The Ranger

  Myla found the butt of the pistol and took a sharp breath in. She paused before asking, “Why not just tell me?” Those doe eyes gleamed, flashing with reflections of light like a cats in the dark. Maybe she was a werecat after all. It would explain the playfulness and the teeth. The polish girl shrugged with a coy smirk, “Because I didn't want to just ruin the mood. Guns are only sometimes sexy.” Myla let out a small surprised laugh, who flirted while letting you find a gun? And was the gun why she had come along so confidently? Or was there more to it? She slid her hand away from the gun.

  If she had been wandering lost in the woods at night and met strangers there, she would want to have a gun too. She was going to pull back but stopped herself before she did. She was flirting. And she clearly didn't mind the touch. And Kasia was cute right? She left her hand at the small of Kasia's back, which earned her a mischievous smile from the smaller woman, “Not going to rabbit over it? Not worried about what I might try to do?” She smiled back, “Maybe a little worried but… maybe I like dangerous women more.” Kasia's smile became more hungry, “Oh I can be dangerous alright.”

  Myla wanted to laugh, she looked as dangerous as one of those purse dogs the tourists carried around. But then again, she was armed and purse dogs usually weren't. She saw it when a decision flashed across Kasia's face, “One second though.” The short girl slipped away, moving with a swift and confident grace she hadn't walked into the camp with. Giving up the pretense of being human? Myla could respect that. No one was really watching them, the party was winding down. Despite the plan to end it loud and dramatic, whoever was in charge of the music had put on something more soft and intimate.

  Already people were either slipping away alone to head home, or in pairs to stay up later. She realized with a small start that Alice and Lucas were gone too. When had they left? She watched Kasia as she knelt next to her backpack. She looked around before slipping the pistol into the pack. She seemed to glide back, looking pleased with herself, “There. Now anything you feel is… all me.” She winked and Myla felt her face heat up. Maybe she was dangerous even without the gun. They spent the last few songs together like that, swaying and swirling in the dark.

  Kasia was good, good enough to help Myla keep up with her despite two left feet. But she couldn't stop thinking. A lost girl in a foreign country, doesn't speak the language and has no way to bridge the gap, far from any roads or towns, she even admitted that no one who would miss her. The answer felt obvious. But instead of going to the police, instead of tears and relief, instead of anything she thought someone should do after an ordeal like that, they were just dancing. It was surreal. Maybe she was wrong about what happened? But in case she wasn't, she kept her hands from wandering too far.

  When the last song ended they stood in silence together. After a minute she spoke softly, “Do you want a ride back to town?” Kasia flashed her a smile, “You don't have to do that. Just point me in the right direction and I'll make my way there.” There it was again, that surreal feeling. Was it a con? A way to gain sympathy? The longer she thought, the weirder it was. Myla shook her head, “Grab your pack and follow me. We'll take my truck back.” Kasia didn't argue, just grabbed her things and followed. That was weird too. Myla couldn't stop rolling it over in her head.

  The road was a couple minutes walk from the barn and Mylas' truck was waiting on the side of it. Her truck was an old thing, held together with gumption, elbow grease, and duct tape. It had two colors, one was red and the other rust, the radio could be finicky, and it didn't have AC. But it ran reliably which was the only important part. She was surprised when Kasia just tossed the pack in the bed and climbed inside, she had expected her to want to keep that with her if that was everything she owned. She didn't comment though and just started the truck up and started down the dirt road.

  She actually helped keep this gravel road clear, it went to a ranger station for the exclusion zone so it needed to be kept passable year round. She saw an odd look flicker over Kasia's face when she turned on the radio, flipping through channels until she found a music station. Soft music filled the truck cabin with only the occasional spurt of static, though that didn't seem to bother her passenger. It wasn't really a long drive but she wasn't sure what exactly to say to the odd girl. She wanted to ask a dozen questions but was almost afraid to get answers.

  Maybe she had been trafficked. Maybe she was a fugitive on the run. Probably not, she hadn't seemed worried about the idea of talking to the sheriff at least. Maybe she was just some off the grid witch on a world tour, but it hadn't sounded like it. They hit the edge of town and rumbled through the street lights, Kasia looked like she was looking everywhere at once. It wasn't much to see, a collection of old buildings they had refurbished from an out of the way gas station and motel left to rot to a proper community. If one mostly made of prefab mobile homes and quick build shops.

  She was about to say as much but Kasia spoke first, “This is your town? It looks nice.” Myla blinked and smiled a little, “Well… it's not exactly the city but it has character.” Kasia flashed her a smile, “Cities have no soul. This place looks like people care enough to make it nice though. Is that a garden?” She followed Kasia's pointing finger with her eyes before looking back at the road, “Yeah, it's a community garden. Everyone puts work into it and we grow a lot of vegetables there. It helps feed people if someone is having a hard time, but if we have enough extra we throw a little festival with it.”

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  She gave Myla a quizzical look, “Is that what tonight was?” She shook her head, “No, those of us that go to that all just chip in money for it. It's just a private party, we've been doing it for years. Not sure who started it though." The swap from the normal town to the tourist area was stark, carefully tended flower beds lined the streets in front of stores made to look like something out of a travel guide for western Europe, though it was a vague effect that didn't invoke any one place there.

  Kasia frowned at it, “Now this, this reminds me of cities. Like it was made to look at, not live in. Why's this area different?” Myla shrugged, “We get people who want to gawk at the locals and wander around the preserve looking for fae and magic animals. Except the exclusion zone, that's still off limits for the mundies. Er mundane people. This is where they can, and I quote, experience a slice of the old world. It's bullshit but it's where most of the town's money comes from. There's another fake tourist area where everything looks like it's been grown from trees and shit too.”

