Anya sits in a bush by the parking lot. Shape had said two days, but it's the third day and the fairy's yesterday had been largely wasted lingering around the gas station with growing impatience...
Did she have a change of heart? Maybe it really just was a heat of the moment thing, some kind of savior's admiration? No. That thought makes Anya unhappy. Certainly Shape is just delayed. The fairy is very willing to wait a few more days, though if the doubts are starting to show the day after it might be tough on the nerves.
He sighs.
Shape speeds down the interstate with a large amount of large camping equipment and otherwise in the back seats of her car. She worries if the fairy has already forgotten about her, having left this magical place for too long. Who knows—perhaps the forest deters the outside guest in some way, maybe the opening will be closed when she gets back. Maybe it's that kind of arrangement.
She pulls out to the gas station's exit, and she parks as close to the forest edge as she can. She emerges as a somewhat short woman with brown hair and eyes and modest jeans and a sweater, almost what a female version of the original Shape Anya met could be. She wanders blindly to the bushes, and she says to the treetops, "Anya...?"
There's a silence... And then, a pink blur.
Thwap.
Anya has attempted an attempt at a flying transformation tacklehug, but the timing was off and the small fairy had already bounced off quite comically and feebly before fully turning into a more full-sized person. She rolls backwards once, and somehow manages to end up back on her feet from the momentum.
"Well, that didn't work. Hi! I missed you!" He squeezes his arms tightly around Shape, for a small creature like that it's impressively firm. "What took you so looooong, wah..."
Shape bursts into smiles, and she runs up to the fairy and lifts her feet off the ground in a hug and kiss. "My little fairy hero waited for me. God, I'm really sorry about taking so long—see I got caught up trying to get a specific kind of tent, but I finally figured something out and found what I needed to find. I already love you so much, I really missed you too. I sort of just lied in bed when I got home from you." She takes Anya's hand and leads him to the vehicle. She reveals the tent bag, some plastic bags from a couple assorted stores, a large cooler, and some more personal possessions. For instance, her spear. She holds it up. "This should be about everything I need for quite a while. Check inside the blue plastic bag. I got you something and something for Ophelia!"
"Oh wow, you really did come well-prepared. It'll be a bit of an effort to get all of that to my place! What kind of specific tent would that be?" The fairy takes up a small frame again and flutters into the car, observing the large pile of objects his to-be roommate has acquired. It's certainly more than expected! With his small hands he pulls at the blue plastic bag as mentioned, slowly but surely uncovering its contents. The feeling of plastic isn't exactly one a woodland creature has too much experience with, so it's a process.
"Oh, you know, it could fit a couple people in it if needed, it can be grounded to firm dirt pretty well, the box said it was waterproof which I mean, well, I'd hope so." She hums some listless tune from the 80s as she takes the tent bag in both hands, one hand still barely clutching the spear. Anya finds a few different kinds of chocolate bars—one with nuts, one with caramel, and one that's white chocolate and raspberry. There's also a bag of salt water taffies. "All those chocolates are supposed to be yours. Do you want to grab the gray bag too and maybe like the backpack?" She grunts as she walks away from the car and wirelessly locks it after Anya.
Anya's once again humanly sized when doing as requested, seeing as small fairies can't carry that many things at once. But she seems to manage, it's not too much and she's full of energy from wanting to help Shape get situated in the forest~. It'll be very curious to be in a tent in the forest, truly. It's different from having a small, open treehouse made of wood, she expects. "I hope you're skilled at making your weird roll of stuff become a room you can sleep in. It can't be easy, I assume."
She shrugs. "I never really considered it before, moving somewhere else anyway. I never really had a reason to before. I only more than a decade ago just moved in from... Yeah." She steps over some bramble and bends her knees a bit more. "But yeah, I guess the essentials are all here. Even brought some tea bags. I didn't have too much decoration or personal stuff to bring that I couldn't just leave home. Like I have some gadgets I left there since, yeah, I can't really charge them here. And some weird magic stuff I've found with time, actually." She blinks at her fairy. "Has anything happened in the forest since last time?"
"Ooh, weird magic stuff? You have me intrigued, but maybe we can look at those some other time. And I haven't really caught much of Forest things happening, there's been no major events and anything minor I've missed just sitting in a bush by the parking lot! This is a calm place anyhow, so not that much can happen in three days. Anya stops to pick and eat a berry that looks extra tempting, and then has to do a small jog to keep up again with Shape. The path the two have now taken a few times is starting to become familiar; the forest has its distinct marks and features even if not put there by humans to show the way.
"Well, the magic is in fact quite weird, I don't think you really know what you'd be signing up for~. Anyway, though. Sorry I kept you worried, again. Really didn't mean to... I do look forward, honestly, to getting cozy here. Not only are you here, obviously, but it really does seem just quiet and relaxing in the forest. I won't have loud neighbors to worry about, or people knocking on my door, or anything."
