The wolfkin were a chaotic, fun mess. The more Holly and Adelina warmed up to me, the more their curiosity rose to the surface. Soon I was getting badgered with questions about alchemy, fae, and my past. I had to be very careful, obviously, but something about their open, earnest awe had me talking more than I normally would, especially about my profession.

  Dreven came in not long after we’d started in on the cookies, which were delightfully buttery and crumbled almost too easily in my mouth. Part of me relaxed a bit when I saw the easy, honest affection between him and his wife. The man’s younger sisters were still acting a little too affectionate with my dragoness for my liking, but I quickly buried all such feelings.

  I wanted to get to know the townsfolk better and integrate myself further into the local community, after all. Besides, letting my darker instincts out to play would not end well for anyone, least of all me.

  I knew Alys didn’t object to a bit of possessiveness. Being a dragon, she had plenty of it herself. But for me, it was too enmeshed with the less desirable traits of my species. Indulging it too much might catapult me into a spout of fae behavior my dragoness would not find so endearing.

  The last occasion I’d let myself slip, during the confrontation with the elders, Alys had been so angry that she’d almost made me sleep downstairs. I was not having a repeat of that any time soon.

  Instead of dwelling on such matters, I focused on the things I was enjoying. Which, admittedly, was mostly the cookies and the milk. Hagmar had gifted us some milk from his sheep, but I preferred the Hoffmanns’ dairy products.

  The thought inspired me to inform the wolfkin family about the feed I was developing with the grumpy couple’s help. I was confused when the Hoffmans showed unwavering interest, even after I warned them that we weren’t quite done with testing, but it didn’t take me long to understand.

  My healing supplies had left an impression. I had thoroughly proven my credentials to the wolfkin family.

  The realization filled me with a strange, sudden warmth.

  Overall, between the cookies, the milk, and the more than tolerable company, it was a pleasant time. When we finally walked out the door, though, I was feeling… drained.

  All my recent socializing with Alys’ family had tricked me into thinking I was getting better at handling casual social interactions. Now, however, I had to admit that I was wrong. Perhaps my mistake stemmed from the fact that Amara, Soren, and Aesa no longer counted as ‘social interactions.’ They were family.

  Family time was a different matter altogether.

  “You alright?” Alys bumped her hip into mine. “You look lost.”

  “Just exhausted. They were almost as hyper and chatty as Nasha. And there are more of them.” My grimace and shudder drew laughter from my dragoness, just as I’d expected. I let my expression settle into a smile as I enjoyed the sound. “Still, that was nice.”

  “Hrrrrmmm. Yes, it was. And I’m glad Holly is better.” Alys grinned toothily. “I enjoyed the way she flushed when her sister walked us through Vance’s visit.”

  I snickered. Apparently, Dreven and Cellica had decided to honor their younger sister’s wishes not to visit the doctor by asking Vance if he could do a home visit, instead. Holly, still confined to her bed, had spent the entire time as red as a tomato and barely more articulate than a pup while Vance tried to examine her for any signs of injury.

  In the end, there were none. The good doctor also hadn’t noticed any signs of lingering infections. Best of all, nothing had gotten trapped in the wound when the healing potion from my shop sealed it quickly.

  This was good to hear. Healing potions of lower quality did carry such risks, unfortunately, and I hadn’t yet devoted any time to converting my current recipe into a top quality one.

  I wasn’t sure I could, to be honest. I was certainly well beyond my stated rank as an alchemist when it came to poison and antidotes, but my family’s training hadn’t exactly focused on the nuances of high-level healing supplies. The Belladonna family was far more skilled at taking lives than saving them, and I wasn’t as much of an exception to that rule as I would have liked to be. Not yet, anyway.

  I sighed, lamenting my ever-growing list of things to do.

  “We should find some time to talk to Vance.”

  “Hrrrmm? Whatever for?”

  “I know he was more than happy with the supplies I’ve been making for the town, but now that he’s had time to get used to them, I bet he has some ideas about what else the people here need. I can’t promise that I’ll be able to make whatever he comes up with, but I can at least try.”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  My dragoness raised a brow. “Don’t you already have a lot of projects to focus on? You have complained once or twice, you know.”

  “Yes, ‘once or twice.’” I chuckled. “But I’d like to know, at the very least. I can decide if I want to focus on any of his suggestions once I have them.”

  “Fine.” She threw her head back dramatically, likely to amuse me rather than out of genuine annoyance. To her credit, she succeeded. “Some other time, though. I don’t feel like spending the entire day meeting people.”

  I nodded. I certainly couldn’t last that long if all we did was socialize.

  Yet as we strolled through town, I realized Alys was steering us subtly towards the Hall, instead of heading to the seamstress first. My shoulders immediately tensed. The idea of dealing with Ritsu was unpleasant, not to mention seeing the elders in any capacity so soon after the… episode.

  Alys apparently sensed my displeasure. She sent me a stern look that told me I wouldn’t be wiggling out of what was to come.

