This is unusual.Nibi isn’t tched onto my arms.Not that I miss her clinging to me all the time, but if she’s not in sight, that fairy is liable to be doing something that will only bring me even more bother.Hastily, I scan the room, searching for her, but I don’t see her anywhere.Even after searching my room as well, there’s no sign of that blue fairy.Where would she go?She’s never simply wandered away before.What might she be interested in that would entice her?

  Oh no!Don’t tell me she’s gone after Sinora again!?Nibi didn’t cause trouble earlier, but she may have been waiting till Talia was safely away.

  Rushing to a window, I look out through a crack towards the street.Sinora is already gone, and even with my unusual eyes, I don’t see Nibi anywhere.Furthermore, I can’t just fly through the streets, as someone will see me, or worse.If it wasn’t an emergency, I’d much prefer to leave Talia alone, but I need her help immediately.Who knows what trouble Nibi has already caused!?

  Quickly flying to my sister’s door and shimmying through a gap, I rush over to her bed.

  “Talia! I-”

  Directly in front of me, Talia is on her side in her bed, already sound asleep.And Nibi is on the bed near her, gently patting Talia on the head the best she’s able.

  Okay…So there’s more to this fairy than only mischief.This is the first time I’ve seen her leave my side to comfort someone of her own accord.Nibi obviously isn’t simply mimicking my actions anymore.No, it seems she has decided that this is what should be done for anyone in distress.At least, for anyone she likes, and Talia is apparently part of that group.Though, is it merely because I asked her to be nice to Talia or is it truly of her own volition?

  Deciding to leave them be for now, I quietly make my way back out of the room and fly into my own. There’s not much I can do at the moment about either Sinora or Talia.However, mum went to get some cloth for me, so I should prepare what I can to sew clothes.While I don’t have all the necessary sewing tools on hand, I do have some that Miss Delia gifted me.The problem is that they’re stored in my top drawer, which is now taller than I am and far above the ground.Simply pulling it out suddenly doesn’t seem quite so simple anymore.

  Flying up to it, I wrap my arms around the wooden knob that serves as the drawer’s handle, then pull directly away from it with all of my strength.But though I beat my wings as best as I’m able, it doesn’t even budge.Despite this being cheaply made furniture and the drawers being somewhat tight, I thought I could at least move it slightly.Seems I was wrong.These wings of mine effortlessly carry me, but apparently, it’s more due to how little I weigh now rather than their strength.

  I then reposition myself and attempt to push with my feet against the drawer below, but find I’m not tall enough to do so.When stretching my furthest, I can barely touch the knob while my toes are in position, which doesn’t allow me to apply any strength.*Sigh*Okay, this isn’t working, I’m going to need a new pn.

  Since I can no longer rely on my strength for simple matters, I must begin thinking like a fairy.Surely, there’s a way to do this with magic.If I only use a small amount, it should be safe to perform common tasks, although I’ll need to consider how to apply it properly.Currently, all that I need to do is move this drawer.How hard could it be?

  First, I take a fp back and position myself where I can easily see the knob.Then, I attempt to push my idea into the essence, and will an orb of wind energy to form between my hands.After a few moments of tinkering, I can feel the magic is extremely close to what I intend, but it refuses to fit my exact desire.On the contrary, instead of feeling correct, this orb is being stubborn, and with every further adjustment, it feels as if I make it worse, forcing me to revert my changes and leaving me at a loss as to how to complete it.

  Agh!It should be right, but it’s not!What am I missing?No matter which way I twist or turn this ball, it doesn’t help.Hmm, well, it doesn’t have to be exact.I just need a small gap to get in the drawer, it shouldn’t matter if it doesn’t move precisely the way I’m picturing.

  So I release the cyan orb, which immediately flies to the handle in front of me and then begins forming into a tight ring behind it.A moment ter, the ring is finished and disappears, and the drawer suddenly shoots entirely out of the chest!

  The good news is, my tools are now accessible.The bad news…I was hovering in front of that drawer.

  What looks like a ft, wooden wall sms into me, and I'm instantly unched away.Thankfully, my practice earlier in the day helps me to correct my course before I collide with the far wall of my room, and I manage to fall onto my enormous bed.

  Ugh…I feel like I’ve been punched, but across the whole front of me.However, the pain rapidly dulls until it vanishes entirely, and by the time I sit up only a few moments ter, my body feels completely fine.

  Oh thank goodness!Fairies do heal quickly!I had my suspicions after seeing my wings heal but no intention of testing them; however, I’m incredibly gd that I won’t have to expin to mum why I’m swollen all over.Though, next time, I’ll be standing much further from where I aim my magic.Or flying, rather.

