Private Tales A Walk in Shadow

[Tadgh Fahalla]

Tadgh sat in a small cafe in the Winter Court, sipping a warm cup of tea on a brisk morning. He was relaxed, leaning back in his chair and occasionally closing his eyes to soak in sounds and smells around him, the scent of fresh coffee and tea soothing his soul. It was well known that Fae didn't age the way mortals did; Tadgh looked much as he did 10,000 years ago. But he knew he was old. He felt a certain weariness doing daily tasks, and an impatience that came only with the burden of repetition. Neither were qualities that befit someone of his job as a "historian" of the Winter Court, something he had concealed from a great many Fae for the majority of his life.

Today, however, he hoped he'd be adding one more to that short list of names that knew his own. Mab had given instruction that someone new was to be inducted into the service; Tadgh refused to know their name at the time, as such knowledge was about as dangerous to someone of his line of work as knowing a Fae's true name. As such, he knew nothing about the new person either, other than the recommendation, and that was also better, because there was a strong possibility Tadgh may have known them, and the test he had prepared would have been designed with a bias as a result. It was important to be impartial--too much of a connection, and one made mistakes. And even a single mistake was one too many.

The first clue wasn't the easiest. But it was perhaps the most important. The first clue was given in the form of a note, and it read as such:

From my eyes do I see the darkened path. All who see me know this is Winter.

He always felt riddles were a little... cheesy... but they did require both good deductive reasoning and local knowledge, which were essential for the job. The second clue was across from the statue of Mab in the middle of their fair city, hidden in a snowberry bush. Tadgh had done so many types of similar activities that he would be keeping track in his mind about where this newcomer should be. It wasn't enough to figure it out: the timing also mattered. Time didn't matter to all Fae, given their long lives, but this job was a special exception...

And, of course, time was the second clue. But they needed to find that clue first.

Harper Kai

 

[Harper Kai]

For a female who had grown up in the summer court it was strange that the cold didn't bother her. Temperature never did. What bothered her more was the weight of being alone. Of seeing her family's faces everytime she closed her eyes. Sleep was a dream she couldn't seem to catch. Not without the help of...other substances.

But here she was.

A water nymph in a whole different court. A court where she hadn't been spit on, spurned, put in chains, whipped, or ignored. Green-hair was braided back. The small acorn she wore around her neck a comforting weight beneath her clothing. A small dusting of powder covered the ground and Harper let her fingers drift downward. If one really looked closely, they'd see the powder transform into the tiniest of water droplets and lift upward, absorbing into the water nymph's skin as she passed.

Teeth chewed lightly on her lower lip as she thought of the clue she'd been left as her feet took her further into the square and right at the base of the Mab statue there. Head tilted, looking at the ruler's eyes. Even in stone, there was a hint of mischief in them. She doubted her father got to see this particular expression during the second Great Reclamation War.

Blue eyes tracked where Mab's stone gaze was looking. Across the square. Harper had seen bushes like these before. In the gardens she kept for the Winter Queen. It was as good a place as any to start. A brief frown flickered across her face as she got closer, wondering for the seventh time today if Makaio would've liked it here.

 

[Tadgh Fahalla]

All of the information for the test was on a need-to-know basis. Which is to say that Tadgh didn't know anything at all other than that someone was coming, and they would have to overcome the test that he'd specifically placed. He wished he could watch the test unfold; there was so much to be learned about someone from the way they walked, how they handled certain tasks... He took another sip of tea as he mused on it. What kind of person would be joining him? More importantly, what kind of person would be replacing him, someday?

The time for the second clue was coming up. Right about now, he assumed Mab's candidate would be reaching into that snowberry bush and retrieving the little note curled cozily inside. He'd written, in completely different handwriting, the following:

Those who walk in shadow must be one with Time. Always moving forward, never moving back. You must be as the shadows of the arms of a clock: always ahead, behind, and on time. Now, you must go where time stands still.

The third clue was just below the surface of a small frozen pond near the statue of Mab. It was a test of magic as well as logic, for to retrieve the note one would have to both extract it from the ice and then repair the note enough that it could be read. That clue would then be the final one, although its directions weren't very clear... well, Tadgh would think about that more when the time arrived. For now, he looked off the small terrace the cafe was situated on, out to the small frozen pond the fledgling would soon reach, wondering what exactly he would see.

