"God damn it!” She screamed in frustration. What a shitty day this had turned out to be. First she forgets her phone at home, second it was cold and windy and last, it was night. . . and her car won’t start. The one time she gets the night shift, and doesn’t get to lock up, she is stuck. She can get into her car, but she can’t get it to start. Why didn’t Hale fix that! He told her he had it done like a week ago. Kicking the car, she cursed on her breath as she held her foot. “Stupid piece of shit.” She cursed in pain as she jumped around a few times before sighing.

Wiggling her toes, she finally started to get the feeling back. Why her? Why did everything bad seem to take a liking to her. Leaning against her car, she stared up into the sky, clouds where all that could be seen in the darkness of the early night. Carla could only see because of the dimly lit boardwalk where her mother’s dying clothing store lay. Well there was no point on staying back in the tiny parking lot, where it’s creepy and scary at night. Hell, one of her co-workers got stab back here last week, so it would be better to be out on the board walk then in the back alleys where workers parked.

Reaching in her back seat she pulled out her bag and slammed the car door shut. Once she find a phone she’d call a cab, but what place would be open at this time? There was no way she was going in a bar either. Maybe there was a pay phone nearby. . . now that she thought of it, the fairground just a few blocks away had phones outside. Well it looked like she was going for a nice long walk tonight. Sighing to herself, she ran her hand through her messy medium length hair before starting off.

Carla didn’t bother with, pulling her I-pod out. Sure it would make her feel somewhat better about walking alone. . . in the dark and it may keep her mind off things, but. . . the fact that she wouldn’t be able to hear if someone was coming up behind her freaked her out even more. The fact was, Carla was going all ninja mode and had a plan of not being spotted by anyone until the she got in the cab. Biting her lower lip, she peeked around the corner. All clear.

She had been walking for about twenty minutes now and was almost at the fair. Her heart beating the inside of her rib cage with no signs of stopping. She took in shallow breaths as she listened to each of her steps. Each step made her flinch inwards because it sounded like an earthquake in the quiet wooden walk way. A group here and a person there would go by, but nothing stopped to bug her. So far so good. Only until Hale would find out that she was out this late at night alone.

One more block to go, and then home free. Walking slowly looking down at the ground, her arms wrapped around her body. It was sure cold with fall closing in, her whole body was shaking now, she rubbed her arms as if it would warm her up. Carla wasn’t a very warm person, but damn was she starting to get really cold. She had started to focus so hard on staying warm that she didn’t hear the foot steps behind her until they were almost two feet away. Her heart stops, she stopped too. She was frozen in place, her eyes wide in fear. Slowly she started to turn around to see who was coming her way.

Something flashed a light into her eyes before a fast movement came at her. Screaming her lungs out, her eyes closed tightly before she tried to hide behind her arms. Carla was very jumpy, and the dark just made it all the worst. “Are you okay?” Some asked a few other voices laughing. She was close to the fair by now, she should have noticed the group before now. She must have been really wrapped in her own mind.

“Yeah, sorry. A little jumpy.” She said quickly, her face heating up as she looked at the group, two boys, four girls. She would be okay. She wouldn’t panic more. Just breath.



At the bar just at the edge of town, Hale hunched over the counter of the bar, a glass filled with rum in his hand. It dangled in the air, the ice hit the glass with soft clicks. His black leather jacket was still on, as he listened. He pushed passed the music, the sound of pool balls zipping along the green felt of the pool table. Everyone around him would think nothing was going on, but Hale knew all too well that they were here. Hidden easily within the group of people whom were just looking for a good time. A good time that would end badly. Death, slavery, rape and more. These creatures were evil and he wasn’t about to let them harm the innocent.

Two men were laughing along with two very pretty looking girls. They were just illegal drinking age from the looks of things, drunk at the young hours of the night. Downing his glass he pushed it slightly towards the bartender and got up. Easily sidestepping those, who stumbled into his way. Despite his size, Hale was swift on his feet. A skill learned to keep up with those tinkle toe monsters. Faerie. Seems silly right? Thos cute little creatures which have been known as creatures of the seasons. It was some sick joke the innocence people seemed to think faerie were good, if only they really knew.

To the world around them faerie were just some myth, something of children’s imagination. Well they were real and they were evil bastards. Only those, who had the unlucky chance to deal with them know the truth. Claiming to see these things and scream of their evils would only end you up in the padded cell. His hand pushed along the sweaty door as it flung open letting the cool night hit his body. He followed after the small group had made their way out of the bar. Sometimes, humans acted like the faerie, making it hard to pick them out those who were just bad humans from the real monsters. However, this time, Hale knew these two. Wanders, those stupid enough to try something outside of the woods. He believed it gave them some sick rush.

He’d have them all dead if it wasn’t for that bitch. Just thinking about her made him want to knock some teeth out. He’d get that soon though, as he watched the faerie men lure the two girls towards the back of the bar. Hale made sure to keep his distance as he watched. The light was gone now, just a dim light at the back of the bar and a few at the front. Hale, with ease pulled around the side of the bar unnoticed as one of the girls started to sound unsure. “Molly, come on let’s get a cab.”

Molly laughed, her arms wrapped around one of the faerie’s necks. “Loosen up girlie, we’re just having fun.” She started off with her words dragging before she locked lips with the devil.

“That’s right sunshine, I’m not going to hurt you.” The other monster said with soft words, an enchantment lingering in his words as his hands touched her, a slight heat coming off them helping make the nervous girl calm a little.

“Hey twinkle toes.” Hale said from the shadow close by. The faerie tensed, for a moment before smirked over at Hale. One pulled the Molly girl in closer, her back pressed along his chest so she couldn’t see the blade he pulled out as it flickered a little in the dim light. He was ready to let her bleed out right there without letting her know there was real danger.

“Ah, if it isn’t the hunter. I thought I smelt something foul in the air.” He laughed almost in a rhythmical way.

His gun was out in a second, the first shot aiming just above their heads. Panic filled the girls as they screamed, only to be knocked out as a distraction for their getaway. The two faerie then turned small winged creatures of the myths and started to zip away. “Fucking shit.” He cursed as he racing after them leaving the girls to be found by someone who’d help them. It wasn’t far to the woods from the bar, which was why it was such a good hunting ground for those liked to make humans their personal toys. However, with the two shots of the gun someone was surely going to come around to investigate.

As he chased after them it was hard to see them, just barely seeing. They had a little distance on him, but he was catching up. They were fast and swift little creatures in small or big forms, but with his training, he was getting faster. He watched them dart around trying to lose Hale, but Hale was able to track them with ease even after they got past the woods entrance. One thought he could get an upper hand on Hale and got above him before becoming human size again, a blade in his hand as he dropped down, Hale side stepping, hearing the faint sound of his change and had the gun pointed at the faerie. Just as the faerie noticed Hale, he knew what Hale knew what he was up to. The gun went off, running right through his chest. Hale didn’t brother seeing if it was a kill shot or not, he didn’t want to lose the other one, so kept rushing forward trying to make sure he didn’t lose the other fucker.

Even as night coated the atmosphere in navy blue, the forest hummed delicately with life. It never fell still. For every creature that found rest in night’s gentle embrace, another found the inky sky ideal to live under. With spring fast approaching its finale, the Summer Court eagerly prepared for the coming of their season. As decades of routine had habituated, the summer faeries bedded down hours before the sun finished its descent from the sky. It was too early for Alden, whose wandering mind never allowed him to drift off when his brethren did. When he was sure that the last faerie had succumbed to sleep, he always sneaked away. It had been his own little tradition since he was a small boy. An inborn wanderlust barred him from fully assimilating into the ritualized way of life that faeries held dear. There was too much see, too much to learn. It had begun with small explorations close to the perimeter of his court, which turned to lengthy jaunts around the entire boundary of the forest; his clandestine adventures grew and grew in their boldness until, recently, they had become forbidden excursions into the humans’ territory.

When the river’s susurrus voice became lost among the chattering of crickets and toads, Alden dropped to the mossy floor and grew to his full height. Accompanied by half-a-dozen delighted pixies that darted and weaved around his face, he ran through the trees. A damp breeze prompted a shiver to race down his spine; it smelled deliciously of the lush flora that thrived in the enchanted woods. Minutes, hours later, the pixies grew bored and left him. The air transformed, earth mixed with salt and cement—a new scent he was learning to appreciate. Slowly and then suddenly, the fragrance of his forest dissipated. Not long after, he broke through the thinning trees and was spat out at the boardwalk. He shifted back down to the size of a hummingbird. His wings, dull green and ragged to resemble an oak leaf, beat rapidly, lifting and then propelling him through the air. Never had he ventured farther than the fairgrounds, but just that was enough to transfix him. Sometimes he would fly above the millions of flashing lights and howl along with the humans on the roller coasters, or orbit around with the children and couples on the carousel. Other times he would simply perch on a stand and watch the people pass him by. He would watch lovers embrace, children play, parents laugh, and dream of the day when he would muster up the courage to talk to them.

On this occasion, he was set for the carousel, but his gaze chanced upon a lone female. It was the first time he’d stumbled upon anybody walking alone. She looked edgy, much different than the thousands of effervescent, excessively flirty females he often witnessed at the fairgrounds. Slowing his wings, he descended until he was level with her face. Skirting the railing, he studied her. She was pretty, he decided, very much so. In a way that was much softer and less ostentatious than many of her species. He followed her, sticking to the shadows so he would remain undetected. He could feel her tension zap the air, but it was nearly masked by his anticipation. This was the one he was going to reveal himself to; she was perfect. He began going over lines in his head, trying to piece together a suitable introduction. People-watching had taught him enough about human mannerisms, but still he rehearsed until he got it flawlessly. A moment he deemed perfect came upon them; no people had passed them for a good five minutes. He would shift and approach her from behind. On the count of three: one, two, thre—. The girl halted, and so did he, a bit deflated at the interruption. But he soon understood it. Behind him, he could hear quiet footsteps he had been too focused to notice before. Freezing, he watched a seemingly benign group near her from behind. A member of the group flashed his light up. Her reaction was so violent it caught Alden off-guard; he plummeted a few feet before he was able to recover from the start and remember to flap his wings again. The girls giggled, the boys chuckled at her. Cautiously, Alden lowered himself down onto a plank and peaked at them from behind a post. The nerve he had been cultivating since the start of their walk together disintegrated. It would have been difficult enough with just her, but with six others? No way. The agitated faerie puffed out a sigh; this was just his luck. Sinking down to the moist wood beneath him, he folded his legs underneath him and, as he always did, wistfully watched them.



