What Is This Lonliness? {OPEN}

@"Fae"

Mirella freely levitated across the beach in her crimson tube top and black ripped capris. She had on cute gladiator sandals as black sunglasses covered her eyes. She had a book ready for her to read while in the park. It was one of her off times, and she had no one to communicate with. That was fine with the stoic thirty-year-old as she went about her own way. She didn't need anyone to entertain her or hang o--wait, was that a baby left on its own in the fountain?!

Her speed went from a leisurely snail pace to The Flash as she went over to check the fountain. Sure enough, there was a little baby girl left there to waddle in the waters. What kind of terrible, inattentive parent would allow such a thing to happen?! It pissed her off greatly as her powers would levitate the little girl out of the fountain. She then reached to hold her within her arms. It didn't matter to her that her tube top and breasts were going to get wet.

Mirella realized her mistake when she heard the seal-like cries come from the child. She blinked in confusion before realizing that she was fish-like in nature. Oh, so she must have been some kind of sea creature. Even so, a baby sea creature shouldn't be left alone in a fountain. She floated over to the fountain and lightly placed the girl back in there to waddle around in the water. Her eyes then gazed around for a guardian. There were no adults in sight. Frowning, her eyes reverted back to the little girl. She would just have to watch over her until a parent or guardian arrived to retrieve her. Then she would chew them out for leaving her alone.

@"Fae"

The woman watched as the girl squealed happily over being back in the water. Her dull eyes watched the girl as she swam through the fountain with the cuteness of a seal. She could practically hear the seal noises as she observed. It was in that moment that she felt an odd feeling rise within her. It was joy. Pure, unadulterated joy. She had never felt so much joy in her life. She hadn't felt nearly this happy since she got accepted to teach students English. The accomplishment she felt that day to be able to nourish the love of reading and writing within the next generation. The joy in this simple moment was enough to make her crack a smile; she hadn't smiled since before her torture.

That smile quickly faded away as the guardian arrived. It was an elderly woman carrying a pelt. Perhaps this woman was just old and forgetful. Now she couldn't scold her; it was important to respect one's elders. Even so, she was uncomfortable with the fact that the child had been left there like this. The old woman carried a pelt with her that she wrapped around the little girl. Mirella was baffled to see the pelt suddenly shrink in size and turn the girl into a full out seal. Now there was a baby seal swimming around in the fountain. A quick explanation was provided for the nature of the cheery seal girl.

So the child was a selkie. She remembered reading about selkies; they were creatures that could transform between a human and a seal. They each had pelts associated with them. The pelts helped them transform. However, if a selkie ever lost its pelt, then it would be stuck as a human. To make matters even worse, if someone claimed the pelt as his or her own, then the selkie would be a slave to that person. She then wondered why the pelt she had was so much bigger than her. Was it not her pelt?

"I'm fine. You should be careful leaving her alone like this."

It was more or less worded as a suggestion, but considering her monotone, it was hard to get the sense of what she was going for. Her eyes followed the selkie as she played around in the fountain. Curiosity got to the woman as she inquired further.

"Why is that pelt so much bigger than her body? Are pelts for selkies just not fitted?"

The teacher listened to the old woman. Apparently the pelt was passed on through generations. As a result, this pelt definitely would not be the right size for her until she grew up. That made more sense. Then the lady mentioned about the child not being alone. Mildly puzzled, she glanced over to the tree to see a raven. Ah, so that was her power. She could communicate with the various ravens to make sure nothing happened to her. If something did happen, then she would know about it immediately.

"I see. I didn't have to watch over her then."

She was learning a lot about this child rather quickly. Her eyes went back to the baby seal. Just seeing her so happy made her face crack a smile once more, one that she tried to conceal by playing around with her hair a bit and a light turn of the head.

"So her parents are gone. Does that mean you're her adoptive parent?"

Her black eyes expressed a tinge of sadness. Why couldn't she control her emotions well right now? Something about seeing such a child made her defenses weaken ever so slightly.

So the elderly woman simply looked after the various children. It wasn't like she actually adopted the two-year-old. Thinking about it, there were quite a few children running around the park right now. This explained why. Mirella watched all the young children running around. She didn't teach pre-kindergarten; generally she got the older students instead. It was irritating dealing with the attitudes of teenagers sometimes, but she could manage. Even so, there was something magical yet painful about raising a young one that intrigued her. However, for some reason Nnayn had more of a pull on her than any of the other fae-kin roaming about.

"I'm familiar with the academy's system. I work there."

She also spent years at the secondary school after she was retrieved from the pitiful state she was in. A flashback revealed a teenage Mirella angrily trying to rip the bracelet stuck to her arm. She hated being confined like she was, but she had no control over her dangerous powers back then. While she had that control now, she kept her emotions forever concealed to tone down her abilities. She didn't want to hurt anyone ever again. It hurt though not being able to express her positive emotions out of fear that it would end poorly.

"What if someone wanted to adopt the child before they were four?"

That question came out of nowhere. What prompted her to ask that? It's not like she was looking to adopt a child. Then again, it was a chance to gain more insight in a new subject. She knew back when she entered the academy that no one would ever adopt a scary teenager like her, and she accepted her fate. It was a bitter and painful truth, but all the odds were against her. She couldn't so much as even message her family now. Perhaps she felt bad for all the orphaned children or something.