#ironheartedfae

It was late afternoon to early evening, the sun still just enough in the sky to coat the distant parts of the forest in soft blue hues while simultaneously setting the taller trees ablaze in fiery yellow light. Gael opted to take them to the Pines near Deersprings, someplace they could still walk to and from reliably - she still had as much energy as he had, for sure, so long as he was allowed to pause on occasion on the off-chance that his back would act up apropos of nothing. She was more than accommodating again, as she usually was, which was one of the many things he appreciated about her. Their relationship had only improved since their last picnic and Gael was rather hoping that they could turn this into a regular event; something to feel normal, something that was allowed to just happen and not only on special occasions when she’d earned it. The trip had been similar to last time, with each of them pointing things out to the other, though Gael felt another unfamiliar tug of something on his insides. It was sparse, almost like the twinge of an aching bone that you couldn’t quite place but it was there nonetheless. He wasn’t sure he could explain it, either, which he found frustrating. He’d so far been successful in staving off Ren’s questions pertaining to anything particularly unusual about his disorder. Condition. Disorder. Injury? He wasn’t sure what to call it but the longer he thought about it, the more nothing seemed to fit. There wasn’t anything wrong, that was the main thing he wanted to convey. The last thing he wanted was to worry the young fae with whatever was going on with him. They’d already exchanged an unspoken promise between each other that they’d do what they could to help but she already had so much to worry about, so many things to discover and learn and experience. Gael had started to experience the occasional, small twinge of melancholy at the thought that she would live so much longer than him, especially given that they were twenty years apart already and he couldn’t guarantee when this brain injury. Disorder. Condition… Injury. Disorder? Would flare up and cause actual problems. There wasn’t anything quite like becoming close with someone who had the potential to outlast you by several decades; was this how parents felt with their kids? All of this stayed nicely inside that little injured (or disordered) head of his, though and Gael reacted to everything Ren showed him with the same level of gentle enthusiasm as he always had. He packed more apple juice and ignored the sensation that pulsed through him on occasion to just… take her head in his hands and nuzzle their foreheads together affectionately. Or run off to chase some scent that wafted by his nose. He was being ridiculous. “You think here would be okay?” He asked lightly, pausing in a small clearing that had relatively flat terrain, leaves littering the ground and with rays from the sun beaming through. The area looked picturesque, really and he glanced down at Ren with his eyebrows raised though his expression was asking the same question. 

—

Another trip out into the woods, another day of that light and airy feeling floating through Ren's body making them feel almost human. Gael was good at that. The nymph still wasn't sure what to call…whatever this was. Friendship, sure. But every day the kind man spent teaching the young fae more things, taking the time to explain things that weren't quite accessible to her, going out of his way to care for her in a way no one ever had before… it was more than that, wasn't it? Closer to what Darya should have been. Perhaps the biggest lesson Gael imparted. 

The term mentor rolled around in Ren's mind. 

It was one she had attributed to the warden who raised her. Mother had been a term earned. Because it denoted a closeness that the older woman maybe never wanted in the first place. The experiment was supposed to forge a weapon, not a family. Hunters rarely had normal familial structures as it was. Throw in their natural enemy, and you have a recipe for distance. 

Gael didn't do that. Didn't make Ren compete for affection. For basic needs that the young girl had long convinced herself she didn't really need, no matter the toll that took on her psyche. Every day spent together with the chemistry professor was undoing a little of that damage, bit by bit. 

The little red head looked up and around, wide eyed as always, but with a lopsided smile just barely splitting her lips enough to show teeth. “Yes, this is lovely.” And it was. A whole different spectacle from the one they had shared the other day. The pines shaded the clearing, but not so much that it could be considered dark. It was comforting. “I can set up the blanket this time!” 

—

She looked up at him and he reciprocated her small smile with his own. “I think that’d be great.” He nodded, encouraging her thoughts and what she wanted to do - he’d set everything up last time as she excitedly buzzed around the field, with a weight of expectation that they’d have to talk about heavy subjects that needed to be addressed. He didn’t want this time to be like last time. What Gael felt like he needed to tell her kept getting caught in his throat, locking his joints, filling him with an uncharacteristic sense of anxiety. He wanted to talk about the things he knew, the things he actually was. He wanted to share his experiences and stories with her, things to serve as lessons and entertainment, things she could use to apply to her own life to better prepare her for the aspects of being human. Like he was. …Right? Gael handed her the blanket that was rolled up under his arm and he took another opportunity to glance around the clearing, closing his eyes as his other senses absorbed the sounds and smells of nature. Two birds chittering to each other behind them until a third showed up, chasing the first one away. A twig finally fell away from the branch it was clinging to and fell to the ground softly. Churned dirt from a creature burrowing at the base of a tree. His heartbeat. Her heartbeat. He didn’t want this to be like last time. “I brought a couple of different drinks this time.” He decided to fill the air with small talk as he pulled the basked off from where it was looped on his arm. “Got some water and apple juice but I also brought some grape juice.” He raised his eyebrows. “It just tastes good with meat and bread. I think you’d like it.” Because this was so important that she know that.

—

There was a pep to the redhead’s stride that only grew with each outing. Ren nodded enthusiastically then grabbed the pack and started unloading. Carefully and methodically, like each decision mattered. The direction of the blanket, how evenly it laid. A picture perfect picnic was on the line, and she wanted to make sure she delivered. 

“Do they have juices for every fruit?” She asked, incredulous. “That seems like such of an effort, truly.” And grapes were so small! How many did they need to juice to get the same amount as an apple? Truly a modern wonder. Humans thought of the strangest things when they had time to do so. Time spent living instead of training to be a protector, a shield, being honed into a knife.  

With the blanket just-so, Ren sat in her corner of it. Criss-cross. Not a very advantageous seating position. Too much room for a slipup or clumsy mistake if she had to suddenly stand. A show of how comfortable she was here, with him. Of how comfortable she had become because of him. “This is good. I like this place very muchly, sky guy.” 

— 

“Would you believe me if I told you ‘pretty much’?” Gael smiled as he observed her placing the blanket down. There was a system to it, a clear vision that he obviously held in her mind as she did so - everything had a place, an artistic expression of what she pictured to be idyllic. He watched her, though, with the pride of seeing her do something because she thought it looked nice rather than necessity. She finished and sat in the spot she normally sat at and Gael gave her a light round of applause - not too loud, but also not false and empty. “Bravo, it’s beautiful.” He praised, gesturing to it. “I couldn’t have done a better job if I tried.” Which wasn’t untrue; she obviously put more thought into it than he did. He was just there to enjoy it with her, however she wanted to enjoy it. Carefully, he sat down near her, finding his own spot most comfortable when he was sitting to her left, as he did before, as he did on the bed the first night and even the couch sometimes. Once he was sitting, Gael himself stretched his legs in front of him before loosely crossing them at the ankles as he was wont to do when he was perfectly comfortable; it was easier, once they were actually engaging in the picnic, to attempt to calm down from the strange pulses of energy that ran its fingers up his spine with unease. “I like it, too.” He said, reaching into the basket as he started to pull one of their three thermoses from it. As he did so, however, his head turned instinctively to face the dappled trees, though he couldn't’ have been sure why. Was it a smell? Had he thought he heard something? He shook his head and turned back to what he was doing. “So! You wanna try the grape juice? Or are you feelin’ something else right now?” He asked, turning his dark eyes to her now, an eyebrow quirking faintly.

—

Wicked's Rest had dulled Ren's senses. There were enough fae and fae related things around that her skin had a near constant hum to it. The bells so many others talked so highly of, they were something the young nymph loathed. With the cu-sith following her around… well it was harder to tell when it was than when it wasn't.  Plus, the girl was distracted. Playing human with Gael. Pretending to be something she wasn't. 

So much so that he noticed something before she did. His head turned and she was far too focused on the picnic. On the basket. On the joy the day had in store for them. As… whatever it was they were to each other. Ren didn't know how to quantify it, wasn't sure it was a good idea to put a name to something when she hardly knew what it was. 

"I will try this graped juice." Ren had gotten pretty good at trying new things lately. Thanks, no doubt, to Gael's gentle guiding hand and words of encouragement. "While you are getting this I could… arrange the sandwiches?" A smile had rooted itself between her right and left cheek. Between dimples and frosted with freckles. Feeling almost as picture perfect as the day had been so far. 

The young fae busied herself with the basket for a moment, but found her hand coming back with a splinter instead of a sandwich. "Oh sugar." A non-swear she'd picked up somewhere and added to her lexicon a lot more frequently than the sentence enhancers or emfasis that Conor man had tried to teach her. Fuck, had it's own place. 

Right in between the perfect day, and the large lupine monster that ricocheted out of the bushes. Spurred on by the scent of spilled fae blood. The cu-sith didn't stop to ask what had caused it. It had been watching from the sidelines for too long. Trying to figure out the man's intentions with the young nymph she had taken a liking to. She smelled blood and it made her see red. 

The wolf moved so much faster than she should have been able to at her size. Ren reeled, shocked by the sudden shape towering over her. Growling at Gael as if he'd mauled the girl, rather than her giving herself a very tiny scratch. 

"No! Get away, you horrible thing!" Ren pushed back against the animal, who only turned to growl at her too. As if to say that she knows best. 

—

“Grape juice it is.” Gael nodded and motioned to the basket with his head. “Go for it, I’ll pour you some.” He was fuzzy. It was the warm, good type of fuzzy, reserved normally for seeing cute things, feeling a pleasant sensation on your skin or hearing the precisely correct tune. He knew it wasn’t quite comparable to something Ariana had remarked feeling before, but it was still a feeling of content that he liked to hang onto when he experienced it.

And yet, underneath it all he felt a small measure of… uncertainty. It wasn’t obvious, but rather it gave Gael the impression that they were being watched and while the man didn’t inherently mind feeling eyes on him - again, if he couldn’t handle it then he should’ve picked a different profession - this time it felt… scrutinizing. And not altogether human. He felt almost as though they were being stalked by an animal but the sensation was so minute, so easily dissuaded by the logic in his mind telling him that surely she would’ve noticed before he did if they were, considering her set of survival skills that he didn’t entertain that thought for very long. The smell of blood accompanied with Ren’s quiet non-expletive greeted his senses and Gael paused in what he was doing, glancing over. “Ah, you get a splinter?” He asked, not worried at it at all and if what he’d gotten to know about her was true, she probably didn’t think much of it, either. “Yeah, these old-fashioned picnic baskets can be–” An instinct, an animal part of him reacted by cutting his sentence short as sights and smells that decidedly didn’t belong to the girl crashed into them, literally and rhetorically. His body moved for him, barely having time to close the thermos as he made a motion to get close to Ren when it was cut short and instead of seeing her immediately, he was greeting with the snarling visage of a massive (and he meant massive; easily the size of a bull), hound-shaped creature that glared at him with piercing green eyes as it stood protectively over the entomid. Gael felt a wave of fear seizing his muscles, seeming to threaten to cause his freeze response to activate - how had he not heard it? How was it so fast for something its size? Was he insufficient, not as good at using his strange ‘skills’ as he thought? These wonders raced through his mind as adrenaline forced itself through his body, keeping him just mobile enough but the fear of freezing was still very real and it probably would’ve worked had the fae’s voice not cut through his thoughts, prompting both him and the hound to look at her. The fear, while still very present but not for himself, morphed into something else when the hound took to growling at Ren instead. “Hey! Eyes on me!” He barked at the large beast, his brow furrowing as his eyes narrowed. “I suppose you’re the cu-sith I’ve been told about, right Ren?” He asked, his voice clear and commanding as he looked at the hound but was obvious he was speaking to both of them.

—

There was a seismic undercurrent to each of the beast's steps. It was so large it couldn't help but knock things over or crush them. Sandwiches were squashed, the basket was in pieces. The cu-sith unintentionally slaying the thing that had hurt the fae despite being much more fixated on the tiny shouting human who didn't smell human at all. Wasn't fae. That's all that mattered to her. 

She had been so agitated lately. More than the stress and anger it normally carried in its chest, she was furious with no direction. Ready to snap her jaws at anything and everything. When the fae child protested the cu-sith whirled around, her hungry maw dripping with anxious slobber. She picked up Ren by the scruff of her jacket. Thankfully the teeth cleared her skin, but it pulled the fabric so tightly around her neck that she was nearly choking by the time the beast got her in the air. 

Ren scrambled, clawing at the shirt but finding no purchase. Frantically, she reached out toward Gael, toward her backpack that held her knives. She couldn't even scream or try and ask the cu-sith to back off. And it didn't even realize the damage it was doing. Thinking only of a petulant pup that needed to be brought back to their den. Seemingly done with Gael it simply turned, starting to carry the nymph off like she was her's. Possessive. Determined. And yet…Tired. 

