Private Tales Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens

[Cari Greenstand]

Wagons rattled along a rough dirt road, ten wagons in total pulled by two horses each.
A simple caravan transporting goods from one town to another...

"Sarah, how's our little passenger doing?"
One of the drivers, a kindly man in his early thirties driving his wagon with his young wife, Sarah.
"She's calmed down a bit after crossing the river. Poor dear, acts like she saw a bloody ghost with the way she was screaming. Must have been horrible, whatever happened to her."
Sarah looked up from her knitting at the young girl sitting in the back of the wagon, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms hugging them as she gently bumped and swayed with the movements of the wagon.
Occasionally she would jump a little, her muscles tensing as if something started her, but she was relatively calm.
Still, she had a tendency to wander off and the merchant couple had taken to tying a rope around her belt to one of the sacks of grain to keep her from hopping off the wagon.

Cari was watching.
Their wagon was situated near the middle of the caravan and therefore was the safest, but Cari knew better, she could see them... Shapes in the underbrush, movements in the trees, red eyes or gold, their chittering voices... But she could hear their whispers in her head, she could feel them close by... Those terrible monsters that get in your head and pull your brain out through your nose, make you see everything... Make you know everything... They didn't understand, the humans, they couldn't see them. They couldn't even see the black robed man, they had to be blind to not see him, they drove right past him before crossing the river!

She chewed her fingernails as she nervously rocked back and forth on the floor of the wagon.
Even if nobody else could see, Cari would be ready, she could run and be safe before they ever find her, before they ever get the chance to take her back.
But Cari had to watch, had to be ready for when they came.

The caravan was rounding a bend in the road. As their wagon started it's turned Cari saw a man in the woods, just a normal man with no face and a big axe in his hands. He wasn't the danger she was watching for, he's just a man, not dangerous at all. Just keep looking for them, she could hear them all around...

The masked man she spotted knew that he had been seen, however, and knew the jig was up. Raising his war axe above his head he let out a loud war cry and charged out of the trees at the wagons.
The first bandits out of the trees came with poles which they shoved underneath the wagons and leveraged them to tip the vehicles over.
Three wagons in the middle of the caravan went over, including the one Cari and the couple were in.
Cari thought she was just imagining it at first, but suddenly the floor was the wall and she was falling to the ground tied to a sack of grain!
She screamed as she fell.
Was this THEM?! Were they attacking already?! Why didn't she see them? She was looking out for them?!
Her eyes widened as realization dawned on her, "They can see in my mind! They knew I was watching!"
Then the screaming began, horses, men and women screaming and loud clanging.
She blinked as the sounds grew louder around her, causing an even louder ringing in her ears, she put her hands over her ears and tried to block it out. She huddled in a pile of grain sacks and squeezed her eyes shut as she started rocking again, whimpering as the chaos exploded around her.
She felt someone tugging on her, trying to get her to move and someone saying something, but she ignored it, the ringing in her ears hurt so much, she just wanted it to stop!
The whispers were back too, in her mind, and making the ringing hurt even worse!

She didn't know what was happening around her, and she didn't care, so long as the voices in her head would stop shouting and screaming and making the ringing worse!

Ferelith Scathach

 

[Ferelith Scathach]

Well this was a mess.. Ferelith moved silently through the wreckage of the caravan. Gods above.. This place was a warzone..

She had been a bandit herself. She didnt see much wrong with what had happened here, but she could see certain things that tipped her off to these bandits being the type that really enjoyed their work. Multiple stab wounds on the victims, the one poor bastard pinned to a tree with a throwing axe and the two hung upside down over a wagon wheel fire burned halfway to death.

They had really enjoyed themselves..

These werent bad people who needed the money.

These where psychopaths using the money for whatever sex or murder driven fantasy they wanted to pursue next.

It was disgusting in all honesty. She picked through what was left seeing if she could find anyone to help, or more clues on who did this.

People this dangerous moving about in the lands around the day court wouldnt do. Queen Gwynevere would want something like this wiped out....or she wouldnt care. either way Ferelith felt like she had a bit of a license to hunt them down at this point. A final over turned wagon.. A man laid slain. They had cut him down at the knees and stabbed him through his back.

The woman had not fared much better. She laid with her clothes torn open and her knitting needle stabbed into her right eye socket. The ghost of her last cry etched on her lips. Her mostly finished scarf still clutched in her hand. Her last loving craft trambled into the dirt.

