Aesop arrives at the village panting and sweating bullets. He can't believe he saw the nobles in the forest, in this forest. This is bad, this is bad! His breathing gets faster and faster, he starts to choke, his heartbeat unsteady and hammering against his rib cage and he feels nauseous. His vision starts to blur as stars begin to scatter across his field of vision. Finally, everything turns pitch black and he passes out.
-----
A young boy in a green hood sits next to a sleeping silver-haired male. The room had dull grey walls, a small grey desk, and a white bed. The walls had painted portraits of the village and the nearby clearing. The small desk had many wooden figurines, some completed, some unfinished. The silver-haired male lies asleep on the white bed, covered by a patched up grey blanket.
Naib feels guilty. He left his friend in the presence of two nobles and didn't even take the deer carcasses with him when one of them was distracted by Aesop. He sits by the bed and thinks. That's it! He can take the two deer by himself and ask Violetta to cook some deer stew.
He rises to his feet and travels north of the village to a pink cottage by Helena and Tracy's cottage. The cottage was decorated with religious symbols and primate skulls. He knocks on the door, and a few seconds later a dark-skinned woman opens the door and leans against the door frame, her face decorated with tribal and voodoo tattoos as well as golden eyes outlined by white eyeliner. She wears a black top and a big red skirt, her black dreadlocks held back by a hairband.
"What do you want, Naib?"
"Let me in, Patricia. I need to see Fiona."
Patricia is Fiona's mate. She was a beta trader from the southeast that came to trade voodoo witchcraft for food and some of Aesop's wooden crafts, when she locked gazes with the purple eyes of the village's priestess and falls head over heels in love. The two got along immediately, sometimes they'd be found walking around the village hand-in-hand and sometimes Naib would find them braiding each others' hair in the clearing. They got mated not long after and lived together in Fiona's pink cottage.
"She's praying right now. Come in. I'll go get her."
Naib steps into the cottage, a strong smell of thyme fills his senses and the smoke floating in thin small clouds in the air. The walls are covered with religious symbols and painted primate skulls with crystal eyes, 'It's a symbol of protection' as Fiona and Patricia would say. Naib steps over to the burgundy couch covered by a brown cloth with tribal patterns and sits down, the soft cushion making him sleepy as he starts to doze off, tired from the hunting.
His rest was stopped abruptly as a pair of delicate, manicured hands gently shakes him awake. Naib blinks tiredly and stares at the owner of the hands, purple eyes stare back at him, an amused glint in those indigo orbs. The woman wears a magenta hood with gold patterns, a pair of long, curled horns stick out from the fabric. She was wearing a black sleeveless dress that had a cut down the sides. On her head is a gold chain crown with a bright green emerald that hangs down the center. It was the courting gift that Patricia gave her.
"O-oh, Fiona! I'm sorry, I'm still a bit tired from hunting earlier." Naib sits up, flustered and a bit drowsy.
"That's fine." She giggles, " What do you need, Naib?"
"Aesop and I were out hunting before and we caught two deer. Unfortunately, we ran into some nobles near the entrance of the forest so we had to abandon the carcasses and run away. Aesop had a panic attack and passed out because of it," he groans and hides his face in his hands.
"Oh no. Nobles? What are they doing here? Eli and I made sure this forest was hidden from the world. Did they say anything about using the forest?"
"Not at all, they were just making harmless small talk."
"They may not have said anything, but with two nobles here, they must mean business. I suggest we keep an eye out," Patricia cuts in from the doorframe she's leaning on.
"That's right. Anyways, I presume that you need a portal to help you take the deers back to the village."
Naib nods.
"Alright then. Follow me to the entrance of the village."
Naib and Fiona arrive at the entrance of the village, the large wooden pillars that act as a gate to their little village, a tall totem with engravings of forest creatures stand in between of the two pillars, a large wooden owl proudly spreads its wings on the top, one of Aesop's greatest crafts. Fiona draws a symbol on one of the trees and hovers her hands over it, the symbol glows a dark blue and she reaches her hand in the circle and closes her eyes.
"I can try to track the scent of the blood. Can you please tell me where the deer carcasses are?"
"We were in the northern part of the forest and the hunt is still recent. The scent of the blood should still be there. "
Fiona hums and moves her hands. The portal grows bright and she withdraws her hands, her eyes still closed.
"There, this passage won't last long. Hurry, take the deer and leave. Once you are done I will close the passage."
