↳ forest

　　　↳ ᴇɴᴅ ꜱᴇᴀꜱᴏɴ ᴏɴᴇ. ↰

@♬　Rook () changed it just slightly because I didn’t like how it flowed-

Youngmi’s fingers dug into his knees through his jeans, adding more to his ability to keep shedding tears. He’d never experienced grief in heaven. Until he was sent to earth, and became more aware of the emotions he was allowed to feel. He’d never been judged harshly for crying, and it lead to an ability to feel safe doing it when he needed to. The statement that came as a question caught him off guard. He blinked up at Rook, pausing a moment. Maybe it was the fruit making him hesitate. But he loved affection, and always wanted it to be meaningful. Kisses though - he reserved his lips for his lover, whenever he found them. Whoever it ended being one day, he wanted to proudly declare to them that they had been the first one to kiss him, even if Youngmi himself had kissed someone before. He shook his head a little, pulling his face back. He was worried about upsetting the fae by saying no, but gestures like it meant so much to him. And that thought made him cry more, and just when he’s gathered his breath to calm himself, a fresh wave of tears joined the ones that hadn’t been brushed from his cheeks. The ever comfort seeking angel did, however, shift himself forward, wriggling to plant himself quite firmly against the fae’s chest. He wouldn’t kiss Rook, but he’d seek comfort in the trickster until he had calmed down.

[post deleted by owner]

@✠　Lee Youngmi Rook did not laugh when Youngmi began to cry. Instead he concentrated on the angel, watching in fascination as his eyes went glassy before the tears began to spill. The sounds touched a place within Rook that he'd forgotten about; he himself hadn't cried since he was a sapling, sent to the summer court against his wishes. He had been ridiculed then and had not shed a single tear since, vowing instead to become so cold that none of the taunts he heard on a daily basis could touch him. It had worked. Now Rook enjoyed seeing others cry, though he envied the ability to be vulnerable like that. Reaching forward, the fae cupped the angel's face in his hands, wiping a tear away with his thumb. "I want to kiss you," he said gently, tone asking for permission. Rook couldn't say why he wanted to kiss the crying angel, and he wouldn't push it if the male said no like he was expecting him to do. It was something about the raw vulnerability of the emotion. It made Rook want to kiss the angel more than he'd ever wanted to kiss anyone.

@♬　Rook The angel’s form relaxed with relief. He had to trust Rook would keep his word this time - but still, he focused on the feeling of betrayal, the horror he’d felt in the moment when he realised that spilling his blood in the circle meant that he couldn’t escape. What if he never saw any of his family in the guard again? What if he could never see his friends again, because of his mistake? He was stupid - very stupid. It didn’t take long for a small, wretched sob to leave the angel’s lips, his eyes filling up and his cheeks covered in tracks of fat wet tears in only a few minutes of concentrating that awful guilt of being so quickly trusting.

@✠　Lee Youngmi Rook nodded, still smiling. "Yes. If you cry for me I'll let you go and tell you how to escape a faerie ring. After all, I'd hate for someone that wasn't me to take advantage of you. You know what we usually do to those who find themselves in our rings? We take them to court and make them dance until their feet bleed, sometimes until they die. If it's another fae we'll tie red hot shoes to their feet and make them dance in those. Some will take the victims to bed and tell them to harm themselves. They always do it, too. Always so eager to please." Rook was not about to let the angel know that iron was deadly to fae. He might tell him how to get out of enchantments, but certain things were better left unsaid to those who didn't already know. "Cry for me, pretty. Then I'll let you go. I've been very kind to you."

@♬　Rook “Fine- I’ll be more patient,” He murmured, nodding slightly. If Rook changed his mind, who knew how long he’d be trapped there, or if he’d even ever escape. The angel startled when the fae suddenly moved close and begged him to cry, his eyes widening at just how close he’d come to see him cry. A thought formed in his mind. “If- if I cry for you, will you let me go? Instead of dancing, will you let me go if I cry?” Crying was something the angel was good at. He broke down if people slammed things down too close to his face. Being shouted at made his eyes grow dewy. If there was one thing Youngmi was good at, it was wailing his heart out when he needed to. And genuinely, being betrayed by a stranger who he’d thought was kind would be enough to do it.

