Crouching down, they reached out to scoop up a handful of water, giving it a sniff before letting it trickle between their fingers. At least here, in the upstream, the water was less tainted.·The human body—taller and heavier and without wings, what a travesty!—had been quite difficult to get used to, but as they stood up and plopped down on the damp grass of the river bank, their movements were less awkward than before.·
A week had passed since Hwan’s accidental crossing over to the human world. These rips in the fabric of realms were most fascinating, but they hadn’t anticipated the human world to be so... polluted. And with much, much less flowers than they were used to. But a young child had given them directions to the river (garnering a casting of good fortune from them); Hwan hoped this would aid them reconnect with their element. Help them think better—inspire them to paint, perhaps. That way, they could make money.
The fae was soon pulled out of their reverie. Their ears perked, picking up footsteps headed their way. But instead of annoyance, a w i c k e d gleam flashed in their eyes as they lifted their head to survey the fellow river-goer.·
“—Hello!” they greeted, cheerful and curious. English was a language they hadn’t used in a long time, but to their satisfaction, it rolled off their tongue quite smoothly. “Water’s much cleaner than I expected.”