"I had a strange encounter on my way home today," Ellette said as she plopped down on the worn couch and began unlacing her shoes.

Rand looked up from his book and reached over to the stereo to turn down the music.

"I decided to walk through the park on my way, instead of riding that god awful bus the whole way."

"So that's why you're late." Rand dog-eared the page and closed the book.

"I hate it when you do that, ruins the pages," Ellette muttered. Rand just brushed back a lock of his unruly hair. "You could at least use a bookmark. Anything will do."

"Who'd you meet in the park, someone else from a dream?" he said, pointedly ignoring her comment. Ellette glared at him and tossed one of her boots at him. He deftly blocked it with the book.

"No. I didn't meet someone else from a dream. You're still the only figment of my imagination come to life."

He snorted at that.

"I would have rather had that cute guy from Montana I dreamt about come to life, but I guess you'll do."

Now it was his turn to toss the boot.

She giggled, kicking it away with her other, still booted foot. "Seriously, though," she said, slipping off the other boot. "I had this hippie busker with a guitar stop me and start rambling about me being fae. Whatever that is." She sat back and stretched her long, thin legs. "Then she started on about dreams. That caught my attention until I figured that she was just trying for money. I tossed her a couple of dollars and started to walk off, then she said something about how real my dreams are and how I help people in them, and how I'm like the only help they have. She said that I have betrayed them. Then she said that was why I was having nightmares." Rand's brow was furrowed in thought after she finished.

"Is that all she said?" he asked, leaning forward, the book on his lap, his elbows propped on the book, his chin resting his palms.

"Yeah. I had tried to ignore her, and walk off while she said the last bit. When I turned to ask more, she was gone," Ellette explained.

"Are you sure this wasn't just another dream?" Rand asked, his head cocked to the side.

"Rand!" Ellette yelled.

He held his hands up, a grin painting his face."Sorry, couldn't help it," he apologized quickly before she found something new to hurl in his direction. "All these strange dreams and everything you have are just a little too weird not to make fun of. Really though, I believe you, and I'm very happy it's not me having to deal with it."

Ellette sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. She tried to look irritated but came out looking more like a stubborn, gangly, street kid.

Rand got up to put up his book, ruffling her hair. As he put the novel on the shelf, he pulled down another, thicker, older looking book. "The word fae has to do with magic and fairies," he mused. "Here," he said, handing her the book, "this book talks a little about that type of thing."

"She said I had fae blood, or at least fae spirit," Ellette said, running her fingers over the inlaid cover of the book.

"Weird." Rand sat back down in his chair. "You sure she wasn't just high as a kite and you heard what you wanted to hear?"

"I know she wasn't stoned. I know it sounds silly, but her eyes were perfectly sane."

Rand rolled his eyes.

Ellette failed to catch the gesture, already thumbing through the book thoughtfully.

"Tomorrow's your day off, right?" Rand asked.

Ellette nodded.

"Mine too. I think maybe we need to take a nice long walk in the park tomorrow."