Naib takes a deep breath and jumps into the blue vortex. He could feel his body fly through space and time as he travels through the portal. His feet touch dry land and he looks around. He instantly recognizes the bush he and Aesop hid the carcasses in. He quickly lifts a deer and heaves it up to his shoulder. He holds the deer by its legs and throws it into the portal. Naib bends his back for a little bit, the bone giving out a loud crack. He lets out a loud moan at the pain.
Naib bends back down and heaves the other deer onto his shoulders and jumps back through the portal. Unbeknownst to him, two red eyes stare at him hungrily as he disappears into the portal.
On the other side, Naib drops the deer by his feet and stretches his limbs letting out loud cracking noises. Fiona inspects the two deers by his feet and nods approvingly, "You guys made a great catch! These two would last us for a week at the very least."
"Thanks, can you call for Eli to help me bring these to Miss Violetta please."
"No need," a voice calls out from behind him.
Eli stood there with a grin, owl perched on his shoulder. Eli walks over to one of the deers and hoists it up to his shoulders, his owl now sitting on his head nuzzling into his soft brown locks. The two of them head off to Violetta and Yidhra's cottage at the center of the village.
The birch wood cottage stands in the middle of the village, colorful curtains cover the windows, each of them their unique designs. Eli's owl lets out a loud shriek. A few moments later, the sound of a woman complaining starts to draw nearer and nearer to the door and the oak door is yanked open by an annoyed Violetta. Her platinum blond hair messy and her dress crinkled at different places, her eyes still ridden with sleep.
"I see you've gotten the deer. That's good." She yawns, "If that's it, I'm going to go back to bed."
She turns to close the door but Eli stops her.
"Wait, we need you to make some stew for Aesop. Naib thinks he might need it" he says with a grin.
"In that case, you boys should come in," she says while stretching her stiff limbs. "Make yourselves at home."
The two boys step in and drop the two deers by the stove and walk over to the white couch. The walls are covered by cloths with different beautiful and intrinsic designs, a large fur rug covering the wood floors. A large grandfather clock stands next to the couch, it was decorated with cobweb designs and star engravings. It was a gift from Aesop on their courting.
A delightful, delicious smell wafts through the living room, Naib could feel his stomach grumbling at the smell of venison stew. Miss Violetta soon appears with a bowl of steaming soup, the smell of all the herbs and cooked venison meat blended in the soup.
"There you go. Now give this to Aesop before you drool all over my rug, dear. He should be awake by now," Violetta shoos them off and closes the door behind them.
Night has fallen as Naib and Eli walks through the village. They reach a familiar gray cottage and opens the door, the aroma of yellow roses mixing with the smell of the soup. Aesop appears from his bedroom, neck length grey hair out of the ponytail, as he runs his hand through it. He changed to a dark blue nightgown with yellow polka dots he got as a birthday gift from Violetta, originally as a joke, but he liked it and kept it.
"Sop, we brought you some soup. Naib took care of the deer as well. Go get some rest, see you tomorrow," Eli puts down the bowl on the small dining table and leaves along with Naib.
Aesop yawns, having just woken up he does feel quite hungry. He grabs the bowl and a wooden spoon and trudges over to his small grey couch. It wasn't too soft and comfortable, but it was still better than sitting on the wooden dining chair.
He brought the bowl up to his lips and takes a small sip, humming in satisfaction as warm soup slides down his throat. He could taste all of the spices and herbs, it's perfect. He takes the spoon and scoops the chunks of venison meat and potatoes, he moans at the taste, the soft tender meat deliciously seasoned and the potatoes so soft they practically melt in his mouth. He finished the soup quickly and cleans the bowl. 'I'll return it tomorrow,' he thought to himself.
Aesop walks over to his little workshop in the bedroom. On top of the gray desk is a small oil lamp, a few colorful resin blocks and a neat stack of logs. He sits on the wooden chair and takes out a small wooden box from under the desk. Inside it is a small, steel carving knife, the only gift he had from his parents before he was sent to live in an omega village. The handle is decorated with precious gems and the blade still sharp and sturdy from the blade sharpening he regularly does. With the blade in his hand, he pulls up the cloth around his neck and starts to work.
Aesop starts by taking a medium-sized log and with the blade in his hands, he slowly and carefully carves the edges. He carves it into a thin plank then starts to carve around the edges until it becomes smooth and round. He starts to carve a handle and engraves it with beautiful iris designs and creates a semi-large dent at the center of the backside of the frame, there he glues on a round piece of blue resin and polishes it. He then starts to dent the center of the wood and layers the inside with a thin sheet of aluminum, careful not to make any folds and glues it on. He then glues a thin layer of glass above the aluminum sheet, making sure it was stuck tight before he lifts it and holds it to his face, satisfied by the reflection he sees in the hand mirror.
