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Bear
We had gone far beyond the realm of my comfort zone in the past twenty-four hours. I had gone to the depths of the sea, traveled by mermaid back across a wild ocean, almost made a bargain with a miscreant, met an unworldly creature- a fairy- who had beauty that I could have only envisioned in dreams. Her mesmerising wing-span branched wider than any of our ships' windsales, and her dark wings gleamed, reflecting crystal coloured light from them. Veins spread across the webbed corners of her pinion, intriguing me to reach out and touch them. As the thought reached my hand, causing my fingers to eject from clenched fists by my sides, she turned to face me, “Don’t even think about it.” I recoiled my arm back to its place by my side.
Could she hear my thoughts? my eyes widened at the possibility. I remembered everything I had envisioned about her earlier, actually, for most of the trip so far. Blood ran to my cheeks, warming them and bringing more colour to my olive skin-tone. I looked at the mermaid, who was positioned next to me, on the fairies back. The fairy had not yet displayed her magical ability to remove the mers tail and we were losing time. “When are you going to remove my tail?” she repeated my thoughts, growing more impatient, as was I.
“As soon as we reach a spot where I can use my magic without getting into trouble from Sugarland elders. I am out of bounds here too.” The fairy looked around cautiously.
“What's your name?” I asked her curiously, as if everything she had just said bypassed my ears. All I could see was her beauty.
“What?” the two of them asked at once.
“Mines Bear.” I continued
“Iris,” She said, shaking her head and peering out at the ground beneath us. We would be very visible to anyone that chose to look up at the sky.
“Mines Violet!” The mermaid interjected almost too urgently, as if she were missing out on my attention. I gave her a small smile for her efforts, and she grinned in return. I had thought she was the most stunning creature I had even seen, and she was, until I saw the fairy.
“Why don’t you focus on the matter at hand, rather than making acquaintances,” Iris stated plainly.
“Well I should know who is going to perform magic on me, shouldn’t I? I can’t put my full trust into a stranger.” I replied matter of factly.
“Here,” She stated, seeming to ignore my statement. “We will do the magic up ahead. It's only a short walk but I can’t carry you any longer. I’m too tired. And, just so you are aware, I am performing the magic on the mermaid, not you.”
“Yes, but the magic is being performed so that I can be healed.” I said as I climbed off her back, dropping my feet to the grass, bountiful as it swayed in the slight breeze. I made a point of stroking a long dark feather on Iris’ wing as I climbed off. I felt her shudder slightly as I did so. Her reaction reminded me of a stray cat back home when you patted its back.
We took a seat on the ground, I helped Violet to get positioned, as she only really had her hands to maneuver herself with. “Make it quick! I am running out of time.” Violet glared at Iris, to which She returned the gesture. I watched as Iris put her fingertips to the temples of her ashen skin tone as she focused. “What is she doing?” Violet whispered impatiently into my left ear.