|New York|

Rhianwen was, for as far as anyone who was observing her, not paying attention at anything in specific. Just like most New Yorkers she kept herself occupied with constantly scanning other pedestrians to see if they would somehow stray into her own trajectory. She looked uninviting, glaring at anyone who made a move to come closer to her. Not that she had much trouble doing so, having been turned down for at least the fifth time this week. 'It's not even Wednesday yet…' she thought to herself, a stubborn look pasted on her face.

For the less casual observer it would be clear that she checked places others would have deemed hardly worthy of ever looking over. Empty corners in between shops where no human being could ever sit. Her green eyes flitted above her sometimes, her mouth set in a way her mother would describe as 'prepared to chew her way through iron'. She wasn't in a good mood at all, not that it was a miracle. She had gone to her mother in hopes of getting some sort of support. Instead she had been treated to an endless cascade of questions and stories about costumers. Her mother insisted her potions had been able to cure at least three people that week alone. She should know better by now.

Not that Rhianwen had been able to say something like that out loud. Sure, the potions worked, no questions about that. They just didn't work on humans. The last time she had pointed out something like that had been around when she was fourteen. She'd been thanked with threats of another visit to a psychiatrist if she kept up her stores about seeing fae folk. And so she had decided to keep her mouth shut, and thanks to a later incident, to keep her nose out of any magical on goings. No fairies, no fae or pixies. Hell no to the trolls and ogres and other bigger accidents rolling around. Just a boring, normal life for Rhianwen. If that had been possible.

With a name like hers, getting a normal job was tough enough. One look on her papers and she could see the look her employers gave her, assuming she was some kind of hippy. As if she had been the one to choose her own name. People should know they don't give you a choice in the matter, unless you get stuck with something really inappropriate. But no judge would deem 'Rhianwen Nicolson' a name not suitable for public life, no matter what the owner thought about it. She realized she was staring at a smaller type of goblin in her anger, quickly peeling her eyes away from the little guy. Most of the time the magical tattoos on her body – henna, thank you very much, she almost fainted at the thought of needles – made sure any supernatural creature ignored her, they usually found out about her if she lingered too long.

And she was already attracting too much attention with the pixies flitting around her. For some reason the little buggers were attracted to her, and they appeared in her earliest memories. She had soon learned that her mother could not see them, and that any questions pertaining them would be met in disbelief and scorn, sometimes even anger. They weaved their way around her head, one taking a ride on her dress shoes as she walked. After she had decided she wanted nothing to do with the magical world anymore she had also decided to ignore them. This had been one decision which was not only up to her, as the pixies were confident they did not want to give up their favorite playmate.

"Rhianwen!" One of them happily buzzed in her ear. It didn't matter if she ignored them, they would never give up. Most of the time they pretended she had answered them. "Your hair is so pretty today, I couldn't help but say!" It continued, the high voice slightly squeaky in her ear. She wished they wouldn't do that, since it made other magical creatures more suspicious of her. And there were already plenty of those that wanted to have a chat with her as it was, when they found out about her. At least only the friendlier races lived among people, hidden with their glamour.

So it would be compliments today. She could ignore them for months, but as soon as she had answered them only once it would send them in a partying mood. The problem was that they were often the only company she had. Seeing things that nobody else could see turned most people into something of an outsider, and she had not been different. Add to that a mother who would turn up at the school gates in airy dresses, mumbling about the position of the stars and you had the perfect recipe for a social recluse. So she had often been tempted to talk back to them. People could only be expected to keep their mouths shut for so long, and she did owe the little ones some favors since they had been the reason she had never been truly alone. Other days she would be more inclined to remember that they were the reason she never had the company of other humans.

She bit her tongue, determined not to answer today. She would not be seen talking to the air today, and she would not be entertaining the pixies no matter how hard they tugged on her curly hair. Not in the mood she was in today. She had just gotten back from another job interview, and once again she had been met by that pitying look when they had seen her name. It wasn't her fault her mother had turned to the ancient myths in search for a name of her only child. Not that it mattered to the employers. No matter how good her credentials were, she always got the answer that they didn't need someone just at that moment. Who had ever heard of an accountant named Rhianwen by the way? The idea was ludicrous, and they didn't need to say it out loud for her to know what they were thinking. Assholes.

She turned into the subway, feeling how the pixies were hanging on to her dark brown curls, making it seem as if her hair were fluttering in the breeze. Luckily most people didn't seem to catch on her hair had a tendency of doing that when there wasn't a breeze either, or things could have gotten awkward. She had managed to avoid the psychiatric ward when she had been younger, and slipping up now would only make things extremely annoying. She didn't think her mother had tossed out doctor Slopenhauser's phone card away yet, despite how 'good' she had been lately.

