by Moshe Harel
Emily shrugged. “It was great to see how we all fitted so nicely wherever we visited and how welcome everybody felt. I think that all the races seem ready for the change and really want it. Have you noticed how the pixies worked so hard to fit in? They lack a lot of knowledge, compared to others, but they were quick to learn and were eager to make friends.”
Thinking back about how we had met the pixies, it felt like that was very long ago, as if we’d been friends with them for a long time, although it was merely a day. I wondered if I should invite them to join our club. Would they even be able to come? I could probably open a portal for them, and they had already learned how to change their size. Would that be enough to adjust their perception of time? I thought it would, based on my personal experience. It looked like Dorna, at least, could benefit from such experience, making her even more suitable to represent the pixies in the Elder Council.
“Gran, have the pixies sent someone to keep their interests among the Elders?” I asked.
Gran grimaced. “They sent a few, yet none seemed to fit. Most were too light-headed and ignorant to be taken seriously. The current one seems only marginally better, but she’s already told us she would not stay much longer, as she plans to get pregnant soon and intends to spend her time raising her child. I’m not sure they have another candidate.”
“I think I’ve found somebody, though she may be a bit young. Have you noticed the pixies who joined us yesterday?”
Gran thought for a moment. “They really seemed more serious and more motivated than the others I’ve met until now.”
“True, and one of them—Dorna—seems even more so. Do you think they can join our club?”
Gran looked utterly surprised. “Do you think it’s wise? Besides, how could any of them come? They can’t change into humans, you know.”
I smiled. “Neither can elves, yet both Ella and Edi are quite happy living here, and so is Gor, whenever he comes here.”
Gran gave it another thought and then smiled appreciatively. “Well, Sophie, I think you’re going to move forward the relations between the races at a much faster rate than seemed possible just a short while ago.” She then turned more serious. “I think I should visit the pixies and officially offer them to participate.”
She didn’t wait for my reply. She just went to her room.
Brian looked at me and smiled appreciatively. “I have a feeling you’re going to be a Fairlady even before we graduate college, the way you move the magical world. I’m not sure I like that, as it would mean you’ll have less time to spend with me, but I’m going to help you in whatever form you may need my help.”
I wasn’t sure what I could say. I just cuddled closer to Brian, feeling like our proximity was invigorating me, giving me the energy needed to carry on, whatever the difficulties we might encounter. Tracey seemed to notice our mood, since she climbed on our knees and rested across both our laps, as if telling us that together we could face everything.
I suddenly felt another arm hugging me and then, yet another as well. Both Emily and Bob joined us, their hugs making me feel like they were promising to keep supporting me as much as I needed. I felt grateful for them. As our hug got longer, I felt like Love was engulfing me in several forms. I had my mate’s love, of course, and then my daughter’s love, which was very different, and both were engulfed by my siblings’ love, which was also different from the two other kinds.
Gran found us in that position when she came out of her room, some time later. I only became aware of her when she spoke. “I’ve never seen the magic of Love so strongly evident. I only noticed a strong magical aura when I opened the door. I then noticed it engulfing you, giving me the feeling of a warm fluffy blanket as I use in winter. The aura seemed to get even wider as I was watching. What were you doing?”
I wasn’t sure what to say, as we weren’t doing anything, really. It was Emily who answered, just as innocently as ever. “Sophie seems to be worried about having too many expectations mounted on her, and we all just hugged her, to make her feel that we shall always help her and that she doesn’t need to worry.”
Gran stepped forward, hugging us all as much as she could, making me feel even better. “With such a wonderful family, she can really tackle whatever comes. Seeing you all, I feel more confident about the future.”
Somewhat later, when Tracey could no longer lay still, we reluctantly let go of our hug. Tracey moved to her pile of toys, with Emily sitting close-by on the floor, keeping an eye on her. Gran sat at my side. “I went to Avalon to talk with the pixie Chieftain. She was impressed by your offer to have a few pixies join the club and suggested the same ones who joined us on the field trip. It turns out that they also know how to open portals, although they’ve not been interested in using any until now. You’ll have to open the portal tomorrow morning, but they can handle it without our help after knowing where the club is held.”
Brian seemed to have already thought of that. “We’ll need to change our lesson plans a bit and possibly give them some additional lessons, covering subjects we’ve already covered before. I’d like it better if one of their males joined too.”
Gran smiled. “I thought you would. One of the males will join. You’ll need to teach him the appropriate charms, of course.”
“I can also help,” Bob volunteered.
Gran smiled delightedly. “I knew you’d like to help.”
Bob shrugged. “I think it’s natural, especially now, that I’m also a fairy. Helping the fairies is like helping my family, isn’t it?”
Later that day, we decided to go to the local pool, leaving Tracey with Mom. Bob disappeared for a few minutes, returning with Elrica, and we all headed for the pool like any group of young people, leaving our worries behind.
