There was no rooster.

It was a weird thought to wake up with. But even after all this time Heim had anticipated to be woken up by a rude creature annoying everyone within a three mile radius.

Even at the bottom of the ocean he hadn't be safe for them. There it had been dolphins or other or other animals who used acoustic location to find their prey.

An infuriating experience to find out that even there they would find him.

But now silence reigned the beach where the lighthouse was build. No rooster or other annoying animals to wake him up within hearing distance.

Heim didn't know if he actually liked the silence it created before sunset. The stillness was more eerie than peaceful.

Something was about to happen.

Probably bad.

The odds of him having good fortune were astonishing low. And sank lower every day.

The question wasn't if something bad was going to happen, but more how big the incoming disaster would be.

Heim carefully climbed down the ladders till he stood on the beach. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

No ships stranded on the rif.

No dying whale on the beach.

No cries of pain.

Not yet at least. Better save than sorry, Heim walked down the beach till the sand disappeared into the woods.

Nothing.

Walking back he collected Kleia and one of the cubs with him to help Kleia. It was the quieter one who, if given the chance, would promptly fall asleep on anything. Carrying them around would be easier than their more abrasive sibling.

Heim followed the beach once more, but this time to the village and in company. When something would happen he wanted to have Kleia close and save by him.

Nearing the village he could see the calm chimney smokes curling up towards the sun. Initially he had feared the village had been slaughtered and burned while he slept. But his over creative imagination was quickly silenced by the jovial greeting of Jonas.

Nothing had happened everyone was safe. All the houses still stood tall. And the smell of burning lives was just his imagination.

"Hey Heim, good to see you friend. I didn't expect to see you in the village let alone this early. The sun has barely risen. But come in we're serving breakfast, you must be hungry after a long night. Do tell me, how's it going?"

Heim startled, memories of a long-forgotten, at least that was what he pretended, life fled away on the wind.

He was in Greystone.

He had a daughter.

He was getting breakfast from a talkative human.

"I'm fine. I don't need a lot of sleep."

After awkwardly shuffling inside without showing half of the village that he was carrying a lynx. Heim sat down in the corner furthest away from the fireplace.

The food smelled amazing and tasted even better. Especially after those last five years, now almost six. It was by far superior to any kind of delicacy the marking had ever served him. Or any other ruler for that matter.

It was heavenly.

"It was good."

He thanked Jonas when he came to retrieve the remnants of the meal.

The door slammed against the wall when a haggard looking man slumped against the door.

"Thoby, what happened!?"

Jonas was next to the man within seconds after his first appearance.

"Aylin, is he here? I can't find him anywhere. He went to the woods saying he had to do something, but he wouldn't say what or where. And now he's gone!"

"Calm down Thoby, Aylin has been in the woods for weeks before. He's always come back at some point. You know he needs space from time to time."

Jonas tried to console the clearly agitated man. But his words only managed to disturb him further.

"Yes, but never without telling me! I tried to call him too, but he's not responding!"

Thoby's outburst had silenced the inn when he had initially burst into the room. But after the initial surprise the conversations between the customers had continued.

Now the inn was silent once more. Heim didn't know what silent message had been confined within those last two sentences. But it had been enough to surprise everyone into a deadly silence.

Who were this Aylin and Thoby?

Or what were they?

"You know he's been fading those last couple years since he frequently started to disappear into the woods?"

"Maybe he's finally taken the leap and crossed the plains?"

They were trying to conceal the true meaning of their words, maybe for Heim or Thoby. But they were clear enough. They thought the missing person, Aylin, was dead.

They were talking about Kleia's human father.

The unknown male he had buried deep in the woods.

Untraceable for any of the humans in the village.

"That's not true! You can't be sure until we find him!"

Thoby didn't want to hear those words. Condemning his son to a lonely death, too far away to be found again. 

Words the other onlookers knew to likely be true.

"Thoby, you know we can't just lay down all the work and go look for your boy. I understand your distress, but till now he has always come home one way or another. You have to accept the possibility he just needed some space and will be back in a few days."

"But what if he hasn't a few days! We have to act and find him now!"

The man was breaking down, head hung low tears threatening to soil the just cleaned floor. His hands were clenched by his sides and trembling. Barely restraining to just clutch and shake Jonas till he would cooperate and form a search party.

"What if he needs me?" 

The last words almost became unheard and probably were by most of the regulars, but Heim could clearly hear them.

Something needed to be done. Presumably by him, none of the other onlookers seemed too concerned by Thoby. Though they didn't know his worries were a reality.

Aylin would never come home again.

And Heim was the only one who knew where he was laid to rest.

"I'll help you look. I need to learn the woods here anyway. No harm done in looking for someone at the same time."