Sequestered just behind the lively boardwalk, the Everwood’s herbal shop had existed since the founding of the town. But, as the town had grown, so had the shop’s popularity shrunk. Truth was, most folks didn’t believe in the holistic way anymore. In Hazel’s five years of working the shop, she had only come to know a good thirty regular customers. More often than not, people only stopped in when they were lost and needed a free phone to use. She didn’t mind though. It was a family relic—one that she was glad to upkeep—and she had grown fond of the handful of eccentrics who stopped in a couple times a week to chat with her. The shop was a place to spend her days before returning to her safe haven in the evenings, and she was glad to have it.

When the sky became imbued with the orange-y glow of the sunset, she slipped from behind the wooden counter and locked up shop. Hugging the store’s thick ledger to her chest, she skirted around the back and onto the boardwalk. Small and easily overlooked, Hazel was hardly even noticed by the mini-mobs that passed her, but she noticed them. She regarded the spark of pleasure in their eyes with a faint smile. The coming of summer was her favorite time of the year; tourists and locals alike had begun a swarm to the fair that would trickle in all season, and their eager happiness would continually permeate the air.

Passing by the old shop of the late Mrs. Swimminer, Hazel paused for a second. Her thoughts settled upon the Swimminer siblings. She was well-aware of the tragedy they had sustained, and felt a pang for it. Hale had become a lost soul, but she often wondered about Carla. There were many times when Hazel was nagged by the temptation to drop in and introduce herself to Hale’s younger sister, but she never let herself be led by the urge. Something told her that Hale would not appreciate the effort, and she didn’t want to be the cause of any more upset in his life, no matter how small. A duo of preteens brushed passed, knocking Hazel out of her brief reverie. She smiled down at the oblivious two, and then continued on to the tiny parking lot at the store’s back. She climbed into her yellow beetle and aimed it at the back-road that led home.

Like the shop, the Everwood home had been a part of the town since the beginning. An old two-bedroom clapboard cottage, it wasn’t much to look at. The foundation was beginning to sag, it was about twenty years overdue for a fresh lick of paint, and cobwebs fringed the window regardless of how often they were swiped away. But it was her home; the only one that had ever known. An old familiar contentment settled into her being as she climbed the porch steps to the door: there was no place like home. Upon entering, a brown and white stoat roused himself from atop her bookshelf: her daemon, Sinis—a spirit who had much to atone for in his past life. The creature yawned, bearing an impressive set of needle-sharp teeth, and gently nibbled at the fingers she outstretched toward him.

~*~

Mid-dusk found Hazel slipping away from paperwork and trading her sundress for a pair of jeans and a light tunic. The fenced-in garden at the edge of the property was where she always found herself ending the day. An adjacent shed’s wall was decorated every inch with the herbs she had hung to dry. The garden supplied her with the remedies she sold, as well as basic fruits and vegetables that were consumed by both her and the various fey in the area.

Hands stained by the rich soil, Hazel stopped worrying her plants and laid back against the moist earth with a wistful sigh. Just above her head, she could hear Sinis scurry around inside her blackberry bush, eating bugs and berries as they appeared to him. When his belly was packed, he stretched out by her face. Peaking on eye open, Hazel smirked at the weasel.

“You’re getting fat, Sin.” She reached forward and poked his pudgy belly with her index finger. Sinis regarded the insult with a small hiss and shot from her sight, off to brood until he grew bored or she begged his forgiveness—whichever came first.

Chuckling quietly, she rested her arms behind her head and stared dreamily up at the darkening sky. String lights bordered the perimeter of her fence; their twinkling gave off the impression of enchantment, but the real magic was far from her home. The Seelie queens had no interest in Hazel. They regarded her with only a fraction more trust than the common human. She was there to mediate the two worlds and nothing else; none of the courts were interested in friendship. The only creatures who ever gave her the time of day were the brownies, and an occasional wandering gnome or hobgoblin. She was never alone though. Even when Sinis occasionally strayed from her side, she never felt lonely. When she closed her eyes and cleared her mind, she could always hear the forest’s song—a soft thrumming of life and the buzz of magic. It lulled her to sleep’s ledge, but her eyes shot open just before she dropped over the edge. Something interrupted the cadence like the brassy crash of a symbol. Sinis appeared suddenly from a nearby burrow, lifting himself up on his haunches to investigate the disturbance. Hazel herself stood, uneasiness knotting her stomach. It had been ages since she’d felt something like this. Quiet minutes passed until finally, the explosion of a bullet being expelled cracked across the air.

Oh no. There was only one person that could possibly belong to, but she was terribly reluctant to believe that Hale would break the treaty. Sinis took off, using his keen senses to guide the way to the altercation. Hazel followed close behind, doing her best to keep up with the swift daemon. They came first across the broken body of a faerie. If not for the vibrant crimson liquid that outlined him, she might have passed right over him. He must have been shot when he was human-sized or else his body would have been obliterated. The fey’s eyes were open, but his glazed expression indicated that his body was void of a spirit. Tears sprang to Hazel’s eyes—such a waste of life. She stroked the fallen faerie’s face with her fingertips. Sinis intervened, nudging her fingers with his snout. He was right, she needed to press on and find Hale.

The foliage had been recently crushed down in the direction that mirrored the one she was following. She followed it, pushing herself faster and faster. As she ran on, her quest to track down Hale began to seem futile. Pushing ever forward despite the fact, she was rewarded with a glimpse of his leather jacket. He and the fleeing faerie ran in the same direction as her, but on a different track a good ten feet to the left. Scraping up the last of her endurance, she picked up speed and intercepted Hale, cutting him off from his prey.

“Hale!” She stretched her arms straight out like a fence. “How could you? You broke the treaty!” Her voice rang with a naïve betrayal; her eyes pooled with unshed tears.

The light was lowered from her eyes, she blinked a little, still blushing deeply. After a moment of blindness from the light she could see it was just a phone flashlight app, the guy who held the phone had an eyebrow raised as the few behind him were trying to cover up their laughter, the last two just smirking in amusement at her fear. “Freak.” She heard one of the girls whisper to the other as they giggled.

Carla looked away and started to walk away. She pushed her shaking hands into her pockets as if trying to hide them from on lookers. “Boo!” One of the guys yelled from behind making the whole group roar with laughter. Carla let her head lower, her shoulders pull up in a small hunch as she started to cry softly. She didn’t look up as she quickly walked away, her hair covering her face from any on lookers. Even as she got into the more crowded part of the boardwalk she didn’t look up. She made a beeline for the phone, bumping into people here and there getting yelled at. However, that didn’t stop her or even slow her down as she got to the phone.

Once there she took in a deep slow breath, her heart still racing a mild a minute. She took her shaking hands from her pocket and put them on top of the payphone to keep her from falling down. “It’s okay Carla, just breath.” She mumbled softly to herself before opening her eyes and standing up straight. Her hands still trembled just a little as she brushed the hair from her face. She keep on the deep slow breaths as she flipped her bag open and started to shuffle through it for her money. As she did so she bite her lower lip debating if she should try Hale or just go for the cab. If she had enough for two calls she’d call Hale first, if not she’d call the cab. Even though Hale said he’d always pick up if she called didn’t mean he always did.

Feeling a small chill run up her back, she glanced around as if someone was watching her. After a moment of her eyes slowly looking at each person nearby she knelt down and started to place a few things along the wood of the boardwalk trying to find her wallet. She had almost totally emptied it when she finally found it, a small smile coming across her lips before she started to open it and look for some money. She was short five cents for two calls. She bite her lip and looked around. She’d rather call Hale first, getting in a cab with a stranger was never a lovely idea for Carla.

Sighing she looked from her hand with the money in it back up to the people walking by. The real question was, could she con herself into asking people. She looked back at her hand and closed it around the cool money before standing up and pushing it into her jean pockets. She started towards someone. “Ah-ah umm, can-by.” She took in a deep breath and started again. “By any chance would you have five cents I could have?”


Hale was far from being quiet as he barreled down through the forest after the other faerie. With each hard pound of his worker boots on the forest ground gave way not just to sounds of snapping branches, plants and leafs but trembles deep into the Earth. If this brought more Faerie out, the better. Most of these sick bastards would be dead and gone. Just in the corner of his eye he saw the flicker of the faerie’s wing hit the moonlight to his left. He took a sharp turn, sliding in the damn Earth leaving a small skid mark where he turned before barreling after the faerie. He waited for the flicker of the moonlight to appear again, his eyes darting around as he jumped over fallen trees, bushes and passed around trees. THERE. Hs feet planted for just a moment as he aimed and fired. The loud shot seemed to shatter the air more than his stampede through the woods. He didn’t stop though, he pushed forward knowing that if he missed the faerie may try and throw him off again. He needed a confirmed death before he could double back.

Reaching about the spot he saw the last flicker of the wings, his eyes started to dart around looking for a sign, before in the distance he could hear something coming. It was one. . . no two things coming this way and fast. One was quiet, just sounded much like the breeze well the other rushed along the woods wildlife but quieter then Hale just had. Just as he was about to turn and take aim, he saw the flicker of the wings in the distance. “Shit.” He cursed knowing he was about to lose the monster. So he took off despite how he was already panting. As he was running a branch flung at him, something the faerie must have set up when Hale was looking for him. Hale ducked just in time, as some of the leafs brushed along the top of his head. He stumbled a little, almost tripping over the rock that suck out of the ground. “Fucker.” He growled as he got his footing back and kept pushing forward.

