The Celestial System has overloaded due to accumulated errors. Reality began to warp: the sky turned into a frozen digital grid, cities became a blend of neon and ruins, and humanity lost the ability to die of natural causes.
Alfea greeted them unwelcomingly. The walls seemed too prim, and the smiles of the students strained. Alisa, Emberly, Syl, and Arian, like four shards of glass tossed into a velvet box, found themselves in the same dormitory room. They were united not by a desire to learn, but by the stigma of being "troubled."
In the world of fairies, "outcast" is not just a word, it's a brand seared onto the soul. It appears when a fairy dares to break unspoken rules, doesn't fit into the accepted norms, or, even worse, possesses magic that others don't understand or fear. It could be a curse, a gift, unconventional views โ anything that makes a fairy "different." Outcasts face judgment, isolation, and sometimes even open hatred from other fairies.
Alisa, as always, couldn't sit still. She darted around the room, examining the state-owned furniture and muttering to herself. Her sparkling, icicle-like eyes studied everything around her with genuine curiosity.
"Well, what a dump," Emberly muttered, surveying the room with disgust. She carelessly tossed her suitcase onto the bed, and it bounced off with a dull thud. Her perfectly styled curls came loose from her hairstyle, but she didn't even bother to fix them. Emberly was, of course, glad to escape royal life, but perhaps she had hoped for somethingโฆ less like this. Sighing, she finally unlocked her suitcase and with delight, pulled off the hated princess dress she had worn to say goodbye to the royal family. Underneath were lavender shorts and a short skirt on top. She pulled on old but beloved sneakers. "Freedom, finally!" she thought, surveying the room. Despite the depressing surroundings, this was her own independent, free life, which was worth appreciating and getting used to, no matter how difficult it might seem.
Syl, her lips pressed into a thin line, was already arranging her numerous books and flasks on the table. Her gaze was sharp, piercing, and impatient. She didn't believe in procrastination and considered conversation a waste of time. As soon as her belongings were arranged on the table, she took out a small net and went out the door. Just 5 minutes later, she returned with a small bucket in which several frogs were jumping. Syl carefully transferred them to a jar and placed it on the nightstand next to her bed.
"What is that gross thing?" Emberly wrinkled her nose when the frogs began to climb up the sides of the jar.
"These are my assistants," Syl replied, without even looking at her. "They motivate and empower me in the practice of magic. What, are you afraid of harmless frogs?"
"Afraid?" Emberly raised her eyebrows. "I hate them! And they're not harmless, they're disgusting! And get that off my bed!"
Emberly started to approach the bed, but she was stopped by a dirty puddle on the floor, formed after Syl's water magic practice.
"Oh, don't worry so much. It's just a little water. It's part of nature, it only makes the room cozy," Syl replied indifferently.
"Cozy? Are you serious? You've got a swamp here, not a room!"
"I think it's very atmospheric," Syl retorted, rolling her eyes.
"Shut up, both of you," a cold voice rang out. Everyone turned. "I'm sick of your whining, like old women at the market."
"Well, I'm a princess and you're obligated to respect me!" Emberly flared up.
Arian raised an eyebrow, her lips twisting into a barely perceptible smirk. "Doesn't seem like it."
Emberly opened her mouth to reply, but found herself without words. She felt her audacity and self-assurance melting under Arian's sharp gaze. "What a stuck-up," Emberly thought, and her anger flared anew.
At that moment, Alisa burst into the room, nearly knocking Syl off her feet.
"What's going on here again?" she asked, looking around the room in confusion. "I heard you yelling."
Alisa awkwardly scratched the back of her head, not knowing how to calm the heated girls. She felt out of place, as if she had stumbled into a circus rather than a dormitory room.
Arian, the only one who remained silent, leaned against the wall and observed the others. She looked detached, as always. Her long, fair locks concealed part of her face, and her eyes, usually full of nocturnal visions, seemed empty now.
The first week passed in tense silence. Each of them kept to themselves, trusting no one. Alisa tried to stir them up with her endless jokes and offers to stroll around the neighborhood, but received only Syl's cold silence, Emberly's haughty glances, and Arian's indifferent silence. She offered to go to the dining hall together or explore the dormitory corridors. But each of them preferred to spend time alone. Alisa understood that the dormitory had become not only a place to live, but also an arena for their conflicts and disagreements. But deep down, she hoped that they could find common ground and become a real team, despite all their differences.
But trouble, as they say, unites.
One night, when the moonlight, penetrating through the stained-glass windows, painted the room in ominous shades, a commotion broke out in Alfea. Screams, panic, and the stomping of feet woke the girls. Looking into the corridor, they saw chaos: students were running with frightened faces, and magical sparks were flying in the air. A sticky, dark fog was creeping along the corridor, like a living thing, devouring light and fear.
