‘Yay. Bath time!! Do me a favor Rez, get me some bubbles!!’He dips under the water and rubs his tummy like an otter when he emerges.
I can’t help it; I laugh at his antics and splash him for a little while until I hear buzzing around my ear. Out of instinct, I swat at the bug a few times until the noise finally stops.
Slap.
“Ow!”
A sharp sting of pain and warmth flows across my cheek. What in the world? I touch my tender skin and look to see what the hell just hit me. Turning around, right in front of me is a twig of a person. At least, I think it’s a person.
The creature before me is standing with their feet shoulder-width apart, hands on their petite hips, and glaring at me. They would be intimidating if they were taller than me, but this thing barely comes up to my chest. Though, their eyes give me pause as I watch them turn a fiery red and what looks like steam comes floating out of their ears. I swear I’m looking at a female cartoon if the long brunette hair with green vines flowing around her is anything to go off of. I have no freaking clue what type of creature it is since she looks like a miniature walking tree. Her skin is brownish-green, and after taking a closer look, I think it’s bark. If she says “I am Groot” I’m not sure if I’ll laugh or cheer.
“Well, that was rude. I was just saying hello. Do you hit everyone that says hi, or am I just special because I’m a PIMP?” she huffs and then pouts.
The world freezes as I stare at her for what has to be minutes until what she said finally registers. Bursting out laughing, I have tears gathering in my eyes, making her figure blurry, but I can tell it doesn’t help diffuse the angry gremlin.
Slapping her bare foot against the wet cement, she raises an eyebrow, staring me down. Apparently, she’s waiting for an answer to her question.
“A pimp? I’m pretty sure that my definition is different from yours,” I giggle, slowly taking in deeper breaths to stop the ache in my ribs.
“No, I’m ab-so-lute-ly sure it’s the same. PIMP, a hybrid of a Pixie and an Imp, but you can call me Monikaloy, Moni for short,” she says, bouncing from one foot to the other like she is incapable of staying still.
Her dark brown curls and vines bounce around her shoulders while gossamer wings are tucked behind her, and is that a tail? Interrupting my observations, Lynx crawls out of the fountain and shakes himself out like a dog.
“Ugh! Damnit, Lynx!” I shout, wiping the excess water off my face.
A squeal comes out of Moni as she dives for Lynx. Worrying about what she will do, or what Lynx will do for that matter, I hold out a hand to stop her, only to see her petting the wet furball causing him to chirp.
‘At least she will pet me where I want it,’ he says while rolling over and letting her rub his belly.
I scoff and roll my eyes as I hiss out, ‘Traitor.’
“What else would pimp stand for? I thought it was a good name for what I am. I hate the term half-breed, so I needed a cute name instead,” she says.
Hmm. Well, that makes sense, I guess.
“Well, humans at least, know a pimp to be someone who controls prostitutes and arranges clients for them. Unless you’re selling sex, I doubt that fits your, um… goal?” I’m not sure what her goal is, but I’m only guessing that probably isn’t it.
“If you’re a Pixie and an Imp, why not just go by Impsie, Pixs, Pie, or even Mixie instead of pimp?” I ask, just throwing out whatever comes to my mind.
She squeals and shrinks down to six inches right before my eyes, making Lynx jump a mile in the air and land back into the fountain with a splash. Despite her size, I can still hear her clear as day.
“Omg! Omg! Omg! That is so great! I love them all!” she screams, zipping around my body, leaving a green streak following behind her. Popping back up to a somewhat average size of four feet tall, she stops and takes a deep breath. And promptly faints.
Kneeling down on the wet pavement, Lynx and I share a look before I slap her hard across the face. Payback’s a bitch.
“Hey. Wake up.”
She jerks upright and floats on her wings in front of me, looking bashful and refusing to make eye contact.
“Did I faint again?” she asks, twisting her hands in a tight ball.
‘Like a crack baby looking for some doughnuts,’ Lynx snorts.
“Again? Does that happen a lot?” I ask, a little worried about her.
“Only when I get too excited,” she shrugs, and a slight blush colors her cheeks but quickly disappears. Before I can ask how often that is, she changes the subject. “Come on, let’s go! Levi asked me to give you a quick tour of Nova—well, at least the Central Square. That’s where all the shopping and your main essentials are located, like the best coffee shop,” she babbles, darting off like a little hummingbird that’s two feet tall.
‘This is going to be amazeballs! Let's blow this joint,’ Lynx says and runs after her down the path, leaving watery paw prints in his wake.
