Chapter Text
Tommy knew he was different than the other kids in the orphanage.
The caretakers never passed up any opportunity to remind him of it, yelling at him and blaming him whenever any misfortune came upon them. The other kids either bullied him relentlessly or chose to simply ignore him.
Tommy knew he was different, but he didn’t know why he was different.
Whenever he tried to ask the caretakers, the other children, the people in town, they would all refuse to answer. He knew from experience that trying to make them answer was a one way ticket to getting yelled out or getting hit.
Tommy knew he was different, but he also knew it was best to not question it, to just ignore it and accept what little happiness he got in his life.
It was better to remain oblivious then to end up sobbing in his dirty orphanage room, the sound of screaming echoing in his ears and bruises covering his body.
Tommy could only wish to know what was wrong with him.
———
The halls of the orphanage were empty as Tommy followed the sound of the other children out to the backyard. He couldn’t help the way his entire body relaxed as he walked outside and felt warm, spring air surround him.
Tommy never liked being inside, where the air always felt stale and the walls were cold and dusty. He preferred being outside, where the wind seemed to dance around him, and the sparse wildlife of the village always felt like it was welcoming him.
He had heard from the caretakers that once, when Tommy was really little, they hadn’t let him go outside for a week as a punishment. On the seventh day, they said Tommy cried and screamed and wouldn’t stop until they took him outside.
Tommy supposed that was just one of the many other things about him that marked him as different.
He sighed as he sat on the rickety orphanage porch, watching the other kids play out on the grass. He ached to join them but he knew from experience that they wouldn’t let him.
Last time he’d tried to play with them, the other kids had chased Tommy around, tackling him to the ground and yelling at him whenever they got close enough. All of the kids had made a game out of it.
Since then, Tommy has stayed on the porch, even though everything in him wants to stand in the sun, his feet placed firmly in the grass.
After about an hour, the caretakers yelled at everyone to go back inside. Tommy watched as all the others went inside, but after a moments hesitation, he decided to stay outside and sneak back in later. After all, he wanted a chance to run around in the yard.
Once he was certain everyone was inside, Tommy snuck down from the porch. He smiled as soon as he made it to the soft grass, feeling the sunlight warm his cheeks.
He ran around for a bit, simply entertaining himself with whatever he could find. He found that there wasn’t really much to do though, especially when he was by himself.
Eventually, Tommy found himself standing in front of the wooden fence that surrounded the yard. Beyond the fence, was the forest, a place that both the caretakers and the villagers had told him was dangerous. Nobody was allowed to go there.
Tommy lifted himself up to sit on top of the fence, idly kicking his feet as he lost himself in his thoughts.
Most kids wouldn’t even dare to get this close to the forest. They avoided the fence at all costs. But Tommy had always felt a strange pull to the forest, as if something in him wanted to go there. Yet again, it was something in the long list of things that made him different.
When the sun began to slip down the horizon, Tommy jumped down from the fence, landing back in the yard as he headed back towards the orphanage.
Just as he reached the porch, the door to the building was flung open. Tommy flinched at the sudden movement, his muscles tensing as he prepared to run.
One of the caretakers stood there, a furious look on her face, her graying brown hair in disarray. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you, idiot child! Where the fuck have you been?” She hissed.
Tommy opened his mouth to reply, excuses flooding his mind. “I wanted to play outside.” He said, instead of what he meant to say, which was; ‘Sorry, I got lost’.
Another thing that marked Tommy as different was that he had never lied. Not once. He wasn’t even sure if he was physically able to.
All his life, no matter how hard he tried, everything he said had always been the totally honest, complete truth. He hated it.
There were so many situations he’d been in like this one, where being honest and truthful all the time was a massive detriment.
“Play outside?!” The caretaker looked downright murderous. “We gave you time to play outside earlier, you little brat!”
Tommy flinched again at her harsh tone. “I just wanted to be alone.” He mumbled, curling in on himself.
“You wanted to be alone? You can be alone in your room, inside and under our watch.” The caretaker replied sharply. “Now get the fuck inside.” She grabbed Tommy’s wrist in a death grip and practically dragged him inside the orphanage.
