I quickly finish the st remaining stitches and sew buttons on the back of each dress.This time, below the opening in the back, allowing for these ones to be put on from above.By the time they’re complete, Mum has returned and pced her mirror near me on the wooden chest, after cleaning up some of the mess I made cutting fabric.

  Picking up the smaller dress, I hold it up to Nibi, who, of course, immediately seizes it.

  “Nibi, wait just a moment. I need to check it first… Okay, here you go.”

  “Miep!”

  “Now let me quickly look over my own. Wait! Don’t ta-”

  Why did I not wait to give it to her!?As soon as this blue fairy acquired the dress, she immediately unbuttoned her clothes and removed them.Furthermore, since these dresses are designed differently, she’s unable to get the new one on, merely managing to get her wings tangled in the clothing.

  “Ak’ri!”

  And now she’s pitifully begging for help.Though, before I can move to assist her, Mum reaches down and untangles the garment, then aids her in donning it properly.

  “There you are. It looks good on you, Nibi, but next time, you should wait for Aki and get changed privately, even if you are excited from helping to make your own dress. Now, if you walk over to the mirror, you’ll be able to see yourself better.”

  “Oooo, miep?”

  Apparently, Nibi is having trouble wrapping her mind around a reflection that’s not in a wet or frozen surface.She keeps tapping the gss, and then looking around behind the mirror.

  “Erm, Aki?”

  “Yes, Mum?”

  That’s odd.When I turn to answer her, I see that she has a peculiar look on her face.One I have seen before, but so rarely that I can’t recall the st time that I did.She seems…hesitant to talk to me.But Mum never has trouble telling me what she wants, so why does she seem uncomfortable speaking to me now?

  “I couldn’t help but notice with Nibi, but, um, are you the same as her? Physically, I mean. Well, not exactly the same, obviously, but, you know, erm, how do I say this…she’s entirely smooth?”

  Ack!Really, Mum!?Yeah, sure, I suppose some details would be hard to miss with Nibi like that, but I was hoping to have a little more time before I had to speak about it, although my family would’ve found out eventually.This time, I can identify the feeling as my energy shifts and my wings become speckled, but a gnce at Mum’s face tells me that I’m not alone in my embarrassment, at least.

  “Y-yes, Mum. I-I think fairies only wear clothing because they enjoy the way it looks. I don’t get cold anymore, and there’s, uhm, honestly, n-nothing to hide... Heh, sorry Mum, I think you’ll be waiting a bit longer for grandchildren.”

  “Aki… So then, are you simply young again, or do all fairies stay as, eh, childlike, as you two?”

  “Mum! I’m not a kid!”

  “But I don’t really know a better way to say it, dear! Except for your face, well, you know how you appear.”

  *Sigh*At least I still have my adult visage.

  “Yeah, sure, my form is most likely permanently that of a twelve year old. Although I’m not completely certain, every fairy that I’ve seen has been this way. There wasn’t a single mature looking fairy in the gde, and they often act like children too. Such as when they explode people for fun!”

  “Right… Well, um, here, let me open this drawer a crack and you can change into your new dress inside. It should do for a makeshift dressing room.”

  Extremely gd that Mum is finished speaking about that subject, I take my new dress, drop down inside the drawer, and quickly change into the nightgown.Then, I hop back up and join Nibi in front of the mirror.

  “You girls both look cute in those. Well done, Aki.”

  “Thanks Mum. They’re a little rushed, and the stitches aren’t as precise as I would like them to be, but I suppose it will do to sleep in.”

  When I turn to look at the back of this dress, my wings obviously come into view.On the st occasion that I found myself in front of this mirror, other matters took priority, but now I’m curious.

  Alternately spreading and closing my wings, I find a way to position them where I can get an excellent view in the mirror.Thus I’m able to see that immediately before my wings join my body, they become a pitch bck color.Consequently, starting from directly below my shoulder bdes and running down to the small of my back, two narrow strips of bck merge these colorful limbs into my fair skin, shortly on either side of, what at least seems to be, my backbone.Hmmph, no wonder I couldn’t pull them off when I foolishly attempted to do so.

