Ain't a fairytale

Xerneas’s Tree.

It was right there in front of him. No doubt flowers decorated the ground at its roots, placed there by people who worshiped it. He remembered placing flowers there too, when he was a child. What a fool he’d been.

Even now Míngzé was not the only one here. People came and went all day. The reason he was here was far different from those of everyone else. Did any of those people even have an idea what might be lurking very closely? Probably not.

Someone came close to him, their silhouette was vaguely visible to him. Míngzé reached out, not touching them but trying grab their attention. “Excuse me?” He brought a smile to his lips as he turned to face them. All he could hope for was that they would not keep walking.

“Could you perhaps describe the tree for me?” While he stood there, he let his cane rest against his shoulder, keeping it close to him.

The person he tried to reach stopped as he reached out. Míngzé dropped his shoulders a bit as he relaxed. It would not be the first time someone would walk away. The internet could also tell him what he needed to know, but it was always different in person. Everyone might describe Xerneas Tree differently.

Míngzé raised an eyebrow at the information he gained form the person. A woman with a bright and kind voice. “Ah.” Nothing special. He turned his head towards the large towering tree. Nothing special. A normal tree of which they had only stories that told them about how it came to be. There was a soft crease between his brows. It might very well be an ordinary tree then.

No matter that he was none the wiser, he would’ve kept it at that if not for her further question. “Yes?” There was an uncertainty to his voice as he spoke. “Back when I was younger, though it was never good.” Details have always been lost to him. Stars, freckles, textures, individual leafs on a tree— he had never been able to see any of those.

All the tree did was cast a shadow as it blocked the sun. In a way it was hard to imagine it being more than what it was; a tree. Míngzé quirked a brow. A large one at that, but no bigger than those found in the forest. Could something this normal really hold any kind of power? A thoughtful hum echoed in his throat.

Asking someone to explain what a tree looked like might not sound like a difficult task, until you had to tell someone who could not envision it properly. “It’s fine, I appr—” Míngzé started with a wave of his hand. He wanted to tell her how he appreciated the effort, that he would be on his way now, but she had come up with a plan.

His brow creased as he turned his head towards her. For only a fleeting moment, he hesitated, but the feeling was gone as quickly as it came. Her enthusiasm helped make him feel more at ease. “Only if it is not too much trouble,” Míngzé said, giving her a calm smile. Then he waited, wondering what idea popped up in her head that might help him.

It was often best not to think too much about all the things he missed out on, or in this case what he had forgotten. Míngzé liked to think his mental vision of a tree was what it really looked like, but he could not be certain. Many details were missing that it might as well be the drawing of a child. “It’s alright, you're trying, which is all that matters,” he said honestly, followed by a nod.

They were going somewhere. An idea of what her plan might be popped up in his head, one he was not quite sure about. A bit stiffly he shook his head, keeping a small smile on his lips. “Not really, no.” If people held on to him, it felt more like they were dragging him around. In a way it helped a bit, but it was not optimal. “If you let me hold onto you, that would help, makes it easier to follow,” Míngzé explained to her.

Míngzé held out his hand around what he assumed was elbow height. Holding her there would give him the most information and at the same time make sure the distance between the two was limited.

“How exactly are you planning on showing me?” He had to ask, to know if his assumptions were correct. His voice only betrayed a hint of uncertainty.

As they walked Míngzé couldn’t shake the feeling that he should not be here, but fleeing now was no option. He already accepted her offer and it seemed she had a whole different plan than he had imagined. “Sadly enough, not everyone shares that same idea.” Too often people did not even consider helping. Fortunately, that's not the case for the majority of individuals.

He huffed in amusement as she was not willing to ruin ‘the surprise’. “Where would be the fun in that,” he played along, although the small falter in his smile betrayed something else. Míngzé often found that he did not like surprises that much.

Placing his trust in her for the moment, Míngzé followed her using her to know where to go and his cane to scan the ground. He turned his head to look at her when she asked someone else to get her a wooden plank. A question burned on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it. It would ruin the surprise. “Already not what I was expecting,” he informed her when they were moving again. By now he had no idea what plan she’d come up with.

Once they sat down, she asked him for a moment, causing him to raise an eyebrow. “Sure,” he said, his voice betraying his growing curiosity. Then he waited, half expecting the smell of actual paint to fill the air, but that never came. Instead there was something else. It was the faint smell of something burning, almost like a small campfire. What was she doing?

“Is there something burning?” Or were his senses betraying him? Míngzé couldn’t help but look over his shoulder for a moment, only to discover that the smell indeed came from right next to him. It must be the wooden plank, there was no other option. “Are you—” Míngzé did not finish the sentence, as he had no idea what he actually wanted to ask. What was she doing to that wooden plank?

