It occurs to Vitya a few moments after he lays down his challenge that there has never been a Human allowed to walk the sky-bridges, that Yuuri is being let into the world of elves that has always been kept hidden and protected in years past, he shrugs off the thought without dwelling on it.
Yuuri isn’t just any Human, he’s a hunter who makes the forest sing, if only for fleeting moments. He’s a Human who had seen the beauty and might of Nyéraldë herself and wept in her presence.
Yuuri is different.
Vitya sees the competitive light in Yuuri’s eye when they race to the tree line, he sees the way Yuuri allows Vitya to indulge in it, and he wants more - of course he wants more of Yuuri, Yuuri is funny and silly but with a bedrock of competence and solidity that Vitya craves in his life.
“You want me to climb a tree and race you? In the rain?” Yuuri gives him an unimpressed look that sparks Vitya’s smile again. “You’re aware that you have an unfair advantage right?”
“Well, as you said, it’s raining so we’ll both have to be careful!” Yuuri rolls his eyes at this and hums thoughtfully.
“Okay, where do I start?” Vitya shows him to the tree, and Yuuri scoffs at him when he tries to explain how to climb it. “Vitya, you may think of Lindalde as your forest, but I’ve been climbing its trees since I was old enough to pull myself up.”
“Someone is sure of themselves…” The comment wins Vitya another grin, all teeth and challenge and Vitya returns it in kind. And then Yuuri’s making his way up the trunk, sure in his movements and only hesitating for a second between handholds.
Vitya watches him, waiting for any sign that Yuuri may falter, but he doesn't. He climbs as though it’s second nature to him, his leather jerkin taut over his back when he reaches one particularly difficult stretch. His form is perfect, as though he’d been born to it as Vitya had. His strong legs propel him up the trunk as though he were an elf himself, and Vitya spends a moment staring before he realises that he’s effectively watching Yuuri’s backside as he scales the tree.
It is a very nice backside though…
It’s a very, very nice backside. It’s one of the best backsides Vitya has ever seen and he’s seen a lot of backsides in his time…
He’s snapped out of his musing once the backside in question disappears into the eaves, and Yuuri’s face replaces it. Vitya isn’t complaining about the replacement. It’s a very nice face, too… As far as Vitya has seen, there isn’t a part of Yuuri that isn’t nice -
“Are you just giving me a head start or gawping at me?” Yuuri calls down, amusement tingeing his voice.
Now fully aware of himself, Vitya makes quick work of scaling the tree and finds Yuuri standing at the entry to the sky-bridge, taking in the intricate criss crossing of the eaves and woven branches with wide eyes.
“This is incredible.” Yuuri shoots him a wide eyed look of wonder before he's examining the bridge more closely, barely noticing the rain. “Did you say all of the trees have bridges between them?”
Vitya joins him at the bridge and lays a hand on the intricate lacing of branches that serve as a hand hold, “Most of the habitable ones, yes. They've mostly fallen to wildness now, I haven't enough time to tend every bridge in the forest…” Vitya tells him, there's a downturn to Yuuri’s expression at that but the rain chooses to redouble its efforts of soaking them and Vitya sends Yuuri a bright smile, “Anyway, I was promised a race!”
“I'm not sure it's going to be much of a race, I'll probably get swept off the bridge by the rain!” Yuuri chuckles at the concept but it makes Vitya’s stomach sour at the thought.
“Okay, not a race then. I'll just show you the bridges and tell you about the trees we pass!” Vitya offers, Yuuri looks like he'd like to argue, but Vitya forestall his protests by grabbing his hand once more - and pulling Yuuri after him - leads them into the treetops.
Yuuri isn't aware of their falling asleep, lulled into the drifting by the enveloping warmth of Nyéraldë. He's aware of the chill of the night as it pinches at his toes and his cheeks and pulls him back to wakefulness. He’s still leaning on Vitya heavily, his face turned in to Vitya’s chest against the cold. Vitya is still sleeping soundly, it seems a terrible thing to wake him when he looks so peaceful, his pale lashes and pink lips stark in the moonlight, but it will only get colder before long.
Vitya wakes in stages; at first he grumbles and tries to hide his face from Yuuri’s fingers when he presses them against Vitya’s cheek - turning his face away. Then his fingers tighten in Yuuri’s jerkin, pulling at the fabric as if to pull back a blanket and mumbles, ‘Makka, no… it’s comfy’. The words seem to pull Vitya into consciousness, he blinks and raises his head a little, still scrunching his face at his waking. It takes a second, maybe two, and then Vitya jolts out of Yuuri’s space, spluttering apologies.
