Chapter 6: The Red Pack
It has been over a week since the way things ended at the beach. Today Hilda and Frida were at the end of a meeting at Sparrow Scout Hall. David was there too, but separate from the girls. From when they separated all the way to right now, he hasn't even given them the time of day. These three were the only scouts not having a good time.
"After all we've done for him." Frida quietly whined. "He just quits our group like that. He really is a coward."
"It's alright, Frida, maybe he'll come back." Hilda said.
"David might as well have said that he hates us. How could you possibly expect him to come back?"
Hilda remained calm and said "Because you did."
Frida's pupils shrunk from the reminder.
"You had to bring that up, didn't you?" Frida said. "I never really knew how you felt until I got spoken to in the same way. I'm really sorry about that day, Hilda."
"I know, Frida." Hilda patted Frida on the back.
"And that ends today's meeting." Raven Leader said. "Have a good evening everybody."
As the children all left, Hilda tried to get David's attention. However, he just walked past her as if he didn't know she was there. Hilda then looked back to Frida who seemed to still have something on her mind. And she did.
"Hilda, do you think David is right about me?" Frida asked. "How I only take your side because of you-know-what?"
Hilda thought about it before answering.
"Not exactly. I think learning magic helped you understand creatures better." she said. "I don't know if I would've understood them at all or not if I never lived in the wilderness."
"So all David needs is something similar?"
"Maybe."
As the two girls left the Sparrow Scout grounds, someone came up to them. They turned and saw that it was Raven Leader.
"Hello, girls." she said. "I thought you could use a little company this time. Do you mind?"
"Not at all." Hilda said.
It was a little odd at first, but all three walked into the more common urban part of Trolberg together. Eventually Raven Leader's real reason for accompanying them came up.
"I noticed that you two and David haven't spoken or been together for a while. Is everything alright?"
Hilda and Frida were reluctant, but gave in.
"We... had another fight." Hilda said.
"Oh, I see." Raven Leader was already partially told by Hilda about the last time her group had a fight. "And how are you handling it?"
"At first I was mad at him." Frida said. "But now I just want him back. I even miss his silly bug problem."
"I miss that part of him too. He'd probably get this lady bug stuck on him if he was walking with us right now." Hilda said as she let a ladybug land on her finger. "Or that bumblebee."
There was indeed a bumblebee flying by. The group then came across the playground where she first met those four brats. Hilda decided to walk around the small area and noticed a couple more bugs in different places. She got closer to look at each of them.
"Wow. There's a stag beetle. And a praying mantis. Even a mosquito."
"I see you know your insects." Raven Leader said as she came over and crouched down.
"I... had a little help." Hilda said with a little sorrow.
Raven Leader instantly knew what Hilda meant by that and Frida gave her a pat on the shoulder. Then Hilda spotted one more bug in the air.
"Hey, a monarch butterfly. Twig sometimes chases those."
"Who's Twig?" Raven Leader asked.
"Oh, he's my deerfox."
"You have a deerfox?"
"Yup. Since before we moved here."
For some reason, Raven Leader seemed impressed by what she was just told.
"Well I better head back to my own place. See you next meeting." She said as she walked off. "And knowing you three, I'm sure that whatever you and David fought about, you'll be able to make up."
"Bye, Raven Leader." Hilda and Frida said.
The next day, Hilda was in her room still feeling down about David. She sat on her bed while half way between the sizes of an elf and a nisse. Twig lied next to her, trying to comfort her. Alfur and Adeline had just finished some paperwork and found Hilda in her glum state, so they decided to go and talk to her. They climbed down from the shelf where their clock-house was, hopped their way to her bed, and sat down with her opposite to Twig.
"I take it that David's still not talking?" Alfur asked.
"No, he's not." Hilda said.
"Maybe your mum can give you some advice." Adeline suggested.
"I already talked to her. She didn't say anything I didn't already know. Besides, Mum's on a lunch date with Angus."
"Oh, that's right."
"Actually, there is one thing I've been wondering for a while now." Hilda reluctantly admitted.
"What is it?" Alfur asked.
Hilda was still reluctant to say it, but she knew she needed to. And that's what she did.
"Do you think this is my fault?" her question shocked the two elves and Twig. "If I had never pushed David into things that scare him so much, maybe he wouldn't have left."
"Rubbish!" Alfur said. "You always look out for your friends, Hilda. And you've tried to help David get over his fears at least once."
"Don't forget that according to Alfur's reports, David has improved a lot because of you." Adeline added. "I still may not know you or your friends well enough, but I'm certain that he couldn't find a better friend than you."
"Thanks, guys." Hilda said as she hugged her elf friends.
"Anytime." Alfur said.
*Tap tap tap*
Hilda, Twig, Alfur, and Adeline all heard the sound of tapped glass. They looked at the window next to Hilda's bed and there outside stood a black bird most of them knew.
