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awkwardgtace · 2 years

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Nervous Follow Up

Next part of the Knight AU! Melody still has to let Kyrie know her secret, but she's been nervous to open up. Not to mention the Naga and Drider she hasn't even considered telling him about. Again featuring Nutmeg and Aisling who belong to @alarcomet

Nervous Follow Up

One day turned into two turned into a week turned into a few weeks. Kyrie knew it was getting to be too long. He trusted Melody, he knew she’d come back to talk like she promised. He also knew he had to tell them she knew, he just hoped dinner was the best time.

“I told her about me,” he said. The subtle noise of the room halted instantly.

“You did what?” the green haired man growled. He slammed his hands on the table making Kyrie flinch. The growling continued barely reminding him that the man wasn’t human.

“I told her, or well I showed her.” Pel just stared at him, the subtle pink in her eyes fading as she grew worried.

“Are you sure it was wise to do that?” she asked. She started to fidget with her hair, the blonde ends seemed to fray as she did.

“I-”

“You didn’t think about anything telling a human about you! At the very least we should have been there to make sure she couldn’t repeat what she saw.” Kyrie tried not to show the nerves bubbling from what Byssal said. He couldn’t let them do that, she had to tell Caprice. He knew hiding it from him would crush her.

“Byss,” Pel motioned for the growling man to stop. He stormed from the room.

“I won’t let anything happen to either of you! She only knows about me.”

“We’ll just have to wait and see.” Pel stood up placing a hand on Kyrie’s shoulder before starting to follow Byssal. She turned back with a sad smile. “He’s more worried about you. If she tells the order you won’t be able to avoid them if you stay near humans. He doesn’t want you isolated again.”

Pel left before Kyrie could answer. He slumped down, staring over the table. Half finished meals, some marks where Byssal’s claws had slipped out, and silence. He knew she wouldn’t send anyone after him, that she was coming back. He just also knew they had to know… just in case he was wrong.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Kyrie, I need you to know I’m half fae, so is Caprice,” Melody said, her eyes squeezed shut. “There’s a lot of what we both can and can’t do, but I never used my abilities on you.”

“I think that was good!” Nutmeg cheered.

Melody groaned and slid down further into the snake’s coils. She knew Nutmeg didn’t mind, it became clear how much the naga liked being around others while she was stuck small. Nutmeg slipped a hand around her, lifting her up slightly as she moved her tail so Melody was sitting up. She smiled up at the naga, a silent thank you.

“This is stupid, I should tell him just like that and be done with it,” she moaned. She felt Nutmeg’s tail move and knew the giant naga was hiding her more. Soon she felt a weight on her lap and laughed. She started to play with Nutmeg’s hair while they stayed curled up together.

“Is it that bad to tell him? It wasn’t bad to tell us, right?” she asked. Melody smiled, it wasn’t bad to tell them. Aisling was a bit suspicious at first, but that seems to be more their normal.

“She just wants to complain!” Caprice yelled. She jumped but Nutmeg just hissed in content as she nestled her head against Melody’s lap. “We’re back by the way.”

“Could have said something sooner…”

Melody’s gripe fell on deaf ears as Aisling appeared over Nutmeg’s tail. She held a hand up to them and smiled as they climbed onto her palm. She used to hate spiders, Aisling was changing that every day. She used a finger to pet their spider half, smirking as they seemed to melt into her hand. Nutmeg lifted her head up from Melody’s lap until she was hovering over them.

Melody watched as Nutmeg’s hand disappeared over the coils of her tail. It returned holding Caprice who had a smile on his face she didn’t trust. Nutmeg set him down next to Melody and waited patiently for him to get comfortable. Once settled both of their laps were used as a pillow for the giant naga. The first time she did this Caprice complained, but Melody could see the smile he tried to hide for hours.

Caprice started to play with Nutmeg’s hair just like Melody had been. It was probably something he missed from when his own hair was long. He hated how it had felt though. She leaned against him and resumed petting Aisling a bit as they sat there. The silence was nice, but the smirk on Caprice’s face made her nervous.

