Ellie re-braided her hair into twin plaits, then pinned them around her head like a crown. There was no point in keeping her hair down at all for a journey to town— up and out of the way was the best way to go. She wore a tank top as an undershirt and an oversized wool sweater, thick corduroy pants, and wool socks under tall, laced up leather boots.

"My guess is you're a light traveler?" Ellie asked, raising an eyebrow as she slipped her arms into her overcoat.

"Good guess," Kaz said. "I don't tend to drag much around with me. I get what I need when I need it, and when I don't need it anymore, I sell it. It's easier that way."

Traveling light certainly was easier in some ways, but Ellie herself couldn't fathom never putting down roots. Her own family ties ran too deep into the mountains.

"Got cash?" Ellie asked, fishing in her trunk for a scarf.

"That won't be a problem. Why?"

"It's March in Boone. Up here, that counts as still winter. We should pick you up some warm clothes while we're in town, and it would be a good idea to grab a few groceries, too. We can store things up here if they're canned or salted, and we got chickens, but best to have a little extra on hand for another mouth." She held out the scarf to him.

"Didn't know I was trouble," Kaz snapped, huffing, but he took the scarf.

She could hear an echo of... something in his voice. An echo of give and take, of calculating value. Of figuring out what he could ask for and what he could live on. Though she knew very well that their lives weren't the same, a hint of that pain was familiar. It was the pain of being an outsider, of understanding that you had to fend for yourself first and foremost, and Ellie knew that well.

"You're not trouble," Ellie said gently. "Well, not any more trouble than you're worth. It's just if I don't have anything to feed ya, I can't feed ya." Before she thought too hard about it, she reached out and patted his arm.

Kaz looked at her like she was a talking raccoon.

"Come on. I've got a spare hat, too, and you can use it till we get you a good leather one down in town."

"Demons don't exactly run cold," he said skeptically.

"Better safe than sorry," Ellie said with a shrug. "It's a long walk to town, and I don't think those city slicker shoes are gonna be kind to ya in this weather." She glanced briefly down at his basic loafers. The ground would be terrible today, considering the rain last night, but she knew a few paths that were usually less soggy than others.

"That's twice you've called me that."

"What? City slicker?" Ellie raised an eyebrow. "Y'are, ain't ya?"

"It sounds like an insult," he huffed.

"Keep your britches on, it just means we can tell you're from the city and ya don't know how things work around here," she said with a laugh, waving him off.

"It's not an insult?"

"Can be, depending. But I could call ya a pretty Georgia peach and it could be an insult depending on how I say it. If I wanted to insult you, trust me when I'd say you'd know," she said with a soft smile. "I'm known for many things. Subtlety is not one of 'em."

Ellie packed her canvas back quickly and thoroughly, writing down notes in a small book as she counted jars and bags. After filling it, she pulled the drawstring tight and hefted it over her shoulder, ready for the long walk to town.

"Okay, ground rules while we're out," she began, adjusting her wide-brimmed leather hat. "Don't tell anyone in town you're a demon. I wouldn't recommend telling any witches you're a full-blooded demon, either, but that's just me. They'll be all over you in two seconds flat, and I'm assuming you're not in the mood to tell your life story."

"Not particularly, no," he said, shaking his head.             

"On that note, I'd also recommend you keep that hat on as much as you can. Conceal the horns."

"Noted..." Kaz placed the knit hat on his head, and thankfully it was roomy enough and thick enough that his horns didn't show through. He couldn't say he was particularly fond of the large pom at the top of it, but it would do for now. "What do we tell anyone who asks why I'm suddenly here, though?"

"We'll figure it out on the way to town," Ellie said with a shrug. "It's a long walk."

"You aren't concerned about your neighbors?"

"More that they aren't concerned about me," she grumbled, blowing a stray strand of silver hair out of her eyes. "Let's just say I'm a black sheep to most of the place, 'cept to Granny. And Granny is off on her yearly trip down the mountain, so we're in the clear there."

It was early enough that not too many people were out. Ellie hadn't wasted time this morning, partly because she didn't want to deal with a thousand questions from nosy people seeing her walking around with someone who wasn't Granny. She was almost always alone, and while seeing her with someone else wasn't an immediate red flag, it was unusual enough to see Ellie accompanied by a stranger that it might raise some eyebrows. Most people wouldn't ask, thankfully. They'd just gossip a bit and give her time to come up with an explanation.

"Let's go. We'll get onto the trail and then we'll talk."

Walking stick in hand and shouldering her canvas sack, she locked the door behind them, then moved quickly and quietly towards the iron gate that marked the edge of her yard. The whole world seemed wet and soggy from the storm, but that was alright. There were worse things than a little mud.

As they exited the yard, Ellie made directly for the village entrance, leading Kaz by a few private homes whose windows were still dark, the community building (a large, open, multipurpose room), and past the chicken coops. As they passed the softly scratching chickens, Ellie caught the briefest sound of humming and flinched.

