I can’t sleep.

Even as I stubbornly closed my eyes, the image of Mira staggering forward from my dream refused to go away.

What’s the time…

Rolling over to try and reach my phone, which was sitting on the edge of the bed, I winced as I felt something dig into my side.

Ow… what was that?

Blinking a few times as my eyes slowly adjusted to the low light level of the bedroom, I felt around on the bed near me. A light clattering sound echoed out as something rolled off my clothes, landing on whatever was surrounding me on the bed.

A marble?

Feeling around on the bed next to me, I found what seemed to be a few small marbles. However, as I scooped them up, they began to glow with a subtle radiance, illuminating the room around me ever so slightly.

These are… my Tears, aren’t they? Mira…

Dropping them into my pocket, I reached over for my phone, flipping the screen open to check the time.

Half past five… and the battery’s getting low. I need to charge it.

Slipping out of bed, I slowly walked over to my backpack, sitting in the corner. Pulling out my phone charger, I plugged it into the nearby wall socket, placing my phone on the floor nearby to charge.

I kept messing with all those electrics, on the first day. I wonder if that means… could I charge my phone with just spirit energy?

Reaching up to the nearby window, I pushed the curtain to the side a little bit, squinting as light started pouring into the room.

Although, that hasn’t been happening recently. What was it that caused that? I still don’t quite know…

I flopped down sideways onto the floor, fidgeting with the bundle of Tears in my pocket.

I’m not getting any more sleep, am I…

 

As I made my way outside my room, I lifted my feet off the ground, floating through the wall so as to not wake anyone up with the sound of the door. I timidly peeked outside, shuddering slightly at how eerily quiet the house was. 

Everyone else is still asleep… 

Making my way to the living room, I knelt down on the couch, resting my chin on the back as I stared out of the window behind it. A gentle orange glow shone from behind the nearby houses, still cast in shadow as the sun had yet to appear on the horizon. I shifted my legs to the side as I tried to get more comfortable, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of restlessness that had crept into me thanks to my dream.

Mira…. Was that some kind of prophetic dream? Or am I just scared? Elena said something yesterday about visions… and I think she saw the same mages that I did, both in my dream and on Monday.

I traced my memories back over the past few days, trying to piece together everything that had happened.

Why me? Why did all of this happen to me? I’m scared… what if something really did happen to Mira? I can’t get that image out of my head… If she really did get attacked by the mages, who could I possibly ask for help? I can't go to my parents anymore...

As my eyes glazed over from getting lost in my head, I felt myself slowly float up off the couch, heading towards the door.

I miss them… Mum… Dad… I wish I could see them. I wish they would… accept me. I didn’t choose to be like this, but… I think I’m happy now. I wish you could be happy for me, too.

Right as I was about to fly outside, I stopped, as a voice called out to me from behind.

“Flora? Where are you going?”

I spun around, startled. Emily was standing in the doorway, blearily rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Her ears twitched back and forth as she slowly stepped towards me.

“I… was going to go back home,” I said, averting eye contact. “I want to see my parents again.”

Instantly, all traces of drowsiness disappeared from her face, and she quickly dashed towards me, grabbing my hand and pulling me back down to the ground.

“Don’t,” she said, her voice full of worry. She stared at me, her amber eyes boring into mine. “Why go, if it’s only going to hurt to see them?”

I couldn’t respond to her.

“Flora, look at me.” As I slowly descended, her tail moved forward, curling around my leg and pulling me down as if to try and keep me there. “You and I both know that seeing them will only remind you of what happened.”

“I know, but–” I tried to pull away, looking everywhere around the room except for her, but she dragged me closer to herself, wrapping her arms around me.

“Take it from me. It’s not a pleasant experience.”

“O-okay.” I yielded, relaxing my body and pulling all of the energy back into my core as my feet returned to the ground. “I won’t go.”

 

As Emily slowly unwrapped her arms from around my body, I glanced over her shoulder to see Zoey timidly peek around the edge of the doorframe, into the living room.

“Oh–um… am I interrupting something?”

One of Emily’s ears briefly flicked to the side, and without turning around, she gestured for Zoey to come closer. 

“Are you okay?” Zoey asked, flying up and landing on her shoulder. “What happened?”

“I…” A shudder ran through my body as the unease from my dream mixed with the discomfort of recalling what had happened with my parents. “I had a nightmare.”

A few tears began forming in the corners of my eyes, rolling down my face without turning into gemstones.

“I… dreamt that Mira was–that something happened to her. She–” My speech slowly became more broken as my anxiety rose, and my breath began catching in my throat. “What if something happened to her?”

As my vision blurred from tears, I felt someone’s arms wrap around me, and I was gently pulled to the side as Zoey’s soft voice echoed in my ear.

“It’s alright,” she cooed. “It was just a dream.”

