The following morning, Haru jolted out of a deep and dreamless sleep to the sound of knocking at her door. The girl's stomach was twisted in uncomfortable knots for reasons unknown, and she felt dizzy, borderline feverish- but, nonetheless, she tried to swallow the feeling of nauseating sickness and headed to the door without a care in the world for her appearance, wrenching it open.
Outside; Aurelia, with her hands on her hips- except she wasn't dressed tactically, now. Instead, the tanned girl wore plain denim shorts and a black tank top, with a white long-sleeved top draped around her shoulders- clearly more fashion choice than function, like the knee-high leather sandals that wound up her legs, leaving plenty of exposed skin.
"You doing okay? If you need some time, I can come back," Aurelia spoke immediately, with a polished, practiced sort of perfection that felt unnatural. "You clearly need to brush your hair, do you want me to send a few maids to bathe you?"
"No, I can do that myself-"
"Fine, but at least I'm sending one to bring you brush and clothing." Aurelia turned on a dime, stretching. "You relax, I'll come back in an hour, so you should go hop in the shower."
With the fairy girl, if that's what she was, gone, Haru turned as well, slowly looking around the room. It was simple; bed, nightstand, window, dresser. She didn't remember falling asleep, last night- but then, she didn't remember getting to the room, either. Maybe inter-dimensional travel was just that tiring…?
Shrugging off the goofy thought, Haru grabbed and pushed the only other door in the room, finding herself in a bathroom with a simple tiled floor- there, a shower. Immediately, Haru ripped her top up, off, and ripped the bandages off her chest, wincing as her breasts spilled free, heavier than she'd expected. I don't think I was crazy… I wasn't a girl, before I came here, I can't have been. It feels… wrong, She winced, trying to shrug off the dysphoric thoughts as she finished stripping and investigated the shower. Soon, she'd figured out how to work the hot water and hopped in properly, beginning to clean her hair.
At some point, a maid entered, announcing herself politely before setting a package of some sort on the counter- Haru could hardly see through the frosted glass of the shower door. Once the maid had gone, she poked her head out, and her eyes latched onto one thing amid the bundle of fabric; a fine hair brush. Grabbing that, Haru sighed with relief and returned to the shower, slamming the door once more and starting to brush.
It wasn't too hard, at least- her hair was knotted but not matted, and the brush raked through easily enough. Wet, lank, it fell to about the bottoms of her breasts, framing her head evenly- an obnoxious amount of it was in her face, she'd need to ask for a hair tie when she had the chance.
Haaaa… I wonder what this world is like, really. If Starria is so bad, fine, but I wonder what the rest of the world is like. That Aerendyl guy… how common are people as powerful as him? It's a terrifying thought, really… what if I had that kind of power? How many would I kill just by accident, learning to control that kind of thing?
Haru continued to quietly contemplate as she stepped out of the shower, snagging a towel from what had been delivered to her and starting to dry herself off comfortably, looking at the clothes. There was one top- it was probably the right size, but she'd been given the choice in pants and shoes, she noticed while tugging on the plain panties lying there. Jeans or soft pants, and socks with shoes or sandals… swallowing, thinking, Haru pulled on the jeans and the socks, shoes, before headed out into the main room.
The bra took some figuring out, but she managed to put it on properly and hook, but once she had, she spun it around and tugged her top on, opening the door again and stepping into the hall.
"Ah, seems like I had good timing," Aurelia smirked.
"You uh. You got a hair tie?" Haru asked awkwardly, raising an eyebrow.
"I do," Aurelia smiled and handed over a small scrunchie. Haru raised her arms, with it, and then faltered, swallowing.
"I…"
"Oh, sweetie. Don't know how to tie your hair up? Come here…" Aurelia walked forward, smiling and shaking her head.
-
"Nah, you done fucked up," The tall, dark-haired man laughed, wiping blood off his chin and stalking forward. "Demon scum like you need to die- you've only proven it."
"By defending myself?!" The young woman below him snarled, twisted and leveled a kick with the side of the human's head. There were too many of them, but she fought for her life valiantly; surrounded, outnumbered; Can I do this?
