“Yeah Allie,” Jason said gently, his expression sad, “it is.”
“What? Why do you look bummed out?”
That startled him, then he shook himself slightly and stood up with his empty plate, “I’m not sad. But you my friend clearly need to have more parties in your life. If you think this is fun just wait until we throw you a baby shower. And I can only imagine what your wedding will be like.”
She almost choked on her last mouthful of eggs, swallowing hard to get the food down. “Ugh. No. And elves don’t have weddings like humans do so don’t even start imagining anything fancy for that. This is fun sure but it’s as much a Halloween party as a birthday party and it is my favorite holiday.”
“We shall see,” he said cryptically, walking back over and taking her plate as well. “But you two better get moving so you can get to work and get back here or there won’t be any party at all.”
“Oh snap,” Hannah muttered, glancing down at her watch. “I better hurry or I’m gonna be late. See you guys tonight!”
And with that she hopped up and jogged down the hall, disappearing without another word. Allie stuck her tongue out at Jason, standing more slowly and finishing the last of her coffee as she walked over to the sink. Her ankle was stiffer than usual today, likely she assumed because of her lack of available emotional energy from her bondmates. I’ll have to try to remember to ask Miss Amelia about that she though absently, washing the breakfast dishes while Jason cleaned the stove and counter. The old mage who was acting as her mentor had been less willing to train her since finding out she was pregnant, had in fact been coming up with an increasingly restrictive list of things Allie could or could not do magically, but she was still willing to talk about theory. Allie was fairly sure if she asked her a question about the mechanics or effects of her innate ability that Miss Amelia would at least be willing to talk to her about what she knew, if anything.
Finishing up the dishes she limped over to Jason who was already pulling out baking pans and measuring cups, and gave him a hug. “Thanks for breakfast Jase,” she said, as he paused and gave her a quick one armed squeeze in return. “I’ll see you later.”
“Have a nice day Allie,” he said, as she turned to leave. “And remember, it is your birthday, don’t work too hard.”
She called back as she walked down the hallway, “I’ll try not to.”
********************************
Jason and Tony were sitting on the front steps in the early afternoon, relaxing and enjoying the late fall weather, when Bleidd and Jess pulled up in Bleidd’s little black sports car. Both men stood curiously and waited for the two elves to approach.
Jason’s eyes grew wide at the sight of the hound puppy gamboling around their feet as they walked across the yard. “That’s the present you got for Allie?”
“Obviously,” Bleidd sighed, wincing slightly and resisting the urge to rub his back.
Jess gave his partner a sideways look, then managed a small smile for Jason and Tony, “Good afternoon, it is good to see you again Tony, and it is good to be home again Jason. How much time do we have before Allie returns?”
Jason and Tony exchanged a look before Jason answered, “Well, I think she said the usual time, so probably around 6:30. We were going to start the party as soon as she gets here.”
“Ah, good,” Jess said absently, moving past them into the house.
“If we have at least five hours then I am going to go to our room to lay down,” Bleidd muttered following behind.
The two men watched them go with the hound following after, then turned to look at each other again. Tony blinked slightly, looking uncertain, “What was that?”
Jason looked from his boyfriend to the door of the house and back, “I’m kind of…not sure. A dog? But it looks like they had a rough time in Fairy.”
“Yeah, I wonder what happened?” Tony said, getting over his surprise enough to be curious.
“I have no idea,” Jason said, “and I’d be afraid to ask. Come on let’s go frost that cake.”
“Right,” Tony agreed, then as they were walking into the house, “So do you think they’re really going to go take a nap?”
Jason started laughing, looking nervously at the stairs that led to the upper level, “I don’t want to think about it. Come on, focus. Cake.”
“Right,” Tony agreed, running his fingers through his hair and shaking his head. “Well, one way or another this is going to be some party.”
