The wind was chilly, that had been the first clear thought in my head after my heart rate slowed to a steady beat. I stood there, knee length in the water, as the animal pranced a bit, seeming excited about having a physical form. I stared at Nox past the dancing deer as it hopped to shore, shaking itself free of most of the water. I blinked, just letting my senses calm for a bit as I worked over what had happened. They stared back.

“What?” I motioned to the animal. “Never seen one before?” I shook my head and they stroked their chin in wonderment.

“Deer are not that common in this part of the continent, only the North.” I turned, utterly confused. I saw deer, heck I saw some last winter! And not what I was asking!

“Too many predators reside down here where it gets warm too quickly, there hasn’t been a sighting of these animals for almost five hundred years unless you get to the edges of the border.” Nox explained. I thought back to the cold season, starting to wring out my clothes. The winter was surprisingly quick, lasting only a month or with heavy rainfall preceding the cold snow but I figured it was just an odd weather occurrence. But then, what was the deer I saw wandering the field? Could they have traveled down here because of the short burst of cold weather protecting them from the predators? And what predators drove them away in the first place?  I lifted my bag, feeling the cloth heavy with water.

“The fae beasts, most of them usually don’t like the cold.” We both eyed Boyd, explains why he had a preference for staying inside.

A splash and the buck nudged my arm, breath warm and I wiped at my skin to dry off quicker.

“It's not coming with us.” Nox insisted.

“It needs a home.” I insisted, they stared at me.

“I can't read lips like the Highkin can nor did I ever learn silent speak.” I thinned my lips and began walking, blowing a raspberry and giving Nox a thumbs down.

“Not the way home.” I stopped, turning back to face them.

“It’s not living in my territory.” I pointed to the wreath of lilies, it could live here, technically not living on his territory since the lilies claimed me.

“That's not for their intended use!” I took a stick and wrote in the damp mud.

“Not for you to decide either, the lilies chose me, if they want to choose the spirit, they could.”

“A powerful spirit like that would kill them, the creature needs a grove or patch of land bigger than that.” Nox shifted, looking around at the bit of forest we were in.

“This land could work.” They eyed me, smiling.

“You already blessed part of the river, just need to add on some woods and grass.” My head tilted, how could I manage that?

“You're a divine witch, part of your duties is continuously blessing lands and bodies of water for spirits to reside in, no doubt with all the divine witches getting rounded up, spirits are losing their lands. Those witches used to be mediators between the mortal world and otherkin, having divine powers is an added bonus as they help protect sacred groves.” I was nudged in a strange pathway by the Nokken, meeting up back in the spot near the buck and Boyd who looked eager about something. I stared at the little beast.

“Now, bless the land.” Crickets chirped in response as they were stared at by three different species. Nox frowned and sighed, rubbing their temples.

“Think of a name for the creature and invoke the names of the gods you were blessed by to bless the land to tie the creature to it.” I looked at the buck and sighed, rubbing the spot between its horns. I thought of some before staring down into the deep brown eyes.

“Altan, I bless this land in the names of the gods Wōden, Freyja and whoever Cer is to give you a home to love and care for.” I mouthed the words and rubbed my forehead against theirs. “May the animals who wander through know peace and prosper under your protection.”

To say I was going to expect a bright flash of light or something magical to suddenly happen like in the movies and on tv was an overstatement, all I got was a bit of wind rusting and the newly dubbed Altan fading from view. I turned to Nox.

“It’ll take time for it to create a true physical form, probably from the dirt or local plant life.”

“They.” I wrote out, squinting at a headache forming and rubbed the area softly. At least I wasn’t feeling exhausted like with my attempts at fireballs.

Hmm, maybe I’m a wizard instead, they get a near critical with every spell attempted.

“Who?”

“Altan.” I stated. “The guardian?” I nodded and began to walk. “Why should it matter what you call them?”

“You said give them a name!” I flinched when the headache got worse and nearly tripped over a dang tree root had I not been caught by a branch. I patted the tree with a smile as a sign of thanks. The headache worsened as I rubbed my temple, I should take some pain medication in order to sleep tonight. I sucked in a breath.

