Chapter 13 - stars against a dark sky

Declan had managed to place Faun without any hitches on the bed but his leg had followed, Faun's tail was still tightly wrapped around his leg.

Declan cursed juicily, he knew he should have stuck to his no pet policy.

Gingerly, he reached out to pry Faun's tail from his leg, managing to accomplish this without rousing him.

Declan heaved a sigh of relief and made his way out of his room, it was well past midnight but Declan didn't feel particularly sleepy so he decided to step out for some air instead.

He stopped briefly at his room to grab a jacket, remembering randomly that Faun still hadn't returned his overcoat.

He stepped out through the backdoor, walking into the woods. It was pitch black out because there wasn't any moon over head.

Twinkling stars were scattered on the dark blue blanket above the forest. It probably wasn't that dark but the trees made it seem so.

Any random person wouldn't have been able to see their hands in front of them but Declan had no issues navigating his way.

His destination was a little open space some distance away from his cottage, there was a fallen log and a couple smooth rocks that invited one to sit.

The space was covered in grasses and the occasional shrubbery; in spring, bluebells would cover the entire space but they were not in bloom now.

Declan got comfortable on the log, just staring into the night.

It had just been a couple days since Faun showed up but it felt like he had been around for far longer than that.

Declan didn't think much about that, he didn't think much about anything. He just sat on the log and basked in the quiet of the night.

It was a habit of his, he took walks often late in the night especially after a grueling night of writing. It helped him sleep better.

He found the cottage quiet when he got back and a quick glance at the time told him that it was pretty late. He had to teach Faun how to bake the next day after all.

He woke up to find Faun in his room again, his soft green eyes fixed on Declan's face.

Declan started at this because Faun was standing right beside his bed, looking down at him like he would have liked to wake him up.

The hybrid was getting awfully comfortable.

"Why are you standing beside my bed?"

"I thought you were dead." Faun said with a straight face, already fully dressed for the day.

Declan just stared blankly up at him, there was no way to tell if Faun was being sarcastic or not.

"Breakfast is ready… three hours ago." Faun added, sweeping out.

Declan just remained on the bed, shellshocked. Did he just get scolded for sleeping in?

How did Faun even learn how to tell the time? That's it, he was cutting down on his cartoon time.

A glance at his bedside clock told the time but Declan had a hard time believing it, he sat up and rubbed his eyes, hoping it was a trick of the light.

But no, the time still read 12:07 pm.

Declan cursed under his breath and rolled out of bed; was he sick? Because it was truly concerning how he managed to sleep for nearly half a day.

Faun's reaction was starting to seem more logical now.

He cleaned up and made his way out, his black hair was still wild and tousled but he couldn't be bothered to run a brush through it.

He had washed his hair and it was still damp, he would brush it when it dried.

He went looking for Faun; the more he thought about it, the more he realised how concerned Faun must have been.

If he had lived the way Declan imagined, then sleeping was only a necessity for him. Oversleeping was simply not done.

Not out in the wild where everything was essentially after him.

Now he could grasp why he was so upset.

"Faun?" Declan called out when he couldn't find him; he had thrown on sweatpants and a loose tank, his usual outfit for the day.

There was no response to his call and after checking the three places he could possibly be, Declan might have panicked a little.

"Faun?" He threw open the backdoor, instinctively knowing that if Faun wanted to leave, he would escape into the woods.

The person he was looking for was seated on the wooden stairs that led from the cottage into the woods, a blank expression on his face. "Can I help you?"

Declan involuntarily took a deep breath, relieved. "Yeah, we're supposed to bake brownies today." He drawled, leaning against the doorframe.

The twinkle was back in Faun's eyes in no time, he shot to his feet and spun around with wide eyes. "Really?"

"Sure, I said we would." He shrugged, looking down on Faun's face and noticing something he couldn't believe he missed.

Freckles.

Faun had an awful lot of freckles, no doubt from his life outdoors. It would be stranger if he didn't have any.

The earlier incident was long forgotten, Faun's excitement over the possibility of learning to make brownies drowning out every other thing.

First, Declan had to call up Isla though. He stared grimly at his phone, bracing himself for what was to come.

"I'll make fresh breakfast for you." Faun said earnestly.

He was about to turn Faun down but the earnest look in his eyes stopped him.

"Thank you." He muttered quietly, stepping back into the house.

He decided to use the time to call Isla.

"Who is this?" She said coldly into the phone.

Declan was caught off guard. "You didn't save my number?"

Isla's voice softened visibly when she heard Declan's voice but she still kept her guard up. "Sure, but you'd never call."

Declan winced. "I'm sorry about that…" He started to apologize stiffly.

Isla made a sound of dismay. "You're not Declan, Declan would never apologize…"

He had had enough at that point. "My identity is not important, could you tell me the recipe for your brownies? I want to make some."

Isla froze up entirely on the other side of the call, if Declan could see her, there would be no mistaking the blatant horror in her eyes.

"No, you don't need to come over and yes, I'm alright." Declan replied to her future questions. "Thank you." He tagged on hesitantly, hanging up.

He glanced down at his phone, hopefully Isla wouldn't come barging through his front door.