It was not at all surprising, really, when following their discovery and introduction, they caught the attention of those beyond the small German family. In not a wholly good or bad way, quite a few of the group looked over and then flocked towards them like moths to a flame, whilst mild concern slowly etched itself into her eyes.
Again, Alyssa wasn’t surprised. She knew she would have done the exact same thing, if she were still human and in an unknown land. She might have even been slightly more fanatic than most, with half her mind living in constant fantasy day in, day out. So whilst she was somewhat thankful there weren’t any Alyssa’s amongst this lot – none too apparent anyway – she was not entirely happy or content.
She didn’t deal with attention particularly well. Couldn’t handle being fixated upon by more than 10 people at a time. Even sometimes less, depending on the setting. Though she had long grown used to it, conducting presentations at boring meetings in her old office job had still been somewhat nerve-wracking.
Selaria, on the other hand, revelled in the spotlight. Watching her, as Alyssa returned to a semi-statue state, a thin smile on her lips, she got the feeling her earlier assumption about Azata and homes was incorrect.
This was her home.
This feeling. This scenario. Selaria lived for it and it lived for her in equal measure. She bent the atmosphere, and it conformed to her desires, allowing her to truly thrive.
The Lyrakien fluttered about, seemingly at random, weaving and gliding gracefully amongst the gathering, dispensing greetings and imparting the wisdom of the ages with each stroke of her wings.
“I’m an Azata! Az-ah-ta! Not a fairy!” her little voice cried out in English.
Well, the wisdom was perhaps a little basic, but the feeling remained, because after all...
She was talking to everyone, corralling them all.
Absolutely every single person here was subject to her whimsical flight and talking patterns, as she spoke to whoever she wanted about whatever she wanted.
“Did you know I’m fabulous? Of course, but I am fabulous even amongst my own kind, don’t you agree?” she would smugly and haughtily ask, already knowing the ‘answer.’
Obviously, the humans could only smile and nod. Some nodded quite emphatically, agreeing as if in a trance. As if charmed...which was weird, its not like they would’ve ever seen another Azata or even a Lyrakien.
“Yes, I can use magic! What sort of question is that?!” she indignantly responded, then created a pretty little light show, attracting further attention, especially from children.
The kids in particular seemed enamoured, and Selaria was likewise, with them. They fed off each other, the naturally excitable nature of the children building upon the Lyrakien’s bubbly personality, which she easily noticed and encouraged. Her penchant for wrangling kids honestly looked terrifyingly helpful, to Alyssa.
The atmosphere only seemed to intensify as time passed by, and Alyssa continued to receive suspiciously little attention. She could accept that Selaria was more obviously the star of the show, and certainly, Alyssa wasn’t jealous that there was redirection towards the not-fairy, but it just seemed a little strange. Especially with how few Chinese seemed interested in her.
That wasn’t an odd thought, thank you very much – the myth of the Kitsune, as she called herself, specifically, was Japanese in origin, but as far as she knew, all East Asian countries had their versions of it. What was the Chinese one? Huli...huli jing?
Although she wasn’t at all aware of mythological education in China, or anywhere on Earth, it can’t have been that unknown, surely? Even the German father had recognised her.
Which was why she suspected Selaria was doing something. Not anything evil or malicious; it didn’t feel bad, and it wasn’t affecting her, but it was definitely creating something odd and unnatural.
But, again, not in a bad way. She was somewhat grateful, it was just also somewhat terrifying.
If this little not-fairy could so easily corral this large a group and capture their attention with no discernible effort, what could she really do? What could something much stronger do? Although, for all she knew, Selaria was the strongest thing on the planet. Hadn’t she mentioned Demons, though? What were the chances they were simply a fairy tail here too?
Pretty low, right? But, if they were an actual fairy tail, she would be even more concerned.
Concerned was what she became, however, as a small...thing...somewhere, began niggling at the edge of her senses.
Was it Selaria? It felt...far away, yet close at the same time. Within arms reach, but not. As if a spider was crawling on her skin, but it wasn’t there.
She started to get anxious, and she frowned, the lines creasing on her forehead as she gazed around, trying to listen for anything off, but not seeing or sensing whatever it was.
