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[pixiesweat]

It was a regular day for Manuel. In other words, he had nowhere to be, nothing to do, and no motivation to do anything other than wander around aimlessly.

The anniversary of his sister’s death had come and gone. The emotional turmoil had faded away, but he felt curiously flat, like it had taken the rest of his emotions with it.

He’d had a quick breakfast before he left his flat, but hadn’t even thought about eating anything since then. He didn’t know how long it had been. He wasn’t keeping track of time. He barely felt hungry, and more importantly, he didn’t care.

He walked around, considered stealing something from a convenience store he passed, just because he could, but there wasn’t anything appealing enough to be stolen even for no reason. Eventually he came to a bench, sat, and watched traffic passing by until it was making him feel irritable instead of just empty.

He stood, and that was when the lack of food finally caught up with him. The sudden change in position made his head swim, and he staggered just enough to put himself in the path of someone who’d been about to walk by.

“Sorry,” he said, once his head had cleared enough for him to realise what had happened.

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[pixiesweat]

"Uh," he said, not quite sure how to answer that. "You know. The time we got... attacked."

[hardertohide]

"Right!" Dutch nodded as it all clicked into place. "You're the completely human kid."

[pixiesweat]

He instantly blushed and looked guilty when she said that. "Sorry I lied to you last time."

[hardertohide]

"Are you?" Dutch asked honestly. If he'd lied, he'd probably had his reasons. He didn't owe her anything.

[pixiesweat]

"Yeah," he said. "I shouldn't have lied when you already knew."

He felt like it had been rather insulting to her intelligence. It hadn't even been a good lie.

[hardertohide]

"All right," Dutch stated. She was going to argue against him if he was inclined to tell her what he was now. "Are you going to come clean now?"

[pixiesweat]

He wasn't sure if he should tell her anything specific. He shifted uncertainly on his feet.

"How much do you know about?" he asked. She clearly knew about more than just vampires, but that didn't necessarily mean she knew about faeries.

[hardertohide]

"Enough," Dutch answered without missing a beat, looking impassively at him. She was not going to show him her hand first.

[pixiesweat]

"I'm not really supposed to talk about it," he said, though not with any finality or like he was trying to put an end to the conversation. He just sounded uncomfortable and awkward.

[hardertohide]

"Come on, let's walk," Dutch offered with a nod of her head. "Less likely to be overheard." As if she wasn't one of the ones who weren't supposed to know.

[pixiesweat]

Manuel glanced around to see if there was anyone else listening, silently waiting for Dutch to lead the way.

[hardertohide]

He didn't have to wait at all; Dutch started walking immediately, expecting him to fall in stride. After a few seconds of silence, she prodded, "So?"

[pixiesweat]

He hesitated, clearly struggling to decide what he should tell her. It went against everything he'd been taught to talk about Faerie to humans, but he wanted to be honest.

Eventually, he licked his lips and asked, "What do you know about faeries?"

[hardertohide]

That they don't understand the concept of consent any better than vampires, as a rule, was probably not the answer she ought to make if she wanted to learn more about them. "I know a few of them."

Thankfully, the one she'd shagged hadn't had any problem with the concept of consent - only with being unable to make the one who had eat his own balls.

[pixiesweat]

He relaxed a little at that. At least she already knew that faeries existed. Even so, he still felt awkward talking about it.

"What kind?" he asked.

[hardertohide]

"Cute," Dutch told him, and shook her head. "I'm not here to spill anyone else's secrets."

[pixiesweat]

If he ever met the faeries in question there was a good chance he'd be able to tell what kind they were, anyway, so it was barely a secret at all, but he didn't bother telling her that.

"Do you know what a changeling is?" he asked.

[hardertohide]

Dutch raked her brains for what she had read up on fairies. "The... fairies they leave in place of the human babies they grab?"

[pixiesweat]

"They don't do that much." Why swap a perfectly good fae baby for a crappy human one? "It usually means someone who's part fae and part human."

[hardertohide]

"So you're a hybrid?" Dutch checked.

[pixiesweat]

"Yeah," Manuel said, still feeling awkward, but it was also a relief to admit it.

[hardertohide]

"And what does that mean?" Dutch glanced at him as they walked, patting her pockets until she found a pack of cigarettes.

[pixiesweat]

He hesitated, unsure how to answer. "You mean like do I have magic?"

[hardertohide]

"Among other things, yeah," Dutch confirmed with a nod.

[pixiesweat]

"I do," he said. "A little. It's not very strong."