"A Strange Bond"

Note: Alpha gives Mayor Kendrick a guided tour of The Hollow. Tooth Fairy learns a few things about The Hollow that he didn't know, and he also performs a 'daring' rescue. Alpha thinks her eyes are playing tricks on her at one point. Robert and Kyle decide to mess with the guests. Mayor Kendrick makes a different sort of visit, and Tooth Fairy opts out. The mayor makes a guess at something, and tells Alpha a big secret. Alpha has an internal mini-crisis. Tooth Fairy needs a hug.

So, this chapter's all over the place! A lot is happening here. Trigger warning near the end of the chapter for the mention of a stillborn child. Things are getting complicated! Edited for a LOT of mistakes! There were a lot of distractions when I was proofreading, and I think I got them all. If not, please let me know!

"Chapter 33: A Busy Day"

The little quintet appeared in front of the theater, and the temporary Fairy Ring that had gotten them there retreated back into the ground as soon as it had done its job. The marquee, which had a blinking border of orange light bulbs, immediately drew their attention. Black letters, perfectly spaced on a white-yellow background, read, 'Welcome to The Hollow!'.

Sean squinted at it, and said out of the corner of his mouth, "Wonder if everything here is this tacky..."

Alpha heard Sean's remark, and her cheeks reddened as she recalled her previous worry. Should have gone with my gut...but as Flint said, it's too late now! "Welcome to The Hollow, gentlemen."

Nathan was in the process of doing a slow turn on the spot, just taking in the scenery. He faced East, and red and white lampposts marked the right side of the street, while blue and white ones lined the left. When he turned to face West, there were purple and white lampposts on his right, and blue and white ones on his left. The section of street they stood on, meanwhile, had yellow and orange lampposts, and he thought the place had an almost amusement park feel to it, minus the rides and the overpriced snacks. He could almost smell the popcorn and kettlecorn! Or...was that coming from inside the theater? "Oooh...this is neat! Do the colors mean anything?"

"Aye," Alpha smiled, pleased that someone had asked. She was starting to like this guy! He was nearly seven feet tall and built like a professional wrestler, with his brown hair buzzed short in a military-style crew cut, but he seemed nice enough. "Although, they used to mean a bit more than they do now. Most of the Witches lived in the green light districts. The Vampires usually kept to the red. The purple used to be where the Elves lived. Some of them chose to stay behind after last year, so a few of those houses are still inhabited, as you can see from the lighted-up windows. And the blue? Well...there are so many different kinds of people down here, so blue ended up being a sort of 'miscellaneous' color. Even back then, it wasn't a hard and fast rule, and now everyone's just used to it. The white lights are a new addition, though. It was too dark before, and surface trips were hard on the eyes. And yellow or orange lights mark the public buildings, such as warehouses or libraries. If you're new to the place, and ye want to know where to get some new troosers or a hat? Look for yellow or orange, and see what they got."

Mayor Kendrick simply said, "Oh!", as if pleasantly surprised or very interested. This could have been politeness on his part, though.

The town was bustling with people going about their daily lives, many of them rubbernecking to catch a glimpse of the 'new Fairies'. A group of children and their parents were on their way out of the theater, and Zoe's eyes lit up as she spotted Alpha and made a beeline for her. "Alpha!" She hugged Alpha tightly around the waist before looking up at her. "We saw 'The Little Mermaid', and boy could she sing good! I wish I had a fish tail instead of legs, but Mommy said I can't. But I wanna be a singer when I grow up! I can do that, right?"

Alpha chuckled and hugged back, mindful of her guests, but unwilling to hurt the little girl's feelings by denying her. "You put in the work to learn, and I'll just bet ye can do it! But listen, luv, we have guests just now...This is Mayor Kendrick. He's visiting us today."

Rose, Zoe's mother, smiled apologetically and took her daughter's hand.

Mayor Kendrick was a little surprised to see a human-looking child with light blue skin, and he was even more surprised at the magic he could sense in her, but he smiled down at her. "Hello, my dear."

Zoe bounced on the balls of her feet, still wound up from the movie. "Hello. Why do your whiskers look like cotton candy?"

Nathan stifled a snort. Tooth Fairy bit his lip and looked away. Even Sean covered his mouth to hide his amusement. Alpha gasped and covered her mouth to keep from laughing. Mayor Kendrick just laughed heartily.

Rose, however, was appalled. "Zoe! I'm so sorry, sir."

Still chuckling, the mayor shook his head. "Oh, not at all. I suppose they could do with a trim! How observant you are, Miss Zoe."

Rose and Zoe left, and Alpha led the group inside, where a small spread awaited them in Room C. There was a bowl of apples from the orchard, rosy and crisp. A pot of strawberry jam sat next to a plate of bagels (already sliced), and next to that was a plate of cucumber sandwiches. The Fairy bodyguards ignored the hard cider in favor of the non-alcoholic kind, and Tooth Fairy and Mayor Kendrick had water. All in all, the group enjoyed the light lunch, and Mayor Kendrick praised the cucumber sandwiches to the heavens.

