The intruder - 1
a story inspired by: @satansirishbitch (Derek)
🔙 The intruder - 0 Introduction
Step by step, he comes closer.
I feel him long before I see him – a man driven by purpose, cutting through my forest as if it had offended him. He circles around my position, drawing ever nearer. Searching.
Searching for me.
He moves over jagged rocks and ancient roots with practiced ease. The forest bends but does not break beneath him. A dangerous aura follows him, sharp as steel.
“I’m coming for you,” he growls into the mist. “I will... find you.”
His voice vibrates through the forest and through my bones.
Rather than waiting to be discovered — for he would find me eventually — I slip through the mist and foliage. I shadow him silently, far enough to stay beyond the reach of his senses, close enough to study him.
The intruder is carved from battle. Scars trace his face and bare torso like a map of the violence he survived. His body is powerful, honed by years of fighting beasts and men alike. At first glance he might seem a brute – muscle and instinct – but when my gaze lingers on him, he stills.
He feels it.
He turns sharply.
I withdraw just before his eyes land on the place I stood.
Interesting.
Whether he is threat or prey no longer matters. Hiding would be an insult – to him and to myself.
I release my energy into the forest floor. It spreads like ink in water, seeping into root and vine, awakening them. He does not yet realize that he stands at the center of my domain.
The forest grows quiet.
Too quiet.
Then it moves.
Branches lash outward. Vines coil around his arms, his waist, his powerful thighs. They tighten, drawing him back, binding muscle with living iron. They wrap across his torso, pressing against scarred skin, testing the breadth of his chest.
He roars and strains against them.
Gods, he is strong.
The force of his resistance shudders through the trees. For a moment, I almost admire it – the way his muscles flex, the way he refuses to yield. But my will saturates the forest. The vines harden, they are like steel extension of myself, unbreakable.
I hold him fast.
His breathing turns ragged, heavy, powerful. Not merely panic – something hotter flickers beneath it.
“Show me your face,” I command, stepping from the mist, circling around him.
My voice stills the forest.
His struggling quiets.
He lifts up his head.
“My Lord,” he says hoarsely, catching his breath. “I came to free you.”
Free me?
Our eyes meet. As I reveal myself
Through my vessel’s gaze, I see him clearly now – the defiance, the strength… and beneath it, unmistakable and unhidden, a deep, burning desire. Not fear alone. Not devotion alone.
A Desire.
For fuel.
For relief.
For me.
And for the first time since the day I took this vessel,
I smile
I smile and wonder what's beyond the edges of the forest.
