You and Tulipelle flew into the cave that you remembered falling into from Earth. Only now, you weren't looking to a glowing light that fluttered in the distance. You actually were a fluttering light to anything that might be looking toward you. You didn't notice it at first, but as the two of you flew away from the entrance to the cave and things began to get darker, a soft blue glow, matching the color of your wings, began to radiate around you. It was like you glowed in the dark. After a moment you glanced over to Tulipelle, who seemed to glow as well, with the light seeming to come from her wings.
"You look pretty," you found yourself saying, "Like an angel bathed in light..."
"So do you," Tulipelle giggled.
You blinked for a moment and then looked to your hands, and it was then that you noticed that it was glowing with a blue light that was the same color as your wings.
"That's a sign of your magic, Irisette," Tulipelle explained, "when we fly our magic becomes physically apparent in the beating of our wings. It can be seen at all times, but is especially visible when in an area of low light."
"So... does the glow indicate how strong our magic is... or?" you asked curiously.
"No, a fairy's aura of magic glows at the same level regardless of the actual power levels they have as individuals," Tulipelle answered.
The two of you continued along into the cave for a moment, and actually felt glad that you were presently glowing with a fairy's aura, as it helped you see in the dark cave. Being able to see made journeying through it much easier, but the two of you soon came up on something that would indicate that you weren't alone in the cave. As you rounded a corner, you could see a soft light glowing in a distant part of the cavern. It was a very steady glow, like a candle or a torch, and unlike the aura of magic that moved with you and Tulipelle as you flew, this glow seemed to be stationary.
"Uh... I don't think we're alone," you said to Tulipelle, who nodded. She had clearly noticed the glow too.
The two of you continued onward until not only more of the glow was visible but you could see what was causing it. It was a lone woman standing fairly close to where you had fell into the cave. She had her back to you and Tulipelle and had a large torch in one hand which gave you both a fairly clear view of her. The woman had fairly short black hair, for a girl, and it was done in twin pony tails. She was wearing what looked like the standard little black dress and had a large book in her other hand. This made you and Tulipelle land and look to the woman.
"It's a human," Tulipelle whispered to you.
"And not too bad looking from behind," you commented, "Which would make me wonder why she's here..."
Tulipelle gave a brief scowl, but only shrugged. You figured she had the same curiosity as to why the woman was here.
"We'll have to talk to her to figure that out," Tulipelle whispered, "but remember don't tell her your fairy name... she could control you if she learns your name."
You nodded, "Gotcha."
Tulipelle then nodded again and rose up into the air on her wings again. You beat your wings and soon rose up beside her. Some of it was strange on how instinctual flight was, but there was a part of you that got a real kick out of being able to fly. Once in the air, the two of you flew slowly toward the woman, who hadn't turned to face you or Tulipelle yet. Though, she soon made it clear she knew we were there.
"Well, I suppose I should expect Gaia's natives to send their own representatives," the woman said in a very familiar voice that made you stop.
The woman then turned and allowed you to see her face. Not only was her voice familiar, but so was her face.
"Sandra..." you spoke slowly. Which made Tulipelle and the woman, Sandra, blink.
"You... how do you know my name?" the woman asked slowly, "I've only rarely had to come to Gaia for ingredients that just don't exist on Earth and I've never run into any fairies before... how do you know my name?"
"Ingredients..." you said slowly, not answering Sandra's question, "You're a witch!"
Sandra raised an eyebrow, "Yes... so? Are we comparing mythos here? You accuse me of cannibalism and I accuse you of trickery and kidnapping of children? I'd thought the fey didn't like those sorts of stereotypes anymore anyone else did."
You could hear a clear tone of irritation in her voice, and it was one you recognized and remembered. Sandra O'Mally was an old ex-girlfriend of yours from well before you even moved out to the cabin that you'd likely never see again except whenever you and Tulipelle decided visit Earth. One of the reasons she was an ex-girlfriend was how irritated she got even small things, and it didn't even have to be thinks you had had done. These sort of anger issues had made you break it off as tactfully as possible.