 

[Harper Kai]

With the note she pinched off a single, white snowberry and looked at it for a long moment. It would just take a handful of these. Perhaps that was all depending on how fast her body healed and she'd be done. She'd be able to see her parents again in the Other Realms. See her older brother.

It would be easy.

Blue eyes seemed to unfocus as she held that berry, thinking about it. Ever so slowly, she released it. Into her pocket. Turning, she recited the second note silently. Eyes searching around the square. Back up to the lifeless eyes of the Mab statue. To the fae meandering in the square. There was a performer playing a pipe. A group throwing down cards on a stone table.

Then...there.

Behind them was a small, frozen pond. Weaving her way around the perimeter, her blood sang as she got closer and closer to the small water source. Like called out to like.

The female with the braided, green hair didn't hesitate to step out onto the ice. Coming to squat, her fingers idly traced a circle on the surface. Just like the snow, the ice began to melt and absorb into her skin. And there was something here that did not belong. Moving to her right she traced another circle in the ice, then plunged her fingers into the opening she'd made, retrieving another note.

The note would not be enough. She tired of this game and being a pawn. Her attention drifted away from the note and toward a slow-moving iridescent fish with purple scales. Ah, perfect.

The Lady of the Water nudged a question toward her companion. Show me who left this note and I will bring you some crumbs. From a fish eyes' view, she saw a fae's face with a mop of green hair. Harper gave her thanks and stood, knowing who to look for now. Or so she hoped. Blue eyes flickered around the area as she stepped off the ice of the pond.

 

[Tadgh Fahalla]

A chilly breeze blew through the little cafe atop the terrace, where Tadgh sat in a chair on the very edge of a sheer cliff face about three stories deep on the other side of a small, decorative wooden fence. Though he was always wary of such things, Tadgh ordered another cup of tea from the barista, a cwn wearing a remarkably adorable apron and who always seemed to have a smile on her face. Tadgh wondered if it was possible to be happy doing such a simple thing as serving tea to strangers, or if she too was always hiding who she was behind a veil of happiness. Either way, he was glad to have the warm, refreshing taste of the tea and honey caress his lips again. Such small comforts were a way of life in the Winter Court.

He watched with some curiosity as on the pond below an individual seemed to step onto it, then do something with the ice itself--nothing remarkable for a Fae, of course, But this one's approach had been careful and measured, and most relevant of all, seemed to go to where the note he'd left was.

So, this is the one, he thought.

The final note, if unscrambled, read: You have learned of Winter, and Time. The Path in Shadow starts by going where one is most unseen, invisible. Where in Winter all may look and see nothing, you will find me there.

Tadgh wasn't so cold from all the years of his work that he didn't start to feel his heart beat a little faster with anticipation. Then again, it could have just been the tea.

He took another sip, and waited.

 

[Harper Kai]

Her gaze didn’t lift upward toward the cafe above but she knew where she was going. She seemed to drift and disappear in the crowds. Then from view completely.

A good few minutes later, she’d slide silently into a chair across from the male with green hair similar to her own. The male from the purple fish. Harper tossed the drying note to him and it made a satisfying slllrck-slap on the table as it landed near his tea. Blue eyes settled on the male even as the chilly breeze blew his scent her way. His scent was strange. As if it kept shifting and changing. One greenish brow quirked silently in a clearly explain yourself gesture.

And then she ordered a vanilla-orange scone.

 

[Tadgh Fahalla]

Tadgh didn't notice her approach as he sat in his chair like an old man awaiting the arrival of a friend who would never come. He must have been slipping in his old age, as the nymph suddenly appeared in the chair across from him like an apparition fading in from the blue. He was already assessing her, everything from her form to the speed in which she'd solved the series of clues he'd made that led her here. He was silent at first, one of the first of hopefully many tests of patience to see how she responded to situations that required as such. He looked wistfully out to the streets and pond below the terrace, as he took another sip of his tea. Finally, after a brief and powerful breeze, he spoke.

"This is my favorite spot in the whole of the Winter Court," he said. "It's surrounded by beautiful trees and in the spring, flowers, and not many seem to know it even exists. Yet, from here I can watch the city before me and see its many peoples. They hurry and scurry, they hustle and bustle, and their lives are kept in check by the perpetual laws of the land. And when there is peace, they are happy. They have celebrations and parties, and you can see the streamers and people jumping and shouting for the ceremonies despite the bitter cold. They huddle around fires and share stories in the winter sun and stars and at once they all belong."

