“Alright, Oscar, I need you to calm down.” Thailyn held her hands up towards Oscar in a soothing fashion. 

He was currently standing on the chair he had been previously sitting on. His hands were resting upon his head and he was still, even after a few minutes, screaming bloody murder. There was even a point where they both heard a knocking at the door and a few concerned calls.

Thailyn sent them away, more soothingly this time. After the ordeal, Oscar was still looking about as his heart thumped in his chest. The weight of everything that happened finally crashing into him all at once.

“How am I gonna get home?!” He asked frantically. He was up, now, strolling about.

“Well at least you can talk now…” Thailyn muttered. She followed behind him, likely to make sure he didn’t start freaking out again.

To be fair, he was pretty close to freaking out again.

“Where am I?!” He spun his head around to look at the shorter woman.

“Well…” Thailyn started.

“Why am I here?!” Oscar continued. His brain having a new thought along with every beat of his heart.

“I don’t-”

“Who were all those people?!”

“Oscar, I-”

“What the hell is going on?!” The boxer had his hands on his head again as he began to pace around frantically.

He gave a low grunt as he felt something grab at hoodie and tug firmly. It wasn’t enough to drag, but he definitely felt it.

“Oscar!” Thailyn snapped. She seemed frustrated. As Oscar turned his head to stare down at her he noticed a few things that had passed his mind in the delusional state he had been in.

Her hair was frazzled, even when loosely done. She was caked in dirt and mud. Her eyes were sunken and her face had the expression of one who was very nearly on the edge herself.

“Sorry…” Thailyn muttered as she ran her hands through her hair. She took a deep breath and seemed to compose herself. She continued.

“I can answer your questions, Oscar.” She started, slowly. “I have some questions I need to ask you as well. Right now, though, we should take a minute to breathe. Okay?”

“But…” Oscar glanced around. His eyes hovered over small details for but a brief moment. Information seemed to come and go in an instant as he tried to take in every possible thing around him at once.

“No buts.” Thailyn replied. She held up a finger towards the man.

“We need to sit, recollect, and rest. You’re safe here, Oscar. You can breathe.” 

It might’ve been the soothing tone of her voice, or the confident way she stood. Oscar took in a deep breath and slowly made his way over to the chair he had previously been sitting in. He planted himself upon the hard surface and leaned back a bit. He hadn’t quite deflated like the first time he sat down, though his legs were still throbbing from the hard day’s walk.

“Are you okay?” Thailyn asked. Her face had been scrunched up in a concerned fashion as she made her way back to the teapot.

“I…think so.” Oscar replied slowly. He took a few moments to allow himself to be calmed. He accepted the cup of tea that he had been offered graciously.

“Good.” Thailyn replied. She had a cup of tea for herself and turned to place herself in the chair opposite of Oscar.

“Now, Oscar. I know you’ve been through a lot, we both have. So perhaps we can answer a few questions for each other. You ask one, I ask one. Does that seem fair?” She was leaning on her own legs now. Her shoulders were slumped in a tired fashion as she stared at him.

Slowly he nodded his head. “Yeah. That sounds fair.” He replied.

The majority of his frightened energy seeped out of him again. It didn’t completely dissipate but at least he wasn’t in the midst of having a panic attack.

“Right. Then you can start.” Thailyn replied. She sat herself back up and slumped in her chair.

“Okay…ah…” Oscar’s mind fumbled for a moment. “So where…am I?”

“In general or your current location?” She asked in return with a slight head tilt.

“Both…?”

There was a nod in response to him. She scratched at her chin. The small bits of red forming on its surface must’ve made it a rough surface, Oscar thought. A few moments passed and she focused her attention back on him.

“So there’s a lot of history and the like behind your current location but I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say you’re in another world.” She said calmly. Oscar appreciated it, too much might set him off again.

“I, ah, picked up on that.” Oscar replied.

She nodded again and continued.

“You’re currently in the town of Tille. We’re a farming community bordering the Faewild. Which is where we found each other.”

“What’s the Faewild?” Oscar’s head tilted in confusion. He appreciated that she wasn’t assaulting him with a multitude of words he’d have to decipher. That one seemed unavoidable, though.

“In a minute.” Thailyn raised a hand. “It’s my turn to ask you a question.”

The boxer nodded and planted his hands in his lap to patiently wait.

“How did you wind up where you were with iron in hand?”

Oscar mulled the question over for a few moments as he thought how best to explain it. Slowly he recounted his experience from the gym, as that’s where he had heard the rumors of people disappearing. He went to the alley, to the homeless man that had been assaulted, the fight.

“After that he shoved this in my hand…” Oscar held up the horseshoe he had received. “And he began shouting about me finding some…Nev…something.”

“Nevetta?” Thailyn asked with a raised brow.

“Yeah that’s the name!” Oscar said cheerily. The smile on his face and relief he felt in that moment must’ve come as a surprise to Thailyn.

“Do you know who they are?”

“It’s your turn to ask.” Thailyn replied. “You sure that’s where you want to go?”

Oscar mulled the question over for a moment. He did want to learn about the ‘Faewild’ but this seemed more pressing.

He nodded.

“Aye, I know her. Well…know of her, anyway.” She started. Her response was measured, as though she didn’t seem sure where she stood on that.

“She’s a dryad, a powerful one at that. She watches the border of our realm and the Faewild. Makes sure that neither of us get too uppity. She makes her rounds every now and then. Haven’t heard from her in a month or so, but she usually shows up every three or four months.”

Thailyn offered a sigh as she rubbed the back of her head.