"Looks like something got out of the forbidden library. Or rather, someone," she hissed.
"Some nonsense," Arian retorted, but her eyes were warily fixed on the dark fog.
Alisa, as always, was the first to rush into battle. Her cold flame flared in her palms, illuminating the room with a blue light.
"Alright, enough standing around! Whatever it is, we need to deal with it."
They rushed out into the corridor and were met with a horrifying sight: the fog was spreading through the school like a venomous octopus, robbing the fairies of their magical powers. It wasn't just absorbing magic, but distorting it, turning bright spells into destructive projectiles.
Frightened screams echoed through the hallways, and erratic bursts of warped magic flashed across the walls. Fairies fled from the fog in a panic, but it seemed to pursue them, dragging them into its darkness. Emberly tried to summon a protective barrier, but instead of a shimmering shield, a burst of ominous, blue sparks erupted from her hands, leaving a charred mark upon the wall.
"It's taking our magic and twisting it!" she shouted, recoiling from her own corrupted powers.
Syl attempted to create a defensive circle of water, but even her magic, usually so confident and strong, dissolved into a trembling haze. Arian, not wanting to be left out, waved her hands, trying to conjure a vortex of nightmares, but instead only showered herself with a glittering rain.
"Damn it!" she cursed, brushing off the sparks. "It won't let me concentrate!"
Alisa, the only one whose magic seemed to resist the fog's influence, pressed forward, piercing the gloom with a blue radiance. She created small orbs of cold flame and hurled them at the fog, trying to drive it back. But the fog only retreated for a moment, before surging back at them with renewed force.
"It's too strong," Alisa said, exhaling. "We need to think of something else. We can't defeat it with force."
Realizing that their usual methods were failing, they looked around. The panic around them intensified, and they needed to act quickly. But how? The fog's power seemed to be constantly growing, while their own was nearly useless. For the first time in all their training at Alfea, they felt true fear โ the fear of powerlessness.
"โฆWe need to unite," Alisa suddenly said, her voice, usually loud and confident, sounding slightly subdued. "Separated, this fog will devour us. We have to work together, or it's the end for everyone here."
Her words, simple yet filled with desperation, caused the others to pause. Emberly, looking at her distorted magical flares with fear, nodded. Syl, always skeptical, raised her eyebrows in surprise, but agreed as well. Arian, adjusting her locks, reluctantly joined in.
"Great," Alisa breathed out. "Emberly, your jewels. Maybe we can use them as conductors to amplify our magic? Syl, you have excellent control over fluids, try to focus and create a stream, maybe that will confuse this entity. Arian, your nightmares. Perhaps we can turn them against this creature. I'll try to support you with my flame. It's worth a try."
The plan was improvised and desperate, but there was no choice. They took their positions in the corridor, as if drawing a circle of protection. Emberly struggled to concentrate, summoning shimmering crystals. Syl stretched out her palms, focusing, and Arian, closing her eyes, began to whisper incomprehensible words. Alisa, extending her hands, directed a stream of blue flame at the fog.
Their combined efforts began to have an effect. Emberly's crystals, amplified by the magic of the others, began to glow brighter, creating a kind of shield around them. The stream of water, which Syl created with great effort, lashed out like a crazed serpent, pushing back the fog. Arian's nightmares, unleashed from the depths of her subconscious, took the form of horrific shadows, which began to attack the fog, tormenting it. And Alisa's flame, fueled by the energy of the others, burned brighter and stronger, driving back the darkness.
They fought as one, their different abilities, united by a common desire to survive, working like a single mechanism. But the fog didn't seem to give in. It twisted and darkened, becoming more and more aggressive. And suddenly, a figure emerged from the very heart of the fog.
At first, it was only a blurry silhouette, but as the fog around it dissipated, a girl began to appear.
"Who are you?!" Emberly croaked, struggling to keep her cracking shield in balance. Her jewels were dimming, as if their life force was draining away.
The girl did not answer. Instead, she raised her hand, and a shimmering field of energy arose around her, rapidly expanding. The fog, previously so dense and aggressive, began to retreat under the force of this power.
A protective dome shimmered around her, casting gentle reflections on the faces of the weary fairies.
The fog receded, as if frightened by her power. The team, holding their breath, watched the spectacle. Surprise gave way to cautious curiosity.
"Who is this?" Arian muttered, adjusting her makeup, despite the inappropriate atmosphere around them. She furrowed her brow, trying to determine if this was a new trick of the fog.
"I am Kuro," the blue-haired girl with a short haircut finally said, her voice soft and calm. "I saw the fog and felt that someone here needed help."
Alisa, still breathing heavily, took a step forward. Her flame, which had been nearly extinguished, reignited, fueled by curiosity and hope.
