The Forest Has Hazel Eyes // O/O // Closed

All your life, you've been told about the two types of forests that wove through the country. There were the normal ones, the ones that had basic trees and animals and the such. It was fine to enter those woods. The Deep Woods, on the other hand… they were more like a maze. The trees were taller and closer together, the undergrowth more likely to be poisonous or even carnivorous. The things that lived in there were more ancient and much more dangerous. And they always had a guardian. Usually, these Deep Woods were far away from human civilization and therefore very difficult to accidentally enter. You were lucky enough to live in the one village that bordered a swath of Deep Woods, however. It didn't really bother you, or even change anything aside from the focus of your education. You stayed out of the woods, and the woods kept to themselves.
Of course, things couldn't stay perfect and peaceful forever. One day, someone stumbled out of the Deep Woods and collapsed in the center square. This obviously shouldn't be possible, and yet, there he was. Most people are too scared of him to help, but there's something about him that sparks your curiosity. So you help him, and end up on the adventure of a lifetime. Oh, and it turns out… you might just be a chosen one. What could possibly go wrong?

Rules 'n Stuff:

• This will take place in a less modern time, so… horses instead of cars, swords, lots of walking, etc.
• Magic is welcomed and recommended. Go on, give your character a cool power!
• As for responses, please have at least a few sentences. And respond at least once every three days. Life can be crazy though, so if you need to take a break or whatever, just tell me.
• More information will be given once someone joins and/or upon request. Don't be hesitant to ask questions about the world.
• This is LGBTQ+ friendly.
• Also, romance is an option. My character will be non-binary and panromantic, so do with that what you will.
• Please ask before you join!

(Hello! I’m very interest! This sounds awesome, though I have a few questions on the general plot…still love the idea tho!)

(Yes, hello! What questions do you have? I'll answer them the best I can. :)

Hi so sorry for not responding sooner, I’m still defiantly interested, what would be Thebes general adventure they go on? Would it running from the law or the creatures in the Deep woods or something?

You're alright! And the general adventure would mostly be running from creatures in the Deep Woods. We might have a suspect wizard or two thrown in for some spice as well. :)

(can i stalk)

Oooh I like that! Would it be okay if we made this romantic? Maybe not the entire plot but possibly have a background romance between the two?

Yeah, romance is totally fine! Do you have any more questions? If not, would you want to do a full-out template or just a simple description of the character?

Awesome and nope, no more. I’m fine with either though I feel like a full template would be easier to get a feel for the characters, but I’m honestly good with either one

Alright! I'll draw up a basic template. You're free to add anything else you want to it. If I forgot anything, I apologize. :)
Name:
Age:
Gender/pronouns:
Sexuality:
Personality:
Appearance:
Magic possessed/magic items owned:
Favored weapon:
Likes:
Dislikes:
Background:
Other:

Name - Antonio Monterra
Age - 21
Gender/pronouns - male He/him
Sexuality - gay
Personality - Antonio is very outgoing and optimistic. He wants the believe the best in everyone’s and everything. He has an odd fascination with stories and lore, especially those pertaining with the Deep Woods. He has a tendency of doing things that everyone else avoids or think is strange. Because of these oddities, he’s usually left alone by most of his family and village. He’s alright with this but he does want to share his passions with someone
Appearance - black curly hair that reaches the nape of his neck, he has nicely tanned skin and bright green eyes, the sign of a magic weilder. He’s always been skinny.
Magic possessed - he can wield water in order to heal, he leaned he could kill a while ago by accidentally killing a bird so he’s sworn that off and only wishes to heal.
Favored weapon - he doesn’t like using a weapon to hurt burn he does keep a white jilted knife on him at all times
Likes - he loves reading about lore and the deep woods, he also likes healing others
Dislike - hurting anyone or anything, others telling him to change
Background - he’s had a relatively good childhood but it’s gotten harder when he had been caught Kissing boys in his teens. He eventually was found out that he he also had powers of water healing. His family took him being gay as an excuse as being part of a magic weilder, knowing that those with magic weren’t really all human but it only made Antonio feel secluded. He eventually found splice in his books and research on his own magic as well as the Deep Woods
Other - nope

