Thunder and Lightning

Chapter 12: Fantasy world

Dru rushed out of his apartment, already dressed from feeling the same sense of dreariness. He looked down every street and confirmed she did attend the class and left. He returned to the apartment to check on Kitt and to gather the pixies to plan the next move. When he arrived at the door, a vanilla lavender scent hit his nose. He shoved the door open and saw Nzinga sitting at the nook staring back at him. "Why didn't anyone call me and let me know she was back?"

Sarala replied "she walked in the door five minutes ago with Amina."

He let go of a long held breath and sighed, until his eyes fixed on the creature standing in front of him. Instinct and anger returned.

"Sister, what are you doing here?"

The room fell silent. Nzinga stood up went to her room and slammed the door. Dru walked to the door to go after her but the door was locked. Kitt and the pixies returned to the sofa bed and watched whatever was already on the screen to avoid the new awkwardness that filled the room. 

"Y'all want some popcorn?" Kitt asked her friends as they all cuddled on the couch. 

Amina approached her brother and lifted her chin. "I am here to warn you, Brother. Whatever is after her is really looking for you. She was bait to lure you. I came here last week because of my premonitions and saw her in a shop. She smelled of you." Amina's voice and accent soothed him and reminded him of home

"Why didn't you come straight to me?!" Dru bellowed his own accent richer and more pronounced in her presence.

"Because you have not been home consistent enough. I hide in the day at Dave's and tried to come to your home each night. You had her there or your weren't there at all. It did not seem proper to upset you or your company, so I planned to tell you today but my dreams told me to go to this class. A dark energy followed her and I grabbed her and put her in my shield. We walked home ever so slowly to not gain any additional attention. I couldn't risk breaking our bubble to call you."

"What do I do sister?" Badru 's voice broke at his elder sister's words. His eyes searched her eyes for comfort, advice or anything that we calm his beast. 

"You know this answer. I'm only here to communicate my premonitions. How you respond to them is your decision. I fully support whatever direction you go." Amina insisted. He stood up and walked to Nzinga's door. He sat on the floor, his back against the door panel.

Nzinga finally opened the door after several hours and Dru quickly stood looking something, anything. "Can we talk?"

"I'm hungry" she whispered.

He nodded and walked to the kitchen. She followed behind him. "No, I can make it " she snapped. The kitchen became filled with her energy and aura. He took a step back to give her space. She pulled out eggs, bacon and bread. She scrambled the eggs and quickly fried her meat. She rubbed butter on her toast and poured a glass of cranberry juice before heading back to her bedroom. He could see that the routine settled her. "Are you OK?" He asked.

"I'm fine. I just hate that I felt powerless."

"Do you train at all?" he gently queried. "I mean train your magic?"

"No..."

"You have the strongest raw magic I have ever seen. Maybe we can sharpen it?  Or we can get a body guard? How can I help you feel safer?"

Chortling, "No to the bodyguard, and who could teach me about my  magic? You?"

"It's not just your magic, it's your magical endurance. Whatever is after you, will not give you a chance to warm up. You can pull energy from your enemy to weaken them, but if you don't build up your endurance you will expend that energy quickly. Maybe we can start running tomorrow?"

Nzinga shook her head reluctantly. 

 "Also, Sarala and Mabi will follow you from now on when you leave. Calida and the rest will watch Kitt." 

"But-"

"They won't be intrusive. And worst case they will tell me if something is wrong if you can't." Badru preempted the argument.

"And who is watching you?" her eyebrow raised

"Don't you worry, Amina is a more overbearing big sister than your are. She won't leave me be either."

Nzinga grabbed the pillow and hit him over the head.

"So tell me more about you. Your mood seems so elevated, your power seems new, I can't take credit for all of it...Plus, this seems as great a time as any to tell me about your family since your sister is sitting in my living room." Nzinga's snarky mood had returned.

He answered , "Aziza regain energy by swarming together. We are drawn to one another. The contact with the pixies was the little jolt I needed. And now that Amina is here my power is growing exponentially. I suppose I should have figured she was nearby."

"That explains your big grin when the pixies flew to you. I had never seen you like that." She paused, "Tell me about where you're actually from."

"Well, what do you wanna know? What do you know?"

"I want to know about you, who you are , where you come from, what makes you tick." She leaned in closer to him and nuzzled into the crook of his neck. He welcomed, or more like needed her touch.

"I came over during slavery with a young human from Benin. During that time, I didn't use my human form at all, and often shielded myself from onlookers. But I stayed with him during his captivity healing his body and helping him survive. After the abolishment, I helped him plan the next steps of returning to Africa after the war. But he could never get back. By that time, a small community of West Africans formed, and we built a new community that pulled from all the cultures, languages and traditions."

"Hence Africatown?" remembering their first conversation.

"Yeah. It was a new Africa for me. The war had caused such movement of the people on the continent, that creatures followed too. My father started a colony of sorts here where he was also a welcomed king. Eventually, this colony became the base location, although we remain connected to the people and fae of the original lands."

"So you're really 'African Fae American?" she chuckled at her own joke.

"Real funny, but yeah. The creatures formed the new land closely resembling the old place and old country. And balance meant that good and bad creatures followed. So there are some creatures and things here that are not as welcomed. I guess we see ourselves as protectors of sorts against those things"

"But what about the internet? Do you have computers? Phones? Where does your trash go?"

Dru's face lit up with laughter. "Technology serves to make life easier, or to push progress forward. We like those things too. So yes we have internet, computers and phones. We don't use them quite the same, and there are definitely parts of the lands that don't use those things at all, preferring the old ways in much the same way you still take notes with pen and paper. There is no waste, we reuse every single particle."

"But what about - you know what nevermind." she quickly ended that question.

"Do you have weapons? Are there guns?"

" this is a complicated question, no we don't many have guns." He took her hand and kissed the tips smiling at her questions. "Human things react differently there. So a gun is too unpredictable. Plus the whip of a bullet is too loud, and most fae can dodge multiple bullets from different directions. Swords, bows and knives are preferable since our own control of the elements and nature help direct those weapons. But there are guns and large destructive weapons if need be. Rarely used, though. One day I'll take you. It's beautiful there."

Nzinga smile and stretched into a long yawn, "Listen, I'm tired, I don't want to leave today so no one has to worry about watching me. Tomorrow, I have the forum but other than I just plan to hang around here." She placed her plate down, walked into her bathroom and showered.