He remarked on how stark a contrast the two may have been from one another, a puca and a water nymph seated at a table nestled neatly on a solemn hill. She must have been younger than him, which he could only gather due to the situation as well as her choice of scone. He surmised that she must have communed with the water itself to reach him, or something similar. It was clever, and exactly the kind of thing he was looking for. He punctuated his ramblings with a deceptively simple question:

"Tell me, stranger. Why are you here?"

 

[Harper Kai]

Being fae, she could never lie. But she was good at choosing how she phrased things. And Harper thought about silver-tonguing her words. But why?

Though she suspected the green-haired male knew more about her than she did about him, she also suspected he'd appreciate honesty more than a spiral of words. After all, she'd come this far. Hadn't she? The wind on the clifftop tugged some of her own green strands free from the braid, fraying it along her shoulders. And if the wind bothered her, the nymph didn't show it.

"Revenge," a quiet word uttered on the wind itself. With all practicality and without malice. "I want revenge on what the Summer Court did to me and mine." She didn't need to elaborate the rest. That in order to get revenge she needed a network. Needed information. Needed others to back her up.

And she didn't talk about also wanting to find her lost brother. The one before her hadn't earned that information yet. Another reason of why she needed access to information and rumors.

Without permission, her index finger made the smallest of gestures and a few droplets of his tea would float from his cup and move toward her lips as she tasted it, wondering what a male like himself preferred to drink. Elbow propped on the table, palm turning upward to cup her chin as she stared at him across the table. Silently taking in as many details of his face as he took in of her. Measuring and weighing.

Perhaps as much as he was interviewing her, she was interviewing him.

 

[Tadgh Fahalla]

Tadgh's eyes followed the droplets that the nymph had extracted from his tea and put to her lips. It was, of course, green tea with honey, a simple and bittersweet combination that required little explanation and varied entirely from mixture to mixture. Tadgh himself often said that no two green teas with honey tasted the same--and the perpetual surprise made each new tea a new experience. For as long as he'd been around, new things were in short supply and needed to be savored, much like tea. Sadly, with this new applicant he got the feeling that there would be very little time for such things.

His face showed little expression beyond a polite smile, and his voice was calm and collected. "Would revenge bring you happiness?" he asked.

He waited for her answer. Regardless of what it was, he would move on next to the real final test, even though he was far more interested in her answer and just who this person was.

"A cwn and a puca are drinking some chamomile and black two tables over. I suspect in a minute, based on how long they've been here, that they will soon be departing." His expression was unchanging, even as he uttered the final command, without context and without hesitation.

"I want you to kill them."

 

[Harper Kai]

Would revenge bring her satisfaction?

Blue eyes shifted and unfocused on something beyond his shoulder. For a moment, she saw smiling faces. A warm sun high in the sky and little animals made from water flitting through the air. Splashes and laughter echoed through the square.

Eyes refocused, clear blues darkening.
“Perhaps. For a time.”

She may be new in this court but she wasn’t naive. She’d been tortured for hundreds of years. In their escape, she’d killed one of her tormentors. She knew how it felt. Satisfaction swelling high to then leave a hollow unquenchable hole.

The female before the mines and the fields died a long time ago and she was still trying to figure out who she was now.

Introspection turned outward. A slow, leonine blink at his next statement. It was like a male mid-first date suddenly announcing their mating ceremony would happen the next day. All before finishing the appetizers!

She didn’t even look over at the table. One index finger tapped against her cheek. Once. Twice. As she held Mister Green Tea’s gaze.

“Who ARE you? How do I even know you work for the Queen?” Harper wanted him to prove it. She needed some credentials. For all she knew he was a rogue working for Night Court.

And she would never kill someone just because someone asked her to. That would make her too much like Summer. And she’d never become them. In fact, she was about two seconds shy from leaving this table and turning down whatever this offer was.

 

[Tadgh Fahalla]

The most pressing concern on Tadgh's mind suddenly became that this wasn't the individual Mab sent; however, given how short a time the dead drop notes had been in place, he doubted that this could have been anyone else. Which led to the following conclusion: Mab had hardly briefed this girl at all for the job she was applying for. It was important to keep quiet about such things, but there had to be at least some measure given to the applicant so they knew what was happening. It did explain why so many applicants before were unsuited for the task... He wondered if maybe he should have been more explicit with Mab. A frustration grew in him about the need for secrecy and how it impacted them.

Of course, he was old and experienced. Telling truth without telling truth was second-nature to him at this point. And if all else failed, he could simply refuse to answer the question.

