Looming bonfires scream and spit, the tree trunks popping and charring in the flames of Beltane. People danced around the great circle; their necks arced towards the setting sun- wailing euphorically at her return. Someone was drumming, the beat ritual and expectant.
Tan moved silently in the flames, looking for someone, waiting in the fresh air of the last night of spring. Tonight, she had chosen to dwell in the flames, enjoying the heat and how they danced over her hidden form. If one looked carefully, you could make out her eyes, the faint outline of her body. But no one was looking carefully.
There he is. Hidden in the treeline, leaning against an old oak- his eyes transfixed by fire and revellers. A short smile forms on Tan’s face.
Belenus was here at last, the God of summer. A forest sprite could do worse.
Her heart had not healed; her spirit had not quietened since that night. Belenus had refused her, after all her years of pining. So, she had returned to the valley at Samhain- seeking her renewal.
Tan would leave the mortals and cross the veil, becoming- well, she didn’t know. Something new, something that burned all year around. The cool air made puffs of smoke leave her lips as she breathed in anticipation. She found a bonfire and stepped forward.
She looked up at the black sky which glittered with stars, allowing herself to be burnt up, eaten by the fire. The veil formed before her eyes, the fabric between the mortal realm and the Otherworld now papery and fragile. Tan passed into the Otherworld as quickly as she had entered the bonfire, finally free of the forest and pitiful heartache.
Free to chase a God down.
Free to become one herself.
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