Aperio wrapped her arms around Caethya and rested her chin on her love's head. Without her wings to wrap around them both, her affectionate actions seemed very much on display… but it still felt good.

A small part of her wanted to simply pick up her love and teleport them both to the small river she knew was only a short distance away, but the urge to meet the mortal with more mana was higher – even if only a little. And teleporting is a no-no.

"Comfortable?" Caethya asked as she shifted slightly in Aperio's embrace, continuing to speak after the All-Mother had given a confirmatory murmur. "I don't know why, but the lack of mana makes being on this world… disagreeable."

The All-Mother pulled back slightly, a touch of her magic rushing into Caethya to make sure that her love had not suffered any injury due to the lack of mana on Earth. She had tried her best to offset it, simply clouding the Demigoddess in her own mana, but that was seemingly not enough.

"I'm fine," Caethya said, brushing her hands over the arms that held her. "You saturate the surroundings with more mana than some places on Verenier. The lack of it outside a few paces is just a little weird. Like the world does not want us here."

"It probably does not," the All-Mother replied. She hesitated for a moment before she lowered her voice, a touch of her magic ensuring that only Caethya would hear her next words. "It feels like the world is trying to take my mana to feed its System. So far, I have not let it, but the longer I stay, the more I feel like I should not starve it any longer."

The Demigoddess looked up at Aperio, offering a smile. "I am pretty sure you made the System with the intention of supporting every world. But, I am not sure if this one is ready for that kind of power. They are all so weak."

"And fond of questions," Aperio added as she directed her gaze at Adam, who was handing over the card she had given him to the other police officer. "I would prefer it if I could deal with those rabble-rousers like I want to. Going after an unarmed man and then intending to use a weapon while their target has none? Despicable."

"It's not like any fight you start is much different," Caethya remarked. "That would be more akin to bringing an entire army to kill a single sheep."

Aperio frowned slightly before she let out a sigh. "I guess."

Her love was correct that anything she did in a fight would be overkill, but that was one of the few things she could not change. Or wanted to, for that matter. The idea of making someone else strong enough to offer an entertaining bout was much more appealing.

Adam gave the two police officers another nod before they went their separate ways: the man walking to the car, and the woman heading back to Michael. Officer Santori stopped next to Aperio and Caethya, hesitating for a moment before speaking. "You are free to go. If we have any further questions, we will call you."

"What will happen to Micheal?" Caethya asked, while Aperio only gave a low murmur to show that she understood what the woman had said.

"We will have a doctor check him over, just in case, and then record his statement," she replied. "If nothing new comes up, he is also free to go."

Aperio had to suppress the urge to simply teleport to the inn now that their brief encounter with the local law enforcement was done. Her meeting with the more magically-inclined Human was nigh. Does he even know he can use magic?

It was a question she would have to answer on her own, as asking that directly was likely a bad idea. A walk is probably a good thing. She might not need to move around, but it likely would not hurt either.

"I see," Caethya replied. "Then I hope that whatever this was is resolved quickly."

The other woman let out a sigh at the words. "It'll be resolved tomorrow, but that's not what anyone wants. These… altercations between gangs are getting more and more frequent and with the convention coming up-" She stopped and shook her head. "Just stay safe."

"We will," Caethya replied with a smile. "I am certain that nothing here will be a serious danger."

Aperio frowned slightly, but mumbled "Yes" as well. She doubted the mortals present would believe them, but that was luckily not required for it to be true. Only she was.

"Perhaps we should start our way back to the inn," she said, carefully removing her arms from her love and taking a step back. "It is quite a ways away."

"If we need anything, you will get a call," the woman repeated before taking the last few steps that separated her from Micheal.

The All-Mother simply raised a brow and offered a hand to her love who took it without hesitation. It only took the two of them a few strides to close the distance to Adam, but Aperio still had to make a conscious effort to not bend reality a little. Twisting the world to her liking had become second nature to her at this point. Perhaps even a little too much…

Aperio had always said she wanted to live a normal life, and normal people most definitely went for walks with their loved ones, right?

///

The doorbell rang with a pleasant chime as Aperio opened the door that lead into the Dragonfly Inn. She stepped inside, followed by Caethya and Adam only a moment later.