********************************
Bleidd was exhausted after the long ride back and he fully intended to get a few hours rest before the party. He walked up the stairs to their shared room aware of Jess walking a few steps behind, and for once hoping that Jess also intended to get some sleep. The puppy was the only one of them who seemed to be endlessly full of energy, running ahead and then circling back behind.
At the end of the hallway, near the door to their room, Bleidd caught sight of the orange tabby that had once belonged to Allie’s cousin. An instant after he saw the cat, the fairy hound caught sight of her as well, and with a feeling of impending disaster he watched the young hound hurtle down the hall towards the other animal.
Behind him Jess swore, far more colorfully than Bleidd would have expected from him. Both elves watched helplessly as the hound reached the cat and skidded on the hardwood floor. The cat didn’t run. She didn’t hiss. She didn’t visibly react in any way. Seeing this Bleidd felt his dread giving way to puzzlement.
The hound puppy started to lunge forward, although without any signs of aggression, Bleidd guessed that the young animal was more curious than intending to hurt the cat. For her part the cat, calmly and purposely, raised one front paw claws extended and slapped the hound across the muzzle as the puppy moved in closer.
The fairy hound scampered back, whimpering, then flattened down to the floor. The cat stood for a moment over the hound as if waiting to be certain the puppy wasn’t getting up, then slowly walked down the hall and into Shawn’s room.
Bleidd laughed holding his aching sides, “I guess we don’t have to worry about how they will get along.”
Jess gave him an exasperated look and went over and comforted the puppy to be sure she hadn’t been too traumatized by her first encounter with a mortal animal.
************************************
When Allie drove up to the house that evening her good mood was still firmly in place. Work had gone well: Kelly was learning quickly, despite the store’s archaic approaches to most things, and the holiday had drawn in extra sales. As usual she’d handed out candy to kids trick or treating in town and this year she’d really enjoyed having Kelly to do it with her – they’d taken turns complimenting the children’s costumes and holding the little basket of candy out for them to choose from.
I’m glad I hired her Allie thought contentedly as she got out of her car. She’s fitting in really well, she’s learning fast, and a few more weeks and I should be able to start taking an extra day off each week. Dear Gods I don’t know what I’ll do with myself, after working six days a week for the last ten years…
She paused at the edge of the yard to admire the decorations. She knew that putting them up so late was a questionable decision, but looking at them now she was glad she’d insisted on doing it. The house looked great and seeing the fake graveyard and pretend spiders and webbing strewn across the side of the building, bushes, and trees reminded her of happy times over the years. She smiled and bounced slightly on the balls of her feet, not minding the slight pain in her bad ankle when she did so.
“You are in an unusually good mood,” a voice said, and she turned to see the kelpie she’d befriended as a child, who lived in the woods behind the house, sitting in his dog form on the grass a few feet away. She’d been so lost on her own thoughts she hadn’t even heard him approaching.
“Hello Ciaran,” Allie said, remembering her manners. “I guess I am in a good mood, but its been a good day.”
Ciaran stood, his form shifting and rippling into that of a pale young man, and to her real shock as he stepped closer his naked body was suddenly covered by jeans and a dark t-shirt. She felt as if her jaw had hit the ground. Without thinking she mumbled, “You…what?”
The kelpie grinned wickedly, and then laughed, a deep rumbling sound. “I have always respected you for accepting me as I truly am Allie, even when you were a child. That’s a rare gift. But surely you realized that I must be able to move freely among humans and the other less accepting Fey when necessary?”
“You,” Allie said, searching for words as her brain tried to catch up with what he was implying. “Oh! Its glamour. You’re using glamour to appear to be wearing what people would find acceptable or expected.”
She reached out tentatively and touched his sleeve, fascinated that it felt just like a cotton shirt was really there. That was an impressive amount of tangible glamour. Ciaran kept grinning, obviously enjoying her reaction immensely. “Indeed. You never expected anything so I never bothered when I was in this form around you. And as well I was never trying to convince you to any purpose, so there was no reason to waste the effort.”
