CW: blood, burning, broken bones, mentioning of poisoning, and a bear trap
Virgil placed a tomato in a basket before reaching over to pick another. They were a nice warm up to start the day, because they had the smallest portion in the field and they were the easiest to grab. Though, there didn't seem to be a lot that were ripe.
"Is that all of them already?" Patton asked, his basket was half full.
"I guess we're just too early. We still have plenty of vegetables to sell at the market."
"Yeah, but I wanted to give your wings a break." He pouted for a moment before brightening up. "Why don't we have a day off? We have plenty of food, and enough money for now. It's been a while since you've been in the forest!"
"I guess that does sound nice. What about you, what will you do?"
"I would bug Logan at work, but I do that enough and I can't get to town on my own so I'll just sleep in. Oh! Actually I've been learning to knit!"
"Really? Can you make me a scarf before winter hits?"
"We have a few months before that happens, so sure." Patton came over and took Virgil's basket from him. "I'll take care of these, just head off to the forest already. Oh, but stay away from the hunters. I know they're not around often anymore but I don't want you getting in trouble, if you hear anyone coming hide your wings."
"I know how to handle myself, don't worry." Virgil dusted off his hands. "I'll just grab a snack before heading out, in case I stay longer than I mean to."
"Or to feed the forest animals like an actual princess from a story book," Patton mumbled with a slight smile.
"Hey! I'm not the princess, I'm the fairy that curses princesses."
"Sure you are. Say hi to the little forest critters for me."
Virgil rolled his eyes as he started to walk away. "You're hilarious."
"Oh, and if you can bring me back a cool stick!"
"Will do." The fairy went back inside, grabbing a box and putting both strawberries and blueberries in it. He put it in his pocket and grabbed his cloak, hearing Patton enter the house. "I'm leaving, see you later!"
"Bye!" Patton called back as he closed the door.
Virgil couldn't help but smile in excitement, it's been a while since he had time to explore the forest. Well, explore was the wrong word, he always goes to the same spot as usual, but it was still quite a long walk through the forest. He enjoyed it though, it was calming, and yes forest animals sometimes follow him or hang out with him. He didn't understand them, but he still enjoyed their company.
And luckily the forest was a short walk from the farm, though they had to put up fences to keep animals out, and sometimes they heard a gunshot from hunters. Whenever that happened, Patton would always be quick to find Virgil to 'make sure you're okay' even though the fairy could tell it was more than that. It didn't bother him, he didn't mind cuddling with his brother if it made him feel safe.
Other than that, Virgil was glad they lived close to the forest. He liked to go off trail to let his wings loose, it was so freeing. Sometimes he would bring a book to read or paper and a pencil to draw, other times he likes to just sit there and breathe. It was relaxing to be out there by himself.
That is, when the hunters weren't there, or when he didn't find any traps. Any time he finds any traps, he makes sure no one is around before taking them down. Unless they were made of iron, then he would do what he could to disabled them before asking for help from Logan. Anything hunter related always brings Virgil's mood down.
So when he heard what sounded like a fox in distress when he first entered the forest, he already knew his day was going to be ruined. It sounded far away, so he made sure to keep his cloak on in case he ran into any hunters. He really hoped the fox was okay, and that he could help them.
He made his way off trail and through the trees, trying to move fast without being loud. He strained his ears to figure out where the fox was, and if any humans were nearby. He's learned the difference between the sound of boots and animal paws or hooves.
Quickly enough, he saw a fox hanging from a net a few feet off the ground. He frowned in worry as the fox panicked upon seeing him, squirming for a way out and only succeeding to become more tangled in the net. Virgil looked for a way to safely get them down, he didn't have a knife on him so he would have to just use his hands.
He saw where the trap was tied down on the ground, and went to untie the knot. It was tied tight against the trunk of a nearby tree, so between focusing on that and the yelling the fox was making, he didn't hear the sound of boots nearby.
Once the knots were undone, he gently lowered the fox to the ground. It got out quickly, though the net was stuck around one of it's back paws.
"Shh, it's okay," Virgil cooed as he slowly moved closer to the frightened fox. It yipped at him in warning as it stayed low in a defensive position. Virgil continued to shush it as he reached out carefully and undid the net without touching the fox.
