Fly high, or will I fall? Legends made when faith is strong.~ "Legendary" by Skillet
"FAAAAAAAWWWWNNNN!"
The morning had started off brilliantly. It was just before sunrise and it was cold. It was Neverland. It wasn't supposed to be cold. Only the Winter Woods was cold. So, it was less than a pleasant surprise for Tink when she woke up shivering. Blearily, she reached for her blankets and pulled them over her shoulders before settling to go back to sleep. It was far too early for anyone to be up and moving, and after the time they'd had getting there (Vidia had ultimately won the race, Rosetta had arrived last, huffing and indignant, about twenty minutes after), she wasn't planning on getting an early start.
"FAWN! HELP ME!"
She yawned and stretched, rolling over to face what was left of the fire. She smiled slightly, still able to feel a few of the warmer cinders. Now this, this was a camping trip. Nothing, but blue skies, green forests, and absolute peace and quiet as far as the ear could hear.
"FAWN! FOR ALL OF NEVERLAND, WOULD YA PLEASE DO SOMETHIN'?"
Ugh. Never mind. Tink groaned and sat up slowly, hearing the others do the same around her. The closest was Vidia, who promptly shot up like a rocket and irritably blew half of her hair out of her face. She scowled and narrowed her eyes at nothing in particular, obviously not a morning fairy.
"Fawn! Would you please get up and go help the sparrowman before he wakes up the entire island?" she groaned as she started to stand. "Oh, for the love of-wake up!" she added, kicking Rosetta in the side, ignoring the garden-talent's protestant groans. "There's no way you're sleeping through all that!"
"Hey!" Rosetta protested, raising her sleeping mask to glare at her friend. "Excuse me, but I am trying to get my beauty sleep here!"
Vidia hissed something inaudible. Across the way, Fawn was already on her feet and moving swiftly away from the campsite, tying her hair into her typical braid as she went. Tink jumped up and hurried to run after her, wisely deciding to snatch a spare satchel of Pixie dust as she ran by.
"Well, that's one way to wake a fairy up in the morning," she heard Iridessa groan as she passed.
Bobble's screams were getting more sporadic, almost as if he was running out of breath. Fawn darted through the weeds, half-running, half-flying, faster than Tink had ever seen her move. She yanked something off of a nearby bush as she went and Tink wished she could have had the chance to see what it was.
"Bobble!" Fawn yelled as she suddenly turned sharply to the left. Tink followed, finding the red-head standing, petrified, in the middle of a small patch of gravel. His wings were shaking and his eyes were wide as he stared at something towering before him.
"Fawn...that's..." Tink began, only to feel a rush of wind pass her. But she didn't really need to finish. It was obvious what had found them. A snake. "Not good," she decided. She ducked down behind a larger rock to observe. There was nothing she could do. Fawn was the animal-talent. This was far out of Tink's capabilities.
"Fawn!" Bobble hissed as the brunette appeared at his side. "What do I do?"
"Stay. Perfectly. Still," Fawn answered out the corner of her mouth. The snake, realizing it had unwanted company, rose into the air, hissing, fangs bared. Fawn slowly took Bobble's good arm and began dragging him behind her. The snake's golden eyes tracked their every movement. "When I tell you," the animal talent went on. "Run."
She took out the needle-like plant she'd collected on the way and twirled it with the expertise of a scout talent, ending her show by pointing it warningly at the serpent.
The snake reared back with a warning hiss, preparing to strike.
"FLY!" Fawn bellowed, shoving him back and leaping to the air to avoid the bite. Bobble staggered slightly and then took off like a shot. Fawn expertly dodged the snake's fangs and circled around from behind for an attack of her own. "Back!" she hollered, twirling the make-shift spear with extreme precision. "Get back!"
Tink moved quickly, grabbing Bobble and pulling him behind the rock beside her. "You all right?" she questioned. He nodded, but said nothing. She could feel him shaking beside her. "Stay down," she advised, straightening up to peer around the rock as the snake's hisses became louder.
Fawn, meanwhile, had taken a step back into a better stance and was hovering near the back of the serpent's head, it's blind spot. She was eyeing it suspiciously, as though trying to figure out how best to reason with it. "Hey," she whispered, changing up her tactics to something a bit more...charming, one might say. "Hey, fella. Take it easy. It's all right. We're sorry. We didn't mean to disturb you and-"
Whatever she might have been about to say was cut off abruptly as the snake, realizing where she was, reared around and snapped it's jaws. Fawn darted backward, just barely missing the snap. "Hey!" she protested, flying up out of the snake's reach. "Now, that wasn't very nice!"
