The batter had been made, put together from scratch. Now it baked in the oven as you started to make the frosting. While you had been baking, it had started to sprinkle, and now it was a full on downpour. You chuckled to yourself because you had been right.

No sooner had the timer gone off that you heard banging on your door.

“[Name]! Let me in!” Aster yelled from outside. You laughed to yourself.

“Why should I?” you asked as you took the cake out of the oven. You plopped it out of the pan and started frosting it.

“Because I’m getting bloody soaked!” he yelled, still bounding.

“I thought there wasn’t a cloud in the sky!~” you mocked him with his own words.

“J-just let me in!” he stuttered.

“What’s the magic word?” you said, putting the last frosting carrots on your cake.

“This isn’t funny!” he yelled. You didn’t answer. Maybe if you ignored him, he’d go away.

Wrong.

He started ramming against the door, trying to break it down. You sighed, putting the cake on a stand and covering it with a glass top.

Aster rammed and rammed into your door, but you knew it wouldn’t budge. There were pauses between the rams, which were him backing up to get a head start. You waited in the other side of your door, then decided to let him in.

You opened the door, right before he was about to ram into it again. He couldn’t stop his momentum and ended up flipping himself over the back of your couch. You laughed evilly at his dazed look before closing the door and walking away.

He stood up and shook all the water off him, almost like a dog. He wrapped his arms around his bare torso, shivering, but still gave you a mad look.

“Hey, I warned you that it going to rain, but you didn’t listen!” you said and walked to your room to change, your clothes being covered in flour and carrot cake batter. You had just taken off your top when Aster walked in.

“Sorry I’m not a freak who can predict weather.” he growled.

“Shut up and get out! I’m still changing you chicken brain!” You blushed as you covered your chest. You were still wearing your bra, but there was still a lot of skin.

“Chicken brain?! I’m no chicken brain!” he defended.

“GET OUT!!” you pushed him out and slammed the door. You slumped against the door for a second, cooling off.

“I’m not a chicken brain.” you heard his say through the door. You sighed, you needed some uninterrupted time to yourself, so you decided to take a shower.

There were no windows in your bathroom, so you let your facade fall. Your ears popped out, tail appearing, the whole package. It felt good to just relax under the hot water and not wear a disguise. As you started to wash your hair, you started to sing.

*Yesterday, a child came out to wonder
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star

(Chorus)
And the seasons they go 'round and 'round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

Then, the child moved ten times 'round the seasons
Skated over ten clear frozen streams
Words like, "When you're older", must appease him
And promises of someday make his dreams

(Continues on . . .)

You finished your shower by the end of the song and brushed your hair and got dressed. You dawned your human guise walked out of your room. You found Aster staring at the carrot cake you had made. He must had heard you enter, because he spoke to you without taking his eyes away from the cake.

“What is this?” he asked. You could see some drool start to roll down his chin. You smirked, this was going to be sweet torture.

“That is a carrot cake, the I made. I don’t think you’d like it. It is a human delicacy.” you emphasized the carrot part, because all Pooka’s loved carrots. You shoved him out of the way to grab a plate and fork, serving yourself a piece and enjoying it.

“Can I have a piece?” he asked. You hummed to yourself, thinking about it.

“I suppose you can. I do have to feed you.” you said and got another plate, giving him a slice. He seemed a little awkward with his hands and fingers, but he got the hang of it soon. He put a small bite into his mouth and chewed a couple times before his eyes widened.

It was delicious, the cake had much more carrot in it than a usually cake, but that just made it better.

“Good, isn’t it?” you asked, giving him a cocky smile. He was interrupted in his blissful state and paused, looking at you, then his cake, then back to you before swallowing.

“It’s . . . okay.” he muttered trying to keep up his macho man attitude, but the blush he had was giving it away. You just smiled and took his plate when he was done and washed them. After, you yawned and rubbed your eyes. All the excitement that day had really tired you out. The magic use hadn’t helped.

“I’m going to bed early. You can sleep on the couch.” you said and walked to your room. You changed into an oversized shirt and took off your pants. You then crawled into your bed and snuggled into the blanket.

It didn’t take long to fall asleep.

~*~

You woke up late the next morning and walked out into the living room and into your kitchen. You started to make yourself breakfast, eggs and toast. That’s when you remembered that you had a house guest to feed. You made another plate of the same thing for him and set them at the table.

“Breakfast’s ready!” you shouted and got some drinks ready. When you didn’t hear any movement from the living room, you got curious and headed to the living room to get him. You arrived and didn’t see a trace of him.

He must have left in the night. You weren’t sure how to feel, but you decided to be relieved that you didn’t have to marry someone you didn’t love. You dumped his plate and ate your breakfast. You changed into some sweats and a tank top, brushing your hair as well. Now you were ready for the day.

You cleaned your cabin, top to bottom, but for some reason you couldn’t get Aster out of your mind. He just wouldn’t go away.

You decided that a walk would clear your head. You put on some shoes and left. You walked around the woods for a while, trying not to think about Aster. It wasn’t long before you came to the field that you had been in yesterday. It was covered in the rain that had fallen last night, making it glisten like silver. As you walked around it, you noticed a lump off a ways. Walking closer to it, you saw it was a person.

“Hey, are you okay?” you asked as you approached. You stood beside them, noticing they were face down and shivering. You also noticed that it was a boy, or young man. He looked familiar. You kneeled down and turned them over, gasping when you saw who it was.

It was Aster. He was out cold, but his face was flushed and his shivering was almost violent. You felt his forehead, but instantly pulled your hand away. He was burning up. He must have been out here all night! You knew he was weak because he didn’t have enough strength to hide his ears and tail.

You were worried about him, strange as it seemed. You heaved him up as gently as you could, throwing on of his arms over your shoulder, you took most of his weight and hurried off to your cabin.

It took a while, but you eventually got back to your cabin and set Aster down on your bed. You started running a bath and got his to the tub. After cleaning him up and making him a new pair of cloths, you tucked him into your bed and placed a cold cloth on his forehead.

He stirred and opened his eyes slowly. He seemed very confused about where he was, and looked around. He was about to sit up, but you pushed him down gently.

“Don’t move around too much. Your sick.” you said. He just looked at you, not even strong enough to speak. “Don’t strain yourself, change to your Pooka form, you need every ounce of your strength to recover.” you said, brushing some hair out of his face. He nodded and changed.

“What happened?” he asked. It was surprising both you and him how worried you were. Maybe he wasn’t that bad? He just seemed so weak, you couldn’t help but want to make his better.

“You were out all night and collapsed in the field where we first met. You must have caught the cold because you were so wet and cold. I brought you back when I found you.” you told him. His green eyes were hazy and unfocused, he looked so cute.

“I’ll be back soon. I’m just going to run out and get you some more cloths. Try to get some sleep.” you said and rubbed his ears soothingly before you left. He just nodded and closed his eyes. You raced to the nearest town and entered a thrift store.

You chose out a lot of grays and dark colors for him, a few shirts and pants, a sweater. You also got him some boxers, he’d be needing them. You moved across the street and grabbed some more food, so you could keep you both well fed. You made sure to grab plenty of chicken soup and carrots.

You were looking through the breads when you saw your ex. He looked up and saw you. You busied yourself with looking for breads, trying to act like you hadn’t seen him.

“[Name]?” he asked. He had walked up to you, trying to strike a conversation.