“You’ve appeared without this, ah, accoutrement around my roommates too,” Allie pointed out logically.
She felt Ciaran’s amusement increasing then. “As to that, well, a person is entitled to a bit of fun sometimes aren’t they?”
She giggled, shaking her head but unable to deny that in its own way it was a funny joke. He had promised her not to hurt any of her roommates and he had been true to his word, but he had found a method within that to discomfit them significantly, in a way that had obviously entertained him immensely and that she wouldn’t even have realized was avoidable. It was extremely clever and it was classic kelpie all around. “You are brilliantly devious.”
Ciaran preened slightly under the praise, taking it for what it was. Allie’s hand dropped, letting go of the non-existent-but-tangible shirt. “So why are you showing me this now?”
The kelpie looked up at the house, “Your Elven Guard has invited me to your party tonight and I am given to understand there will be other guests there, strangers. I thought it prudent to be…polite.”
Jess invited Ciaran to the party? Allie thought, genuinely touched that Jess had thought to do that. She knew that neither Bleidd nor Jess particularly liked the kelpie and was both surprised that he’d thought to invite him and also that he’s been willing to make the effort to do so. Oh, Jess, that was so sweet of you she thought, then pushed the thought away when she felt it drawing too much of his attention. She didn’t need to talk to him in her head right now, she needed to actually see him. So she smiled at Ciaran and gestured to the house, “Well then let’s go in and join the party.”
The two walked up to the front door together, Allie feeling her excitement growing as they approached. She wanted to see Jess and Bleidd again so much it was an almost physical need, even though it had only been a few days since she’d seen them last. She found herself wishing that they’d stopped in to see her when they’d gotten back to town rather than coming straight home….
They walked into the house and turned immediately into the living room, drawn by the sound of Halloween themed music and conversation. At Allie’s request the room had been decorated with her preferred Halloween theme, not with anything birthday related. She’d help with that the night before and took a moment as she first stepped in to the room to admire the effect. Other people might think the fake skeletons, rubber bats, and light up pumpkins were silly looking, even juvenile, but Allie loved the overall effect, which was fun without being truly scary.
Jason and Tony were sitting on one of the couches with Shawn’s girlfriend Wendy, sipping drinks and chatting. Shawn was standing a few feet away with Hannah and Jess in what appeared to be an animated conversation; the actor was tossing his long brown hair out of his eyes and gesturing expansively with his hands as he talked. Bleidd stood slightly apart from both groups, arms crossed, looking amused, his eyes going from one to the other. Allie felt an overwhelming sense of contentment at the sight, a feeling of being home and of everything being right with the world.
In unison Jess and Bleidd turned to look at the doorway, alerted to Allie’s presence by the surge in emotion. The others noticed the two elves’ reactions and also looked, the conversations stumbling to a halt so that only the sound of the music filled the air. Allie had already begun to blush at the scrutiny even before the group chorused “Happy birthday!”.
She and Ciaran stepped into the room, the kelpie’s outfit earning a range of looks from curious to puzzled, and conversation resumed. Ciaran split off from Allie’s side, going to the side table which offered a small selection of drinks and snacks while Allie went directly over to Jess and Bleidd.
Shawn started to say something only to have Hannah grab his elbow and drag him back towards the couch with a wink at Allie. Allie smiled back at the other woman, before throwing her arms around first Jess, who was closest, then Bleidd in greeting, letting their feelings wash over her. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you guys again.”
“If you missed us as much as I missed you then I can well imagine,” Jess said, leaning over to kiss her and then lingering as he straightened to smell her hair. Remembering her own scent oriented thoughts that morning Allie couldn’t restrain a giggle, and then impulsively she leaned forward and pressed her face against his neck inhaling deeply. He tensed and then shuddered, his emotions shifting into something entirely inappropriate to a public party. A public human party anyway.
