be a time for that, but it isn't now. Okay?" I gave him my most winning of smiles, but by the looks of it it wasn't working too well. He was almost lost, anger consuming him at the thought of what had been done to him, the game we were all now caught up in.
"Hey, hey. Snap out of it." I shook him and he clamped down hard on my forearms. Everyone moved to him, Mack ready to rip his head off, Zeno prepared to risk his life, and Robin, magic already humming and dangerous.
"No," I said, "it's okay. Isn't it, Pumi? Pumi, can you hear me?"
Slowly he came back, aware of what he was doing. "Sorry, sorry, but that poor little girl, she just wanted someone to look after her. She had nobody and I failed her."
"You didn't fail her, Pumi," said Zeno, surprising us all. "Somebody did something you didn't know would happen and you never had the chance to save her. Whoever did this has failed her, themselves, and their whole race. You will find them and defeat them."
Zeno was close now and the power he had grew too much. I moved away. This was getting out of hand. There was way too much testosterone and sexual tension in the room for my liking. I felt proud of Zeno then. Even after the rocky start, he showed himself a truly kind elf by being so respectful and understanding.
"Okay, let's go tear someone a new one," said Pumi, body shrinking back to normal proportions, anger dissipating just like Robin's magic. Normally I would have bitten someone's face off if they pulled a stunt like that.
"Now you're talking," I said, smiling. "Let's go."
"What, you not bringing Mr. Moppet?" asked Pumi.
I was going off him again real quick.
Getting on With It
As we walked, Pumi asked a question that had me as flummoxed as he clearly was. "Why do you trust me? Why do you believe I'm telling the truth and didn't kill that girl?"
"Honestly? I have no idea. Maybe it was you shifting and then shifting back, showing your true self, your vulnerability." I didn't mention what else he'd shown, now probably wasn't the time.
"You like the softer side, eh?"
Again, I said nothing of what I'd seen, but it certainly wasn't the softer side that was nudging its way into my thoughts and my imagination. What was wrong with me? "You wanted me to believe you, so you let yourself be you, and I believe you because... It's hard to explain, but I see you, the real you. Maybe it was because of all the magic, yours and mine, or maybe it's the aftereffect of the Rift, but things are different lately."
"Magic is in the air, right? I feel it, you can't get away from it, not with all these other Strange here. It's changing things."
"So you feel it too?" I had wondered if it was just me and my kind, obviously not.
"I feel it."
"It will only get worse. The world is different now. I know it will settle down, as it did for us once we came out, but it was hard for a while until we were accepted. Tolerated, anyway."
Pumi stopped and turned to me. "Speak for yourself. What kind of bubble have you been living in? It's always been hell out here for many of us. Nobody accepts me, or hardly anyone, and it's the same for a lot of folk. You've spent too long with your witches, you miss what the rest of our kind are like. There is too much hate, on both sides. They're all as bad as each other."
I was shocked, I didn't know what to say. Was he right? I had always spent most of my time immersed in the magic culture, heck, it was who I was, but I knew Normals, plenty, though not lately, I admit. Maybe I had become more removed from those that are in the majority? Being a Justice makes that inevitable as I clean up the mess our kind make, part of the deal—regular police wouldn't stand a chance.
"Come on, let's just see if we can find out what the hell this is all about."
We moved on, past the endless streets, the parked cars, the comings and goings of regular life. I looked with fresh eyes at the sights that greeted us, trying to put myself into the shoes of those we
"Hey, hey. Snap out of it." I shook him and he clamped down hard on my forearms. Everyone moved to him, Mack ready to rip his head off, Zeno prepared to risk his life, and Robin, magic already humming and dangerous.
"No," I said, "it's okay. Isn't it, Pumi? Pumi, can you hear me?"
Slowly he came back, aware of what he was doing. "Sorry, sorry, but that poor little girl, she just wanted someone to look after her. She had nobody and I failed her."
"You didn't fail her, Pumi," said Zeno, surprising us all. "Somebody did something you didn't know would happen and you never had the chance to save her. Whoever did this has failed her, themselves, and their whole race. You will find them and defeat them."
Zeno was close now and the power he had grew too much. I moved away. This was getting out of hand. There was way too much testosterone and sexual tension in the room for my liking. I felt proud of Zeno then. Even after the rocky start, he showed himself a truly kind elf by being so respectful and understanding.
"Okay, let's go tear someone a new one," said Pumi, body shrinking back to normal proportions, anger dissipating just like Robin's magic. Normally I would have bitten someone's face off if they pulled a stunt like that.
"Now you're talking," I said, smiling. "Let's go."
"What, you not bringing Mr. Moppet?" asked Pumi.
I was going off him again real quick.
Getting on With It
As we walked, Pumi asked a question that had me as flummoxed as he clearly was. "Why do you trust me? Why do you believe I'm telling the truth and didn't kill that girl?"
"Honestly? I have no idea. Maybe it was you shifting and then shifting back, showing your true self, your vulnerability." I didn't mention what else he'd shown, now probably wasn't the time.
"You like the softer side, eh?"
Again, I said nothing of what I'd seen, but it certainly wasn't the softer side that was nudging its way into my thoughts and my imagination. What was wrong with me? "You wanted me to believe you, so you let yourself be you, and I believe you because... It's hard to explain, but I see you, the real you. Maybe it was because of all the magic, yours and mine, or maybe it's the aftereffect of the Rift, but things are different lately."
"Magic is in the air, right? I feel it, you can't get away from it, not with all these other Strange here. It's changing things."
"So you feel it too?" I had wondered if it was just me and my kind, obviously not.
"I feel it."
"It will only get worse. The world is different now. I know it will settle down, as it did for us once we came out, but it was hard for a while until we were accepted. Tolerated, anyway."
Pumi stopped and turned to me. "Speak for yourself. What kind of bubble have you been living in? It's always been hell out here for many of us. Nobody accepts me, or hardly anyone, and it's the same for a lot of folk. You've spent too long with your witches, you miss what the rest of our kind are like. There is too much hate, on both sides. They're all as bad as each other."
I was shocked, I didn't know what to say. Was he right? I had always spent most of my time immersed in the magic culture, heck, it was who I was, but I knew Normals, plenty, though not lately, I admit. Maybe I had become more removed from those that are in the majority? Being a Justice makes that inevitable as I clean up the mess our kind make, part of the deal—regular police wouldn't stand a chance.
"Come on, let's just see if we can find out what the hell this is all about."
We moved on, past the endless streets, the parked cars, the comings and goings of regular life. I looked with fresh eyes at the sights that greeted us, trying to put myself into the shoes of those we
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