Almost a week later...It had been a beautiful sunny afternoon when blue gray clouds began to boil in the sky. Rain was on its way. Before the storm came, Kendrick went into his orchard and garden to check the plants he'd grown over the past five years. It always brought him great pleasure to walk amongst the trees that actually towered over him. He never thought such a thing would be possible but here it was; an orchard and garden of his size to tend and use.He checked the berry bushes first, finding several ripened fruits which he ate right on the spot. As he savored the sweetly tart berries a sound tickled his ears. He paused. It was singing...ethereal yet sad sounding singing. Kendrick's head perked trying to pinpoint the sound but his nose told him more.That electrically floral scent...it was her. She was in his orchard.For the past few days, he'd caught whiffs of the little winged girl's unique scent in his forest. Her fear scent was always intertwined heavily with it. But gi

Morning...Kendrick awoke slowly, not immediately rising up. He was facing the wall with the fireplace and the rest of his home to his back.Was she still there? Did she stay or did she leave last night?Kendrick wanted to roll over and look but for some reason he dreaded it.Why?Very slowly, Kendrick rolled over, eyes tipped all the way over in their sockets as if trying to peek over a wall with a sniper on the other side. He looked to the darkened fireplace and the piled-up shirt he'd set Twillow on. He could see the fae's wings glistening atop it. He quickly put his head back down.She's still there!His mind scoffed at his optimism, "What are you so excited about? You woke up before her. That's all. Just you watch. The moment she wakes up she'll try to sneak out the door without waking you."Kendrick laid back down and stared at the wall for a bit. If she was going to leave he'd at least pretend he was asleep so she wouldn't have to endure the fright or awkwardness of leaving whi

Five years earlier...Kendrick stood very still as he watched the male human just ahead in the trees. Dressed in simple attire and black leather boots, the human was kneeling at the base of a tree picking mushrooms. Kendrick had atypically gone to the southern most edge of forest territory and had picked up the human's scent. It was close to the border of his forest and the human territory. Long ago he had deemed the forest his territory and decided the humans would reside in the area beyond. He could and sometimes did cross that boundary but for the most part if humans stayed out of his forest he felt no need to invade theirs.This human didn't look like a poacher or a slayer due to the fact he didn't have any weapons on him typical of those professions. However, poacher, slayer, or not, Kendrick didn't tolerate human trespassers in his forest. With a careful step he inched closer, kneeling down in much the same position the man was in. Unaware, the man picked another mushroom and at

Four months later...Sig's wife Leida was heading back from a long day in the market on the outer walls of Rumstead. It was a long wagon ride to and from their home in North Woods. But Leida had had a successful day in the market, selling nearly all of her confectioneries and pocketing a purse full of money. Typically she and her wizard husband would go to the market together but Sig had to remain at home to spend the day gathering the plants he needed to sell.Now bulging with pregnancy, it had become very difficult to stay on her feet for such a long time and she was definitely feeling exhausted. Sig was constantly scolding her for not slowing down and taking it easy. In fact he was trying to get her to stay home while he went to the market and sold his poultices and herbal remedies. But Leida was far too independent and stubborn to give up her trade. She was pregnant, not infirm.She traveled the roads alone, not seeing a soul as she neared the border of the North Woods. No one liv

Afternoon came and Kendrick was awoken by his hunger. He rose up, stretched, and padded over to his kitchen to figure out an afternoon meal. Twillow, meanwhile, was leaning back against the wall of the mantel near the new bookshelf, reading. She heard him get up and she watched as he moved past her shirtless, stirring the air. Her violet eyes peeked at him from over the pages of her book, not missing the gray muscular physique that sailed in front of her. An embarrassed blush lit her green cheeks when she looked a little too long. But he really didn't notice. He scratched the back of his head and turned to look at her. Her feet drew up a bit as she held the book."Oh. You um...found a good one?" he rumbled.+Twillow nodded.He returned the nod, actually sounding pleased, "Good...good. Would you like some lunch?"Again, she nodded, "That-that sounds nice."At her affirmation he began gathering ingredients from his shelves and set to work. Twillow watched him for a moment, moving such e