The hot summer sun was setting behind the mountains, leaves silent and unmoving on their branches. Nilesy wiped the beads of sweat away from his brow as he watched his newest pool fill slowly with clear blue water, reflecting the sun , the sky, and the leaves above. He was particularly proud of this job; done on request for Martyn the wood sprite and his friend Toby, the bottom of the pool was made of thick, blast proof glass, revealing nothing of their secret base from above but letting in the sun when below. The sides were made of marble, carved with intricate green leaves that had taken a better part of the last few scorching days to finish.

Nilesy glanced around cautiously, making sure that the two forest dwellers were still off doing whatever it is they did in the forest every day. The clearing below the small hill was empty aside from the tents, the fire pits, and a small rabbit nosing around the base of a tree. Deciding that it was safe, he slowly slid onto his backside at the edge of the pool, glancing over his shoulder cautiously.

The water was welcoming and cool when his bare feet touched it, not yet full enough to cover more than his toes, but refreshing despite this. He cast a look around the edge of the clearing one last time before closing his eyes in contentment. The combination of heat and hard work over the last week or so made him feel tired. A short cat nap can't hurt.

The dark haired pool boy jumped in surprise, the cold water suddenly lapping against his knees. He pushed himself clumsily to his feet, panicking a little. He must have slept for a while, as the sun had made a fair amount of progress across the sky, not to mention the fact that the pool was now full. He spun around, hoping with all his might that his two friends hadn't returned from the forest.

A shocked gasp had barely escaped him at the sight of a grinning forest sprite and his equally grinning friend, standing right in front of him. Unconsciously, he took a step back, only to find that there was nothing but water where his foot landed. His arms flailed comically, much to the amusement of the now laughing duo, and he fell with a mighty splash into the newly finished pool.

"Real funny guys" Nilesy sputtered, clinging tightly to the leaf strewn edge "Absolutely fantastic" he muttered, eyeing the two friends who were now clutching each other to keep upright.

"Sorry, Nilesy" Martyn managed to say while trying to compose himself "But you should have seen your face!" and with that they broke into another fit of uncontrollable laughter that did not end for a good five minutes or so, in which Nilesy did nothing but sulk at them.

Eventually, the two calmed down enough for Nilesy to ask for some assistance out of the pool. A smirk spread across his face as they each grabbed one hand and pulled, only to find themselves tumbling into the chilly water moments later.

Half an hour later, the trio collapsed, soaked to the bones, on the soft grass beside the pool, laughing so hard that it hurt.

"Just so you know" Martyn breathed out, gasping air into his lungs after he stopped laughing "We're not paying you extra because you tested it" he informed him, earning another bout of strained laughter for the remark.

Several hours later, after drying up with a cup of hot cocoa by the fire pit and getting paid by the grinning forest sprite and his human friend, an out of breath Ravs caught up to him, asking if he could have a pool big enough for a bunch of squid built in his basement.

Nilesy grinned. In his opinion, nothing on this planet was better than building pools


A/N: I'll be completely honest, I wasn't as happy with this one as my first one-shot, though it is a tad bit longer. But that just means that I would appreciate any and all feedback even more!

Thank you for reading!

-Pelt