  After examining my wings, another question presents itself.Nibi is standing by my side, but currently, there is no glow or light coming from her.During my time in the fairy gde, there were fairies shining in all different colors, and I’ve observed Nibi glow at certain times.So why isn’t she shining now?And for that matter, why do I never see myself glow?Sinora said she saw magical lights, so there must be times that I shine as well.

  “Mum, do you see any light coming from me? Am I shining a certain color like Nibi occasionally radiates blue?”

  “Not at the moment, dear. Why do you ask?”

  “Because I’ve seen many different fairies glow, as well as Nibi, but I’ve yet to see any light from myself.”

  “But you were glowing just this morning when you used magic and again immediately after I returned home. I noted it down during your practice but assumed that you already knew about it, as the light when you’re using magic is fairly intense. Did you not see it then?”

  “Well, when I gather magic in an orb, it shines a little, but that isn’t from me.”

  “You genuinely didn’t see the gold light around you when you brightened the gde?”

  “A little from the magic I used, but not directly around myself.”

  “Hmm, that is quite interesting. I didn’t realize that was the case, or I would’ve spoken about it earlier. Could you, carefully, use a little magic? I would like to determine something.”

  “Yeah, sure Mum.”

  Copying what I did for Emira yesterday, I create a small gust of wind that lightly blows around the room.Mum immediately speaks.

  “And there’s your light. You’re emitting a cyan glow all around yourself. From a distance, it’s honestly a little difficult to see you properly at the moment, as it blurs your form and obscures you inside. Can you truly not see it?”

  Quickly, I run my gaze over my wings, across my body, and at my reflection in the mirror, but I don’t spot anything that I haven’t before.

  “No, Mum. I can’t see it in the slightest. My guess is that these strange eyes won’t let me see my own light.”

  “Well, then I suppose I should discuss this with you as well. You should know that every time I saw you use magic or absorb essence this morning, you began shining the matching color. Also, it seems to persist for a time. For example, when you fell down after practicing your magic, you continued to glow for quite a while before it faded. Even now, your light is still shining though you aren’t currently using any magic that I can see.”

  “It sts for a bit? Then I suppose I’ll have to be careful whenever I use magic around people. If I’m brightly glowing when I try to hide, I doubt it will go well for me. Hopefully, I’ll remember, but if I can’t see it myself, I’m rather worried I’ll forget about it.”

  “Maybe you could practice hiding from Talia? You know, py a game of tag with her and try to stay hidden? At any rate, I believe I’ve noticed another aspect reted to your light. Tell me, Aki, have you ever used your magic at night?”

  She can’t actually know about “that”, right?Nah, it’s impossible.

  “Urm. N-not since I returned home. W-why do you ask?”

  “Because both nights since you returned, I awoke several times and checked to see if you were in your room. Every time I did, you and Nibi were glowing, albeit only quite dimly. Though on one occasion, Nibi was substantially brighter.”

  Phew.Yeah, sure, there was no way for her to know about the moonlight.I’m just being paranoid.

  “I’m quite certain I was asleep, Mum.”

  “Then there must be another reason for it. Mayb-”

  “Dinner’s ready!”

  Well, any further discussion will have to wait.Talia’s calling for us.

  Once at the table, I see she set out small ptes for me and Nibi.On them are pieces of bread that were cut into manageable sizes and topped with a golden white spread.Oh, please tell me that is what I think it is!After everyone is ready, I excitedly grab a piece and take a bite.Delicious!

  “Talia, this is absolutely amazing! Thank you!”

  “Hehe, you're welcome, Akari. We didn’t have much honey left, so I mixed it with our butter.”

  At least I managed to put a smile on her face, if only for a moment.And I truly wasn’t exaggerating either, this honey butter is pure bliss.But I can tell she’s still down about something.She almost never calls me by this terrible name of mine.

  So we continue our meal, with most of the conversation only being between me and Mum.Thankfully, not too much time passes before Talia decides to speak up on her own.

  “Akari, Mum, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at Sinora like that. Now she’ll certainly be looking for anything suspicious here.”

  “It’s not really your fault, sis. Did Mum tell you her thoughts about that gold dust?”

  She nods her head.

  “Well, you saw how I acted back in the gde, and that wasn’t even the first time for me. Trust me, I did some incredibly stupid things when I first touched magic.”