When they arrive to under Anya's treehouse, Shape places her spear aside and unravels the tent bag. She takes a small shovel from the backpack and digs little holes in the dirt with much effort for the tent spokes. She groans.
Anya watches all the components of this tent spread out across the ground, and seems profoundly lost in the process of how to set it up. So she simply sits aside and watches. A few insect skitter about one of the holes Shape digs up - There's truly a lot of life in this place too and yet it's so much quieter than the human world. A breeze passes by, and the leaves above rustle a bit more seriously than usual.
"We might still encounter some visitors at the door, a tent in the middle of the forest right by my house will surely raise the curiosity of the others, hehe. Though I don't think you're at risk of Yarrow making the trip here, let alone Ophelia." He giggles.
Shape shovels the insects all the same. She removes her sweater and wipes some sweat on her forehead, leaving a small smudge of dirt over it. "I didn't think this would be this annoying, but I'll only have to do this once in a while, so." She can finally bury the supporting poles for the tent after a few more minutes like stakes into the fitted areas of the tarp and dug holes. And Shape then begins the process of raising the tent as listed in the included instructions. "I wonder what sort of visitors we'd get, then. In any case, I'm sure it'll be all right. They seem to trust you, I can tell. Just explain why I'm here, yeah. Can you hold that wire?"
The wire does get held, as requested, though the process still seems like magic to Anya. It's fascinating to see this pile of plasticy material and strings and pins and sticks raise itself into a lil' hidey hole in the middle of the forest. The color matches the surroundings quite well, a choice quite appreciated - something vivid and bright would surely stick out a bit too much. When the wire no longer requires holding, the fairy can't resist circling the tent, gently pushing and pulling to admire its sturdiness. Not too roughly, of course, accidentally tearing it down again would be incredibly embarrassing. "Don't worry, I'll do the talking as needed yeah. They're good people, so it shouldn't be too much an issue."
Shape and Anya make a returning trip to the car in order to grab the cooler, sleeping bag, some matters of blankets and pillows, and some dishes and cutlery in a bin. Another fifteen or so minutes, but it's the last of the items. Shape hopes her vehicle isn't towed in her time here as she stares back at it, and she wonders when the next time she'll need to leave the forest is. She also wonders if she'd need more money soon from some sort of adventuring, scheme, or sell. But she smiles, grateful for the moment. They deposit the last items inside the tent itself, and Shape then seals the tent up with Anya and her inside. She folds her hands together, and she lies back on the top of the sleeping bag. "Finally... Hey, love. What do you think?"
As the tent and transfer project finally are complete, one of the blankets captivates the little fairy entirely. He's all wrapped up in it, making the happiest little noises. "Wow, how do you get these so soft? Do you sleep with these always? That sounds so incredibly cozy I cannot imagine..." She nuzzles her face all over it and rolls around.
"Love... I think it's very neat! It's definitely not something I am used to but it's a small little cozy home for you to sleep in right now~ It definitely seems like something that would protect from becoming soggy and from winds. Someone like you probably wouldn't appreciate have to sleep through that too much!" The blanket and the fairy shuffle over to Shape's side... He missed her a lot, just in these last three days, and now finally there's a chance to flop lazily against Shape. So he does.
"I don't always sleep with these blankets, but I usually use at last one, yeah. That one can be yours, though, how's that sound?" She laughs, enjoying her girlfriend's enthusiasm for the little things she'd now otherwise take for granted. Shape fluffs a pillow, and she says, "I'm glad you find it so neat. It really is just going to be my place for the foreseeable future, so yeah, it'd be nice to have you inside of this little place a lot so we could cuddle together and stuff. Tell me, Anya, what did you do when it stormed here in that treehouse?" She holds the fairy's back and keeps him closely packed to her. She kisses his forehead and says, "I really have so much more to learn about you."
"It rarely gets too extreme in this part of the woods, the forest is dense enough that the harshest winds go more over than through. I did have to make sure not to put my treehouse too high up because of it, a proper storm can quite rattle the upper branches! But just to be sure I have made sure to not have doors and windows on the back half of the house, so I can cozy up in a corner and be mostly covered. This was actually my fifth go at a house, and the second one in this forest. So I've learned a good bit over time! It's not just sticks and boards, there's a good bit of goopy plant and mud stuff to seal the cracks of wind and water. Luckily I don't have to care too much about it being cold despite being so open, perks of being a magical creature."
There's a delight in the fairy, she's very excitable and nuzzles his hair into Shape's side when not too occupied going on about her experiences in manual labor and construction. She closes her eyes as soon a she's done with her tangent, and sighs. "You're cozy..."
