He woke feeling refreshed, but also hungry. Hunting in the thick forest was harder than on the open plains, but eventually he managed to find a herd of deer in a clearing. Well fed now as well as rested he continued on into the night. Once again he passed over darkened woods. He flew high above, not wanting to disturb anyone below. He knew the elves were very protective of their settlements, and passing too low over one might catch him an arrow. He was glad he'd done so when, a little past midnight, he passed over a blaze of lights below. They were in among the trees, rather than in a cleared space, but there were so many that he could see them clearly even through the branches of the evergreens that dominated this part of the forest, a golden glow that was strong enough to paint gold highlights on his wings, even at such a distance. Some of the lights were other colors, red or blue or even purple, and between that and the trees he knew it was no human settlement. But he was far, far above, and he passed over it without incident.

The sunrise was gorgeous. The sky held only a few clouds, but they caught the light in a thousand shades of pink and red and gold, and the snowy forest threw the light back up from the ground. Aidan touched the medallion at his neck and smiled, feeling a surge of gratitude for it, for the gift of sunlight. He once again flew on through the day. He passed over one mixed village, but saw no elven settlements, though he may well have passed over dozens. Even in winter they blended into the forest during daylight, especially from above.

He was glad of the sunset and the renewed energy it brought. He was tired. He flew on still into the darkness, the stars above more than enough to light his way. Before the night was far gone he saw the outline of mountains against the horizon ahead of him. They had run to his right in the west since he'd crossed the ocean, but now they rose up ahead, tall and black against the deep blue of the night sky. Now he knew how much further he had to go. He considered the time, and mentally measured out the distance. He would arrive in the very early morning hours before the dawn, if he flew on straight. Perhaps he should stop and rest, and feed again, rather than arrive at such a time, tired and hungry. He had no idea what Thomas would think of his vampirism, but it wouldn't help matters to arrive in need of a meal.

Just then he flew over a little village. The forest was cleared for a little ways around it, and there were lights below at the center of the town. That looks like it might be an inn, he thought. I can rest for a few hours, and find something to eat, and arrive during daylight. He circled down out of the sky and landed in the center of town, next to the building with the most lights. A somewhat battered sign hanging in front of it showed the universal symbol of inns and taverns everywhere, a bunch of grapes. Whether they rented rooms there was yet to be seen, but at least here was somewhere where he could sit down and relax for a few hours.

He opened the door and stepped into a warmly lit room. It was full but not crowded. He threaded his way through drinking villagers and serving girls to the bar where a middle-aged man was pouring drinks. He drew a look or two, he was the only aerian in the room, but most of the men ignored him entirely.

"Excuse me sir." He addressed the man behind the bar. "Do you have rooms for rent?"

"We do indeed."

"Wonderful! How much?"

The innkeeper quoted a price that Aidan found quite reasonable, and in exchange for a handful of coppers Aidan found himself possessed of a shiny brass key. “There you go lad. Do you want someone to come and wake you come morning?”

Aidan considered. If he slept past sunrise, which he was likely to do, he'd have a hard time waking before the sun set again. But he didn’t want to be up at the crack of dawn either. He’d much rather get some daylight rest. “How late can I stay in the room?” he asked.

“Ah, you want to laze a-bed come morning eh? Well, no trouble here. So long as you’re out by mid-afternoon so the girls can get the room cleaned for the next night.”

“Thank you. In that case, I’d would appreciate somebody coming to wake me about noon. Just have them knock on the door." No sense scaring some servant girl half to death by letting her come in and find that I'm not breathing, he thought with a smile.

“I’ll send someone then. And for the moment, can I get you somewhat to drink?”

Aidan shook his head. “No thank you.”

“You sure? We’ve some very good ales here.”

“Quite sure. I don’t drink ale, or anything alcoholic for that matter.” This was true, though before becoming a vampire he hadn’t turned up his nose at the occasional glass.

“You’re a rare bird ‘round these parts then," said the barkeep with a smile. "Er, no offence,” he added, glancing at Aidan’s white wings.

“None taken. I don’t mind a good joke.” He smiled, but didn’t show his teeth. However welcoming people might be to an aerian, he knew they wouldn’t be nearly so happy at having a vampire in their midst.

Aidan noticed a young woman, a little younger than he, watching his exchange with the innkeeper. She caught his gaze and quickly looked away. Aidan wondered what he’d said or done to cause her interest. With a mental shrug he turned back to the innkeeper. The atmosphere was warm and friendly here and Aidan decided he wanted to stay and enjoy the company. But a man without a glass stands out like a sore thumb in a bar. Even if he hadn’t just told the innkeeper he didn’t drink he couldn’t pretend to drink ale. Experience had shown him that alcohol fumes actually made him feel sick and he’d have a hard time not showing it. The general scent of it in the air wasn't too bad, but there was no way he'd be able to bring a glass of the stuff to his lips. But he could pretend to drink water, or some other non-alcoholic drink.

“Excuse me again, but do you have anything that’s not alcoholic here?”

The innkeeper shook his head. “Nothing but water.”

“Could I have a glass of water then?”

The innkeeper shrugged as if he found the idea strange, but filled one of the battered tin ale mugs with water and slid it across the bar to Aidan.

“Thank you,” said Aidan. Then, taking his mug he went over near the fire where a group of young men were drinking and telling jokes. He felt eyes following him, and guessed that the young woman who’d shown such an interest in his conversation with the innkeeper was still watching him. He decided to just ignore her. He found a chair, and was welcomed into the group, with a few predictable bird jokes. He smiled good-naturedly, careful to not show his teeth. As the night wore on, he sipped occasionally from his mug. The water did him no good, but small amounts of it did him no harm either. He told a few jokes of his own, and just generally enjoyed being in human company. However much he loved Flame Song and their home in the north, it did get a little bit lonely at times. He had missed being around people. Gradually he began to relax and really enjoy himself.