A Rocky Start
Nicholas stared out of the window of the moving train, watching as the gloomy sky that he’d lived under for most of his uneventful life gave way to the clearest blue he’d ever seen.
This wasn’t a vacation. Nicholas had never gotten a vacation. No, this was just another job.
Days ago, he’d been called into an unplanned meeting and forced to take on a secret assignment. He’d stood in front of his bosses—carefully avoiding Legato’s glare and Chapel’s assessing gaze—and listened as they pretended he had a choice in the matter.
“Saverem is a dangerous individual,” Chapel had said. “But he’s unlikely to overtly threaten you in any way. When we informed him of this inspection, he made no attempts to avoid or disrupt us, though you must understand, Nicholas, that it is imperative that you ensure he isn’t teaching the children anything…improper.”
“I understand,” Nicholas had responded at the time. “I won’t disappoint.”
“Of that, I have no doubts.”
And with nothing more to say, he had been dismissed.
Nicholas had gone back to his cookie-cutter suburban house, watered the few sickly flowers that the homeowner's association had allowed him to plant, wrestled his small, black cat into her travel carrier, and packed his bags. Now, several hours into his train ride, he was finally coming upon his destination: a small island, somewhat condescendingly named Home.
He stroked the outside of Kuro’s cat carrier as the operator brought them to a stop. “Here we go,” he whispered, standing from his seat and moving to the exit.
When he stepped onto the platform, Nicholas closed his eyes and took a second to breathe in the air. It was fresh, slightly salty and free of the pollution he’d gotten used to over the years. Before his long-suppressed childhood nostalgia could rise to the surface, he exhaled, turning to look around for a map or a payphone. He was unable to find anything, however, as he came face to face with an angry woman. She was impatiently tapping her foot as large, iridescent wings trailed behind her.
“Took you long enough,” she grumbled, rolling her eyes and standing to her full height, which honestly wasn’t much.
“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid you have the wrong person,” Nicholas said, grabbing his bags and turning to leave.
The woman sighed. “You’re Nicholas D. Wolfwood, a case worker for the Eye of Michael, formerly known as the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, and you’re an hour late.”
Nicholas looked at the woman, searching her face for anything that could clue him in to her identity. She wasn’t in any of the documents he’d been given to prepare himself for this assignment. “My apologies, Miss…”
“Meryl Stryfe. I’m the sprite to whom this island belongs. I’ll be guiding you to the orphanage you’re meant to be inspecting.” She spat the last word out as though its taste had personally offended her. “Follow me.”
An island sprite. Nicholas’ files hadn’t mentioned anyone fitting her description.
She must be undocumented.
Nicholas was hesitant but followed her anyway.
She didn’t so much as look at him the entirety of the walk and Nicholas wasn’t all that tempted to make small talk. They came upon a small boat, a sign on the port advertising it as a ferry and were greeted (though greeted may be too strong of a word) by an older man who was sitting on the edge, carelessly drinking out of a flask.
“Roberto,” Meryl called, irritation clearly conveyed in her tone. “He needs to get to the orphanage.”
The man, Roberto, let out a large belch and squinted in Nicholas’ direction. “You got the money for it?”
Meryl threw a coin pouch at the man’s feet. He grabbed it with a swiftness that Nicholas wouldn’t have expected from a man publicly day-drinking near a large body of water and said, “Get on, kid.”
Nicholas turned his head to comment on the potential safety hazard of Meryl’s chosen mode of transportation but found that the sprite had already vanished. He sighed, picked up his bags, and made his way onto the boat, praying that Roberto wasn’t too drunk to navigate properly.
The ride was short, and the men were quiet, which only made Nicholas more nervous. Roberto kept sneaking curious glances in his direction, but the only thing he said was a quick “good luck” as Nicholas disembarked before disappearing almost as fast as Meryl had.
Under any other circumstance, Nicholas would have called the island beautiful, filled with flora he’d only ever seen on postcards and in travel commercials, but with his assignment weighing on his mind, every sturdy tree or drifting bee felt like a threat.
He stood, wavering in his decision to accept this job, until a movement caught his attention. Nicholas looked down, meeting the bright green eyes of his tiny black blob of a cat, who had somehow managed to escape her carrier. She gave him a small hiss, then took off, running deeper into the island.
“Damned cat,” Nicholas grumbled, loosening the buttons on his suit and jogging in the direction she’d run off to. She always did know how to get him into the worst situations imaginable.
