THE MOMENT
"Oh, so you know magic?" Victoria asked. She met a stranger for coffee, and he'd been pleasant enough to chat with. She and the bearded man named Kevin were sitting in a coffee shop with a decent number of customers surrounding them. Victoria wasn't from the area, but she couldn't help but notice a few of the patrons weren't quite human, exactly. Kevin was talkative, and she'd gotten a surprising amount of information from him with less effort than usual.
"No, I wouldn't go that far," Kevin chuckled and shook his head. "I'm starting to learn it, but so far, the most I can do is sense my Mana. It's a thing I wish I'd picked up when I was younger, but I had no idea I was capable until I got a genealogy report. Even my parents didn't know; it seems like my grandparents had some secrets," he said. "If I'd gotten pointy ears, I might've been clued in, but oh well," he shrugged. "But I think I've gone on long enough about myself. Tell me about you, Victoria; what do you do?"
"I've got one more question for you, and depending on your answer, you might get to see what I do," she said. "I'm curious about what you just said, and I've noticed a few non-humans in here. It sounds like you've got elves in your ancestry, and you're telling a complete stranger. So, that's normal here? People have elven, fairy, whatever lineage, and the world's just fine with that?" That was an acutely odd question, and Kevin wasn't sure what to make of it. He decided to start by answering it first, then maybe seeing how she got to that question in the first place.
"While, yes, most people have at least some mixed blood, it's usually diluted to near nothing. So it's actually quite rare to manifest any visible traits unless your parents or grandparents are the source," he answered. "You said you were from out of town... but where are you from that you don't know how the world works?" he asked with a playful smile. He wasn't accusing her of anything, but he was curious.
"A different world," Victoria smiled. "I'm from an alternate Earth. I work for a company named Sharp Development, and my job is to visit different Earths and learn about them to see if they're ready to join our multiversal trade network. Your Earth is a great find," she added. Kevin stared into her purple eyes for a second, then nodded.
"I believe you, but I'd also really like to see some proof," he said. It wasn't the confession that convinced him, but it tied together a lot of tiny details he'd noticed throughout their conversation. She asked odd questions that should've been common knowledge. It could've been a carefully planned long con, but he doubted that. And, he believed her on the basis that he was willing to be disappointed. If she started to get cagey about showing him proof, it'd be easy to dismiss her after that. As it was, alternate universe or not, he'd cleanly gotten the sense that it was just a one-time meeting. They shared a pleasant conversation, but he felt no romantic chemistry, and she didn't hint at any either.
"And you will," she nodded. "Sharp Development will be ready to start the first phase of the rollout in a couple of weeks, depending on your world governments," she smiled as she stood up with an eye toward the door.
"What? Why? Because of our ancestors?" he asked.
"Kind of, but not exactly," Victoria shook her head as she put her hands in the pockets of her white leather duster. "It's more of a mental thing for this Earth's population." She made a general gesture at the cafe without pointing anyone out. "There are non-humans in here. To join the multiverse, you need to be really accepting of different kinds of people." Then, she pulled one hand out of her pocket and reached forward to offer him something. He didn't see the clear glass card in her hand until it caught the light.
"You've been super nice, though, so you don't have to wait that long. Just do the tutorial on this node, and you'll be able to travel the multiverse freely. Take care, Kevin," she waved with a smile and walked away.
"Thanks...," he waved idly in her direction while his eyes were already focused on the sharp red text on the clear node.