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There's a wicked beast in the wood they say, with endless rows of jagged teeth and eyes that burn like hellfire. With many limbs and blade sharp claws and a laugh too warm bellied to fit such an icy figure. Cold and cruel and as unforgiving as the ice laced winds that wrack the village mercilessly.
Danny doesn't believe it for a second.
He's lived there for a while now, and despite how many years have passed, there isn't a marketplace visit that goes by without someone warning him of the "danger that lies ahead of him" should he return back in the direction he literally just came from Mr. Truman, thank you very much.
After a while interacting with humans had gotten pretty difficult, but man. Danny's never had a group of people drive him up the wall so easily before. They mean well, and in the end, sometimes he can even find himself feeling a little nostalgic for a closely knit, little old town. Haunted by beings they don't and likely won't ever grow to understand.
But that doesn't make the outrageous warnings any less annoying, and it sure doesn't make Danny any more willing than he already is to hear it. Which is a straight up zero percent, not the slightest bit, interested.
If they didn't need to walk down the hill for supplies every so often, Danny swears he'd never come around another person again. Sure, the companionship of somebody other than his husband could be nice, every once in a while, but it wasn't anything to write home about. Not that there was anybody else that could truly offer him any worthwhile companionship in the first place, not really.
And so Danny goes, pulling on different layers of fabric to brave against the unforgiving cold that rushes at his skin as he steps through the front door. Makes his way down the familiar knotted roots and sheets of ice that slope down the hills of the wood with a gracefulness that would probably strike the villagers as odd, and finally finds himself at the sturdy stalls of what the people living there consider to be a marketplace, but what Danny would have to describe as a "quaint" farmers market at best.
But hey, it gets the job done, the people are nice when they're not scaring the other travelers shitless over some supposed "beast of the wood", and Danny's able to get back home to share a warm meal with Vlad by the end of the day. So all together, not too unpleasant of an ordeal.
Now if only he could make it through without hearing about—
"I'm telling you young man, one of these days you aren't gonna come down from those woods anymore! The village is gonna have a fit— If you value your life, you should consider—"
How comforting, Danny tries his best to keep a scowl from overcoming his features, does everything in his power to maintain eye contact with her instead of shooting his eyes to the sky above them both. He attempts to cut off her warnings with what he hopes is a grateful smile and not the frown he’s trying so hard to contain.
"I appreciate the warning Ms. Jenkins, I really, really do, but can you please just give me the ginger root and I'll be out of your hair— that would be perfect, thank you ma'am."
Thankfully he's still got a handle on this whole human interaction thing, if the way the older woman smiles at him easily is anything to go by. If only she didn't look so damn doubtful beneath it all, jesus. Or maybe that's just what the dull sheen of the glass eye does for her, makes her look all foreboding. Either way, not appreciated.
"Alright dear, you just be careful now, it'll be getting dark soon. You know what they say—"
This time Danny can't hold back from rolling his eyes, the drama of it all... He'd swear this was some kind of tourist attraction if they didn't all look so horrified.
"The sunlight at day keeps the wood's beast away. Yes, thank you Ms. Jenkins. Have a good one." He sighs, putting his purchases away in his shoulder bag before continuing on his way, before the older woman could move on from the dangers of the wood to begging him to consider one of her granddaughters.
"Stay safe!"
He still doesn't understand how they keep getting the story wrong—
The descriptions are fairly accurate, sure, but it's hard to really understand the full affect their appearance must have on other people now. For them the process had been gradual, slow, and something they were able to embrace as normal. Rose colored glasses aside, there's no way they look that horrific to other people, right?
Honestly, Danny kind of finds them cute...in a weird way. He likes that they match, likes that they've found a hundred new ways of touching each other, learning one another's bodies again. He likes it a lot. A secretive little smile finds its way to his lips as he reminisces about his husband fondly.
