"What is it?" you wondered as Rosette landed in front of you.
"You'll need to be rather careful with what you say about your past," Rosette said carefully.
"Does she not like changelings?" you asked, "if I'd cause trouble I can go exploring for awhile and meet up with Tulipelle later."
Rosette raised her hands and waived them down in a calming motion.
"No, she gets along quite well with changelings... though she can be fairly shy with strangers," Rosette explained, "It's humans she really doesn't like."
You looked over to see Tulipelle nodding.
"I don't even talk about what I've learned about humans on Earth or on Gaia when I've talked with her," Tulipelle spoke, "it makes her uncomfortable."
You raised your eyebrows and you felt your wings droop backward nervously. You really didn't want to be of any trouble.
"But how can I avoid that? I WAS human, if she asks where I'm from... I can't just lie," you said nervously.
"Dandel has no problem with changelings," Rosette spoke reassuringly and softly, "In fact her seed mother is a changeling. If she asks questions of you... downplay your human life and talk about what you like about being a fairy now or what you hope to learn from Tulipelle. She won't hate you for being a changeling, and she doesn't necessarily hate humans, but she really doesn't trust them that much and doesn't hold them very highly."
You blinked for a moment and caught on to something Rosette said. Dandel's seed mother was a changeling. Given the talk you'd had with Tulipelle on the flight over, you had a guess on it. If fairies were flowers, or had sex through flowers, you assumed that fairy reproduction followed similar means, which made sense in an entirely female society. One mother in a pair would provide the nectar that would "impregnate" the other fairy's seed. The fairy that carried the seed would then become the seed mother.
"I'd hope to learn a lot from Tulipelle," you managed, "but... I'm curious... why she not trust or be uneasy around humans or about humans?"
You watched as both Rosette and Tulipelle shared a nervous glance to each other. That left you feeling not only nervous but curious as well. Eventually Tulipelle answered.
"Dandel's nectar mother was very much like me... interested in the human world and in Earth," Tulipelle said carefully, "it's how she met Dandel's seed mother. They met on earth and ultimately fell in love and eventually Dandel's seed mother asked to become a fairy.
"That's quite sweet," you commented.
"It doesn't stay that way," Rosette spoke, "a few years before Tulipelle, Dandel, and I first met, when we were all pixies, her nectar mother journeyed to Earth looking for something she though would make a nice present for her flowerbound... While there she was hit by a car and killed..."
"Killed?!" your eyes widened, your heart skipping a beat.
"We don't age... at least not in the same way humans do," Tulipelle spoke, "but we can be killed... and while our magic can be strong, but a lot of it depends on the person being willing. If you had refused to be shrunk down or refused to become female... my magic would not have affected you as well as it did... and from what Rosette and I heard later... the car was travelling with enough speed that there is nothing that could have been done."
"So it was an accident?" you asked.
"Yes... but that doesn't change the pain and hurt Dandel felt at it," Rosette warned, "It may not have been murder, but a likely careless or unknowing human killed one of her mothers. As such, she really doesn't trust humans or their world. She will welcome you as a changeling, and as you get to know each other, I'm sure you'll become good friends... but until you do... it is best not to talk too much of your life on Earth or what you'd miss about being human."
"Should I say I'm sorry?"
Rosette put a reassuring hand on your shoulder, "No. As I said, Dandel won't blame you... and you are a fairy now, a changeling... so she isn't going to reject you... Just be careful with what you say and how you say it. Can you do that?"
You managed a nod. Rosette gave a weak smile and then turned on the porch and knocked on the door.