Work Text:
Having nothing to do means Awsten is about a minute away from accidentally (or intentionally) setting something on fire. He has enough self preservation to know that’s not a good idea, though. Since, you know, most of the things in the cottage are made out of wood or some other flammable substance. Geoff and Otto would be pissed if they came back to find the place burning. Again.
Those two are both in the workshop out back, probably having a lot of fun playing with their silly magic. All their flowers and plants and shit. Normally, Awsten would be over there bothering them and demanding their attention, but apparently they’re doing really important and delicate things today. So Otto told him that he wasn’t allowed in, and Geoff drew a protective circle around the workshop to keep Awsten out.
Dick. Awsten had imagined setting everything around the workshop on fire, and then all of their personal belongings. But when he went to mess with Geoff’s stuff, he saw a giant spider on the floor and immediately fled the cottage.
So now he’s… just walking around. Bored out of his mind. Fuck this. What’s the point of being with two witches if they don’t let you watch their cool magic? Whatever, their magic isn’t even that cool.
Awsten has lost track of how long he’s been walking through the woods. He hasn’t lost track of where he is, though. He knows these woods better than anyone—or anything.
He’s almost at the dirt road that connects two villages on either side of the woods. It’s mid-afternoon, so there might be somebody on the path. Awsten stops at the edge of the road, standing between two trees. To his left, the path is empty. It continues on for a while before bending away, out of sight. And to the right, there’s somebody on horseback. Far off in the distance, but close enough to be seen in the light filtering through the trees.
Awsten waits where he is, watching the rider. It’s weird seeing someone alone. Even knights tend to travel in small groups, to deter bandits. Not that there are any bandits around this specific section of the woods, but still. In other parts of the woods, a single rider is practically asking to be ambushed, no matter how tough they are.
As the person moves nearer, Awsten is able to pick out more details. The man is armed, more heavily than a bandit, but he isn’t clad in armor like a warrior, even a rogue one. It’s very strange.
Then a wave of gross anti-witch magic hits Awsten. He almost recoils at the sensation. It’s not uncomfortable—not to him—but it is jarring after living with the pleasant murmur of Otto’s tree-based magic and Geoff’s flower-based magic for such a long period of time. Their magic is so green and alive. This… is harsh and metallic. Awsten can feel the traces of dozens of lives ended on the man’s long blade.
A witch-killer.
Awsten focuses his gaze intensely on the man. He rides up to where Awsten is standing on the side of the road, and then stops to look down at him.
“Hello,” the witch-killer says, a bit cautiously as he probably looks Awsten over for any hidden weapons. He won’t find any.
Awsten smiles a fake-sweet smile. “Hello. Are you traveling through here?”
The witch-killer shakes his head. “I am looking for the green witches who reside in this forest. Do you know of them?”
Awsten nods, not breaking eye contact with the man. “Yes. I do.”
This is going to be too easy.
The witch-killer’s expression turns serious. “I’ve come to destroy them. They cannot be allowed to continue their evil arts. Witches are abominations, and they corrupt the purity of this world.”
“That’s great,” Awsten says, cutting off the inevitable speech about how evil witches are. He’s heard it before and he’s not interested in hearing that again. “I know where they live.”
“You do!” the witch-killer exclaims. “If you can give me directions, I—”
“They live very deep in the woods,” Awsten says, backing away from the road. He moves back into the trees, still watching the witch-killer. “I can’t just tell you where it is. You’ll have to follow me.”
“Certainly,” the witch-killer says. “I do hope you’ll be safely away once I confront them. I’ve taken on two witches at once before, and the surrounding damage can be great.”
Awsten continues to back away, slowly. The witch-killer dismounts his horse and leads it after him. Good. Awsten can tell the horse isn’t comfortable with going into the woods, but it doesn’t suspect anything. Neither does the witch-killer.
Awsten turns and walks normally, with the witch-killer trailing after him. Now Awsten chooses his path more deliberately. He pays careful attention to where he’s walking, leading the man in between trees and around thick underbrush. And every few steps, he looks back to see the witch-killer following several paces behind him with his somewhat reluctant horse in tow.
“Watch your step,” Awsten says. “You don’t want to get lost.”
“Thank you, young man,” the witch-killer says. “This is a kind and selfless deed you’re doing.”
Oh, if he only knew. Awsten smirks as he looks ahead again.
He doesn’t slow down or stop when he leads the witch-killer to cross over a rocky stream. The horse slows the man down a bit, creating more distance between the two. But the witch-killer can still see him.
Then, ever so slightly, Awsten’s eyes start to glow each time he looks back to check on the witch-killer’s progress. The man continues to follow him, deeper and deeper into the thickest part of the woods. Overhead, the heavy canopy of leaves is starting to block out the sunlight more completely.
