Lenesa lay flat on the mattress in her alcove, sequestered behind closed blue curtains and buried under layers of sheets, blankets, and various quilts she had made over the years. Her head rested on a soft white pillow, and she had tilted her face to the left in order to get a better look at the rain through the nook's window.

Though Lenesa's eyes saw the stormy gray clouds outside and the droplets running down the glass panes, her mind was full of memories from the previous night, and so that was all she really saw—mainly, how much she had let her guard down around Theiden.

He had seen her wound, and how she had barely clung to consciousness at times. She had let him see her scar, and had even had a nearly-decent conversation with him.

It frightened her.

Lenesa sat up with a sigh and slipped back the hem of her purple robe to reveal the bandaged wound beneath. Carefully, she peeled back the fabric, wincing as the dried blood and half-formed scabs stuck to the wrappings. She had managed to partly heal the injury before running out of energy, but now, after a full night's rest, she would be able to heal her shoulder completely.

The healing spell sent a shiver down her spine at the sensation of skin knitting back together, but the orange sparks she conjured completed their task without a hitch. Lenesa took it as a good sign, and parted the curtains of her nook.

The main area of the cottage was silent and cold. Kettle had disappeared for the day, and Shwei was roosting in the rafters as an owl.

Putting on her slippers, Lenesa took care to avoid the drops of blood that still stained the wooden floor as she made her way over to her wardrobe. Her intent was to change and clean up before Theiden awoke, but no sooner had she finished lacing up the side of a forest-green dress than a loud booming knock sounded at the door—the cleaning would have to wait.

The laces of the dress fell from Lenesa's fingers in surprise, and a creaking of the boards over her head indicated that the noise had awoken her guest. Sure enough, Theiden scaled down the loft ladder a few moments later, jumping down the last few rungs and landing with a solid thump.

"Is someone outside?" he asked immediately, without so much as a 'good morning'.

Lenesa smoothed down her dress and tried to act unconcerned. "So it would seem." At this hour of the morning, the creatures that roamed the forest at night should have retreated to their dwellings. But perhaps the need to hide away was not so pressing with the current cloud cover from the rain?

Theiden followed behind her as she crossed the cottage to the front door. Lenesa hesitated with her hand on the handle for just a moment, trying to get a sense of whatever it was that was on the other side. Whatever it was, she could not detect any traces of magic.

A hand grabbed her wrist, and Lenesa jumped, unable to hide her surprise as she reflexively turned to face Theiden.

"Maybe...it's gone away," he said.

Lenesa shook her head and twisted out of his grasp. "We cannot stay holed up in here all day worrying about what is or was outside. I must make sure."

Reluctantly, the hunter stepped back. After a deep breath, Lenesa threw back the bolt and opened the door.

She was met with the chilly, gray air outside. The wind was starting to pick up, and the rain was falling faster now. But there was no one and no thing waiting to come inside.

A soft plink-plink sound at Lenesa's feet drew her gaze downward to the front step.

"A teacup?" Theiden said, peering over her shoulder. The ruby-red vessel in question sat on the ground, seemingly harmless.

"If you want to keep your fingers, you'll not touch it," Lenesa warned as Theiden stepped forward. Immediately, he drew back.

Lenesa took the opportunity to reach down and pick it up.

"Hey! I thought you said—"

"When you have mastered shielding, you may handle temperamental magic as well," Lenesa said, closing the front door. "Until then, I think it's best you leave that sort of thing to me, don't you?"

"Shielding? Temperamental magic?" Theiden echoed as he followed behind her into the kitchen.

Lenesa ignored him and filled the teacup with water from the sink pump before setting it on the table.

"All right," she told it. "What was so urgent that Kivirra sent you?"

The water rippled and changed color to a deep red. A snarling face appeared, with a wide snout, four small white horns, and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Almost as soon as the face appeared, however, the image changed to a dark forest scene.

"Wh-what was that?" Theiden stuttered. Lenesa did not even look up.

"He's a goblin," she replied.

"A what?"

"An inanimate object come to life," Lenesa explained. "Anything can, if you talk to it enough." She glanced up for a moment. "Well, not you, exactly, but a person with magic." She went back to examining the scene the goblin was showing her. It was dark, and there was a body on the ground.

Uneasiness crept down Lenesa's spine and twisted into her stomach.

"Where is this?" she whispered.

The scene swirled into another—a river, with tall rocks sticking out of it. Then the view zoomed along a path overgrown with roots and clogged with stones, dodging branches and shooting up a steep slope.

"If this is a trick, I'll hang you by your thumbs until they fall off," Lenesa warned. The scene disappeared, only to be replaced by the crimson face of the goblin once more. The creature gave a growl of displeasure.

"Fine, then."

Lenesa grabbed the teacup by the handle and dumped the water into the sink. Calling for Shwei, she rushed to grab a dark green cloak from the hooks by the front door and slipped the teacup goblin into an inner pocket.

"What's going on?"

Lenesa fastened the clasp at her collar and looked up at Theiden.

"Stay here, and stay out of trouble," she replied.

Theiden crossed his arms. "No. Why can't you tell me where you're going?"

Lenesa huffed in annoyance. "There's somewhere I need to be."

Theiden scoffed. "You call that an answer? I'm going with you."

"No, you aren't," Lenesa quickly protested. He would only slow her down, and might even use the opportunity to try to kill her or run back to the city for help.

"Why not?" Theiden argued. "What is it that makes you think I can't come with you?"

"It's dangerous," Lenesa replied crisply. "You wouldn't be safe."

"I'm used to the forest. I hunt here all the time. You don't think I can take care of myself?" Theiden's hands were clenched into fists at his sides. "Besides, if it is as dangerous as you say, wouldn't it be better to not face it alone?"

"I would not be alone," Lenesa retorted, indicating Shwei. "And there is nothing useful you could help with, anyway. You have only ever hunted in the foothills, and would not know what to do in the mountains."

Something akin to anger flashed in Theiden's eyes. "If I'm so useless to you, I wonder that you're concerned for my safety at all."

Lightening flashed outside the window, and for a split second, time seemed to stand still as Lenesa searched for a response. He would not realize how defenseless he was until he put himself in danger, it seemed.

"Very well," she replied, just as the thunder caught up with the growing storm. "You may come with me. But you must only go where I say, and keep as silent as possible. Do not wander off. Can I trust you to do this?"

A slight twitch of a muscle in his jaw betrayed Theiden's poorly concealed annoyance.

"All right."

It wasn't a very convincing reply, but Lenesa figured it would have to do. Crossing to her trunk, she took out an old cloak she had mended two days earlier.

"Here," she said, tossing it to Theiden. The hunter deftly caught it and threw it over his shoulders while Lenesa strode past him to the door.

"Thank you," Theiden said quietly. Lenesa drew her hood up over her head and paused with her hand above the door handle.

"Just...remember what I told you," she said. In the next moment, she flung open the door and strode out into the rain with Shwei, not looking back to check if Theiden was following.

~~

So I based the teacup goblin on the goblin from Korean mythology, back before the Goblin Korean drama came out, and I have to say Gong Yoo makes a much more attractive goblin than the teacup beastie.  Pretty much the only similarity they have is they are both connected to an inanimate object.  Only one is a glowing blue sword, while the other is...a teacup.  So exciting.  Also this is my shameless plug to go watch this drama now if you haven't seen it.  

Anyway, back to the story...any guesses as to where Lenesa and Theiden are headed off to now?  Please let me know your thoughts, they make my day!

Chapter dedicated to 18gooda for her wonderful support and also because I finally caught up on her story Phoenix Rising and remembered how amazing it was. XD

Thanks for reading!