Lyra Gelatine's Arc

Chapter 1 of 3

Lyra Gelatine froze at the edge of the trees when the boy screamed. He had come to gather firewood near her cave, and now he saw her true shape. Her body glowed pale blue in the dusk. Green hair floated around her shoulders. Bubbles drifted through her half-solid arms. She wanted only to build a safe home here, a hidden place where creatures like her could live near humans without fear. But this boy would run to the settlement and end that dream before it began. Her little pet pressed against her leg. It was a small blob of blue slime shaped like a plump cat, with soft ears and a curling tail. It made a worried sound. Lyra dropped to one knee. She had two choices. She could flee deeper into the ruins and lose the ground she had claimed. Or she could face the boy and try to change what he believed. "Wait," she said. Her voice was calm and human. The boy stopped at the tree line, one foot already turned to run. She lifted her open hands to show she held nothing. "I won't hurt you. Look." She pulled the black cloak from her pack and drew it over her shoulders. The deep hood swallowed her glowing hair. In the fading light, the grey-edged cloth hid the blue of her skin. She looked almost like any tired traveler on the road. "You're the monster," the boy said. His voice shook. "They'll burn the woods to be rid of you." "Then let me show you something first." Lyra reached toward the cave behind her. Green and pink plants glowed along its stone mouth, fed by her magic. She pressed her palm to the ground. A shoot rose between them and opened into a small flower. "I make things grow. That is all my magic does out here. I want no fight." The blue slime cat trotted forward and bumped its nose against the boy's boot. It purred. The boy stared. Slowly he crouched and touched its round head. It leaned into his hand. "His name is yours to give," Lyra said softly. "Come see him again. But keep where I live to yourself. If the village comes, we both lose this quiet place." The boy looked at the cat, then at her hidden face. "I won't tell," he whispered. He stood, clutched his bundle of wood, and ran home. Lyra let out a long breath. She had won his silence, not his trust. One frightened child now held her secret, and children talked in their sleep and to their friends. Her sanctuary still stood. But it stood on the word of a boy who might break it by morning. She gathered her pet and pulled the hood tighter. Tomorrow she would need to know whether he had kept his promise.