Captain Knuckles8864

The next few days disappeared in a whirlwind of unpacking, restocking, and getting the old tavern cleaned up and ready for opening. Mashirao was kind enough to stop by at the end of each day to lend a hand with some of the heavy lifting. He refused any forms of payment except cups of your homemade tea blends which he had very quickly grown fond of. And every day you begged him to tell you more about the wild side.

Amaranth, you learned, was only newly hatched when he was handed over to Mashirao. The puppy’s words were still garbled and hard to understand but you were getting more meaning out of them with every passing day.

You were standing in the kitchen of your tea shop one late afternoon. Amaranth was once again nestled in your arms as you looked out at the herb garden behind your house, every bush wet with rain. Petrichor mixed with the lingering scent of the oil you had used on the wooden counters. Your fingers ran over Amaranth’s back, gently massaging the sore wing nubs growing under his skin. Amaranth stretched in your arms, letting out a deep sigh. 

A flicker of light under a bush caught your attention. Another appeared, and then another. Soon, a little cluster of lights were hovering close to the ground.

“Fireflies?” you wondered out loud. “Or glow worms?”

Amaranth wiggled in your arms, suddenly alert. “Wanna see!” he squeaked.

Behind you, Mashirao got to his feet, a steaming tea mug in his hands. “What are you seeing?” he asked as he stood next to you.

Settling Amaranth on the deep window sill, you then pointed at the floating lights. 

Mashirao let out a soft exhale, a wide smile spreading on his handsome face. “Congratulations. You’ve seen your first court of faeries. And these are a rare kind.”

You whipped your head around to gawp at him. “Those are faeries?? And… kind. There are more than one kind?”

He grinned at you. “Multiple different courts, yeah! I only really deal with one of them, but I know a little about the others. Each court is usually named after a physical attribute of their faeries. These are from the Luminous Court due to how they glow. They are particularly small from what I understand, and they rarely get this close to human settlements. I assume since the tavern has been empty for months they decided the garden was a safe space to wait out the rain.”

The two of you stood in silence for a moment, watching the faeries light up the dusk. The lights began moving with more purpose, forming a single line. Then they darted from bush to bush, slowly making their way out of your garden. 

You let out a breath you hadn’t been aware of holding in. “Faeries…” you whispered. Then you turned to Mashirao. “Will you tell me about your faeries?”

Mashirao laughed. “They’re not my faeries; if anything I’m their human. Have been since I was a child.”

You kept looking at your garden, hoping to catch another glimpse of the Luminous Court, as Mashirao spoke about his childhood in the neighboring village.

“I spent most of my free time in the fields. I would sit still for hours, just watching, studying nature. I guess the faeries decided that I wasn’t dangerous. They let me pick some of their flowers and I made a few coins selling them at the market.

“One day, one of them came to me for help. Her humming bee had gotten too close to the surface of a puddle and couldn’t get out. And she was too small to help.”

“Humming bee,” you repeated to yourself. “Do they produce honey?”

“They do!” Mashirao replied. “But it’s not fit for human consumption. Spotted bears like it though. The faeries had a huge problem with bears raiding their hives, so we eventually struck up a deal. I got a touch of their magic, I get to pick a few of their flowers and take some of the seeds and bulbs to grow on my own throughout the summer, and I’m on standby to protect their hives during bear season.”

You frowned. Despite having learned to not judge any book by its cover since arriving in Faerie’s Brook, this seemed just a bit too far-fetched to you to be true. “Can you really go up against a bear that easily? Are the bears out here different from the ones in the northern mountains?”

Mashirao laughed. “Sorry, I should have made that clearer! They’re very small, compared to the bears from the northern mountains. The adults are only about twice the size of Amaranth, and they’re pretty calm so they usually aren’t a problem for humans; they tend to run as soon as I show up. But the faeries are much smaller, to the point where dealing with just one spotted bear is a dangerous undertaking.”

“What happens if they don’t run?” you asked.

“I carry them back to the woods. They’re not very smart, and they’re so busy licking honey off their chops that they’ve forgotten all about the actual hive by the time I set them back down. At most I get a scratch or two from their hind claws, but the faeries can heal those in no time.”

“And you said the faeries asked you to take care of Amaranth? Is he too big for them?”

