Whispers tickled me awake. It was not near dawn yet and my muscles ached. I frowned and tilted my head slightly to hear better. A few words were clear enough to make out. West. Soon. Smoke. Girl. The wind had picked up, blowing the sounds away.

I sat up as quietly as I could, which was almost silent in the hay. It was still fresh enough that no dry crunch would give away my movements. The barn door was half-opened, but I couldn't see anyone through it. With luck, that meant they couldn't see me either.

I crept down the ladder, swearing to sleep with my axe from now on. My feet hit the dirt floor and I tiptoed for the doorway to listen.

"Most of the girls in these parts match that description. You'll have to do better than that." It was the farmer.

"I smell her all over your fields. Does that bring someone to mind?" It wasn't a question, it was a demand. The rumbling voice sent chills down my back. It was wild, something that didn't belong outside a barn so much as running through the trees or soaring in the sky. It was a voice of strength. It was low and dark and dangerous.

"Let me think, now. I may have had someone help in the fields, but she's done and gone from them now. She never said where she would go after that. Perhaps you could try going south though, since there isn't anything the other directions of interest to a traveler." The farmer's drawl was slow, like he was thinking. Or buying time. I held my breath. They say the fae can smell lies. He didn't outright say anything that was untrue, but he was most certainly pushing the boundaries. The old farmer may have been the bravest man I had ever seen. If it were me, I'd be shaking in my boots.

I dared a peek outside the barn door. It was him. The fae from the village towered over the human in his doorway. I choked down a gasp. His back was to me, but the farmer could see me plain as day. I ducked back into the barn.

"Yes, I'd go south if it were me." The farmer wondered out loud. "But I didn't watch her leave, so I can't be sure."

"So be it." The fae growled and stepped back from the farmer.

The fae's steps thundered. He ran with a frightening swiftness. I stuck my head out only to find he was already out of sight. The farmer stood in his doorway, staring open-mouthed after the creature from the Wyldes. The farmer turned his head towards me. He nodded once, then retreated to the warmth of his house. I guess I ranked a little better than a fae from the Wyldes, at least to the farmer of Pine Hollow.

Fully awake now, and every instinct urging me forward, I pulled my sled out the barn door. Why would the fae be after me? I probably offended him when I pushed him. I didn't regret it. He put his hands on me and lay bare my most vulnerable secret. I wasn't about to take that from anyone.

As for where to go, north was tempting. The opposite direction of the wild thing that was looking for me. But I pressed eastward, if only for the fact that I told Mila I would be traveling that way.

The open fields in the hollow left me feeling naked. The trees were a welcoming cloak from the empty skies, and the terrible growling voice I had left behind me on the farm. I tried to run, but the sled held me back and the litter of the forest floor was a tangle of hazards, the snow cover too light. If only the deep snows had begun. I could already see several nicks in the metal rails where rocks had scraped the sled. Surely, it made too much noise. I debated on abandoning it, but even with my natural swiftness, I couldn't carry everything, and the weight of my sack would tire me sooner. Besides, with the now fully formed bruise from Bryn, my left arm was nearly useless it was so sore. Fortunately, luck was on my side and I came across a brook. Unlike the muddy riverbed that brought me to the farm, water trickled cold and unrelenting down the slope. At least my burden could move through it.

Dawn came. I stopped to rest, drink, and eat. I tried to dry my wet boots. I cried again for Bryn. I set out once more. Worn deer trails and mostly-dry creek beds aided me in moving the sled through what little frost lingered. I began to reach the edges of familiar forest, and glimpses of unknown landscapes danced ahead. I was tired, but I did not stop again for rest or food until the sky turned red.

I ate a little more, and soaked my feet in a trickling mountain spring. It was cold, but refreshing. I chewed my lip and tore at my fingernails. Was sleep the right decision? But how long could I continue at this pace? I made up my mind to rest for only an hour, then I would move again.

A mighty oak with thick low branches made a promising bed. I hauled my sack up with me and tied it off the ground, away from any curious animals. I sank the blade of my axe in the trunk by where I lay. I would not let it leave my arm's reach again. I devoured an entire loaf of bread before settling in to rest. For a long time my ears twitched with sounds of the night. I jumped at owls, scurrying mice, and rustling branches. A bird cawed nearby. Finally my weary body betrayed me, and I fell into a deep sleep.

~

I awoke at midnight. Much more time had passed than I wanted. My legs throbbed and my shoulders roared with hot aching, but I was far calmer than when I ran from the barn. I let myself down from the tree gently, retrieved my axe and my belongings, and set forth again at a slower pace.