Danny's pulled from his thoughts of spidery limbs and long jet black hair when someone— or make that two someone's actually— bump into his long legs, causing his bag to slip from his shoulders when he at least makes an effort to catch the two of them. If he weren't in such a hurry to get back home, (wouldn't want to encounter that "forest creature"), he thinks he'd find the two kids at his feet endearing.
As is, he just wants to be on his way.
"Ah— Sorry about that, are you okay?"
He steadies the two gently before they're looking up at him, one set of eyes looking awed, the other cautious and reserved. She's the responsible one then, for sure. "Holy shit, it's that guy!" the younger looking of the two, a boy, cries out before he's chastised by what Danny can only guess is his sister.
"Language, Eugene!"
"Don't call me that!"
Danny stifles a laugh, oddly reminded of both his own sister and the man waiting for him at home by the exchange. They both turn back to look at him curiously. "First off, I'm not "that guy." he starts off light heartedly, "My name is Danny, and you two have to be more careful, bumping into strangers like that. Especially when it's getting dark."
The boy, Eugene, is about to open his big fat mouth about how "this guy" was actually the one who'd bumped into them and that maybe he should be the one watching where he's going, and a hundred other excuses his sister's heard before, so she interrupts him before he can even get the chance.
"Sorry Mister." She apologizes before helping him gather his things, elbowing her brother to stop staring so rudely at the man and start doing the same. The handsome smile of gratitude he sends her way puts her a little less on edge by the time he's stuffing the last of his wares into his bag.
"Well. I've got to get going now, thanks for the help." Danny says, smiling warmly. And he means it. With all of the things he's seen in his long, long time spent on earth, some days it gets harder and harder to see the good in other people. He really did appreciate the help. Danny really hopes they grow up to be great people.
"No problem sir." The older child responds happily, and with an easy nod and a little wave in their direction, it feels like the man is gone by the time the two children have blinked, much, much farther down the road than either of them could've expected.
That sends a little twinge of wrongness down the girl's spine, but Danny had seemed nice. It wasn't really that big of a deal.
"So..." her brother starts, turning to look at her with this rare, serious expression on his face that she doesn't think she's ever seen on him before, "There wasn't something...off about that guy to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"This is the guy that disappears into the woods every month, stops by only to pick up shit like ginger root, yet he's wearing some of the nicest furs I've ever seen in my life. Plus, you didn't see that disappearing act just now?! There's no way he made it down the road that fast."
So it wasn't just her then...but that doesn't mean that there's something wrong with the guy, right?
"C'mon Eleana, don't tell me you don't want to know where that guy goes every time he leaves this place."
And there Eugene goes again, "that guy." Eleana has a hard time resisting the urge to roll her eyes before her brother continues, "Besides, he left his sage here. Guess it fell out of his bag when we bumped into 'im."
Eleana bites her lip, thinking.
"Can't let a man go without his sage right? Especially on some spirit infested hill. In fact, it's probably our civic duty to get this stuff back to that guy! If he dies, aren't you gonna feel guilty knowing—
"Okay! Okay. We're going." Eleana interrupts, not wanting more reasons to freak out. Psyching herself up to follow a stranger into the woods was hard enough, much less with the threat of the man's death looming over her shoulders.
Eugene smiles excitedly as they make their way down the same path the man had been on just moments before, and despite how nervous she is, she is a bit excited to know more about this Danny guy.
The whole village is, really. A decade ago these two men just show up, build a house up on the hill in the dense woods without a single concern for their safety, and they've been there ever since. They come down for necessities every so often, but for the most part, the two pretty much keep to themselves.
Usually it'd be hard to believe two men so vastly different from one another can cohabitate in the first place but...
Honestly, despite how weird the situation is, it's unquestionable that the two are like...ridiculously in love with each other.
Whenever she's seen the two together, the smile on the face of the man Eleana now knows as Danny has been positively radiant. It's like the two of them can't keep their hands off of one another. One of them is always holding the other in some way, a hand on the shoulder, the small of Danny's back, in the other's pocket for god's sake, and it isn't hard to notice the matching rings they both seem to wear. The couple were strange, especially that older guy, but it worked.
