Kara entered a beautiful room that was similar to a greenhouse. Vines nearly hit her in the face as she came in. Exotic flowers were all around her, growing from the floor, the walls, the ceiling. Sweet aromas were in the air, and it was warm inside. The walls were brown bark, and the lights, shaped like downward facing daffodils, glowed a faint golden on the ceiling. In the far center of the room was a fairy girl with long, pale silver hair and black glasses. She was in some sort of yoga position, with her hands held at her sides. She seemed to be meditating. That has to be Sylvan, Kara thought. As they stepped closer, she examined the new fairy's clothes. They were modern looking, but still made of natural material like Reena's dress. She wore navy pants and a white shirt made of some sort of sparkling material that was almost blinding to look at. Her shoes were black sandals with blue jewels adorning their tops. Her eyes were closed, and her wings hung down at her sides, as if she were relaxing them. The fairy seemed to glow with magic, and this made Kara a little scared. When they each had approached her, her eyes opened. They were a brilliant cobalt blue, but they were tinged with a pale green and gold as well. She smiled, her wings perking up as she stood and walked towards them. "Hello, Reena, Sunny, and Rowan. I haven't seen you three in quite some time. How are you all?" "Good," they said back. "Sylvan," Reena began. "We have a Flightless with us today. We need you to study her and tell us if she really is what she says she is." Sylvan's eyes widened. "A Flightless? Why, this is quite a surprise. I haven't seen any Flightless for a long time. I've nearly forgotten what they look like." She flew over to Kara, examining her face. She touched her hair, pinched her cheeks, and looked at her facial features. Kara wanted to push her away, but was afraid that if she did, the fairy would use magic on her. The fairy stepped back, looking afraid and almost angry. "She's a human, but she looks just like...just like-" The girl shook her head and tightened her hands into fists. "Oh, never mind. She is a Flightless, but there's something about her that I've never seen in any human before." "What?" Sunny asked. "A quality. You've managed to bring her here unharmed. Any other Flightless would have been attacked by one of our realms' creatures that think of humans as a delicacy." Sylvan had been pacing as she explained this to them. Kara didn't like being talked about like this, but she didn't object. "So, she's not a Flightless?" Reena wondered aloud. "She is, but she's also something else. A fairy, perhaps?" "No!" Rowan shouted. "Sylvan, that's crazy! There hasn't been an existing Hybrid in over a century!" Sylvan had a curious look on her face, a mix between happiness and intrigue. "Perhaps she will be the one to bring them back." Sunny stepped forward. Her blue eyes displayed her shock. "Are you sure?" "Yes. I can sense the magic inside of her." Sylvan fished through one of her pant leg pockets. She found what she was looking for and pulled it out. The items were a little knife and a vial that was small too. Mostly to herself, the fairy murmured, "Do you think she'd mind if I took a little blood sample?" "No! Don't touch me!" Kara shrieked. When the fairies stopped talking and just started at her, Kara's face burned from embarrassment. She hadn't wanted to yell that loud. Sylvan froze, then put away what she had been holding. "Okay, okay, I won't do that. It's good that you can speak. I met a Hybrid once that couldn't-well, didn't like to, at least. What's your name then, girl?" "I'm Kara. You're Sylvan, right?" "Yes." Sylvan looked annoyed. "Reena, why did you bring this girl here? She's in so much danger because of what she is." Reena was flustered. "I didn't bring her here! She came on her own!" Sylvan narrowed her eyes. "So you say." She glanced at Kara. "Is this true, Hybrid girl?" Kara nodded, but then frowned. "Yes, but I'm not a Hybrid!" Reena smirked. "Kara, if Sylvan says that you're a Hybrid, then that's what you are." Sylvan looked at Kara questioningly. "If you came here without Reena's help, then how did you do it?" "I made a portal." "A portal? Really?" Kara nodded again. All these confused looks she was getting were starting to get on her nerves. "Yes. Why is that so weird?" Sylvan had a deathly serious expression on her face. "No Flightless has ever created a portal on their own without a fairy's help or some magic skill of their own. You must be a Hybrid if you made your own portal." Sylvan straightened her glasses. "Did you come here with anyone?" "Only my, um...friend, Foster. He's completely normal, as far as I know." Kara was not comfortable with telling the strange fairies that she'd just met that she was dating someone, so she only said "friend". "Hmm...yes, that explains some things. If your friend is a Flightless, which I assume he is, he would've been separated from you. Portals don't work very well for humans. That's why you came here alone." Kara sighed. "I guess that's why. Wait. If Foster was separated from me, then where is he now?" Sylvan shrugged. "I don't know. He could be anywhere in the fairy world, what with the way portals work." "We have to find him!" Kara cried. "He could be in trouble!" Sylvan's cobalt eyes flashed. "Yes, of course. What does your friend look like?" Kara looked thoughtful. "Well, he has dark brown hair, blue eyes, and glasses. He's wearing a blue shirt. Does that help?" Sylvan nodded. "Yes. Sunny and Rowan, go search as much of the forest as you can from the air. If you see Kara's friend, bring him here."

