To Ogre’s Flea Market (4)

Irma drew her hand to her chest. She closed her eyes and exhaled a sigh of soothing. When she opened her eyes, she noticed Loki's head protruding from the wall.

Irma took a step back, but Loki yanked her towards the unseen gateway before she could take another. Irma yelped in disbelief. She refused to open her eyes, no matter what Loki told her, but the other voices she had heard earlier were clearer as if they were there in front of her.

As she cautiously peaked from above Loki's shoulder, she was astounded to see a tiny, small creature dangling directly in front of her face. The little thing and Irma moved away from each other, but Irma knocked into a man wearing an ogre mask. She promptly apologized, but the man remained silent.

He didn't care for her words. He also chose not to respond to Irma.

He motioned to his forearm and gestured to his wrist, implying that she did the same. She merely stood there, perplexed, staring at both him and Loki. Irma flinched back as the man with the ogre mask got closer.

Loki grabbed Irma's hips and put his chin on her head. He softly took her hand in his and presented her palm to the masked man. The Ogre placed his pointer finger on her wrist and palm. Everyone else in the booth was aware of what was going on, except Irma, who was concerned, having no idea what was going on and simply waiting to see what would happen next.

A dazzling flame exploded from the ogre's finger and into her hand, however, she couldn't feel the effects of the bright blue flames. The flame danced about her palm, swiftly morphing itself into a card, suddenly it mysteriously disappeared precisely above her hand as she blinked a few times.

"You. Are. Welcome. I bought you a card. So you'll be able to enter the Ogre section whenever you want. If you want Winston or your parents to come here, just let me know, since you need a VIP like me."

Irma didn't look away from her hand or the masked guy. Where did that card go? As she was prepared to start asking some questions to Loki, she felt a slight blow of wind over her head, and something heavy was placed above her. She reached out to capture the mystery object, but as she was about to do so, the thing seized her hand or, more accurately, her finger.

She overheard some gibberish. Just before she looked up, she saw a little fairy, the same one she had seen previously, but this time there was more than one of them. The tiny fairy, who was still squeezing her pinky, was pointing toward his hand. The fairy began floating across her arm and gesturing at her bracelet as she raised her hand closer for inspection. He kneels in front of the bronze coin and smacks it with both of his small green hands.

"He's trying to reassure you that this is where your card has disappeared to." Loki drew his sleeve down and presented his bracelet to Irma.

"You could put some money into it. To physically get your card, simply extend your hand and swipe the coin to open the ogres' eyes. It can display any extra information about your card if you double swipe while its eyes are closed. The greatest part is that you are the only one who can view it unless you grant permission for someone else to see it, and the card could also be used on the human side."

Loki paused for a good few seconds before continuing. "Before you ask, this is a Pixie. They may be little, but they are mischievous. For security, they live and operate with the ogre tribe. If they ever run out of food, they can go to an ogre and extract a little of their spiritual energy, which will sustain them for a time until they need to refill."

Loki swatted the pixie lightly, attempting to separate Irma's pinky and the others surrounding her as far away as possible. "However, I wouldn't trust them; usually they whisper shit into your ears to divert attention away from you, just long enough for them to steal your snacks. I was the victim of their countless cruel pranks."

When the pixies overheard what Loki had just revealed, they immediately crowded around. The faint chatter of each individual progressively increased until the littlest one spoke, and the pixies became silent, admiring the smallest one's amazing idea, one by one, they all giggled, and then they all departed.

Loki didn't give the adorable creatures a second thought while Irma was surrounded by them. Loki placed his arm around Irma's and eventually pulled her through the market, showing her the prominent shops and stalls where he typically spends his time.