A Human’s Guide to Surviving Magical Mishaps by Kit Bryan
Rule 56- If you expect others to open up, be ready to share the key to your treasure chest first.

Ashton leads the way up to the front door. I want to say he's walking confidently, but to be honest he looks nervous and he's dragging his feet a little. Fin looks unruffled as usual, but is shooting odd glances towards Ashton. I think back to some of our previous interactions and I can see why. Ashton is a little awkward with people sometimes. Not everyone, just people who are very emotional or loud. I don't know if he's like this all the time or if it's just that he's overwhelmed by all the unreasonable humans, but I can definitely see why he might be nervous. Before I can even think to hesitate, I step forward and take his hand, squeezing it lightly. His shoulders relax a little and he gives me a half smile. "Thankyou sweetheart." His half smile changes into what I can only describe as a smirk. I narrow my eyes at him. NOW he's all confident? Well, at least I helped I guess. Ashton turns back to the front door. He goes to knock but I stop him by tugging on our joined hands.

“Wait, don't knock. They have a doorbell. Press the button." I tell him, pointing out the doorbell. I can see why he wouldn't have realised that. My house doesn't have a doorbell. Ashton does as I directed and both he and Fin with their sensitive hearing flinch a little when the loud and very obnoxious tone rings. We awkwardly wait for a moment, but I can hear feet shuffling on the other side of the door. I let go of Ashton's hand and take a half step back. I don't want my presence to be the first thing he notices. Although my bright blue hair probably isn't helping my case. If it weren't for some of the communication difficulties Ashton and Fin have been having I would have chosen to wait in the car. The door swings open in a sudden movement and we are faced with a middle aged man who looks so tired he's practically dead on his feet. He's super tense and all I can say is the guy looks STRESSED.

"If you're here to convert me, I'm not interested in hearing your spiel." He says flatly.

"Just say that's not why you're here." I whisper as quietly as I can. Thankfully, fae have super good hearing so Ashton can hear me. I will have to remember not to tell him to say something that isn't true though since he can't lie. "We are not here to convert you. We are here because we are hoping you can assist us with something." Ashton says with a charming smile. The guy, I can't remember his name. Something or other Johnson I think. Anyway Johnson seems suspicious and crosses his arms over his chest. He's dressed for the day, but his clothes are crumpled. Actually they look slept in. I get the impression that this guy isn't doing well since he lost his job.

"What do you want from me?" He demands. Ashton takes a measured breath before continuing. He is putting on a good show, but he looks uncomfortable.

"Keep going. Tell him we're investigating." I murmur to him softly. His shoulders relax a little.

"We are investigating a... woman. She has been involved in a number of crimes recently. It appears that she is manipulating people to steal on her behalf. We hope to capture her." Ashton explains. Johnson's face lights up. "If you catch her, you can prove that it wasn't my fault." He seems excited.

“Uh, perhaps. It is possible.” Ashton agrees. He clearly couldn't lie and say yes. We're hoping it will help people, but proving something like this might be kind of difficult. We don't have laws that account for the use of magic. Maybe we could convince people that it counts as duress? Or maybe we just have to lie and say they were forced or drugged or something. I need to think about it more. Maybe I'll ask dad about it.

"Well, I guess you can come in.” Johnson steps aside to let us in, but he still seems kind of reluctant. Particularly when I pass. I meet his eyes and he flinches back. Yeah, letting Ashton take the lead here was the right choice. Johnson's house is kind of a mess. It's not dirty exactly, not like someone who has been neglecting their home for a long time. More like someone who has just been sick or something and has let the mess build up. Except Johnson isn't sick. Depressed and freaked out maybe, which honestly is probably worse and is definitely harder to deal with. He leads us to the living room and we all sit down. Ashton and I together on one couch, Fin perches on the edge of a recliner and Johnson collapses into the remaining one. I'm getting used to seeing Fin sitting on the edge of seats. Wings sound cool but maybe they're more inconvenient than I originally thought, particularly in a place that isn't designed to accommodat extra appendages. He fits in my car well enough, but it doesn't look comfortable and I bet he would struggle in a smaller vehicle. Not that he's been complaining. Fin is... Almost too pleasant. He never seems to want or demand anything and he never complains. I can't decide if he's just a very content person or if he isn't comfortable enough with me to speak his mind. I guess I'll find out if he stays long enough. "We should introduce ourselves." Ashton begins.

"I am Ashton Rallowend, over there is Finvara Skel and the lady is miss Katerina Fall." Ashton introduces us.

"You can call me Kat." I chime in.

"I'm Craig Johnson." He responds. Ah. Craig. That's what his name was. Now that I've heard it again I have no idea how I forgot it the first time.

"You said you know something about the woman I met. I've told everyone that I didn't plan to steal from work, that I have no idea why I did it. Why should I believe you're going to be any different to them?" He says with a sigh. Fin is the one who responds.

"Because we believe that it was not your fault." He answers calmly. Craig narrows his eyes.

"But why? No one else did. Even if the woman did tell me to do it, I still did it. No one was there with a knife or gun forcing me to cooperate. It's like I lost my mind for a minute. Either I'm crazy or there was something strange about her..... There's something strange about you too." He sits up straighter in his chair and seems to look closely at us for the first time. Shoot. Fin and Ashton might be wearing glamours, but to anyone who is paying attention they don't quite look human. Their features are just a little too perfect, too foreign. I can see the panic in Craig's eyes.

"Are you with her? Maybe you want something from me too!" He jumps to his feet and backs around behind the recliner. Ashton is frozen in place, apparently he has no idea how to respond. Fin is glancing at us both, probably waiting to follow our lead.

"All we want is to ask you a few questions." I tell him, trying to keep my voice calm and soothing. It doesn't work. Craig shakes his head and backs away another few steps.

"No, no. You sound reasonable, but she sounded reasonable too. Now here I am, no job, I can barely afford my rent and just to make things worse the damn cat knocked over my TV and broke it. I don't understand what happened to me, but can't afford to make things any worse." He sounds terrified and I can't say I blame him. Being controlled would be terrifying if you DID know what was happening, not knowing what happened to you has to be worse. Ashton seems to understand this because he finally speaks up. His tone is soft, like he's talking to an animal and trying not to spook it.

"I understand your fear. So before I ask my questions, I believe it is only fair for me to answer your questions." He hesitates for a second before continuing.

"You wish to know what happened to you, and we can explain that. It was not your fault. You were the victim of magic. That woman was fae." He explains. Craig is staring like we're insane.

"How can you know that?" He demands.

"I know that because we are fae too."