@✠　Lee Youngmi "You'll learn how to escape the circle when I decide to tell you. Be a little more patient or I might change my mind." Rook's gaze changed once Youngmi said he wanted to cry. The fae leaned in closer to the angel, eagerness lighting up his features. "Cry? Please do. I think that would be even better than dancing. Go ahead, beautiful. Cry for me. I've never seen an angel cry. I wonder if it's as beautiful as the statues make it seem." He slid the back of his knuckles against the male's cheek, waiting. "Go on. Cry. I'm awful, horrible. I tricked you into eating something delicious and won't let you escape my ring until you do what I want. Cry. Sob. I want to hear what heartbreak and pain feel like."

@♬　Rook The angel held the fruit in his hand again, unable to resist taking another little nibble at the torn skin before he rested his hands far in front of himself. He was an angel, he wasn’t supposed to give in to temptation, he insisted to himself. He didn’t want more, Rook had tricked him and upset him, and he didn’t want any more of the man’s fruit. But he listened closely to the car’s words and nodded. When he went home, he was going to make a little bag of salt to carry around, just in case. “How about what you said about escaping circles? How do I do that?” He questioned. The request made him curl up more in on himself, and he shook his head briefly. “I don’t want to dance anymore, I ate more fruit, I feel fuzzy again. Bad fuzzy, you tricked me and I want to cry.”

@✠　Lee Youngmi Rook merely kept his green gaze even on Youngmi, making it clear that he would not tell him until he took a bite of the fruit. When he did, the fae smiled again, relaxing and leaning back on the ground with his arms behind him. "You need salt," he told the angel simply. "If you sprinkle salt on the fruit--or any faerie food--before you eat it, then you won't get all loopy like that. The wine too, can have salt added to it so you don't get enchanted by it. There's other tricks to prevent yourself from getting compelled by fae, but I don't know if simple compelling would work on you since you're an angel. You were already so trusting I didn't even have to try." Rook laughed. "Now, pretty thing, why don't you dance for me? If it pleases me I'll go ahead and let you go."

@♬　Rook Youngmi didn’t want to forget why he was upset - in case he fell for more trickery when he felt strange from the fruit’s influence. He took it cautiously and held it in his hand for a long time, looking at it bitterly. “Please just let me go- people will be worried about me, I was just gonna come and take them and go, but you can keep them, I don’t want them anymore,” He insisted, holding it out to Rook again, though he didn’t really want to. After another moment of frustrated hesitation he raised the fruit to his lips and took another small bite, reaching deep inside himself for any kind of resolve he had to prevent himself getting too fuzzy. “Tell me how to eat it safely, please.”

@✠　Lee Youngmi "Smart boy," the pixie mix praised, grinning. "Have another bite of fruit, beautiful. You'll forget why you were so upset to begin with." Rook offered Youngmi the fire fruit again with a quirked brow. "If you have one more bite I'll show you how to eat faerie fruit safely. There /is/ a trick, one I'm surprised you don't know already. Though I doubt you'll ever take anything a fae has offered you after this." Rook placed a hand on Youngmi's lower back, the gesture meant to be calming and reassuring. "Besides, I can't keep you long, can I? Someone else in the guard will come looking for you. Of course, they can't get you out of here--only I can."

@♬　Rook With Rook’s words, the archangel was already on his feet, a hand raised to see if he really was trapped, or if this was really just another trick, and then almost immediately retracted it. He looked towards the fae again - he wanted to cry, he was frustrated and upset that someone would lie and trick him when he’d thought it was just the creature being friendly to him. But he refused to cry in front of Rook, now that he’d been tricked. With his upset shining in his eyes, the angel knew his only option was to hope that the fae would get bored quickly. Angrily, he sank down beside Rook, drawing his knees up to his chest and placing the knife down in the grass. He’d considered trying to threaten or attack the fae - but if he needed to be set free to escape, he couldn’t stab him, or the tricky creature would simply refuse to let him go. “Fine,” The angry angel grumbled after a moment.

