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da3dm · 2 years ago

Text

Night Light 1.5

Soooooo I’ve had this done for over a week but kept forgetting to upload it! Sorry! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Thanks to @beckyu for proofreading!!

TW: Fear, dehumanization (calling someone ‘it’)

Word Count: 6.2k

Chapter 5: Human

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The low rumbling of a storm not yet over served as a backdrop to his nightmares. He was thrown about a maelstrom of fears and pain, repeating the suffering he'd thought was finally over when he'd passed out. In his dreams, he found himself being chased by a giant fox with wings and talons. When it flew it was silent and the teeth were taller than his entire body twice over. His world was filled with the sound of the jaws clicking shut behind him and the steps like earthquakes shaking him to his core. He couldn't fly, weighed down by water and unable to move from his aching leg. He found himself tangled in vine-like branches out of nowhere, the fox-like beast being driven away by a massive shadow. His mind imaged a maw opening wide as whatever the giant beast had been came at him, the teeth snapping around him loudly and sealing him in icy cold darkness—

Axel awoke with a start, a hand immediately clutching over his heart as he curled into himself, light making his eyes squeeze shut again. He shuddered along with the agony coursing through his entire body. His heart raced as he could hardly even take a proper breath, his other hand stretched out and searching for something to grab or fix this feeling. His back throbbed, a sort of scorching burn came from one of his legs, and his clothes didn't even feel right. He gasped a few times before finally beginning to uncurl, the free hand choosing to clutch at the unusually plush surfaces around him. In no way was he calm yet, still shivering more from pain than from cold. Actually…he was warm. Almost too warm.

A bit confused, he steadily attempted to open his eyes again, giving himself time to adjust to the faint sunlight that seemed almost aimed at him. He groaned quietly and rubbed his eyes before looking at what he was actually touching. Huh? He paused and stared at the strange fabric, running a hand over the surface almost dumbly as he tried to filter past the pain, fear, and sleep fog filling his head. The main thing he registered was how colorful and soft it was, hardly even noticing it was the source of the warmth around him and almost too heavy to be properly comfortable…if anything it kinda pinned him down.

Taking a shaky deep breath, he pushed at the surface as he struggled to get himself out of it. What even was this? Did his friends do this? He wasn't sure how much of what happened to him was real anymore. What startled him though was part of the surface suddenly just sorta fell off, making it much lighter. He was…inside the other one? That let him know what his position was better and he pushed at the fabric to get himself out, managing to scoot back out of it. The motion triggered several painful responses from his body that he decided to ignore for now.

Rather, his attention snapped to his surroundings when he thought he heard something. This only made him freeze up, eyes going wide at the unfamiliar landscape around him. No…he definitely wasn't outside. There were things here that looked like absolutely gargantuan versions of their own items—and from a glance, it seemed he was on a giant table. The implications hadn't fully hit him yet as he scanned the place, his curiosity spiking and causing his wings to flick up with interest…which was a mistake as a sharp stab of pain ran down one side of his back.

He gasped lightly and glanced back at his wings, only now noticing one of them was…broken. It was broken. A whole new level of fear filled his body as he glanced around the room, finally beginning to be awake enough to recognize something was wrong. Other than his surroundings being massive, he could hear something moving in another room, a constant tapping accompanied by the occasional faintest vibration. Where was he? Was he…? Was this…?! It was! He was in a human's domain!

Panic gripped him and he started scrambling to get to his feet, his wings opening quickly. The consequences of flying with a damaged wing didn't bother him as much as that thing finding him awake and active. So he took off, wanting to fly up and look for a way out, only to be tugged back down by something around his waist. He gave a yelp, his wings giving up on him and dropping him back onto the fabric. Worried, he spun around and touched his middle, wings fluttering in fear when he noticed some sort of red rope wrapped around him.

He started pushing and pulling it, hoping to slip it off only for it to be too small of a gap. This wasn't helping his first impression at all, especially not when he went back and tried to feel for a knot to undo and find…something incredibly strange keeping it held there. That didn't even include the weird rattling noise that kept going off behind him as he struggled with it. He only gave it attention when he violently tugged the rope and something came down with a loud bang that made his ears ring and forced him to his knees as he covered his ears.

Axel was too busy whispering curses to notice the vibrations at first, only for the increasing force to rattle the table ever so slightly. His head snapped up towards the source of the sound, noticing another thing abnormally large in the form of a door. Chills brought back his earlier shuddering, the quakes underneath him steadily becoming strong enough to easily recognize. Now they were in the clear pattern of footsteps rather than just motion. He began to struggle again and searched for his bag—only just then noticing he was missing so much.

Despite his efforts, he was still stuck on his knees and shaking by the time the thuds came to a stop just outside that door. Then it swung open at a normal speed, but nevertheless more startling at such a huge scale. There, in the doorway, was a human standing much taller than the one he'd seen at that campsite. Their body was still half shrouded by shoulders, obscuring the face and only adding onto his original fear. A human. Was right in front of him. And although he couldn't see it, he knew those eyes were directly on him…and yet it was just standing there?

Then it took a step closer. A sort of primal terror ripped through his body, gripping his throat and limbs. He was pinned in place by his own body, mind racing wildly the closer the human got. It was only made worse when this absolute titan of a being stopped in front of him and raised its hand, reaching out towards him. Axel wanted desperately to cover his head with his arms, to quell his shaking, to be anywhere but here. If this is what happens when he disobeys his aunt and flees unjust punishment, he would have just let them have at him.

But the hand went past him entirely, grabbing something else with a soft click that filled the darkened room with light. The human's face was washed with that light and Axel's bright blue eyes met blue and hazel ones. He was suddenly trapped by those eyes instead, staring up into the orbs that made it way too clear he’d been captured. While part of him only kept shaking like a leaf, the part that usually got him in trouble found himself searching this giant person, hoping that the non-aggressive look was the truth and not just some new cruel joke meant to break him more…he’d been broken plenty of times already.