"Raven!" Hilda returned to her true size and opened the window to let her friend in. "It's good to see you again. What are you doing here?"
"Likewise. I figured I'd come visit since it's been a while and..." Raven froze in the middle of the room for a second, then stared at Hilda. "Were you tiny just a moment ago!?"
"Yeah, a lot has happened since we last met." Hilda rubbed the back of her head. "Such as me becoming a shapeshifter."
"I've heard of those. What kind of things can you turn into?"
"So far an elf," Hilda became an elf. "A saltlion," she changed into a saltlion. "A deerfox," she turned into a deerfox. "And a troll which I can't do right now." she went back to her human form.
"What else happened?" the raven asked.
"Well I made some new friends like Tontu our nisse."
"Hello." Tontu popped out from Hilda's dresser, surprising the raven.
"Hey, how's it going?" the raven responded.
"And Adeline."
"Oh my." Adeline said in awe. "I've heard about the Great Raven, but to actually meet you is amazing. Even if you're not really him."
"Thank you." the raven said. "So! Whaddya say, Hilda? Want to go for a fly about or something?"
Hilda hesitated for a moment.
"Go on." Twig said.
"We'll let Johanna know if she comes home first." Alfur said.
"Can I invite someone else along?" Hilda asked.
"I don't see why not."
"Alright let's do it!"
"Okay! LLEEETT'S GGOOOO!" the raven grew into his true size in the bedroom.
"Woah woah woah not in here!"
Later, Frida was lying on her bed still feeling just as down as Hilda was. She considered reading her favorite book when she heard someone.
"Psst, Frida!"
She turned to face her window and there stood Hilda right outside smiling.
"Hilda? What are you standing on?" Frida opened the window and looked down to see her answer. "The Great Raven!?"
"I thought you'd like to meet him." Hilda said. "Want to join us for a flight?"
Frida thought about it and happily said "Sure."
She got on and off they went. The raven flew high over the homes and buildings, making them all look so tiny. David was still partly on the girl's minds, but riding in the sky helped them a little. Suddenly the raven went higher.
"Are you sure this is safe?" Frida asked.
"Yeah! It sure iIISSS!" Hilda replied as the raven flew back down at a greater speed.
"AAAAHH!"
"WOOO!"
The flight was like a crazy rollercoaster, going from one direction to another. Then they ended up over the outside of Trolberg, soaring over trees and even circling a mountain. They were having a wonderful time. Once the ride was simple again, Frida spotted something on the ground of the wilderness.
"Hey. There's something moving just outside the wall." she pointed to where it was.
Indeed there was something near the wall. All the girls could tell was that there were more than one of it and they were all red.
"Looks like a pack of wolves." the raven said.
"Wolves?" Hilda's pupils shrunk from fear, and yet she could still hide how she felt about them.
"But they don't usually come this close to Trolberg." Frida said.
"That is odd." Hilda nervously agreed.
All three of them were so distracted by the pack that none of them saw what happened next.
"AGH!" the raven bumped into a zeppelin. "Hey! Watch where you're going!"
Suddenly, Hilda realized that her friend was missing.
"Frida!"
Frida was falling and screaming, unable to do anything about it. The raven quickly swooped down and caught her from beneath.
"Are you alright, Frida?" Hilda asked.
"Yes, but one of these days I am definitely going to improve my levitation spell." Frida answered, not fully recovered from the fall.
"We should probably head back anyway."
So the raven flew the girls back to Hilda's home and shrunk down to join them inside. They were all in Hilda's room telling the elves, Twig, and Tontu about their sky high trip. Then they decided to just read some books and were joined by both elves and even Tontu. Frida looked at the few options that Hilda owned and spotted an odd looking book on the side.
"What's this?" she took it off of Hilda's desk and started reading it.
"Oh, that's all the information I could find on barghests in case Jellybean returns." Hilda explained. "I figured that if everyone knew about them, there wouldn't be any new problems with them. I was even thinking recently about showing that book to Gerda."
Frida read some of it's pages and as she turned each one, her eyes widened more and more until she just closed the book.
"Before you do that, Hilda, I think you should let Raven Leader see it first. Today."
"Why?" Hilda asked.
"Trust me." Frida insisted.
"Okay." Hilda took her book back with much confusion, put it in a satchel, and wore said satchel.
"Do you mind if we tag along?" Alfur asked.
"I wanna know where this is going too." the raven said. "Not to mention find out who this Raven Leader is."
"I'll stay and let your mom know where you are if I need to." Tontu said.
"Alright, let's go." Hilda said. "Come on, Twig."
So Hilda, Frida, Twig, the raven, and the elves left the house and headed for sparrow scout hall. Alfur and Adeline rode on Twig's head together while the raven walked behind Hilda who was explaining to him about the Sparrow Scouts and what a Raven Leader was. Along the way, something unexpected happened. Several people ran past the group in fear.
