Under certain circumstances (draft 2)

Conservation of life

For the next two weeks, Will avoided the tree line. He didn't want to waste time if he ran into Alana. She's kind and he feels bad avoiding her, but he needs to focus on stocking up food and materials. Once his den had a solid stockpile of such things he made a little doll out of some straw and used a bit of fabric Alana had gifted him to make it a dress. He took the doll and some dried fruits and went to the tree line. He waited at their usual spot for a while and after about an hour Alana came rushing over. "Will! Where have you been? I was worried!" She sat on her side of the tree line and gave him a genuine look. "Sorry. I had to stockpile, if that doctor guy does move into the forest I don't know how it'll go. I brought you a gift though!" He gave her the little doll with the raggedy dress and a pouch of dried fruit hoping it would make up for the missed meetings. She inspected it a bit turning it over and looking at the rudimentary stitching on the little dress. "Oh Will this is so cute. Is this fruit? It smells really good." She tried a piece of the fruit and hummed in approval. She tucked the gifts away in her bag. "Did you say you're stockpiling?" She seemed a bit confused about that part. "Yes. There's never been a human in the forest unless it's with the intent to kill us. Everyone will be hiding, at least for a while." Alana gave him a look like he'd offended someone. "I told you Will, he takes politeness very seriously. You don't have to be scared of him." She sighed and straightened out her dress. "When you met me you thought I was gonna eat you! Most humans think we're animals, he might hunt us for sport or something!" Will was a bit offended at Alana's ignorance to the situation. They had every reason to hide. "Well there's not much you can do about it. He arrived at town last week and he's already decided where he wants the house built. Construction is starting tomorrow." Will was in disbelief. He never entered the woods, how could he have found a spot?
The next morning Will peaked out the door of his den only to be met with the sounds of humans talking, and the bright orange of construction hard hats. He slammed his door back shut and grabbed his bow and arrows. He waited for almost an hour before he decided he was in no danger and went to find something to keep him busy while he stayed stuck inside. He worked on fishing flys since it was decidedly the quietest activity in the den. At noon some workers sat right outside the den for lunch. Will had cleverly designed the entrance of his den to look like an old abandoned fox den. The door was a false bottom with a lock system that was also made to look like a regular dirt wall. The men thought nothing of the hole and sat at the top eating. Despite their disinterest, Will sat by the door with his bow until they left. A few hours later there was no more chatter or tool noises and Will started getting ready for bed. He heard some rustling outside and something got very close to the door. He stood looking at the door while he slowly reached for his bow. "Will!" The voice of Matthew muffled through the door. "Will open up! Please?" Will sighed and walked to the door, opening it. "What do you want?" The only reason Matthew came around was to ask a favor or ask a "favor" so Will didn't want to waste time on small talk. "Jeez so harsh, since when do you give me the cold shoulder? I just need some help." He placed a hand over his heart pretending to be offended. "What do you want and what do I get out of it?" Will leaned on the doorway and crossed his arms. "Well, I'm sure we were both shocked by the proximity of the construction. You wouldn't know since you never visit, but I live in a nest. I'm very exposed and was wondering if I could stay for a few days?" He was asking a lot. He knew it, and Will knew he knew it. But Matthew knows Will does a favor for a favor so he must have a damn good offer to be asking this. "And the me part?" The harpy smiled and handed Will a decent size satchel. It smelled of spices and ash. Will opened it and was amazed at its contents. "A while ago I flew out to this little magic hotspot. There was a lot of magic enhancement shops and I know you use a lot of that. I was saving it for something good but I figure now is a pretty good time." Will thought it over. There were dozens of spices, herbs, candles, and different kinds of charcoal for writing. It was a good offer. ".... Fine." He walked into the den leaving the door open for Matthew, who followed in and shut the door. "Thank yoooou. I don't think I've ever been in your den before, it's so nice." He walked around a bit and peeked at shelves. "I'm pretty reclusive. I don't like people in my space." Will went to a shelf and grabbed extra blankets and pillows. "Here. You can sleep over there." Matthew looked a bit disappointed. "I finally get in and I don't get to cuddle?" Will rolled his eyes. "You got in because you could get killed, not because you're a smooth talker. Take it or leave it."
