A girl wearing an old ragged dress with long slim black hair...
Alan freezed at the moment he finds a figure that resembles Emmet's description of a Banshee.
The presumed Banshee is sleeping soundly below the desk with her legs folded. Alan personally doesn't want to wake her up, but his inquisitiveness made him stay. He wonders how she would act. Is her personality similar to Emmet? Does she have a tragic backstory too?
Of course you dummy... She is a Banshee, there is no way one would have a heavenly childhood if someone turns into a supernatural being.
As Alan is absorbed in his thoughts, the Banshee slowly opens her eyes, awake from her peaceful rest. The moment her eyes detect an unfamiliar human being, she opens her mouth and releases a huge sound frequency, strong enough to destroy the windows. Alan reflectively jumps backward to the wall as the Banshee springs to a corner.
At the moment of alert, they look into each other's eyes, the Banshee's eyes amazes Alan. He knows that if he didn't meet Emmet, he would be terrified of the horrors in her eyes. But now he learns a little about the Shadow world and befriending Emmet, her eyes gives Alan 2 feelings.
Amazement and concern.
Alan has never seen intense green eyes, he would only imagine such eyes in a fantasy novel. But looking at the Banshee's eyes, he noticed fear and panic in them. Could it be that the Banshee is scared of Alan?
Every living creature has their own survival instincts when facing danger. Dogs would bark when a robber intruded their owner's territory, Skunks would release a bad odor when they are threatened. Octopus and Squid would emit their ink to escape. Birds would use their speed to display intimation and use trickery to avoid predators.
But what would a Banshee do?
Would they run to avoid being harmed? Would they attack to fight for their lives? Would they use special abilities to escape from danger?
That is when Alan realizes, in face-to-face with the Banshee, Alan has dumbfounded himself. He keeps imagining what she would do in the face of danger, that it made him forget that as a human, he is the one that is in danger.
In Irish folklore, the Banshee are known for their screams or wailing. On their encounter, she managed to break the window through her low cry. Imagine what a louder one can be capable of. That might be what she is about to do now.
Just as the Banshee about to do what Alan imagines, a small figure covers her mouth with his small hand, "Calm down, Quinia."
Alan relaxes his gaze as he steps back. A miniature human that is seen in green suits and green hats... Alan is awed by the similarity of Emmet's description. He can't help but feel astonished by this unexpected encounter, it's like the horror atmosphere has driven out. Being that Alan always daydreams of being in a folklore story.
"I appreciate the admiration, but I preferred to not be looked at as a thing," the Leprechaun's comment widened Alan's gaze.
"Oh, sorry," Alan reacted. He will try to be mindful next time.
Aware of the situation, Emmet quickly ran towards them, "Alan, you okay?"
"Don't worry, I'm good."
"Ah Emmet, where have you been? We have been searching for you." said the Leprechaun.
"I was hiding from Corrumpos in the pharmacy."
"Quinia was worried sick, she thought you were dead."
"No, I'm not," the banshee who Alan guessed is Quinia looks flustered.
"Well, here I am in one piece." Alan holds his urges to add a comment relating to his crushed head.
"So, who's the emo boy?"
Alan is internally shocked by the leprechaun's comment. I mean, I may be depressed as hell, but I'm not emo.
Alan guesses it's because of his appearance, black hair with bangs almost reaching his eyebrows and a full black hoodie. He is too lazy to create a hairstyle and he is comfortable in his 7 year old hoodie. But he doesn't believe his personality fits an emo boy. He considers himself as a very sociable person and can execute a presentation without a problem, which he takes pride in.
"Just because you have good communication skills, doesn't mean you are not emo." Alan feels this vegetative dwarf with a cartoonish hat has a weird strong motive to leave a bad impression. He is also completely baffled by how this Leprechaun can accurately tell what he was thinking. Reading a person's mind is absolutely different from sensing emotions, based on Alan's dictionary. Is it a special ability Leprechaun has? Or is he just that 'good' in sensing emotions? Whatever that is, Alan wants to knock him with his own fist, but he knows his standings as a weak human. The fear of the unknown is ironically one of his greatest tools of survival.
"Just because you cosplayed as an old dwarf, doesn't mean you can judge someone by their appearance." Alan decides to shoot back. He personally feels he did something.
"Nahhh, don't you dare compare me to those drunkards who have a disgusting, unclean beard! I'm much better than them. You know nothing, boy. " It appears Alan has detonated a small grenade inside the Leprechaun's small head, it makes him feel like he has unlocked an achievement in a video game.
"If age was calculated by height, you would be much younger than me, old man." It is a common occasion Alan hears various kinds of insults from Arlo and Beatrix day to day fights, he will use those days as his weapon for this particular moment. Alan did not expect his first encounter with a leprechaun he used to only heard from stories or the internet would be, puerile at the minimum. Nevertheless, he is certain he will not regret this moment. He also thinks this is a chance to vent his grudge to his teachers. He would imagine the Leprechaun he is looking forward to 'affront' as mister Carney.
