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Revus POV

A flash of bitterly sharp cold pierces through me. Two feminine screams continue to ring within my ears. What’s… A tingling numbness constrains me, it crushes my lungs and suffocates me. Blurred colors soar past me disorientingly. …happening…

“…ow …ger …ou …ll …eep,” a faint murmur replays over and over again.

Who’s… voice…

I drift in and out of consciousness, for how long, I do not know. My senses are dulled and I cannot seem to find my voice. Time seems as still as I am until, “…ow …ll …ee …ut …im …tle …an …ll …he …oom.”

A different… voice… Is… that… Parazic? Parazic… Why Parazic… Oh no… The enōōfen?

Evetta… Inhaling, I can feel the pressure on my lungs ease as they slowly expand. Is she okay? I begin to regain faculty over my senses, the depth of the cold I was in now realized. The icy grip further loosens as a furious heat begins to spread throughout me. I… can’t move? My rigid limbs flex and I can feel the ice holding them prisoner, crack. Move. Feeling a slight twitch from my fingertips, I continue to press. Move. My joints bend, my muscles contract, and my whole body tenses. Move dammit!

“Revus!” a soft, clear cry finds my ears. The sweet, delicate voice resonates within me. The voice, uncannily reminiscent of the Fairy Monarch, the voice that I have heard thousands of times over the last few months. Evetta.

Opening my eyes, I see Evetta’s weeping form looming above me, her tears raining down onto my still-cold face. Smiling, I sit up as she takes a step back then kneels down next to me. “You’re okay,” I manage to utter, the words fumbling out of my mouth.

“Me?” She looks taken aback. For a brief moment, she stares at me, but then smiles and nods, “Yeah. I’m okay.”

“That’s good,” I croak as I place my hand on her head. I slide it down to her wet cheek, her silky hair running through my fingers.

“I’m sorry,” Evetta cries as she tackles me, wraps her arms around my waist, and buries her face into my shoulder.

“I’m fine.” I tightly return the hug and steal a glance at her bare back. Noticing the empty space where her wings should be, my smile rapidly shifts to a frown. I return her to arms length, forcing another half smile as she looks at me, wiping away what remains of her tears. I notice Faraine standing before me. Focusing on her, I see she is bearing a forlorn smile. Why’s she- I give a suspicious squint.

Out of my peripheral vision, something catches my attention. My gaze drifts from the blue-haired fairy to the abyss beyond her and, as my barely-functioning eyes adjust, I see a sliver of light cutting through the darkness. Within that illuminated chasm, a giant entity all but devours the glowing ray from within. A single blue sphere, barely hidden amidst the shadows, shimmers before disappearing. An enōōfen?

I squint at where the orb disappeared, a door. Where, where are we? As my eyes continue to adapt, I scan the room, more of my surroundings becoming apparent. Boxes… shelves… Two doors. I continue my scan of the room. One. Two windows … we’re on a table, and… what’s that? I lock onto an object resting on the table beside us. Some kind of axiom device? Doesn’t matter. Glaring past Faraine at the enōōfen behind the door, I tighten my grip on Evetta.

“…ou …uldn’t …ve …et,” Faraine states. Breaking out will make too much noise.

“Hold on,” I whisper to Evetta as I manifest my wings. The door will be the quietest, but likely has more enōōfen.

“Revus?” Evetta probes. Should I just kill them?

I forcefully push myself into the air. Evetta and I rise off the table as Faraine mumbles something. Urgh… Wings aren’t responding, but… Concentrating on balancing myself, we continue rising toward the ceiling. Above us are several wooden beams that run parallel from one side of the room to the other.

“Revus, what are you doing?” Evetta flusteredly shouts.

“Shut up!” I bark back, “We’re getting out of here!”

“Wha-” she starts, but is cut off as I dart down, approaching the glimmering light. “Revus! Stop!” Evetta yells directly into my ears as she struggles within my arms.

Gripping her with my left arm, I reach out my right. Zzzt. Bzzt. Sparking surrounds us as I create four metal, electrically-charged blades and direct them toward the enōōfen.

“Aaaaah!” the giant just behind the door screams piercingly.

“What’s going on?!” a male’s voice bellows in Parazic from beyond it. The screaming figure at the door falls back and nudges it open. Good, with this-

Slap!

