What a strange thing! Apparently, I smelled like a fey person. That was definitely news to me. I’d only half-jokingly suggested it was Mr. Owl who was fey, but it just as likely could be a fey being I’d never actually seen anything of, given they were good at hiding from humans.

I arrived back at my cottage after a while of walking. Pausing at the barn, I went ahead and took care of the animals a little early so I wouldn't have to go back outside again, then headed back into the house.

“Hello, babies!” I called as I entered. Lou immediately be-bopped up to me. Diana looked up from her place on the couch, and then stretched luxuriously before coming to greet me as well. The black cat was perched on the table, and watched me with half-closed eyes, but didn't approach for pets as the other two had.

“I had a very strange day.” I told them as I knelt to love on my two grey tabby girls.

Diana sniffed me curiously, and looked up at me, as if questioning the strange smell she’d undoubtedly noticed.

“I met fey folk in the woods!” I told them, smiling a little. “I was lucky, they’re a peaceful sort called fauns. One of their children mistook me for another fey person because apparently I smell like one. Both the mom and the kid said there might be one hanging around that I wasn’t aware of.” I told them. I knew Diana could understand every word I said, though she couldn't herself speak, and as she was my familiar, I liked to keep her abreast of everything that happened when I was out and about on my own.

It had been an altogether strange occurrence. I’d no idea there were any fey at all in the area until I’d met Mira and her mother, Pima. Although I guess it only made sense that I didn’t know about their existence if they preferred to stay hidden from humans.

Standing, I put my pack on the table and set about getting the whistlebell leaves prepped to be dried.

I was busy washing and rinsing the leaves when a knock at the door startled me. Another visitor?

Worried it would be another patient in need of care, I hurried to the door and flung it open, crying, “Welcome! How can I-” I cut off, frowning when I saw no one there. “Well…that’s…I don't even know. Whatever.” I sighed, then shivered in a sudden, strong gust that whipped through the door, tossing my skirts, drawing an annoyed, “Goodness!” from me. I quickly shut the door, then went to go stand by the heating stones, having been thoroughly chilled by the cold wind. “I…guess it’s just supposed to be a weird day. Maybe I imagined it.” I shook my head.

Diana appeared down the hallway, and maowed softly, and turned her iridescent, ocean colored eyes to stare at a corner of the room. Powerful familiar though she was, my Annie was still a cat, and prone to sitting in boxes, chasing bugs, and staring out into nothing.

Soon, Lou was sitting beside her, staring at the same spot.

“Ya’ll are silly!” I laughed.

The black cat stayed where he was, perched on the fireplace once more.

“I really need to think of a name for you, little fella.” I told him.

He merely yawned in response.

“You’re so cute!” I laughed, then went back to working on the whistlebell leaves.

After a little while, I felt something tugging at my skirt. “Just a minute, Lou, my hands are wet.” Lou often tugged on my skirts or bit my feet when she wanted attention or if she thought I was cooking something and wanted a sniff or a bite.

More tugging.

“Just a second, silly goose!” I laughed, turning to look at her, but the smile on my face faded, then inverted into a frown when I saw she wasn’t standing there. Indeed none of the cats were there. “Maybe I’m finally losing it.” I sighed, shaking my head as I turned back to the sink.

One of the cats, I think the black one, maowed as if in agreement with that statement. “Oh hush!” I rolled my eyes.

After a little while, I felt the tugging again, and immediately whirled to find nothing there yet again.

“This is getting ridiculous!” I threw my hands up, and determined that if it happened again, I would ignore it. Resuming work yet again, I finished washing and rinsing the leaves, and began to lay them out to dry.

Suddenly, I felt another tug on my dress. Biting my lip, I ignored it. The tugging came again, a little more urgently this time, and I ignored it again.

Then there was sharp pain in my ankle as Lou bit it, maowing in complaint.