No explanation to the burning smell followed, only a reassurance not to worry. A thoughtful hum escaped, but he kept his lips in a thin line. There was something about her that radiated warmth and trust, making it easier to feel the truth behind those words. His slight worry ebbed away, but did not fully disappear. Fire held a special place among his fears. There was no raging inferno around them, only the smell which reminded him of the bonfire.

Míngzé listened to her words and tried not to worry as she worked on her peculiar painting. He had folded his cane which now rested on his lap. His hands were folded and he absent mindedly stroked the rougher texture of his left hand.

When she spoke up again, Míngzé sat up right some more. “Is it done?” At her request, he extended his hand to her. Against his skin, which always felt a bit too cold, hers felt remarkably warm, yet not uncomfortable. His fingers twitched momentarily before he attempted to relax them once more. It was odd, but he did not want to jump to conclusions immediately. Instead he allowed her to help once more.

“How did you do it?” Míngzé wondered. Did she have a burning hot tool on her person at all times, or was it something else. His unfocused gaze rested on their hands.

Her explanation was a simple one and told him enough. Fire did not magically appear, not unless one criteria was met. It was something he often did not give much thought, perhaps because he could not see the world around him. How many people used their affinities daily for the most mundane tasks? He would never, but that did not mean others never did.

An uncomfortable feeling settled in as she guided his hand over the wooden board and the engravings in it. It was difficult to concentrate on what was right below his fingers. Conflicting thoughts raced through his mind, reminding him of his current goal. Soon this would not be possible anymore if he fulfilled it.

“Right,” Míngzé said absent minded. A deep breath followed, filling his lungs in an attempt to clear his head. She moved his hand to the tree burned into the wood. It was truly remarkable if he let go of everything else for a moment.

The absence of warmth was the first that hit him the moment she let go. The plank ended up on his lap. Now using both his hands, he traced the tree with a light touch that still showed hesitation. It painted him a picture no mere words could never hope to convey. “This is beautifully done,” he remarked as his hands now found the small figure that represented him. Minzge couldn’t help but feel it shouldn’t be there, like he was not supposed to be here either.

That something this good could be created by something so inherently wrong. No wonder people were often blind to it.

“Thank you.” No matter what, she’d gone through more trouble than necessary. “You were lucky they had exactly what you needed.” Míngzé tried to bring a smile to his lips. A flat wooden plank was not something you could find just anywhere. "And that you had fire at your disposal."

It all made sense now. She was familiar with the surroundings because she helped around here. A heavy pressure settled on his shoulders at this realization. Míngzé’d never liked those that dedicated at least a part of their lives to worshiping some God. Their vision was always clouded, unable to see past their beliefs. Perhaps she was not as bad as those people, but it was sufficient for him to form an impression.

“That makes more sense than sheer luck. Perhaps I was the lucky one to have found you.” With his thumb he stroked over the rough edges. He shot her a small smile. Míngzé could envision her guiding groups, helping them where needed and making them feel good. If you asked him, he'd say she had a natural talent this.

There it was, the confirmation he needed. His nails scratched lightly over the wooden surface as his hand turned to a fist. “Yes, the beauty,” Míngzé repeated, voice strained lacking any sincerity, not even aware of the tone. He looked down at the artwork. It was always there, around them and in them, tainting the body. There was a lump in his throat he swallowed as soon as it apparead.

Looking back on it he could’ve been more subtle. Perhaps only a nod, then telling him he had to go. Some things he had to take care of before the day was over. Or fake his enthusiasm. All of that was too late, he could not turn back time. His disdain had crept into his voice, impossible to conceal. Míngzé clenched his jaw as the realization hit him.

To his surprise her demeanor did not change at all. One corner of his mouth twitched in a short smile. “That obvious, eh?” Míngzé turned his head towards her. He let her question sink in, trying to come up with the right words.

“I don’t trust them,” he simply stated with a shake of his head. “They are dangerous powers people never should’ve tampered with. What do we really know about them anyway?” People may think they were in control, but all this time, Míngzé had never once experienced the same. It had always been as if the affinity had been controlling him. Just as he’d seen it control others too.

This was not a discussion he often had with people, rather one he tried to avoid. Míngzé knew how they looked at him when he told them. They did not see what he saw. They thought it was stupid that he was afraid of them. The recent festival was proof of just that. A whole festival dedicated to affinities. It only encouraged people to seek them out.

There was so much more about the affinities that scared him than simply the mystery surrounding it, but Míngzé bit his tongue, swallowed his words. He would not lay personal experiences bare.

The woman compared their affinities to pokémon, as they also shared those powers but on a greater level. “We can’t compare pokémon to what lives inside us. They are born with it, they have no need to go through what people call an awakening and all that follows.” A shiver ran down his spine by the memories connected to this.

“They don’t change us the way an affinity does.” After that day on the beach, he’d never felt the same anymore. Even now with a new one eating away at him. Yes, he was no longer tormented and had found a certain peace, but it might well be a trick.