And they were admittedly, really cute together.
The rare times she's seen the older man, a silver haired gentleman who somehow looks both older and oddly young at the same time, he's even had the gall to laugh off Ms. Jenkin's warnings. He tends to put the villagers off more than Danny does, especially on the occasions where the younger man isn't there to chastise him.
His eyes are sharp and crafty, and he walks with this sort of elegance that honestly makes everyone's skin crawl. Except for Danny that is, who only tends to look nothing short of enamored when the other man is present.
In any case, everyone would consider them to be screwed, up on the hill where the beast stalks the wood, if they didn't manage to routinely make their way down to the market monthly. Safe and sound with not a hair misplaced on their heads.
It'd almost be enough to dispel any talk of woodland beasts and monstrous multi-limbed creatures all together, if not for the fact that Eleana can see it.
Right there, skirting on the edges of shadows, massive and all encompassing in ways that make her chest feel tight and it’s like her skin is trying to crawl it’s way off of her own goddamn body.
They'd been following Danny for a while now, and somewhere along the line, Eleana forgets that they're meant to be returning something, rather than stalking someone.
It's a quick reality check when she sees the beginnings of ice blue limbs snaking down the trunks of birch trees, endless midnight black hair spilling from the shadows, and a multitude of piercing, burning hot coals she realizes are eyes at the same time she realizes where they are, what they've been doing and who exactly they've been following.
Judging by the gasp of shock that leaves her brother, it seems like he's seeing it too after all.
Eleana feels nothing short of dread at the way the thing stalks towards Danny, and she feels some primal part of her brain urging her to call out to him, beg him to get out of the way, tell him to run.
But something about the creature is so positively overwhelming that she can't even catch her breath, much less her words, and it takes her a second to realize there's a hellish sort of heat all around them, stealing the breath from her lungs and making her sweat. Fat drops of it rolling down her temples and she doesn't understand how in the world she can be experiencing heat in her village, at this time of year. At any time of year.
That feeling of wrongness settles in her gut again, and she honestly feels like she might throw up just from the sheer feelings of instinctive distress. One glance at her brother and she can see he's in the same boat.
The only thing more unnerving, more distressing than the creature in front of them that neither can put a name to, is the way Danny smiles.
And somehow, in this moment, it gets colder for reasons she can't wrap her head around and the forest floor beneath them is rumbling with what she finally realizes is that thing's laugh.
Danny laughs too, in this shy, charmed sort of way that makes Eleana feel confusion, and she clings to that feeling, that desire to understand what the hell is going on with everything in her being. Anything to distract her from the feelings that thing gives her.
His hand comes up to his smiling mouth in that pretty sort of way she’s only seen on girls a little older than her, batting their eyelashes at men who’ll never look their way.
It doesn’t seem like Danny will be having that problem however, not with the way the multitude of eyes stare back at him with nothing short of adoration.
They just both look so...delighted.
“What the hell—” Eugene breathes out, and Eleana’s honestly never wanted to hit him more. Especially when she can see the way Danny’s shoulders tense. And how could he have even heard that?!
There’s an odd little moment then, where it seems like the man turns to stare directly in their direction. The air feels tense in a way that makes Eleana’s breath hitch in her throat.
God, can he see them? From where they’re crouched down in snow capped bushes, a good few feet away from them but the distance still feels like not enough. Can Danny and that thing see them!?
Of course Danny can see them—
Up until now, Danny hadn’t considered himself so mysterious that someone would actually go out of their way to follow him into the woods. Thinking back on it now, he guesses that monthly visits that end with him disappearing into the dark of night would label him some sort of mystery. Especially in the minds of two children.
He just can’t believe they’d been so obvious about it. It looks like the girl is ten seconds away from hitting her brother for the exclamation, and so much for being the responsible one when she does exactly that.
Honestly, the only thing that really upsets Danny is how dangerous of a stunt this is. Following a stranger into the woods, the very same woods you’ve been warned against entering for your entire life no less. If Vlad really were some sort of monstrous forest creature, they’d be done for. Much less with two of them running around.
