Chapter 15: Chapter 12 – Second Night

I find myself sitting on the bed just like last night, deep in thought. We decided to keep using the same room with the slightly cramped bed until the six days are up, so we’d start using up the time Karine’s family gave us a bit later. We already paid for it and there doesn’t seem to be a return policy. Sure would be a waste.

I bathed first this time on Avilia’s insistence. I’m not sure why she insisted on that, but considering I now know how these things work, it was fine. And hey, at least this time I’m wearing pajamas of my own! To match the theme Avilia has going on, I went with light red ones. I’m not sure if she was happy about it when she saw me pick these, though. There was a bit of a discrepancy between her complaints and her facial expressions and body language. So yes, she was probably actually happy about it, just didn’t want to admit it.

I can’t believe how fast I got the clothes, too! I kind of expected the clothing store to be more like a tailor’s shop where they take your measurements and everything, but it turned out to be a bit more like modern clothing shops with the option for tailored clothing. I have to say I was surprised. All they had to do was some minor adjustments and the clothes fit me almost perfectly. That has to mean they have some sort of a clothing industry going on.

Magic really is something.

I’m happy I don’t have to use my underwear as sleepwear anymore. I bought some local outerwear, too, but honestly, they just don’t feel as nice as my old clothes. Having more clothes to choose from isn’t bad, regardless. Not to mention sometimes it might not be a great idea to be wearing obviously foreign-looking clothes, even if it’s hidden under the cloak.

Unlike last night, this time we managed to eat before retiring to our room, so no sleeping with an empty stomach! And I hope magic turns out to be the answer to my battery woes. Or at least some of them. The whole turning my arms into staves thing gives me hope. Okay, it could be misplaced, but it’s the best hope I have right now. I’d rather not die. There’s no way of knowing how magic works with technology, but considering I’m still alive, at least they don’t seem to interfere with each other by default.

Yes, the day was full of twist and turns.

“I am done!”

Avilia emerges from behind the divider with her clothes in hand, looking much happier and relaxed than she did when she went in. I watch her as she puts her clothes in the chest and activates the runes on it.

The way those rune stones work is really something.

She stands up and turns around, looking a bit hesitant before she walks up to the bed on her side and sits down. She did promise that we’d have a long talk before we go to sleep, so I’m not surprised by her apprehension.

“Where should I start?”

“You could start with this elf business. My humanity’s been put to question, and I have no idea why.”

“Oh. That.”

She lies down for a moment, sighs, and then sits up again.

“As I said, it is a long story.” Another sigh. “You see… My people.”

“What’s so special about your people?”

“Well. For starters, I am the last who stayed true to our mission in this part of the world.”

“And your mission was to observe the world and its people, right?”

She nods, looking just a little bit relieved. “And to understand magic. But we never quite got there.”

“So what happened to everyone else?”

“The group I was a part of, my family and a few others, went home. Of other groups, I am not sure. Based on fragmentary data I gathered, some had dispersed into the outside world generations ago.”

“Home?”

“Yes. I am not entirely sure where this supposed ‘home’ is, but I know it is not on this world. Nor are we outworlders. I was left behind fifteen years ago. They told me to wait for them, but they never came back.”

As she tells me her story, the look on Avilia’s face is that of melancholy, her voice dripping with sadness. I can’t even imagine what being left alone like that would be like.

Without thinking, I reach out to her side of the bed and hug her. I can tell she’s surprised, but after a few moments, she hugs me back.

She quietly cries as I try to console her, patting her head, whispering how everything is okay. At least she doesn’t have to be alone anymore, right? I’m here, and I don’t intend to just leave quietly.

Can’t say I wasn’t a bit surprised by her saying her people were literal space aliens. I had assumed they were a misunderstood community of outworlders or something. But that doesn’t actually change anything. She’s still herself. Hell, she isn’t that different from me. I, too, am stranded here, without the support of the people I knew.

Of course, in my case, it literally just happened, while she’s been dealing with it for half her life! To think she had been alone for so long before she met me. Even if some other “elves” still exist, they have nearly nothing in common with her.

After a few minutes, she calms down, and we stop hugging.

My pajama top is a bit of a mess, but I don’t care.