—

   For a moment, Gael thought that this massive creature, the snarling, dripping form of rippling muscles underneath plantlike skin could be reasoned with. Ren had described her as intelligent, without the ability to speak but with a capacity to understand, if only when it came from the small fae. That moment was there and gone in a heartbeat though as the cu–sith had picked Ren up by her jacket, not unlike a mother to a stubborn child and didn’t regard Gael further before it turned and got the impression that that was that. With the next heartbeat his vision, the snapshot of Ren helplessly being spirited away by a monstrously large hound, was awash in red. More adrenaline shot through his body, accompanied with that unfamiliar feeling that occasionally pulsed in his veins, weaving itself around his extremities. As it did, the sound of bones popping rang through the air like firecrackers and without waiting another heartbeat, Gael launched himself at the bull-sized beast. “I said, eyes on me!” The command was guttural, tearing itself from his throat like a cement block being dragged across concrete and yet it was loud as his body collided against the cu-sith’s. As Gael’s vision was unfocused and his mind was filled with one directive and only one directive - Protect Ren - he could still make out the dreaded familiarity of seeing his arms covered in thick sable fur, his fingers elongated and adorned with shiny black claws that dug into the cu-sith’s side in a swipe as he himself fell over, not even sure if he knocked the cu-sith from her path but if it didn’t work, he’d try again. His brain flooded with rage at the audacity of the hound, the primal urge to take what wasn’t rightfully hers away from him, away from herself, deciding what was best for her without any regard. The cu-sith might’ve been angry, but he was, too; that was his pup she was taking. —

Ren dangled helplessly as the cu-sith attempted an escape only to be cut off by– by… Gael. The nymph's vision was blurred, hazy from the sudden lack of oxygen getting to her brain, sure. But that was him. That was her Gael, sprinting full speed towards the moss covered wolf, looking rather… wolfy himself. Bursting at the seams as bones rearranged and a beast in its own right took his place. The werewolf, because that's what it had to be– slammed into the cu-sith. Hard. It sent the creature sideways, having to dig its claws deep into the earth to remain upright. 

There was a weightless dizzy moment of shock as the cu-sith shook its jaws, loosening its grip for a second so it could find better purchase. But Ren didn't have a leafy layer of stretchy fur at the back of her neck. She was a scrawny kid at best. And a twig thin bug at worst. This time it hit skin and drew blood. Which only seemed to confuse and infuriate the beast further. It dumped Ren off to the side and complied fully with Gael's command. 

All eyes on you. It seemed to say. She lowered herself, standing defiant between the werewolf and the pup they quarreled after. A desperation in her eyes as she was sure the other beast was going to hurt the little one. Not on her watch. Not again. A low rumbling growl reverberated through the glen. A sure-fire sign that something else was about to emerge. Ren, dirty and bloodied, shouted as loud as her hoarse throat would allow, begging Gael to get out of the way. 

A cu-sith's bark could be a hell of a lot worse than its bite. 

—

The professor (because that’s still all he was, right?) scrambled to his feet, kicking up leaves and dirt as he stood slightly hunched once he did. Arms that were too long for a reasonable human hung in front of him, quivering claws that dripped with blood twitching as brown eyes that seemed partially filled with gold stared down the creature. Gael felt pain coming from his hands, his head, his spine, muscles having been stretched, bones broken apart and put back together, organs slightly rearranged inside of him as he lingered in an uncanny valley of body parts - a human torso and head with Frankensteinian additions from a completely separate creature haphazardly glued to him. He also felt pain as he saw the cu-sith carelessly drop Ren, the smell of her blood reaching his nose again. The scent, Ren’s scent, and how she was unceremoniously thrown aside sparked inside his brain and he was similarly incensed, wanting nothing more than to lunge again and tear the beast to pieces. …He didn’t, though. He wanted to, he felt the sensation pumping through him, urging him to do what he could to incapacitate and hurt and dissuade the cu-sith from hurting Ren anymore and leave her alone. But he didn’t. Instead, Gael’s head tilted and he looked over at the fae’s crumpled form on the ground as the latter shouted at him to move. In that moment, he wanted so badly to attack the cu-sith again out of some animalistic instinct to protect his pup, the kid that wasn’t even his either by birth, adoption or otherwise - how could he claim ownership over someone else like that in any instance other than this one was a question for a more intellectual mind. He wanted to but he didn’t. For now, Gael was able to discern her instructions among the blood that pounded in his ears and he listened. He moved, but it wasn’t quite in the direction he himself was expecting. He moved down. 

Down onto all fours, before down onto his stomach. Down in submission, not rolling over but also not making himself appear as big as his fur-covered limbs wanted him to. It took effort; he wanted to use the position to spring forward, use the ground as an anchor to throw his weight at the hound. He felt his head burning with anger, fury, rage. Common sense felt fickle, a thought in his mind that was threatening to be ripped to shreds. But he didn’t. He moved down. Gael would take whatever the cu-sith wanted to do to him to establish dominance, just… “Please don’t hurt my girl.” He said slowly, knowing full well that the cu-sith could hear him as well as he could’ve heard himself from that distance. His voice still carried a growl to it, low and scratching as though it should’ve been spoken through a mouthful of larger teeth but it wasn’t, it just came from him. All the while, he kept the two-tone eyes on Ren’s diminutive frame, his expression wide and afraid but not for himself.

—

The bursting bark had been building in the cu-sith’s chest. A sudden rush of air and sound exploded forth. Almost enough to rival a banshee’s wail, but deeper, darker. A rumble and crack like thunder rippling overhead. A bolt of lightning crashing next to you could’ve been quieter. Less painful. But she didn’t aim it directly at the werewolf. The cu-sith was still awash with righteous fury, but she was clever enough to notice when a change in the dynamic occurred. Her massive head tilted upward, releasing the sonic blast away from the man, away from the kid. Still enough to leave their ears ringing for sure, but not enough to hurt in the way it might have if directed more specifically. 

Green eyes studied the werewolf. Chuffing and growling, she began pacing around him. Leaving just enough of a window that Ren could scoot through, rushing to Gael’s side where she threw her arms around him. Holding tightly as she could, trying her best to be a shield. Either not stopping long enough to notice all the changes, or not caring about them half as much as she cared about the person behind the fur and teeth. 

Ren huddled over Gael, too scared to look behind her. Too scared that the cu-sith was going to do something she couldn’t protect him from because she was too small, too weak. “Please.” The nymph begged, hoping it was enough to dissuade her. “Do not hurt him– Please do not– hurt each other–” Her mind was racing about a thousand miles per hour faster than normal. Her heart was trying its best to keep up. Ideas that were half-formed at best pushed forward, rising to the surface. “It is okay– he is good he is– папочка to me.” 

The cu-sith snuffled at the air. A droning rumble filled her chest, but not the same as before. She was confused  by the girl’s actions. At the apparent misunderstanding she had. And maybe, just maybe, a little relieved too. Because apparently, she wanted the same thing as the werewolf. Wanted to keep the small one safe. The creature on the ground was wise to show deference, but she could recognize the power it held too. Power enough to protect. 

The kit had a way of throwing herself into danger that the beast didn’t like. When she had followed the child into the woods that day she was sure this was another trap. Something she’d have to rescue the pup from. Her ears were still pinned back as she stepped closer, eyeing the way the diminutive frame tried to put herself between her and the other. Worried, perhaps, at the fear she seemed to have inspired in the young fae. That was never the creature's intention. She just thought she knew best for the pup but—

There was a reverence in his actions. One she could respect. Not only was the werewolf strong, he was smart. And maybe that was enough. Maybe the man who was not just a man could walk among the humans and protect the pup whenever she was near. Her massive head drooped. A less angry growl still at her lips as she nudged Gael’s face with her muzzle. Nosing her way in between so she could lick at Ren’s cheek, at the tears that streaked down. Then repeated the gesture on the man, as if to say “Take care of her.” 

— 

He had fully anticipated a form of retaliation, finding that he had kept his body low to the ground but still agile enough that should the cu-sith turn and regard Ren once more, Gael would’ve been on the back of the beast with little else in his static-filled brain. Even now, as the hound threw its head back and released a wailing, howling bark into the sky, piercing his eardrums and making his head spin, part of him still wanted to take advantage of the lack of eyes on him, relinquish… whatever he was actively fighting against and bury his face in the neck of the creature. No. Instead, he flinched, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end as the howl sent a ripple of fear through his system. A different part of him wanted to grab Ren and flee, run as fast as his legs could carry him as far as they could but instead of either fighting or flying, instead he stood his ground (relatively speaking), pushing his torso up on his elongated arms with a grimace that stemmed from multiple entry points of pain. The cu-sith lowered her head once more and the two stared at each other, green and brown and amber all observant of one another. Gael’s thoughts were dulled, his senses being filled with the smell of Ren’s blood, the ringing in his ears from the cu-sith’s howl, his mind undecided on what it wanted to do. And through all of that, he felt Ren’s arms around him. And he felt his body autonomously move and those long, twisted, inhuman limbs shook violently for a few moments, clawing at the ground as they wanted to rip apart the thing that touched him– No, it was Ren. His head, still humanoid, still Gael, leaned forward and he buried his nose in Ren’s curly hair, inhaling deeply, absorbing her scent. It was Ren. 

The arms covered in sable fur with the shining black claws released the handfuls of dirt and grass that they’d scraped up. He leaned forward, still regarding the massive hound warily as Ren was trying to express her thoughts coherently, using some words he didn’t understand regardless of what the situation was. Whatever she said, muddied in his mind though it was, seemed to have gotten through to the cu-sith, at least, and the bull-sized dog approached them now. Instinctively, Gael started to growl himself, a low, involuntary thing that was there and gone as the cu-sith nosed into him, nudging his head aside so she could lick the fae. Then she licked him. A massive, warm tongue against his face with a softness previously unseen or felt from anything about the cu-sith. “..I know.” He replied quietly. “I care about her, too.” It was a guess; the hound wasn’t apologizing, but even though Ren wasn’t his child biologically, he still felt a fierce protection towards her. It was deep, much deeper than almost anything else he’d felt before. It was catching his nephew before the latter drove out into the road on his little bicycle. It was helping a stranger’s daughter go down the escalator when she got separated from them, crying as she was by herself. It was holding Ren in his arms that night she cried to him, showing him what she was but with him only seeing who she was, who she could become. The cu-sith, in her own way, felt that way towards Ren as well. Protection in the way she knew how. Parental in a way Gael had never been but could try his hardest to. Slowly, very carefully, one of the gnarled, clawed hands reached up and wrapped itself around Ren, fingers ever-so-gently resting on her shoulder. He smelled her, he heard her, he touched her. She was there, and Gael could be, too.

—

The apogee of uncertainty had passed. The cu-sith stared sidelong at the pair, deciding her place was back on the trails, back deeper in the woods, still searching for something. Unknowing of how to convey it to anyone, only to prowl and protect what she could. She padded away, only turning once she crossed the threshold of the woodline. Loosing a low rumbling warning, as if to say she’d be checking in. And if anything happened, well. Gael’s imagination could fill the gaps. 

Ren didn’t turn to watch her leave. Didn’t lift her head from the spot buried into the crook of Gael’s neck where she could hear his heart beating heavy in his chest. Could feel the radiating warmth. The word had come out, half tumbled and in a different language but the sentiment was there long before. In stories, fathers were protectors. Were caretakers and could kindly watch over someone. Fathers were a source of love and strength. Both of which the young nymph drew from Gael, despite the lack of a biological connection it rivaled the bond of the woman who had raised her. 

Gael didn’t just take her in from the rain. He showed the young kid what it meant to be loved unconditionally. Something that was just… impossible before. Her mind twisted up excuses for Darya’s behavior in the love she still carried for the woman, but she didn’t have to do that with him. Just being around the professor made her feel at home. Made her feel real. Like she was a kid and not a weapon. A person and not a shield. 

“Are you okay?” Her voice was tiny, but his hearing was good. Ren nuzzled in closer somehow. Still not quite willing to give up the spot. Like if she let go, somehow the problems would come back. Somehow he’d be hurt and she’d be alone again. It was becoming increasingly clear that the nymph never wanted to be alone again. Even if she didn’t know what that really meant for her. For her past. For the uncertain future that stretched out for so long ahead of her. Ahead of them. “Are you– are you, you?” 

—

The humanoid didn’t take his amber-swirled brown eyes off of the cu-sith until she had physically disappeared from view. And still, even then, Gael could feel that urge, that anger pulling on him. He breathed heavily through his nose with the exertion of it, feeling his fingers wanting to tighten on the material on Ren’s back. Part of his brain told him that there was still danger so long as the cu-sith was free to walk. That some part of Ren would– No, she wouldn’t. Gael remembered her scent, feeling her against him. He clung to those sensations as tightly as she hung onto him, pressing her head into him, feeling her diminutive, trembling frame under an oppressively inhuman hand. She wasn’t going to leave even though he wasn’t… what she thought he was. Even though he wasn’t quite what he thought he was. She wasn’t going to leave, so he worked not to leave. “I’m okay.” He assured, his hand moving up to carefully place the claws on the back of her head for a moment, though they grazed over the spot on her neck where the cu-sith had drawn blood. He inhaled, the combination of feeling her blood on his decidedly nonhuman hands catching the answer of whether or not he was ‘him’ in his throat. He wasn’t sure how to answer that, though as he felt himself taking deeper breaths, pushing more of the logic that was so important to him through his brain and trying to eliminate the more… he wasn’t sure how to refer to the thoughts that spurned him to pursue the cu-sith. He focused on Ren, urged through the ringing in his ears, carefully maneuvering his hand around so that it didn’t touch the wound on her neck again. “I’m not sure.” He said honestly. “I’m Gael.” He replied slowly. “But I don’t know what that is.” He shifted so that he looked down at her now. “Are you okay? We can patch up your injury, and–” He now actually paid attention to the fur on his arms, the way his fingers looked like they belonged to something else entirely. “I’m… sorry.” 

