“Home sweet home.”

  Leanna smiled at Prism after turning the lights on in her high-rise apartment. She’d told Prism that they’d need to stop off there so that she could get some “proper” clothes to wear. The upscale loft was in the heart of Wolf City. It was Prism’s first time within it, and he figured that it was worth a great deal of money.

  “I won’t take long. You can make yourself a drink at the bar, if you’d like. I have a wide variety of pre-game spirits for your perusal.”

  Leanna gave Prism a quick wink before she hurried to her bedroom and away from sight. Prism slowly walked onto the white carpet of the living room area. Sleek white couches and chairs were placed facing each other in the middle of the carpeted space. A large panoramic window wrapped around the room, offering a spectacular nighttime view of the city and its bay. The lights of boats and buildings sparkled in the distance. If he didn’t know better, Prism would think he was on a spaceship.

  Prism walked over to the bar that Leanna spoke of, near the edge of the living room and the expansive all-white kitchen. The bar consisted of two separate pieces of dark wooden furniture, the bar table and the cabinet behind it. Four leatherine-topped stools sat in front of the bar table. Prism thought that its rustic look clashed with the rest of Leanna’s overwhelmingly white apartment.

  He was soon handling an assortment of oddly shaped bottles that were on the top shelf of the bar cabinet. Each of them had names that he couldn’t pronounce with any confidence. By the time he’d chosen one of them to sample, he heard Leanna approaching from down the hallway behind him. He placed the bottle on the bar, in case she was just checking on him.

  “What do you think?” She said to him.

  When Prism turned around, he saw Leanna in a tight, strapless lavender leotard and a brown leatherine fashion jacket that only went down to her navel. On her lower body she wore a short pleated pink skirt and shin-high brown heels. He wasn’t sure what to say about the outfit, as he knew next to nothing about Wolf City’s fashion trends. He instinctively knew, however, that such an answer would not suffice.

  “It looks very…sexy.”

  Prism’s eyes grew wide when the words came out of his mouth. Leanna giggled as she tied her hair up into a high ponytail with a purple elastic band.

  “I never thought I’d hear you use that word.” She said while looking at him from beneath green bangs that formed as she adjusted her hair. Her hazel eyes peered at Prism like a tiger peering through leafy cover.

  Prism narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, quickly recovering from his verbal gaffe.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” He said while raising his chin high, as if it would make him taller than Leanna.

  “How would you know if something was sexy or not? You look human, sure, but I’m pretty sure that you don’t have any sexual interest in us.” She said unequivocally.

  Prism didn’t like her tone, or even what she had to say.

  “How can you be “pretty sure” of something like that?”

  “Well, there was that girl in the Disdüti inn a few months back who wouldn’t stop flirting with you, for one. You seemed completely uninterested.”

  “Is that all the evidence you’ve got, Data Girl?” Prism leaned in and looked at her with a doubtful sneer.

  “Just forget about it. I shouldn’t have teased you like that. You’re right; I made a stupid assumption about you.”

  “Oh no, you don’t. You were so certain. Tell me why.”

  Prism stood staring intensely at Leanna as he continued to lean his whole torso forward towards her with his arms crossed. She shook her head and sighed as she tried to resist his insistence.

  “And don’t even think about bringing up all the times that Srell has joked about my private parts. I know he does it to try and get me to mention my se-” Prism started to rant.

  “You and Jaik.” Leanna said, crossing her own arms all of a sudden. “I thought there was some chemistry there, but you shut it down every time.”

  Prism looked dumbfounded. Leanna nodded when she saw the stupefaction on his face. She hadn’t wanted to ruin her evening with such a conversation, but there they were.

  “That’s…” Prism said softly, leaning back and away from Leanna. “That happened too quickly. It…wasn’t the right time for us.” Prism said with a wistful look out the window.

  “I see…” Leanna said while looking at Prism in a new way. “I’m sorry; it’s none of my business, either way.”

  “No, it’s good to get rid of the assumptions, especially after all this time.” Prism said with a gentle smile that came as a pleasant surprise to Leanna.

  “Well, anyway, “sexy” was what I was going for, so I’m happy to hear you say that.” Leanna perked back up, hoping to get their night back on track. “So, are you going to work your magic now to get into something more…stylish?”

  Leanna waved her forefinger up and down Prism’s body, noting the black t-shirt and red leatherine pants he wore. Casual Red Wolves attire wasn’t exactly the best clothing to go clubbing in, she'd told him on their way to the city.

