Illius rapidly healed over the next few days, his strength returning alongside the feeling in his feet. He’d reached a point where he could walk around the basement, even going upstairs with Eric’s help. Hireth had a charming little house. A bakery jutted out from the ground-level floor, and that’s where she spent most of her days, making bread and selling it to the community. Hireth and Eric’s rooms were upstairs too, alongside a large kitchen and a cozy little living room with a fireplace that almost always hosted a happy, crackling fire. The house held the delicious scents of freshly baked bread, cinnamon pastries, and a hint of wood-smoke from the hearth.

Eric had gone quiet after their talk, and Illius just felt bad. He didn’t know how to bridge the gap. While Eric and Hireth seemed trustworthy enough, trust had never gotten him far. They knew his secret now—a secret only he and his mother had ever shared.

“Illius,” Hireth said as he shambled up the stairs one afternoon. “Eric is out on the porch; can you take him some tea? I made you both some.”

“Sure.” He picked up the two mugs.

“I got the door for you.” She swung the door open to the back porch.

Illius stepped out into the bright afternoon air and approached Eric, who sat on a dinky little porch swing. He jumped up and reached for one of the mugs. “I’ve got that.”

“Thanks.” Illius heard Hireth close the door behind him and wondered what kind of mischievous plan she’d come up with. It seemed a tad convenient that she had just made two mugs.

“Wanna sit?” Eric gestured to the small, open space beside him on the swing.

Illius nodded and sat down next to him, careful not to sit too close. Eric grimaced and looked off, furrowing his brow. Did Eric regret his decision? He hadn’t seemed to mind that Illius was a therian in the institution. What about him had made Eric so uneasy lately? Well… there was a lot about him that would make anyone uneasy.

“Feeling better?” Eric asked.

Once more, Illius just nodded. His mind screamed, desperate for him to say anything instead of sitting there, stone-faced. He wanted—what did he want? For one thing, he wanted to be a thousand miles away from this embarrassing situation. He wanted to thank Eric for everything he’d done, and also to apologize for… everything. On the best of days, Illius was a mess—and Eric had seen him at his lowest.

“It’s… nice out here,” he forced himself to say.

“Yeah,” Eric agreed. “It gets stuffy down in the basement sometimes.”

Illius stared down at his hands, clutching the warm mug of tea with white knuckles. Eventually, he noticed a scratch on one of Eric’s fingers. He wondered what had happened, but it would be strange to ask.

“What’s it like?” Eric asked. “I mean—you don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.”

“What do you mean?” Illius asked.

“Being a therian.”

Illius’ heart skipped a beat. “You’re… always hiding, always afraid someone’s going to find out. You have this big secret, but you can’t tell anyone, and anyone you do tell—they could betray you at any moment.”

Those blue eyes of Eric’s drooped. “I’m not going to betray you. But I was more curious—like, can you sense other therians? Have you met any others?”

Illius shook his head. “Not that I know of.”

“Do you see the same things I do?”

“I…”

“Or can you see, like, different colors?”

“How would I know that?”

“Well, like, what color is the sky for you?”

“Blue.” Illius raised his eyes for just a second.

“The grass?”

“Green.”

“Okay, but what does green look like for you?” Eric asked.

“It’s green.” Illius turned to him and cracked a small smile. “I don’t know.”

“Fine,” Eric sighed. “So new colors aren’t a thing. What about feeling? Do you have, like, enhanced senses or something?”

Illius shook his head. “To be honest, I’ve never understood any of this. Why was I born with horns? I’m like everyone else… except for those.”

“And your magic,” Eric added.

Illius shifted uncomfortably. Deep within, he could feel his magic welling up again, but it felt a lot farther away than it had before. It hadn’t reached those old peaks since… Well, really, since they had first started draining it in the institution.

“Sorry,” Eric said.

“It’s okay.” Illius took a big sip of his tea. “This is good.”

“Yeah,” Eric said. “Hireth is the best. I used to come sit out here all the time after my brother got taken—she’d make me hot cocoa.”

“What about your parents?” Illius asked.

Eric shook his head. “Never had a dad. Mom was always sick. She had Malopia.”

“That’s rough.” Malopia had killed a lot of people. Depending on the part of the body it infected, it usually killed its victims within a few years. Sometimes people survived longer, but they never recovered fully.

“I remember my brother taking care of me more than her,” Eric said. “She couldn’t really do much. She died when I was twelve. My brother was sixteen—he dropped out of school after that. Told me he didn’t like school, but… we probably just needed money.”

“What’s his name?” Illius asked.

“Ben.”

Illius nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I got lucky. Hireth took me in and everything after he got taken. All I’ve ever really wanted to do was find him, you know. I just… always worry he won’t be the same Ben, though.”

Illius didn’t know what to say, so he just nodded.

Eric sighed. “Hireth, she’d be asking me a million questions if I said that—I like that you’re… You don’t pry.”

Illius just shrugged. He wanted to ask more; he really did.

