Chapter 5 – Traditions.

  “Eh? Course we get along fine. Aint nothing wrong with them other than looking a bit goofy. Honestly, I think they get a bad rap half the time. Its those games and television what ruin it. As far as I’m concerned, them goblins are the best god damned HVAC team I ever hired.” – Interview with a general contractor about his paranormal employees, shortly before praising his dwarven demolition crew, for the next hour.

  Kurt woke the next morning feeling very well rested, if a little groggy. He had that kind of sleep that people normally only got when sick and taking a nighttime cold medication. He hadn’t needed any since his little infection but remembered the feeling from before being bit.

  He stretched before sitting up in bed. He noticed that he was still fully clothed other than his hoodie which was draped over the back of the chair. As he looked around, he noticed that the sky outside was just turning pink, still in the odd twilight before sunrise. He was gd that he had woken so early and was feeling much better than the previous night.

  Walking out into the hall, he noticed that the door across the hall, what he now thought of as Val’s room was open. He poked his head in and noticed that she wasn’t there, and her bags had been opened with clothes neatly stacked atop them. He turned to his right and made the executive decision to heed natures call before getting coffee.

  While brushing his teeth, thankfully able to see since the power was now connected, Kurt wondered what Val had gotten up to after he passed out. He specuted a little but ultimately decided that it didn’t matter, and he could ask after coffee.

  *****

  Val shut the door to Kurt’s bedroom after helping him out of his sweatshirt and under the coverers. She briefly had an internal argument about stripping him further but decided to behave… for a little while.

  Her next destination was her own room. She unpacked her duffle bag and backpack, ying out clothes and retrieving her phone charger and ptop. Then she changed into more comfortable clothes, trading her formal attire for pajama pants and a t-shirt.

  She sent a quick message, checking in with Penny and letting her know that they were down for the night, and she didn’t need rescuing. She would be giving them updates every 12 hours for the next couple days.

  Next was to see the one remaining room on this floor that she hadn’t been in. One step out the door and she was in front of the st door in the hall. She opened it to a rather nice, albeit barren, bathroom. There was a rge, oversized double vanity, stand-alone full-size jacuzzi tub and a rather rge, fully enclosed shower along with the toilet.

  Pausing to look at the tub, Val wondered why Kurt would have one. He had said he picked the house and furnished everything himself and it wasn’t exactly a common fixture in the American bathroom. Regardless, she wouldn’t compin, her mother’s culture was rather big on baths after all.

  She brushed her teeth and commandeered a couple drawers for her things before heading out to the main room and the only other furniture in the house. Along the way, she noticed a closet and opened it to find neatly folded towels and bnkets along with some other things. She grabbed a pillow and rge bnket from the shelf and finished her journey to the living room.

  Looking around again, she was rather impressed with the overall quality of the house and the permanent fixtures. She did like the inclusion of a stove or firepce in the living spaces, very simir to her father’s estate. She hummed and smiled to herself at the memory of pying hide and seek with the staff when she first learned to manifest her illusions.

  She then sat down, focusing on everything that had happened that day and trying to sort through it. This was a practice that Jay had told her to try after her second rejection for a position on a team. He said it would help her organize her thoughts while they were fresh and better manage them. Turns out the guy had learned a thing or two over the centuries.

  Her day had started like any other, waking in her barracks room and getting ready for the day. She hadn’t expected to be intercepted on her way to breakfast by Penny. The half Naga was equal parts excited and nervous about the prospective team lead they had found.

  So it was that Val had eaten then returned to wait. Like the several times before, she would be ready to go at moments notice but also was expecting to be rejected again. As the pattern had gone over the past year. The only thing different was the new program that Jay had pushed and was running.

  She had been in the waiting room when Jay and Penny left to go meet the test candidate. She had been given a basic profile to read over. It wasn’t much other than demographic information and a photo, but she had memorized it in the hour that she had waited.

  When the portal had opened a second time, she took a deep breath and stepped in. The walks through Jay’s portals were always short, never more than a dozen steps. The only odd thing was that you couldn’t clearly see through it and only began to see the other end at the halfway point.

