#Now I'm going to go to sleep | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

loreleilarai · 2 years

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This Au belongs to @starlightcloudbaby

I loved the concept of Moon and Sun being guardians of the forest. Always watching and guarding, I decided to make a short story about them.

Tw: Moon hunts the reader for sport as usual, nothing new. Also Moon hates doors and messes with electricity.

The reader may not be afraid of mythological beings, but he's definitely afraid of humans, you're more likely to get murdered by a human rather than something whose existence is questionable. At least you'll be afraid as long as you think Moon is human.

I made this quick before bed and Moon will haunt me in my dreams because of it.

(English is not my native language so I apologize in advance for any mistakes).

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Even if it was daytime, the clouds accumulated in such a way that the sun could not pass through it, the light was scarce even when it was noon, the wind shook violently the leaves of the trees, all the birds hide in their nests except a couple of rebels in search of food, the whole forest knew that a strong storm was approaching fast.

Thanks to the high ground a couple of gentians settled their roots between the soil and the cement under your kitchen window, in your old botanical garden you learned a lot about that plant; they usually bloom in areas with low temperatures, a place where there are few pollinators to help the plant reproduce, it could not self-pollinate so the pollen was the flower's treasure, it could not risk losing it to the wash of the rain so its petals were hermetically sealed. Leaving aside that wet flowers discourage pollinators even when the weather is favorable. Aside from washing away the pollen, rain also dilutes the nectar, reducing its energy content and thus reducing the reward obtained by any bee that will visit the flower.

That was enough to know of the impending rain when you barely stepped outside in the morning, curious about the strange circle of fungus you could make out when you peered through said window with a cup of coffee in hand.

The gentians had a scientific explanation, with years of research and the efforts of dozens of people behind them. An evolution necessary for adaptation. But the mushroom circle was something more... Complicated.

When you saw it you couldn't stop your mind from splitting into two sides.

On the logical side, it could be because a small nest of ants was in the center, devouring everything around it, but no matter how hard you looked at the soil, you did not find a single ant. Perhaps some animal, be it rabbit or something else, had made a nest in the past and left the soil inaccessible because of the amount of stones or the continuous wear and tear, but the grains were totally normal, there was no excess of stones and no lack of water. Perhaps there was something else that you did not take into account; it was impossible to have all the knowledge in the world. That they had appeared just like that could be something as simple as you hadn't paid enough attention to those little things that were no bigger than 10 cm.

On the other hand, this place was uninhabited enough for a fairy colony to make its home.

Maybe the fairies had done a dance under your window and unconsciously created a ring of mycelial fungi? As far as you knew, the more time passed the bigger the ring got, it wasn't small, but it wasn't big either. You could bring a tape measure and try to make a little hypothesis of how long ago it was, the last time you saw the tape measure it was on the shelves in your room from when you measured the trunk of a tree to find out its age-.

There is movement in the corner of your eye.

It's quick, slight, a fading yellow blur, you're standing staring at nothingness itself after taking a sharp turn.

There is a pause, the wind rustles the leaves and this time the birds are silent, you feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end as if someone is watching you, as if there is more than just tension in the air.

You last a few eternal seconds, your gaze searching the air.

Maybe it's the paranoia of being away from civilization for a while with the only company of nature, but you don't feel alone.

You find your voice not long after.

"Is anyone there?"

No answer, you're not surprised either.

You shake your head and sigh, laughing at your delusions as the rain touches your face. That's your cue to leave.

"It must have just been the bad lighting."

Not wanting to get wet, you walk into the safety of your house even with the feeling of a stare burning the back of your neck. The mushroom circle would still be there in the morning.

[ . . . ]

"He could see me! He saw me! I don't know how, but he saw me!"

"There's no way he could have seen you, Sun. Humans never managed to see us. He's no exception. So why were you around his house?"

"... The sun was hidden, maybe my magic failed a bit because of that."

"Don't dodge my question."

"I was just curious what you would do when a storm approaches!"

"Of course humans would shelter from the rain, they're not that dumb, even wild animals have that instinct. And you know it well, he's not the first human in this forest."

"Yes, but not all humans have a book with the name, the location, the level of moisture in the air and the components of the soil when they find a flower.It seems nice!"

"Maybe it doesn't have the same behavior as the other humans, but you know better, it will go away just like all the ones before it. I'll make sure of that."

"You shouldn't go out, in the rain you won't be able to fly!"

"I don't need to fly to scare some humans away."

[ . . . ]

Thunder lights up the forest as night falls.

Everything is black outside the windows, and you are thankful for the existence of electricity when the banging of branches on your roof gets louder, you turn up the volume on the TV when the rain gets louder and you are unable to coherently listen to what is being spoken in a horror movie you found wandering through the channels.

Being alone, hours away from the nearest city, without the annoying noise of cars, with absolute darkness outside your house with a storm whose water drops sounded like stones being thrown towards your sweet home, with an interesting movie and a pack of cookies in hand is an experience you enjoy.

You stop enjoying it when you only have a millisecond when the lights go out before the television freezes in a character's horrified expression as he stands in front of the killer. Then there is absolute darkness.

You dart for your phone, your only source of light in the darkness currently. Luckily it was on a small bedside table next to the couch you were on, right at your fingertips.

The flashlight gives you some relief, but when you see the battery at 28% you curse yourself. No signal either.

You had some candles in the kitchen for just such cases, you use the flashlight so you don't crash into the furniture when another clap of thunder hits nearby. With the mission in mind the bag of cookies dangles from one hand while the other lights your way.

The way to the kitchen is short and quick, you're searching the countertops and drawers in desperation when you see 25%. The search is in vain.

