THE MOMENT
"Well...," Flutter smiled and shook her head. "I meant questions about the school. But, since I'm your coach, I guess that counts," she said. Mason looked up at the imposing woman from the other side of her desk. They sat in her office after Flutter helped him create his AlterNet character, and showed him some basics.
It was Tuesday; only Mason's second day at the school. But he was amazed at how much his life had changed since Sunday. Late Saturday night he ran away from home and found a pair of talking cats. They spent the day explaining his Earth was just one of an infinite number, and took him to visit several Earths. Then, they sent him to a school where everyone was as Unique as he was.
He kept to himself and tried to get a feel for things the day before. But, now he felt ready to participate and sought out Coach Flutter; all the gossip he'd heard pointed to her being the nicest teacher on campus. Of course, the gossip also mentioned plenty about her background.
When Mason met the almost 9-foot-tall woman, he had trouble believing she was as nice and friendly as everyone said. She was twice his size, and pale with flaming red hair. Her legs were as thick as trunks and her arms looked like she could break him in half absent-mindedly. But, as she showed him around, her smile never faded. She answered all his questions without losing patience. However, no matter how he looked at her, he saw no evidence of her fairy blood.
"My dad was a fairy," Flutter said. "He met my mom while using magic to disguise himself as a human; but, there was no daring adventure. They dated for a while, and he had to come clean when my mom got pregnant with me." Flutter leaned forward slightly, and Mason watched as two sets of broad, clear, veiny insect wings grew out of her back. Mason's eyes went wide.
"Whoooaaa...," he said. "Can you fly?" Flutter nodded as the wings retracted into her back again. "Can you shrink into a fairy?" he asked.
"Nope," Flutter shook her head. "Thanks to the magic my parents were using when I was conceived, I'm pretty much stuck in human form, with some bonuses," she shrugged.
"ParentS?" Mason stressed the plural. "I heard you were half fae; was your mom a witch or something? Why did she use magic?" Flutter tilted her slightly and smirked.
"You might have heard wrong, or whoever you heard it from might have things mixed up a little bit," she said. "All fairies are 'fae'; but, not all fae are fairies. It covers things like vampires, werewolves, unicorns, and my mother."
"She wasn't human, and she wasn't a fairy, but she was fae?" Mason asked. Flutter nodded.
"I'm half fairy, but all fae. My father was a fairy...," Flutter said. Then, her porcelain skin darkened. It changed from a smooth pale surface to layered, jagged golden scales. "...and my mother was a dragon."