"What was that about?" Hilda wondered.
Twig sniffed the air and recognized something that was nearby.
"Oh no! We gotta run!" Twig said.
"What's wrong, boy?" Hilda asked.
Her question was soon answered by the sound of growling. Then from just around the corner came three wolves.
"They must've gotten in through the train entrance in the wall." Frida guessed.
"Don't worry. I can get us out of here." the raven grew to his true size. "Hop on."
"Wait." Adeline said. "I think something's wrong with Hilda."
Everyone looked at Hilda who stood still like a deer in headlights.
"Hilda?" Frida said.
Hilda could only make a sound that combined whimpering with hyperventilating. Her behavior was completely unlike her. The wolves began to get closer to them. The moment Hilda saw that, she ran away in pure terror.
"AAAHHHH!"
The wolves came after all of them. Frida climbed onto the raven while Twig followed Hilda to protect her. Hilda kept on running, desperate to get away from the wolves. She even became a deerfox despite the risk of being seen so she could run faster. However, four more wolves appeared and blocked her way. Twig caught up and got between her and the wolves, growling at them.
"Hilda, calm down!" Alfur said.
"I-I-I-" Hilda was too scared to even talk straight.
The wolves got closer and began to surround them. Before anything else could happen, Hilda and Twig were grabbed and taken into the air. Alfur and Adeline had to hold on for dear life. After calming down, Hilda realized that it was just the raven and changed back.
"Are you alright, Hilda?" the raven asked with his full concerned attention on her.
"Raven, look out!" Frida cried.
Too late. The raven crashed into a house and fell to the street. Hilda was the first one to get up and checked on everyone.
"Twig! Alfur! Adeline! Are you three hurt?"
"Miraculously, no. We're okay." Alfur said.
"Me too." Twig said.
"Frida, what about you?"
"I'm a little bruised, but fine overall." Frida said.
"Raven, are you okay?"
"I think so-OW! My wing!" the raven shrunk down and held his left wing tight.
"Don't worry. I got you." Hilda was about to pick up the raven when she realized something. "Oh my gosh! I did it again!"
"Did what?" Frida asked.
"I left you in danger, only it wasn't just you this time. I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, Hilda. We know you're usually better than that."
Before anything else could be said, the wolves caught up to the group. Hilda was once again scared and desperately wanted to run once more. But this time she was able to think of her friends. Against her frightened instinct, she carefully picked up the raven, grabbed Frida by her wrist, became half deerfox, and ran before the wolves could get them with Twig close behind.
"Hilda, not so fast! You're hurting my arm!" Frida said.
Hilda recognized the street they were on and went for the only house she could think of. When they reached the door, she found it to be locked and started desperately banging on it.
"David! Please open up! It's urgent!"
"Hold on. I can get it open." Frida said.
But before she could begin her spell, the wolves caught up again and slowly approached the steps, growling and baring their teeth at their intended prey. The moment Hilda saw one of them touch the first step, she panicked with her back against the door.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The door finally opened and Hilda fell backwards. The group rushed in and the door was closed and locked again. When they looked behind, they saw that it was David who opened the door.
"My parents had the door locked when they heard people screaming outside." he said. "What's going on?"
His parents then came into the room to ask what just happened and stopped when they saw Hilda still in her half deerfox form.
"Is that Hilda?" David's dad asked.
"Oops." Hilda quickly changed back with a sheepish smile.
Before she could explain herself, the door was clawed at by the growling wolves, causing Hilda's fear to take over again. David was shocked to see how scared Hilda truly was.
"AAAHHHH! Don't let them eat me!" Hilda ran to some other part of the house by herself, leaving her friends baffled.
"I've never seen Hilda get that scared before." David said.
"I've never seen you get that scared before." Frida said. "I'm getting to the bottom of this."
As she went to the phone, David noticed the raven holding his broken wing as well as his parents looking at him.
"David, I think you owe us an explanation." his mum said, making him a little nervous.
"Could I help him first?" David asked. "He's injured."
"Yes, please." the raven said, surprising both parents.
Hilda ran into the bathroom, locked the door, threw her satchel on the floor, sat against said door while cradling herself, and started crying.
Back at Hilda's home, Johanna had returned with Angus by her side, both of them not yet aware of what was happening in Trolberg.
"Hilda, we're back! she called.
"Sorry, but Hilda and the others went to give a book she made to the Raven Leader for some reason." Tontu said after popping out of the couch.
"Oh, thank you Tontu." Johanna said. "I guess we have a little more time to spend together if you want."
"Believe me, it's hard to not want that." Angus replied with a peck on Johanna's cheek, giving her a big smile.
Then the phone rang and Johanna went to answer it.
"Hello?"
"It's me, Frida! You need to come over to David's right now! Hilda's not herself!"
