#bergen_county

The house burns!

It's not a magic house. It has no kithain in it. It's just a house.

With 'just people' living there.

Firefighter Tiffany IS special. She's a pooka, known for their good humor , sometimes barbed pranks, and lies. People just see an eccentric woman in firefighter gear. They don't know she's magic.

So even her fellow peers are probably wondering how she got to the second story to find the lost child wailing and coughing in the din.

She brushes her fingers through the walls, casting as she searches "Where's the two legged pup?"

Willow Whisper is so common in these parts by changeling standards to be a given, but it's useful when you can ask a house for help while it burns.

The house tries to scream. They always do. The Dreaming has rules. You don't personify a place while it is on fire and expect it to be happy

She keeps moving as she waits for the answer, waits for the whispered cry of pain to finish. She feels bad about this, she does, but she needs to know.

It answers at last, "Three more rooms, left way... closet."

"Save me..." The house begs.

"Good as new" The pooka lies, when what she means is we're trying. She has more answers, "What's the pup's name?"

"Cindy... cutie pie... honey bun" come the names. No telling if the mom or the dad is the one that calls her honey bun and which calls her cute pie.

Tiffany sends a cold shock at burning wall, not enough to put it out, but reducing the heat for a precious few seconds. Her husband's lessons in winter magic are..handy, "How old is she?"

"Seven years she's sheltered here" It answers

She hopes that means Cindy's age is seven, but it coudl be she moved. She has one more question "Did she somehow start the fire if not who did?" It might count as two.

"No," the house whimpers "That was the stranger. The liquid, the match..." And the whisper dies, even as Tiffany charges into the last room, and chills the fire with another shock of cold. That's all she'll get. But it's enough . This was definitely arson.

Cindy's coughs can now be heard behind the closet door. Tiffany takes what's left in her foam thrower and spritz it down, then opens the door "Cindy? I'm a friend of your mom's. Let's get you out of here, honey!"

Cindy is seven, seven and a month, because months are important! "I dropped to the floor like they said"

"You get a cookie for that" The pooka assures. Cindy's eyes widen in wonder. Sometimes kids, even ordinary kids, see the magical. So Tiffany wags her tail to show she is a friend, and scoops the kid up.

The window is two stories up. The kid would not have the guts to jump alone. The fire fighter? She has that and more... "I know you're all coughy honey, but I need you to make a wish for me. Okay? Wish real hard we could fly. Can you do that?"

"I wish we could," CIndy coughs "I really do I .."

And that's enough for an extra bump to the bunk. Kid's wishes ... powerful shit I'll tell you what

They do fly.... for about three seconds. Craddling the girl from the glass, the firefighter hits it with her fireman's axe, and for a moment, holds the fire fighter axe like Mjollinir ... the hop scotch carries them out, over... and to a tree. They land on the lowest limb. Not the safest place if it catches on, so the pooka drops with the girl immediately to the ground.

"I didn't need those kneecaps anyway" She says "GOT THE KID!" She yells

"Gardener?" The fire captain turns "how the... I got her... she's the last. " He picks her up "If you're done goofing off, Gardener, we can start laying down the heavy stuff and save the house now." Then more kindly "Seriously, you able?"

"Got to, Chief," She answers and looks at the house "I made a promise."

Cindy gets a medic... and Firefighter Tiffany Gardener tries to save the House that was so very helpful.

Unaware that not far off, angry red eyes shoot looks of hate at her. Another Fae should know better than to interfere with autumn sacrifice...after all.

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