Dullahan

9 - Other - 5

The rest of his morning passed quickly with the distraction of the books. He was halfway through the second when noon arrived with the familiar knock at the door. Eldred shut the book, the pages snapping together, and slid off the bed.

Wyn was waiting at the end of the corridor, the tray left outside the door. Eldred drank the water quickly, picking up the bread to take with him, and ran to catch up with the other boy.

He ate as they went, trailing behind Wyn as they both ran through the castle grounds. The fae boy didn't say anything, maintaining a speed that left them both out of breath by the time they reached the gardens once more. It was only then that Wyn let up on the pace, slowing to a jog as they retraced their steps from the day before, eventually finding the fountain once more. Most of the children Eldred had seen yesterday were present again today, Murna, Sail, and Nor perched on the wall surrounding the fountain's pool, watching for Wyn's approach. The other boy picked up into a run again at the sight of them, leaving Eldred to make his way through the tall grass.

The afternoon went similarly to the day before- after the group was satisfied everyone was present, a debate on the day's activity began. Eldred got the sense that hide and seek was a constant contender, the same group of young dryaads pestering the older children for a few rounds.

Eventually, as the day before, the group gave in and a few rounds of hide and seek were played. Again, Eldred found himself found first in all three, despite his attempts the previous day to scout out good hiding spots.

Interspersed between each game were further debates on what to play next, which boiled down to a small group who seemed to make most of the decisions, with a larger group that didn't seem to mind what was done, as long as something was chosen. While the smaller group was discussing, the others spread out around the fountain into their conversations with smaller groups of friends. Eldred, knowing none of the children, found himself instead keeping his own counsel, poking around in the fountain, or looking through the grass.

It was during one of these pauses that Eldred found himself getting pulled into conversation.

"So what are you, Fenn?" Nor asked out of nowhere, the boy turning from the circle of Wyn, Murna, Sail, and himself to frown at Eldred.

Eldred looked up from where he was crouched, watching a grasshopper perched on a blade of grass. "What do you mean?" he asked, looking between their faces in an attempt to figure out what exactly they were asking him.

Nor rolled his eyes, "Don't you know anything? What are you? Like are you an elf, or a gwyllion, kelpie, or what?" Annoyance was clear in the boy's voice.

"Oooh, I bet he's a Puca as well!" Wyn guessed, his attention caught by the conversation.

"His hair's not black or white," Murna scolded, elbowing the boy. "Maybe he's a really tall gnome?" her tone was teasing, her nose wrinkled as she looked Eldred up and down.

Eldred shook his head, trying to match the names they were listing with what little he'd learned from Ness about the different types of Fae. "I'm not- I'm human," he said eventually, looking between the four of them- Sail had yet to speak, but he was paying close attention to the conversation.

At his words, Murna burst into laughter, lifting a hand to her mouth and turning away, as if to hide it. Wyn tilted his head in confusion, frowning. Nor and Sail exchanged a look, neither looking convinced, Nor struggling to hold back a smile of his own.

"Uh-huh. A human. Sure," the older boy said, joining Murna's laughter with his own.

The other children started to drift over, their interest piqued by whatever was happening in this group. Eldred felt his cheeks burn.