Fereliths mouth tightened into a line of grim empathy. Reching down and picked up the scarf. It didnt feel right for it to be trampled. The fluffy pink swathe of knit cloth was still soft despite the dirt.

She folded it carefully and stashed it in an pocket on her hunting bag. She took the womans hands and placed them across her chest.

"Im sorry.." She muttered before she heard a whimper in the sacks of grain the woman had been draped over. "Hello!?" Ferelith called out beginning to move the sacks of grain out of the way.

Casting them aside like they were mere pillows full of feathers. one finally had a rope wrapped around it as she stopped tossing them. "Im not the people that did this..I can help!" She pleaded. finally moving the sack while still leaving slack in the rope to reveal...A girl..Huddled and whimpering.

 

[Cari Greenstand]

Even after the screaming had stopped, the voices didn't, they shouted at her, roared, chittered, screeched in their insectoid language that only she understood.

She continued to cover her ears in an attempt to block them out, but it was impossible, they were in her head and she couldn't get them out!

The bags on top of her hurt, they were heavy and she couldn't move, but that wasn't important, they did nothing to protect her when they were under the sacks with her.

Stupid sacks, you had ONE job!

She was crying and in pain when the sacks were suddenly moved.
Good, they must have realized that they were just stupid sacks of grain and couldn't protect her from anything.

"Im not the people that did this..I can help!"

Cari blinked as a new voice entered the frey, she looked down at the bag of grain that was her pillow. A fold in the sack almost looked like a mouth.
"How can you help me? You're just a bag of grain, you can't hear them all around us."
Then the sacks were removed from over her and she looked up in panic to see daylight and a person looking at her, or at least her silhouette initially, and the shape of her hair gave her almost an inhuman look...
Cari saw the creature... The one that stun her with bees and bit her with snakes, poked her with thorns and cut her with claws.

She screamed in terror and scrambled over the bags of grain, she bolted fast and thought she would escape, but the creature had wrapped her in his tail and yanked her off her feet!

The rope around her and the sack went taught and she fell on her butt.

 

[Ferelith Scathach]

"How can you help me? You're just a bag of grain, you can't hear them all around us."
Then the sacks were removed from over her and she looked up in panic to see daylight and a person looking at her, or at least her silhouette initially, and the shape of her hair gave her almost an inhuman look...
Cari saw the creature... The one that stun her with bees and bit her with snakes, poked her with thorns and cut her with claws.

A muffled reply to her words... Something about grain? All around us...Ferelith paused and looked at her smoldering surroundings...Unless the corpses were springing to life the bandits were long gone..

She had even cased the perimeter the moment she smelled blood and smoke.

Some hunting trip this was turning out to be..

The girl was probably simply still in shock...

She screamed in terror and scrambled over the bags of grain, she bolted fast and thought she would escape, but the creature had wrapped her in his tail and yanked her off her feet!

The rope around her and the sack went taught and she fell on her butt.

Once revealed the girl would scream and take off at a feral sprint. leaving the rope around her waist still attached to the grain to pull taunt and yank her to the ground by the force of her own sprint. It would have been comical if the desperation didnt make it emotionally gut wrenching to witness.

"No no no! no screaming. Im not the people that did this!" Ferelith repeated pulling her back by the rope and into an embrace. "You have a rope on your waist if you keep yanking your going to break before the rope does." Ferelith said in a matter of fact tone. She held her close no matter how much she struggled letting her get out all of her fear before realizing that...

A: She was not getting away.

B: That harm was not befalling her and if it was it would have happened already.

"Shhh..." She whispered comfortingly placing her hand on top of the girls head and holding her to her neck allowing Ferelith to block her vision from the horrors around her now that she was out of the sacks. Nothing helped someone start panicking again like seeing their friends buried in the destruction around them.

"Im here..Shhh..You will be ok.." She continued using her free arm to support the girls bottom as she stood. Carrying her like she weighed nothing.

 

[Cari Greenstand]

"No no no! no screaming. Im not the people that did this!" Ferelith repeated pulling her back by the rope and into an embrace. "You have a rope on your waist if you keep yanking your going to break before the rope does."

The words didn't match the image she saw of the creature, it spoke with words that she could hear, not words in her head.
A rope?
She looked down and saw that it wasn't a tail but a rope that pulled her towards the creature.
She turned in panic to look at the creature but the creature was gone, just a woman.

Quickly enough she was wrapped in an embrace with the woman and she did indeed struggle, unsure whether this was the illusion or if the monster was.
She pushed and flailed for a bit, grunting with effort but slowly her fears began to fade, she wasn't being cut or stung...
As the terror drained from her her fears were replaced with tears as she put her arms around the VERY human woman and NOT the monster who tore out her brain.

