Faytes of the Otherworld: Fayted
An Intoxicating Scent

A few hours passed and people had begun to settle. Cassia spent most of her time off in the corner with Tam Lyn while the rest of the men played poker and Dani sat in the overstuffed chair by the fire.

Wren and Wesley went off to their respective housing around eleven, and Cassie followed shortly after. Nissa and Orin had been gone, spending time with each other elsewhere. Dani was left with the rest of the boys and the thought of going home like the others.

“What are you doing?” Evan came up behind Dani and put his hands on the back of the chair.

“Staring at the fire; dreading tomorrow. Thinking I should go back to my tent, but not wanting to really move at all.” Dani’s voice was slightly slow, but out of tiredness and not inebriation.

“I don’t want to go back either, honestly.” Evan sat down on the rug in front of the chair.

“Why’s that?” Dani hadn’t talked to him in a few days; a lot can happen in a few days.

“Anessa. It’s not a big deal though. She acted like she had turned a new leaf after the goblin attack. Like maybe we wouldn’t fight so much. But the more she thought about it, the more she nagged me about what happened and I couldn’t tell her everything. I just can’t tell her anything.” Evan shook his head as his hands fiddled in his lap.

Dani wasn’t sure what to say. She would have left her in the dust long ago, but for whatever reason, Evan hung on to her.

“And then she started asking questions about you. She found out through town gossip that I was seen with you when all of this happened. That you were the one that singlehandedly saved me and she wanted to know why we were alone together, or how you could even do what you did given the shape I was in. It’s just driving me mad. She has spent most of her time with Shannon while Pete and I have been keeping busy with chopping firewood and harvesting for the winter.” Evan lay back on the carpet, the golden flame in the fireplace illuminating his cream-colored skin. She had made it whole again.

“I don’t know what to tell you. You’re going to have to make a decision; either stay with her or move on. But it seems like it isn’t going to get any better.” Dani’s voice softened as she leaned forward with her elbows on her knees, and perched her face in her hands.

Evan was silent, but before he could say anything, something crashed behind them.

Dani leapt from her chair to find Tam Lyn, slumped down on the floor, face first. She rushed over to him, accompanied by Liam and Pete as Evan scrambled to get up off the floor.

“What happened?” Dani helped right him as he struggled to sit himself up.

“He went to sit down and missed the chair entirely.” Pete helped unfold his legs from the awkward position they were in.

“There—there’s a little something that I forgot to mention. Please don’t hate me for it. Those other two would crucify me where I stand.” Tam Lyn was obviously drunk, but not drunk enough to lie.

“What is it?” Dani brushed his ginger tresses from his face.

“I am a man of very simple pleasures, but I feed off of energies; it’s just part of who I am. Regular food is delicious, but it doesn’t completely sustain me. I have to feed energetically every so often to keep going and I obviously haven’t fed in several very long years.” Tam Lyn panted, looking a little sallow.

“Feed energetically? Like a psychic vampire?” Evan asked. Dani was surprised he knew the term.

“Something like that. I can feed one of two ways: sexually or through blood. So, unless anyone is willing to take one for the team, so to speak, I am going to need blood.” Tam Lyn leaned his head on Dani, nuzzling her neck. She put her palm to his face to stop him.

“What about the animal blood from the hunts? I know there has to be some down at the butcher’s.” Pete suggested.

“It has to be live blood, with the life force still in it; that’s what sustains me.” Tam Lyn tried to stand but didn’t get very far.

“Anyone willing to donate?” Dani looked around the room.

Liam didn’t look too keen on anyone feeding off of him; it seemed like he would consider it a major violation. Pete just shook his head, obviously a little scared.

“How would I explain a bite wound to Anessa?” Evan posed a good question.

“Eh, and I have Shannon. That just wouldn’t go well.” Pete chimed in.

“So, that leaves me then.” Dani nodded her head, but her anxiety showed on her face.

“Seriously?” Tam Lyn’s eyes lit up. Maybe he could get it both ways.

