Dislclaimer: All recognizable story material does not belong to me

Stand Your Ground

Chapter 5

Return of the Hawk

"Vidia – Vidia! Vidia! Wake up, wake up! Please wake up! Vidia, now! Please hurry – wake up, wake up!" Scruffy was shaking her energetically.

"Scruf – Scruffy, I'm awake." Vidia rubbed a hand over her sleepy face.

"Oh, please come on, Vidia! Quick!"

"Scruffy, what's up?"

"Yeah, literally." Scruffy pointed in the air. "See?"

Vidia looked up. "Hawk." She shuddered.

"And we're up here on the side of the mountainside – like being on a table."

"At least there's plants here." Vidia gazed up at the bird, watching it's manner carefully.

"Yeah, but-"

The hawk didn't make a sound, but he changed directions slightly, circling the mountain.

"It's spotted us." Vidia breathed. She snatched up a small stone. "Run, Scruffy – don't make a sound, and try not to attract attention. Get to the top."

"You're coming, right?"

"I'll be right there." Vidia assured him, and launched the rock into the air to distract the eager hawk.

"Scruffy, go! And find some large leaves when you get up there!" she instructed.

"All right!"

She heard Scruffy bounding uphill behind her, but she faced the hawk and threw more rocks at him.

The hawk circled above her then dived toward her, feet outstretched to grab her.

Vidia discarded the stones and snatched up a stick. The hawk's feet opened wide and kept descending. She could see the sun glinting off the claws and she knew it was time to act. She swung the stick harder than she thought she could, smashing the hawk's toes.

The hawk flew away from her, screeching and glaring. He watched Vidia carefully as she threw away the stick and raced up the mountain after Scruffy.

"Come on, Vidia!" she could hear Scruffy hollering from the top.

Vidia could hear wings behind her coming closer.

"Vidia – look out!" Vidia moved a few steps to one side very quickly, and the hawk scraped his feet on the ground, missing her entirely.

"Grab my tail!"

"I can't – half a minute!"

"You don't have a half-minute! Hurry!"

Vidia stepped onto a rock and reached up for Scruffy's tail.

She set her feet more firmly on the rock when suddenly she felt a great wind behind her, and she knew the hawk was right there. She looked down, and saw his feet scrabbling at the mountainside, get closer and closer to her.

The rock she stood on suddenly went careening down the mountain.

"Scruffy!" Vidia shouted. "Pull me up!"

He did. When she could see grass to pull on she grabbed it and climbed up.
"Thanks, Scruffy."

"What's the plan?" Scruffy asked.

"The leaves. Did you get them?" Vidia glanced over her shoulder at the hawk.

"What leaves?"

Vidia sighed. "Get some leaves, quick."

She ran and grabbed some leaves.

"All right, Scruffy, that's enough. Come over here and hold still." Vidia tied three leaves together as a parachute, then used another to fasten them around his belly.

"I don't think it's going to work." Scruffy noted. "I'm pretty heavy."

"Hey, it's never failed me." Vidia tightened the knot.

"Have you ever tried it?"

"That's beside the point. You trust me, don't you?"

"Kind of."

"Then run and jump off. I'll be right behind you." Vidia grinned. "See you at the bottom."

Scruffy took a running start and ran right off the edge. She saw the leaves floating away perfectly. Now to make sure the hawk didn't see.

"Hey! Hawk! Come and get me! I'm a target!" Vidia shouted and waved her arms. "I'm a tasty fairy, and you've already messed up my wings, so why not try for me?"

She grabbed a stone and threw it toward the hawk, but it didn't go near him. She glanced down toward the leaf floating toward the grass tops.

He's safe. She decided. She grabbed a leaf and tied one end to her wrist. The Hawk had circled away when she threw the stone, but now was watching her hungrily. She tied the other end to her other wrist, ran . . . and stopped.

"Oh, come on." she said aloud. "I'm a fast-flying fairy. I can fall a little."

She could hear the hawk calling behind her, and she went back to the other side of the top.

She started running toward the edge. She ran – faster – faster, then lost her nerve and dug her heels into the ground, but her leaf had caught the wind and she went straight over the edge.

"Whoa!" she shrieked. She blew up into the air, then started floating gently down.

She heaved a deep breath of relief – until she noticed that something large was shielding her from the rising sun – something with feathers. She twisted around to look at the hawk who had decided to try a more direct approach and was diving toward her with open mouth.

Vidia tried to move sideways through the air, but the leaf betrayed her, keeping her faithfully on course.

The hawk was right next to her, and she reached out and grabbed the top of his beak. She kicked her legs away as he snapped his mouth shut in an attempt to grab her.