Catching a punch, kicking one of their knees out before his knife could land- the man who'd spoken leveled a gun with her head and she let her magic flare, the gun going molten in his hand, misfiring, sparks flying from the ceiling as the metal turned orange and melted into sludge on the floor- then, the arm she'd caught, she hurled, sending the human face-first into the gun-turned lava.
"Back off and let me go, I'll let you leave," She panted, but they didn't listen, and she had to leap backward to dodge a sledgehammer, chunks of concrete exploding from the ground where she'd been standing. There were no guns left, so she swallowed, taking stock- three humans. Hammer, knife, length of pipe from the ceiling. That one was resourceful, the most dangerous, take him out last.
"Why are you even doing this? This is just a peaceful farming town- we've got nothing to do with your conflict."
"Doesn't matter. Anything like you needs to die, and the attack on our nation was proof of that. Seventeen armed men dead because one of you decided to juggle helicopters. We're coming- and as much as you're sweating? We're just a scouting party." The dark-haired man who'd spoken before chuckled, sniffing and walking forward, smiling down at her.
"Besides. If you really were just a peaceful farmer, you wouldn't be so good with fighting. Would you? I'll tell you what though, maybe if you get on your knees, we can-" The man choked, staggering back, and slowly fell, while the young woman veered left, snarling, blood covering her face now. She'd given no thought- just a headbutt as hard as she possibly could, then grabbed the knife-holding hand to her right and twisted, breaking it. Before she could go further, that length of pipe slammed into her head, and she staggered, seeing stars.
"Damnit…" Shaking her head, she saw the pipe come for her again- too slow, she hit the ground, coughing up blood, and threw up an arm. Crunch, arm breaking as the pipe hit it directly. She screamed and threw up her other arm- with a terrible, perverse squelching noise, the wielder fell to his knees, pipe lodged about halfway through his skull.
"Listen," The demon wheezed, and with her magic, she slammed the last human against the wall, holding him up. "Tell whoever commands you… that I'll be healed by sun fall… and that there are more of me, here… we want, peace… don't make me kill any more of you." With that said, she threw him into the hallway and slammed the door, crunching metal into the wall, holding it fast, essentially trapping herself inside.
"Nng…" Panting raggedly, she tried to catch her breath. "So many of them… I just need… a quick nap, then I'll call for help. "Just… just a nap… first…" She whispered, closing her eyes and joining the slumber of the six bodies around her.
-
"Alright! None of you can fly, so this will be a slower tour, but you won't find me complaining!" Aurelia grinned as they stepped past the castle gates; her, Haru, Fox, and Alexander. "Let's show you two the city, and then remember, tomorrow, you can decide what you want to do for yourselves."
"Sounds good," Alexander smiled. "Though, I think I'm already leaning toward the military. I don't really care what was in my past- I remember that I lived alone. Nobody misses me- and if I can fight for this picture of equality…"
"Just remember- you wouldn't be a military prodigy with your own squad, or something. At least in the beginning, you'd be a rank and file nobody. Part of something greater, or whatever," Aurelia snorted, tail flicking about lazily.
"If you don't mind me asking," Haru asked, "-What are you?" They were walking down some sort of main street now- there were expensive shops everywhere. Swords, firearms, sold casually over the counter- but also foods, jewelry, clothing; everything she could imagine, with no rhyme or reason as far as she could tell. It made no sense, but… it was fun.
"Best we can figure?" Aurelia glanced over her shoulder, laughing. "I'm half succubus, half fairy. Something like that."
"How's that happen? Mom and dad?" Fox, who, until now had been quiet, piped up.
"I thought Aerendyl explained?" Aurelia raised a blonde eyebrow, seemingly confused. "When you die, you either wink out or become a demon based on your deepest views of yourself. I've met some people from another world- they loved the saying, 'Never judge a book by its cover.' Well, that's the name of the game here- you can tell a lot about somebody, and how to get under their skin, by what they look like."
"So you… do you just really like to fuck?" Fox asked, angling her head, and Haru choked, eyes widening.