“So what the hell do you think will happen if you tell the knight asshole about you?” Aisling asked. Caprice laughed while Melody sighed, he loved how Aisling treated Kyrie. He was still mad that the man ran off after destroying part of their house. Probably hurt that he wasn’t told in person about the whole secretly bigger than the gods thing too.

“He could change his mind about me…” she whispered. Nutmeg’s hand found its way to her. Holding her tightly in a hug, the naga wasn’t quite asleep, but she had to be close.

“Right because hearing you have a secret is going to change how he feels obviously, I forgot that part about love,” Caprice said. She glared at him, the sarcasm was not welcome right now.

“You don’t get to be rude because you don’t feel like this!” He bumped her with his shoulder before offering a hand to Aisling. Once the drider climbed off her hands she started to fidget with Nutmeg’s hair again. Braiding the parts she could reach.

“No, I get to be rude because I’m your brother who knows you’re being stupid. He wouldn’t put up with all your stupid risks this long if he’d stop caring about you because you’re part fae.”

“He might think I charmed him… or that I was tricking him. He could think that-”

“You’re just panicking,” Nutmeg mumbled. She gripped Melody a bit tighter, it was more comforting than she would have expected a few weeks ago.

“Not like it matters. Caprice told him that you’re going over tomorrow.” Aisling’s tone was a bit softer than normal.

“What?!” She tried to squirm out of Nutmeg’s hold, but the way all of them were settled made it impossible. “No I’m not doing that! I-it’s too soon. Where did you even see him!?”

“In the fucking market where else?” Melody watched as Caprice pulled Aisling closer to his chest, letting them climb on his shoulder. She was ready to kill her brother. If Aisling and Nutmeg weren’t there things would be extremely different.

“You’ve avoided going out for weeks in case you saw him. It happened that I ran into him today. This needs to stop. I told you telling him was fine so just tell him. You’re going to him tomorrow, Melody.” She glared at her brother, that was low.

“That’s mean, using my name like that.” She folded her arms, abandoning the started braid.

“I’m nicer than you think. I could have said you have to tell him.” Melody groaned again, hating the smirk on her brother’s face.

The next day she dressed in the nicest casual clothes she owned. A simple dark colored dress with darker leggings. Aisling sat with her as she fixed her hair, trying to decide if she should bother with anything. He knew she was coming and she had a feeling he’d be giant again. Probably trying to make it sink in it was real. She gave up, leaving it down like it always was.

“I can go with you,” they offered. She smiled at them and shook her head.

“No, it’s better to just face him on my own again. Once it’s over I’ll make sure he knows you two are here to stay and safe,” she said. Aisling looked away quickly. She took a deep breath and swiped at her dress a few times. “Ok I’m going.”

With a determined gaze she turned on her heel to leave. Caprice was at the door with Nutmeg on his shoulders. She was still mad at him, using her name wasn’t necessary… It might have been, but it still wasn’t alright for him to do that. He just offered an encouraging smile and held something out to her. She grabbed it, a bit surprised to see the bread she baked. All of the bread she baked.

“I made this for us,” she murmured. He reached up to ruffle her hair, pausing when Aisling hissed from the table behind her.

“Yeah well, he’s huge right? Probably eats a lot so just give him all of it,” Caprice smiled. Nutmeg nodded along as he spoke. She laughed and used a finger to ruffle Nutmeg’s hair.

“Thanks… I’m heading out.”

“Good luck!” Nutmeg cheered. She smiled and nodded at the little naga before finally leaving the house.

The walk itself was quiet. She tended to go out earlier in the morning, Kyrie knew that. The times they met she always showed up around dawn. She just preferred the quiet hours when humans weren’t quite awake yet. She grew up watching as fae would use the time to weave their magic. It felt like the time of truth after all those years. She kept her head down as she made her way down the path to the clearing.

Melody froze when she found the house she recognized instead of a leg. She swallowed the budding feeling of dread and stepped forward.

