Moonflowers

-keep away-

Alima heads to Galway with the group for a day trip, though she's not surprised when she takes three hours to find a dress in her size. (But at least she also finds a couple of tops.) They take her to Aniar for lunch--once she spots lamb ribs on the menu, she immediately orders it, to Brighid's delight.

"Lamb friends!" She claps. "I must be the only one who likes goat and sheep meat."

"Those are weird," Aine remarks over her crab. "They taste good at a restaurant, but at home I can never get the gamey taste out."

"If you don't like it, the trick's to trim the fat and soak it in milk the night before," Brighid tells her.

"No wonder. I get trimming the fat, but I'm not wasting milk on some bloody sheep meat," Aine digs the last of the claw meat out.

"Well, more for me and Alima, then," Brighid retorts.

-----

Next is a bar crawl--Aine and Harry are the drivers. Alima steps out with Owen when she needs a breather, and Brighid follows. "I swear, Brighid, I'm not going to throw up," Alima tells her.

"Well, what am I supposed to think when everyone's been drinking?" Brighid sits on the curb. "Anyway, I only had two or three, so--"

"Okay, fine. I'm a little off." Alima shoves Owen when he smirks at her.

"Are you a cunning-man, mate?" Someone asks. Three men have followed them out from the bar. "I hear the Knights of Aaron met you once."

The name alerts Brighid instantly, and she tries to get Owen inside. "S-sir, I think you're mistaken--Owen, come on!" She motions for Alima as well.

"What else did you hear, mate?" Owen asks, eyes narrowed.

The first man grins. "I hear they threw you in the river 'cause you're a fag."

"Wrong person, sods! They don't have the balls for that!" He lunges out of Brighid's grasp, hair and eyes burning like night.

"Oh god, Mal!" Brighid shrieks.

-----

"There are people you can't save," declares a Knight of Aaron. "He's no changeling, but--"

"Oh, really?! I'm fucking twenty, and everyone just now realized I'm not that kind of fairy?!" Owen spits out a clot and drags himself up on an oak tree. "Nobody ever thought that shit, not till last week! They just want to get rid of the queer!" He wrenches a gnarled branch off and shoulders towards the rushing water.

"Owen!" Mal grabs him. "I know you got hit with a crowbar, but even you have to know the river's not--Owen, listen to me!"

"You are my best friend, Malachy Bray." Owen crushes his hand for emphasis, then turns to the Knights. "You think I'm afraid to die? You think I'll marry someone with tits if you hit hard enough? Or do you think I'm afraid of you?"

There is a tentative silence.

"Well, I follow the People of Danu!" Owen retorts. "And they say to FUCK. THAT. NOISE! I fear nothing of God's men, and I will NOT. DIE. HERE!" He pushes Mal away and lets himself plummet into the Maidin.

"OWEN!" Mal skids down after him, but the snow-melt is faster than anyone could swim.

-----

One man holds Owen down while the other two gang up on him. Something's wrong with Brighid--she's frozen white, tears running like a waterfall. "Mal! They've got Owen!"

The others come out with the doorman, whose lips thin when he sees the lopsided fight. "No ganging up on a drunk bloke!" He orders, and hoists one of them off. "If you're going to fight, at least--"