Phoenix Maplewood I want to reach a higher place.

SEASHELL #4: Your character discovers fairy circles in an unlikely place.

It smelled sweet here, of all things. Willow didn't know why the air had a honeyed quality to it, only that it was a nice touch. He found himself in the heart of the forest before long — maple trees standing tall and red while the sun beamed down upon it, the sky a brilliant blue where the gaps allowed.
If he could choose any place to live, this was his favorite option so far. As he hiked he thought to himself, Dad would love this place, and further along, when he found what looked to be an abandoned foxhole, he ducked his head in to the opening to investigate and wondered what it might be like to see his baby siblings inside.
Not once did Willow think of himself as the parenting type; he'd put such a distance between himself and that concept (since that was something Liffey had always quietly pushed upon the girls of the family), that the idea of himself as a father (or worse, a mother) was one of his deepest, darkest fears.
But, his siblings would have loved this place.
As he withdrew from the narrow hole, he shook his shoulders and took a deep breath of the maple-sweet air. It was then he noticed an open patch of green nearby. The grass was tall around the base of the trees, but the shadowed core of the field was grazed low - presumably by the resident herd - and there, dotted throughout the grass, were mushrooms in a ring.
Willow's head gave a subtle tilt as curiosity spurred him onwards for investigation.

it didn't take a fairy circle to send chills down his spine upon entering this forest.

memories hovered around him like fog, following his every footfall, whispering in his ear. he found his eyes darting back and forth, looking for others. of course, none of them would be here.

none of them would be here ever again. except for him.

but there was someone ahead; he saw the silvery pelt and slackened his pace, giving a wary chuff before approaching further. could be a ghost, he supposed, but he wasn't that senile. yet.

more likely, just someone drawn to the beauty of this place. . .as he had been.

He slunk towards one of the larger toadstools and gave a cursory sniff. The frills underneath didn't have many spores left, but whatever clung there came loose and immediately, Willow pulled back and sneezed. He felt his chin dip violently and smack himself in the clavicle, and afterwards he stretched his jaw and blinked as his eyes misted over. That was perhaps the most violent sneeze he'd ever had.
Shaking out his shoulders to relieve the resulting tension, Willow looked to the rest of the circle and decided not to get too close. What could cause something like this? It was quite a large circle, and seemed unnatural.
As his vision cleared he saw the shape of a man. This came as another surprise; and almost immediately he thought, did I just summon a wizard?
Uh, hello. Is this your -- circle? What a dumb question! But the man looked like he belonged here.

circle?

he remained silent until he found the way of it, the ring of fungi. his mouth twitched; he looked at the fair woman for a long moment before shaking his head, eyes darting between her and the strange apparition upon the ground.

no, aditya said firmly. no, i've seen things like this before—but not here. not yet, he added, his face caught between wonder and pain.

he ought to have stayed, to see this place in all its forms.

he shouldn't be discovering wonders of the maplewood seasons and seasons after he'd claimed it for his own.