If somebody had told Jace Matthews that today of all days he would be rescuing some clueless person called Finn from the nightmare that was caps-lock on Mal’s phone then he would have seriously questioned their sanity.

As it was, here he was, closing the distance and seeking out the Bake My Day, following the scent of bread and letting his feet lead the way. Even if he hadn’t known how to get to the bakery he could easily identify where to find Finn.

How did he know?

Well, one look at the tall handsome brunette clad in what looked like green cut-offs, accosting people in the street about somebody called Ophie and how he must find her immediately was certainly not something you saw every day on the streets of Mercy Cove.

With a smirk firmly in place, he strode over, confidently. “You must be Finn.”

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To say that the afternoon was not going to Finn’s plan, was most certainly an understatement.

After a few tankards of ale before departing for this realm, it had all seemed so straightforward, so clear and obvious to him. Ophie had been gone, far longer than she had originally told him. It had seemed so clear and obvious in his head that the only reason that she could have gone this long like this was because she was being held against her will.

So, to hear that not only was she perfectly fine, but she had actually been in the first place he had happened upon, well…..it was a slight anti-climax to say the least.

Still, Finn was nothing if not determined, and he planned to see Ophie with his own two eyes before he considered any sort of journey back to the other realm. So, try as he might, he continued to make his way through the town, asking people for directions to his best friends’ location.

For some odd reason though, his requests seem to be met with annoyance and odd looks. Was it really so unordinary for someone to ask for directions in this place?

Hearing a voice call his name, his smile grew from ear to ear. “And you must be the man with the soft looking hair. Good morrow to you sir, it is fine to make your acquaintance” he exclaimed, bowing in an over-the-top way as he did.

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Jace paused, took in both sight and sound of this Finn character, and determined right there and then that he was most definitely not from this realm. The next time he saw or spoke to Mal he was going to do his best to sell him on the benefits of a face or fingerprint ID on his phone.

“Name’s Jace,” he said once Finn had lifted out of the bow. “Pleasure to meet you, Finn.”

He gestured to the phone. “Let’s get you out of caps lock, hey?”

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Raising himself out of his deep bow, Finn allowed himself to straighten up and properly look at his saviour for the first time. A smile creeping across his face, he couldn’t help but think that the chances of him enjoying this realm and period were extremely high, if this gentleman was anything to go by.

“And my name is Finn Grove,” he responded, a wide grin on his lips, before he frowned slightly. “And once more, you have my gratitude, I am quite unsure of how to reverse it so it no longer appears as though I am shouting. It is why I was most concerned for Ophie when I learned this device belonged to Mal. I thought he must be an angry and fierce opponent if he constantly yelled in his communications”

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Well for as strange and obviously new to this world as Finn was Jace could not fault his genes, not in the slightest. He was tall, really good-looking, killer pair of dimples, and the sort of hair you could imagine felt really nice between and around your fingers.

“Pleasure to meet you, Finn Grove.”

He shifted and took the phone in hand, quickly assessing what had happened, and immediately finding the root of the problem. “You see this?” He asked, tipping the phone towards Finn. “This is where the issue is, you see?. All you have to do is switch this off…” Jace adjusted the slider and then opened up a message so that Finn could see that caps lock was now off except for when it was needed, of course “....and you’re no longer shouting.”

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Watching with intense interest as Jace operated the device with seemingly little difficulty, Finn found himself quite in disbelief at how wonderfully nuanced these little things could be.

Taking the strange little rectangle back from his friend, he gave a nod of his head before sliding into his pocket. “My deepest appreciation for your assistance. Once I have found my dearest Ophie and I am a little more on my feet, I hope that I might repay your kindness and assistance” he proclaimed, a hand placed on Jace’s shoulder.