@✠　Lee Youngmi The fae laughed, the sound like tinkling bells, far too innocent for what it was. "Oh /angel/, it's like you've never met any fae before. We aren't sweet or nice. Unfortunately you can't leave. Feel free to try, though." Rook gestured to the edge of the ring. "You won't be able to escape. Your only option is to do as I say and hope I get bored and let you leave. Now come here, you'll only waste your energy trying to get out. No one is going to save you except for me, so you better keep being sweet to me." Rook lifted a brow, patting the space next to him. "Sit. Entertain me for a bit, angel. If you're good I'll not only let you leave, I'll tell you a trick to leaving any faerie ring."

@♬　Rook The excitement in the angel’s eyes quickly turned to confusion, and then picked up again to panic as the fae went on. But Rook wouldn’t have tricked him, he’d been so nice - hadn’t he? He looked from his hand to the ground, his breath picking up a little as the wound closed. He clutched the handle of the dark knife hard and shook his head. If only he’d been able to catch his thoughts and try to figure out what was wrong about all of this, he might’ve been able to spare himself. “I don’t want to dance anymore, please let me go, I haven’t to finish my shift. I don’t- I don’t want anymore fruit!” It was a blatant lie and he knew it, the fruit felt so very addicting that even the thought of it made his mouth water. “Let me leave, please, it’s not fun anymore..”

@✠　Lee Youngmi Rook's eyes glowed as the angel's blood spilled onto the forest floor. "Silly little thing," Rook laughed softly. No flower bloomed where the blood had spilled. "You should really learn to question people a bit, especially when they ask for your blood." Rook gently put a finger under Youngmi's chin to lift his face. "You've given me your blood inside of a faerie ring, beautiful. I'm afraid you're mine until I release you. You've also eaten faerie fruit and drank faerie wine. Once you do that, you can't leave. But don't worry--I'm not so cruel. We'll have lots of fun, promise." Rook's smirk stretched across his face as he stood, holding a hand out to the angel. "Let's dance a little longer, angel. Then we'll start having the real fun, mm? I'll give you all the fruit your heart desires."

@♬　Rook He could trust Rook. Even if the dew hadn’t felt right, there could be nothing wrong with flowers, could there? They were innocent and sweet, even if it took blood to get them out of the ground. He was pretty sure, one day he’d seen a nymph in the chatroom talking about plants that needed blood, so it must’ve been one of those. At the sight of the flower, he couldn’t help but grin, his eyes shining with excitement. He wanted to do that, what would a flower from an angel look like? He took the beautiful blade, running it quickly across his palm to minimise the pain he’d be in. He was an angel, he’d heal quickly. He did look towards Rook’s hand however, concern furrowing his brows. “I can fix it, if you want, it might sting.” Nonetheless, he turned his gaze onto the grass excitedly, clutching the blade in forgetfulness to hand it back.

@✠　Lee Youngmi "Of course!" Rook assured. "Like I said, I'm just checking to make sure there's no after effects. Plus dancing is fun, right? It's okay to have a bit of fun before going back to work. Nothing bad is going to happen." The fae grinned and produced a tiny knife from his pocket, the blade a deeper shade of Rook's eye color. "I'll show you the trick then and you can have more fruit then go. Just stay for a moment, it will be grand." The male lifted the small blade to his hand, cutting his palm and letting the blood drip onto the grass. The blades shuddered to make way for a flower that bloomed from the earth. The stem was pink, almost a light red, and the petals were a deep blue that faded to white towards the edges of its many ruffled petals. "Now you try," he said with the same easy smile, offering the knife out. "You can just prick your thumb; it only takes a drop." Rook would not tell the angel the consequences of letting his blood spill in his faerie ring; he'd tell him after, once it was already too late. "Your flower will be even prettier."

@♬　Rook “The fruit tasted quite sweet too, it’s okay, I like sweet things,” He chirped softly. He paused a moment, his racing thoughts getting caught up on the fact that Rook had pretty eyes for far too long before he slowly took the water. It felt weird, like he was getting close to something he knew he should avoid, but he didn’t know why. He liked this. Dancing was really good fun, a pretty mushroom circle with the prettiest flowers had appeared, and if Rook was going to teach him how to grow a flower, nothing could be going wrong, and if he’d even drank from the bladder first, there couldn’t be anything wrong with it. Youngmi tried his best to shake the feeling. He raised the bladder to his lips, taking the tiniest sip he possibly could, because technically he was drinking, right? Slowly, he made to hand it back. “I’ll have more fruit, the fruit is really good, and then I can go and finish my shift, right?” He crossed his legs, so he could look like he was getting comfortable in the circle.

