Tieri inspected the Tin Man silently, hanging precariously from a low branch of a nearby tree. The Tin Man leaned against his own tree, hat covering his face while he slept. A soft giggle escaped her lips and he stirred, but did not wake. Gently, she fell to the ground, and with feathery steps danced her way over to him. Her feet made not a sound on the forest floor, and her graceful dance came to an end as she reached the man. Another giggle echoed through the trees, and this time he sat up with a start. Tieri cocked her head to the side, and stepped forward, watching him intently.
He looked back at her, as though she were normal. Then, as his sleepy mind registered her existence, he leapt to his feet, gun pointed between her eyes, less than a centimetre from her pale green-tinged skin. Feathers hung from her dark green hair, which swayed as the breeze caressed the trees surrounding them.
After a few moments of silence, standing there with a gun pointed at her, Tieri giggled again, ducked under his arm and in one swift movement had his hat and was up the tree peering down at him with the hat on her head.
"Hey! Give that back!" She shook her head adamantly and leapt to a higher branch as he made a grab for her ankles. Her light pink tongue appeared, pointing out at him as she teased the now hatless Tin Man. "Give the hat back and I'll be nice."
She giggled yet again, and shook her head, dangling her feet over the edge of the branch, just out of his reach. He cocked his gun and she narrowed her eyes, flitting from branch to branch with mind-boggling speed and grace. Eventually, she threw out one hand, and the tree branches flew out, knocking the gun from his hand and bringing it to the small sprite. She smirked at him, and dropped to the ground, dancing away from his fruitless grabs for his effects.
"Come on! Go annoy someone else." And with that, the sprite was gone, his hat and gun missing along with her. And her giggling filled the air all around him.
She appeared less than a minute later, her face solemn. His hat sitting tilted on her head and his gun in her outstretched palm. He stepped forward hesitantly and took the gun, bringing his hand up to the brim of his hat. Instead of taking it, he softened and tilted it so it was straight. She peered up at him with wide eyes, and he chuckled.
"Tell you what, kid, why don't you keep it?" She pulled him into a bear hug and then was gone. Instead of giggling, the forest was filled with beautiful harmonious singing, echoing through the trees creating the illusion that it was coming from everywhere around.
Back at the camp the next day, Glitch cocked his head at the Tin Man.
"Where's your hat?" Cain looked back at him, his eyes glinting.
"Let's just say a little fairy got the better of me."
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Short, sweet and all in fun. Enjoy, leave a review if you want, it's always appreciated.
