Darling, since it is you, it has to be NejiTen,
n’est-ce pas?
Read it on FFN or AO3
–I Fell Down a Well–
There were stories about the archaic network of wells on the Hyūga lands – many of which had long been boarded up or cemented over.
“They are dangerous,” his Uncle had warned sternly. “You and your cousins are never to go near them.”
It seemed everyone knew of someone who knew of someone that had been unfortunate enough to stumble upon one of the old structures, with a wide array of dire consequences. Tales of broken limbs or necks or bodies never recovered were told aplenty, and Neji had heard them long enough relegate them to cautionary folklore and ignore them accordingly.
But the old woman in the village – the one with the clay pipe perpetually clamped between her teeth- told a different sort of story.
“Fools, the lot of ‘em,” she declared, jabbing the air with the stem of her pipe as the sweet smoke curled out of it to hang as lazy wisps in the air. “Plenty o’folk been too dim to mind their way ‘round bits of old rock and deep holes. But that ain’t the danger of the wells,” her eyes danced. “That’s just stupidity, plain and simple.”
“And what is the danger of the wells?” Neji asked one day, bored from waiting too long for Hanabi to finish her lessons, and craning his neck to see if Natsu would appear, his impish cousin in tow.
“Not Danger,” she corrected with a broad wink. “Magic.”
“Nonsense,” he snorted, but she took no offense.
“All the same, young Lord,” her smile was slow. “Be wary ’round the wells. They can play queer tricks on an able-bodied young man like thysel’.”
I think I sprained something hitting the reblog button so fast after finishing this! Argh I’m a mess!
Ink Child Writing 