The Lay of the Land

**The Lay of the Land** is an InCryptid short story. It is second in the Alice and Thomas Shorts.

## Synopsis

Thomas Price has seen the world, has studied and fought unbelievable creatures on every continent, and knows more about cryptids than almost anyone else alive. But he's never seen anyplace like Buckley Township, Michigan, and he's certainly never met anyone like Alice Healy, who is far too young for him, far too much a Healy for him, and far too wild to disregard. This is going to be an interesting assignment.

Unable to understand why her ever-tolerant father wants her to write off a newcomer as dangerous solely because of his origins, Alice Healy has set herself on a collision course with Thomas Price--a man who needs companionship, answers, and someone to guide him through the tangled ecosystems of the local wood, where the unwary go in, but don't come out.

It's the beginning of a beautiful friendship, and a new chapter in the story of the Healy family. Assuming that Alice can get Thomas through the woods alive, and Mary can convince Alice not to get Thomas murdered by her father.

## Plot

Alice is grounded after her escapade in the swamp, and stir crazy. Enid lets her slip away while Jonathan is at work, even giving Alice some shortbread to pass along to Thomas.

Alice gives Thomas a tour of the swamp. Thomas, as Enid did earlier that day, gives Alice a lesson on Covenant family lines. They find an injured tailypo that Alice convinces Thomas to take in.

Spooked by the Parrish Place and wanting to explain why to Thomas, Alice summons Mary and introduces them. Thomas recognizes Mary for a ghost almost immediately. When Alice runs off to beat her father home, Mary warns Thomas not to break Alice's heart. Thomas protests that he's ten years older than Alice, but Mary is not convinced.

## Characters

* Alice Healy
* Jonathan Healy
* Thomas Price
* Enid Healy
* Mary Dunlavy

**Mentioned**

* Frances Healy
* Alexander Healy
* Naga

## Field Guide

* Fricken
* Igneous scorpion
* Bloodworm
* Tailypo
* Crossroads ghost

**Mentioned**

* Aeslin Mice
* Jackalope
* Swamp hagfish
* Swamp bromeliad
* Burrowing viper
* Angler tortoise

## Locations

* Buckley Township, Michigan
	+ Library (mentioned)
	+ Healy Home
	+ Parrish Place

## Continuity

* References to Frances's death.
* Reference to events in The Way Home.
* Thomas speculates that Fran must have passed on some "preternaturally good luck" to Alice.

## Trivia

* The mice were doing a ritual to honor Caroline and "something impressive she'd done with a bed sheet".
* Enid bakes a runic shortbread filled with symbols to prevent demonic possession.
* Thomas's clothes tend toward khakis and button down shirts. He has tattoos all over his arms.
* The Covenant had rumors of Caroline Carew keeping some kind of intelligent rodent as a pet, though Aeslin were never mentioned.
* Enid was pregnant when they left England. Field operatives learned Jonathan's name about 15 years ago.
* Alice is sixteen. Thomas is twenty-six.
* Alice is already blushing and tongue-tied around Thomas. Mary warns him not to break Alice's heart.
* Buckley was founded in 1850 and is different from Buckley Village, Michigan.

## Quotes

* "You can't breed for personality types," said Alice. "Oh, really. Tell me more about this lack of specialization, my violent, excitable child of a violent, excitable woman." Enid's smile softened.
* "We're all the children of our parents, both by blood and by they way they raised us." -Enid
* “No one is the bad guy in their own story. You have to remember that. The Covenant did a lot of good in their time, when humanity was in a more precarious position. Now, well. We walked away for legitimate reasons. Even the best orders, given with the best of intentions, can eventually turn sour when they’re followed without thought.” -Enid
* "[Alice's] mother -- whoever she had been -- must have brought something extra to the table, some indefinable degree of preternaturally good luck that she had then passed on to her daughter. It was honestly the only explanation for why Alice was still among the living." -Thomas
* "Sometimes scientists find a thing and it gets turned to 'real,' and then everybody knows it's there. Only if it's a dangerous thing, even if it's been minding its own business in the woods for centuries, all of a sudden people feel like they have to kill it. I guess humans are just offended by the idea that there's stuff out there that can make them die." -Alice
* "Hello. Yes, hello, strange North American mammal. You have a lovely tail. Let's see if we can't keep you alive for another season of doing whatever horrible thing it is you do." -Thomas