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da3dm · 2 years ago

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Night Light 1.1

Never written a g/t story before, but here's my try on it! Lemme know if I should add some tags or warnings!

Lots of thanks to @dingbatnix for helping me proofread it!

Word Count: 3.6k

Chapter 1: Disappointments

In a seemingly empty forest, a breeze was the only disturbance to the area. Birds were calling, animals caused rustlings in the bushes, and the sun shone softly on the plants, casting a golden glow over every surface. Hidden behind this faux peace, a small group of friends were hiding among the leaves in the branches of a tree, watching the small clearing curiously as they waited in…somewhat silence. Their hushed whispers hardly carried down from the tree. “Get off of me!”

The four of them were finding it somewhat difficult to coexist on the same branch…and two in particular wouldn’t stop arguing. “I wasn't even touching you?” The accused blonde shoved their brown haired friend away, teardrop shaped wings fluttering in annoyance. “Just stay over there and leave me alone.”

The blonde yelped, nearly falling off the branch. For someone who was only three inches tall, a fall like that would be rather dangerous. “Now you're shoving me!”

A third interjected, pushing the pair apart. “Will you two just stop? You've been arguing for hours now! If you keep going, we're never going to see it! They'll notice us!” The red head was trying their best to be threatening, hoping to get them to finally knock it off. “Besides, if you two keep arguing we’re going to lose track of him again!”

The fourth one was on the very end of the branch, out in the open and hanging out in the wind, only held by the stem of a leaf he gripped. He’d been ignoring them until that last comment, but didn't even look their way as he stated, “I am fully capable of taking care of myself. You three are the real chaos material. I wasn't the one arguing with someone for brushing against me.” The blackete was grinning anyway, excited to see if coming to the edge of their borders would finally let them see a real human.

The red head glanced over, only to be struck by panic upon seeing just how startlingly visible his friend was, fully out in the open and vulnerable. “Axel!” He launched himself over there and dragged his friend back onto the branch. “You can’t just hang out in the open like that! You’ll be seen! You’re not even supposed to be out here, don't add being seen to that list of broken rules!”

Axel smirked at them and kept staring out there. “Oh come on! You wanna see them just as much as I do!” Since all four of them were fairies, they had been raised inside a hollowed out tree with the rest of their colony. There were strict rules set in place that never allowed any fairy near their borders, where humans resided. The only things they ever knew about humans was what they'd been told, most of which villainized them. Axel, who remained leaning out in the open, was one of the few that refused to believe those stories. Humans being titans, killing their kind, only showing cruelty to everything around them…none of it made sense to him. Nothing was that big for one thing, but it also didn’t sound right. They made these creatures sound like true monsters, and yet described their appearances as being strikingly similar to their own.

Spark, the red fairy, disagreed greatly with Axel. “No! I’m only out here to keep you out of trouble! For all I know you're going to march right up to one of those giants and completely expose yourself with your lack of self preservation! On top of all that, it’s almost high noon! We’re going to be late for the ceremony!”

Axel squirmed in the tightening grip, attempting to escape. "We'll be fine, we can make it! I know what I'm doing, just be quiet so nothing will notice us." He managed to pull himself free and danced away to keep out of reach.

The blonde fairy walked up to them and pointed out at the forest ahead. "Sorry to interrupt, but isn't that what you're looking for?" Out in that direction, there was unnatural motion and faint voices carrying to them.

Axel spun around immediately, his wings buzzing with excitement when he saw it. "Yes! Let's go look!" He launched off the branch, already speeding away before any of them could even attempt to follow.

Spark turned a glare on the blonde. "Oh yes, brilliant idea Sett, just tell the maniac you see something without someone holding him down! Clay, go after him." He looked at the brown haired fairy as he'd said that before shoving off to chase after Axel.

Sett and Clay looked at each other before they just followed after the other two boys, rushing through the cover of the forest on their way over to the group of camping humans. Axel momentarily almost went above the trees, but Spark caught up to him on time and grabbed hold of his leg, yanking him back down.

"Get back down! You're going to get picked off by a bird!" He lost the dark haired fairy only moments later, but at least he didn't go higher again and merely zoomed towards the campsite.

He knew not to just burst out there but he was getting way too close to be flying out in the open like he was. "You worry too much!" The one to stop him this time was Sett, the only one in their friend group that flew faster than Axel.