When they set out to properly begin the tour, Mayor Kendrick was privately astonished by the sheer number of unusual people in the place, many of which were clearly hybrids that wouldn't be possible without the help of magic. This gave him pause, and he glanced briefly at Tooth Fairy and Alpha. He saw them exchange a look, and saw Tooth Fairy mouth, 'I think it's going well'. There was a certain 'look' that couples gave each other, and there was no mistaking it. Oh, dear...

Sean abruptly stood in front of Mayor Kendrick when an honest-to-goodness walking Skeleton approached. Well...he (or she?) wasn't exactly approaching, more like heading in their direction, and it moved aside so as not to get in their way.

It raised a bony hand and waved. "Hey, Roy!"

"Hiya, Jimmy!" Tooth Fairy returned the wave, and the Skeleton continued on his merry way. Tooth Fairy explained, "That's James. He's on their City Council."

"I see..." Mayor Kendrick then spotted Harry, and his eyes widened. "Goodness, a Sasquatch. I thought they were extinct..."

Harry, whose hearing was quite excellent, made a droll face as he passed them. "Not yet! We're still out there, if you know where to look."

"Oh, I beg your pardon..." Mayor Kendrick turned to watch Harry go, and blinked a few times.

"He's on the City Council, too," Tooth Fairy stifled a grin. It was fun to watch someone else react to all of this for the first time. "His hobby is making craft beer in his basement. I've never had it, but I've heard good things."

Mayor Kendrick recovered quickly and turned to Alpha. "Forgive me. I've just never seen such a variety in one place before."

Alpha laughed shortly. "Don't trouble yerself about it. My first day here, I met a Chimera and promptly fainted, so you're doing well."

Tooth Fairy snickered at that, then cleared his throat. "Sorry."

Alpha knocked her elbow lightly against his, then remembered herself and stuck her hands in her pockets.

A sudden scream caused four of them to jump and turn to look at the fifth; Nathan had caught sight of Nick, the Spider monster, who seemed to be in a hurry; he was skittering along on all eight limbs! Tooth Fairy, who had only ever seen the man walk upright on two legs, couldn't suppress a shiver. Nick's limbs had an extra joint, so it made sense that he would be able to do this, but actually seeing it was a bit of a jolt!

Nick whipped around and screamed back. "'Aaaaaaaaaaaah',yourself! Lot of fuss over nothing..." He continued on his way, still grumbling.

Alpha patted Nathan on the arm; the Fairy, as big and burly as he was, looked like he was about to lose control of his bladder. "S'all righ', that's just Nick. Sorry about that; he's himself today."

"Ohhh..." Nick's face had gone gray, and he swayed.

"Whoa..." Alpha took gentle hold of Nathan's left arm while Tooth Fairy caught the right, and between the two of them they guided the disoriented Fairy into a sitting position. "All right, laddie, sit down. Put your heid between your knees...that's right. In through your nose, and out. Keep doin' tha'. There ye go. You'll be fine."

Sean snorted. "Some bodyguard..."

Alpha frowned up at Sean as Nathan hovered on the edge of unconsciousness. "Haud yer wheesht; a lot of people are afraid o' spiders. No shame in tha'."

"Quite right," the mayor frowned. "Sean, that remark was unworthy of you."

Tooth Fairy remembered something he'd thoughtlessly put in his jacket pocket the day before when he'd gotten the mail, and now he fished around for it. He came up with a piece of junk mail; a cardboard ad for a brand of toothpaste he didn't particularly like. He fanned Nathan's face with it, and the breeze seemed to help. "Maybe I should start carrying smelling salts with me..."

Nathan finally came out of it, and he rubbed his face. "Well, that was embarrassing..."

"Och, anyone who claims tae fear nothin' is a liar. I'm sorry, I would've warned ye if it occurred to me. For us...well, Nick's just another guy. Bit of a grouch, but ultimately harmless. Just don't keep yer books past their due date, or he'll charge ye an arm and a leg. Figuratively." Alpha smiled. "Can ye stand?"

"Uh-huh."

Alpha and Tooth Fairy helped Nick to his feet, and the mortified bodyguard brushed off the seat of his pants before drawing himself up. "Mayor Kendrick, I'm sorry. A bodyguard isn't supposed to faint."

The mayor, who didn't think that bodyguards were necessary at this point, was more concerned with moving past this little incident. "It couldn't be helped. Do you need to return home?"

"No, sir."

"All right. Alpha, where to now?"

Alpha smiled. "How would you like to see the warehouses on East Mandrake?"

Alpha took the group East towards one of the green-and-white lit areas, which was where many of the Witches still chose to live. She led them into the food warehouse first, where the smell of fresh fruit greeted them. The dried foods were further back, and at the rear of the building was where they kept the meat. "We grow everything on the lower level, which we'll be skipping today."