He could see the wings flicker once more much farther in the distance, it was almost impossible to make out, and that was when she appeared. He had been so focused on what he had been doing he forgot that two things had been coming. He almost ran headlong into her, but just at the last minute he stepped to the side and tripped over a root making him tumble to the ground and roll into a truck of a tree. “God fucking damn! You’ve gotta be fucking joking me.” He cursed before groaning softly.

Taking a moment to let the pain dim, he pushed himself to sit his head turning in the direction of the last spotting before he shook his head. “Hazel, you’re really starting to piss me off.” He stated with annoyance in his voice. He pushed his hands into the dirt before standing up. He reached behind himself to push the gun into the back of his pants before glancing at his own state. Dirt and nature stained his clothing, a soft grumble leaving his lips as h e started to brush himself off. “Wonderful.” He grumbled when he couldn’t get it all clean before twisting to look at the back of his jacket, but due to his wide frame was able to.

Sighing softly, he ran his fingers through his hair before finally looking at the woman with cold eyes. “Get over yourself, they were going to most likely rape and then murder two young girls. I wasn’t about to let them get away again.” He said coldly before silence fell between the two. “I know, I know, I’ll get out of here.” He said rolling his hazel eyes before turning down the beaten path he created.

From his perch, Alden watched the uninvited visitors begin to heckle his girl. A deep frown etched his brows; that didn’t seem like a very fair response when they had been the ones to alarm her. An apology seemed more in order than laughs at her expense. Politeness, he was learning, was a characteristic deeply ingrained in the faeries, but not in the humans. The older, wiser ones seemed to have a better grasp of it, but not this generation. The girls, he observed, seemed to be the ones most interested in exploiting his target’s mishap. None of the four possessed features as graceful as hers, and he pondered whether or not their behavior stemmed from envy.

When his target went on the move again, he lifted himself from the plank and flew after her once more, keeping towards the floor of the boardwalk this time. He tried to watch her, but it became harder and harder as the boardwalk filled up again with people. She began to cry, that much he gathered before he finally had to fly down by the water to avoid human detection. More likely than not, if he was noticed, he would be mistaken for a dragonfly or some other large insect. ‘Faerie’ was not the first thing that came to most peoples’ minds when they saw a mysterious flying creature, especially in the darkness. But discovery was death for him and his people; he had to play it safe. With a soft sigh, Alden dipped his fingers into the ocean below him. A tiny ripple the size of a shoe string followed him until he pulled his hand back and glanced up at the boards above him. Through them, he heard the footfall of his new friend come to a stop. Carefully, he ascended once more and peaked from behind the wooden cover of railing. Somehow, in the few minutes since he’d left her from his sight, she had managed to become even more shaken up. There was something she was missing when she dug in her wallet, he could tell. It set him up perfectly; he would swoop in and offer her whatever she needed. The only obstacle was that he was the size of a knick-knack, and there were too many people nearby for him to grow. Thoughtfully peering about, Alden weighed his options. Twenty yards up, he could see where the walk branched off into stairs that led down to a boating dock. Not ideal, but it was worth a shot. Diving back under the walk, he zipped over to the dock as fast as his delicate wings would let him. To his delight, the dock was completely desolate, minus a few beer bottles and cigarette-butts. Before that gave to change, Alden transformed into an even 6’0.

When he was able to catch up to his new friend again, he found her imploring a starchily-dressed man for money. The man, trenchantly speaking into his phone, flippantly brushed her off with a shake of his head. It went without saying that human and faerie currency were not the same. A few times in his life, he had seen the occasional gnome or troll proudly flash an unidentifiable coin they had somehow come upon, but they were a rare thing; he certainly didn’t have the five cents that what she was seeking. He wasn’t about to let that get in the way of taking the golden opportunity to finally talk to her though. With only a moment’s hesitation, he cut in front of her.

“Hello! My name is Alden.” He greeted her with a wide smile, but it dulled when he realized that was as far as he had scripted. “I, uh, couldn’t help but notice that you seem t-to, um, be in a bit of peril.” Tripping over his words definitely had not been how he pictured his introduction going, yet that was exactly how it played out. His cheeks began to warm, and his smile faded into an apologetic grin. “Might I be of any assistance?”


Hazel’s body bunched up; a wince hissed from behind her teeth as she realized that she had cut Hale off too close, and he was about to barrel into her tiny body. Seconds before he hit her, he somehow managed to veer out of the way, and was rewarded by a tumble off to her side. From behind the arms she had raised to shield herself, she saw him make harsh contact with the earth. Her anger at his brutality was momentarily forgotten, replaced by guilty concern.

“Sorry, Hale! Sorry!” She rushed over to him, but he was on his feet before she could be of any assistance. Not that she had expected him to welcome her help anyway.

The fury he met her with restored her own anger, and she crossed her arms defiantly to her chest. However, she quickly realized that anything she wanted to say would only end in a yelling match and would lead them nowhere. She was opposed to fighting on the worst of terms anyway—that was Hale’s thing. Anger, resentment, cruelty: all did not belong in the forest. Hale was tainting the air with his hate; she refused to do the same. So, while he said his piece, she gathered herself.

“I’ll escort you out,” She responded softly when he turned his back to leave. In silence, she trailed behind him until she could think of something useful to say to the man who had betrayed her trust and spilt blood in her forest.

“That faerie will be caught and dealt with by the Seelie Court. You know that the Unseelie are not welcome in the forest. Why didn’t you just come to me, Hale? This could have all been avoided.” Hazel trotted a bit until she was able to fall in step at his side. Taking only a second to breathe, she continued before he could cut in with a snarky remark. “You know the treaty just as well as I do. I have done nothing but honor it all these years. The Unseelie are banned, and I give you regular updates on activities and populations. Why can’t you give me the same courtesy by honoring my one stipulation: you do not hunt on my grounds. If this happens again, I will have no choice but to enlist boggarts and spriggans to ward off any foreign visitors. Please, don’t make it come to that; I don’t want violence.”

Just ahead, she could see the trees thinning back into the city. She prepared to take her leave, but before she left said, “You have a beautiful soul, Hale. I hope that one day you find a way to conquer your darkness so that you can see it too.”

With Sinis in tow, she doubled-back for home. The forest still sang, but its tune was dull and monochrome. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she suddenly felt like an intruder. Of course—a faerie had fallen under her watch; she had failed at her one and only duty as guardian. She blinked at the moisture in her eyes and wondered how long she would receive the cold shoulder before she was forgiven for her grievous error.

The man walked away without a word, not even a glance her way. Normally she would love the invisible effect she had on people but right now, she needed to grasp their attention. The very thing she hated. She backed away a little, her hand still held awkwardly in the air but closer to her chest. Her eyes looked at the ground, a sadness pushing forward through her usual fake emotions. She was scared and alone and it was dark. It wasn’t safe, nothing is safe. When some pretty much yelled at her, with a cheery voice, she couldn’t help but jump again. Her back went right into the corner of the phone booth. Her half scream of surprise was cut off into a hard grunt as her face winced in pain before she fell down onto one knee, her left hand pressing into her back where the rounded bottom of the metal phone booth wedge into her muscle of her lower back.

She took a second hissing a soft sound in pain before she finally glanced up at the man before her. Pain pushed itself to the front part of her brain at the moment making her fears dim into the distance. The boy seems off, his face was lit up with excitement but a lingering worry could be seen in the very depths of his eyes. His hair was longer, but not girlie long, it was wild as if it had never seen a brush. His skin was smooth. She still hadn’t said anything as he stuttered along. She couldn’t help but doubt his reasons for talking to her. She let her eyes drift away from him as she scanned along the distance for a moment looking for a group of stupid people just wanting a good laugh. She seemed to be the victim to cruelty of humans. Yet when she couldn’t find anything she couldn’t help but glance up at him again questioning his choice of wording. “Be in a bit of peril?” she couldn’t help but say out loud a slight bitterness in her words before she took in a slow breath and stood up keeping her hand press to her back.

Picking up her shirt she looked at her back, seeing the dark ugly colours already starting to form, it was going to be really tender for a while. Yet that didn’t stop her from touching it again and taking in a sharp breath through her teeth. After a moment of holding her breath she dropped her shirt back down and glanced over to the boy. Her eyes were cautious, untrusting, guarded. She just stared him down for a minute before she held out her hand, her palm pointing up to the sky. “Have five cents? I need to make a call.” She said not wanting to give out more then she needed to. After all, he could be dangerous and just be that good of an actor. That’s how the bad ones got away with what they did after all.

“Yeah, well you better fucking be. I just saved your ass from a possible broken bone or two.” He grumbled up at the woman before telling her how annoying she was getting. He got up brushed himself off before heading on his way. When she didn’t really say much besides babysitting him on his way back, he couldn’t help but raise a hazel eye that reflected the moon’s light for a moment as they passed by a break in the tree line above them. “What, no smartass comment?” He said before pushing his hands into the pockets of this leather jacket, his head turning back to look where he was going. Knowing his luck, after being so graceful on his feet and skilfully jumping out of the way at the last second, he’d now catch his foot on a root and face plant into the dirt or worse a rock.

He couldn’t help but sigh softly. Letting the sigh draw out before glancing back at her just as she fell instep beside him. “You really don’t have to walk me back. I’m not about to get lost or go on a witch hunt in here. That’d just be stupid.” He said his voice still a little ruff but the anger no longer lingered in his voice. However, that’s when she brought up how faeries deal with their own issues. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes and huff a little. He opened his mouth to speak, but she kept ranting or well trying to lecture him. It really just went in one ear and out the other. “Yeah, sure. Just like last time, and the time before that and oh the time before that? Hazel, look, I totally understand that you don’t see them as bad creatures, but it’s their nature. Besides, what they would have done to those fucks would have been much worst then what I did. Quick painless. Maybe if they stayed away from humans as I’ve told you, we wouldn’t have this issue to begin with.” He said his voice getting harsh again towards the end as his anger flared up.

