By: Mionikoi

It was after the human left the infirmary that lessons moved to the library.

Briggit wondered about the silver dragon person man. Apparently a scholar. He was shorter than the human. Taller than her, but that wasn’t saying much. It was difficult staying awake.

She was aware that the human was being attacked by the children, who wanted to touch his hair. She was aware of the story the injured one told. She was aware that the human seemed happy to let the children cuddle up against him. It almost looked like he was trying to make a fashion statement. Two kids on his lap and one on his head as a hat.

She managed to stay awake when the scholar taught them the alphabet. She bit herself to make it.

She managed to escape only to learn that the human was going to be sleeping in the children’s room.

This wasn’t going to work. Granted, she could probably stop tailing the human and the dragon folk didn’t wake up nearly as early as he did, she still needed to sleep. Day time was getting longer, and nights were shorter. Summer was approaching. So they must have been around the month of the Hornet. Mid spring. She was watching the moon cycle closely. Determining time and rewriting an internal calendar was not an easy process. She knew she would have other means of doing so, one in particular she was not looking forward to.

Right. She would just have to determine the days in particular by the next solstice. It wasn’t going to be that difficult.

Next was the report she would need to make. Her mother needed to know about the situation. That and she needed to be introduced to the local fae. She was now well into this world by now, so maybe that was why the people here were spotting her more often…

Or her glamor was failing. Which was a dangerous game to play. Maybe the people were nice here. But there were things that were not so nice out there. And she didn’t have a lantern…

Still, she needed to make her report. Today she slept. Tonight she’d make herself a ring.

Many hours later…

Briggit looked at her small stone circle. She fussed and fussed and fussed. Anguishing about the placements. It didn’t help that the island moved! She had to get inventive about her northern pointing stones. There should only be one! ‘Why did north have to move?!? Oh bother.’ She was screaming in her mind.

But if she didn’t get this right, maybe no one would come! How would she deliver her report to her mother? How would she be able to trade for more colors for her wool clothes? Or what if fire cotton finally becomes available? What if there was finally soft cloth available that didn’t burn? A bunch of what if questions.

But then there were other questions she knew she needed to ask herself. Who was she inviting? She went over what fae her mother told her about.

This calmed her down a little.

Water and those within were not an option. Besides the fact that she had no access to sea shells, kelp, or tropical fronds… Or any water plants worth note. Water was just too much effort to comfortably be messing with. Besides that, she only knew some selkies and a nice mermaid that would sing with her. On top of that most water fae hated her kind, fire and water and all that. The water was doused and fire dried out their skin.. And bodies of water… Water was a nope. Moving along.

Earth was a good element. But few that lived in and among it got along with her kin very well.

Dwarves loved her kind. They had a rather good and mutual relationship. But dwarves did not like to travel. So much in fact that you traveled to them if you wanted something. Her trunk was dwarven made. The wheels were too! They weren’t an option.

Gnomes were on good terms with her people. They also provided the bulk of the trade her family did with. But they liked gems and rocks she didn’t have right now. Actually, she had very little to trade with them. She found some geodes around the river bed. They were probably agate or amethyst or quartz. She would be keeping those to give away as gifts. Maybe if she found enough.

In truth, being on a floating island meant she couldn’t take advantage of having a mountain with deep roots reaching into the earth’s fire… Precious crystals would be rare and not too diverse… That was it for earth.

The forest, the hills, the meadows and plains. Briggit wracked her brain.

Goblins were… Iffy. They weren’t all a bad sort. But they didn’t have any special interest in her people. Some liked, some hated. Some fell into the unseelie court. That and they were more forest fae than anything. Like water fae you might find one you can make friends with. They liked good alcohol. Or jam. It could also be alcoholic jam. And they usually had something good to trade. They were also excellent wood workers.

Then there were spriggans, dryads, pixies, sprites… Forest folk and fire folk don’t mix well… It wasn’t worth thinking more on it so Briggit put it out of her mind.