“… Sorry. I have not had anyone to talk to in so long, my emotions got the better of me.”

“That’s fine,” I say, ruffling her hair a bit, “You aren’t alone anymore.”

Her eyes are a red from the crying, but she looks a lot better now.

Her smile remains as adorable as ever.

“Where was I? Oh, right! The reason we came to be known as ‘elves’ is because of an outworlder.”

I guessed as much. While people believed in elves and they’re originally from mythology, I’d say the two of us resemble fantasy elves more than those. But with no pointy ears! Who’d call people with regular human ears elves, anyway?

I nod at her without saying a word.

“Apparently, when an outworlder first met one of the splinter groups out in the wild, the person could not stop thinking about how otherworldly and strange they looked, with their unusual hair colors and clothing as well as uniform, youthful appearances. We tried so hard to fit in with human society, only to find out we never would.”

“So that’s all it took for your people to not be considered human? That’s awful.”

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“Well, I did tell you, we are not really human. So does it not fit?”

I shake my head. “No. To me, you’re just as human as I am. Calling you anything else would feel weird. No matter what ‘your people’ used to be.”

She blushes a little.

“But then again,” I continue, “They think I’m an elf, too. Guess I lost my human card coming here.”

She giggles. The atmosphere’s gotten a little lighter. That’s good!

This might not be the best time to tell her about my own problems. Telling her right now that I might die in a few months feels incredibly cruel. But so does the fact that I might not actually be here in a few months.

I’m just going to assume I’m going to fix my problem. I have to. I don’t want to die. Not just for my own sake, but for her, too.

I’ll tell her later, on a better time.

“Truthfully, I am surprised how well you seem to be taking this. I expected you to be at least a bit taken aback.”

“Well, you know. I’m not seeing some weird, hostile alien that wants to conquer the world or anything. All I see is a beautiful young woman.”

She’s blushing again! Seems like she’s at a bit of a loss for words, so I’ll just continue.

“And honestly, it’s a lot easier to accept all sorts of things when you’ve just been transported to another world.” A reassuring smile. “As for your people. I mean, I haven’t gotten the feeling they’ve been going around antagonizing people all over the place. What reason would I have to be afraid? Unless you’re hiding some second form I’m not aware of.”

I mean, of course it’s possible her human form isn’t her real form and she’s actually some sort of eldritch monstrosity…

“No,” she exclaims, shaking her head, “We have nothing like that! Based on historical data, the aim was always to look as close to the people living here as possible to not cause alarm if we were seen or captured. What you see is what you get.”

I lean in a little with a mischievous smile. “Is that so?”

She blushes again and averts her eyes from my gaze. “You know what I mean…”

“You know, for someone who keeps alluding to their alien nature, you sure behave a lot like a regular human being.”

“… One thing we found out was that we were not all that different to begin with. Must be because we were from a similar rocky planet with a similar climate originally.”

“I thought the chances of us being similar should’ve been really low?”

“Extremely low, but never zero.”

That’s a good point.

“But I’m guessing our species couldn’t breed or anything?”

Why did I ask that? This isn’t going to lead to anything good!

“No. Not originally. But with centuries of genetic engineering…”

She stops herself there and her face takes a new, even deeper shade of red. Her face distorts from the cutest surprised face I have seen to one of annoyance, maybe even anger.

“Why are you asking me about this?!”

How am I going to recover from this?

 “Genuine curiosity, I swear!”

In one swift motion, she grabs the cover, lies down and hides under it while mumbling something. While I got her mind off things, I ended up pushing too far. I can’t believe I asked something like that. We only met yesterday!

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.”

She pops her head out from under the cover, her face still red. “I think it is time to sleep. It is really late. We can continue our conversation tomorrow.”

“Oh, you’re right.” Lying down, I go under the cover myself. “I’m sorry, Avilia. I went too far.”

“That is fine. You just surprised me with your question.”

“That’s a relief. Still, I'm so sorry, I just blurted out the question without thinking.”

She smiles at me, the redness on her face fading. “I did invite it by talking about our biology. Do not worry, it really is fine.”

I smile back at her. “Good night!”

“Good night.”

… I should at least try to be more tactful.

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