It was then that they came to the clearing and he turned to look at her, him much taller than her, at least a few inches. “Look, I wasn’t really planning on rushing in. I got caught up, those two –“ He almost swore again but took in a deep breath, running his hand through his hair again. “ Those two have been coming out every night, in the last month, they got away with three deaths before I could find them, that isn’t even counting the huge number of deaths and rapes I prevented by chasing them off. I was not about to let them get away again, when I was so close. Just be happy I didn’t kill the other four faeries that were in the bar. At least they were behaving.” He hissed towards the end. It was quiet for a moment. “But whatever, next time they that . . . thing won’t make it to the tree line.” He said a darkness casing off him before he waved her off and started to climb the small ditch up to the gravel road.

Just as his boot hit the gravel, she spoke again. This time she took Hale by a slight surprise. He didn’t show it though, rather he looked back at her with a raised eyebrow as if indicating she was insane. “Well good bye to you too.” He said softly as he watched her form disappear into the darkness of the trees. Shaking his head he muttered softly to himself. “Hippy.” Before making his way down the gravel road to the bar so he could grab his car and look for some other trouble makers deeper into the city. After all, the night was still young.

Again she screamed, and again Alden made as if to jump straight over the moon with the shock of the sudden interjection. So incredibly loud, these humans were; her especially, he was learning. He hadn’t yet finished recovering before she skittered back into the boxy phone booth. His hand half-extended to catch her, and a grimace of his own marred his tranquil face. It had not been his intention to be an instigator in any harm that befell her, but she was so unexpectedly skittish; he was having a difficult time predicting when or not she would react volatilely to her environment. This was not how he had planned for this to go. All the other girls he had seen were the epitome of warmth and bravery—this one seemed distant and suspicious. She was missing every step he had choreographed for them; if he were wearing a tie, he’d be anxiously pulling at it.

“I’m terribly sorry; I didn’t mean to startle you.” His smile had dimmed, but a nervous chuckle was released from somewhere in his constricted throat nonetheless. A part of him weighed the option of politely excusing himself from her company, and sparing them both the rest of the calamity that was his miscalculation in their introductions. But he liked her; she was his very first human friend. He wanted to know her.

They came to a silent impasse that made his skin itch under her probing gaze. The sounds of the night echoed in the air around them. Many of the people on the boardwalk had dissipated, off for their own adventures, but the few that remained, combined with those he could hear from the fair, created a low din of noise that he found to be pleasant. To the far right of him, car tires could be heard rasping against asphalt; below them, the water gently whispered; all around them crickets chirped and whip-poor-wills chanted. He liked the song that this new world of his sang, very much. Interrupting the continuous melody with a voice he found lyrical in its own special way, the girl mocked his wording. He squinted; it was hard to perfect the humans’ speech—it was so informal, lazy almost.

Without warning, the girl lifted up her shirt, revealing her smooth, soft flesh underneath. Cheeks slightly warming, Alden politely averted his eyes. Nudity was commonplace to say the least in the forest, especially among the nymphs; in fact, sexuality was something very much embraced and manipulated in his world. His kind, the fay folk, frowned upon the other mythics’ ostentatious salaciousness, but even the fay could not be categorized under prude. More than a dozen times in the human world he had eavesdropped on talks of modesty—mostly mothers, fathers, and grandparents sharply scolding their kin for the amount of skin they revealed—and had concluded that the baring of flesh was not looked particularly fondly upon by many who inhabited the human world. The last thing he wanted was to offend his new friend by looking where his eyes were not welcomed. When his peripherals let him know that she was covered, he returned his gaze to her and smiled warmly; despite the bleak emotions that swirled in her eyes, he was bursting at the seams with hope for them.

That hope hitched only briefly when she requested money from him. He should have been ready for it, especially given he knew that was solely what she was after. Pretending that he wasn’t sure, he proceeded to vainly dig through his pockets for the money she requested. When nothing was found as expected, he removed his hands and showed them to her with an apologetic shrug.

“No, I guess I don’t.” A second passed before his eyes lit up with an idea. “I don’t have it, but I know someplace that might. The fair always has loose change on the ground. I would be more than happy to walk you there and look with you, if you’d let me.” There was nothing stopping her from telling him to get bent; in fact, that was probably the smart thing to do. She didn’t know him, and she certainly didn’t owe him the time of day. He had nothing to prove that he was the kindred spirit that he was, only the genuine smile that he offered her once more.

With her hand on her back, the pain still lingering in her lower back, she shook her head. The slight pained expression on her face was easy to place. “No-No, it fine.” She hushed with a slight hiss from the pain. She took in a deep breath closing her eyes for a moment before the fluttered open as she looked up at him. “I’m easily startled.” She laughed nervously as she finally pushed up to stand. She let out another small sigh as her gaze left his, her focus more on her back then on him. There was enough light yet she didn’t take her full attention from him. She could easily see him from the corner of her eyes. She lifted her shirt up to check the mark, she was pretty sure there would be a discolouring but she just wanted to double check for blood. Lucky her, no broken skin.

When she started to peek up at her guest she could see, him blushing in the dim light as he looked away. Carla quickly dropped her shirt having not really thought things through before blushing slightly herself and not letting their eyes met again. His shyness may have won a little bit of Carla for the moment, but she still had her tall walls up. It was then that she thought that maybe she had become a victim to some sick dear and looked around slightly worried. Her eyebrows pinching closely together, a small frown on her lips before she sighed and shook her head just slightly to herself. She finally glanced up at the boy before her again, to see him still so happy. She couldn’t help but scowl a little at the boy. Carla didn’t understand happy people. But then again the only time she felt really happy was when her brother was around. He was her best and only friend.

She asked if had any money, feeling slightly embarrassed by it all, she watched him with a slight blush look through his pocket to have them totally empty. That was weird. Her blush faded as she eyed his hands a little. He would have at least a wallet or keys, even some loose change to get home. She bite her lower lip in a slight paranoia. She told herself not to freak out. She couldn’t freak out on everyone. Her one hand gripped the money in her hand a little tighter. She took in another deep breath before letting it out slowly. She could feel her heart trying to speed up. She would not freak out. When he finally brought up the idea of looking around the fairground she made a face of distrust. Her forehead became lined as she swallowed a little. She glanced towards the fair, her ears listening for any sounds of him moving. After a moment, she took in another deep breath.

“Ah. . .” She paused awkwardly her mouth still open for a moment before she closed it and took in another breath to finish her thought. “Ah, let. . . let me try my first call.” She finished rather awkwardly, her weight shifting in place, showing her discomfort. She turned around quickly, before then shifting her angel so she could see him from the corner of her eyes. She pulled the phone off before awkwardly holding it between her shoulder and ear as she opened up her palm, the glint of the change flickered in the dim street light. She counted out the money for the first call as she put the rest awkwardly back into her pocket before pushing each coin in carefully hearing it fall into place. She then started to dial Hale’s number that she new by heart. She tapped her foot, biting her lip as it started to ring.

She almost thought he wasn’t going to pick up when, she heard his voice. “Hello?” The confusion was clear in his voice. It wasn’t often he got unknown number calls.

She sighed a smile of relief and joy crossing over her lips. “Hale-“

“Carla? Why are you an unknown number?” He said quickly worry and slight anger in his voice.

She sighed. “Well if you let me finish what I was going to say, you’d have your answer.” She said slightly annoyed her foot tapping again.

“Sorry.” He grumbled a little making Carla smile even more, before she sighed and frowned at the phone.

“My car wouldn’t start- before you cut me off about having fixed it, clearly, it’s still not working. But my phone died and I’m on a payphone beside the fairgrounds, come pick me up please?” She said picking up her speed in speech, a little worried the time of the phone would run out.

She could hear him sigh before his car tried squealed as he turned around shapely. “Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute. Next time wait in the shop. You know better.” He lectured as she opened her mouth to reply but he carried on. “I’ll be there in ah-ah about fifteen minutes. See you then.” He said before she could hear the dead line. She sighed softly and hung up the phone.

She looked at it for a moment slightly sad before remembering her odd guest. She peeked back through her hair to see if he was still there. She laughed awkwardly not sure what to do. Her hand came up to the back of her head making her scratch the back of her head for a second. “I guess I didn’t need it after all. My brother picked up. . . so I won’t have to call a cab. Sorry for using your time.” She said still uneasy and awkward sounding. Her hands fell to her sides before slowly linking together in front of her as she fidgeted a little. “But thanks anyways.” She said softly.

Another swing and a miss: for the umpteenth time that night, Alden felt his stomach drop. He couldn’t understand why he was failing so badly with this human. For weeks he had been watching, learning how to be the perfect conversationalist. The temptation to ask her what he was doing wrong pushed at his lips, but he resisted—something told him that the ol’ “Excuse me ma’am, I’m a fay representing the summer court; would you be so kind as to take a second of your night and answer my quick survey on why our interaction has been such an abject failure?” would only lengthen her mistrust in him, and perhaps convince her that he was crazed and dangerous. The truth was, his grasp on the brutality of human society was limited. Fay could be temperamental, petulant, and cold, but almost never to each other, and rarely unprovoked in the case of human interaction. The didn’t swipe children from their yards, brutalize each other for pocket change, or rape. It wasn’t in their nature—the Seelies, anyway. The Unseelie were the root of all that was evil, but, just like the humans, Alden had no experience with them; they were ostracized, banned from ever being able to integrate into any of the four courts. Light, love, and innocence were all that had ever been allowed to imbue his soul, which was why his new friend’s reactionary mistrust filled him with melancholy confusion.