"What are you talking about?"
"She's suddenly gotten more scared than I've ever seen before after we saw some wolves on the street!"
Johanna's face paled and her eyes widened as she stood still.
"Hello? Hello!?"
She immediately hung up and rushed to the door.
"Johanna? What happened?" Angus asked.
"I'll explain later. Hilda needs help!" Johanna left the apartment and hurried down the stairs.
As Johanna's lover and Hilda's friend, Angus followed her all the way back to the car and got in with her.
Luckily the wolves had all given up way before Johanna and Angus arrived at David's house. Johanna barged into the house and cried out "Where's Hilda!?"
"In the bathroom." David's dad said.
Johanna rushed to the bathroom and found Frida and Twig in front of the door, trying to get Hilda to come out.
"Come on, Hilda. You know I can open this door." Frida said.
"Please let us in, Hilda." Twig begged.
"Alright, you asked for it." Frida cast the opening spell, but the door was still shut. "Cruddlesticks. She must be using her troll weight."
"Go back to the living room." Johanna said. "I'll handle this."
Frida and Twig did as she told them and Johanna knelt down in front of the door.
"Hilda, sweetie. It's Mum. The wolves are gone. But if you want to stay in the bathroom, it's okay."
Nothing happened for at least ten long seconds. But then the door finally opened and out came Hilda hugging Johanna as if she were a lifeline. Johanna carried her to the living room sofa where everyone else was including Angus. Most of them were surprised by how vulnerable Hilda had become.
"What's wrong with her?" David asked. "She's faced all kinds of creatures and spirits, but wolves can scare her this badly?"
Johanna looked to her daughter who reluctantly gave a slow nod.
*Sigh* "Hilda is traumatized."
Some of them gasped, but all of them were somewhere from a little surprised to completely shocked. Even Twig didn't know about this despite saving Hilda from a wolf once.
"Years ago before Twig came along, I accidentally took Hilda too far to the north. I never meant to, but I looked away for a second and she wondered off." Johanna started to tear up. "Then... a wolf attacked her. I...I almost couldn't save her. She wasn't hurt much, but Hilda's been afraid of wolves ever since. She was so scared that we almost moved here afterwards... I could've lost her!"
She couldn't say anymore of the painful memories. Angus sat close to her and hugged them both. After Hilda and Johanna were done crying, Frida walked up to her friend and asked "Why didn't you tell us, Hilda?"
Hilda let go of Johanna, got off the couch, and faced her friends.
*Sniff* "Because I hate being scared. An adventurer is supposed to be brave and handle even the things that scare them the most. I used to be so easily scared I couldn't even sleep at night sometimes. I just wanted to feel free from all that fear."
It was at that moment that David understood. Hilda isn't just some reckless girl looking for trouble. She is a child who gets scared and wants to better herself. David remembered all the times he saw her get scared, all the things she had done for him, and even something she once told him.
"Once you've seen enough scary things, you don't get scared anymore. That's one of the perks of being an adventurer."
Now her logic made sense. David walked to Hilda and gave her a hug.
"I am so sorry." he said before letting go. "When you two left that day, I regretted everything I said. I was a terrible friend. And Frida, I never meant any part of what I said to you. I was just jealous of both of you. You're smart, Hilda's brave, but me? I'm useless."
David's parents were about to give him some support when the raven came forth with his bandaged wing in a sling.
"Woah! Hold it! Time out! I'm no expert, but I know for a fact that you're both being ridiculous! David, you are not useless. If you were, I wouldn't be wearing these comfortable bandages. And Hilda, everybody gets scared. You've got nothing to be ashamed of. Besides, despite your fears, you saved me and Frida instead of just running again. The way I see it, there's a lot more to both of you than you think."
Hilda and David were both surprised, but felt a lot better compared to the last several days.
"Hilda? Frida?" David said timidly. "Can we be friends again?"
Hilda quickly hugged David and said "We never stopped being yours."
Frida joined in the hug and David returned it to both of them. All of the adults couldn't help looking at the kids like they were the sweetest thing on the planet. Then Hilda let go unexpectedly for some reason and started acting odd.
"What's wrong?" Johanna asked on instinct.
"My back feels funny." Hilda said.
That funny feeling suddenly burst out from her and surprised everyone. Hilda looked behind herself and saw two black feathered wings. The look of pure joy on her face was priceless.
"I have wings!"
"You must be turning into a raven." David said.
Hilda didn't waste any time trying out her new wings. Almost as if she always had them, her wings started flapping and slowly pulled her off of the floor. David's parents couldn't believe their eyes even after David told them about her shapeshifting powers while everyone else in the room was happy for the blue haired girl.
"I'm flying! I'm flying!" Hilda was so excited, she was about to soar around indoors.
"Ah-ah-ah. Not in here." the raven said.
