“Hehe”

  “Miep?”

  “Never mind, it looks good. Now do the other side.”

  “Miep.”

  What are those two doing?Still half-asleep, I’m lying in bed, wondering if I need to open my eyes yet.Then I feel what I assume is someone running their fingers through my hair, followed by a few gentle tugs.

  “Good job, Nibi. You learned how to tie those quite quickly.”

  “Miep!”

  “Shhhh, you’ll wake her up.”

  “Miep.”

  It appears my sister has decided to team up with another troublemaker.Which means I need to get up before they do something I’ll regret.

  “Talia, what are you teaching Nibi?”

  “Oh, good morning sis. All I taught her was how to do what she was already trying to do. How to tie a ribbon. They look good, by the way. Hehe”

  Sitting up, I run my hands through my hair and find it partly tied back into twintails, with familiar feeling ribbons.

  “And you didn’t suggest the style?”

  “No, she did it all by herself.”

  If that’s the case, it may be Nibi simply attempted to copy the only other hairstyle she’s ever seen me in.

  “Nibi, if you want to help me with my hair, you should wait till I’m awake, or you’ll have a difficult time with the part I’m sleeping on. As Talia well knows! You should also ask first, though you may have to work on a few more words for that part. Here, sit behind me, and I’ll show you how to do it properly.”

  I move my wings aside to allow Nibi space behind me on the bed, then assist her in putting my hair into a short ponytail.After which, she then ties it with one of the pink ribbons that I had been given.Considering my hair is already multicolored, only my family will see me, and the hairstyle is one I’m content with, I decide to humor her and leave it be.Besides, I will likely undo it soon, as I prefer my hair to fall freely.

  But then, Nibi grabs the other ribbon and hands it to me.

  “Ak’ri.”

  Then points at her own hair.

  “Nibi.”

  Oh!She can say her name now, and obviously recognizes it as such.Thankfully, she hasn’t yet ever compined about the name I gave her.Speaking of names, I wish she would soon work out how to speak my name correctly.While I don’t enjoy it, the way she says it sounds far too close to the nickname Mum made up, which is even worse.

  “Yeah, sure. Sit down and spread your wings so I can get to your hair.”

  So I do up her hair in the exact same manner as mine, and tie it with the ribbon.The pink, honestly, goes quite well with her blue hair and wings.

  “There you are. Now we match.”

  Of course, at that, an enormous grin spreads across her face.

  “Ak’ri!”

  And now she’s hugging me, again.

  “We really ought to have done this after we changed our clothes, though. Go take your blue dress into the drawer below us and put it on. You should know how to handle both of them now.”

  “Miep!”

  As Nibi hops down into the drawer, Talia speaks up.

  “What about me?”

  “Sis, your hair comes down to your back and, as such, is quite a few times longer than I am tall. I’m afraid you’ll have to do it yourself from now on.”

  “Aww. But I’m surprised you didn’t get angry at her for putting those ribbons in your hair. You would never let me do that anymore.”

  “Yeah, sure, because you do it just to annoy me, while I’m fairly certain she was simply doing it the only way she knew how, this time at least. Although, she does remind me of you a bit.”

  “Oh?”

  “You know, she’s also a prankster, trickster, troublemaker.”

  “Hey! She’s far worse than me. I never tried exploding anyone!”

  “But if you were able to when you were six, you probably would have. *ditiditi*”

  “Sis! Hmph! Maybe I shouldn’t prepare meals for you any longer.”

  “Oh no! I’m going to starve! I’ll be forced to subsist on…wind! Wherever will I find that!?”

  “Pfft! Hahaha”

  “*ditiditidit*”

  Once the two of us finish ughing, Talia goes back to her own room to prepare for the day, leaving me to do the same.It seems Nibi had to make several attempts to get into her blue dress, as a few minutes pass before she hops back up to where I’m waiting.Thankfully, she’s properly clothed.So I change into my only other garment, my white dress, and am ready for the day.

  My energies may be slightly unbanced, as I only have earth, wind, and water, with wind being the dominant of the three, but there is also some white from st night’s dinner seemingly stabilizing me a bit.And after what happened with Talia, I’d prefer not to fill myself and risk scattering dust.Speaking of which, I assume that Nibi can do the same, but I’ve never seen her overfill.Though, with the way she always takes in the same essence, I suppose there wouldn’t be a reason for her to do so.Does that mean even fairies would consider me strange?I’ve yet to see any that are multicolored like myself.

  Yet, before I leave my room, I decide that I could use a little essence after all.One that I don’t require much of.Flying to my still closed window, I slip around it and sit on the sill, basking in the sun’s rays, where Nibi shortly joins me.Occasionally, I had found the fact that our bedroom windows face the morning sun to be irritating, but now I’m gd our house is built this way.Being able to soak in this warmth is quite pleasant, though it may be the gold that is now bordering my wings that I’m actually feeling here.Whichever it is, I intend to enjoy it.And I’ll be sure to only let in a small amount.

