Violet heard the howl and rushed out before getting to change. The wet, shirtless man ran for his stuff, was trampled, fought the beast, and even grabbed the throat of the second wolf.

By the time she flew halfway there, she heard his roar.

"RAAAAAAAH!"

=

I can't believe that worked.

His breathing was ragged, and his vision was blurry enough to make him light-headed. The adrenaline was quickly exiting his system, leaving him fatigued. Ever cautious, Daire let go of the wolf's throat. It squirmed, got up, and walked over to its partner, licking the wound in its shoulder.

Now that Daire had some time to analyze, he noticed that both wolves had grey fur. The darker one, the one he managed to pin somehow, was female. The other was male. A pair, both were malnourished to the point Daire could see their ribs.

The male was panting to cool off. The female nudged the other to lay down.

Daire stood up straight, slicking his wet hair back. Tilting his head at the strange pair, he wondered what to do now when he heard a small voice behind him.

"Are you alright?"

=

Violet managed to fly over just as things ended. She watched the completely pacified wolves in bewilderment.

That was amazing!

It was just like one of her action novels. How can such a normal looking guy do that? Maybe it was similar to one of those moments where mothers can lift cars to rescue their babies?

It was more likely that the wolves were just tired, malnourished, and Daire got lucky.

She flew up to him as he stood. He hadn't noticed, so she called out to him.

"Are you alright?"

=

Daire was startled, still on edge. He turned around to see a small figure about six inches tall floating near his face. It appeared to be a small girl with wings. They weren't butterfly wings or insect wings. Not wings of an angel or the leather wings of a devil. They appeared to be made out of... paper? Was it a type of origami?

They were more scroll-like. Not folded paper. Like Chinese scrolls but without all the red. So... Just normal white scrolls, then?

"A fairy?"

"Pixie," she corrected. "Are you alright? You are bleeding."

I am?

He examined himself, finally noticing the scarlet claw mark on his right bicep. It started to hurt.

"Aaah," he hissed.

Remembering the wolves, he turned back to see they were still there, staring at him. Daire was still on guard, but the pain started to flicker louder. The darker female wolf paced forward. It wasn't growling, and the male seemed relaxed, so he stupidly let it approach. It reached up and licked the wound on his arm.

"Aah," he hissed again.

He jerked away, startling the wolf. It was so large. A German Shepard would only get up to about his waist at most, but these wolves were clearly at chest level. He had a sudden urge to pet the over-sized murder machine.

So he did.

Daire reached out tentatively with his free hand. The wolf stayed still. Scratching under its neck and behind its head, it panted in response like a normal dog would when it was happy. Daire felt a genuine grin appear on his face, somehow content with this.

"It looks like you've tamed them."

He turned back to the pixie, momentarily forgetting she was there.

"They recognized you as their alpha. You beat the male and managed to pin its mate. For them, it was a complete loss."

"What!" he started. "That is all it takes?"

Thinking about it. It did seem that way. He wasn't a wolf, but he was very beast-like during the last few seconds. He started shifting from foot to foot, trying to get over the embarrassment. Daire stopped, realizing he didn't get away scot-free, feeling the burning of his new wound. He needed to clean it and disinfect it.

"I am going back over to that pond to clean my wound," pointing to the pond, he looked at the pixie and continued. "Can I ask you to come with me and keep watch?"

Much more composed than him, she replied in the affirmative.

"Of course."

=

Violet was anything but composed.

She just watched a superhero and was now talking to him! How could she stay calm? Her breathing was irregular, despite not doing anything to help. She followed him, along with the wolves, trying to keep an eye out for other dangers.

They quickly reached the pond as it wasn't far at all, maybe 60 feet at its closest. Daire slowly waded in, slightly nervous about his wound. Violet peaked glances frequently. Examining him, he didn't have any other wounds marring him. His skin was smooth, not having a single hair, even under his arms. Now his blank slate appearance would be ruined with a nasty scar.

I don't think it would be a bad look, though...