The blonde spread his arms out after stopping in front of Axel and pointed to a cluster of branches higher up, where they'd be able to see the open space. "Hide there before you make Spark explode." The two dove into that bundle of branches and leaves almost immediately after, waiting for the rest to show up.

Axel was already clambering forward, trying to get a peek at these creatures. When he saw them his wings buzzed excitedly, but he was also shocked into silence. It was a group of friends or maybe a family, he wasn't sure. That wasn't the shocking part though. What truly got him, was their size. This wasn't like the stories, they were bigger, not smaller like he'd originally thought.

Just as the other two showed up, Sett had pushed himself over to take a look as well, his whole body going rigid as he watched these pure giants move about, doing actions that would otherwise be impossible for the fairies while being way too fast for their size. It was terrifying and they weren't even close enough to feel their movements. One other notable thing…was that their language made no sense—it was completely different from their own.

Spark and Clay had similar reactions, but the red fairy could only look for a few seconds before he had to pull away, his hands covering his mouth as fear coursed through his entire body. It hadn't helped that when he'd looked, it was to see one of them crushing something bigger than they were like it was nothing. He shuddered and moved on to hugging himself instead, refusing to turn back around as he was gripped by a cold sweat.

Clay was just frozen in place, his usual rowdy self gone completely as he watched the wingless titans move about. He hesitated greatly, taking a step back as he looked at the other two still watching the humans. "Hey, uh…I think we should go. It doesn't feel safe here." He frowned at the humans before he went back to being wild, reaching down and grabbing Axel by the back of his shirt. "Sett, move it! We're going!" He was half snarling as he just dragged the curious fairy away.

Spark gave a heavy sigh when he saw Clay dragging Axel away, the tense muscles relaxing as he realized they were leaving now. He didn't hesitate to take off, his wings buzzing madly as he tried to fly off as fast as possible. The humans hadn't shown up in the clearing they'd chosen to watch, and he was glad they hadn't. They'd have been way too close to Hometree…that was just begging for trouble. He did falter for a moment to check that his friends were following, but settled right back down when he saw them right behind him. Even Axel was leaving on his own.

Axel, however, had way too curious thoughts spinning through his mind. He'd felt a sort of natural fear towards a being so large that he was hardly the size of their smallest finger…but he wanted to know everything about them! Why did they look just like fairies but had no wings and were so giant? It was spinning him for a loop and he was sectioning his fear off as just from their size, ignoring the warning bells telling him to never investigate them. Rather, he was somewhat eager to find out what all they had. They were using some very strange things!

Regardless of how unaware his friends were of his thoughts, all four of them headed straight for home tree. They were already really pushing it for their time limit, the ceremony a lot more important than they'd been making it out to be so far. As the large, hollowed out tree came into sight, so did tons of fairies flying in and out in preparation for the celebration. The magic barrier hiding the tree from sight allowed the fairies to see through it, only blocking the contents from other creatures. All four of them went to one of the many entrances, choosing one that was less populated and rushing through on their way to the main hall.

Once inside you had to land and fight your way through the crowds of other fairies. There honestly wasn't all that many of them, but when there was some sort of gathering everyone was moving around so much that it made the numbers seem higher. In reality, you would pass the same person ten or so times on your way to anywhere. The adults in the tree had assigned jobs after all, so they couldn't sit still like everyone else was. The group of friends got separated a few times on their way through the tunnels, but eventually met back up in the wide open space of the main hall. This space was in one of the highest spots in the tree, allowing the sunlight to shine through from openings directly above them.

Axel…had never liked so many people gathering together. Colors, so many colors, kept swarming around him in every direction. It was almost too many and always hit him as dizzying. For one thing, he never once saw another fairy with black hair. He was the only one in this entire colony, and as far as anyone knew, the first to exist. Their records were damaged and it was unclear what the coloring meant for Axel. After all, the color of their hair and wings always determined their magic pathways. Sometimes the eyes would even grant the fairy another power, but those were very special cases.

Reds, and sometimes a rare orange, all belong to fire. Yellow stretching to a pale blonde typically controlled wind and sometimes light magic, which was exceptionally rare. Browns were connected to the earth, green attached to the plants, blue with several different areas…mostly water, sometimes ice. A fairy with purple hair was just as rare as a blonde getting light magic, and they controlled the darkness. So where did that leave Axel? This entire celebration was to find out, and it was leaving him unnerved—one major reason he'd risked being seen merely ten or so minutes ago. He'd rather face horror stories turned real than find out the result of this test.

