"Now Leo I trust that you still remember what we talked about yesterday?" Asks Lira when I sit down for my daily lesson.
"I remember Master." I say in annoyance.
"Alright tell me what you learned." Lira says giving me a look.
"You told me about fairies." I say rolling my eyes.
"What about fairies, Leo?" She asks crossing her arms over her chest as she glares at me.
"Fairies are creatures of light however some fairies are evil. There is no easy way to recognize the difference however you can tell what kind of life a fairy has lived based on their wings. The wings of a fairy hold their memories and feelings. For this reason our wings are incredibly precious to us. If our wings are damaged we may lose the part of the memories we made throughout our lifetime. If our wings are clipped it is very difficult to recover those memories. We are left with a sense of loss never knowing what we have forgotten. It's possible to recall our lost memories but it is difficult to do so and no one knows a sure method to succeed. Over time a fairy may grow a new set of wings as they make new memories but the feeling that we are missing a part of ourselves will forever remain unless we are able to recover out lost past." I explain disinterestedly.
"Come on Leo. This is important. Don't you want to know who you once were?" Lira asks sadly.
"What if the rest of my past is as horrible as the little that I do know? What if all that's waiting for me is more suffering? I don't know if I will ever truly wish to know who I am but for now my past isn't important to me. All I want is to find my mate before the next slaughter festival. This upcoming slaughter festival is supposed to last a full month. I don't want to experience what it feels like to lose control of my body ever again. I hate the feeling of being trapped in my head, forced to watch as my animal side uses our body to kill everything in sight. To watch our fur get soaked in the blood of the innocent." I say fearfully.
"After this lesson I won't have anything else to teach you. Although your manners could use improvement I know that no matter how hard I try I'll never get you to change your way of speaking. Let's have this last lesson and I'll let you go." Lira says with a sad smile.
"I thought you already taught me everything you know? What do I have left to learn? You're acting strange Master." I say worriedly.
"There is one thing I haven't told you about. All beings have a certain lifespan. It's the same for hybrids. Depending on the mix our lifespans can change at anytime. My lifespan was originally 5,000 years however tomorrow will me my 5,324th birthday. I have been sucking the life force from this world and as punishment I have lost my chance to leave this world in peace. I can't hold on much longer however I don't want you to witness my departure from this world. As much as I wish I could be here to see you grow old I've reached my limit. I wish to part ways while I am still able to see you off. Always remember my dear deciple, only you can decide your worth. You are much more powerful than you believe. I trust that you will remember my teachings. All I ask is that you live. Live for yourself, Leonala and only reveal your true self to those you can trust." Lira says sadly.
"Do you expect me to leave you here alone? Knowing that your dying you think I can just walk away as if I don't know I'll never see you again?" I ask angrily as tears fall from my eyes.
"Please, Leo. Please let me be selfish just this once. I want you to remember me as I am now. I want you to always see my healthy appearance when you think of me." Lira says pleadingly.
"But, Master how can I smile knowing that I left you here to die alone?" I ask sadly.
"This is my last wish, Leo. As your Master I don't for you to see me in such a stste." Lira says with a smile as she hugs my head to her chest.
"Are you sure you want me to leave you here?" I ask trying to hide my emotions
"Go on. You can finally search for your mate. I know you've been wanting to find him for years. I promise to watch over you from above." Lira says gently.
I hesitantly pull away from her warm embrace. We agreed a long time ago that today would be out last lesson and I've always known we would part ways at some point however I never imagined that today would be the last time I can ever see my Master. She took me in all those years ago, when I was lost and confused. When I was all alone with no one to trust. I already have my things packed as I have been eagerly waiting for my chance to explore the world.
Lira guides me slowly towards the gate leading out of this mini- dimension. I pause at the door and turn to face Lira with sadly. I gently squeeze the storage ring on my finger before throwing myself into her arms.
"Master, I love you. I promise to always remember what you taught me all these years. I'll never forget you. I promise to live for myself now. Watch me from above. I will be happy. I'll make you proud." I say quietly and without letting her respond I dash through the gate acting as a passage between dimensions.
