A couple of hours passed before I woke, my neck in agony from the terrible position which I slept in. I shift my head from side to side, cracking my neck muscles. I look around and see Sierra is the only person still here, she's curled up on the sofa nearby, still snoring. I stand up, arms outstretched and yawning. The clock on the table tells me that its 10am, theres also a note on the table. I pick it up and read it:

Hey Girls

Me and Michael have gone out to see what we can do to help people. We heard about the second Emergence on the radio. Cynthia your keys are on the desk.

Brad

I smile at the piece of paper, being correctly gendered and being told where my keys are bringing me unparalleled joy, I made a mental note to check whether the RX7 was still running and smoothly as I’d left it, but first things first was a nice relaxing shower. I walk out of the living room area and close the door softly to not wake Sierra up from her sleep. I take a slight detour to pick up some clothes from my room and check my laptop, I see a tab for local news on my home page and I shudder, no doubt it will be full of stories about Emerged and possibly me. I close the laptop down, not wanting to think much about the world at the moment, everyone here was safe, thats all that mattered to me.

I shut the door to the bathroom behind me and slid the locking mechanism into place before stripping down. I was still wearing the borrowed overalls from Bridget, it had a few stains here and there from oil. I chuck it into a washing up bin sitting in the corner, I then unlatch the bra and let my chest bare free. I was straight prior to the Emergence and my preferences very much hadn’t changed, so my boobs were fascinating to me, the way my centre of gravity had shifted much higher was something I was still getting used to. Seeing Sierra so happy to be herself had made me feel much more brazen than previously, so in the spurr of the moment I ran a hand over my chest, just touching my breasts

“Ooo-hoof” The feeling of my soft hands caressing my nipples was almost painfully erotic. I was wary of going the full way and going down there though so I left it at that. I step out of my panties and under the showerhead. I twist the temperature knob up and relax into the shower, letting it pour down over my long white hair, my bangs settling over my breasts. I rub shampoo throughout the snowy locks. I love my hair, I don’t know why it turned this colour but I loved it. I always loved girls with long flowing hair and I’m glad I now joined that not very exclusive club of women with hair that stretches down to their waist.

After about 20 minutes in the shower I finish up washing and turn it off. I step out of the shower and get dressed, pulling on a blouse and skinny jeans. Exiting the bathroom I bump into Sierra, who was too busy yawning to notice I’d stepped out in front of her.

“Mmph, sorry Cy” Sierra yelps, taking a few short steps back, and nearly bumping into a radiator. I laugh, her brown locks was seriously messed up from sleeping so awkwardly, she had one hell of a cowlick. Her face lights up suddenly as if she had remembered something. “Oh right! Cy, I managed to rescue some of your stuff, we put it in your room” I put a hand on her head, messing up her hair further.

“Thanks Sierra, I appreciate it. I’m gonna take the Mazda for a drive, try and see the aftermath of this second Emergence” and go see what Miura has to say for herself, but I don’t say that out loud.

“Can I come with? I haven’t been out for a while” She springs closer, looking hopeful.

“I don’t know, I’d rather go by myself. I haven’t driven her for so long” I could have sworn her nose twitched. She looked sad for a moment before perking back up again.

“Never mind then, I’ll go for a run through the forest once someone is back to watch over the place, See ya later then Cy” She hops past and heads into the bathroom. I linger for a moment, just looking at the doorway she went through, wondering if I had hurt her feelings a bit. Never mind that though, I have a reunion date to get on with. I jog into the room and grab the keys from the desk and make my way outside.

I jingled the keys on my finger, admiring the keyring I had on it, a chibi version of one of my favourite anime characters. The sunlight filtering down onto the thin pathway, my knees pushing aside the ferns that grow everywhere in this part of the country, my attention is then drawn to some rustling bushes nearby, it was a still day with minimal wind so it could have only been some kind of small creature. I wasn’t particularly worried about it being anything dangerous, worse comes to worse could be just a fox. I shrug to no-one in particular and go over to investigate, Foxes can’t be all that dangerous right?

I crouch over the bush, still rustling away. I had approached as quietly as possible as to not disturb the creature. I could see something through the leaves moving about skittishly. I then strike, using my normal hand to quickly snatch it, to my shock it wasn’t furry, and then it spoke.

“Foul beast! Let me go!” I unfurled me hand, keeping the thing pinched in my fingers. It looked like a very very tiny human, with a pointed nose and ears. It looked to be wearing an old crisp packet. “Ah, you’re human! Or at least partly. You should be capable of understanding Anglish right”

“Anglish? Don’t you mean English?” I look at the little humanoid in confusion, then I remembered the Fae in Bridget’s gardan. “Are you a fairy”

“I wouldn’t be caught dead with those poncey twits. I am a Pixie, look how I am dressed is that not obvious?” they gesture proudly to the Salt and Vinegar label on the front of the packet. “I found this here in the forest, fashioned it into a glorious garment for me to wear”

“Thats a crisp packet” I was barely containing my bemusement at this point.

“A what now?” It looked at me, confused.

“A crisp packet, for potato snacks, thats a salt and vinegar flavoured one”

“So that was the meal I found with it. I thought it tasted odd” The little thing shrugged its shoulders. “Anyway, now I’ve found out you’re not a savage wanting to consume me. Let me go. I won’t run” I warily place the pixie on the leaf of a fern nearby. “So, human, what's your name?”

“Cynthia, uh. Yours?” They raise their arms to their chest and snap their fingers, causing a glittery effect.

