Chapter Text
Eventually, Lavi's trembling began to ease as his breathing slowed to a more normal pace. As he calmed, Lavi relaxed the tight grip of his hands, releasing what he held. Taking a deep breath he forced his body to move, pushing away slightly to see what he was huddled against.
Peering up he saw a person looking down at him, their face mostly hidden in shadow cast by a large, white hood trimmed with fluffy white fur that looked so incredibly soft and thick that Lavi was certain his hand would disappear if he were to reach up and touch it. Only their mouth, curled up into a gentle, reassuring smile, was visible. With the way the sun shone down behind them, it almost seemed like they were glowing and Lavi couldn't help but think, looking up wide-eyed in awe, that he was gazing up at a God.
Catching himself staring, Lavi jumped away, a light blush colouring his freckled cheeks, but stumbled, his legs still a little too shaky to support him. The stranger's gloved hands shot out to steady him, grip firm but gentle on his shoulders, before he could fall and Lavi's hands flew up reflexively to grip their forearms.
"Woah! It seems you're a little unsteady! Though it's understandable why, after what just happened..."
Their voice sounded soft and young and had a subtle lilt, making it sound almost musical. It wasn't overly deep but enough to make Lavi assume this person was male, and listening to it made him feel calm and relaxed. It was even sparking a faint sense of nostalgia, like listening to a song that brought comfort as a child.
Until what he said registered.
Spine snapping straight, Lavi spun on his heel to face the fallen tree almost losing his balance in his haste. Where he had been sat only moments ago lay the massive pine he had been sleeping against. His breath hitched as he spied the cracked spine of his book peeking out from underneath the peeling bark. From this distance, he couldn't tell if the book was trapped under the tree, but the sight of it had him panicking again. That could have been him. Should have been him! Now that he was standing looking at the wreckage it was starting to sink in just how close he had come to dying.
Lavi hardly noticed how his breathing caught in his throat, how his heart began beating faster and faster. He couldn't feel the sweat dripping down his back or how his body started to tremble once more. His vision steadily darkened at the edges until all he could see was the tree and the book caught beneath it. Slowly the image of an arm, the hand peeking out from a familiar sleeve pale and unmoving, and a puddle of blood creeping along the fallen leaves turning the hard dirt to mud, replaced the book.
Unable to tear his gaze away from the grizzly image his mind had conjured up, Lavi continued to watch as the blood kept spreading to nearly fill the clearing. He watched as it crept towards his shoes, his body refusing to move and step back before it reached him.
He jumped when he felt a gentle hand brush against his shoulder, the touch so light he was surprised he noticed it. A soft, melodic voice cut through the static Lavi hadn't even realised had filled his ears, the tone soothing even though he barely heard the words.
It took a great amount of effort but Lavi was able to force himself to listen to that voice, so calm and gentle it didn't matter that he couldn't understand what was said. The sound of the voice alone invoked a sense of safety in him, enough that he was able to blink ridding his sight of the hallucination his panicked brain had created. Once again he faced the fallen tree and the dry, leaf-strewn ground but closed his eye so could see nothing but darkness wanting instead to focus solely on the voice and the feeling of warmth just behind him. Hoping that if he couldn't see then he would not be subjected to that terrifying possibility again.
When he felt the light touch on his shoulder start to retreat he panicked once more. Not wanting the comfort of that hand to disappear his own flew up to grasp it, holding much tighter than would be comfortable for the person, but they made no noise of protest. Instead, they placed their hand more firmly on his arm and used the grip to slowly turn him around.
"Don't worry," That sweet voice said, pouring every ounce of reassurance into each syllable they could. "I won't leave you, I promise. Do you not want me to let you go?"
Shakily Lavi nodded, his eye still screwed shut. Now that he was no longer trapped inside his mind Lavi was made aware of how lightheaded he felt. He assumed it had to do with how rapid his breathing was, he was hardly able to fill his lungs with air and try as he might he couldn't calm down enough to take a full breath.
