The glide to the Grand Polassa Zoo had been rough. Koralo’s Gale-Cart was an older model, and it felt like it. The Solar-Sap for the lights hadn’t been replaced in years, casting, a faint, flickering glow ahead. The rear left axle sagged lower than it should. Koralo probably hadn’t changed the Gale-Sap back there too in years.

The radio blared the Iradi Derby, the Ironblitz match between the SolarFrost Saints and the SolarFrost Celestials. The whole city had been quiet that night. Izai now realized why Koralo had chosen that particular evening.

“This MegaFolk girl. What’s she taught you so far?” Koralo asked, glancing back from the front seat.

“Her name is Laelia,” Olav asserted, turning up the volume.

Izai inspected the suit in the bag. “What does this do again?”

“You wear it. It dulls your senses. You drink Pure-Sap, and your senses go into overdrive, but it’s more controllable. It’s like cheating because you’re weak,” Koralo replied.

“Hey. I’m still learning,” Izai grumbled.

“Damnit,” Olav pounded the dashboard. “The Celestials have already scored.”

For a moment, they listened to the radio as the crowd’s boos drowned out the noise in the car.

“So, I sneak in. It’s that simple?” Izai asked.

“Very simple. And do it fast my friend. I wanna go home and maybe catch the highlights,” Koralo said as he turned up the volume.

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Izai slipped through one of the small side entrances of the zoo. The suit felt strange, leaving only his hands and feet exposed while a mask left his mouth, nose, and eyes uncovered. As he walked, it felt like those exposed parts of himself were detached from his body, as if they could almost drop to the ground at any moment.

Koralo had mentioned that the potion only lasted about two minutes, and he should drink it periodically. The worst part was that he couldn’t use his Pulse while wearing the suit – he’d have to remove the top and expose his torso to use it.

He recalled Laelia’s lessons on using Pure-Sap.

The first step was to accept the chaos. It hit him all at once: the wolves howling, elephants trumpeting, tigers roaring. There were voices mixed with the sounds of television, glasses clanking, and cigarette drags. The smells were overwhelming – dung, cologne, and an unsettling amount of urine. Underfoot, the ground seemed to quake with steps, stomps, and slithers. The lights were so bright they made it hard to focus, whether close by on the blades of grass between the cobblestones or a passing Gale-Ship overhead in the sky.

The second step was to revel in the chaos, as it would always be there. He walked through it, trying to adjust his senses. Slowly, the sensory overload faded into background noise.

As he strolled along the stony path, he noticed a small chalet where the zoo interpreter normally sat. His eyes zoomed in on it hoping the pathway streetlights would be enough to see what was inside. They were just bright enough. There were booklets with information on the different charmed animals and their abilities. One booklet caught his attention. It featured a special exhibition of a bull, eagle, and a monkey. And on it was written, ‘Tatu and Her Children: The Dawn of the Mythic Epoch.’

What he wanted was a map. And he saw one stuck at the back of a wall. He confirmed where he was going. As he walked on, he realized he couldn’t feel any Kin footsteps anymore, just the stomps and slithers of the animals.

However, the television’s volume grew louder amid the chaos.

“Another goal for the Celestials. That’s three now,” the commentator said.

He could hear the moans and grumbles of the Folk inside, glued to the television. The smell of liquor and smoke was hung like a thick blanket.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Izai decided to move on, passing by the animal exhibitions – there were elephants, bears, penguins and many others. It was turning into a rather pleasant night until he remembered Koralo had told him to hurry. He quickened his pace.

But he was stopped in his tracks when he heard the voices of two Kin talking. He crept towards a railing and took another sip of Pure-Sap to refuel himself. He looked closely. They were two Taurs playing with wolf pups. A shaggy blonde man, and ginger woman. They were around his age he thought. They were both wearing uniforms.

He listened closely. They were talking about wolf pups. It seemed as if the woman was teaching the man something. For a brief glance, it seemed like the man had noticed him.

He crouched.

“Did you see that?” the man spoke.

Izai felt a knot in his stomach.

“What?” the woman answered.

“I… Never mind.”

“Concentrate, please.”

“What were you saying again?”