"Don't get your impulses get the better of you, you emo boy! Show some respect!" The leprechaun's irritated face and big nose made Alan almost burst to laugh, he considered them captivating.
Perched between the two talkative birds, Emmet wants to break his awkward standing as a spectator of the childish show. Emmet cleared his throat to get everyone's attention, which he did, "Everyone, this is Alan, he is a trapped human."
"More like a kid in trouble for me." Alan can't believe how true that is, although he still doesn't like being called a 'kid'.
"My name is Preston, I'm a leprechaun, and this is Quinia, a banshee." Alan guess they have been living together for a long time, they must have considered themselves as comrades or even families.
"3 of us, with Emmet, have been surviving together for a while, we'll help you return to your home, Alan."
Alan is shocked by Preston's claim. "Wait, you're saying there's a way to return to the real—Persona world?"
Preston nods, "Of course there is. You would have been dead if there wasn't."
Alan can't argue with that, it is a miracle that he wasn't caught by the small furred Corrumpo. He counts himself fortunate that Emmet saved him from the distorted Corrumpo. He always considers himself average, but he can't tell whether he is lucky or unlucky. But whatever chance lies on his doorstep, he'll take it. "Do tell me."
Preston smiles at the boy's determination, as if he forgot about their first bad encounter, "There is only 1 way, a simple... but a hard task." Alan always hears that from his teachers for exams or quizzes. Thus, his confidence in surviving elevates.
"The only way you can escape is through using an Anima card that has the ability to create a portal to the Persona world."
Anima card... Alan remembers hearing that word. Ah right, it was what he was doing before he met Quinia and Preston. "Where can we find them?" asked Alan.
"They are everywhere you don't expect to find. Trash can, tree branch, sewer. All Anima cards are scattered around the world," Preston answers.
Alan guess searching the Anima cards will feel like hunting colored eggs during Easter. He remembers his father would give him clues to the eggs' locations whenever Alan is lost, he misses those moments.
"The one card you need is the yellow card," Preston added. "One of them has the capability of creating portals that connect the Persona world with the Shadow world. That way, you can return back."
"I see..." Alan reacts to give an impression that he is listening, which he is.
"But in order to do that, we need to survive from Corrumpos." Alan already knows that but it's good to hear a reminder that there is a creature that can take his life in an instant.
"One of the most dangerous Corrumpos are the distorted Corrumpo."
"The big humanoid monster that has weird big white eyes?" Alan asked.
"They are one of them," Preston confirms. "They are almost as slow as a turtle, but their threat lies in their eyes. They can immobilize anyone who makes eye contact with them through fear. Once they do, they would grab and rip their prey's bodies in order to eat them."
"They... what?"
"Distorted Corrumpos have a small mouth, so they would tear their food till it can fit into their mouth," Emmet added.
"Right..." Alan prefers not to imagine a titan ripping his body like paper and swallowing him whole, which he regretfully did. He can feel his stomach about to blow.
"Another type of Corrumpo you would want to avoid is a Pestifer," Preston informs. "They can see a human's memory and change their figure into a human. So you shouldn't be hasty if you see someone you know."
That is extremely useful information. Alan would run and cry if he saw Calvin or Aiden in the Shadow world, he'll try to be mindful for now. "Anything else?" Alan asked.
"Well, those are mostly Corrumpos," said Preston. "But it'll be a disaster if you meet a Hellion."
"A... what?"
"Hellions are the most powerful being in the Gehenna community. The lowest rank hellions are powerful enough to destroy a building."
Okay, what? Alan hopes they are all joking to scare him, but doesn't want to be ignorant. If the supposed lowest rank hellion is strong enough to destroy a house, then how the hell can Alan survive? He can't possibly hide in a supermarket, hoping he would never meet them. He is also surprised that he didn't see any damage to the houses he passed by. He can't imagine himself surviving the hellions. Consequently, Alan starts getting discouraged.
Emmet senses Alan's anxiety, it reminds him of the same feeling he usually had when he was a kid. Bothered by it, Emmet approaches Alan and touches his shoulder, "Don't worry, Alan. You can make it."
"Yeah, no sweat, kid. You'll be fine with us," says Preston.
"I maybe don't know you well," Quinia joins in. "But I believe you can return to your loved ones as long as you have a powerful will."
Alan's fear of death slowly fades as their encouragement brings warmth to his cold soul. He is definitely lucky to have company even if they are not humans. Alan counts himself to be blessed for not having to fight alone in this dark gray world. As such, he felt indebted. "Thank you, everyone." Alan smiles, expressing his gratitude. "Well, we have no time to waste. Let's go!" Alan shouts enthusiastically.
Preston chuckles at Alan's lively steps, it makes him feel like looking at an energetic kid that has a bright childhood. As the others follow, Alan steps out with ambition filled his head. But he stops as he makes eye contact with a humanoid creature that is covered by furs.