A Fairy and A Demon (M)

[Shinn Zighelm]

Shinn flew around the bustling city of Cerenis, high above the people. The warm summer sun bathing Shinn in its warm light. As he flew above a market, the little fairy breathed in the air, bringing the smells of the different food and spices and even the sea. It all smells so good! Shinn thought to himself. Suddenly the fairy stopped, the ache of hunger had finally gotten to strong.

Shinn flew straight down for a couple of seconds before arching his back and leveling off. The tiny fairy blurred past the oblivious humans while searching for some food easy to carry. After a few laps around the market, Shinn spotted a pear in one of the food stalls. He flew faster, picking up the pear and zoomed away. Shinn flew up to a tree and sat down on a branch to eat his new pear.

[Nefres]

In the same market, a small child by the name of Kaa was walking through. Though the fresh fruit at some of the stalls smelled delicious, Kaa wasn't fool enough to try taking anything in broad daylight. Any suspicious movement by the boy would be immediately noticed, as most of the people walking past had their eyes on the large, trapped wings on his back. In the past, he'd been quite an effective pickpocket, but he could no longer move fast enough to cover for the added difficulty of his strange appearance.

No, if he was hungry right now, begging would suffice, or perhaps he could just wait until dark. But begging wasn't a sure meal, and he was hungry now.

Just as he was thinking that he could maybe try for an apple or something if he was really quick, Kaa saw something small and fast drop down and snatch a pear from the stall just to his left. The theft went entirely unnoticed by everyone else, focused on their own shopping or wares as they were.

Well, Kaa was always ready to meet a fellow street urchin. His eyes followed the flying thing, and now he could see that it appeared to be a fairy, or some kind of sprite. The boy brought his pace up to a jog, his claws clicking against the cobblestone, and gave chase, weaving between the adults cluttering the street, until he came to where the fairy had landed. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called up to the creature.

"Hey, nice take!"

Kaa smiled, not wanting the other to think he was being accusing.

[Shinn Zighelm]

Oh, this is going to taste so good! Shinn was about to take a bite of the pear he had just stolen, of which he felt a shameful, when he heard someone call up at him. The little fairy looked down to see a little boy with black wings and bird feet? Shinn hoped off of the branch holding the pear and floated down. The Helm Fairy stopped when he had reached the height of the boy's face.

Shinn asked with the sun's light shining off of his naked body, "are you talking to me?" 

[Nefres]

Kaa didn't move as the fairy came down to meet him, and grinned again when it stopped in front of his face. Now that the fairy was closer, Kaa could get a better look at it. Or he, actually. The fairy appeared to be male, if his body was anything to go by. He looked like a very small, extremely hairless (barring his head), and genital-less man. The little demon didn't have much experience with fairies, so he didn't comment on this.

"Of course I'm talking to you! Didn't see anyone else up in that tree," Kaa answered, and laughed. "The way you just swooped in and grabbed that was awesome! I used to be pretty good at the same thing."

[Shinn Zighelm]

Shinn listened as boy answered. Used to be?, Was his first thought. As the thought faded, Shinn noticed the chains that rapped around the kid's body. The fairy wiped around to inspect the boy's back. Shinn gasped at the sight of the chained wings, then he stared at them for several seconds in speechless, bewildered shock. What in the name of all things holy and unholy!

When the little fairy found his voice, he choked out, "What the hell! Who did such an unspeakable thing?"

[Nefres]

Kaa's smile vanished as he saw the fairy flit behind him, and his expression turned to one of shame. Quickly, he spun around, ostensibly to properly talk to the fairy, but unconsciously because he didn't want his useless wings being stared at, especially by one who could fly freely.

The boy tried to keep his voice light, but the way he laced his hands together and avoided looking right at the fairy betrayed his emotional state. "Um..." Kaa didn't really want to reply, but changing the subject was out of the question, if the fairy's reaction to the chains was anything to go by.

"They're just, well... a symbol of servitude, I guess."

Kaa couldn't believe he was referring to them so flippantly, but he'd been caught off guard, and was tired of agonizing over a situation that couldn't be changed.

[Shinn Zighelm]

The boy spun around quickly. Shinn saw the shame on the boy's face at the mention of his wings. Then Shinn felt the shame wash over his body as a large painful stabbing sensation throughout his body. The little fairy balled up, one hand gripping his left shoulder and the other his right hip as he began to cry.

