The Grim and the Fairy (Private: Leviathan)

As the candles flickered just outside the dollhouse something small began to stir inside. From where the girl was standing now it would be completely unnoticeable as a small figure, approximately three inches in height, groggily rolled out of a pink bed in the upper right hand corner of the house. As his senses returned to him he slowly began to feel around his general vicinity until his hand finally found what it was looking for. His left hand glided over the cold silver of his prosthetic arm that he had left on the bedside table before he had gone to sleep. As he reattached his silver arm the blurriness began to leave his vision he began to take in the environment around him.

The doll house truly was designed by an expert craftsman with a true passion for their craft as from Nuada's perspective it was almost impossible to tell that he wasn't in a real house. The furniture throughout the bedroom was all decorated with intricate and beautiful designs. Even the bed he had been sleeping on before had covered with what seemed to have been fur blankets. The fairy truly had to marvel out how much effort the builder had put into this masterpiece. If he could enchant the building so that it had electricity and a water system he would never have any reason to leave. Before he could put any more effort into that, however, he had to figure out where he was and why he had just seen the lights flicker outside.

Moving towards the window he looked outside and finally came to realize what a mess of a situation he had gotten himself into. He had originally climbed into the doll house while trying to return to the city after heading home to the forest for a weekend. At the time he had thought it had been a great idea. He'd have a little house to stay in, no travel fees, and he could just sleep the whole journey. Unfortunately it seemed he had made a major miscalculation. He had slept through the journey and had stayed asleep long enough that the house he had taken residence in had been bought. He had no idea who this girl was or even where he was though it did kind of look like a dorm room. Was the girl in front of him just another student at the academy? There was no way of being certain but for now he had to try to think of a plan.

He could try to sneak out of the room but if he somehow got caught he'd get accused of breaking in. He didn't want to startle the girl in fear that she might panic or even worse mistake him for an insect and swat him. Collecting himself he did what seemed like the most logical thing at the time and walked down the stairs towards the front door of the building. As he traveled through the building he took notice of the rest of the great detail that had been put into it as he tried to compose himself before reaching the green door. Than with a small knock and a short pause he opened the door and began to speak.

"Hello there! It seems I had a bit of a mix up when at the store and I ended up here by accident. Sorry for the inconvenience but could you tell me where I am exactly?"

The fairy had a friendly smile spread across his face as he spoke trying to be as non threatening as possible though. He paused for a moment after finishing his sentence before a look of realization rapidly spread across his face.

"Oh! I'm terribly sorry I almost forgot! The name's Nuada. Nuada Tine. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Nuada froze up as he saw the candles flare in the background as his laughter seemed to have greatly upset the girl in front of him. For a moment a flash of fearful realization appeared in his eyes as he came to fully comprehend the danger he was in. While the fairy didn't really know what this girl was it was fairly obvious that her talent gave her some kind of power over fire. The miniature man may have been part phoenix but he wasn't going to take his chances and let himself get roasted alive. So after an awkward laugh and embarrassingly rubbing the back of his head he spoke again.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you in anyway. Sometimes its just hard not to laugh at yourself."

The man let out a sigh of relief as the growing flames precedes to dissipated and Ryse seemed to have calmed down. For now at least it seemed Nuada has managed to save himself from a fiery death and not completely ruined his chanced of making a new friend at the same time. After a moment the fairy's usual gleeful grin returned to his face as the girl began to respond to his earlier statements. While being overly trusting left you vulnerable to being tricked and abused it wasn't necessarily a bad trait. It showed that one had an overabundance of trust/optimism when it came to others and Nuada would never disrespect such a pure ideal. After all it wasn't too far off from his own beliefs and it was also was stopping the authorities from being called on him now.

Oh, I wouldn't say there is anything wrong with being too friendly. I mean that would be like saying someone was too kind or too generous. The only thing you have to remember is that some people aren't like that and given the chance will take advantage of you. As long as you are at least a bit cautious I think you'll be fine."

