Halloween Series 2022

The Boy of the Woodland

 “As if you were on fire from within

The moon lives in the lining of your skin.”  -Pablo Neruda

* * *

Artis was doing what he did often. Roamed the woodland that surrounded their village. He loved just being among the ancient trees, walking barefoot over the soft ground, and listening the constant sound of bird and insect. The woodland was a place safe and comforting, a place he needn’t fear the other boys and how they viewed them. And worse, how he viewed them.

He crossed the white stream and climbed up black rock until standing at the edge of the vast meadow of wildflowers in full bloom. He could smell their sweet scent as he watched bees and butterflies fulfill their duty. He ran through the wildflowers laughing as he had once done freely as a child, then he entered the Wien Forrest that covered the valley of the cascading waters of the Dee River.

Artis came to the Borne rocks that rose high over the river, and he climbed to the top and stood at the very edge so he could look down on the rustling waters as they swirled around and cascaded over the smooth round rocks of its bed. The sound seemed to be amplified, louder than at any place he could stand. He felt the mist of the river rise in the cool air and where sunbeams cut through the canopy above, he could it, the fine particles of water floating in the air. When the light was just right, rainbows arced through the air.

Artis saw movement on the opposite side of the river, and he stepped back and squatted low. He searched among the trees for it, not sure where he had captured the shift in color, or was it light that captured his eye, he wasn’t sure, but he knew there was someone nearby.

A laugh, then a muffled voice. Artis looked just to his left and saw them. Two young men making their way to the river. He had seen them before, two from the village Warwick. One was a blacksmith’s son by the name of Kellen. The other he knew to be Pwyll, but knew nothing else about him. He had gathered their names at the fall festival, eavesdropping on their conversation.

He watched the two young men, knowing the build of the bodies and the shape of their faces. He knew the blue eyes of Kellen and the gray eyes of Pwyll, and he knew both had large hands, and arms muscular from their labors. He knew they had seemed inseparable at the festival, and now he watched them moved to a small clearing. He gasped at what he saw next.

Kellen and Pwyll embraced, kissed, not as warriors or family, but as lovers. They removed each other’s clothes until naked, and they manipulated each other with their hands, then Pwyll went to his knees and took Kellen in his mouth.

It aroused Artis to watch, his cock growing, stretching out, getting hard as he watched Pwyll’s head move back and forth on Kellen’s cock. Then he watched them change position, then they were laying on the soft ground, taking each other.

Artis loosened his garments, let them fall from his waist as he took his cock in hand. He stroked it to full hardness as he watched Pwyll move over Kellen. Kellen on his back, legs up and spread wide by Pwyll. Then Pwyll was inside Kellen, and Artis knew he was witnessing his first fuck. One man on top of another, cock within him. He watched the way Pwyll’s ass flexed and move. He saw Kellen clutch at the ground, then at Pwyll’s waist.

Artis came, cum erupting from his cock, spurting outward and over the edge, falling until out of sight. He kept stroking his cock until spent and the manipulation almost painful, then he watched Pywll and Kellen lay on the ground, naked, kissing and talking and laughing. He sat down, far enough back only his head would be visible if one were to look up, and it would be in shadow, unidentifiable. He watched them until the shadows stretched to the east and the heat of the day was quickly fading. Pywll and Kellen dressed, then left.

It seemed a magical thing, something not real, but Artis knew it had been. He had seen it happen and with two young men he recognized. He secured his loose garments and made his way down and headed back to his own village, knowing it would be dark by the time he arrived.

Rain began the next day and lingered for three days over the land. By the time it stopped, Artis was stir-crazy, desperate for time away from the village. He snuck out early, the sun not yet above the eastern horizon and headed toward the only place he felt safe and secure. He came to Borne rock but instead of climbing up to its top, he circled around it until standing on the bank of the river. He looked across at the spot Kellen and Pwyll had made love, then lay for so long, naked, and unashamed. He pictured them from that day, then he pictured himself there with someone. He tried to conjure a young man, one who would want to be with him. One who would want to do those things Kellen and Pywll had done.

“There’s no one there,” came a voice from behind Artis, and he spun around in surprise.

The young man looked his age, so young there was no beard, and his hair was neat and barely over the ears, a soft reddish blonde in color. Then Artis noticed his attire, loose pants that hung low on his waist, and a twisted garland of stems and flowers around the long neck. Shirtless, revealing a lean body that was so similar to his own, Artis felt like he was looking at another version of himself.

