redwood national park | wood nymph reserve
Gabriel wiped the sweat from his brow as he paused to break from unloading cases. It was colder in Northern California, and even colder among the treetops, but he'd worked up the heat.
Around him, he could hear muffled laughter that sounded like it was coming from up in the branches and at the same time from right behind his ear. His mind was surely playing tricks on him but he swore he also heard something about the
human being out of shape. "Fucking
fairies..." He muttered under his breath in Spanish, assuming that they wouldn't understand. Dark eyes scanned the twilight soaked scene and adjusted to the string lights that illuminated the neverending pathways carved between the redwood trees. It went on as far as he could see.
That, he figured, he could never get sick of.
Gabe resumed pulling out more cases of
Nopal— his family product that was usually used for less-than-savory-drug-related potions but was surprisingly beneficial to the health of wood nymphs. He worked quickly to stack them neatly in the corner of the treehouse. The manmade structures around him were built into the trees themselves as to not obstruct nature. They were modest, but made up the true epicenter of the reserve— there was the makeshift welcome center, Imogen's house, and the clinic all staggered around each other.
A soft
pop caught his attention and he recognized it immediately as the sound of someone apparting onto the designated landing outside. "Erm—" He cleared his throat, instinctively touching the wand in the front pocket of his jeans. The place was closed on Sundays, hence why Imogen was letting him man the post for the night while she made a trip to Arizona following up on a tip of misplaced fairies deep in a canyon somewhere. "Sorry, the reserve is closed," He ventured out the double door, that was really just am open frame, to see a young woman. "Opens back up tomorrow at six..." He offered.
Customer service was not for him.
@Cordelia Leighton