“Oh no, I fell asleep on you!” Vitya’s hair has fallen from its usual braid and spills into his eyes but Yuuri can just make out the blush that paints his cheeks. Yuuri feels an answering blush rising in his own cheeks but tramps it down when he notices the damp patch of drool he’s left on Vitya’s clothing which Yuuri starts to scrub at the second he notices it.
Vitya’s blush redoubles at Yuuri’s hands on him, and Yuuri scrambles away with a rushed apology - “I'm so sorry! I must have fallen asleep on you and…” He waves a hand in the direction of the damp patch.
“It’s fine! I think we both just… knocked out after.” Vitya shrugs. Yuuri glances around the glade again once it’s clear that Vitya isn’t bothered by the drool. He has no idea how much time has passed, but the sun has set and the nights chill has goosebumps breaking out on his arms.
“Oh. Oh it’s late…”
“Yes, I think we slept for a couple of hours.” Vitya looks up at the night’s sky with a small frown. “We should probably head out before your family get worried…”
Vitya stands, brushing himself down with a hand while Yuuri gathers up his pack and ensures he hasn’t left anything, searching the roots of Nyéraldë by the moonlight. He’s adjusting straps and straightening up when he feels it - the first heavy droplets of rain against the back of his hand that have him blinking up at the heavens as the skies open and the rain really starts picking up.
“Oh!” Vitya is looking up too, grinning at the droplets that pepper his cheeks.
There's a moment. A second where Vitya turns to him and they share a look before they grin.
And then they're running for the tree line.
Vitya barks a laugh when Yuuri pulls at his elbow, scuttling his minute lead and making him trip over his own feet as he stumbles. Yuuri just shoots him a wide smile over his shoulder and takes advantage of the elf being off balance by overtaking him.
“Cheating!” Vitya yells after him, but Yuuri just laughs in response and puts his head down as he bowls towards the trees. He makes it with only a hair of a lead, laughing when Vitya catches up and immediately shoves him. “That was cheating!”
“No such thing!” Yuuri laughs again, steadying himself against a tree trunk.
“You’re so mean, Yuuri!” Vitya is right next to him, pouting. Has any elf in the history of elves ever pouted as much as Vitya? Yuuri isn’t sure, but the playful pouts and giddy laughter Yuuri pulls from him make him want to see the elf pout all of the time.
“Am not!” Yuuri ribs him and Vitya laughs again. Yuuri loves it, loves hearing the sound of Vitya’s laughter as they hide in the limited shelter of the bare trees.
“You know - there’s a quicker way to get around the forest… if you think you can keep up with me that is?” Vitya raises an eyebrow and Yuuri can’t help but rise to the challenge.
“Didn’t I just beat you?”
“I still count it as cheating-”
“Oh really? Well this time I’ll show you!” Yuuri feels childish and silly, but Vitya is still grinning and giving him a mockery of his assessing look that is all playfulness. “What did you have in mind?”
The setting of the sun halos Yuuri in gold, painting him in honeyed shades. Yuuri’s eyes are shining, his fingers still holding Vitya’s in reassurance.
“I know you've wondered… Or you've wanted to know what happened to my brethren.” Yuuri offers him a smile of encouragement, a tiny quirk of lips that Vitya returns, swallowing down the bitter remnants of his loneliness and sealing them away with the image of Yuuri’s reassurance. Nyéraldë is there, more present than she has been in months, sending tiny pulses of warmth and love.
Vitya can do this. He can do it because Yuuri’s hand is in his and Nyéraldë loves Vitya, loves Yuuri, and loves every inch of her forest.
“I showed you the sky-bridges earlier… The sky bridges used to connect almost every tree in the forest, home-tree to home-tree, stores and meet-trees. There were hundreds of elves in Nyéraldë once.”
“They're not -” Yuuri blurts out the interjection but falls short of finishing it, looking scared for a second before another wave of warmth envelopes them.
“Dead? No, not dead.” Vitya finishes the question for him, squeezing his hand before he turns back to the glade and leads Yuuri towards Nyéraldë. “We used to celebrate the summer solstice for Nyéraldë every year at her feet, singing songs of our thanks and love for her… It all changed when the Village was established. There were many people of the forest who saw the arrival of your people as an annoyance, or as a sign that we would be… overrun?” Yuuri frowns at the slight, but doesn't protest further than a downturn of his expression as Vitya settles them at the foot of Nyéraldë’s trunk, leaning into her warmth.