He followed his friends to the area all of the graduating teenagers were waiting. Everyone gathered here was turning 20 this season, leaving the teenage years behind and about to be considered adults, where they'd be granted a job rather than an apprenticeship. But he was nervous. He stood beside his friends for some time, watching as every fairy in the tree congregated in this hall, the area getting steadily louder until the dooming hush fell over the huge crowd.

The monarch was here. She strode down the platform to the edge, Axel shivering as he felt her cold gaze sweep over the crowd, demanding absolute silence. This development made him take a step back, hiding behind his friends instead of staying next to them. It was too much for him to handle, especially since she was actually…his aunt. He knew it was coming, but it still sent a cold shudder down his spine when her eyes locked onto him momentarily. It wasn't hard for him to know what she was thinking and he was already wishing he could just flee the area.

She smiled only once everyone was still and not making sound, setting her hands on the podium before she projected her voice, "Thank you for taking time off your busy tasks to gather here today!" She kept watching everyone as she continued, "Today we will identify the power of each new adult fairy so that they might join the rest of us in maintaining our survival here in the Hometree." She swept a hand in the direction of the group of new adults, her bronze wings flaring for dramatic effect. "Now, come up in alphabetical order, as is tradition. First…" She glanced at her list. "Ala."

A blue haired fairy fluttered up to the stage, gave a bow, then turned to grant access to his wings. Axel watched in trepidation, aware he'd be dragged up there way too soon for his liking. Even so, he watched the exchange closely. It was easier to activate magic with the help of another fairy, but you could also do so on your own. The monarch reached over and delicately traced her hands over the pale blue wings. White lines spread from his back towards the end of the wings like veins, forming a shape in the center of his wings as the color faded into becoming a near white blue, the shape revealing the symbol of ice.

Of course this had her smiling again as she gestured for the new ice fairy to go wait in a certain area. They would designate everyone by element before telling them what their actual jobs were. He tensed when she looked at the list again, but she called up someone called Amber instead. His nerves were firing off all over the place, his wings buzzing every now and then with discomfort. In the end he couldn't truly watch what happened with the girl up there, only knowing she was hard to help unlock and that it had become something along the lines of earth and minerals.

She called yet another name, his gaze casting to the floor to lock into his feet, his hands feeling sweaty even as she called someone who wasn't him. Despite what all he'd actually been through, this was by far one of the worst days of his life and he had yet to be called on. After only seconds of this building stress, he shoved his hands behind his back in an attempt to slow it down, gripping his arms tightly to force his head back up. Even as he did, his eyes closed and he let out a shaky breath, refocusing on the present.

A hand touched his shoulder and he flinched, only for another to touch the other shoulder. Slight panic made his eyes snap open to see who was grabbing him. Spark and Sett. A wave of relief washed over him thickly, soothing coldness spreading through his body. He could see in their expressions that they understood what was wrong, so he gave them a thankful nod, glancing at Clay who was looking at him like the guy was ready to beat up whatever was stressing his friend out like this.

It made him smile. Axel was finally getting the beginning of a panic attack to settle, at least to a manageable amount. He took a few deep breaths and waited, now a tad more confident knowing his friends were still with him. Even so, with his name called only moment later, he still jolted, feeling that rush of fear run through his body. He let it run. Using it, he made his legs move, taking a few steps forward before he used his shaky wings, knowing his legs felt too weak to take him the whole way. He landed on the raised platform right in front of his aunt, locking eyes with her before immediately looking away.

He couldn't stand being looked at so worriedly, even if it was only a split second. In the end he turned his back to her so she could get to his wings, looking at the wall to keep himself grounded. But then her voice echoed out to the room, "We're treated this season to a new color, possibly bringing in a new fairy element! Let us hold hope for our new friend and greet them among us no matter the result!" It was a traditional saying that had been said only a few times before, but her tone and the fact that it was him she was talking about, felt like someone was stabbing him from behind.

He choked on a breath, but just closed his eyes and balled his hands into fists, gritting his teeth. He would find out what sort of abomination he was today, and…he desperately hoped that maybe he was just an earth fairy, or had something actually useful. The problem…was that there weren't any elements left. When her hands touched his wings he flinched, the touch feeling cold, too cold. When she pulled his magic from his core and into his wings, it was like someone was pulling on strings attached to his organs. At the same time, it wasn't exactly painful, just exceedingly strange.

