Chapter Two Andrew and Sherry
An old, disused rabbit warren sat at the bottom of a hill just outside the borders of Pixie Hollow. It was well hidden by brush and trees, and a stream trickled nearby.
Inside, Andrew the Tinker Talent worked on his latest invention at a workbench stolen from the workshop in Tinker's Nook. It gave him a great deal of satisfaction to have it, and as he worked he thought about the events that led him here.
After the third time one of his inventions malfunctioned and caused a lot of damage to the workshop (and a few minor injuries), the head of the Guild, Fairy Mary, had asked him to move his work elsewhere.
He had protested that Tinker Bell's inventions had caused just as much, if not more, damage than his. Mary conceded the point, but countered that Tink had the sense to test them outside and away from everything and everyone.
In the end Mary prevailed in the argument, and in a huff Andrew collected his tools and supplies and moved out. Not just out of the workshop, but entirely out of Tinker's Nook. But as he did he vowed that one day they would recognize his genius. As an afterthought he and Sherry had come back that night and taken his workbench.
He had heard of the warren from an Animal Talent he knew, and moved in, fixing it up for his own purposes. He set up his bedroom the way he wanted in a medium sized den, and pointed out to Sherry that there were still plenty of unused ones. She agreed and moved into one herself.
The pair kept a low profile, going back to Pixie Hollow only to get supplies and catch up with the latest news and gossip. While there Andrew was sometimes approached by Mary or another Tinker Talent and asked to come back.
It made him angry because they wanted him to be back under Mary's authority, fixing pots and kettles and not utilizing his real genius. He always refused the offers, but hid his emotions. They would find out who was the best, and should be in charge. He had vowed it.
He noted things he felt might be useful, and at night sent Sherry to get them. She was quite good at being sneaky and a thief, and never got caught. They made a great team, he thought.
Just as he was about to assemble his new invention she flew in, all excited.
"Andrew! Andrew! Come outside with me! You've GOT to see this!" she almost shouted, grabbing his arm and dragging him toward the entrance. She didn't let go until they were away from the warren's entryway and in an open spot.
"All right, Sherry, what is it? You interrupted me right in the middle of..." he started.
"Listen!" she said, cutting him off, "I overheard Fawn, the Animal Talent, talking about when Zarina switched Fawn's talent with Iridessa's."
Andrew nodded, remembering the story. Fairy Gary, head of the Dust Keepers, had dismissed Zarina from the guild, and she left Pixie Hollow. While away she had discovered her true talent; Pixie Dust Alchemy. She had also gotten mixed up with human pirates, or somebody else he had no use for.
"Not only could Fawn bend light, she could also do this!" Sherry continued. She reached out and grabbed a beam of sunlight and bent it so it landed on a tree root. As always it was green as it left her hands. She then proceeded to narrow it down to a bright point. Almost at once the beam of light caused the wood to char and smolder and burn away. She moved it around, carving a dark line. Then she let it go and looked at her friend with a big grin.
Andrew's mouth hung open, and Sherry reached up with a finger and closed it with a snap.
"That's incredible!" he exclaimed with a wide smile. "Let's do some experimenting!"
They quickly found out that by focusing the sun's rays she could make a kettle of water boil within seconds, burn any kind of wood and even, if she left it in one place long enough, melt rock and metal.
They also discovered this ability had its limitations. It did not work out of the sunlight and it ceased to be effective beyond about seven wingspans from her. But she could focus it to any point within that radius.
"Still," said Andrew as they ate dinner, "This is a powerful ability, and will be very useful when we take over Pixie Hollow!"
Sherry's spoon stopped midway from the bowl to her mouth. "Take over? What are you talking about?"
"I will use my inventions to wrest power from Queen Clarion! And when I do, Fairy Mary and the other Tinkers will have no choice but to admit I am the greatest Tinker ever!" he ranted.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, now!" Sherry exclaimed, "You do realize you're talking treason!"
"Bah!" Andrew said, making a dismissive gesture, "It's not treason, just a change in leadership. And I'll have made my point: the most brilliant mind should be in charge!"
