Chapter Text
As Ventus rolled over in his sleep, a sweet aroma pulled him right out of his dreamless snooze. If his nose wasn't deceiving him, he could have sworn he just caught a whiff of hazelnuts and chocolate. He smacked his lips as he woke up, his blurry vision making the bright colors of Aqua's house mix together like the fall leaves gathered outside the house. He sat up and rubbed his eyes tiredly, heaving a giant yawn that made him feel tired all over again.
"You've slept since the sun set and you're still tired, Ven?" Even if she was buried with whatever she was cooking in her kitchen, Ventus could already tell Aqua was smiling teasingly in his direction. "I thought you said you would be up bright and early today?"
"Wait, how late is it exactly?!" Ventus flung the covers off himself before he rushed to a bucket of water already waiting for him, diving for the nearest wash cloth and nearly smacking his head against the wall in the progress.
"Ven, I was only kidding!" Aqua called out. The sweet smells were becoming stronger, and they only made Ventus speed up the progress as he got himself cleaned up and ready for the day. Aqua had some delicious stuff prepared in the kitchen that morning, and he just had to see it before the rest of the town knew. Though Aqua was the designated blacksmith of their cozy little town, her baking skills were much more well-known. Everyone wanted to get their hands on her baked goods once they got a whiff of them. And knowing their little town, it would only be a matter of time before their neighbors would come knocking at her door.
Ventus hopped into the kitchen on one foot as he slipped on his socks, making a beeline straight for the pile of muffins that sat just a few feet away from him.
"Ven, hey Ven!" Catching him by the back of his shirt, Aqua stopped her hyperactive house guest before he rammed himself into the table. "You can't have any of those. They're for Terra, remember?"
"Wha?" Ventus spun around on his single foot, the sleepier and hungrier side of him finally giving into his rational side as he remembered why Aqua was making dessert so early in the morning. "Oh, right. I almost forgot." He gave a sheepish grin as he placed his foot down. "Sorry."
"Geez," Aqua shook her head, smiling as she released the young man and turned around. "I thought I was going to have to hook you up the coat rack to stop you from going after the muffins." she said as she spun around and held out a new tray of muffins. "Here, I made some for you. This should keep your mind off the others."
"Definitely! Thanks, Aqua!" Accepting the tray with a grin, Ventus took a seat at the table and savored the first muffin as Aqua bought him some milk to down it with.
"You sure you don't want me to come with you?" she asked, bringing up this question for the fifteenth time in the past two days —Ventus had started counting by the tenth time he was asked. "It's going to take you a day or two to get there and you know that Terra is bound to not be there during the day."
"I'll be fine, Aqua." Ventus reassured her after he finished his first muffin, going for another after he took a few sips of milk. "I'll find some place to stay in the town near his cabin if I get there late and head straight to his place the morning after. I'll even stay a little longer to make sure he gets better."
"And then you'll end up catching his cold." Aqua shook her head, returning to her stove to sweep up any ingredients she might have spilled while she was baking.
"That won't be too bad, though!"
"You're saying that so you can ditch your chores if you do get sick."
"Well, when you put it like that…" A small cloud of flour was thrown at Ventus. "Hey!" he dodged it just in time. "This is my last good shirt! Come on!"
"Which will give you more reason to go and wash up the rest of your clothes as soon as you get back." replied Aqua with a laugh in her voice. Unable to stay mad or upset with her for long, Ventus found himself laughing, too. Ever since he came into town and started to work as her apprentice, he always felt like he was under the best care. Aqua was as firm and straightforward as a mom, and she was as kind and funny as one, too. She was the best mentor ever, as well as his best friend. Well, at least one of them.
"If you do end up staying at Terra's though, make sure he takes the medicine I'm packing for him." Aqua placed a carefully wrapped basket in front of Ventus just as he finished his last muffin. The wicker basket looked packed to the brim with baked goods and medical supplies, all tucked under a small, red gingham handkerchief. "Even if he tells you he doesn't need it, make sure he takes it. And remind him that he has to come to Christmas dinner in December. No excuses."