"Why?" Asked Sean.

"Because of the compost. We send our food scraps back down, and they're turned into mulch. Gets pretty smelly there." Alpha explained. "I mean, we could go there, if ye really want to, but ye might toss yer cookies."

Nathan made a face. "Hard pass."

Mayor Kendrick looked impressed. "I take it you frown upon wastefulness."

"Oh, aye." Alpha nodded. "If it has a use, we use it."

"And where do you buy your seeds?"

"We don't," Alpha smiled at the mayor. "Like...All right, let's say you're slicing up a bell pepper to go with your meal. Instead of throwing away the stem with the seeds on it, we scrape the seeds onto a towel and let'm dry. Then we put them in a container or some sort, label it, and...See, look there." She pointed at a desk with a sign above it that read 'Seeds'. "We turn them in there, and they're sent back down to the gardens. The community center posts lists of the seeds we need more of, and those are the ones we save and send down. Sometimes we do it preemptively, just in case."

Mayor Kendrick nodded. "Very sensible. Mother Nature would certainly approve."

"You know her?" Alpha looked surprised.

Even Tooth Fairy stifled a smile. He wasn't laughing at her, but he sometimes forgot how little she knew about life outside of The Hollow or the few places she visited on the surface.

"Oh, yes," Mayor Kendrick replied. "She visits us from time to time, to make sure we're being good stewards to the land we've set aside for ourselves."

"Oh." Alpha smiled, not at all embarrassed. "Ye learn somethin' new every day!"

Nathan picked up an apple to look at it, then put it back. "Just picked today! This place sort of reminds me of a pint-sized version of our own market."

"Yes," Mayor Kendrick mused, "And considering we're almost directly below it, I wonder if The Hollow was once a part of it."

Alpha's ears figuratively perked at this, but she responded casually. "Who can say? It's only recently that I learned how close our homes are to each other."

Sean, who was of the opinion that The Hollow was a slum, muttered, "If it was Fairy territory at one point, there must've been a good reason for abandoning it."

Alpha ignored him.

Tooth Fairy tightened his lips and looked away, but when he did he spotted something that alarmed him. Tristan, the little Goblin boy, was sitting waaay at the tippy top of a shelf, some thirty feet above the hard concrete floor. The sight reminded Tooth Fairy of a kitten who managed to climb to the top of a tall tree and couldn't figure out how to get back down again.

Just as Tooth Fairy noticed Tristan, Tristan's mother shrieked. The group rushed over (well, Alpha and Tooth Fairy rushed, and the others simply followed to see what was up), and by the time they got there Tristan was picking up on his mother's distress and getting even more upset.

"Someone get a forklift, or something! Tristan, don't move, you hear me?"

"Mommyyyyy!"

Tooth Fairy sprang into action; Tristan knew him, and so did his mother. He touched her shoulder. "I'll get him, Carla."

"Roy, thank God!"

He fluttered up to the top of the shelf and crouched down beside the cowering boy. "Hey, kiddo. Got yourself into a bit of a pickle, huh?"

Tristan nodded, wearing a pitiful pout. "I wanted to see...if I could touch...the ceiling..."

"Ah. C'mon, let's get ya back down."

Tristan shook his head and resumed crying. "I'm scaaared!"

Tooth Fairy realized that if he picked Tristan up before the kid was calm enough, he'd freak out and probably start flailing in an attempt to get back to the shelf. If Tooth Fairy lost his grip when they were high enough, that would be a disaster! He had to see if he could talk him down before he could bring him down. He patted the boy on the back. "That's okay. High places are scary if you can't fly. But hey, listen...I can fly, and I won't let you fall. Okay?"

Tristan scooted closer, but vertigo made his vision nearly as swimmy as the tears, and he clung to the Tooth Fairy. "I want Mommy!"

"Aww, I know, buddy...Hold on tight, and I'll bring you down to her, okay?"

"Noooo!" Tristan hid his face against Tooth Fairy. "I caaaaaaaan't!"

"Shhh...yes, you can. I've carried people who were a lot bigger than you, and I didn't even get all that tired." He patted Tristan's back as the boy began to calm down somewhat. "I gotcha, I promise I won't let you fall."

"Mm-mmm..."

"Hey, Tristan, can you make a muscle for me?"

Tristan looked up, uncertain. His young face, green and with a slight dusting of sparse fur, was streaked with tears and creased with confusion. "Huh?"

Tooth Fairy smiled. "C'mon, show me your muscles." He demonstrated with his right arm.

Tristan cracked a tiny smile, unsure why Roy was playing games now, but it took his mind off of how high up they were, and he made a muscle.

"Wow, I bet you're real strong! You gotta be, to climb all the way up here. I bet you can hold on tight enough, and I'm even stronger. I promise, you won't fall. You're just gonna take a ride, like...like going down in an elevator."