Their shoulders brush as Yuuri rests against him, reassurance in closeness spurring Vitya on. “I argued, of course, but there were too few who echoed my sentiments. Those who did were soon silenced by their elders and betters.”
Vitya can feel the bitterness that floods him at the words; the way his heart contracts at the memory of the loss, the way his ego still feels bruised.
“My parents were among the loudest of those suggesting we leave, that we abandon a sinking ship - as they put it. I wasn't surprised when they left. They were the first to go, they left with strict orders that I follow once I'd ‘come to my senses’, which evidently I never did…” Vitya shrugs lightly at that and Yuuri huffs out a disapproving sigh. “The trickle of leavers turned into a flood after that, until it was just me.”
Vitya hesitates for a second before he pushes on. “The worst - the worst was Chris - Christophe. He stayed as long as he could, he didn't want me to be alone, but eventually the pressure from his family was too much…” Yuuri’s fingers tighten against his, a reflex action that Vitya returns with a sad smile. “I still miss him, sometimes. Just the odd days when I think of something and wish I could tell him… but to see him I'd have to leave Nyéraldë, to leave my home and my heart and I couldn't imagine ever doing that.”
“That's… awful, I can't even imagine how much that must have hurt.” Vitya can feel Yuuri’s gaze on his face, feel the indignation - for a fleeting second - from Nyéraldë. Yuuri curls into Vitya’s side, his head dropping to Vitya’s shoulder. “I'm so sorry this happened to you, Vitya.”
“Thank you.”
They're silent for a moment, the twilight painting the glade and bathing them in the last warmth of the day.
“And then the forest started… Receding?” Yuuri prompts.
“Yes… It was even more lonely without the trees singing.” Vitya tried to keep the sadness from his voice, but it must seep in because Yuuri shuffles even closer.
“But you weren't alone. You had Makka - and now me. And we're working to find out what is happening to the forest.” Yuuri sounds so determined, so certain that they’ll find a solution that Vitya smiles to himself, basking in Nyéraldë’s assuring warmth at Yuuri’s words.
She was magnificent in not only her beauty, but in size, an all encompassing presence. As wide around as ten of the oldest trees of Lindalde combined, standing twice as tall as any of them. Her branches were thick and sprawling, spanning out in every direction as she held court in her glade, a solitary sentinel of the forest.
“This is Nyéraldë. She’s the Heart of the Forest, the first of the forest...” Vitya says the name reverently as they enter the glade, his fingers still entwined with Yuuri’s, but their fingers slip apart. Their connection is lost as Vitya continues forward, but Yuuri remains frozen at the tree line. He’s never seen anything like her. Her majesty and grace as she stands, her presence.
Nyéraldë.
There’s a frisson that runs the length of Yuuri’s spine as he takes in the sight, it’s a reaction to the sudden whip of awareness that tickles at the base of his neck.
For years Yuuri has walked the forest, he has hunted the wildlife and harvested her fruits, he has waded her pools and slept in her warm embrace more times than he can count. Yuuri knows her, he knows this presence and this awareness. He knows the way the branches seem to shiver at his attention and the way his heart warms to be here, finally.
Yuuri had taken for granted how special Nyéraldë was - how beautiful the Lindalde forest was - because it had been a part of his life as long as he’d been aware of life. He’d taken for granted the love he felt in her lofty heights.
“Yuuri?” Vitya turns to him as the first tears start to spill, painting his cheeks. The elf dashes to him to moment he sees them, worry etched into his expression. “Yuuri?!”
“I’m sorry, I -” Yuuri makes to rub at his face but Vitya gets there first, thumbs catching his tears.
“You don’t have to be scared…”
“I’m - I’m not scared, I’m… happy. Overwhelmed?” The tears are still coming - spurred on by the way his chest feels like it’s filled with liquid sunshine.
Love.
It’s affection and love that’s making his breath ragged even as he smiles through it.
“Vitya?” Yuuri can’t put it into words, but the elf is still cradling his face and watching him with a soft look that bleeds understanding.