A subtle, but noticeable pain bites my face. I stop in place, halting my blade’s attack. My hold on Evetta loosens momentarily and, as she fiercely presses her legs against me, she pushes herself away. Placing my left hand against my stinging cheek, I fixate on the now falling fairy. I slowly reach my right hand out to her.

“I said stop!” Evetta orders furiously, before flipping around, her back now facing up. She summons her still-damaged wings and haphazardly glides down back to the table, returning to Faraine’s side. Why?

As I hover in place, she looks up at me with a glare on her face. I clench my jaw, ball my fists, and roar, “We’re leaving. Now!”

“No!” Evetta argues. Her wings disappear, scattering into white glitter.

I soar down, dispelling the lightning-infused blades. Once near her, I take a deep breath and chuckle, “Evetta, I’m not arguing with you. It’s dangerous here and-”

“It’s not!” she shouts, “Besides, Faraine’s been protecting me this entire time too. So-”

I laugh, scowling at the red-eyed fairy, “Is that so?”

“Please just listen, Revus,” Faraine pleads as Evetta hides behind her.

A tight knot builds in my chest and I dig my fingers into my palms. “Looks like you’ve made things pretty clear,” I growl, my blood boiling, “Fine, if it’s safe here, then I’m not needed!” I turn away from them and face the doorway.

On the floor, the enōōfen is still cowering. A kid? Standing just beyond the door is a second, larger enōōfen, pale and frozen in place. I see. It’s them again. My body shaking, I irately zoom past them, enter the other room and, quickly scanning it, find an open window. There is a third enōōfen sitting in a chair in the center of the room, her arms coated in thick rot spīīr. That’s… I meet the seated enōōfen’s worried eyes and grind my teeth. Not worth my time. I direct my attention to the window and, staying close to the wall, fly through it.

A hot wave of air rushes against me as I drift away from the window. With the house behind me, I see nothing but wooden towers decorated in blazing red-orange fire. A landscape of trees whose leaves are like a small campfire. Hundreds of thousands of these flames flicker consistently, but remain magically lit atop each tree, creating the effect of a raging bonfire. The magnificent arbors spread over the land, repeating thousands of times to create, “The Valnia Wilds.”

I hover in place, examining the flaming forest. I don’t see anyone else. Glancing back through the window I see the male enōōfen standing in the middle of the room staring at me. Dammit. I turn back to the woodland and race away from his hopeless gaze. I furrow my brow. Why? I dash as quickly as I can away from that place, slowly picking up speed as my wings regain their strength. Why? I pass tree after tree, my fists clenching tighter and tighter at each one, the heat growing the farther in I go. Why…

Descending down I slow myself near the base of a tree. The roots jut out and loosely define the rough forest floor. I land on one of the wooden tubers, drop to my knees, and place my hands against the gritty bark of the tree. The uneven texture pokes my palm in several places.

“Why…” I mumble, lightly tapping the bark wall in front of me with my fists. I start pounding them against it as the pain in my chest dully aches. “Why, why, why, why, why…” As I continue to slam my clenched knuckles against the rough structure, I raise my head to the burning canopy and explode, “Dammit! Why!? I’m supposed to protect you!” Memories of my time spent with Evetta flood my mind, causing my emotions to hit their boiling point, and tears to start spilling down my face, “Me dammit… me…”

After a moment, the flood of emotions and tears subsides. Huffing and inhaling, I look down at my bloody fists. The red liquid that paints my hands, and the tree, gradually begins to disappear into yellow glitter. My chest slowly expands and contracts as I take deep breaths. My rage, fueled by the Valnian heat, grows.

Arching my back, I once again look up at the blazing inferno overhead, and roar “Fuuuuuuuck!”

Seconds that seem to last forever pass by. My anger and chest deflate as my breathing steadies and the tension in my body recedes. Did I… I stare at the rough, natural wall. …really just say that? I approach the tree and rest my forehead against its bumpy surface. Am I stupid? I asked her to help.

Thud. I pull my head away from the tree then forcefully drive it forward, “So why?” Thud. Now, I am furiously banging my skull against the wood. Thud. “Why does my chest hurt? Why?” Thud. “Why?” Thud. Why!?” THUD! “Argh!” I scream as warm liquid rolls down my face, momentarily blinding me.

