Author's Note: Salutations to all! This is my sequel to my story Out of the Shadows. It takes place 3 years after the events of the first story. Please enjoy!
"Fawn," a voice spoke through the darkness. Fawn did her best to ignore it, because she was drifting along through a wonderful dream and didn't really want to be disturbed. "Fawn!" The voice spoke again. This time a cool hand touched her shoulder.
She rolled over and waved her hand in the air. "No… no. Beck swore she'd clean the frog-riding gear today," she murmured. She could feel the warmth of the covers encompassing her, pulling her into another dream.
Suddenly, the cool finger trailed across her, until a slender arm wrapped around her waist. She felt warm breath against her neck and the brush of petal-like lips against her cheek. Fawn could feel reality trickling into her mind at the tender touches. She breathed in deeply. The scent of lavender and oak moss met her nose.
She pried her eyes opened and was nearly blinded by the warm sun pouring through the window. She glanced down to see a white arm across her stomach. She turned her head and icy grey eyes met hers.
"Good morning," Fawn said in a quiet, but cheerful voice.
"Morning, love," Vidia kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry I had to wake you."
"I don't mind being woken up like this," Fawn rotated a bit so that she could wrap her own arms around her wife's waist and bury her face in Vidia's chest. Vidia let her head rest on top of Fawn's. Sleepily, Fawn said, "Have you been awake for long?"
Fawn's voice was muffled and her eyes were still closed, but Vidia knew that she couldn't lie. "For a while," Vidia's voice was reluctant.
Fawn sat up on her elbow, groaning a bit as her body complained. She was finally eye to eye with Vidia. She put a hand on her cheek, "I wish I could figure out why you keep having those dreams."
Vidia touched Fawn's warm hand and pressed her cheek into Fawn's palm, "I know you want to help, but everyone has nightmares."
"Not like those," Fawn shook her head slowly.
Vidia didn't answer, but instead decided to change the subject, "I let you sleep as long as I could, because you looked so precious. Just snoring away like a bullfrog."
Fawn shoved Vidia mockingly. "That doesn't even make any sense. Bullfrogs don't snore. Now, the crawfish frog's mating call does sound an awful lot like a snore, but-"
"Would you just let me insult you?" Vidia rolled her eyes and put a hand around Fawn's back and pulled her in for a kiss. Fawn fell into Vidia's warm embrace and enjoyed the slowness of the kiss. When Vidia pulled back to smile at Fawn, the tanned animal fairy was practically back in a blissful dream again. "Oh, by the way," Vidia said. "I forgot to mention… weren't you supposed to be in early to help Nollie groom the rabbits or something?"
"Oh my gosh!" Fawn pulled back to look at Vidia and grabbed her arm. "Crap. They're supposed to be finding mates today!" Fawn leapt out of bed and frantically threw on her trousers underneath her tunic and slipped her feet into her slippers.
"They have to be groomed to be able to find a mate?" Vidia raised an eyebrow from where she perched on the edge of the nest that was their bed. Fawn had agreed to live in Vidia's sour plum tree only if she could sleep in her nest and Vidia had conceded. She was surprised at how much she enjoyed the way it encompassed them with comfort and allowed them to cuddle closely as they slept.
"Well, of course," Fawn frantically ran her fingers through her matted hair and wove it into a messy braid. "What? You think it's the dynamic conversation?"
Vidia laughed. "I guess not." She watched her wife as she finished tying her braid. "Listen, Fawn, can I request that you don't bring any animals home with you today. I'm still trying to get the smell of chipmunk out of here."
"But she was abandoned," Fawn said, her eyes wide and mournful. "She needed me. I couldn't just leave her."
"Fawn," Vidia flitted over and helped smooth Fawn's bangs over. "You have a nurturing heart. And I know you would mother them all if you could. But… they need others of their own kind."
"Would you want me to just abandon them?" Fawn looked appalled.
"No, of course not," Vidia said quickly. "Find another animal fairy to take them in." At Fawn's sad face, Vidia sighed. "You've been bringing them non-stop lately. I just… need a break. Ok?" Fawn nodded reluctantly. Vidia placed a short kiss on her lips. "Have a good day."
"You, too," Fawn hugged Vidia's neck and gave her a slow smile. She made her way to the door. Fawn looked back, "See you for horsefly training?"
"Last time I checked, you needed the fastest-flyer in Pixie Hollow…so I'll be there." Vidia winked.
Fawn rolled her eyes. "I also just like working with you… you know… because I'm kind of in love." Fawn sprung away into the cool morning air.
Vidia smiled and waved goodbye to her wife. She watched as the animal fairy made her way across the Orchard they lived behind and fly off towards the animal nursery.