Three red claw marks were curving around the outside of his right bicep. The middle one was the longest while the higher one was slightly short, and a third one below was barely there, tucked near his armpit. Violet thought it would be a very manly addition to him.

The thought gave her mixed feelings. Is she glad that he got hurt? That's wrong... isn't it? But he didn't seem to be in a lot of pain.

He was in good shape. While it could likely be better, it was enough to protect himself from the wolves, so it was good in her book. Now that she was closer to him, she could catch glimpses of clear brown eyes, a masculine jawline that showed he was a grown man, and a straight, cute nose that she felt an indescribable urge to boop.

Realizing she was staring, Violet quickly averted her gaze. Rubbing her shoulders together, she tried looking elsewhere. The wolves were drinking from the pond, but other than them, there were no predators. The pond was still empty. The clearing had small critters. Birds. Bugs. A few squirrels. And way too many rabbits. They weren't scared of the wolves at all, either.

Maybe Willow did this?

The man finished cleaning his wound and waded back out. Grabbing his shirt, he flopped back to camp with Violet trailing behind.

The wolves appeared to be eyeing a nearby rabbit. Violet and Daire both watched as the male wolf got up and stalked toward the fuzzy creature. Again, like last night, the rabbit didn't move. The wolf wasn't nearly as hesitant as Daire. It clamped down on the furry neck, dying with a tiny squeak. It brought the carcass back to its mate and dropped it at her feet, and they started to tear it apart right there.

Violet wasn't overly perturbed as it was the natural course of life, but the way the rabbit didn't flee bothered her. Not looking, she bumped into Daire's back. He didn't seem to notice as he was looking at the wolves tear into their meal.

The color drained from his face, seemingly transfixed. Violet worried, floating into view and blocking sight of the wolves.

Repeating her previous words, she asked, "Are you alright."

=

Daire saw the pixie come into view with a worried look on her face. He realized how he must look. Quickly shaking his head, he continued to camp and dug out some medical supplies. Answering her question while digging.

"I am surprisingly fine," he stated. "Death has never scared me once it happened. Wounds and blood are a different story..."

He thought about it logically. When Daire's grandparents passed, he didn't grieve. Daire still remembered them, and that was enough. Gore was different. Daire has seen gore only on tv. The stench and voracity were what got to him. Finally fishing out a small medical box with gauze, he turned back to the pixie who was still nearby.

"Can you help me with this?"

Applying a smidge of Neosporin with a wince, he held his arm as straight out as he could, holding one end of the gauze. The pixie nodded and grabbed the other end, flying up and around his arm several times, covering the entire wound as tight as she could.

"Thank you." Daire bowed his head in her direction. He took both ends, one in his hand and the other in his mouth, and tied it tight.

"You're welcome." She smiled back.

He moved the arm up and down, bent it, and wiggled awkwardly, testing its movement. He wouldn't have trouble moving, but he winced when bending too far back. Anywhere else, it would need stitches, but he wasn't prepared for that.

Done, he grabbed his shirt and tentatively put it back on. Wet hair dangled in front of his face mockingly. If he tied it up, it would just get knots.

The pixie floated there, closed-lipped. Neither of them talked, allowing the past several minutes to sink in. The fight itself lasted only a minute. The conversation afterward, the cleaning and dressing of the wound didn't take long either. It had been a normal morning several minutes ago.

Finally, Daire turned to Violet.

"My name is Daire," Daire introduced. His name was pronounced like "dare," but his parents had thought that wasn't simple enough and decided to spice it up with a silent vowel.

The pixie straightened, curtsying awkwardly.

"Nice to make your acquaintance. My name is Violet."

=

Nice to make your acquaintance? Who talks like that? Wait... do people still talk like that? What if they never stopped. And did I just curtsy? That is outdated to the extreme. He isn't royalty. Wait...

=

"A fitting name. Pretty."

