James 'Jimmy' Parks slipped out of the tent he shared with two other twelve year-olds after they had fallen asleep. Duane was snoring, and Mike had let loose with a fart so loud and potent that it was amazing the other two boys hadn't woken up. The night air was warm enough that Jimmy was comfortable in just his skivvies, through he had brought along a thin blanket to lay on. Creeping out of the campsite, he made his way to the open meadow he'd scoped out earlier in the day and looked up. Sure enough, the sky was amazing!
A million stars glittered in the pitch black sky, not having to fight the city lights that he was usually surrounded by. He started to spread the blanket out, but then decided to try lying on the thick grass for a while. Though the ground was lumpy and hard, the lush foliage made a great mattress, and he lay back staring up at the sky. It was so peaceful here. Leaves rustled in a slight breeze, and an owl hooted somewhere in the distance. This was what he wanted - to just lay here and enjoy nature, without a thought or care in his head.
He heard the deer long before he saw them - soft shuffling in the grass, the soft tearing of blades as the animals grazed. They were moving through the clearing slowly, obviously not catching his scent. He was mildly surprised when at least a couple got so close he could make out their shapes just a few feet away. Insects flew around them, the buzzing oddly musical. Many of them were large lighting bugs glowing in unusual colors. He hadn't known the bugs could get so big, or be pink and green and purple. It was a little alarming when the insects appeared to notice him and gathered above the boy.
Jimmy frowned as he tried to make out the glowing shapes - they seemed not only too big, but not shaped like bugs. In fact, they looked more like little people with wings! Fairies! The realization should have at least startled him, but he could not rouse more than vague interest in the supposedly mythical beings. Curiously, the longer he watched them, the more relaxed he became. The unevenness of the ground was not even noticeable, almost like he was floating.
A snort of breath alerted him to at least one deer just behind him, snuffling nostrils an questing lips brushing the hair on the back of his head. There was a sense of pulling, and the sound of tearing, then jaws grinding. No pain - the deer must be eating grass just behind him. More lips and teeth explored his forehead, his ear, and found grazing. Confused, Jimmy tried to reach back, but one arm would not lift, as if it had been tied down, and the other moved stiffly up until it locked pointing up at the night sky. So strange. His skin looked dark and rough, and as he watched, his arm appeared to lengthen and thin, his fingers spreading and lengthening incredibly. It wasn't until leaves started to sprout from what had been his fingertips that Jimmy recognized the sapling that had been his arm.
More deer came close, and a delicate muzzle pulled at his chin and yanked up a mouthful of grass. Dazed, the boy felt more pulling as the deer grazed, and knew he was somehow becoming part of the meadow. No longer flesh and blood, but grass, flowers, a sapling. And he was not afraid at all - it was different, but so easy and natural. He was part of the woods, part of the land.