"I am known simply as Yojin," he said. He had the luxury of being given two names: Yojin was his birth name, and was conveniently easy to forget. Yet it wasn't a lie to say that was his name. His adopted name given to him by Mab was Tadgh Fahalla--but rarely did he give anyone this name, for any reason. It may as well have been an honorific used only by Mab. He reached into a small bag hidden beneath his clothes, and retrieved some small wooden emblems and briefly flashed them on his side of the table: one sun, two stars, one flower, one moon, and one leaf. Anyone in their secretive sphere would immediately identify them as a form of identification for each Fae court barring Winter and the Silent, the understood implication being that each emblem was a trophy from each of the courts, carried by agents who would do Winter harm.

"Winter has many enemies. A net is needed to catch them. But nets eventually grow old and weak, and one day, the fish slip through as the net withers and breaks. In this case, the net must be replaced."

He also found it convenient that speaking in vague metaphor worked to disguise the real topic of their conversation while simultaneously indulging his desire for long, philosophical conversations.

"Two fish drink tea at a table and speak of swimming up the river. For two weeks, they have drank and not seen the net before their very eyes. So, I ask again: when they depart, would you be so kind as to catch them? Then, I will have more answers, and we may retire somewhere you may ask in peace."

He had doubts she was up to the task. The job relied on intuition and innuendo, and if she was incapable of understanding even this early on about what road lay ahead of her, he was unsure that Mab had made a correct decision. Even so, the thought of waiting another 10, 20, 100 years for a new applicant daunted him... and that made him tender and soft. All the more reason he needed to finally go home for good.

 

[Harper Kai]

He was using a fish analogy for a water nymph. It was…mildly insulting but if it bothered her, she didn’t show it. Hand lifted and drew away from her chin.

“Catching is one thing. Murdering is another. I can do the former.” And the latter. Well. It all depended. She wouldn’t hesitate to protect herself. Protect others. Keep secrets that needed to be kept. But some Green Tea stranger just telling her to do it. That wouldn’t fly.

She studied her impeccable nails as she asked the next question.

“If these two…fish were to suddenly lose consciousness, would you be so kind as to help me take them to wherever it is you want them?”harper was connected to the water. That included water within living creatures. Cwns. Puca. Duanan. Summer had made sure the Kai clan had been too weak to do it in captivity. But she was far from weak now. At least physically.

In fact. As Harper twirled her finger beneath the table, the cwn started to choke.

 

[Tadgh Fahalla]

Tadgh knew that later he was going to need to reflect on their situation; the nymph didn't seem much of a replacement for him, at least not in the traditional sense. His hands were stained with the blood of Winter's enemies; the reach of his draconic claw was long indeed. Yet this nymph wasn't willing to take lives either in defense of Winter, nor to further her own goals. When he became Mab's chosen assassin and spy, he would have been chastised time and again for holding such beliefs. His heart resented her for a moment, but relented at the thought of all the things Mab had been trying to change, to make Winter less, well, like Summer. Maybe her decision to send this one to him carried wisdom beyond what even he could see.

Killer or not, she could still be useful.

Still, she was reckless. They were in a public space and he knew if anyone here had a discerning eye they might catch her making gestures beneath the table itself. The puca was quick to react to her magic, as Tadgh noticed in the corner of his eye that he was already sprinting out of the cafe, and Tadgh made no attempt to pursue.

"It seems there's something in the tea," Tadgh said, still smiling politely. "They'll have to close this place down for a while."

The sound of the cwn gurgling and gasping for air could be heard clearly in the still air of the morning.

"A shame, really. This is my favorite spot for tea in the whole city."

The cwn sputtered and fell to the ground, finally falling unconscious. By now the puca had at least a minute's start of running, and given that he was a shapeshifter, well, he could be just about anywhere.

"I'll take care of this one. I need some time to think. I want you to meet me tomorrow at a small soup shop called Kamira's not too far from here. Anytime during the morning is fine. Their miso soup is simply excellent, by the way."

His smile turned into a more genuine one.

"I doubt you can find our runaway between now and then. Take it from me that a puca that doesn't want to be found, won't," he said. "And congratulations on passing the first set of tests. Tomorrow, the real work begins. Make sure you aren't seen."