“I am Esprit, nice to meet you!” it stretches out a tiny hand for a handshake. I take it with my metal hand and get a little static shock that runs up my arm and through my antenna. “Now your arm is curious, you humans are an inventive bunch for sure. How long was I out for?”

“What’d you mean?”

“All the magic root things, the leylines I think? They were dying and all us creatures that rely on them had to hibernate”

“Right” all this new information was giving me a headache, or perhaps it was the shock they gave me. “Well its the year 2019 AD”

“Oh my, then I have been out for a long time. Still a monarchy?”

“Sort of, they don’t have an awful lot of power anymore though, mainly the government” I shrug.

“Never much liked the Kings and Queens much myself”

“Well Esprit. I have to get going, we have a bunker nearby if you want to meet some more of us, they’re nice people. You’re lucky in fact, a lot of people would quite like to catch you and do bad stuff to you. Much the same as me” I stand up to my full height, which certainly dwarfs the diminutive pixie.

“Right” they say “I’ll see you later Cynthia, you seem like a nice woman, I might take up your offer, I’ve always enjoyed the company of humans in the past. I’m a bit of an outcast from my own kind, unfortunately”

I sigh and say “tell me about it” under my breath. I wave goodbye to Esprit and carry on through the forest, eventually stepping out into the car park. I walk over to the RX7 and twist the key in the door, it unlocks quickly and I duck into the driver's seat.

My antennae rise up as high as the roofline will allow and I feel the presence of the car. I close my eyes and twist the key in the ignition. The engine lights up nearly instantly, I can feel the rotors spin within the block, and everything seems all in order. I leave it running a couple of minutes before shutting it down and checking the oil. Its a little low so I fetch a can I keep in the boot as a spare. Its the proper non-synthetic stuff as well, nothing but the best for my baby.

Once filled up on oil to a suitable level I return the can to the boot and step back behind the wheel. “Time to go out for your first good run in a while. Don’t be mad you had to sit for a while” I cooed to the steering wheel. Anyone watching would probably think me mad.

Meanwhile, back at the bunker.

Wrapping a towel around her lithe figure, Sierra peeks out of the bathroom, she didn’t hear anyone return so she wasn’t worried about being essentially nude out there. She trots down the hallway keeping a hand on the end of the towel covering her when all of a sudden she freezes, sitting on the door handle to the bedroom was a tiny little creature, and the creature spoke.

“Cynthia pointed me towards this bunker. I see you’re also only partly human. Is this a new fashion style?” Sierra blushes and grabs the bottom of the towel with her other hand.

“Give me a second okay! Whatever you are” The creature hops off the doorknob and lets her past. She quickly rushes in and grabs the first thing she can find in her bundle of clothes, which turns out to be a tank top and short skirt. Once dressed she warily opens the door to find the little creature resting on a radiator.

“This is warm, I wonder how” Sierra shakes her head in disbelief

“What are you?”

“Well-”

***

“So let me get this straight, you’re saying magic is coming?” Sierra was pouring a cup of coffee for herself in the kitchen, whilst Esprit sips at a spoon of milk.

“Yes, the leylines seem to be returning, although I’m no expert, my attitude to schooling was poor, to say the least”

“But magic did not do this?” she gestures to her ears and tail.

“No, or at least I don’t think so. Something else caused it, I believe it might have something to do with magic returning as well” Esprit shrugs its shoulders. “A lot has happened whilst I was out cold. The technology you humans have created is impressive” the pixie looks in the direction of the radio and the radiator.

“Well if you think thats impressive you should see some of the stuff we’ve built! We’ve gone to the moon as well” Sierra’s face lights up with a grin. Being basically a representative for humanity would do that to you.
“Anything up there?” Esprit’s nose twitches, Sierra shrugs her small shoulders.

“Not really, wasn’t made out of cheese like we suspected. You hungry Esprit?”

“I thought you’d never ask”

***

It didn’t take long to drive into town, there seemed to be much less carnage this time, only a few small craters, barely bigger than the normal potholes, that I had to steer the car around. Thankfully British politeness meant that the lane priorities stayed the same, and people stopped to let you through. One peculiar crater was sort of foot shaped. Like some truly big creature had passed through. I could only assume one had.

I was surprised at the lack of police and army out and about. Emerged seem to be becoming something more normalised. There were a few obviously Emerged wandering the streets and not being harassed, just being given a wary eye by the people they pass. It brings a smile to my face knowing that they’ve not been instantly imprisoned like last time. I pull into the carpark of a small city centre park, some people are playing tennis in the courts a couple of yards away. One of them looked to have a small set of wings mounted at their waist, using the wings to gain a bit of height when the ball bounces high. I twist the key and shut the car down.

Climbing out, I catch a whiff of a chip shop from across the road, pulling on a hoodie to cover my arm. I decide to fetch something for me and Sierra to eat. A little predator like her could probably destroy a bit of fish. I shudder at the thought of her sharp teeth. “I wouldn’t want to get on the bad side of her” I muttered out loud to no-one in particular.

“Of who Misssss?” A voice rings out from behind me, it carried an almost reptilian quality, a bit like a snake. I turn to see a man with shaggy hair and skin that was interlaced occasionally with scales, much like Michael, a reptilian tongue skates around his lips. He was wearing a jumper and a set of jogging bottoms.
“A friend of mine, she has a real sharp bite” I give the man an awkward smile, he was a little creepy. But I’m not one to judge, he just looked like it.

“Sounds like an interesting friendship” The man nods, checking his watch.

“Well uh, if you don’t mind I gotta get going” He was making me real uneasy, he gave me a nod and jogged off. I turn back to the road looking either way before crossing it, tracking the scent of fatty chips and battered cod.