Only Human: Before and After

Chapter 115: June Jackson

Back to Original POV

Despite Lannister's panic attack, the flight went smoothly. Hendrix was oddly quiet most of the flight, so I decided to read that book Ulysses lent me after I awoke from my nap. Lannister stayed close and answered some of my questions as I read. He must have still been nervous. I had never imagined a unicorn on a plane before, and I can imagine it is far beyond his comfort zone. It was sweet that I was able to help him through it. I was worried at first that I was overstepping, but he reacted positively to my coaching and soothing. I also couldn't fight feeling that it was cute how he relied on me to stay calm.

I studied the table of contents and read down the list of creatures listed as hybrids. It was organized alphabetically. Some creatures I never heard of, but most were parts of fairytales or folklore that I once believed were mythical. There were eighteen:

Centaur

Dhampire

Dragon

Fae

Halfling

Kitsune

Manticore

Nymph

Phoenix

Pricolici

Satyr

Sea Monster

Selkie

Snawfus

Sphinx

Succubus

Troll

Werewolf Hybrid

It was overwhelming just reading the list of species. The creatures ranged in both power, fame, and threat. I didn't know much yet, but I knew that a dragon would be far more powerful than a satyr. I mean, the werewolf hybrid didn't even have an official name. I guess the magic community didn't even bother. That or the werewolf community refused to give them one.

One thing was for certain. I needed to brush up on these creatures, and I needed to note which ones to look out for or avoid. I glanced at Lannister who was staring out into the clouds again. Now there was some shots of the ocean below between the fluffy fields.

"Hey, Lannister." I called quietly.

His golden eyes quickly turned to me. "Yes?"

"Have you run into any of these species? You're from Alturess. Are there ones I should be more versed in than others?" I asked.

Lannister looked over my shoulder at the table of contents. His brows went up. "Impressive text. Not many books contain information about all the hybrid species."

I nodded. "Ulysses let me borrow it." I explained.

"Who is Ulysses?" Lannister asked intrigued.

"Hendrix's in-house inventor. He's actually the first elf I met." I explained.

"That explains it. Elves are hoarders of knowledge. He must think highly of you to have shared this with you." Lannister said surprising me. Ulysses couldn't stand me in the beginning. Was this his way of showing me that he truly wanted to make amends.

"I had no idea..." I coughed and pointed at a few names. "I know most of these from humans' fairytales and such, not that they would be very accurate, but I'll admit some are new to me. Like Dhampire. I think I've heard it once or twice, but I don't know what it means." I explained.