—

Her hand slipped away from his back, taking a moment to feel the nape of her own neck where the teeth had pierced her. They came away wet, but she didn’t feel much pain. It must not have been that deep, or maybe the adrenaline just hadn’t worn off just yet. “I am fine, we can bandage later. Not bad.” Ren exhaled for what felt like the first time in hours. Even if the whole encounter lasted maybe twenty seconds, tops. Relief flooded throughout her body, loosening the tense muscles that ached to sprint. To hunt. Of all the things she’d been taught, throwing herself into danger to save a werewolf was not one of them. 

Ah but– But this was the thing Gael couldn’t talk about. The thing that had been pulled from his mind, siphoned out like the last dregs of gas in a car running on empty. Exhausted in every sense of the word. Ren understood everything in an instant. The full moons, the silver… It was a lot to take in, sure, but it was still her Gael. Still her– 

“I was– I did not want her to hurt you but– You protected me too, you–” Too many thoughts swirled inside, discordant and dizzying. But those strong arms held her close. The feeling of being at home never left. Whatever this was, however they needed to face it, that was okay. It was going to be okay. If she wasn’t a monster, neither was he. “I was scared. I cannot lose you.” Ren didn’t know much of the outside world. Wasn’t great with people. She had never expected something like this to come from her mission to Wicked’s Rest. Never expected to find a whole new purpose to life, a new way to live it. 

Time had always been a long blank canvas before. Now it was something bright. Vivid. All around her. Never quite enough of it to hold as it slipped away through her hands. In learning how to be around Gael, Ren learned how to be herself. Learned to get closer to people her own age. Learned what it meant to have people to fall back on. To care about and be cared for in return. “I can’t lose you, папочка.” She repeated. Where it had been an accidental slip before, she meant it now. Even if he wouldn’t know what the word meant, or what it meant to her. 

— 

Gael wasn’t sure which parts to respond to first; when she said that the wound wasn’t that bad, he wondered how true that was, how close the cu-sith had gotten to potentially paralyzing the girl. When she said she didn’t want the hound to hurt him, he wanted to assure her that he would’ve taken anything and everything to ensure Ren’s safety. It was difficult to say those things after the fact; he knew how easy it was to become involved in the theatrics of heroism and how difficult it was to sift through those mixed messages, to separate the truth from the adrenaline-filled fiction. But then she said that she was scared. That she didn’t want to lose him. Gael pulled back, hearing the tone in Ren’s small voice and what he wanted to say before in response to anything else felt more solid. It was a lighthouse in the shifting sea of his mind as he held on tight to her voice, her scent, her presence, calling him back as he felt when the dark, primordial thoughts started to advance onto him. His bestial hands moved on their own again as they lightly, tenderly cupped her head in them; they were massive, dark blackish brown contrasting against the vibrant red of her hair, making her bright eyes pop as Gael held her tearstained face in them. Then she said the word again. Папочка. He didn’t understand the word, though if it meant how it sounded then he didn’t need to understand the word itself to know what it meant. “You won’t, mija.” He replied, his voice dry as it lost the guttural growl that tinged his words previously. “I’ll never leave you.” He assured, leaning forward and pressing their foreheads together gently. “And you won’t ever lose me.” 

Kaden couldn’t say with one hundred percent certainty, but he was still pretty damn sure that the reports of a “weird big green dog” were a cu-sith. He knew well enough to know they were fae, but it wasn’t like he was a stranger to fighting canine-like monsters so he might as well investigate. If worse came to worst and it seemed like he didn’t have a handle on the situation, he would just high tail it out of there and find a warden at the 3 Daggers to finish the job. The goal was to kill it, right? It was supernatural. And dangerous to humans. Sure, the reports didn’t indicate that it hurt anyone recently but… Putain. 

He’d figure out his plan later. He was prepared either way. He had his crossbow, shotgun, tranquilizer darts as well as bullets, iron knives and some regular ones just in case. Whatever the situation, he was ready. The hunter made his way up to the spot on the trail the hiker said they last saw the beast. He crouched down and was looking for any tell-tale signs when he heard footsteps coming up behind him. Kaden whipped his head around to see a kid taking the path. Damnit. He could just stand up and get out of the way, sure, but he wasn’t sure that they should keep going on the trail. The monster could be a hundred meters or so farther into the woods and he’d be sending this kid into danger. “Hey there,” he said as he stood, holding his hands up, hoping to stop them in their tracks. “This path isn’t safe up ahead. There’s a dangerous animal that’s been spotted here. You should turn around and go back home.”

— 

A dangerous animal. Hah. The stranger in the green jacket didn’t know the half of it. Ren had been tracking the Cu’sith the last few days. And unfortunately, the path they were on was one of the only ways toward the nest it’d been building that was still downwind. It was close. She could feel it. A pint-sized pocket of scowls only stared up at the stranger. Unnerving eyes boring holes into his, over a foot higher than her own. She was silent for a fair bit longer than was necessary or polite to be. Just as much because she was annoyed as it was because she didn’t know what to say. She never really did. 

Having someone else here complicated things. What was he even doing out here? Was he some sort of park ranger, or one of those ‘hiking enthusiasts’ Ren had heard about somewhere? For a split second she thought she heard something, but– no it was too small to be the beast. Maybe some sort of squirrel or bird in the underbrush. “If it is not safe you should also leave.” Her harsh accent bit at the words, all while she attempted to look behind the man who was far too fucking tall. “How are you to know animal is ahead and not behind?” 

—

The silence stretched out so long that Kaden wondered if the kid could speak at all. Had he fucked up and spoken in French and not English? He wouldn’t have been surprised if that was the case, but that didn’t seem like the issue. This seemed like some sort of stand-off. Only she was far too short to be intimidating. She was unsettling, though, he’d give her that.

“Cute,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m animal control, I have this covered. So not safe for you doesn’t mean it’s not safe for me.” Not only that, but he was a hunter. If anyone was going to go up against a big fucking fae dog, it was going to be– well, alright it should be a warden, but he was a solid second choice. “And I know it’s ahead because I’ve been tracking it. Almost like it’s my job.” He looked down at her and raised his brows, arms folded across his chest, all in an invitation for her to turn around and go home.

—

When everything you’d been taught had more or less been in a controlled environment where things like bystanders, officers of the law, and controllers of animals (whatever that meant) never came into play, things got messy. Ren couldn’t help resent this man for just doing his job. Even if it was still a bit confusing as to what exactly it was. Maybe it was like a police officer, but for animals? Did he put animals in jail? 

In any case, he was an object in the was as well as something she was supposed to protect. Right? Ren bounced her weight between her feet. Indecisively straddling the idea of just bolting past the man, or to just hold back a bit. Go around and take the less safe approach towards the creature's den. “Perhaps you missed something.” She settled on her least favorite option, trying to talk it out. That’s what people did, right? They talked. “I saw signs of big wolf-like creature back there.” True, though he’d probably come from that direction as well. Between words, she barely breathed, barely let her mouth leave the thin straight line it had pressed firmly into. Her eyes though, they were bordering on pleading. 

— 

Kaden was all ready to brush off his hands, turn around, and continue his damn hunt, assuming he was about to be alone again. Only, as he shifted in his stance to turn on his heel and walk away, he noticed he was the only one moving. Putain. She wasn’t going to budge, was she? Of course he had to meet a stubborn kid out here in the fucking woods. He just wanted to make sure she didn’t get killed, and what did he get for it? Defiance. Annoying.

“I didn’t miss shit, alright,” he said, unable to temper his words at this point. “I saw them, too. And that’s why I plan to deal with it. By myself.” Kaden took a step forward and took her by the shoulders and went to turn her around to face the other way. “While you go back home. Where it’s safe. And sound. And don’t worry about the–”

A low growl rumbled from the brush behind them. Putain de merde. “Run,” he hissed in a hushed tone at her, hoping that maybe this time would be the time she’d finally listen. His hand reached down for his knife as Kaden tried to keep himself steady and his movements minimal. In his head, he counted to three. 

Un: his hand wrapped around the hand of his knife.  

Deux: he shifted his weight on to the balls of his feet, bending his knees ever slightly.

Trois.

Blade in hand, Kaden spun around to see a giant, moss-covered canine-like creature leaping out at him. He didn’t know if its claws or his knife would strike first, but there was bound to be blood. 

— 

This was exactly why Ren shouldn’t have wasted time talking. Talking never works. The nymph felt the beast approach a moment before it pounced. Just enough time for her to spring back. The stubborn man spun around to face it, and it did not escape her eye that a blade had slipped from some unseen somewhere to his hand. There had been no recognition in his eyes when she had approached or she might have labeled him a warden. If he wasn’t one, he wasn’t prepared for this. 

Maybe the animal control officer thought it was a regular wolf he was tracking, maybe he didn’t. All Ren knew is it was her job to take monsters like that down before they hurt anyone like him. 

The next six seconds felt like a lifetime. Each movement had to be perfectly timed for this to work, and even then, it might not go well. 

Один: Heel turn in the dirt, dash to the side. 

Два: Crouch as low as possible and– 

три. Strike. 

Her tiny frame was good for a lot of things. It hid how strong she could be, and provided a low center of gravity. The latter was very useful in cases like this. Ren’s upward momentum took the beast completely by surprise, it didn’t even see her coming out from behind the man. The next hit came from the earth itself as the ground rose to meet them both. 

The fae wolf stood, confused, shaken. It looked down at the projectile only to realize it was another fae. In its mind, there was no way she had been the thing to hurt it. In its mind, another fae would not do such a thing. Clearly, it had something to do with this man and his iron knife. The Cu-sith recovered faster than the nymph, and it stood almost protectively over top Ren. A low hungry growl bellowed out of the beast as it geared up for another go at Kaden. 

– 

Kaden held his forearm out, ready to brace it against the beast, expecting to feel sharp daggers of pain as the talons dug into his skin, his knife in his other hand waiting to return the favor. Only, the pain never came, and his blade only slashed thin air. “Huh?” 

Some blur of motion had come from behind him and sent the cu-sith careening off to the side and away from him. Merde, were there two monsters now? Had he come underprepared? The fuck was going on?

Shit, the kid. 

Kaden spun on his heel to check if the kid was okay, if she’d ran or been stubborn enough to stay. She wasn’t there. Kid must have been a fast runner. He hoped. The hunter adjusted his grip on the knife and faced back towards the action, preparing himself for whatever was waiting there now.

He wasn’t prepared for what he saw. The goddamn kid. On the ground. And the dog was… protecting her? Wait a second, had she been the thing to topple the beast to the ground? “What the fuck…”

Before the words could leave his lips, the beast was snarling and spitting, advancing towards the hunter as it hovered over the girl. Putain. He wasn’t sure what was going on, not really. Was this cu-sith hers? It was acting like it, alright. Even if it was a monster, he knew that behavior. He’d seen it plenty of times. It was a dog protecting its family. He may not understand what situation he walked in on, but he knew animals. Was it possible that this monster wasn’t all that different? No, no, they were dangerous. It was a monster. He knew that. And yet, the consciousness there, the protective stance. Putain de merde, this was a stupid idea. 

“Hey, hey,” Kaden started, raising his free hand and slowly crouching down to place his knife on the ground. “Easy now. I’m not going to hurt you.” Yet. The growl deepened, rumbling through the trees. “Or her! Not hurting anyone.” He took another cautious step back. 

–

Life blinked back to Ren’s eyes, the hit had knocked her for a bigger loop than she realized it might. Dirt and podzol pressed up against her face as she pushed her weight onto her elbows. Confusion set in faster than pain. Teeth, claws, the sharp stinging burn of a bite– no. They never came. Because the beast was standing over her. Not on her. Not pinning her. Not even attempting to. It was either unable to hurt her or unwilling to. As the realization settled like a stone in her stomach, it soured her spit. Made it taste like metal in her mouth. 

“Дурацкий man!” Ren’s eyes widened as she watched Kaden put the fucking knife down. Watched it through the cu-sith’s legs. Of course it wasn’t paying attention to her. Of course it didn’t see her as a threat. That was the whole point of her, wasn’t it? So why did it sting so much every time, to see creatures like this put their faith in her? “It is going to hurt you if you do not get out of here!” How did he not get that? 

As if her words were a command, the Cu-Sith dug down for another pounce. 

— 

Kaden knew damn well that remaining calm and unthreatening didn’t always work, but he had to try, he had to hope. Some stupid fucking part of him had to cling onto what he knew he just saw, some part of him that just wanted to feel secure and right about leaving his family and rejecting the code. Maybe it wasn’t just humanoids that were capable of more than just destruction. Maybe he had even more to be guilty about. 

Or maybe he hadn’t been entirely wrong his entire damn life. Putain. His bleeding freaking heart was about to become literal if he didn’t get the hell out of the way. Kaden threw himself to the left as soon as he saw the cu-sith push itself off the ground. He ducked and rolled as far as he could, twigs and rocks digging into his skin on the way. Shit, shit, shit, shit.

Kaden crawled and clawed his way up onto his knees. The beast had realized it was empty-handed and had already swiveled to face the hunter again. Knife, knife, where was another fucking knife? He scrambled to grab a weapon off his belt, any weapon. Pistol. There was that. That was good. Kaden was fumbling with the gun, digging it out of its holster and trying to line up a shot, any shot, but the monster was ready to attack. He wasn’t sure there was going to be enough time. “Hey, kid,” he called out, voice shaky and eyes not leaving the cu-sith, “now might be a good time to call off your dog.” 