Danny blinks as a thought washes over him.
Oh man, Vlad must really be brushing off on him after all these years if he’s even considering something like this—but it’d be so funny…
Even if it scarred them for life a little bit..and what was a little existential scarring to spice up your adolescence?
That’s what happened to him, and look at him now! A successful life with a husband and a cabin in the woods, and maybe a much meaner sense of humor than he remembers having before, but is that really such a bad thing?
Maybe he can finally put this “monstrous, merciless, menace” narrative that Mrs. Terrance so often likes to spin to rest once and for all.
He looks back at Vlad and sees the way he’s eying the mischievous look on his face curiously, head tilted. Knows that the other man is more than aware of their two uninvited guests as well, wants to know what Danny wants to be done about the situation.
He decides on winging it.
“Why hello there.” Danny says performatively, and he watches the way Vlad’s eyes widen in understanding. “What’s a handsome thing like you doing in a place like this?”
More of that rumbling laugh spills from Vlad’s maw and Danny can’t keep the goofy grin off of his face if he tried. He jumps when a spidery limb snakes down the trunk of a tree to run down his side appreciatively.
“The same could be said for you, little one.” A smoky voice breathes out in turn, rasping and crackling with the heat of his core. Dark and rich in a way that’s still him, and now Danny doesn’t really know if he’s acting or not when a giddy feeling comes over him at the way Vlad’s voice graces his ears so pleasantly.
Eleana honestly can’t believe what she’s seeing, and instead of the ridiculous amount of fight or flight response she’d been feeling only moments before, now she feels what can only be described as embarrassment.
It only gets worse when more limbs slip down to caress Danny, dragging their lengthy claws down the man’s sides and he preens, leaving Eleana torn between feeling like prey and like some kind of voyeur.
“What is he doing?” Eugene suddenly hisses and she’s overwhelmed with the urge to cover his eyes.
As the two continue to flirt with one another, there’s something about it that feels so painfully familiar despite the utter strangeness of the encounter.
Her heart leaps to her throat when the beast finally cranes his neck down from out of the shadows, head leaning in close and she gets dizzy as she tries to take in what she’s seeing.
“And your horns are so fetching this time of year!” She can hear the man exclaim enthusiastically, and while she wouldn’t necessarily call them fetching, the creature certainly does have a wicked set of horns.
It’s odd to see a creature so beastly exhibit such a human-like reaction, but Eleana can swear she’s just witnessed the equivalent of an eyeroll from those endlessly burning coals.
“ Oh hush.” the thing breathes into the air, and what happens next is even harder to believe than the flirting.
The two children’s mouths drop as the creature leans down to the man and Danny plants a kiss on the rows of razor sharp teeth that fill the beast’s jaw like nothing. They’re too shaken to hear the quiet exchange that follows suit.
Danny smiles gleefully at the way the bushes to his left tense, practically radiating nervous energy and confusion. It seems like that little show had done the job after all.
Cheeks burning, he looks up to see Vlad grinning wide as well. It makes the situation all the more funny to see such an expression on such an imposing specter. Danny can feel himself falling in love all over again.
“I’ll take care of them from here, you just go home and get dinner started, I’m starving” Danny winks, whispering conspiratorially. His face breaks out into a toothy grin when his husband laughs.
“If you say so, Little Badger. ” Vlad hums in amusement and in the blink of an eye it’s like nothing’s happened, the woods free of the man’s overwhelming presence once more. Leaving behind nothing but the scent of ash and smoke Danny’s grown to adore.
After Danny gives one final little wave in that direction, he turns and walks directly over to his two spectators without saying a word, a raised eyebrow enough to make the two look considerably chastised. Along with absolutely shaken.
As the two stumble out of the bushes, he can already feel a frown pulling at his lips.
It's when Eleana's about to string up some excuse about sage bundles and being a good samaritan that her brother interrupts her.
"What the hell was that?!"