“Unfortunately no one really knows where she lives, either. So finding her is pretty impossible.”

Oscar understood that she was basically answering the next question that he had on his mind. His mind blanked for a moment.

“So…I’m stuck here for another two months, at least?” He asked. His heart sunk in his chest.

Thailyn nodded. “Likely. Unless we can get a bird out. The birds usually know where to go to find her.”

“I see…” Oscar let out a long sigh and planted his hands in his head.

“It’s not the worst thing in the world.” Thailyn said comfortingly. “At least you have a place to stay for the time being.”

The boxer picked his head up and looked at her. “You’d put me up for that time?”

“It’s the least I can do after saving me.” She replied. Oscar only barely noticed that her eyes were darting away from his periodically.

“And besides…” She continued. “It’s been some time since I’ve had company since my da…”

In a moment of panic, it seemed, her head snapped up. “Anyway! This homeless man that you helped. Did he have brown hair? Short kinda guy for a human? Smelt like all hell?”

Oscar nodded slowly. He saw that as he did so her lips thinned considerably.

“Ah…him.” She gave a grunt.

“You know him?!” Oscar leaned forwards. His stare intensified on her now.

Thailyn nodded. “Unfortunately…that man’s a professional meddler if I ever met one. I hate to say it, Oscar, but he likely helped you more than you helped him.”

“Come again?” Oscar remembered the severe beating the two in the alley were giving the poor soul. Hell, he was surprised that the man could even stand after the blows he had been receiving.

“Aye.” The shorter woman continued. “His name is John. Not sure if that’s his real name or not, pretty simple by your Earth standards. He’s meddled in the affairs of the Faewild many times when they’ve stepped into Earth business. If he’s the one who was there then I’d say that something big is happening.”

“This isn’t the first time he’s done something like this?” Oscar felt his elbows press into his legs as he leaned forwards even more. His back had begun to strain slightly at the effort.

“It’s not entirely uncommon for humans to wind up here. Some wizards from your world get reagents and supplies here.” Thailyn said. “He’s been here enough to earn a reputation. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. One thing’s for sure, though. He’s pissed off Faerie Nobility plenty of times in the past. I’ll have to tell the council about this in the morning…They’ll likely want to meet you too.”

Thailyn’s eyes darted to the cookpot that she had over the fire. With a grunt she pushed herself off of her chair and walked over to it to give it a stir. Oscar watched as she nodded and began making her way to a cupboard that seemed to have wooden bowls in place.

“The council?” Oscar had seen enough fantasy material to at least understand that councils might be a more intimidating thing than he bargained for.

“Aye, the village council.” Thailyn looked over her shoulder at him and gave a smile. “You don’t have to be worried, they’re just villagers who oversee everyone’s happiness. With my word they should be fine with you. This isn’t the first time we’ve run into someone who’s been spirited away from their home.”

Oscar gave a sigh of relief and leaned back in his seat again. He glanced up as Thailyn passed him a small bowl of what appeared to be chicken and potato stew with a handful of vegetables. It wasn’t incredibly flavorful but he began greedily eating from it anyway.

Hunger had a habit of making food more appealing.

“Now then.” Thailyn huffed and planted herself in her chair again. “You’ve asked me quite a few questions, so I think I’m allowed to indulge a bit.”

Oscar gave a nod of approval. He had food in his mouth and didn’t want to speak.

“Back in the cave…” Her eyes were focused on him intently. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone fight that well against fae opponents like that. Let alone one that had magic. How in the hell did you manage to do what you did back there?”

Oscar took a few moments to swallow a few more bites as she spoke. Before he knew it, his bowl was empty. He glanced up, almost ashamed. However, Thailyn gave a pleasant smile and retrieved another bowl for him. This time accompanied by some bread. As she did so he began.

“Well, back home I was a boxer.”

She looked at him with a raised brow.

“It’s a sport back home. Fighting with fists and jabs and that sort of thing. I don’t wanna brag, but I’d say I’m pretty good.” He offered a smirk in response.

“Be that as it may.” Thailyn replied. She handed him the new bowl. “I’ve seen soldiers who’ve trained professionally handle themselves worse. You dodged attacks that you couldn’t have possibly seen coming.”

Oscar clicked his teeth slightly and he glanced away. Memories of the visions that had flipped through his head came rushing back.

“Well…” He muttered. He absently chewed at the bread, occasionally dipping it in the stew. “I wish I could explain it myself.”

“You don’t have to push yourself too hard. Just a point of curiosity.” Thailyn reassured.

Oscar nodded.

“Well…when I was in the cave I think I saw visions?”

Thailyn’s eyes tilted up at him as she leaned down to put a spoon to her lips.

“Like, right before something happened I could visualize it happening to me. Even if I couldn’t see it. I thought it was just instincts at first, but it kept happening more and more.”

Oscar shrugged. “I wish I could explain it more, but that’s about all I have. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Thailyn replied. She quickly swallowed the rest of her food. “It’s a complicated thing. Especially for an outworlder, like yourself.”

“You have any idea what I might be going through?” Oscar asked. While he still wasn’t feeling perfectly fit and sane in this new situation, at the very least it was good to be near someone who had answers.

“Possibly.” She replied. “The visions you received of events happening are fairly rare. Not unheard of, but rare. It might be something we talk to the council about tomorrow, they’d likely know more. Though if I had to guess…And I don’t want you to get your hopes up, but. There is a chance that you might be…” 

Her voice trailed off as she eyed him up and down appraisingly.

“Be what?” Oscar asked.

“A Clairvoyant.”