It was only a few days later when Kaitlyn received two visitors. The first was the elf she had helped, their arm still bound although in a much better splint. The second elf was a male, tall and broad shouldered but clearly related to the youngling Kaitlyn had helped. She was meditating when they arrived at the edge of her clearing and stopped, the older clearly gauging the clearing with suspicion.

Kaitlyn opened her eyes when Fapallo whistled and the dragon-kin climbed down from the roof to stand between the elves and Kaitlyn. She put a hand on his shoulder and whistled, “Please wait. Peace.”

One of the odd things about the dragon language turned out to be that certain words always had a tone of question and there was no easy way to turn them into a declarative. Peace was one of those words. It was always a question unless the dragon elaborated much more before using the whistle which would still sound questioning to human speech patterns.

“Hello,” Kaitlyn said, “I’m glad to see you made it home alright.”

The older elf slowly stepped out of the snow into Kaitlyn’s warmer space. Their eyes widened slightly and they said, “Thou are the witch?”

Kaitlyn sighed and had to roll her eyes a little. She then said, “Yes. Just… might as well get used to the word. Apparently, it is my only option.”

“Forgive me, my young sibling told me a witch had saved them and…. I didn’t believe at first,” the elf said.

“Please come in, I do not have much I can offer in the way of comfort, but I can offer some fresh tea and biscuits,” Kaitlyn said. She had begun using a little of the grain sometimes, now that she could use her magic to grind the grain into a fine flour she was having some fun trying to make better breads.

“Thou are too kind,” the older elf said, “My sibling owes you much for helping them and you offer hospitality.”

“Well, what little I can offer,” Kaitlyn replied. “We can discuss once I have something for us to drink and eat. I am Kaitlyn.”

“I am Haytham.”

Kaitlyn had already decided what she would ask for, she desperately wanted more cloth of some kind so she could make a new bed. The current bed she slept on was little more than a pile of sticks with an old blanket on it. She wanted to make that more comfortable if she could.

Like with Hyacinth, she brought everything outside to grind the herbs, boil the tea, and serve in her simple wooden cups. The biscuits she had to cook inside, but when she brought them out the youngling was poking at her work on an outdoor oven. She sighed as she looked it, so far she had managed a pile of rocks. She had no way to properly bind them together and they were too imperfect in shape not to have some kind of daub. Kaitlyn had been forced to admit she had no idea how to build what she wanted and left the pile of rocks.

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“Thy kindness surprises me,” the elf said taking a sip of the tea. “I had somewhat expected anger that my sibling had arrived at all and had left without payment.”

“Well,” Kaitlyn said, “I am not a healer by calling, so my aide was no more than what one neighbor should do for another. I do hope to call you a neighbor in truth.”

The elf looked at her sidelong and Kaitlyn sat down on the ground, leaning against Fapallo where he lay down, looking for all appearances to be asleep. Kaitlyn met the elf’s look with a frank stare.

These elves were dark of skin and hair, blending into the shadows of the trees. Unlike the silver elves who lived among trees, these elves apparently lived high in the branches of the largest of the trees. They were brilliant hunters and warriors in their own right. They respected strength.

Kaitlyn decided to open her bargain, “If you wish to pay some kind of debt on behalf of your sibling, you could help me. I do not have a proper bed, and I would like to stop sleeping on the ground.”

Haytham didn’t respond for a long moment and then said, “Very well, I will have to get help, but I will bring thee a new bed within three days. Will this suffice for their debt?”

Kaitlyn tried to hide her shock, she had expected a lot of pushback, but the elf had simply agreed? Who was this youngling that this elf traded so much for her poor healing efforts? Kaitlyn figured she might as well push, “I meant the full bed, a frame, a mattress, at least one pillow and a feather down quilt.”

The elf nodded and said, “This one understands.”

“And any future elves who come through my home should bring a token,” Kaitlyn said. “The value of a pound of uncooked grain. They may sleep out here if they need a place to sleep in warmth and safety, I will offer water and food as well if I have enough to share.”

Haytham thought about this with a tilted head and then nodded and said, “We will agree to these terms. This will be a boon to our patrols during the winter.”

Kaitlyn could hardly contain her excitement until the elves left. After they were gone she went into the house and did a happy dance. Fapallo poked his head in and whistled, “Good?”

“Oh, by the gods yes I am,” Kaitlyn said. “I will be able to get everything I need just by letting some elves sleep in my garden and eat my stew. And a bed. Oh Fapallo, a real bed.”

She danced happily and clapped her hands, laughing a little. Fapallo snorted a laugh and she stuck her tongue out at him, “You enjoy sleeping on the roof, but I want a real mattress.”

The whistle Fapallo gave her wasn’t one she knew, but she had a guess it was something mildly mocking. She stuck her tongue out again and set about preparing her evening meal. She had potential income and regular company between the two groups of elves. She paused. The elves did not always get along with each other. She would need to make sure she told them that her land was not a place they could fight. She would not let her new home become a battlefield.

Haytham returned with six other elves three days later. They brought the pieces for the bed and spent some time building it. They brought two pillows, several bags of feathers they used to stuff a mattress, and a dark blue comforter. Kaitlyn couldn’t hide her happiness to see the bed getting hammered together. Haytham smiled at her and bowed, “We will see each other again.”