The Forest Prince

XXIV. | "Blame it on Jesus #Blessed"

Gabe was surprisingly awake and alert for someone who might've gotten about 4 hours of sleep. He sat up to the hustle and bustle of the dryad morning rituals happening all around him. Women getting ready for work, girls getting ready for school, y'know, the usual. Before he could realize that Willow wasn't nearby, he watched her approach with a brown paper bag in her hand.

"Mornin' Bambi, sleep well?" She greeted, quick to kneel beside him in the grass.

"Yeah, had a weird dream though." He was surprised it wasn't a nightmare. "Dreamed one of the other nymphs stood over me while I slept, touching and smelling my hair. Couldn't really make out her face, but she kinda looked like the girl we met yesterday..." As he dwelled on the recollection, he realized that he never really saw Mala again after the whole incursion at the playground. He couldn't help but wonder what happened to her.

"Huh. That is weird." Willow reinforced as produced a hot sandwich from the bag. "Got a bacon egg and cheese from the nearby bodega." She tossed the foil wrapped food into Gabe's lap.

"Eat up kiddo, we got people to see and places to go!" Gabe didn't hesitate to attack the sandwich as he succumbed to the temptation of his appetite.

"Feels like I haven't eaten in ages..." You could barely hear him say as he scarfed down the breakfast.

"I'm sure it has been a couple of days..." Willow quickly and quietly replied, guiltily diverting her gaze.

"A couple of days?" The claim was overheard by Red Ash, who was quickly approaching the two. "Gabe you've been doing all this running around on an empty stomach? Are you trying to starve yourself to death? Why didn't you tell me?" Red Ash drilled. Willow almost did a double take at the level of concern the tall nymph was dishing out.

"I didn't want to worry anyone, I thought I had it." Gabe quickly and quietly replied, guiltily diverting his gaze.

"Next time you feel like you need to eat, let me know. You can't build muscle without the proper fats. And no carbohydrates mean no usable energy." Red Ash's personal trainer habits were shining through.

"Okay." The Harvestchild polished off what remained of his food and rose to his feet. Red Ash looked the two over, noticed the old ratty jeans and clothing bin/thrift store hand-me-downs they wore.

"That's what you're going in? You don't have any shorts or anything?" She asked them both. Gabe didn't immediately think he was going to Adrian's house just to work out, yet at the same time, he couldn't recall if he had ever seen Red Ash in anything besides leggings, cross-trainers, and hoodies.

"I don't have anything else with me," Gabe shrugged.

"And I wasn't trying to involve myself in whatever they were planning on doing. I'm just there to watch." Willow quickly followed up. Red rolled her eyes.

"We gotta get you some more clothes. I'm going to get tired of you wearing the same dirty stuff over and over." The big nymph replied.

"I have more stuff. We'd just have to go back to my grandma's house to get 'em." A mission Gabe wasn't too sure he wanted to embark on. For the time being, he was fine dealing with what he had.

***

One Train Ride to Brooklyn Later...

It didn't much for Gabe to retrace his steps back to the Bedford-Stuyvesant residence. Instead of taking the stairs, Gabe opted to ring the ground floor bell, located underneath said concrete stairs. A series of doors and a heavy iron gate reinforced that entrance, and the three could soon hear the sounds of locks clicking and doorknobs turning.