It became a staring contest, broken only when the human moved that hand again, pulling it back towards Axel. This drew a violent flinch out of him that made his wounds throb, but the huge digits merely grabbed that strange thing he’d knocked down and put it back up, their expression remaining so blank…way too blank for any sort of comfort in his opinion. It was difficult to tell what it might be thinking, which only made such big movements disconcerting regardless of what it was actually doing with them. He wanted to watch the hand, but he also really didn’t want to take his eyes off the enlarged face in front of him, the eyes never even remaining on Axel and instead whatever it was doing.

Then the human looked at him once more and he jolted back slightly, body tense and wishing he could get away…but he couldn't even stand, let alone run, not with his leg throwing such a fit. He didn't know what to think about the twitch of a response it got from the giant, but he leaned back when it decided to lower itself, probably crouching. Even so, they still towered over him, but…it wasn’t surprising considering a finger dwarfed him right now. He watched the careful and deliberate movement, trying not to dwell on how the air had moved with them and how easily he could feel the warmth from them breathing.

He didn’t have to ignore it for too long though, as the human brought both hands below the table and spoke to him. The sheer volume made him cringe and curl into himself, his hands immediately slapping over his ears until it abruptly cut off. That had been disturbing, not to mention he didn’t understand a single word. It wasn’t how loud it was said, it was their languages. Fairies and humans didn’t have the same language…it was a well known source of their fear since even if humans wouldn't hurt them if they knew fairies were intelligent, how do you prove it when you can’t talk?

It was silent for long enough that he hesitantly lowered his hands and looked up at the human again nervously, immediately noticing the rather troubled expression they held, even biting their lip when looking at the fairy. What did that mean? He found himself flinching at pretty much anything the human did, including them leaning away a bit and lowering their voice to ask him something else. Axel just kinda stared at this weird giant. For one thing, he’d never seen someone with two different eye colors. For another…weren't they being way too passive? If any of their knowledge on humans was accurate, he should have already been in a crushing grip being examined.

Why was it just trying to talk to him? Hadn’t touched him at all? Was it a trick? He couldn't stay distracted by his confusion for long though, realizing the human might not know he couldn't understand and…unsure if he wanted to admit he could talk at all? Still, he shakily tried to stand up while nervously voicing, “I…I uhm…I don't understand you…at all…” He was worried about the consequences of revealing he could talk and was still moving to stand up, forgetting about his leg entirely. That made it difficult when the human reacted to his actions without any explanation.

Their hand raised up swiftly, almost like they'd been startled as they stammered something at him. There was a split second Axel thought he’d be grabbed, but he instead found himself putting weight on a leg that screamed bloody murder the moment it felt pressure, dropping him back to his knees. He grit his teeth and momentarily had his eyes off the human as he caught himself. The instant he noticed that problem his head flung back up so fast he got a head rush, gazing up at the human worriedly, assuming that he’d be targeted if he took his eyes off them, but…the human hadn’t moved from how he last saw them.

This was only getting more and more strange to him. He considered possibly trying to communicate for a few seconds, wondering if there was a little more to this than he’d actually been able to notice as of yet. Then they moved again. Axel was just about ready to fling himself backwards, hurt leg or not, but they simply set something down in front of him. It looked like some miniature bowl of some kind, looking absolutely ridiculous in the human’s fingers but way too big to be super practical as some sort of cup or bowl for him. Was that…water? Was the human offering him water?

His wings flicked with interest, despite that only earning him pain again, and glanced back up at the human with less fear, but more suspicion. He took a risk and looked away from the giant in front of him again to study the offered water. It was…really strange to say the least. With tension, he took a chance and shuffled just a little closer to the water, aware he was extremely parched but still unable to actually walk at all. The human moved in response and he instantly flinched away from the motion to watch what they did with trepidation. Had it just lowered his guard to torment him?? That wasn’t a new experience to Axel so it wouldn’t be at all surprising.

But again, the human made no move against him. Rather, they had merely pulled one hand up while muttering under their breath to push the water closer to him. Axel still didn't understand them at all but tried not to let that bother him, instead focusing on the water again, now within perfect reach as the hand disappeared under the table again. He stared at this weird human for a long few moments before he actually moved, lightly grabbing the edge after leaning and dragging it closer to him. Was it actually possible he wasn't going to be attacked somehow? He wasn’t going to let down his guard, but it weighed on his mind, challenging his Hometree’s knowledge.

With them still not making a move, he finally grabbed the pretty big bowl of water and attempted to drink it. Some of it got in his mouth, but most of what he poured out ended up all over him and the table instead. It was disappointing he’d failed, but he was more focused on this much needed supply of water. The human said something else again, the tone a bit…strange? He wasn't sure if they sounded startled, worried, or annoyed right now. It made him nervous so he finished quickly in order to get rid of the bowl, not wanting anything to do with a tone he didn’t understand.

He was good at reading people, but that didn’t mean he trusted what he was reading off of this human right now. Absolutely nothing about the body language was saying he’d be harmed but more like…the human was worried. That didn't seem right at all, but it’s what he was getting off them. He really didn’t like it. Not because he didn’t know if he believed it, but because it made him feel like they thought he was weak. It almost made him want to start shouting at the behemoth or display his blade threateningly…if only he hadn’t lost his bag and didn’t have a fear of death. Maybe then he’d be able to do that.

It felt uncomfortable to simply be watched like this so he shuffled a tad awkwardly under that stare with a frown before he gave up and decided to try being bold. Being timid only worked for so long—it was only when you angered someone or tested their limits that you get a good idea of who they are. He crossed his arms and splayed his wings, again ignoring the spike of agony it sent down his spine, and watched the human. Right now he was trying his hardest to return the stare, maybe make this human feel just as awkward and back off…it wasn’t a very solid plan, but he was tired of this.

In the end, it somehow worked as the human steadily started to display discomfort before being the first to look away. It hadn't even taken as long as it should’ve…maybe this human wasn't as open of a person? No—he can’t think like that. This thing might not think he’s a person and could be treating him like a pet for all he knew. That would be better than pest treatment, but he didn’t like the idea of being something marveled at. It was already bad enough that he didn’t have his jacket hiding his body anymore, he didn’t need that worsened further than it already had been.