You have 23% when the sound of stone hitting is clear, you freeze. The rain is loud but it doesn't compare to the sound of a few seconds ago. You don't know where it's coming from, and maybe it's just a rock falling from the roof. You ignore it and continue your search, there are no candles and you are in a cold sweat. The image of the movie character screaming in terror under the shadow of a knife flashes through your mind.

There's another knock, it's even louder, and this time you recognize the sound of glass cracking.

You turn to the kitchen window and see him.

At the tree line, behind bushes, with bright red eyes, he has a strange hat.

He is tall, thin, and stares at you.

His head tilts to one side, you practically hear it crack, and he has a sharp grin.

Your feet are jelly.

You feel dizzy.

It's cold.

The darkness is suffocating.

Her eyes shine so brightly that they illuminate her figure, it's the only thing you can see in the black emptiness.

And you can see the front page of the newspapers; "Botanist decides to leave human company to live among plants and becomes compost."

A clap of thunder lights up the forest, you can see his figure clearly, he seems to have a cape on his back, blue and wet, he is light skinned and has strange clothes, his face is painted like a clown would have in horror movies. And when the light goes away that strange being also withdraws.

You don't know how long they held a stare, but you know your feet feel numb and hurt when you move forward.

Where is it? It was there a second ago! It can't just disappear!

You don't know what it is that moves you, fear or curiosity, but you hear the crunch of crackers that slipped from your grip as you move to the window and search for him with a desperate look.

The raindrops form paths that cross and part, but you swear you saw it, it was as clear as day.

You know you're freaking out, it was just your head giving you a bad joke after watching a horror movie, it's normal. You're talking to yourself to calm yourself down as you bring a hand to your face to wipe away the cold sweat that's bothering your forehead, closing your eyes for a moment.

"It's okay, I'm fine. It's just the effects of rain and darkness after a horror movie. I'll be fine, in the morning none of this will be a big deal and I'll laugh in the future. It's just my imagination."

As soon as you finish that sentence you look up at the window one more time.

There is another clap of thunder.

He's there, inches from the window, his eyes gleaming with ferocity and his pointed fingers scratching the glass, he's smiling with fangs and murderous intent.

You scream.

The cell phone breaks free from your grip and flies away as you recoil. You can hear his laughter.

You're on your back on the ground before you notice him, the packet of cookies strewn everywhere is your least problem as your hands crawl and hit the floor in a panic until you reach your phone, you get up and run, stumbling as your flashlight shakes all the way.

You run as fast as you can, slam the door to your room behind you and lean your shoulder against the door.

You hear the door to your house open, but no footsteps.

There is silence, there is only rain and darkness, the storm lights up the forest.

There is a knock on your door.

A quick glance reveals that your phone screen is broken, and you have 20% battery.

There is no signal.

There is a loud knock on the door, so loud you hear the wood splinter and you press your shoulder harder.

You hear his laughter, it's sinister and he's having fun having you on the verge of tears.

The window in your room is big enough for you to get out.

It's a bit excessive, but your only way out at the moment. If there was something in the afterlife you weren't going to explain that you died because you didn't want to go out a window.

You charge at the door, the wood near the hinges splinters and the knob swears loudly, all your weight isn't enough and you're being dragged backwards slowly, but there doesn't seem to be a great effort behind it. You almost feel humiliated.

Your cell phone falls from your hand as you reach for the nearest piece of furniture, you can't see clearly what or where you grab it from but the adrenaline manages to drag it towards you, you swap places and quickly move away, breaking into a run as you leave the flashlight behind, pointing upwards and allowing you to see where you're going.

The piece of furniture doesn't hold for long, your hands are clumsy with your shaking and erratic movements, turning your head paranoidly every couple of seconds, the window doesn't seem to want to open.

"Come on come on come on come on! OH YES!"

The window opens as you push it open with a loud bang, you have half your body out as you look back.

The door creaks, his fingers slowly peek out, then the dark half of his head peeks out, the cap hangs down and a couple of drops of water fall.

He's smiling and it makes you feel sick.

Both feet touch down and you're thankful you're lazy enough not to have put on your pajamas, running with bare feet wouldn't have been favorable at all. You run as fast as you can when you hear him behind you.

His voice is thick, dry, like something out of a horror story.

"Naughty humans must be punished."

You're beyond the tree line when you turn to see him, he's slowly making his way out behind the window, as if he has all the confidence in the world that he's going to catch up to you. Even if his body appears to be too tall to climb out the window, he somehow manages it.

His body bends in ways that should not be possible for a human, he keeps smiling, first one hand, then his head, one foot and then the other, all with controlled and fluid movements, even for you it was harder to get out with your size.

The rain has no mercy, your clothes are heavier than they should be, it's uncomfortable to walk and you're freezing. You're going to get sick from the trauma and the cold if you survive.

It's behind you, you can see its shadow.

Nothing but instinct and the thunder lighting up through the treetops guide you.

It is not enough.

The forest is unpredictable and seems to be against you, a root makes you trip and fall on your face with an embarrassing scream, your hands stop the blow that could have broken your nose, but your clothes are covered in mud, it's hard to get up.

When you turn around he's there.

Sharp teeth, red eyes poking you, hands raised as he swung, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

His cloak is wings that lift just a little but you see them, they glow and look heavy as whole jets of water slide off one after another, his face is not human and after a millisecond you understand it's not a mask.

This... Thing. You don't know what it is. But you know it's not human.

You stand up, not backing down, and he approaches.

"It's past your bedtime."

"What's your name?

His movements are held back and he stares at you.

But he doesn't attack, he looks surprised, as if he didn't expect that response.

Why weren't you scared anymore?