The Gaian Spirit: Aife's Return

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost Girl (TV show and etc.) which includes any of its characters, dialogue and story arcs. I also don't own any other book, movie, song, character or dialogue I may have mentioned along the way. I just so happened to use it for nonprofit able fun in my spare time.

Chapter 1 – Where It All Faegan

The first time Dyson ever heard her name, it was from the Ash, her name jumbled up with others as he told them about an important case. The first time he ever saw her, he was looking at a picture of her from the 1920s, her hair long despite the fashion of the time, her face cold and haunted. The first time he ever saw her smile, she was smiling at him, warming his stomach like a teenage boy's when he sees a pretty girl. The first time he ever kissed her, it was heaven.

"Come in and sit down,"

Dyson and Hale looked at each other, raised eyebrows revealing their curiosity. The Ash wasn't usually so nervous about anything… uptight maybe, but never nervous. Many of the younger Fae that worked for the Ash thought that he thought of himself too good to show any emotions. The older Fae knew that it was simply the result of the time he was born into.

Dyson and Hale settled into the twin chairs that were positioned in front of the Ash's mahogany desk and waited silently for the Ash to continue. The Ash wasn't one to beat around the bush so all they had to do what wait as the Elder Fae reached into one of his desk drawers to pull out a file, throwing the things down on his desk.

"The Norn is asking us for a favor-"

"A favor?" Dyson snorted in disbelief as Hale reached for the file and started flipping through it lazily. "The Norn doesn't ask favors,"

"Exactly," the Ash nodded, walking around his desk with his hands pressed together. "This means that we must jump at the chance of receiving a favor owed from her before the Dark can. We cannot spoil this rare opprotunity or else face the wrath of the Morrigan and Norn combined,"

"Mess what up?" Hale asked, flipping a picture in his fingers so it aimed at the Ash. "Is she putting out a hit on a couple a pretty ladies that she couldn't kill herself?"

The Ash let out a long breath through his nose, obviously annoyed with the siren's blatant idiocy in relation to the case. "If these were any normal women and the Norn wanted them, dead or alive, she would have them… However, this is a bit more complicated than a hit,"

Dyson waited, patient as the hunter he used to be.

"A month ago, the Norn's daughters went missing-"

"The Norn has daughters?"

The Ash gave the siren another annoyed look that forced him into silence. "They aren't her daughters in a conventional way that you or Dyson were born into this world. The Norn creates her children from her tree, creates them from her image to be her assistants. A Gaian spirit.

"A month ago, the Norn's youngest daughters went missing. Leah, Thea and Lily. She sent her third eldest out after them but hasn't heard from her in two weeks. When she tried to locate them she found that something was blocking her abilities to call them. She's decided to ask the Light and the Dark for aid in finding them,"

"Any leads?"

"The hearts of Gaian spirits have unique properties when harvested," the Ash explained as he sat down behind his desk. "As you can imagine, the spirits themselves are exceedingly rare. Many of the Norn's children have been murdered by Fae seeking their hearts to sell on the black market or used in potions and the like,"

"So we're looking for dealers?"

The Ash bobbed his head noncommittally. "Possibly. That's what the Norn seems to think,"

"Anything else we need to know about this case?"

The Ash nodded his head towards Hale. "That is a file of everything the Norn has divulged, which is not a lot. However, there are pictures of each of the missing and…" He reached back into his desk to pull out a plastic bag, placing down on his desk nearest to Dyson. Dyson took the back and opened it, looking in to find inside it was a shirt that held age in its faded colors. "That's for you, Dyson. The Norn said that anyone with a nose would be able to get a scent from the shirt. It was eldest of the missing's,"

Dyson opened the bag and let loose his wolf, allowing his alter ego to the forefront so that he could pick up the scent on the shirt. The wolf entered his eyes as the woman filled his senses, telling him that this was not a piece of clothing she wore often. The wolf also told him that she was very much a nature Fae, the scent of wet earth and grass making up most of her scent, a hint of vanilla shampoo mixed in. With the scent filed away in his memory, Dyson pulled back his wolf into a place in his mind that allowed Dyson control over his instincts. He opened his eyes to find the Ash watching him but Dyson knew that all he'd see was his typical pale blue eyes.

"The Norn's children are qi eaters," the Ash continued. "If they are alive, when you find them you will need to be careful when caring for them,"

Hale nodded, handing the file over to Dyson. "Understood,"

Dyson took the file and opened it to reveal three pictures.

The first was a color photograph that looked to be only a few years old, the clothes still in style and the image seeming to be taken digitally. The blonde girl in the photo looked for all the world a little angel, her smile sweet and innocent even through the camera lens. At the bottom of the picture was a sticker that proclaimed her Lily.