Hold on. Why didn’t he have any of that? He glanced down at his leg for a second to see that it had been wrapped up, signs of things being clumsily moved about evident all over that leg. Did the human actually save him? The last thing he remembered was passing out with a shadow over him and a fox underneath him. What happened after that, though? All he could recall was waking up wrapped in weird fabric leading to where he was now. What exactly did that mean? An uneasy feeling built up in his gut as he examined what had been done…that was visible. What happened while he was out?

His thoughts were interrupted by the human saying something else. This time, a sort of blaring sensation went off in his head and his hand soared to his forehead, holding it as his head pounded and his magic coursed through his body strangely. What was that? The human was still muttering while his head was screaming and he was about to just curl into himself to block it out, but then he heard something very strange. “ ———you—————sorry———.” He didn’t catch everything, but those two words clearly rang out to him as something he could understand. He was baffled by this discovery, but it didn’t happen again.

Whatever else the human was saying faded out along with his sudden headache, as unintelligible as before. He was immediately concerned. What was that? Either way, the human rambling on and on while he was just sorta trapped there and forced to listen eventually made him snap, “Look! I don’t understand a single word you're saying! Would you just shut up! I’m hungry, I’m tired, my entire body feels like I got hit by an earth fairy!” It had come out involuntarily and his hands slapped over his mouth as he started shaking, his eyes shut in fear over what he’d just done. Sure, they didn’t understand, but he’d still shouted with an angry tone.

Still…nothing came after him. To his surprise the human had been silenced, but somehow wasn’t trying to punish him for it. Instead, when he looked up it was to be met with an extremely concerned mismatched gaze that really didn’t feel at all threatening. What caught him off guard next was the human moving away a little to give him space, but that could not have been comfortable for the human. Wouldn't spacing make Axel harder to see? He wasn’t complaining, just that every part of this was unsettling. If it had at least been somewhere near the rumors it wouldn't be as bad.

After moving away and giving him a few seconds, the human very slowly went to gesture at Axel’s leg like they were asking a question. The fairy hesitated, looking this giant up and down for any dark intention before ever addressing his leg. He looked at the thing, still finding it incredibly strange and not really sure how to respond. Eventually he just sighed and moved to show the human his leg, figuring that could be better than attempting to talk wordlessly. At least this seemed to be maybe…partial for what the human wanted? They leaned in just a tad, eyes squinting in an attempt to look at it without getting too much closer.

He appreciated how much they were keeping their distance, but enough was enough sometimes. If they wanted to check the injury this definitely wasn’t an efficient way of doing it. Although…the better ways didn’t sound very appealing either. He’d have to let this human touch him again and no part of that sat right with him. Axel was caught off guard when they suddenly nodded and stood up in one smooth motion, once again reminded that he sat before a behemoth, wounded and way too vulnerable to be thinking he even had a choice in what happened to him.

A shiver ran down his spine as he awaited whatever they were going to do to him, but they just turned away and left the room. They just outright left? He knew he should be feeling relieved, safe, or even try to run while he could, but a huge part of him was screaming indignation at being brushed aside like he was nothing. He already felt less than this being and everything they could do, he didn’t need them rubbing it in! It felt insulting, rude, and terrifying. It wasn’t like he fully believed that’s what the human thought they were doing, just the fact that they could treat him less than was haunting.

When he realized those thundering steps were beginning to grow louder again however, he nearly sprung to his feet—good thing he stopped himself or his leg would have just protested it again. Even so, the thought of being in the room with a possible threat watching his every move all over again had him scrambling for some cover. He slipped a little where he’d spilled water earlier, but managed to grab one of those giant pieces of fabric and hide behind it. Oh how painfully aware he was that the red rope led right to him and the trembling of the cloth could be seen a mile away. This wasn’t his best hiding spot, but it made him feel safer.

He continued to cower behind it, almost wishing he could shrink himself down even smaller when that door opened again and the steps shook the table. He closed his eyes with a shudder when he felt the air displacement of some big movement, but nothing came for him, again. No reaching, groping fingers trying to scoop him up or punish him. The human’s voice came out as another whisper, the tone gentle and concerned like every other time…except he heard that again. “—I—you? —sorry——, I——————...” It would have been interesting if not for that single new word making his head feel like it was going to burst right then and there.

Under the light it wasn't as noticeable, but his wings were starting to glow and filter magic energy whenever the human spoke. Axel could feel his magic moving, but had no clue what it was doing right now…he was much more concerned with the human still trying to talk to him. He held his head with some light gasps, trying to quell the headache akin to as if his brain was rattling around his skull. Although with no new move from the human, he slowly took a chance at glancing back at the giant. Only to be met with those separately colored eyes trailing down the red rope absently before they landed right on his face.

He missed the human offering a nervous smile to the contact, too busy ducking back under and wishing everyone would disappear. Not too long after, the table quivered ever so slightly when they tried to reach over for something, the impact not at all comforting. But the small amount of food he was offered where the hand retreated from did catch his attention. In fact, before he could even form a full thought, his hunger had him diving out of cover to grab what had been left for him. It seemed like some normal nuts, but not ones he really recognized. Either way, he dug into it desperately.

Just like his friends at this point, he hadn’t eaten since the morning of the day he ran away. He didn’t know how long that was, but it had to be at least two days, right? While his injured wing stayed still to prevent more damage, his healthy one buzzed contentedly when he finally started slowing down. A soft sound from behind made him jolt, but more out of surprise this time. He looked over his shoulder, only just now realizing he’d turned his back on the human. Right as all that fear was trying to come rushing back in, his eyes latched onto the faint smile and almost…glittery look in that human’s eyes.

It took him a few seconds of blankly staring before the sound and expression lined up better. Immediately, he stiffened as his face reddened slightly. He was being laughed at! Unfair! Axel frowned over this development, bitterly looking away again to glare at the food he’d been given as he steamed in silence. At this point, wasn't it fairly safe to say that if he was going to be harmed, he would have by now? Using that thought as fuel, he gathered all the nuts as he worked on getting himself turned back around. Just because he was doubting being harmed didn’t mean he’d trust them.

