I didn’t even want to blink because it meant I wasn’t seeing things.
Everything was loud and new and colorful! People leaving out treats to be bought, a woman making a rug with her son, knights fighting for demonstrations, and so much more. Arwen actually ended up holding my hand to keep me from flying away.
As we walked, Arwen explained things. The mini trees were just called trees and flowers were now tiny. There were farms for the animals, markets like at the Home Trees, and open areas called parks. That’s where we took a break, leaning against the trees for shade against the sun.
It was busy.
People were running and shouting, parents calling for children while the children ran away; it was like the Home Tree but so much more.
“If you keep forgetting to blink your eyes will dry out.”
I jerked back to Arwen, his laugh erasing the fear inside of me. Sorata and him would be friends, if they would ever get over the whole Angel thing.
Past Arwen, Sorata was still, watching the sky.
There were a few Harpies on the roof tops, keeping the peace. We had even seen an ogre stomping past, a flock of Gargoyles following him.
Magic was used by the wizards in town, a bakery keeping the fire going or a library with flying books. But other than that, the humans just seemed like normal people.
How boring.
“Just wait until we get to the capital. This is Portside, a small town near the edge. Volar is full of towns and they all tend to blend into the capital city of Hement. Still, it’s a half day walk to the academy which we will have to do with your dove.”
Which would be easy if she didn’t draw attention to herself.
“I grew up near here, the further out the poorer you were. Going is Ixon was actually the biggest change of my life.”
“Did your family oppose the dragons, is that why you are mistreated.”
He sighed a popped a berry in his mouth.
“No, we didn’t. But we didn’t support them either. I guess, if you weren’t with them, you were still considered the enemy. We were neutral which doesn’t exist to the dragons. The ones that fought with the angels are on Brighster, pushed to the lowest levels as punishment.”
This wasn’t even the whole population? It seemed like were endless amounts humans here and this was just a small area. Excitement bubbled up like the fizzy drink Arwen gave her earlier.
“Come on then!” She jumped up, tugging on the wizard who didn’t even flinch. “I want to go see more! More people and things. Get! Up!”
Arwen just laughed, falling on to the grass; leaving me floating above him.
Well, if he wanted to sit on the grass, might as well have some fun.
I glanced around, none of the humans paid us any attention and the harpies were all busy.
“Seriously though, I do want to see more things. Get up you lazy wizard.” I kicked his boot as Sora stood.
Arwen sighed, standing and taking his sweet time stretching his arms and back which actually was perfect for me.
Slowly, so Arwen didn’t notice, I manipulated the grass at his feet to untie his boots. I flew over to Sora; whispering my plan to him.
Then the grass retired the laces, loose enough he shouldn’t notice but tight enough that he would trip as soon as he walked.
“So, we saw the bakery, library, market, and this park here. We still have a couple other businesses like the pawn shop or we can go to the farm a little further away.”
“Farm?”
“A collection of animals. A farmer is in charge of taking care of them until-”
I flew up to him before I remembered where we were and dropped to his feet, jumping up and down. “I’d love to go see them! I love creatures, do you think I could touch them? That would be awesome!”
He rubbed his neck, looking away from me for some reason. I didn’t ask, only skipping away to go see some cute animals!
Sorata followed, the both of us turned to watch Arwen. Sure enough, Arwen tried to take a large step only to become unbalanced.
Yet, before he could fall, he but his staff in front of him; using it as a third leg.
Oh. That wasn’t what I wanted.
Sora let out a groan, shoulders slouched over.
“Come on man, that’s no fun.”
Arwen pushed himself up, bending to fix his shoes. “I’m sorry to disappoint, but I thought you weren’t a pixie, Yasmin.”
“Please, pixies are so much worse. My cousin supposedly met one and it poisoned her then stole all her food. I would never do that much with my pranks.”
Sora raised an eyebrow. “So, the time you switched my bowl of Roseberries with Roughberries that made my tongue itch for a whole day. Oh, what about when you put color in the water and I walked around with bright pink hair for two weeks. Or when you took every one of my belongings and stuck them to the roof of my room an-”
I flew up, covering his mouth as Arwen bent over, laughing at Sorata’s words.
“Seriously, why would you tell him that!”
He didn’t reply, Sora licked my hand instead, making me jump back and land on the ground.
“I didn’t think you would be such a prankster little fairy; considering how much you dislike pixies.” Arwen began to walk, shoes fixed now.