Ventus laughed, brushing crumbs off his pants as he stood. "I think that's the only thing that's gonna pull him away from his training." He himself wouldn't want to face Aqua's wrath, so he knew Terra would be the same and drop training for a while to come see his old hometown. "I will, though; promise." he assured her as he stood, slipping on the boots and the knapsack he kept under the table.
"Hey, take that cloak with you on your way out. Your coat's still getting repaired at the tailor's so just use the cloak, alright?" said Aqua as she picked up Ven's abandoned plate. “It’s pretty cold out there, and the forest is going to be a lot colder.”
“Got it!" Ventus grabbed ahold of the red cloak that hung at the coat rack and drew it around his shoulders. It was a little big on him but he would make do with it, even if it did drag across the floor as he walked.
"Ven, wait!" Aqua stopped him once more. When he turned, he was met with a warm hug as Aqua squeezed him tightly. "Be safe. And write to me as soon as you get into town."
"I will! I will!" Ventus laughed, returning the hug and trying to squirm away when Aqua didn't let him go. "Aqua, I gotta go !"
"Hmmm," Aqua hugged him tighter, laughing as Ven started to resemble a rambunctious puppy as his squirming turned into outright flailing. Ventus could be too cute sometimes, even when he was trying to be serious. "Okay, okay. Seriously, be safe. Don't stray off the path and don't lose the basket!"
"I won't!" As Ventus ran out the door, he nearly slipped off the stairs as ice began to form on the surface of the wood. He saved himself with a quick hop and twist of his hips, managing to land on both feet as he skidded to a stop. When he looked up, Aqua deliberately gave him a 'what did I just say?' look. "Uh, see that was a test! One for myself! And I passed it! Bye!" He waved to her one last time as he hurried down the road, his red cloak flying over his shoulders as it splashed against the warm colors of the fallen leaves. As he left, he could already see a few miners and a couple of school kids already make their way to Aqua’s house. Ventus laughed to himself; just another morning in their little town.
Autumn had left as soon as it came to Ventus' quiet little town. The cusp of winter was upon it, granting people the ability to see their own breath in small white clouds. With a chill in the air and the trees bare with their colored leaves resting by their roots, not a lot of people were outside. A few were out shopping or hurrying to work, but that was the most Ventus had seen. Not that this was different from how life was outside of the later seasons.
It was a quiet, semi-busy town. People came and stayed here to make a living and start up families. It was nice and Ventus loved living here with Aqua. But he could understand why Terra took off to live somewhere else a few years ago.
‘I don't want to spend the rest of my life here when I know I can do a lot more things than just farm work.' He had told Ventus and Aqua the day he made his decision. "I love you guys, and I love living here with you and everyone else. But I just need to leave for a while. Spend some time on my own and work these things out by myself." His friends asked if something happened, asked him what triggered this sort of desire. But Terra smiled and shook his head, promising nothing had happened. "I just need some time out there, you know? I'm planning on renting a cottage in the next town over. You guys can come visit whenever you want. Don't worry; it's not like we aren't going to see each other again."
And he was right. Terra would make a trip back home to see them after he moved, and they vice versa. Terra would be busy with sword training —a skill he decided to pick up a year after living on his own— but he always had time for his friends whenever they came to see him. Even though Terra didn't live close by anymore, it wasn't like anything changed. The only thing that did change was Ventus slowly coming to understand what Terra meant.
Maybe in a few years, he would live outside the town himself. He too wanted to see what else was out there.
"Morning, Ventus!" Greeted an elderly woman just as he was walking down the street. "Where are you running off to so early in the morning?"
"Oh, morning!" Ventus pulled to a stop. "Going to Terra's. He went and got himself sick so I'm gonna go drop off this medicine and snacks Aqua made for him."
"Well, aren't you sweet? Oh, be sure to be careful out there, will you? Winter may be coming soon but there are still plenty of wild animals out there." she warned him. "Be safe and have a good day! Say hello to Terra for me as well!"