Wind howled down the mountainside. The chill bit into me, but my movement kept me from freezing. I found a gentle path, and another, and another, until I reached the bottom of the large slope. I ate an apple, and began to climb. A few different muscles than the ones that brought me down the mountain began to burn with the new motion of climbing.

Something pricked at the back of my mind. It was sleep, or nerves, or some primitive instinct to escape what was behind me. At times I could feel it, like an itch my hands couldn't reach. A tingle on my spine where my seal was. Other times it was all but gone. The feeling kept me going, and as it grew stronger with the rising sun, so did my fears.

And then I heard it. It was light, but it was footsteps. Definitely not made by an animal. How I could tell, I still don't know, but there was no doubt in my mind the fae was behind me.
My heart raced and I gripped my axe. He wasn't close, but with his terrible speed the gap between us would be a moment for him. Maybe he hadn't noticed I sensed him. Maybe he didn't care.

I went over every item in my possession in my head. My clothes, the food, my meager pocket of coin. I could survive without it, Bryn had made sure of that. I would cry for the things Bryn had carved for me, but I would live without them too. The only thing that might save me now, was a surprise, and every ounce of speed I had.

I took a deep breath, and let go of the sled. It clattered down the slope behind me, hitting rocks and probably ruining all of the food. I ran.

I ran left, and around trees, and I ran fast. A growl from behind shot chills up my spine. My heart threatened to break through my ribs. I ran for what must have only been a minute, when the footsteps thundered behind me.

Fast. He was too fast.

I turned, axe in hand, ready for one last stand. It was him. Hulking over me like a bear, fangs bared, and his eyes were solid black. As I spun I swung my tool, now my weapon. No different than felling a tree I told myself. I swung. The moment his hand shot out, catching the handle, all my hope faltered.

He smiled. His scent was wild with a lust for the hunt. He was sweat, and grace, and power, and a primal musk of predator. He tore my precious axe from my hands with ease, and stared me down.

His chest heaved with deep breaths. He growled and visibly restrained something in himself. A beast ready to spring forth, if only the fae would let him. His furrowed brow was glistening, but something told me it wasn't from the run. I was ready to see foam at his jaw, for he looked rabid. I was in no better state, I'm sure.

His gaze held me in place. I couldn't move. There was no point, anyway, now that I was an arm's reach from him. I resigned myself to whatever fate awaited me, but if I was going to die, I would do it with protest.

"What do you want?" I panted. 

He stared in surprise for a moment, and from him a rumble sent my heart racing again. But it wasn't a growl that was starting deep in his chest. He threw his head back and then roared with laughter. The tension he held in every ounce of muscle shed immediately. The birds above scattered, my heart thundered, but I squared my shoulders. The deep rumble from his chest was almost a physical push of wind against me.

"Not quite what I was expecting." He smiled. It was a wicked thing, his smile. Not something to outright fear, but something to be cautious of. Staring into the grinning maw of a wild beast.
I stared at him. He would have to provide answers while I caught my breath, or he would have to slay me where I stand. But after the terror his chase instilled in me, I owed him nothing, and I was out of breath.

"Who sired you?" he asked, his low voice rumbling through the trees around us. Not a question I was prepared for.

"I don't know."

"Was the fae blood from your mother or father?" He asked, a bit more impatiently.

"I... don't know that, either." I blinked. "Is this what you chased me down a mountain for?"

"It is," He said gravely. "You smell familiar, in a way. If you are one of us..."

"I am not one of you." I ground my teeth in frustration.

"So you say," He studied me a moment.
He handed my axe back. I grasped it with relief. He studied me.

"Trusting thing." he growled.

"I have never been trusting, and I probably won't start with a creature from the Wyldes." I didn't let him see the shivers his deep voice sent down my back. I almost saw a reaction to the word creature, but however he felt about it, he kept quiet. He watched me for a few heartbeats, then turned.

He walked down the hill the way we had come, and I followed him a distance away, axe ready. If I wasn't going to escape him, I was going to watch him like a hawk. He moved like a cat; even through the simple tunic, I could see the muscles of his back shift around. He had honed his body to that of a warrior, or maybe all fae were like that by design.

He stopped to pick up my other axe, and I realized we were gathering my things. It took a bit of building myself up, but I joined him. I righted my sled, and searched for what had fallen from my sack. He picked up the bundle of seasoned wood.

"Why do you travel from your home?" He asked, taking the rope and pulling the sled.
He hauled it towards a clearing and began gathering branches. Looking around, this would be a good place to camp, if only for a little while. I supposed that was what we were doing, and I helped him clear space.