—

Indignant and fired up, there was no way Ren was accepting that kind of slander. “It is NOT my dog!” She shouted as she scrambled to her feet. The beast was charging again, and Ren wasn’t going to let it find any purchase. Legs bent and sprung again, this time she landed on top of the creature. Whose confusion let itself be known as it nipped at her leg as it swung around the thing’s neck. Better her than him. This was her job. This was her purpose. She had to be the shield. And the sword. 

“You should run. Like how I have said this!” Words. Maybe if she’d been better with them, or more clever with her phrasing she could have conveyed this trouble before it befell them. Maybe she could have saved the officer the cuts and bruises he’d surely have in the morning. Ren curled an arm below the cu-sith’s jaw, slamming it shut as it snapped a few more times. Looking for any flesh it could stick its teeth into… or at least so she thought. The bite on her leg wasn’t nearly as deep as it could have been. If anything it seemed more out of shock than actual malice. And now it just wanted to get her off its back. 

It bucked and knocked the tiny girl off. Ren managed to salvage the fall by at least letting herself roll in between Kaden and the cu-sith. When she stood again, protectively between the pair the beast’s confusion only grew. Hungry eyes glared daggers at the ranger, and almost pleaded with the nymph. It whined, a pitiful sounding thing. Melancholy and mad. A mix Ren knew too well. Why it was looking to her for direction, she had no idea. But she’d use it all the same. 

“GO.” If it wasn’t going to attack her, she could at least get rid of the problem for him. The cu-sith hesitated, and Ren stomped forward and shouted once more. “GO, LEAVE.” Intimidation certainly wasn’t what got the creature to listen. A curious intelligence sat behind those emerald eyes. Still an animal, yes. But it knew who its kin was. Knew who it did and did not want to attack. 

— 

Kaden stumbled back, trying to load and aim his pistol. He held up the gun and was ready to take a shot. Every instinct drilled into his head from years of training told him to shoot this cu-sith, to fight it and cut it down until there was nothing left. He knew that was what he should do. But could he do that if this had been a normal domesticated dog? A stray? Never. He’d never kill a dog unless it was the last option or the best option for them. And the cu-sith… No, it wasn’t a dog, but what he’d just seen, that behavior, it was the same as any of the dogs in the shelter. How could he slaughter the beast knowing that? 

It didn’t matter. Before he could decide what the fuck he was doing, the kid had launched herself onto the creature and was wrestling it to the ground. Even if he wanted to shoot, he couldn’t do it now – he’d risk shooting her in all the action. When it bit her, he wondered if he’d made the wrong call, lining up his shot again and ready to pull the trigger. But he couldn’t.

And then, there she was, standing in between him and the cu-sith. The beast could leap over her and tear him to shreds without a second thought. Instead, it stood there, waiting on her command. His brow furrowed as he watched the interaction play out. There was no way this animal wasn’t hers in some way, no matter what she said. His body tensed as the creature continued to stand its ground, growling and begging her to let it tear the hunter to shreds. Kaden was about to turn and run, like he should have far earlier, but then the beast bowed its head and turned away, walking back into the forest, its moss-covered fur blending in with the green of the brush around it until it almost faded away into the woods.

Kaden stood frozen in place until he could no longer make out the shape of the cu-sith in the distance. “You… alright?” was all he could manage to ask her once he finally allowed himself to breathe. There were too many questions. About what happened. For her. Surely she had some for him. And he had plenty for himself, too. 

— 

Soft paws barely made a sound as the cu-sith listened to Ren and ran. The further it went, the deeper her stomach sank. Watching it disappear into the underbrush with an expression that edged on shock and horror. It listened. Bright green eyes mirrored the leaves around her, shaking just as much as they did in the wind. Her back was to Kaden. He was talking at her now. Asking if she was okay, and… was she? Physically, sure. Well enough. The bite was barely a graze and managed to avoid the mostly healed stitches from her last leg injury. But was she alright? 

Jury was still out. 

The bile that had risen around the pit in her stomach made her mouth taste sour. Ren turned away. Eyes finally retreating from the traces the cu-sith left behind. She picked up anything she’d dropped, and started off back home. Trudging away with a slight limp. Shoulders and hackles raised. Fully not at all wanting to stop and chat about whatever that was. She didn’t need another person in this town to worry. To make her feel like she was real. Like she could be something good. 

If she could be. So could they. 

And where the fuck did that leave everything else she knew? What did it mean for the countless fae she’d taken down without a second thought? For other people she’d killed. The khione in January. The spriggan, the hesperidae, and the faun in February. Two more fauns, and a muse in March. April, May, June… There were many. And she remembered each and every one. Their faces. The looks of shock. Of betrayal. 

“You should be disgusted with yourself. You’re a disgrace. A fae carrying around iron blades? And you planned to stab another fae with that? You’re a traitor to your kind.” The voice was clear but the face was not. A fae that got away, and did so with her knowledge of why she was hunting them in particular. 

—

Putain de merde, why couldn’t any hunting just be straight forward anymore? Kaden scrambled to gather his weapons and followed after the kid. She was limping and hadn’t answered him and she’d tackled that cu-sith at least three times. “Hey, can you stop?” he called out as he trotted to catch up to her, meeting her in a matter of a few strides. 

“You’re limping.” Well that was obvious. There was also something about her, something he recognized, almost like a mirror being held up to himself. The brashness, the way she had dove in, knew what she was dealing with, and the way she was stubbornly walking away and ignoring the pain. “Kid, wait,” he said, this time, reaching out to grab her shoulder. “Are you…”

The unspoken words hung in the air. Kaden swallowed before trying again. “Are you a hunter?” 

Why did he hesitate to ask? Did he not want the answer? He wasn’t sure. Maybe he wanted to just walk away the way she had, not care. But ever since he got here his stupid bleeding heart had only grown bigger and softer. Stupider. He knew it was going to get him hurt in one way or another – hell, probably more than one way, but he couldn’t help it. And he couldn’t just let this young hunter walk away on their own after that shit show that he caused. 

—

No other phrase could have had quite the poignant punch that ‘Are you a hunter?’ had on Renata Daryova. The nymph stopped dead in her tracks, never turning to face the man that addressed her. Hands still balled up into fists at her sides as her breath hitched in her throat. Dry as the sahara and just about as likely to verbally answer any question thrown its way. Are you a hunter? The words danced around in her mind, already too crowded with faces and voices and last words. Bites of betrayal and grief running up and down her spine like an army of fire ants. Repeating his question again and again and again. 

Was she? 

“I DO NOT KNOW.” Shouted, barked almost. Not exactly a normal answer to that particular question. But she didn’t have an answer. What she had was a pair of legs that would not fucking move no matter how much she willed them to start running right then and there. Mentally screaming at herself did no favors. She might as well have been a tree for how well she was rooted there. 

Hunter, hunting, hunted. 

Ren had gone out that day intending on killing that very same beast that showed her more compassion than she’d ever had shown it. And what did that make her, huh? Was she a monster because she was born a fae and all fae were evil, or was she a monster for listening to that, for turning her blades on things that might not have deserved it at all. Was every single thing Darya taught her a lie? It turned over in her stomach again and all Ren could do to stave off the nausea was dig her nails deeper into her palms. 

—

Of all the answers she could have given him, that was the one he didn’t expect. But somehow it was the one that Kaden understood more than he wanted to. 

He was a hunter, he was born as one, he was trained as one, and he could never rewrite his genetics or change his past. He was a hunter, there was no question.

But he had just let a monster go. A monster that was trying to kill him and had injured a kid who was actually trying to fight it, who was likely trying to uphold what she was told was her duty. Or at least, he had tried to let it go. She was the one who had actually managed to get it to go away. Even though she was the one trying to fight it off. 

No wonder she was left lost and confused. He knew that feeling all too well. The last time he’d seen his sister, she made it all too clear that he was no hunter. She made it even clearer that he wasn’t her brother, either. He couldn’t imagine what she would have done if she had seen him just then.

The kid’s answer may not have made sense to anyone else, but Kaden understood. It was like the reflection in the mirror only grew sharper. 

“You hunted like one. Did better than me. Had better instincts.” He wasn’t going to bring up any of his actions, not now. “I’m a ranger. So I wanted to ask.” His voice was even, soft but not condescending. “Sorry I got in your way.” It had been a while since he’d spoken like that to another hunter, all business, all duty and fucking bullshit. He hadn’t missed it, but it felt like the only way to reach her, the only sort of conversation she wanted to have. Hell, how many times had he talked to Keira like that? Too many to count. Even though it seemed he never managed to reach her, maybe this time it would be different. “Name’s Kaden, by the way,” he offered, hoping that maybe she’d turn around. 

—

He was a hunter? Weren’t Rangers supposed to be fast? Or at least good at fighting? Truly Ren didn’t know much about other hunters. She barely knew anything about Wardens, being kept away from them like she was a pariah kinda did that to you. God had she been blind? A new flavor of rage filled her chest to bursting. This time directed somewhere other than herself. Kaden the Ranger was still talking. Still going on about things in a way she was probably supposed to understand. No, it was just another human who didn’t realize she wasn’t. It was becoming far too constant of an occurrence. 

“I was supposed to kill that fae.” The fire that burned inside her seethed out with those words, all the vitriol she could muster. A warning not too unlike a rattler’s shake. She was going to kill it. Kill all of them. She was supposed to be the iron heart that sunk into any cluster of pests she found and exterminated them. She was supposed to stare down people who felt like family even when she didn’t know them just because they were also born to the fairfolk. How many had she condemned to death on that basis alone? 

Ren wanted to scream. She wanted to run. Wanted to be anywhere but here, be anyone but herself. Here she was having a full blown mental breakdown and trying to hide it from this probably well meaning stranger. No, she would not be turning around any time soon. And the fucking second she got her legs to start working again she’d be out of there. 

—

Her voice sounded like the one that screamed in his own head whenever he let a monster walk away, which was happening more and more often. Kaden hadn’t figured out how to quiet his own subconscious let alone what to say to her in response. If he did, he would have saved Keira from herself a long time ago. But the kid hadn’t walked away, hadn’t stormed off just yet. That had to mean something. 

“Says who?” he asked. He stayed stationary, steady, hoping not to spook her, though he had a feeling that this would be the moment she either turned and faced him or walked away. He didn’t know which would be better, which he’d consider a success. But all he could do was wait. 

—

Far too filled with red hot anger to actually articulate the caged animal emotions that burrowed deep in her chest, Ren found herself cursing in Russian. Or maybe it was Swedish. Words she hardly knew the meaning to, only that they were used in righteous anger by the very same woman who put the ideas in her head that were poisoning her from within. 

Another hunter was here. Another hunter was questioning her. Worse, it was mimicking the small voice that had begun to speak up at the back of her mind. At first it was a quiet flickering thing. Barely louder than the beating of moths wings. Little by little it grew. Nurtured and bolstered by the milk of human kindness. Now it screamed, shouted, raged against the one thing Ren had never allowed herself to be mad at. And she didn’t know what to do with that. She wished it was at just about anything else. It’d be so much less confusing. 

Kaden, the animal control officer, the ranger, was not the problem. He was a complete stranger caught in a storm of someone else’s emotions. Ren could be a lightning rod or offer a calmer wind to dissipate the clouds. Easier said than done. But it was the better of the two options. She took a breath. Then another. The cursing helped. That’s sort of what it was for, right? Get out the excess angries so rational thought could take their place. 

“I do not know if this is something I can speak of.” An honest answer. “I should not have yelled at you.” A guilt ridden response. “But this is not your fight. Kaden.” 

—

Even though he didn’t recognize the language (or languages), Kaden knew cursing when he heard it. There was a flavor to expletives that transcended the words themselves. Not to mention the waves of anger he could see radiating through her small frame. 

He clenched his jaw, trying to bite back the feeling of the hairline fracture creeping its way down to crack his heart, ready to shatter it at any moment. He’d felt like this. He never had this moment in front of anyone else, only in private, but the struggle was all too familiar. That was fine, though. That didn’t pain him the way it did when he thought of his sister, how much he wished she could feel some of the same confusion and frustration. He wished his words could have had even an ounce of the same effect it had on this young hunter he just met. How could something he said make her sling into a fury of expletives and rage when the same words, the same thoughts, would only make Keira feel disgust? 

He knew he wasn’t the best big brother, even though he tried and tried over and over again. He knew he’d failed Keira. Hell, for all he knew, he was failing all over again to help someone else. He didn’t fucking know. 

It didn’t seem like she did either. 

“That’s okay,” he said. “You’re not the first.” And she was far from the scariest person to yell at him. “I’m not sure what you mean by that, though,” he continued, brows furrowed, almost daring to take a step towards her. “If you mean the fight against fae, no shit. If you mean something else…” Like helping her, maybe. “I don’t know.” He couldn’t find the words to say what he wanted, couldn’t figure out how to offer help without pushing the kid away. Not that he even knew what help from him looked like or if she even needed it, let alone wanted it. 

No, there was no doubt she needed help from someone, even if it wasn’t him. He’d seen that reflection of himself in her and he knew damn well he could probably use some fucking help. Then again, he wasn’t sure if he would accept it either if he was in her shoes. “All I’m saying is hunters should look out for each other.” He considered the word hunter in particular. It held complicated feelings for him, clearly did for her, too. “People, too,” he added. 

—

"Just– " Two knife-less hands threw themselves into the sky. "Just STOP helping!!" Ren hit a wall. In computer terminology it'd be something like not having enough bandwidth. In nature it was closer to a dam. Too much of something, even if it's a good thing, even if it's life saving, it could be deadly at the wrong time. "Helping is the PROBLEM this town is full of fucking helpers!!" The not quite a hunter, not quite a normal fae, and definitely not a normal person, let another primal rush of rage escape. 