"Will do, and I'll be careful! Promise!" he turned away and hopped right onto the path towards the outskirts of town, the kind old woman's warning bouncing around in his head.
Of course he knew there were wild animals out there. But that surely had to be the least of his worries. The bears and most of the more dangerous snakes were already hibernating. Anything smaller than that wouldn't give him any trouble so long as he stuck to his path.
Besides, the forest outside of town didn't scare him at all. It was beautiful, in fact. There was a wide river that cut through the trees, with sunspots decorating the forest floor. Frosted dew formed on the grass and crunched beneath his feet. Just like back in town, the fallen leaves were a mix of yellows, reds, and oranges. He and Aqua had taken the same path together to get to Terra’s and he had it memorized by heart. He had more than once traveled to the edge of the forest on his own when he didn't have any work or chores. He'd bring some books with him or practiced archery with the bow and arrow Terra had gotten him for his birthday a few years ago. He was all too familiar with this place.
Soon enough, he reached the very tree he used for target practice. He stopped by it, taking a moment to run his fingers along the old notches left behind by his arrows. It gave him a solemn feeling, reminding him that this was the furthest he had gone out of town for leisure and not with Aqua by his side. Once he walked past this point, he would really be on his own. His stomach suddenly tightened with a knot.
"Be back soon." said Ventus to no one in particular. He walked past the tree with a deep breath, following the familiar trail to Terra's house and reminding himself that there was nothing to be afraid of.
Ventus kept telling himself that as the trees began to thicken, bunching together and tangling their long, bare branches with one another. Funny, they almost looked like bony hands now that he took a closer look. They were starting to look more alike, too. The piles of leaves he used to keep track of what direction he was going in were starting to vanish, leaving the ground naked as he walked on. Somehow, no sunlight managed to break through the twisted branches as he walked further; the forest seemed to grow darker. The distant sound of his warm little town faded behind him and now all he could hear was his own breathing.
Hearing it made his skin prickle.
He shook his head, scolding himself for getting scared so easily. He had only been on the road for half an hour. He shouldn't be getting unnerved now. He had no reason to.
Ventus kept his eyes peeled for the familiar landmarks, ignoring the long grass that tickled his arms and the icy breeze that bit at his cheeks. He would not let them trick him or make him think that anyone or anything dangerous was out there. Because there wasn't. He was the only person on that path.
The back of his cloak was tugged back.
He spun around, dropping the basket and reaching for his knapsack to defend himself. He glanced back and opened his mouth to shout at the tree branch that caught his cloak.
"… Damn." He huffed under his breath, carefully yanking the branch off the hem of the cloak. "This thing really is too long. I should probably have a tailor look at it when I reach the next town." he told himself as he rapid heartbeat began to calm down. He bent down and took a look at the basket, thankful to see that everything was still in tack. He stood and chuckled at himself. "The scariest thing out here is the trees. So stupid."
He turned around and continued to walk, taking a look at his surroundings as he did so. Every tree and root that knotted along the ground looked the same. Nothing in particular looked different.
Nothing except the pair of golden eyes staring back at him.
At first, Ventus thought they were a pair sun spots that somehow managed to get through the forest's many bare branches. But then they started to come closer. It had only been a few seconds, so Ventus' doubted it meant time was moving quickly. But those eyes were. They were coming closer to where he was. And they weren't stopping.
Ventus ran.
His arms were swinging wildly as he slapped away any tree branches that were getting in his way. Some whacked him right back —a few felt like they were aiming for his legs. To try and trip him and give whatever was chasing him a chance to grab him? Ventus shook those crazy thoughts aside. No, that was impossible. Thinking like that wasn't going to help him as he ran. His breath was already coming fast and short as he sprinted through the woods —insane ideas like that were only going to slow him down.
Ventus ran as fast as his legs could carry him, trying to ignore the sound of snapping branches and heavy footsteps running after him. Whatever was chasing him was big enough to split wood and tear up the ground beneath its feet. It had to have been some kind of animal. Something that didn't hibernate like all the other dangerous predators. It was awake and most-likely hungry, and ready to go after anything that could be its next meal. If something like that caught him, he knew that would be the end of him.