"Shhh..." She whispered comfortingly placing her hand on top of the girls head and holding her to her neck allowing Ferelith to block her vision from the horrors around her now that she was out of the sacks. Nothing helped someone start panicking again like seeing their friends buried in the destruction around them.

"Im here..Shhh..You will be ok.." She continued using her free arm to support the girls bottom as she stood. Carrying her like she weighed nothing.

She sobbed and buried her face in the woman's shoulder as she picked her up and held her like a child... She felt like a child, so afraid, so helpless.
"Momma!" She sobbed and hugged the woman tightly, her tears running freely. Her mother WASN'T dead! Even though Cari had watched as she was torn to pieces and eaten by the monsters, somehow she stitched herself back together and she was here now. So strong and comforting, protective and kind.

She suddenly stopped crying and whispered in her ear.
"Momma, do you hear them? The monsters that ate you, they're all around us, we need to get out of here, we need to run! I can hear them, they're everywhere, we can't stay here."

 

[Ferelith Scathach]

Ferelith stayed strong holding her through the struggle. "Calm your.."

"Momma!" She sobbed and hugged the woman tightly, her tears running freely. Her mother WASN'T dead! Even though Cari had watched as she was torn to pieces and eaten by the monsters, somehow she stitched herself back together and she was here now. So strong and comforting, protective and kind.

She froze. Her grip remained tight but the words just made her chest hurt. She was not this womans mother..But the way she said it made fereliths heart ache for her.

She had heard those words many times. How, When, or Where were a mystery, but how she felt was not.

Was the woman laying there her...No..Ferelith couldnt tell much, but the woman seemed too young to be this girls mother. She simply whispered comfort and held her even closer..

What had happened to this poor soul..

She suddenly stopped crying and whispered in her ear.
"Momma, do you hear them? The monsters that ate you, they're all around us, we need to get out of here, we need to run! I can hear them, they're everywhere, we can't stay here."

"Hush..Nothing is going to touch a hair on your head." She growled. if whatever had done this to her was still around...Ferelith was hoping it was. She would rend it to pieces with her bare hands. Feeling the weak whimpers and shivers of fear from this girl made Fereliths blood boil in righteous anger.

She slowly pulled out the scarf. It looped around the girls neck like it was made for her...In all likelyhood it had been.. She used it as both a pillow against her shoulder, and a blindfold of sorts allowing The girl to press into her neck comfrtably. Which Ferelith encouraged her to do as they walked through the carnage the gang had left in their wake.

"Its ok...Im here...Dont look right now ok sweet heart?" She would say as she stepped past corpses and blood splattered wood. Her grip keeping the girl pressed to her. Allowing her to FEEL that Ferelith was firmly there, and firmly not letting go.

 

[Cari Greenstand]

The woman's voice was calming and the voices calmed with her, though they were ever present.
She nuzzled into the scarf, hiding herself in her "mother's" neck as she was carried.

"Its ok...Im here...Dont look right now ok sweet heart?" She would say as she stepped past corpses and blood splattered wood. Her grip keeping the girl pressed to her. Allowing her to FEEL that Ferelith was firmly there, and firmly not letting go.

She clung to her tightly and appreciated the firmness with which the woman clung to her.
She let her tears soak into the scarf as she felt contentment and a sense of wholeness at having her mother returned to her.
The smell of burnt flesh was foreign to her, but she trusted her mother and didn't look up.

"The bees, momma... You made them quite. The bees and grasshoppers buzzing and chirping, telling me to come back... You made them quite..."
She began to hum quietly to herself, as if filling a void of silence.

"The tall man is watching us..."
She whispered, but she wasn't looking, and there was nobody there.

 

[Ferelith Scathach]

"The bees, momma... You made them quite. The bees and grasshoppers buzzing and chirping, telling me to come back... You made them quite..."
She began to hum quietly to herself, as if filling a void of silence.

Bugs? Bugs were speaking to her..Great..She would..The girl began to hum..Ferelith halted for a moment..That song the girl was humming...

She began to hum along with her. The song sticking in her head. A moment of recollection..Clarity in her mental fog..

"The tall man is watching us..."
She whispered, but she wasn't looking, and there was nobody there.

She stopped again and turned to find nothing..

A chill ran up her spine but Ferelith left it be. She sensed nothing..and no offense to the mentally shattered girl warning her but speaking with bugs and such didnt lend itself to being believed entirely..

