Seelie and Unseemly

8. Unwelcome Visitor

Jonas's smile seemed to banish all the shadows from the room.

Elli chuckled, part amused and part bitter. Here he'd been trying to do something important and he'd ended up injured. Not only that, he had ended up in the care of probably the dopiest human in the Mortallands. Though, he supposed that dopey was far preferable to cunning and hungry. Elli shivered as a chill rand down his spine. He clutched at his bandaged wing for comfort.

Elli looked back up at the face of the human who had saved him. Yeah. This was much better than the alternative.

Suddenly, there was a harsh rap on the door that made both Jonas and Elli jump.

"Jonas, I've got someone for you to meet!" Called a voice from the opposite side of the door.

The brown-haired man shot to his feet, "Give me a sec! I had to change after being out in the rain."

That said, he turned to Elli and –after a moment of hesitation– offered him his hand.

Elli glared at him apprehensively.

"Right now, you can't fly and you need to hide," whispered Jonas, "Please don't make me grab you."

Fair point.

Elli hopped nimbly into Jonas's hand. Jonas cupped his opposite hand around his small passenger protectively before hurriedly shuttling him over to his unmade bed –which was no more than a worn out cot shoved into a dark corner with sheets tossed on top of it. Luckily, the large blankets made wonderful hiding places. After he had disembarked and began rooting through the sheets on the cot, Jonas waited to approach the door until he had stopped moving. A courtesy Elli thanked him for silently.

The door opened and Jonas was immediately teased about the time he had taken to answer the door. Elli made the obvious decision and listened in on the conversation. And no one was allowed judge him for that! It wasn't often that he could listen to humans converse. Most of the time he was too busy trying to ensure that no hungry humans –or possibly hungry humans– spotted him doing his playdates with thunderstorms.

Though, now that Elli thought about it, Jonas had a lovely voice. It was mellow and sweet. Like how he imagined a wise badger might sound. Elli chuckled quietly at the image of Jonas as a badger, glasses perched low on his nose, a goofy smile plastered on his whiskered snout.

Elli gasped and covered his mouth with his hands. He hoped none of the humans had heard him.

After listening for a moment, Elli sighed with relief. It seemed they hadn't heard him over the sound of their own voices. Then he scolded himself for making a sound while trying not to be found –and for having fond thoughts about Jonas while he was at it.

Elli's attention was drawn back to the humans when he heard the voice at the door leave and a third voice take its place.

"So, Jonas, I hear you're interested in faefolk."

Elli grimaced. He didn't like the sound of this man. He sounded slimy, like a carnivorous slug.

"They're my main stylistic focus for my art, yes," replied Jonas steadily, bringing Elli some comfort, "Why?"

"I have a vested interest, you could say." Said the other man, Elli could practically hear the disgusting smirk on his face.

"Vested interest?"

"Yes. Only where your craft is to know their form, mine is to know their," here the man paused, making Elli dread his next words, "their tastes. So I may catch them, butter them up, and serve them to the highest bidder."

Elli paled and gagged. A fae-hunter. More than a hunter, he amended. He didn't just catch and sell. This man had the sound and sickening bloodthirst of a fae-eater.

Pulling his wings tight to his sides, Elli began to tremble uncontrollably. Unable to fly, unable to escape, images of the sheets being torn away and the man finding him thundered through his mind. Horrible visions of open mouths with bloody teeth, long tight throats and dark stomachs haunting him –tormenting him– with the threat of their possibility. He was small so he would probably just be swallowed whole.

No.

No!

Nononononono...!

Elli spiraled. Panic coursed through his tiny veins. A headache bloomed in his skull. He breathed with frantic pants as he curled in on himself.

Don't find me.

Don't find me!

For the love of Queen Titania, don't find me!

A wise badger voice, sweet and deep, gently drifted into Elli's ears, "I see. Well I'm afraid that we'll find each other quite disagreeable then."

Elli's thoughts quieted and his focus turned to latch onto the only steady thing he had: Jonas's voice.

"How so?" The other man's voice darkened.

"I don't think I need to elaborate." Said Jonas firmly, surprising Elli.

When he had spoken to Jonas, he had found him to be a silly pushover. Now it seemed as though he had missed something. Was he only kind and naïve when dealing with faefolk?

Part of Elli whispered that he kind of wished Jonas would only be like that for him. He silenced the stray thought. Once he had, he realized that he wasn't trembling as badly as he had been before.

"Huh," huffed the fae-eater at the door, "Who would've thought? It seems I found a fae-lover with a backbone. And enough respect to refrain from calling me names."

Elli bristled.

"Believe me, I've said it all before," rumbled Jonas darkly, "Good day, Mr Parker. We're done here."

The door shut.

Silence.

Elli breathed a sigh of relief as he heard steps retreating from the door. That had been close. He had already been in the jaws of a kelpie today, he would rather not experience the mouth of a man.

"El?"

Still shaken from the almost-encounter, Elli failed to respond to Jonas's call. The sound of soft footsteps approached his hiding place.

"El, are you okay?"

Elli's ears twitched, recognizing the gentle concern in Jonas's voice. He stirred, alerting the man to his hiding place. A rustle of clothing, an exhale of breath later, Elli's cover was unravelled and peeled back. He sat with his knees to his chest, wings and tail wrapped tightly to his body. Jonas looked down at him, worry etched deep in his eyes. Elli gazed up at him. He was an odd human, for sure.

A glint of gold flashed in the yellowish light of the bulb handing from the ceiling. Elli's curiosity ignited. The gold flicker had come from Jonas's brown eyes.

Was he human? Last time Elli checked, humans didn't have gold eyes –unless they were actually a werewolf or shifting creature of some similar nature.

He had to ask, "Say, Jonas," he paused as Jonas's brow peaked at the sound of his name, "You're not human, are you?"