Day 2: That's the easy part.
Shenanigans. No spoilers for anything. Set some point after the first 5 Fablehaven books, Dragonwatch probably doesn't exist. Your decision.
Seth's shoes squelched against the muddy ground, his jeans speckled with dried bits of the substance here and there. He was scouting for a rare frog which Bracken had promised was a symbol of good luck in the eyes of all of fairydom, and which the unicorn had also said he'd spotted in the forest at Fablehaven on his way to the house. Apparently he just had to catch it, and he'd supposedly have a string of good luck for the entire following year.
The sound of soft footprints caught Seth's attention, and the boy turned his head to spot Bracken.
"Have you found it yet?" he asked as he approached.
Seth shook his head. "I haven't seen it. You said it looks like it's made of pure gold, right?"
"Mm-hmm. And it's very small." Bracken held up his fingers to indicate a space which measured maybe four centimeters.
That was pretty small. Was he sure he'd be able to find it inside this huge forest?
Why not? It sure beat being bored at home. Besides, Bracken was the one who suggested this particular excursion, and Grandpa had actually approved. Seth wasn't about to waste this opportunity to explore outside. And anyway, if anything bad happened, he had a wicked fast unicorn on his side. (Not that he would actually be needed, of course. Probably.)
They searched for a good couple of hours before Seth caught a glimpse of gold out of the corner of his eye. As quietly and as gently as he could manage, he moved the knee-high foliage and underbrush out of his way and laid eyes upon a tiny, beautifully golden frog.
For one tense moment, he and the frog looked at each other and neither moved. Then the frog leapt, Seth dove to intercept it… and missed, bumping his head against a nearby tree trunk in the process. He rubbed at his head where it ached while he searched the area the frog had disappeared to.
Bracken was maybe ten yards away. Seth decided to call him over. "Psst. Bracken," he whispered as loudly as he could.
The unicorn turned around. "Did you find it?"
Seth nodded his head and waved at the unicorn in a motion for him to come closer. Bracken stood up and walked over, and both of them searched the area Seth pointed out.
It took several more minutes for Seth to spot the frog again, and when he did, he breathed as calmly as he could before he lunged forward in order to grab hold of it. He knew he had succeeded when he felt the tiny frog squirming in between his hands. Seth jumped up with an exultant yell, and Bracken laughed and grinned.
"You found it!" he cried.
"I've got it!" Seth shouted.
Bracken laughed even more, but in a way which Seth thought was kind of odd. As he looked at his friend, he noticed a twinkle in the unicorn's eye. "I'm afraid that was the easy part," he offered as an explanation.
Before Seth could ask what was meant by that comment, he felt his hands being forced apart as the tiny frog grew exponentially in size and weight in only a matter of seconds. He was forced to release it when it became too heavy and awkward to continue to hold onto, and it scampered away with lightning speed as soon as it was back on the ground.
Seth stared after it, gobsmacked, while Bracken laughed mercilessly.
"My sisters and I used to chase them when we were young children," he explained. "We were never able to hang onto them for long. Thank you, Seth. This has brought back some very fond memories."
"But… what just… what about the good luck?!" Seth asked.
"The legend is true, as far as anyone knows," Bracken answered while he shrugged his shoulders, a brilliant smile still covering his face. "Perhaps one day you will be the one to find out for sure."
Seth was still too shocked to come up with a response, which prompted even more laughter from his friend. All he could think of was, well… had he just been punked? By Bracken?!