“Thanks.” she smiled softly, nodding a little at the interesting answer. Elizabeth hummed as she tried to size up Farah. Of course, she couldn't just ask if she was a hermit, naturalist, or survivalist without sounding rude. And honestly, it was none of her business either. But Farah was definitely a unique, unusual woman. “Yeah. I grew up around here but it's been a while since I left. So, I spent a lot of time around here when I was a kid. Sure looks different now.”
“I imagine it does,” Farah remarked, drawing her gaze from Elizabeth and looking up into the trees. “It looks different to me nearly every day.”
She lowered her eyes back down, but instead of meeting Elizabeth’s, her gaze locked on something coming up behind her. “Shit,” she muttered, carefully reaching for Elizabeth’s arm. “Don’t panic and move slowly.”
Approaching the women was a great brown bear with black eyes and a wide mouth. Farah never took her eyes off of it as she slowly guided Elizabeth behind her.
Elizabeth was surprised at how easy it was to smile and laugh a little with Farah. It had actually been a longer time than she’d care to admit.
She looked back at Farah, about to reply, when she noticed the change in atmosphere. She could read her body language like a well-versed book; the tenseness of her posture, the way her eyes were locked on something… Elizabeth let Farah take her arm and slowly moved behind her, turning to see what had caused this all-too-familiar feeling to emerge. “Shit.” she echoed softly as she saw the bear.
“Don't panic. Not a problem.” she nodded, managing to stay fairly calm. It wasn't the first time her life had been in danger.
Farah nodded. "It's alright," she said quietly while the bear padded toward them. "It's alright." For every step the bear took toward them, Farah maneuvered one step back carefully. She didn't want to have to resort to her magic, but it wasn't looking like a good situation.
With her back to Elizabeth, the girl couldn't see Farah's eyes change from their natural dark brown to a silver-blue while she expelled just a small touch of her magic to calm the bear down. "That's it," she breathed to Elizabeth. "Keep backing up."
Elizabeth let Farah lead her back, occasionally glancing over her shoulder to make sure that they wouldn't trip or bump into anything. Though she did raise a brow at the way Farah was speaking. “Are you talking to me or the bear?” she asked softly, still keeping her voice steady. “It's not like I'm going to stop anytime soon.” she pointed out.
The idea of running had crossed her mind, but she knew that out-running bear was not a plausible solution. And she didn't put too much confidence in that whole “playing dead” routine. Climbing the nearest tree was also pretty iffy… “Any bright ideas?” she inquired a bit more urgently.
Farah laughed quietly under her breath. "You'd better not," she said, her British accent gracing her words that were meant to be teasing.
Her focus quickly switched back to the bear as it began to speed up a bit. Shit. It wasn't looking like there was any other option. The same ideas that had been in Elizabeth's mind had also crossed Farah's, but it was appearing that magic was the only way out of this.
"Solaria help me," she mumbled to herself before using more of her power to calm the bear down. Its fierce expression melted, and instead of charging at them, the bear rolled over on its side with its tongue lolling out.
Elizabeth held back a chuckle at the banter, finding it comfortingly familiar, though she made note of the accent for later. She kept her focus on the bear and continued to step back, making sure Farah did too.
“Come on. We gotta move.” she hissed when the bear started picking up the pace. But she forgot Farah’s whisper when the bear dropped like a ton of bricks. “What… the hell just happened?” she asked in sheer confusion.
The bear moved its paws, appearing like a dog that wanted its belly rubbed.
Farah closed her eyes and let out a pent-up breath. “Well… I don’t suppose he’s a threat to us anymore,” she remarked, trying poorly to pass off the events that had just happened.
Under any other circumstances, Elizabeth would have found the action adorable but right now she was too bewildered to make sense of what was going on.
“Not a threat! That animal was about to attack us. Then it suddenly decides to roll over?” she scoffs almost ranting. “And how are you so calm about this? This isn't natural!” she stated pointing at the bear.
Farah uncharacteristically winced under the pressure Elizabeth was putting on the situation. “No,” she finally said. “It’s not natural.”
She’s not an idiot. She’ll put the pieces together sooner or later. Summoning her magic again, Farah’s eyes turned silver-blue from brown as she lifted her palm and sent magic toward the bear. It suddenly stood up, roared loudly, then took off running in the opposite direction.
“It's really not.” Elizabeth sighed as Farah agreed, running her fingers through her dark brown hair. “This day has just been…” she trailed off as she watched Farah raise a hand toward the bear before the animal got up and took off. “What… the… hell…” she questioned as she turned to the strange woman. “What did you do?”
Farah lowered her hand and sighed quietly. “I simply projected the images of what I wanted him to do into his mind so he would do them. Lay down, run away, etcetera.” She closed her eyes, refusing to look at the woman beside her. “I’m not exactly human, darling,” she revealed tiredly. Mental projection was one of the most draining of her powers, especially into animals. She had no idea why.
Elizabeth blinked at the simple way Farah answered, raising a brow skeptically. “Uh-huh… And how did you do that? And if you're not “exactly human” then what are you? Some kind of alien?” she asked almost sarcastically despite wanting real answers. When she noticed how fatigued Farah was, admittedly she was concerned but she wasn't sure how to approach that topic yet.