This time though, her legs sprang back to life. Sprinting off like a rabbit spooked by a barking hound. The slight limp affecting her gait, probably making the bite and sprain worse with each stride. 

Emilio. Nora. Van. Metzli. Gael. Andy. 

And now Kaden too. Too much owed. It felt like the world was caving in, when it should have felt like a welcome mat. Hello world, everything you know is a lie. Her head felt like it was caught in a blender, and Ren didn't even know what a blender fucking was. 

Today could rot in hell.

—

The words stung more than Kaden expected. Though the voice was different, and so was her stature and so much more, the words were the same. Keira had told him as much. More than once. And he never listened.

Sure didn’t fucking help her that he kept trying. And it sure as hell didn’t help Damien, either.

Maybe the kid was right. Maybe helping was the problem. It was hard not to think that’s all he was. Even if he knew damn well that he was projecting, that he was putting something onto the situation that he had no fucking business putting there, he couldn’t shake the feeling. 

Failure. 

That was the only thing on his mind as he watched her form get smaller and farther away, just as he’d watched the cu-sith’s earlier. It ran, she ran, and Kaden remained standing there. He hadn’t slain the monster, he hadn’t helped the kid, in fact, he’d only gotten her hurt. Why the fuck was he there? Why was he trying? Fuck, he didn’t even know what it was he was trying to do anymore.

Deep breath. Kaden gathered his belongings and set off back down the trail. As much as he wanted to sink deep into the pit where he could bathe in his own feelings of failure, he had to try not to let himself go there. This was one moment. One kid. One monster. This wasn’t his sister. No one had died. This wasn’t failure. Not yet, at least. 

Ariadne was new. She wasn't part of the original allgoods, and Ren hadn't talked to her too much at the party, but then again, Ren barely talked at that party. It was far too overwhelming. One on one, she thought, would be a lot easier. In the same way talking online was much easier. Ariadne had been so sweet online, Ren was hopeful that this little get together would be a successful one. 

After all, they were looking for bugs together. Few people shared the entomid's love for the ‘creepy’ crawlers. Ren never saw them like that. Each bug had a part in the food web. A purpose all their own. Bugs were magnificent and unique, and more people should understand– it didn't even matter that Ariadne wasn't… people. She was undead. Probably. No beating heart. Core temperature barely above the ambience of any given room. Did that matter? 

It might have, before. 

Ren didn't like that. Didn't know what it meant now. She'd written her reports, keeping out any emotional attachment exactly like she was supposed to. But that didn't mean she had to hate everything that wasn't human, right? Nora wasn't human. Ren liked Nora well enough. She could like Ariadne, too. She thought she already might, if the online conversation was anything to go off of. 

The commons were bright, but not blazingly so. The grass and foliage were alive with activity. The deeper thickets of woods would be perfect for bug hunting. Especially if they could find any nice old logs to turn over. Ren stood, anxiously waiting to see the blonde. A freshly bound journal in her hands. A few older drawings of bugs sewn in, just in case Ariadne wanted to see. The nymph was starting to learn that a lot of people liked seeing her work. Strange, but…nice. 

A splash of yellow rounded a copse of trees, and Ren perked right up. Waving an arm rather stiffly to get the other's attention. "Over here." 

—

She didn’t know Ren too well, other than having run into her at some parties. Which was a weird concept in and of itself, considering even at her most extroverted moments, Ariadne had never been one to love parties. Still, she did like talking with Ren, in what talking they had done. Which, admittedly, wasn’t all too much, but it was something, and Ren seemed nice, seemed like maybe she could be a friend, which Ariadne needed.

Recently, she wondered if she was getting too greedy with friends. She’d gotten so used to having nearly nobody around, so maybe, when presented with the chance to have friends, she’d wanted too much? But today wasn’t the day to focus on that. She was happy today, she was happy and she’d brought along gummy worms for Ren because Ren had said that they liked those, and Ariadne liked to pay attention whenever she could, however she could.

Even if Ren deserved a better friend than her. Even if she didn’t have the same things to offer that they did.

But she did love the Common, and it was a beautiful day out. One of those that made her feel alive, again. Which wasn’t something she felt so often. She felt it with Wynne, always, but to feel it on its own, with the promise of having a good day with a new friend – that was pretty spectacular. 

She rounded a set of trees and waved to Ren, rushing over. “Hi! I brought gummy worms, because I think you said you like them? Just wanted to give you something for being so nice.”

—

Once again the nymph wished she were a little less formal. A little less stifled. More open. Ren couldn’t help but feel, and subsequently look, quite awkward as the other girl approached. Shoulders squared, back straight. Looking more like a soldier at attention waiting for their sergeant than a person greeting a friend. Was that what they were? Friends? Where was the edge of the divide? When did that start, or end? 

Her green eyed stare was just as intense as usual. Still not quite up on that whole blinking habit they were supposed to have. Ren was looking at the brightly colored bag. Touched by the gesture, far more than her stoic exterior would have anyone believe. Ariadne had remembered (which seemed to be a much harder task for people who weren’t Ren) what she liked, and went out of her way to go get some before meeting up at the park. They were a little bit stunned at that. No one had done that before. Not when she didn’t know them well. Not like this. The nymph’s brow furrowed slightly. 

“You did not have to do such a thing. I do not have anything in return for you. I am sorry for this.” 

— 

“You don’t have to say sorry!” Ariadne’s eyes grew wide for a moment. “I just wanted to. I didn’t expect you to give me anything in return. I’m just pleased you like them.” Which she was, and it made her feel a bit more relaxed that Ren hadn’t been entirely turned off by the fact that Ariadne had brought her a gift.

“It’s really nice to see you. I think, for me at least, I like this kind of hang out much more than parties.” She felt her eyes grow wide a moment. “Not that – I love being invited, and I’m super grateful to be hanging out with you and others, but I prefer smaller groups, usually. Or just – one-on-one, like us, now.” Ariadne toed the dirt with her shoe. “Especially on such a beautiful day.” 

Ren hadn’t had to agree to hang out with her, and yet they did. Ariadne admired her smarts a great deal, though she would’ve been good to hang out with them even if she hadn’t. “Did you wanna go for a walk, or just hang out here? I’m good with either, whatever’s good for you.”

— 

“Oh.” She was quiet and careful in her wording, so Ren was quiet in return. It’s quite possible that Ren would have been quiet and reserved no matter whom she was talking with, but with Ariadne it carried a sense of camaraderie rather than a standoffish presence. As the other went on, rambling endearingly about how she preferred this kind of company to the parties that they had met at, Ren couldn’t agree more. The nymph nodded and even almost smiled. “Yes this is very much the case. Both the day and the thing about one on ones.” 

Green eyes scanned the park, trying their best to pinpoint the place least populated by people and most by potential bugs. “I think walking could be a good thing. Then perhaps settle over…. There?” Ren pointed to her ‘perfect’ plot. A copse of old trees. Gnarled and twisted by hundreds of years of people playing with their branches. 

They looked welcoming, open. Like they were ready to give support or even hugs to any passerby who needed a moment’s rest. Low branches hung down enough to be benches, and plenty strong enough to hold whoever needed the respite. It was shaded, and cozy looking. Somewhere Ren would curl up if she were the size of a normal bug. 

—

She felt relaxed. Ren was sweet, and Ariadne could only feel a sense of hope that maybe this was the first of at least a few hangouts that the two of them could have. Hopefully more than a few, but sometimes she didn’t let herself hope too much, if only as to not disappoint herself.

“Walking would be good. Yes. Then we can go sit there.” She followed where Ren was pointing. “It looks inviting.” It did, there was something almost magical about it – not that she was going to bring that up to Ren, at least not yet. Ariadne didn’t want her to think that she was weird – though a small part of her mind told herself that Ren wasn’t someone who’d judge her for thoughts like those.

She took a few steps forward, motioning for them to follow her. “Just - this way might be nice?” She chirped, “though if you wanna go any other direction, we can. I’m just – well, really happy to be walking around with you. This whole thing is nice. Really nice.” Ariadne rubbed her fingers against her nose. “And I’m saying nice so many times that it almost doesn’t feel like a word anymore, heh.”

—

Hope seemed to be the word of the day. Not that either knew the contents of the other’s mind. Ren was happy to let Ariadne talk. Her voice was melodious and warm, pleasant to listen to. In a way, it reminded Ren of the sunshine all around them. Ren’s was monotone, low, brusque. It felt unfair to break up the other’s symphony just to croak like a frog beside her. That was the strangest part about Wicked’s Rest. Not the monsters, not the anomaly. It was how meeting more other people her age. People who should be peers. It made the girl examine herself in a way she never had before. Often comparing and finding herself lacking in whatever category she came up with. 

Though, a lack of self confidence wasn’t anything new. It was just the subjects that didn’t make sense. Save for perhaps her fighting prowess, Ren wasn’t particularly confident in anything anymore. She hadn’t put thought into her appearance before seeing that girls could be pretty. She hadn’t thought about her voice until she heard other people talking sweetly. Ren thought about Van. How she thought the girl was both pretty and nice to listen to, and wondered if anyone could think the same of them. Unlikely. Her mind supplied. 

“It is a good word for you to be using so often. Because you too are nice. I am… glad I was able to meet you.” Ren offered her best approximation of a smile again, dropping it before starting up their walk towards the tree, following Ariadne. Ren could smile, she could talk, or she could walk. She didn’t think she could do all three at once. But there was always room to try. “Ariadne…” The nymph raced up a few steps, trying to keep pace while keeping up conversation. “I have seen how you act with Wynne.” Observations, Ren’s best skill. 

“Is this a partnership or marriage?” Understanding social particulars, was not. The people in Ren’s life before Wicked’s Rest that acted remotely close to them, showing any affection and living in close proximity… they were always married. Partners for life. She hadn’t spent enough time around the younger folk to actually learn what dating was. That there was a step before. There were people, and there were pairs. Simple as that. 

—  

Not that she’d had any significant sort of doubts regarding Ren, but Ariadne continued to feel immensely pleased at just how relaxed she felt around Ren. How immediate it all was. Maybe there was something to be said about how the more awkward, shy, and kind someone was, the more easily she connected with them. Of course, most people were kind (at least to some degree), but some seemed exceptionally so.

She was glad someone as cool as Ren was one of those exceptionally nice people.

“I am glad I was able to meet you too.” Another genuine, bright smile crossed her features. Ariadne nodded, “really glad.” She slowed her pace just ever-so-slightly because she was the taller of the two of them, and so it wasn’t fair of her to expect her to keep full pace. “I - yes.” She couldn’t keep the smile off of her face at even the barest mention of Wynne’s name.

“Oh. Um, partnership.” If she could have blushed, she would have. “We – we’re dating.” Part of her wanted to say that the deeply romantic part of herself would have married Wynne in a heartbeat, but that was perhaps just being in the beginnings of love. Even her parents, who’d had her literally in college, had been dating for about four years prior to that, and had gotten married later on. She had the photos to prove that.

“Some day it might be more, but not - not yet, and… yeah.” She scrunched up her face, in a bit of a smile. “The ‘me dreaming about marriage’ part can stay between us, yeah? I just don’t want to stress Wynne out.” Ariadne sighed. “Looks like we’re almost at the resting spot?”

—  

Partnership, marriage, these didn't really have much differential meaning to the sheltered fae. The word dating though, that was new. And of course, out here in the open Ren couldn't hide her lack of knowledge behind a computer screen. Behind a quick Google search and a rabbit hole of endless information for her to sift through and attempt to construct context from. 

"Uhmmn–" She fumbled, turning the word over in her mind. Any attempt to connect dots was met with a block or two. Leaving the girl physically and metaphorically stopped in her tracks. "What– what exactly is dating?" Ren's cheeks reddened as she asked. Green eyes darted away, staring instead at the foliage all around them. 

"I will not talk of this if you do not want me to. I am just… unfamiliar with many terms." And concepts, and experiences, and so so much more. There were endless pages on endless books that could be filled with the things Renata Daryova did not know. 

The spot was more or less right beside the pair, and it was just as inviting up close as it had been from across the park. "Ah yes. Good. Do you have specific bug you are hoping to see?"

—

“It’s okay if you’re unfamiliar with stuff,” Ariadne immediately reassured the other, “I – I know others who are, too.” Wynne, for one. Cass, about some things. Two of her favorite people, and it wasn’t as though she would’ve minded at all even if she hadn’t liked them or hadn’t thought Ren to be fascinating, cool, and lovely.

She bit her lip, trying to best think of ways to describe it, “I’m not an expert,” Ariadne started, “just like, for the record and stuff, but it’s basically when you like someone as more than a friend – like you wanna kiss them or you feel all giddy whenever you talk to them, or like, stuff like that, and then you two ‘go out’,” air quotes were made with her fore and middle fingers on each hand, “which is seeing how you both work as a couple, which is just like… meaning I guess you are each other’s like, number one person? And then you can hold hands all the time and kiss and cuddle – though you can hold hands and I guess cuddle even with friends – but this is different, and then you can stay stuff like ‘I love you’ in a romantic way.”

Ariadne tapped her fingers against the side of her thigh. “Um, I’m – sorry if that was a bad description. I can answer any questions you’d like, and you don’t have to worry, okay? I’m happy to help you understand terms, okay? You’re cool and nice, and it’s great to hang out with you.”

