Aeries Greythorne did not like the cold. In fact, she hated it, with passion. She hated how cold it would get, how the snow clung to her hair, her lashes. Most of all, she hated how it left those vulnerable, weaker-- or at worst, dead.
Her thin cloak flapped aggressively in the demanding wind, her golden sword clanking loudly against her leg. How she hated the sharp, biting wind too.
She trudged, albeit begrudgingly, along in the snow, shivering violently. Her teeth chattered loudly, but the wind kept the sound dull.
She absolutely hated her realm.
No amount of her fire could melt this frozen wasteland.
She groaned loudly, her head looking up to the sky. She hated her realms gods, Phos – the goddess of daylight and everything good, and Erebos – the god of darkness and everything evil. Complete opposites. Yin and Yang.
Snow and small pellets of hail pummeled her face and body. Why is this realm so cold?!
She ignored the cold the snow left in her bones and continued on to her destination. She was looking for a realm portal, in the Cliffs of Khinon. It was believed to be tucked away into an alcove in the steep downgrade of terrain.
She did not know how long she walked, but she eventually felt the snow give way under her feet. She quickly jumped away, her wingless back arching slightly as she landed. If she had a tail, it would have been swishing violently with ire.
She was a mistake. Her parents said as such. Every Fae that lived in the Realm of Chion had wings of any sort, and tails of wild beasts. She did not have either of those, but she did have her magic. Fire and Shapeshifting to a large wolf. Every Fae can Shapeshift, mostly into animals of her world.
She peered down into the exposed snow crust and groaned. A faint light pulsated from the hole, and she just knew she had to climb down into it.
She hopped into the hole, careful to snag the narrow walls with her pointed boots and clawed gloves. She quickly scaled towards the true ground and landed with a soft thud, her boots scuffing on the dark stone.
She grunted in astonishment when she beheld the soft glow from the archway in front of her. Aeries stalked towards the arch with wariness. Should she go in? Yes. Yes, she should. She toed her way slowly to the pulsating archway. She shruged and sprinted forward to the portal. What a reckless person she was.
As she jumped into the soft, swirling mists of a sage green, she cackled.
She couldn't remember anything after that.
Everything went black.
* * *
Aeries groaned awake, her eyes becoming used to the bright sun. Where was she? Where did that portal take her?
That last thought has her bolting upright.
She was in an alleyway of some sort. There was a giant green box with a black lid, filled to the brim with trash. It was rank. Her face scrunched up in disgust. This realm is very nasty.
She sighed, and followed the sound of people bustling about, keeping to the shadows, and flicking her hood over her sharply pointed ears.
When she saw how many people there were, and how many of them were wingless and tailless, she knew instantly that she would fit in. At least, as best she could, given her pointed ears.
She watched the people for what seemed like hours. She realized they each have a musky smell to them. The scent was almost mundane.
Aeries jumped when a man, skinny and tall, staggered into the alley. She sunk deeper into the shadows and watched the man. She had a bad feeling about him.
"Trust your gut, little wolf."
Her best friend's sultry voice stirred in her mind. Nestia Flocco, or as she called her, big bird. She could quite literally shapeshift into a ginormous bird of prey.
Back to the present, the man scraped at the brick wall and heaved. He threw up yellow chunky stuff, and she was glad she had shadows to hide in. She cringed away at the acidic smell. Thank you, Fae heritage...
The putrid smell of fear came from the man as shouts from the street neared. The skinny man, she was going to call Twig, scrambled up and ran towards the end of the alley. He was looking for a way out. There was a metal ladder just above his head, and he tried, frantically, to shank it free. It creaked loudly, but didn't give way. A sob came from Twig's chest as two very tall burly men came rushing towards the pale-skinned Twig.
The men were dressed in all black, one a dark caramel while the other a tanned white. She had to suppress her growl. She rested her hand on the pommel of her sword, making sure not to move too fast.
The men reached into their trousers and grabbed a metal stick. It was bent in half, and it made a click sound when they pulled the top of it back. They pointed their metal sticks at Twig, and she rolled her eyes. She sighed softly and shook her head.
"Gentlemen..." She said in a sing-song voice. She was still in the shadows, and the pair of tall bulky men whipped their heads around frantically to find where the beauty was. She stepped out of the shadows, still clad in her cloak and warm clothes. She still had her hand on her golden sword, and she smiled wickedly - but to them it was sultry – and she crossed her arms.
The men had fearful expressions flash across their faces, but they were quickly turned in anger. Looks like they saw her ears.
"What are you?" The dark caramel one asked. Twig backed away to the brick wall and slumped against it. His chest heaved as he caught his breath.
"What do you fear?" She turned his question around. Oh, she loved her abilities.
The tanned man took a step towards her, and she growled loudly. The sound was nothing friendly.
"I won't hesitate to shoot you, bitch!" The caramel one, who she was going to call Hunka, yelled as he pointed his metallic stick at her. She cocked her head.
"With a puny metal stick. Huh." She smiled, showing off her pointed teeth. The tanned one, she was going to call Fucker, took a step towards her again. She growled and shot him a death glare. "Whatever you are trying to do, it would be best in your favor to back away, Fucker."
"Awe, don't be such a bitch, sweetheart." Fucker said, giving her a smile that brought her to a bristle. She growled again. She was focused on both, but she let Hunka think that she was too focused on Fucker. He charged at her, and she kicked him square in the chest. Hunka fired a shot at her, but a wall of fire sprung from the ground and melted the pellet before it could puncture her. Aeries smiled wickedly at the two.
"What the fuck are you?!" Fucker and Hunka yelled, all the while backing away. She growled through her teeth.
"I am Fae," She started, and took a step towards them. "What are you?" she asked with a grin. She could tell the two were not immortals. They were mortal.
And she was two hundred and thirty years old. She does not play with mere children. They were ants, compared to her wrath.
"What else would we be, freak?!" She tsked as Hunka said this. "We are humans!" He charged at her again. She doesn't give second chances.
Aeries turned towards Fucker as Hunka burst into ash. He backed away, but she charged at him with her sword drawn. She had a wicked smile on her face as she swiped her sword, and Fuckers head lopped clean off his shoulders. She looked at Twig and gave a soft smile. Fuckers body fell to the ground with a thud, and his blood spurted all over her. She even somehow had blood on her face. She didn't like the feel of it, it was sticky.
"Are you okay, Twig?" She asked. But Twig whimpered and flinched away from her. She tutted and walked away. Her boots echoed loudly in the alley, and a sudden tingle of something wasn't right shot up her spine. She ducked and swiped her sword upward, parrying the bullet Twig shot at her. She growled.
"You will regret that, Twig..." She snarled darkly and was in front of him in a blink of an eye. She had her sword jammed up his ribs. Twig spat blood on her face, and she twisted her sword, snarling. She ripped her sword from him. He fell to the ground, already dead. She spat on his dead body, and his blood spilled from her sword.
Using her cloak to wipe her sword, Aeries sighed and erupted in a swirl of fire. When the small pillar of fire went away, she was no longer there.
A Fae has been let loose on Earth.
And the Fae species do not forgive easily.