Daire was examining the little pixie... He thought she was a small girl before, but that was just because of her size. She was more mature than that. At about six inches tall, the size difference between them was large. She was floating with the aid of white paper wings attached to her lower back, near her hips. Daire thought he was seeing things, but there looked to be minuscule lines constantly being drawn on her wings. They weren't flapping, so it seemed they worked some other way...

She was petite, like the type that ate all she wanted but never gained weight.

How envious.

Violet was adorned in a dress made of small green and yellow leaves that came down just past her knees. Her long black hair was tied up using a blade of grass, still managing to reach her lower back, right above where her wings protruded.

If it were let down, it would probably reach her thighs. Impressive!

Her hair contained shades of dark blues and deep purples that shone when the light hit just right. Her eyes were a similar dark color shimmering with specks of ocean blues and lavender. She had a kind and cute face, more round than pointed. He wished he could ask her to come closer, but that might be interpreted the wrong way.

Violet fidgeted a bit at his words and his gaze.

"Thank you; I thought of it myself since it's a very pretty color."

"You named yourself?"

That was unorthodox in human society. Daire was prepared to meet non-humans and was actually incredibly giddy. But he couldn't let that part of himself show right now.

"Mhm, Pixies are born from clashing elements, so they don't usually have parents to name them."

Daire wanted to learn more, but it sounded like it might be a sore topic. Prying would be rude.

"I see."

Daire continued to stare at the pixie who hid in her shoulders.

Meeting someone so soon wasn't in his plans, but it couldn't hurt at this stage. Daire wondered where she came from, but considering there weren't many places close by, he assumed she lived in the willow tree.

Then he remembered his breakdown last night. Much to the relief of Violet, Daire turned away, coughing.

=

Violet was a little squeamish under his gaze. She was glad when he finally turned away on his own. He looked off towards the wolves, seemingly in his own thoughts. Violet had time to calm her nerves before he next spoke.

"Can you tell me about this place? I am glad for small coincidences, but this clearing is clearly odd."

"I suppose you're right. This is my first time seeing so many animals return to the clearing."

She had lived here for about two decades, she lost count, and animals would only come in small numbers, edging in from the boundary but never fully living inside the clearing. She had interacted with the animals before, but they never seemed to register her presence.

"I think it has something to do with Willow."

"Willow?"

"Mhm. Willow. I have always lived with her, and she has always provided for me. She exudes enough mana to keep me fed, changed the shape of her trunk to house me, and even gifted me with books."

There was a bit to unpack, but Daire got the gist.

"Books?"

"Yeah!"

Violet started to get excited, as this was her favorite topic. She was twirling a bit and was much more animated as she continued.

"Several years ago, books started to appear every night. I couldn't read them at first, but I learned gradually from the picture books. Looking back, those were probably children's stories since there were only a few words per page..." She suddenly deflated, realizing how childish she had been.

"When I could read more, Willow started sending me harder and harder books. Detective books with locked room mysteries, scary thrillers with bloody killers, intense action with bullets flying everywhere," she imitated a gun with her fingers and started making pew-pew noises.

Daire listened with a gentle smile. It reminded him of when he would talk about books. It looks like he found a kindred soul. That part about guns was curious, but he thought he would ask later since that would ruin the mood.

"And Romance Novels!" She threw her hands in the air and then brought them down to clutch at her check, swaying from side to side. "Stories where a princess is locked in a tower guarded by an evil dragon and is finally rescued by a handsome knight in shining armor. Or when the lord's son notices the hardworking baker's daughter as he is sneaking out of his estate."

Daire smirked as these were very cliche novels.

"Or when the female lead is a military officer who cracks down on a junior officer in public, but they are both in a steamy relationship behind closed doors."

That last one was a bit more interesting.

She continued talking more and more about the many stories she's read. About the characters that were never able to get together, of couples she was currently shipping, and about how evil the authors were for killing off her favorite characters. Daire felt at peace as he watched the cute little pixie talk about her favorite books. Her joy was so pure and genuine that he couldn't help but become enraptured with her stories as she talked.

...Perhaps?