He peeked his eyes open and watched the glow from the wall, tensing as it started to dim out. When it finally stopped, there was a sort of shocked air among the crowds. A bit scared, especially after hearing his aunt mutter under her breath, he looked over his shoulder at his wings. They were…not showing any element at all. There were some jagged lines, zig zags, loops, and most prominently a sideways eight right where an element should be. Or at least it resembled one, but it was more like two rings looped through each other.

Even so, it still did not show an element. He watched as she silently motioned for an examination, a sort of pressure building up in his chest. His hands tightened even further as fists, his nails digging into his skin as his eyelids flittered just a bit faster. He narrowed his eyes after a few seconds, slowing down his blinking as he waited, fully on edge along with the entire tree full of fairies. He couldn't even watch as they brought a magic stone polished into a ball shape, wishing to measure his element with it and tell if he had usable magic at all.

The cold stone was pressed against the skin between his frail wings. The air was tense, every last person holding their breath and staring at the stone he couldn't see. After some time passed, there were murmurs spreading, a few of them sending spikes of anxiety through his body. The stone was removed and the fairy who'd been trying to measure it was half frozen, stuttering out, "I-it doesn't show anything! He has no element at all! His magic…it can't be used!"

Everyone feel deathly silent, but Axel felt some entirely different. Icy talons wrapped around his heart, a weight settling in his chest as tears fought their way to his blank face. Then all at once it struck, shock creating fear in everyone present. It took a few seconds of panic before some began shouting, asking if fairies were about to lose their magic, that he was cursed, some actually begging their own relatives would have magic and not end up like him. The last was quieter than the rest, but still present.

With the power only she had, the monarch commanded silence with a single glare, silencing the entire room with that on look. She faced them all. "Stop the dramatics! Keep the peace! There is still a symbol, it will mean something somewhere in our archives. We will be investigating this incident, and as of yet, I believe this is particular for only black haired fairies, of which Axel is the only one. Now, go stand over there and let's continue." She had a pained expression for a moment before it was buried under her usual iciness.

Axel couldn't respond. He was numb as he was led to a different spot, standing separate from everyone by quite a bit. His hands found the edge of his half jacket and clutched it like his life depended on it, becoming empty and blank as he zoned out entirely. After all of this time…there is no 'searching the archives', or they would have already done it. No. That stone never lied. And after all that stress, all of that heart stopping fear that his life would end and he could never explore again, he…had nothing.

It was almost laughable. It's hard to say if this outcome was better or worse. In the end, he didn't know what he'd been expecting at all. He actually nearly laughed, just standing there with his gaze cast downwards, only uncertainty blooming inside him. What job…does a fairy without magic even do? Would he remain an apprentice forever? He couldn't tell if that was good or not, knowing he'd be able to keep that freedom to explore, but also knowing he was now a true outcast. After all of that judgement growing up…nothing was going to compare to the aftermath of this discovery.

—

End chapter of the first g/t story I've done!

(will add links to the next chapters at the end of this once I get those uploaded)

/Mistake/ ->

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da3dm · 2 years ago

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Night Light 1.3

I have created the third chapter! At long last! Prepare for angst >;3

TW: violence, fear (if I'm missing one then pleeeeeeeeaaaaase tell me)

Word Count: 6.8k

Chapter 3: Fault

Where did he go wrong? His entire life he had been trying so hard to be the fairy everyone around him wanted, so…why was this happening to him? He was bullied for his unknown coloration as a child, hated for his curiosity and put down for it, and then worst of all, was despised for even existing after that damned ceremony. Considering that…he supposed it was no wonder he found himself hurtling towards a wall. He crashed into it roughly, hissing in pain as his head clocked against the hard surface. His wings had been tucked out of danger in time, but he’d neglected other body parts in the process. Regardless, he merely bit his lip to hold back the pain that shot through his body in response and stayed down as the fairies around him stepped closer. When he did turn his head just slightly, it was only to see his own aunt’s feet.

