Silver and Gold

The rope bridges connecting the faeries' towering redwood trees swayed gently as Feldspar skipped over them. The full moon's pale light lit his way and he couldn't help but trot every few steps, eager to get to Silver's tree as quickly as possible. It was a clear night, perfect for what he had in mind, and he didn't want to waste a single second.

The sound of lively dance music and laughter floated through the night air. The full moon party in the Meeting Tree was already in full swing. Gneiss and Nephrite had left an hour before, wearing the mere suggestion of dresses, hardly more than strategically placed, colorful gauze. Any other month he would have been half naked with them out on the dance floor by this time of the night. He couldn't remember the last time he'd skipped a full moon party. He also couldn't remember what he'd done the last few times he'd attended. He quickened his steps. He was much more excited for what he had planned.

Silver answered his door a fraction after a second after Feldspar's first knock. "Good ev--" Feldspar started. Silver grabbed Feldspar's hands and tugged him flush against his body, cutting him off with a deep, possessive kiss. Feldspar was lost immediately, the sensation of Silver's body against him obliterating all else. He tasted of fresh herbs and smelled like bread right out of the oven. Feldspar didn't think he would ever get enough. Even when Silver was kissing him he wanted more. He grinned against Silver's lips and pulled back, panting slightly.

"Someone's eager. Were you waiting by the door for me?" he teased.

"You should talk. Were you running to get here? You're out of breath."

Feldspar laughed. "You have me there. Can you blame me for being excited to see you?" He gave Silver a deliberate once over. His perfectly styled hair and silver-tinted skin looked ethereal in the moonlight. He was wearing a loose white shirt that was just barely transparent, hinting at the smooth muscle beneath. His pants were well tailored and clung in all the right places without being obscene. His whole look was so put-together and understated that Feldspar wanted to push him back into his tree, muss his hair and rip his clothes off. He wanted to explore every inch of him and make him lose control.

"Can you blame me?" Silver retorted. The way he was looking at Feldspar made the golden faery's heart seize and his stomach flutter. "You look great. Do you want to come in a hang out for a bit before we go?"

Feldspar frowned. "Absolutely not. I don't want to waste a single minute. Are you ready to leave?"

Silver picked up a picnic basket he'd left next to the door and made to move past Feldspar out the door.

"Just a moment please," Feldspar said, stopping him with a hand on his chest. Silver gave him a quizzical look. "It's a cold night. You should bring something warm to wear."

"Geez, okay dad," Silver said. Feldspar shook his head in bewilderment as Silver laughed at his own joke. Feldspar sighed affectionately and considered teasing Silver about how very human he sounded. Faeries didn't even have parents. Before he could come up with something Silver darted up to his bedroom, still clearly amused. He returned wearing a worn sweatshirt with "Pizza My Heart" emblazoned on it above a amateurish drawing of pizza. It was one of the cutest and most un-faery articles of clothing Feldspar had ever seen.

He lifted an eyebrow and gestured at the goofy sweatshirt. Silver smiled rolled his eyes a little. "It was the first restaurant that let me work for them. The owner didn't mind that I was a little bit silver, had pointy ears, came from nowhere, and didn't know shit about pizza. He was a solid dude."

"It's adorable. You're adorable, and you will tell me that story another time. For now, are you sure it will be warm enough? It looks quite... well loved."

Silver slipped his hand into Feldspar's and gave him a smile that was just for him. "If I get cold, I have a few ideas on how to stay warm."

Feldspar waggled his eyebrows at Silver suggestively, making them both laugh. "Very well. I did pack some blankets, too."

"Blankets? I thought we were going to the full moon party. You said to pack a full moon feast. Where are you taking me?" Silver's voice sounded cautiously hopeful. Feldspar felt a surge of confidence. Skipping the party had definitely been the right choice. Silver was going to love the spot he'd chosen for their evening.

"You'll see," he said.

He took Silver's picnic basket in one hand and captured Silver's hand in the other. He led Silver out into the crisp night and down to the forest floor. Even beneath the towering canopy of trees the moonlight was strong enough to light their way. Feldspar let his feet follow familiar paths through the Wood automatically. His mind was focused on the warmth of Silver's hand in his, his entire body tuned into the thrill of showing Silver something magical.

