Marin watched Kit as the fae led them to the cave, humming softly. Willow was pleased, with more than just her position it seemed. Marin looked at the cave when they came to it, nodding some.
"It does look to be one," they agreed, moving to take their bag off, their cloak being pulled back to do so.
"Mhmm!" Kit formed what looked like a cloud in the air and got himself settled on it with a contented hum. "It'll probably storm tonight, so you should probably put your belongings further back into the cave so that they don't get wet."
"Thank you for the advice, Kit." Marin moved to get their belongings further into the cave, letting his hood fall as they did so. They found it sweet, that this child was trying to help them with camping out here, and just leading them through the land in general.
Willow found herself floating over to Kit, setting down on his leg lightly with a wave. She was much more friendly than Marin.
Kit waved back at Willow with a bright smile, watching her curiously. He tensed up a bit when he heard the rain begin, and curled up into a tight, quivering ball when he heard the thunder and lightning begin. He curled his tail up between his legs and covered his ears, obviously not liking the storm.
Marin looked up when they heard Willow make a worried sound, making their way over when they saw what state Kit was in.
"H-Hey," The mage said, not really sure what to do, "What's wrong?" Marin hesitated, gently setting their hand on Kit's back. Willow looked between the two, lightly hitting Marin's arm. They were clueless, and this child needed to be comforted.
Kit looked up weakly when Marin touched him, his face quite pale as he forced a smile onto his face. "O-Oh! My apologies, I'm… um… n-not the biggest fan of storms." He was trembling lightly and flinched when lightning crashed outside, covering his ears again.
"Hey…" Marin didn't need Willow's help with the situation anymore, bending some to offer their arms to Kit.
"Do you want a hug? I can hold you until the storm's over, if it'll help." The mage hated to see others as scared as this child was, and wanted to make it better.
Kit looked up at Marin meekly and hesitated before he nodded, huddling up in their arms. He buried his face in their shoulder, still trembling. He flinched whenever he heard the thunder, mentally angry with himself for doing his job so poorly, but too frightened to give it much thought.
"I've got you," Marin said softly. They carried Kit further into the cave to help deaden the noise some, patting his back. The mage brought their cloak around Kit as well, keeping the child close and warm.
"It's gonna be okay…" Willow wormed her way into the cloak as well, sitting down against Marin's chest to help comfort the fae.
Kit held tightly to Marin, his breaths short and shallow. He kept his face hidden, curling up more against their chest. A couple of tears rolled down his cheeks and he hiccuped, starting to tremble more violently. It took him a while, but he eventually managed to drift off in Marin's arms, although it wasn't clear whether or not it was just from exhaustion. He was limp and still a bit shaky, but thankfully breathing more normally now.
"Oh lord, what have we gotten into…" Marin looked down at the small child in their arms, biting their lip lightly. Willow popped her head out, shrugging some. She moved to push at Marin's head to get them to lay down, which the mage obliged. They held Kit close as the child passed out, gently patting his back. They wiped the tears away, then eventually fell asleep themselves.
(When your fae guide is a small child who's scared of thunderstorms)
Kit awoke before Marin did and flushed a bit in embarrassment, remembering the events of the previous night. He freed himself from their hold and got to his feet, rubbing at his eyes and running his fingers through his hair to neaten it up. It was still drizzling lightly outside, but thankfully not storming anymore. He looked out at the rain tiredly, reaching out so that the droplets could gently touch his fingertips.
(poor bby)
Marin wasn't awoken by Kit's movements, but Willow was. She followed the fae to the cave entrance, sitting down on his shoulder. She kept her distance from the water, looking up at him and lightly setting her hand on his cheek. Marin shifted in their sleep, pulling their cloak further around themselves in the cool drizzly air from the rain.
Kit looked up at Willow and smiled weakly, sitting cross-legged at the cave entrance so he could watch the rain. "I'm a pretty bad fae guide, huh?" He asked softly, toying with his curls. "Scared of storms… I told them I was ready for this, but I guess I was wrong, hmm?" He laughed dryly, his eyes stinging with tears again. "No… I'm… I-I'm gonna prove them wrong. You believe in me, right?" He looked up at Willow again, a wavering smile lingering on his face.
Willow shook her head when Kit called himself a bad fae guide. She stood up on his shoulder then, gently setting her hands on his cheek when she saw he had tears in his eyes. She nodded quickly, moving to hug him as best she could. Marin shifted around in their sleep, slowly sitting up as they remembered the day before.
"Kit?" they said softly, looking around.
Kit closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, looking over his shoulder when Marin called for him. "Apologies, I'm at the entrance. It's still raining, but not hard. We can head out now if you don't mind getting a bit wet." He quickly rubbed at his eyes so that Marin wouldn't see that he'd been crying, but it wasn't particularly effective.