Ooh, lovely! Here's my child:
Name: Ellis
Age: Technically he’s 23, but he looks and feels 20.
Gender/pronouns: Non-binary, he/they
Sexuality: Pan, Ace
Personality: He’s generally on-guard and quiet around people he doesn’t know. If he’s being threatened, he’ll typically stand his ground and act unbothered. Around people he does know, he’ll be a little less serious. He’s quite independent.
Appearance: Waist-length dark brown hair, usually in a braid, with bangs falling to right above his eyes. Tanned olive skin and hazel eyes. He has a small mole under each of his eyes. He’s pretty skinny, almost spindly, and is 5’7” tall. Around his neck and both his wrists, he has a thin golden tattoo, almost like a bracelet/necklace. He has small gold hoop earrings and usually wears a pair of dark pants, a light colored shirt, and a dark green or blue tunic secured at the waist with a belt, along with boots. Currently, he has all that, looking rather torn up, and no boots.
Magic possessed/magic items owned: Reality manipulation. It can manifest in a lot of different ways, but for him, he can create doors that lead to anywhere he can imagine (and can also be used as shields). He can also occasionally turn people into dust if he’s really feeling threatened.
Favored weapon: Reality manipulation.
Likes: Traveling, seeing new sights, words, doors, being free.
Dislikes: Being in jail, being forced to do something, tomatoes.
Background: He was born into a family of 10 kids, him being the eleventh, so he was usually forgotten. He thus got very used to taking care of himself. When he was 13, he decided that he could do better on his own and left home. He moved to a bigger city and started working, generally making a decent amount of money. He lived like this for quite a few years. When he was 18, he took a job delivering messages to a nearby village, passing dangerously close to the Deep Woods. Long story short, he got lured in there by a creature and disappeared for five years.
Other: May or may not have a soul.

(I absolutely love them! I’m Intrigued by the soul part…

(Ha, thanks! Shall I write up a starter now?)

(Sure! I may not be able to answer until tomorrow morning though.)

(Alright, that's fine! I'll get it up sometime today, and there's no rush. :)

Ellis had been walking for days, and he was beginning to lose hope that he would ever find his way out of there. Trees loomed over him on all sides, thick canopies blocking out all but a little of the sunlight. It could have been midday, but it still looked like dusk or dawn in that forest. That was almost too dark to see anything. This led to a lot of tripping and falling and skinned knees and palms. Ellis angrily kicked a plant that was glowing a rather suspicious blue color and let out a yell. In the back of his mind, the part that was still thinking rationally, he realized that kicking things that were glowing a suspicious color wasn't the smartest thing to do. Especially in the Deep Woods. But ever since Ellis had escaped– well, gotten launched out of– that lagoon, nothing in these woods had tried to harm him. Even when he purposely messed with it! He absentmindedly rubbed the weird gold tattoo he'd acquired on his wrists, which were still stinging slightly. Another pro of getting out of the woods: he could ask someone what they meant. They would stay a mystery as long as he was in the woods, however, which was looking to be the rest of his life.
"Let me out!" Ellis yelled, stomping around another turquoise bush. At least it seemed as if he wouldn't die of hunger anytime soon. He could continue to walk in circles forever! Ellis resisted the urge to scream again, opting to angrily re-braid his hair instead. He didn't need to constantly have it in his face on top of everything. The light seemed to be getting brighter, which from his past experience only meant he was coming upon yet another patch of glowing moss. However, as he walked, he didn't encounter any glowing moss. Instead, the trees seemed to be getting a bit less huge– wait, did that mean he was leaving the forest? Ellis picked up his pace until he was running through the trees. Up ahead, the trees parted to reveal what looked like a village. Oh, gods, civilization! Ellis burst out of the woods and beelined for the town. He made it almost all the way to the center of the square when his legs failed him. Ellis crashed to the ground, his body suddenly feeling the effects of who-knew-how-many days without food all at once. He clutched his stomach, rolling onto his side. Maybe he could just stay here for a little, just to regain some strength and get used to the gnawing hunger.

Nothing ever happened here. Not in Ballaluna. The most interesting thing around here was the Deep Woods and the annual festival of Pimeraluna. Nothing was meant to happen, both was going to happen for a long while. Today, was that one acception when the man with the golden tattoos came through the Deep Woods.
“Someone get the healer!” A woman called, standing a few yards away from the man but not daring to go near them. What if it wasn’t trap? Something to lure them into the Woods? A crowd had gathered around her as well, all not daring a step forwards while someone fetched the village healer.

Antonio’s family had never really been all to accepting of his actions, hence why he usually stayed in the village library. He even slept there most of the time. Despite the little books they had, Antonio had always loved being surrounded by the stories and knowledge with in such thin pages. Though lonely, he did have friends among the stories he read as well as his cat. So it was very surprising to him when a young boy bolted through the door and ran to him.
“Come on! They need your help!” He cried, pulling at Antonio’s sleeve and pulling him to his feet. Antonio stayed quiet as he was dragged outside, barely being able to grab his canteen of water before following the young boy to the crowd. He assumed they were gathered around the said individual But he soon realized they were standing away from them, the individual at the bottom of the hill on his hands and knees, not looking too good.
He didn’t even pause as he walked past the crowd, kind of disheartened that none of them told him to stay away from the woods. He took a deep breath and continued to walk towards the individual. If the Woods wanted to take him now, he’d allow it.

