Who: Derry Ackerly & JJ Monroe What: Derry is being a forest guide now When: 28 May 2019 | Late Afternoon/Early Evening Where: Brightstar Reserve: Woods behind the Fairy enclosure Warnings: Witches Gone Wild Under the Influence (and Plot!)
The fact that there was a significant amount of time between the request and the actual visit into the woods, it meant that Derry had spent a lot of time thinking about if this was a good idea or not. Well, to be fair, he knew it wasn’t a question of good or bad but if he felt comfortable doing this. He was worried and absolutely self conscious. He had an appointment that week for the healer, and it couldn’t have come too soon. He had thought about cancelling on JJ, but he knew that was just some worry. She wouldn’t see anything, no one else had noticed today.
But there was more to worry about as well. What was he going to talk about? Or was he going to just bring JJ out there, and that would be it? But of course, that would also be irresponsible to leave her in the woods on her own when she didn’t know how to get there in the first place.
Anyway, the end of his shift quickly approached, and Derry was waiting by the greenhouse for JJ to arrive because he’d told her to meet him there. From there, he’d take her on the path that usually allowed him to avoid some of the creatures. Of course Derry needed to go into the enclosures to help upkeep the actual habitats… but what people seemed to forget was that trees existed for their own purpose as well. And being in calm and quiet nature was what Derry enjoyed.
When JJ approached, it was with a wave and a smile. She was dressed for tromping through the woods: jeans, hiking boots, and a jacket in case they were out late enough for things to start getting chilly. Even though it was getting on to late spring, the nights were fickle like that. She'd brought a backpack with some snacks and water in case they were out super long. "Hi, Mr. Ackerly! Thanks again for bein' kind enough to show me around. I know you herbology-types are usually real busy."
He saw JJ approaching, and he even smiled in amusement when she called him a Mr. He couldn’t have been much older than her. “You can call me Derry,” he said because Mr. Ackerly was his father. He wasn’t bold enough to make that old joke though. “I don’t mind. My shift is done, and I’d rather show you the way than you getting lost.” Derry fully encouraged people enjoying the natural environment the Reserve provided, but it was easy to get lost if you didn’t know the way. “Ready to go?”
She nodded and they set out. JJ considered her next question in the silence that followed, but decided to go with it. It was likely one he got all the time anyway. "Derry? Is that short for somethin' like Derek?" When they set out, Derry was quiet. Not because he was rude, but because that was his default. He looked to JJ when she asked him a question, which wasn’t unfamiliar to him. “Alexander actually. My guess is that my Dad picked the nickname first, and found the name to fit later,” he explained.
"Really? That's a new one to me. I like it though. It's unusual." She smiled over at him. "I kinda went the opposite way. Slightly unusual to normal. I don't even have a J middle name, or an alliterative first name that makes 'JJ' make sense. It's just always what I've gone by though, like you. Except for when I'm in trouble, of course. That's when the whole name gets trotted out, and I know I'm in for it." A side-look regarded him with interest. "You've been at the Reserve awhile, haven't you? I'm not in the green areas much yet, but I know I've seen you around."
“Thanks,” he said when she liked his name. And then JJ continued to speak. Derry was quite happy to let her do that. He didn’t mind quiet, but he knew other people did, so if they wanted to fill the space, sure. He was following along though and looked at her curiously about how she didn’t have a middle name to make the second JJ. “So where did JJ come from then?” he asked before she’d moved onto the next question. “I’ve been here for two years.”
"Nashville, Tennessee!" she chirped, and then laughed at her own stupid joke. "Sorry, sorry. That was dumb. My daddy'd be real proud of that one. Nah, it comes from my first name--Jayla. But it's kinda like you. I've just been JJ for as long as I can remember. I guess I never really thought to ask why." A single shrug of her shoulder let him know she wasn't particularly bothered to know one way or the other.
"It's nice to know people that stay longer. I know it can be pretty demoralizing when the turnover rate is high." She glanced his way. "I've done a turn or two in Admin. Might've picked up on some of the business jargon. I can't work out if that's a good or a bad thing."
Derry was surprised at first by the joke, but calmed down at the laugh when he realized what JJ was doing with her joke. “If that’s what you liked and are used to, then you probably never had to worry about why,” he said. He only really cared to know how to explain his name because other people tended to have problems with it.
“I worked at a tree sanctuary before I moved to Brightstar. There was some turnover there because they were pushing for more tourism than preservation,” Derry explained. That was at least one of the reasons anyway. “Is that what you want to do, work in Admin, or something else?”
"Ouch." She winced in full sympathy. "Never easy to see something or someone you love sell out." Oh, the irony. JJ actually rolled her eyes at herself. "Is it very far? That place from your post? Not that I ain't enjoyin' your company. I'm just hopin' the light keeps so I can take a couple of pictures of my own." “It just wasn’t the same after that,” Derry agreed. Cabins were built. There was more garbage to clean up. It just wasn’t the quiet environment from before.
