Rance had been drunk when he stumbled through the door of the pub. A state that certainly hadn’t improved by the time he hit the ground on the other side, surrounded by trees instead of buildings. The unexpected change in scenery, combined with inebriation and more than one fist to the head, meant that it took him several long minutes to realize that he hadn’t tripped onto a hard-packed dirt street, but soft forest loam. It was the discovery that his cloak was missing — his feathers, his wings — that jolted him partly sober with a spike of fear and adrenaline. A panicked and fruitless search turned up nothing, but in the midst of his confusion, he changed forms entirely by accident. That had brought a fresh wave of drunken anxiety and he flapped around uselessly in raven form, cawing in distress. How did he change without his cloak? Why had the transformation felt so strange, his magic so off?
He’d attributed it to the drink, at first, but the longer he was in this forest, the more foreign it felt. The heat, as if it were the middle of the hottest months instead of barely past snow-melt as it had been at home. The unfamiliar animal noises reaching his ears when he wasn’t making too much noise himself. Even the air smelled strange! Confused and addled by drink and panic, he made it up to a low branch, hiding his pack amongst the roots. Shivering despite the heat, he eventually fell asleep.
The next several days were spent trying to figure out where he was and nursing his bruises — and hangover — from the bar brawl he’d left behind. He explored in avian form at first, flying high above the trees to see if he could find the town. Instead, he found an ocean of trees broken by an unfamiliar river and distant mountains. It was so disorienting that he ducked down below the branches again and stayed there.
A thin stream quenched his thirst and the last of his trail rations took care of his hunger, but it had been a long time since he’d been lost. Some of the birds and plants were familiar enough that he thought he’d be able to hunt for meals in raven form, but the rest of the forest was even stranger in daylight than it had been at night. A twisted tree moved when he tried to perch on it and giant mushrooms stood taller than any he’d ever seen before. Quite by accident he discovered that the moss was cool to the touch and from there on he kept some of it on him whenever he was in human form.
The afternoon of the third day was him much like the previous,the woods still thick unknowable, and an absolute pain in the ass to traverse by foot or by wing. He’d loosely decided to head for the large river, risking occasional flights into the high branches to make sure he was still going the right way. As he was beginning to ease into the idea of having a plan and, maybe, hope that he’d find civilization, a horned insect the size of a fucking dog trundled past.
That was the snapping point.
“What the fuckin’ hell kind of place is this?” Rance tossed his pack to the ground, snarling and dragging his fingers through his hair. Blue eyes veered resolutely away from the direction the unnatural thing had headed. The jacket he’d tied around his waist followed his movements like a tail as he spun and began pacing between the trees. “Is this some kind of fuckin’ prank? Did that fucker put some of that shitty ass vision dust in my drink? Motherfuckin’ bitch always did cheat, but what the fucking hell?!”
———————
Rance is lost in the Wildwood after a portal popped him out there. He’s confused, angry, and he’s not gonna take it anymore!
He’d attributed it to the drink, at first, but the longer he was in this forest, the more foreign it felt. The heat, as if it were the middle of the hottest months instead of barely past snow-melt as it had been at home. The unfamiliar animal noises reaching his ears when he wasn’t making too much noise himself. Even the air smelled strange! Confused and addled by drink and panic, he made it up to a low branch, hiding his pack amongst the roots. Shivering despite the heat, he eventually fell asleep.
The next several days were spent trying to figure out where he was and nursing his bruises — and hangover — from the bar brawl he’d left behind. He explored in avian form at first, flying high above the trees to see if he could find the town. Instead, he found an ocean of trees broken by an unfamiliar river and distant mountains. It was so disorienting that he ducked down below the branches again and stayed there.
A thin stream quenched his thirst and the last of his trail rations took care of his hunger, but it had been a long time since he’d been lost. Some of the birds and plants were familiar enough that he thought he’d be able to hunt for meals in raven form, but the rest of the forest was even stranger in daylight than it had been at night. A twisted tree moved when he tried to perch on it and giant mushrooms stood taller than any he’d ever seen before. Quite by accident he discovered that the moss was cool to the touch and from there on he kept some of it on him whenever he was in human form.
The afternoon of the third day was him much like the previous,the woods still thick unknowable, and an absolute pain in the ass to traverse by foot or by wing. He’d loosely decided to head for the large river, risking occasional flights into the high branches to make sure he was still going the right way. As he was beginning to ease into the idea of having a plan and, maybe, hope that he’d find civilization, a horned insect the size of a fucking dog trundled past.
That was the snapping point.
“What the fuckin’ hell kind of place is this?” Rance tossed his pack to the ground, snarling and dragging his fingers through his hair. Blue eyes veered resolutely away from the direction the unnatural thing had headed. The jacket he’d tied around his waist followed his movements like a tail as he spun and began pacing between the trees. “Is this some kind of fuckin’ prank? Did that fucker put some of that shitty ass vision dust in my drink? Motherfuckin’ bitch always did cheat, but what the fucking hell?!”
———————
Rance is lost in the Wildwood after a portal popped him out there. He’s confused, angry, and he’s not gonna take it anymore!