"That's none of your concern," Aurelia answered simply, but there was a tired smile tugging at her lips, an air of amusement about her. "Come on."
"So what happens if a demon is killed?" Haru asked curiously- they were exiting the street full of shops now, and entering another, but the shops here seemed more… normal, in a way, with less weapons and more normal clothing shops, boutiques, a hair care place… the smell of grease reached her nose as some sort of food cart rolled by. At least so far, Aurelia didn't seem to feel a need to explain their surroundings.
"The same thing- but it's almost impossible for a demon to return to death unless they've been around for a long time or have enormous reserves of spiritual energy for some reason or another. In most cases, the soul becomes tired for the next ten or twenty years, after reforming a body- the soul stores magic all your life, and starting from level zero, so to speak… it wears you out. So if a demon is killed a few years after being born, there's almost certainly no chance of return."
"So in theory," Haru thought aloud. "-a demon could be completely immortal?"
"If they were sufficiently safe or unkillable enough, yes." Aurelia nodded as they walked, stretching, wincing as her back cracked. "Ouch."
"Back issues? At your age?" Alexander chuckled, continuing.
"It's them boobs-" Fox began, and huffed, quieting as Alexander lightly bonked the top of her head.
Together, they left the shops behind, and Haru started as with terrifying suddenness, the color of the city changed- Aurelia had led them down a smaller side street, and suddenly, everything was green.
"Is this… residential?" She asked, walking forward with stunned confusion pulling her eyes wide- even the light had turned green. Far, far overhead, dappled leaves mostly blotted out the sun- trees grew rampantly here, but Haru could see windows, doors, smokestacks… the city was as though it had been built into the trees, here.
"Yep." Aurelia nodded, crossing her arms. "We don't believe that we must destroy nature in order to live with it- destroying the earth in the name of progress is humanity's shtick. Where there are trees, we grow them into different shapes, and fit our homes inside that which already exists. I'd give you a proper tour, but there are miles and miles of this- if you look from the air, the city is like a clock, with different sections like this.
"For what purpose?" Haru asked, angling her head. "I mean, I assume it's intentional?" Aurelia was leading them to the left now, seemingly deeper into the greenery.
"We'll walk in a circle around the castle- it should only take an hour or so, if we keep a tight circle. Then, you can get an idea of what the entire city is like. As for your question, it's just to suit the comforts and unique needs of some species. As for the desert district… we'll take a shortcut to pass through that."
"Why?" Haru asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Only three things live there- a golem and two dragons. They're ancient, though, and welcome in the city- plus, they've never bothered us."
"Dragons?"
"Imagine if the city were attacked," Alexander laughed. "What will helicopters do against some massive prehistoric fire breathing lizard."
"Fire? Dragons don't breathe fire," Aurelia angled her head, confused, narrowing her eyes.
"O-Oh…?" Alexander angled his head, and Haru stopped paying attention as they pushed through another alley made equally of wood and brick, looking around, enjoying the noise. There were kids, playing- kicking around some sort of ball, and there, two teens leaning back against the wall. Their skin colors ranged from white to black to blue to lavender, and she blinked slowly, admiring the rainbow hues, watching them all-
"Aurelia!!" Somebody was running up, a pale young girl maybe fourteen or thirteen with the tail of a squirrel behind her- it was comically large though, and her teeth, where she grinned, contained two sets of razor-sharp canines.
"Hey Lily- I don't have time though, right now, sorry," Aurelia smiled, looking down at the younger girl. "You been doing okay?"
"I have! Still can't wait until I'm old enough to help you for real, and join CA or the general military! Just you wait, one day I'm going to save you- you showing new soldiers a route or something?!"
"Do I look like a soldier?" Fox cut in, laughing in what might have been genuine mirth, glancing down at her crop top and leggings.
"Well no, but-" The child- Lily, laughed as Aurelia cut in.
"Sorry, Lily, but we have to keep it moving today."