Panting, I push myself away from the tree and lay on my back. The lacerations on my hands thump in agony, while my pain in my head beats violently. “I’m weak,” I gasp, “terribly weak.” I lay there in silence, soaking in the self-inflicted pain as a faint, heated breeze whistles through the softly crackling flora.

After a few moments, I place my hand over my eyes and chuckle, “Ha, I let something so stupid get to me.” I take another deep breath and sigh. I pull my arm from my eyes, and watch the flaming leaves overhead dance as the torrid wind rushes by.

How long has it been since I’ve felt… jealous… Not since I first arrived in Āāthel. Seeing others with parents, families, how happy they were, and how everyone treated them. I exhale heavily and close my eyes. And all it took this time was seeing Evetta take someone else’s side.

“Idiot,” I mumble as I slam my hand down onto the root beneath me. “Ow,” I wince as pain shoots up my arm. Stupid. I take a deep breath. And what did I do? Got mad at Evetta, was jealous of Faraine, and in a fit I ran away. “Stupid ******* idiot.” My lips begin to quiver. Who cares about my feelings? All I have to do is keep her safe and I left her.

A single tear rolls down my cheek. I sniffle.

Aside from that, we’re inside an enōōfen’s house? Why? How? “****, I’m going to have to ask her, and I’m going to look like a complete *** because of it.” I sigh, opening my eyes. At least things don’t appear terrible. We weren’t captured, so those enōōfen are likely helping us, but still… being helped by enōōfen that helped capture Evetta… I don’t like it.

Rapidly sitting up, I bring my hands to my head and grab my hair, “Aaaaaah! Who the **** cares about what I want!? It doesn’t matter! I just need to do my job!” I pant, “Stupid idiot… It doesn’t matter… I just need to… keep her safe.”

“Haha, now that’s funny,” I laugh to myself, “Keep her safe. Look at me, leaving her in a strange house while I turn into a pitiful mess.”

I manifest my wings and rise back into the air, my body lifelessly hanging from them. I sigh, “Let’s head back.”

Flying slightly above the ground, I slowly progress back through the forest. The first thing I need to do when I get back is to apologize. Looking forward, I maneuver through the Valnian treescape. To Evetta for yelling at her… and for being weak. I need to apologize to Faraine for blowing up like I did. I sigh. She’s probably trying to deal with the situation now. And assuming the enōōfen are innocent, then I’ll need to apologize to them too, for blindly attacking them. But before that, I’ll need to confirm their innocence.

Focus. I quickly bring my hands up to my face and slap both of my cheeks. Focus. I take a deep breath. Focus. What do I need to do? Protect Evetta. Increasing my pace, I begin to dart through the woods. How? I don’t have enough information right now, so let’s just observe first. I’ll talk to Faraine tonight and make a decision then.

As I fly through the flaming trees, I watch the wind blow a handful of the fiery leaves from the branches. They twirl in the breeze, some racing alongside me. Upon reaching the ground, their flames gradually begin to go out. A wooden building appears in the distance, partially hidden behind the cacophony of fire.

Scanning the surroundings to confirm no one is nearby, I approach the house. The window is still open. That’s good. I silently make my way up to the window sill and peak over the edge. Dam… Standing atop the wooden ledge looking down at me, is Faraine.

“Why are you sneaking around?” Faraine inquires, her red-eyes glaring at me.

“So much for waiting until tonight,” I whisper under my breath.

“Huh?”

“Nothing,” I state, “How did you know I was coming?”

She shrugs, “Coincidence.”

I look at her doubtfully, “Really?”

“Pure coincidence. I was talking with Rhys and happened to see you flying over,” Faraine explains. “Also,” she eyes my hands before returning her stern gaze to me, “you look terrible.”

I rub the back of my neck, “Yeah, some stuff happened.” I look away from the blue-haired woman and exasperatedly sigh, “Can we talk?”

“Stuff…” she repeats tilting her head slightly. “Let’s head inside,” she suggests, “We’re on the edge of town but it’s still better than being out in the open.”

“Alright…” Entering behind Faraine, I glance at the enōōfen as we pass by. They seem to have calmed down a bit. As we leave the large open room, we make our way into the dark room I awoke in. As my eyes adapt to the lightless space, I see Evetta laying on her back atop the table, staring at the ceiling.

As Faraine lands, she announces, “Revus is back.”