‘M-My bow!' he mentally screamed at himself, one of his hands fumbling to open the knapsack swinging off his shoulder. He thanked Aqua a thousand times over, since she reminded him to pack his bow and arrow the night before. His arms were shaking and he wasn't thinking straight, but if he could just get his bow out and find a tree to use as cover, he could take a few shots.
Whatever was chasing him was starting to close in. Ventus could feel its heavy breath blowing into him, making his clothes stick to his body. A putrid smell filled his nostrils. It made him gag for a moment, but he did not let it slow his movements as he found the nearest cover he could find.
Ventus threw himself over a fallen log and dropped the basket and bag, reaping his bow and arrow from the bag. His hands trembled in that split second, but Ventus swallowed down his fear and rose up to take aim.
Nothing was there.
The path he had taken was littered with broken branches and kicked up dirt. That smell from before still lingered in the air. The back of his neck was still wet from whatever breathed on him.
Something had been chasing him, but it was gone now.
Ventus let out the biggest sigh of relief, falling to his knees as his lungs tried to pump air back into him. "Damn…" he said a second time, wiping sweat off his forehead. "What was that?" he asked himself.
The howl of a wolf was his answer.
"A wolf?" Ventus asked himself. According the the hunters back in town, the packs of wolves that lived out here had already followed after the herds of elk that traveled south. None were supposed to be out here. Maybe it was an old wolf that was left behind?
The basket caught his eye. Right, Ventus didn't have time to wonder about that. He had already lost enough time and if he didn't leave now, it would be nightfall before he even got to the next town. Besides, he didn’t want to hang around to find out if that was truly a wolf or not.
Before he got moving, he pulled out his quiver stocked with arrows and placed it on his other shoulder and held his bow tightly in his left hand. It never hurt to be safe.
It took some time, but he managed to find the path again and continued down it, relief returning to him once he saw the familiar sign that welcomed travelers to a bridge that crossed the river. Finally, something he was familiar with.
Ventus hurried down the path and jogged over to the bridge, grinning as he heard the babbling river that ran under it. He could feel the cold air starting to warm up as he got closer. Something he was used to seeing made him feel so much better after what he had just been through. He had found a little piece of his home.
Something was different about it, though. There, standing by the center and near the side of the bridge was a person. Ventus stopped when he reached the start of the bridge and stared.
What was sticking out of the person's head…?
The person turned. It was a young man who looked to be about his age. When Ventus was close enough, he noticed the man had unkempt black hair that sprung all over the place. So that was probably what he thought was poking out of his head. It was weird; he thought it was something else.
"You can't cross here."
Ventus blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Find some other place to cross," said the young man. It didn't look like he was going to repeat himself.
"Can I ask why?" asked Ventus, taking a step closer. He saw nothing wrong with the bridge. Was there something further up ahead?
"Find another path." The man took a few steps over to him. He was dressed head to toe in brown and black, like a hunter. It didn't look like he carried much on him and it was clear he wasn't from the forest. It looked like he lived where the sun shone year round. He looked like an outsider, but not one that Ventus would be afraid of. Ventus wouldn't have been intimidated by him if it weren't for his eyes.
They were gold.
"That didn't answer my question." Ventus said once his nerve returned to him.
"I don't need to give you an answer," replied the man. The more steps he took, the more Ventus started to feel a familiar fear. Only this time, it was happening in front of him instead of behind him. "Find another path." he repeated, stopping just a foot away from Ventus.
"Give me one good reason why I should." Ventus shot back, his own eyes narrowing. He wasn't going to leave without an answer. Even if he did get one, this was the fastest way to Terra's. And he wasn't going to let some stranger he never met tell him what to do.
The man suddenly smirked. Ventus was almost sure he wasn't seeing things when he noticed how sharp the man's canines looked.
"There's a wolf in the woods.”