“No, no I can’t.” he agreed with her. “I can suggest the truth is other than it is, or obfuscate in other ways. If you want to pin me down, demand a direct answer. Do it with any fey. It’ll make us squirm.”

“Why do you like teasing me?” she narrowed her eyes at him, putting what he'd just told her to use.

“It’s fun.” he shrugged. This was true, yes.

But she clearly suspected there was more to it, demanding, “Is that the full truth?”

He didn’t answer, but arched an eyebrow at her. Gods, she was fun to mess with.

“So it isn’t?”

Lear shrugged. For all she knew, he could just be messing with her still. And he sort of was. She was right, of course. He hadn't told her that he found her ridiculously attractive, but he also hadn't done anything to hide that fact, either.

“Come on, spit it out.”

He leaned down, his lips brushing her ear as he whispered, “Wouldn't you like to know?”

“Lear!” she squeaked, jerking away.

Unable to help himself, he burst into laughter as the door to Paz's house flew open, and Paz demanded, “What’s going on here?” as he stormed outside.

“He’s being a menace!” Winna shook her head, then sighed and added a somewhat exculpatory explanation, “No, not really, I tweaked my ankle getting out of the saddle and he's helping me stay upright, that’s all.”

“Oh, well come inside out of the cold!” Paz told them, motioning back at the house.

“No, as cold as it is, I’d rather get this shadow demon problem taken care of.” Winna replied.

Lear was glad the young woman hadn’t agreed to go in, he wasn’t sure Paz would have given him permission to enter, not that he could really blame him if he hadn’t.

“Um, okay.”

“I’ll just hop back up on Poppy and let her do the walking.” Winna made to hop over to her pony, and Lear felt a thrill of mischief course through him.

With a burst of his fey speed, he scooped her up and gently deposited her into the saddle.

“Oop!” Winna squeaked in surprise.

“There.” he said mildly, adjusting the cloak around her. “You’re taller than me up there.”

“Well, that’s the only way I’d be taller than you.” She muttered, face bright red, then shook herself, and asked, “Where are the sheep at, Paz?”

Paz glared annoyedly at Lear. “This way.” he muttered, and led them towards a barn that stood a little ways away from the small farmhouse. “They’re outside right now.” They rounded the barn to reveal a large, fenced-in area with a good-sized flock of sheep grazing in what little grass was left.

Lear flicked open his second set of eyes and scanned the area. "It looks like we're in luck. There's only one hanging around right now." he told them, then asked, Paz, “How many times have you seen it?"

“Uh…several times from the corner of my eye, I think, but only once or twice in all honesty. And I only saw it actually kill a sheep the one time.”

“It’s getting bolder.” Lear muttered. “Is there a rowan tree around?”

“What?”

“Humor me.”

“Um, yes. There’s one over there.” Paz motioned at a tree growing several yards away.

“We’ll need some berries from it.” Lear said, “Can I borrow that cloak, Winna?”

“You were supposed to be wearing it anyways.” she muttered, grimacing, and shrugging out of it, then handing it to him.

“Thanks, I’ll be right back.” Lear darted off, but slowed as he approached the tree. The very smell of it made his head ache. The poison in his veins had a rowan berry base, so he needed to be pretty careful, lest he get more of the dangerous stuff inside him.

Using the cloak as a barrier for one of his hands, he picked the vile berries, cradling the poisonous bounty in a sort of pocket he made with the cloak between his other arm and his chest. When he’d gotten a sufficient amount, Lear shifted the cloak, dumping the berries carefully to the center of the fabric, and wrapping it up around it, making sure not to squish anything.

He went back to them, and handed the makeshift bag to Paz, “Is the barn really dark? Like even in the day?”

“Uh, yeah. Why?”

“We need to separate one of the sheep away from the others, and have it in a dark place.”

“Okay. Why these?” Paz held up the berries.

“You’ll see.” Lear said, looking out over the flock. “Can I just grab one of the sheep? It won’t get hurt.”

“Um, sure.”

Lear once more shot forward, and easily caught a sheep up. “Alright. Into the barn.” he directed. The barn was indeed very dark, not having the gable window like Winna’s did, which meant that Paz had to hold up a light so they could see. Or rather, so Paz and Winna could see, given Lear’s cat-like eyes had excellent night vision. “Yes, this will work.”

Putting down the sheep, he tied it to a post close to the middle of the barn, giving it a very short lead. He motioned for Paz to come forward. “Put the berries all around the sheep in a wide, full circle.”

“Okay.” Paz looked dubious. “If you’re just messing with me, and the sheep dies, I’ll be-”

Lear cut him off, rolling his eyes, “Shadow demons work by draining a being's life force, its essence, through its shadow. We’ll leave a lamp in the barn so it’ll cast a shadow in a relatively controlled environment. The shadow demon will go to suck out the sheep’s life force, but since it can’t really smell or see, it won’t know the berries are there. So instead of sheep, it'll get the essence of the rowan berries. The berries are poisonous to it and will kill it.” He left out the part about rowan berries being poisonous to all fey, he didn’t want Paz knowing that.