“Oh Lou!” I gasped, spinning to see her standing there this time, looking irritated. I burst into laughter, “I’m sorry, baby!” I bent and scooped her up, letting her look at the whistlebell leaves, and holding one up for her to sniff. “At least it was you this time, and not just my imagination!”

She started to purr, and rubbed her face against mine.

“Oh my love.” I smiled, peppering her little forehead with kisses. “You’re my baby!”

Then suddenly, something tugged on my dress again. Taking a deep breath, I ignored it, and decided to walk away from the kitchen.

Going over to the living room area, I sat down on the couch, and curled up with Lou, who was content to sit on my lap, purring loudly. After a few moments, I felt sleepiness washing over me for the second time that day. I pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and shifted, curling up with my kitty under the blanket.

The whistlebell leaves could wait, it was no pressing chore. I’d get them dried and could make the burn salve when they were done. Tomorrow, I’d make a general healing salve instead, since it didn’t require the dried whistlebell leaves.

My mind strayed drowsily as sleep overtook me, and I was soon fast asleep.

-

A hiss and a yowl of fear jerked me awake, and I felt pain in my arm as Lou scrambled, claws out, off the couch, apparently scared by something.

“What?!” I gasped, then froze, seeing something truly terrifying.

A knife hovered in the air not a yard above me. The blade wavered, then began to fall, its tip plunging down towards me.

I screamed, trying to scramble off the couch, Diana hissed and growled, and I felt a surge of magic in the room. A figure materialized beside the couch, reaching out to catch the knife before it stabbed me with one hand and reaching out with the other to grasp the air a few inches away from the knife.

Only instead of a handful of air, there was suddenly a creature standing there, its neck clutched by the six-fingered hand.

“You thought I’d let you get away with something like that?” The taller of the two figures standing there asked in a mild tone. The voice was strangely familiar, I realized.

“You didn’t care that I was teasing her earlier!” the smaller creature gasped in a strangled voice. It was maybe two feet tall, had strange, mottled green and brown skin, bulging red eyes (although that might have just been because it was being held by its throat), and large, flapping ears.

I scrambled away, off the couch and away from the strange sight. My heart pounding in terror and confusion as I gasped, “Wh-what’s going on?!”

The taller of the two intruders cast a swift glance at me with a pair of practically glowing green eyes, sighing annoyedly, “Be patient.”

More confusion filled me as I realized the being’s eyes were familiar. Luminescent green with slit-like pupils, as they’d been in the dream, and in the face of the little black cat I’d let into the cottage the day before.

“Y-you’re the cat!” I cried, the puzzle pieces finally clicking into place.

“No shit.” he muttered, then shook the creature that had been about to stab me somewhat violently, making it sputter as it tried to breathe. “Tell him to get out.”

“Wh-what?!”

“You need to rescind your welcome. Tell this filth to get out of your house and to never return. He’ll be forced to leave.” the strange man snapped. “He took you saying welcome as you opened the door when he knocked as permission to enter, whether you intended it or not. Tell him to get out and to never come back.”

“G-get out and don’t ever come back!” I stammered.

The smaller creature gave a loud, irritated howl, then was jerked from the taller one’s many-fingered hand, and flew towards the entryway.

In the blink of an eye, the green-eyed being was over at the door, flinging it open so the smaller one could soar through before he shut it neatly.

It was quiet for a few moments.

“Y-you’re…I-I…I thought you were a cat!” I whispered.

“I know.” the tall one shrugged. Fey. He was fey. Just like Pima and her daughter. One of the high fey, too, by Mira’s definition. I suspected the one that I’d just banished had been one of the low fey, by that same definition.

I stood slowly. Diana and Lou appeared, both rubbing against my legs.

“That’s why Diana didn’t like you.” I muttered, finally putting two and two together.

“She sensed what you could not.” he shrugged, then reached out and turned on a lamp, allowing me to see him properly for the first time.

