Rhys drove his truck back toward the front door of his new cabin with a sleepy yawn. He was full and happy, warmed by the soup and ready for bed. He turned the vehicle around so the bed was facing the door to help ease the burden of offloading the remaining items. Cane brought his tools and a dolly cart, along with a piece of spare plywood to make a ramp. As Rhys got out of his vehicle, he felt a shiver run through his spine at how ominous the cabin felt in the darkness. He walked up the steps and unlocked the door. With slow, cautious motion, he pushed it open.

“Oh, boy, I need t’get some lights in there,” Cane said with a whistle.

“It’s so dark,” Rhys agreed.

“Cash never mentioned it being so dark, I wish he would’ve said somethin’…”

Rhys turned his eyes to his new neighbor for a moment, he could hear the hurt of the loss come through in the way he spoke. Cassius Wylder must have been a prominent person in town, and his passing seemed to still weigh heavy on everyone even a year on.

He returned to his vehicle and opened the hatch. Cane peered into the truck and assessed the situation as he unloaded the plywood.

“What’s in the those long boxes in the back?” Cane asked.

He grabbed his portable generator and emergency light to help add some illumination to the cabin. Judging by the IKEA branding on the boxes, he didn’t believe that building the furniture would be too much of a hassle, but he didn’t feel like doing it in the pitch black.

“I think… my books, my vinyls, and kitchen things, maybe some extra towels. I’m not sure, honestly, I packed everything in such a hurry,” Rhys said sheepishly.

“No worries, kiddo, I just want t’make sure we stack ’em right so we don’t crush anythin’ important."

“Makes sense. Oh, I think that box in the back has all of my apothecary and tea making stuff so it’s fragile. I already unloaded my plants, my toiletries and food items, so it’s mostly miscellaneous stuff. This box has my new mattress, and this one is a bed frame. I also have a small bookshelf and a plant stand. I do have some solar powered lamps somewhere in this mess,” Rhys explained.

“Did you forget a table and chairs?”

“Um… I guess I did.”

Cane laughed, “I’ll make you some, I like makin’ chairs. Chairs and coffins, those are my specialty. Comfy in life and comfy in death, I always say. Let’s get that rug so we can unfold it and let it flatten before we start pullin’ out the furniture.”

Rhys helped Cane pull the long, rolled rug from the truck. He got the measurements of the cabin before he moved in, so he picked out a nice piece to pad the flooring and keep his feet warm during the colder months. The beautiful dark blue coloring was accented by swirling gold stars and a gilded frame. It covered almost the entirety of the floor once they unrolled it.

Cane set up the emergency light in the corner, the blinding illumination was a bit harsh on the eyes but the whole of the cabin was now visible, making it easier to maneuver and assess locations to place some of the boxes. The rows of plants beneath the windows caught his attention, they all seemed healthy and large. The scent of fresh, blooming florals wafted out into the night air. The old place felt alive again.

Rhys headed back outside and climbed into the bed of his covered truck to help slide the mattress box forward so Cane could easily grab it. They unloaded it and walked it up into the dark cabin, then moved onto the bed frame and bookshelf. Rhys could smell the moisture in the air from the storm that would hit the area in the coming hours, and it excited him. He loved a good thunderstorm, and he needed some solid sleep. The rain always made him more comfortable, despite the ache it often brought to his bones.

As they went to offload the plant stand, another set of headlights broke through the darkness of the tree line. Cane wiped some sweat from his forehead.

“That’ll be Vic,” he noted.

“Who?” Rhys asked.

“Victor du Lac, he’s the mayor of Wylder Wood. He wanted t’meet you so I called him over, that way he can make himself useful and help out.”

“I don’t want to impose.”

Cane smirked, “Get it through your head, Rhys, you are not imposin’ on anyone. We like helpin’, that’s what a community does. Besides, Vic don’t do much ’round here other than manage the books and keep the peace, so this’ll be good for him t’get out of his office for a few hours. He’s been pretty bored lately.”

Rhys watched as the black car came to a stop behind his truck, the bright headlights dimmed and a man dressed entirely in black stepped out of the vehicle. He was a bit taller than himself, with soft, wavy curls that were dyed a blood red color. The tousled curls fell a bit to the right, stopping at a perfectly defined fade. His face was a bit scruffy, his dark brown eyes were half-hidden behind small, rounded sunglasses, and his smile was sensual and confident. The hue of his skin was akin to freshly tilled, sun-kissed soil. Warm and rich.

Rhys felt his heart race at the sight of him. He was the definition of tall, dark, and handsome. He seemed much too young to be the mayor, however, and the red shimmer that ran across his eyes did not go unnoticed.

Something was off about the people of Wylder Wood.

“This weather is amazing,” Vic groaned with an exaggerated thrust of his arms out to his sides, the faded lilt of an Irish accent hung on his words, “I’m going to be so mad when summer rolls around. The days are too damn long, it’s too damn hot, but this… this is perfection.”

Cane approached the mayor and set his hand on his shoulder, “He’s a human, be careful.”

“Seriously?” Vic questioned.

Cane nodded and turned the charm back on, “Rhys, this is Victor du Lac. Vic, meet Rhys Anderson.”

“A pleasure,” Vic said with a smile as he took Rhys’ hand.

“So sorry for disturbing your night… I’d say make yourself at home but it’s pretty barren,” Rhys apologized.

“Not at all! I just woke up so I need to burn off some of this energy, and it's literally my job to take care of the people who live here, so I'm happy to help,” Vic assured with a glistening grin.

“Then help me get these boxes so Rhys can take a break and start unloadin’ his foodstuff,” Cane urged. He lifted his hand to stop Rhys from arguing, “You look a bit pale, take a break.”

