Deja Vu

Chapter 25: What It Means To Be Human

Malleus walks you back to the area you three crossed over into Wonderland from. The night air is still crisp, and it's still quite dark. You got a lot accomplished in such a small time. Still, you look to Malleus with a bit of concern; "Will you be alright with the lack of sleep tonight?"

Malleus smirks, crossing his arms. "My kind are different from humans, remember?"

"Oh that's right. You guys operate a bit differently." You nod, remembering that the fae have different biology than humans, but both Satan and Belphegor exchange glances and then look to you for answers, which makes you laugh. You explain; "Malleus isn't human. His people are fae."

Belphegor has this long, knowing nod as the realization hits him and he realizes he should have been able to tell from the features. It had been nagging at him all night, so being able to place why Malleus seemed so different scratches an itch in his brain. Satan's still confused; "Are these fae not humans?"

"No, fae aren't humans. Much like how mer-people aren't humans. I suppose demons might lump all of these races together because they're all sentient human-realmers, but we're all different down to our biology." You explain as Malleus nods along with what you're saying, eyes closed as he thinks on the various differences.

"My people have differences that go back a very long time."

"If I remember correctly.." Belphegor yawns a little, tired from the excursion. "Fae live long lives rivaling that of demons and angels. They were also the most adept with magic when I last visited."

Malleus blinks in surprise. Even you don't know that him and Lilia live such long lives. He looks to you to gauge your reaction. Upon hearing that, you look to Malleus for confirmation, only to see the obvious 'Oh shit' look on his face. Instantly, a lot of puzzle pieces fall into place. You laugh; "Oh my god that's why you guys are so weird about your pasts! Augh it makes so much sense."

With your laughter, Malleus feels a weight lifted off his chest. "... I'm sorry I never told you."

"Don't worry about it. Everyone's got secrets they keep to themselves."

"Many of the humans here don't know this about my people, it's a fact that's been lost to time and war. Our dignitaries tend to keep an illusion of a smaller lifespan to keep peace between the lands." Malleus is now addressing the two demons with this explanation.

Belphegor's brow furrows as he thinks on that, trying to think on how much could have changed in his time apart from the human realm. Enough is the same that he's still knowledgeable, but it seems his knowledge is almost.. esoteric in nature. Such is the life of a demon, he supposes. Still, fae and humans did NOT get along last time he was around. In fact, a lot of the races didn't get along last time he was here. Did you mention Mer-people? "Are you all not fighting anymore?" He looks to Malleus, since he knows this isn't your world, so you wouldn't really know much about the past conflicts.

"Not as much, no. We have a... delicate peace between our lands. This school is actually one of the few institutions where you'll find students of all walks of life. Fae, beastmen, mer-people, humans, even monsters.." Malleus closes his eyes as he muses on this. He smirks a little as he opens his eyes to look to you specifically. "Even out-of-worlders."

You grin sheepishly, chuckling as you look to the two demons. "I honestly just thought this was how the whole world operated, so this is news to me."

Belphegor nods along with Malleus' explanation, and Satan seems to understand that humans are more complicated than demons and angels in their kinds, which has him asking questions. Questions that Belphegor seems equipped to explain, so you wave Malleus off as you lead the two conversing demons back through the veil to Devildom. Malleus smiles as he waves you off, happy that he got to spend time with you once again.