He simply sat and drank his tea as many of the patrons fled from the scene. Once the nymph had departed, he would take pains to clean up the scene and make sure that no one "remembered" seeing anything. She seemed messy, uncontrolled, and he wondered if he could sharpen her into something much, much more. If not? Well, she wouldn't be the first... Only tomorrow morning would tell.

 

[Harper Kai]

Harper thought about leaping up after the puca. Thought about easily choking him unconscious as she had the cwn. But even she knew the attention that would draw. When she'd spoken to Queen Mab, the monarch had implied this was something meant to be more secretive than public. And Harper had just moved into the groundskeeper cabin. A beautiful small refuge carved from the palace grounds with a small, dunk pool and a courtyard with a bubbling fountain surrounded by her living space.

Harper had a feeling the Queen had redecorated just for her.

For the water nypmh.

There was even a ring of water that surrounded her small space, like a mini moat, easily over-stepped. But it did provide Harper with some sense of protection. She'd know who or what crossed that small ribbon of water at any point. A small shrug rippled across her shoulders at Yojin's next set of instructions. He said congratulations but she didn't feel like celebrating.

It wouldn't be until late, late morning that she'd arrive. Dark-circles rimmed her blue eyes, making them almost look haunted. She spotted that mop of his own green hair among the tables and dragged her feet forward. Before sitting down, she placed a small, wooden box in front of him.

" A present," she grumbled as she sat. Inside, he'd find a knocked-out bluejay.

His puca from the day before.

 

[Tadgh Fahalla]

Tadgh's home was tucked into a corner of the city where, at least so far, no one had ever come looking for him. It was a home crammed between two other homes, the doorway up a set of stairs that you'd miss unless you were really looking for it. Tadgh, however, loved the elevated position of the home, as it felt a bit like a roost. Sometimes he was a little bit more of a dragon than he'd let on, although he was more likely to hoard tea leaves than gold. Winter paid for everything he needed--one of the perks of his covert occupation--but it sometimes left him feeling like he wasn't really earning much for his actions. That was an old pain though; by now Tadgh had accepted his lot in life, and once he'd found a replacement, he could finally go home forever.

The following morning, Tadgh arose and hurried to Kamira's, a small soup shop with outdoor dining. While it was cold, the warm soup and tea ensured that the cold wasn't able to sink in, and in fact, Tadgh found himself feeling maybe a little too warm. He felt maybe he was more concerned about this new applicant than he was acknowledging, as he lazily twirled the spoon in his miso soup, staring at his own muddied reflection.

Once again, he was caught off-guard by the nymph's sudden appearance. Judging by the circles in her eyes, she probably hadn't been trying very hard to be discreet, either. He viewed the box with some suspicion, but the nymph had been generally more earnest than he'd expected from someone trying to ply his trade, and he opened the box to see the bluejay unconscious and breathing within.

"You know, it's strange; I didn't think bluejays flew this time of year. Must have been a lucky find for you!" he said, admitting to himself that he enjoyed the innuendo and concealed speech more than was probably healthy. "I learned something from our canine friend from yesterday as well, but I think I'd like to speak to you first, if that's alright."

He quit his polite smile to give her a more discerning look, noticing the circles under her eyes and the half-awake expression she bore.

"You look terrible," he said, rubbing the back of his head and chuckling. "You should really order the miso here, it's great. And some green tea too. It's important to stay warm in the cold here, and if you're like me and don't have a lot of friends, well... sometimes that warmth can be hard to find."

He leaned his head back onto his hand and stared into his soup again. Unlike yesterday, he wasn't wearing a fake smile the whole time, and he looked some combination of bored and disappointed. Without looking up, he spoke one last time.

"What is your name? And how far would you go for revenge?"

 

[Harper Kai]

She did order miso. But not the green tea. She ordered a dirty chai. The extra boost of caffeine certainly wouldn't hurt. Nor would the unicorn spice it promised.

The young woman studied him quietly, soaking in any information he freely gave about himself.

She didn't respond to his comment about how she looked other than tucking some green strands of hair behind one of her pointed ears. She'd worn it loose today. A little wild and not tied back.

There was no loss in telling him her name. Her name was widely known. She was wanted by the Summer Court and could easily be turned in or handed over by a bounty hunter. She was one of the last remaining living water nymphs of a ruling clan from two of the most powerful rivers in Liadin. A ruler if she wanted it.

But that was the thing.

She didn't want it. She had to find her brother so he could take that role. So she could live her life in peace.