Vidia swung precariously off his beak. He opened his mouth wide again, and an idea struck her. She swung back, then swung both her feet into the hawks' mouth, kicking it in the mouth. She dived away from the hawk into the air as it screeched it's disapproval. It's claws tried to catch her leaf parachute, but only managed to make a slight hole near the edge.

She looked down at the fast approaching ground and tried to spot where Scruffy was.

She heard a tearing noise above her and looked up in alarm. Her leaf was tearing – no, had just torn halfway across . . . suddenly she was speeding down toward the ground. She tried to reach up and hold it together, but couldn't grab them. The jagged edges were flapping wildly in the wind.

"I sure hope Scruffy made it." she told the air just before she slammed into the ground.

Stand Your Ground

Tinkerbell looked around. Sera, a scouting-talent fairy, had gotten to the rendezvous first, of course, and Tinkerbell could see Rosetta flying toward them. Silvermist was just walking up.

"Anything, Silvermist?" Sera had organized the search.

"Nothing."

"Tink?"

"No."

Rosetta landed, then Iridessa flew into sight and landed quickly.

"No sightings, you two?"

"Sorry, sugar, nothing." Rosetta said, sadly, in her usual southern accent.

"I flew into a small cloud of smoke on the way here, but it was just a little fire with some Indian children playing. No sign of Vidia." Iridessa responded.

Fawn flew into the clearing and landed excitedly.

"Fawn!" Tink exlaimed.

"Honey, did you see her?" Rosetta asked.

"What's up?" Silvermist joined in.

"News!" Fawn announced.

"Oh." Iridessa looked disappointed.

"I talked to a crab, and he saw a fairy the evening of the day she disappeared."

"A fairy? What talent fairy?"

"Crabs aren't very smart." Fawn explained. "He didn't notice anything about her. Not her clothing or hair."

"So we don't know that he saw Vidia." Tink sighed.

"No, no! We do. He says that she was running down the beach, and when she saw him, she glared. Now what fairy would glare terrifyingly at a poor, helpless little crab?"

"Vidia." Tinkerbell nodded.

"So there we have it. The hawk couldn't have eaten her on her scouting loop because she was running on the beach several hours afterward." Fawn grinned.

"Running?" Silvermist remarked. "Vidia hates to run on the ground. Was she wet? Or injured?"

"As I said: Crabs aren't smart." Fawn repeated. "He didn't notice. He was really terrified of her."

"No wonder." Rosetta drawled, amused. "Vidia is scary."

Fawn wasn't listening, she was looking at the sky.

Silvermist frowned.

"Sometimes." Iridessa agreed, "So, Sera, where next?"

"Well, I think we need to check out the -"

"Rat!" Fawn exclaimed.

The others looked at her.

"What?" Rosetta asked, in a disgusted tone.

"Look up there!" Fawn pointed. "It's a rat – wearing a parachute."

"It's gonna crash!" Iridessa exclaimed.

"Over there! Let's go!" Fawn darted into the air.

Stand Your Ground

Scruffy's feet scrambled on the ground, but the leaves that saved him were now teasing him, catching a new breeze and swinging him playfully back off the ground. He wriggled, trying to get down, but only barely touched the ground. He turned around awkwardly and chewed through one of the leaves holding him up. He was jolted as he landed on his back on the no longer soft ground. The leaves floated gracefully down around him.

His next thought was whether Vidia was all right. He rolled to his feet to check, but tripped over the leaves and found himself nose-down on the ground.

"Hi there, big fellow!" a fairy was standing in front of him. "What happened to you, I wonder?"

Scruffy stared. "Gee whiz! A fairy!"

The fairy blinked, and her mouth opened slightly in shock.

He suddenly realized what had shocked her. "Yeah . . . I speak fairy." Scruffy explained.

Stand Your Ground

Vidia felt bruised all over. She tried to untie the leaves secured to her wrists, but the knots had tightened and she couldn't get them off. She had to settle for tearing the leaves off the stem part, leaving leafy bracelets on her arms. Then she remembered.

"Scruffy?" She yelled. "Scruffy, where are you?" she took off through the grass running in the direction she thought he had landed. "Scruffy!"

She went silent, listening, but she heard nothing.

"Scruffy!" she shouted, louder.

"Vidia – I'm over . . ." she couldn't quite hear him over the loud crickets nearby, but she could tell the direction.

"Scruffy?" she called, sprinting away. "Scruffy!" She saw a place where she could see clawmarks in the ground – little troughs where he had tried to stop the wind from pulling him away.

Sure enough, there he was ahead, turning to meet her.

"Scruffy!" she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. "I was so scared those leaves wouldn't hold -" she blinked and pulled away, seeing Fawn close behind him.

"Vidia!" Fawn shouted. "It's Vidia!" Tink and the others, who had been following at a distance, came quickly.

