Finding True North {B×B}

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The first thing Tammin noticed as he awoke was the sickeningly thick medicine that coated his throat. The next was that he was not alone in the room.

Peeking open his swollen eyes he gazed at the beautiful young Fae woman who sat at her kitchen table reading a book, the title of which he couldn't read. Slowly he lifted his hand to feel around his eyes, his fingers meeting with the enflamed skin and heat of a fever.

Tammin looked back to the woman at the table and tried to speak through his parched throat and the heat that made him breathless.

Before he could say anything, the Fae's eyes flicked up and met his. Her vivid blue eyes were the color of a robin's egg, a stroke of pastel that complimented her pale face and light pink cheeks.

He tried to wheeze out a greeting, but his chest ached with every breath and his tongue felt like sand against his mouth. He wanted to hide under the blankets and hope the Fae hadn't noticed his wakefulness, but he could barely move as it was and his body protested against each little movement he made.

She stood up and left the room before he could force any words from himself. He gazed after her both wishing her back and dreading her return. Fae were gifted yes, but they could also be devious and mischievous when they wanted to be. In all honesty, Tammin both feared her and wanted to know more about her, and how he got here.

Tammin looked around the room as much as he could.

A low fire burned in the hearth, racks of drying herbs and meats sat about a foot away, or so it looked from were Tammin was laying. The smell of pine and cinnamon swirled in the air over the tang of herbs mixing with the smell of beef and making a tantilizing aroma. Tammin's stomach growled and turned, both hungry and nauseous.

A wooden table sat close to the cot he laid on. Scattered books, papers and a mug of tea littered the polished wood. He tried to shift to observe the other half of the room, but immediatly stiffened, his ears going down and his tail curling as the Fae woman came back in with a few herbs, a rag, and a cup of very aromatic tea.

With gentle hands and focused eyes, she laid the damp rag arcoss his forhead. Out of instinct, Tammin flinched away and whimpered, trying to ease away from the stranger. His whole body shuddered at the contact and his ears drooped further.

The Fae woman's eyes widened and she pulled away. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. It's a cool rag for your fever, and I brought some medicine for your breathing." She reached forward again and laid the rag across his forehead. "You must be thirsty. Here I brought you some tea to help ease the pain. Are you allergic to anything?" Tammin shook his head ever so slightly. No he wasn't allergic to anything that he knew of. She nodded to herself and lifted a cup of warm tea to his lips.

He sipped gently on the drink, his throat easing and his muscles relaxing as his thirst was quenched and the taste of medicine was washed away. He sighed as the cup was taken from his lips, able to breathe now that the muscles in his chest had loosened.

He turned sleepy teal-green eyes to her and whimpered his dismay. She frowned for a moment and looked to her small bundle of herbs. She hummed to herself and glanced between her table and her new patient. "I'm not sure why your eyes are swollen, but I think I can make a salve that will help with that irritation. Let me mix that together and you can sleep before dinner."

Tammin wasn't sure what to think at the moment. His mind was fuzzy from the medicine and the tea had relaxed his stiff body. The heat from the fire and blankets had him closing his eyes. He swore he had only slept for a minute, but when he opened his eyes a pot was hanging over the fire and the Fae was stirring vegitables into the broth.

He wheezed a bit, trying to breathe normally against the burning sting along his ribs. He wondered where his breath had gone so much so that he could not speak. He tried to sit upright on the cot, flinching harshly and nearly falling back. He looked over himself, trying to find any trace of magic on his skin or in his fur.

He yelped quite loudly when he realized he was wearing no pants and that he had been stripped of his cloak. The Fae looked up, startled and wide eyed at the faun sitting upright on his cot as if he had no wound on his side.

Embarrassed beyond belief, Tammin covered his lower half under the blankets, wishing he had not yelped at all.

"What's the matter? Is your side hurting you?" She rushed over, dinner forgotten and kneeled beside his resting place.

Startled and flustered, Tammin looked away. "Y-You took m-my c-clothes..." He stumbled over his words and hid his face, his ears drooping down to his shoulders.

The woman nearly began laughing at him, small giggles escaping her. "Hun, you're covered in fur. I'd have to shave you before I could see any of that." She giggled in a way only a fae could and stood. "If it bothers you that much, I see about finding you some clothes."

She gazed at him for a moment before speaking again. "You are very quiet and very modest for a faun. Why is that?"

Tammin's embarrassment was forgotten as he thought. Eventually, he shook his head, not wanting to say.

With a kind smile, the fae nodded. "Will you at least tell me your name?"

A bit taken aback, Tammin thought for a moment, debating the harm in telling her his name.

"T-Tammin...My n-name is Tammin."