Fairy Bunking Chapter 1: Bunking the Dragon

"It's quite practical," he reasoned. "Fairies, pixies, sprites, and the what-not, and Demons, are created and affect their surroundings. They can't die, they just re-adapt to any new environment."

"First, do me the favor of not lumping Fairies in with dim-witted pixies." She made a sour face and muttered, "There is no way Fairies and pixies have anything in common."

Ubermensch shrugged. "Still," but stopped as he was interrupted.

"Second," she added and held up her hand for silence. "Second, you are skirting the issue. Either concede that Demons don't exist, or provide at least one reasonable argument as to why I should consider that they do exist." She held up a single finger to emphasize her statement.

"Guardian spirits are also called Guardian Daemons. They guard their hosts from the evil spirits that abound in the world. Even The Great Oak spirit muses on its nemesis. And what does the Great Oak spirit call that nemesis?" He raised an eyebrow.

Alacrity frowned in concession. "The Demon Lotus. But that's just an old fuddy-duddy spirit talking."

"You asked for proof, and I give you an argument that you have heard for yourself. Now, what about your Dragon?"

She held up her forearm and exposed a particular piece of scrollwork that differed from the rest. The complex pattern had a reptilian semblance. "Have you ever seen this shape before?"

"Looks like a scale, with a lot of embellishment."

"This is a Dragon scale, exactly as it appears when examined closely."

"Alacrity, don't take this the wrong way, but if I drew you picture of a Demon, would you believe they exist?"

She shrugged. "I can only offer you the same degree of proof that you offered to me simply because the evidence you are expecting does not exist." Then, she pointed to the ground. "Look where you were standing. What do you see?"

"Nothing, just as I would expect. We are bound with Nature and move with it, not against it." He offered her the same dogma she had understood and believed all her life.

"And the proof you seek is in what you don't see. We have never left physical evidence that Fairies existed. If I left this rifle here on the ground, should I expect it to be here tomorrow?"

Ubermensch shook his head, then reached for her hand and held it firmly in his. "It would have been a lot easier to believe in your Dragon if I had just kissed you."

Alacrity's face warmed to a soft, though remorseful smile. "And I in your Demon."