Izai waited as they continued talking about the pups. He decided to move faster, but as he passed a tiger’s enclosure, a sudden roar startled him. He slipped and fell on his ass but quickly gathered himself and kept on moving.

Inside, he heard the chatter of two Folk. As he looked closer their eyes were glued to a small TV. He walked past them, heading toward the bird exhibit. The Pure-Sap had worn off, but he decided he didn’t need it anymore. He was even tempted to remove the suit and walk around in his underwear, but he resisted the urge.

He entered the Parrot section and closed the door behind him. Some of the birds immediately burst into flames, others cloning themselves. It brought back the memory of when he was a child and Olav would poke the birds with a stick until they used their Talents.

He approached the Gale-Stone parrot’s cage. It was a well-kept exhibit. It had a tree, some grass, and rocks with a little stream flowing by. It was certainly better than where he lived.

The parrot sat perched on the tree. It had a beautiful plumage of red and green that momentarily stole Izai’s eye.

Olav had told him that the book Vilena gave him said a powerful Pull could knock out charmed animals. Izai took a deep breath, feeling the Essence swirling in his mind, and directed it to his fingers, wiggling them as he tried to Pull the bird. Nothing happed. He was puzzled. His Pulling had always been good. Was it because of the Purge? He hadn’t Pulled since then.

Then he noticed the bars of the cage – they were dark, really dark. It dawned on him that they were made of Frost-Sap, and no Pulls or Pushes could get in or get out. But he could still break the lock.

He stepped back, feeling a cool swirl in his stomach form. He channelled his Essence into his fist, and blasted the lock with Ice. It froze solid. He tapped it, and it shattered.

He opened the cage, and where the bird sat, the leaves started to point up, and the tiny pebbles on the ground floated. The bird was trying to Push at him. He stood from a distance. He used his Pull and directed his scent towards the bird. It fell from the tree and hit the ground with a thud.

“A powerful Pull with all your Essence should knock its ass out,” Olav had told him.

“Step away from the parrot, bro” a voice said from behind him.

It belonged to the shaggy blonde Taur from earlier.

Izai quickly plucked a the red and green feathers from the downed parrot and slipped them into his pocket.

“I mean it,” the Taur’s voice turned harsh.

Izai slowly stood up; hands raised. “Look, I don’t want any trouble. I’ve got what I need, and I’m leaving. Nobody needs to get hurt.”

The Taur lunged at him without warning, slamming him to the ground. Before Izai could react, the Taur picked him up and hurled him across the room. He crashed into a wall, rolled onto the grass, and his face plunged into the small stream. The cool water flowed across his skin and brought him a brief cooling sensation to his throbbing body. He felt it roll over his tongue.

‘So, he’s a Pulser,’ Izai thought, spitting out the water.

He scrambled to his feet; fists clenched. “You know if I were a Regular I would have been dead.”

“Fuck,” the Taur muttered to himself.

“Is this what you really want?”

“Come get it, bruh,” the Taur taunted, pounding his chest.

Izai then realized his mistake. He couldn’t Pulse. The suit sort of just made his Pulse Essence sit there. He dodged as the Taur lunged at him headfirst, barely getting out of the way as he was a hit by a shoulder. Desperate, he unfurled a ribbon of flame. But the Taur deflected it with a gust of an Air Push.

“Shit,” Izai muttered under his breath.

He had to get his top off to access his full Pulse. He reached for the zipper at his back, but the Taur crashed into him again, driving them both into the air before slamming into the ground. The pain flowed through his body, he was hardly able to catch his breath.

Izai rolled over, still fumbling for the zipper, body throbbing, before a hoof smashed into his arm.

“Ahhh,” he groaned, nearly pleading. “You’re hurting me.”

The Taur lifted his leg, and for a moment, Izai thought he was showing mercy. But then he felt his body begin to rise, tumbling and floating in the air. Both he and the Taur were suspended, the parrot flying around them. It was using its GaleStone Push.

Izai noticed that his Pushes had burned some parts of the Taur’s uniform. A welt had formed on the Taur’s ribs – with slightly raised iridescent bumps. He recognized those scars. They were the kind only Pulsers had, and they hurt like hell when struck.

While they floated, Izai managed to unzip his suit, exposing his torso. He felt the Essence travelling freely around his body. Now he just had to wait for the bird to tire out.