The next photograph was obviously older, the state and preservation of the picture showing its age. The style of the two girls in the photo pinned the era the picture was taken to be sometime in the eighties, both had their chocolate hair teased out as if they had stuck their fingers in an electrical socket, their makeup heavy and clothes authentic to the era. These two were Leah and Thea, both looking like fraternal twins.

The last picture was odd. He was looking at a picture from the 1920s but the woman in the picture didn't seem to fit the era at all. Much longer than was typical for the fashion in that time, her dark hair wasn't curled or done up in the style one typically saw, but pulled into a low bun on her neck. Her face was beautiful and her lightly colored eyes shined as she watched him from inside the picture, but even Dyson could tell that something was haunting her, even back then.

This was Nuana.

"We'll be right on it," Dyson assured the Ash as he handed back the plastic bag, Hale and him standing to leave. "We'll call you with an update when we find anything,"

"Good luck,"

They needed it.

It took them a whole other week before they caught any leads which was much longer than they would have liked when dealing with the black market. It was only coincidence that they had been working on uprooting a recently established black market location when Dyson caught her scent. Hale recognized the look on Dyson's face and followed him as the Were stalked through the warehouses, following him down into the basement of one in particular. While Dyson walked in, still able to see in the darkness with his Wolf vision, Hale couldn't see anything… but it didn't take a Were nose for Hale to catch the smell of body odor and feces, stopping him at the door.

Dyson continued inside, moving along the number of dog crates stacked against the walls, scenting out each of the figures in the crates. Most of the crates were empty but those that were filled had mostly dead bodies rotting inside. The few crates with those still alive enough to whimper as he passed them were mostly at the far end of the room. Here, Dyson found three crates that had figures that smelled of wet soil, one of which was plainly Nuana. With wolf-like claws, he ripped open the doors, gently pulling out the two twins who whimpered and smelled of fear when he touched them. The last was Nuana who was limp in his arms as he dragged her out, most likely unconscious from starvation.

The lights came on, making Dyson growl in protest as the twins curled around each other, one of them keeping her frightened eyes on him as he held their unconscious elder sister. When she spoke, her voice was hoarse though she didn't betray the fear Dyson could smell. "Who are you?"

"The Norn called in a favor," Hale informed them as he walked over; informing them he was behind them before they could jump away. "The Ash sent us to find you,"

"Where is Lily?" she asked desperately, looking between Hale and Dyson. "They took her away yesterday. We haven't seen her since. Please, Lily was the youngest of us. Find her,"

Dyson and Hale looked to each before the siren nodded and left to look for her.

"You don't have to be afraid anymore. You're safe," Dyson told in a soothing voice, hoping to help calm down both twins down. "What's your name?"

"I'm Leah…" the girl told him before gesturing to the girl huddled in her arms. "This is my branch-sister, Thea. The one you're holding is Nuana,"

"Will she be alright until we get her to the compound?"

Leah looked up at Dyson with dull eyes. "No… She stopped talking yesterday. She's been feeding us qi to keep us alive,"

"Will she kill me if I let her feed on me?"

Leah shook her head. "No. You are Wolf. In her weak state you will have enough strength to stop her if she becomes too desperate. You'll give her enough strength to come back to us,"

Dyson nodded before situated the woman in his arms so that she was propped up against his leg as he leaned back against the cages. He pulled her head towards him until their lips touched, her sudden intake of breath telling him that she knew he was there.

"Feed, sister," Leah whispered, touching her hand. "Live,"

Nuana was hesitant, Dyson could feel it in the swaying of her body against his leg and the second it took before she inhaled. But once she began feeding, she did it thoroughly. Her fingernails bit into his chest through his shirt as she pulled him closer, forcing him to let loose a lusty growl that he hadn't meant to make.

Energy he didn't know he had swirled in his chest before it came flowing up and out of his open mouth and into hers. It felt like every emotion and sense of energy he had was leveled out, the places that had too much were taken away and the places that he was lacking filled. He felt at peace for once in his life, the instincts of his wolf calming into a soft hum in the back of his head.

Nuana let go of him in an instant, her hazel-green eyes wide as she stared at him as if she hadn't realized he'd been sitting there. The look reminded him of how a doe looked just before he attacked them in his wolf form. This woman, however, didn't make him want to eat or hunt, she just made him smile and want to curl up at her feet like a pup.

"Better?"

The Gaian spirit ducked her head in embarrassment and nodded.

He helped her to her feet, keeping an arm around her waist when she swayed. Her eyes were sad as she took in the state of her sisters before they grew panicked when she realized one was missing. Her hold on his arm became painful as look around the room, desperate to find her sister.

