You make it to the village in the early evening. You attract frightened glances from all
types of species around the village. There are humans, Slithzerikai (lizard-people),
dwarves, Eastern elves (human-sized elves), faeries (human-sized fairies), veela
(beautiful, feminine humanoids), drakes (dragons with human proportions), fauns,
centaurs, and even anthro-animals. You're growing uncomfortable under their stares, so
you duck into a tavern and sit at the bar. A paranoid waitress takes your order for a
whiskey and scurries back to get your drink. Everyone who had been sitting near you
gets up and moves away. Except for a boy about five years younger than you. The kid,
who you expect is about 13, instead gets up and comes toward you.
"Is this seat taken?" he asks.
"Go ahead," you say, surprised. The waitress comes back with your whiskey and a coffee
for the kid.
"Get those men a beer, on me, and tell them to quit gawkin' at us," he calmly tells the
waitress. Out of instinct, you glance back and see two men staring at you with wide eyes.
You turn back to the kid.
"Aren't you afraid of me?" you ask.
"There's only one thing I'm afraid of but I've learned to eliminate that factor." Just then,
the two men walked over and glared at the kid. He glanced up at them, then struck a
match on the shorter one's stubble and lit a cigar. The man's face turned beet red and he
swung at the kid. The boy moved his arm lightning fast and caught his blow. Then he
flipped the man on his back, shattering a nearby table. The two men ran away and he
puffed out a smoke ring.
"I fear failure."