"Oh good idea," Kaylee said very seriously, nodding. "Without coffee, Aunt Faith turns into Aunt Monster when she wakes up."
"Oh, well. That's no good," the giant said, stifling another grin. "We'd better get a fresh pot brewing. I know that Aldric and Tamika will probably like some when they get back, too."
"Um, who are you?" Faith managed to get her brain rolling again, after what felt like years. What the hell was going on?
The giant laughed. It was a cheerful, open noise, and he reached out his big hand. "Marc Keller, at your service, ma'am. Call me Marc. And that's my son, Jake."
Faith reached out and shook hands more out of habit than anything. "Faith Latham."
"So Miss Kaylee told us," Marc said. He held his arm out, guiding her attention to a wide arch, through which was a sunny kitchen. "I hope you don't mind, we made soup for lunch and I went ahead and gave Kaylee a bowl. She said she wasn't allergic to anything, but I stayed away from the common allergen stuff anyway, in case. Kids aren't always that reliable about this stuff, I've discovered."
Marc led her to a farmhouse style breakfast table that would easily seat ten people and sat her down while he talked. He then started bustling around the kitchen, grabbing a can and grinding some beans and filling the reservoir on a fancy-looking coffee maker.
"Um, no. No, she's not allergic to anything that we've found," Faith said faintly.
"That's a relief. I'd hate for y'all to go through that sort of scare this morning and then accidentally make the poor kid sick," he flipped a switch and turned to lean a hip against the counter. "I have to tell you, Faith, that kid is a trooper. I can't think of too many kids who would go through that and be able to horse around just a few hours later. Heck, I can't think of too many adults who could do that! Of course, I think a lot of that is thanks to you. She said you didn't let her look at what was going on. Smart."
"I'm sorry," Faith shook her head, trying to clear her mind a bit of the flood of chatter that flowed from Marc. "But where are we? Who exactly are you? I know your name now, but that doesn't tell me much. What were those things? Who was the guy who showed up and why was he there? Where is that guy now? What–"
Marc held up both hands, trying to slow her down a bit.
"Woah, okay," Marc nodded his understanding, then turned to grab a couple of mugs from the cupboard. "Okay, you're absolutely right. First things first. I'm Marc and I'm a single dad and run my own web design business. Jake and I live here, along with Aldric and Tamika and a couple others who are out of town right now, but anyone in our clan's welcome to drop by just about any time which is why we have so much room. We're just about twenty minutes as the crow flies from your cabin where Aldric found you. I hope you don't mind but I put Kaylee's stuff in Jake’s room for the time being, since they hit it off so well. He's got a trundle bed, so I figured they'd be okay sleepover style unless you want her in with you, which is fine also, or we can get her her own guest room. Whatever you're both comfortable with."
He rummaged in the fridge and came out with a carton of milk and some flavored creamer. Held them up in a silent question and Faith pointed at the milk. He put it down on a tray next to the sugar bowl and two steaming mugs of coffee and brought it all over to where she sat.
"Okay, what else did you ask? Let's see... Oh! Aldric. The man that brought you guys over here is named Aldric Donnelly, and he was out there because he sensed those rogues. We'd heard there was a disturbance near the northern border of our territory, so he was out there anyway and followed their trail to your place. He's got a damn good sense for trouble and we try to keep as many rogues out as we can. Don't like them in general, and definitely not in our territory. We're not that kind of clan."
"Clan?" Faith blinked at him.
"Yeah," Marc shrugged and looked slightly nervous. "We're a mixed clan. Our parents and grandparents banded together when Aldric's family asked for asylum. Safety in numbers, and all that. So we all grew up pretty tolerant, even though it's not terribly common these days. Well, I did, anyway. Aldric was already technically an adult when he got here, but his family's pretty cool, so..."
He poured a dollop of milk into his cup and offered the carton to Faith, who took it and doctored her own coffee. Marc sounded sane, speaking in a matter of fact way as if he expected her to understand what he was referring to. And he was clearly referring to something but...
"I'm sorry. You've completely lost me," she said. She waited until Marc took a sip of his coffee before sipping hers. Oh man, it was good coffee, too. Not the cheap stuff they had at the cabin.
Marc grimaced. "I'm sorry. Where should I back up to?"
"Oh boy, where to start. Well, let's start with the important bits. This Aldric guy was hunting the... rogues?” she frowned over her mug.
“Rogues,” Marc grimaced. "Let me tell you we're not real happy to have found them in our territory, at all, let alone attacking people inside their own home. I'm damned glad you could hold them back until he got there. Thank god you two weren't hurt." He reached out and put his hand on her arm, and it felt kind like he was comforting himself as much as he was comforting her. She glanced down at where she had