They arrived at the entrance to a cave barely taller than they were and roughly five feet across. The interior was pitch black despite the clear evening.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Silver said. "I don't know about caves, man."

Feldspar turned back, surprised. "Are you afraid?"

"No. Not really," he said defensively. "But that's definitely not on my list of ways to go. Trapped in a cave... eaten by bears...." He gave an exaggerated shudder. "Do you even know what's in there?"

"I have been through here hundreds of times. The tunnel is nearly five hundred feet long. It's quite flat and dry, and quite devoid of large, carnivorous mammals."

"That's a suspiciously specific description of the wildlife," Silver said dryly. "Are there small carnivorous mammals? How about carnivorous reptiles? You also failed to mention magical creatures. Tell me the truth. How many malevolent spirits are in there?"

Feldspar chuckled. "Very well. I admit there are rats and bats. You won't let something so tiny frighten you into missing out on what I have planned for tonight, though."

"I won't?"

"Absolutely not." Feldspar tugged Silver's hand and smiled as he felt the other faery start moving again.

"If I get attacked by wraiths or snakes or whatever I'm blaming you," Silver muttered as he followed Feldspar blind into the cave.

"Anything that so much as considers attacking you will get a knife to the brain before it gets anywhere near you," Feldspar said confidently. Silver squeezed his hand tighter, feeling sheepish about his nerves while also grateful that Feldspar had his back. He didn't want to need reassurance, but he was grateful he could trust it. Their footsteps echoed ominously in the inky black cave. Silver consciously tried to keep his breathing slow and even despite his erratically pounding heart. It sounded to his own hears like a klaxon call for malevolent, ravenous creatures. He leaned closer to Feldspar, letting their shoulders touch.

Feldspar squeezed his hand. Silver steadied his steps, silently scolding himself for acting scared in front of Feldspar. Feldspar tugged him along, quickening his steps. They turned a corner and suddenly the mouth of the cave was visible, a patch of silver moonlight so bright it was almost painful to look at.

The view when they emerged from the cave took Silver's breath away. This end of the cave was set into a jungle-covered mountain. Before them a white sand beach was laid out, edged by still and silent palm trees. Bright moonlight caressed the gentle waves rolling to shore, turning them pure silver.

"Has this always been here?" he asked, dumbfounded. He had thought he knew the Wood fairly well and had seen every patch of various places that had been sucked into it. This was beyond anything he could have imagined: A little slice of tropical beach somehow plopped right into the Wood. He looked up and down the beach, trying to understand. He couldn't see the rest of the Wood, all he saw was a small scrap of an island and the ocean around it. Logically he knew he should be seeing the rest of the Wood in at least one direction. "Are we still in the Wood?"

"It's a borderland. Where we currently stand and down to the shore is within the Wood's borders. The ocean is not."

Silver cocked his head. "Where in the human realm is this?"

Feldspar shrugged. "I don't know. It seems to be quite isolated and tropical. I've never seen humans here."

"This is amazing," Silver breathed.

Feldspar grinned at Silver's gleeful expression and pulled him a few steps down to the beach. He spread out a blanket he'd brought, relieved it wasn't too windy for them to enjoy their dinner right on the beach. "What did you bring for our full moon feast? I passed up lunch so I would have more room."

Silver grimaced and pulled the picnic basket over to him as he sat on the blanket. He chuckled to himself ruefully and shook his head. "I probably should have warned you," he muttered. He began opening the basket. "Let me just say in my own defense that I did this with good intentions. I wouldn't serve anyone else this food, like ever. I thought you would get a kick out of this, and I thought it would be fun to share it. Now I feel like I should probably apologize in advance. I'm pretty sure eating just this for dinner is going to leave you feeling like shit."

"Impossible. Nothing you cook could possibly make me sick."

"That's the thing. I didn't actually cook." Silver open the basket and began pulling crinkly, bright colored packages from the basket. "I brought human junk food. God, this is kind of weird of me, isn't it? It's food that's sort of fake that humans make, and it's disgusting and addictive at the same time. You've never had anything like it. It'll probably blow your mind. It's so good, and so bad at the same time. Anyway, I always bring a stash back with me for when cravings hit."

Feldspar smiled. "Let me make sure I understand. When you come home from the human realm you bring a secret cache of human... garbage food... which you decided to share with me instead of cooking."

