Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

'How... curious.'

Mafuyu frowns ever so slightly, hidden in dense undergrowth. One arm poised above her bow, ready at a moments notice.

Her target? A hermit. Specifically, the one that has yet to notice her.

Mafuyu knows, reasonably, she should have easily shot it by now.

'And yet...'

Something about the creature, its human nature despite its inhuman appearance, how gently it weaves through the forest, leaving not a trace of its existence, enthralls Mafuyu.

Pale hair framing a peaceful face, deep blue eyes, fragile horns that curl around its head, and the song. It's like nothing the knight has heard before, mourning and warm and maddening all at once, reaching in and winding around her very soul, filling something she didn't know she was missing.

She dares to inch closer, watching the hermit flit about the forest.

A twig snaps, startling both. Blue eyes alight with panic, searching and confused, meet Mafuyu's.

It freezes, she does too, before she finds her voice once more, quickly, instinctively pointing an arrow to its chest.

"Any sudden moves, and you die."

Mafuyu's voice comes out colder than she intends, the hermit cowed into silence, trembling.

She dares step closer, the hermit stumbles back in turn.

"Why do you lurk in this forest?" the knight asks, pointing her weapon to the ground.

It merely tilts its head, quirking an eyebrow.

"I.. have always wandered here.. It is my home." It replies, and Mafuyu almost fails to process what was said. The hermit's voice is captivating, gentle and kind, yet sorrowful, afraid even.

"...Do you have a name?" She finally asks.

Mafuyu's mother would have shot the so called beast where it stood immediately, but she is not her mother.

She refuses to be.

"...I am.. Kanade.." it answers quietly.

'Kanade. To play music.'

After a beat of silence, Kanade tilts their head. "What is your name?"

"Mafuyu."

She gets a hum in reply. For a moment, there is nothing said, and then Kanade sits. As they do, Mafuyu notices (rather late) that, instead of human legs, the other has more goat-like limbs, light fur and worn hooves. Upon further inspection, she notes the scratches that litter them, some concealed by fur.

"..You are staring, Mafuyu." The other murmurs, jolting the knight from her thoughts. With a sigh, she slowly eases herself across from the hermit. "My apologies, I just.. Have not encountered a creature like you that was.. well, alive."

Kanade tilts their head, a slight frown on their face. "..Are.. creatures like me often killed?"

Mafuyu forces herself to nod, something cold and hurtful stirring. "..Yes, my- er, mother tasked me to slaughter hermits, she told me of the dangers they could pose to the kingdom." she explains, "I was.. tasked to kill you, specifically."

Kanade blinks, eyes widening the slightest bit, before their gaze softens. "What stops you?"

"I don't know."

The hermit accepts that, twisting their head to stare into the dense undergrowth, face concealed by a curtain of hair. When they speak again, there's a new quality to their voice. A certain stillness, an emptiness that Mafuyu knows all too well.

"I.. Know not why I linger here.. For I am cursed, you see."

The knight frowns, tilting her head. "Cursed?"

Kanade nods, peering through their hair, blinking up at Mafuyu. "..Yes, for all those I encounter, I hurt... or they disappear."

Mafuyu had seldom heard of such a curse before, but something about the way Kanade spoke, the utter conviction in her tone, made her pause.

“You sound quite sure of yourself.”

Kanade nodded once more, drawing their legs against their chest. “I.. am sure. My- My father was the first I hurt.”

The knight blinked, unable to stop herself from appearing surprised. “Your father?” Upon seeing the confused expression of the hermit, she quickly waved a hand. “My apologies, I was.. Merely under the impression that.. Well-”

“That hermits had no guardians?” Kanade asks, letting out a slight chuckle, although it lacks in mirth. “You are.. Not incorrect. Most simply appear, a manifestation of the forest’s will.. We are raised by it, connected to it… I was found by two humans when I was no taller than a foxglove. They became my parents.”

Mafuyu tilted her head, observing the hermit as they explained. Muted as they were, their expressions gave the knight plenty of insight. Their face would soften, the corners of their eyes scrunching when bringing up a particularly fond memory, and then grow quiet and hollow, carrying an emptiness to them the knight was all too familiar with. Slowly, something within Mafuyu's chest bloomed, something warm and foreign.

Her mother was wrong.

The hermit before her was not a beast that needed to be slain.

Mafuyu finally found her voice as Kanade concluded their story, moving ever so slightly closer.

“I do not wish to kill you.” she began, a hand hovering somewhere over the other’s shoulder, “But I.. fear what may happen if another were to find you, especially my mother.”

The hermit blinks, a hint of amusement in their gaze. “Why is it you changed your mind so fast?”

Mafuyu paused, it was a good question. “I don’t know,” she replied, “Not yet.”

Kanade simply sighed, lifting their head to meet the knight's gaze.

"Even if you were to change it once more, I do not fear death, it would be what a beast like me deserves."

Chapter Text

Mafuyu falls silent once more, taking in their words. She turns it over in her head, analysing, scrutinizing. For what, Mafuyu isn’t exactly sure. It didn’t seem like a lie, and if it was, it seemed even they believed it.

“...Do you have any hobbies?” She offered, mentally facepalming. What a ridiculous thing to ask. Then again, small talk was never her strong suit, between juggling duties as a knight and her studies, Mafuyu had never really stopped to talk to her fellow nobles. Kanade, at the very least, didn’t seem bothered by the question, letting out a quiet laugh as they nodded.