"What's that?"

"Uh...Sort of a box that can travel with people in it."

"Oh, like the Tardis!"

Tooth Fairy tried not to laugh. "Kinda...not really. Now, let's get you back to your mother. I want you to be real brave for me and hold on tight, can you do that?"

Tristan's smile disappeared, but he nodded reluctantly and put his arms around Tooth Fairy's neck.

"Good boy," Tooth Fairy's voice was a bit strained; the kid had quite a grip! "Close your eyes, okay? You'll feel better."

Tristan squinched his eyes shut and practically squeezed off Tooth Fairy's airway.

Whew, finally. Tooth Fairy fluttered back down with Tristan held securely in his arms. The boy peeked, then started crying again halfway down. "It's okay, it's okay, I gotcha...look, there's Mommy!"

Tristan spotted her just as they landed, and several onlookers cheered as he was passed over to her. "Mommyyyyy! I wanna go hooome!"

"Sh-sh-sh, I know, baby, you're safe now." Carla hugged her son close, almost in tears herself. "Thank you, Roy. Thank you so much! I only took my eyes off him for a minute!"

That's all it takes. "You're welcome, Carla." He smiled and gently ruffled Tristan's hair as the boy quieted to soft, hiccupping sobs. "Ya did great, kiddo."

"I did?"

"You better believe it!" Tooth Fairy grinned. "You're even stronger than ya look! But no more climbing shelves, right?"

Tristan and Carla both answered. "Right."

Mayor Kendrick, amused and touched by what he had just witnessed, remarked out loud, "It seems children are the same wherever you go."

Alpha beamed with pride and love, but she couldn't properly gush over how well Roy had handled a panicking child. "That's been my observation. Well done, Roy."

"'Roy'?" Mayor Kendrick frowned, and a distant memory surfaced. Tooth Fairy's family had been heard calling him that, and it had actually caused a bit of a hullabaloo at school.

Tooth Fairy smiled at Alpha's compliment, but he lost his smile immediately when the mayor questioned his name. He sighed. "It's what they call me here. I like it."

It almost seemed as if Tooth Fairy was daring the mayor to argue with him, but Mayor Kendrick simply said 'ah', and left it at that.

Tristan, who had only just noticed the other Fairies, turned shy and hid his face again.

Alpha thought that this would be a good time to show them the clothing warehouse, which was just across the way and a little bit smaller. Tables and clothing racks stretched from the doors to the back of the store. The employees at the tables worked quickly to fold and neaten, but just as quickly the customers picked through the stock and messed it up, hence the need for clothes folders!

"We have four of these buildings in total," Alpha explained. "They all carry clothes for children and adults, but there's a bit of variety here and there...Not everyone has the same number of limbs, or keeps them in the same place. So, it never hurts to stop at one of the others if ye didn't find what...ye wanted..."

Alpha trailed off. She thought she could see a Fairy boy, perhaps in his early or mid 'teens' (though it was hard to judge, because he seemed small for his age), hiding among a stand of hanging shirts. For a moment, she thought she saw the tip of a wing peeking over the boy's shoulder. How had he gotten in? She was about to go over and investigate when the mayor got her attention and distracted her.

"I don't see any formal wear. Do you have any?"

Alpha turned her head to look at the mayor, then quickly turned back. No sign of a Fairy boy. There was no sign that there had been anyone there at all, and there was nowhere he could have gone without her seeing him. Her nose didn't help her, because she was standing with Fairies, and there were so many other scents that she simply couldn't go by that. Maybe in her other form she could single him out, but not as she was.

She didn't know that Fairies could make their whole bodies invisible for a time if they chose to, not just their wings, and she wasn't close enough to him to sense the magic use, otherwise she would have spoken up. She decided that her latest bout of insomnia must have messed her up more than she thought. She turned to Mayor Kendrick and cleared her throat. "Sorry, I thought I saw something. Um...we actually aren't very formal here."

Sean snorted. "I noticed."

Alpha frowned a bit. "But yes, if we head back and to the left, there are some things that could probably be worn at a formal event. Y'see, clothes are a little harder to come by than food. The Spiders are generally in charge of textiles. They're said to have descended from Arachne herself, but...The Founders lied to us a lot, and even the Spiders don't know for sure. At any rate, they can only produce so much silk at once, and then they have to weave it into fabric, which some of the witches make into clothing."

Sean picked up a men's necktie and read the tag. "This says it's rayon, not silk."

Alpha took a breath to steady her temper as Tooth Fairy frowned; Sean was really starting to annoy her. "Aye, so it is. Some of us can pass for human, and we visit a lot of thrift stores and swap meets."

The mayor nodded, fascinated to learn how this odd culture worked. "And how do you get the funds to do so? I saw people here paying for their items with curious little wooden discs."

