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--- Apex Liberty, Alnus Community ---

Date: June 10th, 2026

“Don’t get too far ahead, you two,” Sarah says, trying to keep up with both Sebille and Selina. They both play as they walk along towards the popular pub known as Apex Liberty. Sebille poking and evading as Selina attempts to catch her. Sarah just smiles as she sees her soon to be daughter laugh and act as a girl her age should.

It had been an eventful first day for Sebille as she had agreed to volunteer and help out at Sarah’s school. It was off to a rocky start with Sebille arriving late but she proved to be a quick learner with how serious she took her duties from there on out. Sarah smiles, happy that she has another hand at school now and from someone who genuinely wants to help.

Sarah watches them play as they make their way down the sidewalk towards Apex. She watches the little fairy, beginning to get lost in lingering thoughts about her before her train of thought is broken.

“Sarah, you there?” Sebille asks, floating directly in front of her face as she jumps.

“Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking.”

“Thinking about what?” The fairy asks.

“Mama, you were supposed to turn back there with us,” Selina chimes in as she grabs her hand.

“It was nothing important, but right, sorry. Let’s head back,” Sarah responds. They move towards their destination once more, Selina and Sebille continuing with their shenanigans as she keeps an eye on the little fairy; the same thoughts coming back to her. Call it a woman’s intuition, but she feels something is off with the fairy but decides to just brush it off.

Moments later as they reach their destination, laughter and playful shouts could be heard coming from the place.

“We’re here!” Selina shouts as she points. Sebille smiles, landing right on top of Selina’s head. She just looks up as she feels the fairy sitting on her head. Sarah catches up with them and sees Selina holding the door open for her.

“Ladies first,” Selina says.

“Why thank you, little ladies,” Sarah teases back at both of them as she walks in.

Sebille was about to respond but quickly picked up on the innocent joke and merely kept her smile. The cheery atmosphere enveloped the entire establishment with a warm welcoming presence. The bar was filled with all sorts of people, some appearing to be workers, some girls enjoying their night out, and some soldiers blowing off some steam. It was just what you would expect in a standard pub.

Sarah quickly leads them all inside while she scans for an open spot for them. As they search, a prickly-faced, burly man drinking by himself from a corner of this restaurant eyes the group. A crooked smile finds its way on his face as he sizes up Sarah, appreciating all of her feminine features. Watching her, he licks his lips and takes another gulp of his drink. His eyes make their way past her and onto the girl behind her, Selina.

‘Growing up just nicely too,’ he thinks to himself, still smiling. But someone had taken notice of his gestures and how he looked at the girls. The man continues to watch them but something catches his eye, a blue aura begins to shimmer right on top of that little girl’s head. As he focuses, he can see a small fairy sitting there but she is staring right at him. Her demeanor shows hostility as she slowly shakes her head towards him, almost as if warning him. Upon noticing this, he finally looks away and continues on minding his own business.

“Ah-ha. Here we go,” Sarah says as she finally finds a table. They all begin taking their seats as Sebille moves from her friend’s head and onto the table.

“I’ll be with you in a minute,” a waitress quickly says as she struggles with multiple mugs in her hands.

“No rush,” Sarah reassures with a smile. She takes out her phone to see how far along Sharpe is. Selina has a large smile on her face as she leans in, elbows on the table as she rests her head on her hands; her dangling feet kicking back forth. Sebille sits there, legs crossed as she stares back swaying back and forth. Every so often, without Selina’s knowing, staring back at that creepy man.

“Well that was an interesting day today, huh?” Sarah asks the two, breaking their silence.

“Yes it was. Honestly I can not see anyone handling those kids like you did. Do you have kids of your own?”

“No. No,” Sarah responds quickly but then turns to Selina. “Not yet, at least.” Selina responds with just a grin as Sarah smiles back before turning back to the little fairy.

“What about you Sebille? From what I saw, you’ve dealt with kids before, haven’t you?”

“Of course, it was the duty assigned to me before…”

“Before?” Sarah asks puzzlingly.

“Oh nothing. It’s not important anymore. So how far along is Sharpe?” Sebille asks, trying to change the subject. .

Sarah finds it weird that she dodged the question but before she could say anything else, the waitress returns with menus and begins passing them around.

“Do you know what you would like to drink?” She asks them.

“Water for now, a beer, and..”

“A coke, please,” Selina interrupts with a cute smile.

“And I’ll have a lily drop ale,” the small fairy says energetically.

“Got it, anything else or do you need more time with your menus?” The feline waitress asks.

Sarah, making up her mind continues, “well actually can I have an order of pulled hogus boar sliders and two wyvern steaks, medium-rare please. What about you dear?” She finishes while asking Selina.