Her breathing began to quicken, and the unsettling feeling only grew worse as she failed to find the source.
Where is it?!
She bit her tongue, trying not to tremble.
This was...bad. Like, really bad. She didn’t know how she knew, it was just...she just knew. It was bad. Terrible? Or just awful. Reaching towards terrible.
Naturally, she began to panic. She had no idea where it was coming from, or why. And no one else seemed to notice or care.
“Sel..Selaria? Selaria!” she called, voice shaky. “Stop that! Come...come back, something is...is wrong.”
To her credit, the Lyrakien instantly stopped, and the spell or whatever it was, broke, the huge group blinking in confusion as she immediately flew over.
“What is it?” she asked with a frown. “You’re looking real bad...shaking and sweating? What’s...wrong? Was it what I was doing? I was trying to draw them away...”
“No...no it...” Alyssa struggled to reply. She still felt it! “I don’t know...its somewhere...something horrific! I’m – I don’t – don’t you feel it?!” she half screamed, nearing hysteria.
Humanity, which had started to follow along over, all stopped uncertainly, seeing her growing frenzy.
“No, I do not,” Selaria shook her head in denial. “Which is...weird...let me –“
But Alyssa was no longer listening. She was tense, beyond tense, chittering and shaking as if freezing, and things were getting worse.
Unbeknownst to the Kitsune, Selaria’s eyes had begun to glow a soft pink, similar in effect to the blue hue she employed on their first meeting. She gazed at something hidden in the air, connected to Alyssa, then frowned.
“Something is back there...? Oh no – Alyssa!” she cried out, an alarmed look on her face, a warning that something was there. Not there, but there.
Alyssa never heard it. Her mind was too wrapped up, too closed off and too distracted. It was like an alarm was blaring through her skull a thousand times per second. Then two thousand, three thousand, four-
Her tail bristled, straightened and seemed to sharpen as her ears stood at alert and her panic came to an absolute head.
Alyssa screamed.
Not the usual, I-hate-my-life scream. This was much, much more, and multiple things then happened at once.
A screech, the likes of which would rarely be heard in any world, was emitted from her wide open mouth, her eyes intensely focused with a crazed look as she continued for longer than any normal creature had breath.
Not so far away, a violet crystal ball lit up like a supernova, completely shredding and disintegrating everything nearby with the force of a small, nuclear detonation.
The people near Alyssa herself fled in every direction. All thought was lost; only an intense, instinctual desire to flee or die remained. Of course, not one chose death as their own screams of fear added to the cacophony of horror echoing around the suddenly uprooted forest.
Selaria simply hovered and gaped at the Kitsune. Her eyes, still glowing a soft pink and still somehow watching that unseen thread, blinked.
And the scream, careening around the environment for what felt like hours, subsided. And stopped.
In the silence thereafter, only the Kitsune’s heavy breathing gave any life to the deaf scene. No one remained, except for her and the Lyrakien.
Every insect, bird, mobile plant, and person, had fled and disappeared, and even the remaining vegetation seemed muted and cowed.
One could have heard half a pin drop onto a cushion, if they so cared to try, until the Kitsune spoke.
“Is...is it gone?” she rasped. Her throat felt like a desert with a decade long drought, and needles scattered along for an extra, dour surprise.
“Um, yes? Do you even need to ask?” Selaria replied with a raised eyebrow. “Nothing could live through that, you know.”
Alyssa frowned and held her throat, rubbing it, as if that’d help. The fur along her tail gradually relaxed, but her ears still remained alert.
“You’re still here,” she stated.
“Huh?” Selaria tilted her head to the side, confused, then began her customary giggle once more. “Oh. No, not that! Though that was also very impressive, and interesting to observe, I mean the other thing. The bigger thing!”
Alyssa narrowed her eyes. She had no idea what the Lyrakien was talking about.
“I have...no idea what you are talking about,” she slowly rasped her way through indignation. “Please tell me, no jokes.”
Selaria’s giggling stopped, concern and a more serious look vying for a rare appearance.
“The mana explosion?” Selaria prompted, but met no acceptance. “From you. Your...core? I felt it, even from here. It was pure, raw, but targeted. It passed through me without harm, but whatever was causing you to...freak out, most definitely the opposite.”