"Occasionally on the surface, we'll find something valuable that someone dropped, and we usually pawn those items. And when we raided The Founders' mansion, we found a lot of things to pawn."

Sean wasn't impressed. "And when the money from that runs out?"

"We'll manage."

"And suppose you pawned someone's wedding ring?" Sean pointed out.

Well, he did have a point. "We actually turn those in when we find them. Or if it's an engraved piece. But it isn't always jewelry. And not to be heartless, but for a long time it was all about surviving. Our gardens are doing extremely well now, but we've had a few years of famine, when we mostly lived off the meat our hunters brought down. It's a shame if someone lost something special, but if there's no way to get it back to them...they might actually have some luck checking the pawn shops for their items." Alpha didn't meet Tooth Fairy's gaze when she said that. This was sometimes a source of guilt for her. Once or twice, she had come very close to pawning her own locket; the one Alexander had given her, containing a lock of her daughter's hair and a button from her son's shirt.

Tooth Fairy could see both sides of the argument. Certain things had sentimental value, and the nice thing to do would be to return them if possible. But having seen Alpha literally starve herself so that others could eat when their food was running out, he nodded. "We've never had to worry about where our next meal was coming from. You don't have to explain, Alpha."

Alpha smiled, but her attention was then drawn by Nathan, who was trying on a pair of soft, deer-leather winter gloves. "Oh, ye like those?"

"Just trying them on." Nathan took them off, looking embarrassed. He didn't have any wooden discs to pay with.

Alpha could see that he wanted those gloves, and she smiled again. "Well...do ye have something small that you're willing to part with?"

Nathan thought about it, and removed his pinkie ring. "I keep losing it, so I might as well get rid of it."

Sean looked at the ring. It was a nice ring, worth more than the gloves. "You could always get it resized."

"Nah. I don't like it very much anyway, and my winter gloves wore out." Nathan held out the ring.

Seeing that it was silver, Alpha clasped her hands behind her back. "All right. But here, why don't ye just hand it over to the cashier on the way out?"

Nathan was confused. "Something wrong?"

Alpha grinned. "Werewolf. Silver. Burnie-burnie."

Tooth Fairy chuffed softly through his nose and hid a smile. I love this goofball!

"Oh!" Nathan laughed and claimed the gloves. An hour later, on the way out, he dutifully paid the cashier and began to walk away.

"Oh, sir, wait, your change!" The woman, a bubblegum-pink Witch wearing the stereotypical pointed hat, called after him.

"Change?" Nathan turned back.

She came around the counter with her hands cupped in front of her, and they were full of wooden discs.

Nathan smiled and waved it away. "I'm not from around here, Miss. Keep it."

"We're not supposed to..." She looked at Alpha, who nodded and gestured for her to go ahead, and she smiled. "Thank you, sir! And have a blessed day!"

"You, too!" Nathan walked out with the others, and said to Sean, "Everyone's so nice here."

"I think it's an act."

Alpha, who had finally had enough, said over her shoulder as she walked. "It's called 'hospitality'. It's what you do when you have guests."

That shut him up.

They made their way back to the theater, and Alpha spotted Robert and Kyle sitting on top of the theater marquee with their legs dangling in front of the welcome message. "Oi! Get down from there! You'll have that thing off, and it could land on somebody!"

"Come up and get us," Kyle grinned. "We'll fly away before you make it, though."

"Still got that stick, huh?" Robert high-fived Kyle.

"Ohhh, snap!"

Alpha felt her face growing hot. "Robert, Kyle, Ah warned ye about this. Get doon off the bloody marquee and behave yerselves!"

"Hahahaha, 'bloody!'" Robert hooted.

"You're making us thirsty!"

They laughed again, but obediently jumped down and approached. Robert lit up a cigarette. "Smoke, Mayor?"

"No, thank you," Mayor Kendrick said stiffly. "I prefer a pipe."

Sean and Nathan subtly maneuvered themselves between the Vampires and the mayor, and all traces of friendliness were gone from Nathan's face.

Kyle lost his grin and tapped Robert's arm. "Pull it back, Rob. They're getting pissed."

Robert held up his hands. "Oookay, okay. Just testin' ya. You didn't fly after us to do whatever, so I guess you passed."

Alpha resisted the powerful impulse to knock their heads together. "Why would they do somethin' so stupid? Honestly..." To the Fairies, other than Roy, who had his hand over his eyes and was shaking his head, she apologized. "Sorry, these two are always takin' the mickey, but they're pretty harmless. Her, on the other hand..." Alpha smirked and pointed at Sarah, who was sidling up behind Robert and Kyle with a vicious smile.

Robert and Kyle looked at each other, and horror dawned on their faces when they heard Sarah cracking her knuckles. "WHOACRAP!" They turned into bats and flew off before Sarah could do more than that.

Sarah dusted off her hands. "Works every time. Those two, they got bit when they were still in 'party mode', and they never quite grew out of it."