I followed along; glad he couldn’t see my agitation showing through my wings. “Well, pranks aren’t... Pixies...”
I didn’t have a response.
Sorata bumped me as he walked past, happily throwing an arm over Arwen. Who would have thought that me being teased would bring the two together? Hey, at least Sora finally had a new friend.
We made our way through the town, watching the buildings fade as more trees grew. It felt a little more like home and I couldn’t stop my excitement. I ended up floating an inch or two above the ground, but no one was around to notice.
I think.
Soon, we saw the farm.
It was a cute little place. There was a brown house, next to it was another building that was smaller. There were walls along the grass as animals came into view. I ran to the wall, greeting the animal that was covering white, fluffy fur.
“Dominic and his family run this farm, and that there is a cloud. Clouds are docile and you can actually cut off their wool and use it for clothing and fabric.” I turned back and he laughed. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt them. Actually, if you don’t cut it off the clouds can actually overheat. “
A cloud came near, letting out a happy noise as I pet the soft wool. Meanwhile, Sorata stayed near Arwen. The clouds were just so cute, surely, he wasn’t scared of them?
“Come on, there is more to see.”
We continued along the path, Sorata practically had to drag me away from the fluffy animal.
“These are teks, they produce milk that is used for cooking and baking.”
The teks were large, colored white with black spots all over their body. I walked up, the tek letting out a loud ‘moo.’ I let out a laugh as the creature licked at my hand, practically sucking it into his mouth.
Sora let out a groan as I cleaned my hand on his cloak, skipping along to the next area. I knew that if I lived here, I would pick to live on a farm!
The next animal though, it made me want to cry.
“Hird, they are used for carts and riding. Some can run so fast it feels like you’re flying. The feathers are also used for decorations or crafts. I once-”
The hird was a beautiful creature. There were so many colors from brown to white coats, they were tall and graceful with wings on either side of their body. And yet, I couldn’t look away from their head.
“What, what did you do to them?”
He was silent as I leaned on the wall.
“Why did you cut their horn and wings?”
On the top of their head, exactly like Mara, the hird all had a horn. Except theirs's was chopped off about two inches from their skin.
“Oh, that. Well, it’s dangerous for us. Hird attack sometimes and have actually killed with their horn. And with wings they run away. So as a safety measure,”
I couldn’t listen anymore. I flew over the wall, slowly greeting the nearest hird. Maintaining eye contact, I reached out and brushed his side.
The skin was soft with fine hair along his body. I could feel the muscles of his legs, all four seemed strong enough to really fly. Which, they of course couldn’t do because these farmers had cut of their primary flight feathers.
I gently knocked my forehead against his, feeling his longing for the bright blue sky. How cruel did you have to be to rid an animal of its home?
“Yasmin.”
I turned, burying my face into Sora’s shoulder.
“I was trying to say earlier, a farmer also kills some animals for their meat. Swin, especially are a delicious meat that many eat. Farmers make sure there is a big enough population; letting butchers take care of the extra. Clen are also killed, I wanted to warn you Yasmin.”
How could anyone see such a sweet creature and kill them? They had spirits, souls and lives. Sure, they were not as civilized but they had their own families. It didn’t make any sense.
“Shall we go back, Mina? I’m sure Arwen would be okay with that.”
I shook my head, my want to learn was too strong to ignore. I would just have to not think about things like that.
Sora held my hand as we continued, this time at a slower pace. We saw the swin, cute round animals that for some reason liked to roll around in mud. Clen were soft creatures but had so much rage and anger that shouldn't have fit in their tiny bodies. They were covered in feathers, so I jumped the wall to talked to them. I was then chased and almost killed until I flew back over the wall. Clen produced eggs that were also eaten, though that didn’t bother me as much.
Once we finished, we made our way slowly back to the stables. Night was falling and I was tired, I wasn’t used to walking for such long periods of time.
“You good tiny?” Sora bumped his hip against mine.
I shrugged; it was hard to swallow. I lived in a place where such a thing would never happen. But for these people, it was commonplace. I couldn’t fight them really, but maybe I could try and make the animals more comfortable.
“Don’t worry, we have some time off to rest and get used to the culture of Volar.”
We entered the stable, Ozani and Aratazz each had books out along with other potions and items. If they were close to graduation, they probably had tests or something.
Except, there was a third girl with them. She had the same robes, yet strangely, her skin was tinted green with curly dark green hair flowing down her back.
“Hi there!”
No rest for the Main-Characters though.
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