Now he stared up at the human, who still had a fond expression, mainly focused in their eyes, but also seemed a tad unnerved. He considered this giant again and honestly…they really were just another person, weren't they? If you could ignore the horrifying difference in size, that is. With some frustration building, he spread his arms out to be sure he had their attention…which wasn't pleasant but he couldn't exactly talk it out. He brushed a hand down his arms to the length of his jacket, touching the base of his pants where there should have been wrapping, and tried to make motions suggesting his missing bag.

This earned him an extremely entertaining look, this massive being instantly puzzled and trying to focus in on what he was doing. The joy of it faded under those huge eyes, though. He stomped his good foot in frustration before repeating it more aggressively and with bigger motions. Maybe the human just couldn't see what he was doing. That was fair…the guy was crouched like earlier, but still keep that bit too far distance to be comfortable. Pushing limits was Axel's specialty, but right now he just really wanted his bag and jacket. He didn’t even need the wraps, just those two.

He watched as the human started to say something, cut themselves off, then made a very small and slow placating gesture before glancing around. Not too long after, recognition flashed across their face and they leaned closer…a little too close for Axel to approve but at least the focus wasn't on him. A moment later, the human raised what looked like some sort of dish and set it on the table, his missing items all messily gathered in the center of it. Honestly he still wasn’t over the fact that this meant the human had definitely touched him while he was unconscious, but he chose to focus on finally getting them back instead.

Except…the human didn’t push the dish quite as close, more halfway between them to force Axel to come closer. All this did was make him scowl and cross his arms with an unhappy flick of his wing. For one thing he was wounded, and another…he really didn’t want to go towards the human. It was all fun and games until he’s snatched up in a painful, thoughtless grip. It seemed to take a few moments but the human almost seemed surprised out of nowhere and pushed the dish closer like it was stressing them out. Now he just sorta…let his arms start to fall as he watched this strange behavior.

Still maintaining that hushed whisper, he heard, “——sorry…” It was hard to say if he was just reading too much into the body language and assuming he was hearing actual words, or if he was truthfully beginning to understand some of their words. Delving into that a tad further, he questioned if this human was their male or female, but…considering the books always said they were the same other than wings and size as well as that deep voice, wouldn't this one be a guy just like him? Well those books were wrong about his initial treatment from a human, so they could be wrong here too, but…he didn’t want to say that since some things had to be true.

When the human looked at him again, he decided to once more hold off on trying to identify anything about this creature. Using general terms was fine. It was already hard enough to think when he was being stared at like this, he didn’t need to make it worse. Instead, he pushed himself forward a little so he could reach his items, hurriedly snatching them. Without hesitating, he tugged the jacket on and slung the bag over his shoulder, immediately being comforted by the familiar weight of it. He let out a sigh he didn’t know he’d been holding in. Everything about him began to untense, his shoulders lowering.

Axel gave it a few seconds and looked at the human as he started to wrap the bottom of his pants again, being careful of his wound. From the weight of his bag, everything was still there. Nothing had been taken from him? Well it was too small to be useful to someone like this, but it still didn’t sound the same as what he’d known, just like everything else. He wasn’t exactly comfortable with being looked at, but they did something else. The human’s lips thinned before they reached for the massive chair and somehow slid it over the ground easier than it should've been.

Once the chair was closer, they partially stood up and sat in the chair. The motion was a little nerve wracking and brought the giant to be higher than a moment ago. It wasn't as much as when they were standing, but it had Axel leaning away from them, his eyes wider and wings tensed to fly regardless of the injury to them. Why did they do that?? Well, it probably hurt to crouch for so long, so he probably shouldn’t complain. With the fact he was unharmed, had been treated, got water, food, and wasn't being treated badly, was all enough reason to not complain about this change.

They watched him a bit longer then rested their hands on the table and scooted over slightly to some sort of black rectangle. A hand raised to the bigger, standing up and shiny rectangle to click something. A few seconds later the shinier part lit up brightly, glowing shapes and symbols stealing his entire attention. He hadn't even realized he’d been focusing on the strange items the human was using until he heard something sliding and found the hand a bit closer to him, resting on top of some sort of half circle. When he glanced up, it was to find the human watching him again, a sort of curious look about them.

He was going to move away from the too close hand, but the giant used that circle to make a clicking sound and the symbols changed all over again. Axel’s interest was piqued. He watched closely, slowly no longer paying attention to how close that hand was. Then the sound came. Music of a kind he’d never heard fully stole him away and he nearly tried to stand up, turning to stare at the glowing thing and trying to figure out what that was. He’d heard music before, but there was a lot more to what he was hearing here. Music wasn’t even one of his favorite things, and yet he couldn't get over how amazing this sounded!

His wing buzzed excitedly against his will and he wondered if this was some sort of human magic that fairies didn’t know they had. As far as he knew, they shouldn't have any magic, much less something that looked so intricate! He couldn't understand a single thing he was seeing on that glowing window thing, or the words that were in the song, but it still flattened his worries until he fully forgot about them. The magic window flashed through so many different things he started to lose track. The music even began to fade before it was cut off and the fairy was made aware of his surroundings again.

He was quickly made aware of being watched when he heard that same soft sound of a laugh and quiet shuffling. Axel flinched and turned his head to the giant again, scanning them for whatever they were doing only to…find them smiling at him? And fiddling with something almost as tall as he was. It looked like some kind of stick but he couldn't be sure right now. At least the human still wasn't doing anything to him. Their attention was drifting in and out from him too much for there to be any intention to either. Was that a good or bad thing? His thoughts were once again interrupted by the human before they got too far.

A hand came closer to him and he immediately scrambled back. The limb halted instantly, instead choosing to just move the fingers in order to offer what looked like a poorly made crutch. He didn’t recognize what it was made out of at all, but when it sunk in that he was being offered a way to walk, he stopped trying to get away and paused instead. Taking a few breaths, he edged forward ever so slightly and reached for what he was being given. He watched the muscles relax in the hand when he grabbed it, allowing him to pull it out. Honestly? It was a little heavy and awkward.

