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There was something in the apple tree.
The crescent moon didn’t give enough light to see exactly what, but the dog was going crazy at the window. Keith rolled out of bed and fumbled for his boots before stumbling to the window and catching himself against the sill. Leaves rustled in the moonlight and Astra barked again.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll go take care of it,” Keith grumbled. He grabbed his jacket from its hook and headed downstairs. The kitchen was silent save for his footsteps and the quiet clicking of Astra’s claws on the tile. “Stay here.”
Astra looked as put out as a dog could, but Keith shut the door in her face and turned to face the apple tree. It stood a dozen yards from the house, leaning its dark leaves over the driveway, a solitary guardian in the otherwise flat yard. Maybe a cat had gotten stuck up there? The rustling and crashing was way too large to be a bird. Keith’s stomach flipped at the thought that it could be a cougar.
Still, whatever it was, it was disturbing his sleep and he was just pissed enough to push his luck. Scooping up a smooth stone from the ground, he cocked his arm and took aim at the epicenter of the noise. It struck something, there was a yelp of pain, and more crashing and breaking of branches ensued. Keith dared to step closer as a pale shape fell from the tree and landed painfully on the gnarled roots at its foot.
Definitely not a cougar. Nor anything else that he could put a name to.
There on the ground in front of him, was a fairy. Well, it was a little large to be a fairy fairy, but the only other word that popped into his head was angel, and that seemed a bit presumptuous. Although as Keith edged closer, another stone in his hand just in case, and he got a better look at the creature’s face, he admitted there was a hint of something divine. No normal human had a right to be that gorgeous.
Of course, the thin semi-translucent wings crumpled under the figure were a better indicator that this wasn’t human, as were the faintly glowing antennae that sprouted from a head of dark hair. In fact, the fairy seemed to be glowing all over, the ground underfoot sprinkled with shimmering dust like scales from a butterfly’s wings.
“I’m sorry,” Keith said, finding his voice at last. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
The fairy cocked his head and eyed Keith critically, but didn’t say anything. He barely moved at all except for straightening out his wings; Keith was relieved to see that the delicate material hadn’t torn or broken. He would have felt awful if he’d brought harm to this beautiful creature.
Keith came within arm’s reach, stretching out his hand and putting on his best friendly face. “You okay?”
The fairy made a show of brushing dirt off his already dirty knees, tugging his tattered shirt down even though it barely hid his midriff. Keith stayed with his hand out even though he felt more and more like an idiot as he was ignored; still, it would be worth it if the strange creature would take his hand, even for a moment.
Deigning to notice him at last, the fairy grasped Keith’s offered hand and gripped with firm strength. His right arm was made of delicately carved wood, a prosthetic that glowed with an inner firefly light. It was beautifully crafted but Keith frowned as he closed his hand around the wooden fingers. The fairy got his feet under him and Keith stepped back, pulling him up, surprised at how light he felt. Well, maybe not all that surprising. Who knew what fairies were made of.
“Am I okay?” the fairy said at last in a voice that dripped disdain. He flipped his wings, scattering dust that drifted on the night breeze; Keith had to hold back a sneeze. “You knocked me out of a tree with a stone. How would you expect me to be okay?”
Keith swallowed and put his hands in his pockets, trailing glimmering dust all over his jacket hem. “I didn’t know. I thought it was a wild animal or something.”
“Hmph.”
“I’m really sorry. Can I make it better?”
The fairy’s glance raked over him, harsh and dismissive. “You’re only human. What could you do for someone like me? Although...”
“Although what?” Keith raised his chin. It was bad enough when ordinary people talked down to him, but there was no way he was going to let a fairy push him around. Even if it was a very tall, very pretty fairy.
“You can see me. I don’t think I’ve ever met another mortal that could.” Suddenly the fairy was up in his face, glowing antennae tickling along Keith’s cheeks. “Purple eyes,” he mused, even as Keith pulled back and wondered if he ought to run inside and lock the doors. “There’s fae blood in you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I don’t think I want to. I’m only offering help because I feel bad about hitting you and I don’t want my name on any sort of supernatural watch-list.”
Maybe some of Keith’s growing trepidation showed in his face, because the fairy relented and backed off a pace. He gestured grandly for Keith to lead the way.
“Alright then. Show me what you can offer.”
----
Keith led the way back to the kitchen door, all the while cursing his big mouth and lack of forethought. What was he even doing? This was all some weird dream and he was going to wake up in the yard come dawn, cold and uncomfortable. Oh, and alone. No way someone like this was real.