“You can do this… just tell him and leave if he gets upset,” she whispered to herself. She didn’t bring anything to help her run away if she needed it. She’d rather take time to calm down if he rejected her. She finally walked up to the door and knocked with a shaking hand. It opened as soon as she touched it, Kyrie stared down at her. “H-Hi.”

“Hey,” he smiled. His chest was heaving a bit, like he’d rushed to be at the door. The smile seemed to bleed joy and love as he looked at her. Her heart twisted, desperate to keep the smile facing her. “I knew you’d be here early. I was getting things ready, I thought we could talk inside. I-If you want to, that is…”

She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t form words. She just stared at him, his hair was a bit of a mess. The first time she was able to notice that it had a subtle blue to it. It looked more like when he was huge. She jumped as she noticed her hand reaching up towards his hair, she was growing curious about him. Curious in ways she couldn’t expect to know after today. His eyes softened, like he would let her if she kept going. Instead she placed her hand on top of the covered basket.

“B-bread!” she squeaked. His eyes widened, she felt her cheeks heat up. “I made bread… This morning I baked some and brought it with me. I thought you might like it, Cap was fine with…” A hand on her head made her trail off.

“Thanks, I can’t wait to try some,” he murmured. Her cheeks only seemed to grow warmer. He pulled his hand away and stepped to the side. She looked up at him, a smile she had seen so many times on his face. “We can talk inside, uh the others wanted to meet you first though. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Th-that’s fine!” She tightened her hold on the basket of bread. All of this was making everything worse. She could leave now, she’d done what Caprice ordered her to do. Taking a step forward she locked herself into it. She was telling him today, that was the plan.

The door shut behind her. Melody bit her lip trying not to show her anxiety. She just had to hope he didn’t bring up what she wanted to talk about in front of the others. If he didn’t accept her then they didn’t need to know. A crash to their right made her jump. She turned to see a woman with long blonde hair and black skin standing near them. She felt her eyes widen as the woman’s pink eyes slowly faded to a pure white.

The woman slowly brought her hands up to her face. Melody noticed familiar faded scars, she had asked so many questions about them before. A squeal left the woman as time seemed to speed up. The woman’s form quickly started to shrink, as she did bright pink wings grew from her back. The woman continued to shrink until she could fit in someone’s hand. Then she flew forward, hugging Melody’s cheek.

“[My wingless song!]” the woman shouted. Melody brought her hands up around the small woman. A smile growing to match the excitement.

“[Pelago?!]” she said. She pressed her hands firmly to the small woman, hugging her back. “[Why are you here? How are you here?]”

“[I should ask you that!]” Pelago flew out of her hands and hovered just above her face. She received a piercing glare she hadn’t seen in over a decade. “[I return to visit only to hear you and my wingless spell left!? Not even a word of where you’d gone!]”

“[We didn’t think you were coming back…]”

“You can speak fae?” Kyrie asked. The excitement she felt from seeing Pelago again drained. Slowly she turned to look up at him, a look of awe on his face. “You know Pel too? That’s amazing…”

“I…”

“Get away from it Pel,” a man growled. She quickly turned to see him glaring at her. Green hair braided tightly behind him. She saw the subtle changes, the fangs growing… he wasn’t human.

“[Byss calm down. This is my wingless song! I’ve told you about her!]” Melody stepped back, but Pelago sat on her head. It would be a welcome feeling if the man in front of her wasn’t a threat.

“That thing isn’t her. You said she’s half fae half human, it smells like neither. Get away from it. I’ll use your name if I have to.”

The man seemed to grow larger, she noticed him slipping a bracelet from his wrist. The same magic Kyrie used must be on him… That might make him a wolf and she wasn’t prepared to face that. Kyrie stepped in front of her, blocking any path the man might take. She looked up at him, there wasn’t any change in how he looked down at her. A reassuring smile that he wouldn’t let her be hurt.

“[Of course she doesn’t smell like either. Lying is against our very nature. She can’t smell human when she isn’t and she can’t smell fae when she isn’t. She’s both at once and also neither. Don’t you dare hurt my song Byssal,]” Pelago insisted.