"No, you've got to show me your moves again," Lily corrected, beckoning, and one of the other younglings tossed over a long, flexible wooden cane, which Aurelia, perhaps reflexively, caught easily. "Come on, big sis, learn to blow off steam," The squirrel brat snarked, catching a wooden rod in her own hands now.
"Girl. I will beat you to death?" Aurelia laughed, slinging the rod over her shoulder. "I'll feel too guilty if you sprain an ankle because of me again."
"I'm totally a pro now- you won't!" Lily grinned.
"Here, Haru, why don't you show the brat the ropes," Aurelia grinned, spinning her wrist and offering the rod to Haru, who blinked at it rapidly.
"I don't think I know how to fight-"
"Damn." Aurelia nodded, blinking, smiling apologetically at Lily. "I guess nobody wants to fight you today, kiddo."
"Jeez, military captain afraid of a child," Lily rolled her eyes, and something stirred in Haru- something feral, telling her to grab the pole and swing it as hard as she could.
"I… kind of wanna try," Haru admitted, glancing away, and slowly took the mock weapon.
"There we go!! Let's do this, lady!!" Lily backed away, spinning her pole slowly, and Haru swallowed, sweat beading on her chest, her back, her tailbone, her tail beginning to twitch and thrash.
"You sure about this?" Aurelia was backing away, along with Fox and Alexander. "I won't carry you back to the castle when you get your butt kicked."
"I'm sure. I… I want to try," Haru muttered dryly and faced Lily, now, holding the mock-weapon carefully before her at an angle.
"Come on Lily, show that grown up what's what!!" One of the boys jeered, and Haru glanced around- they were in just an empty lot, nothing special about it, a few bicycles lying around. Wide open space; she blinked rapidly, jerking back as Lily flew forward- just barely, she managed to block the incoming attack in time, straining, grabbing her weapon with both hands and straining, pushing. Once Lily lost her momentum, Haru managed to shove the girl back and chased, slinging the lance wide, turning and hurling it at the squirrel girl's hip.
With a loud crack of wood, Lily blocked the hit, leveling a jab for Haru's chest- but the girl managed, just barely, to twist sideways, the weapon scraping her skin and sailing past as Haru dived forward, spun, and cracked her lance across the back of Lily's knees, knocking her down.
"O-Ow!!" The squirrel girl groaned, but a laugh was already bubbling up her throat. Haru just stared levelly, not entirely sure what she ought to be thinking, or feeling.
"Are you okay?"
"I am," Lily groaned, slowly standing up, leaving her lance on the ground. Similarly, Haru dropped hers, nodding- oddly, she felt… nothing. Rather, there was the bruise in her chest, aching, skin already darkening, but… nothing. Only calm.
"I'm glad you're alright," The white-haired girl muttered, walking back to Aurelia. "It was fun," She lied, smiling as best she could. The gesture felt empty. Haru… she knew she was getting some funny looks, but she just felt… empty. There was nothing to say, and so she walked on, looking at her breasts, for she could not see her feet. "Have a good day, kids."
"Hey," Aurelia whispered a few moments later, catching up, and Fox was at her other side, though the shorter girl stayed silent. "What was that, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Haru muttered, honestly. "I don't know. Everything disappeared, for a moment. There was only the fight. I'm good, probably, I'm fine. Honest. Not upset, no crazy flashbacks or rage."
"I see…" Aurelia sighed and nodded, walking on, taking the lead back. "Come on, I'll show you guys to the other districts of the city, give you an idea of what life is like here."
"Haru?" Alexander asked, and she looked back, blinking slowly up at him. "If you need to talk…"
"I don't though- I feel, fine." Haru nodded, looking ahead again as they passed under an arch formed by latticing tree branches, past a few shops and outdoor restaurants. Her eyes lingered on a young couple eating together- what might have been a human woman if not for the lizard's tail and colorful streaks coiling around her body like a painting, and a young man with the head of a squirrel. Interesting… did you die gay, and you liked nuts so much that you… no, that's not good, Haru be good.
"I feel fine, really."
"Good," Aurelia replied carelessly. "We're almost to the swamps~ don't worry, they aren't as gross as what you'd imagine."