The otherworldly pixie

Thea

Philip couldn't move. he was too surprised by Joy's actions. He feared the girl's death. He had seen how swiftly Joy could butcher her target. 

Philip thought about stepping in and stopping Joy before she got close to the girl. 

"Step back."

A sudden voice spoke in his head. Unconsciously, his body took a step away from the girl about to be attacked by Joy, who had just appeared in front of the girl.

Philip prayed that they wouldn't lose the latest member of their team. Just when Joy's blade was about to reach the girl's sternum, the scene changed. The girl held a swift dagger in her hand.

She had blocked Joy's strike, in the blink of an eye.

Philip marvelled at the girl's prowess. He doubted that most people he knew would have been able to keep up with the girl's speed.

Philip suddenly realized that the voice that had spoken in his head was Aether's.

"Why did you ask me to move?" Philip asked Aether.

"Wait, " Aether spoke, "Learn to Watch. I've been seeing you for a few years now and the one constant thing I've noticed is your stupidity. You can not stop. You can not control yourself. You should learn to observe. Control is the only thing that has stopped you from getting stronger. If you can improve just this, you will be more able for the next mission." Aether explained to Philip.

Philip was about to get mad at Aether for insulting him like this and reply with an extremely inconsiderate speech, that would not be entirely free of curses. But a spark between the blades of the two girls brought him back to reality. 

Jow, who had been caught off guard by the girl's reflex suddenly disappeared from their sight. Philip, standing further behind now, saw her appear behind the girl. 

Instead of reacting and interfering, Philip decided to heed Aether's words and looked at the girl's reactions. 

His efforts were met with amazing results as he saw what the girl did. As if out of reflex, she let her hand drop and spun the dagger between her fingers. The blade of the dagger pointed straight towards Joy. In the next moment, the dagger had disappeared and been replaced by a long sword.  

The sword, which the girl held behind her back, met Joy's sword. Joy became irritated at the girl's skill and infuriated about being blocked by an opponent facing away from her strike. Her anger pushed her to do something that she would not have considered under normal circumstances. 

She flew a bit backwards and for the first time, Philip looked at Joy's eyes and realized that they had turned grey. Joy seemed like a different person, and her actions seemed to make more sense to Philip. He made a mental note to ask Aether about it later. 

Distracted by Joy's eyes, Philip realized almost too late what she was trying to do. The girl turned around and gripped her sword with both hands. Joy whispered in a hushed tone, "Pierce. "

Philip was the only one who had seen this skill. Even though he had only seen it once, he knew that even the princess would be unable to stop such a strike. He stepped forward to stop Joy and saw the princess reacting to Joy's strike. 

The girl, who had previously had a shine in her eyes, now seemed devoid of emotions. "Slash," she said as if in response to Joy's attack.

Philip stepped in front of Joy and stopped her using a barrier spell he had stored in his glove. At the same time, Kane, who had been watching silently, slowly recovering from the after-effects of his phobia, stepped in front of the girl and kept a hand on her sword hand, stopping her mid-strike. 

Both of them were successful in stopping the attackers. 

Colour returned to the girl's eyes as the fight ended. Joy who had forgotten about ever instigating the fight, shot Philip an angry look and proceeded to sit on Kane's shoulder. The gesture had no meaning for Kane and the girl, but Philip was taken aback by Joy's action. 

He sat down on his couch, followed by Kane. They waited for the girl to sit as well but she remained standing, as if waiting for something.

Philip and Kane looked at each other dumbfounded. Meanwhile, Joy had already realized why the girl hadn't sat down. She flew up from Kane's shoulder, sighing and muttering, "Boys." 

Both Philip and Kane tensed, looking at each other, ready to interfere if another fight broke out. 

"Philip, ask her to sit down," Joy muttered while shaking her head with disappointment. 

Philip then realized that the girl was from Ancient Greece. She would not sit unless invited to by the owner of the house.

Philip stood up and asked the girl to sit down. She finally sat, taking the position next to Kane. Joy let out a muffled groan and turned to Philip. 

"So? Who is she?" Joy interrogated.

Philip felt weird answering the question but he didn't want to leave out anything. 

"She's our new companion. She's the disciple and successor of Fenton, The God of Oceans and Water. She is a princess of Ancient Greece and a daughter of Poseidon. Her name is -" Philip stopped abruptly, stumbling upon his words. He looked at Joy with an embarrassed smile and let out a slight laugh. Joy looked at him incredulously and sighed in exasperation.

"You forgot to ask her name, didn't you?" She said. 

The girl looked at the exchange between the travel partners and looked awkwardly at Kane. 

"Are they dating?" She asked Kane, trying to figure out the dynamics of such a relationship. 

Both Philip and the Pixie replied, "We aren't dating," in perfect sync. 

Philip, still embarrassed about not having asked the girl's name, looked at her and asked, "I'm sorry for my indiscretion. What is your name, Princess?"

The girl looked at them. Philip saw Kane glancing at the girl.

"Thea Aegen," She replied.

Philip looked at Joy to see if she had any problems as they were all thinking the same thing. Philip knew that Kane would have no problem with it. 

Joy looked at Philip and nodded grudgingly. Philip smiled and walked towards Kane.

Putting an arm around Kane's shoulder, Philip looked at the girl and said -
"Welcome to our little ragtag group of adventurers."

1057 words