“It still makes me furious,” Eric said. “No one helped my mom. Her family never offered to take us in or help pay her medical bills. In the end, she stopped going. I didn’t know at the time, but looking back? I guess we just couldn’t afford treatments. And my dad… We don’t even know. Hireth isn’t even related to me by blood, and she’s the one who sold everything and moved here for me. She didn’t even know my mom.”

Illius took another drink of his tea.

“I guess it’s not much compared to being a therian, though,” Eric said.

“There’s no comparison in pain,” Illius whispered, echoing something his mother always said.

“Can’t say I ever got tortured by those batshit crazy motherfuckers.”

“I’ve always had my mom, though. I left Ravenmist so she wouldn’t get caught up in this.” Illius paused. “If the offer still stands, I’d like to write to her.”

“Sure.” Eric nodded. “Does this mean you’ve decided to trust me?”

Illius hesitated, taking a sip of his tea before finally nodding.

Eric let a small smile overtake his face, and then he downed his tea. “I’ll get some paper. Come on!”

They went inside, and Illius trudged downstairs while Eric zipped off to find paper. Eric returned soon, bringing a heavy book to write on as he took a chair opposite of Illius’ bed.

“Alright, what do you want to say?”

I have no idea. I can’t tell her about the institution, or Hireth, or Eric. Where do I even start? He stared down at his hands, but they still shook, and he doubted he could even hold a pencil. He tucked them under the blankets.

“Dear Mom,” Eric said, a twinkle in his eye. “I’ve met the man of my dreams.”

“No!” Illius flushed bright red.

Eric grinned from ear to ear.

“Dear Mom, I’ve gone full therian and vegetarian.”

“No,” Illius objected again.

“Is that why you don’t eat meat?” Eric asked. “Not that you have to have a reason…”

“I just don’t like it.” Illius shrugged.

“What’s your mom’s name?” Eric asked. “Do you call her ‘Mom?’”

“Mama,” Illius said, fidgeting with his thumbs.

“So, ‘Dear Mama?’” Eric asked, pen poised.

Illius nodded.

“Okay,” Eric said. “What next?”

Illius closed his eyes. It was weird, trying to voice his thoughts of something he’d expect only his mom to read.

“Just pretend I’m your secretary.” Eric waved his hand, and then the gleam returned to his eye. “Your sexy secretary.”

Allfather above. Over the past few days, Illius had started to wonder if this man was the same flirt he’d met in the institution, but yes, this was certainly him.

“You’re not saying anything against it,” Eric noted, “so it must be true.”

“Do you flirt with everyone you meet?” Illius asked.

“Nah,” Eric said. “Only people I find attractive. You’ll never see me flirt with Hireth. That would be weird, her being my aunt and all.”

Illius narrowed his eyes as he recalled their banter. He wouldn’t really classify it as flirting, but it was certainly familiar speech. Eric had said he only flirted with people he found attractive—did that mean he found Illius attractive? He’d flirted with the guards back at the institution, and Illius was pretty sure he didn’t find them attractive.

“I don’t know how my uncle ever ended up with her. My mother never had good things to say about him; he was some lowlife bartender in Noviad, and he got involved with the wrong people or something. Hireth never really talks about him.”

Illius didn’t know what to say to that, so he continued with the letter. “What do you have so far?”

“Dear Mama.”

“Hmmm.” Illius thought for a moment. “‘I’m safe. I wanted you to know I’m alive and… doing well. I’ve made some friends…’” He broke off as he saw Eric grinning over at him. “Don’t make me regret this.”

Eric just hummed and focused on the letter.

“… and they are keeping me safe. They know.”

“They know what?” Eric came to the end of the sentence and looked up.

“Just, ‘they know,’” Illius said. “She’ll know what I mean.”

“Oh. About the… therian-ness.”

Illius nodded. “I’m having one of them write this… because I hurt my hand.”

“She’s going to want more details,” Eric thought out loud.

Illius tucked his hair behind his ear. “It’s not bad, but it makes it hard to write.”

Eric nodded and wrote it down.

“I hope you’re well—please don’t worry about me. I’ll try to come see you when I can.”

“Anything else?” Eric said as he reviewed his work.

Illius shook his head. “I can send her something longer once I get better. I want to try to sign it though—so she doesn’t think it’s some trick.”

“Sure.” Eric set the book on Illius’ lap with the letter written on it. Illius read over it quickly to ensure it said everything he wanted to.

“Sorry,” Eric said sheepishly. “My handwriting isn’t great.”

“It’s fine.” Illius took a second to take in the square shape of the letters and the matter-of-fact font. It was very… Eric. Blunt, but with enough slants to give it character.

Illius scribbled a horrible signature on the letter and grimaced. “I hope she can recognize that.”

“I’m sure it’s fine.” Eric folded it up. “I’ll go run this up to Hireth.”

“I’ll come with you.” Illius pushed himself off his bed. “She’ll need to know where my mom lives, right?”

“Yeah,” Eric agreed. “You need help?”

“I got it.” He held onto the walls for support, then transferred his weight onto the stair railing as he made his way up.