Horse probably didn’t like her either. That was a shame. She knew a little about unicorns. Legends about them being beautiful, graceful and overall well respected. She was sure Horse knew a great bit. What was good to eat, what was worth foraging. Useful deadfall wood. Bugs. Anything she might use as dyes. She was sure that mare knew it all… But…

But the young vixen had no idea how to approach the mare. Or if she could ever again. Or if this particular mare or any of her kind would ever venture to and from the realm between realms. She didn’t have enough information and she doubted she would be worth a unicorn’s time. What else then?

Leprechauns were on good terms with her folk, but they were the type to serve you tea on your travels and expect you gone by mid morning. Simple folk to get along with. Tell them a story and they would give you hospitality. But… They liked being alone. Not a bad sort. Especially if you were in a pinch due to the weather. Don’t expect them to save your skin though.

She was running out of options. What else?

“You know, If you sit there debating any longer, you might get gobbled up.” A voice came from above, sitting on one of the flat stones that made up her circle. A goat woman, a puca. She was dressed in lovely flowing robes the girl couldn’t help but envy. Colorful, soft. Probably far more comfortable than her clothes. Golden horns and sleek black fur.

“Ah! Surrie!” Briggit gasped before giving a deep curtsy by grabbing on to the hems of her skirt with both hands.

The puca held a hand up flat, pointed to Briggit then to her own mouth and clenched her hand. Another way of telling Briggit, ‘Don’t speak aloud.’ There was a brief pause before the Puca smiled. “Mauve raised you well enough. Did you read the other two pages of her letter?” The puca asked.

The vixen looked up at the puca at first shocked, before her ears flattened in guilt. She had completely put the letters out of her mind. She shook her head slowly, ears flattened in guilt.

“Good. The third page was only if you were captured and the second was if you failed. You weren’t supposed to read them.” The puca said and held up a hand to stop Briggit from speaking. “You’ve been seen. Your glamor is working now, but if you aren’t careful it will come apart. Be careful coming here alone. The wolves will grow bolder. They already have your sent…”

The puca looked contemplatively out into the distance before handing the young vixen a roll of parchment she retrieved from a sleeve as she pulled at her beard with a free hand.

“Write your report down there. I’ll take it to your mother myself. Consider it payment for the fish soup. It was delicious. Though, I prefer mine with a bit more mushrooms than potatoes.” The puca said before staring at the dark emptiness frowning.

The girl looked troubled. She looked back at the keep before pointing to her mouth and ear, then back at the keep. An ear flattened, and an ear remained raised. She looked at the Puca intently. A question. She needed a teacher. But whom?

The Puca smiled. “ A good question. There are sylphid children… aeries they are called. They know the language and people here. Offer them seeds and flowers on a shiny stone. They aren’t picky about it. They’ll come to you so long as you provide them something wooden to sit on. No stone circles needed. Dawn however. They prefer dawn.” The puca said and grinned. “ Now, you owe me. Next time, I want something tasty from here. And again little girl, be careful traveling alone during the night. Your glamor won’t save you. Use your feet. Now. Finish your report.”

This was troubling news. All and all, she hadn’t planned on her glamor failing her. She didn’t feel like the keep folk would be happy with her being there. They might want to get rid of her if she did anything to upset them. Further… She began to write the report while the puca woman watched over her. She finished and smiled at the woman happy to see someone she knew.

“Also, the pompous ass is curious about you. I wouldn’t recommend getting in a fight with her, but you should start standing up for yourself. And, you might be able to get a deal out of her.” The Puca said before reaching out to rustle the vixen’s hair.

“ It is good to see you again, Copper-Hair. The rest of your skulk’s children are… Not as pleasant to meet with…” The Puca said before taking the roll of parchment and giving it a blow. </Briggit looked at the Puca and then to the ground. Briefly her ears flattened. Guilt, worry. She wore it on her face. She didn’t know how to ask so she mouthed, ‘How are they?’

The puca sighed. “Those three are insufferable as always. The black, the maroon, and orange haired ones are causing your eldest sister no short amount of stress. A lovely auburn one, she is… Rust red? You’re mother’s been threatening to send them off as well. The little ones are faring well. Still unkindled. Still on four paws. And they are always yapping. Do you have any idea how bothersome your voices can get? I had to leave. Adorable as they are, my ears can’t take it.”

