After my interview with Captain Monroe, the rest of my day was much like previous days in the Fairy Ward, split between my rehab exercises to get my body in shape, building up strength and stamina with my wings by flying, and practicing Water magic. I would have practiced some teleporting as well, but the only places that I was familiar enough with were places in Montana, a couple of other places here in the hospital, and the places that I had been shown the live feeds of when we were testing my range and stuff.

I certainly didn’t want to go back to Montana, especially after my previous, accidental trip there. There was nothing there for me anymore anyway, and almost everything at my parents’ former ranch would be hostile to me, especially the people if everyone there held the same views as my uncle about Altered. I couldn’t exactly go to those places from my testing either because they were secure Vanguard bases, and I could be seen as an intruder since I wasn’t part of the Vanguard yet.

Poppy returned to the Fairy Ward just before lunch and, as we ate, we talked about how the testing of her special ability had gone. There wasn’t anything too surprising there though since she had been pushing herself to find out more about the ability since she first discovered it. The only raw materials that she couldn’t seem to manipulate were raw iron and gemstones, at least from what they tested.

She could make pretty large items too, much bigger than just for Fairy use, but her mana use increased exponentially along with the amount of matter she was manipulating, and really tired her out. She definitely couldn’t make anything with complex moving parts though. She could create the parts separately and then assemble them if she knew how they worked, or had a blueprint and the proper materials, but she couldn’t make them pre-assembled.

After lunch, it was back to training until dinner time, after which, Moonlight and I went to visit my sister. We didn’t really have any proper brushes, hoof-care stuff, or anything else we needed to properly look after an equine, but just our presence seemed to be helping my sister feel some sort of familiarity for now. It wasn’t perfect since we had all changed so much physically since the Incursion at the Ranch, but it was close enough and she seemed to be improving just by spending time with us and talking about her worries and fears, as well as the hopes that she was now clinging to with us back in her life.

Kelly had adopted my hope that we could find Mom and rescue her, and I could see my sister’s determination for us to do that together. She had been training with her shape-shifting and illusions all day long when she wasn’t eating meals or being visited by her psychologist. For the shape-shifting, she could only turn into a little white fox or a version of her old human self somewhat easily, but it still took a lot of mental focus and energy since she was still a beginner. Yue, the Huli Jing who had introduced her to their species' abilities, seemed to have the same limitations but was far more experienced and could hold her other shapes for hours at a time, so it gave my sister something to work toward.

As for the illusions, my sister complained that they were somewhat more difficult to master. I guess that she had to form an image in her mind and concentrate on where she wanted it. If she wanted it to move realistically, change, or seem solid then she needed to keep focused on the details the whole time. She couldn’t just fire and forget. Yue could seem to not only make the images look realistic but fool the other senses as well, so Kelly knew that she had a lot of work ahead of her to get the most out of that ability as well.

After visiting with Kelly for a while, talking about old times and planning for the future, I teleported myself and Moonlight back to the Fairy Ward and then the Fire Sprite and I spent a couple of hours just cuddling on the comfy couch in her little Sprite house. While it would have been nice to have some movies or something to watch to pass the time, Poppy and I were content to just snuggle together, make out, and enjoy one another’s warmth and presence. It was as we were sitting there that I asked, “Hey, Poppy, what were you like before you Sprouted?”

“Comatose inside a gory cocoon made from my own body, same as you, Love,” she teased.

I pouted in response to her playful reply, “Not that, silly. I mean before the Incursion.”

The Fire Sprite shrugged, jostling my head on her shoulder. “There isn’t really much to tell. When I was three, Da died in the 2024 London Incursion. After that, Ma moved us out to Leeds to live with her parents, where she thought we would be safer, and she could better handle the expenses of raising a kid.”

She paused to let out a bitter laugh and shook her head. “Yeah, we were so bloody safe there when a Breach opened a block away from our apartment building. After I Sprouted, the doctors told me that Ma and my grandparents died when our building collapsed in the Incursion. I was brought here because I don’t have anyone else. I was lucky that I was visiting a friend a few blocks away from home, we almost got to one of the shelters before...”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have as…” I started to apologize as I looked away guiltily from her sad eyes and the tears running down her cheeks.