Rhys nodded in understanding and appreciation and headed inside his cabin. Vic shot Cane a questioning glance once he was sure the new farmer-to-be was out of ear shot.

“Everything alright?” Vic inquired as he hopped into the back of the truck to grab some boxes.

“He’s got an autoimmune disease and he drove about twelve hours basically non-stop t'day—without eatin’—t’get here. I don’t want him t’wear himself down before he even gets settled,” Cane explained as he pulled the dolly cart out of the truck.

“I’m glad you called, then. Molly is on her way, too. She really wanted to bring over a welcome basket, I think she’s excited to have someone close to her age in town. All of us old coots are boring.”

“Speak for yourself, gramps. I’m practically a child compared t’you.”

The men laughed. Cane was glad he decided to call him for help. Vic had been down as of late, it was hard to get him out of the house, so seeing a smile on his fanged-tooth face helped ease a burden in his soul.

Vic and Cane stacked up the heavy boxes of books and miscellaneous unknowns and wheeled them up the makeshift ramp. Rhys opened his small cooler and started unloading a few cartons of juices and oat milk, alongside some yogurt and fruits, into the fridge. Minimal things to keep him going until he got the lay of the land and could figure out where to get groceries. Judging by the state of the farm, it would be a while before he was able to live off his own crops.

He watched as Vic studied the interior of the cabin and the new changes—though small—that were already visible as he entered. He could immediately sense that the mayor had strong ties to this place, and felt as if the ghost of the former owner haunted not just the home, but the town itself. He hoped it wouldn’t sully their view of him before he even made a name for himself.

“Nice rug,” Vic noted, mostly to himself as he shifted back to keep his dirty dress shoes from damaging it.

“Looks like we’ve got one more round of boxes, then we can get started on those curtains,” Cane explained.

“I think the curtain rods are in that long box with my tools. Please be careful, it’s full of breakable items,” Rhys requested.

“Sure thing. Hmm,” Cane mused, “Gonna have to figure out how t’handle that window seat curtain-wise.”

“I didn't even think about that,” Rhys said worriedly.

“I’ll get a rod hung up in front of it for now, no wories.”

Cane nudged Vic in the arm to snap him back to reality. The mayor seemed distracted, but his eyes weren’t drawn to the home. They seemed to be locked onto the new owner, and the way he swallowed with a parched, pathetic sound left Cane a bit concerned. Vic slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans and followed his friend outside. He jumped back into the bed of the truck and fished for the remaining boxes.

“You good? Careful with that,” Cane reminded as he pointed to the box.

“Yeah, he has an odd smell about him,” Vic replied.

“He didn’t say what he was ill with. He also mentioned he was an herbalist so I’m sure he’s got a lot of… unusual fragrances on him.”

“You can’t smell it?”

“Nah, full moon’s comin’, I’ve upped my blockers so I don’t cause a ruckus. You know how I get. I couldn’t even smell the soup I had for dinner, let alone a human two inches in front of me.”

“Probably a good thing, it’s… odd. Not unpleasant, just odd. I bet it would cause an overload on your system with how nauseous you get.”

Vic carefully slid the hefty box that was pressed against the back of the truck forward. Heavy glass bottles bounced around inside, and Vic could smell cloves and peppercorn slip out through the cardboard slits. He wondered what the tools were for, what the newcomer did before he decided to uproot his entire life and move to the middle of nowhere.

They carefully lifted the container filled with fragile content out of the truck and into the cabin. They deposited it near the back wall to ensure it didn’t get stepped on.

“I forgot a work bench…” Rhys mumbled to himself as he gnawed on his lip.

“I’ll make you one,” Cane promised.

“No, I don’t want to—”

“I swear t’high hell and back, Rhys, if you say I don’t want t’impose one more time I’m gonna throw up my dinner. I want t’do this for you.”

Vic smirked, “You should let him, it’ll be nicer than anything you can buy and it’ll keep him busy while—” he turned back to the front door. With hastened steps, he raced out onto the porch and intercepted a bounding figure that was barreling up the stairs.

“H-hey, there, Molly!” Vic said nervously with a light chuckle as he draped his arm over the short girl’s head.

She lifted her eyes. A heavy basket in her arms was full of chocolate, cookies, and other delicacies wrapped up in cellophane with a beautiful bow. She nearly dropped it from the heft of the mayor’s weight against her so suddenly. She seemed to radiate a white energy during the brief moment Rhys saw her before Cane stepped in front of his line of sight.

“What are you doing?” Molly asked, her high, squeaky voice was both offended and shocked.

Vic quickly turned to hide her from view, his friendly demeanor dropped, “He’s a human, hide your wings,” he snarled, fangs barred as he tried to brush her powdery white hair over her fuzzy, glowing pink antennae.

She flattened them down atop her head, trying to disguise them like a headband, and wrapped her wings around her shoulders like a shawl. Her face was filled with shock, pale green eyes wide with concern as she peered around the mayor to look into the cabin.

“Sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, stay calm,” Vic soothed quietly. “I didn't mean to snap, I'm just bad at my job and I don't want to get us in trouble with a human.”

“So, you aren’t human, are you? None of you are, right?”

Vic felt his spine go rigid at hearing the words slip out of Rhys’ mouth. He turned to look back at his new neighbor. Molly clutched the basket tightly in her hands, looking up at Vic with concern and fear that she messed up. Cane set his hands on his hips and let out a heavy sigh. With a bit of reservation in his movements, he nodded and confirmed Rhys’ theory.

Vic leaned on the door frame and removed his sunglasses. He slid his hands into his pockets and locked eyes with Rhys. A small smile painted his face, “You caught us.”