The silence that followed his bold statement should have scared him and force to reconsider his decision. But he knew he made the right choice. Even if his magic wouldn't prompt him to help people, he would still have done it.

He knew how it felt to fear someone's lack of return. 

"Really? You'll help me look?"

The amount of astonishment and hope in the man's voice, made Heim want to disappear in his cloak. There was no hope.

"Yes."

"Then let us go. The sooner we start looking the sooner we'll find him."

And before Heim could even attempt to speak, Thoby had already left the inn and the people inside behind. 

Heim stood up to follow Thoby outside, but was stopped by a hand on his arm before he could leave the inn.

"I understand you want to help him Heim, but you need to know a few things first before your alone with Thoby." 

Jonas seemed pained to continue his sentence.

"Thoby and his son. They aren't exactly normal or even human according to most standards. Thoby is pretty human, his wife is one of our own. But Aylin..."

A quick look back convinced Jonas that no one was particularly interested in his story, so he quietly continued his tale.

"Aylin has never been normal, even as a small child he stood out. As he grew older that only became clearer. He would disappear in the forest, initially for a mere hour. But soon he would disappear for days, weeks, months. Thoby didn't want to accept Aylin went to the Fae, after he lost his wife to the forest already, but the village knew better. There's nothing else there."

"But that wasn't the worst really."

A distasteful look appeared on Jonas' face.

"We assumed at some point that his lover lived in the woods and was in fact Fae. Though it was a discussion point if there would be Fae interested in the same way Aylin was."

Jonas glanced at Heim's face to check his reaction to that latest revelation.

"It's not that I, or anyone in the village, had any problems with him. It's just not safe to be so intimately entwined with any magical creatures. You'll never know what kind of surprises you'll come across."

Heim wanted to refute Jonas' statement, but knew he couldn't. The truth of the situation proved Jonas right. 

"But just so know, it is more than plausible Aylin will not be found. Simply because one of those surprises were deathly or he decided to stay with his lover. Baphildor knows he wasn't happy here."

Jonas looked down and collected himself.

"Just be gentle with Thoby when he realizes this too, he will need all the support he can get than."

With a quick nod, Heim showed he understood and continued on his way towards Thoby, who was impatiently waiting for him near the horses.

"We have to move fast, I want to search biggest surface possible, before sunset. You don't want to find yourself inside the forest at night. It is a sure way to death."

•••

They had been searching for hours, but had found nothing. Heim had slow but surely steered them towards Aylin's grave.

During the time they had been looking, Thoby had told Heim Aylin's entire history. It was more than clear the father loved his son dearly and would protect him with his life. 

He also wasn't as delusional as Jonas had made Heim fear. Thoby just spoke with the hope any parent would have over the return of their child. 

Thoby maybe more than anyone else in the town knew how dangerous the Fae could be when they wanted to. He had no delusions about his sons safety if, or when, Aylin would join them forever. 

That was also why he needed to be sure about Aylin's whereabouts, at least then he would have certainty.  

So Heim steered Thoby towards the mark he left above Aylin's grave. He honestly didn't want to be present when Thoby would find it. But he also needed to ensure it would be found. 

Though he didn't need to worry about that for too long. 

A scream filled with pain and anguish pierced the afternoon sky. Thoby had recognized his son's fading aura. He knew now without a doubt his child would not return home. 

Thoby fell down on his knees before Aylin's grave. He buried his soil stained hands in his hair, muffled sobs escaped his mouth. 

When the sky had darkened and all light of the day had faded away, Thoby lifted his head once more. He didn't seemed surprised by the small fire that hovered above Heim's hand, nor the lynx' head popping out of Heim's coat. Just resigned.

"Can you revive him?"

"No, I am not a necromancer. Once someone has died there is nothing I can do about it anymore."

"Did you bury him?"

"Yes."

"Did he suffer."

"Physically no, but I cannot say anything about his mental state. Though I assume he was troubled before he passed."

"Is there really nothing more you will tell me?"

Heim almost cracked and told Thoby about the child Aylin left behind. 

In the end he didn't. Heim absolutely believed that Thoby was genuinely mourning his child. That didn't mean he would forget his lineage. No child would be truly safe around a troubled Changeling.

"Will you stay here?"

"No, there is nothing left here, I stayed because of Aylin. I will return to my tribe to the south, you may have encountered them on your way here."

Thoby stood up with more grace than he had showed during their short acquaintance and dusted the soil of his clothes.

"I would greatly appreciate it if you could cover for me in the village. Just tell them I am going to visit some far-away family member I have not seen in years. It would be good for the rumor mill."

Without looking Heim in the eye, Thoby turned around and disappeared between the tree trunks.

September 4, 2022

Picture on top is from paint by number

[ unedited ]