He needed to pick up a prescription for a fungal infection on his thorax, and didn’t want to be alone.
I rubbed my antennae together in annoyance.
He was a hypochondriac if I had ever seen one. What would our ancestors think of this? Do we have ancestors? I scratched the fuzz on my chin at the thought.
Then again, what would they think of me? I was not your typical Mothman. I was thick, no… robust, stout. Most pictures showed Mothmen as average build or thinner.
I rubbed my belly and chucked another banana into the basket.
I don't even remember my childhood, let alone a mother. It was as if I woke up here, came out of an animistic fog and decided to act more… human.
That was the only way I could describe it, as well as others who woke up here. We were the nightmares of humans, legends long foretold.
Arcana Falls became our home. We had jobs, made money, and interacted with humans, and hopefully, we found our match. The one that would make us feel the most complete in every way and rid us of the nightmarish flashbacks of our past.
My wings shivered, and dust flew into the air.
What wild things we were.
Lucien shook his bag for me to see, way over at the pharmacy. His glamor almost fell out of place from his excitement when his wings extended. I sighed heavily and waved to appease him.
I didn’t like to make big movements, because every time I did, I knocked something over or feared I would show myself. I was bigger than the other Mothmen, and clumsy as fuck.
I would never find my match, I’ve known it from the start.
Because no Mothman has.
I chittered and felt my antennae shake.
I was a bug.
Humans don’t like bugs.
Females, particularly, dislike bugs. I learned that quickly.
Lucien, who was on the thinner side, strode toward me. He shook the bag again, and I could hear the contents shake inside. “The witches…” He slapped his hand over his humanoid face. “I mean, the pharmacist gave me some antifungals. I just have to take a pill. No cream, isn’t that amazing? And they are small, the perfect size to swallow for our tiny mouths.”
I nodded and sniffed another banana I’d picked up. With the glamor, it appeared I was sniffing with my nose, but I was actually pushing my antennae in front of my face.
I don’t know how this glamor stuff worked, but no one has questioned me so far.
The glamor was done well enough that it covered my antennae. And I had big antennae.
You know what they say, the bigger the antennae, the bigger the...
“Are you paying attention?” Lucien nudged me. I felt his wing graze my lower leg to really catch my attention.
The glamor only exposed that as part of my human torso.
“No, what did you say?” I placed the overripe banana into my basket.
“There is a new female in town.” He pointed to the entrance of the store. “And the mayor has gotten to her. She looks like she'd rather die than talk to him.”
I hummed, my wings vibrating behind me.
“Usually, the Slenderman is easy to talk to when in his human form. He can be charismatic around the ladies.” Lucien wiggled his human eyebrows that resembled thick, brown, fuzzy caterpillars.
I wish I could be that suave with the ladies. Mayor Gideon Hollow could get any female he wanted, but so far, no one really struck his fancy. Meanwhile, I ran, no, I stumbled away because I’m too... me.