He frowned at the long clear stick in his lap before glancing at the human’s face. Well, he certainly hadn’t been expecting worry. They tried to smile when they noticed the fairy looking at them, but Axel was…intrigued. Sure, he’d thought the same thing earlier many times, but this wasn’t like what he’d been told. The only thing he’d been given was kindness, not torture. Maybe the misunderstandings all came from the language barrier? He hummed to himself about it before shifting around to get on his feet, leaning heavily on the makeshift crutch. Oh, he would definitely need something else, but this worked for now.

Seeing him standing seemed to interest the human and gain him a hint of excitement. Were they glad their tool had worked? The hand near him very slowly began to move as an offer to the fairy, resting palm up on the table. Now, that was something he wasn’t a hundred percent on, but decided to try it anyway. If the human was going to do something to Axel, then it would happen eventually and he wouldn't be able to avoid it. Willingly going to the human instead of being grabbed just sounded much more appealing to him, especially with all his new injuries. How did the giant even treat them anyway?

When he managed to get to the hand, he stumbled the last step and fell onto it, freezing up and staring down at the skin. He let the dash of fear fade before he started studying all of the amazing lines in the skin, then pulled himself further on to sit in the center of the palm, facing the human. He left the crutch in his lap and stayed tense, glancing at the rope around his waist when the hand underneath him began to rise. It only stopped about halfway to the human’s face, curiosity and nervousness both playing equal parts in those massive two-toned eyes. Then their voice came to him again.

Softly, just as done before, they uttered, “I——. ———you?” Axel felt another rush through his mind over being spoken to, an anomaly that still didn’t make sense. But he considered the sounds he’d been given and what he might have understood. Was he being given a name? When he stared blankly, the human calmly said it differently, putting their free hand to their chest. “I———. You?” The rush came again and he frowned slightly as the human made a motion towards him along with the ‘you’. He was a little lost, his head throbbing from trying to interpret what he was being told.

After a few more moments of waiting though, the human nodded a small amount and put a hand back on their chest yet again, but only said a single work that now rang clearly to him. “Marik.” Oh. Oh. He was being given a name.

This time when the hand gestured at Axel and the human didn’t speak, the fairy looked up at them and softly said, “Axel.”

—

End

<-#1 /Disappointments/

<-/Discovery/ - /????/->

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da3dm · 2 years ago

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Night Light 1.4

Two chapters in one day—two days to you bc I'm waiting til tmrw to post this! Fair warning, the perspective changes to someone else in this chapter! It isn't Axel or his friends!

TW: MORE blood/injuries! Slight dehumanization (calling someone "it") That's about it

Word Count: 5.3k

Chapter 4: Discovery

He sighed, leaning back in his office chair and glancing at the clock. Still only halfway through his day. That only made him groan and slump in his seat, eyes flicking back to the computer screen. His fingers tapped his desk and he propped his head up in his other hand, leaning against his elbow. Working for so many hours was exhausting…sure, he worked from home most of the time, but sitting still doing absolutely nothing was a bit too much for him. He was still waiting on that one email so he could actually get some work done. In other words, he was merely sitting staring at a blank screen. He'd only been doing this job for a year or so, but it was already way too annoying. Waiting around unable to complete it was so wasteful to him.

Except it was when the person he was waiting on went offline that he gave up. He left his computer on a blank screen and pushed away from the desk with a stretch. Time for a break, it seemed. Being sure it would remain on so he wouldn't be docked pay for being offline, he got up and pushed his chair in. Now what? He stood there in his utterly silent house, the only sounds being the soft ticking of his clock and the vents working faintly. Sometimes the silence of his house was comforting, other times it felt…empty. His family didn't visit very often so he was typically alone for months, only broken by needing to shop or being called in to work directly a few times. That didn't mean he wanted people around him though, he usually preferred the silence.

Giving a heavier sigh, one hand went to rub his neck and the other retrieved his phone, turning on notifications before shoving it in his pocket. There had been a pretty big weather warning alert on his phone in those notifications, so he was now turning to go check what he had. If he needed to go to the store, it was probably best to do so before that storm could hit. It was probably going to start tonight or tomorrow, but it didn't hurt to be prepared. Having everything he needed would also mean he could avoid asking anyone for help or having to go out in the storm. The only problem with leaving was it he finally got the email while he happened to be out of the house, so he needed to be sure he'd notice if it was sent.

Heading into the kitchen, he went ahead and scanned through everything. He opened cupboards only to be disappointed with how little he actually had. When did he last go to the store? It was worth questioning, that much was for sure. He started tapping a finger against his leg anxiously as he switched to the supplies in his drawers next, finding even those empty. His fridge…he paused and stared at it for a few moments before giving in and stepping over to it, checking the inside and immediately recoiling from it. Empty, but where it wasn't, most food was rotting by now. Man, he really worried about himself. Just how little did he eat? The freezer was the only thing he didn't check since that generally stayed good for a long time. That and he only had ice in there as far as he was aware.

He grumbled to himself and left his kitchen, searching for his keys before glancing outside. Did he need a coat? It was a mix of fall and summer weather at this point, so it was probably a good idea. He grabbed on on his way out, but was already dreading the long drive into town. It usually took him several hours to get everything and come back home. Well, that's what he got for living in the middle of nowhere. This house meant quite a bit to him considering it's where he grew up. He loved the willow tree in the backward, the dark wood floors, and the sort of gentle lighting throughout the house. The forest itself was quite nice too, he just didn't go outside very often.

Stepping into his garage, he pushed the button to open the door while climbing into his truck, getting it started so he could back out. If it wasn't for the dirt roads he'd have a smaller car, this one wasn't the easiest to get in and out of the garage. Once he'd gotten it out, he began the busy struggle to get it turned back around so he could just leave his own driveway. It was a little dark for day, so he flicked on his headlights and started out of the driveway, carefully heading uphill after turning onto the road. It was pretty steep, but it was occasionally worth it since living on a dead end road kept people from messing with him. He didn't get any of those solicitors showing up trying to sell him things like his mom always complained about.