Evetta bolts up into a sitting position, facing away from me. She crosses her arms and snaps, “I’m…” Her arms fall back to her side, her hands now resting on her lap, “Still mad at you.”

“I know,” I sourly agree.

“Do you know why?” she probes, turning her head slightly.

Sighing, I walk over to the small fairy’s right side and sit down beside her. Her and I both stare straight ahead. “Is it because I overreacted?”

“That’s a start,” she hisses.

I look at her and sigh. “Because I almost attacked the enōōfen?”

“And?” she grills, more viciously.

She’s really mad this time. I pause, biting my lip, “Because I left you here?”

She shakes her head, then turns to me with an expression of sincerity, “No, I knew you would come back.”

Looking away, I avoid the gaze of her pearl-like eyes. “Then…” I take a deep breath, exhale, and firmly express, “Because I felt jealous of you taking Faraine’s side.”

I continue hiding my face, but I can tell Evetta looks toward Faraine after exposing my imperfection.

“Because I felt emotions that were irrelevant to my job of protecting you.”

“Revus?” Faraine calls.

“Because I failed to-”

“Enough!” Evetta interrupts as she crawls over to me. She places her hands on my cheeks, locks eyes with me, and affirms, “You didn’t fail!”

As I try to pull away from her, she grips my face, the same look of sincerity on hers, “Look at me! I’m fine. You, me, and Faraine, we’re all fine.” She smiles kindly. So much like Vestele. “So you didn’t fail. Do you understand?” Her pearl-like eyes start to succumb to her emotions.

“Yeah…” I murmur as my eyes meet hers, my own tears starting to well up, “I understand.”

“Revus…” An onset of tears flow from her eyes as she collapses onto my chest and hugs me tightly. “I’m… sorry…”

“Me too,” I mutter, hugging her tightly, “I’m sorry for how I acted earlier.” I hold her head as she quietly cries.

After a few moments, Evetta sniffs, “Revus.”

“Yeah?”

She wipes her tear-stained face with the back of her hand, their wet remnants fading into a faint, white dust, “Can you apologize to the others too?”

I smile. “I planned to, but Evetta,” I say, peeling her off, and setting her down in front of me. “Even though I’m going to apologize to the enōōfen, doesn’t mean I trust them.”

“But-”

I hold my injured hand up in front of her, “I-”

“What happened to your hand?”

I drop my hand and rub it with the other, trilling my lips, “Nothing important.”

“But-”

“Evetta,” I adamantly affirm, “I promise, it’s nothing.”

She stares at me, sighs, and sags her shoulders, “Okay.”

“Now.” Standing up and facing Faraine, I resolutely state, “First, thank you for keeping Evetta safe and I’m sorry for how I acted earlier.”

“Apology accepted,” Faraine chuckles.

“Second,” I stare at the open door that leads to the enōōfen for a moment. “Before I apologize to them,” I face Faraine again, “Can you explain why and how we got here.”

“I’ve been dreading this,” she comments, “but sure.”

“Come sit down,” Evetta requests, pulling on my shirt.

“Alright,” I answer, putting my hand on her head.

As we all take a seat, Evetta lays her head against my leg. She smiles up at me and says, “I’m glad you’re back.” I return her smile and direct a question to Faraine, “Why have you been dreading this?”

As she sits in front of us, she explains, “I’m sure you’re going to critique my decisions and get mad at me for choosing to come here.”

“Probably,” I give her a wry smirk, “Let’s hear it.”

Faraine then describes what happened the night Evetta and I were encased in ice. How she struggled to melt us, thus choosing to move our frozen forms. Eventually she encountered an elf, Rhys, who was wandering the mountains alone, and injured. After a while of talking, she convinced him to help bring us to his home. The entire time she was prepared to kill the enōōfen if anything happened, but, to her surprise, everything seemed safe. Additionally, they had let us use their axiom device to assist in draining the excess ice spīīr surrounding us.

Faraine clarifies that she chose Evetta to use it first, since she assumed that would be who I would prioritize. She adds that the entire time she was waiting for Evetta’s ice to melt, she stayed awake. Once Evetta woke up, Faraine introduced her to the enōōfen but Evetta seemed to display a deep fear of them. Since then, Faraine has pushed Evetta to interact with these elves, in hopes that it eases her trepidation.

“And that brings us to today,” Faraine concludes.