Though she was not obvious about it, Alden noticed the way the girl positioned herself when she made the call; always watching him as if he were going to turn feral at a moment’s notice. Sighing, he turned his back to her so he was the prone one, and leaned against the boardwalk’s coarse railing. His eyes found the water; like always, he found himself struck by its lassitude. The waters churned lazily, splashing against the beams that supported the walk, but otherwise swirling unhindered. Various vegetation as well as garbage spun in endless circles just underneath the dock. Just a dead, lifeless pool of water. The waters in the woods never had and never would see such listlessness. The pixies, sprites, nymphs and sylphs always brought life to the lakes and ponds in the woods—follow the giggles and unmistakable glow, and you would soon find yourself at a lake’s edge. Even when winter’s rimy kiss froze the waters solid, the traffic of fay folk didn’t dwindle. They simply played on the slick ice until exhaustion drove them to seek comfort on the snowy bank. Despite his upbringing, Alden found himself incredibly fond of the winter season. There was always a surge of life around that time, perhaps a compensation for all that was lost from the hibernating trees and animals. He wondered if it was the same or the opposite for their human counterparts. Did their vibrancy also permeate in winter’s chill to stave off the grimness of the dying land, or did they whither with it until spring brought its reprieving warmth?

He did not ponder long before his friend finished up her call. Upon hearing the click of the receiver, he turned back around to face her, careful not to move from his spot at the railing. Disappointment welled at the edges of his heart, but he was glad for her—she would soon be able to escape the discomfort and wariness that practically dripped from her. “Oh, wonderful! No need to apologize; I’m just glad that you found someone to get you safely back where you belong.” Alden flashed her a kind smile, but then let it drop to a grin—his mouth was almost sore with smiling, feeling it was necessary to comfort the girl. In hindsight, he realized that the biggest smile in the world would not have earned her trust.

“Maybe I’ll stay with you for a bit, just to make sure you don’t run into any trouble. There’s a lot of sketchy activity around here at night.” Or so he had heard, verbatim, actually. The fair always drew the attention of miscreants like moths to a flame, according to a few of the people he found himself eavesdropping from. It made sense, he supposed. There weren’t many street lights to illuminate those who prowled, and many people thought nothing of walking alone to their cars. With the fair producing such a cacophony of music and screams, the shouts of the helpless would go unnoticed. Alden frowned into the darkness.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught your name? Mine is Alden…but I believe I already told you that, come to think of it,” He grinned sheepishly, pushing his unruly hair from his face.

Even when the boy turned away from her, Carla kept a watchful eye on him. She bite her lip a little until she became distracted by Hale picking up his phone. She turned away from Alden and stared at the numbers on the phone booth her hand resting on top of it as she held the phone with one hand. When the conversation was done, she sighed to herself and looked at the black phone with its metal cord before handing it up with a soft click. She then turned to Alden as he turned towards here, clearly half listening to know when she was finished. It was nice that he at least respected her privacy. So she smiled just a little and told him that her brother was coming to get her. However, as she watched him for her place beside the both, even in the dim light of the street lamp she could see the disappointment in his eyes. As if. . . he wanted to help her for real. It wasn’t out of kindness, but something else. She worried about that, she wasn’t sure what to think of that kind of reaction from a guy.

Sure he seemed kind, but she couldn’t help but look at the world as filled with monster’s wearing masks to lure you in. If only she knew what Hale did, it was good that Hale kept the reality of the world from her, for she’d be more of a wreck then she already was. But even with her normal distrust of the world around her she only trusted Hale and Ash, well them and Jem her dog, but Jem was different. Her hands had been holding onto her bag as he hung from her shoulder touching her hip. She couldn’t help but grip the strap a little bit tighter as she watched him. Her eyes were guarded, never a happy looking but never showing sadness and fear. It was like a middle ground between. “I guess-“ She started to say that she’d be on her way when Alden spoke. She closed her mouth and looked at the ground for a moment thinking about it.

He could be a killer, a kidnapper, a rapist. Or he could be nice and worried about someone so young being alone in the dark. Still she shouldn’t chance it, but that hurt lingering in his stance and eyes just reminded Carla of her weak ways of hiding how she really felt. That didn’t stop her from glancing around again, feeling like he should have been here with someone. No one was ever around here by themselves, well she was but that’s because she had the worst luck ever. She bite her lip for a moment before sighing a little and pushing her small smile onto her lips. “Ah-umm- sure.” She said rather awkwardly before shifting her bag slightly uncomfortable. “Thanks.” She said after her moment of pause before she laughed just a little. “I guess I’m not very good at hiding my discomfort then?” She said before looking at him in the eyes, before turning to head towards the fairground public parking. It was a small lot, not nearly as big as it should have been for such an attraction. Cars could be seen parked along the street, she knew that at least half the street would be stocked with cars. It was only slowly become deserted around two in the morning.

When he spoke again as they walked to the side walk, making their way through the packed in cars in the overly stuffed parking lot, she glanced back at him and smiled a little. “Oh, ah right.” She said before glancing forward so she wouldn’t trip or totally run into something. Glancing back at him as they came to the side walk she made sure to sit under the street lamp. “Umm, I’m Carla.” She said before looking down at her own shadow. “If I’m being honest, I kinda forgot your name. I’m really bad with that.” She said before glancing back up at him. It fell quiet, the awkwardness making Carla blush a little. It seemed he was as bad at this as she was. “So umm, what brought you to the fair tonight?” She said trying to make small talk. Something she didn’t even do with people who came into the shop.

It was a small victory when she surrendered her acquiescence to Alden, though he understood that it had more to do with some shift in her than with his miraculous ability to influence. He understood that perfectly; like salty waves lapping against the rocks, he had simply eventually worn her down. Though his presence had won her acceptance, he knew that it had not won her trust. And that was okay with him, for now. He could feel her keen eyes as they worried over and considered him. Each time she looked at him, he did his best to disarm himself—to forfeit anything about him that might come across as threatening. A difficult task, as he was not by nature intimidating nor ferocious.

“Your discomfort is perfectly acceptable.” He replied to her timid observation, smiling at the nervous laugh that accompanied it. “I suppose you don’t get many strangers prying their way to your rescue.” He shrugged, and gladly followed her lead down the walk. “Do you believe in fate? I do, and I knew just by looking at you that we were going to be fast friends.” It was his naiveté that drove him to make such a statement. What was a friendly confession meant to attract good feeling in his world could easily be seen as an overbearing assertion in this strange world. However, he did not leave time for the remark to stain the air before he pushed forward, taking the lead by a breadth so his presence behind her would not cause alarm.

They neared the fairgrounds, and he felt his heart surge hopefully in his chest. Perhaps he would get his way and she would accompany him to the grounds, even if they only barely fringed upon its borders. He craved more than anything to be able to share in the lights, laughter, and music of the fairground with his new friend. It was with vague disappointment that he noticed her stop instead at the sidewalk. Under the dull hum of a street lamp, she sat. He followed her descent onto the grimy cement. Leaving a comfortable gap between them, he sat in front of her. His long legs crossed, he rested his lissome fingers on both his knees; his posture was unthreatening, unalarming—just as he was taking pains to make it so.

She finally admitted her name, and he spoke it aloud with a gentle grin. “Carla.” It was unique; he enjoyed the way it forced him to curl his tongue when spoken. He considered it for a few moments more, but soon found himself caught up in the sudden flood of pink to her cheeks. A blush, he knew that much, but he couldn’t pin what was the cause of her embarrassment. It didn’t matter, for she spoke again; a topic created solely to fill the silent space that had settled between them.

“I’ve been here quite a few times, actually.” He licked the salt from his lips and ran his fingers through his hair, made even more wild than usual because of the sea’s air. Hastily, he pondered what he should tell her; he didn’t wish to lie, but it wasn’t as if he could tell her the truth either. He finally settled upon an acceptable middle ground: the truth riddled with omissions. “My family is not from around here.” Not a lie. “They’re sort of strange, I suppose, to most. I guess I am too though, huh?” He shot her a grin and continued, “They like to keep to themselves, and never really venture out into the city unless it’s absolutely necessary.” Still not lying. “I can see the fair’s lights from my home. From where I am, they always look like stars that have withdrawn themselves from the sky. I can hear the noises too, the people and the music and the games—they seem almost otherworldly as well. I just wanted to see what it was all about, and so I started coming here at night. It’s mesmerizing, isn’t it? Like a little piece of magic stationed right in the center of the town.” He was glancing around then, like a spellbound child, trying to take it all in for the thousandth time since he’d started venturing into the town lines.

After a time, he caught himself and smiled abashedly at his present companion. For a second or two he measured her in silence, but, remembering that the quiet made her uneasy, he offered up the expected other half of the conversation. “And what could have possibly brought you to the boardwalk alone so late at night?”

He was awkward just like her. However, it was in a slightly different way. Her’s a paranoia thing well his. . . she wasn’t totally sure. He was either about to do something really bad, or he really didn’t know how to talk to a girl. Like those boys in high school that shunned and picked on for not being sporty and ‘good looking’. They’d go up to a girl of their dreams knowing they’d get shot down, but just had that little bit of hope. Now she was wondering if he was in high school. There were two in the area, but she hadn’t recalled him being at her school, then again after grade ten, she ignored everyone unless it was necessary to socialize. Now she thought she was just over thinking things. But that was nothing new with Carla. Always second guessing her second guesses. At least he seemed understand, or it was just part of his ploy. Damnit Carla stop, just stop for two seconds. She thought to herself a small sigh leaving her lips as she finally looked away from his awkward smile as he told her, her discomfort was okay.

She started to lead the way to where Hale would be picking her up. She pushed her hands into her pockets feeling the cool breeze of the sea rushing up off the waves and over the bored walk. When he brought up needing to be rescued, she almost shot him a witty remark before realizing this wasn’t Hale or Ash. She hadn’t stopped herself before her lips parted slightly a small awkward sound leaving her lips. As she walked he then pressed her lips together in a firm line. Her mind racing for the right answer to his statement. “No, I tend to scare them away.” She said, which is partly true. With her walls up, she became a very hard person to get close to. If she wasn’t shaking in fear, she got bitchy and rude. There really was no middle ground for her. So, to keep herself safe from the harms of crime and well drama normal people deal with, she just poured out all that negative energy to make people avoid her like she had the plague. Sure it was a little lonely, but it was better than hurting again.