Farah’s eyes opened suddenly. “Shit,” she hissed, leaning against a tree to collect herself. She hated this part – the downside of her magic – where she became inexplicably tired. “Oh,” she moaned quietly, closing her eyes again. "Mental projection is a mind fairy ability. That’s what I am. A mind fairy. An alien? Please.” Even in her tiredness, she still found an opportunity to throw in sass.
“Whoa. Are… Are you ok?” Elizabeth asked, quickly moving to her side as Farah’s exhaustion seemed to finally hit her. “Right… A fairy. Sure.” she couldn't help but roll her eyes. “So, what am I supposed to do now? Clap my hands and say that I believe in fairies, like I'm in Peter Pan? Cause that's not going to happen any time soon.” she sighed as even her thoughts took a sarcastic turn. Just my luck. I go out for a run to clear my head and I meet someone more messed up than I am…
“Fine,” Farah said quickly. “I’m fine. Projection typically requires the most power of any kind of magic, which leaves me drained for a moment. I’m alright.”
Her eyes opened, and she gave Elizabeth an amused once-over as she scoffed. “You’re comparing me to Tinkerbell? Darling, I’m not that kind of fairy. Besides, Tink was an air fairy. Don’t be silly.”
Elizabeth nodded, taking a step back to give Farah more room to breathe and recover. Though she still wasn't very convinced by what she was hearing.
“What's that supposed to mean? That she could fly and you can't?” she questioned, almost surprised by how easily she was talking about this. “What next? You gonna tell me you actually know Tinkerbell?”
“No,” Farah groaned. “That’s not what that means.” Why did she have to be completely depleted when giving a history of the Otherworld? “We had wings in the past. Over time, transformation magic has been lost. And yes, I know Tinkerbell.” She hissed in momentary pain as she pushed away from the tree and tried to stand on her own. “Stars, do we have to do this now?”
Elizabeth raised a brow at the answers, she was especially surprised by the last one. But before she could press for more… “Well, I'm not letting you go without explaining a few things. But let's see if we can find someplace for you to sit down at least.” she compromised, offering her hand to help Farah walk.
"I would expect nothing less," Farah retorted with a small smile. "Alright, but I should be fine in a minute." She slipped her hand into Elizabeth's and let her head. She could feel a few callouses, but otherwise, the woman's hands were unexpectedly soft.
Elizabeth smirked back and helped Farah up, draping her arm over her shoulders. “It's probably a bit of a walk anyway. I've been running for a while.” she admitted before she started walking back towards her home. Thank goodness I ran in a straight line.
Farah shook her head. “I swear I’ll be alright in another minute. My magic just needs to replenish.” Her eyes changed colors again before pointing to an open grove. “Let’s go there. I can feel a strong conduit to channel and replenish my magic faster."
Elizabeth raised her brow again but shrugged and followed Farah’s direction. “Alright.” she nodded. “So… Tinkerbell is actually real?” she asked, smirking a little as they walked.
Farah gave Elizabeth a side-eye look as they walked. “Why? Do you want to meet her?” she teased. As they neared the conduit, Farah was able to walk easier and lean less on Elizabeth.
Elizabeth gave a non-committal hum and shrugged again. “I don't know. Meeting one fairy today is probably enough. But I guess I am kinda curious.” she admitted. “I'm pretty sure every kid has grown up hearing about her, so she's kinda a fictional celebrity. Though if she's anything like you, she might be disappointed with how her name’s been used.” she chuckled.
Farah laughed dryly. “Well, she’s anything but fictional, let me tell you.” Then her expression twisted with confusion. “Wait. What do you mean by that?” she demanded, looking over at Elizabeth expectantly.
Elizabeth shrugged. “Nothing really. It's just some of the stories have her as a bit of a possessive short-tempered woman. Especially in that Peter Pan stories.” she explained. “And her figure might be a little exaggerated… Other versions have her as very smart and inventive so it kind of balances out. What’s she really like?”
“Well…” Farah hesitated for a moment before replying. “She is all of those things, to some degree. She has been one of many fairies to forge powerful relics and rediscover long-lost magic that has shaped our world.”
Finally, Farah reached the clearing and stepped into it, sighing with relief. She felt magic wash over her. This place was pure – a clear conduit to the magic of the land for Farah to replenish her magic after draining so much of it. She visibly looked better, her complexion glowing when she turned back to Elizabeth. “Much better. Now, where were we?”
“Huh.” Elizabeth hummed, a little surprised but deciding to drop the topic for now.
The former Marine couldn't help but stare as she saw Farah practically transform once they reached the clearing. “Right. Magic.” she said, shaking her head at the question. “I have a lot of questions.” she admitted. “First of all, how are you a fairy? And how long have you been able to use magic… How long has magic actually existed?”
Farah noted Elizabeth’s stare. She expected nothing less. It was most humans’ reactions to seeing magic for the first time. But at Elizabeth’s questions, she couldn’t help herself – she laughed.
“How am I a fairy?” she asked, a bit incredulously. “My parents were fairies, so I suppose that’s how. I’ve been able to use magic since I could walk, as most fairies are. And magic has existed since the creation of the world."
