Eli is a young farmer, unhappy with the lifestyle and with his borderline abusive father. He’s an animal lover and would rather hug one than kill it, but killing a pig is exactly what his father wants him to do. Eli refuses and runs away, not really having a destination in mind.
He ends up in the mysterious woods feared by locals, feeling reckless and really not caring about his fate. There he runs into a bizarre young man named Jin, who lives in the forest amongst the magical creatures there. He’s scantily clad and gorgeous, and Eli is instantly more attracted to him than he’s ever been to anyone. So when Jin offers him a place to stay, he’s quick to accept.
But the creatures of the forest are as outraged as Eli at the killing of livestock, and chaos ensues. Jin is determined to use the commotion to take things to the next level with the innocent Eli.
“Hi there.” The basket-carrying fellow was approaching Eli, walking casually. “I didn’t expect to run into anyone in these woods.”
“Have you ever been here before?” the stranger said, with an amused expression. “I’m always here, and there are others who inhabit the woods, as well.”
“Oh.”
“I’m Jin. What brings you to these woods? You look like a farmer, and we are pretty far out from the closest farm.” Jin looked him up and down, making Eli feel even more self-conscious. He crossed his arms across his bare chest, trying to make it look casual.
“I ... am running away,” Eli admitted after a minute, looking down. He definitely did not want to go into great detail with this stranger.
Jin seemed to realize Eli’s desire for privacy. “Ah,” he said simply, leaving it at that. “Well come sit with me, rest for a bit. You look a bit worn out. Would you like a mushroom?”
“Thanks, no,” Eli politely declined, joining Jin sitting down on a mossy rock near the water. He normally would have made an excuse not to stay, and kept moving through the woods -- he really did not particularly like talking to people. But he found himself strangely interested in this dirty human, and drawn as if by a magnet.
Jin took a bite of a mushroom himself, and then leaned back on his forearms, which caused his tunic to open further, exposing more of his chest, including his nipples. Eli found his eyes hungrily devouring the sight. He forced himself to pull his eyes back to Jin’s face, but it was too late. The look had been noticed, and Jin grinned at him mischievously. Eli found himself blushing furiously, still with arms crossed across his own bare chest.
“You’re a funny human,” Jin said with a laugh.
“Wait ... are you not a human, also?” Eli asked, perplexed. He certainly looked like a human, if a bizarrely dressed one.
“Well, I guess I am.” Jin shrugged. “I just live with non-humans, and spend my time almost entirely in these woods, so I’ve come to think of myself as one of them.”
“What kind of people live here?” Eli queried, looking around them.
“Oh, there are a lot of different creatures who live here. But I live with the pixies. They took me in when I was little.”
“Pixies?”
“You’ll see. I’ll take you to see them later, if you want.”
Eli was fascinated. “How long have you lived out here in the woods? And how did you come to be out here?”
“Almost my whole life. I don’t remember the circumstances, and the pixies won’t tell me. I’m guessing I was abandoned by my parents, or they died, something traumatic like that ... so I don’t press them on it. They’ll tell me eventually, I suppose.” Jin shrugged as if it were not that important.
“Wow.” Eli was floored. “Do you like living out here? I mean, one of the farmers would probably take you in, if you wanted. Some of the bigger farms are always looking for farmhands, cook’s assistants, things like that.”
“You’re running away, and you think I should go to them?” Jin observed with a giggle.
“Good point, don’t go there,” Eli muttered.
“I do like it out here,” Jin began, getting around to answering the question. “I’ve never known anything else really, but I love the woods. I’ve had enough encounters like this with other humans though, to know that I do want human companionship. So that’s the only tough part.”
“I guess I get that,” Eli allowed. “Although most of the humans I know are a waste of space. But I suppose I would miss people in general, if I were away for a long time.”
“But you wouldn’t miss the farming lifestyle,” Jin shrewdly guessed.
“Not. At. All.”
“What happened?” Jin asked quietly.
Eli found himself suddenly wanting to answer ... to pour out his soul to this strange being. “My father wanted me to kill a pig. I wouldn’t do it, and he became angry, started threatening me. So, I ran away.”
“That’s horrible,” Jin said, looking aghast. “Why would he want you to kill an animal?”
“It’s pretty normal on farms, sadly.” Eli shrugged. “You’d think I would be used to it, by now. I’ve certainly seen it done enough times, although I usually look away. But I refused to do it myself. I guess I was always a disappointment to my father. And today, it all came to a head.”
“I’m so glad you got away from that.” Jin shuddered.