“I didn’t get your name?” he asked, turning even as Astra’s barking echoed from the other side of the door.
“Shiro.”
“Keith. Nice to meet you.” He held out his hand again but was ignored.
The fairy -- Shiro -- nodded toward the door. “Are you going to let us in, or is it human custom to stand on the doorstep all night?”
“Oh. Um, just be careful of the dog. She’s friendly, but a bit excitable --”
“That won’t be a problem.” Sure enough, even as Shiro said that, the barking abruptly cut off. Keith quickly shoved the door open, unsure what to expect, but Astra was snoring heavily on the doormat.
“You did this?”
The fairy looked smug, aura tinged pale pink. “One of my many, many talents.”
Keith scooped up his pet and moved her out of the way to her blanket in the corner. He supposed he should be grateful that Shiro hadn’t tried any charms on him yet -- that he knew of -- but at the same time, no one messed with Keith’s belongings. Not his bike, his gear, or his dog. Still... maybe he could make exceptions.
“Have a seat,” he said, even though the fairy had already pulled out a chair and was sitting at the table like a king, wings spread wide to make room for the chair’s back. Well, let him act like he owned the place. Keith couldn’t smother his guilt when he noticed the scars crisscrossing pale skin, and realized that he’d probably been the latest in a long line of abusers. Whether accidental or not, it was up to him now to make some of that better.
The cabinets were woefully bare but Keith managed to find an unopened pack of shortbread cookies and a couple of teabags. He had a feeling the fairy would scoff at such meager offerings but what else could he give? Surely fairies ate only white bread and sweet fruits, foods that were suited to their ethereal nature.
“I’ll get the kettle on in just a minute.” Keith placed the cookies on the table, hovering hopefully as Shiro cast a haughty eye over the plastic wrapper.
The fairy stared at the prepackaged food for longer than strictly necessary, and Keith felt his soul wither a little more with every moment.
“Is that not good enough?” He didn’t know what he’d do if the answer was yes. And it was looking very much like the answer would be yes.
But instead of saying anything, Shiro got up and went to the cabinets himself, antennae glowing brighter as he peered into the darkened shelves. First he pulled down a loaf of bread, then a sealed bag of beef jerky, and two tins of smoked salmon that Keith had been saving. As an afterthought he grabbed a can of peaches and added it to the small pile before moving it all back to the table, tearing into the containers, and eating like he hadn’t seen food in days.
Keith was only aware he was still staring when Shiro looked his way, mouth full, and nodded meaningfully to the stove. “You said the kettle? Tea?”
“Oh, right.” Keith turned to the sink. As he waited for the kettle to fill, he looked over at Astra, sprawled on her side, paws twitching as she chased rabbits in her dreams. No harm done there.
Behind him, Shiro was eating noisily, putting away two meals’ worth of food before he started to slow down. Keith reached for the teacups as the kettle whistled, then thought better of it and got out two large mugs.
The fairy eyed him as he sat across the table and pushed one of the mugs forward.
“You’re a fairy, right?” Keith ventured. He had so many questions; might as well start now. “Are there others like you out there? What were you doing in my apple tree? And what was that about my eyes -- can most people not see you? And your arm, I’m sorry, but did a human do that --”
“You really talk a lot.” Shiro handed him a slice of bread and Keith took it without thinking. “Eat up. You’re making me nervous, just sitting and staring with your big eyes. Like an owl, only those are generally quieter. And more polite.”
Keith set the bread on the table. “I thought I was being polite. I gave you food, I’m trying to be nice --”
“I’d hate to see you when you weren’t being nice.”
“-- and I’m really, really out of my league here.”
“Well, you got that last one right.” Shiro ran his wooden hand through his hair, letting his white forelock fall over one eye as he regarded Keith calmly. “I might be in the mood to answer some of your questions in the morning. Do you have somewhere to sleep? I called you an owl, but I’m fairly sure you’re not actually nocturnal.”
“Yeah, there’s a bed upstairs. But if you could wait a second --”
Too late. Shiro had already risen, flicked his wings again, and headed upstairs with barely-heard footsteps. Keith heard the bedroom door shut and he let his head fall to the kitchen table with a thud. Somehow the night had turned into his dog getting sleep-charmed, his kitchen utterly raided, and himself kicked out of his own bed.
He turned to Astra, who had rolled onto her back and was snoring loudly.
“Five bucks says he won’t even be here in the morning."
The dog only grunted.