Work Text:
“What are you doing in my forest?” The question came from a hidden, deep voiced, stranger. Lu Tian stopped in his tracks, the frightening aspect of the moment would have had the hairs along the back of his neck raised had he not realized the disembodied voice was trying to make itself sound far deeper and intimidating than it actually was. If anything the voice intrigued him, urging the young prince to act careless and confidently; though, wandering away from his bodyguards for a walk hadn’t been the most assiduous plan.
“Well, I didn’t know this was your forest. Is your name on it somewhere? I’m terribly sorry if I missed it.” Lu Tian called out to the tree’s around him, looking around with eyebrows knitted in confusion, he still wasn’t sure where the voice had come from.
“I … No, it’s not my forest.” There was rustling behind him, Lu Tian turning around to see the owner of that purposely deepened voice, the act dropped to reveal his softer tone.
The stranger was tall. Oh goodness, they were tall! Their wore clothes similar to that of the traditional, heavily insulated Water Tribe Nation attire; Lu Tian found it difficult to place the influence of the clothes, unable to discern between the Northern and Southern Tribe styles. A brown fur lined coat was draped across their shoulders, covering much of the strangers body, and a particularly odd mask obscured their face. The mask was a combination of dark and light blues, seemingly mimicking the depictions of Wan Shi Tong’s face.
“But! I protect these woods from dark spirits and devious strangers!” The stranger stood tall. Lu Tian cocked his head to the side, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. Bemused, not cruel.
“The last time I checked, I wasn’t an evil spirit.” Lu Tian touched along his chest, patting himself down as if to check for any sort of darkness that he may not have noticed before. “I don’t think I’m devious … maybe a little rebellious.”
“Oh!” The stranger sputtered, a hand coming to rest at their hip as the rest of their almighty facade dropped, shoulders slumping as brown hues darted around. “Then … Then I am here to escort you out of this forest! What - uhm - what are you even doing here?”
Lu Tian chuckled. “It seemed like a nice day, and I wanted to walk around. I … I was aware some spirits are upset, but I am more than capable of defending myself!” There was pride in that statement, Lu Tian puffing out his chest as the stranger laughed. They seemed impressed with him, almost excited to find someone with such confidence; the people of Spirit Island were confident, certainly, but Lu Tian was a stranger! “You can walk with me. I don’t mind if you want to protect me.”
The stranger stole a moment to catch their breath, hidden cheeks flushed with heat as they turned their gaze away, clearing their throat. “Oh! Yes! I will … I will gladly walk with you. To keep you safe, of course! Did I ever tell you my name? I’m Etsu.” The stranger, Etsu, offered out a hand, and with the other he reached up to remove his mask.
Lu Tian took his hand, giving a little shake before. He motioned behind him, to the village where he had come from and where his bodyguards were surely freaking out. “Should we go then?” Hand at his side, Lu Tian gave a saddened look ahead of him; he didn’t want to go back to the village, he wanted to explore the forest.
It took a moment of silence to pass between them before Etsu picked up on Lu Tian’s disappointment. Taking Lu Tian’s hand, Etsu tugged him deeper into the forest.
“Don’t worry.” Etsu said, a smile lazily placed onto his face. “I’ll protect you.”