It took him about an hour before other people came into view—their homes, anyway. He automatically tensed regardless, made uneasy by the thought of other people in any way. Why couldn't he just order the food and have it brought to his car? The entire thing was such a huge hassle and only stressed him out. He'd been that way since he was young and so far…he had yet to find something that countered it or a better way to do it. It made him feel like the entire thing was a waste of time and almost had him turning his car right back around. Especially as another half hour passed and he began to see stores all over.

When he reached the supermarket he pulled into the half full parking lot, glad it at least wasn't congested there. After finding a spot to park he took a deep breath and stared at the store for a long few moments. He really didn't want to go inside, but eventually willed himself out of the car, locking it behind him as he trudged towards the building. He kept his head down while grabbing a kart and gathering what he needed. For the most part, he went around grabbing what he needed before what he might want. Even still, the kart became way too full by the time he was heading to check out. Whelp. His wallet was gonna feel some hurt today, but at least he could stay hidden at home for a while.

~ꕥ~

Whelp, he was drained. He had spent a few hours in town, with no notification from his job. Most of that time was him just trying to convince himself to go into the stores in the first place, but now he had a full tank of gas, lots of food—most of which was non-perishable considering what happened to his fridge. He was only a few minutes away from getting home and it was already getting dark out, clouds gathering in the sky steadily, but not quite a threat yet. A storm so slow to gather had the potential to flood, the clouds weighed down by too much water. That let him know he'd probably be trapped at his house. If it got too soaked his truck struggled to go up the hill to get out.

He managed to fit the car back in his garage and close the door, but now began the unloading. In the end while looking at everything, he just grabbed anything that couldn't be left out and went back inside, leaving the rest for tomorrow. It wasn't night quite yet, but he was mentally exhausted from interacting with so many people and watching his money just fall out of his pockets. When he got inside, he turned for the kitchen and put the small amount of perishables away while taking one of them and popping it in the microwave. At the same time, his phone went off with his work's ringtone and he groaned tiredly before fishing it out and answering. "Yes?"

The crackly voice carried through, "I’m calling about today’s assignment.” They sounded both serious and inquisitive.

He had to suppress a sigh as he leaned against the counter and watched the microwave. “What about it?” He kinda already knew it had to do with it not being turned in.

There was a moment of silence before they spoke again, “We never received the required information for your assignment. Expect it tomorrow morning. I want it done before the day is over, we are already low on time.”

He grimaced but gave them a more positive tone. “Alright, thanks for letting me know. I will complete it after I get it.” There was silence, then the phone beeped as they hung up on him. With a sigh, he leaned against the counter like a puddle and shook his head. They always did that, but it was fine…he could get it all set up pretty quickly. Besides, that meant he could play some video games when it was done. Part of his job was to test some of the planned programs so he could fix the mistakes in the systems. He pushed himself back up and wandered back to the fridge, grabbing some of the spoiled food and tossing it away. Wouldn't be good for it to spread to anything he’d just added.

He was interrupted halfway through by the microwave going off, calling him over to get his very plain tv dinner out. There were better options for a meal, but this was the easiest one he had readily on hand. At least it wasn't horrible. He set the hot tray on a plate, grabbed a cup of water, and went back to his office. After sitting down, he went about shutting things down and signed off from work while calmly eating. It didn’t take him too long, but he stayed there even after the screen went black, finishing his meal in silence rather than trying to carry it somewhere else again. Once his meal was gone, he downed the water and collected it all, throwing the tray away and placing the cup on the counter. No use putting it in the sink when it was only used for water.

He went ahead and checked the time before going to his room. It was dark out by now and he had a very busy day tomorrow. If he didn't go to sleep now, he wouldn't be able to get much done in the morning…he’d probably end up staying up kinda late to work on whatever game his assignment tomorrow wanted him to evaluate. He just needed to give the base coding then pass it on to others…he was only one of the beta testers. Either way, he proceeded to get to his room and wandered to the bed tiredly. Shopping was always too much, but then there was the added depressed feeling from being alone, no stimulation, and repeating the same tasks every day. Not to mention the fact that he now had to clean his fridge. Oh well…he kicked off his shoes and climbed onto the bed how he was, pulling the blanket up to his shoulders and closing his eyes. That was a problem for tomorrow.

~ꕥ~

The morning was not much better. He woke up with a migraine, rain pounding his house as the wind howled around it, and his phone blowing up with messages. It wasn’t even noon yet. He was in the office, barely even alive and drinking some hot tea to keep himself awake while scrolling through endless lists of properties. He held a constant frown, trying to communicate and help edit the program enough for actual testing, but several people weren't responding or just telling him to do it instead. This was only made worse by some new leaks he found scattered his home. The thunder and lightning sometimes vibrated his house, the hum traveling through the entire building as his lights would flicker dangerously.

He couldn’t afford to lose power, not when he was right smack in the middle of arguing and editing for a game they’d been forced into doing at the last minute. What sucked even more was the fact that the information hadn’t even been sent when it was supposed to have been, shoving everyone into high panic mode as they struggled to get it going. He found himself absorbed in calls, typing, editing—in conclusion, all of it was hellish and only getting worse by the hour. Having to talk to so many people, of whom the majority wanted to shove their plate load of work onto him, was sapping all his energy. Every single second of this made him horribly thankful he’d gone to bed far earlier than normal…being swamped like he was right now wasn't very common, but it was still a nightmare and a half to deal with.

This problem stole most of his day, lasting until they finally got some supervisors on the phone to make the other ones do their work instead of pushing it aside like they were. With that part settled it finally started smoothing out and he was allowed a break, finally released from a job he wasn’t supposed to be doing. Since that was done, he leaned back and looked at the time, only to frown at it. How was it already the afternoon? This made him leave his desk, but only after turning up the volume so he would be notified if something else came up. He had a lot to do now that he had a chance for a break after all. Storms that caused damage couldn't just be left alone.

So he got to work. He made sure he had any leak he found taken care of, bowls set to catch the water while he worked on something to seal the leaks…sometimes you just couldn't, but he wanted to at least try. It was probably the roof. That’s hard to fix in the middle of a thunderstorm though. Well…it was beginning to calm slightly, but he knew that wouldn't last for very long. Other than fixing the roof though, he convinced himself to get to work on the fridge, gathering up anything that had expired. When that was taken care of, he worked on cleaning it. He tried not to spend too much time on it since he had to remove the contents to do so…it was never good to leave perishables on the counter for too long.