"That village is not my home." I replied flatly. I threw my pile of midwinter wood down and kicked the dry leaves away from where we would build a fire. I don't know where I thought I'd be at midwinter that warranted burning the seasoned wood, but it was doing me no good right now.

"Not there, I mean the one in the woods." I stopped. Someone told him about the cabin. Or he smelled it while tracking me, I suppose. He seemed like he could do such a thing.

"There is nothing left for me there," I murmured.

He grunted, and worked up a fire. The air bit, and I was grateful for the warmth for the first time in days. I remained standing, though, even as he sat on a fallen tree, stretching out his long body towards the fire. My fingers were white against the wooden handle of the axe, my only defense.

I had no idea what to make of him. His tone was softer with me than with the farmer. His questions intrigued me. Maybe I could ask a few of my own, if I worked up my nerves. Or would it still be better to escape his attention?

"I'm not here to hurt you, I swear it." He said from his side of the fire. "I don't know what the fae have done to earn your fear, but I promise I mean you no ill will."

Mila did tell me to give them a chance. Right now I was treating this fae with the same fear the villagers gave me. But still...

"You're different now than you were when we first met." I kicked a rock underfoot. "You didn't speak, and you, you touched me without my permission."

"I am...sorry to have frightened you." He spoke after a while. "It was not my intent. I was not quite myself when we met."

I noticed he didn't apologize for touching me, just that it had frightened me.

After a few moments of silence, I dug through my sack for food. I found two apples and a loaf of bread that had not been completely ruined by the fall down the hill. Food was precious, but in the mountains you shared food, regardless of who you were with. I offered him half of the bread. He looked at me, an unreadable look on his face.

"Feed the whole camp or feed none," I shook my hand with the offering of bread towards him again.

He snorted. "Do the humans still say that?"

I stared at him, hand still out. He stared at me for a long time, and eventually took it.

"I had never seen a fae before yesterday." I sat on the ground a healthy distance from him, one hand still on my axe. "I've only heard stories. The people, humans, of the mountains fear everything from the Wyldes."

"I suppose they do." He watched me take a small mouthful of bread. "And do they fear you too?"

"I wouldn't say fear. And the bread isn't poisoned, you know," I muttered. He studied the food in his hands. He took a bite, then set his bread on his knee.

"I had thought – how have you lived until now? Has it always been that hovel in the woods?" He said in wonder.

"Yes." I scowled. "It has always been that hovel."

He cringed, realizing his mistake. I reigned in my temper. He had saved my life, after all. I should at least hear him out. That is, if he would get to the damned point first.

"You didn't speak a word back in the village, but you felt it right to put your hands on me. You also tracked me down the entire mountainside. What exactly is it you want from me?" I asked, far too tired to play games.

The beautiful, awful creature watched me with fascination. Thinking.

"Back in the village I was still putting away that part of me that killed. And touching the iron, I didn't mean... I don't want anything from you. I suppose I'm offering you a new life." He said.

"The courts aren't what they once were. Numbers are precious. I was worried for you as one of our kind - I didn't know at first you were half. But any fae, even a half fae, would be welcomed where I'm from."

Welcomed. I couldn't expect a welcome from humans, not really. But that was the only culture I had ever known. The fae still frightened me, though this one could have killed me at any time and hadn't. That didn't mean he wasn't playing other tricks, though.

"What is your name?" I asked.

"My friends call me Thain." He replied.

"Why chase me down?" My eyes narrowed. "How did you know I didn't already belong with the fae, and I was only visiting that village? Or living happily with the humans?"

"One of the village men had swam halfway to you already, and turned around when he saw who it was. It was clear enough they didn't care about you," He snarled. "You've never been around another fae either, not in a long time, at least. I can smell it on you. You –"

His ears twitched and he stood faster than I could see him do it, causing me to clutch my axe in panic and drop my bread. He bared those sharp teeth to the north, and I sat as still as I could. I turned my head slightly, trying to hear what he heard.

"Why would something like that be so far south?" He hissed at some horror I couldn't sense.

"What is it?" I kept my voice low.

Thain swore and put out the fire with a wave of his hand. A small gesture, but it drew the winds to the flames just as Mila would have done it. Magic.

"It's not friendly. Wait here, don't move." He leaned down to stare into my eyes, the intensity of him gave me goosebumps. "Don't make a sound. No fire. I'll be back shortly." Before I could protest, he was gone, running north like an animal giving chase.