“But what if–” My voice trailed off as the two of them led me to the couch, slowly resting my shaking body down onto it. As I curled up, bringing my knees close to my chest, my eyes slowly flickered shut as I felt something soft stroke my head. A wave of drowsiness washed over me, as the sleep I had lost thanks to waking up early from my nightmare caught up to me, and my head began to droop forward. The last thing I heard before falling into a slumber was Zoey’s voice, quietly resounding next to me.

“Everything will be fine…”

 

*****

 

“You done with your plates?”

“Yep, thanks Mum.”

My whole body twitched as I awoke to the sounds of people whispering around me.

“Oh, she’s awake.”

...Why am I sideways?

As I glanced around, disoriented and trying to make sense of my situation, I looked down to find my vision filled with red and white fur. Feeling something soft against the side of my face, I rolled onto my back, finding myself staring at Zoey, now big again, as she looked down towards me.

“Good morning, Flora.”

Why are you sideways?

My eyes slowly widened as my current predicament dawned on me, and I bolted upright on the couch, quickly letting go of Emily’s tail.

“I… I’m sorry!” I covered my face as the heat rapidly rose to it, peeking between my fingers to find Emily, Zoey, and Melissa all laughing at my expense.

“You were so cute.” Emily’s fangs showed through as she grinned, smoothing out her tail with her hands. “We didn’t want to wake you.”

Zoey stroked my head again as I slowly curled up on the couch, my face turning even redder. “You fell asleep instantly when I started patting you… and you were so peaceful.”

“You reached out in your sleep, and latched onto my tail,” Emily said, wrapping her arms around the aforementioned tail. “I’m sure it was warm, and soft, but… you looked so happy that I couldn’t bear to take it away from you.”

Even though my embarrassment continued to rise, I couldn’t curl up any further.

“I… I’m so sorry!” 

 

The teasing continued as the two of them slowly pulled me up off the couch, dragging me towards my bedroom while telling me to get ready to head out.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” I pouted, wiping away the tears of embarrassment that had formed in the corners of my eyes.

“We tried,” Emily slowed down as we reached the door to my room, “but you were completely out of it.”

“You say that as if you didn’t just sit there staring at her face,” Zoey interjected, smirking at Emily.

“Her sleepy face is cute, though. Come on, you agree with me, right?”

“Of course. You didn’t have to look so jealous of me, though.”

“...jealous?”

Pulling away from the two of them, I escaped into my bedroom and closed the door.

“What, did you want to give her a lap pillow, too?”

I quickly busied myself getting ready while trying to ignore their conversation, which was clearly audible through the door.

“You looked as happy as she did,” Zoey continued, “tenderly brushing her hair so that it didn’t tickle her face.”

“Her nose was twitching–she was about to sneeze and wake herself up! You would’ve done the same thing.”

“I… can’t deny that.”

As I finished gathering up everything I needed for our shopping trip, I opened the door to my room to find both Emily and Zoey averting eye contact with each other, their faces both slightly pink.

“Are you two done?” I asked, stubbornly walking past them and leaving them behind.

“H-hey, wait up,” Zoey called out, being the first to recover. Emily trailed a little behind her as we made our way back to the living room.

 

Melissa was standing near the door, shoes on and ready to leave. She turned to us as we walked in, trying to suppress a giggle at the sight of us, our faces varying shades of red.

“Are… are you three okay?”

“We’re fine!” I yelled, quickly making for the door. “Let’s go!”

 

*****

 

Luckily, the awkward mood that had formed between the three of us seemed to dissipate during the car ride to the shopping centre. For the most part, Emily and Zoey were both silent, save for the sound of Emily’s tail thumping anxiously against the back seat next to me.

“What's on the list?” she muttered, "Flora needs a new SIM card, I need a comb… is that all?”

“I need some groceries, too. First off, though…” As Melissa parked the car, she turned to me, sitting in the back seat hugging my backpack. “You brought your birth certificate, right?”

“Yep.” You told me to. I’m not sure why, but…

“Cool. We’re making a stop at the bank, then. You might need it for that–I’m not sure.”

“R-right.” Why would I need my birth certificate?

 

“How can I help you?”

Melissa gently pulled me next to her as she addressed the teller at the bank. “This girl has a junior account, and she needs to take full ownership of it.”

It was just the two of us at the counter, as Emily and Zoey had gone back to chatting about what happened this morning, thoroughly embarrassing me. Melissa promptly evicted them outside the shop, telling them to “stop bullying the poor girl,”.

“Alright, what name is the account under?”

“Felix Caldwell.” Melissa briefly turned to me, whispering “Sorry,” under her breath.

“U-um.” The bank clerk seemed confused as she glanced between the two of us, and she faltered slightly as Melissa’s stern gaze fell upon her.

“Oh, she also needs her name changed to Flora, and her title changed to Miss.” Her eyes narrowed as her voice took on a commanding tone. “I’m sure you understand, right?”

 

That was… easier than I thought.

Since I didn’t have any other forms of ID, I had to show the bank clerk my birth certificate, but she seemed to accept it without much hassle. To both Melissa’s and my relief, and likely somewhat due to Melissa’s slightly intimidating expression, she busied herself recording my new details, stating that a new bank card would be mailed to me soon.