The fae flew off her head and hovered just above the still growing wolf. He let out a rough growl, but he set the bracelet back on his wrist. Kyrie didn’t seem to relax despite that. As quickly as Pelago shifted before, she returned to a human form in front of them. The human sized fae turned around, the smile on her face cast away the budding fear in Melody’s chest. She ran past Kyrie, grabbing Pelago in a hug.

“I missed you,” she whispered. Pelago hugged her back, the warm grip a familiar feeling.

“Oh my wingless song, is my spell still with you?” Pelago asked. She nodded, the arms around her slipped away quickly. Melody followed Pelago’s gaze to the green haired wolf. “Let’s go! It’s been so long I need to see him!”

She knew there was no fighting the woman and just sighed. Kyrie’s armor clinked behind her as he set a hand down on her head. She looked up at him, his smile was nearly blinding. Pelago pulled the basket from her hands and started pushing her towards the door. Kyrie had already started walking and opened the door for her. They were outside and she was lost in Pelago’s whims again.

“You two go ahead! We’ll be along in a few minutes,” Pelago smiled. The door shut behind them and all she could do was try to figure out how to explain the naga and drider. She was used to following the whims of fae, but this time was a bit harder.

“You can just head home, I can talk her out of it,” Kyrie said. She jumped, looking up to see a sad face staring at her.

“No it’s fine, I just wasn’t expecting it,” she said. Kyrie smiled at her, she didn’t really want to let it go. “We should go…”

He nodded, she felt her cheeks growing warm as she started her march off. He fell into step beside her, it was like a normal trip. They made their way out of the forest and she started humming. A small tune that would make everyone ignore her as she passed by, Kyrie too. She kept humming as the town itself started to wake up around them.

“So, what did you want to tell me today?” he asked. She jumped, he heard it already. She hummed a bit longer before sneaking a peek up to look at his eyes. A sigh escaped her as she let her humming end.

“You heard already,” she whispered. He grabbed her arm to stop her and made her face him. It felt awful to stare up, knowing that she didn’t even say it.

“I didn’t hear anything if you didn’t tell me.” Kyrie leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers. It felt like all she could see was him. Another time she’d be embarrassed, worried that someone might see them. Right now she knew the village wouldn’t register it was them, and couldn't remember seeing them.

“...what if I don’t tell you then?” Melody felt almost cruel asking that. She went to tell him, had been determined to tell him. Hearing that he’d act like someone hadn’t said it for her made it tempting to keep quiet.

“Either way you’re you, nothing changes.” He grabbed her face in his hands. His eyes sparkled, it made her tempted to stay like this. Instead Melody reached her hands up to rest on top of his. He looked happy, even knowing she might not tell him her secret. That she’d act like he shouldn't know.

“I’m… Caprice and I, we’re half fae.” He kept his warm smile aimed at her. The heartbeat in her ears made it hard to know if he spoke. “I… I can enchant with my voice, I did it now so no one around us will notice us. I’ve never used it on you though.”

“I believe you.” Just like that all her walls crashed down to dust. Terror of his reaction, his possible accusations, left her body as soon as those words reached her. He slipped his arms around her and held her tightly against him. It wasn’t so long ago that she’d been worried about the burns this could cause. “Nothing’s going to change how I feel Melody.”

“Even when I have your name?” Kyrie squeezed her just a bit tighter, it felt nice to be held like this.

“Even if you use my name.” He moved so he was speaking directly into her ear. “Are you afraid? Do I scare you?”

“Not enough for me to leave.” He started to laugh, the arms around her tightened more. He lifted her off the ground, spinning them both around in a circle. “What are you doing!?”

“I don’t know, but I’m relieved.” He kept laughing and eventually she joined in. It didn’t feel like a real bit of time.

He stopped when someone bumped into them. A person who seemed to enter a daze as soon as they saw their faces. She paled, expecting some form of concern now that he saw the reality of what she was. Instead he just grew more excited, refusing to set her down while he walked. Their faces were close from the way he’d been holding her. He slowly moved closer until their lips met. He pulled back slowly, and she knew she was bright red. She buried her face against him and started to hum again. She wanted to make sure her song was still working.