The snake spat again, not looking at all apologetic. Again, Fawn moved to dodge, taking cover higher, and crossed her arms to glare down at the reptile.
"Do ya...do ya think we should help?" Bobble questioned, even as he instinctively sunk further behind the rock. It was clear from his expression that he wanted to do literally the opposite, but wasn't willing to leave Fawn behind.
Tink bit her lip in concentration. "Maybe," she answered, her eyes scanning the clearing and her brain already beginning to whirl with several ways to create a fully functional snake-trap or repellant. "All right," she decided. "So here's what we're going to do...you see that branch over there? We're going to need that."
Meanwhile, Fawn was busy darting underneath the snake's grasp and looping around. She was holding it off, but she was obviously tiring as the serpent's blows got closer and closer.
"...and those vines over there," Tink added. "Can you get those too?" She turned, but her friend was already missing. "What?" she groaned, popping up and peering around the boulder in disbelief. The fading trail of Pixie dust was all the evidence she needed. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me! Bobble!" He ignored her. Tink exhaled. "Fawn! FAWN!" she yelled, waving her arms frantically.
The animal-talent spun at the call.
Unfortunately, so did the snake. It's eyes narrowed, spotting Tink who instantly retracted her arms. "Uh-oh."
"Oh no," Fawn groaned. "Tink! Get out of there!" She started to move toward her friend, but the serpent, seeing what she was about to do, struck first with its tail, catching Fawn in the side and throwing her across the clearing into the grass.
Then, it turned its eyes on his next target...Tink. It moved with a rapid speed, cornering her in a matter of seconds. It reared back, hissing, eyes glowing in triumph. Tink froze fearfully as the reptile bared its fangs and prepared to strike.
"TINK!" Fawn screamed as she picked herself up, unable to get any closer.
This was it. Tink squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the worst.
The snake lunged forward with a victorious snarl.
"STOP!"
A shout rang out and the snake froze, mid-lunge, mouth still open wide. Tink could feel the heat of its breath just inches from her face, and she very tentatively lowered her arms when she realized that it would go no further. Instead, she twisted around in shock to see what had caused it to halt.
Bobble was standing alone in the clearing, one arm outstretched as though his plan had to been to grab the serpent. His eyes were wide and he was breathing extremely heavily. One look at his face told Tink that he was as startled that the snake had responded to him as she was. There was a strangled gasp from Fawn as the animal-talent stared, her eyes darting from Bobble to the snake and back again. She glanced toward Tink with a look of 'What in the world is going on?'
Tink could guess, but she merely shrugged, not sure if she fully believed it yet.
And animal-talent makes six.
"Now," Bobble went on, swallowing back a nervous stutter. "That's enough bein' mean. We meant ya no harm. Go home now. Don't come back."
The snake hissed again, backing off from Tink with glaring yellow eyes. It swung to face Bobble, growling menacingly. Yet, the tinker didn't back down. He didn't even flinch. It was as if he'd suddenly become an entirely different fairy all together.
Fawn's jaw dropped as the snake dropped back to the ground and began slithering toward Bobble who took a small step backward.
"No, no, stay away!" the tinker commanded, tensing slightly as the serpent reached him. "Get out of here! Go on! Get!"
"Bobble! Be careful!" Fawn called and he gave a tiny nod, never taking his eyes off of the snake.
"I told ya to go home. So scram!" he yelled.
The serpent stared, and then, with one final growl, turned and slithered away into the bushes.
The girls cheered and Bobble dropped his arms gratefully, watching until the snake was entirely out of site before turning to face the others with a confused and slightly dazed grin. It wasn't more than a moment later that they both plowed into him and pulled him in for a hug.
"That was incredible!" Fawn exclaimed as they broke apart and fell in step. She twirled her plant once more before sheathing it securely in her belt, and slung an arm around Bobble's shoulders. "I had no idea you had animal-talent too!"
"Aye," Bobble chuckled weakly. "Neither did I." He swayed slightly, and Fawn braced herself immediately.
"Hey, you all right?" she questioned, putting a hand against his chest to sturdy him. "You don't look so good."
Tink frowned, realizing for the first time how truly pale he seemed. "I think we should get back to camp," she decided. "I'm sure the others will be wondering what happened to us."