“Who are you?” Artis asked.

The young man stepped closer, so close Artis saw the emerald-green eyes.

“I’m Avon, and you’re Artis.”

“How did you know that?”

“I live nearby and…we have mutual acquaintances.”

“I’ve never seen you before.”

“But I’ve seen you.”

“What do you want?”

Avon smiled, then looked upstream and back to Artis. “I want to show you something. Will you come with me?”

Artis felt calm, the feeling he got every time he came into the woodland, for he sensed no danger.

“Yes.”

“Good, now Artis, come with me,” Avon replied holding out his hand.

Artis pictured how Kellen and Pywll left the river a few days ago, holding hands as they moved away from the creek. It looked so intimate, such a simple gesture that had great meaning. He smiled as he reached out and took Avon’s hand.

Artis had believed he knew the river for a great distance up and down from Borne Rock, but after a short stroll upstream, Avon led him to a waterfall, where the water cascaded over a wide flat rock.

“I’ve never seen this before,” Artis uttered as he followed Avon along a narrow path that climbed around the rock outcropping.

“It’s hard to find but from now on, Artis, you’ll be able to find this place if you need to,” said Avon.

They moved up a short steep rise and Artis came next to Avon and looked over the pool of water above the waterfall, and above the pool, another waterfall, one wide across with water trickling across. Fern, moss, mushrooms, and plants grew around the pool of water and within one small area waterlily covered its surface with large white blooms. He looked at the scene is awe, shocked such a place had escaped his previous explorations.

“This is my place…my favorite place,” whispered Avon.

Artis watched Avon move to the edge of the pool standing on a flat rock surrounded by small flowers in vivid blue. It was the first time he had been able to see the full height of Avon, to see him from head to toe. He felt his desires become inflamed, stirring his thoughts, making his heart race. The bare upper body looked perfect, not a blemish on the smooth skin.

“Will you swim with me?” Avon asked looking over his left shoulder.

“Swim? Yes,” Artis stammered.

Avon smiled, then looked over the pool. He untied the rope holding up his loose pants, letting them drop to his feet. Naked, he stood still for a moment and Artis stared, looking at the round ass, wondering about what Avon’s cock looked like. Avon dove, his body appearing to glow white beneath the clear water. He rolled until facing up and continued moving just beneath the surface.

Artis saw the cock, how it moved with the flow of water around the body. He felt his own cock stir and his clothes become confining. He wanted to be naked, to be free of his clothing. He moved close to the rock Avon dove from, seeing the pants cast casually to the ground and one garment after the next he added his own. He stripped off everything feeling no shame, no hesitancy. He stepped up on the rock, cock thickening and stretching out, and he looked across the pool at Avon sitting on the opposite bank, leaned back on his elbows, legs spread, fully visible to him. Then he dove. The water felt cool against his skin, but not cold, and as he moved through it, it was as a caress by a soft hand. He felt his arousal grow as he swam underwater until the rise of the bottom force him up.

Artis felt embolden. An assuredness he had never felt before.

He surfaced at Avon’s feet and saw a smiling face, a long lean body, and a cock hovering over the abdomen flexing with its hardness. He moved up between the legs until over the cock.

“Will you let me?”

“Of course. I want to experience everything with you,” Avon replied.

Artis kissed the cock, tongued the head, then took it in his mouth. He sucked the thick hard shaft until it pushed at the back of his throat. Working his lips up and down, held tight around it, he moved as he had seen Pwyll and Kellen do to each other. Avon ran fingers through his hair while whispering words of encouragement.

Then Avon came.

Thick wads of cum filled Artis’ mouth, and he swallowed and swallowed until he had taken it all. When he rose and looked at Avon, smiling with his satisfaction, he saw Avon smiling back.

“Will you fuck me?” Avon asked as he moved up and turned to his hands and knees before Artis. “Will you let me feel you inside me?”

“Yes,” Artis replied, moving up on his knees behind him. As water lapped around his feet, he rubbed his cock up and down between the spread cheeks. He was so aroused his cock began to leave a trail of slick over the tight opening.

“Artis,” Avon whispered.