The next few days were rough. Matthew wasn't the best roommate and he was too curious about the humans. He tried to peek outside whenever he could and Will had to tell him if he wanted to see them so bad he should've stayed in his nest. Luckily Matthew said he could go stay with a friend across the river and left the next day. Even with Matthew gone, Will started getting antsy. He wanted to go out and check on things. Not that he had anything important out there, he just wanted to check. After two weeks of not daring to peek, he couldn't help himself. He turned out every light in his den and silently opened the door. Just barely peaking over the edge of the den he looked at what had caused so many problems. It was a two story cabin, not obnoxiously huge but definitely a big house. Well technically any human structure in the magic forest would be considered obnoxiously huge but that's not the standard we're holding it to at the moment. All that was left was adding the siding and finishing the roof. Will had a tinge of anxiety, but decided it must just be the stress. Then he noticed how silent it was. Usually at night there's some noise, nocturnal animals shuffling about, some crickets, maybe an owl. But there was no sound. The tinge grew to an intense spike of anxiety. Will had a rapid look around the den. When he turned to look back he saw something he didn't know what to call. It was tall and slender and coal black. It had antlers and looked too stiff to be alive. Will gasped before covering his mouth with his hand, but it was too late. He barely saw the monster start to turn around before he was ducking back into his den. As he closed the door he saw the head of the beast over the edge of the entrance. He spent the rest of the night sitting by the door with his bow.
Once dawn broke he lined the fox hole with protective charms and spells as discretely as possible. He slept through the day and woke up towards the evening. He didn't hear the humans outside anymore and figured they had finished construction. He made a cup of tea and had some food, trying to relax a bit. He had just started cleaning up the den when he heard someone outside. "Hello? Excuse me sir?" It wasn't Matthew. Will didn't recognize the voice but took note of the odd accent. He ignored it for the most part until a rock was tossed to his door. One fatal issue with the door was it made a hollow sound when hit. Will hadn't found a way to fix it but didn't think it was that big a deal. "I'm sorry for the intrusion, but I'd really rather not climb through the dirt." Will took a deep breath and walked to the door. He figured this person knows where he is, and not responding might not do much to dieter them. He positioned himself so his magic features wouldn't be visible and he opened the door the tiniest bit. "May I help you?" He said it gruffly, wanting to make it very clear he didn't want to interact with the man. He was already internally losing it. "Just introduced myself to my new neighbors. I apologize if construction was any bother." The man spoke as if this were a normal situation. It was off putting. "And who are you?" Will tried to give a demanding tone but there was no hiding his fear. The man smiled but it looked slightly off. "I am doctor Hannibal Lecter. And you?" Will remembered Alana's greeting. Humans shake hands, they're supposed to shake hands. Humans also wear clothes (this one wears a lot) Will needs clothes. "Um.... One second." When Alana gifted Will some fabric she also gave him a shirt and very loose flowy pants. She apologized that they were "girl" pants but she didn't know what would fit his legs. Will didn't get what made them feminine but accepted them. He dug through a basket of extra blankets until he found the clothes and quickly put them on. He rushed back to the door and opened it fully, walked up to the man, and held his hand out like Alana taught him. "I'm Will." Every alarm was going off in Wills head but he figured it'd be best for the human to think they were more alike than they were. People see similarity and assume safety. Hannibal's smile became more genuine and he shook Will's hand. Will smiled back and tried to look the man in the eyes but found it nearly impossible. Some instinct in him told him the man meant death. He also took note of the eerie silence that filled the woods. "Do you know where I could find any other neighbors? I'd like to introduce myself to anyone nearby, but I assume everyone is rather reclusive." Will thought for a moment about who would be considered nearby and who wouldn't try to kill any human they saw. "Well... um. There's a harpy who lives around here but when your house was being built he left to stay across the river. The trolls wouldn't want an introduction, and the fae won't even talk directly to me. So... I think at the moment it's just me nearby." The man nodded and looked out into the trees. He gave Will another genuine smile. "Thank you Will. I apologize for any stress I've caused you or anyone else. If your harpy friend returns, please let him know I'm no threat. Have a good night Will." He spoke in a steady tone and in a way that seemed too natural. Like he'd built himself a disguise and wasn't actually human. "You to." Will replied out of politeness before he went back to his den. It was the most confusing interaction of his life but at the very least he'd be safe.