I sit back and watch the affair as Inari lights a fire beneath the cauldron with a wave of her hand. Is she their mother or just a leader? How powerful is she? And perhaps most importantly, how does she deal with sitting at the head of this small society. I've heard the quote, 'it's lonely at the top,' which seems to apply here as well. Maybe that's what I was seeing earlier; maybe she just feels lonesome.
A sudden urge to comfort the fairy leader wells up within me but I push it back down. This is none of my business and she surely doesn't need my help; but the feeling lingers.
I watch as the poorly improvised performance plays out before me. the fairies constantly bump into each other and argue while flailing their limbs about. It's as if they've incorporated leg movements in the way they speak as they're constantly airborne.
Woohee seems to be particularly low in the social hierarchy. She gets pushed around and bullied as she tries to help. I hear the phrase 'doof' uttered in her direction at least three times which causes tears to well up in her eyes.
"Nick, is Woohee a doof?" She asks as she flies up to me.
"Of course not."
I tend to think of myself as an honest person but I can't help lying through my teeth whenever she looks up at me.
She perks up a bit at my words but still seems hesitant to head back to the group. Not knowing what to say next, I lightly tap her on the head with my finger. She smiles and flies happily around in circles.
I gaze around the village for a few minutes as I wait for the food to finish cooking; if it could even be called a village. The only infrastructure appears to be shabby tents made of bark and leaves. The iron cauldron looks otherwise out of place in the middle of this forest.
There's no call when the food finishes cooking, just a mad dash of fairies charging in to get their share. I quickly give up on the idea of having a share and walk over to Inari who is sipping from a floating sphere of stew the size of a marble.
"Based on the light coming through the leaves I'd say it's around noon so I should probably be heading back."
"Leaving so soon? I thought you wanted to stay for lunch?" She says without looking at me.
"Well, that was the plan but it doesn't seem very likely that I'll get a share." A quick glance at the cauldron would reveal dozens of fairies grabbing handfuls of the stew with their hands in spite of the temperature or even dunking their whole heads in. "I prefer my meals less fairy-flavored."
Inari snorts and a small grin slides up the side of her face.
"They are somewhat coarse, aren't they?"
"Like a bunch of kids, one might say." Inari swivels her head to look me dead in the eyes. A flash of annoyance passes across her face.
"Fairies don't reproduce like you humans, we're a single body."
"And you're in charge because you're the strongest."
"No one likes prying questions." She frowns.
"But I've already learned so much. People don't like prying questions because they may feel they have something to hide and yet they also wish to be understood."
"People, huh?" Inari looks up at the leaves momentarily before turning back to me. "I'll have some fairies guide you back."
"Thanks, I guess I passed whatever test you gave me then," I smirk.
"Oh, and take this back with you."
"Where the fuck were you?" Jezabel slams me up against a tree as I leave the woods. The whole ordeal feels like a fever dream and I'm relieved to be back in my reality. I look behind me but the fairies that guided me back to town are long gone.
"Apparently the leader of the fairies wanted a word with me," I reply casually without resisting her powerful grip. my chest and back hurt from the continued pressure but I'm sure she isn't planning on killing me at least. "They were also looking after Nathan here."
I point behind me where the young boy was unceremoniously tossed to the ground by the fairies. Inari said she put him to sleep when she found him and he's been out since.
"All's well that ends well, right?" I ask, hoping to sweep this whole incident under the rug. Jezabel is less than willing to follow my lead but eventually relents as I technically accomplished the mission.
"If I find out that anything you say is even remotely false, it'll be your head," Jezabel says as she tosses me to the ground.
That was weird.
I feel confused by her hostility but there's nothing I can do about it at the moment. I'm sure I'll learn more about the relationship between the fairies and the town over time.
"Nick." Josh asks as he runs over to me.
"I'm fine, the fairies just wanted to talk is all."
"Okay."
Sakura is significantly less concerned about my well being as she stops to look at a flower on the way over.
I guess they're both fine.
"Look, Josh! It's a Fairy Tear!" Sakura cries as she holds up a brilliant blue flower for him to see.
Meanwhile, Jezabel walks over to Nathan and pours a potion down his throat which instantly wakes him up.
"What happened?" She asks him. The boy is so startled that he can't speak against the burning intensity in her eyes.
"I think you're scaring him." I add. She whips her head around glares daggers at me. "See? That's exactly what I'm talking about."
The Guild Master holds my gaze for a few more seconds before taking a deep breath and stepping away. I fill the gap and kneel down next to Nathan.
"Yo, you alright?" Nathan watches Jezabel's back as he responds.
"Yeah, I think so. What happened?"
"We were wondering the same thing. You disappeared during the expedition and were captured by the fairies. Do you remember anything?" I ask. He shakes his head.
"I tripped and fell into a bush and by the time I got up, everyone was gone. I tried heading back to town but I got lost. The suns started going down and it was getting dark so I was running through the woods yelling and next thing I know I'm here."
"Okay, we'll rest up for a minute and we'll head back to town." I pat his shoulder and smile to reassure the shaking boy.
He takes a deep breath to collect himself and looks back up at me.
"Okay."