“Mana...explosion?” she tasted the words on her dry lips. “But, I didn’t...”
Do anything? But I screamed – was that it? And wait, it was at my core? And I felt it, whatever it was, still? And that’s why...?
Selaria simply shrugged.
“No jokes, I assure you. Be glad I am not a fairy. I felt what I felt and it was certainly your mana.”
“I – okay, what, um, was my scream?” she asked, now more afraid of herself than anything else.
“Oh just a simple fear effect. Well, I say simple, but you used wild magic, and it felt exactly like dragonfear, so it’s a bit unique,” Selaria answered.
“Uh, what? Like what, did you say? Dragonfear? I’m not a dragon.”
“Well, yes, I know that, but it’s like how I’m not a fairy. I know you thought of it on our first meeting. Everyone does. Anyway, it’s not important. It didn’t do anything except make those with feeble souls flee.”
“I- okay, sure, so, it didn’t hurt anyone. What about the explosion? Was it big? Uh, physical? Would anything nearby have been killed by it even if untargeted?” she asked, biting her lip as she feared the answer.
“Of course.”
Alyssa sat down with a great sigh, leaning back against a tree that tried to shy away from her. But it was a tree, so it couldn’t.
She brought her fluffy tail around to her lap, then decided simply to hug it like a pillow. It was very therapeutic.
“But, you were in a cave, under a hill, so it should be fine,” Selaria fluttered down to comfort her. “The only life there when I arrived was the usual stuff. Plants, critters, maybe a couple small animals. No people or humans or anyone or anything else.”
She landed atop the Kitsune’s head and once more leaned against Alyssa’s right ear, which was still rigid from adrenaline.
“Your worry and fear is quite palpable,” Selaria observed, talking softly in the closeness. “And this may seem odd, but I’m glad. Your feelings show, quite clearly, you care about things not directly concerned with you,” she then paused and added, “so I’m reasonably confident you’re not a demon lord.”
Alyssa couldn’t help it – she snorted, giggled and laughed. Shaking her head, she laughed at her situation, herself and what she had just done. In utter disbelief.
Miraculously, Selaria stayed seated, holding tight onto Alyssa’s ear.
“Yes, yes, I know I’m a funny girl,” she muttered. “But please be mindful of us small folk. Don’t go disturbing this nice chair you have,” she said, patting Alyssa’s right ear.
“Give the other one some credit, too!” Alyssa responded, flicking her left ear in mock annoyance.
“Hmph. No. I’m sure it already tried to murder me once.”
Alyssa rolled her eyes at the dramatic statement and idly rubbed her cheek against her tail, it’s soft fluffiness brushing against her smooth skin like a gentle caress.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Having this extra appendage was so...weird. She had full control over it and everything. She didn’t know why she thought she wouldn’t, but it was quite flexible. A bit like an arm, but not exactly. Why did she even have it? Besides her making it so. Did it help with balance? Perhaps, if she attempted to climb a tree or jump from branch to branch.
“So, anyway, while you continue to mope, will you tell me how you did what you did?” Selaria asked in a sweet voice. “This isn’t the first time you’ve used wild magic, but only dragons are supposed to be able to use that. And, like dragons, I’m reasonably certain you can use internal mana to cast spells, too, if you draw on your core. Are you just some dragon egg gone wrong?” she half-joked, poking Alyssa’s left ear with her feet as she lazed against her right.
“Of c-” Alyssa was about to deny, or form some witty response, but realised she simply had no idea. “Dunno, actually. Good a theory as any, really. I’ve no idea how I did what I did. I was just scared. Really scared...” she said softly, hugging her tail tighter.
“Mm, I could tell! I think you projected a bit, though,” Selaria joked and Alyssa smiled. She was grateful - she needed mood lighteners. “Just remember, tell me anything if you understand how you did it! You’re required to do so! Oh, and it’s good to understand your powers. Not just to sate my curiosity.”
“I will. Not as if I have anyone else to tell, anyway.”
“Hmph,” Selaria pouted. “So if you could, you’d cheat on me so easily? So fickle! A Gancanagh would suit you.”