His ears were long and gracefully pointed, and had raven hair styled in a short undercut with longer bangs, which framed his practically glowing green eyes. His features were sharp and dangerously attractive, but still somewhat inhuman. Indeed now that the lights were on, I saw that the darkness had hidden what seemed to be a second set of eyes. They didn't have eyelashes, and were set back and down from his green ones, located near his high cheekbones. They were also currently closed.

The fey man also had opalescent scales that wrapped around the back of his neck, with a gap in the front over his throat. They disappeared down beneath the simple white shirt he wore, though I couldn't see more on his arms. As I’d noticed earlier, his hands had one extra finger apiece, and I noticed that both of his bare feet had one less toe than mine did. He was tall, a good four inches at least taller than both of my brothers, who weren’t small men. He had broad shoulders and a well-built frame that wasn’t too bulky.

Though strange and inhuman, he was altogether ridiculously good-looking, which made my face heat.

“What, something on my face?” he arched an eyebrow at me, reaching up to brush his long fingers against his sharp jawline.

“S-sorry.” I looked down, embarrassed to have been staring. “I-I haven’t seen many fey folk.”

“So I gather.” He replied dryly, crossing his arms.

It was quiet for a few moments.

I finally managed to ask, “What…what are you doing here?”

“You told me I could come in.” he shrugged. When he spoke, I noticed he had a set of gleaming white fangs.

“I-I mean…I get that, but…why?”

He sighed, then went to sit on the couch opposite where I was standing, crossing his legs, and stretching his long arms out along the back. “I was injured when you found me. I needed time to recuperate.”

“I-I healed you, though! Wh-why not be on your way?”

“You healed the wound, not the poison I’m still fighting.” he muttered.

“Poison?” I blinked, surprised.

“Yes.” he sighed, sounding annoyed and crossing his arms. “It’s a stubborn kind. I’m still not up to one hundred percent.”

“Oh.” I frowned, not sure what else to say.

It was quiet again for a few moments.

“I…I guess you already know my name?” I asked.

He nodded.

“What should I call you?”

“Lear.”

“Well, I guess it’s nice to meet you, Lear.” I bowed slightly, and sighed, “You’re welcome to stay as long as you promise not to cause trouble, and I’ll do what I can to help you. Or rather, I’ll ask Diana to help me help you.”

“Indeed.” he rolled his eyes slightly, “I’ll tell you what I told Diana. I’m not here to cause trouble.”

“Fey can’t lie, right?”

“That is correct.”

“Then promise you won’t hurt me or any of my animals or friends or my familiar.” I told him.

“Diana didn’t make me.” he snorted.

“What?”

“We talked last night, while you slept out here.” he motioned at the living room area around us. “She took my word for it.”

“I guess I'm not so trusting. Promise.” I insisted.

“Very well. I promise.”

“Say the whole thing.”

He gave a long-suffering sigh, “I promise not to hurt you, your animals, your friends, or your familiar.”

“Thank you.” I said softly. How odd that Diana, in all her wisdom, hadn’t made him promise such a thing. Although to be fair, she was still just a cat.

“And, just so you know, you can banish me from the house just like you did the small fry earlier, just by rescinding your welcome at any moment.” he told me, lifting his hand and picking idly at a set of claws that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

“Claws?!” I gasped, “Where’d those come from?”

Lear’s iridescent green eyes blinked once, and he held up his hand, fingers spread, “They’re retractable.” The claws slid slowly back into his fingertips, then leapt back out.

“O-oh.”

“I have wings as well, but they’re big and I’d wind up knocking everything over if I kept them out all the time, so I keep them hidden."

“Wings?!”

He sighed annoyedly. “Yes. Try to keep up, Winna.”

My face heated and I looked down. “I-I just…this is new to me.”

It was quiet for a few moments.

“I know.” He broke the silence. “Forgive me.” he paused, then continued, “It’s because of me that you saw fauns in the forest today, and that the goblin attacked you.”