“The massacre of the first town didn’t wake us up to the danger of the Tears. No one really believed that a force for good had twisted so terribly. But after two more attacks and numerous cases of dried up wells, ruined crops, and stolen children, we were forced to admit the truth. No longer were the Tears our allies. And so we raised arms against our long time friends.” --From “Tears and Flames, a History”

“So what’s your story?” Kuon asked from behind Tanya. He hung upside down on Tanya’s broom, enjoying the wind in his face.

Tanya looked at him. What a weird unicorn. Some of the thought must have shown on her face, because he wrinkled his chiseled nose at her. She ignored the face and answered his question.

“I don’t have much of a history besides visiting the Howling Sisters for direction and getting kicked out of Dark Market.”

“Really? How old are you?”

“Almost three days old.”

Kuon grabbed the broom and sat up.

“What?!”

“What?”

“You’re...a baby Tear bullied me?”

Annoyance twinged on Tanya's face, “Tears are born as adults.”

That didn’t soothe Kuon, and he mumbled something under his breath.

“How old are you?” Tanya asked. Maybe he was a 'baby' too.

A pained look on his face, he said, “I turn ninety-nine on the autumn equinox.”

A tinkle like laugh escaped Tanya. “If I’m a baby, you’re an old man!”

“Unicorns age really slowly.”

“Great. A teenage unicorn.”

“Hey! I left teenagehood behind in my seventies!”

Tanya laughed again. She’d warmed up fast to Kuon, but he was a character, easy to like, even if he was of a suspicious character.

Kuon spent the next hour telling stories of his mischievous youth. The only topics he avoided were what had led to his excommunication from his people and how he ended up owing the Evorys so much money.

The Evory clan lived in Goldburrow Hills, which was notorious for its shadiness, even more so than Dark Market. It was also a good distance away. Tanya could have made the trip without stops, being a more ethereal type of fey, but Kuon needed amenities.

As it was nearing midday, Kuon’s stomach growled.

“I’m hungry,” he said, a bit pathetically.

Tanya pulled the broom to a stop and landed on the forest floor. She coaxed an alder tree into growing an apple, a cluster of grapes, and rosy orange. It was a complicated trickery. Tanya plucked the fruit and handed it to Kuon.

“Thanks,” he said. He sliced the apple with a small knife he produced from one of his pockets, and offered some to Tanya.

Tanya accepted a single single slice, a few grapes and a sliver of the orange. Each tasted complex, a little sweeter, more tart then the mundane variety.

When Kuon was done, Tanya stopped by a stream and made a cup out of a leaf. But Kuon ignored the proffered cup and turned back into his horse form and jumped in the water, splashing around and drinking some. Tanya rolled her eye at the frivoulous display and decided to have a drink herself, further upstream from where Kuon played.

When he reverted back to human form, his long hair glistened with beads of water. He shook out a few of the droplets and then said, “Let’s continue. Thank you.”

They rode on until after sunset.

“Let’s stop for the night,” Kuon said, “I know you don’t need it, but I’d like a hot meal and a real bed.”

Tanya thought. She had about twenty-seven days before the corruption got her too.

“I’d rather not,” she shook her head, “I can set a spell so you can sleep comfortably as we travel.”

“There’s a village not far from here that has a good inn. Can we at least stop there for dinner?”

As compromises are an important part of every fuctional relationship, Tanya acquiesced. They landed on the outskirts of the village. Kuon said the name of the town was Flossier, after the famous wood carver who’d started his life there.

“You’ll need a disguise,” Kuon said.

Tanya frowned, “I hadn’t thought to do that. I was just going to wait for you here.”

“It’s good food, and,” Kuon smiled, “good company.”

“Oh, all right.” Tanya had discovered that though she didn't need to eat, she quite enjoyed it.

“Do you mind if I?” Kuon waved his hands. He was asking permission to cast something on her.

“Sure. You know the local fashion better than I."

When Kuon was done, his lavender hair was a muted blonde and the length bundled under a cap. His features were handsome, but not stunning. Tanya’s dress smoothed out, no longer velvety and petal like. It’s color shifted from a rich purple to a more everyday blue, and the style of the gown went from ornate to simple. Tanya’s green tinged skin and unusual features grew more human. Tanya wished for a mirror to see the transformation Kuon wrought.

They walked to the inn, which was quite busy, the laughter within heard all the way down the street. Kuon pushed the door open and Tanya breathed in. Hearty smells of spices, meat, and roasted vegetables, a hint of booze and tinge of sweat assailed her.

Kuon waved to an older human woman and exchanged pleasantries with her, and introduced Tanya as his cousin before ordering.

“What would you like?” Kuon turned to Tanya.

“You can choose.”

“Then we’ll have some of the fish and bowl of the potato gratin as well.” He gave the woman a handful of coins and thanked her.

Kuon guided Tanya to an empty table and the two sat down. Tanya glanced about at the humans, curious. Jolly inebriated faces, most of these humans were muscular and well taken care of. Even though Flossier was small, it prospered. The humans seemed so happy, it made Tanya sad to know that if they knew her for what she was, all that happiness would disappear.

The human woman brought over several steaming dishes.

“Mmmm,” Kuon said, breathing in the steam, “They really do make the best calzones here. Have a bite.”

Kuon gave Tanya a cheeky grin and held his fork over the table, a delicious morsel on it. His eyes issued a challenge. Tanya leaned over and ate the bite. Rich, melted cheese and spices, the crispness of freshly cooked dough.

“Whoa."

"Right?"

The fish and gratin were just as delicious, and Tanya portioned some out onto Kuon’s plate. She wasn't as...flirtatious as Kuon. They ate their meal quietly until a loud clang made them pause and look for the disturbance. A drunken patron yelled, “No, I won’t leave!”

The man trying to escort him out of the inn reached for his arm, and the drunk batted him away. The man fell back a few feet, hitting a table with a ‘ooff.’

Kuon darted over to the drunkard and said something into his ear before he could smack him away too. The man sagged slightly, ready-to-fight posture gone, and let Kuon lead him out of the inn.

Kuon went over to the man that had been thrown into the table and asked if he was okay.

“I’m fine, thank you,” the man rubbed his side.

“That was nice of you,” Tanya said when Kuon sat back down, “I wouldn’t have expected you to interfere.”

Kuon shrugged, “I may steal from humans occasionally, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help them out occasionally too. Besides, I like this place and the innkeepers.”

The human women came over and thanked Kuon for help, and gave them two slices of pie on the house.

The pie was even better than the other food, in Tanya’s opinion. She decided she liked the human’s desserts a lot, maybe even more than the savory foods.

When they left the inn, Tanya paused at the entryway.

Humans could be kind and also rough.

A wish for happiness and prosperity for the nice humans that lived in Flossier crossed Tanya’s heart.

She took that wish and made it a reality with a simple spell.

It had been a long time since a Tear had done any good anywhere, and Tanya was fiercely glad that she had.