A Human in OUR Home?!

A Human in OUR home?

As Reggie's state of self-reflection and alertness, something tripped his senses. It was a scent he had only ever smelled in the presence of war when bloodshed was a must and lives were sure to be lost.

Though he could sense a Human, there wasn't much he could do to confront the Human. He couldn't pinpoint their exact location. Even if he could, he would be unable to reach them promptly. His wings were soaked with water, making them unable to fly for long periods.

Reggie was born with heightened senses. Not even the doctors knew why, but it allowed him to perceive things that others could not, like More colors, hearing quieter and louder sounds, and, most importantly, an intense nose that could smell things over several kilometers in extreme detail.

While he would have loved to fly to the Human and confront them, he knew the more intelligent choice was to remain by his house. He had no reason to mindlessly slaughter a human who had yet to provoke or attack him.

Reggie decided to stay outside, but Arya was waking up from a long nap on the couch. She got up and stretched, putting pressure on her back with her thumbs as she did so.

In a half-awake state, Arya walked into a wall and bumped her head, which woke her straight up. She was thirsty, dehydrated, even. Her mouth was dry, leading her to the kitchen for water.

While looking for a bottle of water, she looked to her left, to which she saw a massive piece of fishtail slowly roasting over a fire. The sight of it shocked her; she almost started drooling.

Arya was indifferent to meat over vegetables, but she LOVED fish meat. It was the sea monster that her father and Reggie had fought just the night before, reduced to nothing more than some soon-to-be delicious food.

Arya came to her senses and grabbed water, striking up a conversation with her parents. But, unfortunately, she was more invested in the fishtail than they had to say.

"Good morning, dad. Where'd the that come from?" She would say, looking toward the fish meat.

"Reggie and I were fishing, and we caught a Sea Monster on accident. It was a big one, too! We fought all night; that thing didn't want to go down! Anyway, we killed the Sea Beast and skinned it. So we're having your favorite today!" Kuyo was rather excited today. Slaying the Sea Beast put him in a good mood.

"Did you sleep properly, Arya? I know you were up late last night because you had to be told a bedtime story..." Tanna was concerned for Arya's health. She had been staying up late recently, losing sleep.

"Yea... I'm fine. I've been overworking myself recently. But you know how I am- always overthinking, considering every possible option in every possible universe… anyway, I'm fine!" Arya was fine. Right. They didn't believe her, but they went with her narrative.

"Well, dinner won't be ready for a few hours, so feel free to go outside. It's raining, though." Her father said

Arya went upstairs. Her favorite pastime on rainy days was sitting by her room window and listening to the raindrops. It was relaxing and helped her clear her mind.

She heard her brother following up behind her as she entered her room. Arya didn't shut the door, but he still knocked. Arya didn't hear him knocking but assumed he wanted to talk due to the timing between him coming in and immediately going up the stairs; the shower was on the ground floor. So she motioned for him to enter while not paying attention.

Reggie, oddly, wasn't wet at all. He sat on Arya's bed, completely dry, and listened to the rain with her. Arya's window was quite broad, allowing her to sit on the windowsill comfortably. As she leaned against the large pane of glass, thunder snapped her back to reality. She looked over to her side and nearly jumped out off the windowsill, bumping her head on top of it.

"AH!"

"Arya- You allowed me to enter. Don't tell me you didn't sleep last night again..." Reggie said with a concerned look, handing his sister some ice.

"Then I won't. It's not like I'm trying to stay up late at night; I'm just- Overthinking things. I'm overthinking, and I can't think about sleeping." She said, quipping back at him playfully.

Her words were truthful, though Reggie knew something deeper was going on. He may have been a younger brother, but he wasn't stupid.

"You're thinking about school. You're afraid other kids will bully you because of your appearance. Everybody gets picked on because of how they look." Reggie said, trying to comfort her.

"That doesn't he-"

"That doesn't help. I know." He said, interrupting her. "But it's true. Don't let it get to you. You're the best big sister ever! If they're bullying you, I'll rough them up!"

Reggie knew Arya struggled with the thought of going back to school and being the only one among her peers unable to be easily identified. She was afraid of being mistaken as a human and attacked.

". . ."

"Well? Did that help?"

"Thanks, Re. You're good at comforting, you know? Maybe you should become a the-"

"Maybe I should become a therapist, blah blah blah." Once again, he interrupted his sister, playfully mocking her.

"I'm serious, Reggie. At least give it some thought; unless you already have your mind made up." Arya meant it. Reggie was able to pick up on the subtle things that their parents weren't able to.

"So am I, but I will. I'll think about it. In the meantime, clear your mind and relax a bit. Maybe a rainy day is what you need. Who knows?" Reggie said as he walked out of his sister's room, shutting the door on the way out.

Arya was alone in her room again. Leaning up against the window, she still found herself bored. The slow trickling of the water did help soothe her mind, though. Arya was genuinely grateful for Reggie and her parents. She consistently prayed for good fortune for them, more than for herself.