Someone was awake.

Normally that wouldn't be an issue, but it was the flash of fiery red hair at the edge of the coops that really made Ellie want to move along quickly. There were only a couple of witches with that color hair around here, and she didn't feel like talking to any of them at the moment. Her stomach sank with dread as she glanced to the side, barely catching a silhouette moving from coop to coop.

"Fuck," she hissed, squeezing her eyes shut briefly. If they were quick and lucky, they'd be able to get around talking to anyone and go on their way to town unmolested by any nosy neighbors, but this was possibly the worst person that could be out to see them.

Steps inevitably sloshing in the mud left behind by the rain the night before, they made it approximately twenty feet before a voice called out behind them.

"Mornin', folks!"

Ellie cringed. They were not lucky.

"Dear Lord above, save me from this haint of a woman," she muttered under her breath, moving just a little faster. "Keep walkin'," she hissed to Kaz. He matched pace without question, but it was of little use.

"Hey! Wait a second, Ellie—"

The sound of footsteps coming after them was more than enough to let Ellie know that they probably wouldn't be able to escape questioning. She briefly wished she'd thought this through, but it was rare that anyone would be awake so early, and even rarer they'd comment on what they saw. Really, there was only one person in the village who would even bother.

"Nosy bitch," she muttered under her breath, plastering a false smile on her face that did not reach her eyes as she turned to face the woman chasing them down.

The redheaded witch was a few years younger and a few inches shorter than Ellie, her hair wild and curly around her delicate face, framing genuinely pretty high cheekbones and pouty lips. She had a penchant for wanting to know everyone's business as though it were her business, and absolutely no qualms about nosing into things. Occasionally, she very literally nosed her way into things. This particular witch had a magically sensitive nose, allowing her to identify the biology of a plant, animal, or person from smell alone, and Ellie had no doubt she could smell the strong Other blood on Kaz. If her own nose couldn't identify something, she could also use her talent for animal speaking to ask whatever squirrels or raccoons in the area for information. It was up in the air if she could identify him as a full blooded demon or not, but she absolutely knew a handsome outsider with strong magic when she smelled one, and Alice could never let something like that just lie in peace.

"Hi, Alice," Ellie said in a clipped tone, the false smile still plastered on.

"Who's this new man you got here? He a... friend visiting from town?" Alice asked, batting her eyelashes incredibly indiscreetly at Kaz. She'd barely even given Ellie a second glance, which normally would be fine, but this time she was being used as an intermediary.

"Mm," Ellie said noncommittally, fighting not to roll her eyes. Best not to give any solid responses till she'd worked out the story with Kaz later. "Bye, Alice."

But Alice wasn't having it, trotting along beside them as they quickly walked towards the front gates. She was carrying a basket in her hand, and Ellie could see a few eggs carefully tucked inside.

"Well, you know, I'd be happy to show him around sometime. Save you the trouble of being a guide at all," she said quickly, struggling to keep up with their longer strides.

Ellie snorted. "I'm sure you would. Now, if you excuse us, we're in a hurry."

"Why don't I come along? It'll be like a fun party," Alice said, clapping her hands together. "Just let me put these eggs away—"

"That's kind of you, but Ellie has things under control," Kaz said firmly. Though she appreciated him piping up, Ellie knew that likely wouldn't deter Alice. The redheaded woman just carefully adjusted her basket of eggs and continued to bat her eyelashes.

"It's not a problem. I love meeting new visitors," she called, tossing a lock of bright orange hair over her shoulder as she spoke. "And it's not like you two are together, you know? You're free to explore all you want. Whoever you want..."

The look on her face made it very clear exactly what she'd like to see Kaz explore. Thankfully, Ellie could deduce that this kind of thing likely wouldn't work on Kaz as a distraction, and she'd only known the man twelve hours... a good chunk of which she'd been asleep. 

He might be an incubus, but she also thought he was a decent man, and... Well, one that didn't seem particularly interested in sex. Odd, based on what she'd heard and read, but she could respect that, and she was sure it probably got annoying being propositioned after a while. In fact, rather than looking intrigued by Alice's clear proposition, he seemed a little put off.

"We are not—" Ellie snapped, but not quickly enough.

"Together, yes, we are." Kaz interrupted, grabbing her hand suddenly and intertwining their fingers. "I thought it would be nice to spend some time where Ellie grew up."

Ellie shot him a look that could only be described as pure, unadulterated panic, but Kaz seemed calm as he pulled her a little closer to his side. Her heart hammered in her chest, and not in a pleasant way. It felt more like it wanted to escape her rib cage and head for the hills.

Forcing her expression back to some approximation of neutrality, Ellie risked a glance at Alice. The woman's painted-on smile was still in place, but it very much did not reach her eyes, disappointment clouding her gaze.