“Uhmmm, can I get a night trapper burger with fries,” she says while licking her lips. Sebille flutters up to Selina’s ear and whispers something into it. “Can I also get it with a wingtar sauce?” She finishes asking.

“Well of course, and a good choice. It pairs well with this burger. Anything else?” The waitress asks.

“Yes, can I try this new molten chocolate cake? It sounds delicious,” Sebille adds.

“Understood. I will bring your drinks out shortly,” the waitress finishes saying before walking away.

The three continue to engage with each other, laughing and joking while Sebille still avoids any personal questions about her, somewhat frustrating Sarah. Not too long after that, the drinks arrive as everyone eagerly takes a sip of their respective drinks. Sarah takes a quick sip while having to stop Selina from finishing her soda in just a few gulps. Sebille grabs her shot-sized ale and takes a deep long drink, finishing with an “ahhhhh.”

“Is that really that good?” A man’s voice could be heard from behind them. As they all turned to see who had said that, Selina’s voice could be heard springing into excitement.

“Daddy!” she shouts as Selina rushes to hug this tall stranger.

Sebille is confused at first until she remembers who Selina refers to as father and nearly choked on her drink. Sharpe stood there, rubbing the top of her head with a caring smile on his face.

“Good to see you, squirt,” he teases.

Sarah pats Sebille on her back with her finger as she coughs, keeping her eye on him. Once she regains her composure, she flies close to his face, startling him a bit.

“So you’re Sharpie?”

“Sharpe,” Selina, annoyingly, corrects.

“I am,” Sharpe says while staring at the little sprite.

“Hmmm, I thought you’d be bigger,” she teases with a smirk.

“And I thought you’d be more… sparkly,” Sharpe retorts, earning a slight giggle from Sebille.

After a short introduction, they begin sitting down at their table just in time for the waitress to bring Sharpe his drink and the food for everyone. The intoxicating aroma filled their nostrils as steaming plates of varying foods lay before them. Beautifully seared steaks faced Sharpe and Sarah. A slice of butter melted across the top as they peered at this moist piece of sizzling meat. A plate of blue-colored, pulled Hogus pork sandwiches lay between them; its buns still steaming from the heat of the grill. A burger whose patty held a slight blue tint of color gave off a mouthwatering smell; its buns slightly toasted, giving it a golden brown color. A small toothpick with a small plastic bow is lodged into it, holding the burger together. The last plate to be set has a small warm chocolate cake with a scoop of ice cream nestled right on top. Hot fudge was poured right on top as the plates were set down, melting the ice cream down the sides just like lava flowing from a volcano.

Sebille couldn’t contain herself any further as she dove straight for a taste. She jabbed a few fingers in, picking up a piece of the cake with the freezing cream and samples it; her face lights up with joy from the sweet treat. Sharpe and Sarah begin cutting into their meat as they notice a slight difference than what they were usually accustomed to. Instead of the usual glossing ruby pink, a glistening sapphire center awaited them; the meat’s juices trickled down after the first slice.

Both quickly go in for a bite, filling them with an unbelievable flavor as the meat practically falls apart in their mouths. Selina was quick to follow, taking a large bite out of her burger as a smile forms on her face. The crispy toasted bread provides a nice crunch as the tender meat patty explodes with flavor.

“Hmmm, this is good,” Selina happily says.

“Isn’t it?” Sebille adds, taking a sip from her ale. “Ahh, and this is just amazing.”

“So it is that good then? I always wondered if little fairies could or would drink alcohol,” Sharpe chimes in, taking a sip of his beer.

“Little?” Sebille repeats while staring back at him with an annoyed face.

“Father,” Selina says, trying to defend her new friend.

“What?” Sharpe asks, now visibly confused.

“She doesn’t like being called that,” Sarah whispers in his ear as he nods in understanding.

“I’ll let it slide this time because of who you are,” Sebille comments as she flies up and raises her shot-sized mug. “How about a toast?”

Sharpe smiles and raises his mug as well to match hers and gently toasts. After a good sip, she flies back down next to her cake which slightly dwarfed her. As the atmosphere begins to pick up again, they continue to chat, joke and tease for a bit as a sudden slam onto the table between Sharpe and Sarah startles everyone. Sebille’s eyes quickly narrow as she recognizes the same burly man she had noticed early today. An alcoholic odor protrudes from his body which becomes more prominent as he speaks.

“Ho.. how are you doing, pretty lady?” He blurts out barely keeping on feet and leaning in close to her.

Sharpe’s demeanor changed from the laid back person that was once observed into a defensive one. However, seeing the man was completely drunk, he maintains his composure and sternly tries to get the man to leave.

