clothes from the late 1800s. With fine leather shoes, a newsboy cap, and a tweed coat, among many other bits that all put together in an outfit seemed like something out of an old BBC show, this injured man was out of the ordinary for sure. However, he was still injured, and the matter of his clothes wasn't very important at all at the moment. Naturally, he started to talk soothingly to the man and move to his aid, doing as he would normally do with any injured citizen. The injured man seemed to not understand Conner's kind intentions, or simply didn't want the help, as he tried to scoot away. The bullet wound proved to be too much for the man, however, and stilled, looking at Conner as if this strange man was a rabbit. Wounded, afraid, and itching to escape.
This was a sign to Conner that he would need to do more than say general soothing words. Crouching down so he was on one knee and eye level with the injured man, Conner spoke gently, "I'm only here to help you. Look at me," he raised his hands, "no gun. I do have a pocket medikit though," which he slowly pulled out of his back pocket, showing to the man that he was there to help. "Now we'll have to take you to a hospital-"
The odd man decided this was the moment he wanted to speak. "No! I mean...I would rather not...m-my mum's a nurse, she can patch me up when I get home, I just need something for the pain and for the damned bleeding to stop."
Conner raised one eyebrow in a questioning expression, and started, "Sir, it's part of my job to guarantee your safety."
"I understand that, but I really don't think it's necessary. Please just-" he paused, grimacing at a sudden pulse of pain, "fix my bloody leg."
The officer nodded, knowing he should work quickly as there was blood seeping into the man's pants and onto the forest floor. That didn't dissuade him from conversation however, knowing talking can help reduce the shock and stress of the injury. "So, my name's Conner, been an officer for about three years now. Never seen you around. Where do you live?"
Not looking too keen to respond, and still suffering from some pain, the man spoke softly, "outside of town, just at the edge of the woods."
"Is it in Dentwood Creek? I've got some friends who live there, nice place," Conner responded, keeping a calm even tone, then pulled out a small lollipop-like stick from his medikit. He pulled off a cap before holding it out for the man to take. "Here, it's a fentanyl lollipop. For the pain."
"About time, I thought I might faint if I sat here for much longer," the man replied, clearly distressed, and twirled the pop in his mouth. "How long will it take to kick in?"
"Should take a couple minutes to start feeling the effect if you swirl it a lot. Helps the medicine coat your tongue faster. Anyways, since I've given you my name, think it'd be fair for me to know yours?"
"Oh, right, my apologies. I'm Wallace...well, Wally really. Wallace was what my father called me." At the mention of his father the other man seemed to gain a bit of a sour look on his face. Conner decided to move onto something else from that.
"What were you doing out in the woods all alone anyways? It's pretty cold out today and with the fog it's a bit miserable don't you think?
The injured man smiled for the first time, taking the lollipop out for a moment to talk. "I actually quite like this weather, I think it's brilliant. How the fog creates dew drops everywhere and creates a mist as you walk. Sure it's cold but it's brilliant regardless."
The officer noticed the joy that the subject brought to Wally and smiled as well. "I suppose you're right. I don't normally stop to admire nature, being a busybody police officer and all."
"That's why you've got a little medikit on you then? I feel most people don't carry those sort of things around without a sense of habit."
Conner chuckled a bit at the realization, since he had never realized he did equip himself with plenty of supplies no average civilian would think of. "I've never thought about that. Anyways, as I was asking before, what were you doing in the forest? It's not really open for the public."
The ginger seemed to want to avoid the question and shrugged, simply stating "I like going for walks through wooded areas and it's the closest to my house. There aren't any warnings against entering so I figured it'd be fine."
"Fair enough" Conner said, hiding his suspicion from his voice. It was common knowledge for civilians in the area that the forest was restricted unless they had a permit to enter. There were occasional signs around to ward off anyone who was unaware, but it was possible the man had seen none. Due to the lack of fencing, it is possible Wally thought the forest was unrestricted. Not that many people would walk into a forest full of dangerous animals anyways.
Then Conner started thinking as he worked how much this situation was truly peculiar. The injured man was acting more like he had gotten a gash rather than a bullet wound, obviously suffering from pain but not severely. Sure, it seemed to be that the man was lucky, nothing serious being hit from the bullet (that was thankfully on the smaller side). Martinez had the sense to not waste buckshot on what she had presumed to be a rabbit. But how could his partner, one who he knew to have particularly stunning eyesight, have mistaken a man for a rabbit? There were details that didn't fit together to explain this accident, and he decided to simply focus on patching up the man's leg as best he could.
"There, that should do it until you can get some proper treatment. How's the pain?"
Wally, who had been admiring the clovers nearby, focused back on Conner and answered, "not much right now and if I move-" the ginger tested his leg, wiggling his foot before adding, "the rest is much better than before." The pain of the action was still evident on the man's face, but it seemed bearable.
The officer packed his medkit back into his pocket and stood, asking another question, "can you stand and walk back home?"
"I think I'll be able to manage," Wally replied, using the pine tree he had been sitting against to stand up. He had to limp heavily but the man walked fine otherwise, and quickly seemed to have the hang of the situation. Conner was surprised to say the least.
Before the officer could ask any more questions, Martinez, who Conner had practically forgotten about, called for him from the truck. "Stay here, I'll be right back." Hastily making his way back to the truck, Conner prepared himself to tell Martinez she had shot a civilian rather than a rabbit, but just as he got to her both officers turned to the sound of running from where Wally was. Now rushing back to see what had happened, the officers looked at where an injured man had once stood, and simply saw a four leaf clover placed on the ground. There was no sign of where the man had gone, just where he had been, with his blood still staining the forest floor.
"How could I have shot a man and mistaken him for a rabbit?"
Martinez's question and disbelief hung in the fog, resting in Conner's mind for the next couple days, the clover safely put in his breast pocket.