@✠　Lee Youngmi "Hot chocolate is all sugar," Rook gasped, green eyes widening in feign concern. His brows knitted over his eyes as he pulled out a bladder of water from his satchel, offering it to the angel. "The grass is part of nature. Nature isn't dirty. The log might be too hard; the grass is nice and soft. Oh--silly me. This is nothing bad." Rook took a drink from the bladder before offering it out again. "Tired? The dew will help, don't worry. A bit of this and another bite of faerie fruit and you'll feel nice and rested. So rested that you can finish your shift with no problems! Just rest for now. After you take a sip, I'll show you a magic trick. Everyone likes magic tricks, right? I'll show you how to grow a pretty flower."

@♬　Rook Youngmi’s head dipped a little. Rook had been so nice to him, so far, so he couldn’t possibly be rude to the fae, could he? It would just be mean, when he’d fed him and everything. He blinked at the circle. His mind was telling him he should be remembering something - but his thoughts were fluffy still. He couldn’t quite grasp it and lay his hands on it. Circles, circles, he shouldn’t stand in mushroom circles. But it had flowers in it, so it couldn’t be too bad, could it? “I haven’t,” He reported, though he blinked at the fae. “But I had hot chocolate before I left, so I shouldn’t be thirsty,” He began, remaining standing. He startled when the grass stretched and died. “Shouldn’t we sit on the log? We might get dirty,” He murmured doubtfully, but he slowly sank into the grass onto his knees, rubbing his eyes with his fists quickly. There was nothing wrong with this, there was nothing wrong with it, Rook wouldn’t trick him after being so nice to him. He watched the fae’s hands, trying to see the grass’s reaction some more before he make any moves to take them.

@✠　Lee Youngmi "That's right. You're a beautiful, kind angel. You'd never go against kind, beautiful people, right? I could tell from the start." Rook smiled as he continued to spin Youngmi around and around, more and more flowers and mushrooms popping up out of the ground. "Let's take a little rest. You'll get tired," Rook suggested, pulling Youngmi into the center of the ring they'd made. "Have you ever drank the dew of flowers, angel? It's just as sweet as faerie fruit, but doesn't make your head so fuzzy. You want some, right? You might faint if you don't have enough water." Rook sat down. The grass seemed to embrace the fae, stretching towards him before recoiling and wilting; a product of Rook's seelie and unseelie mixed birth. "Hold my hands, beautiful. Don't want you falling down, do we?"

@♬　Rook Hand in hand with Rook, the forest did seem much more dazzling. Youngmi wasn’t one for the woods, he much preferred the city, where everything was controlled, settled, he had a clear view of where he could fly and an easy means to get close to his loved ones quickly. While the forest didn’t provide some of those things, it made up for it in beauty, and he almost stumbled trying to stop and stare at the mushrooms. At Rook’s words though, he gave the creature another soft grin and nodded. “It’s all really beautiful, I never knew the forest could be like this,” He whispered, his eyes shining as they span. It took him a moment to reluctantly nod his agreement to the second part too. One of the best ways to fool the angel was to make it seem like he’d upset someone with opposite decisions. When he was so determined to make things right for everyone - even dazed and floaty, he couldn’t quite lose his grip on wanting to make everything happy. “You are, you’re really beautiful. Just as beautiful as the flowers- um, maybe more!”

@✠　Lee Youngmi "That's it," Rook encouraged in a voice as soft as silk. "Dancing is fun. Everything is more beautiful when you dance." The fae took Youngmi's hand to guide him as they span in circles, small white flowers forming on the ground where Rook walked, as well as pale blue mushrooms with red spots. "Isn't the forest beautiful, Youngmi? Everything is so full of life. The trees are dancing with us, don't you see? You'll make them happier by dancing. And me, too. And you wouldn't want to disappoint me or make me sad, would you Youngmi? I'm one of the most beautiful creatures you've seen, right? You have a very good taste in beauty, don't you?" Even without faerie fruit Rook knew the best way to get people to agree with something was to make it sound like their idea.