———
The caretakers kept an extra sharp eye on Tommy after that.
Every day, when outside time ended, they’d specifically call his name to make sure he was there, which all the other kids always snickered at. It had quickly become another reason for the other children to make fun of him.
The worst part though, was that the caretakers didn’t let Tommy just sit on the porch anymore. They’d made him go out and ‘play’ with the other kids. The other kids didn’t really play with Tommy, they just made fun of him, yelled insults at him, threw things at him, and sometimes beat him up.
None of the caretakers ever even pretended to care or feel guilty. They just told him to ‘be less clumsy’ or to ‘try to get along better with the other kids.’ It was like they thought it was his fault he kept getting hurt.
One day, when one of the kids yelled at Tommy, saying; “You should just go live in the forest! Nobody wants you here!” Tommy got an idea.
It was true that nobody wanted him, that nobody cared about him or liked him. If nobody wanted him here, then why should Tommy stay?
The forest was terrifying, but it had always seemed to call him towards it. Even if it was terrifying, maybe Tommy should finally answer that call.
———
Tommy ran away a week and a half after his punishment had begun.
He silently packed what little he owned into a ripped and dirty backpack, snuck out the back door of the orphanage, jumped over the fence, and forced himself not to look back.
If nobody wanted Tommy, why should he stay? If he didn’t belong here, then maybe he could belong somewhere else.
If he was different, then maybe he should live differently too.
The forest had always called to him, it was one of the many things that marked him as different. Now, Tommy was finally picking up the metaphorical phone and answering it.
———
The forest had been scary at first.
When Tommy had crossed the threshold for the first time, he had felt welcomed, he had instantly felt at home, which also instantly felt wrong.
It didn’t help that the entire forest felt like a maze. Big rocks, twisted trees, and other landmarks he tried to keep note of would entirely disappear within a single day, sometimes within only a few hours. It was as if the entire forest was constantly shifting, changing around him.
It got less and less scary as the days went by though.
Tommy got used to seeing random berry bushes appear whenever he was hungry, he got used to seeing a stream suddenly cut across his path whenever he was thirsty. It was like the forest instantly knew what he needed and sent it to him.
The whole situation was definitely strange, but it was leagues better than the orphanage had ever been.
The only thing the forest was missing was people.
As the days passed, Tommy began to grow lonely. He only had the animals for company, and although he could talk to them, they couldn’t say anything back.
While nobody had ever been very nice to Tommy at the orphanage, he still had never been too lonely. He had been around people constantly, it would’ve been almost impossible to be lonely even if everyone was mean.
But now, he was isolated, cut off from everyone else.
The loneliness got worse and worse as time passed. Tommy found himself almost considering going back to the village, just to simply see another person. He didn’t like being alone.
He didn’t go back though. He just kept ignoring it, and kept wandering aimlessly through the trees.
———
It all came to a crescendo when Tommy had a nightmare one night.
He woke up screaming, tears flowing down his cheeks as he stumbled to his feet, unconsciously running from a threat that wasn’t there. He hadn’t even known what he’d been dreaming about.
Tommy’s stumbling, panicked steps led him to a massive clearing. In the pitch black of the night, he could barely make out any details, just the odd circular shape of the area.
As soon as he reached the center of the clearing, Tommy tripped and fell, screaming as he hit the ground, panting as he curled into a ball, not having the strength to get back up.
“Hey kid, are you alright?” A voice said behind Tommy, sounding almost mystical in quality, yet still coated with concern.
Tommy uncurled, scrambling backward, eyes straining to see in the dark. Blinking back tears, he met eyes with a man who Tommy was certain hadn’t been there when he arrived.
As his eyes adjusted and tears slowed down, Tommy was able to make out more details about the man.
The man was sitting down about a forth of the clearing away from Tommy, and even sitting down he was obviously tall. His hair was brown and curly, shining even in the dim light, almost glittering with how clean it was. His eyes were bright yellow, glowing strangely and cutting through the darkness. The pupils were slit, akin to a cat. The man’s clothing was far too fancy to have come from the village, looking like clothes only royalty would wear with how shimmery and expensive they looked.
