28 Chapter 28 Trembling Anticipation (1/2)

”We're not fairies,” said one of the tiny figures in a high-pitched voice, ”We're pixies.”

”Does that mean you won't bite?” asked Vonn, rubbing his hand where he had been bit before.

”Not unless we have to,” she said, tilting her head to the side like a little bird. ”May we come closer to your fire? It looks warm.”

”Of course,” said Tom, before anyone could say anything else. ”Those who are cold are always welcome at our fireside.”

They small group zoomed down next to the fire so fast, everyone gave a start. They seemed to have been shot from a bow, they flew down so fast. Gia watched as they held out their tiny hands to the fire. Some even turned to warm their backsides, though they almost seemed to fold their wings around their shoulders when they did that, to prevent them from getting burned by the fire.

”What brings you to our fire?” asked Tom, to fill the silence, since everyone else was too entranced with watching the tiny figures.

”We got separated from our group when we were out on patrol, and then the cold caught us. If it weren't for your fire, we would freeze to death. Us pixies don't do well in the cold,” said a different pixie than had originally spoken to them, a little pixie man.

”Then what do you do each year, when winter comes?” asked Tom.

”We hide in our nest and eat the food we've stored all year long. What brings you to our forest?” asked the pixie man.

”We are traveling through your forest, trying to get back to the human lands on the other side of the mountain,” said Tom, resting his arms on his knees and leaning forward. ”I think it's taking us a lot longer than we thought it would.”

”The human lands are really far away! You have to get past the elves that way, or the satyrs that way,” said the man, pointing in either direction.

”Well, seeing as how we already made it past the satyrs, I think the elves are our next destination,” said Tom, nodding as he sat back up.

”We don't like the satyrs,” said the pixie woman with a shake to her head that sent her long curls bouncing. ”They either want us to do things for them, or to entertain them. It's horrible some of the stuff they want.”

”We barely managed to escape them, ourselves,” said Tom. ”The mermaids are pretty scary too.”

”Oh, well, as long as you stay out of the water, you should be fine with them,” said the pixie man.

”We were told the trees walk here, is that true?” asked Tom.

”Oh, yes! If you do anything that might make them mad, they will chase you and stomp you into paste!” cried the third little pixie.

”Best not to make them upset, then,” chuckled Tom. ”I don't fancy being made paste anytime soon. Is there anything else we can offer you? A piece of squirrel, perhaps?”

”Sorry, we don't eat meat. Do you have any honey, or mead?” asked the girl pixie hopefully.

”No, sorry,” said Tom, ”we don't have any of that.”

”That's alright,” said the pixie man. ”Once we are warm enough, we will make a dash for our nest and there is plenty of food for us there.”

The pixie girl didn't seem to think that was a good idea, but she didn't complain.

Gia couldn't imagine how fast they would be traveling if they intended to make a dash anywhere, considering how fast they had moved from the tree branch to the fire.

”Why are you sitting here, if you have such a long way to go?” asked the third pixie.

”Two of us fell in the water yesterday, and their boots are still wet. We can't travel with their boots wet, or they might get sick in this cold. Hopefully they will dry enough by tomorrow, we can travel some more,” explained Tom.

”Are your wings like dragonfly wings?” asked Mikey, kneeling down on the ground to get a closer look at them.

”Yes, and they're very fragile. We have to be super careful not to hurt them, because it takes a long time for them to heal,” said the pixie man, stepping in front of the other two pixies, as if to protect them.

”For letting us get warm by your fire, we will dry your boots for you,” said the pixie girl, waving her hands at the two pair of boots.

A glittery swirl drifted from her hand and settled on the boots, making them sparkle for a moment before a whoosh of white frost was expelled out of them. Mikey was so surprised, he jerked back, landing on his butt.

Vonn and Gia started laughing, and it broke the spell that had been on the group while the pixies were there. They darted away, gone so fast, it was as if they had never been there before.

”Are the boots really dry?” asked Carla softly.