  Kasia snorted, “Seriously? That's stupid. What country is this supposed to even look like?” Myla grinned, “Germany. It's supposed to be authentic to the area near the Black Forest.” The smaller woman actually laughed, “Sure, and I'm a gnome, look at my lovely white beard.” She laughed too and shook her head, “Like I said, bullshit.”

  She stopped in front of the motel, “Here we are, motel nowhere. They have translation software that'll let you check into a room without a fuss, so you won't need a translator there. Let's trade numbers, you can let me know what room you're in and I can make sure the sheriff knows to stop by when I get up.” She grew still and Myla frowned after a moment, “Kasia?” The woman took a breath in like she was bracing herself and smiled, “I… don't have a phone.” Myla stared. That was the last straw

  “You don't have a phone. Let me guess, you don't have money either right? Were you going to get out here and let me drive off before finding a place to lay out that sleeping bag too?” Kasia flushed lightly, “I… well.. yeah. I guess I was.” Myla sighed and put the car back into drive, “Look, I've been trying real hard not to ask you anything too sensitive here, but you're obviously in some kinda trouble and need help. I don't know if someone is chasing you or if it's just a run of bad luck or what, but I'm not gonna leave you to fend for yourself. I've got a couch you can sleep on, it's not great but it's better than the ground. You can borrow my shower too.”

  The Vampire

  Kasia watched the Leshy child as she made her declarations and didn't really know what to say. The last person that just seized control of helping her like this was… Shizun Luo. She felt a pang of loneliness, she missed him. But he was long dead now, like so many others she knew. That made her feel both tired and very old at once. They drove in silence for a while before she finally found her voice again. It was time to offer a bit more trust.

  “I… I'm not being chased or anything. No one's looking for me.” Myla glanced at her but let the silence stand. So she offered up more, “It's… an odd story to tell and I don't know how much you'll believe. But I'm not in actual danger, I'm just… adrift. And I… don't want to ask for help because you don't know me.” Myla blinked, “What?” Kasia shrugged, pulling hair free of her braid and playing with it nervously.

  “We met tonight. We danced, we drank, we flirted, it was fun. You were kind. But you owe me nothing. You don't need to help me, I can find my own way I promise. So you can just let me out wherever, it's fine. I'll meet the sheriff when I wake up, I don't have anywhere else to start anyway so might as well start there right? It's alright, really.”

  Myla had been driving faster than before, so Kasia assumed she was agitated, but now she slowed and stopped. Kasia reached for the door but a warm hand touched her arm, “Look, Katarzyna. Relax.” She almost pronounced it right. So she met Myla's eye again and listened, but she was on edge. Because she didn't deserve it and the girl didn't get that yet. Myla gave her a steady smile, “You're right, we don't know each other. Not yet. But that doesn't mean I can't help you right?” Kasia found herself dismantling her braid and stopped.

  Myla drummed her fingers on the wheel before continuing, “I ran away from home when I was a stupid kid. My mentor found me living like shit and knife fighting over petty change. They found this dirty teen rebel living on the street and helped her despite herself, without asking for a thing in return. I think they saved my life really. I figure the least I can do is pass it on when I find someone else that needs it. If you really want to get out, then I won't stop you. But I think a shower, hot meal, and roof over your head at night sounds a lot better than a sleeping bag on the ground outside. Don't you?”

  Kasia kept her face blank, she was serious. Not even a flicker of deception in her face. Could she say no? Should she say yes? She didn't even know she was inviting a predator into her home right now. Her hunger growled for her to accept, this is what the entire night had been leading up to and this trusting fool was perfect prey. Hell, she had even offered her a hot meal! Generous indeed eh? There was no way this young changeling was stronger than her, she could take everything she wanted and blow out of town before anyone knew what happened.

  No. No she couldn't do that, Gregory she wasn't able to control, she couldn't fight the hunger there she had been starving. Literally. Doing that to Myla would just be out and out murder by her own will. By the time she trusted her voice to be free of hunger, Myla had already mistaken her silence as acceptance and started driving again. The mobile home was much like the rest, just set far back on the edge of town close to the forest. She clearly kept good care of it though, the paint looked well maintained and there was a covered parking spot with a clear dirt drive leading to it from the road. It was blue. Cute.

  The truck stopped and they sat in silence. Eventually Myla started to get out, “You can come inside when you're-” Kasia caught her arm, “Wait I… I can't stay here. Not… not without telling you… you're not safe with me Myla.” The bigger woman gave her an odd look, “Uh… uhuh. You know you're like, a twig right? I could break you over my knee.” She took a breath and held onto her arm, “Yeah? Then get out of the car.” The changeling snorted and looked amused, then tried to pull her arm free.

  Then tried again, harder. She could smell fear slowly building in Myla, Kasia wasn't even putting any effort into her grip. She actually grabbed her arm and tried to twist it off, but couldn't even make her budge an inch. Myla finally stopped and swallowed past what must have been a dry lump in her throat, “O-Okay. Point made.” Kasia gently let go, “Sorry. No one ever believes me when I say I'm strong until I show them what I can do. And even though everyone has heard of us, my kind have always been kinda rare?”

  She shrugged, “I was told that's still true, but I don't know if it is or not really, it's just what I was told. Hell, it's not even all that outlandish now that I've started really thinking about it, I'm in a fae tourist town full of changelings, why would I be this worried about just saying…” She hesitated and Myla breathed out as she suddenly leaned forward to Kasia's surprise, “Holy shit you're a vampire! How didn't I figure it out before, late at night, unnatural grace, acted like you were always safe even among strangers, pale skin, looks human but isn’t- Your fangs aren't even actually hidden!” Kasia blinked, “Wait my fangs are out?” She checked in the passenger side view mirror, “Damn it, are they stuck?”