  Prism gave a nod to her before flicking his left wrist and snapping his fingers. His black t-shirt instantly became a shiny red tank top with a wavy patterning around the torso, and his red leatherine pants become tight black jeans with a number of small, useless zippers across the pants legs. His black boots even became shiny black-and-red high-top sneakers. Prism posed cockily and smiled at Leanna.

  "Okay, okay; much better. The gold earring is a nice touch, too." Leanna said as she touched the small gold ring that had appeared on Prism's left ear. She was really impressed with the outfit, but she tried to act cool. "A quick drink, and then we're out of here."

  Leanna walked over to the bar and picked up the bottle of orange liquor that Prism had taken out of the cabinet. She stared at it and then glanced back at Prism. She smirked before pouring it straight into two small glasses.

  "Cheers!" She said when Prism took the glass she handed to him.

  Leanna downed the shot in no time at all while Prism watched her. He sniffed the sugary liquid before throwing it back as well. The slightly savory taste caught him off guard, but it was pleasurable enough for him to be happy with his choice.

  "It's called “Camposant”. It's infused with mushrooms. That's why it has that earthy taste to it." Leanna said with a smile.

  The two of them walked a few blocks from Leanna's apartment building to a bustling district of upscale bars and nightclubs. Numerous well-dressed people were walking down the wide sidewalks as shiny luxury cars drove slowly down the streets. Most of the people Prism saw looked like they were already inebriated, despite it only being around ten at night.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "They'll close the streets to car traffic soon." Leanna said to Prism when she noticed him looking around worriedly. "The real partying begins in an hour. There'll be plenty of people drunk and high in the streets, then."

  "I'm surprised the city would let people walk around like that, especially in large numbers." Prism said.

  "Live and let live. As long as they aren't being violent or overly rowdy, they can partake in whatever substances they want out here." Leanna said. When she saw Prism look at her in disbelief, she sighed. "There are plenty of security agents keeping their eyes on things. They'll help if anything bad happens."

  Prism looked around and saw several men and women in rather plain clothing standing on a few of the street corners. Many of them spoke to each other while keeping their eyes on the streets and the people walking near them.

  They walked to a rather nondescript-looking bar entrance on a nearly empty side street. A heavyset bouncer stared at Prism before smiling goofily at Leanna.

  "Ms. Fabri, it’s been a while!" The bouncer said loudly as he opened his arms to her.

  "Tem! I was hoping you'd be working tonight!"

  Leanna and the man hugged each other like two old friends. Tem even lifted the athletic woman off the ground and swung her around before placing her gently back on the sidewalk.

  "Who's this kid?" Tem asked Leanna with a rude point of his thumb at Prism.

  The bouncer looked Prism up and down like he was figuring out how best to toss him.

  "Be nice, Tem. This is Prism. Don't worry, he's old enough." Leanna said sweetly.

  "Wait, you mean Faerie Prince Prism?" Tem said. The brutish man's features quickly softened into a look of childish awe.

  "Hmmm, that's a new one." Prism said as he gave his chin a scratch.

  "What do you mean by "Faerie Prince"?" Leanna's voice became stern and low as she crossed her arms over her leather jacket, hiding her cleavage.

  "It's all over the lasernet." Tem pointed to the closest laserlith to the city and said. The obelisk’s ominous silhouette was visible even at night. "The Monarchists are saying that he's Daman's son, risen from hell itself to help us beat their queenie asses. Pretty fucking hardcore!"

  "Just let us in, please." Leanna said as she placed her forehead in her hand and sighed.

  "Yeah, sure." Tem said quietly. He looked at her like a dog that had used the bathroom inside against its owner's wishes.

  Leanna led Prism inside the speakeasy's secret entrance once Tem opened the door for them. The seductive gait she'd had earlier was replaced with the fast and confident way she normally walked around the base. Prism did his best to keep up with her as she hurried down the concrete stairs that led to the actual nightclub. He could hear the thumping bass of loud music behind the walls of the stairwell.

  "I'm surprised that Security let that kind of misinformation into our lasernet." Leanna said before she opened the door at the bottom of the stairs. "They normally keep any religious content from going viral."

  Before Prism could reply to her, she stepped through the door and disappeared in the darkness of the room. Prism walked in after her and was immediately taken aback by how loud the music in the nightclub was. Green laser lights moved across the dark, hazy room as people danced wildly in a large square area below.