"Yeah," Silver hung his head sheepishly, smiling despite himself at the teasing in Feldspar's tone.

"You're making me swoon."

"Shut up," Silver said, laughing.

"No really, it's romantic." Feldspar laughed. "You packed a dinner of secret garbage food you're too embarrassed to even let anyone else know you have, let alone serve to them. You wanted me to share your dirty little secret, you saucy little minx."

Silver laughed helplessly and buried his face in his hands. "Okay, okay. Shut up. I can't take it." He started opening the packages spread out on the blanket between them.

"Are you going to tell me the proper order of courses?" Feldspar teased.

"Right. Of course," Silver said. He sorted the food into a few piles. "We'll start with Cool Ranch Cornnuts -- "

"Cornnuts? Are they corn, or nuts?"

"No idea. They''ll crack your tooth in half though, so be careful. We'll have the Cheetos to follow, with a side of cheez whiz on hot takis, and wasabi peas. For your main you'll have a bunch of chip flavors to choose from. To finish I've got Twinkies with a Gushers, Twix and pretzel melange."

Feldspar cackled with laughter. When Silver offered him the first bite, still looking a bit sheepish and anxious for approval, Feldspar took it without hesitation. The dusty little orange crunchy thing was shockingly delicious. He found himself eagerly taking every bite Silver offered, far past when his stomach was starting to protest.

"What is this?" he said when Silver handed him his final item to try.

"A Twinkie."

"No," Feldspar said around a mouthful of cake and cream. "What is it made of?"

Silver shrugged helplessly. "What is any of it made of? I have no idea, but damn if it isn't good."

Feldspar grabbed the strings of his sweatshirt and pulled him close. "I like your secret garbage food. You shouldn't worry that I won't like your little oddities. I like that you're different. You seen and done things nobody else in the Wood has. It's endearing." He tugged Silver by the sweatshirt strings again, bringing his lips in for a kiss, the taste of artificial vanilla still on his tongue. Silver shivered as he kissed him back.

"Come, you're cold," Feldspar said. He grabbed the blankets he'd packed and led Silver to the nearest stand of palm trees where he'd previously strung up a hammock. He laid down and Silver joined him, using his chest as a pillow. Feldspar spread a blanket over their bodies, trapping the warmth between them.

Having Silver pressed up against him reminded him of being on a mountain before an electrical storm. His skin felt taut and charged, and he had to remind himself to breathe. He still couldn't quite believe that things were going so well with Silver. It made him giddy and nervous. It was an effort to lie still and just appreciate the moment. The longer they laid together, the more Feldspar was able to relax and enjoy the way Silver moulded himself against him.

"Better?" Feldspar asked after a long, comfortable silence.

"Way better." Silver shifted his leg over to tangle with Feldspar's and leaned his body more fully agains his side. "It's been forever since I've been to the beach. It's so clear tonight, too. Wherever we are hasn't been ruined by light pollution."

"I'm glad you like it. I thought it would be good to come tonight. With the entirety of the Wood at the full moon party we get it all to ourselves."

"It's awesome," Silver said, placing a small kiss on Feldspar's chest. "Reminds me of this place in the Philippines I stayed. They had the best street food and as many fresh coconuts as you could handle, right on the beach. It was so good."

Feldspar grinned as he gazed up at the stars. "Only you... I'm fairly certain every memory you have is connected to food. Skies, do you even remember meeting me for the first time? I don't believe food was involved." He dug a finger into Silver's rib, laughing at Silver's surprised squawk of laughter. Silver jackknifed against his side and the hammock swung dangerously, almost dumping them both out.

"Quit it, you're gonna make us both fall," Silver screamed, still laughing and trying to dodge Feldspar's questing fingers. Feldspar laughed and raised his hands in peace. Silver narrowed his eyes for a moment, and lowered himself back onto Feldspar's chest, still slightly distrustful.

They settled back against each other, their breathing slowly returning to normal. Feldspar stared up at the stars, still conscious of everywhere Silver was touching him. It was amazing to him that Silver didn't already have a lover. He couldn't understand how the other faeries didn't see how wonderful Silver was. If anything, Silver was too good for most of the faeries of the Wood. He was talented, dedicated, worldly, funny, playful, and fucking sexy. He could go anywhere, be with anyone in the world. Yet here he was, listening to the slow crash of waves with Feldspar under the full moon.