Ellis was vaguely aware of people talking, saying something about a healer. None of them were doing anything to help him, though, so the healer would probably arrive the next day. Wonderful. The pain was leveling out, and Ellis managed to push himself into a sitting position. There were people around him, though they all seemed to be keeping a healthy distance between him and them. Did he really look that scary? Had that weird lagoon done something else to him– no, it was probably because of where he'd just came out of. The Deep Woods were feared by basically everyone, and he'd just stumbled out with his weird new tattoos– that glittered in the sun, he realized, his wrists catching his attention. He hadn't noticed that in the everlasting twilight of the forest. Everyone probably thought he was going to kill them or eat them or whatever creatures from the Deep Woods did. Ellis thought back on the creature in the lagoon that had tried to kill him and pressed his lips together. Yeah, he could see where they were coming from. A slight murmur from the crowd drew his attention and he looked up to see someone actually approaching him. How refreshing! He opened his mouth to congratulate the man, but closed it again as a sharp pain shot through his stomach. He half-considered lying down again. But that man was advancing, and Ellis really didn't want to make it that easy to kill him. Standing would have been the best option, but he wasn't sure his legs would be able to support him just yet. Maybe he could convince the green-eyed man to give him something to eat before he did anything else.
"I don't suppose you have any food or water with you?" Ellis tried, going for an innocent smile but probably only managing a slight grimace. "And you!" He shifted his focus to the rest of the townsfolk. "I may have come from those Deep Woods over there, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to murder you all right here." As if to make a point– it wasn't intentional, but it did help his 'not going to murder everyone' image– Ellis started to cough. Were his lungs finally failing him? No, they weren't. It was just a normal coughing fit. Probably from a dry throat and too much talking. He managed to avoid coughing his lungs out, but he came pretty close. "I'm not one of those creatures," Ellis was finally able to say, his voice much more scratchy than last time. He might have been lying, actually. Maybe he was one of those creatures.

When he saw the state the man was in Antonio quickened his pace, almost sprinting to the other man’s side and dropping beside him. He had never really seen anyone this injured since most of not all his patients were children or ill elderly. What was more surprising to him was that the individual came from the Deep Woods. He shook his head from his thoughts and nodded “yes, there’s food and water but first let me heal you a bit. There’s no way you’ll make two steps without hurling the rest of your insides.”
He looked over the other, taking in his features, his hair, and his tattoos. Gold. Most likely a pigment but it was very rare to see gold, especially in this part of Bellaluna.
He glanced back at the crowd who gathered as the individual started calling them out.
“Hush now, that won’t do any good, believe me. Save your strength.” Antonio advised, opening the canteen and waving his hand over the top to pull some of the water out. “I know you’re not. Now lie on your back and try to relax. This may be uncomfortable.” He said softly, voice dropping low in hopes of calming the other. “I’m going to try to take out any substance left over in your system that may cause damage.”

Ellis jumped slightly at the sudden increase in the man's speed, his heart leaping in his chest. He desperately wanted to stand up, but that coughing fit had proven that he was not in good shape. He had spent who-knew-how-long underwater (somehow), so it made sense.
"Heal me?" Ellis frowned slightly. He must have looked as terrible as he felt. "Who cares if it does any good? I have to say it anyway." Ellis brushed his long bangs out of his eyes, giving the people around him as scathing a glare as he could manage. His gaze snapped back to the healer at his words. "Lie down?" Ellis gave the man a searching look. Since this was the healer… he could probably trust him. "I… alright. Fine." He stretched back out, staring up at the sky. What would the healer find? He himself didn't know what that creature had done to him to give him the tattoos and the strange, slightly untethered feeling. Now that he wasn't wandering and falling down ever two seconds, he could focus more on that feeling. It was almost like he had a hole inside him… the last memory he had before he'd woken up at the bottom of the lagoon forced itself into his mind. That burning, breaking sensation he'd experienced had to mean something. Maybe the healer could find out what had happened.