"I love you too my dear deciple." I hear Lira say before feeling my body get pulled through space to the real world.
From now on I'm going to live for myself. My forgotten past no longer matters. This is my fresh start. Armed with the knowledge and skills my Master has given me and my own power I know I can be happy. I will forever remember Masters words. From now on until I learn to trust others I am just Nala, the fairy with broken wings. I will make Lira proud. This is a promise to myself and to my Master.
...
2 months later-
3 months till the slaughter festival and I still haven't found my mate.
The real world is so confusing. Maybe I wasn't ready for this. I had forgotten what it was like to live among people. I'm so used to being alone with Lira that I can't adjust to the crowds of people.
Despite being surrounded by people for some reason I feel so lonely. The last time I felt like this was before Lira found me. When I was lost and confused with no one to rely on I felt so alone. This time is different. No one is going to help me. I'm truly on my own now.
2 months and I haven't said more than 10 words to anyone. I guess I'm just more suited to being alone.
As I'm walking down the street deep in thought I suddenly feel myself collide with a wall and I fall on my butt. When I look up however I realize that what I hit wasn't a wall but a man. What really startles me though is the sudden scent that hits me. It's like a forest after rain with a hint of honey. I can't help but inhale a large breath of the scent as I stare unmoving at the handsome man who is looking at me with just as much shock as I sit there on the ground.
"Y-you..." I try to speak but I can't think of the words to express how I feel at that moment. Fortunately the sound of my voice seems to pull him from his trance.
"Mate." He whispers as he pulls me from the ground and into his arms.
"W-what? Why are you so young?" I ask in disbelief pulling away to look him up and down.
"What do you mean young? I'm 220!" He says looking at me weirdly.
"S-so a child." I say with wide eyes taking a step back in shock.
"You're clearly younger than me!" He says looking at me like I'm crzazy.
"Looks can be deceiving." I say crossing my arms and turning my head away. I'm not proud of my appearance. I look like no more than a teenager and it brings me a lot of trouble. It doesn't help that I'm only 5'3 and I have a baby face.
"Than how old are you?" He asks curiously as he studies me as if it will help him figure it out.
"1,800ish." I mumble not wanting to admit that I'm almost 2,000. He leans forward slightly to take a breath of my scent and I just stand there and let him smell me for a moment.
"A fairy. No wonder." He says in realization.
"How can my mate be a child." I mumble in annoyance.
"I'm a werewolf. To my race I may be young but I'm still an adult." He says defensively.
"If you're an adult I'm an old woman. I'm clearly still young." I say with narrowed eyes as if daring him to refute.
"To your species you are in fact very young but for me I'm already through a quarter of my lifespan. To your species you could be considered a teenager but for mine I've been an adult for a while even though you think I'm young." He says trying to make me see it from his point of view.
"Then let's just say that I'm 18 and you're 22." I say not leaving any room for negotiation. If I think about it like this I feel much better about it.
I remember Master telling me that my mate could be of a different race who has a shorter lifespan. She taught me this method to change my way of thinking. What's young to me could be very old to another species. Due to my almost infinite lifespan even I can only be considered a child at this age. Of course other races will think I'm just a fairy due to the consealment magic I put on myself and a fairies average lifespan is only around 10,000 years to fairies I would indeed be considered a teenager at most. Master was a cat-shifter so her lifespan was only 5,000 years. If I didn't have the tiny piece of wing left from when my wings were trimmed I wouldn't even know how old I am.
"I can agree to that. My name is Kai, what's yours." My mate asks with a small amused smile.
"For now it's Nala." I say not wanting to lie to him.
"What do you mean 'for now'?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.
"Ask again in a couple thousand years and maybe I'll tell you." I mutter avoiding eye contact. He's my fated mate after all so the bond makes me feel compelled to speak the truth when I look into his eyes.
"Alright then mate. If you don't want to tell me there isn't much I can do about it." He says with a shrug but I can hear in his voice that he's hurt by my distrust.