“Well, I knew sending you two ahead was the right choice,” Pelago cheered. Melody looked behind them, finding Pelago and the green haired man nearby. “See Byss, she’s just like I told you!”

—--------------------------------------------—-------------------------------------------------------

Caprice had spent the morning wandering from room to room. Nutmeg had grown a little while after Melody left, Aisling stayed on his shoulder. He had no idea how long Mel would be gone. If he’d have to worry about getting her back. He wanted to assume the best, but a lot of people turned on them when they learned the truth. He wandered back to Nutmeg, finally sitting down near her coils.

“I should have given her a way to escape if he gets mad,” Caprice sighed. Nutmeg’s hands appeared around him, he set his hands on them to stop her from lifting him. She moved a bit to rest her head over his lap while he stayed on the ground.

“Do you think that fucking knight would hurt her?” Aisling asked. He shook his head, Nutmeg hissed as she got comfortable.

“No, but it doesn’t mean anything. He wouldn’t be the first one to hate what we are.”

“I like you both,” Nutmeg said. He laughed a bit, he was glad Mel took a risk on these two.

“Cap, I’m back! I brought Kyrie and-” Mel called out. He waited a bit for her to continue, but nothing more came. He pushed Nutmeg’s head off him and started to leave. They couldn’t hide her well like this. Aisling started to climb down his arm.

“I’ll go with you, in case that fucking knight is planning something.” He smiled and offered them his hand. They climbed on and he set them in his pocket.

“Probably better if you’re out of sight. In case this is bad.”

Caprice made his way to their front entrance, looking back to make sure Nutmeg was out of sight. It had to be that Kyrie just wanted to come back here. It wasn’t something bad. His mind was racing with possibilities, ready to find them all a way out. He lost any thoughts in his head as he took in the people who stood in his home. He ran forward grabbing a woman just a bit taller than him in a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around him, he never thought he’d see her again.

“Pel… I missed you,” he whispered. She started to pet his head.

“Oh my wingless spell I missed you too,” she murmured. “I went back to visit and you two had left. No one even knew what made you leave so suddenly. Why did you leave?”

“[Please don’t ask us that, Pelago,]” Melody said.

He bit his lip, they didn’t want to talk about the time they decided to leave. It wasn’t easy to avoid when asked directly like that. It helped that they made sure to use their names to lock it behind them both. He heard a growl that knocked him back to his senses. He stepped back from the woman who taught him everything, finding a green haired man glaring at Mel.

“[Who are you?]” he asked. The green haired man started glaring at him.

“[I don’t plan to give my name to someone claiming to be fae,]” the green haired man growled. Caprice sneered as Melody flinched. Something they always had to deal with. A person who knew what they were and didn’t bother thinking about the human half.

“[You entered our home, the least you can offer is your name. Leave if you won’t.]” He and Mel didn’t follow most rules like that. Their human half made up for it, but he would abuse the lack of knowledge. He’d done this plenty of times before.

“Byss knock it off,” Kyrie said. It was the first time Caprice even looked at the taller man. He was glaring at the green haired one, stepping forward and towering over him.

“Quiet.” He noticed something about the green haired man change, like his teeth were sharper.

“Both of you stop! If Byss wants to cause trouble he can just go home. I’m spending time with my wingless spell and wingless song,” Pel said. Caprice kept a glare on the green haired man.

“Pel, these things can’t be them. They don’t smell anything like they should. I don’t know why they know your name, but we’re leaving.” The green haired man grabbed Pel’s hand, but she shrunk down to her fae form. She landed on his head.

“Cap, Kyrie just stop. He doesn’t trust us, he doesn’t have to. It’s fine…”

“Why would I trust either of you with all of our names?” Caprice was starting to bristle at this man. It was stupid, people just kept acting like this. Mel put a hand on his shoulder, he curled his hands into fists.

“[You’re always like this! Acting like we are worse than actual monsters. We can’t even-]”

“Caprice! Quiet!” He lost the sound behind his words and glared at his sister. Her face filled with guilt in a moment. “Sorry, sorry you can talk, Caprice.”