He merely drooped. It was already too late. They had thrown him into a cell the moment he got back while Sett was simply being questioned. Apparently, the humans were now curious and had gone a little closer to the borders…like that even mattered. Their Hometree wasn't even visible from the borders, what were they so worked up about? It had never even made sense to him. That border perfectly went through a point that neither the campsite or Hometree were visible, so going only that far and no further posed no threat. In his opinion, they were just overreacting to it.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when the Monarch gave him a sharp order, her voice cutting the air coldly, “Get up.” He exhaled shakily and pushed himself to his feet with the support of the wall, looking at her while sporting new bruises and possibly some brand new scars. His gaze was kept lowered so as not to offend anyone there and let them believe they were fully the only ones with power. “Enough of your lies, explain yourself truthfully. Why were you out there?” Her tone and behavior was all so cold…so much for being his ‘caring’ aunt. When he didn’t immediately respond, she practically hissed out, “You will answer me, Axel.”

He sighed lightly and slowly shook his head. “...you were going to trap me in the Hometree for the rest of my life. I wanted to prove I could do it. Then three fairies ganged up on me and tied me up inside an empty human’s shelter to get caught. I could even tell you which fairies—” A solid chunk of earth slammed into his stomach and he doubled over coughing, gritting his teeth when he stopped. The lead earth fairy…certainly had a temper. This was the exact same story he’d told them every single time they’d asked him about it. Each word was nothing but the truth. Yet, she refused to believe her own nephew and hardly blinked when he was hit for being honest.

In fact, she only scowled at him now. “...blaming another fairy for your poor judgment of a situation and disobeying every rule I gave you, is only further proof that you’re too inexperienced to be out with the rest of the fairies.” She was finally looking at him, but…it was only to tell him she didn’t trust his word. “You will be punished for this transgression.” She looked to the other fairies there, the lead of every type present in the room for this. After receiving some nods, she turned her gaze back to him. “Axel, you’re hereby sentenced to a clipping as far down as possible and confinement to a cell for a week.” Instantly, his blood ran cold. Clipping. The term they used for cutting a fairy’s wings. Their wings did grow back unlike a butterfly or other creature, but it hurt and could take their entire lives to return if cut that short. As long as the base of the wings remained, he wouldn't lose his wings, but…this was enough.

He gave up on obeying them. What point was there when he was already getting the second worst punishment? He raised his head and stared directly at her. In his eyes alone, he shoved all his resentment, suffering, and betrayal right at her before he shoved himself away from the wall and shouted at her, his wings flaring out as he did. “Monarch! You tell me to be honest and I'm honest! Then you say I'm lying and want to cut off my wings like I’m your pet!” He saw the fairy preparing magic again and he danced to the side, choosing to be a moving target instead of simply allowing them to hit him. The earth ball missed him and the other fairies began to get defensive, clearly readying magic for a fight…against someone that didn’t have any. Clearly, they judged fairly.

She had backed away but showed no outward sign of how this made her fell. Rather, she only seemed angrier. “Axel! Stand down and come quietly!”

It felt like something inside him snapped and he screamed, “You may be my aunt, but you aren’t my family! You aren’t my mom or a sibling! I hate you with every last shred of my soul!” There was a sort of stunned silence. No-one talked to the Monarch like that, and…she herself was shocked. This boy never raised his voice lightly, and he had especially never declared hatred for someone before. Except, not wanting them to recover and catch him, he launched off the ground and sped right for the window. The wind fairy aimed ahead of him so he swerved for a different one that was close to the other, avoiding that dangerous gust of wind. That wind had been what threw him in the first place, he didn’t want to experience that again.

The others leapt into action when their friend failed to stop the fast misfit fairy, stumbling poorly to catch up to him. It wasn’t all that hard for him to escape out the window and head skyward. He could have sworn he heard his aunt yelling for him, but that only spurred him on faster. If he could just get above the trees…the others wouldn't want to follow him anymore. That would be his only possible chance of escape, but he needed to fly faster than the wind fairies gathering to chase him. He grit his teeth and forced himself forward, aiming to beat even his own speed records…and he was. He was the fastest fairy in Hometree, even if only for a few moments.

It got him past the trees and into open air. Axel spun, keeping an eye out for any predators but also to check what the fairies were doing. Seeing one of the older fairies preparing magic, he made an attempt to rush away, desperate to escape. All fairies had enough strength to cause a natural disaster, but only the older ones had any control over the excess power. Even so, it was overkill against a fairy that had none at all! It was almost thrilling trying to get out of range of the magic, but he also had to stay smart and use Hometree itself as a defense. They couldn't cast powerful magic if it would get their tree caught up in it.

