Page 21 of Pixie Problems

I made it halfway to Rain when a black streak darted right in front of me, so close I swore I felt feathers on my nose. "Jack!" it cawed.

Yep, I jumped. "Damn it, Jack!"

"Jack!" he said again. "Jack, Jack!" The damned bird circled back, and then did the last thing I would've expected. He landed on my shoulder. "Rain!"

"I'm working on it," I assured him.

"Rain!" he insisted, taking off just to fly back towards her.

Even in the darkness, her bright green coat stood out. Since I'd never seen it before, it had to be new. Probably one of the many presents she'd gotten for Christmas. The leggings weren't ones I'd seen before either, but we typically wore uniforms, so they weren't surprising.

Lifting a puffy green arm, Rain waited until Jack landed on it. Then she moved the crow to her shoulder as if it was habitual. I was almost close enough to talk to her. Just a few more hop-jogs, and I'd be there.

"Hey! What are you doing out here?" I called.

"Hey, Keir," she said when I was finally close enough. "I haven't seen you in a few."

"I've been lazy," I assured her. "And you? Have a good Christmas with your soon-to-be dads?"

"Real dads now," she beamed. "The adoption was made official today."

"It was?" That was fast.

She just shrugged like she was trying to play it off, but her smile gave her away. "Probably magic."

Ok, there was that. Bracken wasn't exactly a weak man, and if he wanted something that much, he'd make it happen. For all I knew, Ivy Rhodes had been involved too. That woman was terrifying with her abilities - in all things.

But what I said was, "Congratulations!" And I really did mean it.

"I just, um..." Her eyes dropped to the snow between us. "Um..." She laughed once, the sound almost nervous. "I just... haven't gotten to really talk to you since the thing."

"The fight."

"Yeah, that. And the whole Morrigan thing," she said. "I kinda thought I was going to get expelled."

"Yeah, you said. But was it worth it?"

"Ended up that way," she assured me. "It's just, um, you're ok, right? Nothing bad? No punishment for helping me?"

"None," I assured her. "I also got a very amazing tutoring position. Bracken asked me to help train one of his star pupils. New kid, seems to be picking things up quickly, and has a ton of potential. Maybe you've seen her around? She has this crow that follows her everywhere."

"Me?"

"Is there another girl with a crow I missed?" I grinned, because that was the closest I could get to sarcasm.

Lying was out. Saying words that were untrue was torture. Snark, on the other hand, I could use. Growing up around humans, I'd learned to accept that how things were done in my home was not necessarily true for the rest of the world. Little things, like people thanking me, or big things, like making deals. Humans saw it all differently, and since we were living in their world, we needed to play by their rules.

Which put me in the perfect position to help Rain figure out the fae she was surrounded by. Then again, now that she had Bracken as a father, she wouldn't need my help as much. Since he was with Liam, Bracken had clearly come to terms with humans and their strange habits. The problem was I didn't want her to turn to him.

I wanted her to talk tome. I wanted her to lean on me. I wanted her to befriend me, enjoy being around me, and maybe even kiss me again. I alsowouldn't push. I respected this girl enough to have patience, because right now, she had to be overwhelmed.

"So," I said, filling in the pause that was starting to stretch on, "since Bracken bailed, you wanna sit? There's a bench over here." I gestured to the one Bracken often used when making us track his cat.

"Sure," she agreed, letting me guide her that way.

Which was when Jack took off. He didn't even offer a caw first. The bird just exploded in a rush of frozen air and black wings, disappearing into the sky. For a moment I paused, watching the direction he'd flown.

"And he's gone," I said, trying to make a joke of it.