The Huntress and the Swan Boy
A young woman was walking through the forest. She was clad in pelts and carried a small sling in her hand. She has been out in the woods for at least 3 hours by now, hoping to find and kill a large animal, as it would easily feed her family for the next week, though she would mostly find rabbits, but they still would make for good eating. She decided to stop for a bit of rest near some bushes next to a lake. In them she found some berries, and after making sure they are edible, she started eating them and pocketing some for later. It was then that she saw a group of swans flew down from the sky and landed in the lake.
Then the most unexpected thing happened - the swans started to shed their cloaks of feathers and assumed human forms. She watched hidden from behind the bushes and saw them playing in the water. Then she spotted someone on the edge of the group - a beautiful swan boy. He seemed to be of similar age to her, though a bit shorter. He had short brown hair, well-built chest and arms (which made sense to her later, since they would need a lot of upper body strength to fly) and an absolutely delicious butt. She stared at him for a long while, when every swanperson started putting on their cloaks and flew away. She returned from her hunt to her settlement, but she couldn't get that boy out of her mind. So she decided on a clever ruse.
After some time passed, she was walking near the lake again and waited in the bushes. When the strange swan people came down again, she quietly sneaked near their location and swiped the cloak belonging to her swan boy. When the rest of the flock started to fly away, he discovered in horror that his cloak is missing. After a moment of his panicked searching, the huntress walked out of the bushes.
- Hey there - she said
- Aah! - the boy yelled, falling over on the grass. - Who are you? What are you doing there?
- Are you looking for something? - she asked smugly
- Y-yeah, my cloak - he stuttered - How did you find me here?
- Well, I was watching you since you landed here
- W-w-what? - he replied sheepishly, just before his cheeks flushed red and he covered himself with his hands
- Well, you didn't seem to be enjoying yourself out there, so I wanted to meet you - she replied, giggling slightly.
- I mean, I was feeling a bit lonely, even with all the other swans - he responded somewhat melancholicly
- So why won't ytou come with me, try to live amongst humans for a bit? - she asked him
- Hmm... Maybe I'll give it a go - the boy decided - But I still want to find my feathers
- Oh, I actually have it here with me
- What! You thief! Give it back! - he yelled annoyed
Then a sudden noise startled both of them. A large, angry boar was staring at them, seemingly ready to charge. While the huntress knew how to manage wild animals, the swan boy did not, and he started running away, with boar chasing after him. She then picked up a rock from the ground, and she carefully slinged a rock directly into the boar's shoulder, who collapsed into the ground and decided to give off the chase. She later caught up to the swan boy, and he, being grateful for saving his life, decided to move in with her, eventually marrying our huntress.
Their life together was quite a happy one, but after a while she noticed her husband feeling down. She asked him about it, and he admitted to missing the times he soared above the forests and the plains, and he quietly longed for this life, while also not willing to leave his beloved wife. After a lot of brainstorming, they came up with a solution. Every six months, he will revert back to his swan form, and for a month he will live as one, spending the rest of the year with his wife. From then on, for half a year their love continued to prosper, and for that month she waited with longing for her beloved to return, with a nest built on top of their house, so that the beloved swan always had a safe place to rest.