The part that stole that breath from Tommy’s lungs though was when he spotted antlers on the man’s head. The antlers were golden, so golden that they almost looked as if they were made of actual gold. Vines wrapped tightly around them, little blue leaves clinging on for dear life.
Tommy didn’t know what the man- the creature- was, but he was very obviously not human.
Belatedly, he wondered if the reason nobody left the village was because of creatures like the one in front of him.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” The creature said, his mystical voice drawing Tommy out of his thoughts. “I only want to help.”
Tommy didn’t believe the creature’s words for a moment. He quietly shook his head, beginning to lift himself to his feet. His hands shook and his legs trembled, making him almost worry that he would fall.
The creature tilted his head, eyes glowing brighter for a moment before returning to their original light level. “You aren’t human… are you? The forest would’ve killed you long ago if you were.”
Tommy took a careful step backwards. Tommy knew that he was different, but he couldn’t be anything other than just an odd human. Not being human seemed like such a foreign and terrifying concept.
Deep down, Tommy wanted to know what was wrong with him, but it had been beat into him to remain oblivious.
The trees bent around behind him as he took another step back, separating into a clear pathway leading away from the clearing.
The creature gasped, his eyes glowing even more intensely than they had earlier. His concerned expression morphed into one of shock, eyes staring right at the new path. “You-You’re a changling? How- What-“ The creature stammered, fumbling his words.
Tommy didn’t know what a changling was, all he knew was that the creature was scaring him even more. He didn’t want to stay with a creature- that was definitely scary and trying to trick him- all night.
Before Tommy knew it, he was booking it down the path the trees had created for him. Away from the mysterious, scary creature and the clearing.
———
Tommy didn’t see the creature again for awhile after that night.
He was still lonely, but he got better and better at ignoring it.
Maybe he missed other people. Maybe he wanted someone to actually care about him, like the creature had seemed to. But Tommy didn’t want to see him again. The creature was only pretending and it was terrifying.
Maybe Tommy wanted answers to why he was so different, why everyone hated him.
But everyone always told Tommy it was better not to ask questions.
———
It was thunderstorming. Rain poured down relentlessly from the sky, thunder cracking and lightning flashing overhead.
Tommy had always been scared of thunderstorms.
It was one of the fears that the caretakers could never beat out of him, that the other kids could never make fun of him enough to get rid of.
Thunderstorms were bad enough when Tommy was inside, cooped up with the other orphanage children.
It was so much worse than he could’ve imagined, to both be stuck outside and be completely alone.
Tommy was curled up in a hollow tree, shivering as his soaked hair dripped onto the leaf-littered wood beneath him. He wanted to cry but he’d already ran out of tears long ago.
To his surprise, Tommy found himself almost longing for the creature. Longing for the concern, the care, even if it came from something completely inhuman.
Just like that, the forest began to shift around his hollow, a new path appearing in front of him. As he stared, wide eyed and shivering, Tommy knew exactly where the path led. The clearing.
He was terrified of the storm, of the lightning, thunder, and wind. But Tommy was more terrified of being alone.
Shakily, he crawled out of the hollow, flinching as the rain began to soak his clothes and hair again. Carefully, Tommy walked towards the path and let the forest lead him to the clearing, where he knew the creature would be waiting.
———
The clearing looked different when it wasn’t veiled in the darkness of night. Tommy could see now that colorful mushrooms and flowers surrounded it in a circular shape, trapping the bright green grass and dull gray rocks.
The creature was there too, facing away from Tommy and somehow not wet at all from the rain.
The creature also looked different when it wasn’t dark outside. The antlers were much larger than Tommy had thought they were, the vines and leaves were more numerous too. Tommy could see that the creature was wearing lots of jewelry, the most notable was a shiny emerald hanging on a gold chain from one of its pointed ears.
The creature was still terrifying, but not as much as it had been that night.