I didn’t get to finish though as she put a finger on my lips to silence me and kissed me on the cheek. “No, I’m sorry, Lily. I know that isn’t what you wanted to know, I just… miss them sometimes. I mean it’s been almost four years, but to me, it was less than two months ago. I shouldn’t complain. I mean, we all have stories like that here, right?”

“Yeah, I’m still sorry though. I shouldn’t have asked that; I should have known it would bring up bad memories. I’m lucky by comparison; I have Moonlight, they found my sister, and we’re gonna try to rescue our mom. I didn’t think about how bad it might have been for you,” I offered as I hugged her tightly and nuzzled against her. “I should think before I speak.”

“That’s usually my problem, Love,” she countered with weak humor. “I’ve never been good at holding my tongue, I just blurt out whatever pops into my head, especially when I’m nervous. You’ve made me nervous since we met, you’re beautiful, and I wanted to get to know you better since I first laid eyes on you, but I worry sometimes that I’ll say something stupid and mess everything up. If you really want to know more about me too, then I’ll tell you.”

“I don’t think anything you say is stupid, Poppy. I think it’s hella cute the way you stumble over your words when you say something and then try to correct yourself. I mean, you’re real, you’re not hiding behind some act and trying to impress me,” I told her candidly as I kissed her pointed ear and then downward along her jawline.

Her jaw shifted and she shivered beneath my roaming lips, and I could almost feel the heat of her flushing cheeks as she struggled to form the words for a response. “I… umm… gosh… I wish I could use my tongue to make you squirm like you do to me…” She quickly shut her mouth before opening it again to let words pour out. “No, wait! I didn’t mean it like that! I know you don’t want to rush things in our relationship, and I don’t either! I… umm… meant that I wish I could just naturally say sweet things like you, instead of just blurting things out without thinking and...”

I hugged her tighter as I shifted position to settle myself in her lap and silence her with a kiss on the lips. A moment later I pulled away to smile at her as I gazed into her pretty orange eyes. “I said it’s cute when you do that. I really like you, and you’re honest about the way you feel for me too. I think that everything you say to me is sweet because it’s coming from you.”

“See! That! Right there! You’re being all sweet and understanding, even though I’m all…”

“Adorable?” I suggested as I cut her off. I didn’t always understand what she thought she was saying wrong with these verbal blunders, but she was so cute when she tried to correct herself and I could tell that she never meant anything bad when she did stuff like that. It actually made me all warm and gooey inside knowing that she was that flustered because of me, because she thought I was sweet and beautiful. I gazed into her eyes as she verbally floundered once again.

Poppy’s cheeks now rivaled her fiery eyes and hair for color as she blushed and couldn’t seem to look away. “I… umm… so cute!”

“Yes. Yes, you are,” I cheerfully agreed, my heart racing as I stared at her pretty face, her eyes now staring back into my own. I just wanted to kiss and cuddle her forever. Just looking at her and being here with her made me happy, and my heart raced from the feeling. Was this what love felt like? There was more to it than just my feelings for her, there was horny stuff too. The warmth building up between my legs at our closeness as I straddled her lap, and my achingly hard nipples wanted to poke right through my paper dress. Even I wasn’t dense enough to not realize what those signs meant.

I took a deep breath to steady myself and ignored the fire building up in my core. I didn’t want to rush things. I wanted us both to have the time to explore this relationship and be sure that we both wanted to take it to the next level before we did that so neither of us would have any regrets. In my arms, Poppy took a deep, calming breath as well and it was a moment before our silent gazing into one another’s eyes was broken.

“You… wanted to know what I was like before?” the Fire Sprite asked, her breath catching as she made a visible effort to calm herself as well. As I nodded, a thoughtful expression settled on her face for a moment before she hesitantly spoke again. “I… well... I guess that I was pretty average. My grades in school weren’t top of the class, but they weren’t bad. I wasn’t really into sports or anything, but I was really big into music. I played several instruments, though my favorite was the flute. I wanted to join an orchestra when I was older.”

“Aww, I wish I could hear you play,” I mumbled in disappointment.

“Maybe you can someday, I want to try to make a flute in my size now that I know more about my special ability. I might not be able to make a proper, modern one, but maybe I can make something simpler, like something based on a tin whistle. I don’t want to give up music if I can still play somehow. Other than music, I didn’t really stand out in any way. I was pretty, I guess, but kind of average with brown hair and eyes. I kind of figured out that I was gay a year before the Incursion, and I was a bit of a disaster lesbian for a while… I guess I still am.” The last was said as her cheeks once again flushed bright red.