Before he had a chance to reply to her, he blurted out something a little freaky. It made her stumbled a little bit. Lucky for her she was able to catch herself before either A: face planting into the ground or B: falling into a car and setting off its alarm. She took a second to make sure her feet were planted well on the ground before glancing over at her follower as he walked in front of her. “Ah.” She paused not wanting to be rude after he offered to help her look around for money on the ground. “No. Too much bad and not enough good. No offence.” She said with a small shrug as she struggled not to frown to much. Fate was a bitch if there was one, but she wasn’t going to say that after he . . . he creped her out. Why was she being nice? Right he could always be ten years older and drunk. Crazy would work until Hale got there.

As they finished walking towards the side walk, he kept just slightly in front of her. It was nice not having to look over her shoulder to check on him and well speak to his face. She would have easily tripped on the air and fallen. She was rather good for that. Lucky for her she was now sitting on the small curb right in the middle of the street light as she waited for her older brother. The small talk started and to keep herself from over thinking everything, she picked at her nails, before finally giving her name. When he said her name as to repeat it, it was a little weird. No a lot weird. She pressed her lips in a firm line as she glanced down the road as if looking for her brother’s car, but you could hear him coming before he got there.

When she glanced back the small talk started. She sat there quiet, her fingers mindlessly fiddling around to half distract her. However, as she bite her lip, her mind wondered. Who lived outside out town where they could see the fairgrounds? Only that herbal lady lived out by those woods, but she was closer to the road and not the sea. There was a bar near there, but that was on the wrong side of the road. He was getting weirder by the moment, it took all of her power to not try and ditch him. She needed to wait for Hale to make sure when she did finally get rid of him, she would be safe. What if he really was crazy and being told to leave would make him snap. . . . she was doing it again.

Finally moving her hands away from each other she brought them up to rub her face a little, she was tried, the thought making her yawn a little. She let her hand shift down from her brown eyes to mouth to cover it. “Sorry, long day.” She lied with ease before putting on a small smile. Where to start? People who rambled like that bugged her. Never leaving a moment for a reply. “Where do you live? I’ve lived here all my life and I thought only that herbal lady lived out there?” She questioned giving him the change to reply before noting. “Oh and about the fair, I guess it kinda is nice.” She glanced back only seeing bits of the higher rides lights the distances noise could still be heard. “But it lost its magic a long time ago for me.” She said before glancing aback. “Pessimistic I know.” She finished before giving him a small smile. “I’m being a total bummer aren’t I?” She said with a small and weak laugh before she looked down at her shoes again, before pushing her big toes together and then tapping them a little before glancing up at him again.

Lucky for her, the conversation started to shift again. It was towards her, but it wasn’t a weird question. “Bad luck honestly. I work in one of the shop, my car broke down and my battery died earlier today. For my phone.” She finished before shrugging a little. “It’s why I had to call my brother, but he doesn’t always pick up, so if he didn’t I’d have to call a cab.” She finished before biting her lip a little and looking down the street again, a stronger breeze of wind blowing her hair into her face. She took a second to tame her hair before glancing back at the boy feeling awkward again. She gave a soft laugh, just one before she looked down at her feet again a small smile. “God I’m really bad at this. You would have had a much better time talking to someone else.” She said not to hurt him, but as a self hate for herself. There was nothing right in Carla’s mind about herself. She knew she was a mess and just made her way through each day knowing there was a good book and her family at home.

Alden was beginning to feel a bit like the line of a heart monitor—shooting up and then plunging desperately back down. He was flat lining now. It was in her face, the nervous flash of her eyes, the subtle pitch in her voice: she resented his company; it made her uncomfortable and wary. He suppressed a melancholic sigh, and tuned out from his second internal crises that night to focus in on what she was saying to him. She was asking where he lived, suspecting the woods. A flicker of panic licked his heart, but he set it aside. “On the other side of the docks; there are a few old fishing houses down there.” In his attempt to be truthful, he had only corned himself into a lie anyway.

I thought only the herbal lady lived out there? It took him a moment to grasp that the ‘herbal lady’ she spoke of was their guardian, Hazel. Is that what they called her here: herbal lady? As if her knowledge of the earth’s ins and outs was something unusual enough to grant her a moniker. Humans were strange in the way they rejected what the world had to offer. Herbal lady Hazel’s knowledge of remedies and afflictions had been privileged to her from the Fay, as it had been to her mother and her mother before her, and before her, and so the list went on. Or so Alden had heard. He had not known the guardian’s family, barely knew the guardian herself. The queen did not like the courts to acknowledge her existence in their forest. Other creatures knew her, though, and would occasionally have a story or two to tell about her. Her hair was like wheat, eyes like pale jade; she liked to sing and to garden; she was kind, and to break her smile was a true accomplishment; a daemon in the form of a stoat had chosen her when she was just six. Pointless bits of information about her were all he knew. The Fay did not regard her, and it sounded like her own kind did much of the same. Alden felt a pang. He felt sorry for himself because he could not find acceptance in a world he did not belong—how would he feel if is his own kind rejected him?

When Carla pointed out the pessimism in her remarks, Alden crooked a small sort of grin. There seemed no easy way for him to reply, so he opted not to. Instead, he shifted, stretching his legs straight out in front of him. It was not the admission that she did not see the fair as he did that ‘bummed’ him out, it was her. It was her fortified walls that blocked his every approach; it was the gloominess that clung to her like a shadow. It seemed to bleed onto him, stinging him with a hollow sort of sadness that tried to choke his own happiness. Suddenly, he was homesick for the comfort of family. In his mind’s eye, he could see his sisters and brothers, like little hummingbirds, peacefully asleep. It was late, he was long due for sleep, and it weighed down upon him like a thick fog.

Carla went on to tell the reason behind her predicament. Quiet fell on them for no more than a few seconds, but again, she was bothered by it. He wondered why silence rattled her. With a tenuous laugh, she revealed what had crossed his mind a time or two since meeting her. Pondering the merit of her statement, he cocked his head to gaze at the few people milling about the sidewalk opposite of them. A girl only a few years younger than him picked at cotton candy with a friend. Her eyes were wide and bright; her teeth were bared in a wide smile as she spoke eagerly about something he could not hear. Would he have been better off if he had introduced himself to her instead? Would he be the reason she smiled so big?

After a time, he spoke, “Perhaps, but I didn’t choose someone else, I chose you; maybe you don’t have to believe in fate to believe that means something.” His eyes turned back to her; he smiled sweetly. Despite their tumultuous interaction and his resulting inner turmoil, Alden was glad that he met her. She was special. Dark and distant, but his first friend in this strange land all the same.

A car’s bright headlights illuminated his eyes suddenly. He squinted against them. By the way the vehicle slowly roamed the road, Alden knew that it belonged to the brother who was picking her up. “Looks like that’s my cue to leave; I don’t want to inspire any protective-big-brother-wrath.” He laughed softly and picked himself up off the ground. “It truly was a pleasure meeting you tonight, Carla. I’ll wish you goodbye, but hopefully only for now.” Dusting off the seat of his pants, he waited just a moment for her response before dipping back into the shadows of the boardwalk. “Oh, and don’t forget to charge your phone next time; you never know what crazy stranger you’ll meet around here!” He chuckled at his own joke and walked until he could no longer see her or the car.

When the boardwalk stilled of human life, Alden shrunk himself down and buzzed carefully home. After a night of questionable success, he was eager to get back to the comfort of home and sleep until a new day began.


~*~Next Morning~*~

Pretty rays of light tinted pink by thin curtains danced across Hazel’s closed eyelids. She murmured and turned away, eyes flashing open to see Sinis curled in a rock-like slumber next to her on the pillow. Smiling, she rubbed her eyes and slipped from the cozy grasp of blankets that wrapped around her like a hug. The new day brought with it tremendous healing. Listlessness and despair no longer pecked at her skin. So long as she strayed from thoughts of the tragedy of the fallen fay, or of Hale’s betrayal, her mind was at peace again. Horrible mistakes had been made, as was the curse of being human, but she would not let herself fester over them—that would accomplish nothing.

Every step she took to the kitchen was marked by the groans and creeks of her aged wood floor. The noise eventually pried open the sleeping eyes of her stoat; he stumbled into the room as she filled a kettle with water and placed it on the stove, looking like he hadn’t slept a wink in days. He hopped up next to her on the counter and displayed his dagger-teeth in a massive yawn. While she waited for the water to boil, she picked some berries from a bowl and offered one to him. He took it from her with his mouth and chewed slowly, eyes snapping shut every second or so as if he were actively fighting sleep. By the time the kettle keened, his energy had made a miraculous recovery. He skittered to and fro around the house; the teeny scratching of his nails across floor was a familiar melody as she sat at the table and drank her tea.

Midmorning found them both on her porch. He dozing in the sun while she worked. Humming an old forgotten lullaby that had suddenly surfaced in her brain, she swept away a layer of dust that had settled on the steps. The grime would only return by the time she was back from work, but it was the effort that counted. She pulled errant weeds from her germinating flowerbeds, and then watered the plants she wished to grow there. It wasn’t until Sinis, ever the watchdog, shot up from his perch on the banister and gazed stonily behind her that she became aware of an approaching presence.

Her surprise was not because the person near her property was a faerie, but because of who it was, or rather, was not. She had expected the queen to pay her a visit, as she always did when an error was made on Hazel’s part. A radiant, maternal-looking woman, the queen was kind but a master at hiding insults in her compliments. She did not approve of Hazel as guardian, and never visited without subtly implying once or twice that she should forfeit the position.

