Chasing Catharsis (3)

"I want you to bring me your fairy."

"What if I don't have one."

"Only high-level kinesis magic can make those kinds of marks on an Equuinoid. I know that none of you can use magic, so it must have come from somewhere else. That's how we end up here. Fairies are known for using the wind as a medium for their kinesis magic so I'm sure you know at least one."

[Damn. I knew I'd made a mistake somewhere. If we make it out of this, I'll have to be more careful.]

"Do you feel better after explaining your detective work? I never asked how you came to your conclusion. If you're finished sating your ego, then we'll be off."

"Slow down, kid. We came here looking for a fairy, and we're not leaving until we get one."

"Well then, what would you like me to do." I need them to make a very specific request, so I keep asking. The more specific the demand, the more likely I'll be able to partially comply and buy us some time. I look over and see both Sakura and Josh already subdued. Josh is still struggling, but Sakura seems to have calmed down into a vengeful silence.

"I want you to call out for them."

[Perfect.]

I smile, knowing that I've gained a little more time.

"Of course. Woohee! Come here, Woohee!" We wait for a moment but she doesn't arrive just like we discussed previously.

"I've called out for her, but she isn't responding. What else would you like me to do?"

"Call out to another fairy."

"I'm sorry, I only know the one." While we're talking, I slowly inch my way near to edge of the encirclement. If I am going to fight them, then I'll need to prevent myself from getting surrounded.

"Liar."

"I can call for Woohee again if you'd like." But there isn't anything else I can do. I hold the words back that arrive on the tip of my tongue. I don't want to give her any more ammunition than is necessary.

"Do something, or these two die." I see Sakura's eyes start to glow red. I've run out of moves, so I decide to take the fight and try to keep the kids alive as long as possible. Just before any of us move, we hear a voice.

"Halt!" I see Inari's cool visage silhouetted against the light coming through the leaves above us.

"Way to go, kid, now I won't have to kill you." Mixed feelings of fear and dread wash over me. I'm glad to have the backup, but I don't think Inari can take on all of these people simultaneously. I grit my teeth and redouble my mental preparation for battle. The goons start moving in her direction, and I back up toward her as well.

"You know what pisses me off the most?" Inari interrupts the West Side Story-esque choreography that has developed as we begin moving in tandem towards her. "We fairies have lived for millennia in a forest more brutal than you can imagine. We have staked out a territory, and we run from no beast. Even a pack of Griffiths will think twice before attacking us. So, what makes you think you stand a chance?"

"We've got numbers on our side, little lady." One of the dumber-looking gentlemen decides to show us how stupid he is with that comment.

"That's not how I see it," Inari replies in a bored voice and turns her head to the side as if she has lost interest in the situation. One by one, small lights begin to shine and shimmer in the dim glow of the forest. At first, I only see a few, but soon, there are hundreds of them. The lights begin swirling around each other until the entire area is a disorientating blur of light and color.

"Woah…" I can hear Sakura's awed voice coming from behind me.

[I'm gonna be sick.]

I crouch down and close my eyes to suppress the erupting nausea.

"Capture them." Inari's voice pierces the low buzz of beating wings that pervades the woods, and soon, torrential chaos envelops us. I curl up on the ground and try to avoid the onslaught. The air is filled with roaring wind and cracking branches. It's as if the planet itself shifts from the conflict. A few short shouts ring out through the cacophony before silence returns to the forest. I open my eyes, and everyone is gone.

"Josh, Sakura, are you two okay?"

"I'm fine," says Josh.

"I think so." Sakura looks at her hands as she replies. I help the two of them up and inspect the area. The entire area has been destroyed, leaving only piles of dirt and overturned soil. Not a single person or fairy remains from the fight.

"Let's move to the den for now." I look around for anything out of place on the way back. My brother always used to tell me about the importance of paying attention to detail. Even a small pile of pebbles on the side of the road could be an IED. He drilled into me the idea that I needed to pay attention to everything. My brother used to take all the screws out of my game controller and throw them into the yard, so I'd have to dig through the glass to find them. I enjoyed the impromptu scavenger hunt, so I always played along. Eventually, he picked up on this and dropped the idea after a few tries. I apply this knowledge as we move to make sure we don't stumble upon any traps.

We make our way to the den cautiously. Without the fairies supporting us, we're much more vulnerable. I consider our options as we reach the bottom of the cave.

"Okay, so, if the fairies aren't helping us anymore, we won't be able to use this place for much longer. Once winter arrives, the Equuivores will make their way into the forest for their breeding season, which is when they're the most aggressive. Until we get strong enough to fight or run from them ourselves, we'll have to stay near the town."

"Why aren't the fairies helping us anymore?" Josh asks with a frown.

"I can't say for certain whether they will or won't, but we put them in danger even if it was unintentional. Well, I guess it was just me, but they'll likely be much more hesitant to spend time with us after this incident." Josh nods his head in confirmation.

"I'm gonna miss Woohee," Sakura adds.

"I will too. That being said, the most important thing is that they're safe. We need to focus on getting stronger so that we can defend them if we ever bring danger with us again. Understand?"

""Yes!"" The two kids comply, and we start our workout. We're all fairly sore still, so we take it easy and do longer sets with lower weights. The wooden plates are crude, and as we become more familiar with the exercises, it's apparent that they aren't similar enough. I set Josh down and explain to him how to make a better scale. He used a simple flat stick over a fulcrum but that's not cutting it anymore. I draw a design in the sand for a scale specifically used to compare the weight of the plates. It has a tall thin fulcrum in the center that lifts the whole apparatus off the ground. The center of the lever rises upward in an upside-down "V" shape to sit on the fulcrum, and the bottom extends outward horizontally. I tell him to add a stop so the weights will always sit the same distance away from the center. Once he understands my design, he gives us a list of pieces that he'll need, and we scout the forest around the cave.