“Oh.” Paz sounded surprised. “That’s simple.”

“Not everything is difficult.” Lear muttered.

Once the berries were spread sufficiently out around the sheep, Paz handed Winna the cloak, and Lear leaned across to set the lamp in the middle of the post, being careful not to step on the berries as he did.

“Now we leave, and wait for it to take the bait.” Lear said, and they left the barn. Winna had stayed in the doorway, watching.

“That’s clever, Lear.” she told him.

“Yes, it is, isn’t it?” he grinned at her, then told Paz, “If you ever have trouble with them again, you can do the same thing.”

“Right.” Paz nodded.

“How long do you think it’ll take?”

“Not too long, I expect.” Lear said, “Shadow demons aren’t particularly bright, and are opportunistic killers, only thinking of where they’ll get their next meal.”

“They sound scary.” Winna murmured.

“They can be, if you don’t know how to deal with them. But they’re really pretty uncommon.”

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“Good.”

“How’d we end up with them out here?” Paz wanted to know.

“Who knows?” Lear shrugged a little. “They do tend to prefer dark forests, but sometimes they stray.”

Suddenly, there was a hoarse, keening screech from the barn, as well as the alarmed bleating of a sheep.

Winna jumped in surprise, and Paz charged forward.

“Relax, that was just it dying.” Lear said, going after him, but not in any hurry.

Winna followed behind on Poppy, a little more wary.

Paz threw open the barn door, and saw the sheep still standing where they’d left it in the flickering light of the lamp. Only now, the berries on the floor were all squished and the juice covered the area surrounding the sheep.

“Done and done.” Lear said, nodding approvingly.

“Are you sure?” Winna asked, tone uncertain.

Lear opened his second set of eyes, and looked around briefly before shutting them and confirming, “Yes. No more shadow demons here."

“Well, good.” Paz paused, then bowed a little stiffly to them. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” Lear nodded, then looked up at Winna, “Ready to go home?”

“Yeah.” she nodded.

They left Paz to untie the sheep and reunite it to the herd and headed out. This time Lear walked alongside Poppy, easily keeping pace.

“Can you leave the cloak outside when we get back? It stinks to high heaven of rowan berries.” he asked, though he knew she probably couldn't smell it like he could.

“Of course! I’ll do laundry soon and wash it.” she nodded, then frowned, “You don’t have any real laundry other than what you’re wearing though, do you?”

“No.”

“Sorry!” She grimaced, “That’s gotta feel gross! I’ll find more of dad’s old clothes for you to make do with when we get back to the house, and then we’ll get some that actually fit you the next time I go into town.”

“Thank you.” he nodded. “I should add, I don’t particularly know how to do laundry, but if you’ll show me how, I’m happy to help. Surely it can’t be any harder than cooking.”

“I think it is, but that’s only because the clothes are kinda heavy when they're wet. Wringing the water out of them isn't an easy task either, and then it can take a while to hang them to dry, but they dry a lot faster in the winter now, with the steady heat the heating stones provide.”

“I imagine with magic it’d go faster. Most things do.” He mused aloud. “Not that I can help in that way just yet, but once I can, I will.”

“I’ll appreciate any help, manual or magical.” she smiled at him.

“I’m glad to help.”

“Although once you can do everything you normally can, I guess you’ll go, so I shouldn’t let myself get too used to it." she muttered.

Lear wanted to say he could stay. If he sent word home that he’d found a previously undiscovered human mage, and that it would be best if he stayed to ensure her safety, they’d give him permission to stay. But if he did say so, he suspected she’d only think he was teasing her again.

Though the fey man did enjoy making her blush and getting her flustered, he wasn't just teasing her. He’d taken to Winna very quickly, and wanted to spend a good deal more time with her. Exploring the quickly deepening attachment he had to her was his biggest motivation to stay put, for the meantime.

All that said, even with Winna and Diana’s help, the poison would take its time leaving, so he’d be there without having to make excuses for a while longer yet, and then he’d be able to make excuses for a while as well. He fully planned to make as many excuses as he could.

They ambled back to the cottage in relative silence.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I’m surprisingly tired.” she murmured.

“Take a nap when we get back. I’ll make sure no goblins try to stab you again.”

“If there are any goblins left in the cottage that you haven’t gotten rid of, I’m banishing you back to the barn.” Winna grumbled.

He snorted, “There aren’t any, I promise.”

“And I can’t nap, I need to work on making more salves, and then the shawls when I’m done with those.”

“No rest for the wicked, huh?”

“Well, if that’s the case, how well do you sleep at night?” she asked.

Lear blinked, then laughed, “Fair enough! I sleep just fine, despite my wicked ways.” he shot her a flirtatious glance, which made her flush, as he'd expected. Then he paused, and told her seriously, “When we get home, you’ll show me what needs to be done and give me very specific instructions, and then you can take a nap. Anything I mess up while you’re asleep, I’ll re-do later and make it right.”

“No, it’s alright.”