It wasn't too long before he found another message calling him back to his office, stopping with caring for his house to tend to it. He was kinda tired of cleaning anyway. Checking the message, it was his company sending out the game for beta testing. It would be absolutely horrible and there’d be practically nothing to the game yet, but…it was important to check if what they’d already put in operated correctly. He tapped his desk a few times before he sent the download to his gaming computer in his room, taking and signing off. He was pretty glad that they were allowed to end their day when sent a file like this one.

He numbly shut off his work computer and got back up yet again to lazily head to his room. It wasn’t the most pressing matter, he merely wanted to get out of having to keep cleaning things for the rest of the night. Doing that fridge was more than enough for right now. He sat in the much nicer chair and powered on the more advanced gaming computer with a faint smile. This seat and his entire game set was so much more comforting than everything else, but he hardly had time to use it anymore. The only chances came when he needed to test a game, very rarely on days off because of exhaustion.

Taking and getting the files downloaded, he went ahead and connected his headset and prepared a console controller so he could test both sides of it. He opened the game once it was done installing and rolled his eyes at the basic opening style and music. He wrote a note about it while it loaded open, but went back to paying attention when the start screen came up. The game, once started, had very boring adventuring music, poor graphics, and the controls were immediately off center. He scowled at the screen and didn’t hesitate to write it all down, but had no choice except to continue going through it as much as possible.

As he went through it, he froze up, feeling like he'd just heard a voice from somewhere. He frowned and turned the avatar around a few times for any npcs, but didn’t see anything so he went right back to it. He heard something similar again and searched one more time. Again, nothing. When he went to ignore it for the second time, thunder boomed outside, rattling his house and cutting his power. He stiffened and sunk into his chair with a strained groan, letting his head fall forward. That’s when he heard the voice…a third time, with the computer off. He fully froze up, listening much closer now.

That was very…wrong. Then it came again and he sat bolt upright, a bone-chilling desperation to that faint voice. It felt like his soul was being torn from his body as he launched to his feet, scanning his house for whatever it was. Doing that let him then hear some sort of muffled snarling and yipping from somewhere. He followed it. Quickly, he grabbed the first thing he saw and rushed to his backdoor. His bedroom window led to the backyard, but he was terrified that if he pulled back the curtains something would be there to attack him. Well, that shouldn't have been his biggest worry when his chosen weapon was a slipper. Still, he moved as quietly as he could while staying on guard.

He opened the back door carefully as he peeked outside, scanning the yard and flinching when he noticed something moving. But it wasn't coming after him. Rather, it was just jumping, over and over, at what looked like a knot in his willow tree. Scooting outside, he could hear the desperate screaming much clearer and felt almost compelled forward, pulling his arm back and flinging his slipper at whatever animal that was. He hardly noticed he had bare feet when he hurried over the flooded ground, the water nearly reaching his ankles now. Somehow, the slipper clipped right off the animal’s head and it vanished, the night falling silent except for the falling rain.

There was a brief moment of hesitation, but it only took him a second before he moved forward, wondering what that strange glow was. The voice had stopped, but…what was that? When he stopped close enough to finally begin to see it, the tiny creature suddenly dropped like a rock. He panicked. “Woah!” His hands flung out, catching it in cupped palms. He breathed a sigh of relief and raised his hands closer to his face to try to see what it actually was. As the form focused in the low light he gasped quietly, his eyes going wide and all recognition of the storm leaving his mind completely and entirely. “What…?”

In his hands was some sort of frail creature. Thin, gossamer wings glowed dimly on the back of what looked like a very tiny person. He was in awe of it even existing, taking him some time to even begin to notice the problem. That was until he saw crimson running over his skin and pooling around the tiny person. There was a momentary lag in his mind before he immediately spun around and raced back inside, holding it carefully on his way through the rain. Once inside, he slammed the door shut with a wince at the volume and rushed to his bathroom so he could get some medical supplies. He didn’t know how much he could really help something this small, but just leaving it was even worse.

He gently set the being on the ceramic shelf of his sink, cringing when he saw how much blood smeared off of his hand when he did. Unsure what to do, he let out a panicked breath and reached up to open the mirrors to access his medicine. His eyes flicked over everything he had in a speed he hadn’t known for years. Pain pills? No—that was a horrible idea! He didn't know the dose and weight ratios, he could end up making it worse! It wasn’t like he could just drop everything and weigh them either! And didn’t some of those medicines only make bleeding even worse?? He brushed that aside with a half growl of frustration and quickly gathered some gauze and medical tape. At the last second, he also retrieved some tweezers.

Bending down to his task with hopefully the right supplies, he gently used one hand to touch them, finding it hard to tell if it was even breathing. Since it wasn't something he knew how to do on a body so small, he opted for using the tweezers and carefully removing the jacket. The shirt turned out to be some sort of tight vest thing, so he chose to just leave that behind. His attention turned to the feet as he cautiously tugged the shoes off next before gently undoing the banding at the bottom of the pants. It felt wrong to be doing this to someone unconscious, who clearly had some form of intelligence from having clothes alone, but it was necessary.

Once those were out of the way, he removed the bar of soap from the soap dish before setting the clothing on it, not wanting to risk losing them. His attention dropped back down to the injuries and he hesitated. Could he really do this? There wasn’t much choice. He grabbed a cloth and began to gently wipe the blood away, hoping to see where the actual wound was. When he found the worst one—a tear of sorts on one of the legs, placed right across the calf—he began applying some pressure with the small towel, hoping to at least slow the bleeding while he used another part of it to continue wiping away blood.

When no other serious injuries came up, mostly just scratches and bruises, he found himself filled with relief. He only had to fix one thing. Keeping that in mind, he decided to try and use his best efforts…but it was kinda hard in the dark. He fumbled for the light switch and found it, ever so thankful when it actually clicked on. That means he must simply have a flipped breaker, not a full on outage. He quickly returned to his ‘patient’ though, wondering if it was bad enough to risk having to sew it shut. There was a beat of silence before he slowly pulled the towel away and…nearly collapsed with relief when the bleeding wasn't as bad. It didn’t need to be sutured shut. Thank the heavens because his sewing skills left a lot to be desired.