She began walking again. Humming once more.. They walked for a bit before the flickering of a campfire showed themselves up ahead. Maybe survivors?

"Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens.." She began to sing softly. Her crystal clear voice ringing out like a bell made of glass being gently tapped.

"...Sticking my dick in rotisserie chicken." A gruffer voice rang out ahead of her. "I just dont see what wrong with it." Six bandits sat around a campfire.

"Its fucking gross thats what.." A woman said smacking the man talking in the head with a gauntlet clad back hand sending him off of his seat and flat on his back. Between some ones feet. A blonde woman stood over him half shrouded in the shadows. Her silhouette lit up as blue light twisted up her arms. her right eye a blue orb of hatred glaring at him from the shadows.

Her foot stomped his head to paste before he could even open his mouth to scream. The rest went just as quickly. The female bandit opened her eyes to pain..

She looked about at her dismembered comrades.

What had happened..

She craned her neck to see Ferelith had Hook pinned to a tree by his throat. "You dont come here anymore. These lands will drink your blood to feed its soil. Its mine! Mine! Tell them! Tell any you see! Spread my message to every soul from here to the pits of hell!" She screamed into his face. Her voice like a ripping wound of anger.

"Do you understand!" He struck then swinging his hook handed right arm at her face. She ducked and pulled off his arm slamming the hook into his face pinning him to the tree with by the hook through his forehead. "Idiot.." She spat seeming to realize she was covered in blood..

"Mesha len kenja....I over did it.." She cursed. Glancing at the woman who froze as Ferelith shrugged and walked back into the night as the fire slowly began to die. The bandit looked at her stomach only to realize her leg was sticking out of it. Broken half way up the shin and jammed in her stomach like a blade. Her eyes closed as she saw the blue woman flicker and fade into the night.

"There there." She whispered. She had tied the scarf around her eyes and ears. to sheild her from what had happened. "Mother needed to banish some monsters..Its safe now.." She muttered calmingly. Once more she began to hum carrying her quickly through the carnage...

After walking further they finally came to the gates of the city. It had not been a long walk and she hoped her blood soaked figure had not painted the girl a similar crimson. "You will be safe here...Food, Water and a place to sleep for the night..get your head together.." She whispered to her shortly.

She didnt know what to say to this girl..Maybe after a bath and some food she could begin to ask her new found friend what was wrong. Quinn usually met her at the gates..Where was he..

 

[Cari Greenstand]

"Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens.." She began to sing softly. Her crystal clear voice ringing out like a bell made of glass being gently tapped.

Cari smiled and continued the tune with her humming.

"...Sticking my dick in rotisserie chicken."

Cari blinked and looked at Ferelith.
"Those aren't the words, momma. That's gross."

It wasn't that late last time Cari glanced up from momma's shoulder, but when she looked up again it was almost pitch black with little stars everywhere, like she was looking at the night sky.
Everything was muffled too, so she couldn't hear much besides the voices in her head.

She was warm, but suddenly momma wasn't there. She was on her own feet and she couldn't see momma anywhere!
She looked around frantically but all she could see were stars flashing every time she moved her head.
She heard screaming beyond the muffled sounds, like it was very far away.
"Momma? Momma?... Momma!"
Her voice grew more and more frantic till she felt arms around her once again.

"There there." She whispered. She had tied the scarf around her eyes and ears. to shield her from what had happened. "Mother needed to banish some monsters..Its safe now.." She muttered calmingly. Once more she began to hum carrying her quickly through the carnage...

"Oh..."
She felt Ferelith's soothing and calmed down a bit.
"Momma, look... Stars!"
Cari pointed at a tree.
"They're flashing, so pretty!"

Cari soon joined Ferelith in humming that tune.
After a while she smiled and nuzzled Ferelith's neck.
"These are a few of my favorite things..."

"You will be safe here...Food, Water and a place to sleep for the night..get your head together.." She whispered to her shortly.

Cari nodded.
"They took it out, momma... The bugs, they took my brain out and made me see..."
She shivered.
"... Made me see everything, momma. The tall man put it back in, but they came with me, now they are always with me, they get so loud sometimes..."

 

[Ferelith Scathach]

"Momma? Momma?... Momma!"
Her voice grew more and more frantic till she felt arms around her once again.

"Im here..Im here.." Ferelith said rushing back to where she had left her.

"Oh..."
She felt Ferelith's soothing and calmed down a bit.
"Momma, look... Stars!"
Cari pointed at a tree.
"They're flashing, so pretty!"

