Toni Terosia, or Toni the Talker – not Toni the Terror as she’d told Temate – to her friends was hiking very close to the behemoth of a man Temate. Yes she’d made up the Toni the Terror thing to make her joke make sense. Yes, Temate was huge, but then everyone was huge to her, even Jake. Jake, who went along with her dumb joke and this whole silly excursion. Jake, who conspired to get everyone to ‘not make it’ for one reason or another.

  So when she’d seen Temate and all his extra bags, and the clearly disappointed look on his face... Ok, maybe not clearly disappointed it took Toni a bit to read him. Toni was good at reading expressions, like Jake’s worried expression ced with a bit of jealousy all bubbling on top of frustration. She was also good at reading body nguage, vocal tones, pretty much good with everything except the actual words that people said.

  Benefits of a cop dad, just like the self-defense training, the firearms training, and the concealed carry permit. Granted she’d often fought her dad about this stuff for it not being “girly” or “feminine” until him. She preferred not to think about that though, she’d seen the need and realized as she learned that she could still be the girly girl she wanted to be, and be a tough bitch.

  Anyway, Toni had been steadfastly refusing to go camping with just Jake. Especially without any gear. So Temate had been a blessing, she had wanted to go camping and he was prepared and most importantly, once again, big. To most people that was scary, to Toni, she mentally shrugged at the thought. When you’re barely over 5 feet tall most guys are huge to you. Some women too for that matter.

  That being said, Temate may be the biggest person Toni’s dealt with, but certainly not the meanest, not like him. That was the important part, with everything she could read from Temate, he was one of those gentle giant types. The age thing had come as a shock, he definitely looked older than them but not almost a decade older!

  That had actually only been a plus for Toni, she liked older guys. Like, liked them, she had gotten into a lot of trouble over the years because of that but after him guys her age were just a big no. Temate was her type, and that was why Jake was so frustrated and jealous, and Toni knew it. It was also the reason she'd worked so hard to convince Temate to join them, rather than just give them his spare gear.

  Serves Jake right. Toni thought to herself, while mindlessly babbling with, or rather at, Temate about their friends who ‘couldn’t make it’. Convincing everyone to pretend they were coming but call off at the st minute. I’m gd almost everyone told me the truth anyway. Toni looked over her shoulder giving the gring Jake a broad grin. Excitement at going camping clear on her face, but also a hidden smugness at him not getting his way.

  “I suppose it’s a good thing we met, it really would have been a bad idea to go camping without proper gear.” Temate said with a nod towards her.

  Toni turned to examine Temate, who was dressed practically. Thick loose jeans, heavy hiking boots all sat beneath three upper yers. A thick fabric striped poncho, each strip some varying hue of orange, yellow or red. It was made out of some high quality waterproof cloth, Temate had said so when asked. It looked almost festive but also made him easy to track in the woods. Beneath that was a gray fleece sweater jacket and underneath that a warm bck cotton long sleeve. It looked surprisingly good, at the very least he pulled it off. Toni grinned up at

  “And it would be terrible for you to go camping yourself. Though with how big you are, I’m guessing not much scares you.”

  He shrugged. “I’m scared of things all the time, but when you’re as big and slow as I am you learn to stand your ground irregardless of it.” Temate waved his hand dismissively.

  He is slow, Toni had noticed. Despite his size she had no trouble keeping up with him, and it wasn’t because he was slowing down for her, he just moved… methodically? Ploddingly didn’t seem right, there was intention behind each of his actions.

  A slight shift of weight to dodge a branch which might brush Temate’s cheek. A slightly offset step to shift hips around a bush growing on the trail. A hand, carrying the one extra camping bag, brought up to gently push a branch out of Toni’s way so they don’t slow. It was incredible to watch really, almost graceful.

  “You pay a lot of attention to your surroundings huh, the way you keep avoiding even small things, or move or… chop stuff so Jake and I don’t need to worry.” Toni raised her eyes from the machete in Temate’s right hand and lifted one eye appreciatively to him. He shrugged.

  “Same thing really, I’m big but I don’t like bumpin’ stuff anymore than anyone else.”

  “Jake’s the same way, he can be very pushy when things are in his way too, though he doesn’t usually do it for others.” A jab, a petty one, Toni knew it.