Mashirao nodded. “They got him as an egg, and cared for him once he hatched. But I think they always knew that once he started moving around he’d be too much for them to handle. So they put him in my care.” Reaching out to scratch Amaranth behind an ear, Mashirao continued, “He’s like a little brother at this point. He’s a pain in my rear at times, but I love having him around. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Amaranth leaned into Mashirao’s touch, brown eyes closing. “Luv you too,” he squeaked. Then he turned his attention back to the garden.

Your heart beat faster. The scene in front of you was almost too cute to handle. You struggled to continue your original train of thought. “Where did the faeries get him?” you eventually asked. “Is it normal for faeries to raise dragon pups?”

Mashirao’s features darkened. “No. It’s not. They got his egg from a group of poachers.”

You felt an unpleasant chill down your spine. This was not how you had imagined the conversation going. “Oh no… I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have--”

He turned to face you, forcing a smile. “Don’t apologize, you couldn’t know. But it’s something you need to be aware of so I might as well tell you now. Dragon poachers are a problem around the border. The eggs, egg shells, bones, scales, all of them are valuable magic ingredients. Some people treat them like collectors’ items. The dragons don’t nest around here, but we occasionally get poachers traveling through the area. They had a bad turn of luck running into a faerie court, and they got rightly disposed of. Faeries don’t take kindly to poachers of any kind.”

“Wait, hold on…” The new pieces of information had two burning questions rising in your mind, and you couldn’t figure out which one was more important to ask first. Mashirao waited patiently as you got your thoughts in order.

“You say dragon poachers, not dragon pup poachers… are they the same thing or different species?”

Mashirao sighed. “This is the worst part. They’re different species, but their nests and eggs look so similar even experts have trouble telling them apart. The poachers go for any type of dragon, most types have at least some use to them. But seeing how dragon pups aren’t true dragons, they’re the exception. Amaranth’s nest was raided for no reason. His was the only egg that was still viable when the faeries got to it. His siblings died for no reason.”

Mashirao’s voice cracked. You reached out, gently rubbing his shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” you said, unsure what else to say.

He just nodded. 

The two of you kept silent for a moment, just looking at the one surviving dragon pup. Amaranth seemed wholly unbothered by the conversation, his full attention still on your garden.

You drew in a breath. “Can I ask another question?”

“Sure,” Mashirao responded. “We need to get through this subject so we can talk about more pleasant things.”

“If the faeries can ‘dispose’ of human poachers, why can’t they deal with the bears?”

Mashirao grinned wryly. “The poachers ran into the Vespula Court - the wasp court. They have venomous stingers. I believe they could deal with bears if needed, but they don’t keep humming bees so I don’t think the bears ever bother them.”

You hesitated for a moment, but you couldn’t keep your curiosity in check. “They’re venomous?”

“The only venomous court from what I know,” Mashirao replied. “I don’t know much about it, other than that it drives the victims mad enough to attack whatever is around them. It’s… I’ve never seen it myself, but I’ve heard that it’s horrifying to watch.”

You pressed your lips together, trying your best to keep your next question silent. It was rude, it was unnecessary, you really shouldn’t ask. But it almost seemed like Mashirao could read your mind.

“You’re wondering if I’m worried about my own safety since I spend so much time with the faeries, aren’t you?” The question was asked with a soft smile.

You nodded, looking away.

Mashirao chuckled. “Don’t worry, I get asked that a lot. And the answer is no. I’m genuinely not worried. The faerie courts are peaceful towards humans as a whole. We benefit from each other. And since I have no plans on becoming a poacher or otherwise bringing discord to their courts, I don’t have anything to fear.”

You hummed, thinking about all the new information. Then you spoke up again, deciding on a lighter topic. “The faeries we just saw were the Luminous Court. And there’s the Vespula Court. What court are your faeries from?”

“The Twilight Court,” Mashirao replied, “due to their wings bearing the colors of twilight as they say.”

The sound of running water grew ever louder. Pebbles shifted under your feet as you walked. Ahead of you, Mashirao held up a low-hanging branch, waiting for you to duck under it. 

“It’s just around the bend,” he said as you passed him.

You nodded, walking on. But you stopped in your tracks once reaching the bend in the path, breath torn away from you at the beauty of the scene. 