Suddenly, Arya found herself more tired than ever. Her vision was blank, and she began to lean back onto her bed.

Before Arya was aware of what had happened, she was gone. Arya had been teleported to some white void. Arya didn't think she was asleep, as she was transported when she touched the bedsheets. It was so bright that Arya felt blinded, but she couldn't even close her eyes- she couldn't do anything. Her body felt frozen, yet Arya could move every limb. She couldn't think.

It was oddly warm. Not uncomfortably warm, but warm enough to make Arya sweat lightly. She just kind of... Floated around awkwardly. She couldn't control any of her movements. It was as if she was suspended in a sensory deprivation tank.

Some omnipresent voice began to echo, and it was loud. Arya's ears were ringing. It felt like her eardrums were about to burst.

"ARYA! I'm about to pour water on you!" Said a familiar voice. Reggie shook her, attempting to wake her, a bottle of water in his free hand.

"Huh~ my ears hurt..." She whispered. Arya's ears were still ringing from what had just happened; she couldn't focus.

"You're finally awake. I've been shaking you for 15 minutes. Dinner's ready." He said, releasing her and walking to the door. "It's not like you to randomly pass out. Are you sure you're fine?" He would say, tossing the cold bottle of water to her.

"Oh... Sorry. I don't know what happened. I'll be down in a minute." She said, taking a drink of the water. The sudden burst of cold shocked her wide awake.

Arya quickly got off her bed and cleaned herself up, heading down the flight of stairs again. After serving herself a plate, she sat in the family room.

After eating, she decided that a walk would do her good. So, after putting on a raincoat, Arya was out the door and walking down the path to the forest. Reggie did not warn her of the intruding Human. However, Arya was responsible, and plenty of people around her would notice the Human before they could cause any trouble.

Arya threw her hood up as she walked out, not wanting to get rained on. However, it didn't take long to reach The Twilight Forest, which covered all of Nagami within its borders—covered by a perpetual night due to having its own planetoid of raw mana hovering ~915 meters in the air.

It had been quite a long time since Arya had been in The Twilight Forest. Her parents only brought her out once- to collect Ambrosia. They had been absent since Tanna made a breakthrough in agriculture and found a way to farm Ambrosia. However, since Kuyo and her had intentionally isolated themselves from society, nobody knew this.

As Arya entered The Twilight Forest, she was hit by a wave of heat and energy. It had been so long since she had been in a large group of people that weren't in uniforms and acting professionally that she had almost forgotten what social activity was.

Like a kid in a candy shop, Arya wandered aimlessly, in awe at the massive groups of people and thick trees. Every turn she took there were more people, more noise, and more more. There was no end to the new experiences.

People wore different clothing; some had makeup while others didn't, some were eating food, and others were drinking strange drinks. She felt like she was in an entirely new world.

Arya decided to sit on one of the many benches in The Twilight Forest. Arya had never been in The Twilight Forest long enough to sit on a bench, let alone be in The Twilight Forest of her own free will.

Sitting on the bench, she took this time to take in all the new air and experiences. Arya enjoyed this, and nobody had gone out of their way to interact with her, so she kept to herself. Deep down, an urge to climb a tree and nap arose within Arya, but there were still people around her, unfortunately.

Arya sat on that bench for hours, relaxing and enjoying the new things and seeing hundreds of new people- she stopped counting after 293. She became so relaxed that she could see the mana particles- wait, what? Could she see the mana particles?

Arya was surprised by this, as to her knowledge, this wasn't just something anybody could do unless she were so isolated she never got told. But, as she gazed upon the masses, she saw the particles of mana in the air, easily distinguishing Dragon from Elf, Dwarf from Drow.

She didn't expect to see somebody with no mana at all. She questioned herself about what exactly they were, but she wasn't one to judge. They sat down next to a tree with a jar. She seemed to be tapping and scratching at the tree with a hammer, almost as if she wanted to take the bark off and get something from it.

The stranger was unsuccessful; they could barely pry the bark off, even with an ax. After watching her struggle for a while, Arya decided to go over and lend a helping hand.

Walking over, she crouched down and took off a few chunks of bark, revealing the phloem. An orange fluid began to drip down, sticky and warm. It was the sap of the Twilight trees.

Arya finally decided to take a look at the stranger she was helping. Looking to the right, she saw a person with a dark hoodie. Her ability to see mana was fading, she had got up and knocked herself out of the focused state she was previously in, but this person still had no Mana. They were a human.

It was a natural Fantasia reaction to scream, cry, or attack, but Arya was taught to love her enemies. She didn't immediately make a scene, nor did she attack or stop her assisting the Human. She continued to help her, though she wanted to start a conversation.

"Harvesting Ambrosia, are we?" Arya opened with an honest, wholesome question.

"Yes. Do you know how?" She replied. Being randomly approached by a stranger was slightly awkward and uncomfortable, but she was still straight to the point.