“Yeah, but don’t get all pervy about it.” Dani helped him up and propped him in a chair over by the kitchen.

The others followed and waited patiently, watching.

“Do we need an audience?” Tam Lyn arched a brow.

Dani shot back, “Are you going to behave?”

“Probably not.” Tam Lyn looked disappointed. “Here, you sit in the chair and try to get comfortable.” He sniffed the air around Dani as she replaced him in the chair; she smelled clean and slightly musky, like myrrh and sandalwood. He understood Syris’ uncontrollable lust for her.

“There are several places that I can bite: neck, wrist or thigh. Wrist hurts the most because the skin can be prone to tearing, the neck hurts less although it is not as easy to hide the bite marks, but the thigh is the least painful of all and most easily concealable.” Tam Lyn waited for her choice.

Dani healed quickly regardless, but she didn’t really want to explain puncture marks in her flesh to anyone that didn’t need to know. The thigh was the least suspicious, but undoubtedly painful; Dani had had enough of that today. But she couldn’t let Tam Lyn starve.

“The thigh,” Dani responded and thought she saw Evan and Liam flinch out of the corner of her eye.

“I knew you’d come around.” Tam Lyn grinned, “Do you need help with your trousers?”

“Sod off or I’ll let you starve.” Dani pushed at Tam Lyn’s face with her bare foot while she tugged the boot off the other. When she had finally freed her feet, she slipped off her trousers and tossed them aside, feeling slightly naked amidst the male stares.

“What? They’re just knickers. This is strictly business.” Dani tried to see the humor in it as she sat back down.

“You smell delightful by the way.” Tam Lyn chuckled, scooting himself between Dani’s legs.

She hadn’t thought about how sexual the whole thing would look. Tam Lyn propped her leg over his shoulder and found the right point on her femoral artery where he would puncture it and drink after so long.

Dani drew a sharp breath as Tam Lyn grazed his teeth against her soft flesh before sinking his canines in.

She squealed as the sharp cuspids broke the skin and the surge of blood could be felt leaving her.

Tam Lyn drank long and deep, totally immersing himself in the experience.

Dani watched him steadily as the other men averted their eyes, not quite sure what about the situation was making them so uncomfortable.

After a few minutes Dani was starting to get dizzy and she could feel that Tam Lyn was sucking harder at the punctures in her thigh.

“That’s enough, Tam.” Dani gently laid her hand on his shoulder but he grunted and shrugged her off, digging his nails deeper into her thigh.

“Tam Lyn, I said enough!” She insisted, trying to pull his head away from her leg.

Tam Lyn snarled at her and jerked her leg back as he stood, still latched onto her thigh with his teeth. Dani screeched as she dangled upside down; Tam Lyn’s free hand that wasn’t holding her knee sought out her midsection for security.

The other men were alerted by her scream and jumped to her rescue. Pete came around the table, but before he could get to Dani, Tam Lyn slung it sideways with his foot. It jarred Pete and he toppled through the bedroom curtain.

Liam grabbed his gun and pointed it at Tam Lyn, “Drop her.” His voice was cold.

Evan was waiting, calculating the elf’s moves. He wasn’t sure why he was behaving this way. Was he not on their side?

“It’s her scent. There’s something about the way she smells to other fae. He isn’t in his right mind right now, but I don’t know what else to do.” Liam held the gun steady.

“We have to get him to let go of her; if he doesn’t, he’ll drain her dry.” Evan’s head darted about as he watched Tam Lyn wrap himself around Dani.

“Then do something!” Liam was panicking; the hand that held the gun began to shake.

Pete had already gotten up but stayed back a ways from the two fae.

“I’m taking him down.” Evan hissed.

He sprinted over to the box that held the testing objects and extracted the iron knife. Evan thrust himself over the crooked table and slid right to Tam Lyn. Quick as a flash, Evan cut the fae with it across his cheek and he released Dani, howling as he went.