Antonio took a deep breath and shut his eyes advice he concentrated on bending the water. “You May feel discomfort for a bit. My apologies.” He murmured, gently tilting the others head up and waving his free hand to bend the water into the persons mouth. He exhaled sharply, searching for any wounds and major issues before collecting any other liquids that shouldn’t be in the individual’s system.
As Antonio searched he felt something off, other than the mystery surrounding the person in front of him, there was something deeper that was off about them. It made Antonio slightly uncomfortable and more worried but he wasn’t going to no help them now. If it cameras to be that they were some sort of evil or harm to The people then he’d deal with it later.
“I’m going extract the water now. It’s going to cause you to hack and caught out anything else.” He warned softly, twisting his hand sharply to bring out the water from them

Ellis decided that the only thing he could do now was to simply trust that the healer wouldn't take this opportunity to kill him. He even let the man touch him, and let the water be guided into his mouth. It was a weird sensation, to say the least. Ellis couldn't say he enjoyed it, but apparently it was helping him. His eyes went to the healer's face when he spoke, nodding ever so slightly to let the man know he'd heard him. He coughed, not really liking the sensation of the water leaving.
"Um." Ellis let out a long, slow breath and peered over at the healer. "Any chance I could get some food now? And some, uh, something to drink?" He felt slightly better, but his stomach was still complaining painfully loudly at him.

He silently extracted the clean water from what came out of the others stomach and returned it back to the canteen.
“Yes of course, I’m sure you’re hungry after what you just went through.” Antonio stood and glanced over his shoulder, seeing that the crowd had disappeared. good let them wonder
He took a relieved breath of air and offered his hand in case they needed any help getting up.
“There’s food and water back at the village as well as somewhere warm to rest.” He reassured, glancing down as his feline friend padded up to the stranger and rubbed up against him, purring softly. Antonio smiled softly and nudged her head with his hand.
“She trusts you enough to be close. I assume that’s a good sign first the rest of us, no?”

"Yeah…" Ellis nodded slowly. If only he actually knew exactly what he'd been through. At least the fearful bystanders had disappeared. He turned back to the healer to see him offering his hand. Ellis' legs still felt a little wobbly, so he accepted his help. "Oh, thank the gods." Ellis let out a sigh, then glanced down at his legs. There was a cat at his feet, which was kind of cute.
"I already told you I'm not going to kill you, or destroy your village." Ellis grumbled, crossing his arms sulkily. He was a bit tired of people assuming he was one of those creatures, and it had only been a little while. At least it might stop once he'd left this place and people didn't know he'd come out of the woods.

He chuckled lightly “forgive the persistence it becomes a habit of living here.” He said, his smile fading a bit. He guided the individual patiently to the village, giving them time to breath or rest as they needed.
“Might I ask your name? I understand we may not know each other well but it’s might be easier to communicate if I knew your name. Unless of course it would’t be suitable.” He said, still gently holding their hand as he guided them around. “I’m Antonio.” He said with a small smile.

"I suppose that's understandable." Ellis relented, sighing slightly. He followed the healer to the village, wondering what sort of food he was going to get treated to. Honestly, he would settle for anything at the moment. "Um, I'm Ellis." He gave the man a small, slightly hesitant smile. "Thanks for not fleeing at the sight of me, Antonio." Ellis managed a more genuine smile. "By the way, uh… what's the date? The year, more specifically." He glanced over at Antonio, hoping he would answer without too much suspicion. Ellis already suspected it had been many years since he first got trapped in the lagoon, but he needed someone to say it out loud.

“Nice to meet you Ellis, though I wish it were under cercumstances.” He replied, turning on a few corners as they made their way into the heart of the village.
“You’re welcome. Thanks for not immediately attacking me on sight.” He kept his head down as they entered a crowd of people, knowing what they’d all think, seeing him leading around a young man. He knew, yet it still hurt him.
“The date?” He perked up once they were out of sight of the crowds “I do believe it is the 3rd of June, 1620” (let me know If that’s accurate to the story’s time)
He glanced back at Ellis, concern flashing in his eyes “you were in there quite a long time, weren’t you?”

(It is!)
"Hah, yeah, me too." Ellis sighed heavily. He liked meeting new people and seeing new things, but it was rather hard when everyone except for the healer– who was probably contractually obligated to help him, anyway– thought he was going to kill him. "Yeah, well, I was basically half dead, and I'm not going to murder you anyway. I'm not like that." He gave Antonio a slight smile, simply thinking that the healer kept his head down though the crowds because saving him was an unpopular opinion. "Wait, wait, wait. June 3rd… 1620?" Ellis nearly fell over. He really did. He only managed to stop himself from falling to the ground by grabbing onto Antonio's shoulder. Ellis had thought it would be a year or two, but four years? "Ha, yeah, just a little while." Ellis replied, his voice faint. He pushed himself upright again, letting go of the healer's shoulder and pushing back his bangs with both hands. Well, at least he didn't have anyone to miss or to miss him when he entered the forest.

Antonio wrapped an arm around Ellis’ waist and held him up as he regained his composure. “Y-yes, that is correct. Does that bring up a problem?” He asked softly, letting him go the instant Ellis pulled away, yet he still remained close in case Ellis did have another spell.
“A little while?” He repeated, imagining it might have a been more than the weeks he had initially thought. “How long exactly were you in there for, if you don’t mind me asking.”