Finding Fae

I spent the rest of Sunday trying to figure out how to deal with everything. I remained quiet for most of the day, occasionally stopping to ask a question here or there, while I tried to readjust my entire life.

Gary started avoiding me, which I was grateful for. I didn’t even try to handle that mess right now. The guys hung out until dinner, then dispersed, leaving Ben behind, to make sure Gary didn’t do something foolish, like to run away with me again. Demi’s were strong and I would have been easily over powered if he wanted to take me away again. I knew he wouldn’t, though. The look of defeat was all over him like a cheap blanket. I, at least, was staying.

I was dreading Monday as I went to bed, but I woke up feeling almost excited. I got ready and practically skipped down the stairs to grab breakfast before Ben could eat everything. He looked terrible as he sat at the dining table with a hot mug of coffee between his hands.

“What’s gotten into you?” he asked, taking in my good mood.

“I could ask the same thing,” I raised an eyebrow at him.

“That couch could be used as a new form of torture,” he pulled his lips off his teeth and I saw his fur and ears again, only the ears were laid back against his head.

“That will take some getting used to,” I stared at him with the box of cereal in my hand.

“Sorry,” he smiled sheepishly. “I have a hard time controlling it on occasion.”

“And “it” would be what? Shape shifting or whatever?” I asked, reaching for a bowl.

“I’m not a Morphi,” he rolled his eyes. “It’s how I look naturally, since my Awakening. Because we live among humans, we have to look the part or bad things happen.”

“Glamour?” I guessed.

“Sort of but not so weak,” he shrugged. “Besides, being Earth-bound, we can’t use glamour as well.”

“So, you’re not a- what?- Morphi?” I asked.

“Nope, just full of demonic charm,” he beamed.

“I thought that wasn’t a big deal,” I said, sitting down with my cereal.

“Demons get a bad name because a few are rotten,” he rolled his eyes. “Most of us just like to have fun. Admittedly, that fun can sort of get out of hand, as far as humans are concerned, but we’re not bad.”

I tried to process this new bit of information, and I found it went through pretty well, considering. I guess obsessing over the whole ordeal last night for hours after I went to bed helped. It was still strange and a little freaky, but it was what it was, I guess. So long as I didn’t put too much thought into, I felt like I could handle it.

“Hey!” I exclaimed with a grin, making Ben jump a little. “You guys can’t call me Pixie anymore!”

“Seriously?” he looked like I had grown a second head as I started laughing. He rolled his eyes and got up, pouring the dregs of his coffee into my cereal. “Time for school, Pixie.”

“I was eating that,” I pouted, but got up and followed him anyhow. He was, after all, my ride. “So how long are you stuck on babysitting duty?”

“You’ll have one of the twins with you tonight, I think,” he said as we got into his old car. “Those two are about to go at each others throats at any second now.”

“What? Why?” I asked.

“They may be twins, but that doesn’t mean they’re the same,” he said. “Blaine is a little bitter, I think, about his brother going through the Awakening so much earlier than him. Not to mention what he turned out to be.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I’m the only pure bred in our little group, Fae,” he looked at me for a moment. “I knew exactly what I was going to be. My blood is 100% fox. Zane, Blaine, and Nando are mixed. They have a chance of being different things. Nando could be one of a hundred different things, since his family is so diverse. But the twins? There was only two options and Blaine got the one he didn’t want.”

“So, what are they, then?” I asked.

“No way am I telling you that,” he grimaced. “It’s considered rude to ask what race another fae is, but you can get away with it, since you didn’t know any of this before. But asking a third party is not something that can be overlooked, especially if you get an answer. If you want to know, ask them yourself.”

It was quiet for a while before a thought came to me and I couldn’t help the grin as I felt a glimmer of hope growing.

“You know how I can see your fur sometimes?” I asked and he looked at me like I was insane, but nodded. “Could you tell what I am the same way?”

“In theory, I guess,” he shrugged. “You aren’t Awakened yet, so it’s a moot point right now.”

“Is there a way to make it happen?” I asked.

“Yes, but you better put that stupid idea out of your head right now,” he glared at me. “If you aren’t ready for it, you will die, which is why we’re all so pissed at Gary for not preparing you. Leave it to a Demi to be reckless with the life of someone else.”

“But he said he thought mine would be easy,” I frowned.

“No Awakening is easy, Fae. Subtle, gentle, possibly, but they are never easy,” he said. “It’s meant to test you, push your limits in every way possible until you feel like there’s no way you could possibly continue, then it pushes you farther.”

“Has anyone ever been late?” I asked. “Zane was early, so were you. Has anyone been older than eighteen?”

“It depends on the race, but no,” he answered. “Eighteen is just the general age of maturity. Some races age much slower, so they reach maturity later than the rest. Others happen sooner, like foxes. Our maturity is sixteen.”

“So, was Zane really early or was he on time for his race?” I asked.

“He was early,” Ben said. “But you, dear Pixie, have come across the problem with mix breeds. You don’t know when you’re going to Awaken unless you know the options.”

“Could I be a mix breed?” I asked.

“It’s highly possible, since there’s not real difference in a pure breed and a mix breed, aside from, perhaps that potency,” he shrugged. “I know a mixed fox that can’t hold a wisp for longer than a few seconds, but he can do some pretty amazing things in those few seconds.”

“Wisp?”

“Will-o-wisp?” he said then snapped his fingers and a tiny blue flame hovered in his palm. “Fake fire. Fox magic is tricks and deception, mostly, but we do have demonic traits and can tap into them to make some things real.”

“So if you wanted to, that wisp could be real fire?” I asked as he closed his hand and the wisp disappeared.

“I haven’t been able to do a whole lot of that yet. My sister’s birthday is this week, which is why my parents are gone,” he said. “They’re there for her Awakening. Because everyone’s been getting ready for that, I decided to lay off the lessons until she could take them with me. It saves everyone time and effort by not having to repeat the same lesson twice.”

We got to school and my eyes went huge with shock. Nearly every person had that second look about them. Small flashes, not long enough to really see anything, but it was there.

“I probably should have warned you about this, huh?” Ben grinned. “Most of the kids that go to our school are fae. I’d say about 75% or so. But we don’t talk about it, because if a disguise is good, you’ll never know otherwise, fae or not.”

“And I’m only seeing the ones that are Awakened?” I asked, looking around.

“Most of them,” he nodded and got out of the car. “The closer you get, the more likely you could be seen. Only in cases of strong emotion or life danger, and I mean extreme measures.”

“Like in the pool?” I asked.

“If you had been in there a few seconds longer, perhaps, but you’re not close enough. It’s only the beginning of December and you have until April,” he tweaked my nose and put his arm over my shoulders and started walking into the building.

“Ben, get your arm off of Fae like that before people start to think the wrong thing,” Blaine said as he joined us. He picked up Ben’s sleeve at the wrist and tossed it back before dusting my shoulder off.

“There’s nothing wrong with tha-Ow!” Ben exclaimed when Zane smacked the back of his head. “What was that for?”

“Behave yourself,” Zane warned. “Here. I got your books already for class.”

“Someone take a dump in your yard this morning?” Ben pouted.

Zane actually growled and I saw a flash of ears and sharp teeth before he took my shoulders and started steering me towards Science class.