  There was nothing for it but to push through.

  Thankfully, with the weather warming up ever so slightly that day, the Hall wasn’t nearly as full as it had been during our last visit. Not so thankfully, this meant my eyes immediately landed on the elders’ table. And they spotted us, too, if the sudden tension emanating from that area was any indication.

  Ritsu was also easy to find. I quickly pulled Alys in his direction, rather than risk letting the elders think we were there for them.

  “Ritsu!” I called, well before we reached his table.

  The fox startled and looked up from the leather-bound tome he’d been studying.

  “Oh! If it isn’t two of my dearest customers.” He grinned, but that same reservation he’d nursed around me since the Summer dish incident was evident in his stiff posture. “How can I help you today?”

  He wasn’t afraid of me, exactly. He was simply expecting me to lash out, and trying to remain respectful in order to prevent that.

  I could guess well enough why all the teasing from our early acquaintance had been replaced by this apprehension. For one thing, he was worried that I would go out of my way to ruin his chances with Kiri. For another, he probably hadn’t expected to be sticking around Swiftband to face any consequences from his initial needling.

  And now he was stuck between two fae. One was the object of his affection, while the other was not kindly disposed towards him at all.

  Normally, I would have enjoyed his discomfort. Today, though, I tried to ignore my flash of vindictive pleasure. His wariness and my attitude were not helpful in my current task.

  “Do you have a bit of time?” I began. “We’d like to talk to you, and —”

  “Thorn and Alys, we are glad to see you here again,” intruded the voice of Hyel.

  I had to push down a surge of annoyance as I turned to look at the elf. Ferlis was trailing behind him, and for once, I could read the wendigo’s body language perfectly.

  I was a bit conflicted to see hesitance and worry reflected there. She may have been married to Grafton, but out of all the elders (and I didn’t care that she’d admitted she wasn’t an ‘official’ elder), I liked her the best.

  “Hyel.” I acknowledged him a little coldly as Alys rumbled a greeting. I hesitated on how to proceed, but in light of past mistakes, I decided to be diplomatic. “It is good to see you, too. The Hoffmanns visited my shop just the other day.”

  The old elf paused before he rallied. “Truly?”

  “Yes. One of their family members got hurt, and they chose to visit me in hopes of trading for healing supplies. Things worked out perfectly, since the girl is now hale and hearty, and we have some nice food to add to our table. So… I am thankful you did as you promised.”

  The words grated a little as they came out of my mouth. I wasn’t exactly thanking him, which was all that made the gesture barely tolerable. I certainly didn’t want a repeat of our last conversation, but I still felt the need to hold onto my grudges for a little while longer.

  Still, I’d set the day aside for reconciliations and moving forward. I could extend that to the elders as well, I supposed, at least a tiny bit.

  “How is your husband doing?” I directed my next question to Ferlis, who flinched but… brightened, I thought.

  “He is still getting better every day. Thank you for continuing to supply him with the nutritional supplements. He’s also started working on some of the things he should have done a while ago.”

  She sighed. The sound was even more eerie and morose than her usual speaking voice. It reminded me far too much of the final gasp of life leaving someone’s lungs.

  “What is he working on?” Alys jumped in, eyes narrowed as she glanced towards the human elder.

  I refused to do the same, not wanting to confront the fact that I had somehow helped him return to near peak physical condition far too quickly. I had never meant for the supplements to be that effective.

  “Defenses,” Ferlis replied. “He is putting wards up around the entire town, as far as the edges of the forest. He hasn’t reached the forest edge around your home yet, but he should in a couple of days. He’ll be activating the wards once he’s laid the foundations, and then upgrading them, which shouldn’t take more than another week. Ten days, at most.”

  I didn’t think I had heard Ferlis talk so much all at once before. As a bit of a chill spread throughout the room, I understood why she typically avoided doing so. It wasn’t affecting our little group, but I spotted some of the regular townsfolk shifting uneasily in their seats. Some seemed to lose their appetite enough that they set down their cutlery and pushed their plates away.

  Another reminder that the existence of a wendigo was definitely meant to be a curse.

  Alys nodded happily, either not noticing or choosing to ignore the slight alteration of mood around us. “Hrrrm. That’s good. I look forward to the town being a little safer.”

  I could only agree, however reluctantly. Grafton’s work would certainly help with my efforts to improve Kiri’s health and emotional state.

  At the moment, the only defense standing between the townsfolk and the dangers of the frontier was the Winter fae’s network of familiars. It was likely that she saw herself as the only one who could spare the town her Court’s wrath, if Winter’s minions discovered her. As such, she felt responsible to keep a constant eye on things. How much this strained her, I didn’t know, but having such a large number of familiars was… unusual, to say the least.

  I spared a glance for the fox, who was watching us interact with the elders. Once more, I resolved to soften the edges of the shattered peace between us.

  For Kiri’s sake.

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