Chapter Twenty One
"It's his arms!" Rosetta said to the girls. They were discussing more differences that they had noticed about Pyro since he returned, taking advantage of his tendency to fly a good distance ahead. They were discussing Pyro's muscles, how they had definitely grown over the years.
"You got that right!" Vida followed, waving her hand across her face as if she were feeling hot. "So strong!"
"Stronger than Sled even!" Silvermist said cheekily, lightly nudging Rosetta.
"Hey! You know how I feel about Sled!" Rosetta defended herself.
The girls all laughed at this, gaining Pyro's attention from the distance, but he did not turn around, he continued flying north, with everyone else in toe. He could sense that they were definitely closer to Ash as well, he could just feel it.
It wasn't too long into the afternoon when they came across a river, a river Pyro recognised. He now knew exactly where in Never Land they were.
"Oh my, isn't this place pretty!" Rosetta remarked.
"It wasn't too far from here that the pirates captured me and Ash" Pyro changed the tone of the conversation quickly.
"Oh! Really?" Silvermist asked.
"Yep!" Pyro answered. "We didn't have any pixie dust so we were sitting ducks!"
"Oh, don't you remember where they took you?" Fawn asked with concern.
"Nah!" Pyro answered, his focus clearly elsewhere. "Put us in a box!"
He was searching for familiar objects or anything he could recognise. The only thing he could remember about this place was that the river exited the land in a cove to the east.
"Vidia could you please fly up really high and tell me what you can see to the east?" Pyro asked, turning to Vidia and pointing east.
"I'm sorry what?" Vidia asked back, looking confused.
"Look out to the cove to the east and tell me if there's a pirate ship there or not?" Pyro answered her.
"Um, okay" Vida complied, still confused. She flew up and she flew fast, like normal.
"Why did you ask Vidia?" Clank asked.
Pyro merely gestured next to him and Vidia landed right there.
"Oh right!" Clank laughed. "Fast flyer."
"Did you see a pirate ship?" Iradessa asked Vidia.
"Yea!" She answered. "It wasn't as big as I thought it would be but it was there!"
"That's where we're headed then!" Pyro said and began to fly off. Not even making sure if the rest were going to follow.
"Wait why are we going to a pirate ship?" Tinker Bell asked as they all began to follow him.
"Yeah pirates give me the willies!" Fawn added.
"Ash is on that ship!" Pyro answered.
Everybody gasped.
"How can you be sure?" Silvermist asked.
"If I know that fellow they called Captain Hook, which I definitely don't!" Pyro began. "Look he's too stupid to even think I might have come back for Ash!"
"Hook?" Iradessa said nervously. "Why is he called Hook?"
"Have a guess!" Pyro said, raising his hand into view.
"Oh my!" Rosetta said covering her mouth.
Pyro hurried the girls along, they wouldn't reach the cove until tomorrow and he knew that, but he wanted to cover as much ground as possible. He knew the longer he took to reach Ash, the more danger he would be in, and he couldn't let that happened. He promised to take Ash to Pixie Hollow, to introduce him to his friends, to show him what he's missed out on.
The rest of the gang struggled to keep up with Pyro, who wasn't flying at full pace, he was keeping slow enough for the others to keep up. None of them complained however, the only thing even close to a complaint was Clank's heavy breathing. The big tinker was not used to this kind of flying and couldn't help but feel short of breath.
"Are you alright there Clanky?" Bobble asked, concerned about his friend. "I can't help but notice the way you're breathing!"
"I'm alright!" Clank replied confidently, but slightly short of breath. "Just a bit tired is all!"
"Stop!" Pyro said as he halted his movements. "Stand still!"
Everyone did exactly that, they stopped and looked at Pyro with worried faces. Pyro was looking around, squinting his eyes slightly and smelling the air.
"Into the trees now!" He ordered as he flew up. "Quickly!"
The rest followed him up and perched themselves on the branches behind Pyro's, except for Silvermist, who stood right behind Pyro, holding onto his shoulders as if she were hiding behind him. He either didn't notice, or he did not care.
"What's going on?" Vidia asked with a whisper that almost sounded like a hiss. "Why are we hiding?"
"Boar!" He answered as he pointed to the ground below them, directing the eyes of the others. "Trust me! We don't want to mess with him!"
"Are boars always mean?" Silvermist asked Pyro, who jumped a little bit at the surprise of a voice right next to him.
"They're not the friendliest of creatures no!" Pyro said without making eye contact, or even looking in her direction. "But I don't know how they treat fairies."
"So why did we hide from him?" She asked again.
"Don't want to risk you guys getting hurt!" He said as he knelt down. "Of course it would be a hell of a lot easier if you guys just stayed in the Hollow!"
Silvermist watched him fly down to the ground to inspect the area. She wasn't really sure what to think after hearing that, she just looked to her friends and shrugged. They all flew over to here to watch Pyro as well.
"That wasn't very nice!" Fawn said with a hint of annoyance. "What he said that is."
"He still thinks we should have stayed at home!" Vidia followed.
"No way!" Rosetta piped up cheerily. "We're here to help him!"
"And that's exactly what we'll do!" Clanks exaggerated.
"C'mon guys it's all clear!" Pyro said from bellow.
When they joined him Pyro did not hesitate to move on, in fact he didn't even wait for them to reach the ground before he flew off.
"Hmph!" Rosetta put her hands on her hips. "Still stubborn!"
Pyro noticed her say that and looked back at them. He knew exactly how he was acting towards them and he wasn't going to change it. He needed to be stubborn, and firm, and demanding, all just to keep them safe.
"We'll camp somewhere up ahead!" He said back to them. "Maybe Clank can find another good spot to camp!"
"Leave it to me!" Clank said with a cheery laugh as he flew ahead of the rest.