"Hm?" Ferelith paused her humming only to realize she had left the scarf around her eyes.

"Oh..Yeah..Stars.." She muttered with a chuckle moving to pull it off only for Cari to nuzzle further into her neck. Best not to pull it off until they were in the house..

This girl was mentally unstable..Anything could set her off..Best to play it safe before a bee buzzed past her and she had a thrashing rage monster chomping on her face in her arms.

Cari soon joined Ferelith in humming that tune.
After a while she smiled and nuzzled Ferelith's neck.
"These are a few of my favorite things..."

She joined her singing. Singing the correct words with no interruptions from nasty bandits. It was a nice moment. Something that made Ferelith's heart feel full.

She didnt know what was going on. What was wrong with this girl. But the way she squeezed her.

She was so afraid. Ferelith thanked the gods she was the one to find her and not the bandits. Her blood began to boil just thinking of what fate would have befallen her. Only the memory of how she had torn them to pieces calmed her.

Cari nodded.
"They took it out, momma... The bugs, they took my brain out and made me see..."
She shivered.
"... Made me see everything, momma. The tall man put it back in, but they came with me, now they are always with me, they get so loud sometimes..."

Ferelith sighed. "Who did this to you.." She muttered almost to her self gently kissing the top of her head as she felt the fear in her voice. Whatever had actually happened it had been very real.

The tall man?

Bugs?

Taking out her brain?

She was a mess..Maybe in the moring Ferelith could use Quinns help to figure this out..

They walked through the city before coming to Quinns house. As it was along the wall it was not a long walk. No one really gave her more of a glance.

She entered the house quickly and moved to set Cari in the chair. Only to have the girls grip tighten as she tried to set her down and let go.

"We're here..You..You can let go.." Ferelith said.

"Youll..." Ferelith srtuggled to figure out what to say before simply sitting in the seat with her with a huff of a sigh. A slight rueful smile struggling to not play across her lips.

 

[Cari Greenstand]

She joined her singing. Singing the correct words with no interruptions from nasty bandits. It was a nice moment. Something that made Ferelith's heart feel full.

Cari happily sang every verse, sometimes stopping to listen to Ferelith's voice before joining in on her favorite parts.
"Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things!"

"We're here..You..You can let go.." Ferelith said.

"You'll..." Ferelith struggled to figure out what to say before simply sitting in the seat with her with a huff of a sigh. A slight rueful smile struggling to not play across her lips.

Cari simply wouldn't let go. She had been so long without her mother, but she found her again so she wasn't going to let go of her this time.
Besides, the stars were dimmer but they were still there. Cari couldn't fly through the stars, so she had to stay with momma to keep from floating away.

"I missed you so much, momma."
A tear soaked into the scarf.

 

[Ferelith Scathach]

Cari happily sang every verse, sometimes stopping to listen to Ferelith's voice before joining in on her favorite parts.
"Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things!"

It was a nice moment. Ferelith never sang for anyone. She hated how dainty her voice sounded, but many had said it was beatiful....Well Quinn had said so at any rate and he was Fae so that had to count for something..

However..

With this girl..It felt like sharing a gift with someone who deeply appreciated it. Someone who needed it. So she sang, stopping in points to hear the girls own voice.

"You sing beautifully.." She whispered.

"I missed you so much, momma."
A tear soaked into the scarf.

Ferelith placed her hand on the back of the girls head giving it another gentle kiss as she slowly removed the scarf. "Shh.." She said soothingly. Feeling the girls shoulders shake with tears.

"Im not going anywhere..I.." She stopped..The girl clearly thought she was someone else, but Ferelith couldnt bring herself to shatter the illusion right now..

It might break the girl even further..beyond the state she was already broken down to.."I missed you so much too.." She whispered..

"But mothers here now..And no monster. No tall man..Will Ever." She squeezed her lovingly. "Take me away from you again.."

And she ment it. Even if she didnt know who this girl thought she was. The desperation and saddness in her voice made ferelith's determination ironclad. She would not be without her as long as Ferelith drew breath. It sounded like she at least deserved that much.. So ferelith sat with her awhile. simply holding her in that small room of that small house next to the wall of a cit she barely knew. Wondering what would come next...

 

[Quinn Greensage]

Quinn breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the last foreign emissary of the day was escorted out of the lavish meeting room. He leaned forward onto the table resting his head between his arms. After a while, Quinn rose from his seat and went to fill in the queen on all that had happened that day. Once he was done with that, Quinn left the palace and trudged home, exhausted.