“Sir, you’re too close to my fiancé,” Sharpe says to try and let him know he is unwelcomed here. Not seeing a reaction, he continues to speak, “you need to back away and go home,” he calmly orders as he places his hand between them. But the drunk does not bother to even look back at him as he continues to try and engage with his soon to be wife.

“What is a fine woman like you doing with him, why not come see what you can do with a real man,” the drunk says, leaning in closer. At this point Sharpe has had enough and quickly jolts up to push him away. As the drunk stumbles back, he gains his footing and now focuses on Sharpe. The buzz of the restaurant begins to die down as all eyes focus on them. Some eager to see the fight about to happen, some soldiers getting up to try and de-escalate this. One even runs out of Apex to call in any nearby MPs.

But before this can escalate, the sound of some type of porcelain shattering could be heard coming from behind Sharpe and Sarah. They quickly break their gaze to look but Sharpe quickly turns back to, briefly, catch a glance of a blue blur whizzing past him.

“Ahhhhh!” The drunken fool wails as he holds his hands up to his face. “My eye! My eye! I can’t see!” He begins to shout as he collapses over another table. As if on queue, the MPs show up to collect the injured man and collect statements. No one really saw what had happened or what caused a toothpick to get lodged into the man’s eye. After giving their statement, the mood is much ruined for the night but Sebille and Selina’s pleading convinces them to stay to finish their meals.

Things begin to settle as the restaurant slowly resumes its merry ambiance. A person sitting at a table nearby begins to sing a cheery tune that brings the atmosphere backup as everyone resumes their distractions.

Sharpe is still somewhat serious by having his family time, that he hardly gets time for, interrupted by a drunkard. Sarah attempts to calm him down, reassuring that the distraction is now gone; she felt happy and found it cute that he came to her rescue. His mood starts to lighten up again as his smile soon begins to creep back onto his face as he hears giggling on the other side of the table. Pieces of fried potato slices are being flicked at him as both Selina and Sebille look in different directions, pretending to not know where it came from. Not to be outdone, he flicks the fries back at them while also looking all around. Sarah merely shakes her head with a chuckle. ‘Children, I’m having to deal with children everywhere I go,’ she thinks to herself as she looks over to Sebille, ‘and now it looks like I have another.’

As the shenanigans begin to slowly subside, Sarah sees Selina lean in close so she does the same. The little girl whispers something into her ear with a red face as Sarah just nods with understanding.

“Excuse us,” Sarah says as she and Selina get up. “We have to use the little ladies room.”

“Have fun,” Sebille says cheerfully as she waves. They quickly walk away leaving only her and Sharpe alone at the table. The little fairy picks up her cup and takes a good long sip as Sharpe just stares at her.

“That was impressive, what you did back there,” he says as he takes a sip of his beer. “Where did you learn to do that?”

Sebille nearly spits out her ale and coughs a bit before responding. “I.. I don’t know what you mean.”

He eyes the small little sprite. “It was a split second but I saw you. With your size and cheery attitude, hiding what you can do looks like it can be pretty easy.”

“Easy?” Sebille responds annoyed. “Do you know how hard it is for me to learn to keep a straight face and act innocent? It’s not as easy as you think,” she finishes saying, hovering near his face.

“So you did prick that man’s eye,” Sharpe says as Sebille quickly covers her mouth and flies back down near her ale.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she says nervously as she quickly goes for another sip.

“Then do you know what happened to that pick that was once in that burger next to you?”

“Uhhh.”

“Relax. I’m not mad and I’m not going to turn you in for what you did. I’m thankful, actually. Thank you for helping me keep my family safe.”

The usual cheerful smile on Sebille’s face completely vanishes as a serious demeanor now washes over. “Well that moron was asking for it. Drunk or not, he should have minded his own business. Not many people seem to realize that they will live longer if they do,” she finishes while taking another quick sip.

“But thankfully you didn’t kill him,” Sharpe replies. “That would’ve been bad; then I would have had to have had to say something.”

“I know, that’s why I didn’t. Besides, only a dull blade would reveal themselves to the common folk.”

“Right,” Sharpe responds, not fully understanding. “Yet, I caught you.”

One of the little fairy’s eyes twitches with that statement. “But you're no ordinary person so it’s different.”

Sharpe chuckles a bit while taking another sip. “But on a serious note, where’d you learn to do that?”

Sebille remains silent, not really sure whether to keep responding. She has been caught but the less she gives away now might be for the best. However, on the other hand, when will she get another opportunity to have a one on one chat with this potential candidate. She decides to take a chance, lightly smacking both of her cheeks to regain focus and answers. “Taught. It’s what I was raised to do. My group and I.”

“So there are more of you with these types of skills then?”