Bobble nodded. "Lead on, lassies."
Thunder rumbled overhead as they arrived at the campsite. The others were up and about, but they all turned toward the three as they entered and helped Bobble to the log near the fire. All eight looked up at the thick cumulonimbus clouds gathering in the heavens as the first raindrops began to splatter into the grass.
"Oh, come on!" Vidia groaned, throwing her hands into the air. "Again? Really?" She held out a hand toward the droplets and put the other on her hip. "And just what is it with you and rain?"
"He has an odd temperament," Clank muttered, appearing beside her. There was another crash of thunder and the torrents crashed down upon his head.
Vidia, who was entirely dry, folded her arms with a smirk. "Oh, I hadn't noticed."
Tink ignored their conversation as she went over to join Iridessa and Silvermist who were busy making miniature rainbows in the dark of the clearing. "Hey, girls."
"Hi, Tink," they said in unison. The current rainbow faded to mist as Iridessa pulled the light away.
"What's on your mind?" Dessa asked, knowing the classic Tinkerbell I'm-up-to-something-incredibly-insane-and-I-want-your-help look.
"Sheep?" Silvermist offered.
Tink looked at her strangely. "Why would...You know what? Never mind. Look, we all came out here to help Bobble learn to control his talents, right?"
"Right," Iridess agreed.
"Mmm hmmm," Silvermist nodded.
"You have an idea, don't you?" Rosetta guessed, fluttering up to invade their conversation.
"Yes! Well, maybe. The beginnings of one anyway."
"Oh, can't wait to hear this one," Vidia scoffed.
Tink rolled her eyes and waved her off. "What if we all worked on training him at once?"
"All of us?" Rosetta sounded confused. "How do you intend for us to do that?"
"Ah!" Tink grinned. "I'm so glad you asked, Ro!"
"But are we?"
"There is a game that humans play. Lizzie taught it to me last year on the mainland. And the idea is, one fairy is 'it's and everyone else has to hide within a certain area, and when 'it' calls out "frogs", everyone else has to say "toads". Then 'it' has to try and catch them. Last one caught wins."
"So, basically, we're playing fairy tag, only with yelling?" Vidia questioned.
"Um...yes. Oh, and 'it' has to be blindfolded."
"And let me guess, Bobble's gonna be 'it', right?"
Tink nodded. "But instead of tagging a fairy, he'll have to use his talents. Any of them."
"This sounds dangerous," Iridessa whispered. "Are you sure we should be doing this?"
"It's worth a shot, isn't it?" Vidia questioned. "Besides," she added with a grin. "If anything goes wrong, we get to watch the fireworks blow up in Tink's face."
"Okkkaaayyy," Tink sighed. "Any questions?"
Silvermist put her hand up.
"Yes, Sil?" Tink called on her.
"Where did we get fireworks?"
Everyone facepalmed.
"Right!" Tink hissed from her position behind a large gopher's burrow. "Is everybody ready?"
"Ready!" Sil and Clank signed from across the clearing as they crouched behind a bush. Fawn nodded as she tucked herself further into a bird nest and waited.
"Ready, Bobble?" Tink shouted into the field.
"Aye, Miss Bell!" came the response from the now blindfolded tinker. (Vidia had suggested just taking his goggles and making him hunt for those instead, but a firm glare from Tink and Fawn together had talked her out of it).
"Begin!"
The fairies took off like a shot, determined not to be one left in an open location when Bobble figured out how to track them. One handed or no, he had extraordinary hearing (to make up for the terrible eyesight), and could hear a pin dropping halfway across Pixie Hollow. (Tink and Clank had actually verified this once), and would have absolutely no trouble whatsoever pinpointing their loud wingbeats.
"Uh...what was I supposed to do, again?" he called uncertainly.
"Say "frog"," Iridessa hissed from a nearby tree branch.
"Frog?" he frowned. "Why?"
"Just. Say it," Vidia growled from above him.
"Okay...frog?"
"Toad!" everyone called back from various locations across the meadow.
"Isn't this a little unfair?" Rosetta commented, fluttering up beside Tink. "There's only one of him, but there are sevenof us!"
Tink didn't answer right away, spotting Bobble tensing up as the garden fairy spoke. She knew what was coming next, but she still barely had time to yell out a warning and push Rosetta out of the way as the beam of light whizzed through the air and struck her dead on. She fell backwards onto a soft flower with a laugh.