"Harper," she finally breathed as a pixie brought her miso soup and tea to the table with a flurry of wings and sparkle of magic. She went for the tea first, taking a sip and savoring it. She didn't answer his second question instead asking one of her own.

"Are you happy here? In Winter court?"

 

[Tadgh Fahalla]

Tadgh mused on the nymph's name as she revealed it, feeling as if he'd extracted some deep secret from her judging by her seeming reluctance to relinquish such information. But if they were to work together, they would invariably have to share secrets. In fact, Tadgh looked forward to it, after his many lifetimes of limited contact with the rest of the world.

It seemed she had no interest in answering that question, at least for now. He suspected he'd struck a nerve, but there was more than one way to get information out of someone--conversation was just the most direct. And she'd revealed much just by reacting this way. Of course, he was happy to oblige her own questions, wondering if she in some small part shared his perspective on life and some of its more taxing questions. His answer was, as always, cryptic.

"When the sky is clear and the sun washes the snow in its rays, this city gleams like a gem the likes of which I've never seen. I watch from all its hidden crevices and high places, and I see people do their daily tasks, knowing they don't see me. Knowing they can't see me. And with Mab's guidance this city has grown past Summer, and the people are happier than I have ever known them to be. And I know it is my hands--my bloodstained hands--that have made it so. Yet I cannot savor that which I have sown. I must, as always, merely watch that which I have helped to create."

He took a sip of his tea, giving a big grin afterwards.

"I have to thank you; this is the most I've spoken to someone in months." He briefly paused, letting his words sink in a little longer than he meant to. "I've a million things I'd love to speak about. Alas, that we only have so much time to say them over tea. Harper, I need to know--why Winter? And why now? I know She must trust you to send you to me, but I haven't a clue who you really are, where you came from, or why you would want to walk down this lonely path of mine."

Unlike his more vague questions, these were pertinent to her candidacy for the job, and the question of her loyalty to Mab was perhaps the most important of all.

 

[Harper Kai]

Harper gave him a withering look at his long, indirect response. A sip of her chai as her attention then turned to the soup before her. A stir of the spoon in the murky broth. A dash of surprise along her brow at his questions.

He’d never heard of her?

Harper assumed Mab would’ve told him who was coming his way. Or that he’d heard of her family name. The again, she hadn’t told him her last name. Unlike his response, she would be direct. The nymph took a savoring slurp of the soup before her azure gaze found his own again.

“Born and raised in summer. They betrayed my family and I. I barely made it out.”

She’d barely survived. Maybe now he’d notice she looked thinner than she ought to. The dark circles under her eyes weren’t just from last night. The scars along her back were hidden, though.

“Most of my family wasn’t so lucky.”

If one called surviving and living luck.

“I’m looking for someone and I need information to find them. Yes, I want revenge. I want to make all my captors pay for what they did.”

Her grip tightened on the spoon as pure fury thundered across her face, followed by waves of grief. She forced her fingers to relax. “Contrary to what you might think during our first meeting, I’m good at being unseen. I do have some resources to gather information. Winter is my best shot at revenge. Maybe not the reassuring answers you want to hear but I mean no harm to a court who can provide me leverage for what I want. After all, you know what they say about the enemy of my enemy?”

Another sip of soup.

 

[Tadgh Fahalla]

There was a brief silence before Tadgh responded to her. He flicked the spoon in his soup, watching it spin around the circumference of the bowl. The soup roiled and churned, ingredients flowing from here to there for moments, finally settling, yet the ripples in the soup lingered even after the spoon had stopped its violent trajectory. Steam still gently rose from the surface, and Tadgh found himself looking for a reflection even though miso soup was probably the worst type of soup to look for it.

He looked up to Harper now. "You sound the mercenary; Winter is the employer, and information is your currency. I only wonder if, when you've found what you seek, if you will still be loyal to Winter, or if you'll find our secrets too tempting not to sell."

He offered her a moment for anger, outrage, whatever else she might feel at her attitude being called to attention. Then he continued.

"I think that there is yet use for someone as driven as you. If only anger could set right all the ills of the world and bring you the peace you seek. But then, you wouldn't be here, seeking our aid for your troubles. I'd already decided to bring you on as of yesterday, and your work last night has potentially brought us something valuable--as has mine. It would seem our bluejay and hound were working on something quite deleterious indeed, and now I wish you to come with me. We go to Konwa Lake, a short distance from here; it is a beautiful frozen lake, surrounded by beautiful foliage... quite the sight... and also the home of our collaborators. We leave as soon as you're ready."