“...how did you do that? I’ve never seen a name work that strongly?” The green haired man actually seemed shocked.

“It’s just as strong as when you were children, then?”

Pel started to pet his head where she was still sitting. The small touch reminded him of the drider in his pocket. The man mentioned scent, he had to get Aisling away. He gave Mel a look to catch her eye before slipping his hand into his pocket. A nod was all he needed to know she understood.

“Pelago, Cap was working on some new potions today. We should leave him for now,” she said. She offered her hands to the small woman, but that didn’t work. In fact, Pelago just flit off his head and landed on his shoulder.

“Then I can help you like when you were young!” she smiled. It was hard to say no to her, but something in her expression changed. She hopped off his shoulder and landed in front of him. It was like when she caught him trying out spells alone as a child. “Why do I sense a curse near you? My spell… you haven’t started using those have you?”

“Of course not!” He and Melody shouted together. It caused a strange look from the others, and a bout of struggling in his pocket. Kyrie stepped closer, cupping Mel’s cheek. Caprice curled his hand around Aisling in his pocket, they weren’t going to be hurt while with him. He noticed Kyrie give him a strange look before turning his focus back to Mel.

“...I forgot,” the human-sized giant whispered. Caprice stared up at him, nervous of just what Kyrie realized he forgot. He smiled, it made Caprice almost hopeful the knight planned to help get the other two out. “You wanted to make some changes to my armor today didn’t you Pel?”

Pelago opened her mouth to argue, but she stopped when Kyrie stared at her. Caprice recognized the smile that grew on her face, she knew they were hiding something.

“I can do them here. They know the truth don’t they?” she asked. Caprice stiffened, it was one thing to hear about it from Mel. Kyrie didn’t like it either if his stumbling steps backwards said anything. Mel’s face had gone completely white at the idea. Pelago started laughing, but that didn’t stop the other man from growing angry again.

“What are you thinking?” he asked. He stormed up to Pel and made her face him. Caprice felt a shiver down his spine as the green eyes became more wolf-like. “...drider…”

Mel grabbed his arm and took off before anyone else could act. He was dragged behind her as she brought them to the training room. Mel shoved him towards Nutmeg the second they reached the still broken wall. Grabbing a sword she kept near the entrance and taking a ready stance. He swore he could hear the burning of the hilt on her skin without her gloves. The weapons were a special mix of metals, ones that burned fae badly.

“Mel put the sword down,” he said. Melody just shook her head and kept herself poised to fight. He never liked seeing her like this, but he understood why. Nutmeg’s hands were surrounding him before anything else could happen. He didn’t stop her from lifting him up from the ground.

“What’s going on? Isn’t he good?” she asked. He grimaced, Kyrie wasn’t the threat. Aisling climbed up from his pocket until they sat on his shoulder.

“One of them fucking knew I was there. Not the knight from the other day, a different fucking human,” they spat. Nutmeg’s hands tightened around him. She set him on her coils and started to reach for Mel.

“Don’t touch me,” Mel ordered. Nutmeg froze. She fixed her stance, Caprice could smell the burning of her palms. “Cap, get a spell ready to bust out of here.” He didn’t like the way she sounded, the burns were bad already. “I helped you two get here to protect you, that doesn’t stop any time soon. I think he’s a wolf Cap, just cover your scent as you leave.”

“Melody?” Nutmeg’s voice was sad. He knew what that meant, what she wanted him to do. They had one way to do that. He grabbed the top of Nutmeg’s hand.

“It’s ok, we’ve had to run before. It’ll be fine Nutmeg.” He held a hand out to Aisling, they climbed down from him and over Nutmeg. He watched them until they reached the hand Nutmeg left near Mel. They jumped off and landed on her shoulder. She jumped, but didn’t move from her stance.

“Give me one of your hands, I’ll cover it with my silk. It should help.” Mel shook her head, but they didn’t leave her. He smiled as she pulled one of her hands from the sword and offered it to them. He just had to hope they were fast with their weaving.

