Greek mythology AU where as opposed to everyone else getting turned into trees because they angered gods or were pining for their unrequited love Cale Henituse turns into a tree by lying by the lake in front of his house and refusing to budge.
He enjoys the nice weather outside and decides to keep slacking like this - this is the life - and one day he looks up to see a leaf sprouting from his hand.
”Hm,” he says before he closes his eyes again.
There’s something nice about being a tree whose only obligation is to provide oxygen.
Cale breathes; Cale works.
By breathing.
Truly this is the best.
He doesn’t know why the nearby town’s children decide to climb his branches and make him little flower wreaths, especially not why that black-haired little boy with black eyes, a cloak and a wooden sword keeps hugging his trunk but whatever.
It’s probably not important.
The little boy is back again.
”You should just go back to where you came from!
”Monster-eyes!”
The other little boy with red hair and a self-satisfied look scampers off though not before the black-haired boy throws a fistful of dirt toward his head.
It lands accurately, hitting its target with a squelch.
The red haired little boy turns and looks murderous and Cale sighs internally. He isn’t heard - he isn’t audible. He is a tree.
Hooking a root around the little red haired boy’s middle and tossing him gently toward the direction of the nearby town is easy enough, and does the trick.
The red haired boy goes, shrieking up a fuss and loudly.
The black haired boy of course, turns to look at Cale the Tree and after a moment he hugs him again.
Cale sighs, again inaudibly.
“Tree-nim.
”Tree-nim, are you my friend?”
Cale reaches out a branch, dragging a nearby cloak which has gone tattered but it’s the only thing available over the little black-haired boy’s slumbering form.
“I’ll protect you, tree-nim.”
Cale decides to leave well enough alone.
Synopsis:
- Cale saving CH from the bullies in town, who bullies CH because his coloring is off, he’s the only child they know with black hair omg
- Cale saving CH and CH considering more and more that the tree is his only friend. His salvation.
- foreign lumberjacks getting hired to cut down Cale-Tree
- CH chasing lumberjacks away
- CH getting his head almost cut off in the process and Cale-Tree rearing his slacking head and chasing the lumberjacks away all the way to the next state over
- CH saying again, “I’ll protect you, tree-nim. I’ll keep you safe.”
- Hm, guess you’re useful to keep around after all
- Cale chasing away CH’s bullies
- Cale bridging the distance between town and CH
- Cale gifting CH with a magical scabbard formed from one of his branches and when CH pulls his sword from it after having stored it for thirty seconds it lights up with an otherworldly power and glows
- CH getting an amulet in the shape of a never-wilting leaf and which protects him
- CH finding bowls of fruit and leaves wherever he goes
- CH officially making Cale-Tree a treasure of the state and going on to become a hero, he’s got a protagonist’s fate, and it’s inevitable
- CH being drafted into war
- CH becoming the greatest hero the now peaceful kingdoms of the world have ever known
- CH, older and wiser and more world-weary than Cale-Tree has come to recognize, slipping back into the town that started it all, visiting Cale-Tree.
- CH pressing a palm to Cale-tree’s trunk like he did many years ago
- Cale slacking and not answering his call, just napping
- CH, unknowing of what’s happening in Cale’s mind, slipping down to kneel between Cale-tree’s roots and pressing his forehead to the bark like a prayer and just breathing how it’s over. He can rest now.
- “Thank you for everything, Tree-nim. Tree-nim… I wouldn’t have made it without you. Tree-nim -“
- CH slumping against the tree and Cale’s attention finally turning its head because excuse me? Sir are you dying? Sir you can’t die here who do you think you are, don’t bring me drama -
- CH closing his eyes and murmuring, “ - I have no regrets. Well…“ CH smiling to himself and looking rueful, “Maybe there’s one thing.
- “ - but I think it’s too late to find love, don’t you? I’ll try again in the next life.”
- CH jerking when he feels something moving
- CH whipping up his head and tensing in preparation of an attack, and CH’s eyes widening and his breaths freezing in his chest and his face twisting into confused suspicion as he sees a face that shouldn’t feel familiar somehow does
- “Are you going to sit there all day?” “Who-“ “Follow me.”
- “I’m not going anywhere with you.“ “I think you will? You’re hungry, aren’t you? Come - I’ll feed you.”
- Cale bringing CH to his old mansion which is now abandoned but has some preserved food lying around
- CH eating
- Cale sipping his tea daintily and CH looking at him with a dawning realization and after some unintentional - maybe some of it is intentional - flirting over the next several weeks the two finding love in each other and CH getting his wish of discovering what it’s supposed to feel like
- “Tree-nim,” “How long are you going to call me that?”
- I’ll protect you, CH thinks and secretly Cale also thinks that of CH too
The end
- “Can I turn back into a tree now your heroics seem contagious” “That’s all you, Cale-nim. That’s all you”
The end - but really