"Does the Wood bore you?" Feldspar said, the words popping out before he could really think about how to express himself.

"What? Why?"

"You've traveled to so many places. You have friends all over the world. Surely there are endless possibilities for you beyond our borders. The Wood must seem so limited in comparison. I wonder if someday you might tire of it."

"Oh. I don't know. The Wood will always be where I'm from, but I guess I have to admit I don't always feel at home here. It seems like every time I leave and come back more of the other faeries think I don't belong. When I first started traveling all my closest friends were here. Nowadays all my closest friends are out there."

Feldspar swallowed, trying to measure his words without revealing the sudden pain in his chest. "That makes sense."

"At the same time I could never be bored by the Wood. It's is pure magic. I mean look at this place," Silver gestured to the beach. "I have no idea where this island was originally. Maybe somewhere in the Indian Ocean? And the Wood just pulled it in and made it part of itself. It's always growing and changing. There isn't anywhere in the world like the Wood, and that's for sure. In other countries faeries and magical beings tend to live mixed in with humans these days. The magic is thinned out and almost nonexistent. You'd notice it if you left and came back. The Wood is thick with magic. You can taste it on the air and feel it in your bones. There's nowhere like it. I think no matter how long I leave for, I'll always want to come back to the Wood for its magic."

Feldspar closed his eyes and considered. He remembered a time before he'd come to the Wood. A time when he, Mal and Gneiss had been warriors who relied on their strength to keep them alive. Was it the Wood's thick aura of magic that had drawn them in? He remembered it being a safe haven, the first place where they could leave their bloody past behind. That peace had itself been a kind of magic, perhaps more alluring than the literal magic of the place.

"What are you thinking?" Silver asked.

"I wasn't made in the Wood, though my time before is practically another lifetime. I was thinking about how different I was before coming here and what it felt like when I arrived. Trying to remember if I noticed how magical it was."

"Really? I thought you guys had always been here. Isn't the Lord like... part of the Wood?"

"He is, but we existed for quite some time before coming here. I don't often like to think of that life. None of us do. You remember I told you how Mal created me in battle. That was our life. Endless war and death. Mal and Gneiss were from one of the last faery communities that chose to defend themselves against encroaching humans rather than flee. If there had been more faeries like the two of them -- and me too -- perhaps it would have been different. In the end there was no way to win. There were so many more humans than faeries.

"We came to the Wood unintentionally, but it was the salvation we needed. Our people were hidden from humans, finally granting us lasting peace. I believe the Wood knew it would gain from allowing us to settle here. In exchange for letting us live here, we -- particularly Mal -- serve as its protectors. If I were the Wood, looking for someone to protect me, I would want faeries as vicious as we were then."

"Wow. I can't picture you like that. You're so sweet."

Feldspar laughed. "I was created from dozens of violent deaths. What about that is sweet? I was different back then. Mal was the magic wielder. Gneiss was the strategist. I was the strength. When I was made, all that power went right into making me the most effective blunt-force weapon possible, which is frankly a bit useless these days. Since we've come to the Wood we rarely have a need for my particular skillset. It's a shame that power doesn't redirect itself into magic more suited to peace and revelry."

"Sparkly magic is over-rated," Silver said. "You are exactly who they need, trust me. You balance them out."

Feldspar smiled. "It doesn't always feel that way. When we were young I knew precisely what my role was, and I was quite good at it until we came to the Wood. I cannot begin to explain the relief we felt when we were finally able to secure the safety of our people. The peace we felt here, the joy and gratitude... they were all-consuming. For a long time were busy with building our community and learning how to live in balance with the Wood. Once that was completed and we finally trusted that we were safe, the feeling of relief was like a drug. We lived for pleasure, giving thanks every day for our incredible fortune to have this place of refuge.

"Now it's been decades. I don't regret how we've spent these years, but I find myself wondering if this is all there is. I don't know what my role is anymore, if I am meant for some greater purpose than just enjoying life. I drank and screwed and ate my way through the last few decades. We lived only for pleasure. I do not regret those years, nor the memories we made. It was, as you can imagine, fucking fantastic most of the time. At the same time, now that I find myself distanced from Gneiss and Mal, I have become more invested in myself. I am more curious about my future than I ever have been. Perhaps there is more yet for me to do and see, and more for me to contribute."