one shots!

Leon's Encounter

CW for tetrophilla, rape, and disordered eating. (non-descriptive)

"So tell me how all of it started? Start from the beginning, and continue to the end." The therapist asked him to begin to relive his experience.

"Well, it was April 15th," he started. "The beginning of the day was amazing. I woke up and had pancakes for breakfast. After I got dressed for the day, I decided I wanted to go for a hike. It's not like I really have much else to do since I gave myself a new tattoo the other day. Plus sales have been way down for my jewelry and I haven't really felt motivated. I thought this might be a good way to get some of my motivation back. I finished packing my bag with everything I need, y'know, the essentials. I got into my truck, threw my stuff in the back, and was ready to go. By this point, it was almost 11 o'clock. I was only planning on going about twenty minutes away, but I got lost in my music and ended up driving an hour and a half out to the Hilport trails. I go there at least once a month, so it wasn't a huge issue because I know most of the trails out there. Once I arrived, I hopped out of my truck, grabbed my bag, and started heading toward the rec office. I wanted to grab a map because I knew I was going to take one of the trails I hadn't taken yet. I wanted to learn a new trail since it had been a couple of weeks since I hiked a new one. I ended up taking the Wolf Thyme trail because it was a short-ish trail. As I was walking, I guess I got lost or something, because I was on a part of the trail that didn't even look like the park."

The therapist cut him off with a, "And how did this area look different? What was it like?"

He ran a hand through his deep brown hair and took a deep breath. "All of the greenery around was incredibly bright and luscious. Something about the air felt off. There were smells that you don't find in nature. A mix of planting soil, mulch, and ammonia. I should've just turned back. I could hear the water from, I'm guessing, a nearby creek or stream of some sort rushing over rocks. It almost felt as if something was trying to warn me. But I continued walking and came across a few rocks that looked... off. I don't know how else to really describe them. They were jagged and cast weird shadows, which now that I'm thinking about it, could've been some form of a warning. Maybe a symbol or words," he explained to the therapist.

"So I ignored the rocks and continued walking. I kept walking and walking, completely lost in my own little world following the sounds of the rushing water and chirping birds. I think I had been walking for about two hours? I don't even know anymore. I just got so deep into my head and was just walking. I stumbled upon a circle of rocks. Obviously not knowing what it was, I stepped into it. That was the biggest mistake of my life. I hate that I did that because that's where everything went to shit. If I had just stayed out of the damn circle I would've been fine."

The therapist interrupted, "Take a breath. Leon, Slow down. Take a breath then continue. You can't blame yourself."

Leon took a deep breath and continued retelling his traumatic day. "I'm not sure when exactly it happened, but I felt a vine wrap around my ankle as I was trying to walk away. It tripped me or something, and I ended up falling, landing on my back. I felt more vines creep up my arms and around my legs, spreading them. It started moving toward places that I don't enjoy speaking of. I hate those parts of my body, and I wish I could just get rid of them. At some point, a vine forced its way into my mouth and started pumping some sort of sweet, sticky, aphrodisiac liquid. The vines, they slid down my pants and up my shirt. My head was just so foggy, and I couldn't focus on any of the feelings. It was all just so intense. They wrapped around my chest and toyed with me. It all feels so violating now, and I get shivers whenever I talk about it. I just feel so disgusted with myself." He stopped for a moment,

"You know that none of this is your fault, right Lee? There's nothing you could've done to know this would happen," the therapist told him.

"I know it's not my fault, El. It just felt like I couldn't fight back or anything. It was almost as if the syrup had some sort of paralyzing agent. I couldn't move any part of my body to get away," he responded. "I had to just sit there and take it. I don't even know if it was trying to reproduce or if it was just for its own pleasure, but it was so disgusting. It was just a giant... being? I don't know what to call it. Just a bunch of vines all intertwined with each other. It haunts my dreams and thoughts. I just can't get rid of it. It's everywhere. I can never shake the feeling that it'll happen again. It's always there in the back of my mind. Like a rock, it never goes anywhere, it just.. stays there. Sometimes, an eerie sensation washes over me, as though an unseen presence hovers nearby, shrouding me like an ominous cloud each time I step out of my house. I know this thing wasn't human, but is it following me or something? Who knows what it is and what it's capable of." He finished his explanation and waited for Ella's response.

"I don't know what this thing was, and I'm not really sure if anything we can do will help. Have you researched anything about the creature you interacted with?" she questioned.

"I didn't do a whole lot of research, but from what I found it seems to be called a Korukomi; it lures different types of forest animals with different scents. Typically the middle of the fairy circles they make have a plant that emits a specific scent to attract different animals but this one, I believe the plant had been removed. But that was all I was able to find." He informed his therapist about the monster he encountered with the bit of knowledge he had of it.

"I don't think there's really anything we can do. I'm very sorry, Leon. I know it's difficult to go through that and I wish I could help more. I also wanted to check in with you about your mother. How have you been doing this week with your anxiety meds? I know that last week marked five years since the accident," Ella questioned him about the recent events in his life.

"I haven't been doing too great. It's been rough, to say the least. I went and saw my dad and little sister Joanna yesterday but couldn't bring myself to tell him about my experience. I didn't want him to have to worry about what happened on top of Mom's death anniversary,'' Leon responded with a shaky voice.

"And have you been eating recently? You don't look great and it's worrying me, Lee." Ella delved into his habits.

"No, I haven't been eating. It's really difficult to even think about eating without getting nauseous around this time. I'm just so anxious all the time and if I do eat I end up throwing it back up, whether it's from anxiety or just the time of year, I don't know."

Ella listened to his words and looked at him with empathy swirling in her eyes. "I really am sorry, Lee. I wish there were more I could do," she told him, concern lacing her voice.

Leon nodded at her in gratitude and followed up with a response "I know El, I wish there was more anybody could do. But thankfully, Talking with you makes it a lot easier to go through. I'll talk to you next week." He walked out of her office, heading towards the receptionist's desk. He scheduled his appointment for next week. Walking out of the building to his truck he had the feeling he was being watched again. He quickly clambered into his truck, and jammed the key into the ignition with shaky hands and drove away.