The particular fay that approached was unfamiliar to her, as most of them were. He sat atop a splendid creature she had only had the pleasure of viewing once before in her life. It was unusual for an official member of the court to visit her; unusual indeed, and she found her head spinning with the implications behind this man’s visit. Morphing the surprise on her face into a friendly smile, she finally made her approach.

“Hello,” She greeted. Her head craned back just to make eye contact with the stranger. “Can I help you with something?”

“Down.” Luca said to the bagwyn, a horse like creature the Knights liked to ride. Usually these creatures would stand on their hind legs and walk around like people did, but because of their unique shape and form they were possible to ride. It was mixture of horse, antelope and goat, bring on a factor of fear to whom ever had the chance to see them. The bagwyn got down snorting a little at him before he threw the statle made of our bark and leathered vine on its back. Pulling the strap tighter is huffed at him before he placed on black booted foot into it and swung himself over with ease. He was on a quest, more so playing the part of the messenger. Giving a soft kick of his heels into the short fur of the bagwyn it started to pick up speed, take a slow trot through the woods.

It was already mid-morning when he surfaced from the hidden paths to the underground locations of the courts. The sun dotted his form through the tree lining. A cool breeze from the lake rustling the nature all around him. He moved with easy through the woods, as if he could do it blindfolded. He could hear each crunch of the vegetation under the hooves of his bagwyn, the hum of the insect life coming out, making the woods so much more alive than it was at night. However, at night these woods were alive with a different kind of life and he was not talking about the nocturnal animals of the night.

When he came closer to her home, the human’s place within their frosts he slowed his bagwyn. Pulling on the rains she noted the stoat which seemed to glare at him with hateful eyes. As if he were one to harm the young human. When she turned he pulled on the rains again and the bagwyn came to a stop. It was the first time he had seen the woman himself. Dealing with such matters seemed far to travail and pointless. To the knights, her place as the edge of the frost was more for their amusement then anything else. No woman, no human could protect them. But at the same time, humans were hardly a threat and if they did become one, they weren’t for long. If anything the fay were a threat to them. They were the superior speieces.

“Good morning milady” He called out, as his long dark wings folded into his back to make sure any wonderers would not spot him. Swing his legs over to bagwyn his landing on the ground didn’t make a sound as he brushed back his wild deep brown hair from his face. He hit the ass of the bagwyn making it run into the thicket to hide from any on lookers as he made his way around and into her garden, a sword at his side.

When she looked back at him from her spot working in the garden he smiled down at her, a smile that went up into his eyes but held no emotion at the same time. “Perhaps.” He said vaguely as he walked around her garden taking in the human’s little home. When he finished he turned to look at her, his hands behind his back, his posture unlike any human posture. His smile had not faded. “I come with a message from our Queen.” He started before started to circle around her like a hawk about to go in for the kill. “A fay was found dead this morning, clearly you are failing at your job of protecting our kind from those simple minded demons.” He said referring to the hunters. “As we promised we would not do harm to those who trespassed on our land so long as no harm came to those, good or bad. It was your job to make sure no one came and yet here we are with a failure.” He said casually as if he was telling her good news and not ripping her apart on the spot. He let out a small laugh, a carefree and happy one. “Even we knights promised to let you do our jobs for us, but as I can see this is no longer possible. The court agrees we should revoke all of your privileges as a guardian, but we’re willing to give you one last chance. However, you must enter the Unseelie court and bring us one of the wanted fay.” He finished still smiling as he pulled from his pocket a list of names for her to choose from. “Dead or alive.”

Hazel had the stranger pegged as a knight before he had even parted his lips to utter his first word. Perhaps it was in the way he carried himself, perhaps in the way he moved, but there was something about the fey knights that was immediately distinguishable. They were haughty, too at ease in their world. This one, she thought, was even more so than usual. He was plainly attractive as all fey were, but his features were distinctly sharp and precise. She watched him send his creature into the brush and become suddenly uneasy. It was unusual for her to feel anything but warmth in the presence of a faerie, but something about the hollow way he smiled at her cautioned her to be wary. Of course he would not harm her; that was not the way of the Seelie, but that understanding did nothing to ease her discomfort.

While he took it upon himself to tour the confines of her garden and scrutinize her home, Sinis leaped from her porch and sprinted to her. His tiny dagger-claws pierced through her clothing as he scurried up her leg, across her torso, and settled on her shoulder. He chittered in her ear, his face so close that his cold nose bumped almost rhythmically into her jaw. The low chatter became so loud that Hazel had a hard time hearing what the fay was saying when he finally returned to them. She set a hand on Sinis’ silky head to still him, and he reluctantly quieted. The strange fay began to revolve around her, but Hazel did not attempt to keep up with his peculiar rotations. She stayed quite still and listened to him. He cheerily seemed to be trying to gouge out her shame and remorse, and though they stirred on the surface, she only frowned.

“It seems that time has caused the fay to forget exactly what the duties of a Guardian entail.” She sighed when he finished his spiel. “We were never created to protect you from immediate threats, but rather to mediate between the human world and ensure that your existence remains concealed from the majority, as well as try to stave off activity from the hunters. The fay yesterday was a terrible blunder that rests partially on my shoulders, but it is not my duty to put myself in the line of fire to protect a fay, especially one from the Unseelie court. The necessary steps are being taken to ensure that it will not happen again. Would your queen have preferred me to jump in front of Hale’s bullet?” Hazel’s voice was as light and clear as always, but apprehension whispered in her chest. “I suppose that she would.”

“I think your queen knows her request violates our own private pact, and I would venture to guess that is why she sent you instead of coming herself.” Hazel was being edgier than usual, but time had taught her that mildness did not always work with those from the court. She wiped her soil-stained hands on her pants and plucked the paper he had produced from his pocket. She took a moment to look it over before glancing back up at him. “Tell your queen that I do not appreciate her prettily disguised threats, and that if she needed help dealing with the Unseelie, all she had to do was ask; I know just the solution the court’s little problem.”

Smiling sweetly at the knight she said, “Can I help you with anything else? Perhaps you’d like some tea before your journey back to the court?”

Posturing, that was all the queen was doing. It was the same song and dance Hazel had been dealing with for years, though this move was particularly bold. The Everwood’s had been Guardians for years; stripping her of her guardianship would take a lot more than a hasty discussion made by the court. She was not concerned for her title; rather, she was concerned that the queen was taking such sly measures to try and rip it from her.

Luca could hear the chitterling of the weasel creature. It only added to his amusement of their discomfort around him. Humans have always seen themselves as top of the food chain, more civil and untouchable. If Luca and many fey got their way, it would be the other way around. After all, all fey had a greater power about them then any human. When Hazel stilled the creature’s attempt to warn him, that any wrong move and it would be over for the knight was laughable. However, to laugh out right at them, would make him seem more snobbish then he was already portraying himself as. So he simply started this discussion about the night before and the fall of a faerie, Seelie or not, it was an important matter.

When Hazel started to go over the term of her job Luca couldn’t help but chuckle softly. “Oh my dear. Perhaps in the past, when the guardians before you were here was that your job. But now, unless you want humans to start disappear you’ll need to get a better handle on this Hale character you speak of. After all if we take a hunter into our court, they will not reappear.” He said his voice become dark and chilling towards the end as he smirked darkly, his eyes portraying the same darkness that lingered in his soul. That flicker of darkness quickly disappear before he smiled at the human. He unclasped his hands and reached out to touch a lock of her curly golden hair. It was smoother then he would have thought it would have been, and he leaned forward to kiss it, before turning his head just slightly to glance at her. Their faces still close. “If you must take a bullet to stop us from harming your kind in the most unthinkable ways to save our own, then that is what you shall do. If you live, I’m sure the human who shot you will clearly give you aid, if your left for dead then, we shall be along shortly to aid you.” He said before finally letting her hair slip from his fingertips.

He straighten up before smiling at her and moving on to the next topic at hand. The capture of an Unseelie fey to redeem her guardianship. The Queen herself knew that this task was not going to be easy on the human. She had morals and did not discriminate between the two races nor the courts. In this way, the task was nearly impossible for her to achieve. This could finally end the contract between the guardians and the fey. Just as the Queen desired.

Hazel’s discomfort rose again, pleasing Luca. It had been just what he was looking for, the reactions he loved getting from her. He had not dealt with their kind before, but the rumors say they were easy to toy with. He did not frown, but his smile became a natural hold of the lips. He raised an eyebrow at her, “And this solution would be?” he inquired, before she smiled at him sweetly, a distaste for him in her eyes. He smiled at her, with an amusement. He brought up his hand again letting it trail on the underside of her chin before making her glance up at him. “That would be lovely, but perhaps another time, for you have yet another unwelcome visitor.” He said before letting his eyes slowly glance up to the man who just came through the treelines. He was tall, with shaggy brown hair, a tanned skin tone. “I do hope that isn’t this Hale you speak of.” He said just as the man glanced up to see the two.

“Hale are you stupid! You need to go say sorry to her, and now!” Ash yelled at Hale from across the desk in the back room of their mechanic shop.

“Not a chance. She’ll get over it.”

“Oh I highly doubt that.” Ash hissed.

“Then you go say sorry.”

“It’s not the same coming from me. This is why we hunt together!”

“You wanted the night off, I got bored. These shit heads don’t take a night off you know.”

Ash took in a deep breath through his nose, his hand coming up to run through his shaggy brown hair. “You know what? Fine. Be that way.” He said before grabbing his coast and leaving the back room the door slamming behind him. Hale said nothing as Ash left the shop. Pulling his keys from his jean pocket he pushed his index finger into the ring hole as he rolled the keys around for his car key. Once found he pushed it in the lock and unlocked his car, slipping in and starting it. He took off at a normal speed unlike how Hale would have ripped from the driveway. They had two cars to fix right now, but clearly that was something Hale could handle on his own. After all Ash only know so much about cars from watching and learning from Hale. This was more of Hale’s kinda thing.