Didn’t mean he could just stop though. So with a deep breath, he went back to using tweezers and grabbed some of the gauze. This was where he stopped, something registering that he was doing this wrong—gauze didn’t seal a wound, it wasn't supposed to be against it. That was up to a pad, but he only had wrap. Thinking faster than he expected, he reopened the cupboards and brought out the bandaids, finding one with a pad that matched the needed size before using the tweezers to pull the pad off. If a bandaid hurt on his skin in such a small amount, there was no way that it wouldn't if it covered the whole leg.

With that completed, he went ahead and got some medicine put on the bandaid before using one hand to hold the wound shut while the other gently put down the pad. The tiny person tensed, making him falter, but from what he could tell they were unconscious. Must hurt quite a bit then. Moving slowly and worrying if it was too much pressure, he started to wrap the gauze around the pad semi-tightly, his eyes never leaving what he was doing. So far so good, he kept a finger on the finished wrapping and grabbed the medical tape so he could snag some scissors from the cupboard and cut off a small piece. With that piece, he took and pinned the gauze together, taking care that it didn’t stick to the person’s skin.

The split second he was done and it didn't immediately fall apart, he sank to his knees and hung his head. Yikes. What even was this? He closed his eyes and took some time to settle himself back down before returning to his feet and staring at what looked like a small person. It was hard to wrap his head around the creature in front of him even existing. What if he woke up later to find he’d treated a dragonfly or mouse? That would be embarrassing. Except…it didn’t really feel like this was fake. Rather, it seemed more tangible than the likelihood of his team fixing that video game.

Oh well. He went ahead and gently scooped them back into a hand, raising them to the light and trying to focus on the tiny form. Holding his breath, he watched the chest intensely and waited. The moment the chest moved he sighed and brought his hand back down and close to his body. That was good. Meant it was breathing, right? He just nodded to himself and used one hand to lazily clean things for only a few seconds, mainly wanting to treat this thing some more. It was hard to tell if he’d actually helped anything or only made it worse, so he wanted to try practically everything he could…within limits and reason.

Carrying the tiny thing out of the bathroom, he paused in the hallway and debated where to put it. In the end, he leaned more for his room since he would likely be in there far more often. The trip there didn’t take too long and he found himself having to search for some form of bedding. There wasn't much in his room that was very helpful, and considering it was curled up in the fetal position shivering, it was soaked and hurting. That led him to just grabbing a pair of socks his mom had given him that he hadn’t even opened yet. They were more wooly and thick so it was perfect for what he currently wanted.

He scooted over to his computer desk and went to slip the tiny thing inside one of the socks, only for his eyes to catch sight of one wing…being cracked. It wasn't huge and it was at the end, but it looked like something that would make flying difficult. He bit his lip in thought before using one sock to somewhat dry it off some more before putting it inside the other one up to its shoulders. When it seemed to have been accomplished he placed the sock next to his keyboard and sat down, putting the other one gently over the top of it all. If it got too hot the second could just be pushed off, but he figured too hot was better than too cold when hurt.

Since it seemed settled in, he pulled out his phone since his room was still void of light except from the wings. Now that he thought of it, the wings glowing like they did was kinda bizarre and only generated more questions, but since none could be answered, he resumed googling information. First, he checked that he had followed first aid and was relieved that he’d been close enough to it to be fine. Then he started searching up care for small animals and…tiny winged people. The same word that had been floating around his mind from the start was introduced to him quickly—fairy. It was a fairy. But those don't exist.

Well…he said that but it was right in front of him. It had been bleeding out and he’d just taken care of it. Hard to say if he was imagining things or not, really. The other things caught his attention too though, most giving him irrelevant info until he got to housing. Right. Smaller creatures usually ran away from humans. He wrinkled his nose at the idea of any sort of cage though, even the suggestion of a box. This thing was more human than animal, that felt way too inhumane to him. Weren't there better ways to go about it? He didn’t want the fairy to try and fly or run off in its condition, but outright locking it up had to be the worst idea.

He mindlessly scanned his room for something that might work, then his eyes snagged on some dark red yarn. Oh. He had some yarn for when his sister would visit…but how could that be helpful? It took some thinking, but then he searched up the hardest knot to escape from as well as how to tie one. With that information he retrieved the yarn that had been just barely peeking out of a drawer and carefully slipped the fairy back out of the sock. Taking the free end, he tied it around the thinnest part of their body, not wanting them to be able to just slip out of it. When it was tight but still loose enough to move a little, he went ahead and returned the fairy to the sock bed he’d created a minute ago.

It took some maneuvering, but he got the knot to remain behind them and the string out of the way. Quickly after, he searched for something to tie the other end to. Tired and mentally stressed from today, his first thought was to tie it to the base of his computer. So he did. He made it long enough to reach the edge of the table before cutting it and getting it tied. There’s no way this would permanently stop the fairy, especially since if it had magic his efforts would mean absolutely nothing, but it could at least give him a chance to notice before the fairy ran. Although, that thought gave him an entirely separate idea that he almost lost from more thunder booming right above his house.

He glanced around for something that made some noise and got it tangled in the loose part of the string. It was just his tin pencil holder, but the pens would rattle around enough to be heard throughout his house from how silent it was here. Satisfied for now, he watched the fairy a little longer before getting himself ready for his own nap. He’d have some explaining to do about losing power and not contacting them, but…he had a strong feeling it was a bad idea to tell anyone t all about this little fairy. So he just lay in bed, rolled so he could still see the faint, comforting glow of those wings. He’d always hated the dark…and that light seemed almost magical to him. With a soft smile, he let his eyes close and got some rest.

—

End

This human has gotten himself stuck in wayyy more trouble than he bargained for!!

Name reveal? I think not!

<-#1 /Disappointments/

<- /Fault/ - /Human/ ->

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