"You're a witch!" you said again in surprise.
"Yes, we've established that," Sandra answered, "I'd now like to establish how a fairy who's never met me knows my name."
"Because you've met me before," you said to her, "but I was different then..."
"Different..." Sandra raised an eyebrow again, sounding more puzzled this time, and then her eyes widened, "You're a changeling... a human who was turned into a fairy..."
"Yes," you answered.
"So... who were you? Where did I know you from?" Sandra asked, now sounding curious.
"We dated for a while..." you said slowly, "I was the one who tried to say that I wasn't the right man for you..."
"Philip...!? Philip Masterson!" Sandra actually laughed, using your old human name, "Man... of all the delicious irony... you literally aren't the right MAN for me!"
You sensed that this was some attempt to get back at you for the breakup.
"I tried to be polite, Sandra," you told her, "Your getting angry at things scared me... and it was clear that neither of us made each other very happy."
Sandra only shrugged.
"Anyway... how... how are you a witch?" you asked.
"I was born into it," Sandra answered, "human magic goes through family lines just as fairy magic does, as you and your fairy-friend might well find out..."
"Heart-friend," Tulipelle corrected, "we are heart-friends."
"But you don't look like a witch..." you said to Sandra.
"What? You think all witches look like this...?" Sandra began, the irritated tone in her voice returning.
You watched as she raised a hand over her face and a purplish glow went around her as she moved her hand, and then she began to change. Her skin turned green, her hair grew wild and looked more like straw than hair, her chin then pushed forward into a point with a prominent wart near the point. At the same time her nose grew out long, hocked and pointed, and also with a wart on the top of it.
"Well, I'll tell you my pretty," Sandra continued, imitating the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz, "that being a witch doesn't make one repulsive, and if I remember correctly... you were quite enamored with my posterior when we were dating."
You cringed as you could feel Tulipelle glare at you, as Sandra's posterior was the first thing you noticed when you entered.
"Okay... I'm sorry," you said weakly, "It's just... before I became a fairy, everything that I knew fairies, witches, vampires, sorcerers, and whatnot were all from old books on mythology and folklore. I'm only just adapting to being a fairy myself."
Sandra reversed her changes and her body returned to her normal look. Privately, it was something that made you want to sigh at how your relationship went. Sandra was fairly beautiful, but you had been fearful of her temper and didn't think you could handle it. Though, in terms of a direct comparison, you thought Tulipelle looked better than Sandra did, but you didn't want to get into a fight over who was pretty between an ex-girlfriend and your present heart-friend.
"And at present, we are tasked to investigate the portals between Gaia and Earth as "Philip's" arrival on Gaia has represented something is destabilizing them..." Tulipelle spoke up.
"My coven noticed this as well," Sandra answered, "Not in the sense of the portals... but an excess of magic...fairy magic..."
"Wouldn't witches want more magic?" you asked.
"Some witches may desire more power... but it's specifically for human magic," Sandra answered, "While human magic on Earth and fairy magic on Gaia are similar, they are not identical and don't easily mix. It's why our worlds are separate. Certain spells for human witches/wizards may require specific herbs and ingredients from Gaia, and some fairy magics may work better when done on concert with those that can individually draw on more raw power... but these are all in very controlled and in very specific examples... outside of that, the uncontrolled mixing of magics can be dangerous... chaotic... draining... and probably a sign of someone abusing magic more than anything else."
"And would you know who is doing this?" Tulipelle asked.
"Not really," Sandra answered, "from what my coven sensed, the disturbance is going on on both Earth and Gaia. I drew the short straw and had to come here to check this side."
"Well..." you spoke looking to Tulipelle, "I suppose we're all working together then."
"I suppose," Tulipelle said slowly and then glared to Sandra, "but we will keep our eyes on you... just in case you have some plot to accomplish by all of this..."
"There is no plotting on my part," Sandra grumbled, "I had to take a sick day from work to deal with this. And if the portals' barriers break down, both worlds could go. Not something I'd want."