Allie giggled again, then turned and wrapped her arms around Bleidd, tilting her head up to do the same thing to him. He sighed, stroking her hair. “You realize you’re in the middle of your own birthday party right? Not that I mind very much, but you might want to show some self-restraint.”
She hugged him tighter, then turned to face outward, keeping her back against his chest, aware of Jess gravitating closer to their side. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”
For some reason that made Jess laugh, a light sound, “I believe he left it stuck to the seat of a saddle in the stables at the Outpost, isn’t that right Gadreene?.”
Allie tilted her head, confused, looking from one to the other. Bleidd winced, reaching back to rub his hip, but she could feel his pleasure at the words. Although she knew that Bleidd called Jess ‘Commander’ as a term of endearment, odd as it was, she’d never before heard Jess use anything but Bleidd’s true name or the use name he’d chosen to replace it. And ‘puppy’? She couldn’t keep the confusion from her voice, “Gadreene?”
The two elves looked at Allie, then each other, then to her consternation they both started laughing. She leaned back into Bleidd, feeling his body shake slightly as he chuckled. “Alright, well you two clearly were up to something while you were gone. Want to let me in on the joke?”
Jess shook his head slightly, his green eyes dancing with mischief, “That would ruin the surprise of your gift my love.”
“Yes,” Bleidd agreed, making an effort to sound serious, “After all of this we can’t ruin it now. You’ll just have to wait until after the party then we can give you the full tale.”
She rolled her eyes, but the truth was she was thrilled to see them getting along so well. Everything today seems to be going perfectly she thought forcing herself to step away from Bleidd and Jess so she could at least look she was trying to mingle. And there’s still dinner and cake.
With that thought to motivate her she drifted over to the couch where everyone else, even Ciaran, had clustered. Shawn was telling a story about the theater’s last production and some of the more entertaining and harmless mishaps that had gone on. It quickly became apparent why he did so well as an actor.
“…and then Reginald runs back like the Devil’s chasing him, his wig – he wears it for that part, not an everyday thing – his wig flapping in the wind, because it’s come loose,” Shawn was saying his face animated
, one of his hands making a motion near his head like hair moving, the other rounded out in front of him as if he were a much larger man holding his pants up as he ran, “and he bursts in the room thinking he only has two minutes to get into the king’s costume for his next scene, but he was so flustered – because of getting stuck in the bucket you see – that he went into the wrong dressing room. So he flies into the women’s dressing room by mistake, already pulling his pants off -“
This pronouncement was met with a chorus of groans and ‘oh no’s!” and even Allie and the two elves laughed quietly at the image. Shawn looked around at the gathered faces, his own countenance glowing with the pleasure of storytelling, “Oh yes! I mean it’s the theater people are used to seeing other people change, but Reg was already having a bad time of it, and without thinking he bursts out with ‘Sweet Jesus, ladies! I’m sorry! I’m losing my wig and I had a bucket stuck on my arse! Can anyone help me get my pants off as quick as possible?’ and there’s silence, then Sharon, who’s been in the theater forever says ‘Get over here your majesty, I can help I’m an expert pants remover’”
At that the gathered group laughed louder and Shawn beamed at everyone, clearly pleased with the response. As soon as the laughter started to die down Jason caught Allie’s eye, “So birthday girl, you ready to eat?”
“You read my mind,” Allie said, grinning at her friend.
“Wait,” Hannah said, walking over and grabbing a small wrapped box from one of the book shelves against the wall. “Let’s do presents first.”
“Oh good idea,” Shawn agreed, Wendy nodding as she slipped her arm around his waist.
Jason groaned and looked longingly at the kitchen, and Allie kind of agreed with him, but since she was dying to know what Jess and Bleidd had needed to go to Fairy to get for her, she was willing to be hungry for a bit longer. She shrugged apologetically at her friend. Jason said, “Our gift, mine and Tony’s, is dinner and the cake – can’t we open that one first?”
Fairy Gifts: A Between the Worlds Anthology Page 6