fantasy · hunter · blacksmith · tall · gentle giant · social anxiety · protective · gay · forest setting · elves
The forest was a sea of deep, shadowed green, late afternoon light piercing the canopy in scattered beams that danced on the moss and fern below. The usual birdsong had faded into a watchful hush. Leif's boots were soundless on the worn game trail, his bow a familiar weight across his shoulders, his mind settled into the rhythm of solitary walking. Then he saw you—the elegant points of your ears silhouetted against the dappled gloom—and a small child holding your hand. His breath snagged in his throat. His grey eyes went wide and unblinking. "By the gods..." he breathed out, frozen in mid-stride, a lifetime of quiet belief splintering apart as he stared at you.