Mira seated herself cross legged on the ground to appear less threatening, and offered him a gentle smile. “My name is Mira. It’s nice to meet you, Hwajae.”

Hwajae offered no words in response, but she could feel his uneasiness begin to subside.

“Do you like my shadows?” Mira smiled as she recreated the bunny shadows once more.

This time he was less intrigued by her trick, and paid no attention to the shadows hopping around him. “What do you want?” Hwajae asked in what he hoped was a firm voice.

“I wanted to meet you,” Mira answered simply. “I’ve never met another Ultimate before, and I was very lonely.”

Hwajae’s face softened at her words, but he still remained cautious of the new presence. “How… how did you know that I’m an Ultimate?”

Mira cocked her head and tapped her finger against her chin. “Hmm, intuition? I’ve been an Ultimate much longer than you have, so I guess I’m more in tune to my powers?” 

Hwajae grunted in response, not knowing exactly how he should react to the older Ultimate. He was frightened by the sudden presence of another after being alone for the past few months, and to have them be another Ultimate was even more shocking. Despite his fear, he felt somewhat relieved to have the comfort of another who could relate to him more than an ordinary human could. Who could relate to him more than the villagers did. The villagers that he had killed.

Mira could feel his instability pick up again, and she quickly attempted to soothe out his emotions once more. “Hwajae, have you ever met a fairy before?”

Hwajae’s eyes perked up with curiosity, and he slowly shook his head.

Mira smiled, glad that children were so easily distracted. She tapped her pocket gently as a signal, and Haiku slowly emerged. He fluttered through the air above her head, and waved happily over at the younger boy.

“I thought you said you don’t know if I’d be affected by his powers or not,” Haiku murmured through his smile loud enough so only Mira could hear him.

“I guess it’s a sacrifice we’ll have to make,” Mira simply responded silently.

“It’s a fairy,” Hwajae murmured awestruck by the small figure that was flitting around the air. He took a few steps closer to get a better look. “A fairy.”

“His name is Haiku,” Mira nodded, happy to have gotten him to feel the slightest bit more comfortable. “and he’s immune to the powers of an Ultimate.”

Hwajae’s eyes lit up brightly at his words and his mouth dropped to form a small O shape. “You mean… you mean I can’t hurt him?”

Mira’s chest clenched at his words, for she remembered the same amount of happiness she had felt when she realized Haiku wouldn’t be affected by her powers so many years ago.

“Yeah,” she responded quietly. “You can’t hurt him.”

Hwajae opened his mouth to respond, but closed it reluctantly after a few seconds. He stared at Haiku before shifting his gave over to Mira. “Can… Can I touch him?” Hwajae whispered in a small, shy voice, almost scared that Mira would reject his request.

Mira nodded towards Haiku, who then flew over to Hwajae before landing gently in his small outstretched palm. Hwajae stared at him in amazement, not daring to touch the delicate figure anymore than he already was. “Pretty.”

“Boys don’t like to be called pretty,” Haiku responded matter of factly.

Hwajae jumped at the sudden voice, and his eyes widened as he stared down at the small figure. “You can talk!”

“Yes I can,” Haiku smiled as he tapped the boy gently on the tip of his nose.

Hwajae giggled at the touch, enjoying the physical contact he hadn’t received in months. He glanced back at Mira who had been watching them carefully, and offered Haiku back to her. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Mira nodded as Haiku flew back to her side. She glanced over at the sun that was beginning to set behind the trees, and chewed down on her bottom lip. She had promised the boys that she would be back by sunset, but if she were to leave now, when would she be able to see Hwajae again? She caught sight of the small makeshift shelter that was propped up against a tree, and nodded towards it. “Is that your home?”

Hwajae glanced back at the pile of leaves and twigs she was referring to, and nodded his head in slight embarrassment.

“Then if I leave, will you still be here when I come back tomorrow?” she asked seriously.

Hwajae’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’d come back?”

“Of course I would,” Mira answered. “So would you stay here?”

“Yeah!” Hwajae responded, almost too eagerly. He coughed in embarrassment and shyly glanced back at her. “Yeah.”

“What about food? And extra clothes? What do you do when it gets cold?” Mira asked with concern for the boy’s living conditions. How could a ten year old boy have survived for so long out in the middle of nowhere?

“No clothes,” Hwajae shook his head. “But there is food here. There are a lot of fruits. I know which ones are bad for you, I learned in school,” he announced proudly.

Mira bit down on her bottom lip. She couldn’t leave this boy by himself, no matter how long he had been fending for himself. “Do you think… could I stay with you here?”

Both Haiku and Hwajae glanced at her in surprise, not at all expecting her request.

“I don’t have anywhere else to go,” Mira continued. “It’s scary being on my own.”

Her words resounded with Hwajae, for he knew how scary it really was to be by yourself in an unknown place. He flushed a light red as he slowly nodded his head. “Y-yeah.”

Mira smiled and climbed up to her feet. She brushed off the leaves from her pants and began to walk towards Hwajae. He was taken aback by their suddenly close proximity, and he stumbled backwards. Mira ignored his uneasiness, however, and continued forward until they were less than a foot away from each other. 

“Yah, don’t move away,” Mira scolded as she reached over to tap him on the nose. “You’re making me feel bad.”