Then Shinn sensed a bit of hate within the shame, this new emotion made the pain increase and caused Shinn to drop down to the ground. The hatred increased slightly as the boy said the word, "servitude".

When the pain subsided, Shinn rose back up to look at the boy. The fairy flew over to the winged kid and sat on his shoulder. "So, some despicable thing out there thinks they can force anyone into servitude? You should be out there flying freely! I'll help you get you wings back," Shinn said to the boy, "Oh, and my name is Shinn, Shinn Zighelm. May I ask your name?"

[Nefres]

Kaa's mouth opened in surprise when the fairy curled into himself in pain, and he instinctively reached out, crying out rather loudly, "Hey, are you alright?!"

Before he could reach him, the fairy dropped down to the dirt, and Kaa's concern only deepened. He couldn't see anything that had touched the fairy that could have hurt him, so he could only watch as the little being cried.

Then, just as quickly as it had come, whatever had been agonizing the fairy stopped. He flew up and, to Kaa's surprise, landed right on his shoulder. The boy blinked a few times, trying to get his bearings.

So the fairy's name was Shinn? He decided to start with that. "Uh, I'm Kaa, nice to meet you, but..." Kaa faltered. The fairy's bout of.. illness, or pain, or.. something, had him worried. "..Are you alright, though?! That looked pretty bad..."

Now he looked away from Shinn again. "And, the situation isn't exactly as you described."

[Shinn Zighelm]

Shinn smiled at the knowledge that the boy, now known as Kaa was worried about him. "Yes I'm alright. Us Helm Fairies have an ability called empathy. Empathy allows us to feel the emotions of others and we get a sensation that corresponds to that emotion. Negative emotions give us a painful sensation, and the intensity depends on how powerful that emotion is. Positive emotions give us a pleasurable, calming, or elating sensation," the fairy explained, "Even something like shame can hurt us, though not as bad as hate or terror."

Shinn look into Kaa's eyes with a reassuring look on his face as well as a smile. "And, what do you mean, 'the situation isn't exactly as you described'?" 
     

[Nefres]

Kaa turned back to the fairy on his shoulder and listened to his explanation. As he learned what had caused the fairy's distress, something like guilty began to creep up on him, until he realized what was happening. Kaa shook his head, as if that could physically shake out the offending emotions, fearful of hurting Shinn once more.

"That empathy power sounds kind of awful! I wouldn't want that... I guess I'd better be careful," He said, putting on a smile for Shinn's sake. Kaa had heard somewhere that the act of smiling could actually improve your mood, so he thought that now was the best time to try it.

"And..." Before he answered Shinn's question, Kaa made sure to breathe calmly. If he was careful and checked himself, he could probably avoid the anger that usually sprung up whenever he thought about Claerth, right?

"The reason my wings are chained up like this is 'cause of this guy, Claerth. He doesn't just chain up whoever, it's only..." He gestured to his whole body, "Demons, like me. He's still a nasty, insufferable bastard, though. I've had to do whatever he says for the past two years." Kaa realized that his smile was gone by this point, but was pleased to note that he didn't feel so angry at the moment. Being able to insult Claerth had probably helped, since the gods knew that was suicide when the man was actually around.

[Shinn Zighelm]

(Road, I'm going to bed.  :'(  Good night!)

Shinn thought about what Kaa was telling him. Then he answered, "Empathy is not all bad. From what my father told me, Empathy enhances our feels towards each other, and in terms of affection for one's family and sex, the sensations are multiplied."

Then Shinn paused to let Kaa continue. Oh, so Kaa is a demon and this Claerth is a demonlrd, huh? Well, crap! Shinn thought as he listened. When Kaa had finished, Shinn said, "You're a demon, huh. Well, whatever. I will still help you in any way possible.

Shinn then put hid hands on the boy's shoulder and focused. The energy Shinn was massing collected in his hands. After he had collected enough power he casts a healing spell. This spell is not only for healing wounds, but can also be used to give good feelings. Shinn said these words as his hands began to glow, "Nish tai life faeten!" A second later all of the energy in Shinn's hands entered Kaa's body.

[Nefres]

Kaa hummed to himself as Shinn explained that his empathy ability had its positives too, though he felt his cheeks go red at the mention of sexual situations being enhanced as well. That topic would be one of the few, in his long life, that he'd had no experience with.

