A Study in Curiosity
Chapter 2
Aubrey’s walk home was uneventful, although the peaceful ambiance had been offset by finding a fairy in the woods. Aubrey realized as she walked that she had no idea what Shai really was. She had started to think of her as a fairy, but she didn’t really know that, just that she wasn’t human. Having reached a question that she had no answer to, Aubrey decided to ask. “Hey, um, maybe a dumb question but. Are you a fairy?”
Shai at that moment was caught between the inquisitive part of her brain wondering how humans had made a weave so fine at their size, and without magic, and the very very tired part of her brain that just wanted to shut up and enjoy how damn comfy it was. Because of this, it took her a few moments to register the question, but once she did her inquisitive side took full control. “That sounds similar to what our records say your people called us, so maybe? What is a fairy?”
Aubrey responded after a pause. “Well most depictions of them are from legends, so it differs between tellings, but usually they’re magical creatures that live in the woods, they look like humans, but about your size, with some kind of wings?” From Shai’s place in her hood, she could feel Aubrey’s voice as much as hear it.
“Hm. I don’t think we ever had wings, but we were definitely closer to nature than humans were at the time we left” this was fascinating, but even as her curiosity was firing on all cylinders, her fatigue began to overpower it. She vaguely heard Aubrey ask a question about how her people “left”, but before she could even say that she wasn’t supposed to talk about that with a human, that that would be dangerous, she was asleep.
Aubrey waited a moment for Shai to answer, but she realized what must have happened as she heard snoring coming from behind her. It was surprisingly loud for someone of her size. What Shai had said was… a lot to chew on. Was it possible that fairies were real? That magic was real? She certainly hadn’t believed in any of that, but she couldn’t exactly argue against the existence of tiny people in the woods after meeting one. She had so many questions to mull on, and mull she did, as the trees at the base of the mountain gave way to streets and houses and she made the rest of her way back to her parents’ house.
The first thought Shai had when she opened her eyes was I’m cold, immediately followed by why is the ceiling so far away? As she sat up and came to terms with the events of the last day, that they had happened and weren’t going to un-happen, she slowly became more aware of her surroundings. She was no longer in the comfort of Aubrey’s hood, but had been laid on top of some folded cloth, on a huge flat surface that she realized must have been a table, though it was strange to see it from this perspective. To her left the table was occupied by some weird kind of slabs that she couldn’t determine the purpose of. Aside from the desk, the room was filled with a bookshelf that loomed over Shai’s position, and an amazingly expansive bed, big enough it might take her a minute to walk across. Shai’s mind hopped quickly from awe to confusion to curiosity as she started to inspect the contents of Aubrey’s desk.
Aside from the strange slabs that she still couldn’t determine a function for, the desk was a mess. Sheafs of paper with some strange, uniform script on them, some more books that looked strangely colorful and were bound in more paper, rather than leather, there was a small statue of some round creature that came up to about Shai’s knees, and all of it was so big. She knew she’d had the thought before but it kept coming to her how out of proportion she was compared to everything here. It was hard to get used to.
“Oh good, you’re awake!”
Shai jumped, and let out a loud “eep!” that she was immediately embarrassed of. Aubrey had entered the room while she was poking around. She moved quietly, which didn’t really seem fair considering she was so large. She looked chagrined at seeing Shai’s surprise, and she was carrying a plate.
“Oh, Sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you. I brought you some food, if you’re hungry.” Aubrey sat down at the desk, and set the plate down with a ground-shaking thunk. On it was a gathering of fruit and nuts that were, like everything she’d encountered since she got here, comically overproportioned. Aubrey snapped one of the fruits about the size of Shai’s head and offered it forward.
“I realize it might be a bit hard to eat, given uh. Y’know. I could cut it up or-” but Aubrey was cut off as Shai nearly leapt forward and snatched the feast from her hand.
As soon as she’d seen the food she realized that she hadn’t eaten since before everything started, and she tore at the food quickly, getting juice all over her face. It was sweet, and crisp, and she ate until her stomach was full, which was about halfway through her second one. She spent a few minutes in bliss, just eating, until she remembered Aubrey was in the room. She looked over to the giant, still sitting at the desk, as she popped some of the nuts into her mouth, and continued to look at Shai with a look of curiosity. Her eyes were brown, like watching the bottom of a creek in summer, and Shai got lost in them for just a moment too long, before her mind caught up with her.
Specifically, the part of Shai that was thriving right now, the part that had always dreamed of being an ambassador to humanity, dreamed of learning their ways and bringing her people out into the greater world. It was the part of her that had driven her to make that portal, the part of her that had cost her so much, but here she was, and all she had done was get trapped under a rock, pass out in the hood of the first human she met, and eat their food. She gathered herself up quickly, before making her official introduction. “Hello! Thank you so much for your hospitality, I’m sorry to have been such a bother to you. I’m here because I’d like to know more about humans, would you be able to answer some questions?”
Aubrey decided that she just could not get a read on this little person. She had seemed to be in distress, and in need of a place to go, and she had been all over the place since she’d found her, and now she had started acting so formal out of nowhere, as if a switch had been flipped and she had just started to act like a houseguest. Aubrey wanted to know what was going on with her, but she didn’t want to just keep asking questions directly, as it made her feel kind of rude. What she did instead was her default nervous chuckle, followed by her best attempt at assuring the other person. “Hiya! There’s no need to worry, I promise you’re not being a burden on me. I’d love to answer some questions, but I also have some of my own to ask, would that be okay?”
This caused Shai to pause for a few moments, as she put the remains of her grape back on the plate. She responded “I can agree to that, but I can’t answer questions that would lead you to my home or my people. Obviously, if I ask any question you feel is too personal or revealing, you don’t have to answer either. Does that sound fair?” The tiny lady held out her hand in offer.
Aubrey smiled. Now she could ask some real questions without having to worry about coming off as too forward! She took Shai’s hand between her thumb and one finger, and said “That sounds excellent! If I can start, what exactly are you?”
Go back to the first chapter here, or read the next chapter of the story here!