She crumpled to the ground and before Tam Lyn could regain his thirst, Evan tackled him into the chair. It splintered on impact as he and the elf struggled together, Tam Lyn threatening to take Evan out with his otherworldly strength.

“Enough!” Dani growled, her voice deep and commanding. Evan and Tam Lyn stopped mid-grapple, their chests heaving as they tried to catch their breath. Tam Lyn had calmed down, but his eyes were still a bit feral.

“Control yourself, Tam!” She screeched, covering the wound on her leg. The holes were a bit deeper than expected and blood poured down her naked thigh.

“I’m—I’m sorry, Dani. Your scent just drove me mad.” Tam Lyn apologized, trying to regain his composure.

“That seems to be an ongoing problem.” Liam was now knelt at Dani’s side, assessing the damage to her leg. She was reluctant to remove her hand at first, but Liam coaxed it away. The blood streamed down her thigh in thick sticky trails, pooling on the floor at her feet.

“I heal fast.” She insisted, but Liam could tell that she’d bleed out before she ever fully healed.

“Come on now, you need to elevate your leg.” Liam scooped Dani up and instructed Pete to lay out some towels on his bed. He carried her over to it and set her down carefully.

“I need pillows from the sofa, please.” Liam pointed at Evan and Tam Lyn, who rushed to fulfill his order.

They propped Dani’s leg up as she gripped her wounded thigh once more.

“Gauze, warm water, and some of that whiskey.” Liam removed her hand again to get a better look in the brighter lighting of the kerosene lamp.

The holes were no longer puncture wounds, but elongated gashes caused by the tugging Tam Lyn had done at her flesh when he tried to keep his grip. The gashes were so deep that the likelihood of her needing stitches was rather high.

The men brought the supplies to Liam as he set to work cleaning away the excess blood and applied pressure to the area.

“She’s going to need stitches,” Liam spoke in a hushed tone as Evan stood close, assessing the damage himself.

“We can go wake somebody up at the doctor’s cabin,” Pete suggested, fluffing the pillow under Dani’s head. She smiled weakly at him, her face beginning to drain of color as the blood still flowed freely down onto the towels underneath her.

“No time.” Liam shook his head, applying more pressure.

“I know how to stitch.” Evan chimed in, “My step-father was in the army; a medic.”

Liam signaled for Evan to keep pressure on her leg while he went and got a first aid kit.

He returned, and Evan set to work suturing Dani up. In a much shorter time than expected, he had finished his stitching and began cleaning the dried blood that had caked around the entry points.

“Get her something to eat or drink; something with protein.” Evan barked, noticing that Dani was swaying; she had lost a lot of blood.

Liam returned with some jerky and Evan tore it into smaller pieces, placing a few in Dani’s mouth.

“Feel better?” His dark eyes were shiny in the lamp light.

“Mm,” Dani grunted, nodding her head as she ate a few more pieces of the deer meat. The color was starting to return to her cheeks.

“Dani, I’m so sorry.” Tam Lyn was crouched down by the bed, his head bowed on the sheets.

“We now know that we can’t do that; it’s a death sentence for me. We’re going to have to find someone else who is willing.” Dani began to swing her legs off the side of the bed, but they were wobbly like a young foal’s.

“Easy there, Dani. You just had severe damage done to your femoral artery. You may heal fast, but that likely would have killed a regular mortal.” Evan rushed to help her stand. Dani tried to fend him off, but he wouldn’t let her do it on her own. She just wasn’t strong enough yet. He sat her down and handed her the trousers that she had been wearing.

“She’s going to want to go home, though. I know you’re going to insist that she stay, but I think it’s better that she distance herself from Tam Lyn for right now.” Evan stood up for himself for once. Liam always ordered him around like a child, even though there wasn’t much of a difference in their age. The Hedgerow was his brain-child after all, but he didn’t need to be so pushy with Evan in particular.

“You’re right. She’s too tempting to him right now. He can obviously stay here with me until we can make him look more human and set up a tent for him. Just get her home safely, ok?” Liam clapped Evan on the shoulder.