When Fawn arrived at the Animal Nursery, Nollie was already grooming the rabbits. Nollie looked sleepy and her curly dark hair was in disarray.
"I'm so sorry I'm in late," Fawn said, quickly grabbing a brush from the stump where Nollie had laid out all of her grooming instruments.
"It's ok," Nollie managed to get out before a yawn stifled anything else she might have wanted to say.
"Didn't sleep well last night?" Fawn pet the dusty colored rabbit's side, before gently brushing the fur on her ribs.
"Not really," Nollie sighed. "I was up all night fighting with Jordan."
Fawn frowned. "Are you still having trouble?" Jordan was a spell-binding story-telling talent and his charismatic nature drew people to him like flies to honey. Nollie was a hard-working animal talent who's quiet kindness was a breath of fresh air. They were an adorable couple and Fawn hated to know that they were having problems.
"It's gotten worse, Fawn," Nollie shook her head, her frizzy hair bouncing around her face. "He doesn't respect me anymore. He doesn't care about how I feel. I can't talk to him." She sighed heavily and Fawn saw the dark circles under her eyes. "I'm glad we never did the binding ceremony because I think it's over for us."
"Oh, no, Nollie," Fawn exclaimed. "Don't say that. You two are great together. You love each other."
"I thought we did," Nollie put a hand to her head and Fawn could tell she was trying not to cry. "It's just…lately when I try to talk to him about my feelings, he doesn't listen. If he does hear what I'm saying, he makes fun of me. I feel so nervous talking to him now, that I just don't." Fawn kept her eyes focused on her brushing, but listened intently. "And Fawn…I think he's seeing someone else."
Fawn's concentrated brushing stopped. Her eyes snapped to Nollie. "Why do you think that?"
"He just used to be such a talkative sparrowman and now he hardly talks to me. I don't talk to him either, granted, but he's been coming home late and acting weird. The other day, he smelled funny, like some strange floral smell was all over him. I also heard him whispering to someone outside our door one night, but I didn't see who it was. I have such a bad feeling, Fawn." Nollie brushed a tear off her cheek.
Fawn swallowed hard and put her hand on Nollie's shoulder. She couldn't imagine feeling so distant from her spouse. She and Vidia had always been able to talk. Of course, Jordan and Nollie had been together far longer. They had been together long enough that a binding ceremony hadn't been necessary because everyone just… knew they were together. A horrible thought struck Fawn… what if she and Vidia had just not been together long enough to see these sort of troubles rear their ugly heads? What if Vidia, one day, stopped listening to her? What if she started feeling like she couldn't trust Vidia with her feelings? She tried to push those horrible thoughts away and comfort Nollie. She opened her mouth to speak but…
"Fawn! Fawn!" A shout interrupted her. They looked up to see Buck coming towards them. He looked panicked, though this was not unusual.
"What is it, Buck?" Fawn asked, the brush still in her hand.
"It's one of the mice. She's about ready to give birth and I can't find Beck anywhere. It's just me and Finn over there and neither one of us has been trained in assisting a birth yet.
Fawn set down the hairbrush. "I'm sorry, Nollie."
"It's fine… You go… I've got this…" Nollie muttered.
Fawn felt slightly guilty for leaving but she knew she was needed. They flew to the mouse stable, and down the hall, to the last stall. She saw Finn attempting to comfort a quivering mother mouse.
"Look, guys," Fawn spoke quietly to her companions. Her regular volume would have been piercing in the quiet air of the stable. "Mothers know how to do this instinctively. All we need to do is get out of their way and be there for support." Finn and Buck nodded nervously. Fawn turned her attention to the mother mouse. "It's alright. Easy, girl." She put a hand on the mouse's head. Kneeling down so that she could better look at the mouse, she spoke gently, "You can do this. I'm right here if you need me. But… you've got this."
The mouse seemed encouraged by her words and relaxed slightly.
Fawn stood up and backed away a bit and whispered to Finn, "Maybe you guys should clear out. I think she might need some privacy." Finn and Buck nodded solemnly and made their way out of the small mouse stall. The mother mouse burrowed further into her large birthing nest that came up around her on all sides. Fawn back out and leaned against one of the stall railings and peered in. There was a moment of breathless silence as she waited for something happen. Then, she watched in amazement as a tiny, pink wriggling thing appeared in the nest with the mother. One after another, the pinkies appeared until the mother mouse had 5 babies, suckling and snuggling around her. Fawn smiled, a tear in her eye. She would never get over the way it felt to watch a mother bring her child into the world. There was something so intimate and magical about it that Fawn felt she was witnessing something sacred. She had never had a mother, nor would she ever be one, but never would she be able to watch a baby be born without shedding a tear at the beauty she saw.