26.2. Not to Trifle With - Part 2

"Did you see it, guys?" I ask wearily.

Fefnir, Ingri and Emi shake their heads in unison.

"Nope, but the bodyguards told us in the elevator," Emi says. "We have a pretty good picture."

"So...," Erik bites his lips when he seats me on the couch.

"So," I lower my head and fold my wings, "it seems I have the Celestial nature after all. It's probably been lurking in the corner in my mind for quite some time. I guess connecting to you was keeping it suppressed."

"I have the Celestial nature as well and I'm coping just fine," Liana opposes. "Why are you so afraid of it, Aefener?"

"Isn't it obvious after what just happened?" I say with difficulties.

"It was a reflex, nothing more," she shrugs.

"A reflex doesn't almost kill people," I whisper. "I... I'm dangerous."

"All new races have potentially dangerous abilities. That's why humans are so scared of us. Besides, everyone expects your magic will be the strongest," Emi says.

"I don't want to be dangerous," I lean onto Erik's chest. I can't help it, my eyes water a bit. "I don't want people to be afraid of me."

"We're all dangerous now," Liana pokes me. "Gosh, Fefnir could crush anyone's bones if he wanted."

"That won't happen... never ever," Fefnir grits his teeth, offended. "The Dragonkin are strong but we're not brutes."

"Sorry, Fefnir, it was just an example," Liana apologises quickly.

"Uhm, dizzy," my head spins. "I'm totally out of mana."

I'm saved as someone knocks at the door, bringing us our lunches. Emi and Fefnir take it and close the door again. We don't talk for a while. I really have to eat right now and the others might not be as hungry but they welcome some thinking time. Erik opens our shares—a beef steak with dumplings for him and fried rice with vegetables for me. My hand is shaking when I grab a fork.

"Still in shock?" Ingri catches it. She's always been very observant.

"I don't think so," I shake my head. "More like low glucose. I used up all my mana on healing."

For a few minutes there's only the sound of munching and cutlery hitting plastic boxes. I can feel everyone is quite anxious and thinking frantically. The atmosphere is tense. What I did will have consequences, whatever their form might be.

"So... am I going to jail or something?" I voice my biggest concern when my stomach stops rumbling.

"Is that the first thing that comes to your mind?" Liana rolls her eyes.

"B-but... I did hurt him."

"It was self-defence," she insists. "He hurt you."

"It was an accident, he didn't want to rip off my feather on purpose. His hand was sticky with... whatever the Earthborn can produce," I defend the poor guy. "My reaction was totally inadequate."

"Bioglen," Ingri sets the record straight and her tension transforms into annoyance. "Gosh, what is it with other races not remembering anything about us?"

"Because you use difficult terminology," Fefnir says.

"At least make an effort, we're not so impossible to understand," Ingri is even more pissed now. "It's not like we're mysterious Celestials."

"Hey, there's nothing mysterious about us," Liana protests.

"Yeah? So why could no one ever enter your flying city ingame?" she purses her lips.

"The air was too thin there, other races wouldn't be able to breathe," Liana explains.

"You didn't want foreigners, that's the main reason," Ingri insists and mumbles more for herself: "I've always wanted to see it and now I can't anymore."

There's pressing silence for a while. Emi is nervously waggling her tail, Fefnir is cleaning imaginary dirt from under his claws and Ingri feels genuinely offended by our lack of knowledge concerning her race. Not even Liana knows what to say.

"Did you just have a totally Draconian quarrel?" Erik breaks the silence.

"I guess we did," Emi scratches her left ear.

"It felt like our tension developed into open frustration," I say slowly.

"No wonder, we're under tremendous pressure," Liana sighs. "We're starting to rub against our differences which might..."

Another knocking at the door. Fefnir goes to answer and it turns out to be Julia. She doesn't feel as worried as I was anticipating but I can tell she's edgy.

"How is he?" I almost jump.

"The patient is resting," Julia manages a smile and sits in an empty chair. "I don't know what you did, Aefener, but your spell was miraculous. Heidan, that's his name, has three broken ribs and a concussion but he's healing astonishingly fast. At this rate, he should be fine in just one week. He doesn't even need to go to hospital."