  Looking below, I see the drawer itself nded on the floor a short distance from where it started.Some of my belongings were thrown out of it but most stayed inside, simply shuffled around a bit.The clothes, obviously, are far too rge for me now, but they’re not my goal, although I may need them if mum cannot acquire any new cloth.Inside a partition in my drawer is a wrapped piece of marking charcoal, several extremely thin sheets of old cloth, and a cloth measuring tape, frayed but still useable.The measuring tape being a gift from Miss Delia after she made herself a new one.Making a few trips, I fly them to the top of the chest, as I’m going to need them ter.Now then, how do I clean up this mess?

  Before I have any time to consider, the sound of the front door opening and shutting reaches my ears.In her haste, Talia must have forgotten to lock the door behind her.Then mum shouts from the common room.

  “Akari!”

  Ack, twice in one day!What did I do this time!?She hasn’t even seen into my room yet!

  Hurriedly, I fly out to meet her.

  “Mum, Talia’s sleeping!”

  A look of surprise crosses her face, but after gncing at Talia’s closed door, she moves over to our table and motions me to follow.Timidly, I nd on the table in front of her.

  “What do you suppose I heard while visiting Delia?”

  *Gulp*Mum being angry with me was scary before, but now that I’m staring up at an annoyed giant, she’s terrifying!Especially, when I’m not certain what she’s talking about!All I can do is shake my head.

  “I-I don’t know.”

  “Apparently, yesterday, Sinora ran to the ground floor of Marson’s mansion and screamed for the guards. Several people in the work rooms heard her say she was being attacked by magical blue and cyan lights. By this morning, her group of girls was ciming she was haunted, by you in particur. Now, I recall you saying that you were in his mansion during that time, so does that ring any bells, Akari?”

  Oh…that.

  “I couldn’t just do nothing, mum! She was terrorizing her own sister!”

  “Oh, and you’ve never have squabbles with Talia?”

  “Except when I was a little girl, I’ve never seriously hit Talia!”

  “She hit… What happened there, Akari? Everything, this time.”

  Starting from our encounter with Sinora in the street earlier that day, till the point she fled out of Emira’s door, I recount everything that occurred involving Sinora.

  “So you drenched her in the street, then antagonized her in her own home? Akari, it was your idea to hide your presence from the rest of the town, but then you proceed to do this?”

  “The first time was Nibi’s fault!”

  “And you were supposed to be keeping an eye on her but, apparently, didn’t even try telling her to stop, did you? I know you and Sinora don’t get along, but if you can’t control your temper now, it may lead us into serious trouble.”

  “I know, mum. But what about Emira? Even without all that nature magic influencing me, I still couldn’t have simply left her like that.”

  *Sigh*“I don’t know, Aki. If you had merely slipped away and told me, I could have spoken to Marson, and he may have listened, but I can’t really confront him about his own children without any proof. And there’s no way I can tell him that my fairy daughter saw what happened there. Just, refrain from antagonizing Sinora any further, and we’ll try to figure out a way to help Emira.”

  “Yeah, sure, about that…”

  “Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like what you’re about to say?”

  “Talia kinda blew up at her just a little bit ago when Sinora accused her of using magic tricks.”

  With that, I proceed to tell her the exact details of that particur conversation.Slowly, Mum puts her elbows on the table and ys her face in her hands.

  “You know, Aki, there are certain times when I really, really wish your pa was here. This entire week has been mostly those times.”

  “I’m sorry, mum.”

  After a little while, she raises her head.

  “Well, there’s nothing we can do about that now. Marson will certainly come to speak to me again soon enough, and I’ll need to decide what to tell him. That behavior sounds quite peculiar for Talia though.”

  “She had begun acting strange even before we talked to Sinora. I’m not sure what’s going on with her, mum, but I am certain she needs you. Seemed especially rattled after that conversation.”

  “She did? Then, let me quickly give you these. Besides the town gossip, I did manage to gather some cloth for you to use. Honestly, Delia seemed delighted to gift me all the scraps she currently had. Said something about keeping herself from being haunted as well. Here, I’ll pce them in your room.”

  With this, she gets up, grabs her pack from the floor where she left it, and moves towards my room.As I take flight to follow, I warn her.

  “Erm, watch your step. I kinda made a bit of a mess.”

  “I can see that. Why did you pull the drawer all the way out? For that matter, how did you even manage to do it?”

  “It wouldn’t move when I pulled, but then I tried to use magic, and it went too far. Now I’m uncertain how to get it back into pce.”

  “You could just ask for help, dear.”

  She quickly returns the flung contents to the drawer and repces it in the chest.After pulling out several pieces of cloth, as well as shears, buttons, and various thread, from her pack, she pces them near the items I collected earlier, and leaves to check on Talia.