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Elanor's ash brown hair was catching on branches, her dark eyes were open so wide that she looked deer-like. She did not slow down while she wrapped her scarf around her neck a few times so that it would not tug her back, stuck on some tree. Her green parka jacket was taking branch slaps like armour, and her brown leather boots felt as if Hermes' wings were attached to them at this moment. Samoyed was effortlessly keeping pace next to her, and Elanor was scared to look back and see if the fae was still following them. The birch grove was changing into the rocky highlands.

It was definitely after sunset, but the skies were still quite bright. On Earth, one could see it on a winter night during snowfall, when it reflects dim streetlight and clouds act like a giant diffuser, creating a phenomenon called skyglow. The weather, however, was quite warm, and Elanor could feel sweat running down her back; her breathing was heavy, and she wondered how much more running she could withstand today. Was it even still today? It felt like weeks had passed since she woke up on the morning of her birthday.

Very soon, Elanor could barely put one foot ahead of the other, and she hobbled to a sizable boulder, falling to the ground and leaning against it. Lumi jumped at her and started licking her face. Elanor burst in quiet, exhausted laughter and scratched his beautiful face. 

"Lumi! I'm so glad you're alright. We just need to find our way back now."

Lumi happily woofed and kept wagging his tail. Elanor opened her backpack and took out a protein bar and a bottle of water. They shared a full bottle, Lumi refused the bar she offered, and Elanor chewed it up, forcing herself to move her jaw, barely staying awake. Samoyed lay down and she gently lowered her head on his back, falling asleep as soon as her eyes closed.

***

Elanor woke up from feeling the heat of the sunrays on her face. She slept far past dawn, and the day promised to be hot. She must have crawled out of her parka during the night when she got too hot. Bright green grass filled her sight when she opened her eyes. Lumi greeted her with a cheerful woof, and the girl hugged him happily. 

"Let's see, Lumi, where are we? It looks like the Scottish Highlands to me; I saw them on postcards. I wonder if there is a stone here that brings you home once you touch it. Or was it that it brings you back in time?..."

There were no clouds in the sky, but it was not blue and instead beamed with a bright lavender hue. Butterflies flew around, and she spotted some bees near low patches of heather. The wind was quite strong and smelled of the sea. Some buttercups trembled at her feet. Elanor tied her jacket to the backpack, took out another bottle of water and some cheese, and this time Lumi gratefully accepted the food. 

She only made a few sips and hid the bottle back inside. Her body was sore and rigid from the mad exercise of yesterday and probably from sleeping on the ground. Grunting, she put the backpack on and wished she had packed some sunglasses or a hat. She was about to head to a crooked tree that stood further in the hills and looked like a pine from afar, when Lumi tugged his leash in her hands and made a few steps in the opposite direction, looking back at Elanor expectantly. 

"I was thinking if we reach that tree, I could climb it and look around," she explained to the dog.

Lumi rotated in place and turned his sight back at her. 

"Alright, this really looks like you insist. But please, never scare me like yesterday again."

Samoyed let out a high dog cry, which sounded like an apology. He led Elanor away from the rocky plains along a small stream. Elanor could now see, if she paid attention, tiny windows and doors in the clay banks on the sides of the stream. Faeries, however, hurried inside as soon as Elanor came near, and those who did not manage to disappear on time simply turned their backs toward her and did not acknowledge human presence in any way.

"I imagined humans sometimes find themselves in Faery, but it doesn't look like they have the greatest reputation. Why would they avoid us so, if not for unpleasant past experience?"

"Woof."

"Agreed."

Elanor was really concerned about accidentally stepping on someone's house, so she couldn't walk too fast. Lumi, it seemed, had no such anxieties and trottled a few steps ahead, his head up and his tail wagging. Occasionally, he would sniff the ground and continue his confident stroll. 

Gradually, the faery homes began to expand in size and elaborateness. Most of them merged into the surroundings in a seamless mimicry way, but some would pop up, made entirely of mother-of-pearl scales, bones, or colored pieces of glass. Oaks, maples and alders were starting to appear more often, and they entered a beautiful waterfall area, where Elanor sat down for a quick energy bar lunch.

Waterfalls were not very tall, but they were gurgling in a comforting murmur and formed a lagoon at the bottom. Elanor was tempted to swim and clean herself of yesterday's mad run, but she did not trust who she could find in those waters and simply sat on the rocky bank, playing fetch with Lumi using a piece of kindling he found on the way. 

Suddenly, she felt the temperature drop a few degrees. The shift was reminding her of walking into an air-conditioned building in the middle of the summer. She looked up and realized that the sun was hidden behind a small cloud. That's when a grey horse emerged from the lake, bearing a masked figure in a dark cloak.