"Thank god," I feel relieved and my wings finally stop trembling.

"He's not holding it against you," Dr Stein adds. "He asked me to tell you that. It was an accident on both parts."

"My reaction was still totally overboard," I lower my head.

"Your reaction was probably naturally Celestial," Julia comments. "If the game lore comes true and I reckon it will... well, you Celestials don't lose feathers just like we lose hair, right?"

"No, our feathers are being sustained by the mana circuit so there's no need to renew them," I explain. "They hold very firmly and it's extremely painful for us when someone rips them off. Can I have my feather back? It might sound weird but it feels wrong somehow to just toss it."

"Actually, I was hoping I could keep it," Julia looks at me, almost begging. "I'd like to examine it under a microscope and then... make it a keepsake? It's so pretty after all."

"Ehm... okay," I allow after a short consideration. It's a bit strange to imagine that a piece of me will be hidden in a drawer somewhere but it's better than a trash can.

"Pchm, I wanted one as well," Erik is fuming.

"You can pet my wings whenever you can, Erik," I roll my eyes and look at the doctor sternly. "I trust you won't turn my feather into an old-fashioned writing tool, Julia?"

"I wouldn't dare," Dr Stein bursts laughing and the atmosphere finally brightens.

"Anyway, we still have a lot of work to do," Liana claps and stands up. "I have to admit I'm a bit worried about the public opinion because I bet the incident got out already but there's nothing we can do about rumours."

"Oh, right, Aefener's telekinesis was super strong," Fefnir realises. "And then he did that healing spell while actually materialising a transfiguration symbol."

"Ehm... guys?" Ingri turns pale while checking her phone. "I've never thought I'd say this but... damn people and their phone addiction."

"Did someone manage to record it?" Liana gets horrified. "How?"

"It seems they had the camera on when Aefener was passing through the crowd," Ingri gulps. "As expected, it's trending... but not in a good way this time."

"As expected," I murmur and my wings start trembling again.

"Scheisse, so we can't play that rumour card," Liana bites her lip. "I was hoping that... damn."

We sit around Ingri and anxiously watch as the number of views on the video skyrockets. I don't want to watch it but I have to see how it looks like from the other person's perspective. And it's even worse than I thought. I came out as totally alien... and super scary.

"No shit, Aefener," Fefnir doesn't hold back. "If I didn't know you, I'd think..."

"Not helping, Fefnir," Emi nudges him.

My phone starts ringing. I'm almost afraid to look at the screen but it's Gotrid and most probably Gin, too. Just a few seconds after, Fefnir's phone follows.

"It's Deminas," he says. "I bet he's also calling because of the video."

We pick up at the same time and put our phones on the table. Deminas's reaction doesn't surprise me at all.

"What did I tell you about being careful when seen in public, Aefener!" he's doing his best not to blatantly yell at me. "Do you even realise what you have done? This can cause hysteria!"

Gotrid's reaction isn't as outspoken, he's more scared than angry.

"My Emperor, this might shift the votes in favour of chipping us in the US," he exclaims.

"Yeah, they're really considering it here," Gin, sitting next to him, seconds.

"It's not his fault, he was kind of... assaulted in a way," Ingri tries to help me. "It was a Celestial self-defence reflex."

"Seriously, I don't know what's worse," Deminas hisses through his pointy teeth. "Aefener showing miraculous abilities all the time or the fact that he isn't properly protected so random people can rip off his feathers."

"You're right," Liana admits reluctantly. "We underestimated the situation. It won't happen again."

"Come on, don't be too hard on yourselves," Dr Stein speaks up in an attempt to comfort us. "You're totally new to this. No one in the world is able to anticipate what happens next. There're bound to be many mistakes. We're all learning on the go."

"Well, that's really thoughtful of you, doc," Erik appreciates.

"I'd go crazy without adopting this attitude," Julia remarks. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to work with new races? Especially because I'm human so they don't trust me," she glances at Emi.