Artis felt the urgency when he heard his name and he put his cock to the tight opening and pushed until the head of it penetrated Avon. Avon moaned and pushed back, sinking his cock deeper into the warmth enveloping his cock. He felt as if he took his time, slowly sank into Avon’s depths but all too soon he held tight to the narrow waist and fucked. Fucked as if possessed. He threw his head back and cried out, shamelessly, hearing it echo in the woodland. He ran one hand up the long lean back while slipping the other around the narrow waist. He took the hard cock dangling below, stroked it until his hand was slick. He fucked and stroked and leaned over the prone body and kissed between the shoulder blades.

“Do it…do it, Artis,” Avon uttered.

Artis felt the heat of his own body as his skin glistened wetly with sweat. He didn’t slow, felt no need to do so, while moving steadily over Avon. He thrust into the depths of Avon’s body, stroked Avon’s cock, and pushed his face up the neck into the soft hair at the back of the head. Then he shuddered with release, jamming his cock into him with every ejaculation. Avon flexed in his hand, something so familiar, he knew Avon was coming again.

Artis lay on a soft bed of moss next to Avon. They were still naked, their clothes back on the other side of the pool. Avon was on his back and Artis was on his side, head propped by one arm.

“That was really nice,” Artis whispered, almost afraid to break the silence of the woodland, where only bird song filled the air.

“Compassion for another is never wrong,” Avon uttered, then he opened his eyes and cut his eyes at Artis. “There is something you should know.”

“What is it?”

“There is another young man who comes to this woodland, down to the river. He is like you, seeking something he doesn’t think is obtainable,” Avon utters in a hushed whisper. He opens his eyes and looks over at Artis. “He is from your village. The one they call Finn.”

“Finn! He comes here?”

“Not to this place. He would need a guide to find this place, but to the woodland, yes.”

Artis considered what Avon had told him, picturing Finn making his way through the trees down to the river. Finn was a year older, terribly shy, but so handsome the girls of his village threw themselves at him. Everyone believed it was the shyness that stopped Finn from responding. Artis now knew the truth.

“I’m afraid it is time,” whispered Avon.

“Time? Time for what?” Artis asked.

Suddenly Avon seemed to turn to smoke, like the smoke off ice, white and cool. His body appeared to melt into the moss-covered earth.

“NO, no, Avon!” Artis cried out, reaching out, then pulling his hand back, afraid to put it into the mist.

Smoke roiled up and when it cleared Avon was gone. But then a miracle. Faster than naturally possible, plants began to sprout, then grow, reaching up into the filtered sunlight. Then mushroom broke through the soil and moss, rising, then spreading their caps. The caps were vivid yellow, and the stems were blue, and as the caps spread to their full width, their edges turning up, it exposed red gills. Other plants sprouted, covering the remaining ground where Avon had been lying. The leaves lay close to the ground, then stems rose up, a man’s hand high, and began to bloom. The flowers were blue, red, yellow, and the brightest pink Artis had ever seen. He rolled to his stomach and brushed his hand over the flowers. He captured their scent, and it was sweet to his senses. He smiled, knowing this was a gift just for him.

It was early morning, the sky vivid blue with only the smallest of clouds floating across it. The wildflowers of the meadow were dying back, their time over for the year, and in the woods, the leaves of the trees grew darker, coarser, as they began to put on nuts.

Moving with a sense of playfulness, Artis led Finn into Wein Forest, following the narrow path of deer, until at the Dee River. He saw Finn start toward Borne Rock, and he reached out and took his hand pulling lightly to stop him.

“No, this way,” said Artis as he headed upstream.

Artis kept a hold of Finn’s hand, leading him over the sloping land along the bank of the river. 

“Artis! Where are you taking me?” asked Finn.

“You’ll see.”

It was as it had been with Avon three days prior. Where none had existed before, they came upon the waterfall.

“This isn’t…where…Artis, what is this place?”

“Shhhhh, Finn, just trust me,” said Artis as he led him up the narrow path until standing by the pool above the lower waterfall.\

“Bonnie, this is…” Finn stammered, then looked at Artis. “How did you find this?”

“A friend showed it to me,” said Artis. Then he moved to the where the flat rock sat on the edge of the pool, and he looked back at Finn. “Will you swim with me?”

Finn looked confused at first as he surveyed the area. He looked at the landscape with plants he had never seen before. Across the pool there were bright yellow and blue mushrooms in the center of one moss area and white lilies still blooming on the water. Then he looked back to Artis and smiled, appearing to relax.

“Yes, I’d love to swim with you,” Finn uttered.

Artis smiled, then turned back to the pool and looked at the place Avon returned to the earth. Then he began to remove his clothes.