She was just too cute for words, causing me to kiss her passionately. When I broke it off, I needed a moment to calm myself and slow the pace of my throbbing heart again. Then I asked, “So… umm…What’s your goal? I mean, why do you want to go to Vanguard University?”

“I guess I don’t really have one yet, at least, not a big one,” she replied with a pensive tone. “I still want to study music, even if I can’t join an orchestra someday, and the University does have a small music studies program. Maybe I can learn enough to figure out how to make enough types of instruments for Pixies and Sprites to start a Fairy Orchestra someday. I could give lessons to Pixie’s and Sprites too, at least on the instruments I know.”

A sigh escaped my lips as I realized that her barely considered plan was probably more thought out than what I had in mind… or didn’t. Sadly, I admitted, “I don’t have even that much of a plan. I don’t even know what I might want to study. Honestly, I’m just going to the university to get some sort of education and get into the Vanguard so I can rescue Mom. I haven’t really considered what I want to do beyond that.”

“You have time to figure it out, we still have plenty of time before the fall semester starts,” Poppy assured me as she pulled me closer to kiss and snuggle once more. We stayed like that for a while, just enjoying each other’s touch and presence, reluctant to part. Eventually, we fell asleep there on the couch together, still snuggling in one another’s arms.

Captain Monroe was as good as her word, arriving the very next morning after breakfast with comm rings for both me and Poppy. I was expecting it to take a lot longer for the man in charge of the Vanguard to make a decision about me, despite what she had said, so I was a little surprised by this turn of events. I guess Commander-general Kline wanted me even more than either of us thought since she hadn’t sounded very confident that the compromise she had suggested regarding Moonlight would be considered.

So, come September, Poppy and I would be students/cadets at Vanguard University. There were five dorms on the campus, two for females, two for males, and one for people who were various flavors of the rainbow spectrum or whose physical genders were complicated due to their new species. Sprites sort of fit that category, and we were both very gay, so Poppy and I would likely be housed there, though we really didn’t need a lot of space.

The Rainbow Dorm was also the closest to the stable and pastureland on the western edge of the campus, which in turn was on the opposite side of the campus as the aerie, so the Pegasi and Gryphons that were being trained as flying mounts for the Vanguard wouldn’t bother one another. That worked out well since, as my personal mount, Moonlight was being offered a stall in the stables. It would probably be close enough to the east face of the dorm that she could stay in contact with me telepathically if she slept there, and it would give me a place to keep any riding and grooming gear that me and Kelly got for her.

I was still planning on having Kelly help me with the usual daily care stuff with Moonlight, to give my sister a sense of familiarity and help the two of them hopefully get closer as well. Moonlight didn’t seem thrilled with the idea of staying in her physical form and the stable, but I managed to convince her that she could sleep there and still turn ethereal to accompany me to classes and stuff. The university would have no issues with her accompanying me to classes so long as she remained out of sight and wasn’t disruptive.

The comm rings that Captain Monroe brought for me and Poppy fit a little loosely on our heads, but she told us where we could take them in town to get them properly fitted and personalized. They didn’t work like the comm rings that I was familiar with either since instead of using a holographic display, these had a modified neural interface that put the information right into our heads like my old implant did. They still had the holo-projector for watching movies and stuff, but the neural interface was used for most things. I guess Poppy had an implant before too and the familiar interface made things a lot easier for both of us.

After she showed us how to use our new comm ring tiaras, there was a lot of work to be done, not to mention a metric fuck-ton of paperwork. Not only did we have to sign our service contracts for the Vanguard and register as students for the university, with all the paperwork involved in both of those tasks, but we also needed to complete high school equivalency exams since neither of us had graduated. It took most of the morning to finish those tests, which we both fortunately passed, and get all the paperwork filled out and virtually signed.

By the time the other Water Sprite was finished putting us through the tenth circle of hell (the one where you deal with endless red tape and bureaucracy), Poppy and I were both mentally drained and ready for lunch. We had succeeded though; we were both now officially students at Vanguard University. I would have felt relieved if it wasn’t for the daunting decision that now loomed over me; what in the hell should I study?