The admonishment leaves her lips automatically, "Eugene!"
"No, seriously, what the ever loving fuck was that!" her brother yells, and that's when the frown on Danny's face hardens, and suddenly, Eleana thinks they need to be weary of him as well.
"What was what," Danny starts, looking frustrated, "my husband? That woodland beast you all talk about that's never done a single thing to bother any of you?"
The two of them feel their jaws go slack—So that thing was?
"The other guy?" They breathe at the same time, and a hand shoots up to the bridge of Danny's nose to rub the tension he can feel building there.
"Well yeah, unless you think I have a thing for infidelity."
"You're married to that thing?! But—”
The man has his hands on his hips and Eleana can tell that he's not impressed.
"—he's so scary looking..." Eugene finishes, and she feels guilty with the way she can't help but nod in agreement. It'd honestly been terrifying.
"Don't call him a thing— " Danny scowls before continuing. "And since when is it fair to judge somebody based off of their looks?!"
"I don't understand how you all came up with this idea that just because something looks a certain way, that automatically means it's bad. When you put all of this time into seeing someone as a monster instead of giving them a chance, make such an effort to make things difficult for them, how else are they supposed to act?!"
And that'd be one thing, a reasoning behind their "wicked ways'' and "heinous acts". But they haven't even done anything!
He's embarrassed to admit he can feel himself getting kind of emotional, but it's true. How many years did Vlad have to spend misunderstood and rejected for things out of his control? Danny hates this stupid narrative that's been cooked up by a bunch of naive villagers in the middle of nowhere.
The only thing he hates more is how much it gets to him. He can't count how many times Vlad has reassured him that it's fine, that sometimes people just aren't understanding. But Danny really can't take another minute of it.
He rambles on for a while, and by the end of it, Danny honestly can't remember all that he's said. He feels lighter, like this weight has been lifted from his shoulders, but the specifics of what he's revealed to these two children are honestly lost on him, as caught up in the moment as he was.
At one point, he sees the two's eyes widen in understanding. They're staring at him in this way Danny honestly doesn't get, but he's relieved when by the end of it Eleana nods.
"I'm sorry Danny." The boy says finally, and that's how Danny can tell that this is sincere, no more of that "that guy" business.
They're sweet enough to offer him a little reassuring pat on the hand each, and in the moment, he doesn't understand why they feel as little as they do.
Danny's not so awful that he'll have two kids walk back home through the woods at night, beast or no beast. And so he finds himself accompanying them to the mouth of the forest, where the trees get a lot less dense and moonlight can finally filter through.
On the way he catches the two looking back at him a few times, but Danny honestly can't blame them. He's sure he must look like a wreck.
It's only when he sees them off with a gentle goodnight and a warning to be more careful, turns around to make his way back home that he finally understands. Eyes his own flaming white hair and long, luminous tail, twisting and turning between the limbs of birch trees with a huff of amusement.
Danny's about to head back home and share the bizarre situation with Vlad when he realizes he's forgotten something.
The two children are still where he'd left them, staring at each other with twin looks of awe when he makes his presence known.
A cold breath leaves each of their lips respectively, and Eugene nearly passes out when another pale spindly limb, an ethereal shade of green this time, snakes out of the shadows and plucks the bundle of sage he'd been tightly gripping in his fist with ease.
He jumps when a pair of boney knuckles rap against his forehead in the same place his sister had moments before.
A soft " Thank you." echoes throughout the wind around them before the spectral weight of the being behind them vanishes. The two kids hurry home before anyone can notice their absence, shaken by the encounter but with a new level of understanding.
The next time Danny and his husband find themselves down in the village for their monthly supply run, they're greeted by an entirely new story all together.
There are two wicked beasts in the wood they say, and they are gentle with one another, a pair of them so that the other will never get lonely. Where one is cold as glacier winds and the other as hot as summer's day, and in loving each other they bring balance to one another and the forest around them. They say that their feelings for one another will last an eternity.
Danny likes this version of the story much better.