“Quiet.” Mel pulled her hand back, Caprice grimaced as she set it back on the sword. “If you’re coming for a fight I’m ready.”

Caprice held his breath as they waited. He couldn’t hear the footsteps, but he trusted Mel. It seemed like time wasn’t moving. Then the footsteps echoed. He waited for the person to come into view. He called up a spell, carefully preparing to send the energy out. Kyrie walked in first, the green haired man was close behind him. Mel didn’t move, Aisling hid under her hair.

“Melody, it’s ok we’re not-” Kyrie tried. She pointed the sword at him, he held his hands up and stepped back. The green haired man growled again. They still didn’t have his name, if they had his name this would be easier.

“What do you plan to do now that you’ve seen them?” Caprice started to let the spell dissipate. He couldn’t risk it going off at the wrong time. “You don’t trust us and that’s fine. You’re not hurting them.”

“Why trust you when you hid a drider in your pocket? How do we know you didn’t buy them?” the green haired man growled. Caprice glared down at the man, they weren’t the ones buying and selling at those places.

“They didn’t buy me fucker!” Aisling yelled. Melody shifted so her shoulder with them was closer to Nutmeg’s hand. Caprice slid off Nutmeg’s coils to stand next to her.

“[Byss I told you to stop overreacting!]” Pelago shouted. He jumped as she flew in and landed on Melody’s head. “[Look at how bad my wingless song has already hurt herself. Enough of this. If they weren’t fae how would this be hurting her!]”

“Pel…”

The man just stared at her for a while. Caprice didn’t know what to expect. Finally the man walked forward, he completely ignored the sword aimed at him. He grabbed both of Mel’s hands and forced them off the sword. He heard Nutmeg gasp as the damage became clear to them all. The man kicked the sword away and sighed before ripping the bracelet he wore on one of his wrists off with his teeth.

Caprice felt his eyes go wide as the man grew in front of them. It was nothing like Kyrie, it seemed more contained. Slowly one hand could hold both of Melody’s. That’s exactly what he did, switching to hold them both. He watched Mel start struggling, starting up a spell. He only stopped when Kyrie placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, seeing a reassuring smile that he desperately wanted to ignore.

The man towered over everyone except Nutmeg. He still had a glare, but it was aimed specifically at Melody’s hands. He reached into a pocket with his free hand, pulling out a vial. Caprice recognized the contents, the ointment that helped heal their metal burns. He used two fingers to pull the bit of web Aisling put on her hand off. He then opened the container and dumped it over Melody’s hands. She stopped struggling as he gently rubbed the ointment on her burns.

“What…?” she whispered. The man didn’t react, just stayed focused on her hands.

Unlike when Caprice healed her, the man mumbled a spell for it. The way magic worked with every creature besides fae. The ointment glowed a bright white before fading into his sister’s skin. The burns were healed and the man let her go. Melody stumbled back, Caprice just grabbed her hands to check them himself. There were signs of damage, but it would heal in a few days.

Caprice watched as the man carefully took the bracelet from his mouth and placed it around his wrist. Pel flew off Melody’s head and landed on the shoulder of the shrinking man. Mel had to be right, he was a wolf. That matched with everything else. He glared at them while he returned to a human height, Pel just smiled.

“Byssal,” he grumbled. Caprice’s eyes went wide, he looked at Mel who seemed just as shocked. Pel flew off her shoulder and quickly made herself human sized again.

“Well, now I think we just need the names of your unexpected friends,” Pel said while clapping her hands. “Can’t I have your names?”

“Oh!” Nutmeg said. Caprice wanted to stop her, but the man… Byssal stopped him. He knew that it was fine, Pel wouldn’t do anything bad, but Nutmeg should know. “I’m-”

“No, no, no!” Pel switched to a fae again and flew right up to Nutmeg’s face. Caprice always had a sense of jealousy when he saw that. The others could use that kind of magic so readily, he never could do that on his own. “If a fae asks to have your name you never give it, slithering cloud. You tell us what we may call you. It’s safest when it isn’t your true name, but as long as it isn’t given to us you’ll be mostly fine.”