Sunny and Rowan nodded, then flew off, their wings fluttering. Kara caught a glimpse of Rowan rolling her eyes as she zipped away. Sylvan rubbed her hands together. "Well. Now that that mess is being sorted out, I'll go brew some tea for the three of us. Reena, stay put." Reena had been about to leave, but Sylvan's words made her crossly fall back into a moss covered chair.

Kara sat back in her spot, a couch with soft leaves layered across it. She hadn't realized how tired she was until now. Yawning, she looked over at Reena and decided to make conversation. "Hi," she said. "Hi," muttered Reena. "What's wrong?" Kara asked. "Nothing. I just...wish that I didn't have to come to Sylvan for help. I wanted to deal with you myself-Rowan even suggested it-but I don't know the first thing about humans. I only know that they're powerless and think that our kind doesn't exist."She smiled. "Now that you're here, I imagine you believe in us now." "Yep. I have a few questions, though." Reena laughed. "Typical. Okay, shoot." "Why are you all human sized? I thought that fairies were tiny."

"There are different kinds of fairies. Pixies and such are little. They're probably what you were thinking of." Kara nodded in understanding. "Alright. Why do you follow Sylvan's orders? Is she your boss or something?" Reena scowled. The mere name of that fairy had caused her entire demeanor to change. "In a sense, yes. She's not royalty or anything, but since she was born with stronger powers than most fairies, she's certainly treated like it. She's not self centered, but is too smart for her own good. She despises me, but is fond of my parents. I guess I can be tolerated." "Oh. One last question." Reena smirked. "Okay, but only one more." "Why do you fairies have rounded ears, like I do? Aren't you supposed to have pointy ones?" Reena looked distant. "Well, a long time ago, we did have pointy ears, but back in what you Flightless call the medieval times, a fairy led a human into this realm. The two fell in love, and produced the first Hybrid ever. Hybrids have long since ceased to exist, but the rounded ears somehow still appeared in our gene pool, I guess." Reena eyed Kara suddenly with a sort of intensity. "Are you-" The sound of approaching footsteps caused Reena to fall silent. Sylvan appeared in the room, three steaming mugs of tea on a tray that she was carrying. "Hello again," she said. "Here you go." She handed the first mug to Kara, then gave one to Reena. She grabbed the last one and blew away the steam, stirring a wooden spoon around inside of it as she sat down on a sofa. She placed the china tray on a nearby table. "Now then," Sylvan said. "I'll tell you a little bit about fairies. Every fairy harnesses their inner power in a different way. I draw energy from sunlight." "Like a potted plant," Reena retorted. Sylvan glared at her. "Fine. Reena, if you so desperately wish to speak, then go ahead. Tell Kara about your power." Reena sighed. Sipping her tea, she talked again. "Okay. I really don't like sunlight. Darkness is more my thing. I fly at night and draw my energy from the moon. Because of that, I can stay awake for a while." "Cool." Kara was fascinated. A knocking sound resonated through the room, startling everyone. "I'll get the door," Reena told them, looking very eager to get away from Sylvan. She stood up and went to a mossy section of the bark wall, grabbing at the doorknob that Kara hadn't seen on her way in. The door opened, and Rowan stood behind it. "He's nowhere to be found," she stated, coming inside. "Sorry, Kara. If he was here at one point, he isn't anymore. Your friend's as good as dead." "Rowan!" Sylvan snapped. "Don't say that! If he came through the portal with her, then he's still here somewhere." Rowan muttered something under her breath, entering the house and flying into a different room. Sylvan poked her head outside. Kara went to the door, going to see if Sunny was back yet. Reena followed suit. There was a flash of light in the sky, so bright that it hurt to look at it. It went out and flashed again. "Ugh, what is that?" Kara cried. "It's blinding!" Reena snickered. "That's just Sunny. She glows when she's scared like a psycho firefly! Why else do you think we call her that?" "Scared?" Kara repeated. "Why would she be-" There was a deafening screech that was louder than anything Kara had ever heard before, and the ground trembled like the earth was splitting in two. Sunny appeared at the door, her eyes wild with terror. She still gleamed like the sun. "Let me in!" she wailed. "There's a monster out there, and it's wrecking everything! It's like a bird but bigger, with huge wings and a long tail!" "A griffin," Sylvan gasped. "Come on, everyone inside now! Everyone get inside!" Sunny hurtled in and slammed the door, cowering behind Sylvan a moment later. A vast head came into view. It was a tawny brown color with one golden eye and one blue one. Its feathers