Brainchild
This was the first time you’d encountered one of these asexual individuals yourself. You’d heard all about them from those Fey beneath you, though you’d always treated them as nothing more than myths or folktales. You knew that they could fall for the same romantic traps as anyone else, but it was the child-making that filled them with no interest.
You, however, weren’t one of those Fey beneath you. If you were, you wouldn’t have been hiding out here, waiting for this particular human to arrive. For you see, many—if not all—Fey had learned the human tongues out of necessity. To trick those beneath them and grow ever more powerful, it was required to understand the mind of an animal. But they never grasped the true beauty of the human tongues in a way that you had.
You grinned a playful grin at first, though the expression soon contorted into one of malicious joy. Teeth that were ordinarily sharpened for the consumption of Fey food softened themselves to put the human at ease. Your eyes shimmered with a thousand years of trust—or rather, a lie convincing enough to seem the same.
“You lose, and I win!”
You caressed the human’s cheek. They were certainly a precious little human. You almost felt bad for the trickery you were about to pull.
“Born …” Your voice had a gentle lilt to it, akin to the kisses of wind as it sang through the leaves. “Such a peculiar little word, isn’t it?” You tapped your chin, playing up your innocence. “We Fey have but one definition for it, and that is to describe the process of being mothered. But you …” You giggled and did a slow circle, tracing a finger along their chest as you went. “You delightful humans have more than one definition.”
The smile dropped from the human’s face, replaced with a crestfallen expression that you hadn’t seen in quite some time.
“Now, those Fey beneath me may have given up and admitted you’d bested them, but not me.”
You drew close to the human from behind, one arm wrapping around their waist and the other rising to run through their hair.
“I can see your thoughts, I can feel your fear. You’ve been working on something for quite some time now, yes?”
Your hand dropped to the human’s throat just in time to feel them gulp. Your heartbeat quickened, your grin gradually widening once more into its usual predatory visage.
“Tell me, when you’re working on this project of yours, what do you call it?”
The human didn’t answer, for fear of what you may do. They didn’t need to, however. The answer bobbed at the surface of their thoughts, fighting to bubble over the edge but held at bay by a startling amount of restraint.
“Such a clever little elixir. My, it reminds me of the waters we Fey drink of.”
You leaned in close until your mouth was beside their ears. It was there that your voice became less of a breeze and more of a storm. There were no more niceties to be heard, nothing beyond a howling gust as it tore away every last shred of hope in their little human mind.
“When the formula for that elixir has been born from your efforts, I will come and take it as my own. But until then …” You gave their cheek a single, soft kiss, the final affection you would dare spare them. “Watch your loved ones wither away before you as you refuse to finish this task. Witness never-ending loss as you struggle to give them the same immortality that you just asked for. And know that you can never trick a Fey.”