Shape nods and then gently rubs the shoulder blades of the fairy. The walls and ceiling of the tent are comforting—they're close, and a bright kind of plastic. The light that reaches through the tree canopy finds little resistance in it, too.
"I try to be cozy, Anya. I suppose I'm trying to make a good impression still, but I really do mean everything here. Starting with this tent and this chocolate, yeah. And the cuddling." She smiles invisibly. "I had the impression you were here the whole time in this forest, maybe. I guess that's a shallow perspective, although then I'd have to wonder... What was your method of choice going from one forest to another? Let me guess—you rode on the back of a large bird?"
She pokes the fairy's cheek. "I'll probably make myself a lunch soon."
"Oh, I've been around some. Finding a place to stay isn't trivial! You gotta find the right weather, the right people, and a place you enjoy too. Just the right amount of privacy and publicity as a wish granting faerie~" Anya muses to herself, and stretches.
"Getting to this forest was actually a part of a favor trade. There was a hiker who needed help with an injured leg. The cost ended up being him leading me here, from... A place west-ish. It was quite an enjoyable trek, but the guy wasn't too exciting. He gave me a shirt, but that's since become part of my furniture. Fabric isn't easy to come by and quite useful! Birds are assholes, by the way. Hard to make cooperate. Can't recommend for travel."
The blanket still delights the fairy much, and he's rubbing his face into the soft material. "I suppose cars are very efficient in comparison. They zip about so effortlessly. Lunch sounds good! For you. I'm not in need and you should probably take good care of your rations."
"How interesting," Shape says. "I'd never have thought of the fabric of a shirt that way, but such is being resourceful in a forest, I guess. Birds are assholes?"
She smirks at him, and she moves her hands aside to wildly gesture her next point.
"Cars are also kind of awful. Mostly because humans have this habit of piling them in close quarters of the cities. On the open road, they're pretty convenient though, yeah. You just—zoom."
She lies with him for some time, then, even nearly drifting into a nap. The fairy's excitement keeps her from committing, however, and she soon rises to dig through her food supplies for a plastic plate, multi-grain bread slices, and some of her more perishable goods—deli meat and cheese. Her lunch is nothing more than a sandwich today. And maybe dinner would be something in a can...
"Birds don't have much at all to gain from Fairies, in their little brains. They fly faster, they have great eyesight. They don't understand magic. They just peck at seeds and like to be free so having a creature sit on them doesn't suit them well."
Anya carries the mental image of cars physically piled on top of each other when she finally steps out of the tent for a little bit, as Shape is busy with human cutleries and prepared foods. Truth be told, even if it's fairly shaded in this area, the bright colors of the tent is something she has to get used to looking at. At least from inside, where it's all-encompassing. He can be heard rustling various bushes in the vicinity, and eventually returns with a small handful of blueberries that she dumps onto a seemingly not in use napkin.
"We should see about getting your gifts to their recipients soon enough. It'll be a nice gesture to not wait forever with it~"
Shape chews on her sandwich while holding her plate below her jaw. She swallows, smiles, and reaches for just two of the blueberries to try.
"You know, maybe this isn't that related anymore, but it's been so long since I attempted to communicate with birds, or any animal I guess, at all. I think there's a stereotype that ShapeShifters can talk with animals just because they can mimic their form, but I could never get it to happen. I much prefer to be human, too, of course. I guess I just wish that I could attempt to reason with the bird in a common language, somehow. Maybe then you could give them a magic incentive? Just putting that out there."
She reaches for Anya's hand and squeezes his palm once. She then tilts her head back and sits up, placing some of the ingredients back in the cooler. A water bottle buried in the ice is plucked out.
"We can probably do at least a couple of the gifts before it gets dark tonight, yeah. The bag is just over there. Are you sure Yarrow won't be mad at me for coming back? I'm not sure she likes me, even though she helped save my life too."
Anya ponders the mechanics of interacting with birds but slowly trails off in thought. She eventually digs up the salt water taffies holding it almost warily due to how the packet crinkles in his hands.
"She doesn't like most people, if that's your standards of not liking someone. She actually is just like that by default and I think getting on her good side is definitely a better idea than ignoring the favor or such you owe her~ But I think we can do Ophelia first anyhow. It's not been too cloudy today so she's bound to be chipper, likely. I wonder... Ah, no, Zada I think is busy lately. Did I ever mention Zada? You should meet them sometime. Ah, I'm tracking off. We should go!"
"Well, now that you put it that way, you're probably right about Yarrow, yeah. I guess I'll get on her good side. And who is this Zada now, exactly? This forest is crazy, it's like a hidden magic village, I swear."
Shape crawls out of the tent and stretches her arms up into the air, walking ahead of the fairy for some time until realizing she's probably veering off the wrong way.