“Oh… then call me Nutmeg?” Caprice smiled. It was how Pel taught them as kids. The others never bothered since their names didn’t work like normal names, but Pel wanted them safe. Pel smiled and he watched her fly down to Melody pulling her hair back to stare at Aisling. They were pressed up against her neck, he couldn’t blame them.

“And what do we call you, venomous weaver?”

“What the fuck?” they sneered. Melody offered her hand to them, they moved on to it quickly.

“She gives everyone nicknames, it’s common for fae to do that. Usually it’s two words or more, it’s descriptive so that we know who you mean. Just tell her what you want to be called,” Mel explained.

“Then Aisling, I guess…”

“Wonderful! Aisling, my venomous weaver and Nutmeg, my slithering cloud!” Pel flew up to Nutmeg’s face again. He couldn’t see well, but knowing her she would be switching to a human size while sitting up there. In seconds he was proven right, Nutmeg looked scared. “Now then, why don’t we talk about the curse you have and how to fix it?”

Melody zoned out a bit as Nutmeg started telling Pelago what she’d told them. It was more of a relief than she wanted to admit that they had help. Caprice knew a lot, but they made a point to avoid curses, too easy to backfire on them. She slipped out of the room, getting away from the overwhelming feeling of everyone. She needed to wrap her hands, even with the healing magic it could get worse. She was lucky. She let out a heavy sigh as she made her way to their supplies.

She could tell this would be fine, just like Pel could see that Nutmeg was cursed. This would just make sure they were safe. She froze when the floor creaked, someone followed her. Byssal gave them his name and didn’t trust them, Kyrie would call out to her, Caprice was helping explain the curse, Aisling didn’t have the weight to make the floor creak. No one made sense to come after her. She kept walking, hiding to the side of the entrance to their supply room.

Carefully she grabbed the dagger they kept on the wall. This one had a hilt properly covered so she wouldn’t make her hands worse. Taking a deep breath she waited. As soon as the person stepped in she had the knife held to their throat.

“Are you always this ready to kill someone?” Byssal grumbled. She dropped the dagger, He caught it before it reached the floor.

“I’m so sorry! I couldn’t see a reason for anyone else to slip out of the room so I thought someone might have…” she trailed off. It was stupid to think that when she considered who was in her home. Byssal sighed, he was more intimidating up close. He offered her the dagger, she almost wanted to refuse it. She relented, taking it from his hand. Once it was placed back where it belonged she just looked at him. “Did you need something?”

“You’re wrapping your hands right?” She felt her eyes go wide, but nodded. He looked away from her, but held out one of his hands. “I’ll take care of it.”

“No, it's fine. I’ve done this before. I’m-” He grabbed her hand and walked further into the room. He forced her to sit in a chair and started going through their supplies. She wanted to stop him, but the way he acted didn’t feel like guilt. He pulled out wraps they used and then stood in front of her. Slowly he started to wrap her palms, he added a bit of some herbs he’d pulled from his pocket too.

“I always carry this stuff around. It speeds the process up. Pel has a tendency to get too close to iron. I enchanted them to heal the damage faster.” Melody smiled, she knew he wasn’t bad. This wasn’t going to be easy to adjust to, and someone would ask them why they left when they couldn’t just blow it off. For now she’d just try to accept the moment.

“Thank you.” His eyes went wide before he set a hand on her head. Kyrie did this all the time, he must have learned it from Byssal. She couldn’t ignore the oddity gnawing at her though. “I thought wolves didn’t have magic…”

“We don't.” She jumped as he started to rub her head. A wolf having magic was unheard of, she could only imagine what he’d been through. The animosity made a lot more sense now. “Make sure not to do that again. Protecting someone isn’t worth it if you lose feeling in your hands.”

She nodded a bit, standing when he turned around. Together they walked back to the others. Kyrie was in the corner on his own, but Nutmeg had set Pelago on the ground and set her head in her lap. Byssal joined Kyrie, it was then she noticed he was staring at Aisling. She’d get them to talk later, for now she just wanted to accept things hadn’t turned out any worse.