“Of course.” He nodded as he helped Dani up from the bed.

Dani didn’t say a word to anyone as she prepared to leave, sans a sidelong glance at Tam Lyn to let him know that she harbored no ill will towards him.

(*)

“Careful.” Evan dipped down to steady Dani as she lost her footing in the naked Earth. Her bare feet shuffled through the dirt as she groggily made her way back to her tent with the aid of her friend.

“I’ve got this.” She paused in her step and straightened herself, brushing Evan off of her. She took three steps forward before her legs gave out and he swooped in to catch her.

“What did I say? Be careful.” Evan’s face was mere centimeters from hers and she caught a whiff of that scent again, but it wasn’t Amber like she thought. Her senses were heightened now, more sensitive than before. Dani caught the scent of honeyed mead, diminishing adrenalin, and that familiar earthy smell she had gotten off of Tam Lyn and a few others: the Fae scent. Maybe it was Myrrh she smelled. It made her really wonder what she smelled like to everyone.

“What do I smell like?” Dani’s voice was low, her face still so close to Evan’s.

“I don’t think I can smell you like the others do.” Evan carefully raised her to a standing position.

“You can. I didn’t think I could either, but Tam Lyn showed me that I could. You just have to focus.” The two had made it to the platform in front of the giant Oak.

“Right now?” Evan wasn’t sure she could handle another fae going crazy over her, even if he was just a Halfling.

“Please? You’re the only one that I can ask. It would be weird to ask Nissa.” Dani stumbled away from Evan and leaned against the platform.

“Fine. If it will make you happy, I’ll do it.” Evan propped her up and stood in front of her, waiting for some sort of direction.

“Just, take a whiff.” Dani giggled. She was hardly drunk at this point but felt rather silly after all the blood loss.

Evan casually leaned closer and sniffed the air. After a second he just shrugged.

“I smell nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Try again. Really catch my scent. I want to know what it is I smell like that drives these Unseelie mad with lustful rage.” Dani gritted her teeth and threw her head back.

“O—ok.” Evan took a deep breath and slowly stepped closer. His approach was smooth as he took another breath and reached out to Dani, cupping the side of her face as he pulled her to him. Evan ran his thumb softly over her jaw as he leaned her head to the side and placed his nose up against her neck.

The brush of his lips against her flesh made her skin prickle as he inhaled.

Dani’s essence struck him like lightning. There were so many smells that he tried to identify individually: fresh rain, wildflowers, mossy Earth, heady notes of lush vetivert and sweet drops of frangipani. As a whole, her scent could only be described as bewitching.

Evan had to fight the urge that rose up inside him, the urge to plant his lips along the soft nooks of Dani’s collarbone.

“Well?” Her voice startled him and he quickly pulled back from the warmth radiating off of her skin.

“I can see why it drives them mad.” Evan’s eyes roamed Dani’s body. The closer he got to her, the more attractive he realized she was with her wild raven locks, the pale purple of her eyes, and the way she held herself; confident even though she was struggling to keep it together.

“That bad, huh?” Dani straightened herself up and took a few steps.

“Bad isn’t the word I would use.” He responded, wrapping his arm around her waist to steady her.

“I need sleep.” She groggily rubbed her face and Evan was thankful for the subject change. He led her over to her tent and moved the flap to let her in.

“No Nissa.” Dani got down on all fours and crawled inside.

“I’m sure she’s still out with Orin. If I see her again I will let her know you’re home safe.” Evan gave her half a smile.

“Thank you.” The smile Dani returned was weak at best. The past few days had taken her down a few pegs and she was ready to sleep in her own bed, even if it was a woven mat on a dirt floor.

“Of course. Get you some sleep; tomorrow is a big day.” Evan smirked.

Dani groaned and dropped the flap to the tent. Evan heard her rustling about as she curled up in her makeshift bed. Soon, he could make out soft snoring as she finally succumbed to sleep.

“Night, Dani.” He whispered as he wandered off back to his caravan.

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