were disheveled, and it had massive wings that nearly toppled the trees they hit. It shrieked, its curved beak opening and closing as its monstrous wings propelled it forward. Sylvan shouted something, her hands glowing with silver light as she held them out in front of her. "Kata katei!" Kara looked at the griffin from a window. A sort of invisible barrier must've formed, because no matter what the creature did, it was thrown backwards when it tried to attack the house. It howled and flew off, still screeching loudly. Everyone was breathing hard. Kara's heart hammered in her chest. Sunny looked like she might faint. Reena's eyes were wide, and Sylvan's hair stuck up in strange places all over the top of her head. "You didn't tell me you had giant griffins here!" Kara shouted. "That's because we don't," Rowan snapped. "Griffins live in our realm, but not around here." "It's true," Sylvan responded. "Perhaps the Vineheart witches are up to their old tricks again." "Witches?" Kara exclaimed. "What do you mean, witches?" "We have witches around these parts," Reena told her. "They're vicious, nasty old hags that live in the Vineheart forest here. They capture fairies or humans to cast spells on. Some spells can't be undone, and that's what's brought some of our more terrible creatures here." "But griffins are known to live a long while away from here," Sylvan explained. "They're native to this region, but not this particular spot." Kara stared out of the window in disbelief, looking at all the destruction the griffin had caused. "That was a fairy?" "Or a human, they're not too picky," Sunny pointed out. "Actually, they like to cast spells on humans more for some reason." "It's because they're whiny," Rowan retorted. "They cry and yell, and witches love misery, so they capture Flightless to hear that." "Oh, please, you're acting like you wouldn't scream if a witch were turning you into some monster," Reena angrily said. "You would." Rowan crossed her arms. "I would not. Fairies go with dignity." To end the argument, Sunny spoke up. "That griffin was way too big to just be a wild one. That has to be a magically created creature." "How are we going to fight it?" Rowan asked. "We can't fight it!" Kara cried. "That could be Foster!" Sylvan sighed. "She's right. I'll just have to create a reversal spell that would turn him, or whoever that is, back to normal. For now, I want all of you to go to bed here. It's getting late." "We have our own houses, Sylvan," Reena snapped. Sylvan put her hands on her hips. "Oh, for goodness sake. It's only for tonight, Reena. You can stand me for that long." There were some protests from her, but they were quickly waved away. "Kara, you can sleep in the guest room here." "Where is it?" Kara asked. "Down that hallway to the left." Sylvan pointed in the right direction, and she quickly found it, collapsing into a bed that was so soft, she fell asleep in it almost immediately.

The witches cursed and yelled at each other. They had watched the entire assault on the powerful fairy's home through a mirror that they had cast a spell on. "He was supposed to destroy them," Matilda hissed. "That human was supposed to smash the house to bits and kill everyone inside, especially Sylvan! But they're still alive because of her lousy magic!" "Hurricane will be so angry!" Hagia wailed. Rhonda crossed her arms. "If we'd just become allies with different demise beasts like I'd suggested, we wouldn't be having these problems now. The others don't have suchvhuge prices if their clients mess up." There was a thump and a whooshing sound as trees nearby went up in smoke. Terrified, the witches threw an abandoned concoction over the trees to put out their smoldering branches. The forest fire went out, but fire spread over the ground to form a trail. A figure wearing all black appeared. He had dark cerulean hair, yellow eyes, abd curved horns. His skin was pale, but scales ringed his arms, poking up from them. His ears were pointed upwards like an animal's. "Matilda, Hagia, and Rhonda," he said, his voice trailing off in a rattling hiss. "I assume you've done what I asked?" "We tr-tried to, Master Hurricane," Matilda stammered. "But there were complications. The filthy things fought back. It's not our fault that they wanted to live." "You've failed me?" "Y-yes, but we are prepared to try again," Hagia told him, trembling. "We've made a potion that can change what we look like, so that we can infiltrate our enemies' home." "There are no second chances," he growled. "There are no other plans. You will be killed for your stupidity." Hurricane's hand shot up, and he snapped his fingers. Hagia's body caught fire, and she blackened and withered away, screaming and screaming. Rhonda ran, racing away. Matilda tried to run too, but Hurricane snapped again and her neck snapped as well. Her body crumbled to the ground. Hurricane didn't notice Rhonda's absence and left in a puff of flames.