“Oh, sure. We’re going into the woods right here,” Derry said directly to a path between two trees. “This path will lead us to another smaller one, that we can take to avoid the fairies. They can be pests sometimes,” he said pointing out the way to go.
She went as directed, sometimes following, sometimes pausing to take a picture or two as the mood struck. For her initial burst of chatter, JJ was quiet for the most part now. The solemnity of the woods was apparently infectious. The pre-dusk light made the down-like drifts of seeds awash with gold as they passed a small clearing. Her hand caught lightly on his arm as she stopped very suddenly and gasped. The reflected light played and danced across her field of vision. Her voice was more of a breath as she said, "It's lovely."
Most of the time, it was Derry alone with the trees. But… it was nice to walk with someone who seemed to appreciate it just as much as he did. The path was short as they made their way to where the trees were thick and the path started to disappear.
The setting sun sent shimmers of light through the leaves and fragmented. Derry had been looking at the light, and hadn’t expected to feel that hand to touch his arm. He tried not to flinch, but it was definitely instinct. It was a light touch, but Derry’s thoughts went immediately to concern. Not that JJ could see anything but… Derry was days away from treatment, and his sleeves were covering what he didn’t want seen. “Yes it is. This is one of the best times of day.” he said trying to not let on to his own awkward anxiety.
The fabric under her fingertips was oddly stiff, like maybe it had gotten into too much starch. It was hard, too, and she glanced at her hand for a scant second before stepping past the narrow gap in the trees to come into the glen properly. "This place has a magic on its own, don't you think?" She kept it quiet, like she'd stepped into a library and was loath to disturb the temperamental books. "I kinda wish I'd brought my guitar. The light, the way it turns everything gold--" A quiet hum floated from her throat in the forest stillness. "Spring and sun, won't you drive away the winter blues? Oh, Springtime, won't you send my heart right back to you."
If JJ had noticed anything, she didn’t let it on. And soon enough, her hand had slipped away, and Derry watched her step ahead this time. “It certainly does,” Derry agreed. Nature had its own magic. The trees, the sun, and even the little creek that flowed nearby.
Before he could comment on JJ’s mention of playing guitar, he was surprised when she actually started singing. His earlier anxiety was forgotten and he smiled. “That was beautiful,” he said.
She'd lifted her face into the last of those warm rays, and now turned it back to him. The light caught on a faint blush of embarrassment, but she still smiled. "Sorry. You never know when the muse is gonna hit. It's been awful quiet lately, so this is nice. Unexpected, but good. I liked your poem, by the way. The one you used in your post. I love how words can be crafted to evoke all these emotions. I'd love to be able to do that someday. And work with creatures, of course. Why else would I be here?"
“I do understand,” Derry smiled back and nodded. He carried a notebook with him for when he wrote his own poetry. “I read a lot of poetry, and I sometimes find it’s easier to use poems to express myself,” he explained. Sometimes he wasn’t as keen on showing his own poetry, though it worked out well for others when they borrowed his poems. “This is the right place for working with creatures,” he grinned in agreement.
"'Though the woods are lovely, dark, and deep…'" she began to quote, and with a passable, but affectedly pretentious accent. "I did the poetry track at HAHA to help me with my songwritin'. It's nice to know it's not all just rhyming couplets and iambic pentameter." JJ grinned at him, and then laughed. "It certainly is! I mean, what else would I be studying here? World domination?"
“Frost is one of my favorite poets,” he said taking note of who she was quoting. “As long as emotion is involved, poetry can really be anything, I feel,” he did agree and was interested to hear that they had something in common though he’d only admitted to liking poetry. He did give JJ a bit of a confused expression at her joke. “I would never guess that,” he admitted with a light laugh.
JJ beamed at him, and held out her hand to him, backlit by those last few rays of sun. She was a forest spirit, looking to tempt an unsuspecting mortal into the eternal dance of the faerie circle. Or she was just gesturing for him to join her in this quiet space. One of those. "Well, if you can't tell what I'm up to, then this place must be teachin' me somethin' right." Another quiet laugh. "There's somethin' about this place. Do you feel it? Like the world is hummin'."
Derry hesitated for a moment when JJ held out a hand to him, but then finally stepped towards her and lifted his hand for her to take if that was what she was trying to do. He didn’t entirely know what she meant by that first comment she laughed out, but he did know something about feeling the environment around them. “Yes. I always feel it,” he explained but it was a bit strange for JJ to feel it too. Humans weren’t always so in touch, and far as Derry knew, he was the only cross Dryad there. “It’s nature’s way of talking back.”
It wasn't something she normally did at all, but JJ slipped her hand in his and tugged him toward her a little. "It's not talking," she pointed out like it was fact. It was her truth. "It's singing. Can't you hear it? The grace notes? The crescendo? Minor shifts to major, then down a half step. Counter melody and discordant harmony. She's so angry because we hurt her all the time, but she still loves us so much. All she wants to do is show us her cruel beauty."