“She knows you, doesn’t she?” Vitya asks gently, Yuuri nods against Vitya’s hands. If Yuuri weren’t so overwrought he would notice the way the elf’s voice trembles and his fingers shake. The tears in Yuuri’s eyes blind him to the fact. “She knows you and she loves you. I can feel it.”
Yuuri nods again, blinking away the tears enough to make out the astonished look on Vitya’s face. “She…”
The boughs tremble once more, a soft sigh as they still and the warmth in Yuuri’s chest recedes. It pulls back, back into Nyéraldë and to the depths of Yuuri’s heart, still there as it always has been - unknown until the moment he had been made aware of it but a part of his love he’d pulled strength from all his life.
“Yuuri…” Vitya is so close, they’re inches apart and Yuuri is conscious of every one of them. He can see the way Vitya’s chest moves with each breath, can see every eyelash of his closed eyes. Yuuri wishes he could kiss every one of them, a silent gift to the elf who has given him so much in just leading him here… “There’s something I wanted to tell you. About me - about the forest.”
“Vitya, you don’t need to -” Yuuri lays his hand
“I know, but I want to.” Vitya smiles and its soft edges are tinged with a sadness so deep that Yuuri’s breath catches. Yuuri can feel Nyéraldë’s power, feel her attention on them as Vitya steels himself. It's like a kind hand to his shoulder, bracing him to be strong for Vitya. Yuuri pulls every ounce of strength offered, and focuses on Vitya’s pale face as the sun disappears behind the tree line.
Vitya had bid him goodbye with a wave, sending him back to the village with the elf’s request buzzing in the back of his mind. Vitya had been bright and happy, the oncoming winter caught in the bright blue-green of his eyes as he gripped Yuuri’s forearm and made the request with a determined look.
It has Yuuri distracted for the whole week, ruminating over what Vitya might possibly have to show him, what is so important that Vitya would look so uncharacteristically serious. Mari comments on his preoccupation, poking at his side when he’s skinning rabbits - or meant to be skinning them, he’s sat with a knife in one hand and staring at the rabbits with a small frown. “What’s up with you? You’ve been out of it for days!”
Yuuri puts her off with half answers, ‘he's worried about the forest’, ‘he's wondering if they'll catch much game next summer,’. Mari picks up the thread of conversation and talks at him for half an hour about how there had been a bad summer the year that she was four and they'd managed to make it through by tightening belts that winter. Yuuri nods along to the familiar story, humming in the right places and is grateful his big sister isn't any sharper eyed. If she were, she would notice that he was coming back from Lindalde once a week empty handed and exhausted after his treks with Vitya.
By the time Yuuri makes it to the clearing that week he's wrung out with worry, having lost more than one night's sleep to wondering just what Vitya might be so determined to show him. His pack is heavy against his back, laden with enough food to feed the pair of them, and he’s even brought blankets just in case they don't make it back in time…
“You look like a pack horse.” Vitya emerges from the Rowans with a raised brow, taking in Yuuri’s precautions in one swift look. Yuuri shrinks a little at the comment, knowing that his tendency to overthink might have pushed him in the wrong direction.
“Sorry… you didn't say how long…” Yuuri trails off feeling uncomfortable with the elf for the first time in weeks. “I thought it best to -”
“No, no! It's good. There's a bit of a walk ahead of us and I'm sure you've brought enough for us to get there safe and happy!” Vitya rushes to assure him, stepping closer and laying a hand to his shoulder. “Thank you, Yuuri.”
“What are you thanking me for? My over packing?” Yuuri asks weakly, his heart thumping at the touch of Vitya’s hand and the way the elf had smiled as he thanked him. Vitya’s laugh is light and sweet, a balm against Yuuri’s nerves.
“I'm thanking you in advance.” The elf tells him, with an expression that Yuuri can't quite place. He doesn't get a chance to puzzle it out before Vitya is turning away and calling over his shoulder. “We had better head out, it might take a while for us to get there.”
“To get where?” Yuuri asks, not expecting an answer as he hurries to catch up. True to form, Vitya doesn't answer him, but chimes ‘You'll see!’ as Yuuri falls into step beside him.
They wend their way through the forest, conversation sporadic as Vitya leads them with his head high. Yuuri has seen Vitya playful, has seen him serious, has seen him anxious and worried, but has never seen him looking so solidly resolute as he is right now. It's such a juxtaposition from his usually high-spirits that Yuuri keeps finding himself watching the elf as he moves, each step deliberate and sure.