  When she emerged into a bnd conference room, she was less than impressed. At least the others had been in some sort of interesting location like a penthouse, bomb shelter and in one case, a brothel. That st one had been a definite no from both her and the dy they wanted to hire.

  Seeing Kurt sitting in the chair had been expected, since she had seen his pictures, but it was after she smelled him that things became interesting. She picked up on the half elf part instantly, the faint smell of nature an easy tell. But when she got hit with the potent smell of something else mixed in, it made something in her just… click. Once he confirmed he was a werewolf, it was all she could do to stifle her smile.

  It had only taken a couple words for her to give Penny and Jay the signal that she was on board. She had finally found another half breed, another of the proverbial bck sheep, and he didn’t hate her!

  Then Penny asked that stupid wolf vs. fox thing. Honestly, she should know better and that this isn’t the discovery channel. That being said, her fox demon side was pying it cool for once. An interesting development given how it was usually telling her to poke and needle at people. Perhaps it needed an apex predator to put it in its pce?

  In fact, the entire car ride up had been her trying to feel him out, get to know him a little. When she poked at the bed situation, she got the reaction she was hoping for. She had seen the way he had eyed her in the meeting and was wondering if there was anything more behind that visual inspection.

  After getting back to the house and she shifted back into her hybrid form, he didn’t bat an eye. Another little test to see if he was a closeted paranormal or if his natural state was that of a human. Well, a very pretty human given the half elf part.

  She briefly wondered if she would see his hybrid form or if he ever went a little furry. She sighed, having run the course of her little exercise. With nothing else to do, she id down on the couch and rolled herself up in the bnket. She would see how tomorrow went and if she could get any closer to her new ‘teammate’.

  *****

  Kurt walked into the kitchen area and looked around. He couldn’t see Val anywhere. He supposed that she might have gotten up early or was wandering around. Either way, he went over and started making himself a cup of coffee.

  After hitting start on the machine, he checked his new phone. He had no text messages, which was expected since he hadn’t given out the number, but he did have a couple emails. He read through them as he waited, eventually hearing the coffee start pouring out.

  He reached over after it finished brewing into his mug and took a deep sniff. It smelled ok, a little pstic odor but nothing majorly wrong. Then he took a taste and was forced to dump it. Something about the little pstic cups just didn’t taste right and he wouldn’t be able to choke it down.

  With a sigh, he put the kettle on and boiled some water as he got out the grounds and the French press. It was how he made coffee when he didn’t have power while working on his house and had developed a taste for it.

  Grounds, hot water, wait. After a couple minutes to steep, he pushed the plunger and was left with a lovely, pure coffee without the taste of chemicals. Just then he heard a groan and looked over to the living room where a fuzzy ear had just popped over the back of the couch. It looks like he had found the kitsune.

  “Is that coffee?” Val asked, eyes still closed and resting her chin on the cushions.

  “Hot and fresh. Want a cup?” He asked.

  Val hummed as she cracked an eye and stood up, stretching her whole body as she did. “Hmmm yes please.” She said and wandered over to lean against the counter.

  Kurt got another mug from the cabinet and set it on the counter. He filled it up and brought it over. “Need cream or sugar?”

  “Just some sugar.” Val said. She still hadn’t completely opened her eyes and one ear was still droopy. Kurt brought the jar over and handed it to her. “Hmm, thanks sweetie.”

  Raising an eyebrow, Kurt fought hard not to ask. He had been warned about kitsune and their games. Given the rumors he heard, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to get too involved in them. He watched her put a couple spoons of sugar in her cup and raised it to her nose, taking a deep sniff.

  Val hummed happily, ears starting to perk up and her tails waving happily behind her. She took her first sip and nearly groaned. “Oh, yeah that’s the stuff.”

  “Gd you approve.” Kurt said ftly as he was now doing the math to figure out if he would get a second cup or not. He decided to just have a little warm up and walked out to the porch and around to the east side. Val followed after topping off her own coffee and finishing off the small French press.