Derry was completely shocked at what came next. JJ took a hold of his hand, pulling him closer and… was she trying to dance with him? At least swaying. And well… she wasn’t really wrong either. “Can you hear it singing?” he asked because he’d never really talked about this with anyone before. But then he did start suspecting something was more off than just a strange personality as JJ kept going, and talking about nature being angry. “JJ, are you okay?”
With one hand in his, she patted the fingers of her other down the collar of his shirt, and then followed the line of his buttons downward. Her gaze tracked the movement for a few seconds before coming up to his face, eyes dark. Too dark. The pupils were blown wide. "I'm great! I can finally hear the music. I can feel it. Maybe I can start writin' again." She leaned in close, head resting against his chest, ear pressed to his heart. "Your roots go so deep, Derry. Such a sweet melody. Like an ancient forest in your veins. How many rings do you have? Too many to count, I think. You've seen so much of this horrible world. How can you stand it?"
Her shoulders were shaking, and the front of his shirt started getting damp; JJ was crying.
Derry didn’t really move, but he watched as JJ reached for his face, and was worried as her hand traced the front of his shirt. But then his whole demeanor changed when he saw the look on JJ’s face, and how dark her eyes were. Yes, Derry knew about the weird things happening around the reserve. Plants where they weren’t supposed to be. Creatures getting sick. Felix had been dealing with it, and Derry had been keeping an eye out, but apparently hadn’t been careful today.
If he could just go over and touch the trees… he could feel for whatever was going on. But then he had JJ moving in close against his chest. And speaking some bit too close to the correct truths. “JJ… I’m okay, really,” he said being much to Derry’s surprise, JJ was actually crying and he could see his shirt getting damp. And as for him, he was getting a bit… woozy himself.
“It’s… getting darker now. I’m going to take you back, okay?” Derry said his voice still calm and he wasn’t going to panic about this. He’d have to flag the area and bring Felix back to investigate.
This made her cry harder, shaking with sobs, and JJ shook her head. She was almost clinging to his chest now, forehead buried against it. "Don't take me away from here, please. I've got my voice back. My spirit. I've been lost for so long. I'm so tired of bein' asleep. I'm so tired of livin' this half-life. I'm forgetting who I am. A lost symphony. Not even a variation on a theme. Where did all my notes go?"
Derry absolutely didn’t know what to do. Usually he didn’t have to deal with girls crying. And she was so close too, and crying into his chest. This is what happened when you dared to be around other people. JJ did sound desperate, and he felt bad about her pleading, but what she was saying didn’t make sense. He took a deep breath and tried to remain calm because one of them needed to. Tentatively at first, Derry reached so he could wrap his arms around her to give JJ a hug. He didn’t hug her too tightly, but he was trying to give some reassurance. “You can come back. I can bring you back. But it’s going to get dark, and this place will be dangerous then.”
For a couple of moments, the weight of his arms began to calm her. More of the world was coming into focus. It was hideous. Waking up from a dream, only to realize her life was a nightmare. JJ trembled in his loose hold. "Wait. Wait. Just wait. Please. It's almost there." She tittered a laugh, and tilted her face up to whisper directly in his ear. "I have so many secrets."
Pulling away, but not out of the circle of her companion's arms, she took in a few shallow breaths and grimaced. Her face was twisted against the magic that fought against whatever was in this area that was making her feel so weird. With a gasp, she sealed her hands over his shoulders, and her head dropped. "I shouldn't know so many things. I don't want to know how lovely your mother's tree was. Pictures don't do it justice. Do you know she didn't scream? She didn't scream, she didn't scream. A whole forest for an office building."
JJ grabbed her head with one hand and whimpered, eyes shutting tight. She wanted to hold on, but she knew it was deadly. "They make me. They make me. Derry, as soon as we leave, I won't remember. You have to forget too. I don't know what they'll do. I don't know what they'll make me do. Plans within plans. They know who you are too."
Derry did wait. He hardly knew JJ. He had no idea what she was going through, or if what she was saying even made sense to her. He kept his arms loose around her as she pulled back, but hadn’t expected her to reach and grip his shoulders. But what stopped him short was when JJ mentioned his mother. He was shocked and had no idea what to say. There was no way JJ should have known any of that. “How do you-”
He started to ask but stopped when JJ let go so she could grab at her head again. “Who’s they?” Derry asked. How could he forget all of this? “What are they making you do?”
Her lips pressed thin and trembled under the weight of her sins. A thin line of blood ran from her nose. It took a considerable effort, but she pulled herself close again, forcing the words out in a pained whisper. "The unforgivable."
And with that cryptic statement, her eyes rolled back as she collapsed in a dead faint.
Derry couldn’t not stare at JJ, feeling that anxiety creep back in for a completely different reason. He saw the blood from her nose and he knew he needed to get her out of there. But after her answer… that really only brought up more questions, he saw JJ start to fall.
“JJ!” he said and his arms were still around her and able to catch her. Derry didn’t wait to try to wake her up, and reached down to pick her up so he could carry her. Derry had to get her back to medical, and quickly.