What Fools These Mortals Be

Chapter 11 - ESFJ Seeks INTJ

Nia wakes first.

It's still dark, but her body stirs to wakefulness. It's that first moment where consciousness slowly grows, and awareness returns. She's warm, oddly warm but not unpleasantly so. The feeling is lulling, telling her to curl up and return sleep, to hibernate until the call of spring pulls her from her slumber. It's a voice in the back of the ape brain of the mortal form she inhabits, and right now, it's making a hell of a lot of sense.

So Nia rolls over, tucks her back against the firm warmth behind her, and snuggles. Even as she feels herself wrapped in a tightening cocoon of warmth, she only relaxes further. She's protected, secure to the very depths of her soul, and surrounded by the very essence of love. It's the most relaxing thing on Earth until a feather tickles her nose, memories from last night rush back, and reality crashes in around her.

Nia's eyes open in a flash. The tiniest stream of light trickles in from above her head where Querl's wing doesn't quite cover her. She's wrapped, held tightly to him in an embrace that sends one word crashing through her head in a manic loop: lover.

"Querl! Querl, wake up!" She struggles, thrashing about and shoving his wing up like the lid of a box as she rolls away from him. She pants, her heart pounding as she stares at his slowly waking form. She watches the smile slowly grow on his face and the moment when things change, and realization sets in for him too.

"Nia!"

"You dropped your mortal form and... You were holding me. You were holding my mortal form, and you were... You know what you were doing."

"I... no?"

"Ugh. You affected me, Querl. I could feel the emotions coming from you."

"But—"

"I don't want to hear it right now." She points to the door, her arm stiff and demeanor unforgiving. "I need distance from you until this wears off. Just get out."

"I... Of course. I'll just..." Querl heads to the door, stopping on the other side, but when Nia stomps and points again, he pulls the door closed behind him.

With a heavy sigh, she sits on the side of the bed. The distance doesn't help, not yet. She can still feel the warmth from his body seeping through her pores. She can still feel the love their kind emits pulsing through her heart.

"Nia, I'm sorry." Even muffled by the door, his voice is clear. "I didn't mean to do anything. I can't even tell that my love escaped. Usually, I can stay mortal all night. This has never happened to me—"

"Just go!" This time she can hear his footsteps recede, and then the shower starts.

She tries the shower too as a little time and distance should do the trick, but by the time she's ready for work, her mind is still fixated on this morning. So she walks. She walks up and down the city streets until her feet ache and she's hours later for work. Still, it seems like everything reminds her of Querl. She passes the Indian place that has the Saag Paneer he likes so much. She walks through the park with the stone bridge where they went on their faux date last night. Even ice cream makes her think of stealing his, of the way he complains, gripes, even threatens, but still buys her favorite kinds every time.

It's after eleven when she hauls herself into the office and staggers up to her desk, flopping, exhausted, into her chair. "Morning."

Kara does a double take, checking the time on her computer. "Barely. You chasing down a lead this morning?"

"No, something weird happened at home and—"

"Shhhhh." Kara glances left and right and whispers. "Tell me over lunch, but if Miss Grant or Snapper say anything, tell them you were chasing down a lead and interviewing sources, okay? The walls have ears."

"Right, sorry." Nia settles down behind her system, booting it up, but her mind is still cycling through the oddness that is this morning.

"Do you have it?"

Kara's voice pulls her back to the present, and she knows she missed the first half of whatever she was asked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"The personality type quiz, do you have it? Marketing sent it to a select group of associates to test before it went to our online edition. Do you have it?"

"Um hold on." A search of her email does show something from marketing@catco with Personality Type Quiz in the subject line. "Yeah, what is this?"

"Cool, we can do it together then. It's supposed to tell you who your perfect match is in one of those Meyers-Briggs type tests. You already have the love of your life, but I'm painfully single." Kara leans around her computer and smiles. "It will be fun. Ready?"

"It's for work, right?"

"Right."

The quiz ends up being a series of thirty-six questions each with five possible answers to choose from: never, rarely, sometimes, usually, and always. Each question is about how you would describe your ideal partner. They vary from how curious your partner would be about the world, to their enjoyment of travel. The test asks if they like to compete or put work before play.

Kara and Nia decide to wait to click their results together, and then they both read their answers. "INTJ."

"Hey, twinsies," Kara says. "We're looking for the same type. What does that mean though?"

"Hold on." Nia reads some of the highlights of the results. "Here we go. INTJs are Introverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, and Judging. They're sometimes referred to as Mastermind personalities because of their strategic, logical way of thinking. INTJs are charitable and attentive with their partners, supporting them faithfully no matter what they choose to do with their lives. INTJs aren't the type to shower their companions with a lot of flowery compliments, preferring to let their actions and attitudes reveal their true feelings. They don't always read the thoughts and feelings of their partners accurately but are very open to listening when their mates have something important to say. INTJs do spend a lot of time lost in their own thoughts, but they like to use their best ideas and inspirations to improve the quality of their relationships. Even though they aren't outgoing, INTJs are compassionate and people-centered, and they love to fall in love when the opportunity presents itself."

"Golly, you know who that sounds like?"

"Querl."

"Well, yeah, duh, but I was gonna say—"

"Kara, I have to go." Nia punches the power button on her system, not even bothering to shut it down properly, and grabs her purse.

"But you just got here? You haven't even been here for ten minutes." Kara looks over her shoulder, her voice a harsh whisper as she turns back. "Don't make me put my body on the line to protect you from Snapper. I like my body. I mean, it's not perfect, but it's the only one I have."

Nia is already out of her chair, waving over her shoulder as she walks off. "I've got a lead to chase down and sources to interview."

"Oh, like for real?" Kara stands by her desk and waves. "Good luck with your sources. Go get 'em!"