Marin stood to make their way over, moving to sit down next to Kit. They fell quiet, lightly setting their hand on the fae's back.
"Hey… what's wrong?" They could see the leftover tears, the marks they made on the child.
"I know tears when I see them." Willow moved over to tuck herself in Marin's hood to keep out of the rain.
"I-I'm fine, just… being a bit dumb. It's nothing to worry about." Kit smiled weakly and hesitated before resting his head against Marin's shoulder. "It's my job to help you. You shouldn't have to help me so much. I just… feel like I'm doing a bad job…" He drew his knees up to his chest and hugged them tightly, curling his tail around himself.
"Well… you have helped me," Marin started. They kept their voice soft, lightly moving their hand to Kit's opposite shoulder. "You showed me to the cave, and you warned me about the Linsloke. I can tell now you're going to be a great guide through this land." The mage raised their hand to Kit's head, letting him stay close.
"And it's okay if I have to help you from time to time, I don't mind. Everyone needs help sometimes." Marin pulled their cloak out from behind them, putting it around Kit to try to comfort him.
Kit looked up at Marin curiously, his eyes still shining with tears. "Y-You really mean it?" He asked softly. "T-This is my first time actually guiding somebody, you know? I-I've just… just been learning about the land up until now." He rubbed at his eyes a bit and sniffled. He huddled closer to Marin when the cloak was wrapped around him, closing his eyes for a moment. "I just… wanna make sure I do a good job…"
"I really mean it." Marin lightly ran their hand over Kit's hair, nodding. "You've been doing a really good job so far. I'm glad I got to be your first, too." The mage offered a soft smile to the young child in their arm and under their cloak, holding him close.
"I'll be able to brag I was the first to be helped by the famous fae guide Kitarine to all of my friends."
Kit smiled and flushed a bit, toying with a lock of his hair. "W-Well, I doubt I'll ever be famous or anything, but thanks anyway…" He rubbed his tears away again, seeming to be in slightly better spirits. "Everybody in my family has been a fae guide too, so it was only natural for me to follow in their footsteps, you know?"
"Yeah, I know." While their family wasn't magical, the other they had grown up with were, and those were who Marin considered their family. Of course, they would follow the elder mage wherever they were led, even to their death…
Marin didn't shake their head, but they did shake the thoughts away.
"And who says you won't be famous? Sure, not many people may make their way through this land, but by golly I know I'm never gonna forget you. I'm sure word will get around the more you help people, and when that day comes I'll be able to say I was your first. How cool is that?"
Kit flushed again and hid his red face in his small hands, although he couldn't hide his smile. He huddled up a bit closer to Marin. "W-Well, I'm glad you think so, at least… a lot of fae guides actually end up staying with the humans that they're guiding, even after they leave the fae realm. I-I mean, unless the human doesn't want them to, of course, and the fae can return home at any point if they decide to split ways, but…"
Marin felt a weak smile spread across their lips when he saw Kit's reactions to their words, chuckling softly.
"Oh, really?" The mage said, tilting his head some. "Well, I can see why, after spending so much time together, it's easy to get attached. And it's good the fae can come home, it'd be sad if they couldn't." Marin gave Kit a light side hug, nodding their head.
"It's not common for fae to come back soon, is it?"
"No, most fae are away from home for a really long time. Sometimes they don't go back home at all." Kit fidgeted a bit with his hands and huddled closer to Marin, nibbling on one of his knuckles nervously. "I'm still just a kid, though… I-I think I'd like to visit home sometimes, you know? I'd miss my parents and stuff…"
"Of course, Kit," Marin assured. "You are just a kid, and I could never ask you to leave your home and never come back. That's just cruel…" Marin bit their lip at that point, holding back their own memories.
"I could never ask any child to leave their parents for the service of someone else…" The mage was working on holding back their memories by now. No, no, this wasn't about them, this was about making Kit feel better.
Kit yawned a bit and huddled closer to Marin, the tip of his tail curling up. "Usually fae at least stay with their human until they leave the fae realm, which varies a lot. Some people stay here for years and years, and the fae stay with them during that time. It's kinda complicated sometimes…" He curled up tighter, looking very small beside Marin.
"Well, I plan on keeping things as simple as possible," Marin said, gently patting Kit's back. "I'm sure with a guide like you, we'll be able to get out of this land in plenty of time. They held kit a bit closer, seeing how small he looked.
"You'll be able to go back to your parents soon, I'm sure."
Kit smiled softly and nodded, content in the warmth of being held. He hadn't been held like this in a very long time. "Well, I hope so… I'm sure I'll miss you when you're gone." He rested his head back on Marin and hummed happily. "Where are you trying to go, anyway?"