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So very elusive.

Or rather, they were just really good at hiding and sneaking about.

Like the fat little orange one that snuck up in front of him.

"Oh!" Honestly, it had surprised him. Draven blinked at the thing. It blinked back.

This one was definitely Mayaa colored. Maybe. He wasn't sure. But it didn't even put up a fight as he picked it up. Gently, so as not to scare it away, of course. He had to do this right.

"Don't worry. If you are Mayaa, I'll fix this. I'll figure it out." His voice dropped to a whisper. "The voices told me what to do."

And then he kissed the kushi on its lips.

He really hoped it wouldn't bite him.

FIVE

Draven did turn. Of course it was only after he had fully kissed the kushi.

He turned and he saw Mayaa, very much not looking like she'd been turned into a kushi. And she was certainly not the kushi in his hand.

"Uh." He looked back at the kushi, who seemed not at all troubled by the situation, then back to Mayaa. Bewilderment showed on his face. "Um. They said to kiss the kushi. I thought..." His eyes went from Mayaa to the kushi and back again. He'd been wrong. So very wrong. "I'd thought...well. You weren't turned into a kushi-kushi, were you?" He had to make sure.

Draven looked at Mayaa for a good, long moment.

He dropped the kushi in his hands, his feathers fluffed out in agitation or fluster, it was hard to tell. "No, no I would not. It would be terrible." He'd just spent ages hunting down kushi to reverse such a travesty. "I certainly couldn't take you back to school as a kushi," he said, climbing to his feet.

"Why would you even want to BE a kushi?"

He looked down at the kushi he'd dropped. It had not run away. Maybe there was something wrong with it.

"They are...okay." He looked back at Mayaa. "You're cuter as a harpy. Now come on," he reached out for her hand. "Let's head back."

He thought he could see some especially red glow coming from just around the corner. Portal colored glow.