“Yes, but isn’t that true for most people that come here. And no, we aren’t here to cause any trouble, just looking for a place to call home. For a new start.”

Sharpe nods, understanding that sentiment. It is the land of opportunity and new beginnings, of course.

“Okay, I can understand but where did you live before coming here? What made you look for a new home?”

“It’s personal.”

“I get that too but if you’re going to be around my family, volunteering at Sarah’s school; I need to know I can trust you,” he answers sternly.

She lowers her head, dwindling her fingers, thinking back on the fun day she had earlier with both Sarah and Selina. She also thinks of her own family and sighs. She looks to see if Sarah or Selina are coming back, but not seeing them, she answers Sharpe. “It is a long story but I’ll keep it short. We were once a part of a larger family, a clan. It was primarily a hunting one and was led by a great man, Atilius. He was our father in a sense, he pulled us from nothing, seeing something redeemable in all of us. He raised us, taught us, empowered us.” She begins as she dips her finger into her drink and begins to move it in a circular motion.

“We’re each identified by our clan marking etched onto each of us, mine is on my back, and a darkened black blade, which we each carry.”

“And what happened? What brought you to Alnus?” Sharpe inquires.

“Our former home is gone, attacked by disgraced individuals who went against our ways. They destroyed everything… killed everyone,” she finishes as she begins to tear up. “I was tasked with protecting the younglings. I was supposed to keep them safe but when they needed me most, I couldn’t protect them,” she says as she wipes the tears coming down and sighs. “So I want to help Sarah, help teach and protect them. Please let me; I promise, I won’t fail a second time.”

Sharpe simply nods, finally getting a better idea of who she and her people are, survivors. “Okay, I can tell you’re sincere. I believe you,” he responds while handing her a napkin. “Don’t want to let them see you crying now, right? And bedsides a smile better suits you.”

Sebille thanks him and begins to wipe. Once finished, the same bright smile begins to find its way back onto her face.

“But can you not go killing whoever you please,” Sharpe teases. “I don’t want to hear about bodies dropping left and right.”

“I make no such promises,” she teases back.

“Just a few more questions. Are these rogue clan mates still around and will they be a problem?”

“Some yes, but they have and are actively being hunted, so they shouldn’t be a problem here. But just keep an eye out for anyone with this type of emblem,” Sebille replies while describing the insignia, sort of shaped like a type of beast.

“Thanks, I’ll keep a watch when I’m out there.”

“And if you do see one, let us know. We’ll take care of the rest,” she says eagerly. “Now can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“Shoot what?” She asks.

“Nevermind. Just ask your question.”

“There is one thing we do need in order to officially make this place our home. And I… we are wondering if you can fulfill that role?”

“What do you mean?” Sharpe asks, now being the one confused.

“By clan law, we cannot set up another branch without a qualified clan leader. When our home was destroyed, no successor was left. So as it stands, we are a part of the clan in name alone; we’re basically clanless. From the tales heard from many sources, you’re the most qualified to lead us.”

Sharpe thinks deeply on this. “I don’t think I can be that person. I don’t know anything about how your clan operates or what is required of me.”

“We can let you know. Maybe hear what this is all about before making your decision. Think on it before making your decision, okay. If you agree, you will have us whenever you need us. Just reach out to me if you decide to do it. I will not tell the others I have told you so you do not feel pressured,” the fairy says gleefully.

“Thank you. I’ll keep it in mind but don’t get your hopes up.”

“And thank you for at least thinking about it,” she finishes while holding what remained of her ale. “Toast for now.”

They proceed to toast and take one good gulp. They continue speaking with one another on different topics. Sharpe is interested in the adventures Sebille had experienced while the tall tales are thoroughly entertaining Sebille as she hooks onto every detail as fact.

After some time, Sarah and Selina find their way back to the table as Sharpe questions, “what took you so long? I was just about to report you two as missing.”

Selina’s face just begins to turn red as Sarah answers, “a gentleman shouldn’t dive his nose into the business of ladies in the restroom.”

“Fair enough,” he finishes, knowing better than to keep pushing the subject.

“Well, what did you two talk about while we were away? We were gone a while,” Sarah asks, trying to change the subject.

“Well he was just telling me how America was born,” Sebille chimes in, cheerily. “He said that a person famously known as Uncle Sam rode on top of this massive eagle, found a Lady Liberty hidden on top of rocky mountains and with a short ‘yee yee,’” she says trying to imitate Sharpe. “Just like that America was born.” Sebille finishes excitedly as she turns back to Sharpe. “Right?”

Sarah just rolls her eyes and shakes her head while Selina begins to laugh. She knew she’ll have to explain to Sebille later about Sharpe’s exaggerated tales.