He stumbled along, calling out for Kuro as he went, and he couldn’t help but notice how different everything was from his life in the city. There was no honking or smog or office jobs, just open nature surrounding him. It reminded him of his childhood at Hopeland, wandering around with Livio all day until Miss Melanie called them in for dinner. That was before Livio’s incident, before the segregation order came down.
Nicholas shook his head and continued on, fighting through a cloud of insects. It was summer after all, so it only made sense that the bugs would be more plentiful out on an island like this. Nicholas only wished they hadn’t decided to crowd around him. Swatting away as many as he could, he was eventually forced to close his eyes against the swarm.
A tiny voice came from his left, closer than it should’ve been. “They don’t like it when you do that.”
Nicholas’ eyes flew open, flicking over to the child who had appeared by his side. They were slightly unsettling, staring at him with unblinking eyes and a wide grin, sporting a messy head of white hair adorned with a string of beads that ended in an insect wing. He remembered the description of this child from his files.
“Zazie: Highly likely to cause trouble if given the opportunity. Age: 10, Species: Unknown.”
It was just Nicholas’ luck, running into the only child on this island who he was specifically warned liked to cause trouble. Still, he put on his kindest smile and decided to engage with them. He knew that kids were more than their files, though most of the Eye would be inclined to disagree.
“Hello,” Nicholas greeted. “Who do you mean?”
“The bugs,” Zazie said as though it should’ve been obvious. “They don’t like being swatted at. Makes them wanna attack.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want that, now would I?” Nicholas glanced over at the insect cloud, then back at the child. “How ‘bout we make a deal? I’ll stop swattin’ at the bugs if you help me find my cat. I’m not all that familiar with this island and my guide kinda left me high and dry. What do you say?”
Zazie thought for a moment, grin widening as they stared. “Or I could let the bugs deal with you and take your cat for myself.”
Nicholas nodded solemnly. “That’s always an option.”
Zazie’s smile faltered. They seemed disappointed, like they had expected Nicholas to cower in fear at their threat. Maybe they were used to that response, but Nicholas wasn’t new. He had heard worse over the years.
“Fine,” they sighed, grabbing Nicholas’ hand with their tiny one and pulling him along. “Vash wouldn’t be happy if I let a government inspector die before he got to meet them anyway.”
“I appreciate your concern.”
“Where’d the cat go?” Zazie asked. Nicholas pointed to his right. “Hm. Probably went to go see Kaite. Animals love him.”
And so, Nicholas resigned himself to being guided through the mysterious island by an ominous 10-year-old and followed by an ever-present cloud of bugs, all because his cat couldn’t wait a few more minutes. As Nicholas was eyeing the insects, making sure they kept a safe distance from him, Zazie called out excitedly.
“There he is!” they shouted. “Kaite! Lina! The inspector guy is here and he’s missing a cat!”
In front of them was a young girl in an oversized button down and old jeans covered in dirt and grass spots. She had short, chestnut hair and a brilliant pair of wings, though much smaller than the ones Meryl had.
“Lina: Unusually powerful for a child. Take precaution. Age: 12, Species: Forest Sprite.”
When they slowed to a stop, Nicholas noticed a small animal cradled in her arms.
“Kuro?” he called, taking a step forward, but freezing as she flinched backwards. She quickly put on a façade of confidence, setting the animal—a furry, puppy-like creature with a glowing red patch on his forehead and not his tiny black cat—down and glaring at Nicholas.
“This is the guy?” she scoffed, looking him up and down.
“I would be the guy,” Nicholas said, offering her a hand to shake. “Nicholas D. Wolfwood at your service.”
She made no move to accept his hand, huffing and turning her head away. Before Nicholas could say much else, the animal at her side began to move. One moment, there was an oddly difficult to identify ball of fur resting obediently in the grass, and the next, there was a young boy sitting in its place, mahogany hair covering most of his face and overalls hanging off of his thin frame. A band aid had been placed on the light brown skin of his cheek, and he was glaring with an intensity that only Lina could match, suspicion rolling off of him in waves.
“Don’t look like a government official to me,” the boy said, looking pointedly at Nicholas’ rumpled, ill-fitting suit.
“Kaite Trevisick: Known to be extremely uncooperative, especially towards authority figures. Age: 12, Species: Carbuncle.”
“Looks can be deceiving, kiddo,” Nicholas said, itching for a cigarette. He settled instead for fiddling with the cross necklace at his throat. “I’m tryin’ to find my cat. Either of you seen a—”
“Small and black?” Lina interrupted. “With huge, green eyes?”