  “Hey! I can be pushy when things are in my friend's way too!” Jake retorted.

  “He did stand up for you when…” Temate trailed off, he did that a lot she noticed, not finishing thoughts

  “He did.” Toni nodded agreeing, “not that I needed it really, sure it was a bit embarrassing but, like I said, funny, and I did mean some of it.” Temate raised his eyebrow towards her, as he also cut a branch covering the small trail stopping to look at her. She just smiled broadly at the big man watching as he strapped the machete back to his leg.

  Jake muttered as he picked up pace passing the two “Yeah he seems like the kind you’d want to bite you.” He stomped off ahead of them.

  “Hmm, is he mad at me?” Temate asked

  Toni shook her head and leaned in, grabbing Temate’s arm and whispering to him. “At me, don’t worry, I think he was hoping to get me alone out here.” One of Temate’s eyebrows rose in a mixture of concern and inquisition. He did a lot with his eyes and she smiled at him.

  “He’s had a crush on me for years, ever since we met in our econ 101 css like 5 years ago.” Toni frowned deep bringing a hand down to Temate’s as they started walking again. “We don’t usually hang out just the two of us, he’s a good guy most of the time, and he does do a lot of the standing up for the quieter people in our group but…”

  “I get it.” Temate nodded a thoughtful – at least Toni thought it was thoughtful, he really was surprisingly hard to read – look on his face. “Overall good, but get’s too familiar when you’re alone?” He looked calmly at her.

  “Yeah, I wish he’d just move on but I’ve given him a ft no, I may talk and talk and talk until ears bleed but when I have something specific to say I know how to be direct. Hell I’m pretty good at it as well, he knows he doesn’t need to speak up for me, but he keeps doing it.” Toni giggled a little. “It is sweet though, he’s just really not my type. Too… well too…” Toni coughed and Temate ughed. “Anyway not important, what is important is why a machete?”

  “If you’re adventuring through thick woods or jungles you’ve got to have a machete.” Temate grinned softly at Toni then his face fell back to thoughtfulness as they walked. She watched, taking a moment to just enjoy the quiet of the woods. It’s not like I have to chatter away, especially in a magical pce like this! Fairy Vilge, she hadn’t known about that moniker when they chose this pce to camp. Now she was even more excited.

  “Not to pry but if he’s not your type it seems strange you’d agree to go camping with him and a stranger.” Temate stated it, but it was clearly a question as well.

  “Not if you know him like I do. Like I said, he’s a good guy most of the time, but especially when meeting new people or in groups and…” Toni paused, looking up at Jake as he hiked forward in borrowed hiking boots.

  “It took me a long time to be comfortable with him in the group, but after everything he’s done I do like him, just as a friend, ya know?” Toni sighed. “Though after this I’ll probably have to talk to him and stop hanging out with him, too far is too far.” Temate raised both his eyebrows, not in shock but concern. That made Toni smile and then she raised her voice to Jake who had stopped up ahead.

  “Why’d you stop JJ? Get lost?” They were in deep woods following small trails right now so Toni wasn’t just needling Jake. He raised his hand and motioned the two up towards him. They picked up speed to jog, hand in hand much to Toni’s delight, up to Jake.

  “Look at that!” Jake pointed around the rge tree he’d stopped by. “I’ve seen a few ruined structures here and there but that, that’s just fuckin cool.” Toni followed his pointing and gasped, there was a vilge in the clearing. A tiny vilge, but unlike other things they’d seen on the way here, it was in good shape! Abandoned and run down, but not in total ruins. Temate actually gasped.

  “It’s in such good condition!” Temate said, moving carefully around the other two and approaching the clearing.

  “S-should we just go wandering into it?” Jake said with a slight hiss.

  “Come on Jake, didn’t think you’d be scared of a couple tiny old buildings!” Toni ughed as she followed Temate, quickly catching up to him. Temate walked onward and Jake, after brief hesitation, followed after. The clearing was so cool, and not just visually but physically.

  “How is it colder in this clearing than in the woods?” Toni asked, Jake answered.

  “Maybe they’ve got little AC units in the houses.” Jake knelt down over one of the small abandoned homes and made blowing noises towards Toni and Temate.