A wide expanse opened up before you. Mashirao had led you to a big, crystal clear lake, splitting the forest in two. A cliff blocked your view to one side, a waterfall flowing into the lake from the top. The air around the falling water shimmered in the sunlight.

“This…” you said, trying to force your mouth to work again, your mind still busy trying to take in everything. “This is…”

“Told you it was beautiful, didn’t I?” Mashirao laughed. Then he gently grabbed you by the shoulders, pointing towards the waterfall. “Looks like we made it just in time!”

You turned your attention back to the waterfall. At first you saw nothing but the shimmer of water drops in sunlight. But then the shimmer moved. Or rather, it seemed like something almost invisible, frail like spider’s silk, moved through the water drops. The mist settled on a long face, leaf-shaped ears flicking away drops of moisture. The creature stopped once she was fully drenched in the mist, snorted, then shook herself, flinging a rainbow into the air.

You couldn’t help but gasp. “A mist mare,” you whispered.

She heard you. Standing still for a long moment, head turned partly towards you, she gazed at you with one invisible eye. Then, deciding that you weren’t a threat, she snorted again, slowly moving into the lake. You almost lost sight of her when she entered the shadow; the only sign was the water parting around her body as she moved. Then she disappeared with a splash.

“Oh,” you sighed, disappointed. “She’s gone.”

“She’ll be back,” Mashirao ensured you. “The mist mares are too curious to scare away easily. Do you still want to swim?”

With the mist mare gone, you became painfully aware of how close Mashirao was. He still had one hand on your upper arm, his chest pressed against your shoulders. You could feel the heat radiating off him. Face flushed, you nodded, unsure if you could keep your voice even. Cooling off in the water sounded like a great idea.

Leaving your shoes and bags with towels and snacks at the far end of the lake, the two of you waded into the water, cold enough to make your skin prickle. But it was a refreshing contrast to the early summer heat.

“Don’t go farther than the middle,” Mashirao warned. “The current gets stronger the closer you get to the waterfall.”

You swam for a while, the water feeling warmer as you kept moving. When you were ready for a break, you moved towards the shore and Mashirao. 

Just as you had gotten close enough to the shore to be able to wade, something brushed up against your leg, pulling at your skin. Letting out a shriek of terror, you threw yourself towards Mashirao, throwing your arms around his neck. Mashirao wrapped his arms tightly around you to stabilize you.

“Something touched me!” you cried.

Mashirao just chuckled. “Told you they were curious. Look behind you.”

You turned in his arms, looking over your shoulder. Water drops hovered in the air in the shape of a long, leaf-eared face. A mist mare -you couldn’t tell if she was the same one from earlier- had poked her head out of the water, looking at you. She almost seemed offended that you had screamed.

Slowly, you reached out your hand towards the mare, offering her your palm. She moved closer, pressing her muzzle in your palm, mouthing at your fingers with rough lips. Then she decided that you weren’t interesting, and returned to the water.

Next to you, Mashirao let out a breath. “You handled that pretty well, all considered.”

It was only then you realized that you were quite literally in Mashirao’s arms. And it seemed that Mashirao realized at the same moment, judging by his deep blush when the two of you pulled away from each other.

But every time you peeked at him on the walk home, he had a soft smile on his face, a smile that only grew brighter whenever he caught your gaze.

Feelings slowly grew between you and Mashirao over the next few weeks. He seemed less shy about casual touches, he complimented you more freely. And you often found him reaching for your hands when walking next to you. You found yourself smiling wider when thinking about him, and returned every touch and compliment in full.

Mashirao led you by the hand down a path just outside the village. A waning moon peeked over the horizon, bathing everything in a slanted silver glow. 

“Are you ready to meet the faeries?” he asked for what felt like the tenth time that night.

You laughed at his fervor. “Yes! For the umpteenth time, yes!”

Tonight was the night of the summer meteor shower, lovingly nicknamed the ‘star sprinkle’ by the locals. Mashirao had told you that the meteor shower was sacred to the faeries from the Court of Twilight. They believed that during this night the moon goddess left her home in the sky, descending to the ground to visit the graves of her loved ones, her tears leaving streaks on the night sky. Mashirao had a standing invitation to join the Court of Twilight for their solemn worship, and he had decided to extend that invitation to you.