"Quite the place you chose," Adam said, his eyes wandering around the room and briefly lingering on the man that sat in one of the chairs in front of the fire place. "I'll go and look at my room."

"You do that," Aperio replied as she fixed her eyes on the same figure. She leaned closer to Caethya, a touch of her magic ensuring that nobody but her love would hear. "It would seem we were expected."

"Or maybe he just came here to enjoy the atmosphere," Caethya replied. "Though, he does feel a lot stronger than the other people here. Still weak, though."

"Now you know how I feel," the All-Mother mumbled as she stood to her full height again. "This one is the mortal equivalent of wet parchment. Probably less, if I am completely honest. Still, I wish to know what kind of magic Earth has, especially after Adam was so convinced that it did not exist."

"I would not expect too much," Caethya replied before she began walking towards the seated mortal. "Do we tell him what we are if he asks? I doubt he will buy that we are cosplayers if he knows about magic."

"We can tell him that we are Elves," Aperio replied, falling into step behind her love. "If he does not believe that, that is on him. It is technically true after all."

Caethya gave a laugh in reply but did not say anything else, letting the All-Mother drop the magic that had ensured their privacy. The Demigoddess waited until Aperio had passed and taken a seat on the other free chair before setting herself down in her lap.

It was most definitely not the most proper form, but the All-Mother could not help but smile at the action, wrapping her arms around the Demigoddess before shifting slightly to look past her at the mortal. "I assume you have been waiting for us?"

"If you are the one that let their presence linger here, yes," the man replied, his voice a little raspy.

Something about him felt off to Aperio. He was obviously hiding something, though she knew not what. The fact that he had mana could not be it, as he should know that she knew.

"That was me, yes," Aperio replied. "I had thought it would be best to introduce myself without being present. Though, I am not sure how much you were able to gather from the mana I left behind."

"I was supposed to gather something from that?" he asked, sitting a little straighter in his seat. "I had thought it was simply left because you wished to announce that someone strong had come." He remained quiet for a moment before he shook his head. "Would you mind telling me which faction you two belong to?"

"Three," Aperio corrected, furrowing her brow as she had no wing to point towards the stairs with. "Our friend upstairs is very much a part of our group. As for our affiliation… We serve nobody but ourselves. In fact, I had not even expected to find anyone able to use their mana on this world."

Caethya let out a sigh before flicking her fingers against Aperio's forehead. "That's the wrong word, I believe."

The All-Mother tilted her head slightly, a bit of her mana flowing through her love to make sure she had not hurt herself. It took a moment before she noticed the error of her words. Telling people that they came from a different world was something they should never hear, but she had just blurted it out because she had not thought for a second. How unlike me.

"Perhaps it is, but the meaning is much the same." Aperio offered her best attempt at a shrug in her current position. "We are not from here, and do not know what the people would expect from us. All we wanted to do was take a little vacation." And see how mortals fare without Gods, and if I do need to start over.

Stolen story; please report.

While she was no longer truly inclined to erase everything in the universe, she was not willing to completely shelve the option. If all the mortals ever did was find ways to make life miserable for one another, even without the influence of power-hungry nut-jobs, there was little point in leaving it like it was. And changing their mind without means I will not use seems unlikely.

"I see," the man replied, nodding. "You have chosen a… tense time for your visit. Especially since nobody announced the arrival of anyone strong. The Elders will be displeased and throw a fit again." He heaved a sigh. "Would you mind telling me where you are from? Perhaps some arrangements can be made."

"I would rather not," Aperio replied with a slight frown. "Trusting random strangers is not something I tend to do, even if I am stronger than they are."

"Are you certain you are stronger than I am?" the man asked, his eyes gaining a slight red sheen as he set his gaze onto the All-Mother.

"I am certain, yes," Aperio replied as she let her aura flare and allowing just a bit more mana to slip into her voice. She still held herself back, of course, but it was a lot closer to how she would normally sound. "And do not say that you are hiding your strength. I know quite well how much mana you have, and it is a pitiful amount."