“Now new friend, would you be kind enough to be of assistance once more? Ophie has said that she is located at a bookshop, and not being from the area, I am quite unsure of how I might navigate myself back to such a place”

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“Don’t worry about it,” Jace remarked with a shake of his head. “It’s not like I gave you my kidney or something.” Which was truly a huge and momentous thing to do, but he belatedly realised that Finn might not understand the importance. “That, for the record, is worthy of kindness and assistance being repaid.”

Bookshop? Well, considering Finn had Mal’s phone it just made sense that it would be his bookshop in question.

“I’ll show you the way.”

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Perhaps Finn was probably being a little more ostentatious then he should have been, being a stranger in such a foreign land, but he did not dwell on it for long. He had a quest to embark on, a task to undertake and with his new companion by his side, he was convinced that there was no way in which he could fail.

“Do not belittle the kindness you have shown me. When I asked for assistance on the road, I was met with mocking and odd looks. There are not many people who would offer assistance to a new person in these lands. I appreciate your assistance” he insisted, not wanting Jace to belittle what he saw as being a saviour to him in his quest.

“Now tell me Jace, have you been in this town for long? Or, like me, are you simply a traveller who is passing through?” he asked him curiously, as they began to move towards the bookshop.

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“Born and raised,” Jace answered. “And I’ve only really travelled than left for an extended period of time.” Not that he’d ever really wanted to, not when everything and everybody he loved was in Mercy Cove.

He held out a hand to stop Finn in his tracks as they neared a road and it looked as though the other was about to head out into traffic. “You don’t want to get hit by one of those, trust me.”

“So, aside from some of the less pleasant members of our town, how are you finding it so far?”

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It was lucky that Jace caught him when he did, because with the amount of ignorance that Finn had when it came to this realm was almost dangerous. Giving a startled look as the boxed metal thing seemed to wiz past them both, he paused before offering Jace a rather apologetic smile. Yes, he was most certainly in need of updating his knowledge of this place.

“It is quite hard to say, as of yet, if I must be honest” he responded, his eyes looking across the horizon for other signs of danger. “This place is most different from my experience of when I have been here before. So many new things, there certainly were not as many of these shiny things on wheels when I was here before. It is both odd and curious, it makes me want to stay a little longer to see what else the world has to offer right now”

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“Where are you from?” Jace asked, genuinely curious. Particularly given the fact that Finn definitely did look like he was from around the local area and he definitely did not sound like he did either. He had a formal way of speaking, the way he constructed his sentences reminded Jace of how language was written in fantasy novels.

He took them over another street before rounding on the bookshop.

The benefit to a small town it never took long to get anywhere.

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Pressing his lips together for a moment, Finn paused as if debating his question. He wasn’t sure, but there was something in the back of his mind that told him that he was not really supposed to reveal to these mundanes where he was truly from. Something about Mundanes being closed-minded or something like, truth be told, he had never been particularly good at remembering the ins and outs of their rules, there just was so many.

 So, instead, he went with the most diplomatic and vague of answers. “I am from a Kingdom far from these shores” he explained, his hand moving out across the line of the horizon.

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Kingdom? Riiight.

Jace’s eyebrow lift spoke volumes though no words left the fire elemental witch’s lips as he figured they’d only just met so it would be rude to go poking at the odd choice of words.

“Well, welcome to Mercy Cove, regardless,” Jace said with a warm smile before coming to a stop outside the bookshop in question. “And I think this is you.”

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His eyes flickering up to the signage outside of the doorway he had first visited what felt like some hours previously, a wide smile crossed his lips. In a short amount of time he would be reunited with his dear friend and everything would be right with the world once more.

Bowing deeply once more, Finn decided to take a slightly different tact this time and took hold of Jace’s hand and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. “Thank you kind Jace for helping me along with my quest. I hope that our paths may cross once more” he grinned before releasing his hand.

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Jace’s eyebrows lifted as Finn kissed his knuckles, taken aback, but definitely not upset by it. “Anytime, Finn. I hope your reunion with your friend goes well.” He smiled as his hand was released. “And he’s hoping.”

With that, the witch bid Finn goodbye.