Pondering the other’s question for a moment, Ariadne shrugged, “anything, really. I always like butterflies How about you?”

—

Ariadne had a way with words. Trepidatious maybe, but far more willing to chart a course into unknown waters than Ren had ever been. She explained, and the fae listened. Carefully taking each chosen verse into consideration with the highest of reverence. Even if it didn’t show up as such on her face. Ren’s expression was always a bit… severe. Like her mind couldn’t quite ever get past the confusion etched into everything new that she encountered. So much of this world didn’t make sense. So much of it was open to be explored now that she was able to, and still she kept it at a distance. Whether it was intentional or not was– harder to parse. The concepts landed, but never settled. The ideas permeated her mind, but always felt like they were made for someone else to live them. Not for her. Never for her. 

“It is good. You have found someone like this then. Good– for you.” Talking. Holding hands. Cuddling. Kissing. Ren had never really been much of a talker. Words came slowly, and always seemed to be the wrong ones. Her hands were only ever meant to destroy. To take life from those who would harm humanity. She’d heard Gael refer to the kittens sleeping next to each other as cuddling, their grooming licks as kisses. Neither seemed something that she would participate in. She couldn’t. Sleeping near someone meant… showing herself. Intentionally dropping control over the one thing that made her feel human. 

Her antennae twitched uncomfortably underneath her glamour. Making it look like the wind had caught a few curled locks of orange hair. “You are good at describing things Ariadne.”A pause. “Do I make you feel sorry? That you have done something wrong? I do not understand why it is you say that word so much.”

Bugs were something she understood. Ren only had names for the ones that filled the field journal she kept close at all times, one of the few books she had growing up. But she had an intense love for any and all she came across. “I particularly like spiders. People do not like them very much, but they are… protectors in way.” The nymph closed in on the tree, big eyes scanning the bark for what would always be there. Spiders were everywhere, after all. She found one, a teensy little thing. A jumping spider, one of the gentler varieties. “They help humans because they take out harmful species. Like mosquitoes, ticks, and flies. This is admirable.” Ren smiled at the small creature that danced about on her finger, which she held up to show the other girl. “And they are very cute, I think.”  

—

“I am very grateful for it.” Ariadne glanced shyly over to Ren. It was admittedly still a bit weird for her to talk about, but talking about joyful things was what she was supposed to do, whenever possible, and there was nothing that brought her more joy than Wynne. Nothing and no one. Dance came in at a close second, with candy at a third, but she hadn’t smiled nearly as much as she did around Wynne, ever since the whole dying thing. They made things feel lighter, and easier, and it didn’t mean she was bragging if Ren had asked about it, right? “Wynne is also just the best, and so I am glad they like me back. Even if I was a bit surprised they really did.” 

She wasn’t sure why she was being so strangely vulnerable with someone who was, technically, still a stranger, but Ren was nice, and Ariadne trusted her, and that was that. Plus, talking about Wynne wasn’t really talking about herself, so it made things easier. She couldn’t imagine anybody not wanting to know how wonderful Wynne was.

Ren thought she was good at describing, and Ariadne brightened at that, before her expression briefly fell at their next comment. “Oh – I – no, I just am – I just say it, a lot. It’s not ‘cause of you, I just… do it. I am trying to not do that as much, but it’s not you, I promise.”

Ariadne nodded at Ren’s explanation. “Did you ever read Charlotte’s Web? It is a lovely story, and one of the main characters is a spider, and she’s the best.” Another nod, “I think their web-spinning is sort of like a beautiful dance. Which is so wonderful, so I like those too. I will say that sometimes things like tarantulas make me nervous, but I still have tons of respect for them.” Ren’s next words drew an enthusiastic nod from Ariadne. “Yes, they are very helpful for things like that, and it feeds them, so it is extra good.” She watched the spider on Ren’s finger, half-swearing to herself that she could hear it screaming at her, “they are very cute. I like to think that they have very nice smiles.”

—

The nymph studied the way the other girl spoke. The way she moved. There was a timidness to each action, like she was worried about the very space she took up. In a way, Ren could relate. She often felt like she wasn’t supposed to be wherever she was. Or like she wasn’t supposed to do whatever she was doing. Her mission was a solo one. Was meant to be about as removed from genuine interaction as it could have been. And yet, here she was, again, making friends with someone sweet. Someone who would surely be considered a monster by her mentor. The entomid was keenly aware of things like temperature and vibrations. Two things that Ariadne notably was different from any living human being about. 

The undead were by far a blindspot in Ren’s education. Her mother had been so solely focused on teaching the young nymph about all the terrible monsters that shared the same ancestry as she did, that she only got a cursory glance at shifters or those that rose from their graves. Maybe, she thought, that meant that they weren’t all bad. That people like Gael or Alex could be better inherently. They weren’t tarnished by what happened to them. Fae were born how they were. And from all the ones Ren had met and talked with, the good ones had to learn to be so. “This is not surprising to me. You are both very kind and generous…. They suit you.” 

She nodded along until Ariadne launched into an explanation of her apologies. A head full of red curls tilted to the side, quizzical. Ren knit her brows close as she tried to understand. “Did someone teach you to do this?” Darya often said sorry was an excuse. And while Ren had learned just how wrong the woman was on many topics, the lessons still ran so deep. 

“No, I have not read this book.” She paused a moment, reflecting. “I have never met a spider named Charlotte either.” Ren looked intently at the spider on her finger, as if expecting it to actually say something in return. Even if entomae could actually speak with insects, it was more of a… emotional, instinctual thing. Not a language, not really. “I think they are very expressive, yes. In their own way. Sometimes better than I.” 

— 

There was a certain part of her (and it was more than a small part) that felt a kinship with Ren, solely because the two of them seemed to both be more than a little bit anxious and more than a little bit unsure of just about everyone around them. Ariadne knew that that might have made other people turn away, or push someone off, but it made her even more keen to know Ren. “Oh, thank you for saying we are both kind.” She wanted to say just how much they were wrong, how much better of a person Wynne was than her, but she refrained. At least for now, because that was no sort of way to actually make a friend, and even if she had a best friend, she figured she could have more – or at least more friends, if asking for more best friends was too greedy.

(Her stomach turned at that, but she pushed the thought out of her mind, because this was nice – so nice, and she didn’t want to ruin it.)

“Oh – I, no. I just, uh, do it? I guess?” She didn’t have even the slightest decent bit of reasoning for why she did, it just… was that way. Ariadne did know that her tendency towards apologizing had gotten a noticeable uptick ever since she died, but it had certainly been around before, too. “That’s – that’s all, I guess. You didn’t do anything though!” She reassured, just in case Ren thought she’d done something.

“Would you like to read it? I can let you borrow my copy. You don’t have to though, but you might like it. It is a wholesome story.” Ariadne dug her toe into the dirt. “I think everyone’s version of being expressive is good, so I don’t know if they’re better than you, they’re just different, and if it’s worth much, I like your way of being expressive. It makes me feel nice and calm.”

—

Another thank you, one that Ren quietly dismissed under her breath as a strong wind carted leaves all around them. A politeness that humans and people that used to be human often fell victim to. Sometimes, the nymph wondered if the obsession that folks seemed to have with the phrase was one that was taught by the fae. The longest of cons by the oldest of thieves. The girl couldn’t even count how many thank you’s she had to dismiss just going about her day to day life around anyone in a customer service job. It made her stomach sour just thinking about it. A shame, really, considering the fact that Ren also preferred to be polite. Maybe she’d teach Ariadne the simple, but far less dangerous phrasing ‘I appreciate you’ to replace the one she so often chose. 

“Okay.” If it truly was just something Ariadne did, then who was Ren to argue. It wasn’t hurting anyone, she supposed, except maybe the sorry giver herself. If she felt the need to say it simply because it was the right thing to do, that was fine. But if Aria actually felt as awful as Ren did whenever she said sorry, well… the nymph just hoped that was something she could help with too. Even just a little. Even if she didn’t know how to go about doing something like that. 

“Oh, I– yes I think I would like this. I did not– get many books growing up.” Things that didn’t directly relate to hunting were far and few between. Darya had only gotten the girl a few, a couple old science textbooks, and one antique field journal from an entomologist. The warden said she found it at a garage sale, something that Ren still hadn’t figured out the correlation of. What did parking cars have to do with interesting books? “Perhaps we… read together some time. Gael and I do this often. Drink tea and sit by fire while we each have story. I am– I think I am sure that he would not mind having someone else to be joining.” 

—

“Okay.” She offered Ren another shy smile. “Though I guess I can try to not say sorry to you as much, though I might still mess up, and it’s also never your fault if I do say sorry. Again, just something I do.” A sort of nervous tic of sorts, maybe. Ariadne wasn’t going to overthink it now. Right now was for having time with a new friend, and getting to talk about bugs with someone who knew so much about them and also loved them so much, and Ariadne was in significant admiration of Ren because of that.

She frowned, briefly, at the mention of not getting many books growing up. “I took a while to read books, and I still do, sometimes, but I … was lucky and I did get them when I grew up.” Maybe this was also like Wynne, with not being exposed to lots of stuff Ariadne figured was completely normal. Which just made her excited to maybe-hopefully get to explain stuff to Ren, to show her beautiful amazing things that she hadn’t gotten to see before. “I’d love that. I don’t want to intrude, but I would love to read with you, and also answer questions, if you have them, like if there’s other books and movies and stuff you don’t know a lot about.” Her face brightened. “We could have cookies too, maybe? With the fire and tea and stuff?”

—

“Mm!” It warmed Ren, to think that something she said actually had an impact on someone she felt like she had only just met. Hopefully it would be a positive one. The nymph knew she was often too blunt, or not well versed in people to know what was appropriate or not. She hoped she hadn’t offended the girl, especially if it was just a habit or something like that. Ren had a habit of not blinking for long long stretches of time, which was considerably more off-putting than being extra polite ever could. “If there is something I do that does warrant a sorry, that is okay too. You are fine just way you are.” And she meant that. It wasn’t often Ren met someone as kind-hearted and agreeable as Aria. She even wanted to talk about bugs which Ren could do all day. Obviously. 

It was late now, too late to have just finished cooking, but Wynne hardly cared. There was no room for any more food in the fridge and besides, Emilio tended to keep strange hours. The plan was to drop off the freshly made bread, knock and flee back into their apartment, where maybe now they could get some rest. 

Instead, as they were crossing the hallway the door to his apartment already opened. This was surprising, but what was more surprising was seeing Ren exit it with Perro in tow. Wynne considered the small window that showed the outside world, which showed no more daylight, and then looked at the other. “Hi Ren,” they said, holding onto the bread that was still in its baking pan. It smelled good, almost good enough to inspire their appetite to return. “I —” Their mind played catch up, remembering how Emilio had brought flowers from the other. “Thank you, for the flowers. And … are you going to walk Perro? Or what are you doing here?”

—

Routine was pretty important for Ren. So much had been in flux lately that the quiet moments of repetitive normality became the nymph's greatest solace. Walking Perro at precisely 10 pm and then later at 3:30 am was part of that routine. The long trek from Deersprings to Wormrow was usually enough to clear her mind, or at least get it to a level keel. Things were going pretty typically right until someone said hi.

Not just someone. Wynne.

"Oh." Ren blinked for a second, pulled from her internal monologue. "You do not need to thank me." How far had the nymph come, barely even raising a heartbeat while she rejected the appreciation. "Yes. This is my job." Sounding a lot more flat than she'd like, Ren's tone betrayed the jump of bells and butterflies that swirled the moment she saw the other. 

Wynne was one of the few people from the party that the fae thought she might actually like. They were sweet. They were soft in a way that Ren sort of wished she could be. Helpful too. The ginger tilted her head and examined the other. Helpful seemed to be the right word, were they delivering food to Emilio? Even with Ren's dulled nose the bread smelled great. 

"And yourself? Do you often supply baked goods to the detective?"

—

Right. No thanking people. Wynne wondered if Ren was simply a humble and nice person, or if they knew about fae as well. They nodded. “Sure. I was still very happy with them. Hospitals don’t have a lot of color, you know.” The white had hurt their eyes, at some point, and they’d taken to closing them even if sleep didn’t come. “I kept some of them to dry.” Because letting beautiful flowers go to waste was something Wynne was incapable of. Especially these days.

“Really? That’s cool.” The word cool had slowly intruded into Wynne’s vocabulary, becoming a favored descriptor for things they thought sounded nice. Still, it felt like a foreign word most of the time. As if they were just playing pretend at something. “Perro is very cute.” They smiled absentmindedly.

One of the lightbulbs in the hallway flickered and they tried not to be distracted by it, but it was hard. “Um, yes. Well, not really baked goods most of the time. I prefer cooking over baking. But I’ve been doing both a lot.” It was obsessive. A way to keep their hands and mind busy, that labor of life. Food was for the living and Wynne was among them.

They twisted their foot on the ground, toes grinding in a half circle. “You’re not gonna go out there now, though, right? I mean, it’s not safe.” 

—

Ren did not know. She'd never been in a hospital. Never seen a doctor at all. In fact she was terrified of the very notion. How had Regan put it? She'd rather die than see a doctor? Something like that. But the girl was already far too awkward. And saying something to that effect while true seemed… incorrect. So the nymph simply nodded. A single curt up and down accompanied by an attempted smile. Not enough to show teeth, it didn't seem the right time for that. But something to show she was listening, listening and understanding. Sorta. It wasn't a lie.  Now that Wynne had said it, Ren did know. She trusted them. 