  …

  “Girls, time to eat!”

  Oh, mum’s calling.Seems my time is up.I squeeze back inside and fly towards our dining table.There, I find slices of fruit ying on the smaller ptes for me and Nibi.Mum must have realized that I don’t like bread as much as I used to, or more accurately, that sweet fruits now taste positively delicious to me.

  “I see you were enjoying the morning sun, Aki.”

  “Yeah, sure. It was nice and warm this morning. I didn’t get that much color, did I?”

  Looking over my arms, I only see that they are as fair as ever.Not even a hint of pink.Then Talia chimes in.

  “I’m kind of gd that I’m not the only one who is struggling to get used to fairies. You should check behind you, sis.”

  Ah!It only takes a gnce at my wings to see what they mean.Instead of merely forming a simple border, the gold has expanded into a full pattern nearly the size of my other colors.

  “Um, eh, don’t worry Mum. I feel fine. I mean, I don’t think it’s really affecting me yet. The others are still bancing it, and the white from eating helps as well.”

  “Very well. You’ve repeatedly said you didn’t want to be treated as a kid anymore, so for now, I’ll trust you and simply warn you again to be careful with that. You know what it does to you, and you’ll still be responsible for whatever you do while you have it.”

  “I know. Which sort of leads into something else I’ve been considering. If I expect to be treated as an adult, I need to learn more about myself, my new fairy self, I mean. I sometimes feel that, as a fairy, I’m even more of a child than Nibi is. At least she doesn’t scatter dangerous dust without care. Yes, I realize that I simply didn’t know any better, but that’s no excuse, right Mum?”

  “Only for a child, maybe. Which is why we went to that gde to learn.”

  “And it helped. But there are some things I’m certain I can’t find out on my own or even with your help. I think I need to return to the fairy gde.”

  “Aki!?” “Sis!?”

  “It wouldn’t be for long! I only need to find a fairy that will answer my questions, then I’ll return home.”

  “But you said they did terrible things to you there, sis! And it could be dangerous for you to fly through the woods!”

  “That’s right, Talia, they did. But they can’t really change me into a fairy again, now can they? Also, I’ll need to work out something with my magic to ensure my safety before I try to make the trip.”

  “Are you certain that we can’t discover the answers to your questions on our own, Aki? I would feel much more comfortable if you stayed at our hidden meadow instead of going deep into the forest again.”

  “Yes, Mum, I’m fairly sure. Questions such as, ‘How long should I expect to live?’ or ‘How many different ways can a fairy harm their family on accident?’ are not easily answered. Moreover, if I asked you, now, how I could make a baby, I don’t believe you would be able to answer me.”

  Mum opens her mouth to reply, but pauses, then closes her mouth.Meanwhile, Talia stares at me with a mix of curiosity and confusion.Uh, that st question may have been better off not said, at least around my little sister, but it just slipped out.The sunlight might be affecting me more than I thought at first.But as it seems to be providing me the confidence to directly tell mum what I need, its influence is welcome for now.After a few moments, she replies.

  “Well, I could pack enough supplies to st a few days and then we could go together.”

  “That would be a bad idea. You know what the fairies did to me, and that was when at least one of them may have thought she was being nice. If you came along with me, I would be terrified of what they might do to you.”

  “But Aki, you going into the forest again, especially as you are now, alone,-”

  “No! Nibi!”

  Of course she would volunteer to come along.

  “Not alone. As she said, Nibi will be there too.”

  “That doesn’t make me feel much better, dear. I’m not certain which of you should be watching out for the other. And I know that she has mostly behaved herself while here, but she was the one who instigated what happened to you. Who’s to say she won’t do something when you return there?”

  “Nibi, no, Ak’ri.”

  “Erm, I think she just did. But I promise that I’ll learn to protect myself before I leave, and with how well I can fly now, the journey there and back should take less than half a day. I wouldn’t be away for long.”

  “Aki…”

  “Mum. I have to do this. Unless you’re familiar with someone who happens to know the inner workings of a mythical creature called a fairy.”

  *Sigh*“…You’ll show me that you can keep yourself safe to my satisfaction before you leave.”

  “I will. Practicing my magic was what I pnned to do today.”

  “Very well, just be careful. I want the house to still be standing when I return.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “With everything that has happened recently, I’ve neglected my work in the forest. Our money won’t st long if I don’t return to it, so unfortunately, I have to leave for at least a few hours. Will you girls be alright staying here by yourselves all morning?”

  “Of course, Mum! Even though I look like this, I can manage on my own for a while.”

  “And I’ll keep an eye on her too while you’re away!”

  Wonderful.Now my little sister thinks she has to babysit me.