“Winna, there’s no sense in running yourself ragged. If you’re tired, you should rest.” he told her gently. “Is it all so pressing that it can’t wait a couple of hours for you to rest?”

“I mean…probably not, but I’ve not been able to work on it all as much lately because life has gotten so crazy.” she mumbled.

“That’s more than partially my fault, too.” he sighed, “Let me help you. Even if just to make up for the time you've lost because I've made your life kind of hectic."

“It’s not a big deal. I don't mind the work."

“If I can help, I want to.” he said firmly. “It’s only fair. We’ll make enough so that you can get your new oven, and whatever else you need, like new clothes. Alright?”

Winna chewed her lip for a few moments, then smiled and capitulated, “Alright.”

He nodded approvingly.

They arrived at the cottage a short while later.

“I’ll have to get down off Poppy, but I’m afraid I’ll hurt my ankle even worse.” she muttered, eyeing the ground. It wasn’t very high, but he understood her concern.

“Here.” He reached out, putting his hands on her waist and lifting her easily from the saddle.

“Oop!” the young woman squeaked in surprise, and fell back a half-step once she was on the ground.

“There.” he smirked, then took Poppy’s reins and told her, “Go into the house, I’ll get her put away. Unless you need help inside too?”

“No, no, I can manage it.” she muttered, hobbling away as swiftly as she could.

Lear let himself watch her for a few moments, then shook himself and took Poppy into the barn. He soon had her unsaddled and brushed and rubbed down, resting in her enclosure, which was pretty roomy, and munching on oats.

“Now to go do the same with your mistress.” he muttered, wondering how Winna would react if he dared try to rub her down. The thought made him grin. No, she wouldn't appreciate that, which almost made him want to do it even more, but he knew better. Instead, he’d settle with making sure she put her feet up and had a snack and something warm to drink.

Lear darted back inside, but didn’t immediately see Winna. Frowning, he flicked his second set of eyes open, and glanced around again, but didn’t see her.

Finally, he thought to look up, and realized she must have climbed the ladder that led to the loft area, which he hadn’t explored yet.

“What are you doing up there?” he asked loudly.

“I couldn't find any more of dad’s clothes down there, but I knew there was some up here!” She called.

“And you climbed the ladder on that ankle?” he asked, tone stern as he darted up the ladder.

“It’s mostly stopped hurting now.” She mumbled.

To Lear’s surprise, he saw that a majority of the loft area was full of rows and rows of bookcases. “I didn’t know there was a library up here! I’d have come up sooner, if I had. I like reading."

“Um, well, you can try to read the books, but they’re not in any language I recognize.” Winna was looking through some boxes at the far end of the loft.

“What are they for? Are they magical texts?” he reached out and pulled a tome off a shelf at random. It was covered in a thick layer of dust, which he brushed away. It felt fragile in his hand, likely from age.

“I really don’t know. Mom says some have family history in them, or that’s what she was always told, she couldn't read them either.”

“They’re ancient.” he muttered, carefully opening the book and leafing gently through the brittle pages.

“Yeah? That doesn't surprise me.” The young straightened, now triumphant. “There we go! This is the box.” she turned her dark eyes to him, “Would you bring it downstairs? It’s a little stuffy up here."

“Of course.” Lear went to her side and easily lifted the box.

“You make it look so light.” she murmured.

“It is light to me.” he shrugged, going to the ladder and scaling down, using one hand to hold the large box and the other to climb. After setting the box down, he darted up the ladder again, arriving at the top in time to stop Winna from starting to climb down. “Come on. No more ladders for you today, you’ll just slip and fall or something.”

“No I won’t!” she protested as he scooped her up.

Soon he had her back on the ground floor. “There.” he muttered.

“I could have done it just fine!” she protested.

“Maybe.” Lear smirked a little, then ushered her over to the couch. “Sit.”

“We need to go through the box though.”

“I’ll do it. I’ll pick out what I like, and if you don’t want me to use something, just say the word.”

“Alright.” Winna mumbled, sitting as directed.

The fey man settled down to sort through the clothes, and soon had a small pile selected. It wasn’t anything fancy, but that didn’t surprise him.

“Try some of them on and see if they fit at all, or if I need to let them out as much as I can, or whatnot.”

“Sure.” Lear took the clothes down to the bedroom he’d been occupying, and changed into them. “They’re a better fit than the coat, that’s for sure. A little short, but not all that bad, given they have a little stretch.” he told her as he left, wearing a simple white shirt and dark navy pants.

“Oh no, that’s not bad at all.” She murmured, brow creased as she scanned him with an analytic gaze. “The pants are short on you, but other than that, it’s not bad. I wonder why the coat didn’t fit as well? Maybe that was one of my brothers’ coats, and I just thought it was dad’s.”

“Whatever the reason, these are fine, for now.”

“I’ll work on letting out what I can after dinner tonight.”

“Alright. I’ll help. I know a little bit about that kind of stuff, sometimes we had to make do on our own in the military, and that included altering or repairing clothing from time to time.”