Aos Sí

9: Another

I waited until that night to go looking.

I felt naked for the first time in a long time without my gear. I had gotten so used to wandering without it in Brighton, but this new house brought all of my memories flooding back to me. I wish I had a grappling hook, at least. I wanted to find one of the entrances along the walls, but without a proper light, there was no way I could navigate inside. So I made my way to the kitchen to see if they were Borrowing tonight.

The kitchen was silent when I first arrived. I was a little worried I had missed them. But when I got to the bottom of the counters and strained my ears, I could hear the slightest scuffling. I tentatively called out, hoping I wasn't hearing things. The sound stopped. I called out again, a tad louder. No reply. My shoulders sagged in defeat.

"Up here."

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the voice above me. I looked to see another face looking over the edge of the counter top at me.

"Do you need a line?"

"Yes please."

The face disappeared and a moment later, a thread unraveled towards me. I caught it and began to climb. Kinda wish I had my gloves.

When I got to the top, the other Borrower helped me over the edge. A boy, about my age, with a short floof of brown hair and green eyes. He looked as happy to see me as I did to see him.

"Holy shit!" he said, a grin taking over his face. "It's been so long since I-- Where did you-- Wait." He took a step back and looked at me. I guess not having any gear was pretty weird. "What are you doing here? How--"

"Okay, first off, HI! I'm Ani."

He shook his thoughts and smiled again. "Ethan! How long have you been in this house? I've never seen you before!"

I debated for a moment, then figured there was no point in hiding my situation from him. "I just arrived this morning, actually. With that Bean that came to visit."

He looked flabbergasted. "Without any gear?"

I felt my face heat up as I quietly admitted, "He's well aware that I was with him."

Ethan's eyes went wide, "WHAT!?"

We both froze at a grunt that responded to his yell. I looked over my shoulder. Someone was coming towards the kitchen. I shooed Ethan into a hiding spot and plopped down in the center of the counter.

Seán poked his head in, looking a tad bleary eyed. "Aos sí? What the hell are ya doin' out here at one in tha mornin'?"

I glanced off to the side, hoping some combination of his tired state and our distance kept him from noticing me looking at Ethan, who managed to duck for cover, though it wasn't the best hiding spot. I looked back at Seán.

"Was hungry, thought I'd find something to munch on. Wanted to stretch my legs."

He gave me A Look. I wouldn't have believed that lie either. Thankfully, he didn't question me and went to the fridge. I glanced at Ethan and motioned for him to get going before turning my attention back to Seán. He pulled out a couple of strawberries and got himself a glass of water before coming back over to me. We ate in comfortable silence, and once we cleaned up the remains, he offered me a ride back to the room.

Figuring Ethan was long gone, I agreed. It took much less time to travel the house on Seán's shoulder, but I found myself unable to sleep once we got back to the guest room. It had been well over two years since I had seen another Borrower. I loved Signe and Seán, but actually seeing someone my size again? Not that I was sure he would trust me. I was Seen, and he wasn't. If he wanted to keep his home secret...

I took a deep breath to steady my heart beat, then buried myself further into the washcloth I had been given as a bed and blanket.

I really wanted to see him again.