  Mum raises an eyebrow at that, but no, I’m not going to eborate!

  “So I don’t bme you for not being able to aly her suspicions.”

  “But still, it doesn’t change the fact that she’ll be looking for you now because of what I did!”

  “She was already looking for me, sis, that’s why she was here. Honestly, you haven’t made anything worse than it already was.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, sure. You know how she is. Once she gets it into her head that she’s right, everyone else has to agree with her.”

  “But,”

  “And come to think of it, Sinora apparently considers me a ghost now, so she shouldn’t consider your actions too strange for the situation. In fact, she may have thought it more unusual if you hadn’t yelled at her.”

  Sinora probably believes I was mauled by a forest creature or monster, and since she was responsible for that awful morning’s events that led to me going into the woods, likely thinks she pyed a part in killing me.Not that she seems to be broken up about it.But that is a thought for ter.Right now, Talia deserves my attention.

  “Oh…I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “Neither did I till just now. What you said simply means I’ll have to devise a pn to deal with her sooner rather than ter, that’s all. But you know, it would be much easier if I had a conniving little sister who would help me. Don’t suppose you happen to know where I could find one?”

  “Heh…well, there’s a blue one your size who keeps following you around, Big sis.”

  “Talia!”

  “Pfft, hehe. Of course I’ll help. Only, don’t come near me with that awful dust ever again. It was quite pleasant for a while, but after that, yick. Everything was terrible!”

  “Sorry about that, sis. From now on, I’ll do my best to keep it far away from you.”

  After that, I inform Talia about everything that happened between Sinora and Emira, and mine and Nibi’s involvement.Excluding the details of Emira pying with me, of course.Although Sinora had mentioned our antics, hearing it again from me while not being magically influenced must have allowed Talia to think of it in a different light, because she bursts out ughing.We then pass the remainder of dinner with mostly idle conversation, and after cleaning everything up, pull out a game to py together.Nibi again joins in, but loses to Talia once more, although the match is considerably closer.Considering she has only pyed it once before, Nibi appears to be learning incredibly quickly.We don’t have much time to py though, as before long, it is time for bed.Yet, Talia asks me a question as I’m preparing to enter my room.

  “Sis, can I sleep in your bed tonight?”

  “I don’t think you’ll fit, Talia.”

  “Not that one, silly. The one you’re not using.”

  I suppose she doesn’t want to sleep in her room alone tonight.Not that I can bme her.

  “Yeah, sure. I don’t mind.”

  “Thanks, sis.”

  We then both enter my room with Nibi following behind me as usual.Upon reaching my new bed, I notice Nibi’s bed is still situated right beside it.So I pull it a short distance away.

  “Miep!”

  Which she promptly compins about.

  “Nibi, you were in my bed again this morning, so tonight I want you to sleep in your own bed. And this time, stay out of mine. Could you promise me you’ll leave me be for one night?”

  “No!”

  Of all the different words, why did she have to learn how to speak that one so soon!?

  “Please, Nibi?”

  “No, no, no!”

  Uh oh.There’s a puddle forming under her feet.The st thing I want to worry about is a magical tantrum.

  “Fine! Just, calm down. I won’t ask again tonight.”

  “Miep!”

  As her smile returns the water vanishes.Then another voice chimes in.

  “Hehe, you gave up so easily with her.”

  “Yeah, sure Talia. But unlike another certain individual who kept climbing into my bed, she may drench my entire room if I press her too hard. And speaking of which, you also seem to be in my bed right now. Maybe I should change my mind…”

  “Eep! No, I’ll be quiet.”

  With that, she hides under the bnket of the rge bed she’s in.

  “Now, Nibi, I said I wouldn’t ask again tonight, but tomorrow, I want you to let me sleep alone in my bed. Okay?”

  “…miep.”

  She nods, and then pushes the beds back together again before climbing into her own, though I’m certain she won’t stay there.I’ll have to be sure to speak with her again tomorrow, but for now, it’s time to sleep.

  “Hehe, you two really do seem like tiny colored ghosts when it’s this dark.”

  “Uh-huh. Goodnight, Talia”

  “Goodnight, sis.”

  “Miep?”

  “You too, Nibi.”

  “Miep!”