"So what happened in the land of Diadalin today?" Mom asked.

"Diadalin was our world a few campaigns ago," Felix reminded. "I don't think Derek has said what this one is called."

Felix joined Mom in the living room, laying down on the couch.

"So how did my little fairy Fern do?" she smiled.

"Mom," Felix laughed off his embarrassment.

"C'mon," she said, "how was it?"

"It was actually really fun," he admitted. "Derek and Rykker seemed to like the backstory that we did for her."

"Did you have any encounters?"

"Yeah," Felix said, "with some wolves. My fairy wings actually really helped me move in the battlefield."

"I bet you were the most skilled archer in all of the iron forest," Mom smiled.

"Yup!" Felix smiled.

"Well Fern Nightshade," Mom smiled back, "I'm glad that you like your new character, cause' I got something for you."

Mom made a brief trip to her room, and came back with a plastic bag.

"Master archer Fern Nightshade," Mom said in a haughty tone, "reach into my bag of holding, and retrieve its bounty."

Felix snickered, and reached in. He felt a plastic box. Pulling it out, he found a D&D player minature inside. A fairy ranger.

"Aww, thanks Mom!"

Felix examined the minature more closely. She had a bow drawn and a fierce smile barely visible on her face. Butterfly wings hung her in the air. The figure was on a clear plastic stand.

"Woah," Felix said. "I like her."

"I thought you would," Mom smiled.

After eating dinner, they proceeded to paint the minature. Because he'd always just used his normal ranger figurine, it had been a while since he'd painted one.

He originally was going to go for more muted, earthy brown colors, but he decided to make the blues more bright on Fern's wings to contrast with her earthen green cloak.

"You have very beautiful wings Fern," Mom smiled.

"Thank you," Felix smiled.

"I remember when you were little," Mom chuckled, "that you actually watched the Tinker Bell movies a bunch. You'd run around the room pretending to be a fairy."

Felix's face reddened.

"But you're a warrior Fern," Mom said. "You're a half-fairy who doesn't take any nonsense. None of that girly sparkly stuff for you."

Felix grew a bit more red. "Well... sometimes... Fern does like some sparkly stuff."

He inched his eyes close to the minature's wings, where it sat drying on the table. The wings had a light dusting of fine glitter.

"Well Fern," Mom smiled, placing her hand on his shoulder, "you look very pretty."

Mom was looking at the minature when she said it, but for some reason, the thought came to his mind of imagining himself as Fern. He imagined himself with longer hair, and with wings protruding from his back.

It was a character that he liked. It had that indiscernable cool feeling about it. It was the same way that a Jedi from Star Wars just felt like something he wanted to be in real life.

"I... I wonder what it would be like to be a fairy," Felix said, not really thinking as the words came out.

"I would want bright orange wings," Mom said, "like an Autumn leaf."

Felix was silent. He stared at the fairy figurine. Mom sat quietly too. She seemed to expect that Felix would say something, and awkwardness soon began to set in.

"Mom?"

"Yes Felix?"

"Is it weird... if I'd want to be like Fern?"

Mom's face went slack, then she tightened it up back into a smile. "No sweetie. You love playing as a ranger, and being able to kind of fly would be fun."

"Is it weird...," he said hesitantly, then cut himself off.

"Is what weird?"

"Never mind," Felix waved his hand, "forget it."

Mom sat quietly. Augh. She was doing that thing again. She knew that she could wait him out.

"Is it weird...," he tried again, "if I'd want to be a girl fairy?"

"Why do you ask that?" Mom said.

Felix ran his hand through his hair. "I... don't know. Boy fairies are just kind of weird."

"I think that boy fairies are perfectly fine," Mom said. "If it makes you uncomfortable playing as a girl, I'm sure that you could ask your friends if you could change to being a boy fairy."

"But we've already written all this backstory," Felix said. "I... I dunno. Fern... I just feel more drawn to her."

"Well Fern," Mom smiled, speaking in a different voice, "whatever you shall be, you'll be one of the most amazing rangers in all the land."

Felix smiled, but did so weakly.

"I don't think it's bad that you want to play as a girl, or a fairy," Mom said. "If anything, I think..."

"You think..." Felix said.

"I think that it's a fun character you've made," she finished.

Felix pursed his lips. Those felt like constructed words. Like she was going to say something else.

He left the room, and went to his bedroom to study up more on his character - and eventually, to work on some homework.

Try as he might, he couldn't really shake the embarrassment he felt. Pat was going to make fun of him again. But determination came into him as fear tried to emerge.

No. Fern wasn't afraid of some drunken bard. She was a shadow, moving through the forests with ease.

And Felix decided that's how he'd get through it. When he went to his next play session, it would not be Felix rolling the die, but it would be Fern drawing her bow.