"So I see," Mayor Kendrick replied in a friendly-ish voice. "And you are?"

"Sarah. And you must be Mayor Kendrick."

Alpha clapped Sarah on the shoulder. "Sarah here's my second in command, and generally keeps the peace around here when I'm busy with other things."

"I used to be a cop, you see," Sarah explained. "I guess I never quite grew out of that, either."

"Ah, how interesting! Forgive me, but I would've thought Vampires and Werewolves would be enemies."

Sarah chuckled. "You watch too much TV."

"I actually don't own a television." Mayor Kendrick smiled. "But I'm pleased to meet you."

Alpha was relieved that Sarah had shown up to help her smooth things over. "Some of us clash occasionally, but it's more a personality thing than a Vampire/Werewolf thing."

Sarah flashed her fangs when she laughed. "Like the time when Robert made off with your clothes while you were swimming?"

Tooth Fairy went wide-eyed, and purple light half-blinded them as his hands began to glow. "He what?"

"Aye...that." Alpha met Tooth Fairy's eyes and gave her head a little shake before briskly changing the subject. "Well! What would ye like to see now?"

Tooth Fairy tucked his hands in his pockets. This was not the time to get angry!

The other Fairies were a little surprise at his reaction, but they brushed it off when he seemed to quickly get over it. Perhaps he was just surprised. It was an inappropriate joke to play, and they knew Alpha was his friend.

Mayor Kendrick cleared his throat. "Most of this seems to be residential areas, but I didn't see a school. How do your children receive their education?"

"Oh, we have a school. In fact, it's right across the street from the theater. Which, incidentally, doubles as our community center. We also have two libraries, one for children and one for adults. Why they were never combined into one, I don't know. But everyone likes where they are now, so that's where they stay."

"Oh, that's good to hear. But I wonder if your curriculum is current..."

I'm not sure why he needs to know this. But I suppose there's no harm in telling him. "By human standards...and by Fairy standards...probably not. The Hollow is a much smaller pond, and there's never been a need or an opportunity to branch out. They learn the basics, though; reading, math, human history...so as not to repeat their mistakes. Many of the Witches go on to learn alchemy and study herb lore. They tend to be our 'doctors', for lack of a better word. We're still a work in progress, to be honest."

Mayor Kendrick wanted to know about the Witches in particular, and Alpha gave him a short version of the same story she gave Tooth Fairy.

Mayor Kendrick nodded thoughtfully. So, this is where they went...and they don't even know what they are. It's just as well that they never find out. He followed along behind Alpha and Tooth Fairy, with his bodyguards walking on either side of him. He didn't miss Alpha and Tooth Fairy exchange a little smile, one that hinted at something other than the platonic, and this saddened him. I fear for you, children. Aiden will be a bitter enemy. Perhaps it would be best if...

Alpha looked back, and she noticed how pensive the old Fairy gentleman was. "You all right, sir?"

"Hm? Oh! Yes, I'm fine. You've given me a lot to think about. But now, there's just one last thing I would like to see, if you don't mind."

"Yes?"

"I would like to see the cemetery."

Tooth Fairy turned white and his stomach felt like it had simultaneously clenched and frozen over. "Uh..."

Mayor Kendrick got a good look at his face as they stood underneath one of the blue street lamps, and a realization struck him. "Oh...you haven't visited yet..."

Tooth Fairy shook his head and took a step back to let them pass. "You go. I'll wait for you here."

There was an awkward moment where no one spoke, and Alpha very nearly blew their cover, but she resisted the urge to hug him. She nodded gently. "Aye..." To the others, she said more briskly, "Come on, then. I'll show ye where it is."

Tooth Fairy watched them leave, and he nearly jumped when Sarah gave his shoulder a brisk pat before going off to resume her patrol. He spotted a bench just outside the theater, and he sat down with a sigh and put his head in his hands.

"Roy?"

Tooth Fairy looked up, and the faint odor of roast pumpkin met his nostrils before he even saw the speaker. "Punky? I thought you'd be at work."

"Nope," Punky hooked his wooden thumbs in his suspenders. "Business is poor today, so I closed up shop."

"Oh. Is that unusual?"

"Well, everyone's curious. They all want to catch a glimpse of the newbies, see what kind of impression we're making." Punky sat down beside him, his wooden limbs giving a muffled clatter. "You got that look I seen a hundred times in my bar. You all right?"

Tooth Fairy heaved a deep sigh. "No, not really. But I don't wanna talk about it."

"Okay," Punky replied, then after a beat, he asked, "Wanna be alone?"

Tooth Fairy shrugged. "You can stay if you want. I just don't feel like talking."

"Then we won't." Punky fell silent and sat looking straight ahead.

