A week passed before anything else changed between Kieran and Daryl.

They continued their morning walks together, Kieran always in her horse form to keep up appearances. But they would talk rather than making the rounds in silence. A few members of the community started giving Daryl strange looks. After all, to them he appeared to be having half a conversation. And with a horse no less. But he didn't really care what they thought anyway. After they finished Kieran would change into her human form and spend the day following Daryl around. He kept trying to get her to talk with the others, but she steadfastly refused to associate with them.

Daryl was sitting on a hay bale in her stall while she dressed when he finally offered any kind of information on what he knew.

"Ma dad was a drunk asshole." He said out of the blue.
"He used ta hit my mom. Until she died anyway. Then he took ta beatin' on me an Merle."
"How did she die?" Kieran asked, sitting down next to him.
"Accident. House fire." He replied looking at his hands.
"Least that's what we were told. I never really believed it was an accident."
"What was her name?" Kieran asked. It had been bothering her she couldn't remember.
"Aoibheann." He replied.

Kieran didn't want to ask the next question. But learning Daryl's mother was Aoibheann Dixon was making it harder to rule out the possibility of who his father was. Kieran had vague memories of Aoibheann from her childhood. She had been friends with Kieran's mother before she was hand fasted to Tynan. Her memories were that of woman who so perfectly embodied her name sake, bringing radiance wherever she went. Kieran was certain Tynan did his very best to put that light out.

She swallowed thickly before asking.
"What was your father's name?"
"Tynan." He said, looking up to face her. "Why do ya care what their names were?"
"Daryl, I knew your parents." Kieran said, pain and sorrow filling her words.

Daryl stood up, shaking his head. It was all too much to process. He didn't know if he should be angry with her for with holding this information or happy she was trying to help him. He walked out of the stable wordless and headed straight for the gates. He needed to be alone, completely alone. So he could sort out his thoughts.

************************************************************

Once out in the woods Daryl's thoughts drifted to his childhood.

A memory of his mother when he was small. She was tucking him into bed and telling him stories about the fairy. The one he remembered was the story of a terrible dark fae who hated himself so much he wanted to destroy all of faekind. Daryl couldn't remember the dark fae's name, but he knew the story by heart. It was the one his mother told most often.

This particular fae had been abandoned by his parents at a very young age and left to fend for himself. Although he had been born in the fae realm, he was abandoned in the human world. Forced to grow up among people who didn't understand what he was. The constant rejection of human families coupled with the estrangement from his kind caused darkness to flourish in his heart. By the time he was found and taken to the fae realm it was too late, although they tried to save him.

He was married to a beautiful fae who was the daughter of one of the Kings court. It was thought her light and radiance could heal the darkness within him, but the counter only served to strengthen his rage against his people. The darkness eventually overtook him, and he began killing his own kind. Believing in his heart the fae did not deserve to exist. He was eventually caught, but not before faekind was crippled by his hatred. The King banished him, knowing that without being allowed to return, eventually all magic would leave him and his fae age would catch up with his mortal body causing his death.

Daryl told himself it was just a story. Which led to thoughts of his father telling him it was just a story. Well, not so much telling his, as beating into the very fiber of his being they were all just stories.

When Daryl was little, and his mother was still alive, he believed all the stories she told him. But after her death his father made sure to correct his son's beliefs. Daryl remembered having his hands tied to the branches of a tree once. His shirt ripped off so the bark cut into his chest. His father, drunk as usual, lashing his back with a leather belt. Asking Daryl the difference between fantasy and reality with each strike. The scars on his back began to itch with the memory.

Daryl was quickly pulled from his memories with the sound of shuffles and groans. A small group of the undead were headed straight for him. He had left his bow back at the community, needing to get away becoming the greatest priority at the time, it was still in Button's stall. They were too close and his breathing picked up, desperately seeking an escape route. He briefly wished they could just not see him. As he did they veered off, walking right past him without even making an attempt at his life. Curiously Daryl watched them leave before heading back to Alexandria.

************************************************************

The first place Daryl went when he got back to Alexandria was to find Kieran. She was grazing in her fenced in lot. Daryl walked up to the sleek black mare and bent over to speak in her ear.

"We need ta talk." He said, before standing and heading into her stall.

Kieran followed him, finding him pacing the perimeter on her entrance.

'Do you need me to change?' She asked, sensing the stress and tension in his movements.
"Don' matter." He replied.

Kieran decided this conversation would be easier in her human form. She allowed her bones to reshape and her muscle to realign. She stood in the center of the stall watching him move around her. He was silent, moving his hands around and obviously having some kind of internal conversation. Kieran dressed herself and sat on a blanket spread out over the straw.