It wasn’t long until he was parked at the bar across from the woods. He locked the doors and looked around. This always made him feel uneasy. He pushed his arm along his jacket to feel the gun he had hidden in there for an emergency. He’d only use it if someone else attacked him, or well something. Running his finger through his hair again, he started off the parking lot and down the road. He cut into the woods to get to Hazel’s faster and before long he pushed through the treeline to her little home on the outside of town. When he glanced up his eyes narrowed a little.

It wasn’t human, he could see the tension in her body. He watched the man drop his hand from holding her chin up. Ash started to walk towards the house. “Everything alright Hazel?” He called out ready to pull out his gun if he needed too.

Something was not right about the fey in front of her. Where there should have been light, she found only stormy darkness. The unbridled passion, the tapped mischief that glowed from all faerie folk blazed dangerously like uncontrolled fire in the recesses of his eyes. He spoke to her as if lecturing a child. His voice was chipper, but the words that poured from him were sinister. He threatened Hale in that soothing, pretty way that the queen often used. Hazel pressed her lips together and frowned, feeling a pang of concern for Hale despite the lingering discord that stretched between them. If the court were to try to apprehend him, a mess of bloodshed would be sustained on both sides. Just a whisper of a fey attack would send Hale off the handle. She resolved not to mention Luca’s threat to him for everyone’s sake. It would be easier to protect Hale if he wasn’t puffing out his chest and preparing to meet the Queen’s threat with a message of his own. But her inability to confess Luca’s warning only erected another obstacle at her feet. How could she convince Hale to cut loose without stressing the imminent danger he was in? Any advice she had to offer would not be accepted freely. He had less respect for her than Luca and the queen did.

“Hale won’t be an issue anymore. I can promise you that. There doesn’t need to be any needless violence between the faerie and the hunters. He knows not to hunt in the forest, and he would never even think about taking down one of the Seelie. Last night was a mistake; he got too caught up in making sure he took those Unseelie down before they harmed more people. You can hardly blame him for it.” She hoped that maybe she could appeal to the strange knight, but as soon as the words crossed the threshold of her lips, she knew that it was futile. Luca extended his willowy fingers to trap a lock of her hair. She jumped, but did not move from him even when he touched is lips to the curly strand. When he spoke again their faces were close; the warmth of his breath stirred across her face with each word that left his mouth. Uneasiness once again flooded her stomach; her heart began to beat an unsteady pace. It was his intention, she knew, to disarm her, strip her of her confidence. She knew it and yet could not stop him from doing it. He smiled at her as though she were a plaything and dragged his hand up the underside of her throat. Her body tensed against the pleasing sizzle of magic that trailed behind his touch. A fog settled over her mind, she found herself glancing at his lips and wondering if they tasted like sunshine. Falling into the illusion of a fey’s touch was too easy, and the very reason why humans allowed themselves to fall prey to the fey time and time again. Luca forced her chin up; Hazel commanded herself to focus. She stared defiantly at him. It was a transgression for the fey to allow their influence to flow unblocked onto an unwilling human; surely even he must know that.

“What are you talking ab—?” She softly demanded when Luca dropped her chin and warned her of another intruder. Shaking off the leftover residue of his influence, she followed the faerie’s gaze until her eyes came upon Ash. What lovely timing; an overbearing knight and a hunter crossing paths, there was no way this could go wrong. “It’s not Hale, but you need to leave. Tell the queen that I accept her offer; check up on me later if you must, but go.”

Hazel turned her back on him before he could accept or deny her command. She trotted across her yard, cracking sticks and twigs beneath her feet in her haste to keep Ash a reasonable distance from the knight. “Ash,” She greeted warily, doing her best to conceal the suspicion behind her eyes. Was he here to finish what Hale had started? But Ash didn’t seem the type to willingly inflict more suffering upon Hazel. They rarely spoke, in fact had conversed only a handful of times whenever she needed something repaired in her bug, but he had only ever been reasonable and kind to her—very much unlike his partner. The skepticism broke; she would at least give him a chance to say his part before she treated him like a malefactor. "What can I do for you?” Her mouth turned up in a smile that hid away the lingering anxiousness Luca had imparted her with. Sinis, who had until then been clinging to her shoulder like a bat, leaped from her shoulder and trotted off; apparently he didn’t see their new visitor as a threat.

“Hale won’t be an issue anymore. I can promise you that. There doesn’t need to be any needless violence between the faerie and the hunters. He knows not to hunt in the forest, and he would never even think about taking down one of the Seelie. Last night was a mistake; he got too caught up in making sure he took those Unseelie down before they harmed more people. You can hardly blame him for it.” She said as his hand slowly reached out to grab a piece of her golden locks. A lovely colour with a natural ringlet affect.

He let his brown eyes slowly drift over to her eyes before asking her in a rather monotone voice. “Is that so? I cannot see why you defend a man of such violence. “ He pushed a small smile onto his lips before leaning down to kiss the strand of her hair. However when the lockets left his finger tips he did not pull away from her, but move his face level with her’s their faces close. He could feel the uneasiness, the slight fear? Beaming from her body just making him smirk ever so slowly as he spoke. So to break her uneasiness and get a little touch of the human, a fine creature if he had a say, by letting his fingers run on the underside of her chin bring her up to look at him. The fogginess in her eyes as she looked at him, almost with a second of loving and longing he smiled down at her. Oh how he desired to play with this young and naïve human. However, before the idea of having tea with the woman could happen, he sensed a human and pulled his hand back before glancing over at the hunter who appeared.

He watched Hazel easily tense back up from the corner of his eyes. “Is that a demand or a request? I do believe these woods are still ours. “ He reminded her. “Next time then my dear. “ He said as she ran off to the human hunter. His eyes narrowed at the man before he turned from the garden and disappeared into the woods to reclaim his horse and head back to the court.

When Ash broke through the tree line, he had never thought one of them would be there. It took him by surprise his hands moving to pull out the gun, however, he paused knowing that if he reacted to fast, things could be badly in too many different ways. So he called out as he watched Hazel carefully, making sure to let his eyes flicker to the unwanted thing standing next to her. She glanced over after the fae had meaning the fae had noticed Ash first. She spoke with the fae as Ash watched tensed and ready to react to whatever happened. However, after what appeared to be a brief talk left the fae standing there alone in her garden glaring right back at Ash before his eyes went to linger on Hazel. It made Ash frown all the more before the fae turned and left just as Hazel came up to him.

They were about a yard or so from her home, she said his name but that didn’t make him glance down at her just yet. His brown eyes narrowed on the fae’s back as it walked back into the woods carefree. Even after the fae disappeared Ash watched and listened before finally glancing down to meet Hazel’s eyes. Rather than answering her question he glance back around thinking that fae would come back for a surprise attack. “Are you alright? I know your supposed to talk with them and stuff but. . . you know how we don’t trust them. Everything seems off putting around them, I just want to make sure your okay.” He said still rather tense from the encounter with the fae, he never would have thought that a fae would be there. Then again, a fae had been killed in the woods by Hale last night, so maybe Hazel was trying to play the middle ground pre-usual.

Sighing softly his body untensed only slightly as his weight shifted, his one hand coming up to push his messy brown bangs from his eyes. He looked down at the woman again suddenly feeling rather awkward. “Ah.” He said with a bit of a pause before shifting his weight again. “I wanted to talk to you about what happened last night. I tried to get Hale to come. . . but you know how he gets.” He said softly not sure to started. Why did he always get so awkward when it came to human interactions? He was fine a second ago and now . .. not so much.

Hazel’s eyes drifted warily to the gun Ash had palmed in his suspicion. She wasn’t fond of its presence, nor the implication it bore. There was no need to bring a gun unless he was willing to use it, and doing so would break the treaty. These two factions she stood in between were so frustrating in their disputes. Like oil and water they were, and both were wearing her down to the bone as of late. But, as she raised her vision to focus back on Ash, she could not resent him for his instinctual turn to violence. In fact, his obvious concern for her safety—despite the fact that it was extended to the entire human race—moved her. Both of the hunters’ distrust and abhorrence of the fay folk was genuine and true and stemmed from the nobleness of their hearts; that was the only thing that kept her from vilifying them herself. If only she could get them to see that, like humans, the fay were not all evil. In fact, most of them weren’t. But Hale and Ash were hard-headed and too marred by their own experiences to heed her.

“I’m fine, Ash.” She scrutinized his face, throwing in a smile for good measure. “I’m not afraid of them; I have no reason to be, and neither do you.” Though shaken by her odd exchange with Luca, Hazel’s convictions remained true. The higher-ups may have taken to strong-arming her, but they would never hurt her. Nor would they hurt the hunters, if they would stop breaking the rules.

Suddenly, the man in front of her seemed to transform—assumed a different sort of edginess. She couldn’t help but crack a grin looking at him. From soldier to socially awkward in a blink of an eye; it was charming. She and he were no better than acquaintances, despite inhabiting the same small town; despite the fact that she had been born and raised here. But she had been homeschooled, and so did not have the advantage of forming bonds through the public school system. After graduating, she had done a stint at the public college, but had not seen him there either. She had become more familiar with Hale through this and that, but did not know even him as she would have liked.

Her endearment towards Ash’s disposition met an abrupt end when she realized he was trying to make amends on Hale’s behalf. Smile disintegrating, she squinted into the sun, warring with the bitterness that brushed her heart. Of course Hale would not acknowledge his crimes, because to him they were not crimes: not his unapologetic extinguishing of a life; not even his complete and utter betrayal of Hazel’s good faith. She crossed her arms over her chest and breathed deeply through her nose. There was nothing to be done about that. She would instead focus on the fact that one of the hunters had come. That counted for something, after all.

“I don’t think there’s much to talk about; not without Hale here.” She said, fixing her gaze back to the hunter in front of her. “But it was very sweet of you to come anyway.” And now she smiled again for him. “The effort means a lot to me.”