Dagiel walked off from the group he’d just got back from the alternate reality with, holding an unconscious Zi. He heard the headmaster say something about wanting more information but Dagiel was tired and spent, and the sound of Kappa sobbing in his head was making him irritable because he couldn’t help her right now. And to top it all off Zi passed out, he didn’t exactly get a chance to ask him where his home was and he didn’t really want to stick around and be grilled by heaps of questions either by others. He knew of one person who would help Zi with no questions beyond ‘are you ok’ before he had a shower, his adopted mother.

He walked into the main building- covered in blood, holding an unconscious fae, “We want to go home.” He practically demanded of the first person he saw standing at the desk, they spluttered about needing to check who they were and where they were going to when Dagiel cut across them, “Look a Vampire just scared the absolute s**t out of my little brother and he fainted, and I am taking him home now or I’ll call our mum and she will come and rip someone’s ear off- Literally because she’s a nekomata.” He growled at them, they spluttered some more but signaled to someone to come over, “Inalo Isle.” He said and provided the location.

Moments later someone teleported them to sand just near the front porch of Kat’s house, who was standing outside looking frazzled.
“Ohh my!” She yelled as she rushed over to Dagiel, “Where were you? What happened?” She demanded of him before her eyes fell on what was in his arms and then noticed his clothes, “Dagiel! What have you been doing? Oh you look like you’ve been running a mock what am I going to do to get all the fake blood out of your clothes? And who is this?” She asked exasperatedly.

Dagiel balked at her, not expecting the barrage of questions, the teleporter didn’t stay, they took off as soon as they arrived. Dagiel took a few deep breaths to steady himself, “Ok, well… Don’t freak out… One it’s not fake blood. Two I’m not hurt, three I don’t think Zi is hurt.” He paused and looked at the small lump in his arms, “Ma’ this is Zi. He’s small I know but he’s feisty. We practically got kidnapped by this weido from another timeline- I know it sounds strange your face is telling me this- but listen ma’.. I’m telling the truth. I had to fight some crazy white haired teenager and…” He paused because he realised a red lion and a blue tree deer were standing just off from Kat. “Errrr.” He said looking at them, then he noticed they were looking at him too, “They might be able to verify I’m not making it up.” He said.

Kat turned and gasped, clutching her hand to her chest, “Wow!” She gasped as she turned to see them, taking a couple subconscious steps back from the lion. She’d heard of glimmers before but never seen one this close, “That… They are alone enough to convince me.” She said and the glimmers bowed at her and walked side-by-side towards the side of the house where the front yard was, as the backyard opened onto the beach front and went into the water.

Kat turned back to Dagiel and looked at the bundle in his arms, she didn’t need anything else to be said, she scooped the small fae from Dagiels arms and without even a second glance as his blood soaked clothes or questioning his story, she carted Zi off into the house, “He’s a good sleeper this one.” She said softly, almost cooing as she went inside.

She took him straight to her room where she put him on her bed and took his little shoes off and his clothes as they were dirty and slipped one of Dagiel’s shirts on him, it might look like a little dress but at least it wasn’t one of her floral rockabilly ones. She hoped the little one wouldn’t mind someone doing it and she was doing it in a motherly kind of way and as super gently as she could so not to disturb the sleeping fae and wake them, she’d had plenty of years practice looking after stay cubs. Carefully she tucked her soft purple with pink flowers duvet up around Zi and tucked him in with a gentle kiss to his forehead.
He looked so sweet and innocent like a small toddler, Kat smiled at his little form on her bed, and trotted out of the room, his shoes and dirty clothes in tow, leaving the fae in the room, door open just a crack and moon light filtering in through the closed window. He was wearing a light blue shirt with a dragon on it now that possibly came to his knees if he stood up.

~~~

While Kat fussed over Zi, and took him inside Dagiel looked down at his clothes, “So much for my favorite shorts.” He muttered, “Ohh s**t… I left that darn lion mask in the clearing back in that alternate world.” He muttered to himself as he started peeling his now blood dried vest off his body, heading inside himself after Kat.
He stopped in the hallway in front of the door to the bathroom, here he could see Zi on the bed in Kat’s room, she was taking off his shoes. Dagiel smiled again at the small frame on the bed, he stood there in just his blood caked dark blue pants, his bloody vest in his hand as he smiled, that little fae had so much zest and attitude but something about him made Dagiel want to keep him safe.
His gaze lingered on Zi for a moment longer before he turned to face the bathroom, he caught sight of his reflection in the wall mirror, “Woah.” he said out loud, the vest had offered little protection from the blood which caked his skin defining some of his freshly growing muscles, training had been paying off. He shuddered at the memory of the white haired girl and proceeded to head into the bathroom. He stripped just inside the doorway and tossed his dirty clothes out of the door onto the floor, “Sorry ma’.” He said as he did so, not wanting to put these clothes on top of the washing pile. Shortly steam filled the room as he had himself a long and hot shower trying to scrub himself of all the blood spots.

~~~~

Kat shook her head with a smile when she stepped back out into the hallway and saw Dag’s clothes there. Without a word she scooped them up with Zi’s and pottered off to the washing room to put their clothes in to wash. Then she headed into the kitchen and started baking choc chip cookies, because looking at Zi made her feel all clucky again.