"You helped us," she said, her voice still hoarse. "Thank you. Butโฆ are you a fairy? Where does your power come from?"
Kuro looked at them, her single eye seeming full of empathy.
"Yes, I'm a fairy. I can create protective fields and empower others," she replied, without elaborating. "And who are you?"
"We'reโฆ OurCats!" Emberly replied proudly, straightening her shoulders. She couldn't resist flashing her jewels a little, trying to make herself look more impressive. "Outcasts, to put it simply."
"OurCats?" Alisa, Syl, and Arian asked in confusion, all at once.
"Outcasts?" Kuro frowned, as if the word held some special significance for her.
"โฆWell, yeah," Syl replied, her voice sharp, though without its usual dose of sarcasm. "We don't exactly fit in with the rules and traditions. And if you're going to start asking stupid questionsโฆ"
"Stop, Syl," Alisa interrupted. "She helped us. And maybe she can still be useful to us."
Kuro smiled, her smile simple and sincere.
"I'll be happy to help you," she said. "I don't like it when the strong bully the weak."
The OurCats team exchanged glances. Kuro's words, although they sounded simple and somewhatโฆ arrogant, resonated with them somehow.
After the fog retreated and everyone calmed down a bit, they returned to the room. Alisa closed the door, and everyone sat down on the beds and chairs.
"Okay, alright," Alisa began, stumbling a little. "Maybe we should actually talk? What was that all about anyway?"
"And what's with the stupid name you came up with?" Syl couldn't resist saying, glaring at Emberly with contempt.
Emberly scoffed, but wasn't offended. "Well, what's wrong with it? We're outcasts, so to speakโ"
"It sounds like childish babble," Arian muttered, but for the first time that evening, there was no sarcasm in her voice.
"Okay, okay," Alisa said soothingly. "Can we stop arguing already? Kuro, you said you can create protective fields? That was really cool!"
Kuro smiled awkwardly. "Well, yeah. It's my power."
"And where did you come from, anyway?" Emberly asked.
"Well, that's a long storyโฆ"
"How about we all tell our 'long stories'?" Alisa suggested, trying to ease the tension. "One at a time. Whoever waโ"
But before Alisa could say anything else, Emberly rolled her eyes and jumped in.
"Alright, since we're doing this, I'll start. And believe me, my story isn't so rosy." She folded her arms across her chest. "I never wanted to be a princess. All those balls, dresses, and perpetual smilesโฆ It was just unbearable. I always wanted to be free, to do what I want, to wear what I want. All those stupid rules, that pseudo-perfect imageโฆ" Emberly crossed her arms and sighed. "I was constantly shirking my duties, running away from the palace, riding motorcycles, breaking a couple of protective crystalsโฆ In the end, they just sent me here, to the corps of troubled fairies."
Syl, who had been frowning, suddenly softened, and listened to Emberly attentively for the first time. "Well, at least we have something in common," she muttered. "I, honestly, used to be a witch. Studied at Cloud Tower. But there were just a bunch of stupid and arrogant airheads there, who bullied me for my weirdness. For liking books and science more than poisoning and brewing potions. In the end, I ran away. At first, I lived near Pixieville, they even gave me a place by the swamp. But then, they kicked me out, when Iโฆ well, you knowโฆ decided to practice blood magic on them. I couldn't get it to work on bigger fairies, and they were so smallโฆ Well, you get the picture."
Arian grimaced, scoffed, but said nothing. Everyone shifted their gaze to her.
"What about you?" Alisa asked.
"Nothing," Arian replied shortly.
"Oh, come on, Arian, you can tell us," Emberly said. "We're all friends here!"
Arian sighed and reluctantly said: "Fine. I was a Guardian. But my magic was deemed dark when it got out of control." She stopped there.
The girls exchanged awkward glances.
"Well, what about you, Alisa?" Syl asked, and everyone turned to the girl.
"Oh, well, there's not much to tell, I'm justโฆ" Alisa began, waving the conversation away, but then she just shifted the attention to Kuro. "What about you, Kuro? Tell us something about yourself!"
Kuro, who had been listening attentively the whole time, flinched and hiccuped. "Oh, well, it's getting late. You're probably all tired," she smiled awkwardly, trying to look away. Her cheeks flushed pink, and she lowered her eyes. In her gaze flashed a hint of insecurity.
"Oh, don't run away," Emberly said, narrowing her eyes slyly. "Or we'll reveal all our secrets, and skip yours."
But Kuro only smiled awkwardly and turned away.
The OurCats team exchanged glances. And silence once again hung in the room, this time filled with entirely different feelings.
For the first time in a while, they didn't feel so alone, and it was the first step toward their future friendshipโฆ Perhaps?