The next morning, all club members were already present when we arrived, all looking still full of impressions from our trip to Avalon. They also seemed to have a lot of questions. I thought it was wise to first let the pixies join us, before answering any. “Please wait with your questions, as I need to let some friends join us,” I told them. Brian went closer to the back wall and opened a portal to the location that Gran had tagged the previous day. The five pixies were waiting anxiously and seemed relieved at seeing the portal. They quickly stepped through and let Brian close it. I was a bit surprised that they were already human-size, although they retained their wings and their pixie proportions.
The five pixies bowed their heads as they passed me to join the others. As I turned around to face the whole group, I noticed several puzzled faces. The five pixies were also puzzled by quite a few things they had never seen before. I thought it was time to give some explanations.
“As you’ve all noticed, our trip to Avalon was very different than anticipated and a great success overall. We’ve managed to make friends with three of the prominent races of sentient magical beings: elves, angels, and goblins, along with starting to mend the relations with our brethren—the pixies. As we could all see, there’s no significant difference between fairies and pixies. We’re actually the same race, differing only in magical abilities, and I’m starting to doubt if even that difference is real. After getting to know these five young pixies, I thought we could all benefit from them joining the club. Now, please sit down, so we can continue as planned.”
The day passed normally. The pixies posed no problems and were eager to learn. They also refrained from asking too many questions while we were addressing the whole group. They only came to us during the breaks to clarify what they couldn’t understand on their own. Their leader looked apologetic when she first approached us. “The chieftain said we should also bring one of the males, but we had no time to make him ready. Some of our most knowledgeable are trying to teach him today as much as possible, so he won’t be too shocked when joining us tomorrow. I dare say he will still be somewhat shocked. Even after spending a day with you in the Magical Realms, we see that there’s still so much we don’t know even about our own magic, and there’
s a whole different world outside, one we know practically nothing about.”
I smiled at her. “There’s quite a lot to learn, and it can be overwhelming at times, but it looks like you’re all coping quite well. As for the world outside, you’ll need to change to human form or to use illusions to look like humans before you can roam there. I’ll try to teach you if you like.”
She smiled her thanks. Dorna approached us next. “I’m not sure about the males,” she said. “Most are quite content to engage in sex their whole time and none of those I know showed any interest in learning anything. I heard they found one who’s willing, but I can’t help wondering if he’ll really do any good. It’s not that they’re less intelligent than the females, but they’re taught their role since early childhood, so most lose interest in anything but sex after reaching puberty.”
“What do you suggest, then?” I asked her.
She sighed. “We should educate them the same way we do with the females, but that’s a lengthy process and we can’t reap the benefits before the current children approach adulthood.”
I nodded my agreement. “Here, on Earth, most countries give the same education to both genders, usually in mixed classes, as we have here. While this doesn’t mean that males and females become the same, it does allow members of both genders to thrive for the best. In many positions, gender plays no role and people are chosen only according to their achievements.” While this was a somewhat idealized view of our reality, I felt it was the right way to present it.
Dorna smiled wistfully. “We’re still a long way from equality, but maybe you and your mate can bring that change much sooner than otherwise expected. I’m sure it’s going to be a welcome change.”
“And I feel sure you’re going to play a big role in bringing that welcome change,” I told her.
With the addition of the pixies, the club lost any semblance of gender balance. The few couples that had already formed used the lunch break for some sex. The remaining females seemed envious, wishing they could have their share as well. It made me wonder why we had this imbalance in numbers. Shouldn’t male fairies be as many as the female ones? Yet all the clubs we’d taken part in showed this imbalance. Maybe there was some fault in the way we were trying to find the young fairies? I thought I should talk to Gran about it.
Throughout that day, Dorna proved to be the most serious student, although the other pixies also tried their best. I asked the pixies to stay behind after the other club members left, so we could teach them some of what we’d already covered in the club. Once again, Dorna seemed to grasp every concept faster and deeper than the rest.
36 Genders
I had a feeling that Gran would visit us that evening and sure enough, a short while after dinner, she opened a portal and came to visit. At first, she wanted to hear about the pixies. Both Brian and I had only good impressions to pass, and Gran was delighted to find that it all went so well. I then asked her the question that was nagging me. “Why are there so few male fairies? Shouldn’t there be roughly the same number of males and females, like in other species? Could it be that we’re not looking for them the right way?”
Gran didn’t answer immediately. She thought about it for a short while and then sighed. “We’re probably missing something. I’ll need to talk to Joshua and see if we can change anything. Maybe he can still get in touch with his own mentor. That could be a great help.”
“Well, how did you find the ones you did? For that matter, how did you find the female fairies too?”
Gran smiled. “That’s easy, really. You already know about the monitoring system. One of its aspects is in detecting fairy magic when it ripens. I’ll show you when you next visit the Fair Palace.”
“And yet, Joshua was contacted by a male fairy and you knew nothing about either until you visited Brian’s parents,” I insisted.
