Griffin burst out laughing. "That's one way to look at it," he said between chuckles.
It took several minutes for Griffin to settle down and catch his breath.
"So," he resumed, "that's the basics of merfolk. Last one we'll go over tonight is fairies."
Nathan sat up straighter at the mention of fairies. "You said they made the food storage box. Do they make other things too?" He asked eagerly.
"Yes, they do. The light crystals are also made by fairies. Please don't ask how. They're secretive about how they make the artifacts people use."
Nathan slumped, having been about to ask that. "Fine, I won't ask. Tell me more about the fairies."
Griffin shifted in his seat, leaning back and crossing his legs. "Let's see. They have the longest confirmed lifespan of about 5000 years."
"Holy crap!" Nathan interrupted. "That's a long time!"
Griffin grinned at him. "Yes, it is. They're also the slowest to reach maturity." He paused, waiting to see if Nathan would ask.
"How long is that?"
"150 years."
Nathan's jaw dropped, his eyes wide.
Continuing like nothing happened, Griffin said, "So aside from being able to produce the artifacts that make others lives easier, they can also commune with nature and influence it. Anything from helping plants grow to asking an ancient tree to move out of the way of new construction. Their biggest worry would be if someone tried cutting down their home forest. Their lifeforce is tied to the forest they were born in. If the forest is in danger, so are they. So be careful if you see fairies in the forest, they might be protecting their home and can be quite vicious when provoked."
Nathan sat silently for several minutes, absorbing everything he'd heard. "Now I'm almost afraid to go out into the forest again," he muttered.
"Don't worry," Griffin soothed. "As long as you're not doing anything to hurt the forest they would have no reason to hurt you."
Nathan slowly nodded before a huge yawn interrupted his thought process.
"Looks like someone's ready for bed."
Getting to his feet, Griffin moved his chair back before dimming the light crystals and checking that the door was bolted. "Come on, little wolf. Let's get some sleep. Another big day tomorrow."
"Yay…" Nathan said, unenthusiastically.
Picking him up, the two of them went to the bedroom.
**********
2 Months Later
"Nate! Where are you?"
Nathan looked up from the wild raspberry bush he'd been picking from. "Coming!" he called back.
Picking up the basket he'd been using to gather berries, he jogged back to the clearing Griffin waited in. "Griff! Look at all these raspberries."
Griffin turned to face him, peering into his basket. "Those look awesome! But that's way more than we need."
Nathan shuffled his feet, not meeting Griffin's eyes. "Well…" he started, "I was hoping you could teach me how to make a pie today."
A wide grin slowly stretched across Griffin's face. "So that's why you picked so many. Of course we can make a pie today."
They walked back to the cabin they shared, laughing and making jokes.
They spent the afternoon in the kitchen, Griffin patiently teaching Nathan to make pie. The only thing he seemed to be able to make though was a mess. He'd somehow ended up covering the two of them and most of the kitchen in flour.