"Didn't think you'd ever bring a man home after... you know..." She shifted into a whisper that wasn't really a whisper at all. "... What happened to Ben?"

Blood flashed in Ellie's mind. A mangled body soaked from the rain, light brown hair stained red, far too red. Chest too still as he lay face-down in the mud.

"That's great, Alice, we gotta go—" Ellie tried, pushing down the bile rising in her throat, but Alice wouldn't let up.

"You know, it was just... it was tragic."

"Ellie! Ellie, don't touch him, the police are still—"

But she was already there, kneeling beside the body, shaking him as if she might be able to wake him from the most final of all sleeps, white dress turning brown from the mud and red, red, red streaked all over from everywhere she touched him.

A scream ripped from her throat and her vision blurred. She felt hands pulling her back, pulling her away, but she couldn't let them. She couldn't leave him, not like this.

"Ellie," Kaz's voice cut through the fog for a moment, but not long enough.

"What do you mean she's a suspect?" Pastor John asked incredulously. "She physically couldn't have done it. I was with her in the church all morning—"

"We don't know what all her kind can do," the Sheriff insisted quietly, but not so quietly that Ellie couldn't hear. "I'm covering all my bases."

"Her kind? Feel like expanding on that, Sheriff?" John spat, bristling.

The Sheriff opened his mouth to respond, then quickly shut it. It wasn't wise to go up against the local pastor, not in a small town, and everybody knew it. They were at a standstill.

"I don't care what you think of me," Ellie whispered, knuckles white as she clutched the fabric of her ruined dress, still soaked from the storm. "Just... just find the bastard who did this."

"Breathe!" Kaz snapped, smacking her across the cheek.

Ellie's head jerked to the side from the slap as she gasped in shock, gulping in lungfuls of crisp mountain air. It wasn't hard enough to leave a mark or even hurt, just enough to shake her, eyes refocusing on Kaz as she jolted out of the memory.

"Thanks," she panted. "Needed that."

Alice stared between them as Ellie's vision swam back into place.

"Goodbye, Alice," she said softly, all her anger exhausted.

"Oh, dear," Alice began, her voice laced with sympathy, though Ellie was too scrambled to tell if it was in any way sincere. "Let me get—"

"I've got you. Lean on me," Kaz interrupted, just a little louder than Ellie thought was necessary. He snaked his arm around her waist as though he was supporting her, but it mostly just brought them very close together as they walked.

In a way, that was fine. Ellie was only slightly surprised to find that he was preternaturally warm, not to mention a wonderful shield against the mountain winds. She also did still feel a little wobbly, and she'd take the support while she could get it... Not that she'd ever admit that out loud.

"Where did you go back there?" Kaz whispered as they walked towards the entrance to the village. Ellie's legs seemed to become stronger with every step, the cool morning air grounding her in reality, far away from the nightmares of her past.

"I... somewhere I don't want to be."

"You looked like the soldiers that came back from the war just then." Kaz sighed as he shook his head. "I've seen enough of them to know what trauma looks like."

"I just wasn't expecting... I'm fine," she said, taking a deep breath through her nose.

"Do you panic like that every time someone mentions Ben?"

"No."

"How often?" he pressed.

More often than she would like to admit, so Ellie simply dodged the question.

"Alice is... a special brand of bitch," Ellie whispered distastefully. "Her whole family thought I was squandering my talent by marrying into a fully human bloodline. Her sense of smell is supernatural, too, so I bet she could smell how strong the Other blood is in you from the get-go. Of course it had to be her out this early."

"Are there no men in your community?" he asked, brow furrowed. "Is she that desperate for a partner?"

"There's plenty, yeah. Maybe four out of every ten are boys, most from distant enough lines that we don't have to worry about intermarrying too close, or they can submit a letter to the council and look for a match somewhere else. The dream is to marry a full-blooded Other for a lot of 'em, though, or at least have a baby with one."

"Why not just... let people be happy?"

"That's the money question, ain't it?" she huffed, blowing a stray strand of hair out of her face. "They think that if they marry into a line with strong magic, it'll give them some kind of infinite power or enhance their own power or give them... I don't know, infinitely powerful children whose lives they can control. Some weirdo shit like that." Ellie rolled her eyes, finally standing.

"And you?"

"I think they're a few sandwiches short of a picnic," she grumbled, tapping her forehead meaningfully. "Come on, let's get outta here."

Kaz threw a glance over his shoulder as they reached the gate, and when he looked back towards Ellie, there was a wicked grin on his lips. It was practically possible to hear the wheels turning in his mind, to see the plan forming in his head as they took step after step down the wide dirt path towards town.

"On the upside, I think we've found the perfect cover," he whispered into her ear.

"Besides having quiet conversations because we're standing too damn close, you're gonna have to break down the other benefits for me," she muttered. 

"In time," he said, drawing her a little nearer. "Let's put some space between us and this place first."