Young Writers Society

James nodded in agreement at first, but then his eyes shot open. Did she want to take him back to the cabin? He began to shake is head back and forth in what felt like a very quick manner but was in reality, quite slow.

"Wait, wait, no, no," he said. "You should go back to your home or your friends or wh-wherever you came from. You don't want to -" he lowered his voice "-you don't want to meet... my home. Bad idea."

She gave a frustrated sigh and flicked him between the eyes, "I don't know where the fuck I am, dumbass, you think I have friends around here? Get up. You're going to get mauled by a bear or something if you pass-out out here." Or maybe they didn't have bears on this world?

She shook her head. That was stupid. Everywhere had bears. It was basically the only consistency between the worlds.

James flinched and turned his face away when Kate flicked him. That hurt. He clumsily waved her hand away, managing somehow not to touch her at all.

With a groan, he got to his feet. He had assumed Kate had at least some idea of where she was, but apparently she was both lost and alone with no one around to seek help from beside himself. That alone forced him to push through his drunken stupor and appear at least somewhat competent.

Oh, what he would give to be sober. This was a bad idea. Why was drinking the only way these people bonded?

"Maybe that wouldn't be so bad," he muttered, straightening up as much as he could manage. "So how am I supposed to explain why you're soaking wet? Did you jump in the river?"

She stood with him and scowled at his question. "That's none of your fucking business you glitter-snorting clothesline."

She was not explaining the complexities of fairy dust and other worlds to some sad drunk. What a fucking waste of time and effort that would be. Besides, people didn't tend to take kindly to magic in a lot of worlds, and she had no way of knowing if this was one such bigoted place.

James stared at Kate for a moment before he let out a long sigh and hung his head. She was right, of course. It wasn't his business, but he knew people back at the cabin would ask questions - if not to her face, amongst each other. And she was immediately going to be associated with him, which wouldn't help her either. Though, it was possible they would just label it as Liam finding a lost person in the woods and not think much more of it.

Rita, at least, would be less biased, for Kate's sake.

"Okay," he said, resigned. He began to turn towards the cabin, but he'd only take a few steps before he heard footsteps running toward them in the wood. A figure emerged from the trees.

It was Bella.

"Liam!" she said with a relieved smile. "Gods, you're an idiot-oh."

Bella came to a halt and stared at Kate, her face blank, before her eyes squinted in confusion.

"...Who are you?"

Kate sized up the chick for a long moment before answering.

"Kate."

She did not elaborate.

Bella looked from James to Kate with a look of confusion before walking up to James and putting an arm under his to help keep him steady. He accepted the help, but on the inside, he was writhing. It had been too many months of the same old thing. He despised what was becoming the norm, what he'd made of himself. A pitiful, sad drunk who went from well-liked to well-hated by the gang of thieves he'd been dragged into by coercion.

Bella looked up at Kate.

"Well, if you're lost, you can come back with us. We can get you some dry clothes and a drink or two if you want. We can figure the rest out in the morning. How's that sound?"

"Fine by me," she grumbled in a way that implied that she'd really rather not get this kind of help from randos in the woods, but she went with them anyway.

She pushed her glasses up her nose and shoved her hands in her pockets. She couldn't feel cold as well as most people, but she was pretty sure it was freezing out here. She felt something in her pocket and furrowed her brow. It was smooth, round with worn edges like a very short cylinder.

She pulled it out.

Really, Lully?

She flipped open the compass. The arrow now pointed in one direction, resolute as an old oak tree as it faced what she presumed was North.

It was weird not to watch it spin around and around like a top.

Bella helped James as they walked back towards the cabin. It was a much slower journey back than when James had been running headlong into the forest earlier. He focused on taking balanced and steady steps instead of the stranger following them and tried not to think about what Rita would say to him later after Kate was situated and asleep. If Kate couldn't earn her way here and was going to go back home, someone had to pay her dues for her, and he knew it would be him. Bella knew it would be him when she suggested taking Kate back. He supposed he deserved it. He was already trying to pay penance for Ron's death. This would just be another lash added onto the ones he'd already received - literal and figurative.

When the cabin came back into view it was the same familiar picture: the large, three-story cabin sat on a slight incline, making the "basement" half underground while the second story stuck out with a balcony in the back. The windows on the lower floor were all lit with a warm yellow-orange glow and shadows of people inside could be seen clearly from afar in the stark contrast of the night.

James felt sick again, but he knew it was from nerves and not the drinking. The drinking was likely making it worse, though.

When they made it to the front porch, Hoss (of all people, it had to be Hoss) was keeping post by the door. He stood tall, with his freckled arms crossed and his red bun a small ball atop his head. James always thought he would've looked better if he chopped the bun off, but he would never say that to Hoss's face, and it didn't matter.

Bella let go of James at the top of the steps. Hoss glared down at him, but his hateful gaze drifted to Kate behind him.

"Who's this?" he asked, clearly skeptical.

"A lost traveler," Bella answered. "She just needs a place for the night."

James knew he was expected to say something. Again, he desperately wished to be sober.

"Her name's Kate," he said. "I'll take her to Rita so Rita knows."

Hoss narrowed his eyes at James before looking to Bella. Bella gave him a look before heading inside. James stood by the door, waiting for Kate to follow up with him, despite the very obvious tension radiating between him and Hoss as Hoss continued to glare at him.

