(A side story of the Brothers Lost series)
Written by @neonthewrite
Bowman Lost – an AU to explore what might happen if Bowman was caught not by Jacob Andris, but by another human. Something tells me he would much prefer Jacob right about now.
Characters: Bowman Leafwing
Warnings: Abuse
Artwork by @mogadeer
October 3rd excerpt:
Jacob had always been something of an outsider in the village, owing to his huge size compared to its leafy-winged residents. It was strange to stand by and watch another human leaning so close to one of the home trees.
It was like getting an outside view of how strange he looked among the village.
He was a bit jealous that Sam, by contrast, fit in so well that he could walk right into that house. The most Jacob could manage would be to poke a few fingers through a window at the most. He and Dean wouldn’t be able to fit their hands through the doors.
September 18th excerpt:
Dean finished scanning the area near the tree with nothing more than a low-level blip that meant nothing. “S’cuse me,” he murmured softly, leaning closer to the tree itself and beginning another scanning pattern to be sure he covered every inch. With the size of the sprites, it would be too easy to miss a clue like that.
Dean’s actions had a captive audience. Sprite faces peered out of the homes on the tree, watching his hand curiously. Most of them showed no trepidation, only interest in the object in his hand or hope that he’d find an answer in his sweeps.
You are knocking it out of the park! Two for two! And another sneak peek!
Ahead of Dean, the footsteps continued and it didn’t take long for another man to come into view. He wore clothes that looked more suited for roughing it out in the woods, and carried his own duffel bag on a shoulder. His boots and the cuffs of his own jeans were worn and spotted with mud, signs that they’d been on many hikes before.
He spotted Dean quickly, too, and there was a silent tension in the air as the newcomer sized him up. They were about the same height, though the new guy had a slightly blockier build than Dean did. He wore a gun holster at his side, though it remained ignored as the man stopped his approach warily.
“You’re no ranger,” he called out, keeping plenty of distance between them while they still figured out what was going on. “What brings you this far into the woods?”
Dean planted his boots in place, crossing his arms over his chest. His colt was tucked into his pants, hidden out of sight unlike the other man’s gun.
“Last I checked, rangers don’t come back here,” Dean said. “Private property and all that.” He shifted position, pulling an ID out of his jacket. “Name’s Dean Ford,” he said confidently, holding it out for the other man to take. “I’m here to investigate the strange rumors floating around.”
The man’s mouth twitched, almost in a smirk before he controlled his expression. “Rumors,” he echoed, taking the chance to inch forward. He squinted at the ID and found nothing out of place on it, but he was still clearly keyed up. He obviously hadn’t expected to meet Dean out there any more than Dean had expected to see him.
“Logan Guthrie,” he introduced himself, though he didn’t offer to shake Dean’s hand just yet. Instead, he shrugged. “I’m just a friend of a friend of the landowner. Did he hire you to come out here?”
Dean shook his head as he stowed his fake identification in his jacket, a smirk of his own hiding in his eyes. “Sorry, but my clients have asked to remain confidential,” he said in a business tone of voice.
With the ID card out of his hands, Dean let his shoulders slouch so it seemed like his guard was down and he offered Logan a wry smile. “Can’t say it’s my normal line of work, though. Any chance you’ve heard more about these ‘forest fairies?’ ” He screwed his face up while he talked, enunciating the words like they were the strangest he’d ever said.
Logan’s eyes narrowed and he tilted his head pensively. He appraised Dean once more and mulled over his own information. It was too late to say he was just out there for a walk. They both had gone past the fence.
“A bit,” he hedged. Logan hadn’t found the article until recently, but once he dug up more information on the place, he’d had to come out. He knew what kinds of danger could lurk behind the simple, innocuous concept. ‘Forest fairies’ indeed. It made them sound so innocent. “Enough to have heard what they call themselves, if they’re really out here.”
“Then maybe you can help me out,” Dean offered magnanimously.
Ding ding ding, you got it!
#dow is Dean of Wellwood, and now all we’ve got is #don and #bofa before all (current) stories for that particular AU have names!
I’ll add it to the FAQ in a bit. For now, you’ve earned a sneak peek!
As though a sudden breeze picked up, the knights took to the air in a flurry of leafy wings. They were flashes of leafy green that fell into formation with Scar at their head, leading a spiral of knights upwards.
Mere seconds later, the spiral broke apart. What looked like a loss of formation quickly shifted into knights scattering into groups of four or five and darting up towards different trees surrounding the village. Some were lost among the leaves and still others were easily marked circling around with their eyes focused on their adversary:
Dean.
The first knight darted towards Dean from the side, and soon after another from a different group swept into the village. Like the ticking of a clock, knights dashed into closer quarters with the human, following the tactics Scar had signaled to them. Determination filled every one of them as they closed in to swarm around the giant.
Dean brought his arms close to guard against any attacks. The sprites moved different from any opponent he’d ever faced, so before lashing out with his own strike, Dean’s intent green eyes watched how they flowed through the air. The rest of the surroundings dropped away from the fighters and ceased to exist.
After Dean had marked the position of the different groups in his mind to keep track during the flurry, he focused on one that was closer to his right side. The second they were within reach, his arm swept forward with the intent to snatch them out of the air.
The knight, one of the younger members, let out a quiet noise of alarm. He attempted to veer off course, but the adrenaline in his body and the sudden jelly-like feeling in his wings prevented him. His sword dropped to the ground below as fingers the size of his body coiled around and trapped him in a fist. His wings were engulfed along with him, and just like that his fight was over; there was no escape from Dean’s grasp.
“Do not falter,” Scar barked in warning as the other knights watched one of their number disappear into one of Dean’s pockets. If their hearts hadn’t already been pounding, they would have begun.
Dean wasn’t only big. He was fast.
The giant’s mouth twitched. “This knife isn’t for you, little guy,” he said gently. “It’s for the strings. I don’t wanna try untying anything and pinching you.”
With the explanation, the giant decided to move again regardless of what Bowman had to say about it. The knife closed in, and Bowman wriggled like a worm to try to keep away from it. It was in vain. The thumb resting over him was more than enough to immobilize his chest, and the rest of him was hindered by the tangled ropes. He couldn’t avoid it.
That was when it came into view, and Bowman’s heart fluttered like a nestling’s wings.
Most alarming of all was the size of the thing. If he were to guess, it was somewhere from sixty to seventy inches tall.
Almost six feet. A giant.
A noise that didn’t fit in with the rest of the forest sounds reached him, and Bowman sucked in a breath. His ears pricked to the sound of something walking through the foliage, something with enough mass to push aside many of the low bushes that grew throughout the woods.
He thought of deer, gentle, enormous creatures that hopped through the forest on light steps on occasion. They migrated near the village sometimes, but often not for long. A deer wouldn’t be an issue.
Then, he thought a wolf. Not as common as the deer, the hulking canines were still a much fiercer predator than their cousin the fox. Wolves walked on enormous paws and bared teeth the length of a sprite’s arm. Not many sprites could boast the bravery to face one. Bowman only knew of one, and it wasn’t him.
You BREAK the rules, Bowman, not just bend them! a voice piped up in his memory, sweet and colored with a laugh. Rischa, his young cousin, would surely scold him for a week once he got out of this one.
Brothers Apart 