  “What are you doing?” She asked as she shivered slightly in the chilly morning air.

  “Just, shhh.” Kurt said as he rounded the corner and sat on one of the seats that had been pced on the porch. It was a simple wood bench and nothing special, a pce holder until he could get some proper furniture.

  Following his lead, Val sat at the other end of the bench, cradling her mug between her hands. They sat in silence for a few moments, just staring out over the railing and towards the horizon on the east side of the property. Neither spoke or made a sound besides occasionally sipping their coffee and turning their head to look at something in the faint fog that hovered over the ground.

  As always, the sky brightened and the faint pink color eventually became a bright orange glow with the sun eventually peeking over the trees. The fog receded as if banished and the quiet field suddenly became a hub of activity as the creatures that lived within got started with their own day.

  “This was nice.” Val said, being the first to break the silence of the morning ritual. “I think I would like to do it again tomorrow.”

  Kurt chuckled. “We can do it as long as you are able to tolerate the weather.”

  Taking a moment to catch on, Val had to ugh. “You really are making winter out to be a big deal. Is it really that bad?”

  Standing to go back inside, Kurt shrugged. “Eh, winter has its moments. A moonlit night over fresh snow has a certain charm regardless of temperature.” He led the way back into the kitchen and pced their mugs in the sink. Before pulling out pans for breakfast. “So what do you want for breakfast?”

  Val was slightly stunned at the offer, having assumed that she would be on her own for food but smiled happily as her tails swished behind her. “Don’t care as long as there is bacon.” She was beginning to think she had hit the jackpot with Kurt.

  *****

  “You would never think that it goes together.” Val commented on the breakfast for what felt like the hundredth time. “I mean a breakfast sandwich is already a novelty, but salty bacon mixed so well with a blueberry bagel.” She was pantomiming… something, with her hands. Kurt couldn’t be sure what the gesture was supposed to be but knew that it looked a little too lewd for talk about food.

  “If you like it that much, I’ll make you your own tomorrow.” Kurt grumbled from the driver’s seat. He had made her requested scrambled eggs with cheese on toast with bacon for a side, foolishly thinking she would be satisfied. But when he had made a little breakfast sandwich and hashbrowns, he ended up with one bite of the sandwich and a pte of fried potato hash.

  Kurt had fought his instincts to not snap at her when she stole a bite. He thought he hid it pretty well and didn’t exactly mind the pretty woman sneaking a nibble. But when he turned to get a gss of juice and found the rest of the sandwich gone, it had taken a lot more effort.

  Val seemed either oblivious to his opinion or purposefully ignorant as she turned to face him. “So where are we going today?” She was wearing more casual clothes than she was the day before. That day she had decided to wear Jeans and polo shirt under a light jacket while the morning was still cool. A pair of sneakers rounded out the casual look.

  She had decided not to style her hair, instead pulling the gently curling bck locks into a ponytail. With her kitsune features hidden, she looked like any ordinary woman. A very pretty woman but ordinary none the less.

  “I thought we could look for bedroom furniture first then make a couple stops around town. I have some things that I wanted to pick up and a prior commitment to keep.” Kurt said.

  Choosing to ignore the obvious ambiguity of his ‘prior commitment’ Val went along. “Sounds great. Can we stop for coffee on the way? I could use another cup since I normally have a few through the day.”

  Happy to have a little extra, Kurt readily agreed to the extra stop and started making his way into town to a local coffee shop. It was his preferred stop since he knew the owners personally. “Well, lets stop at Don and Leslie’s then.”

  A couple minutes ter he had pulled in front of a small corner store with a sign on the front that read ‘The Caffeinated Captain’. Getting out, Val arched an eyebrow at Kurt after reading the sign. “The caffeinated captain?”

  “Yeah, they like sailing and being on the water.” Kurt expined as they walked to the door. “Couple middle aged hippies that spent a couple decades sailing around the Bahamas and the east coast. Good people but they don’t know.” He gave her a pointed look and got a firm nod in understanding.