He'd soon forgotten about this when the fairy spoke again, letting his mouth drop open a bit after Shinn's frank promise to help him. Were all fairies this easy-going, or was it just Shinn? Kaa had met plenty of Serenians who, despite having lives completely immersed in magic, had been wary after learning that he was a demon. Kaa was just about to comment on this, as well as communicate his thanks, when he felt Shinn place his tiny hands on his shoulder.

The fairy uttered what was undoubtedly a magic spell, and Kaa felt energy rush into his body. The feeling was warm and pleasurable, like a massage, and he could do nothing (and didn't want to) to stop his entire body from relaxing. Even his wings, which had spent so long folded that Kaa had gotten used to the constricting ache, suddenly felt light, and he almost thought he could stretch them out again.

"Wow!" Kaa exclaimed, turning his head so his face was right in front of the fairy's. "That was-"

He clapped one hand over his mouth and turned his head in the opposite direction. "Ah." He breathed out, and the poison on his breath that had narrowly missed Shinn dissipated harmlessly in the warm day air. "I almost forgot! You probably shouldn't be so close to my face, Shinn," Kaa said, then licked the hand he'd used to cover his mouth.

[Shinn Zighelm]

(Sorry for the short post)

Shinn looked at Kaa as he looked away from the Helm Fairy. "Huh? Why not?" Shinn asked with curiosity and concern.

Then he heard Kaa's stomach growl. "Oh, are you hungry?" Shinn extended his hand which held the pear towards Kaa's hand, "here, eat this. I don't want a fellow winged one to go hungry, plus I can go get another anytime."
 

[Nefres]

((Nah nah, man, don't worry about post length. Someone beefing up their own post with unnecessary stuff just to make it look longer, that's what annoys me. Sometimes there just isn't as much to say!))

Kaa smiled, to reassure that fairy that all was well. He was careful to keep his face pointed ahead, and not at Shinn, however. "My breath's pretty poisonous. If you breathed it in, or got it in a cut, it'd be bad. You're so small, you'd probably die in a day!" Kaa laughed, then seemed to realize what it is he'd said and gulped. "I mean, um... just best to avoid my breath, 'kay? Normal healing magic doesn't really work on it."

He snapped his fingers and winked at Shinn. "But it's still not that big a deal. I can heal it just as easy as I cause it!"

It was then that he finally plucked the fruit from Shinn's hands. He didn't feel bad about taking it, as he'd seen how easily Shinn had grabbed the pear in the first place. In fact, his original reason for following the fairy had been to see if he could help him get a snack.

Taking a bite, Kaa continued to speak as he chewed, his voice slightly muffled but still understandable. "Anyways, thanks! You're awful nice, you know that? Is that a fairy thing?"

[Shinn Zighelm]

Shinn blushed at the gratitude Kaa was showing him, then the fairy looked away, his face twisted in sadness. A few moments later Shinn spoke again, "Okay thanks for telling me. I'm guessing because you licked your hand, that your Saliva is the cure?" Shinn paused at the grumbling of his own stomach, "Can you hold on for a moment?"

The little fairy hopped off of Kaa's shoulder and flew towards the market again. He pasted an apple in the stall that he took the pear from. He bent his back to flip upside-down and spun quickly to put his front side to the ground. He then blurred past the stall again, this time taking the apple. He flew back to Kaa and landed back on his shoulder. Then Shinn took a bite of the apple, savoring the refreshing taste.   

[Nefres]

Kaa watched the fairy go, wanting nothing more than to take off after him. He swallowed, the sight of Shinn dashing away all of a sudden putting a heavy pit in his stomach. Kaa was aware of this sudden flare of jealousy, but let it happen. At least Shinn was, for the moment, not close to him, so Kaa thought the emotion couldn't hurt him.

When Shinn returned to his sight, he put on a smile, the mask slipping easily into place. Once again, the physical action served to distract him, as did the weight of the fairy plopping onto his shoulder. Shinn happily biting into his newly-acquired apple made Kaa remember the half-eaten pair he still held, and he hurriedly wolfed the rest of it down, the sweet taste reminding him that he was still hungry.

The boy licked the juice from his fingers, and only spoke after he was sure his hands were clean. "To answer your question, you're right. As long as you stay with me, I can't really hurtcha. It's funny how that works."

