nymph ⚣ joshler

preface

tyler joseph was not normal, to say the least.

he didn't remember his parents at all, they had left him at a doorstep when he was a baby. he didn't know them, their names, anything about them. the one thing he did know, was that they weren't normal. just like him.

he grew up with a lovely couple, the joseph's. so naturally, he took up their last name.

he first realized he was even more peculiar than he already knew when he was seven. he was out in the forest near his house, walking along a barely noticeable trail that was fading away from it's lack of use over the decades.

when he stopped to admire a seemingly glowing flower in the midst of the dark green leaves surrounding him, he heard a twig snap and a quick rustle of a bush a few feet away. snapping his head up and to the direction of the soft noise, young tyler slowly moved closer to the origin of the sound.

when he got closer, he noticed the long, elegant leg of a young doe, a small nose and large eyes staring straight back at him.

tyler stared at it for a few more seconds, before turning away when he felt a branch brush against his skin, the soft bristles surprising him with the unexpected touch.

when he looked back at the doe, it wasn't a doe anymore. the animal had disappeared, a woman quietly sprinting away took it's place. the woman had light, caramel brown skin, and there were faint white spots adorning her back and arms. tyler didn't see her face, but she had a magnificent crown of coiled hair with thick green leaves encircling her head, and when she ran she left little noise behind her.

being the young, curious child he was, tyler decided to follow the woman. he found himself walking equally as quiet as the woman, but didn't think anything of it other than the faint thought in his naïve mind, i should become a spy.

after a good two minutes of following the woman, tyler found himself on the edge of a clearing, the woman standing in the middle, a ring of browned leaves surrounding her.

tyler kept his eyes focused on her movements, watching as she took a small leather pouch from her belt and scattered it's contents around the patch of dirt.

suddenly, her ritualistic actions were interrupted when another person joined her. it was a man, this time, and another woman joined behind him. the man had the same caramel tone of skin, along with the same spotted pattern along his back. the other woman, however, was much paler. in fact, her skin almost looked to have a soft green tint. not a sickly one, but one with a natural, refreshing feel to it, like fresh air and thick green leaves, much like the ones surrounding the area. she seemed to blend in to the leaves as she softly approached the other two. they began making hushed conversation with each other, about what, tyler never caught.

as young tyler took in the beauty of the strange people, his foot shuffled subconsciously beneath him. he looked down i'm horror at the small twig his flimsy shoe had snapped, looking back up just in time to meet the large eyes of the doe-like woman.

he saw the freckles dotting her face and her bright green eyes that didn't even seem natural as she flipped her head in his direction. tyler was partially covered by the thick foliage, and couldn't see anymore of her face from the angle, but the vivid memory of her piercing eyes stuck in his mind.

for some reason, when he made eye contact with the woman, he felt, what was it, almost a connection. there was a feeling inside him he still couldn't explain, even to this day. he felt like he was closer to the strange woman than his adoptive parents, despite not even knowing her.

the moment only lasted a quick second, however, as she soon after turned to the other two with her, looking almost confused. after another small exchange between the three in a language tyler was sure wasn't english, they all three looked back at tyler, the same curious look he had on his features enveloping their own.

they looked down at the short boy for what felt like an eternity to tyler, as he tried to move his jelly legs out of where they stood frozen in place the entire time. he was slowly getting more and more anxious the longer they looked at him, expressions never wavering and bodies staying unnaturally still.

while tyler was still attempting to move his legs, and flee back to the edge of the forest, towards the large house, the first woman from before stepped closer to him, a hand untying a second, smaller leather pouch attached to her belt, which, now that tyler looked at it, was forged of leaves bound tightly together.

tyler's irrational young mind, paired with his ever growing anxiety, caused him to sweat as the woman dawned closer to him, an emotionless expression across her face as she reached a hand into the small pouch. her hand emerged with a white powder in her palm, sifting through her fingers to sprinkle on the forest floor like fine sand.

she walked even closer, placing her hand in front of her face and bending on her knees to become level with tyler. he was quite short, still today.

before tyler could protest, she took a breath and blew on the powder in her hand, the substance making it's way towards tyler, engulfing his senses as he attempted to cough it out of his lungs.

the next thing tyler knew, he was waking up in his backyard, laying in the cool grass, listening to birds chirp and breathing in the fresh air.

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