The Clawfang Alpha looks guiltily sideways but her emotional response isn't as strong as it used to be. I still hope Julia can win her over eventually.

"Oh, my King and Queen are calling as well," Ingri announces and connects another phone call.

Their reaction is pretty much similar to Deminas's, they're mainly concerned about the Draconian reputation and how the incident might influence the public opinion and overall mood in the society.

"At least you didn't hurt a human," Werden says, frowning. "That would look seriously bad."

"I don't think I'd have made a difference in that kind of situation," I say slowly.

"Which means we have to be twice as grateful it was one of ours," the Earthborn King nods.

"And that he won't press charges," Julia adds.

"Still, another problem is that you manifested miraculous powers... again, Aefener," Twyla continues. "We'll all probably become miraculously strong in future but your abilities are too spontaneous. Too... effortless."

"I... I know," I clutch my fists. "But I'm not doing it on purpose."

"We know you're not," Deminas says more amicably now. "But if the Celestial lore comes true even here, you might become an equivalent to an atomic bomb. And that's something that will scare the EU shitless."

"Which part?" Erik pulls my sleeve, a bit lost.

"The part about the Celestial Emperor being the incarnate of magic itself," I quickly explain.

"Oh, so I was right," Erik scratches his chin. "Others will have to train how to do magic, you'll have to train in order not to do magic."

"We're all rulers," Werden speaks again. "Why is Aefener so ahead of us?"

"It has to do with one's previous VR compatibility level," Julia says. "Aefener's was indeed 100% so his transformation is the fastest."

"Oh, so it wasn't just a rumour," the rulers are surprised.

"That would explain a lot but not everything," Gin narrows his eyes. "How did you even attain such perfect compatibility in the first place? It was thought to be impossible and the scientific research pretty much proved it."

"I....," I hesitate for a moment. "Is this channel really safe, Li?"

"My company's network has the best encryption protocols and all our devices have been checked," my Viceroy assures me. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Guys, can you give us a few minutes?" I look at the screens. "We need to discuss something first."

"We shouldn't have secrets among ourselves," Deminas frowns.

"Exactly, but... it's actually personal so I... I need...," I'm looking for the right words.

"Okay, Aefener, discuss what you must," Twyla waves her hand and hangs up. Others shrug and do the same.

"Ryuu, are you seriously considering telling them about your Mom?" Erik clutches my hand. "What if they aren't careful enough and it leaks out?"

"I'm actually considering telling them everything," I say slowly. "About my telepathy, too."

Liana clicks her tongue and looks at me disapprovingly.

"It's not only your secret anymore, Aefener," she says with a serious expression. "You being a telepath is both a huge asset and danger to us."

"I know but these are our friends, Li. I feel bad hiding it from them. Besides, how can our communication be effective when they don't know everything?"

"Aefener's right," Emi agrees. "Deminas, Twyla, Werden, Gin and Gotrid should be all part of our inner circle. Besides, if Deminas knows about Aefener's telepathy, he might help us convincing other Dragonkin to join our security forces."

"We've known each other for ages," Fefnir seconds. "I know that not everyone had been as close as, for instance, me and Aefener but they're still our friends... and allies."

"Ryuu, do you feel okay?" Erik notices my anxiety that is growing stronger.

"To be completely honest," I take a deep breath. "I'm tired of hiding, guys. I've been afraid of telling anyone about my special ability for years but now that you know... well, it's liberating. I haven't felt this relaxed around people... well, never. I want all my closest friends to know. I don't want to lie to them."

Erik is assuring me in his mind that it's totally okay to keep it secret just among us and that I shouldn't feel pressured by circumstances. But I think I've progressed at least a little it in my quest to openness. I'm actually surprised myself that I want to tell more people. No, not just any people. My friends.

"I think it would be beneficial if all rulers and viceroys knew," Liana admits after a thorough consideration. "But what about Gotrid? He became a seraph just a few days before it all started so we don't know him that well."

"He's one of us and it would be unfair to tell Gin but not him," I say. "I should learn how to trust people so I might as well start with it now."

"Okay, Aefener, the decision is yours to make after all," Liana concedes.