Sherry looked askance at her friend. He was growing increasingly obsessive about his talents being recognized, and it was leading him into dangerous waters.
He saw this, and said, "Look, you want revenge against those who arrested and punished you, don't you?"
"Yeah, that's why I'm still here," she answered, "But..."
"Once I'm in charge of Pixie Hollow, I will make you Chief of the Light Talents! Imagine what you could do for revenge then!"
Sherry sat back and thought a moment. Oh, the irony! "Okay, then," she said, "How are you going to do it?"
And if I don't like his answer, I can just leave, she thought.
He sighed. "I don't know yet," he admitted, "The right inspiration hasn't come along."
She gave an internal sigh of relief. Pulling off a coup was impossible for just the two of them unless he came up with a really incredible idea.. Being away from Pixie Hollow for some time now led her to realize she liked her freedom and lack of responsibility. She could indulge herself with whatever she wanted, for as long as she wanted, and didn't want to give that up.
She hoped the 'right inspiration' took its time.
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Some days later Andrew flew from the warren looking for Sherry. He found her sunbathing by the stream that flowed past the hill.
He landed beside her, deliberately getting between her and the sun to get her attention.
"What is it, Andrew? You're blocking the sun," she said, annoyed.
"It has come to my attention that you are holding up my plans for conquest," he answered, frowning.
She rolled over and sat up. "Me?! By the Home Tree, what are you talking about? I'm waiting on you to figure out your 'great plan'!"
"Yes, I'm working on that," he answered, "And when I do, it will be... well, never mind the distraction. You do know that when I put it in motion, we might be confronted by the Scouts."
"Well, doy!" she said. "That's why I'm with you on this." She relished the idea of fighting and using her new ability on them. It would be long overdue payback for her being arrested and punished.
"Of course. But the plan might best be implemented at night, and then where is your focusing ability?" he asked, reasonably. "It makes you one of the most powerful fairies in Pixie Hollow, but it's too limited. The scouts would overwhelm you, no matter what fighting tricks you know. "
"Yeah," she agreed, discouraged, "I thought of that, but I can't think of any way around it. I'm good, but not THAT good."
He swelled a bit. "Fortunately, you have a genius as a friend. I have found a way around it."
"Oh, really?" she asked, sounding hopeful, "This I've got to see!"
"Come with me, then," said Andrew, and took off for the warren, Sherry right behind him.
Very shortly they were in the den Andrew used as a workshop. On the stolen workbench was a pair of crude leather gloves.
"Behold!" he exclaimed, presenting the gloves with a flourish.
Sherry raised an elegant black eyebrow. "Gloves? That's it? Okay, they will protect my hands while I fight, but I don't see how..."
"You'll understand shortly. Come on." he picked up the gloves and went to the den used for testing inventions, his friend trailing along, disappointed.
Andrew had found a suitable piece of wood for the coming tests, sprinkled pixie dust on it to make it float, and guided it into the den. It now sat, silently awaiting its fate.
The Tinker Talent offered the gloves to the Light Talent. "Put them on, and I'll explain."
"They're heavy," she remarked, looking them over. The back of the gloves, toward the elbow, was long and had been folded over forward and secured with a hook. Whatever it was making them heavy was inside the fold.
She tried putting them on, and found herself struggling to get her fingers in. "They don't fit," she complained.
"Do your best. These are just prototypes; if this works I'll make better ones," he said.
Sherry struggled with them a bit longer, then said, "Okay, I guess I'm ready." She was still adjusting the fit, and not having much luck. Two fingers on her left hand could not fit, and one on the right, so she curled them up against her palm.
"Undo the hook and open the fold," Andrew instructed.
She did so to find several yellow light crystals had been crudely sewn onto the leather.
"Those are the light crystals I had you get from the fireworks supplies," he said to her unspoken question.
Light crystals had been invented by the Light Talents long ago. Light was gathered and injected into a special crystal, where it stayed and slowly radiated free. They were used to supply light where needed, such as in the mines and fairy houses, and when combined with various colors of flowers, made fireworks. The light used to make them glow was... sunlight...