@♬　Rook If it was okay to have more because he was feeling good, Youngmi didn’t see a reason to stop. The taste was something he couldn’t get enough of, and the way it faded from his tongue slowly enough for him to savour each small bite was wonderful. He nodded enthusiastically at the fae’s sweet words, though he paused when he was offered a dance. Weren’t you not supposed to dance with the fae? Or was it pixies? He didn’t know, but it couldn’t hurt, could it? He loved to dance when it was with someone else, there was something so special about dancing with people at all of the mayor’s parties. The angel was on his feet before he had time to let his thoughts go deeper, his hand sliding into Rook’s with a grin. He felt a little wobbly on his feet, but it would go away with dancing, wouldn’t it?

@✠　Lee Youngmi "Since you're not having a bad reaction it's okay to have a little more," Rook assured gently, hand sliding to Youngmi's back in a consoling gesture. He watched him take another bite of the fruit with a smile, nodding encouragingly. "That's it. Feels good, right? Like you're floating, not flying. And you're so warm all over. Dancing can help with the tingling sensation though." Rook offered a ring-decorated hand as he stood. "Dance with me, beautiful. It will be the most fun you've ever had and I can promise that. We'll dance and dance and have some more fruit. You'll even hear music if we keep going. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

@♬　Rook Strangely enough, before he knew it, Youngmi couldn’t help but copy the chuckle. Just a little bit, before he was giggling to himself and then shook his head. There wasn’t anything funny. “Fuzzy good,” He confirmed after a moment, though he blinked at the fruit again. “I thought it wasn’t okay to have more than a little bit?” Could he really eat all of it? It wasn’t a large fruit, but the sweet juice on his tongue was fresh in his mind, and the pleasant glow it left his mind experiencing was something he could get used to. Did he really want the fruit that badly? He thought so. The angel nodded slowly, after a moment. “Okay, I promise to eat them with you! Especially if you have to do so much to get them here, I’ll come out to the forest all the time!” His teeth sank into the fruit again, a breathy exhale leaving him after he swallowed. He’d never experienced anything quite like it, and the strange feeling only got better.

@✠　Lee Youngmi A lilting chuckle escaped the fae. "Fuzzy, eh? Fuzzy good? Or fuzzy bad?" Rook placed a hand over the one Youngmi used to hold onto the fruit, urging it slightly closer to Youngmi's mouth again. "No, no. This is all yours to enjoy. But you want to go slow, right? I can get you more of the fruit if you like it but...it will be hard." He sighed, slightly overdramatically. "Fae fruit isn't easy to bring into the city. But I hate the thought of you being cold so I gave this to you. If you really like it...I can't promise anything, but I'll do anything I can to get more for you. You just have to promise to eat them with me. Can you do that? Then you can have all the fae fruit your pretty little heart desires."

@♬　Rook The angel didn’t know how to describe it - to stop himself from taking another bite, he had to hold it up to Rook, he didn’t quite trust himself not to delve into the heavenly taste again. He nodded. He felt much warmer already - fuzzy inside him though, rather than the warmth you got from being inside somewhere with the heating on. His breath hitched - no, he didn’t feel allergic though. He didn’t think he’d ever had an allergic reaction before, but this certainly wasn’t it. “Much warmer than before. Really warm. Fuzzy maybe? Like I’ve been sitting down for a really long time, but it’s a nice kind of feeling,” He attempted to describe, making a few small gestures with his hands as he stared up at Rook, his eyes wide.

@✠　Lee Youngmi Once the fruit touched Youngmi's lips, Rook's grin broadened. He saw him take the bite and nodded, satisfied. "Like nothing you've ever tried, right?" he asked, eyes lingering on the torn flesh of the fruit. "Lights you up like a strong glass of whiskey." The fae still had to be careful, unsure of how long it would take for any effect to take hold on the angel. "How do you feel? Warm? You don't feel itchy or like you might be allergic, do you?" Rook inched just a bit closer, his eyes hooded. He reached forward, veins bulging in his forearms as he pushed his weight onto them to hover above the angel.