As always Nuada's optimism seemed to emanate from his very being as if he had complete faith in the world around him even though he knew there was darkness that lived in this world with him. Sure, there were criminals, murderers, demons, and other evil entities that occupied this world but in his heart the fairy believed there was far more good in the world than there was bad. After all everything comes from nature in someway or another and nature was something fairies respected above all else. Before the small man could contemplate the nature of the world any further his ear perked up when the heard the next question Ryse asked and a playful grin spread across his face.

"Well than let me teach you a thing or two. After all who better to teach you about fairies than a fairy himself!"

With that said Nuada would suddenly run towards the edge of the bed and jump off sending himself plummeting to the ground below. If one didn't know any better they could've mistaken it for an attempt on his life at first but mere moments after he entered into the air he suddenly began to grow at an rapid rate. In place of what had once been a three inch tall man now stood a full grown man about five feet and nine inches tall. The dragonfly wings that had been on his back rapidly grew in size as well but in order to avoid knocking anything over he had folded them up behind his back. If the girl looked at the man's face now she would see an smug expression spread across it as if he was a magician that had just pulled off his ultimate trick.

"Along with our wings we fairies are able to control our size so this would be my normal height. I only shrink to that size when it can benefit me in someway, such as hitching a ride in a dollhouse to the city. It's a cool trick isn't it?"

Before Nuada could show off anymore of the tricks he knew the girl's next statement truly caught him off guard. His usual joyful grin was replaced with an expression of pure confusion, almost as if he didn't even comprehend what she had said. Than looking at the girl he spoke with a very confused tone.

"Why wouldn't I be? I mean being a hybrid means I get the best of both worlds right? I bet you won't find any pure breed phoenixes out there being able to shrink to a size where they can live in a doll house. Now if you don't mind me asking what's your species? The little fire trick from earlier makes me want to say something fire related but I'm not sure if that was just a talent or not. Oh and I almost forgot I live in the Vermillion dorms."

"A small party? Hmmm..."

The overexcitement and joy would suddenly drain from the boy's face as he heard Ryse's suggestion. In the place of his glee came an expression of pure contemplation as if he had been completely lost in his own mind. At the same time he had lowered himself into a sitting position with his legs crossed. For a moment, it would looked as if the energetic party boy had spontaneously turned into a sage deep within meditation. Yet the thoughts shooting about beneath the surface weren't those of a wise man at all. No, the thoughts that were going through the fairy's head now were fill of cheer, feasting, drinking, and debauchery. He was trying to wrap his mind around what Ryse meant when she said small party. Put simply, for Nuada the idea of a small party couldn't exist. A party was suppose to be a grandiose event. Something that would carve memories of joy into the mind of everyone that arrived

If Ryse was looking to restrain the phoenix's enthusiasm her effort would be met with vain. Yet the man in front of her still tried to contemplate just how much he would have to give up in order to meet girl's request of a small party. Sure, he wanted it to be a huge event but there really was no point if he wouldn't be able to convince his unwilling partner in crime to go. So after a few more moments of contemplation the fairy quickly jumped back to his feet.

Okay! We'll have a small party! However, if I'm only going to hold a small party for this I'm expecting you to show up to one of my big parties later on. Promise?"

After finishing his sentence he held his hand out towards Ryse. A dead serious expression had spread across his face, a look he had not made this entire time, as he waited for her to shake on their agreement. It would appear as if the boy was treating this promise like it was a formal business agreement. Unfortunately, the entire agreement was unknowingly rigged since it was very likely that Nuada's idea of a small party differed greatly from the girl's concept of it. If Ryse shook his hand than a smile would quickly return to his face though there would be no escaping his parties now. Nuada wasn't one to let someone break a promise so easily. If she didn't shake his hand his face lips would curl down into a frown for a brief moment as he shook off the disappointment. After that his smile would return but too a much lower level of energy than it had been before.

"Your mother, huh? Well its an interesting power and it definitely matches the whole phoenix thing. Matches your personality a bit as well~"