Looking down, I see Evetta’s eyes are closed and her breathing has slowed. I gently snort, shake my head slightly, then return my face to Faraine, “You were right to thaw Evetta first, and thank you for watching over her for my turn. My only major criticism is that you were too quick to let the enōōfen help.” I elaborate, “Everything worked out, but it was too risky. Had something gone wrong we all could’ve been in a much worse situation, especially since they were the ones who tried to take Evetta.” I pause, take a deep breath, and continue, “That being said I can understand why you did it.” I lock eyes with, and smile at, the fairy sitting across from me, “You did good Faraine.”

She blushes deeply, her eyes wide. The flustered fairy falls onto her back and sighs heavily. “You’re telling me,” she giggles lightly, “I hope I’m getting some axsel cores for this.”

“Heh,” I chuckle. “Who knows, but,” I continue, looking at the little girl’s innocent, sleeping form, “depending on how things go, you could get something much more valuable.”

“I want to be clear,” Faraine declares, raising her right arm and pointing her index finger up, “I’m not doing this to be her page, but I’m also not denying that I still want to become one, more than anything.”

I sit there for a bit, watching her, contemplating. As she lowers her arm, I question, “Is it the power?”

“No,” she answers instantly, “It’s… the recognition.”

“Uh-huh, I wouldn’t have taken you for someone that needed the public’s recognition.”

“Heh,” Faraine chuckles, “I didn’t say it was the public’s.”

If not public, then personal, or… I raise an eyebrow, “Your family’s?”

She turns her head away, then mutters, “Something like that.”

“Well, whatever your reason for helping is, thank you,” I state, “Even if this isn’t the safest place, we’re all in one piece, and Evetta seems to be doing better.”

“So,” Faraine sits up, “Do you want to talk to the elves now?”

“Before that,” I look at Evetta’s sleeping form, “Has anything happened regarding her condition?”

“Not since you both froze that night.”

“Really?” I furrow my brows, looking at Faraine, “Nothing even subtle?”

“Well, when we first got here, and Rhys put her on that,” she explains pointing to the axiom device, “The ice didn’t really go away the first day… But after, it started to rapidly disappear.”

Once again looking down at Evetta, I rub the back of my neck. You’re a real handful. “Do you also think this has anything to do with Vigaro?”

“I think there’s at least some kind of connection,” Faraine confirms, “I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure it out, but everything leads back to Vigaro.”

“Explain,” I press, eyebrow raised.

“For starters, Evetta was seemingly fine the winter before Vigaro but, on the first night of the month, she mentioned seeing something on the moon, then froze.” Faraine clarifies, “After she woke, she mentioned that something was in her soul plane. Whatever it was, was cyan, the color of ice.”

“Yeah, that lines up with what I found when I inspected her soul too.” That and that ******* freezing cold feeling.

“Then, like I said, while she was on the device, the ice didn’t seem to respond. But it was still spring,” Faraine continues, “Once summer started, the ice showed drastic signs of weakening.”

“So you’re saying that the summer might be hindering whatever’s in her soul?”

“Basically,” Faraine validates. “On top of that, over the last week, she hasn’t mentioned being cold. Even today, when she got riled up, nothing happened.”

Placing my hand against my chin, I turn my attention to Evetta. Then, like I feared, there’s a chance you’ll get worse over the next few weeks. Sighing, I look up at the ceiling. “How many more days of summer do we have?”

“Tomorrow’s the last day,” Faraine answers.

Damn. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and exhale. Thankfully we’re in Valnia but we have almost no time to find a solution. And if this is truly connected to Vigaro then you’re going to get worse over the next few weeks. I open my eyes, face the door, and listen to the enōōfen in the other room talking amongst themselves. The next question is whether it’s safe to stay here, or do we leave and just stay in Valnia…

I turn to Faraine and ask, “Do you trust these elves?”

She stares at me for a bit, glances at the door, then back to me. “I believe they don’t want to harm us and… they seem to genuinely want to repay us.”

“I assume you’re referencing when Evetta and I helped them a few months ago.”

“That and to apologize for aiding in our capture.”

I nod, then inquire, “How many live here?”

“Four,” Faraine replies, “Occasionally there will be other people that stop by because they also run a store, but the only ones that come back here are Rhys and his family.”