Lavi felt gloved fingers brush against his free hand, his other still clinging to the hand placed on his arm, and quickly latched onto them. He felt bad for how tightly he was holding onto this stranger, he was sure he was hurting them, but he couldn't bring himself to loosen his grip too scared that if he did then the only thing grounding him in reality would disappear.
"I'm going to place your hand on my chest, alright," the young man said as he slowly lifted Lavi's hand and carefully coaxed him to release his fingers so he could lay his palm against his chest. "I want you to try and copy my breathing. Take slow, deep breaths in and out."
After receiving another nod the stranger slowly took a deep breath through his nose, held it for a few seconds then let it out through his mouth. Lavi attempted to copy him, cracking open his eye to watch him exaggerating his breathing but only managed to stutter a few quick breaths. The stranger was patient though, and soon Lavi was able to follow along. They continued until Lavi's breathing no longer hitched and his hand relaxed its bruising hold on the one on his arm.
Lavi took one more deep breath before pulling his hands away and taking a step back. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he looked down at his old, worn trainers, embarrassed.
"Uh, thanks... for that..." Lavi muttered, not looking up, as he kicked weakly at a small stone half buried in the dirt. "And sorry about freaking out..."
"There's really no need to thank me. It would have been awful of me to just let you spiral, but you're welcome. I'm glad I could help." The man said gently then his voice turned a little more stern. "And you have nothing to be sorry about! You just went through something traumatic, it's completely understandable that you would panic."
Still staring intently at the ground Lavi couldn't see the young man's expression but he imagined he looked like a parent scolding their child. The thought didn't make him laugh like it normally would...
Deciding that he didn't want to keep moping Lavi plastered a big grin on his face, that he was certain looked as fake as it felt. He could tell that the stranger wasn't buying his charade by the way his lips turned down into a frown but chose to ignore it.
"But oh man...! That was way too close! I have no idea how you did it but you saved my life. I owe you big time!" Lavi exclaimed. He was truly grateful and simply saying thank you didn't feel like enough for what this stranger had done for him but it's all he had to give. The smile returning, brighter than before made him think that maybe it was all the young man needed. "I'm really lucky you were nearby. Are you some kinda ranger or something?"
The young man shook his head, with a light chuckle that set Lavi's stomach fluttering, though he blamed it on the adrenaline still pumping through his veins. "Not quite," he said. "It is, however, my job to protect people."
Now that he was somewhat calmer Lavi paused to take in the appearance of his saviour and he was right. There was no way he worked in the forest in any way. From what Lavi could see of his face he appeared young and the clothes he wore were strange in every sense. The most striking thing was the hooded white cloak, it was long enough to drag along the forest floor though it was completely free of dirt and there wasn't so much as a loose thread let alone a tear. It appeared to be made from a heavy material, though what Lavi couldn't tell, but the way it fluttered in the light breeze made it seem as though it were as light as the air itself.
Lavi tilted his head, beyond confused at this point. The young man's appearance was so strange, nothing like Lavi had seen before. "So, who are you then? As far as I know, no one comes to these woods 'cause of the rumours about Gods."
"Oh, I live here actually!" the young man exclaimed brightly. "I'm one of the Gods that call this forest home, so I'm usually roaming about."
Lavi nodded. "Yeah, that makes sen- Wait..." His mouth dropped open and he stared, wide-eyed, at the young man. He had spoken so casually that Lavi hadn't even noticed what he said. "Wait! You-! What?!"
With a slight tilt of his head, the young man repeated, his amusement clear as a bell, "I'm a God. The God of protection to be precise."
"You're kidding me!" There was no way he was serious, Gods weren't real! Though as he stared, slack-jawed and wide-eyed an errant cloud passed over the sun. The glow that Lavi had thought had been caused by the sunlight reflecting off of the white cloak didn't dim in the slightest at the lack of light. In fact, it seemed brighter as if mirroring the self-proclaimed God's mirth.