"Lily!"

Just then Hale arrived, taking the stairs two at a time as he came down the stairs, a small blue cooler in one hand. When he looked up at them all, he wore a sad expression that all four of them could interpret. Almost instantly the twins began to wail, as if their own hearts were currently being cut out of their chests. Nuana on the other hand became stoic, her hazel-green eyes becoming haunted as she stepped away from Dyson and towards Hale. Once she reached him, she held out her hand towards the cooler, silently requesting it.

Hale didn't argue.

"We should get you out of here,"

With her strength returning thanks to her feed, Nuana was able to assist the two men in evacuating her sisters and the three Fae that had also been locked in the basement. Together, they were all taken to the Ash's compound where the Fae were cared for.

Dyson stood near the door of the infirmary, watching as Leah and Thea remained huddled together on one of the examining tables, only allowing the Fae nurses to look them over as long as they were allowed to remain together. Nuana still held the cooler in her hand and had refused any medical treatment, just allowed the Ash to speak with her as they waited for their ride to arrive. It had been nearly an hour since they'd arrived at the compound when the now familiar smell that Dyson had come to associate with Gaian spirits wafted down the hall towards the infirmary.

The wolf looked up just as the door slid open and two identical looking figures, one male and one female, both with dark hair that was as dark black as the night sky walked in. Shocking greens eyes scanned the room until they fell on their sisters, relief clouding them as they made their way across the room.

"Maia!" the twins exclaimed happily, opening their arms to the woman.

The man immediately went to Nuana's side, ignoring the Ash as he approached her. The two were close; it was obvious to anyone in the way they talked without using words. He gently caressed her face as he kissed her on the forehead, glancing down at the cooler she guarded with a knowing look. His hands dropped to her shoulders, squeezing comfortingly before he turned away from her. The man searched the room until he found Dyson leaning against the wall. He approached and silently put a hand out to Dyson who took it in a warrior's shake, hands clasping forearms.

"I thank you for returning my sisters to me," the Gaian spirit told them with a bow of his head, his long braid of hair swing behind him. "My Mata will owe your side for your services but I offer a favor to you personally. If you need me, I will come,"

"Thank you," Dyson said, bowing his head in respect.

"I trust," the Ash began as the two eldest Gaian spirits turned to look at him. "that the Norn will not forget who returned her daughters to her,"

Maia, the woman, nodded her head. "She wishes to display her sincerest thanks in returning our sisters to her. She will answer your call when you are in need of a favor, Ash,"

The Ash smiled and bowed his head. "Thank you,"

"And should you need any services from my siblings and I," Bran continued. "You need only call upon us. This will not hinder your favor from our Mata should you choose to call upon us,"

"I will remember that,"

Bran bowed deeply before helping Maia gather up his sisters to take them home. They were all headed out the door except for Nuana, who still stood beside Dyson, her eyes on the floor."I wanted to thank you. You saved us… me…"

Dyson bowed deeply to her. "It was my pleasure to save you in your time of need, Nuana. I hope you won't need me again,"

Nuana smiled at him, a smile that warmed his stomach like a teenage boy's when he sees a pretty girl. It made Dyson uncomfortable and giddy at the same time, nearly causing him to miss what she said. "… get kidnapped again though, I hope it is you my Mata sends,"

Hale coughed.

"As my brother has already said to both you and the Ash; If you are ever in need of anything, Wolf, you need only call,"

"Thank you,"

Nuana smiled, reaching up on her tip toes to kiss him lightly on his bearded cheek. The action sent warmth through him and sent his wolf purring inside his head. Whatever this Gaian spirit could do, qi eater or not, it was making Dyson act like a teenager again and was making his wolf react in strange ways. He wasn't completely sure whether he was okay with it or not.

Nuana leaned back and smiled at him again. "Until we meet again,"

Over the next year, Dyson and Nuana became friends. They hadn't expected it until the Ash started calling on the Gaian spirits for work that was closely linked with most of Dyson's cases. Nuana had been the one to come in on most of the cases, enjoying the work that the Ash offered as opposed to sitting around at home waiting for her Mata to send her after some poor Fae. The two talked about everything and nothing when they crossed paths at the Ash's compound and laughed when they had lunches together during consulting days.

The two bonded well over their similarities. They both had long lives- though hers far outshined his thousand years- the two of them speaking of the old days when they were drunk enough to recount them to each other without the pain of remembering. They worked well together, got along easy and enjoyed each other's company on cases and nights at the Dal.

The night it changed was the night the two were drunk enough to sleep together.