///

Gregory did his best not to refute the statement of the woman. The way her presence had flared and her words had wrapped around his throat like an invisible hand that wanted nothing more than to strangle him... Luckily, she had decided to forgo that option for now and was seemingly content to glare at him while the other did her best to not burst out laughing.

His problem now was the fact that he did not know which group the newcomers belonged to, and thus, how he should treat them. It was obvious to him that he would lose in a fight and that the part of him that wanted to taste her blood would have to be silenced, but that sadly did not tell him what he should do – merely what he should not. He would have to play things by ear, possibly blowing caution to the wind to act on what he felt was right. The latter option had gotten him in trouble a few times, but when it worked, it had worked great.

"I see," he eventually said as he tried yet again to see past the veil of magic the two woman seemed to constantly erect around themselves. "While I do think I am more capable than you give me credit for, old man Hannibal does not like people fighting in his establishment. Therefore, I have another question for you.

"Do you know what I am?"

Right after the last word had left his mouth, Gregory felt a shiver run down his spine as the muscular woman narrowed her eyes slightly. He had not felt a shift in the mana, but e still inexplicably knew that she had manipulated the source of magic to her will in order to do something.

The cold persisted for a moment, lingering not only in his spine but also spreading to his limbs and, for a reason he could not quite discern, his teeth. Like any Vampire worth their blood his teeth did not look any different than those of a normal Human, and that was not just an illusion. Learning how to physically change them so no mage could dispel it was considered a rite of passage for most.

"I cannot say that I know, as I have only read about your kind," the woman replied, "but I would guess that you are a Vampire." She offered him a smile that spread a little too far and moved her ears a little closer to her head. "Do not try to get any of our blood."

"Can we really just talk about things like this here?" the other pointy-eared woman asked. She looked at the taller one in whose lap she sat and spoke again. "I know that you are making sure nobody else hears, but it still seems like something that should remain private and he does not seem concerned in the slightest."

Gregory could not help but raise a brow at the words. "Hannibal is quite aware of who — and more importantly, what his guests are. I had thought that was why you chose this inn. His prices are a bit higher than the norm, after all."

"So I could have told him that I have no desire to eat anything this establishment might serve?" the tall woman asked, her voice still sending shivers down Gregory's spine.

"Yes?" he replied, not quite sure if the question had been rhetoric or not.

She only offered him a smile and pulled the other woman into a tighter embrace. "I chose this inn because I noticed you coming here, and I was intrigued. You are the only mortal in this city that has a usable amount of mana." She paused for a moment, during which her eyes — and skin, if Gregory could believe what he saw — glowed slightly. "Though, I see now that I apparently acted a bit too hastily, as more are coming here."

"Please do not call me a mortal," Gregory said with a slight grimace. "Vampires are lucky to be counted among the immortals here."

The woman glared at him for a moment, the glow he had seen in her eyes fading to reveal tiny flecks of silver that seemed to dance on an incandescent blue iris. She did not blink, and neither did Gregory as every muscle in his body refused to function, frozen in place by whatever magic the woman was using. "I could kill you without any effort; that makes you very much mortal."

"Going by who you can kill to determine mortality is a bad standard, Aperio," the other woman said. "If he does not die of old age and can deal with whatever the Humans have to offer, he should get the right to call himself immortal. At least here."

The muscular woman — Aperio, apparently — held her gaze on him for a moment longer before her eyes shifted towards the one in her lap. "Fine, but I am of the opinion that he is too weak for that title. Adam is stronger, and he is very much a mortal.

"That reminds me," she continued after a moment. "Introductions are in order." She gestured towards the woman in her lap before brushing a hand over her back. "This is Caethya Martinek," she said before pointing towards the stairs. "The man that accompanied us is Adam Lincoln — think of him as our guide — and I am Aperio Velkari."

"My name is Gregory Vessey," he replied, offering a slight bow of his head. "I'm sorry to say that none of your names ring a bell. I had thought that beings of your stature would be known to me, but it seems I was mistaken." Perhaps saying they were from another world was not just a word getting lost in translation, but a slip of the tongue…

Hannibal had said that he had considered her to be a Fae but disregarded it because of her size. Now that he had seen it for himself, he could see what he meant. Not many people stood beyond seven feet in height and few of them were women, even fewer were built like they could throw a car. Still, what Gregory knew of Faes did not rule out the possibility of them looking like this. The only thing the two women were missing were the wings.

