Ray

Ray sighed, here they were again.

"Are you stupid? " he asked the boy.

The boy was once again irritated. "No, why are you asking? "

"Why are you provoking us if you're not a bloody fool? '' Ray asked.

"Where did I provoke you? Are you not the ones standing in my home, after invading it now refusing to leave? Are you not the one reading my mind without even asking for my permission? And I am the one provoking you?" the boy asked.

Ray paused, shocked by the outburst. A part of him wanted to argue, point out how it was the boy that had attacked him first, presumed certain unpleasant things about him without considering his side of things. But would it help?

Just another fight that maybe allowed him to feel good about himself, but it would just make things worse. In the end, he had to spend the night with the boy. And there was the little thing that he hadn't even asked his name.

Attacked him, threatened to kill him and insulted him, but not asked his name. How could he ask for polite conversation when they hadn't even exchanged names? Ma would be disappointed. Ray took a deep breath, deciding that some mending may be in order.

"What's your name? I am Ray, a High Fae." he asked, extending his hand, making an effort to be more welcoming.

The boy was the one to be shocked now, clearly not expecting Ray to introduce himself at this stage. "Arya, a human." So he was Human.

Ray looked towards Nora, who looked even more shocked than Arya, prompting her to introduce herself.

"Nora, also Human." she said, still looking at Arya warily, but her anger seemed to have receded for the moment.

"Nora and I are currently travelling to the Human Empire, we didn't know that this island was inhabited, or that the cliff was yours and accidentally invaded your territory. For that we are sorry. ' Ray said, trying to move the conversation in a more peaceful direction.

"I'm- ugh, sorry, too. I shouldn't have attacked you like that, and I shouldn't have called you a robot. Though I still don't know how you're alive if you're not one." Arya said.

"The High Fae are a sapient collection of energy in humanoid form, and it's generally considered rude to question a Sapient's sapience or right to live." Ray answered, trying to be informative with what little information he had on the subject.

The truth was that even he didn't know how the Fae existed, as far as he knew they were just forms of energy that could think. Norman might know more, but the cat wasn't around to answer him.

"I can see why." the boy said, looking guilty. "I just kind of panicked and then started presuming things I shouldn't have."

"How about we put this behind us and try to move forward? How about a pact to not kill each other tonight?" Ray suggested, taking advantage of the newly calmed down Arya, to try for some peace.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"I have no problem with that." Arya said, looking at them contemplatively for a moment before continuing on. "How do you plan to leave the island? The sky is quite hostile, and I didn't see any boats."

"And I suppose you have a boat?" Nora asked, her suspicion still showing. Ray was more trusting, his ability to literally tell what Arya was feeling helped. A little but nervousness, a little glee, but no malice that Ray could detect.

"I do. Not a very big one, but I was able to piece together a little something. I can get you where you want to be." Arya said.

Nora looked at Arya with her eyes narrowed, making him squirm in her sight.

"Are the beasts really that much of a threat that you can't escape? I presume that's why you're even suggesting this." Ray asked.

"Yes, the boat runs on my mana. I can't make it go fast enough to run away or equip it with weapons to fight off the birds. So I need your help, and it looks like you need help." Arya said, folding his hands as he nervously stared Nora down.

"Ray and I need to have a private conversation. Could you please?" Nora said, pointing towards the interior of the base.

"Ok." Arya said, his suspicion rising as he tried to school his expression. Ray wasn't fooled, the boy was nervous about them. Not a surprise, given that they'd just tried to kill each other minutes ago.

Arya left as Ray turned to Nora, trying to connect to her telepathically. What he wanted to say would be better told with context, context that would be better conveyed telepathically. The connection went through without a hitch, a feeling of surprise radiating from Nora as she felt Ray's mind connect to her own.

The connection was far more intimate and thorough than the one with Arya, whether it was because he had known Nora for a while, or because he had just become better at this he didn't know. But it was what it was.

"What's going on, Ray? Did Arya feel something? Is he listening in?" Nora asked, her mind working fast, flipping through scenarios.

"No, at least I don't think so. I just wanted to see if I could do this. And it would make sharing things better." Ray said. Transmitting his feel of the room. A stale smelling, largely metallic place full of metal mana, with the exception of Nora that was radiating emotion instead.

"Oh." she said. Ray could feel her surprise at the way he perceived things, making him feel stupid for sharing it without realizing how abnormal it might be for her.

"What did you want to share? Do you think Arya's offer is real?" Nora asked.

"Yes," Ray answered, transmitting what he'd felt off Arya through the bond. " I did not sense any malice from him."

"How much can we trust it, though?" Nora asked, thoughts racing through her mind. Ray could feel them, like a river a chasm away. A chasm he couldn't cross, not at this level of ability, but he knew it was possible. Hir had done it.

"I think so. " Ray answered, trying to convey his surety.

"I mean, we barely know anything about this guy. For all we know this is a trap, don't you find how quickly he learned the language strange? I don't know, he's too suspicious, Ray." Nora answered, her cautiousness flowing through the bond, distracting Ray for a second.

Hmm, why were emotions so much more accessible than thoughts, though? And how was it that the two of them just knew how to transfer thoughts without literally reading them? Perhaps he shouldn't trust something he didn't know so much.

"I guess." he finally answered. "I don't actually know a lot about him."

"See? Are you sure we want to trust him rather than take our chances?" Nora asked.

"Do we have a choice, though? Just building a boat or flying to the Human continent isn’t an option. And he doesn't know a lot about us either, maybe we should just talk." Ray replied.

Nora's eyes narrowed, "Why are you siding with him so much? Didn't he try to kill you?"

"I don't know." Ray shrugged, "I just have a good feeling about him. And he did make an effort to communicate with us. How about we try to communicate this time instead of just rushing in? Isn't that what the rebellion is about?"

Nora rolled her eyes at that, clearly not amused by his actions. "Ok fine, but we're keeping this connection open and communicating while we talk to him. And be ready to fight if I say so."

"Ok." Ray answered, grinning at his success. Now they just had to convince Arya that he needed to share things with them to gain their trust. Should be easy, right?