“Altan doesn’t have a gender, it’s a spirit.”

“So ‘they’ works for them.” Nox scoffed. “Why does it matter-” The world tilted to the side and drifted into nothingness.

I woke up, not like in the movie with a flutter of blankets and limbs scrambling but to warmth on half my body and the fuzziness of unbrushed teeth, gross. A large hand cupped the back on my neck and tilted my head, making me grimace at the feeling of pain shooting down my spine. A whispered apology and warm liquid drizzled into my mouth, I tasted the familiar herbal and honey notes of the tea I had been given a bit ago. A sprig was placed in my mouth and I chewed on it, rubbing the nub against my teeth and tasting rosemary and mint.

I squinted and saw a familiar face, Vervain smiled a bit before pinching my cheek lightly. “Heard you succeeded in your first blessing, congratulations. Don’t do it again.” I frowned, chewing through the stick like a hamster chewing on alfalfa.

“Isn’t it the duty of a divine-” He pressed a finger to my lips, I fought the urge to lick it. Smart being pulled away before I could act on it, I swallowed the sprig of rosemary.

“Not one barely trained.” He pinched his brow, exhaling deeply, the breath seemed to fill the room with heat. “I’m sorry, but I have no idea what in the names of all the known and unknown gods the Nokken was thinking.” He began pace the length of the cot I was residing on, back and forth, back and forth, I took notice of his shirt, off white with the sleeves rolled up and showing the beautiful form of his forearms, the light was at the perfect angle. Vervain stopped, noticing I was staring.

“See something you enjoy?”

“You have really nice-looking forearms.” He leaned over, a smirk on his face as he crowded me, oddly I felt safe despite how close he was. Most men put me in a sort of panic when they were too close.

“If you want, I can always undress and model for you.” My cheeks warmed and I barely had to shove at his face before he backed off, kneeling at eye level. Vervain took my left hand and staring at my ring finger that had the mole, he covered the spot with his thumb and kissed his thumb nail in a knight’s kiss, staring at me through his lashes.

“How chivalrous of you.” I stated. He settled on the floor, eyes closed in deep thought as he leaned his head back, he was mindful with his antlers to not poke me. I carefully carded my fingers through his hair, feeling how soft it was, whatever products he used worked well for his hair type. I was again, mindful of his antlers when my fingers ventured too close, knowing it wasn’t my place to touch them.

“You can touch them, I won’t mind.” My hand froze and a sliver of purple was shown between his eyelids.

“My antlers.” He stated. “Is that okay?” I asked, his eyes focused on my lips, so he really could read lips, talented.

“I won’t mind.” He repeated, I leaned forward, sucking in a breath at the ache in my spine flaring up, he looked worried for a moment but I let my fingers graze the edge of where his skin faded into smooth polished bone, it had to be bone, I should taste it to be sure. I pulled up the piece he had given me and tried to bring it to my mouth-

“What are you doing?” He asked, I dropped it, feeling it bounce a bit before settling back into place.

“Checking to see what your antlers are made of.” Vervain stared at me for a solid thirty seconds.

“Bone, antlers are made of bone, pet.” Oh, he gave me a nickname! Wait, focus! He turned to face me, leaning on his forearms and really showing them off. He had to be part rooster or something. Or was this completely regressed hormones finally making themselves known?

“You can always ask, sticking things in your mouth is how you wind up in a burn pit, on fire, and usually dead.” I stuck my tongue out, feeling a little childish. He chuckled at my antics before nuzzling my forehead with his cheek.

“You’re a breath of fresh air at times.” He sighed, there was a rustle and the door opened with two bodies falling through, Gretchen and Alex, the latter glaring at their partner. Boyd hopped through, heading straight for me, trilling loudly in the longest meow I ever heard.

“Way to ruin the mood, Gingersnaps.” They grunted, getting off her. Gretchen smiled awkwardly at the two of us.

"Blame Boyd, he's been needy!" She pointed to said cat who looked offended at the accusations, though she wasn't wrong about him.