"Oh, Sorry." Hilda stopped flying and landed where she started.
"Wait, shouldn't your arms have turned into wings?" Frida asked.
"Does it matter?" Hilda happily replied.
"I guess not."
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but what about the wolves?" David's mum asked.
"Somebody's most likely on it already." Angus said.
"Hold on. We can check the news." David's dad turned the TV on and switched it to the right channel.
"This just in, a pack of at least fifteen wolves has entered Trolberg and begun attacking people." the reporter said. "Why this is happening has yet to be discovered."
"Now that I think about it, their behavior is odd." Frida said. "Wolves don't usually invade cities or attack people like this. They're supposed to be shy by nature around humans."
"I've just received new information. The Safety Patrol is taking action." the reporter continued. "However, some people have begun to take matters into their own hands by shooting at the wolves themselves."
"Okay, that's enough." David's mum took the remote and turned the TV off.
"We'll just have to stay in here until it all settles down." Johanna said.
The other adults agreed to her decision, but Hilda was having thoughts of her own. When she looked down at her normal legs, they almost instantly became literal bird legs. Then she quietly left the room and went upstairs with Twig and the elves close behind. They entered David's room and Hilda closed the door.
"Hilda, I know what you're thinking, and from what we saw, you're the last person who should be doing this." Alfur advised.
"But Frida's right. Something is wrong." Hilda said. "I have to do this."
She climbed onto David's bed and opened the window. She took a deep breath and...
"Hold it right there, young lady!" Johanna burst into the room and startled Hilda.
Everybody else came in with Johanna as Hilda stood on the bed with a sheepish smile.
"You were planning to do something about the wolves, weren't you?" Johanna asked with crossed arms.
"Of course not. I'm too scared of wolves, remember?" Hilda said just before she sprouted tail feathers.
"You're not fooling anybody." Angus said.
"And didn't we have this discussion about lying?" Johanna reminded her daughter.
Hilda sat down and sighed as her wings drooped.
"I'm sorry, Mum. Yes, I was going to try getting them to chase me all the way to outside of Trolberg."
"What about your trauma?" David asked.
"I may be afraid of them, but this isn't about me." Hilda said. "People and animals are getting hurt for reasons that don't make any sense. Even if the Safety Patrol has improved, I'm still worried that something could go wrong. I have to do something. Please, Mum."
Johanna didn't say anything. She just stood there with her arms still crossed. Now everybody in the room was looking at her and waiting for a response. Finally she spoke.
"After all of the life-threatening adventures you've had,"
Hilda cringed at her mum's stern voice.
"I know I can't stop you from doing what you think is right." Johanna finished with a gentler tone.
*Gasp* "Thank you, Mum." Hilda ran over and hugged Johanna.
"But take Twig with you." Johanna added.
"Should we still be on Twig's head?" Adeline whispered to her fellow elf.
"I don't think we'll be of much use, so we should sit this one out." Alfur answered.
They both hopped off of Twig before he moved next to Hilda.
"In case you panic again, I'm coming too." Frida said.
"Thanks, Frida." Hilda let go of her mum and went back to the window.
"Wait." Angus said. "No offense, Frida, but won't you be in more danger than Hilda?"
"Since Hilda trusts you, I can answer that with a secret." Frida pulled out her wand. "I'm a witch in training. Hilda's my familiar."
"Huh. That explains a lot."
Hilda jumped out of the window and to her own surprise, the rest of her transformed. She was now a thunderbird, but at a third of the size and with some blue feathers on her head. Frida looked at her friend's new form in awe before she grabbed Twig and leapt onto Hilda's back.
"Let's go." Frida said.
Hilda flew off to find the wolves. Johanna watched her daughter fly away and felt not only worried, but proud of her. One particular memory then came back to her.
Flashback
Back in their old home in the wilderness, Johanna was reading a book in her bed when she heard a scream.
"AAAAHHHHH!"
"Hilda!" she got out of bed and ran to her daughter's room as fast as possible.
She opened the door and looked around the room for Hilda. The girl wasn't in her bed or anywhere in sight.
"Hilda! Where are you!" Johanna panicked.
"Mum?" came a timid voice from under the bed.
Johanna rushed over and pulled out a terrified little girl with blue pigtails and a long sleeved nightshirt.
"Oh thank goodness, Hilda." she hugged her daughter tight. "I thought something bad happened to you."
"Is the wolf gone?" Hilda weakly asked. "I heard it howl and hid under my bed."
"Shh, shh. It's okay, sweetie." Johanna said as she rubbed Hilda's back. "Wolves never come here, so they're not going to eat you."
After a moment of silence, Hilda complained about herself.
"I hate being scared. I can't go outside and have any fun like this. I wish I wasn't afraid of anything!"
"That wouldn't be as good as you think it would." Johanna said.
"Huh? Why not?" Hilda asked.