"I'm out!" she called, straightening up and dusting the light from her dress. "Nice shot!"
"That's one down, and six more to go," Vidia muttered to herself as the remaining fairies began to spread apart warily.
"Frog?"
"Toad!"
Swoosh! Another beam of light plowed into Silvermist, taking her out.
Crash! Vidia ducked as the talent went soaring over her head and smashed against a tree trunk... the same one Fawn was currently taking shelter in. A flock of baby birds took off into the air, but only Fawn's head stuck out. She looked startled and a bit dazed that he'd found her so quickly, and she hastily ducked back inside to avoid a second blast. Less than a minute later, however, she emerged again, screaming and shooting away from the tree. Seconds later, a swarm of cockroaches flooded the hole and swarmed down the trunk.
The light eliminated her from the game seconds later.
"Okay," Vidia hissed, having gathered the remaining three fairies around her. "What we need is a battle plan. And we need it fast. So, anyone have any ideas?"
"Fly around like mad and hope we don't get hit?" Iridessa suggested sarcastically.
"That's is literally the worst plan I have ever heard."
"Well, I don't see you coming up with any-LOOK OUT!" Rosetta shouted, throwing herself backward to avoid a twister of water.
"Scatter!" Vidia yelled. She took off like a shot, racing toward the tree line. There was a bunch of muffled shouting and bright light behind her, but she didn't stop. Not even when Tink called the others out. She was a fast-flyer. She refused to go down to a bit of light.
Meanwhile, Tink was watching from the sidelines with a frown. Bobble was cautiously turning, listening for the last fairy's wingbeats. Tink tried to do the same. The air was still. Even though she knew where Vidia was, she couldn't hear her. He took the others down so quickly. She'd never seen anyone so quick. It was a little bit startling, to say the least.
There was a rustle as Vidia accidently hit a leaf.
Bobble whipped around and blindly fired a shot toward the trees. It shot over Vidia's head, missing her by meters. She attempted to dart forward, but was forced to backtrack to avoid a second blast. He's definitely mastered the light-talent, Tink mused as Vidia continued to duck, weave, and throw herself out of the way of the attacks.
"You've got to do better than that, tinker!" Vidia challenged boldly.
Bobble wound up another throw and pitched it like a baseball. It missed the fast-flyer by millimeters.
The light began to glow brighter as he grabbed another beam from the sun and readied to throw it. It was almost brighter than a diamond, and the glow was only increasing. And then, out of nowhere, it exploded into flames. White flames. Bobble yelped in panic, releasing the light which soared through the air and struck Vidia, throwing her backward to the earth at the same time that the sonic waves knocked Bobble down.
"Vidia!"
"Bobble!"
Tink was the first to move, darting into the air and, after seeing Clank and Fawn hurrying to help her fellow tinker, hurrying to check on Vidia. Even as she flew, the ominous sound of creaking and groaning trees was evident. She had barely reached the forest when the ground suddenly morphed into white and ice exploded across the clearing. Ice...that was ice talent!
"Vidia!" she screamed, shuddering as the trees overhead immediately dropped with the sudden additional weight.
"Here..."
Tink hurried toward her friend's weakened voice, finding her lying against a patch of grass, one hand behind her to steady herself, the other against her chest as though she'd been checking to be sure she was still breathing.
"Vidia! Are you all right?" Tink gasped, hurrying to her side and helping her stand up.
"Yeah...I'm...fine." Vidia winced. "What...was that?"
"Ice," Tink answered.
"Ice?"
The two of them began to fly back toward the clearing.
"Yeah."
"But that's a-"
"Yes"
"But that means-"
"No."
"Tinker Bell! You have to see that-"
"No, Vidia! He's not! Queen Clarion explained that the talents got mixed up. Bobble has both Life and Death talents. So does Shade."
"But what if that is just what she wants you to believe?"
"What are you talking about?" They reached the clearing and Tink spun to face her with a frown.
"I just saying," Vidia sighed as she passed. "We've all seen the way he's been acting recently. Even before any of this began. Don't you think you should at least consider the possibility?"
"No," Tink answered shortly. "We all have bad days. Bobble is not evil, Vidia. And I can't believe you would even think something like that!"
"But don't you think you could just-" Vidia began.
But Tink was already flying away.
And just like that, the conversation, along with any chance of persuasion, was over.
