[u]~8:17 PM
The Wilderness of Hope Springs, West Virginia
November 4th, 2019[/u]
[h3]The Wanderer[/h3]
[hr]
	Shawn gave a soft chuckle as the man before him asked him to leave, a smile playing on his lips, hidden by his thick beard. Looking through the foliage, he shook his head gently. Unbeknownst to his new "companion," Shawn had spent more of his life in the woods then outside of it. Having been raised in a small town just a skip from the base of the Appalachians, he had long had a relationship with the only mother he knew, Nature. 

	"Friend, I've been a child of the woods long before you became their protector." He stated with a smile.

	Moving to stand closely with one of the larger trees nearby, he patted it almost like one would a dog, affectionately, looking up into its high branches. Inside his mind small flashbacks played of the hundreds of times he had performed the same action, his affinity for wood and their domain rivaled nearly all, though he was sure the man before him would prove to be a close competitor. 

	"And believe me, she's far from frail. Some of these trees have been here longer than this country, and I'm sure they'll far outlive it as well."

	He paused for a minute, turning from the tree to the man before him. A tension formed in his voice, not aggression, but apprehension and refusal to the suggestion of leaving the woods.
	
	"Necessity is bullshit. Everything that is meant to be, is.
 If you'd prefer I leave I'm afraid I can not accommodate you, there are things waiting for me I'm not going to face just yet."
[@Bluetommy]