"Daryl. Sit." She said.

He stilled in his movements, seeming to notice for the first time she was human and not a horse. With three easy steps he walked over to her and dropped himself on the blanket beside her. He remained quiet for several more minutes, just staring at his hands and picking at the nails. Finally he sighed, scrubbing his hands over his face he looked at her.

"Ya said ya knew my parents." He said.
"Well, I knew your mother. She was friends with my mother. I've heard of your father." Kieran clarified.
"How much do ya know?" He asked.
"My memories of your mother are of a woman beyond beauty. She brought radiant light wherever she went. Are rare gem, and quite odd for her species." She said.
"Her species." Daryl said, more to himself than anything.
"Species? Like you're a púca?" He asked.
"Yes." Kieran said, nodding her head. "Did she ever tell you what she was?"
"She told me stories about faries all tha time. Said me n Merle was fae, but I was never real sure about it. But naw, she never told us a species." Daryl said.
"What did she tell you?" She asked, taking his hands.

Daryl closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. When he opened them he kept his gaze down, steady on where she was holding his hands in hers. Brushing her thumbs across his knuckles. He took another deep breath and relayed the story of the dark fae his mother told him the most frequently. When he was finished he looked up at her face. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and he thought he could feel her heart breaking.

He saw her open her mouth to speak, but cut her off before she got a sound out.

"Out there today. Somethin' happened. I need ta know what it was." He said.

She stared at him, silently contemplating whether to tell him what she knew or follow his lead.

"I got lost in ma head out there. Some walkers surprised me. I thought it was gonna be it. But then it was like they couldn' even see me. Just walked on past. The hell was it?" He asked.

Kieran thought for a moment. He had no magic, and shouldn't be able to do what he did. The only logical explanation being he somehow absorbed some of hers. They had been spending a large amount of time together. It was theoretically possible.

"Daryl. Did you parents ever mention the word Clurichaun to you as a child?" She asked.
"Naw." He said, shaking his head. "Why?"
"Its what they were. What you are." Kieran said, looking into his eyes and willing him to believe her.
"Alright." He paused briefly before continuing. "What's that mean?" He asked.
"Daryl the Clurichaun have the ability to hide from humans in plain sight. Basically, the only time humans can see a Clurichaun is if it wants them too. Since those things are still human, you must have not wanted them to see you. And they didn't." She explained.
Daryl scoffed at the explanation. "Been plenty a times I didn' wanna be seen. Before and after. Never been invisible before." He said.
"Typically a fae needs magic to express their abilities. Since you've never been to the fae realm, you never had any. But you must have absorbed some of mine, with all the times we've spent together." Kieran told him.
"How come I never got any from my parents then?" He asked.

Kieran knew she couldn't keep things from him any longer. He needed to know who his parents were.

"You never absorbed any from them, because they didn't have any to give you." She said. She squeezed his hands in hers and fought back the tears threatening to break free again.
"They were banished from the fae realm. They had lost all their magic. Daryl, the dark fae your mother spoke about was your father."

Daryl swallowed several times, looking around the stall. Confusion and understanding warring over his features. But he never let go of her hands. In fact he almost seemed to use the physical connection to ground him. After taking a shaky breath he looked into her eyes.

"My father." He said. "All those stories, tha things he did. That horrible fae was my father?"
"I'm so sorry, Daryl." Kieran said, the tears breaking free and once again running over her cheeks.
"But . . ." He trailed off in his own thought.
Kieran held his gaze, waiting for him to gather his words.
"But tha fae woman from the stories. Ma mom was. Was not like her." Daryl finally got out.
"I'm afraid that was your father's doing as well. He hated faekind so much, Daryl. He robbed her of her light. Kept her here when you and your brother were born. He wanted nothing to do with fae in his family." She explained.
"Is there anythin' else I should know?" He asked.
"You know the stories, Daryl. You know what he did." She answered.

Daryl just nodded. He removed his hands from hers and walked away.

Kieran wanted so badly to go after him. To hold him while he dealt with everything he just learned about himself. But she knew he needed to be alone now. He would come to her when he was ready, just as he always had. And more importantly, Kieran didn't know what to tell him. She had never met a fae who didn't know what they were before. And as if trying to teach someone they were something they had completely dismissed as being real wasn't hard enough. There wasn't much to teach Daryl. Without magic, sure he would technically be fae, but he would have a human life span. He would be susceptible to everything humans were. He would never be able to access his gifts at will, at least not without siphoning magic from another fae, and even then the gift would only be temporary.

Kieran had to figure out exactly how to handle this situation, but for now it was getting late. She began laying her blankets down on the straw to make a bed. She was just about to start undressing when Daryl came back in.