“You should be able to manage your account through our website, or through the app.”

...I don’t have a smartphone. Or a computer, for that matter. Maybe I can borrow Emily’s laptop.

As we made our way outside, thanking the bank clerk for her hard work, we found Emily and Zoey chatting animatedly about school. They were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn’t notice we had returned, until a loud rumble emerged from my stomach.

Right, I didn’t have breakfast…

“Should we go and grab lunch?” Melissa suggested.

“...Yes, please,” I replied, slightly embarrassed.

As we walked off towards the food court, however, Emily paused, her ears pricking upright.

“...Sirens?” she said, anxiously looking around the shopping centre.

“What’s up?” I asked, signalling for both Melissa and Zoey to stop.

“I can hear sirens… a fire truck?”

Suddenly, a piercing alarm blared out from the nearby loudspeakers. Emily screamed, crouching down as she covered her ears. Zoey and I immediately rushed to her side, helping her to stand back upright as the alarm continued to sound.

“There is a fire on the second floor,” a mechanical voice echoed out. “Please evacuate immediately.”

A fire? Instantly, the image of Mira staggering forward flashed in my mind, and I started looking around, scanning the nearby area to find the closest stairs.

“C’mon, everybody out!” A nearby security guard shouted, ushering the panicked shoppers towards the nearby exit.

As Melissa ducked in to help lift Emily up, walking her towards the exit, I dropped back from the group.

“I need to go. That fire… I think it’s Mira.”

“How do you know?” Zoey asked, stumbling slightly as Emily lurched forward, out of her grasp.

“I don’t know how–I can just tell… I know it’s her.” Why else did I have that dream?

The alarm had stopped, but the security guards continued to herd everyone out of the nearby exits.

“I’m coming with you.” Emily grabbed my shoulder, leaning on it to keep herself upright.

“No.” I twisted back, out of her grasp, and she stumbled forward. “I’ll be fine. Fire can’t hurt me, and if I float, the guards won’t be able to see me.”

“But–”

“Unless you can somehow make that illusion of yours cover your entire body…”

Emily closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

“...Done.”

Her entire body had turned transparent, the same way her ears looked when she was covering them with illusions.

“Now I can come with you, right?”

“Me too,” Zoey added, shifting into her fairy form and sitting on her shoulder.

“A-alright,” I relented. “Let’s go, then.”

“Umm,” Melissa chimed in, squinting very hard at Emily. 

Can she see her?

“I’ll go and wait in the car. Keep me in the loop, okay?”

“Yep.” Emily waved to her, before running off to the nearest escalator. “We’ll be fine.”

 

*****

 

As we made our way to the second floor, searching for the fire, we came across a security guard. Emily paused for a moment, stepping in front of him and waving her hands around.

“Wow… I really am invisible.”

Her amusement at the situation only lasted for a moment, though, as Zoey bonked her on the head.

“Not a good time, Emily.” She grabbed the tip of her left fox ear, pulling it forward.

“Ow–yeah, I know.” Emily paused for a moment, closing her eyes. Her ears swivelled around in various directions, as if trying to map out every sound in the shopping centre.

“Mira–I hear her. This way.” She bolted off to the side, leaving the two of us to follow her. “I can smell fire, too.”

“Hey, wait up!”

 

Rounding a corner towards the innermost section of the shopping centre, we came across a sight that I had feared.

“Mira!”

She was staggering forwards, the same way as in my dream. Her eyes brightened up as she spotted us, and she broke into a shambling run.

“Queen…” she gasped, hurrying towards me as fast as her legs could take her. I swooped towards her, scooping her up in my arms.

“Mira… are you okay?”

“Queen, I–” she desperately clung to me as I flew along–”I found you…”

As I was about to land, next to Emily and Zoey, I paused, feeling a slight prickle on the back of my neck.

“Queen… we need to go…”

I tried to move towards the two of them, but I stumbled forward as I landed, my muscles locking up as a paralysing fear crept into me. Emily immediately reached out to catch me, and Zoey shifted into her human form, catching Mira as her grip on me loosened.

“Um, Mira… w-who’s that?” Emily’s voice shook slightly as she pointed behind me, her ears folded back.

Mustering up as much strength as I could, I pushed through the fear that had permeated throughout my body, turning around to follow her gaze.

 

“Oh, it’s you.” Standing at the entrance to one of the shops was a tall, cloaked figure. A slight red glow enveloped his figure, rising off him in wisps. “Hello.”

That voice! I recognised it instantly. The voice that called out to me belonged to one of the mages, from my dream one week ago.

“W-what do you want?” I stammered, standing in front of Mira protectively as she clung to Zoey.

“Oh, nothing much.” 

The man in the cloak reached up, lifting his hood off to reveal small, red horns jutting out of the top of his head.

“I just wanted to thank you, I suppose.”