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“You can stay here,” she blurted. For a moment, she sounded nervous about him leaving. He immediately discarded that thought—it was too ridiculous. “Just while you recover. You can stay warm, and you can use my tub to wash up.”

He froze with his hand on the doorknob. She really wanted him to stay? Even when she was still clearly scared of him? This human must have lost her mind. He had promised he wouldn’t hurt her, but still, did this woman have no survival instinct? Had he not shown her how threatening he could be? He hoped she didn’t make it a habit to let dangerous beings into her home. Hopefully this was her first and last time doing something so reckless.

The hair at the back of his head rose from the image of her stumbling into some other creature instead—someone with a temperament like the gray demon who had attacked him. Something tugged at his chest, a need to approach her and wrap his arms around her small form.

His face scrunched into a deep frown, confused by the wild emotions and thoughts quickly passing through him.

“Well, the bath might be a little small for you.” She continued, a nervous, quiet laugh leaving her. “But there’s a shower in the main bathroom.”

He studied her, confused. She was still fidgeting a bit, but mostly seemed sure of her proposal—definitely more determined than during her previous invitation to come inside her house.

Considering how quickly his body was healing, he might only need one day to recover his magic. One day should be fine. He could behave for a day.

And maybe… maybe experiencing this type of interaction would be good for him. Like an exercise in socialization, and a chance at learning more about another species.

“Okay,” he gave in. “I’ll stay.”

CHAPTER 3

Understanding Krampus

NAOMI

She must have lost her mind, there was no other explanation.

“This bottle is the soap you should use,” Naomi told the demon as she showed them how to work the shower. “Make sure you scrub all the dry blood off.”

She left them to do their thing and waited outside of the bathroom. The entire conversation in its mundanity had felt entirely too surreal, plus the fact that she had asked a demon to stay in her house was still a shock for Naomi.

Strangely, there was something about the demon that assured Naomi she was safe with them, despite their terrifying form and the great strength they possessed even with injuries. They hadn’t talked much, but Naomi truly believed she had the wild luck of finding a truthful monster. And with the fear settling in the background, her interest had come forward.

She became more curious about krampuses in general, and wanted to know more about this krampus specifically. The demon was a big question mark that she wanted to uncover. Everything about them seemed mysterious and intriguing, and she had never been good at resisting her curiosity. Apparently, not even a clearly deadly-looking monster could stop her interest. On the contrary, all their beastly traits made them even more fascinating.

Naomi had never believed in magic but there was no denying it now. She wasn’t sure she was processing the information properly, to be honest. Naomi wondered if she’d have a breakdown about the whole situation in a few days, when everything would have passed and her brain caught up with the facts.

In addition to their demonic nature, there was the curious fact that the krampus had fought with one of their own—almost to the point of death—and the mystery of them not having a name. Naomi couldn’t help getting stuck on that last point, specifically. How could they not have a name? Everyone had one.

She jumped when the bathroom door opened, so focused on her thoughts that she hadn’t even heard the water stop. She jerked to look at them. The demon stood in the middle of the entryway, looking like an overgrown puppy that had spent too much time in the rain, and Naomi had to hold back her laughter at the sight of them standing there so stiffly, fully soaked.

“You should dry yourself,” she said.

“I don’t have my magic yet.”

Their magic could dry them? Interesting… what else could their magic do?

“No need for magic.”

She grinned and slipped into the bathroom, then rummaged through drawer and threw them a towel.

“To start, rub this on your fur. It’ll take away some of the water.”

Naomi made it a point to look away while they dried themselves. Even though she hadn’t seen any genitals, probably all covered by the fur, the krampus was still technically naked by human standards and it felt weird to stare at them. Sure, they had already been naked before, but when they were wet it seemed more intimate, vulnerable.

She took out the hair dryer and waited for them, then showed them the buttons and explained to them how to use it.

“I’ll wait downstairs,” she told them, handing them the device.

Restless, she went to the kitchen, distracting herself by making a meal. Her stomach began growling as she began cooking, as if only now noticing that she hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday’s lunch.