Nicholas nodded. “Yeah, that’s her.”
“You just missed her,” Kaite said. “Ran by right before you got here.”
“I see,” Nicholas sighed. “Thanks for tellin’ me.”
As he twisted the chain of his necklace around his knuckles, Nicholas felt a small tug on his hand.
“The bugs say she went that way,” Zazie said, pointing to the side.
Nicholas raised an eyebrow. “The bugs said that?” Zazie nodded. “Well then, who am I to argue?”
Zazie ran ahead, dragging Nicholas along and waving for Lina and Kaite to follow. The two glanced at each other, rolled their eyes, and quietly trailed behind.
Eventually, the group came across a small kiosk near what looked to be the main house. In it sat a small boy who was playing with what looked to be a shadow, pinpricks of emerald light flickering as it wove between the boy's legs. He was moving a stick in front of the shadow with one arm, the sleeve where his other should’ve been sitting empty, and his head full of dirty blond hair was bobbing along to the creature’s movements.
“Kuro!” Nicholas shouted, relieved. The boy startled, looking up quickly and backing away from the cat like he was afraid he’d done something unforgivable. His eyes darted left and right, looking for an escape, but before he could run, Lina stepped in front of Nicholas and crouched down, smiling placatingly at the boy.
“It’s okay, Tonis,” she said, moving her hands as she spoke. “You’re not in trouble. He was just worried about his cat.”
“Tonis: Unlikely to be a problem unless greatly frightened. Age: 9, Species: Siren.”
Tonis signed something back to her and Lina stood. “Could you tell Vash that he’s arrived?” she said, signing back.
The boy nodded his head and ran towards the house.
Nicholas watched the exchange, perplexed. He’d met sirens before and all of them were exceptionally proud beings. Seeing one so shy, so unwilling to speak, was certainly a first.
Kaite nudged him forcefully with his shoulder. “There’s your cat, safe and sound. None of us island monsters have used her for any of our evil sacrifices.”
“I doubt this little beast would’ve let you,” Nicholas said, scooping up Kuro and wrestling her into her carrier. “Thank you for your help.”
Kaite watched him, curiosity written across his face. “Don’t thank us yet. For all you know, we’re just trying to gain your trust before we attack.”
“Well, you haven’t attacked me yet, so my thanks still stands.”
Nicholas turned to the main house and finally began to make his way over to greet this orphanage’s caretaker, when a shrill yell split the air.
“Human!” a girl screamed from the house’s porch. “I see you’ve dared to step foot on the island I’ve claimed as my own. How brave for one of such a cowardly species!”
The girl was pale, with her nearly white, blonde hair adding to the effect. Her eyes were mismatched, one hazel and the other light blue, and she wore a long, white dress, standing menacingly with a hand on her hip and the other pointed directly at Nicholas.
“Elendira: Extremely dangerous. Age: 7, Species: Plant.”
This was the child that Nicholas had been warned about. The one who had precipitated this little visit of his. A plant. One of just four known independents, only three of whom were still alive and two of which had been the cause of the worst disaster to happen to this planet, wiping a city completely off the map. Nicholas was in the presence of a being more powerful than any he’d ever met before.
“Speak, Human! Tell me, why have you—”
“Now, El,” a tired voice interrupted. “What have I said about being rude to humans?”
The little girl wilted, hunching over with her hands dangling by her side as she said, “Human lives have just as much value as any other beings’ and they don’t deserve to be threatened with mass destruction.”
“Exactly.” A man stepped into view, wearing a gaudy red coat and ridiculous round, orange glasses. He had a baby on his hip, who was cooing and grabbing at his spiked, blond locks.
“Maylene: Too young to properly assess. Age: 1, Species: Dragon (assumedly).”
The man reached over with the hand that wasn’t being used to support Maylene and gently ruffled Elendira’s neatly arranged hair as the girl slapped his fingers away. “You can finally put those values to use.”
He turned to Nicholas, wearing an apologetic smile, the fakest Nicholas had ever seen, and bouncing Maylene as he pulled her fisted hands from his hair. “I’m afraid I’m late in greeting you and for that I have to apologize. Please, come in. We can continue our introductions after you’ve made yourself comfortable.”
Nicholas observed the man, with his goofy attire and his shy posture—carefully calculated to avoid being perceived as a threat, no doubt—and tried to match this image with the information he’d been given.
“Vash Saverem: Longstanding history of causing catastrophic damage. The first person to be deemed a walking natural disaster. Avoid provocation at all costs. Age: Unknown, Species: Plant.”