Tooth Fairy appreciated that. Talking about it wouldn't help him right now, and he didn't have it in him to make small talk. But having a friend just sit there with him while he felt so lousy? Having someone just be there? He still hurt, but at least he didn't feel alone while Alpha was stuck showing her guests around. After a few minutes, he almost smiled. "Thanks, Punky. You're a real pal."

"Bah...I'm just sitting here. But if you ever wanna vent later, just belly up to the bar and bend my nonexistent ear." He grinned his jack-o-lantern grin.

"Heh...sure thing."

Brinna's grave was near the back of the cemetery, marked by a small, rectangular, flat sandstone slab, which Alpha had placed so that it was level with the ground. There was a simple design on the stone; a mosaic in the shape of a purple butterfly. Someone must have had access to a rock tumbler and amethyst chips, because the stones were just as smooth as polished glass. It was a pretty design, but not flashy or obtrusive. It was something many people would simply admire in passing before moving on.

A fitting monument for such a gentle soul. Mayor Kendrick stood at the grave, with Alpha and the other two Fairies standing a respectful distance away. He was lost in memory, thinking back on the girl he had watched grow from a scrappy but sweet child into a kind young woman, and his mouth tightened. He knelt down and rested a hand on the butterfly design. If this is painful for me, I can't even imagine what her brother must be feeling now. And I fear I've made it worse.

Mayor Kendrick brushed away a tear, then stood up and cleared his throat. "Sean, Nathan, I don't believe I am in need of bodyguards just now. I would like you both to return home."

Sean did not like that. "Sir, I protest!"

"I need to speak with Alpha. Alone."

Nathan stepped in. "Sean...I'm sure it's fine. If they wanted to hurt him, they could've done it by now, and we wouldn't have been able to stop them. Not just the two of us."

Alpha said, "A Ring will take you back, but it'll be a one-way ring until we're all more comfortable with each other. All you have to do is-"

"We know how our own Rings work." Sean interrupted her.

"I was going to say, all you have to do is head in that direction, and you'll find one," Alpha pointed.

Nathan nudged Sean's arm and said to Alpha, "Thank you for the tour. And the gloves! Let's go, Sean."

Sean left without a word, and Alpha returned Nathan's friendly wave. She would be happy to host him again, but Sean was another story. Maybe it was just how he reacted to outsiders, but in general, the man seemed to be a right prick!

When they were alone, Mayor Kendrick turned to Alpha. "The Tooth Fairy has had a hard life, you know."

Alpha nodded, suddenly wary. "He prefers to be called 'Roy'. And I know...He's told me about some of it."

"Yes...yes, I suppose he would have." Mayor Kendrick stroked his cheek whiskers in thought, and sighed. "I'll be honest with you, Alpha. It is not as if I disapprove of you, either as a person, or as a love interest for...Roy." The name didn't come naturally to him, after so many centuries of habit. "But if you pursue this relationship...I'm afraid you're both in for some hard times."

Alpha's stomach dropped. She'd thought they were being a lot more discreet than that!

Seeing her look, Mayor Kendrick smiled gently. "Honestly, if it wasn't for the rumor my nephew started, I wouldn't even have noticed."

"We weren't looking for it, it just happened..." Alpha shook her head. "And I don't understand why it matters. He told me that Fairy men with wings like his usually don't marry or have children. And he said we can't have children together in any case, so how does it-"

"He told you what he's been told, what they're all told." The mayor lowered his voice. "Wing thieves weren't the only thing that caused us to isolate ourselves from the human world. Our race wasn't just dying out...it was being bred out. Our women are comely, and our men are handsome. For the most part. And the same is true for humans, despite their lack of wings. That is why courting outside of our race is so taboo. You saw how few of us there are. As a community leader...surely, you understand why such knowledge would be dangerous."

Alpha slowly shook her head as the color drained from her face. "No, sir, I don't understand it. Not really. I think grown people should be able and allowed to make informed choices. So many of the best people I've ever met were of mixed descent. We've got all kinds here, and we wouldn't have it any other way. Ye love who ye love, and that's it. And what of the children of those human/Fairy unions? What happened to them? Did they deserve to be punished for the circumstances of their birth? Children are children! They don't ask to be here! We put them here."

He nodded sadly. "I agree; it's not the children's fault. But I can't protect the two of you if you're found out. Any children you might have would be subjected to unprecedented cruelty by their peers, and I would be just as powerless to stop it as you."

"'Powerless?'" Alpha felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, her human form's version of raised hackles. "Let anyone harm a child o' mine, and they'll learn the truth o' what fear really means!" Mayor Kendrick took a step back and held up his hands, and Alpha realized she'd scared him. "...I'm sorry. But it's a moot point. I have conscious control over whether or not I conceive, and...I don't want to get pregnant again. Even if I tried for his sake, my body would know what my mind really wants. I don't think it's possible, even though it's 'possible'."

Mayor Kendrick saw an opportunity, and he loathed himself for exploiting it. "Then why tell him?"