Kaa had been watching the fairy eat, and found himself a bit mystified at how Shinn could possibly finish that apple. It simply looked like too much food for one small fairy. Wondering that gave rise to more questions. Sure, Shinn had said he would help Kaa get his wings back, but how? And, come to think of it, why did Shinn even care? The more the boy thought about it, the more he convinced himself that the fairy had no idea what trouble he would be getting into if he tried to help Kaa.

[Shinn Zighelm]

Shinn took the last bite he could handle, the apple about half eaten. Then the fairy spotted a  rabbit, and he knew what do do with the left over part of the apple. Shinn spoke in rabbit using his Nature Speak ability, telling the rabbit to come to him. The rabbit approached slowly and then stopped at the sight of Kaa.

Shinn told the rabbit that Kaa would not hurt his little furry butt, and that he had food. The rabbit began to approach after a few moments. Shinn floated down to the ground and gave the leftover half of apple to the rabbit and it ran off. "That is kind funny, but  very useful." 

[Nefres]

((I'm very sorry about the last few days, Shinn! I've been a bit sick. I still am, but I can use my phone now!))

Kaa's mind was taken off his worries as Shinn's action's caught his attention. The demon had to be impressed: animals, crows excepted, always seemed to keep their distance from him. Kaa knew why, of course, but it was still a novel experience to be approached by a rabbit that he wasn't being ordered to hunt. And that had answered his unspoken question of where Shinn planned to put the rest of the apple.

"Useful in theory, I guess, not so much in practice," Kaa replied to Shinn's comment. "Blisters hurt, but you can still fight with 'em. An' I don't want to kill anyone."

Well, no one except Claerth. But that thought stayed in Kaa's head. Instead, he sighed, and dropped to the ground, rolling onto his stomach. There wasn't really another way to comfortably sit on the ground when one had wings and a tail. 

"Thanks again for the pear, Shinn." His words were muffled, his head resting on his arms crossed in front of him. He wanted to say something about the fairy's earlier comment of freeing him, tell Shinn it was better to just leave him alone, but he's rather the topic was just dropped entirely.

[Shinn Zighelm]

(Hey, if you're sick, then you should rest. And I thought I'd spice things up a little.  :P)

"I see. I'm glad you don't. And you are quite welcome." Shinn said as he flys away a little bit to give room so Kaa can lie down.

Shinn then sits on the grass a few inches away from Kaa's shoulder, looking at all of the people in the market.  The warm sun made Shinn sigh. As Shinn watched the market goers shop, he saw two kids run through a small crowd.

A moment later a voice boomed over the sound of the market, "thieves! Get back here, you little thieves!!"

Only then did Shinn see that the two kids were carrying a few items of food. The younger kid dropped a piece of bread, and she stopped to pick it up. The older boy stopped to grab the girl's arm and get her back on her feet. However, this little stop gave a squad of soldiers time to catch up. The soldiers surrounded the two kids, and then the stall owner came into view, looking very angry. At this Shinn rose into the air, ready to use a bit of magic to save the kids and knock out the soldiers.

[Nefres]

((This takes my mind off it! But thank you~. ))

At the sound of angry voices, Kaa had was jolted out of his own thoughts with a flinch. He sat up onto his knee and watched the scene unfold before him. Two young children, between them some bits of bread and fruit, and surrounding them, several soldiers.

Such a response for only two kids...

It was ridiculous, really, but a scene Kaa had witnessed before, and that he'd been a part of only once. His weight was all on his right knee, ready to spring, distract the soldiers to give them some time to escape...

But he didn't move. Out of the corner of his eye, Kaa caught Shinn fluttering into the air, and he knew the fairy would try to do something. That's fine for him, he can fly away if things get bad, Kaa thought bitterly.

It was shameful that Kaa was hesitating at all. He was a demon, and a strong one at that! He'd fought larger groups under Claerth's orders before...
With Claerth and Jakal right behind you, his mind helpfully supplied.

Kaa knew he could easily take out the soldiers, even without Shinn's help. But that would mean never being able to walk freely in this town again. The creature that Cerenis tolerated with some curiousity would now be a demon that was actively opposing the law. And yet.

He nodded at Shinn, and dashed forward. For now, Kaa just needed to take the attention off the kids. "Hey cowards, one soldier not enough for two children?"