Once it was free, it darted off only to stop when it was well away. It yipped again at him, making Virgil smile for a moment before he finally heard the sound of movement behind him a moment too late. The fox quickly darted into the bush as Virgil's blood turned to ice, realizing that the movement behind him was human.
"Hey! You took down our trap!" an angry voice shouted behind him, making him jump.
Virgil quickly scrambled to his feet, pulling his cloak tight around him. "I uh..." he stammered, trying to gather courage as his heart pounded hard in his chest. There were three men there, all clearly from Randsted. All also holding guns. "This isn't your place to hunt in." His voice came out weaker than he wanted it to.
"Who the hell are you, telling us where we can hunt?" One of the hunters asked, coming closer.
The fairy took a step back in fear, focusing on his magic to hide the tips of his wings so they wouldn't show. He couldn't talk, what would he even say if he could? He needed to leave, he had to run, but his legs just wouldn't move.
"We're talking to you," another one of the men said, pulling back the trigger on his rifle.
The click of the trigger setting was all Virgil needed to hear to get his legs moving again. He quickly turned around and ran, just wanting to get away. He heard the men shout at him as he made sure to dash around trees in case they shot at him. Though he didn't hear any gunshots, maybe they didn't want a repeat of what happened four years ago? Then again, he was alone in the forest with the three of them, they could easily hide his body. Goddammit, he promised Patton that he would stay safe. He had to get out of there.
He could still hear them chasing after him, he was fast but he didn't have a lot of stamina, they could catch up with him if he wasn't careful. He just had to keep running, maybe he could lose them? He didn't see anything to protect their ears, maybe they hunt without ear protection? If so, they could be hard of hearing, so it would be easier to hide from them. He just had to get out of sight, he had to be faster than them just until he can hide, he can get away, he'll be fine, he can-
Virgil was too busy looking behind him to see where the hunters were at that he wasn't looking where he was stepping. He felt his foot land on something hard and heard a click. Time slowed down just enough for him to realize that he made a giant mistake before the bear trap that he stepped on clamped onto his leg.
He screamed in pain as he fell down, feeling the iron pierce through his leg as the metal jaws stayed shut tight, pressing down on his leg bone. His vision was blurred by the tears in his eyes, and he could hear shouting through the ringing in his ears as he desperately tried to pry the bear trap open. He could feel the iron burning his fingers and leg, blood dripping out and staining his pants.
He saw the figures of the three hunters come into vision before he curled up. He let out a sob in pain as he did so, wrapping his arms around his head to protect himself. He felt hands grab him and he tried to elbow and scratch them away, feeling a boot kick his back in response.
He curled up as tight as he could without hurting his leg worse as he felt them kick him more. Virgil's wings were pressed tightly against his back as they continued their assault. He prayed that the feathers weren't visible because he didn't think he could use his magic to hide them. White hot pain washed over him when he felt a snap as a boot landed on one of his wings. He wasn't sure if the hunter heard or even felt it, but he was in too much pain and fear to even think of that.
He was pretty much sobbing at that point, waiting for it to end. Let him pass out, why couldn't he just pass out?! No, no he can't do that. Iron is in his leg right now, if he passes out and it's not removed, he could get iron poisoning and die. He wouldn't be able to even move on the chance that he wakes up before dying. No, he needed someone to save him, but no one was there. He was going to die.
He can't die, what about Patton? Would he find out what even happened? Would he be okay? Virgil can't die, he's the only family that Patton has left. He had to help him run the farm!
It was so hard to breathe, he could feel the iron poisoning his blood and the hunters were bound to get bored and just shoot him soon enough. This was it, wasn't it. He's going to die now, all because of these stupid hunters, haven't they killed enough? His vision was going black and his arms were getting heavier.
Distantly he heard the angry shouting turn to fear. It felt like the assault had stopped, but maybe that was just his body going numb right before death. That was a thing that happened, right? Virgil couldn't tell anymore at this point.
For a moment things got brighter, and Virgil managed to open his eyes just enough to see the fox he had helped earlier. It yipped as it looked at something else, though Virgil couldn't hear it, nor could he move to see what the fox was looking at. The hunters were gone, he could tell that much. But he couldn't move, and right now he really wanted to sleep. Maybe he could just take a quick nap, he'll just have to hope he'll have enough strength to move when he wakes up.