She ignored some of the real crazies down there, including one man who was talking to the air. She was confident there was in fact nothing there, since the closest by veiled magical creature was a Leprechaun with an exceedingly sour look on his face. The look brightened considerably when the pixies called out for him to pay attention to her shoes.

Rhianwen did her utmost best to ignore the fact that she was aware of the Leprechaun cleaning up her shoes. 'I am not aware of the Leprechaun.' She reminded herself, almost desperate. 'I can't see him, I can't feel him and I am certainly not going to acknowledge the fact that the pixies think I don't take proper care of my shoes.' Was a normal life so much to ask for?
She glanced down once, looking straight into the brilliant green eyes of the fae, before jerking her head back up again.

"Hey there missy. You can see me right, can you?" Rhianwen fought to keep her mouth from dropping open. Not because he was talking to her, but because that was a Texan accent coming from his mouth. Well, there went one stereotype.

She nodded, not wanting to talk, even if there was hardly anyone in this specific car. Apart from a drunk passed out in a corner she and the Leprechaun were alone. Not that it mattered, she didn't want to get caught on some random security tape, talking to air!

"Well, y'all-" it was clear he was referring to the pixies as well, which were currently collaborating in getting a side braid in her hair. "- should be watching out. Word on the street is there's something dangerous out around here, though it mostly comes out at night." He spat on Rhianwen's shoe, making the woman flinch inwardly. Of course he would be cleaning her shoes like that, and of course she couldn't show any sign of reluctance to having her shoes spit-shined. It was either that or find herself drowning in bad luck for a week.

"Thanks…" she whispered, barely moving her mouth. Well, there it was. Only Wednesday, and only one day where she hadn't talked to something other, normal, people couldn't see. Maybe next week would be better for her.

The Leprechaun lifted one of her feet, inspecting her soles. "The name's Ted, missy. Now I see you're quite a walker, judging from the damage on these puppies. How about ya drop by my store next week. I'll fix 'em up for free, since you and the pixies seem to be getting around so great." He saw her furtive glance at the camera. "Don't worry about the camera, you're in my glamour shield at the moment."

Rhianwen let her shoulders drop a little bit, not aware of how tense she had been. "Look, Ted, you have the wrong idea here. Me and the pixies, there's nothing special going on between us."
One of the pixies pressed a tiny kiss on her cheek, sending a faint blush across Rhianwen's cheeks before it turned to Ted.

"Don't mind Rhianwen, she's just being shy. I bet she would love to stop by." Oh, how she would love it if just one day could be plain boring. Or a day without rhyming, that would be lovely as well. But considering it was either that or their own language, she still preferred the rhyming. Having grown up with the pixies chattering at her, she still had a rudimentary grip on a language nobody else around her understood. She still remembered how weird people had looked at her when she'd replied out loud to a pixie.

She smiled grimly at the Leprechaun, trying to seem both friendly and off-putting at the same time. It wasn't like she enjoyed being a grouch, it was just that she had the choice between being rude or getting her humble flat swamped in mythical creatures. "Look… Ted. I appreciate the offer, but I really shouldn't. Thanks for shining the shoes though. And the warning."

Ted waggled his bushy eyebrows at her, giving a flick with his red coat. "Whatever you say, missy. Just remember, come to 'Tioboid', that's the shoe shop right next to the stop I'm getting off."

Rhianwen let out a sigh of relief when the Leprechaun left. Today was one of the days where she would be attracting more supernatural creatures, she could already tell. If only the pixies weren't so intent on making her presence so noticeable for everyone. The one that had talked to Ted – Lenore?- floated in front of her face, bringing down her dainty teeth to Rhianwen's nose.

"Ouch!" she cried out, resisting the urge to slap the pixie across the car. "What?" she whispered almost violently, rubbing her nose.

The pixie had already started hiding in Rhianwen's hair, huddling there with the others. There were five of them in total, she realized, judging from all the cold feet pressing against her back through her shirt. They'd actually half-way buried themselves through her coat.

"There's a darkness here." Lenore said softly, her voice quivering like a silver bell caught in the wind. "It makes my heart beat in fear!" Tiny hands grabbed strands of dark red hair, a chorus of scared voices sounding from underneath Rhianwen's coat.