Awsten spares a moment to wonder if the witch-killer has noticed. His own footsteps are soundless now, and his eyes are glowing brightly. And yet the witch-killer continues to follow him. The horse is definitely unsettled, but its rider doesn’t pay any attention to its concern.
Awsten steps up into the air, floating a few inches off the ground, and turns around completely.
Oh, this is a sight to see. The witch-killer’s eyes, even at a distance, are reflecting Awsten's blue-green glow. He’s completely entranced. That is unusual. Normally, when Awsten enchants people and gets them lost in the woods, they’ll still have a great deal of fear in their faces. That’s not the case with this witch-killer. The horse, however...
Awsten shoots a glare at the horse. It jumps, its reins pulling free of the witch-killer’s hands. It bolts away, running through the trees.
It’ll probably escape. Or it’ll wander around until some humans find it. Or, if it’s still in the forest tomorrow, Awsten will probably lead it out. Otto and Geoff will complain if he just leaves it alone.
But back to the witch-killer. Awsten floats backwards, continuing to lead him into the woods. The human can’t help but follow. Awsten leads him over rough patches of roots, laughing to himself whenever the human trips.
Deeper.
Darker.
Lost.
Awsten dims his light, just a little bit. The witch-killer starts to panic. He looks around frantically.
“Are we nearly there?” he calls out.
“Almost,” Awsten says, his voice echoing slightly.
There are faint wisps of light floating among the trees all around the human now, just barely in sight. Awsten lets them glow and dim, disorienting the human further. He’s afraid now. He might not understand his situation completely just yet, but he’s definitely afraid.
“What’s wrong?” Awsten says. “Are you nervous about the witches?”
“I’ve killed seventeen witches,” the human says, his voice steady while his body language betrays his fear. “I’m not afraid of two more.”
“Then what is it?” Awsten says. He drifts deeper into this place, the darkest place in the woods. He’s almost there. “Could you be afraid of… the forest?”
“There’s nothing to fear in the forest,” the human says. He’s starting to walk faster, trying to catch up with Awsten. He thinks he’s lost sight of his guide. It’s so entertaining.
“I think there are plenty of things to fear in the forest,” Awsten says. His voice echoes faintly. The wisps glow and fade. The human comes closer. “There are bandits,” Awsten says, “And wolves. And witches…”
The human’s voice is starting to tremble. “I have fought all of those things and yet live.”
“And…” Awsten says softly, drawing the human closer and closer and closer. “There are some things… that you can’t fight. Things like…”
The human pushes in between two huge trees in a sudden burst of speed. He sees Awsten, glowing and flickering out of his human shape and floating above a deep chasm.
The human’s face pales with the most intense horror.
“Me,” Awsten finishes. He turns completely into his will-o’-wisp shape as the human falls straight into the chasm.
The human doesn’t scream as he falls, but Awsten can feel the fear rolling off him in sickly waves. It’s stronger than his disgusting anti-witch magic. It’s more satisfying than any fear Awsten’s ever felt from humans he’s led here. Maybe because the human was so confident in himself. Maybe because he was so sure that he would find and kill Geoff and Otto.
The human hits the bottom, and the waves of fear mix messily with waves of intense pain.
Awsten’s work here is done.
He flies quickly away from the chasm. It’s a long trip back to the cottage from here. Even flying as fast as he can, it will still take a long time to get back home. By now, Geoff and Otto should be done with their magic fun and games. And by the time he gets back, they should be back in the cottage, hopefully with some kind of food ready for supper.
Finally, Awsten arrives at the cottage and enters through an open window. Sure enough, it looks like supper is almost ready. Otto is near the fireplace finishing whatever he’s making. It could be anything; Awsten can’t exactly smell human things when he’s in his true form.
Geoff, meanwhile, is sitting at the table doing something with a handful of white flowers. It looks incredibly boring.
Otto looks up at Awsten floating around the cottage and sighs. “Awsten, change back before you catch something on fire,” he says.
Awsten does turn back into his human form, but not before lighting the edge of Geoff’s cloak on fire. Geoff drops his flowers on the table and hurries to put it out with one of the many jars of water they keep around the cottage.
Awsten lands next to Otto to finish his transformation and to lean over his shoulder and smell the food. As he does so, he takes a moment to enjoy the feeling of Otto and Geoff’s magic. It’s so much more pleasant than that disgusting witch-killer that he left in the chasm.
“I just got back from saving your lives,” he announces.
“Yeah?” Geoff says, taking off his slightly smoldering cloak. “What did you do?”