Alpha closed her mouth. Keep a secret from Roy? A secret like this?

He wanted children. He'd mentioned to her how much he wished it could be a possibility somewhere down the line, and she had privately been relieved that it wasn't. She didn't want to have that argument with him. She'd had it once before, with her second mate.

Gerald had been bitter about it, and their relationship had suffered because of it. Alpha wasn't even sure they would have lasted, had he survived long enough. An accident on the lower level had claimed his life, and the lives of three others.

And Brian had been her mate in name only; theirs had been an affair of the heart, and he'd had absolutely zero interest in sex. He had tried it for her sake before she even knew of this, but he just couldn't, and she'd called a halt. The truth came out, and he'd wept with shame. And she'd cried with him, held him, and told him it didn't matter to her if they never made love, as long as she could just be with him. It had been a bit frustrating for her at times, but she'd respected his boundaries, and they had made it work. And she hadn't had to worry about having the 'children argument'.

The pain of childbirth, seemingly without end...Her daughter's tiny body, lying motionless in her arms, and all she could do was wail and scream while Alexander held them both and wept...Her second pregnancy, because they still wanted a child; nine months of aching terror and crippling morning sickness (Pearl called the condition 'hyperemesis gravidarum') that left her weak and frail, and a long labor where she'd cried and begged God not to take her baby again...

And the abject cruelty of being allowed to keep her boy, only to lose him and her mate five years later.

Alpha shook herself. She nodded at Mayor Kendrick, seemingly agreeing to keep this knowledge to herself.

But she owed Roy the truth. He had the right to make an informed choice, and she...well, she would give him the option of doing so, even if this turned out to be a deal-breaker for him. She would tell him, when the time was right. And then what? The ball would be in his court. Every time I think we might be able to catch a break...

When Alpha returned to the spot where she'd left Tooth Fairy, she found him sitting on a bench beside Punky, and it seemed the conversation had turned to sports.

"No," Punky said, "I lost interest in football when Robert tried to use my head as the ball."

"Heh...Alpha! Hey...where are the others?" Tooth Fairy stood up and went to greet her.

"They went home," Alpha hugged him, and they exchanged a long kiss; they'd been holding that in all day! Punky got up and began to leave, but Alpha snagged his arm. "Hey, where do ye think you're going?"

Punky returned the hug, then pretended to sulk. "I'm a little offended you and your guests didn't swing by The Pale Horse. I serve the best corn nuts in town!"

"You serve the only corn nuts in town!" Alpha kissed his orange cheek. "Sorry. I'd planned to, but they cut their visit short. The mayor wanted to talk to me in private, then he decided to head home for supper."

Tooth Fairy nodded. "That man's like clockwork with his meals. Always was."

"Well," Punky pointed in a direction, "I might as well reopen the bar, then. Remember what I said, Roy."

"Yep."

Alpha watched Punky go, then asked, "What'd he say?"

But instead of answering, Tooth Fairy hugged her again and closed his eyes.

Alpha recognized this type of hug, and she returned it, understanding his need to be held in silence. It was a bit public, but in The Hollow, where so much tragedy had happened, nobody gawked at him. A few concerned people glanced their way, then went about their business when they saw that Alpha was handling it.

Tooth Fairy sighed and stepped back. "I just want to go to sleep...but I have to get ready for work soon."

Alpha nodded, wiping his cheeks with her thumbs.

Tooth Fairy realized that his cheeks were wet; he hadn't even noticed! He quickly dried his face. "Sorry..."

Alpha shook her head. "We've talked about tha', luv. You can cry if you need to."

Tooth Fairy smirked, wanting to cheer himself up and ease her worries. It was too public for this. "Who's crying? It's those dang onion-chopping ninjas."

"Aye...Come to my place, and we can have dinner."

"I'm really not hungry. I'll just pack a snack and eat on the fly."

Alpha nodded. "All right...Do ye want to come over anyway?"

He hesitated. He sort of wanted to take her up on her offer, but if he did that, he probably would break down. The other Fairies all knew about Brinna now. And the mayor...the mayor, who had been on his ish list for the past week or so...had visited Brinna's grave before her own brother could get up the nerve to visit himself. If he started crying now, he just knew that it would end up being a sob-a-thon, and he simply didn't have time for that.

And just because he felt comfortable crying in front of her now, that didn't mean he liked crying! It reminded him of the few times his magic was in flux. Vomiting was unpleasant, but it was comforting to have someone sit with him while he went through it and lay a cool cloth on his forehead. Okay, now he really needed to distract himself. "Yknow, I'm gonna take a rain check, if that's okay. I just wanna grab a shower and not think for a while."

Alpha nodded. "Whatever ye need to do, luv."

Tooth Fairy kissed her and began to leave, paused, then turned back. "Can I call you when I get home from work?"

Alpha smiled gently. "You know you can. I love you."

His eyes stung again, but he smiled. "I love you, too.