"Relevantly to this, a thing that happens in a lot of stories is - or, okay, it almost never happens in stories, but characters are often worried about nonhumans getting taken to the government who would then cut them up in order to learn more about how they function.  And I've looked into it some, and I'm pretty much certain that wouldn't happen, but it's actually pretty hard to make a sure prediction of what would happen instead and how much better it might or might fail to be."

"I take it asking would be suspicious?"

"Not so much suspicious as no one would believe me and probably no one would entertain the hypothetical enough to get close to a real answer.  There aren't protocols for magic being real - at least as far as I can find out without presenting evidence - so I suspect it would just be kind of a mad scramble."

"This can't be the only time a fairy has wound up in the mortal world, we do, like, know mortals exist, I've met one in Fairyland."

"Huh.

"I still don't think I would get to know what the protocols that presumably do exist are without presenting evidence, though."

"I suppose I'll take your word for it."

"We can try and figure out a better long term plan later.  I just think hiding you in my house is the safest plan that keeps us - or, you - having the most choices once we figure out more."

"Okay. ...what else needs figuring out?"

"I barely know anything about how you work!  And I get the impression that you don't know very much about how things work here.  Like, in society."

"Okay, do you have... questions?"

"Is it true that I can't hurt you now?"

"Yes. And vice-versa. That's directly, though, I could make you hurt yourself. - you may issue the reciprocal of the order I gave you, if you want." Unspoken is "but you seem weird as fuck so maybe you don't."

"I don't remember the phrasing," he chippers.  "That's good, though; I don't want to hurt you.  What does it feel like to be magically made to do something instead of prevented?"

"It feels just like doing it because you decided to without the decision."

"May I try it?"

"...sure. What do you want me to tell you to do?"

"Oh, something harmless.  But otherwise whatever you want."

"...okay, uh, pat yourself on the head three times."

He transfers both sleeves to one hand in a way that he can apparently be sure won't jostle her and pats his head three times.  - He thinks of patting on the head as implying the top pretty strongly, but she didn't say that - he only develops the desire to try during the first one but by the third can he be aiming for the back?

Yes, he can do that.

"Wow.  That's amazing."

"Are a lot of mortals like you?"

"...There are a lot of mortals and I don't think I'm that weird so there are probably lots of us even though most mortals aren't very much like me.  About this."

"Huh. I've met one before but only once."

"How did they get to Fairyland?"