The girl looked at the Puca awkwardly. She gave the woman a deep curtsy. ‘Thank you.’

The Puca nodded. “I trust you are smart enough not to tell the unicorn what I said that about her. For your own sake… If she hasn’t heard me already. Well, too-da-luu. I have a coyote-witch who owes me some really good marmalade. Do take care.”

Briggit stood up straight while giving the puca an awkward wave before watching it disappear into a puff of smoke. The woman was definitely not afraid of picking a fight. Briggit for her part sighed. Right. She needed to gather flowers, some seeds, and some mica. She wasn’t very experienced with swap meets and trades. And it was probably going to be an expected outcome that she would always be coming out on the short end of them.

Then there were the wolves. The puca sensed them clearly, but she didn’t know their smell. She never seen one before. They apparently knew hers. How did that work? Right. She would just have to hope she could outrun them. It was collecting time.

The rest of her night out wasn’t eventful. She was aware now that she was being watched, though she wasn’t sure from where. She wanted to start bringing her broom with her from now on, not that that would do much… It just made her feel more comfortable. A couple of sticks, some grass twine she had been getting better at making, and a few hours of gathering berries, seeds, and mica. She had enough to construct a perch for the aeries. But the question was, where? She was right about to start her jaunt up the keep wall when she heard a whizzing sound through the air, and a thunk. She froze. And then another. What? Closer. And a third followed with a loud yelp, a snarl, and the sound of foot pads retreating. Okay. That was too close. She shuttered. There were no more whizzing noises after that.

She looked to see what they were. Arrows. Hopefully, and maybe unfortunately… Maybe they were shooting at the wolf? She hadn’t seen one… Then again, they had a field of silage near their keep. And it had clearly been there. Maybe one could have hid in it? She should show the guards some gratitude and retrieve the arrows… And hope it was the wolves that they were actually shooting at. It was about her time to start sweeping the halls anyways.

Right. Up the wall, three arrows with one having a bit of blood and fur to it. And two guards looking out into the distance searching. Distracted. Gently, quietly, she placed the arrows down on a table they had and gave the two guards a deep curtsy before climbing down the hatch of the trap door and going straight to the broom closet.

She arranged many of her spoils into the boxes she rearranged as both dividers and shelves. She had to be careful because the nails used were iron. There were also no more spiders and bugs, no mice. Those became her meals either crispy or charred. She had a good stash of grass, sticks, charcoal and some sharp rocks. And now she had a stash of pretty stones, some fresh flowers she wished she had a pot for, and a roll of twine going. Her trunk was out of the way and her bed was a pile of ash with a mat of grass and rags too far gone to do anything but burn. It wasn’t quite as comfortable as a proper ash bed, but a work in progress. Maybe she could have a proper blanket? She found some flax in the fields between the woods and the keep. A lot just growing wild.

She wouldn’t be able to keep all this if the broom closet wasn’t checked so seldom. Well, never. Maybe never. She supposed they did check it, but… Well. It’s a broom closet. Yup. A bunch of old decrepit brooms, some buckets. Wooden boxes that looked really old. In fact, you probably wouldn’t have known the room had its own little window slit. She was proud of her little barrow coming along! Oh, right. She needed to give an apology gift to the guard captain. Maybe some mica? It was pretty enough, right? She already had some stored in her apron pocket. Maybe she could leave him a little pile. Where was his room though? She sniffed the air after leaving her room, careful to check that no one was walking by.

It turned out that one of the two guards helped her with finding the good captain because they had went to go get him. It seemed so odd that they were stirring up a fuss at this hour… Oh. That’s the arrow she brought back. The one that grazed the wolf. She waited for the guard captain to start waking up the keep and the search to begin.

He simply looked at the arrow instead with a frown. Then off he went. And the halls were empty. Strange. Oh well. She would clean in front of his room before leaving him the mica.

She would later learn after setting up the meeting spot for the aerie, that the guard captain was not at all pleased about the mica she left him. Something about water demon scales. The girl just stared at the broken little rocks in shock. Why? They were pretty!

She didn’t even notice the cardinal-like person sizing her up until she landed on the vixen’s shoulder and yelled, “GOOD MORNING!”