Chapter 1.2 — Mia, Sphinx, and the Truth in Teeth
Derpy’s shoulder still ached where Miller had slammed the pallet jack into him. It hadn’t been an accident, and they both knew it.
“Watch it, Derp,” Miller had sneered, the warehouse lights glinting off his greasy forehead. “Some of us are actually trying to work. Try not to trip over your own feet for once.”
The guys by the loading dock had laughed. Derpy hadn't said anything. He never did. He just adjusted his glasses, gripped his clipboard until his knuckles turned white, and waited for the clock to hit five. He was used to being the punchline. He was used to the name 'Derpy' feeling less like a nickname and more like a sentence.
He walked home with his head down, the weight of the grocery bags cutting into his fingers. Inside one of them, tucked beneath the bread and the eggs, was the journal and the bracelets. He kept staring at the bag like it might bite him.
He reached the apartment and fumbled with his keys.
“I’m home,” he mumbled as he kicked the door shut behind him.
“Did you get the milk?” Tracy called from the kitchen. She sounded tired. She always sounded tired lately, the kind of exhaustion that came from working two jobs and still staring at a stack of red-inked bills on the coffee table.
“Yeah,” Derpy said. “And the cereal.”
Jubilee exploded out of the hallway, nearly tripping over her own shoelaces. She was eight and vibrated at a frequency that Derpy couldn’t always match. “Did you get the stickers? You promised!”
“Check the side pocket, Jube,” he said, forcing a small smile. He watched her dive into the bag, her joy a sharp contrast to the dull ache in his chest from the warehouse. This was his world. Tired sisters, expensive milk, and being the guy everyone felt okay mocking.
“Mia?” he called, trying to shake the feeling of Miller’s sneer.
A soft thump.
Then another.
Mia padded into the hallway like she owned the place.
She was a dog. Technically. A big fluffy thing with an attitude and eyes that always looked like she knew something you didn’t.
Sphinx followed behind her. Sphinx was… also technically a pet. Mostly. He was shaped like a cat, but heavier, with a thick build and a stare that made strangers step back.
Derpy dropped the grocery bags on the counter. Mia sniffed the air. Her ears flicked. Then she stared at the bag with the journal. Sphinx did too. The air in the kitchen suddenly felt wrong.
“Okay,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper so Tracy wouldn't hear. “So. Don’t freak out.”
Mia flicked her tail. Sphinx didn’t move.
Derpy pulled the journal out. The room felt colder. Not temperature. Pressure. Like the air got heavier. Mia’s fur lifted. Sphinx’s lips pulled back from his teeth.
Derpy froze. “Okay,” he whispered. “That’s… not great.”
The bracelets slid out of the bag and clattered onto the floor. Yellow. Cheap. Harmless-looking. Mia stepped forward. She sniffed one. Then she hissed. Not a normal hiss. A hiss that sounded like a warning siren.
Derpy’s stomach dropped. The journal on the counter… moved. Not physically. But the cover seemed to shift, like something under it was breathing.
Derpy backed up. Then the girl from the shop stepped out of the shadows like she’d been there the whole time.
Derpy yelped. “What the—”
She smiled brightly. “Home!” she announced.
Derpy stared. “How did you—”
“I followed you,” she said, like that was normal.
Mia growled. Sphinx growled too. The girl blinked. “Oh,” she said. “They don’t like me.”
Derpy’s voice cracked. “Yeah, no kidding.”
The girl pouted. Then she crouched down, eyes on Mia. “Hello,” she said sweetly. “I’m Celica.”
Mia’s ears flattened. Sphinx stepped forward. The girl’s smile didn’t falter. She reached toward Mia. Mia snapped. Not at her hand. At the air.
And the air ripped. A thin seam opened for a heartbeat—like reality had been cut with a razor.
The girl froze. Her eyes widened. Then she laughed. “Oh,” she said softly. “You’re not normal either.”
Derpy’s blood went cold. Mia’s tail lashed. Sphinx’s eyes glowed faintly. Derpy backed up until he hit the wall, thinking of Tracy and Jubilee in the other room, blissfully unaware that the world was tearing open in their kitchen.
“Okay,” he said. “So. We’re doing this. Cool.”
Celica stood. She looked at the journal. Then at Derpy. Then she smiled like she’d won.
“You took me,” she said.
Derpy swallowed. “I didn’t mean to.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said.
She stepped closer. Derpy held up a hand. “Stop. Before you do whatever weird magic thing you’re about to do, I need rules.”
Celica blinked. “Rules?”
“Yes,” Derpy said, voice shaking but stubborn. “If you’re coming into my house and messing with my life, I get rules.”
Mia growled in agreement. Sphinx rumbled. Celica tilted her head. Then she smiled. “I like rules,” she said.
Derpy swallowed. “Rule one,” he said. “You don’t hurt my pets. Or my family.”
Celica’s eyes flicked to Mia and Sphinx, then toward the sound of Jubilee’s laughter in the living room. She made a small sound like she was thinking. “Fine,” she said.
Derpy exhaled. “Rule two,” he said. “You don’t control me.”
Celica laughed. Derpy’s stomach dropped. But then she stopped laughing. Her eyes narrowed. “Control is boring,” she said.
Derpy didn’t believe her, but he pressed on. “Rule three,” he said. “If we’re doing… whatever this is… it’s equal.”
Celica stared at him. For a second, the air around her shimmered. Then she smiled. “Partner,” she said.
Derpy’s throat went dry. “Partner,” he repeated.
Celica reached for the journal. Derpy flinched. But she didn’t grab it. She pressed her palm to the cover. The journal glowed. Orange light seeped from the edges like embers under a door.
Mia hissed. Sphinx stepped closer. Derpy’s heart hammered. Celica’s body flickered like a bad video. Then she collapsed into the journal. Not falling. Merging. Her form folded into light and sank into the cover.
The journal snapped shut. A symbol burned into the leather for a heartbeat—something like a flame shaped into a crown. Then it faded.
Derpy stared. The room was quiet again, save for the hum of the refrigerator and the distant sound of the TV. Mia’s fur slowly settled. Sphinx’s growl faded into a low rumble.
“...Okay,” he whispered, his hands still trembling. “So that happened.”
The bracelets on the floor warmed. Just a little. Like they were pleased.