Hours slide by them, they’re deep in the forest and for the first time in years Yuuri isn’t able to orient himself by landmark. It should make him nervous, but Vityas steady pace and sure steps are reassuring, guiding him where he cannot.
When they settle at the roots of a gnarled tree, far older than those near the village, Yuuri asks again where they're headed. Vitya grins at the question, “Don't you trust me, Yuuri?” he asks playfully but the question makes Yuuri pause.
He does trust Vitya, he trusts his kindness to Makka and his sunny smiles while they walk together. He trusts Vitya’s love of the forest and his honesty in wanting to find a way to bring it back from its slumber.
Yuuri trusts Vitya in a way that he's only ever trusted a few; his family, his mentors, his childhood friends…
“Of course I trust you, Vitya.” Yuuri tries to keep his voice as airy as Vitya’s had been, but he know he fails - Vitya’s frown evidence enough of his miss. Yuuri casts around for another subject quickly, scrambling to save face. “Where's Makka today?”
It's not much of a conversation starter; “Probably getting up to mischief somewhere.” Vitya shrugs and answers around a mouthful of peach. Yuuri’s half tempted to chide him for his manners, but the elf looks so happy that Yuuri lets it go and helps himself to a handful of berries.
“How is the forest? Have you heard it sing recently?” Yuuri asks when he’s not chewing.
Vitya gives him an assessing look that has Yuuri hoping he hasn’t got berry juice on his chin. “There was something… but I’m not sure. I still think it has something to do with you…” Vitya trails off, looking lost in thought and Yuuri doesn’t push the subject, even though he’s buzzing with questions. Instead he ruminates over them as they pack up the remnants of their lunch and start walking again.
As the sun passes over them, heavy in the sky and casting long shadows in the afternoon, Vitya starts to hesitate in his direction. It’s not much, a frown here and a glance above them there, but Yuuri notices that the elf seems less sure of their path now. “Are you okay? We’re not lost are we?”
“No, no! Not lost!” Vitya waves a hand breezily and glances above them again, drawing Yuuri’s gaze but whatever is occupying him is beyond Yuuri’s sight. “I’m just not used to getting there on the forest floor, I’m making sure we’re still on track.”
“If you don’t walk there how on earth do you get there?” Yuuri wonders aloud, not expecting an answer.
“I don’t go ‘by earth’ I go by tree!” Vitya tells him cheerfully. When Yuuri frowns in confusion at the answer Vitya beckons him to his side, and points above them. “See, just there…”
Yuuri doesn’t see, he frowns deeper and squints up to the eaves. Seeing his expression Vitya pulls Yuuri flush to his front and pulls his wrist up, pointing with Yuuri’s fingers to a twist of branches that Yuuri had overlooked as a casualty of the forest’s hibernation.
“See that? It’s a sky-bridge.” Vitya’s breath is warm against Yuuri’s cheek and Yuuri is suddenly aware of the fact that they’re pressed front to back and Vitya’s fingers are on his hip. A blush works its way to his cheeks as he nods. “There was a time long ago when every tree in the forest was connected by the sky-bridges, then the forest outgrew the elves and we stopped building them - or so I was told when I was young.”
Vitya sounds wistful, far away and lost in memories. Yuuri wishes he had the courage to turn in Vitya’s arms and offer him some small comfort - words or maybe a hug - but he doesn’t.
“There aren’t many of the bridges that are still maintained, only the ones I can keep up with…” The fingers against Yuuri’s hip tighten for a second, a tiny grip that speaks volumes.
“So all of this… used to be the elves homes?”
“Some, yes others were storestrees and meeting trees. It - there used to be a community but…” The fingers at Yuuri’s wrist tremble and Yuuri can’t help but turn his hand, steadying Vitya’s hand with his own and pressing their palms together.
“You don’t have to -” He whispers, he doesn’t dare speak any louder because he can feel Vitya’s chest connect to his back in a steadying breath.
“I know. I… I’m okay.” Vitya parts their bodies, dropping Yuuri’s hand as he turns back to their path. “Just… follow me? I’ll explain soon but I want to show you…”
Vitya looks young and lost when he turns back to Yuuri, he looks alone and scared. Yuuri nods again, falling into step beside the elf and letting his fingers glance across the back of Vitya’s hand.
When Vitya takes the touch for the invitation it is, and links their fingers again, Yuuri gives his hand a reassuring squeeze he hopes Vitya takes as the reassurance he’s giving.