Rubbing my chin, I murmur, “Do you think there’s any benefit to staying here, or should we just stay in Valnia?”

“I’m done making important decisions,” Faraine scoffs.

“I’m not letting you decide,” I retort, “I just want your opinion whether there’s any reason we should stay, even though we risk being found.”

“Well…” Faraine pauses for a bit, “I think there’s a couple benefits. The biggest is that we don’t have to worry about finding food, so we can stay by Evetta’s side at all times.”

I see. Not needing to get food does ease my burden. “That’s the biggest, so what else?”

“We’re right next to Valnia, so if things get bad for her we can just fly over to one of the trees. But more importantly, it will be warm in here compared to outside, at least until Vigaro passes. And no cold wind so, hopefully, a lower likelihood that Evetta’s condition flares up.”

I nod, “Okay, is that all?”

“That,” Faraine says, motioning at the axiom device, “If it can help minimize Evetta’s condition when it gets out of control, then it will be a huge help in getting through winter.”

Looking at the smooth device, I ask, “You think that’ll help?”

“If you and I deal with the ice, while Evetta tries to suppress it, the device could be the deciding factor that prevents the ice from getting out of control.”

I continue staring at the device.

“If not that, we could throw her into the flames of a Valnian tree, but I assume you’d like to keep that as a last resort.”

“Preferably,” I respond. I don’t like the idea of staying here but… I glance down at Evetta. …my priority is to protect her. Now, is it the enōōfen, or Vigaro that’s more of a problem. Worst case scenario, I can kill the enōōfen. I gulp. But I have no guarantee that I can stop Vigaro and the ice so… I lock eyes back onto the device. As much as I don’t like it, staying here might be better, even with the risk of other enōōfen.

I sigh, looking back at Faraine, “I think my only other question is how are Evetta’s wings healing? I saw them briefly earlier and they didn’t look fully healed, but she was able to somewhat use them.”

“She’s eager to fly again,” Faraine comments, smiling, “They still need a few more days, but she’s been trying to fly since she woke up.”

“Silly girl,” I chuckle as I look down at the snoozing fairy. Nudging her slightly and leaning forward, I announce, “Evetta, nap time’s over.”

“Mhmm, just a little longer,” she mumbles.

“I’m going to leave you in here while I go make food,” I state.

“That’s mean.”

“Come on,” I pester, “My leg’s numb and covered in your drool.”

“Wha…” Evetta raises her head, “Drool?

“Good, you’re awake,” I remark as I manifest my wings. Grabbing Evetta, I rise into the air and, as I stand on my feet, place Evetta on hers.

“Is it already time to eat?” Evetta questions.

“Soon,” I reply, “but first.” I look toward the door. “If we’re going to be staying here for the next couple of weeks, then I need to go apologize to the owners.”

Neither fairy responds. For a moment, the only sound comes from the enōōfen in the other room. I look at them; they are both staring at me. Evetta blankly turns to Faraine, who looks down at her.

As they both turn back to me, Evetta mutters, “I must still be sleeping.”

Flick.

“Ow!” Evetta whines as she brings her hands to her forehead.

“Is it really that surprising-” I start, “You know, nevermind, let’s go talk to them. We can discuss things over dinner.”

“That hurt,” Evetta complains as I pick her up. As we all lift off the table, Evetta yawns, “Fa…Faraine, how’d you convince this jerk that we should stay here?” You’re the one that was being rude.

“I didn’t,” she responds as we fly over to the doorway.

Peeking around the wall, I see the same three enōōfen, the man, the woman, and the girl. All three are seated at a table in the middle of the room. A pleasant aroma spreads throughout the house. It originates from a steaming pot atop a stove in the far-left corner of the room.

“Where’s the fourth?” I direct at Faraine.

“He’s likely running the shop,” she answers from beneath me, “Considering how dark it’s starting to get, he’ll likely be coming in soon.”

I glance down at her, “Okay, then everything looks clear.”

“Yeah, aside from their terrified expressions, everything looks normal.”

“You really scared them earlier,” Evetta chimes.

I sigh, “I know.”

Faraine enters the large room first, heading toward the elves. I follow behind her and the man, as we approach them, notices us. He quickly tells the others to quiet down, directing their attention to us. Instantly, they go silent and tense up.

I sigh again. Here goes.

