Life in Fae Valley

Chapter 1: Part 3

"A what?" Natalie repeated as she stared at the ginger infront of her who in turn giggled his head off at her response. "A fluster game! Ya know! Try not to get too flustered and whoever taps out first loses!"

She huffed and scowled a little at him, folding her arms. "This isn't fair Chuck! It's two against one!" She whined, Brandy tipping his hat up a bit to gaze at the two of them curiously, eyebrow raised slightly.  "I ain't sayin' ya gotta actually play! It's just a game beautiful!" Chuck laughed, lightly poking Natalie on the nose. "I'm only pokin' fun at ya Nat, ain't no need to get ya panties in a twist."

At this, Natalie blushed heavily with embarrassment, lightly smacking her hands against his shoulder. "You know what, fine! I'll play your game! If you're gonna play dirty and have a dirty mind, I'll beat you at your own stupid game!" She huffed, causing him to giggle and nod.

"You playin' too Brandy?" Chuck asked his brother who shrugged and gave a nod, sitting up.

'Oh boy... What did I just sign myself up for...' Natalie thought to herself but took a deep breath, calming herself down before letting Chuck go first. She watched as he too took a deep breath and closed his eyes before opening them again with a big grin. Leaning in, he whispered in her ear in a husky tone, "When I saw you, I lost my tongue... Can I put yours in my mouth?...~.."

Natalie felt herself freeze up as she heard him, a light blush coming to her cheeks. Inhaling then exhaling again, she leaned in closer to him and whispered back, "You could, but I'm afraid I'm too busy putting you on my to-do list~" She watched with amusement as he quickly moved away again, clearing his throat as he looked away and hastily saying, "Its your t-turn now Brandy!"

Natalie's attention was brought back to Brandy as she heard him give a deep chuckle. As she watched, he pulled his shirt off, leaning up against her back, blowing cool air down her neck before sitting back again, winking at her and licking his lips when his brother wasn't looking. A heavy blush burst across Natalie's face and she hastily looked away again, deciding rather to admit defeat than continue this game. "O-Okay okay you win!" She protested, causing Brandy to giggle and Chuck to look shocked.

"How in the hell did you do that?! Last time you got some was when you were 15!! TELL ME YOUR SECRETS BRANDY!" Chuck demanded, quickly wrestling his brother over. Within minutes Chuck had lost his shirt too, the wrestling ending with Brandy sitting ontop of his brothers back.

"God damnit Brandy get your fat ass off of me!"

"Nah."

Natalie giggled some as she watched the brothers interact just to shiver some as she felt a presence behind her, quickly turning around just to stumble back. ' Why are everyone in this town absolute giants?! ' She thought to herself as she felt herself being stared down by a tall man with blonde hair, sharing the same muscular build and freckles.

"Well hello there little mouse. What you doing out here in my woods?" The man smirked, Natalie shivering a bit and backing up slightly as she noticed his fangs, just to stop as she bumped up against a big solid chest. The smell of sandalwood filling her nose, she relaxed as she realised it was just Chuck, who then wrapped his arms around her in a comforting manner.

"Hello Ford" he said blankly, the blonde laughing some as he stared at the three of them. "Come on cousin, be a bit more friendly! We are family after all, no need to be so hostile" Ford chuckled, a tired sigh coming from Brandy. "C-Come on F-Ford, be nice. You m-may he a f-forest ranger b-but that doesn't mean i-it all belongs to you. I-In fact, this p-part of the woods is on our p-property" he said softly, an irritated sigh coming from Ford who rolled his eyes.

"Why do I have to be nice? I've got massive fucking tits! If anything, I'm gracing you all with my amazing beauty" he said, a collective groan coming from the two brothers as they gazed at their cousin.  As Natalie watched, she was surprised to see a tattoo of his... Moving. It was very subtle at first, but it was definitely not on the same place as it started, the tentacles almost seeming to wrap themselves around the blonde's throat. He scratched irritably at his neck though it didn't seem like he was aware of the tattoos there, Ford then shrugging. "Fine then. Be like that. But before I go..."

Leaning in, he came right up to Natalie and flashed her a charming grin, whispering in her ear as he held her chin between his thumb and forefinger, "I can't promise I don't bite, little mouse... Though if you do stumble into these woods alone, I can promise you a good time~" Taking a step back, he winked and walked off with his hands in his pockets, whistling a tune to himself as he went.

Silence filled the air after he left, Chuck then slowly letting go of Natalie, both brothers putting their shirts back on before looking over at Natalie. "Y-You okay? He d-didn't hurt you o-or anything? H-He may be f-family but w-we won't hesitate t-to deal with h-him like we d-did with that m-man at the b-bar" Brandy said, his tone surprisingly serious.

"Yeah... Ford can be a little... Intense, sometimes. He could mean well but we can never be sure. I personally think he's way too much in these woods" Chuck sighed, Natalie nodding some. "Hey, it's okay, he didn't hurt me... Just... Startled me, is all" she smiled before getting up, starting to pack their things up.

Taking this as sign they should leave, the brothers helped her pack their picnic up before saddling up again, mounting their horses and heading back. By the time they reached the farm house, it was twilight outside, the deep set shadows and faint light still from the sky bathing the farm in a eery light if it hadn't been for the warm lights of the house. Brandy taking the picnic stuff into the house, Chuck took the horses to the stables, leaving Natalie to stand by herself on the front porch.

A small squeak of surprise came from her as a distant howl came from the woods, another one soon following a few minutes after a bit further away. Rather than test her luck, she quickly walked back into the house, going to sit down in the kitchen as Chuck came inside too, Brandy humming along to the music on the radio as he made supper. Then turning to face them, he handed them each a plate, giving the scraps to Champ.

Tense silence filled the room as they ate, Chuck being the first then to speak. "I have some work to sort out in the city and Brandy is gonna be helping with the renovation of the church... Do you mind if we drop you off with Missy? She knows everything about everyone, so if you have any questions, you can ask her" he suggested, glancing over at Natalie. "Maybe she can introduce you to my good luck cha-... I-I mean, maybe she can introduce you to Lucy..."

Natalie raised her eyebrow at this and giggled some but decided to be nice and not tease him, nodding some. "Sure, I'd love to meet Missy and Lucy. A friend of yours I'm sure can be a friend of mine" she smiled, earning a small chuckle from Brandy. The tension eased into comfortable silence, Brandy taking the empty plates to wash them, Chuck leaving to his room for the night.

Natalie was about to leave to, yet paused as she watched Brandy washing the dishes by himself. "Goodnight Brandy."

"G-Goodnight sugar... S-Sleep well."