She understood the concept instantly. Her eyes got wide and she looked at Andrew. A slow grin spread across her features, and he grinned back.
Turning toward the piece of wood, she invoked her Talent and gathered the light around her hands, where it turned green. A beam of light shot forth and hit the wood. She narrowed the focus, and after ten or twelve seconds the wood began smoldering, then caught fire.
"It works!" Andrew shouted, throwing up his hands in triumph.
"It sure does!" agreed Sherry, stopping the beam and inspecting the gloves more closely. Andrew's Talent was erratic, and he was increasingly unstable, and his inventions exploded or otherwise self-destructed more often than not, but here was a true flash of genius!
At Andrew's suggestion, she tried and discovered it wasn't necessary to use both hands. Being able to send focused sunlight in two directions at once made her even more formidable.
A cooking pot filled with water sat nearby, and she aimed the light at it. It took much longer than when using direct sunlight, but it slowly warmed up and finally began to boil.
"These are great!" she told Andrew, "But it takes too long."
"The crystals I used are small," he answered, "As a Light Fairy, I'm sure you can make better ones."
"Oh, yeah..." she agreed. "Don't worry about making new gloves, I'll see to it myself." She handed the gloves back to him. As she did one of the light crystals escaped the thread and fell to the ground.
"Very well, Sherry, enjoy!" said Andrew as his friend flew off. Now to start giving his plan more attention.
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Two days later Sherry snuck into the yard where the Mining Talents held the fruits of their labors before they were distributed. Quickly finding the right type of crystal she took her time and picked out ten of the best as close to the same size as she could manage.
It took her another five days (two crystals a day) to charge them with sunlight. She was quite pleased with the results. Despite her anomaly she was a very competent Light Talent. Proving that to the Guild was another reason she had decided to work with Andrew.
Even though she enjoyed her freedom from responsibility, of the few assignments she had gotten while with the guild, several were almost an insult.
For the gloves she went to visit the Tailor Talent who had made all of her outfits. She took the prototype gloves with her, after removing the crystals, to illustrate what she wanted.
"This will be easy enough, Sherry," said Monique, studying the crude gloves, "What are they for?" The tailor had brown skin, wavy black hair and dark brown eyes. She was a top design talent and very popular among all the guilds.
"Just an accessory," was the answer. While Sherry considered Monique to be one of her very few friends, she couldn't risk telling her the truth.
"I like the idea of the folding cuff," said Monique. "Let me measure your hands, and I'll have them ready in a few days."
Monique wrote the measurements on a flattened leaf fairies used instead of paper.
As soon as she finished, Sherry spoke up. "It just occurred to me; I don't want the cuff rolling flat if I'm wearing it up. Can you do something about that?"
"Sure, got just the thing! See you in a few days!"
"Thanks, Mo, you're the best!" said Sherry, and turned to the door.
Just as she got to it, the door opened, and in stepped the newest Scout, Kimberly. She had Arrived more than two seasons ago now, and had apparently settled in nicely. By all accounts she was the nicest, friendliest, and most helpful Scout that Pixie Hollow had seen in centuries.
She had earned a reputation of completing her assignments, and going out of her way to help anyone who needed it.
Wearing her Scout uniform, spear slung on her back, she moved with an easy confidence and a disarming smile. Her auburn hair had been styled with a part on the right, and the back tapering to a point between her wings. Overall it reminded one of a lion's mane.
Kimberly moved aside and nodded as Sherry passed, and the Light Talent returned the gesture. She remembered this one's Arrival and her multiple Talent sparks.
Once outside, Sherry lifted her wings to leave, and overheard the conversation behind her.
"Hey, Monique!" said Kimberly, "You ready for lunch? Ron says he's got something special planned!"
There was a squeal of excitement from the other. "You bet, girlfriend! Just let me put this away, and I'll be with you!"
Jealousy arose in Sherry, for Kimberly's many friends while she had very few.