Punky Fu

Upon entering the new domain, she was at first surprised. Here in this new “community,” there were people of all sorts with welcoming invitations for friendship. It was almost flattering. Almost.

But the new people weren’t that different from the others - it was all just instrumental behavior, repackaged, remixed, and subtle enough to fool most others. But not her. Not for long.

Ever the eternal iconoclast - she had taken the necessary steps - withstood the rejection of the world. Being ostracized was more of a comfortable blanket. So despite what the new “friends” might think, she would not engage in the joining.

When the Tiger came, he growled mightily. The scent of the prey and predator prickled his nostrils and with bared fang, he quickly set about dismantling the machinations and manipulations of the world.

Together they traded war stories. She sorted through the detritus of the world - and saw with clarity the same songs and dances. Together they compared machinations and manipulations. She found paths through the labyrinth and fathomed the unfathomable.

She, the eternal non-conformist, with the strength borne of years of forging, reinforced her status as the new Keeper at the human zoo. She realized that they were all impostors, that the interactions were illusory. She knew that like fairies, they needed you to believe in them to exist and now, there would be no more room for pretenders.

Scales from the eyes- with elegance and grace, full from the prowl of night, she returned her focus to the real. And with the Tiger, strode off into the dawn of happily ever after.