"Oh, I also do this from time to time. Both for viewing and occasionally for tea. Not all flowers can be used as such though. Some flowers are not edible at all." Wynne might have known that. They seemed like the type of person who would.  They were a baker and they liked flowers. If even Ren knew about herbal tea, surely the rest of the world did too. Still the fact came out. An unnecessary explanation. 

At least the next part was easy. Perro was cute. Ren even occasionally practiced talking with the strangers who stopped her on the walks to tell her so. It was far and few between. Given the timing she always had. But it was enough for the nymph to realize that having a dog with you meant you did not have to share any details about yourself at all. Just nod and agree. "Yes." She nodded, agreeing with Wynne. "I agree." Foolproof. 

The shift in lighting immediately drew Ren's gaze. Her eyes so very attuned to movement, her heart so used to danger. But it was just a lightbulb. It was okay. Perro whined in protest of them not walking yet, which prompted Ren to scoot slightly out the door. "Oh. This is very good skill to have." She wasn't sure if she was supposed to close the door behind her. Was Wynne heading in? Should she leave it ajar? 

"Well this is walking time. And I have done so every night. Twice. For while now." And I have knives of almost every metal, Ren left that out. Knives, stakes, and an itching ache to take down something that was objectively bad. If something attacked her, defense was fair. If something attacked Perro, her skills would be not only useful, but good. The girl didn't want anything bad to happen, it wasn't that simple. But danger didn't scare her off like it maybe should have. 

—

That was nice to know, that Ren also dried flowers. Some for tea, some for decoration. There was so much that nature had to offer, from the prettiness of the flowers to the things that could be done with them after. “You can also press the not edible ones for oil. But it takes a lot of time and all of that. Flowers are fun, right?” Wynne smiled at Ren too. It was somewhat easy to do, even now.

They weren’t sure why they wanted the other to like them.  Sure, they wanted most people to like them — it was an annoying compulsion that flew forth from an endless need to please and a youth spent looked at as a future saint of sorts. But there was something else that came into play with Ren, it seemed. At the party she had seemed so uncomfortable and Wynne had thought to recognize it, except within them that discomfort was always miles below.

They sunk down a little, crouching as they balanced the bread on their knee and reached out one hand to pet Perro. This was a mandatory part of seeing the dog, after all. Wynne gave him a little scratch. “I did not know walking dogs could be a job. I wish I’d known that.” It was definitely better than making coffee. 

Raising to their full length again, they shrugged at the statement. “I guess. Food is important. We need it to live, and all.” That they did. Wynne looked down at the bread and tried not to think about the loaf they’d made for Zack and how we was no longer here now. They didn’t move for the door just yet, just standing there. The warmth of the bread spread through their fingers and it was almost comforting, but the idea of Ren going out there alone with Perro made Wynne far from comforted.

“Oh, okay, but —” They glanced at the dog and then down at Ren, because she was almost a head smaller than them. “Well, it’s dangerous out there. I used to go out by myself late too and always thought it’d be okay, but then.” Wynne didn’t want to project, didn’t want to seem like just because something bad had happened to them something bad had happened to Ren, but it had! In this neighborhood! Around this hour! So should they not be a little worried. “Then everything that happened, happened. It’s a … people call it a sketchy neighborhood.” They didn’t understood that idiom, but they got the intent behind it.

—

It wasn't hard to find things that Ren didn't know, but finding ones she was also interested in was a much harder challenge. The girl's proverbial dog ears pricked up at the notion, drawing a new expression to her face. "Oh! I did not know this. What are the oils in using for?" Ren knew of some alternate uses for a few flowers. Yarrow could stop a wound from bleeding, feverfew for well, fevers. Most of what Ren knew was built for self sustainability. And that whole fear of doctors they had going on. 

Wynne, having survived a trip to the hospital, was far braver than Ren believed herself to be. Wynne was human though, maybe that should have made a difference in how courageous the nymph saw the act to be, but it really didn't. Doctors were scary, point blank. They were brave for it. Ren sent flowers to show, because she'd heard that's what you were supposed to do. And now they were bonding over how those flowers could be used. All in all, this was a positively successful social campaign. Perhaps the best the girl ever got herself into. Unfortunate only that it took Wynne being hurt to get to this. 

"Well, I do not know if it is… real job?" Apparently real jobs paid money, and almost everything cost money. Something Ren was figuring out a lot slower than someone staying in an apartment or y'know, paying for all their own food and supplies, might have. Ren was lucky in that department. They were either unaware, living off the land and the occasional supply drop off, or living under Gael's care. There wasn't a damn thing she was missing now. Certainly nothing she needed to pay for. It was strange, hard to accept at times, but good. Probably. "Detective Emilio gives me these things that are called Lunch Ables. And a jacket. Though that was long ago when it was cold."

Then Wynne went on. They brought up danger again in a way Ren suspected might have had more to do with the hospital trip than she realized. Were they trying to tell her that? "Oh." Another quiet exhale. "But this is when I walk the dog." It was so matter of fact, so sure. Like that was the obvious answer, or rather excuse. She walked the dog at night. Twice a day. It was when Emilio was out hunting, and the pup needed someone. A stoic inflexibility. Genuinely curious as to what an alternative could even be, because one wouldn't occur to her naturally. 

—

“They’re for … well, you can use them to put into soaps and creams, for a nice scent. They’re mostly good for that, for putting scents on things. Like …” Their thoughts trailed off, trying to come up with an example that didn’t involve sacrificial lambs or humans. “You can burn it for a nice smell in your home.” There, that sounded right, because it was. No need to talk of the ways it was rubbed into the wool of the lambs, right? Wynne hoped that had saved their lost train of thought.

Their thoughts were so fleeting these days, fragile and silly things that kept leading back to home or that barn. Flower oil was an innocuous subject, as had the practice of using it once been — but there seemed to always be a return to the less easy memories. Wynne wondered if other people’s minds worked like that, and if so, what places Ren’s thoughts returned to when she was tired or not feeling as well. It was too personal a thing to wonder out loud, though.

They shrugged. “I don’t know. I suppose if you want it to be one, it is. I’m definitely not an expert in that department.” Wynne had rolled into their job at A Latte to Love by seeing a ‘help wanted’ sign and being lucky enough that Lauri liked them to give them a chance, despite their lack of experience. They smiled as Ren referred to Emilio as detective Emilio, wondering if the hunter liked being called that. “A good jacket is very valuable.” This, perhaps, was something Ren and them could relate on — should they know more about the other. “I don’t know what Lunch Ables are, though, is it food?” 

Wynne’s eyes dropped to look at Perro, who seemed to be excited to go on his walk. A dog should be able to stretch his legs, that much they knew — but they also knew what was out there. Maybe not the vampires who had taken them, Zack and Arden, but other things. Teagan had gotten hurt. Someone else would get hurt. “I – well. I guess.” They weren’t sure what to do with Ren’s response. “Maybe … I could come with you? And we can do a short walk. But there is strength in numbers. If you’re gonna go, I’d rather … not you go alone? Because it is a dangerous place. Sometimes.”

—

"Oh." One of Ren's infamous inflections. This carried the tone of interest. Others often spelled the sounds of melancholic realization. Wynne hardly ever pulled those ohs from the nymph. The human had a pretty good demeanor about them, it made the fae comfortable. The way they explained things made sense, offered the exact context that Ren  sought. Useful, without being too wordy. A skill she often wished other people possessed. 

"Would work for candles and such then as well?" Cass liked scented candles. She thought Van might too. But she knew Cass did and wasn't Ren trying to get closer to the other nymph? A terrifying thought. One far scarier than the idea of going for a walk outside in the bad part of town. Especially accompanied by such a calming presence as Wynne. 

"Correct. Jacket has proved invaluable." There was a ten cent word, one Ren heard often around the compound, but never quite grasped the full concept of. A good knife was invaluable. A day of the right kind of training, invaluable. The girl knew it meant something along the lines of 'something that couldn't be replaced by money' but that's sort of where the confusion came in too. Ren didn't really understand money. Not fully. It was one of those things you got when you had a real job. The nymph repeated a phrase she'd heard before, talking about the old jacket like a priceless shield, rather than something that could very well be bought. 

"The lunch ables are small packed salty food. Convenient. Easy to carry. We can share this one." Ren had already visited the fridge. Part of their ritual when coming to this house. Food in the bowl, grab the yellow box, grab the leash, head out. Wynne had interrupted this routine, but Ren couldn't hold that against them. Despite how much they normally hated changes.

"Oh?" This one carried surprise, a little confusion too. The nymph looked the human up and down, wondering what exactly they planned to do if something bad were to happen. "I suppose two sets of eyes are better than one. Three if you count Perro." Could Wynne even see in the dark? Sense movement in the way Ren was so accustomed to? Oh well. Hardly a thing worth denying the company over. 

—

They weren’t entirely sure if it worked for candles. Back at home, they had relied on incense and burning oils to give off scents, the candles only intended to create atmosphere and offer light. But Wynne didn’t see why not. “I guess so. Maybe we can try, one day? I have made candles before. It is fun.” 

Maybe that was something they should look for in a job, a place where they could make things. Wasn’t that what they kept coming back to? Obsessively standing in the kitchen, working with their hands. They missed the little processes they had had at home. Making soap. Making wreaths. Making. There was something nice about being able to buy all these things yourself – especially as Wynne often felt they lacked the energy to create anything – but it was somehow less real.

“I’m glad that you got it, then,” they said, and they meant it. Some people said these things to be polite, and though Wynne very much wanted to be a polite person, they also didn’t just say these things. Especially to someone like Ren, who they felt was someone they might grow to like more as time went on. Making friends was odd and strange, but this seemed to be what it was, right? “I am excited for it to be colder again so I can wear my big jacket again myself. I prefer being bundled up.”

They beamed at Ren and then nodded. “Are you sure? I’d like that, I really enjoy trying new food. There’s so many things out there.” Sharing was good. That was something they had learned at home and one of the few lessons that continued to ring true. Life was better when people cared for others in their community. Sharing was a key part of that.

Wynne felt a little doubt at their offer, especially because the knife Emilio had given them was not on their body right now. They took it most places, but not to these little trips across the hall. Maybe they should, considering how Jeff also always seemed to have a knife. They nodded. “Yes. Strength in numbers, right? And it could be fun, maybe. Should we go?” Best get it over with and be home and safe soon, they figured.

— 

"Okay. This sounds like it would be enjoyable." The redhead offered a slight smile. In that mildly awkward way they often did. Mind already bristling with ideas, uses, people who would appreciate a gift of a handmade candle. Gael's would smell of pine or coffee, Van might like something sweeter, maybe a floral scent to get rid of the constant pizza odor that she talked about. A longer list of people than Ren ever believed possible followed suit. Leaving perhaps the most influential for last. And only after a pang of guilt hit her like a wave. 

Would Darya even like something like that? Or would it be a mistake to try. The nymph never noticed anything around the old woman's house that didn't have a strict purpose. Ren too, fit that description. Only allowed in the matriarchal home when some lesson needed to be learned. Otherwise it was back to the lonely shack at the edge of the vast property. 

Ren could have run. At any time. She had the skills to, she'd been pretty much self sufficient since she was about… ten. Wouldn't have been glamorous. (And if not for her excellent hiding skills, she'd probably be gobbled up by whatever predator first stumbled upon her. Hell she was so small back then a particularly ambitious bird could've carried her off.) But it was hard to say if it would have been better. Apparently she never thought so. Something about the purpose the Adelskold family gave her, made it worth whatever isolation she had to endure. 

It wasn't like that here. In fact, it was far more rare that Ren ever found herself truly alone anymore. She couldn't decide if that was a good thing. If what felt nice in the moment was better in the long run. Three months ago she wouldn't have even considered allowing the other to come with her on the walk. Especially because it might be dangerous. But now–? 

The shopkeeper’s tone did not sound pleased. As Andy rounded the corner towards the front, she saw a young girl standing there with a pinched expression. Andy didn’t give a damn if this girl had actually committed petty theft. Who was she to judge? Stealing was how she and Alex had made a living anyway. 

In an attempt to get closer in case she needed to diffuse the situation, Andy began to loiter at a neighboring end cap, looking over the variety of multivitamins. The shopkeeper continued asking for the girl to empty her pockets, and Andy felt a surge of frustration. She thought about the woman who had intervened when Andy had gotten caught, and how she had lied through her teeth– something about being her’s and Alex’s older sister, and that they would never steal. 

She bit the inside of her cheek before turning around, staring down the man. “Why are you harassing my sister? She didn’t steal anything.” They could pass as siblings– both wearing a smattering of freckles and red hair, even if the stranger’s was cropped short. 

—

All Ren wanted to do was try. Try using that money thing that Emilio kept going on about, try buying something for a change instead of only ever fishing for not so moldy things in between banana peels and god knows what else found its way into a Wicked’s Rest dumpster. The nymph had been excited even. A chance to test out her newly acquired skills in friendliness. 

Apparently the shopkeeper didn’t care for the tactic. The man took one look at Ren’s raggedy outfit, listened to her sad excuse for a compliment, and mistook the ‘smile’ for a strange grimace. Put it all together and there you have it. A kid who was up to no good. The little redhead had spent a decent amount of time trying to decipher which of the snacks in the aisle was the exact kind Van had supplied her with the other night, which one had the strangely sweet and sour flavor. The one they said was fruit flavored but certainly was not. The shopkeep took this deliberation time as another act of delinquency. 