Faraine and I land on the table in front of the three elves. It really is the same enōōfen. Examining the man, I notice more than just the injury on his hand. He looks like he was attacked, with bandages and bruises covering several exposed parts of his body. Faraine was right, someone really did a number on him. From him, my eyes travel to the little elf girl. Noticing this, she stiffens up and scoots closer to her father, trying to hide behind him. I turn away from her and lock onto the elven woman. Her hands… Such thick rot spīīr even for a fairy. As an elf, I imagine she’s in a lot of pain.

I place Evetta down on the table, then rise into the air and fly closer to the elves. “Hello,” I announce in Parazic, “My name is Revus.” They remain motionless with their blue-eyes locked onto me. “First, I’d like to apologize for my behavior earlier today. I overreacted in an attempt to keep Evetta safe,” I proclaim, “For attacking and scaring you all, I sincerely apologize.” I bow my head.

Again, silence follows. I open my eyes and glance at them as the woman motions to the man. He nods and, stuttering, replies, “I-i-it’s… um.” He gulps, “It’s okay.” He looks from his wife to his daughter and continues, “I would do something similar if my family was in danger.”

Family huh… I chuckle once. “Thank you for understanding,” I acknowledge. “Second, I would like to thank you for the last week. Helping us, providing food and shelter. It is greatly appreciated.”

“O-of course,” the man responds, “It’s not enough to apologize for what we’ve done, but please, make yourselves at home.”

“Thank you,” I nod, then continue, “Third, would it be alright if we stayed here until the winter passes?”

“Please do,” the man answers firmly, “I’m sure you’re worried about the fairy hunters, but I promise we’ll do everything we can to keep you all hidden.”

I nod once again, close my eyes, and smile, “Thank you.”

Following that, we all introduce ourselves to one another. The man’s name, Rhys, and his wife’s, Sana. The little girl’s name is Shelara. Her older brother, whom they confirm is out working the shop, is Rydel. Given the current situation, at least for the time being, I commit their names to memory.

“Rhys,” I call, “Would it be alright if I used some of your food to cook for us?”

“If you want, feel free” he states, gesturing to the pot on the stove, “But we could just share what we make with you.”

“Thank you, but,” I respectfully decline, “At least tonight, I’d like to cook for them,” I reply, looking at the two fairies on the table.

“Excuse me,” Shelara politely interrupts. I look down at the elf girl and descend down to her. She slightly retreats behind Rhys. “C-could you help my mom?”

Turning to Sana, I focus on the spīīr that has deeply corrupted her arms. “You’re asking if I can heal her hands?”

“Y-yes… please,” Shelara hesitantly confirms.

It would not make us even, but hopefully this alleviates some of their worries. I fly over to Sana, her desperate eyes tinted with hope. Ideally they’ll feel more indebted to us but…

I can feel the thickness of the spīīr in the air. Her hands, where the spīīr is the most dense, are black, and almost completely devoid of life. The skin is as though someone tightly wrapped her bones in a patch of burnt leather. As the concentration of spīīr lessens, the tone of her skin changes. Her wrists are a deep purple, as if they are perpetually bruised. Along her forearms, the skin shifts to a soft blue, like if she just came out of the snow. Beneath the ruined skin are glowing orange veins, becoming less visible as they snake up the arm.

I hover around her arms as if I am inspecting them, knowing she is doomed. “I won’t be able to heal you.”

All hope fades from her visage. “I figured,” she apathetically replies.

“Sorry,” I explain,”But whatever happened, the rot spīīr has been fused with your body to a point beyond what I can do. At best, I can ease the pain.”

She smiles, “That’s more than I could ask for.”

Turning my attention back to her arms, I shake my head. How did she even… I sigh, extending my arms out in front of me. I feel everyone’s eyes focused on me. Here goes.

As I touch her hands, I can feel the heavy spīīr suddenly rush into me. Overwhelmed almost immediately, I stumble backward and fall onto my butt. What the… That’s worse than I expected. I stand up and wobble for a moment, trying to maintain my balance.

“Revus!” Evetta hollers as she runs up to me, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I huff, catching my breath, “Just wasn’t… expecting there… to be so much spīīr.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“It is,” I answer, standing up straight and wiping my forehead, “The spīīr is so thoroughly fused with her, that the outer layer is acting like a barrier. It’s preventing me from being able to tell how much there actually is.”