Afterwards, Aesop starts carving the frame around the glass, gently making more delicate iris designs. He finishes it by painting the wooden mirror frame with gold paint he managed to make by using sunflower petals for natural pigment, careful not to get paint on the resin. He gently takes the mirror with gloved hands and lays it next to an open window to dry.
Aesop goes back to his desk and cracks his knuckles. The sound of wood carving fills the cottage for the rest of the night.
Eli knocks on Aesop's door the next morning, not hearing a response he lets himself in, shaking his head at the unlocked door. Seeing nobody in the living room, he decides to check in the bedroom. Opening the door, he could see a silhouette fast asleep on the little desk.
In front of him, he could see 8 beautiful wooden crafts. A small fan-shaped hairpin with a wooden cherry, a medium-sized wooden cane with fake linen roses dyed blood-red, a golden painted wooden horn, steel forceps, a working jack-in-a-box (perhaps with parts stolen from Tracy), a stone mask decorated with resin eyes, and two wooden hand mirrors, one painted silver with bird engravings, the other painted gold with iris engravings.
Eli smiles and gently shakes Aesop awake. The other male stirs in his sleep and slowly sits up, small wood pieces stick onto the cloth around his mouth and in his hair. Aesop lets out a yawn and stretches his stiff limbs, back aching from being slumped against the table for the entire night.
"I can see you worked hard last night," he says as he picks up the stone mask, his fingers ghosting over the shiny resin eyes.
Aesop says nothing, but nods. He's still too tired to start talking.
"Well as much as I'd like to stay and admire your work. You need a bath and meet me and Miss Violetta after you do so," Eli puts down the mask and leaves Aesop's room. Aesop could hear the living room door close shortly after.
Aesop stands up from his chair, walks over to a wooden chest by his bed and opens it. Neatly folded clothes and piled inside the wooden chest, most of them are gray with the occasional red and a bit of blue, he also had a separate stack for his nightgowns. He grabs the usual gray tunic and matching gray pants and heads out to the bathroom.
The bathroom is simple. A small wooden tub sits in the center of the small bathroom, a body length mirror stands against the wall next to it. A stool stands next to the tub, on top of it is a bar of soap on top of a neatly folded towel. Aesop pours water into the tub from a bucket nearby. Once the water fills a third of the tub, he slides off his nightgown and undergarments and steps into the tub.
He sits with his legs folded and water reaching up to his chest. He grabs the soap on the stool and starts to rub it all over his body, the water turning murky with soap and debris of wood. Aesop sits in the tub and lets the water wash off the foam on his body, he catches sight of the reflection in the mirror. A young male with gray eyes stares back at him, silver-gray hair wet droplets of water dripping onto his creamy hairless chest.
Aesop looks down at his flat stomach, he's envious of Naib and Eli both omegas having abs and a little bit of muscle while he's stuck with a scrawny, feminine figure. He lets out a sigh and steps out of the tub, water dripping onto the wooden floor.
He grabs a towel and starts drying himself, he slips a pair of white undergarments and slips on the grey tunic and pants. Aesop looks at himself in the mirror and ties a grey cloth around his mouth. He looks pleased with his reflection and steps out of the bathroom.
Aesop goes to the living room, takes the bowl with him and steps out of the cabin, remembering to lock the door behind him. He takes in the fresh morning air and catches a whiff of Violetta's famous vegetable stew. Aesop walks over to the village dining area in the center of the village beside Violetta's house, the villagers usually use this area for festivals and small gatherings. He sees Eli chatting with Violetta over a bowl of soup at one of the tables. He walks over to them.
Eli greets Aesop with a pat on the back and Violetta runs in to get him a bowl of soup. Aesop happily takes the bowl of vegetable stew from Violetta and pulls down his mask to drink the stew.
Violetta clears her throat, "I've heard that you've already started on your work from Eli here. That's wonderful, dear!"
Aesop coughs, his face a bit red from the compliment, "I've only done eight of them so far."
"That's fine, dear! We still have around two weeks to prepare, and remember to make lots of them. Eli said there would be many people in this event, much more than the ones before! I'm sure your wonderful crafts would fly off the shelves!"
Aesop blushed at the compliment and averted his eyes to the bowl of soup in his hands. Eli laughs beside him, "Well that's what I see, but only time will tell. So let's give our best shall we?"
Aesop smiles at him and laughs along, taking a sip of the stew, "I'll give it my all."
Do you think if you ignore me,
I would stop following you?
Do you think if you would get some help,
I would back down and give up?
Or have you ever thought,
if you hide somewhere,
I'd never find you in this world?
Oh no no no dear boy!