"Because fear isn't just something that holds us back." Johanna explained. "It's meant to protect us by letting us know what is dangerous. Fear can be good. Without it, we'd just get ourselves killed. So don't try to be fearless, but don't let anything traumatic control your life either, okay?"
"Okay."
"Why don't you sleep with me tonight?"
"I'd like that."
Johanna carried Hilda out of the room and into her own. As they got into her bed, Hilda had one more question.
"Mum, what does traumatic mean?"
Johanna thought about how to explain the definition to someone so young, but settled for the basics.
"It's just another word for scary."
Johanna could explain it better when Hilda was older. Right now, both of them only cared about falling asleep.
"You've come a long way, Hilda." Johanna said with the typical happy/sad parent face.
"You're going to follow them, aren't you?" Angus asked.
"Of course I am."
"Then so am I. I have an idea."
"We better come too. Just in case." David's dad said.
As the adults went downstairs, David looked out the window deep in thought about what his friend just did. Hilda left to face her greatest fear of all just to save both strangers and enemies. David knew what had to be done.
Hilda, Twig, and Frida were in the sky scouring the city for any wolves when the latter spotted someone firing off their rifle.
"There!" Frida pointed.
Hilda turned right and soon enough, they both saw some people running from a pack of wolves due to their poor aim. Hilda hesitated out of fear, but shook her head and swooped down to land in between the wolves and the still running people. No other humans were in the area, so it was safe for the girls to do anything.
"Alright, you wolves. Let's see you try to eat THIS!" Hilda said just before she raised her wings high.
But nothing happened. She tried again a few times, but still got nothing. The wolves were confused for a second, but they slowly approached Hilda and Frida.
"What? Where's my lightning?" Hilda asked.
"I think you might be too young to do that." Frida guessed.
Suddenly Hilda started quivering in fear again as the wolves got closer. Frida pulled out her wand and said some magic words. Out of nowhere, some rings made of magic appeared and caught one of the wolves.
"Quick! Grab that wolf and let's get out of here!" Frida said.
Hilda snapped out of it and flew up before the other wolves could attack. She grabbed the caught wolf and left the area. Due to her size, carrying an animal such as this was difficult for her.
"This is too heavy. I have to land." she said.
"Okay, but I want to look into his mind, so don't let go." Frida replied. "That spell I used is still new to me, so it only lasts under a minute."
Hilda landed in a park empty of people and stayed on top of the wolf. The rings were already gone. Frida and Twig got off and the former approached the wolf. She then carefully placed a hand on a safe spot away from the teeth and...
"OW!" Frida held her hand as if it had just been in a fire. "Something's wrong. I can't reach his mind. I think someone put a spell on all the wolves."
"Why would someone do that?" Hilda asked.
Twig sniffed the air.
"Oh no. They already found us." he said.
Suddenly they heard howling. They looked around and were surrounded by the most wolves they've seen yet today. They didn't know if this was all of them or if there were more scattered around Trolberg, but sixteen of them were still a lot to deal with. Frida only had that capture spell for combat and Hilda was not only scared, but still holding down a wolf and couldn't use lightning or her troll form. Twig stood his ground growling even though he was the smallest one there. The wolves surrounded them, cutting off their ground retreats. Hilda realized there was only one solution. She knocked out the wolf beneath her with her foot, grabbed Frida and Twig with both feet, and flew off again. They stayed put in the air and thought about what to do next.
"Hilda!" a voice they all knew called.
"Mum?" Hilda and the others look behind and below.
On the street near the park was a yellow car with four adults, one of them being Johanna who was halfway out waving her arms.
"Lead the wolves this way!" she pointed in the same direction her car was facing. "The Safety Patrol will be there with tranquilizers!"
Hilda hesitated for obvious reasons, but remembered that the Safety Patrol was better now and flew down to let Frida and Twig onto her back and regain the wolves attention. Unfortunately, two more wolves came from the side and ran at the girls. At the same time, someone ran past the car and into the park.
"David! No!" David's mum called after opening a car door.
David ignored her and kept going. Just as Hilda, Frida, and Twig saw the two new wolves, David leapt one foot high and five feet forward, tackling one of said wolves and surprising everyone. David's grip wasn't strong enough, so he rolled a couple feet away from where the wolf fell. Before the other new wolf could attack, Frida cast her capture spell and then she, David, and Twig all got on Hilda. She slowly flew where Johanna had directed her as the entire pack followed her.
"Thanks, David." Frida said with a proud smile.
"You're welcome." David said.
"You've been practicing your jumps." Hilda pointed out.
"I uh... never stopped." David shyly admitted.
Up ahead they saw the Safety Patrol hiding at the end of a dead end road for an ambush. As planned, the wolves chased her into the trap and started getting tranquilized one by one. Hilda landed just outside the ambush area, let her friends off, and changed back to her human form.
