The Forest Prince

XXI. | "...And You Have Every Right to be Scared" (Part 2)

Down the Street...

Denied a quick nap, Gabriel figured he could humor the girls a bit, and enjoy a quiet trek to the 103rd street playground to watch and participate with their frivolous activities. Instead, as the teen-bodied dryad bombarded the boy with questions, the young Yews couldn't help but join in.

"Do you have a middle name? Do you have a name for your sword? Are you half-god and half-human, or more like three-quarters god and one-quarter human? What kinda foods do you like to eat?" It was but a fraction of the queries he could make out over the commotion of five girls talking at him. The Harvestchild's expression lowered miserably as he let out a low sigh.

"Girls, girls!" His voice cut through the questions, the loudest it had been before the nymphs. "I'm as new to this whole thing as you are. I'm still wondering how it all works." The new nymph looked downright mesmerized since he actually started talking back at her, and she found herself lost in another focused gaze. Naturally, Gabe was weirded out by the girl's staring.

"Is there something on my face?" His question broke her attention. As if challenged, the teen nymph took the boy's snark at face value and began examining his facial features. The Yew sisters didn't immediately notice the two slowing down and continued towards the playground.

"Bruises and scratches, mostly. One eye's blackened, and the other's bloodied..." She answered with sincerity as she looked him over. She cleared her head of his addictive smell, and honestly took him all in. His clothes were dirty, frayed, and ragged. His fair brown skin was adorned in scar tissue and faded splotchy bruises.

Her examination got physical before he could protest, as she quickly closed the distance and lifted his shirt. She'd come to realize that "bruised and scratched" was an apt descriptor of the boy's whole torso as well as what she couldn't immediately see. The scarring over his heart especially stuck out to her, it was clear it was from a hellhound attack. She ran a curious hand over the series of scars, causing the Harvestchild to flinch at her touch. They were deep cuts, and the girl suddenly found herself feeling guilt for the boy's wellbeing.

Gabe, on the other hand, wasn't exactly sure how to react to his shirt suddenly being over his face, and a cute girl touching his bare chest.

"You could've asked first." He piped up, voice briefly muffled by the article of clothing. He let his shirt down in a huff, and Mala practically jumped back to attention. She couldn't help but notice the redness in his cheeks due to her approach.

"You a doctor or something?" He asked.

"No, but I can't help but feel a little concerned," Mala replied with honesty. Gabe's eyebrow raised ever so slightly, and she immediately took notice. "...Is that weird?" She added.

"A little. Especially for someone who's just met me." He answered, resuming the walk.

"I can't just see something like that and not wonder if the person's okay. Doesn't it hurt?" She elaborated as she brought up the rear. Gabe hadn't given any of it much thought.

"Not as much as it used to?" He was unsure. "Must be a side effect of being a Demigod." She was back by his side.

"Do you...like being a Demigod?" Was Mala's next question, and boy was it loaded. You'd think it would've been one of those questions that Gabe would've paused on, to quietly mull over. But he didn't.

"Not really." He replied surprisingly fast. What was also fast, was the Yew quintet surrounding the two teens once they realized they weren't walking as fast.

"Why not? You have superpowers!" One of the girls piped up, clearly overhearing the conversation. "Yeah, you're a real-life superhero!" Another added. The comparison made the boy a little uncomfortable. A whole week and a half of danger and panic were trivialized, boiled down to a simple flight of fancy. Gabe wasn't angry at the girls' words, he knew they didn't fully comprehend the stakes. But the lopsided juxtaposition still left the boy feeling a little empty.

"I guess." He tried to put on a brave face for the young nymphs. Mala's expression scrunched pensively as she looked on. The Yews continued on about the Harvestchild's potential feats.

"Ooh, I bet he has superhuman strength and speed!" One of the sisters exclaimed. And, as if they shared some sort of psychic link, every one of their expressions lit up.

"I doubt that-" Gabe's train of thought was interrupted by a tap on his wrist. "You're it!" a Yew called before taking off. It all happened before the boy could get a word in. Why are all these dryads so damn fast? Unnoticed by the Harvestchild, Mala's lingering shadow shifted ever so unnaturally as the Yew siblings gracefully bound into the brush. The teen nymph almost broke into a hot panic as she felt her hellhound stir in her shadow, growing restless. Yet, successfully, she kept those emotions suppressed.

"I'm not playing tag..." His plea fell on deaf ears as he watched the girls straight book it off the beaten path. Gabe sighed, but Mala couldn't help but grin at the scene playing out before her. She was definitely down for a quick chase (and also wanted Gabe back within the proximity of the Yew siblings). "C'mon, let's get 'em!" She cried, breaking off after them.

After a beat, Gabe realized the situation he immediately found himself in. "Yo, Y'all can't leave me out here like this!" He broke into a sprint, more eager to keep himself safe rather than to play their game.

He chased the girls into the bushes, and actually did well to keep them in his sights. Even then, he found himself in a bit of awe as he saw them bouncing around. He practically had to wade through the waist high foliage, but it didn't even slow the girls down. He couldn't help but wonder if he'd get to that level of speed and dexterity. He almost wanted to emulate the girls, breaking out into his own feverish bout of parkour, but he immediately decided against it.

"Not trying to bust my ass out here..." He thought with some caution. There were girls watching after all, and he didn't want to make a fool out of himself.

After a minute or so of pushing through the thick fauna, Gabe breached into an opening where the girls awaited his arrival. As it turns out, the impromptu game of tag lead into their destination: some sort of secret play area. It was closed off naturally, much like the dryad communal, but the little area housed a decrepit old jungle gym at its center. The structure was made entirely from wood, old planks, and logs that housed patches of moss and vines. Littered all across the aforementioned structure, were the Yew siblings, and other non-human kids who halted their frolicking once they noticed the Harvestchild enter the area.