“True, and that’s why I suspect our system is not doing such a good job. I wonder if we’re not missing some female fairies as well. We may need to reform that system in that case, and your powers will have to be used if we want any chance at success. We’ll need to harness Brian’s and Bob’s powers and maybe Emily’s too. I don’t know what the problem is, but as I’ve already told you, any magic you cast will fade in time. It’s just possible that the old system needs recharging. Come to think of it, since most fairies no longer stay in Avalon, if the system relies on their magic, it’s just logical it would be under-powered, failing to find the new fairies in many cases.”
I felt like this was something of utmost importance. “We should do it as soon as possible!”
Gran smiled. “We don’t even know if my thoughts have any truth in them. Besides, if the system is failing, it has been this way for a few generations, at least. We can afford to wait until you finish the club before trying another major endeavor. This club is turning out to be much more than anybody could anticipate.”
In a way, I felt relieved. The club was really turning into much more than any of us was ready for. I liked the changes, but they also put a heavy burden on me. It wasn’t wise to add some more. “Sure, we can wait a few weeks. Can you check the inner workings of that system until then, so we know what to expect?”
She nodded. “I’ll make sure it’s thoroughly checked before we try anything. I’ll also talk with Joshua and whoever he may be able to make contact with. I’ll keep in touch and inform you of what I find. Now, I think you two need to relax.”
With that, she kissed my head and left us. Brian hugged me, and I felt like he was giving me some much-needed support and relaxation. With Tracey already sleeping, I knew the way to get even more relaxed. Keeping the hug, I dragged him to bed. He already knew what I wanted.
As expected, the pixies arrived on their own the next morning, at about the same time as the others. They also brought one male with them, presenting him as Carl. He looked tall, although that could be just the way he wanted to look, and he had very fine features, looking almost feminine, although the impression changed drastically when seeing his crotch. He was really well endowed, almost too large to fit. Evidently, some pixies knew how to reverse the shrinking spell. I also noticed some of the fairies looking expectantly at him. I felt sure he would turn very occupied during our recess.
He also proved very serious, once we resumed our lessons. Evidently, he was well prepared, as he already knew all that we had taught the previous day and also what we had experienced during our field trip.
Brian took him aside during our first break and taught him the shrinking spell. Carl seemed a bit apprehensive, at first, but quickly mastered the spell and the inverse one. Bob stayed close during that time, ready to give Brian any help needed, although none was eventually required.
I somewhat pitied Carl by the middle of our lunch break. It looked like all unattached fairies queued for him to have some sex with them. Carl proved quite smart when noticing this. He suggested doing it in fairy (or pixie, which meant the same) form, which allowed for much faster action. This allowed him to give each of the fairies what they wanted and still leave time for a not too rushed lunch, taken in human size.
Later that day, after the other fairies left, Brian insisted on teaching the pixies to hide their wings, while I was busy putting everything in place. It was becoming evident that none succeeded, making them all frustrated. I decided to try and help some, when Emily, who also stayed behind, intervened. “Just think of this the way you do other stuff. You didn’t need too much effort to change your size, did you? This should work the same way. Use your imagination to see your wings shrink into your back, leaving only two short lines to mark their places, and then urge your magic to do just that. There’s no reason for you to fail.”
Although a bit surprised, the pixies accepted her words, after both Brian and I nodded our agreement. I wasn’t surprised to see Dorna hiding her wings first, quickly followed by Carl. It took only a few minutes before all the pixies mastered hiding their wings. Interestingly, their proportions changed subtly in
the process, making them look perfectly human. They were too concentrated on the wings to notice.
“Now, try to reveal your wings,” Emily instructed them. “This should be much easier, as you’re used to having wings.”
It took almost no time for them all to regain their wings and resume their original proportions. Dorna turned to me. “May I stay and visit with your family? I’d really like to learn how life on Earth is.”
I smiled at her. “We’re staying with my parents, but I’m sure they won’t mind a visitor.” I then turned to the rest. “I think you may also benefit from visiting and learning about life here.”
Brian seemed surprised but then nodded and smiled. This was really a spur of the moment idea, but the more I thought of it, the better it seemed. We couldn’t really unite the pixies and the Fairies, if they kept very different life spans and ways of life. As Fairies led a mainly human way of life, giving that option to the pixies was natural.
Their leader seemed a bit reluctant, though. “Are you sure it’s a good idea? I don’t mind Dorna staying, as she’s quite special, but I’m not sure it would do any good to the rest of us. I mean, we can’t live on Earth, so why bother?”
I chuckled, but Brian was the one who answered. “You’ve been living on earth for almost two days, and I can’t see it harmed any of you. It may be more dangerous if you keep your pixie size, but in your current size, you’re just as safe as any of us. Besides, if you want to make our two groups closer, then learning to live like humans is a part of it since Fairies live as Humans most of their lives. There’s also the lifespan matter. The small size dictates a shorter lifespan, although the different perception of time may compensate for that on the personal level. By learning to stay in this size most of the time, you’ll extend your lifespan to match the Fairies.”