  Opening the door Kurt ushered Val in first. He pointedly ignored her remarks about being ‘such a gentleman’ and followed after her. “Welcome to Captains.” Said a woman in her mid-twenties. “What can I get started for you?”

  Kurt gnced around, seeing they were the only customers, having missed the morning rush. “I mean absolutely no offense but ah… where are Don and Les?” He wasn’t aware of them hiring any help and they hadn’t mentioned it to him when he passed through a couple days ago.

  “Oh, mom and dad are in the back showing Jamie how to run the ovens. I’m Kate by the way.” The short blond girl said. She smiled and held her hand over the counter. “Are you one of the regurs?”

  Kurt reached out and shook her hand. “Yeah. I am Kurt and this is Val. She’s new and I’m showing her around town.” Val waved over his shoulder with a big smile.

  “Ohhh. And you brought her here?” Kate cooed. “That is so nice of you. God, they really weren’t kidding about loyal customers.”

  “Kate! Less chitchat and more wo… oh, it’s just you.” Don said as he came hobbling out of the back, his apron covered in flour. He pushed through the swinging half door and came out and round the dispy case. “Kurt, my boy! Who is this lovely young dy hanging off your arm? Les! Your adoptive son has a special guest!”

  Kurt only then noticed that Val had looped her arm through his and was very lightly leaning against him. Before he could comment on the situation, a ctter of falling pans could be heard before a woman poked her head through the doorway and smiled. “Kurt!” Leslie called before following after her husband.

  The couple that stood before them could only be described as adorable. Neither was over 5 and a half feet tall, but both had the same lean physique that came from staying active. While Leslie had some grey mixed into her long blond hair, Don didn’t have a bit of his left. Both wore old stone washed jeans and some fnnel that was likely older than Kurt.

  “Hey, Les.” Kurt said as he got a hug from the woman. “This is Val, she’s new around here and I was showing her around today. We decided that coffee was the right pce to start.” Kurt expined after breaking away from her hug.

  “Oh, I am so pleased to meet you dear.” Leslie said as she wrapped up Val in another warm, overexuberant hug. “For the past couple years, he has always stopped in whenever he could. Even in the dead of winter just to check on us. Honestly, he’s been like the son we never had.”

  “Mom, I am right here you know.” Said a short, brown-haired man in his te 20’s

  “Hush Jamie!” Leslie said. “Getting you out here had been like pulling teeth in an alligator.”

  “Barely had the decency to call.” Don added with a sad shake of his head.

  Jamie threw his hands up and wandered off into the back room mumbling about how it wasn’t his fault they moved to a ‘frozen hell hole’. Kate was leaning over the counter with her chin resting in her hands and a silly smile on her face.

  She spoke up when she noticed Kurt looking at her. “It’s about time I meet the famous Kurt.” She grinned. “You’re all they ever talked about. ‘Kurt is building his own house. Kurt stopped by and fixed up the back steps for dad. Kurt knows how to do electrical work.’” She mimicked her mom’s voice. “About all they could talk about half the time.”

  “Well, we can’t sing your praises if all you ever do is keep that counter from floating away!” Leslie scolded before turning back to Kurt and Val. “What can she make for you dears? I assume a bck coffee for you, or did you want another chai like Amir taught us how to make?”

  Kurt ughed again. “Bck Americano is fine. Thanks.”

  Seeing them turn to her, Val put in her order for the same with sugar. She was starting to have to rethink her opinion of Kurt as she got to know him. She had originally thought he was a jaded loner, but it was turning out he was a connected member of a community. He was still jaded and likely fine on his own but wasn’t as isotionist as she had first thought.

  They sat and talked with the older couple for a little while longer, finding out that the kids would be taking over for the cold season while they wintered in the south. Don cimed that it was his arthritis, but they all knew it was just because they needed a vacation after several years of hard work.

  The kids were being trained up over the next few weeks until the couple left in October. Kurt secretly promised to check in on them regurly in case they needed any help, earning some happy smiles and words of thanks from the older couple. After a few minutes, Kurt and Val made their excuses and got their cups topped off ‘for the road’ as Don had said, before they started on to their next stop.