“Care to elaborate in a way I can understand,” Evetta whines.

I turn to her and explain, “Basically, if you break through the outer spīīr, a much larger amount of spīīr is released.”

“Can you fix her?”

“No… I don’t think I can,” I shake my head, “There’s too much. When I tried just now, I almost passed out from a fraction of it.”

“Hmm,” Evetta ponders, “Can I ask you another question?”

“Why are you asking?” I reflect, “Just ask.”

“Well…” she sighs, “Do her hands look… weird to you?”

I glance down at the small fairy inquisitively, “Yes. There’s discoloration and-”

“Sorry,” Evetta interjects, pointing at me, “When you look at her hands, what do you see?”

Furrowing my brows, I focus on the elven woman’s discolored hands. “Well, the spīīr is orange. And it’s so thick that the hands appear black. Why, what do you see?”

“Her hands look like those flowers we found that winter, with a kind of soft orange glitter around them.”

I hold up a finger and open my mouth, but instantly close it. After a moment of blankly staring at Evetta, I turn to the blackened hands. “So…” I mutter, lookin back down at her.

She looks up at me and smiles, “Yep. I knew you were going to think I’m weird.”

I further stare at her. Weird is not the word I’d use to describe you.

“Hey,” she says, facing Sana’s hands, “Would it be alright if I tried to absorb the spīīr?”

I look at the corrupted hands once more. If, instead of black, all you see is orange then… “Go ahead. But I’ll be standing right here, so if at any point it feels like too much, let go, or call out to me.” I look up at the elves. At least for this family who’ve likely already given up… I focus on Evetta. …maybe you’ll show them a miracle.

Slowly, she approaches the giant lady’s hands. She holds out her small hands and places them against Sana’s index fingers. Almost instantaneously, all of the dark-orange spīīr is pulled into Evetta, the discoloration on Sana’s arms disappearing in turn.

Evetta turns to look at me and remarks, “Uh… Revus… I think I got it all.”

I stare at Sana’s wrinkled hands, lacking any signs of the previous affliction. I close my eyes, place my two forefingers against my temples, and start massaging them. No… Weird wouldn’t be close. More like, monster. I peek at her through squinted eyelids. Yes, you’re a little spīīr monster.

The elves altogether start to weep, celebrating Evetta’s successful extraction of the spīīr. For several minutes they cry joyfully, thanking all the two of us for what we did. All three elves vow to help us with whatever they can, for as long as we stay.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

A loud pounding echoes from the side door.

“Rhys! Open up,” a shrill, drunken man’s voice says in Parazic.

Not good. Faraine and I lunge for Evetta, but I am closer. We take off and fly up to the light fixtures in the central part of the room, trying to hide as quickly as possible.

“Phew,” I exhale, turning to Faraine. I give her a look that asks, ‘I thought you said we were safe in here.’

“Sorry,” she whispers in Zoic, “This is the first time anyone’s come over.”

“Rhys,” the voice shouts again, “Come on, open up, I got some exciting news to tell you.”

Glancing down, I see Rhys approach the door, but before reaching it he looks in our direction. He puts his finger to his pursed lips, pulls it away, and gives a thumbs up before opening the door.

“What is it Ryul?” Rhys questions, barely opening the door.

“No need to be so rude,” the man states, pushing the door open and barging inside.

The man looks similar to Rhys. They share the same, blonde hair, though Ryul’s is much longer. They also share the same tanned skin and body type. Ryul is far more attractive, however, being significantly less covered in injuries.

Rhys gives the other man a sour look, “This is my house.”

“And I’m your brother,” Ryul states matter-of-factly. He gives Sana a curt nod and Shelara a silent, playful wave.

“Didn’t seem very brotherly when you left me in the mountains,” Rhys barks, “or while you watched the others beat me.”

“Can you blame me. I didn’t want to join you in the uh… fun,” he gestures at Rhys’ whole body, “Besides, I came to tell you some good news.”

“Please,” Rhys sighs, visibly angry now, “Just tell me and leave.”

“You’re being much meaner than usual,” Ryul comments.

“Ryul,” Rhys growls.

“Fine fine,” Ryul spins around heading back out the door, “I just wanted to tell you that some big shot fairy hunters are coming here, and they’re very interested in hearing about that black-haired fairy.”