Rhianwen looked around the subway car, trying to see what it was that had the usually brave pixies so scared. There was only one tangible darkness she remembered from her youth, but that couldn't possibly be it. Then her eyes landed on it. A dark spot in the shadows, hardly noticeable when one didn't know how to look for it. Like black ink dropped in the night sky, it quivered there.

She swallowed, once. This was not good, not good at all. She remembered the shadows from her childhood, and they were never up to any good. The pixies liked playing pranks, but the shadows were intent on worse things that simple setting someone's hair on fire. Her heart started to beat faster as she realized why she had been the only one in here, safe a passed out drunk. The shadows could have been the ones keeping out other mortals. That meant they had learned how to recognize her. 'Fantastic.' She thought to herself with so much sarcasm it could have dripped on the ground. 'Just bleeding fantastic.'

For now the shadow stayed put, only quivering every once in a while as it tasted the air. She could feel the pixies shivering as she slowly, so very slowly, walked towards the exit. Only a few more seconds until she could get off. It didn't matter that this wasn't her stop, all that mattered was getting off and running away as fast as she could. Behind her the shadow drooped – there was no better word for that action – from lighter shadow to lighter shadow, as if it tried to sneak up to her.

'Deep breaths, Rhianwen.' She reminded herself gently. It wouldn't be the first time she had outrun something that could have meant trouble. What if she couldn't outrun it? She pushed that thought down violently, not allowing herself the luxury of fear or doubt. Blood rushed to her ears as she watched the platform zoom in front of her. She got out, hurriedly clutching her purse against her. Would clobbering a shadow with it help anything?

She almost let out a moan when the lights started to flicker. Of course the lights would start to flicker as if this was some sort of cheesy horror flick. Not that she needed to be introduced to the monster, the shadows had been following her for quite some time. When she saw a tall man, with brown hair to his shoulders near the stairs she let out a sigh of relief. They would never attack her in the open.

"Sir?" she called out, hoping that if this behavior made her stand out like some weirdo she would at least seem like the benign sort of weirdo. She stopped walking towards him when he turned.

His eyes were completely black, smoky grey drawing across them as he reached out a hand towards her. She stumbled back, bumping into the man that had been passed out in the same car as her a few seconds ago. His eyes were in the same condition. "You've picked up some new tricks…" she mumbled, her tongue feeling uncomfortably thick in her mouth. "I'm not a fan." She admitted, taking a few steps away from the men. They moved slowly, as if the shadows hadn't completely figured out how to control a body yet. She wasn't planning on sticking around to wait until they learned.

"Guys, think you could give me a hand here?" she asked the pixies, continuing her steps back.

Of course Lenore was the first to take action, grabbing one of the human's bangs to lead her towards the tracks. "Careful not to get burned." The flying creature warned. "That's a lesson only the shadows have earned." She was of course referring to the fact Rhianwen could get a nasty shock if she placed her foot on the wrong track.

Thankful she wasn't wearing any high heels she started to run. She couldn't hear a new subway train yet, but that was only a matter of time. But as long as she stayed on the concrete walkways she would be safe, right? That was what they were there for, at least she guessed so. Who would have known knowledge about this place would come in handy some day?

"Rhianwen, it's this way! Hurry!" That was one of the male pixies, who grabbed a strand of hair on her left to make her turn. The lack of rhyme was one clue he was distressed more than usual.

"Are they still behind us?" Rhianwen asked. To hell with not talking to the pixies, right now they only had each other. And if they got out of this without being caught by the shadows she'd give them anything they asked for.

Lenore had gone a way ahead, her voice carrying surprisingly far throughout the corridor. "There is a safe place here, so let's disappear!"

Rhianwen wanted to let out a pitying moan at the rhyme, ignoring the three younger pixies still holding on to her hair. Lenore had taken a right turn, so she did the same, not expecting anything to stand in her way.

With an 'oomph' she fell on her backside, looking up at what she had bumped into. Only it wasn't a what, but rather a who. A tall, very pale and not very friendly looking who, who seemed to stroke a weapon by his side with his thumb. When his hand closed around the weapon, she swallowed loudly. This was one of those 'out of the frying pan' situations, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Hi?" she tried, hoping the stranger wouldn't be in a bad mood.

He lifted the silver weapon, preparing to strike. Her brain was so kind as to finish her thought for her. 'And into the fire.'

|Moon's Note : And I started another fic. As usual, I'll eventually finish this story though the speed may vary. This is my first fic for something that was originally a non-Japanese comic book series, so if anyone wants to tell me how it was up until this point, please feel free. I welcome all constructive criticism.

Other than that, I hope you have a nice day, and a lot of nice stories to read!|