Asking if they were of that elusive race was probably not a good idea, as almost every scripture he had managed to read over the years had made it quite clear that, while there were many different races of Fae, none of them liked being called out for it for one reason or another. But these ones do not seem to hide it… Gregory had to admit that visiting Riverburg during the convention was a genius move. Nobody would question two 'Elven' woman here. The wonders of modern media.

"Almost sounds like a noble," the woman he now knew as Caethya said. "Going by the fact that he probably is a Vampire, that might even be true. But why would such a noble man come to a town filled with people playing pretend? And why would even more people capable of wielding magic join him?"

"Good questions," Aperio said as she tilted her head slightly. "I would assume a sort of council is about to gather to discuss matters of import to those beyond the influence of Humans. Perhaps we should attend; finding it will not be an issue."

"Perhaps I could arrange a more suitable entrance for you," Gregory said, trying his best to sound diplomatic. "It would be preferable to at least know which race to you belong to, but I am getting the impression that you do not wish to share that."

Aperio gestured towards the ears of Caethya and then her own. "We are Elves, is that not obvious? Or do you have a different name for us?"

"I would have called the two of you Faes, but everything we know about them points to them being rather… small and fond of mischief, or aligned to nature," Gregory replied while tapping his chin to hide the fact that his hand was shaking slightly. "The whispers that speak of those having encountered the Fae have been approaching zero lately, at least for nature-attuned ones, but perhaps we simply do not know how many kinds exist?"

The taller woman raised a brow and shifted slightly in her seat, the weight of Caethya seemingly not offering the slightest impedance. "I was never particularly small, but I have been incorporeal for a while. Though, that is really not the same."

Gregory took a deep breath before asking his next question, unsure if anything he dared ask might be considered a great offense by the two. It was far more stressful than he had thought. This is worse than talking to Elder Wu. "An easy way to figure out if you fit our definition of a Fae is to see if you have wings, are inherently magical, ageless, and if your thoughts don't make much sense to anyone but yourself. The last one is more of a personal observation from what I have heard over the years, but at this point anything helps."

Aperio smiled brightly at his words, practically leaping out of her chair as a pair of large, black-feathered wings spread behind her. She held Caethya in a princess carry as she extended her wings further, filling almost the entire room. Gregory could barely make out the edges of her feathered limbs, but they reminded him somehow of her eyes. Not only were those edges almost the same shade of blue, but they also featured the specks of silver that seemed to shift almost at random, something Gregory had to note was true for the entirety of her wings. Almost like the night's sky…

The presumed Fae folded her wings behind her back and adjusted her grip on Caethya, unbothered by the fact that Gregory was currently doing little more than to stare at her.

"As you can see I do have wings," she said, the smile still on her face. "I am also very much a being of magic, ageless, and I have been told that my thoughts do not make much sense to most mortals like yourself. I could show you what I mean, but your feeble mind would not be able to withstand even the tiniest fraction."

Gregory could not help but blink at the events that had just transpired, pulling himself together enough to be able to shake his head. He did not know the reason for which these two had come here, but he didn’t need to. Neither Aperio nor Caethya had shown much of what they could do, but Gregory still had a distinct feeling that he would be annihilated in a fight.

"I will just announce you as two Fae and a Human guide," he eventually said, his voice barely a whisper. He stood up, more than a little effort required to suppress the shaking of his limbs. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have some calls to make."

There was another legend Gregory was remembering. One that, while it did not fit the appearance of these two Fae, did match how Aperio had felt. How the mana he had noticed when he had arrived at the inn had felt. If he was right, the woman he had been talking to was old. Far older than anyone currently in charge, and equally as far beyond them in power.

The Old Blood was not often talked about, but whenever it was, the Elder had an almost religious reverence for it. They were not Vampires, Werewolves, mages, or anything that the factions now called themselves, but more akin to Gods walking among the mortals of the world. A choice of words that Aperio seemed to be very fond of as well…