Max doesn't get much sleep. He never gets sleep the first day at a new place. When he wakes up, it's to the smell of syrup and bacon and a million other things. He can't place it but if he tried to he'd guess Keelie is cooking every kind of breakfast food possible.

Keelie.

Yesterday really happened and now he's in Keelie’s house while she's making breakfast.

She's real. Which means Narhi was real.

Which means the beast was real and those yellow eyes that were looking right into Max's soul were real too.

He shutters.

Downstairs Keelie is, in fact, not making every kind of breakfast food possible, but she's getting pretty damn close. The table is covered in waffles and bacon and some things that look like egg is in them. There's toast and jam and honey and juice and how the hell did she fit all of this on the table?

“Max!” She shouts before he's even all the way down the stairs but she's watching the stove very intently. “I've never successfully made sausage fingers but today seems like a great day to try something new, huh?” Keelie has the energy of a child. Max doesn't but he can't help smiling anyway.

“Do you… need help?” He hopes with his whole soul that she doesn't for a thousand different reasons.

“Oh, you're sweet.” She giggles. “I'm just finishing up here. Go ahead and have a seat!”

He tries not to sigh in relief. The table can fit eight people easily but there's no sign of anyone else in the house. Max does as he's told and sits at one of the two set places. He stares at the pitchers on the tables but he doesn't dare reach for one.

Suddenly Keelie is at the table with a plate of something that that doesn't look at all like sausage fingers.

“Another failed attempt, I'm afraid.” She grins. “But look! The juices are color coded!” The three pitchers are mostly transparent with a fuchsia lid, an orange lid, and a green lid. Like the kind you get in a set because you don't want to spend money on the nice ones. Max guesses cranberry, orange, and apple juice and Keelie makes a funny face when she picks one up, displaying it like jewelry on an infomercial. Max actually laughs a little bit at that and he can tell she was trying for that but neither of them says anything.

Max tries not to think about all of the awkward ways this meal could go. He's going to have to eat meals with Keelie from now on so he's going to to have to relax. He manages to serve himself without bumping fingers with her or dropping anything which is the hardest part so he calms down a little bit.

“So, about that talk.” Keelie is looking at her plate and Max thinks she looks a little nervous but he rethinks that right away. What does she have to be nervous about?

“Did you… I mean, am I… um, do you have something to ask me?”

“Well, it's more like I have answers for you.” She grins sheepishly. “I thought maybe you'd have some questions. You know, about where I've been this whole time and… about your parents and what they… what we are.”

Max is holding his fork but he's not moving and it feels weird to looks her in the eye.

“So… what Narhi said…” He surprises himself, saying his name like they're friends. Bright blue-green eyes come to mind. “About being a… a leech?”

“Well, the kids around here don't like using human names for things.” She kind of rubs her cheek and temple with one hand like she's annoyed by that. “It's a rebellious thing, I guess… but technically we're what you call Prana Vampires. We live by absorbing the life force of others.”

Max doesn't say anything but he's looking at her now and his face seems like he's about to not take that very well when Keelie puts her hands up frantically like she doesn't know what to do with them.

“B-But you can learn to control it! And you don't have to take it from people. You can take tiny bits from the collective life energy of the earth… um. Like photosynthesis!”

“Or from people like Narhi.” Max looks down at his food. Keelie has an interesting look at that like she just thought of something.

“I know this is a lot to take in but just think of it like you're with your own kind now. You don't have to worry about the people around here. They're not like humans. You can't hurt them without trying. This is a safe place for you.”

Keelie reaches out and places a gentle hand over Max's darker one beside his plate.

“Narhi won't probably say it like this, but he doesn't have the best control over his aura. Young wolves tend to be that way without proper guidance. You two could probably help each other gain a little more control if you work together.” Then she smiles a warm smile and it seems so genuine this time. “And, of course, I'll teach you how to use it. “

“How to… to use it?”

“Your power.”

“What power?”

“You didn't think it was all side effects, did you?” Keelie laughs. “C'mon, our breakfast is getting cold.”

Breakfast is luke-warm but Max is stirring. In his mind, a million thoughts flurry like dandelions blown off their stems, planting a million suspicious seeds everywhere.

Keelie is family but what does that mean? The conversation is over, but he still doesn't know about his parents or why she waited until now to adopt him. Oh, yeah, and Narhi is a wolf, apparently. They just kind of skipped over that one. But why does he feel like Narhi is the person he wants to see right now?

“Oh, Max! One more thing.” After breakfast, Keelie insists she clean up, but before Max can make it back up the stairs she's there with a box. “This is for you. From me. The important stuff is in it already, but feel free to make it your own. Oh, and I got you a little friend, too.”

Max stands on the first step and he's just a bit taller than Keelie. He opens the box and his eye is immediately caught by a familiar face.

“Black Prince.” He whispers, involuntarily. The Echeveria from the weird, hippie gas station looks like it's smiling about as hard as Keelie, somehow.

“Our kind is very connected to the earth. We absorb energy much like plants do. It's good to keep them around you and I noticed you had a bunch of plant books in your bag.” She looks kind of sheepish and Max feels his heart rise up in his throat. Next to the jar of Echeveria, there's a sleek, modern looking box and Max knows it's a smartphone. He looks at Keelie and is surprised to find himself looking her in the eyes. He's not anxious. He's just grateful. And that's a very new and scary feeling on its own.

“Thank you, Keelie.” He almost whispers.

The two stand there for a moment and it feels like they might hug. At least, it feels like they want to. But they don't.

They share a smile. Keelie looks like a flower and Max thinks about the botanical name for a Calla Lily. Zantedeschia aethiopica. For a moment it’s her name and she’s lovely, sitting in a glass vase in the window. Then she goes back to cleaning up and Max finds himself back on his bed scrolling through his new phone.

There are three numbers in his contact list.

Keelie.

The Sheriff's office.

Usko Narhi.