“No thanks,” Alyssa wrinkled her nose. “I don’t have a size fetish.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Well, they’re small, right? Like you?”
“Yes, and?”
“What do you mean ‘and’? They’re tiny! I could accidentally sleep on them and kill them!”
“Silly. They don’t have to stay small. Magic can do a lot of things, you know!”
“Well, clearly I don’t. Though I am finding out one spell at a time.”
“You haven’t actually used any spells yet,” Selaria denied, as her wing tickled Alyssa’s ear. “Wild magic, what you’ve used so far, which took me a relative while to realise, embarrassingly, can’t be used to cast spells. Only internal mana can. But, as you’ve seen, it can still be used to do stuff.”
“Oh. I see. Is one better than the other?”
“Not really. They’re not really comparable. Spells can be just as insane, they’re simply more structured and formulaic.”
“Hmmm...” Alyssa pondered. “You said I could use internal mana by drawing on my core, right?”
“That’s right,” Selaria nodded, though Alyssa couldn’t see.
“So I can learn spells, too?” she asked, hopeful.
“That’s right,” Selaria repeated. “Like I said, you’re like a dragon egg gone wrong.”
Alyssa flicked her right ear this time and heard a cute yelp.
“Both of them are murderous! Control your ears already, foxy girl!” Selaria cried, fluttering down and glaring into her face.
“I already am,” she smiled, extra kindly, in response.
“Gah, the betrayal...” Selaria drooped in defeat. “Anyway, since you’re feeling better now, we should head back to – oh. Maybe deal with that first?”
At some point during her inner healing, the group of humans had slowly filtered back through the trees after realising there was no actual threat.
It was a smaller lot than the original, large crowd, but still quite mixed of nationalities. She spied the German family amongst them, the mother carrying the boy and the husband holding her hand, which touched Alyssa’s heart briefly.
All of them remained a further distance away as they warily watched the duo, some with concern and others with mild fear. She could hear them talking, too, and many were as confused as they were worried. Some kids still hadn’t stopped crying, which really tugged at her heartstrings.
There was a bit of a mixed response, however.
“Did she really do that?”
“Did we do something...?”
“Always the pretty ones to be afraid of.”
“This is worrisome if there are more like her.”
“This place is scary...i want to go home...”
“Is that a Kitsune thing? Is she native, are they both natives? If we’re up against that...”
Alyssa could only sigh. She doubted any other Kitsune existed, but she felt a bit guilty at this being their first impression of them, either way. And their first impression of her and Selaria.
It spoke to her morals that she felt quite bad at simply scaring them all for a minute or two. By accident.
She wanted to at least apologise. That they were giving her the time of day meant she could try. Not to mention, she admired them for returning. If it were her, she wasn’t certain she wouldn’t simply carry on running for her life.
She didn’t want to get close enough to potentially scare them off again, though...and she didn’t want to shout. She hated shouting.
So, she should just project her voice, right? With this wild magic?
It was worth a shot.
It took barely a moments thought, but again, she called on that power. This time for a less disruptive reason, thankfully.
It was so easy – comparable to when she first made her body.
She simply had the idea of what she wanted in mind, and spoke to them. And it worked.
“Greetings,” she said, gauging their reactions as she waved.
Many of them blinked or started in surprise, but they all quieted and focused on her as she waved. Even some of the kids stopped crying.
Selaria watched her intently, eyes again glowing blue, like an examiner at a test, trying to catalogue her every move and action.
“I’m sorry for what happened there. It wasn’t directed at or caused by any of you. Simply something else...I’m still not too sure of it myself. Please don’t get the wrong idea about me or Selaria, here. We’re both quite peaceful. I think,” she glanced towards the Lyrakien, then wasn’t sure what else to say.
The group remained silent, but as the moment stretched on and reached awkward silence territory, some few broke the silence as they spoke to those nearby.
“She thinks?”
“I’m not sure about this... what if she’s tricking us?”
“Don’t be silly. They haven’t done anything else. Could’ve done something much worse to us while we fled. She was clearly just scared.”
“She is scared? I think we should be, too, then.”
“Probably, yeah.”
Reasonable responses, all things considered. She thought they were taking it quite well. Which shouldn’t be too surprising, this lot had all returned. The ones that hadn’t might not be so understanding.