  Prism and Leanna were on a metal balcony that wrapped around the upper level of the nightclub. His eyes rapidly adjusted to the low light level, allowing him to see just how youthful and scantily-clad the nightclub’s patrons were. There were easily over four hundred people below him and Leanna.

  A bouncer that was standing near the door to the stairwell looked at Prism for a moment before returning his gaze to Leanna, who beckoned for Prism to hurry to her. With a few quick steps, he was near to her again, though it did little to decrease his increasing anxiety. After going through another door and another stairwell, the two of them were on the main floor of the nightclub.

  Prism quickly realized that the grey haze that floated through the air was some sort of party drug. As he breathed it in, his body felt lighter and warmer. He silently and secretly cast a spell to keep his wits about him in case the drug did more than make his body feel good.

  Leanna stopped in front of the club’s main bar, a glowing surface that sat in front of the dance floor. After a friendly greeting to the bartender, she leaned over and ordered two drinks that were made promptly. She then handed her jacket to the same bartender before grabbing the drinks, almost as if a trade had been made.

  “Here!”

  Leanna shouted while handing Prism a tall glass of clear liquid that had very little ice in it. With a quick taste, he recognized it as some sort of gin. He smiled as he remembered how common certain substances were across the multitude of worlds he’d been to.

  “Are we going to talk about what your bouncer friend said about me?” Prism asked loudly enough for Leanna to hear.

  “We drink and we dance first! I’m gonna have a good time before things go to shit!”

  Leanna yelled before downing her drink and placing the glass on the bar. She took Prism’s hand and pulled him onto the busy dance floor; drink still in his other hand. He danced awkwardly in front of her as the bass-heavy music blasted all around them.

  He watched the energetic young people around him rock and sway as if in a trance. Their bodies didn’t seem to mind rubbing and knocking against any strangers that might be close by. In only a matter of minutes, Prism became a part of the writhing, sweaty mass of dancers.

  His body did little to resist the men and women who pulled at him with their hands and their arms. At some point, even the cup he’d been holding was taken by the crowd. Minutes became an hour as he twisted in ways he hadn’t done for months. It was when he started to feel the wetness of mouths on his neck and shoulders that he finally broke out of the fume-filled daze that his magic had ill-prepared him for.

  “Excuse me!”

  Prism shouted as he pushed and shoved himself out of the crowd as the music took on an even more primal beat. His slick body slid across several people that mindlessly groped at him. He made it over to an area with black leatherine seating, a bit winded and a bit wired on adrenaline.

  “What the heck am I doing here?” Prism thought to himself as he slunk into the big chair.

  Leanna appeared a few minutes later out of the dancing mass along with a colorfully-dressed young man that she’d dragged along with her by the arm. She and the man practically fell back into two chairs across from Prism’s. The hollow-cheeked man, with his pink buzzcut, had the hair color of a Telyo-class Etrysian. It was rare to see the domineering, genetically-sculpted Telyos outside of Etrysia, Prism thought. He figured it was just a Disdüti or Esdegonian man who’d dyed his hair, as the man had skin as brown as his own.

  During his travels across the Conjunction over the past year, Prism had been disappointed to discover how homogenous the races of peoples tended to be in the nations outside the Peninsula. He’d gained the same visual stereotypes that most ?bans possessed, for better or worse.

  “Prism, meet Jipso. Jipso, meet Prism.” Leanna said, speaking as if she’d just run a marathon. Her voice was easy to hear despite the loudness of the music.

  “A real pleasure.” Jipso said.

  Jipso leaned forward in his seat and offered his swarthy, sweat-slick hand to Prism. Prism shook it, impressed by the man’s grip. To Prism, Jipso didn’t seem the least bit intoxicated or out of breath. Leanna, on the other hand, lolled about in her seat like a silly little girl.

  “Jipso seems to know quite a bit about these posts blowing up on the net about you.” Leanna said with a giggle as she poked Jipso on the shoulder of his frilly, sheer shirt. Prism could easily see how well-developed the man’s muscles were.

  “Should we really talk about that here?” Prism asked.

  “It’ll be fine. We’re the only ones listening in.” Leanna said, slightly slurring her words. Prism assumed she was talking about the Red Wolves, but didn’t want to say too much in front of Jipso. “This area has vocal isolation tech, so that we can hear each other clearly over the music.” She added with a wave of her hands over her head.