The flowers on the field in front of you blinked with pinpricks of light; lanterns, Mashirao had told you, to guide the moon goddess on her journey. Leading you down the path winding through the flowers, Mashirao stopped at a dark spot in the sea of light, just big enough for the two of you.

“This is our spot,” he said, gently stepping onto the grass as the first meteorite streaked across the sky.

You laid together silently on the blanket Mashirao had brought, your fingers intertwined, Mashirao continuously running his thumb over the back of your hand as you watched the sky. 

A lantern blinked on in your peripheral vision. Then a tiny voice sounded, “The Moon Goddess weeps tonight. Have you come to pay your respect to her too?”

Turning your head, you looked at the small, humanoid creature in the flower, purple butterfly-like wings lit by the pearl-shaped lantern. The faerie met your gaze with glowing, orange eyes.

“May she find solace,” you replied, just like Mashirao had taught you.

The faerie nodded, returning her gaze to the sky. You did the same.

“May she find solace,” Mashirao echoed next to you. Then he shifted closer, squeezing your hand. “You did good,” he whispered into your ear.

His breath ghosting over your skin made you shiver. 

“Cold?” he asked, making you shiver again.

“Yeah, a bit,” you lied, scooting closer to him, leaning your head against his shoulder.

Mashirao let out a grunt which, you’d learned over the past few weeks, meant that you’d managed to fluster him once again. But you’d also learned from a little bit of trial and error that he didn’t mind getting flustered. This was confirmed when he gently lifted your entwined hands, pressing his lips to the back of your thumb.

“So? What do you think?”

You could barely keep yourself from bouncing as you walked home, once again hand in hand with Mashirao. “Oh, it was beautiful!”

He chuckled. “Not as beautiful as you.” He hesitated for a moment, then spoke up again, “Do you think you’ll come next year too? The faeries should know you better by then.”

You stopped, turning to look at him. “We’re already making plans for next year? I mean of course I’ll come! As long as you want me to…”

Mashirao’s smile grew soft. “I hope to have you in my life for quite a few years to come.” Reaching up, he cupped your cheek in his free hand, running his thumb over your skin. “I’ve never felt about anybody the way I feel about you. I feel so fortunate that you picked my village for your tea shop.” 

His thumb moved lower, brushing over your parted lips. “Is this okay,” he asked, suddenly sounding uncertain. “I can stop if--”

“It’s more than okay!” you interjected, wrapping your arms around his neck. “Please don’t stop.”

Mashirao gave you one of his brilliant smiles. Then he leaned in to kiss you.

One year after moving to Faerie’s Brook, you found yourself in front of your bedroom mirror, marvelling at the short, curled horns peeking through your hair. They had begun growing only a few months after arriving, though it took you a while longer to realize why your scalp was constantly sore. Mashirao had theorized that your horns began growing so quickly due to your willingness to accept the wild side.

“You’re admiring them again.”

Mashirao came up behind you, arms circling your waist, and pressed a kiss to one of your horns.

You turned in his embrace to grin at him. “They’re something to admire! They make me feel like I’ve been truly accepted by the wild side, how could I not marvel at them?”

Mashirao hugged you tighter. “You’re a marvel.”

You felt a paw press against your thigh. Looking down you saw Amaranth standing on his high legs, stubby vermillion wings spread out to help him balance.

The dragon pup met your gaze. “Me too! I wanna hug too!”

You giggled as Mashirao let you go, bending over to pick up Amaranth. “You’re getting too big for this,” he huffed.

“Am not!” Amaranth shot back. “I’ll never be too big to--” He abruptly stopped, letting out a strangled sound. “Haaah…”

Mashirao’s face fell. “Oh no. Not now.”

“Haaaaah…”

You knew what was about to happen and quickly backed out of the way. Mashirao shifted his grip on Amaranth, hurrying over to your bedroom fireplace, kicking the grate out of the way and shoving the dragon pups snout into the flue.

“Hachoo!!”

A roar of fire followed Amaranth’s sneeze, finished with an odd popping sound as the fireball exited the chimney. Amaranth sniffed.

“‘Scuse me,” he said, voice echoing through the chimney.