As he flew, he eventually chose to go a direction completely opposite of where the human campsite was. He wanted to be as far as possible from Hometree, including those humans. It wasn't until almost being caught that he had realized just how terrifying and dangerous those creatures were. This included the punishment for even being near them. If he were to go back towards those humans and be captured by the fairies again, it wouldn't end with just not flying and being in a cage for a few days. The thought of what they were going to do to him…it felt like he couldn't even breathe.

Aware it was dangerous to stay above the forest too long, he dove back into the trees and desperately wished it was night time. If it was then he would have blended in much better than he did right now. He easily sped past the borderline, not really paying attention to if someone was still chasing him or not. He was more concerned with how dizzying his mind was being, the adrenaline fueling him slowly fading and no longer protecting him from just how painful it was to hear his aunt say all of that to him. A hand reached up and clutched at the clothes over his chest, sucking in a hitching breath.

Eventually, his wings faltered and he was forced to land, half crashing into a branch after changing his angle to reach it rather than the ground. Usually he would have been agile when doing so, but this time he just clutched the branch, half hanging from it for a long time before he just let go to fall onto the one under it. He gave a gasp at the impact, then scrambled back towards the trunk of the tree, using the shadows and bark to hopefully stay more hidden. He was in a state of stress and unable to fully settle back down, just waiting for the fairies to come racing after him, for a storm to blast him out of the tree for them to chop off his wings.

He put his arms over his head and squeezed his eyes shut, falling silent and trying to settle back down. His heart raced, breathing was difficult, and the dizziness clutched at his mind like a plague. Time was passing but he didn't know how long it had been since he reached this tree, even as the light around him began to fade out. Had no-one chased after him? Why? It was almost more unsettling that nothing had happened, and yet he was finally beginning to relax. He felt safer when the world around him was darkened, knowing it meant he’d be much more hidden. The fog of fear finally drifted out of his mind and he leaned back, letting his arms fall back down and going almost limp.

Wow. How far had he gone for them to just let him go? Also, were they letting him go because they thought he’d come back eventually? Or…did they think he would die out here and no longer be their problem? He shuddered, but rather than fear, all it did was make his blood boil. He growled in frustration and smacked the tree before shoving himself back some more and crossing his legs. Since it was night, he'd be able to move unseen by predators or other fairies, but it was also a prime chance to rest. Which one should he even start with? He didn’t really feel tired in all honesty, the stressful situation from earlier still coursing through him and making everywhere feel too unsafe.

He took a deep breath to cut off his train of thought, looking at the darkening sky. He couldn't quite see the stars yet, but the lone moon shone brightly overhead and began to provide illumination in the dying light. It was so quiet…he wasn’t sure if he loved the temporary silence as the time faded between night and day, but it was at least nice right now. Glancing behind him, he gave the smallest sigh over seeing a dim glow in his wings. They'd done that in moonlight ever since the ceremony…but it couldn't have been useful. It was probably just the unusable mana reacting to the power in the moon, not any actual magic. Even so…the sight was kinda nice.

He scooted back out of the moonlight curiously and watched his wings keep the glow, maybe even being brighter. It made him smile. He’d never liked the dark very much, so it was convenient. Still, he couldn't just sit here forever…he needed to take advantage of being hidden to get further away from Hometree. It was dark, he was dark, this was his perfect camouflage. He…would just have to sleep during the day. Traveling in the sunlight was too dangerous for him with the light fairies too. Where was he going to go, though? He couldn't go to the campsite and go that direction, he would find humans…and he definitely couldn't return to the Hometree. Was his only choice to keep going directly opposite the campsite? He’d chosen the other side of the tree, but it was hard to say if that was a great idea. He hoped it would mean he wouldn't find any humans.

Axel eventually chose to keep going where he’d started to go, waiting for the stars to begin fading into sight before he was on the move again. All around him the woods echoed with animals and creatures he could hear but definitely didn’t want to meet. It made the missing weight of his forgotten bag all the more troubling. His weapons and belongings were all still in his bag, which those other fairies had thrown back in his room. He was fully unarmed. Without magic or some kind of weapon he was defenseless…that must be why they never chase after him. They knew he would struggle and probably die, but he’d rather die out here than have his wings cut off. Although right now he really wished he had something lethal on hand.