She likely also thought worse of her own actions because it was her fault...all they had experienced was running away in fear from a pretty fox girl and a cute not-fairy with nothing actually happening.
Some few of them also seemed quite acquainted, at least in their minds, with people or things like her. Like she was, then. Fantasy was truly a powerful drug! She would know. She did give herself a tail and fluffy ears solely because of her tastes – not those tastes – after all.
So, between the preconceptions, their appearance, and her apology, all seemed well? Neither she or Selaria had done anything else, and she could already hear some of the conversations turning in different directions and moving onto some odd territory, like contests for who knew the most fantasy races.
“No harm in it, I suppose, but unfortunately, this isn’t fantasy. It’s all quite real. I think,” she mused aloud, no longer projecting her voice, as she flicked her tail and stood up.
“It’s as real as much as I’m not a fairy!” Selaria happily declared. “And please, don’t hide your wild magic at my expense. I love seeing it in action! I could never use it myself, but it just looks so pretty, and you use it with such ease, it’s sublime!” she gazed on in longing and desire at Alyssa.
“You know, normally I wouldn’t be opposed to that sort of look, if I know who it’s coming from, but with you I feel like I’ve simply become some sort of catnip,” she replied, shaking her head.
“Well it’s not my fault!” Selaria retorted. “You’re simply full of surprises and delights! If you didn’t want to be so appetising, you’d stop showing yourself off!"
“Says the naked fairy,” Alyssa replied with a grin, which produced the expected response of utter indignation and mock horror. She started to leave the humans behind as she set off back towards her core at a brisk walk.
“How dare you! I don’t deserve this. Really, I’ve never been so affronted in one day as in all my life.”
Some people noticed their departure, and she waved behind her, though her swishing tail drew more eyes than her hand.
“Oh, look, they’re leaving. I hope there’s more of them.”
“Should we follow? They might go somewhere with more of them.”
“Are you crazy? We will be swept up in whatever nonsense goes on in this place. Don’t you remember that Azata controlling us like puppets for the fun of it?”
“Some people would like that, you know.”
“Yes, which is exactly why we should stay here. She mentioned fairies, what if they find us?”
“They’ll throw ice at us...” a small, childlike voice, with a mild German accent, answered.
Alyssa burst out laughing, almost losing her balance as her tail shook, and could only wonder if it was just something Selaria said, or if she actually had ptsd from an experience.
“What? What, did they say something? A joke? About me, perhaps? Tell me!” the Lyrakien demanded, flying backwards ahead of Alyssa.
“Do fairies actually throw hunks of ice?”
She really had to know.
“Yes! Of course! I don’t just say things for no reason. Most of the time. It’s happened whenever I’ve met one! Even the newborns!”
She tried to imagine it. An extra tiny, newborn fairy chucking chunks of pure ice at anyone who came close, as they looked on with an evil glare and smug face.
Okay, yeah, seemed plausible. Human babies would probably do the same if they could.
As the voices started to fade into the distance, Alyssa fell into reflection once more, trying to remember how she did what she did. Utilising wild magic, so far, seemed like an exercise as simple and normal to her as breathing. While it was certainly a boon, it made it incredibly difficult to try and find out more about what it was and how she was using it. What it could do. Probably why it was ‘wild’ magic.
Well, no matter. She could practice more back in the safety of her core room. Maybe even learn some actual spells from Selaria? Hopefully it wasn’t the sort of situation where learning anything beyond level one or two spells took more than twenty years of your life. She was probably immortal now, so that was fun, but twenty years? Bleh. Just under her current age. Mental age.
Forty years old before casting something like Fireball. What was the point of living if it took that long to fling those around? Or a lightning bolt. Could wild magic do that? Dragons have it, right? So it should be sufficiently powerful, right?
She pointed at nothing, willed a lightning bolt to shoot from her fingertips, and...
Nothing.
Selaria giggled from the side.
“I’d wondered when you’d try that. Wild magic can’t form spells – it can’t do anything so usual and standard, hence – wild. Willing formed, shaped magic to spew from your fingertips – nope. Projecting sound, yes, because it’s not formulaic. You were simply pushing the sound along. The dragonfear – it enhanced your scream more supernaturally,” she revealed, and Alyssa frowned.