Quinn entered the small house, and greeted Ferelith with a smile. "Ferelith! How was your hunting trip?" He began to remove his coat, before snapping back to look at Ferelith seated in the chair. Another human woman embraced her, making Ferelith appear as if she were holding a child. The new woman was extremely thin, and had a fearful look in her eyes as if she were terrified of everything around her. Quinn shot Ferelith a confused glace with a raised eyebrow, but decided to roll with the situation for now.

"Are you girls hungry?" Quinn spoke as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. The poor girl in Ferelith's arm appeared frightened enough as it was without him interrogating her. "I'll go make dinner!" His culinary skills had increased greatly since meeting Ferelith, and he could even cook without burning anything! Most of the time.

He gave a look to Ferelith that said "we'll talk about this later", and made his way to the kitchen. Quinn took a slab of meat from Ferelith's previous hunt and cut it into three servings, bringing it along with a few potatoes to the fireplace to cook.

What in the world had Ferelith gotten them into this time?

 

[Cari Greenstand]

It was a nice moment. Ferelith never sang for anyone. She hated how dainty her voice sounded, but many had said it was beautiful....Well Quinn had said so at any rate and he was Fae so that had to count for something..

However..

With this girl..It felt like sharing a gift with someone who deeply appreciated it. Someone who needed it. So she sang, stopping in points to hear the girls own voice.

"You sing beautifully.." She whispered.

Ferelith placed her hand on the back of the girls head giving it another gentle kiss as she slowly removed the scarf. "Shh.." She said soothingly. Feeling the girls shoulders shake with tears.

"Im not going anywhere..I.." She stopped..The girl clearly thought she was someone else, but Ferelith couldn't bring herself to shatter the illusion right now..

It might break the girl even further..beyond the state she was already broken down to.."I missed you so much too.." She whispered..

"But mothers here now..And no monster. No tall man..Will Ever." She squeezed her lovingly. "Take me away from you again.."

And she meant it. Even if she didn't know who this girl thought she was. The desperation and sadness in her voice made ferelith's determination ironclad. She would not be without her as long as Ferelith drew breath. It sounded like she at least deserved that much.. So ferelith sat with her awhile. simply holding her in that small room of that small house next to the wall of a cit she barely knew. Wondering what would come next...

Ferelith's words soothed her and Cari was able to simply cry it out a little bit and let herself calm down.
Being cared for and loved again, it was a relief to her and she simply enjoyed the moment.

Quinn breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the last foreign emissary of the day was escorted out of the lavish meeting room. He leaned forward onto the table resting his head between his arms. After a while, Quinn rose from his seat and went to fill in the queen on all that had happened that day. Once he was done with that, Quinn left the palace and trudged home, exhausted.

Quinn entered the small house, and greeted Ferelith with a smile. "Ferelith! How was your hunting trip?" He began to remove his coat, before snapping back to look at Ferelith seated in the chair. Another human woman embraced her, making Ferelith appear as if she were holding a child. The new woman was extremely thin, and had a fearful look in her eyes as if she were terrified of everything around her. Quinn shot Ferelith a confused glace with a raised eyebrow, but decided to roll with the situation for now.

Cari looked up suddenly when the door opened all by itself and she gasped in awe and surprise.
"Did you see that?!"
She pointed at the door and a man walked through it, as if summoned into existence by her pointing!
He spoke to the woman with her and then seemed to notice her.

She blinked as she watched him, a mixture of fear and confusion on her face as she watched the man casually pull his own wings off! What kind of human man just casually pulls his own wings off!
She stared at his "wings" as he hung up his jacket. Utterly mystified.

"Are you girls hungry?" Quinn spoke as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. The poor girl in Ferelith's arm appeared frightened enough as it was without him interrogating her. "I'll go make dinner!" His culinary skills had increased greatly since meeting Ferelith, and he could even cook without burning anything! Most of the time.

He gave a look to Ferelith that said "we'll talk about this later", and made his way to the kitchen. Quinn took a slab of meat from Ferelith's previous hunt and cut it into three servings, bringing it along with a few potatoes to the fireplace to cook.

What in the world had Ferelith gotten them into this time?

At the mention of food she seemed to forget about the wings and was suddenly distracted by how hungry she felt.

She looked down at her stomach and her eyes went wide.
"Woah! I've got a bottomless pit in my stomach... How did I never notice that before?!"
She took an arm from around Ferelith's neck and reached up the bottom front of her shirt.
"See, I can almost reach my entire arm into my stomach!"