"Vidia!" Tink exclaimed.

"Are you okay?" Silvermist asked.

"I'm so glad to see you, Vidia." Rosetta added.

"We've been so worried." Iridessa was smiling.

"Hi." Vidia couldn't think of what to say, but Fawn could.

"Vidia, what have you done to the rat? He talks!"

"Don't look at me – that was Rosetta." Vidia corrected.

"What? I've never seen that rat before in my life!" Rosetta claimed. "I-"

Sera had finally caught up with them, but she didn't land.

"Look out!" she screamed.

The hawk swooped down on Vidia, who dived to the ground and rolled out of the way. The other fairies flew in different directions and hid, but Vidia stood up and ran to the center of the clearing. "Scruffy!" she shouted.

"Vidia – help!" Scruffy was locked in the hawk's talons.

"Sera – get back to Pixie Hollow!" Vidia shouted. "Hang on, Scruffy!"

"HANG ON! To what?" Scruffy demanded, terrified.

"Vidia, what do we do?" Fawn asked. Vidia had the most experience with hawks by far.

"Rosetta – some vines!"

"I'm on it, sugar!" Rosetta grew magnificent vine as the other fairies watched.

"Dessa, Sil, distract the hawk – and don't let it take him away! Tink, I need a catapult – quick! Fawn – get ready to catch Scruffy!"

"Right away." Tink found a few sticks and worked faster than she ever had before.

Vidia grabbed Rosetta's vine and tied one end firmly around a rock.

Silvermist summoned water from nearby puddles to splash it on his face. Iridessa moved beams of light to shine in his eyes.

Fawn, unsure of what to do, just hovered nearby, ready to go for Scruffy.

"Rosetta -" Vidia directed. "Tie this to that tree trunk!"

"Got it!" Tinkerbell announced. "Isn't really a finished type . . ."

"As long as it works." Vidia shoved the contraption into the middle of the clearing and put the rock into it. "Dessa! Sil! Lure it over here!"

The two fairies dived down toward Vidia. "Is this going to work?" Rosetta asked, worried.

"We'll find out." Vidia released the catapult, sending the rock high into the air.

The rock soared into the air, and the vine looked as if it would snap. But it held. The rock gave the vine enough velocity to wrap around the hawk and his wings several times, making him release Scruffy and crash to the ground.

Fawn grabbed Scruffy before he crashed, too, and set him down next to Vidia.

"Wow." she admired. "That was quick work, Vidia. Nice job."

"Good plan." Iridessa smiled.
Tink and Silvermist were just about to congratulate her, also, but Rosetta spoke first.

"Oh, sweetheart." she said, kindly, and her eyes filled with tears. "Your wings are gone."

The others gasped, seeing it for the first time.

"Yeah." Vidia said, bitterly. "It was that hawk that tore them off."

"We'd better get you back to the healing fairies." Tinkerbell decided.

"And Scruffy." Vidia added. "Don't forget him."

"No fear." Scruffy grinned. "I can talk, remember?"

"He never shuts up." Vidia added.

"So how do we get her back?" Silvermist asked, cautiously.

"I won't be carried!" Vidia's pride kicked in.

"Why don't you let me have some fairy dust, and Vidia can ride on my back?" Scruffy suggested.

"That works." Vidia compromised.

"Good idea." Fawn sprinkled him with dust, and he rose from the ground.

"Wait for me!" Vidia said, irritated. She grabbed a paw to pull him back down, but he just pulled her into the air. She sighed and clambered up.

"Next stop, Pixie Hollow." Scruffy said. "And no more pirates."

"Flying hats . . ."

"Indians . . ." Scruffy continued

"Drowning . . ."

"Getting smushed . . ."

"Parachuting . . ."

"Fighting hawks . . ." Vidia grinned.

"Oh, dear!" Rosetta paled. "Smushed?"

"Sounds like a lot of stories!" Tinkerbell said.

"How long has it been since I left?" Vidia asked.

"This is the 6th day, counting the one you left as the first." Iridessa replied.

"It feels like it's been weeks." Vidia leaned forward and whispered in Scruffy's ear. "Lean forward."

"Why? What does that do?" Scruffy whispered back.

"Trust me and do it." Vidia answered, and Scruffy yelled in terror as he started zooming forward, leaving the other fairies behind.

Vidia let her loose hair flow in the wind and shut her eyes against the wind against her face.

It was hard to believe that she'd never have wings again. Harder to think how useless she'd be.

She glanced back at her friends who were trying to catch up. She knew it wouldn't matter to them, and they'd help her cope. But without any sort of reason, she felt that somehow she might not always have to stand her ground.

End

I hope you enjoy this story as much as I have. M.J.J.