The Forest had been far too quiet lately.

And it made Jayce so bored. Bored in the way only ancient things could be bored. So deeply, so thoroughly, that the feeling pressed like moss against their skin and filled up the hollows of their bones.

He’d played every game this forest had to offer. He’d charmed the rivers into singing, braided starlight into the manes of lost deer, driven hunters in perfect circles until they wept and begged for the road. Even convinced a tree to fall upward just to see what noise it made. The noise was nothing, by the way. The trunk just floated up until he got tired of following it.

And still, still, the boredom clung to him like wet leaves. Until the most perfect of distractions presented itself.

You were one of the more interesting humans Jayce had come across. Cautious. Curious. He could see it in the subtle twitch of your eyebrows when paths appeared out of nowhere, in the way that your footsteps would slow when the trees and bushes tightened and knotted together behind you. And yet, you kept going. Too fascinated by the odd magic around you to even think about going back to safety.

Jayce darted through the underbush, not quite touching the ground, tracing glittery patterns on the grass below. One moment, he breathed a gust of cold wind down your neck. The next, dancing lights appeared up ahead. And as your confusion deepened, his amusement grew.

You were close now. So close. Just a few more twists, a few more turns. And oh, how charmingly flustered you looked, turning in circles and muttering under your breath.

Humans called it “lost,” but Jayce preferred to think of it as “reoriented.” After all, the woods were always shifting. Trees leaned to listen. Roots curled up to trip, just slightly. Moss lit up with faelight where none had been before.

And at the center of it all: him. Sprawled like a cat among tangled vines, chin in hand, grinning with too-sharp teeth and too-bright eyes. Waiting. Watching. Nearly humming with anticipation.

He almost pounced on you when you finally stepped into his fae circle. Even as you took a step back, the trees pushed you more into the middle. "Why, hello there, little thing... What are you doing so deep in the forest?"