  “How long have you two known each other?” Prism asked, still unsure of how inebriated Leanna really was. She was smart enough to fake such things if it made other people lower their guard.

  “Two years, just about.” Jipso said. Leanna closed her eyes and nodded.

  “Tell him what you told me.” Leanna said calmly to Jipso.

  “The Faerie Prince Prism memes started here about two months ago. They portray you as a badass teenager, so not exactly Monarchist propaganda. They make you look cool, not that you needed any help with that from all the news reports I’ve seen.” Jipso said with a glint in his eye. He spoke like a fan tempering his excitement. “Seems like the sort of meme your Security guys wouldn’t mind spreading.”

  Prism felt his stomach turn. He never liked the idea of being looked up to, especially not for a characterization that was completely false.

  “I’m not a teenager.” Prism said more loudly than he expected. He furrowed his brow and looked away from Jipso. He wanted to say a lot more on the subject, but he bit his lip instead.

  “No offense, but you look like you could be.” Jipso said with a shrug. “You must get that a lot.”

  Prism shook his head dismissively and squeezed the bridge of his nose. Jipso was right, but it still irked Prism that people had latched onto that identity to paint him as some sort of mythical troublemaker. After all, Prism knew that ?bans used the word “Faerie” to refer to what many other worlds called demons.

  “Leanna, I find it a bit hard to believe that you weren’t aware of this “meme” about me. You’re an analyst. Data-diving on the net is your specialty.” Prism said, tired of the game he figured she was playing with him.

  “I haven’t jumped on the net since I got back.” Leanna saw the doubt clear on Prism’s face, but kept speaking anyway. “I was planning on plugging into my terminal in the morning. I just wanted to party and take my mind off the worries of the world.” She said as she rested her forehead in her palm.

  “Not really living up to your nickname.” Jipso said with a smirk.

  Prism tilted his head and looked at the young man incredulously. “What nickname?” Prism probed.

  “Data Girl.” Jipso said with some confusion. “You know that, right?”

  “I do. How do you know it?” Prism asked.

  “He’s a data broker, one of the best in the Conjunction.” Leanna said while she leaned back in her seat. She visibly breathed in the drug fumes flowing around them. “He’s intimately acquainted with my role on RED-1.”

  “Yes, intimately.” Jipso leaned over towards Leanna and said with a slick smile that made her giggle.

  “So you trade in information?” Prism asked Jipso.

  “Lots of information. Mainly of the Etrysian variety.” Jipso’s voice was smooth as butter.

  “Are you…Telyo?” Prism asked, increasingly intrigued by the charming man.

  “Yes, I am of the Telyo gene class.” Jipso nodded as he scooted forward in his seat and rested his elbows on its armrests. “Surprised?”

  “Err, I mean, I’ve never seen an Etrysian as dark as you, and definitely not a Telyo.” Prism put his hands up defensively.

  “He’s mixed.” Leanna said, her voice sounding far off and uninterested. “Disdüti mother, Etrysian father.”

  “I was lucky enough to get a fair share of the best Telyo genes; just enough to qualify me to be officially recognized as a part of the class.” Jipso shrugged.

  It was obvious to Prism that the young man had explained himself like that numerous times. “A society as race-conscious as Etrysia would have been doubtful of Jipso from the very start,” Prism thought. Prism started to feel guilty for his curiosity. He of all people should know better, he reminded himself.

  “Don’t worry about it. I made assumptions about you from the get-go, too.” Jipso said, sensing Prism’s remorse. “I can’t imagine being a literal alien on a world as xenophobic as ours.”

  Jipso’s light eyes softened as he spoke to Prism. The elementeitan didn’t know how to respond to the sudden show of empathy, so he just looked at the people dancing nearby. Not wanting to seem rude, Prism nodded to Jipso after a few seconds of silence.

  “Good thing I was rescued by the least xenophobic people on ?ba.” Prism said, glancing at Leanna for a moment. She nodded like an old sage as she closed her eyes and sunk deeper into the euphoria of the drugs and the music. “It’s not that bad here, in the Conjunction, I mean. I can’t speak for how the other side lives.” Prism added with a shrug and a half-smile.

  “I think you’ll come to find that not much separates us from our neighbors across the sea.” Jipso said with a certainty that put Prism on edge again.