Kate sized up the guy at the door when they got there. The way to the cabin had been dull, filled with boring thoughts about barely anything and scattered pieces of a plan. She could figure out what her plan was when she was executing it, she decided. For now, this guy had a problem with the drunk she'd stumbled across.

She resisted the urge to bear her fangs or make a comment about his man bun - he was not the kind of guy who could pull off a man bun - but only because she didn't want to play any cards this early in the game. She'd wait until the others revealed the ones they thought she already knew about.

Besides, Lully was always getting after her for being 'too impulsive' or whatever.

Kate's gaze flicked over the guy one more time, though. She could beat him in a fight. It wouldn't even be that hard.

She walked in the doorway after James.

The hall was wide at the entrance. They walked in onto a straw rug that covered the entryway and then turned into a narrow hall. The cabin's wooden walls were smooth and bare, and light flooded into it from passing rooms. The middle floor was where all of the socializing happened and where everyone got together. They passed a kitchen, where a few people were cooking something fragrant with many spices. They passed a storage closet, a few closed doors, and the dining hall - where the chatter and laughter were roaring. Bella paused at the doorway, looking in, then looking back at James.

"I'll see you after you talk to Rita. I think she's out back," she said, before ducking into the chaos of the room.

James nodded and looked back at Kate before leading the way down another hall and out to the back porch. Ramona, a tall, lanky redheaded girl pushed past them just before they made it to the door.

Rita sat on a wooden chair at a small table and was looking out into the forest. She pulled a small pipe away from her lips and set in on the table as she glanced back at them with her eyebrows raised in curiosity. She looked through James, focusing on Kate.

Rita brushed a lock of hair over her shoulder and smiled in a tired sort of way.

"Find a new lost soul?"

James smiled a little. "She just needs a place to stay for-" he glanced back at Kate "-a little while."

Rita hummed. "What's your name?"

Kate looked the chick, Rita, up and down. She crossed her arms. "Kate."

What did this pretty sea-witch looking chick want with her name? Kate was there. Rita could deal with it. Kate's business wasn't her problem, no matter whose house it was. Kate would rather wander around the woods by herself until she found her way home than answer a single other question about herself.

You're so defensive.

Tallulah's teasing voice in her head wasn't helping.

Rita smiled politely and nodded her head. "Well, Kate. Feel free to make yourself comfortable. You passed the dining hall, yeah? Why don't you go help yourself to a drink or two?"

She turned her gaze to James. He knew without her saying that she wanted to talk to him alone.

Kate rolled her eyes and left the room, though she had no intention of consuming anything they had here. Really, she just wanted to get out of the presence of that lady.

She shoved her way through the doorway and wandered back to the people, which is something she would never usually do, but today was unusual. She hung around the edges of the crowd, people-watching.

Fucking people-watching.

This is what she was reduced to. Seriously.

Bella looked up to the doorway when she saw Kate walk in and made her way towards her, weaving through the tables. If Kate was still around, it was evident Rita didn't plan on kicking her out any time soon.

She smiled.

"Want a drink or something to eat?" she asked, pausing a moment before reconsidering priorities. "Or maybe a dry change of clothes?"



When Kate was gone, Rita gestured for James to join her by the table, and he pulled up the nearest chair on the porch, sitting down in a far more relaxed posture than felt natural for the amount of anxiety stirring in his stomach. Faking things just felt like muscle memory now, but it felt stupid to say his body was adapting. He slouched his shoulders forward and rested his hands in his lap, looking to Rita expectantly.

She picked up her pipe and twirled it around in her fingers absentmindedly and she began to speak.

"You find her out in the woods?"

A nod.

"Looks like she crawled out of the ocean. She tell you why she's wet like that?"

James shook his head. "No."

Rita smirked. "I like it when you're like this." She waved a hand loosely at him. "Not pretending and all."

James wasn't going to correct her. In many ways, he was still "pretending." She was the only one who knew who he really was. It felt like a disaster waiting to happen, and it probably was. The only reason she said she wasn't going to turn him in was that she thought he'd be more useful in her gang, and with all of the trouble he'd caused, he was having a very difficult time banking his safety on that promise.

But that was the problem. She knew who he was and she knew he would run if given a chance. Even when he'd gone out to vomit she sent Bella after him to make sure he didn't stray too far.

Not like he would've gotten far in that state. No, this state. He was still far more than tipsy.

"Okay, so what do you know about her?" Rita prodded. "Anything? Or is she tight-lipped?"

James took in a shallow breath.

"I didn't ask much, and she didn't seem at all interested in answering anything. It's probably better not to. Ask, I mean. Not to ask. Better not to-"

Rita held up a hand. "Got it. Fine. She can stay for a few days but you know the drill. We have a lot of mouths to feed."

James nodded. No eating. Hunger was common for him. That was fine, but he was not looking forward to what would happen when Kate finally left. Gods, he needed to figure a way out before then.

He found himself laughing quietly but quickly shut up when Rita gave him a pointed glare.

"Look. I'm sure Kate is just a girl who wants to get home, but you keep an eye on her," Rita said. "And remember you're on a short fucking leash. I'm barely keeping Hoss from ripping your throat out and gutting you. Don't test me."

James nodded emphatically.

"Good. Now go do... whatever. Give Kate your bed for the night. Shoo."

James got up and stumbled for a moment towards the door before steadying himself and walking back into the cabin.