"That was the bravest thing you've ever done, David." Hilda said.
"I kind of felt like I had to." David said.
"What do you mean?" Frida asked.
"When you took off to face the wolves, I was worried that something would go wrong since Hilda's afraid of them. That was when I decided that I'd rather deal with everything that scares me than let something bad happen to any of you."
It was at that moment that every brave moment David had finally made sense to the girls.
"David, I think you just found the answer to your problem." Hilda said.
David quickly realized what she meant and said "Huh. I guess I did."
"A Safety Patrol member!" Twig said.
Hilda looked and saw who it was.
"Calm down, Twig. It's only Gerda."
"What are you doing here?" Gerda asked.
"Would you believe we somehow lured the wolves here?" Hilda responded.
"If it weren't for your friend Frida, no."
"Wait, she knows?" Hilda looked at Frida.
"I'll explain later." Frida said. "Right now there's something you need to know, Gerda."
"I'm listening."
"The wolves are not themselves. There's some kind of spell on them I've never seen before."
"Thank you for telling me. We'll keep them safe until something can be done about it and then release them into the wild. I the mean time, go home where it's safe just in case." Gerda returned to her fellow patrol members.
"Maybe we should take her advice." David suggested.
At that moment, Twig smelled trouble.
"Wolves!"
"Where!?" Hilda looked where Twig faced and the others followed suit.
Apparently there were four more wolves in the city. Instead of running however, Hilda reluctantly stepped forward and became half deerfox.
"Wait." Frida pulled out her wand and cast a spell. All of a sudden, Hilda had glowing see through armor all over her.
"Thanks, Frida." Hilda now felt more confident against her greatest fear.
One of the wolves attacked first by charging. Hilda leapt high and landed on the wolf's head. Another tried to bite her, but she became half saltlion and whacked it with her tail. The other two tried working together by attacking from different sides, but Hilda then became thunderbird and flew up which led to them only hurting each other. The first wolf noticed Frida and David only being guarded by Twig and went for them.
"Frida, look out!" David shielded his friend, but the wolf didn't stop.
David was still scared, but he stood his ground. Before Hilda could do anything about it, a strange miracle happened. A swarm of wasps flew out of nowhere and started stinging the wolf. The other wolves were shortly after getting stung as well. Now all of them were too busy to attack the kids.
"What just happened?" all three children asked.
Then the wolves spotted an easier target and left the wasps behind. The kids looked and saw who they were going after. It was Johanna, Angus, and David's parents who just got out of the car to try to help the children. Most of them got back in after realizing they were under attack, but Johanna wasn't quick enough. One of the wolves pounced her before she could open her door.
"MUM!" Hilda flew to the rescue and kicked the wolf away before landing in a protective stance. "I won't let you hurt my Mum!"
She raised her wings and this time, lightning came out. The wolves were all frightened and ran away. Foolishly they went where the Safety Patrol could see them and got Tranquilized like the others. Hilda changed back and checked on Johanna.
"Mum, are you alright?" she asked.
"Calm down, Hilda. I'm fine." Johanna assured.
Hilda then hugged her once again. David and his parents hugged as well.
"Is anybody hurt?" Angus asked.
"No."
"I'm good."
"Me too."
"Good. Now let's get out of here before someone asks us any questions."
All of them got in the car and left the area.
After returning to David's house, the kids checked how well the elves watched over the raven and the adults checked the news again and learned that all of the wolves were caught. Then David's parents asked for a serious talk. Everybody was in the living room, the adults standing and the rest sitting on the couch. Johanna and Angus agreed to keep quiet unless things got out of hand while Alfur and Adeline kept pretending to not exist just in case.
"So, David already explained to us that you, Frida are a witch and you, Hilda are her familiar." David's dad said.
"It wasn't like that at first, honest." Hilda defended.
"We'd never use our magic the way you're thinking, but we had to keep it a secret." Frida added.
"Please, they're my best friends. Don't make me never see them again." David begged.
"Why would we do that?" David's mum said. "Especially after all they've done for you."
"Frida, you've been there for our son when he was alone and scared." David's dad said. "And Hilda, not only did you protect David from some evil spirit, but you helped him so much with his fears that he's done things he couldn't before. We couldn't ask for any better children to be David's best friends. Thank you both."
All three children were relieved and grateful for the acceptance they were granted.
"I wonder if my parents can be as understanding." Frida thought.
"I have just one question." David's mum said. "Who's going to look after him?"
She pointed to the raven.
"We'll take care of him until he's better." Johanna answered. "What was your name?"
"I'm fine just being called Raven." Raven said.
That particular name caused Frida to remember something.
"Oh my goodness! We still need to see Raven Leader!"
"What are you talking about?" David asked.
"Frida won't say." Hilda said. "Wanna come?"
"Sure."