He took another sip of his soup as well.

"Oh, and don't think this is the end of our talks. I think, and I hope, we will have many more such conversations as you continue to take solace under my wing."

 

[Harper Kai]

"You sound the mercenary; Winter is the employer, and information is your currency. I only wonder if, when you've found what you seek, if you will still be loyal to Winter, or if you'll find our secrets too tempting not to sell."

A sip and savor of her chai as she gave him a very serious look. "I'd have no reason to unless you give me one." If Winter betrayed her, they'd be in the same position as Summer. So far they hadn't. They'd kept her and her secrets safe, offering her safe harbor.

She focused on her soup next. Everything else he said was fine by her. It was clear she was following his lead. And if she didn't agree, she was not one to shy away from saying her thoughts, as he was already well aware.

"What did they do, the cwn and puca?" A quiet question as her eyes remained on the soup she was finishing. She had her doubts whether or not he'd share. But Harper was curious. She didn't want to become the villain in her own story. It would be ironic if they were being punished similar to how she and her family had been punished in Summer except now she was the deliverer to the Executioner.

 

[Tadgh Fahalla]

"It started out simply enough, I suppose. I was having tea on the terrace like yesterday, a few weeks ago, when I overheard a conversation they were having... It seemed they weren't as pleased with Mab's reforms regarding equality as most lesser Fae here in Winter. I found this peculiar because cwn and puca are probably who have benefitted the most from the reforms. I went back time and again, listening each time. It seemed they wanted to push things further--I heard talk of a "no duanann" plan, among other... seditious... things. You understand of course that if they succeeded, Winter would be left defenseless, and even if they didn't, the resulting struggle would drag Winter into civil strife that would make us a prime target for Summer."

He looked over to the direction he intended on walking, then back to Harper.

"You understand of course how such a sentiment could cause more than just a little trouble. Most of the military and the worst jobs in Winter belong to puca and cwn, and from those lower strata does an insurgency fester. From what I could tell based on their conversations, it seems that this insurgence is potentially both conspicuously well-funded and quite well-organized, especially if their ranks have swollen now to where some of their members would speak freely on the street of their intentions. The cwn you knocked out was forthcoming with information about the whereabouts of the organization but refused to answer about any of its members."

He stood up now.

"And that is why we make for Konwa Lake. There we might uncover the truth about this insurgency, or at least learn more of it. We will infiltrate their ranks and discover what we need in order to dismantle it. Do you have any questions? If not, then we go."

 

[Harper Kai]

The water nymph held up a finger in a wait-one-moment gesture. A long moment. As she finished her soup and her chai. It was clear she would not be budged before breakfast was finished.

Mm, mm, now that was tasty.

Scooching her chair back, she stood and followed after him. His shadow. How had he put it? Under his wing.

"So we're just supposed to show-up and say we want to join their little revolution?"

He'd said to infiltrate. Didn't sound too hard.

 

[Tadgh Fahalla]

Tadgh gave Harper a quick smirk. "Yep, that's about it. We both fit the part--I don't think they'll question a nymph and a puca wanting to join their operation." His smirk turned more into a friendly smile. "I think you'll do just fine."

With that, they would leave the little soup shop behind, their footsteps crunching in the snow that lingered on the city streets.

---

Konwa Lake was a short distance from the city, a lake that was almost perpetually frozen but for a few months during the summer when it melted and sprang to life. During this time salmon would pass through its waters to mate, the lake providing a respite for them before they continued on to harsher waters. For now, however, the lake was frozen solid, the trees surrounding its banks having long shed their leaves, their boughs bearing snow now instead of their regal leaves. Thick brush covered the ground between the trees, most of which were berry bushes and other types of scrub low to the ground, which also were barren save for the accumulated powder.

Tadgh led them into the path surrounding the lake itself along the bank, no more than a dry dirt road in disrepair. He turned to Harper at this point.

"I suppose we'll meet them shortly," he said. "Otherwise, we'll have to--"

There was a faint crack in the distance, the sound of brush breaking beneath the weight of some living creature. Tadgh was about to dismiss it as an errant elk, until he heard, from another direction, the unmistakable sound of snow shifting. His eyes went wide for a moment, shortly before he shut them. He'd dreaded a day like this since the day he started working as Mab's hidden fist. Many others before him and around him had met a similar fate: the day that their calling card had finally caught up with them, when they'd made a mistake too egregious for their line of work and they were shortly snuffed out like a candle whose wick was already close to burning out anyway. Harper and his urge to retire had made him careless, a mistake he had no one to blame for but himself.