"Not exactly... It's been a few years since I was in The Twilight Forest. " Arya said, with a sad expression on her face.

"Oh..."

"Well, that doesn't mean I can't remember! On the contrary, some fiddling should help refresh my memory!" She quickly interjected, not wanting to disappoint the strange Human.

" Mess with it, huh...? Alright." The Human responded.

"What do you need the Ambrosia for?" The Dragon asked, aimlessly scratching the tree. Then, having accidentally taken the ax, focused in again, she struck the tree with the ax head and started prying into it.

"It's a bit embarrassing..." Said the human girl, slightly turning away from Arya.

"It's OK! I won't tell anybody, promise." Said the curious girl.

"Well, I wanted to see the stars... Boring, right?" She said.

"Not at all! You're not the first of them to sneak in just for that, though by far, you're the smartest." Arya said, subtly alluding to the fact that she was aware that this stranger to the right of her was a human.

"..."

"Well, what's your name? God commanded me to Love my Enemies." Said the Holy Dragon, a smile on her face. She was happy to be meeting a Human for the first time.

"Katherine Synapse, but you can call me Kat." Said the Human, looking at Arya for once.

Looking Katherine in the eye, Arya took a few moments to study her appearance rapidly. Even though the Dragon hadn't been outside much to interact socially, she learned that appearances could tell a lot about a person.

In Katherine's case, she was wearing black, circular glasses. Her hair was bob cut, and her clothes were all black, including her nails. Though Arya's nature as a sinner was to judge, she didn't. Instead, she continued the conversation, remembering more of what to do.

"Nice to meet you, Katherine- All the talking must have brought back my memories. We have to superheat the sap. That should make it thinner and runnier, so we can bottle it."

"And how are we to do that?" Questioned Katherine.

"Did you bring a lighter? Though, that might not be enough..." Arya counter-questioned, not sturdy in the strength of a lighter.

Katherine pulled out a small lighter, one of those cheap Dollar Store lighters. She lit it and held it close to the sap. Arya watched, wondering if the lighter could get hot enough fast enough.

They sat there for 5 minutes, and Arya failed to realize the lighter was not getting hot enough. Instead, she was encapsulated in the excitement of meeting a human for the first time. She burnt her hand on the lighter, coming back to her senses and offering a better idea.

"That lighter won't get hot enough. My mother knows more about Ambrosia, though I'm not sure how she'll react to a human." said the Dragon, excited to have made a friend for the first time in ages.

"I'd rather not..." Said Katherine, shying away.

"Well, I guess we aren't getting any Ambrosia, then. That lighter won't get hot enough." Arya rebuked, stating a fact, though with a pout.

"Fine. If I die, I'm haunting you though."

They both began to travel back to the Leisfal Household. Katherine had her hood on again, she was near invisible to those she walked by due to her being in all black at night time.

After a 2-hour walk, they arrived at Arya's residence, though the Human had to stay outside. Not too long after, they were both in the backyard as Tanna collected Ambrosia for them, explaining the process.

"After removing the bark, you must superheat the sap to get it runny, then put it in a bottle. After that, cool it within 1 minute of putting it in the container. It'll turn thick, golden, and sweet. The ideal consistency. If you wait too long to cool it, it will solidify. The sap is quite conductive, so it's impossible to burn unless you're a Black Dragon." Tanna said in a soft, sweet voice.

Tanna was courteous, giving a bottle of Ambrosia to Katherine for free.

Reggie had a horrible migraine. All of his senses were inexplicably heightened to the point where he could see sounds and hear colors. He didn't know what was going on, but it was extremely painful, he was going wild in his room.

Reggie's muscles were spasming, causing him to flail in every direction as if he wasn't in control of his own body. He ran into walls several times, though since his room was located at the back of the house, the closer he got to the window, the worse the migraine got.

After several minutes of this hell, he ran into the wall one final time, breaking through the window and falling to the ground. Right. Behind. Katherine.

His sight was so far beyond that of a human, or even a dragon, that he could not make out his mother or sister. They were splotches of black and white. As he gazed upon Katherine, though he saw red. Blood, flesh, and meat. He was staring straight at a human, but not just that, they were evil.

Reggie was able to see Satanic symbols all around Katherine, evil energy, and he could even tell she was wearing an upside-down cross under her hoodie. As a good, Christian man, he knew not to attack women or anybody, but he was sure the Lord would make an exception if he were to vanquish an apostle of the Demon Lord himself.

Reggie fell into a mindless rage, speeding past both his mother and sister, grabbing the Sinner by the throat, and slamming them into the wall. His claws were nearly puncturing her throat. He could not hear the cries of Arya and Tanna.

He gripped the Sinner's throat tighter, his sharp nails poking into Katherine's throat and causing 5 different wounds to emerge, bleeding from all 5. She began to gasp for air, her windpipe being crushed slowly.