“You came back.” The creature stated upon noticing Tommy, it’s voice sounding slightly shocked. “You’re soaked… and probably terrified.”
Tommy didn’t say anything. He just stood there at the edge of the clearing, shivering and shaking. He didn’t know where to go from here. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to get any closer.
A quick strike of lightning and a boom of thunder made the choice for him. Tommy found himself running towards the creature before he even knew what he was doing.
Tommy came to an abrupt stop just a few feet away, having fallen down into the grass and mud somewhere in the midst of his panicked running.
“You’re cold aren’t you?” The creature asked, not reaching for Tommy even though he was well within range. “I can help if you want, little changling.”
Tommy shivered, he was cold, but he still wasn’t sure that he could trust the creature. Plus, Tommy was fairly certain he was human, not whatever a changling was. He wasn’t sure why the creature seemed to think he wasn’t human. Tommy was different, but he wasn’t different enough to be another species. That’d be ridiculous.
Tommy opened his mouth to tell the creature that, but the words ‘I’m not a changling! I’m a human!’ weren’t coming out. His mouth refused to form the words, just like it did whenever Tommy was trying to lie.
But this time he wasn’t lying! Tommy was telling the truth! He didn’t know why his stupid mouth wouldn’t form the words and why his dumb voice didn’t work.
Meanwhile, the creature had scooted closer to Tommy while he’d been distracted. Worry was filling the creature’s eyes, like it actually cared about Tommy, which was impossible. “Is something wrong? Have you never met another fae before?”
“What’s a fae?” Tommy impulsively replied. He flinched as another bolt of lightning lit up the sky, the sound of thunder quickly echoing.
The creature looked confused, his eyebrows drawn together like Tommy was a particularly difficult puzzle he couldn’t solve. “Fae are… what you and I are? Have you never met another one of your kind?”
Tommy stared at the creature, feeling more confused than he ever had before. Tommy wasn’t a fae. He wasn’t anything like the creature in front of him. That would be ridiculous. That would be impossible. They weren’t the same.
Tommy still couldn’t make the words ‘I’m not a fae. I’m not like you.’ leave his mouth. Just like before, his voice refused to work. Eventually, after he reworded the statement several times, some form of denial escaped his lips. “But the caretakers said I was human, even though I’m different!”
The creature seemed to come to some sort of realization. “But have you ever lied before?”
“No.” Tommy admitted quietly, having no idea where the conversation was going.
“Did you ever feel a connection to nature, to the outdoors?” The creature asked.
“Yes.” Tommy replied, not liking the knowing look that entered the creature’s eyes at his answers.
The creature sighed. “They lied to you, little changling. You are one of us.” He sounded disappointed, like it was a grave offense for anyone to lie to Tommy. “Fae can’t lie and we are deeply connected to nature. There are other differences too, though I suppose you repressed them somehow.”
Tommy immediately felt like he was going to throw up. There was no way he wasn’t human. But it also made so much sense. It was a crazy conclusion, but it felt like the truth.
No matter how hard he tried, Tommy couldn’t make himself deny it.
Thunder roared overhead, the loudest Tommy had ever heard it. Without a second thought, he screamed and surged forward into the creature- the fae’s- open arms.
“Shhh, you’re okay. It’s alright.” The fae whispered, his arms wrapping around Tommy in a gentle hold, one that was loose enough for Tommy to easily escape, but tight enough for him to feel safer, to feel comforted.
It was unfamiliar, for someone to seem to care about him so much. It was hard to describe how good it felt though, for Tommy to finally feel like he wasn’t totally alone in the world.
His tears were slowing down, sniffles becoming nonexistent as Tommy finally didn’t feel terrified for the first time since the thunderstorm began.
Despite the thunder still echoing in the distance, Tommy found himself drifting off to sleep, content to remain in the arms of the fae.
Maybe Tommy would regret this. Maybe the fae would turn out to be just as mean as the caretakers. Maybe the thunder would strike both of them, burning them to crisps in their little clearing. But those were all problems for Tommy to deal with in the morning.
Right now, he was comfortable, and that’s all that mattered.