So he started yelling. 

All at once Ren was so small again. Was being chided for something she hadn’t even done. At first she tried to protest. Be open to conversation as it were. But that only raised his voice and added more fire to his tone until– 

Sister?? Her mouth must have dropped open. Ren felt like words were coming up, protest, but something caught her. The other girl’s look. It was similar enough to her own, but– there was no fae tug. Did she know something Ren did not? Had she been watching the nymph? How long had she– Was any of this even possible– 

Oh. It was… probably a lie. But… why? 

— 

The man glared at the two, cheeks rouge from the obvious discontent. 

I don’t give a shit if she’s your sister. She stole. 

Andy looked at the girl again, brow raised. She didn’t look like a thief, but most people didn’t. Andy stopped herself from telling the man that she didn’t care if something was stolen, because that would potentially only make things worse, and she doubted that was what they needed anyway. 

“You’re mistaken. She didn’t steal a damn thing.” Andy stepped closer to the girl, putting herself between the two. The man smelled like overly saturated cologne and it hurt her nose. “What do you think she stole? What did she take?” 

The man stammered, the red deepening across the bridge of his nose and across his cheekbones. 

Well I– I don’t know, but I saw her put something in her pocket! 

If it were Alex, Andy would have dug into her pockets for her, but this was a stranger. A stranger that Andy was pretending to be the sister of. She looked over at the girl. “You didn’t steal anything, so you don’t need to show him the inside of your pockets if you don’t want to, but if it’ll get you,” she looked back to the man, frown deepening, “back the hell off, then is that what she needs to do to get you to lay off?” 

—

It made no sense. Absolutely none of it did. The stranger who kind of looked like Ren insisting she was related, or the shop owner’s need to see the inside of her pockets. There was a stagnant hesitation as Ren processed through all that was being said. As the shock of being screamed at like she was back at the compound wore back into a dull ache rather than a paralyzing poison. Shaking hands (the only part of her that wasn’t stone still) moved from her sides to reverse the nearly empty pockets in both Emilio’s second jacket that he’d given her, and the shorts she’d pulled from a dumpster outside of some big box store. 

Crumpled papers with unsatisfactory drawings, a wadded up ten dollar bill, some coins that were not even American currency, a tiny vial of holy water that Emilio had left in the jacket by accident, and lint. Nothing special. Nothing to be accused over. Nothing they even sold in the store. Luckily, Ren didn’t keep her knives in her pockets. No, those were in the sleeves. Safely tucked away where they didn’t even leave a bulge or anything. 

Ren had been trying so hard to be a statue she’d forgotten to breathe entirely. Now, she could go without inhaling for a bit longer than the average kid her size, but the hungry gasp she tried to hide still wouldn’t go unnoticed. Still, she couldn’t speak, so she just had to let the stranger do it for her. 

— 

Andy watched the man’s expression devolve into something akin to embarrassment. Satisfaction colored her tone as she spoke. “See, there isn’t anything. I see the money she would have paid you with, but that’s it.” There were some other things, but those didn’t matter. Whatever the man thought he had seen wasn’t there. If the girl had pulled out something that she’d stolen, Andy would have had to dig for some excuse. 

It was clear that the situation had startled the girl and Andy felt a surge of guilt that she hadn’t intervened sooner. She had been in the other’s shoes more times than she could count. At least, until she’d gotten better at stealing. The man continued to stammer, throwing his hands in the air before turning around. The back of his neck was red, too, and Andy genuinely hoped he’d carry the embarrassment with him for the rest of the day. 

“Asshole,” Andy muttered under her breath as he went back to the register. She looked back at the girl who stood there as if some kind of statue. “You okay?” Andy tried her best to smile, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “What did you need? I can get it for you.” The girl had money, but by the state of her, something told Andy that maybe it was all she had. “Some of this is buy one get one, anyway.” 

— 

“I uh–” One thing about Wicked’s Rest, for all its strangeness, for all the monsters it housed, there were so many people ready and willing to lend a hand. Ren had no idea the outside world would be like this. In fact, she had been brought up to believe almost the opposite. Darya had made her a perfect soldier, one who wouldn’t question orders or think too deeply about the fact that she was set out to kill her own kind. Each day out in the open was a test of her loyalty, because everything out here seemed to contradict the older woman’s teachings. 

“Was gummied worms.” It was probably a good thing that Ren had not spoken more than a few words to the shopkeeper, he might have noticed the thick accent that clung to every statement, and how she so often misused words, ordered them wrong, or applied suffixes that didn’t quite belong. “Soured ones.” 

The night with the others had been a whole different flavor of strange. If Ren hadn’t excused herself at ten to go walk Perro, she might have stayed the entire night. But instead, she returned to the sorry excuse for a shelter out in the woods. Dreams of citric acid covered sweets dancing like sugar plums around her head. A feeling of belonging she never dreamed of having. And the guilt that it inspired too. 

— 

“Gummied worms?” The girl had an accent that Andy didn’t recognize. It wasn’t her job to pick her apart, she decided. “Sour gummy worms… got it.” Andy offered the girl a smile, this time with it reaching her eyes, before she turned towards the aisle with the candy. “You should try peach rings, too. They’re good.” She plucked one of each from the shelf, dropping them into the basket next to her other items. “You have good taste, though. Candy is a good choice.” 

The girl was a little on the thinner side, and she reminded Andy of herself. It was like she was looking in a mirror from when she and Alex had gotten out of Lyon. Her stomach twisted slightly, but she kept smiling. “Do you need anything else?” Not everything was buy one get one, but it didn’t matter. Now that she was in a better position, she could help, and she wanted to. Especially after the bullshit with the shopkeeper. 

“No pressure, by the way.” Andy knew what it felt like to be offered help, even when you weren’t asking for it. It could be awkward, and the last thing that she wanted to do was make the girl feel guilty. “If you just want the candy, that’s okay, too.” She heard something from up front and the shopkeeper stared at them, a begrudging expression flickering across his features. Andy had to do everything in her power to not give him the bird.

—

At the repetition, Ren’s cheeks reddened just slightly. Almost hard to tell under all those freckles. She’d never seen anyone else with as many as she had. For a moment, it had the fae wondering if the ruse would have worked otherwise. Did normal humans look a lot like their siblings? Ren didn’t get enough of a chance around the other Adelskold kids to really tell. Everything was always kept at a distance. Everything here was so close and warm. 

Andy (not that Ren knew her name yet) was taller than her. By quite a bit. (To be fair, this wasn’t saying much. Most dogs would be taller than Ren if they stood on their hind legs.) She had her hair grown long in a way that would surely have annoyed the nymph. It was already too long for her liking. Something she’d have to figure out how to deal with sooner rather than later. Having a bit on top was fine during the winter, but now? It was too warm to have to contend with. 

“I do not think I need anything else. Was… craving? This is more than enough. Your kindness is remarkable.” Too many people offering her too many things. It was too much to process most of the time, right now, right after being verbally suckerpunched by the man who owned the store? It was worse. Awful. Ren was surprised she managed to say anything at all. 

—-

Andy noticed the way that the girl looked at her, but she didn’t comment on it. There was something familiar in her expression, but Andy wasn’t sure what its name was. Not admiration, that was for sure. Andy wasn’t the kind of person to be admired. 

“Remarkable?” Andy bobbed her head before letting out another laugh. “I’m not sure about that.” Her gaze cut to the shopkeeper who was watching them from the corner of his eye– it was obvious by his body language. She made a show of dropping another item into her basket before turning fully towards the kid. Andy silently wondered how old she was. She looked to be about Alex’s age which made Andy’s chest tighten. The question of whether or not this kid was a con artist came to mind, as Andy had taken that approach more than once, but there was a genuinity that was absent. Even if she were a con-artist, Andy wasn’t sure she cared. 

“So that’s it, then? Sour gummies? Nothing to drink?” Andy had half a mind to ask if she needed toiletries, by the state of her, but she didn’t want to assume. Too much too quick, and the kid might tuck tail and run. If it hadn’t been for Alex standing behind her, Andy probably would have, too. 

—

Even if the girl didn’t think so, Ren saw it as admirable. The young nymph wished things like this came easy. A smile, confidence to fight on someone’s behalf, rather than just fighting them. A certain familiarity to this whole schtick that she could never really master. Not with a hundred years, or however long it took for something to finally get the better of her. Nymphs were supposed to live a long time. That was the whole point of Darya’s experiment. A longer lasting warden. Someone who could fight things from the inside out, and keep doing it as long as she didn’t die. 

What Emilio, Nora, Van, Thea, Gael, and even Cass taught her, is that you need people around you to keep you alive. Even if doing so goes directly against what you were programmed for. The unknown redhead was in there too. Giving just a little bit of sunshine to make the flowers bloom. 

“I am fine with water I have, but you are kind for asking this.” Maybe she should have been suspicious. Maybe she should have stopped to think, but Ren had a habit of taking most things at face value. And right now, there was a kind woman who was doing more than her share of being helpful. The kind of thing you do to try and make friends. “Let us just leave as soon as we can, yes?” 

—

“Water, sure.” Andy wanted the girl to ask for more, but she knew the feeling– of asking too much, of taking too much and how the guilt would cause you to erode. Andy didn’t want to drive off the girl before she could truly help her. “You just stay put, I’ll go and pay, okay?” She gave the girl a small smile before heading towards the register, grabbing two bottles of water from the nearby drink fridge. 

After she’d paid for the items as well as gotten fifty dollars cash back, Andy stuffed the bill into the bag, beneath the items she’d purchased so that the girl wouldn’t see it till she was long gone, and returned to her side. “Here you go.” She handed off the bag with a small smile before motioning for the redhead to follow her outside. 

“My name is Andy, by the way.” The girl hadn’t asked, but she still felt the need to supply it. She looked towards her jeep before glancing back down at the kid. “Sorry you had to deal with that shithead to begin with.” Andy frowned slightly as she looked back inside to the store where the man was watching them through the window. After being noticed, he immediately looked away. Rolling her eyes, Andy let out a sigh. “I don’t think he’ll give you any more issues.” She twisted her own bag of goodies around her fingers, letting the bag spin one direction and then the opposite. 

It hurt how much of herself she saw in the girl. Was this how small she had looked? How much more pity would this girl be given? Although, Andy wasn’t sure that her assistance had been out of pity, but instead out of reflection. “Figure it might be overkill, asking if you need a ride anywhere.” For how careful she usually was, one might point out this was out of character, but she just hoped that if this kid did have a sibling somewhere out there, they might appreciate someone looking out for her. Andy knew that she’d be grateful for anyone that decided to help Alex. “I hope you like the peach rings, though. They’re good.” 

—

If Ren had blinked in the time between when Andy stepped in for her, it’d have been a miracle. The wide eyed stare had barely left the other red head the entire time, and yet somehow she missed the secret transaction stowed away in the plastic bag that’d been handed over. Just like that. Ren hadn’t done anything to deserve this. Just… got yelled at. Which as far as she was concerned, was a pretty rote thing to happen in her life. Adults yelled, she stood still until it was over, and hopefully it’d be okay. 

The nymph mechanically followed Andy (That was her name, she had offered it, something Ren hadn’t even considered doing. All those tips on how to be friendly seemed so far away when things like this happened.) out into the parking lot. Quite like a lost puppy might, upon being offered a scrap of a meal. Only, the puppy didn’t believe it deserved the things it was getting. Driven on by a bodily instinct that superseded the mental blocks placed ahead of it. “Ren.” Squeaked out. Barely audible. Tiny in the way that the entomid always felt. 

“I do not need… ride.” For the first time Ren’s gaze flickered away. Drifting to the jeep that wasn’t unlike some of the few cars that made their way deep enough into the compound for Ren to see. A big practical thing that could just as easily drive off the paved streets as it could on them. “I do not know how… to fully express how kind this is.” The bag in her hand rustled, and her lips attempted something that was almost a smile. “This was not something you needed to do.” 

— 

“Ren? I like that name. It’s nice.” Andy understood the shock after being accused of something. It had happened with her parents, and the multiple run-ins with store owners like the asshole back inside. She wanted to give her time to process.

Andy shrugged, her smile still present. “No problem, no ride, then.” If she were in Ren’s shoes, she probably wouldn’t take it either. Especially not in a town like Wicked’s Rest. “You don’t need to worry about it.” She neglected to explain how somebody had done the same thing for her. Even if it hadn’t happened that way, Andy would have stepped in anyway. She knew that she didn’t need to identify with whoever was in trouble, not always. “Ehh, the guy needed to be taken down a peg, it wasn’t an issue at all.” 

She looked towards her jeep, then down at the bag that Ren held. She hoped that she wouldn’t dig in and find the fifty dollar bill until long after she was gone. The last thing she needed was for the girl to try and give it back. Andy let out a soft sigh. “Stay safe, yeah?” Andy wasn’t sure if she would ever run into Ren again. The town was small, but not that small. “And just… if anyone starts anything like that with you again, hold onto what’s true, you know?” Even if it’s not, Andy wanted to say. 

—

Something closer to an actual smile graced Ren’s lips for just a moment. That warm sort of feeling filled her chest again and she found herself glancing down at the ground rather than look Andy in the eye as she fiddled with the bag in her hands. Still too frazzled to realize it was probably a lot heavier than it should have been. The tiny girl wanted to speak up. Wanted to properly express what all this meant to her, but that would require words she just wasn’t capable of arranging adequately.