  “That would make it warmer outside the homes, not colder. It’s probably fairy magic, town’s probably unseelie or…” Temate replied with what Toni thought was supposed to be a joke based on the little curl of his lip. Jake clearly didn’t get it.

  “Fairy magic? Dude please tell me you don’t believe in silly stuff like that.”

  “Why not JJ? Fairies could be real, how would you know, how do you expin these houses if not Fairies hmm? Look at em!” Toni knelt down next to one of the rger structures. White stucco with brown wooden boards and logs in square or triangur patterns made up the outer walls of a two storied structure. Crystal gss windows dotted the upper and lower floors, with one rge window taking up most of a wall opposite the street. The street amongst the buildings was made of colorful river rocks embedded in the ground from which a small wood staircase ran up to a double door entry. This entry was protected from the elements by a long extension of the upper floor of the fairy house which hung over the street attaching to a second simir structure on the other side. Together the two had rge peaked roofs with what were likely once bright reddish orange tiles, worn and dull from time. Multiple chimneys rose from the structure, likely for heating each of the separate floors. On one side a chimney had fallen, taking an exterior corner wall and much of the upper floor with it.

  “Look at that, it’s so complex, you can see little bits of furniture all rotted and worn or broken, it’d be insane to build all this and pce it out here where no one would see it.” Toni was a believer, though she’d never admitted that to anyone but DD. The little houses here she felt were proof though, they had to be!

  Jake shrugged, “people do weird shit all the time for no reason, or just for their own fun.” He looked between Temate and her waving a hand “loons like you who want people to believe ya know.”

  “I enjoy the inspiration.” Temate said, gently running a rge finger along some of the finer details of a small home on the edge of the town. “It helps me with my writing, and my games…” Toni nodded emphatically.

  “I get that, even if it’s not somehow real it’s really interesting to look at.” She reached towards the interior of the building to grab something then squeaked and fell back onto her ass.

  “Are you alright?” Jake ran over to her, helping her up and Temate. Temate was looking off into the distance.

  “There was a bright fsh and-”

  Thud thud thud.

  Jake and Toni both looked and saw Temate running off into the woods! Fast! Faster than either had expected him to be able to move. Thudding with each step.

  “WAIT! Where are you going!” Toni took off after Temate, catching him quick Jake following quickly behind. In open space he was faster than her, sure they both ran but he got a schorship for it. Not that he needs it. The clearing, however, was very small and they hit the thick woods quickly. Temate barrelled through it and Toni ducked and dodged as the tree’s grew closer together. Jake gged behind quickly as the thick woodnds forced him to constantly change direction.

  “Dudes! Hold on!” Jake called out.

  “Light, fast. Have to…” Temate spoke brokenly, he clearly wasn’t a runner, you could talk while running a bit, but not without the training.

  “Slow down big T, let’s talk!” Toni shouted over the groaning and creaking of the tree’s around her, and the snapping of branches as Temate barrelled through them. Machete in hand Temate lopped off branches which grew to block him. Wait, what? Toni winced as a branch shed her arm. They’re growing? Like actively?!

  “What’s happening? It’s like the forest is thickening!” Jake shouted from behind. “Stop, stop guys we should stop and go ba- oof!” Jake cut off, Toni looked back as she ran, constantly leaping and bounding over and around roots and branches, she saw nothing. Temate was ahead, tearing the forest apart, holding the backpack like a shield, head forward. Should she stop? Toni didn’t know, she should, she didn’t know Temate, even if he was-

  “Can’t stop. Can’t slow. Danger.” Temate growled, not looking back. Something in the words resonated with Toni and she set her jaw, dashing faster after him. She took shelter in the lee of his back as the trees grew. They GREW, faster and thicker with every step they took. Branches creaked, the growled as they swept at the two like cws, sshing at the spare bag spilling its contents. Food, matches, some kind of knife all fell into the loam, swallowed by roots.

  They ran. The tree’s grew. Branches snapped, Temate’s clothes tore and ripped but his yers protected him from the worst. Toni’s clothes tore a bit too, but less so, she lost her jacket along the way as it snagged on a branch. If Temate weren’t shielding her… Toni shivered and worried about Jake, but he was Jake the Jock. Tough even if skinny. And dressed in nothing but a polo and shorts. And with a heavy camping back. No, he’s fine, he’s

  THUD