"I assure you, I'm not," he replied, failing to hide an amused grin behind a gloved hand and his shoulders shaking with barely suppressed laughter.
Lavi continued to stare and the young man, the Gods, laughter grew in volume until he could no longer contain it. The white glow surrounding him brightened to the point that Lavi was squinting but he couldn't tear his gaze away. He still had some doubts about the whole God thing but there was no denying that the person before him wasn't human.
It took him a moment longer than he cared to admit to gather himself and pick his jaw up off the ground. Getting over his shock at the revelation curiosity began gnawing at his mind. The need to know more becoming overwhelming.
Lavi had always been incredibly curious. Ever since he was old enough to talk he had been asking questions, trying to understand every little thing around him. His grandfather had always encouraged this behaviour, answering any question no matter how insignificant or strange. Though from everyone else he always got odd stares, like they couldn't understand why he wanted to know more when what was already known was enough. He had always found it strange that people never really asked questions, never tried to learn more than they needed to. Never wondered if they could do more. Of course, he had asked his grandfather, the old man telling him that people simply had no interest in learning more, that they were satisfied with the way things were. This confused Lavi further, he couldn't understand. He refused to. There was so much to learn about, he wanted to know everything! How could people be satisfied with only knowing what had already been discovered before their time?
It was this ever-burning need to know that had a waterfall of questions tumbling from his lips before he could even think of stopping them.
"So you're a God? A real, actual God? Does that mean other Gods are living in this forest? Or do they live somewhere else? And you're the God of protection? Does that encompass all kinds of protection or just certain things? Does it extend only to specific things? Or do you protect everything? And what exactly does that mean? How do you protect? Do you physically go to what needs protecting? That seems kind of impossible for just one person, even if you're a God... Is it magic or something?"
As the questions kept coming the Gods smile grew, fond and endeared. Though the next question out of Lavi's mouth, after he had paused to take a much-needed breath, had his expression freezing and his whole body going ridged.
"Is it true then that one of the Gods died, because I thou-" Lavi was cut off by a gloved hand raising and he noticed the God's white glow seemed dimmer, his smile still present but sadder.
"You understandably have a lot of questions, and I'd be happy to answer them. But maybe another time," the God said, his voice carefully level. "For now don't you think it's best you head home? You must be tired after what happened..."
Freezing at the mention of his close brush with death Lavi's gaze flicked back to the fallen tree before returning to the God. Taking a deep breath to calm himself before the panic could return he attempts a cheerful smile, though it feels strained and false.
"Yeah, I guess you're right..." He puts his hands in his pockets when he feels them start to shake. Then in an attempt to lighten the mood he jokes, "Maybe next time I should check the tree for rot before falling asleep against it!"
His weak chuckle quickly fades at the shake of the God's hooded head.
"I'm afraid that tree was perfectly healthy..." He states, causing Lavi's blood to run cold. "Recently the forest has become... unsettled..."
He pauses, glancing away, his fingers fiddling with the edge of his white cloak as he seems to contemplate something. With a sigh he turns back to Lavi, seeming to have made up his mind.
"What you were trying to ask is true... A God did die..." His voice was quiet, laced with pain.
His words took Lavi by surprise, he hadn't expected the story to be true. After all, every tale he had heard or read stated that the Gods were immortal. Surely the story of a God's death had to have been fabricated. Though until right now he had believed all the stories had been made up. Just remnants passed down from more superstitious times that were now used as a way to draw in tourists.
A smile slips back onto the God's face, pleasant and kind, though Lavi was certain it was a well-practised mask to hide the turmoil within. "I can tell you more another time if we see each other again. For now let me walk you home, Lavi. To make sure nothing else happens."
Lavi startles, his eye going wide, at hearing his name. He was positive he had never said it. So how did this God know? The question burned his tongue but he swallowed it down. It was plain as day that the God before him was no longer willing to talk. He could ask another day.
"I'd appreciate that, thanks."