“So weird. I was trying to shoot a lightning bolt – I assume it didn’t work because there’s no electricity for it to nudge along?”
“Precisely!” Selaria smiled. “It augments normal things into magical things, but it can’t do so with nothing, or too little, to work with. Internal mana can, and can do both by extension. It can create a chunk of ice from nothing, and it can create a chunk of ice from a puddle of water.”
“To me, it sounds like internal mana is just better, then, but you said one wasn’t really better than the other?”
“Wild magic is limitless. Well, limited by the amount of mana in the air, but unlike spells created from internal mana, it isn’t held up or stopped by the inherent power of the spell. A chunk of ice created with a level one spell is just that – a small chunk of ice. Wild magic could be a block as tall as a tree, or as small as me, and everything in between. It's why Dragon Breaths are so vaunted and dangerous."
“Breath attacks, huh... I see...that sounds quite advantageous, then. I assume spells can reach that sort of level, though?” she asked.
“Yes,” Selaria affirmed. “It takes time, of course, but everyone has enough of that, and it takes less for some,” she paused, then added, “on the other hand, wild magic is quite beautiful. Primal? I don’t know. Its just wonderful. Internal mana and spells are sometimes quite stifling. Wild magic is free. Most definitely not an exact science.”
“Like you?” Alyssa asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yep! We Azata adore wild magic, honestly. Our relationship with dragons is also quite good, because of it. Well, not all dragons. Certainly much better than the Angels’ relationship with them. Always so stuck-up on rules and whatnot, wild magic goes against that belief. Can’t control it. Very short-sighted lot if you ask me!”
“Angels are real? Wait, don’t answer that. If your relationship with dragons is good, because of wild magic, wouldn’t that put me at like, the top of everyone’s lists? Am I insanely valuable to Azata now?”
“Um, yes, I’d say so,” Selaria blinked. “That’s why I claimed you. Why do you ask?”
“It’s just weird to me. I’m not used to being a top of the line product,” she shrugged. This wasn’t what she imagined it was like to win the lottery.
“Oh?” Selaria fluttered closer and seemed to study her, humming softly. “Well, that’s in the past. You’ve got a pretty good opportunity now, so you might as well use it. With my guidance of course!”
“’Pretty good opportunity’ sounds simultaneously like a scam and an understatement,” Alyssa smiled in response.
Then stopped still as her ears perked up once more, interrupting Selaria’s reply before it began.
There was someone...running and breathing heavily...in a panicked state? Right over...
There.
A person burst through the undergrowth to their right. It was a young, Asian-looking man, with matte black hair, wearing running gear that stumbled across a dense patch of vegetation, but avoided falling over as he steadied against a tree.
He had yet to notice them; constantly glancing behind him as he panted for breath took up all of his attention.
Now, what to do? He seemed to have been running from something, and was unsure if it still remained to chase him.
Yet, focusing her hearing, there was nothing. Not for a good while. Unless it was stealthy enough to make no noise at all, she was quite certain he had lost whatever was chasing him.
Alyssa glanced at Selaria, and found something quite interesting. The Lyrakien was staring, very intently, at the man. Her eyes held a soft blue glow once more, putting Alyssa on alert. If Selaria was attentively looking, there was likely something more to the man than met the standard eye.
It could definitely be she was just checking him out and found him attractive, but Alyssa would still consider that something to be aware of. She wasn’t sure how to factor in her companions tastes into everything she was soaking up so far, but it would surely be useful, if only to tease her about later.
Assuming they’d be together for a significant enough amount of time. Being claimed probably meant they would be, right? At least until the gathering.
Something else to consider was that they’d only known each other a matter of, what, hours? It was still daytime, so even without a phone, she knew that much. But she’d already grown fairly attached to her little friend, and if Selaria’s actions with the crowd meant anything, it was that she at least cared for Alyssa’s wellbeing. She hadn’t missed that.
Actually, thinking of the crowd, her supernatural, charismatic nature had quickly whipped them all up. Was something at play here connecting them so quickly? It helped that she had been Alyssa’s guide so far to some really weird things, even if she thought a dedicated therapist might be more in order, but still.