“I.. yes. Singing, playing music, sometimes I sketch. I am not the best, but… It helps.” they reply, before perking up, “Do you?”

The knight hums, frowning. “I study.” she answers, voice clipped. “Or attend to duties around the castle.” Mafuyu watches the hermit flinch at the harsh tone, and yet they don’t flee from her. “I don’t particularly enjoy anything.”

Kanade tilts their head. “Your words ring true… And yet Mafuyu, you do not believe it.” they murmur. The knight doesn’t answer, frowning.

Kanade stares at the knight, tilting their head, clearly wanting to say something to her. She waits patiently, daring not to interrupt the silence, when a loud crack echoes nearby. The hermit’s ears shoot up, and Mafuyu watches as they scramble to their feet.

“Kanade, wait-” Mafuyu reaches out, but they’ve already fled, disapearing into the undergrowth. The knight stands there, picking up a strand of pale hair caught in one of the branches. She twists it between her fingertips, and tucks it away. The less evidence the better. Hopefully her mother will let it slide, the excuse of another threat would suffice.
—
Their next encounter is a few days later, when Mafuyu is once again sent out to track the ‘foul beast in the woods’.

She finds the ‘beast’ in question by a river, watching their ears perk up. Their head twists, horns glinting in the sunlight. Kanade’s face shifts from fear to shock, to a gentle smile as soon as they see who it is.

"I brought you something."

Mafuyu offers little explanation, holding out a lute to the hermit. Something in her chest blooms as she watches their eyes light up, warily yet eagerly taking the instrument from her. They hold it gently, twisting the lute over, running clawed hands over it, studying it, taking it in.

"Thank you, Mafuyu." they reply, one hoof digging into the dirt before they ease into a sitting position.

There's something about how Kanade says her name, the slight disjoint to their speech, like they aren't quite sure of themselves, that makes the knight feel oddly warm.

‘Adorable.’

She's surprised at the thought, Mafuyu doesn't remember the last time she found something adorable, let alone someone. Except of course, the small rabbits that would often get into the royal gardens. (But those weren't people, so they didn't count. Then again, some would make the argument Kanade wasn’t exactly a person, to which Mafuyu would now vehemently disagree.)

Kanade fiddles with the instrument, giving it a tentative strum, bringing the knight's attention back to them. Mafuyu watches, curious, as the hermit plucks out a gentle melody. It’s familiar, carrying that mourning, aching sense of loneliness, and yet it comes with an underlying warmth, like a faint hope she can cling to.

"Do you play often?" She inquires, sitting down next to the other. They offer a tiny shrug and a hesitant smile in reply.

"When I find instruments. I keep ones nobody comes back for, or fashion my own."

It's such a Kanade thing to do, from the short amount of time Mafuyu has known them. Favor the forgotten, show them love they never fully experienced. Mafuyu merely hums in reply, arms folded as she leans against a tree. "You don't seem to have forgotten how to."

Kanade huffs a laugh, a small but beautiful sound. "Music is one of few things that this forest has not yet taken, and what I have not.. Allowed myself to let go of. It is one of the things that I will always remember."

‘Allowed themself to…’ Mafuyu’s frown deepened. There was an odd weight to that statement, clearly there was a story behind that.

"What are the others?" Mafuyu asks, barely giving her words thought. She watches Kanade's ears flick, tracking every subtle shift in their expression as they bow their head, hiding in their hair for a moment, a nervous habit, the knight assumed.

"Ah, well. My… parents, this forest, music of course. And.." They trail off, mumbling something else.

Mafuyu tilts her head, blinking. "And what?"

A beat of silence passes, before the hermit raises their head to meet Mafuyu's eyes, there’s something in their gaze she can’t quite place, a faraway look, bitter yet longing all the same. “...Carnations.” they utter, voice a whisper. “White carnations.”

Perhaps she shouldn’t press now, instead content to watch Kanade pluck out songs. She watches how effortlessly they weave melodies together, how the hermit seems to lose themself to music. As the song trails off, Kanade opens their eyes, blinking, as if awakening from a dream. Mafuyu can’t stop a huff from escaping, startling the other, a bashful smile appearing on their face. “I-I apologise, Mafuyu, I… H-here.” they stammer, raising the lute to her.

“Keep it.” She says, waving a hand. “It’s… a gift.” She watches the hermit’s eyes light up with joy, they once more study the lute, taking in a breath. “...Thank you, Mafuyu.” the hermit replies, before they shiver, the smile fading. “It’s lovely.”

Mafuyu hums in reply, before tilting her own head towards them. Kanade merely smiles gently, knowingly, "What is it you wish to ask?"

Mafuyu frowns, furrowing her eyebrows as she searches for what to say. "There is something about you that you are trying to hide from me. Why do you carry yourself with such caution, like you’re trying to protect something from me?" Kanade merely tilts their head to the other side, an ear flicking in thought. There's a hint of trepidation to their gaze, as if they’re afraid of what she’ll do.

"Do you not do the same?"

She feels herself scowl, abruptly jerking away from the hermit. “That’s different.”

“Is it truly?” they press, leaning towards the knight. “To protect ourselves, we hide.”

Mafuyu hardens her gaze, baring her teeth. “It is, not that you would understand, you have no one to hide from-.” Mafuyu cuts herself off, but the damage is done, hurt fills their gaze, and Mafuyu can’t bring herself to speak, to say something to console, apologise, anything.

“I shall take my leave, then.” they reply stiffly, standing up abruptly. Mafuyu can only watch them disappear into the forest.