Still, he wasn't going down without a fight.

"Get down!" he shouted to Harper, tackling her to the ground as a veritable swarm of magic missiles whizzed overhead, leaving purple and green trails as they narrowly missed the two. Quickly, he dragged her by the scruff of her clothes and more or less tossed her into the brush nearby, where she would have some form of cover or protection against the swarm of missiles. As a distraction, he entered the open again, where he began conjuring wards to protect himself against the missiles, which made a high-pitched whine as they deflected off his magical shielding.

"Get out of here!" he called to Harper next, as the missiles began to lower in intensity and frequency. However, the situation worsened as he noticed that from the snow and brush surrounding the lake itself that cwn, puca, nymphs, and more began emerging from concealed positions, their bodies shaking off snow in white garb meant to act as camouflage--which it had, perfectly. There wasn't time to ponder this as suddenly a pack of cwn and puca shifted into various lupine and feline forms were descending upon them. He'd dealt with groups like this before, but given the organization he knew this wouldn't be an easy fight. Still, he braced himself for the inevitable as their enemy drew near.

 

[Harper Kai]

"Get down!"

"Oof," a puff of air left her lips as the spymaster knocked her over. She was on her back in the white snow, green hair a sharp contrast fanning from her head as her bright blue eyes looked up at Yojin and the trail of the...what the kriff were those things?

Before she could protest his hands went to grip her clothing.

Mind those hands MISTER WINTER GREEN TEA.

Even as she was tossed into the bush with a crackle and snap of branches. The crunch of snow and falling of powder. A mild glare at the puca as he yelled his orders. Even as they were surrounded. Crouching low, Harper placed her hands in the snow.

The ground trembled and there was a sudden whoosh as the snow around them melted and a wall of water formed between them and those charging at them. Jaw clenched as she pushed the water wall outward. If the water managed to stick within any of them or they lingered too long it would start to drown them. She couldn't get them all but she could make a dent. She could buy them some time. Make those charging think twice about it.

 

[Tadgh Fahalla]

The first wave of cwn and puca, a group of 10, came in a coordinated circle surrounding both of them. Once they started closing, there was little time to do anything other than react. Still in his humanoid form, Tadgh was able to launch magically-enhanced punches and kicks at some of the attackers. Though they were organized, it seemed they were also inexperienced judging by their hesitation in the melee, giving Tadgh crucial time to neutralize each one. The hardest part was keeping his senses alert enough that he could also keep dodging and blocking some of the magic missiles, which were piercing blindly through the water. Of course, Harper's wall of water was essential in ensuring that only so many of their attackers got through at a time, making the process even more manageable.

Still, they were separated by enough of a distance now since Tadgh had gone back to the center of the ice. Once the initial attackers were down, he started making his way back to her.

"You need to get out here, this is way too--" He stopped mid-sentence, noticing that some of the water of the water wall was crystalizing; in a moment shards of ice would start flying towards them. Tadgh shielded himself again with the wards, but was unable to check on Harper until the barrage was over. Then, some magics began working. Tadgh's wards stopped working. And he suspected Harper wouldn't be able to use her water wall soon--at least, perhaps not as powerfully. It would seem they had at least one mage in their ranks, somewhere, who was working to counter their magics.

Then, the second wave came. This time, it was more than 10. A lot more.

That was all just a diversion?! he thought. Tadgh's thoughts started turning more and more towards the end. It would seem that his martial arts wouldn't be enough here, but he was met with a sudden, painful choice. It was true: he was a puca, a shapeshifter, and he could take on his draconic form to fight this battle. But if he fell, then they would almost certainly take him captive for questioning. Harper, too. And torture would be a much worse fate than death. Still, she was the only person he'd talked to and had a real conversation with besides Mab in centuries; his mind was cast between the two sides of that quandary, whether it was worth more protecting the girl, or protecting the state.

He didn't know. Even as the second wave crashed into them, and his reflexes kicked in, knocking a canine cwn to the ground with a single, graceful punch, which rolled into a kick on its supporting puca in the form of a lynx, he didn't know. But there were so many more. As he continued fighting, the familiar sound of magic missiles whirling by, he turned to see Harper, praying that their combined skill would be enough...

In his heart though, he suspected it wouldn't be, and he started preparing the energy to shift into his draconic form.