Something to ask for later.
For now...
“Hey, Alyssa. That man is weird. And he doesn’t make sense,” Selaria broke them from their thoughts.
Doesn’t find him attractive, then.
“In what sort of way?”
“Um, good?” Selaria idly put a hand under her chin, thinking. “Good weird. Like me weird. Which is the weird part. He smells of Azata, but he’s not an Azata. Um, not a literal smell. It’s just super weird! Can we get a closer look? Pleeeeeaaaaaaase?” she begged, puppy eyes and all.
Alyssa snorted and laughed.
“Why are you asking me? It’s a single person. I was only wary back then because there were so many. I don’t try to coop people up intentionally.”
It just sometimes happens so they don’t do something super stupid.
Selaria twisted in the air, ‘jumping’ up with a happy ‘yay!’, then zoomed off. Alyssa followed, making no effort to conceal herself.
It didn’t take long before the man stiffened and turned towards the noise, catching sight of Alyssa first, before the silent not-fairy shot into view.
He recoiled in surprise, worked his mouth wordlessly, turned around to run again, tripped, and fell flat on his front.
She could see Selaria worriedly hovering over him, and he got back up before Alyssa made it over.
“Are you alright? What was that? Some sort of trick? You weren’t tying to run from me, right? I’m not scary! Even this weirdo here,” she pointed back at a suddenly affronted Kitsune, “didn’t run away when I found her.”
“Rude. I’d consider anyone running away from you at first sight less weird and more paranoid. Were you running from something?” she asked, the answer an obvious one.
The man groaned in frustration, apparently having been unwilling to confront reality as he remained face down, then finally drew himself up to a sitting position, facing the two of them.
It was not an exaggeration to say his eyes widened to saucers, which revealed something odd as he muttered a few ‘this ain’t real’ variations, with an American accent.
Like Alyssa, this man had heterochromia, but it was incomplete. Where she had always had one hazel, one green eye, this man had a fully dark brown iris with the other containing a splatter of unusual pink amidst the same brown.
It was so odd and unnatural – it was clear Selaria had the right idea. There was something weird here. And was his hair metallic looking? It was certainly matte, and glossy, but it looked especially...odd.
“Are you two going to stare into each others eyes forever?” a small rude voice asked.
Alyssa realised she had been doing just that and blushed, looking away.
The man didn’t – he was far too enamoured with her features. Mostly the inhuman ones.
Mostly.
Selaria huffed and flew directly in front of him.
“Hey! Oi! Look at me instead! You’re really weird and I don’t know why, what are you?” she demanded, commanding his full attention. Not that a fairy lookalike ever wouldn’t.
“Eh? Uh, oh, um...what-what am I? Human?” he responded uncertainly.
Selaria shook her head in denial, quite animatedly.
“Definitely not! No way! You’ve got Azata in you, I can feel it! None of those other humans had it!”
“Other humans..? What-wait, what is Az-Azata? Sounds like some mystical energy,” he half laughed, nervously.
“Me! I’m an Azata! It’s a species. It’s in your blood! Your eye is proof!”
“My- eye? What?” he touched around his eyes worriedly and Alyssa sighed as she walked closer.
“Selaria, you’re sending him into crazy town,” she said, then turned towards the man as Selaria pouted. “Your left eye, the iris, has some pink in it. Looks very pretty. But weird. Not normal. Doesn’t mean bad, though,” she explained, badly, and as he just blinked in confusion, spoke to Selaria.
“What do you mean by having Azata in him? That’s impossible, as far as I know.”
He was clearly a human man from America. There were no Azata there, or anyone with pink eyes. There just wasn’t.
“I know! It is! Azata are Azata, and he isn’t one, but a small part of him is Azata and that’s just not how it works!”
The man struggled to keep up with Selaria’s frenzied findings.
“I’m what? Part – Azata? Not...not human anymore? I already know this is a fucking weird place, but that seems a stretch, right?” he smiled, unwilling to believe. Or make any sense of it.
“Yes, it is!” Selaria nodded. “It is a stretch! But it’s real! I know what I sense. You’re not a normal human, so! I claim you, person!”