"Alright. Just let me get my bag from the bathroom." Hilda left the room for that reason.
"What about you, Angus?" Johanna offered.
"Maybe next time." Angus said. "I think I've made up my mind on something important."
So with a few goodbyes, One more errand remained and Johanna planned to drive the kids to it herself.
Hilda, Frida, David, Twig, Alfur, Adeline, Johanna, and Raven arrived at the Sparrow Scout lodge as the sun was setting. Raven had to wait in the car under strict orders from Johanna. The rest of the group found Raven Leader coming out of the door of the lodge.
"Well hello, scouts." she said. "What are you all doing here today?"
"For some reason, Frida says I should show you this." Hilda handed over her barghest book.
Raven Leader looked through the pages, reading every single word. Johanna had a good idea what was going on.
"You have no idea what you just did, do you?" Raven Leader asked.
"No. Could someone please tell me?" Hilda said.
Frida pulled out a Sparrow Scout handbook, flipped to a specific page, and started reading.
Step 1: Learn how to care for an injured animal or take care of a pet for three months." she pointed to Twig. "Done. Step 2: Be able to locate and identify six different kinds of bugs in your local area." she picked a bug off of David. "Done. Step 3: Research and write about a wild animal of your choosing, including, if possible, a report on its local activity." she pointed to the barghest book. "Done. One of the activities must be performed in the presence of a Sparrow Scout leader in order to earn..." she revealed the page she was on. "...The Friend to Animals Badge."
"Wait...You mean...Did I..." Hilda was stunned.
"Congratulations, Hilda." Raven Leader said. "Expect at least one badge this year."
Hilda's shock slowly grew into a smile.
"Yes! My first badge!" she cheered. "Thank you, Frida!"
"All I did was make a suggestion." Frida said. "You're the one who earned a badge even I don't have yet."
"That's my girl." Johanna picked her daughter up and placed her on her shoulders.
"I'll see you three next meeting." Raven Leader said before locking the door and leaving.
"Aren't you going to ask for your book back?" Adeline asked.
"Raven Leader has to keep it for my badge to count." Hilda explained. "But that's alright. I can make another one."
Hilda and the group then left too. Along the way, everyone praised her for her accomplishment.
"Way to go, Hilda." David said.
"Yes, well done, Hilda." Alfur said.
"I don't know much about Sparrow Scouts, but I'm happy for you." Adeline cheered.
"Mum, could you put me down please?" Hilda asked. "There's something I need to say."
"Sure, sweetie." Johanna set her daughter back on the ground.
"David, I've been told that I'm wrong about this, but I still feel like it's my fault you got mad and left because I kept pushing you into scary situations. I'm sorry."
"Actually, Hilda, my parents are right." David said. "If it weren't for you, I would've let my fears get the best of me. I'm most likely going to get scared again, but at least I'll have you and Frida by my side when I do."
Hilda hugged her friend and said "It's good to have you back."
As the group returned to the car, Hilda couldn't help looking up at the darkening sky. She had to shake her head to avoid temptation.
"Go ahead, Hilda." Johanna said, surprising her daughter. "While I get Frida and David home, you can fly all you want for half an hour. Just don't let anyone see you."
Hilda looked at the others who clearly didn't mind or blame her for wanting to fly off.
"Thanks, Mum." she hugged Johanna and let her wings out. "I'll meet you back home."
Then she flapped her wings hard and whooshed straight up into the sky.
"Woohoo!"
She tried every air stunt she could think of as well as going so high that she could see all of Trolberg beneath her. Hilda knew that this was one of the best days of her life. She got her friend back, triumphantly faced her biggest fear, earned her first badge, and she can fly. She felt more free now than ever before.
Somewhere in another part of the city, one single wolf was sneaking around looking for something. The wolf stopped in front of the abandoned bell tower and waited. Then a voice spoke.
"Well done, my pet."
Author's Note: I bet at least some of you knew Hilda would turn into something that flies sooner or later. Out of the creatures and spirits that do, a thunderbird was the one I wanted to give her the most because flying characters look so much better with wings. As for David, I hope you like what I did with him in this chapter. I didn't want the trio to be broken as long as in season 1. And what better way to reunite them in this case than having David learn about Hilda's fear of wolves. I found it a little odd that her most frightened moment (at least arguably) was when she was chased by a regular animal instead of something more dangerous, so I threw my own theory into this chapter. Lastly, if you've read the Hilda graphic novels, then you know exactly what parts I used this time. For example, I really wanted to have Hilda get her first badge and went with the one she almost had in her fourth book. Luckily, that's the kind of badge I guessed she would earn first ever since I finished season 1 which was before I read any of the books. Though I think I messed up some badge earning rule I don't officially know about. I also think I might've put too many ideas into this single chapter. If I did do one or both of those, I'm very sorry. With all my ideas for this whole fic, it's not easy.