"Can I stay with ya tonight? Or you with me?" He asked.
"Of course, why?" She replied.
"Jus' afraid a being alone right now." He answered.

Kieran sat down on the bed she had made and patted it. Daryl smiled a little and sat down next to her again. They both got as comfortable as they could with the arrangement and Daryl was soon fast asleep. Kieran lay next to him. Her back facing him and listening to him breath. When he shifted in his sleep, putting his arm around her and pulling her to his chest she felt her heart skip. What was it about him that made her feel this way?

************************************************************

The next morning Kieran woke before Daryl. She was still wrapped in his arms, but she had turned during the night and was now facing him. She kept her breathing steady so she wouldn't wake him. He looked so different in his sleep. None of the concern which plagued his features during the day was there. She only found peace on his face as he slept. He looked innocent, almost childlike.

Kieran didn't want it to be happening, but she couldn't help it. Her heart was yearning for him. She couldn't decide if it was simply him or if it was because she wanted to take away, or at least fix, everything which had happened to him. But either way she was tired of fighting it. She carefully leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. Daryl woke with a start and pulled away from her. Although not completely, he still had his hands on her waist.

"I'm sorry, Daryl." She said as he looked at her.

Daryl didn't say anything, just continued to stare at her. After a moment he began searching her features. Kieran didn't know what he was looking for, but his gaze finally fell and lingered on her lips. She liked them, growing slightly self conscious under his stare.

"Yur beautiful." He said factually before leaning in and returning the kiss she started a moment ago.

Kieran wrapped her arms around him as they kissed. He licked her bottom lip and she willing opened her mouth to the request. Kieran sighed as his tongue explored her mouth while his hands explored her body. She was soon feeling restricted in the clothing she was still becoming accustomed to. She reached down and began pushing the jeans she was wearing off her hips. Daryl pressed his body closer to her and began pulling her top off as well. Once she was naked Kieran relaxed fully into his embrace. Stretching her body the length of his while his hands mapped her naked skin.

Daryl rolled her over so he was on top of her and began kissing down her neck, sucking at the junction where her collarbone started. She keened and pressed her hips up into his, feeling his arousal through his loose jeans. She pushed one hand under his vest and used the other to begin undoing his belt and pants.

"Daryl, I . . ." She said as she pushed his pants over his hips.

He pulled his hands from her body and quickly shucked his jeans and vest. Laying back down he situated himself between her thighs. Kieran ground her sex into his length loving the feeling of skin on skin. He took her mouth with his again and began stroking his fingers over her core. Dipping them into her heat on every other pass.

"Please." She said, pushing her hips into his again.

Daryl pulled his fingers away and lined himself up, pushing just past her folds.

"Are ya sure?" He asked.

Kieran nodded and he slowly pushed inside her. Daryl rested his head on her shoulder and they both stilled once he was fully seated. Kieran had never been with non fae before, and while technically Daryl was she could only feel him physically, not his light. Daryl on the other hand had only been with human.

"Wha's that energy?" He asked.
"It's my light. The fae share it during times of, well." She answered.
"I never felt anyhtin' so . . ." He said, a moan sterling his sentence as Kieran rolled her hips.

Daryl began to move. Setting a slow pace and trying not to come undone with the new sensations. Kieran quickly became frustrated with his lack of urgency and rolled them over. Stradeling his hips she sank down on him, moaning as he filled her. She lifted herself up almost completely off of him before dropping herself back down. Daryl grabbed her hips and matched her fast pace with his thrusts, causing her to cry out each time he bottomed out inside her clenching walls. Soon he was nearly slamming into her as they both neared the edge of ecstasy. Daryl reached between them, and began rubbing her aching nerves as his rythym faltered. He thrust up one final time, grabbing her hips before he stilled deep inside her, spilling himself inside her core. The feeling of him filling her sent Kieran over as well and she nearly screamed as white light exploded behind her eyes.

As they came down Kieran opened her eyes to see him nearly smirking beneath her. She circled her hips once, enjoying the feeling of him softening inside her sated body.

"I've never felt anything' like that'" Daryl said after a moment.
"Welcome to the fae." She replied. "We can certainly do this again anytime." She punctuated her remark with another stiff rocking swirl of her hips.

Daryl bucked up into her, causing her breath to hitch and her eyes to close. He'd thought it impossible before her, but there were many things he was realizing he thought impossible before her. As he felt himself begin to harden again still buried inside her heat he ground himself into her. Kieran looked down at him and began to slowly rock her hips, encouraging him. Daryl pulled her to his chest and began languidly kissing her as he thrust up into her lax body seeking his second release this morning.