He rushed through the forest like his life depending on it, choosing to not even try to stop anywhere. He didn’t need to check his direction anyway, he just wanted to get away from the tree…but that wasn't why he was speeding. Talons violently swept just behind him as the silent hunter dropped past him. The air current sent him tumbling through the air, but he hurriedly used a branch and shoved off it to rebalance. Ohhhh he hates owls. It was impossible to tell when one was nearby if it wasn't calling out. This meant he was currently scrambling, his arms clawing at the air as he attempted to fly even faster as if he could just pull himself along. The adrenaline racing through his entire body was definitely enough to keep him moving, especially when it came back for another go.

As it dove again with another near miss, he glared at the offender and shouted, “Just leave me alone! Go catch a mouse! Stop making today even worse than it already was!” He grabbed something random on his way and threw it at the owl as it tried to grab him for the umpteenth time. It didn’t do much, but this time his position made it hard to recover from the air rush when it missed again. He gasped and flailed immediately, desperate to correct his mistake as he was tossed right at a tree. By pure luck, he was launched into a tree hollow, slamming against the back of it. He hissed in pain as he dropped down, barely catching himself correctly and trying to calm down. It threw him into shelter? That’s convenient. Axel started to relax and even sat up straight, taking a deep breath and believing it was over. He forgot an opening is still an opening.

With a violent slam followed closely by an animalistic shriek, the owl slammed against the opening of the hollow, unable to fit completely through it but certainly trying. He jolted and gave an involuntary scream, shoving himself further against the rough wood behind him. In an instant, his calm had been utterly shattered, replaced with instinctive and reactive panic. It was screeching, using its talons and trying to reach inside for him as feathers scattered about. There was a split second he wondered if it couldn't reach him, only for the cursed thing to try a different angle and start attempting to shove its head inside. The fairy felt terror course through his body. If it could fit even its head inside, it would be able to squeeze in the rest of the way.

Except, the moment its head popped inside and Axel screamed again, his arms raising, to protect himself…nothing happened to him. A powerful blast of wind shoved the owl out aggressively, the air swirling and spinning harshly—like someone unfamiliar with their magic was using something too high above their current skill. He stared, eyes widening as he was merely met with a cloud of feathers and angry shouting from outside. Was that…? Sure enough, he soon saw a brown blur drop past the opening like a rock, heading right for that owl. That was…! His mind clawed at him, over and over, until he finally willed himself into action and scrambled to his feet awkwardly.

He didn't get far, however, before he was met with someone slamming right into him. Considering his face was immediately buried in a chest and there was a hand behind his head, it was…it really was…! “Axel! How many times do I need to tell you not to wander off?!” He sounded mad, but…he knew that Spark was never mad at him. Especially with this crushing, possessive hug he was receiving from the supposedly uptight fire fairy. Not long after, while he was still in shock, his favorite lazy blonde came speeding inside and crashed into them harshly. Sett didn’t even speak, he just clung to Axel and Spark with so much grief, you'd have thought his friends had died. It didn't take long for the wind fairy to wiggle between the two, almost needing mor comfort than either of them.

This only got even better when their more violent counterpart showed up clumsily in the entrance. He was bleeding and looking like he’d finally found something he lost…but couldn't believe he discovered. He raced for them too only to miss and slam right into the wall. Clay only shoved off the wall and stumbled to them, catching all three in a tight hug that made ribs creak. “You're not supposed to leave without us! How dare you battle without me! You can't just disappear like that, idiot!” The earth fairy had his eyes shut tightly, like he thought his friend would vanish if he even dared to look.

It took Axel a moment, but as he came to realize this was real, he crumpled against his friends without hesitation and cried, “I’m sorry!” His lungs ached, breath coming in short while all energy drained out of him and caused him to become limp, his body feeling weak. He thought he would never see these three again, only adding to his current reaction to them holding him. Axel wanted to cry. To break down and just let them stay with him. But he couldn't just meet them and be broken for it. Half forcing it but also meaning it, he gave the smallest laugh, eyes still glistening from unbidden tears. “I thought I hid where I went pretty well…!”

Spark held him even tighter in response. “...you're still as idiotic as before. Even if you think something through you'll only keep going the same direction.”

They were both slightly shoved as Sett turned so he could give Axel a weak smirk. “It was also helpful hearing you scream like a little girl.”

Instantly offended, Axel’s wings twitched upward and he glared at Sett. “I admit I screamed, but it wasn’t that high pitched! Your voice is more like a girl’s than any of ours!” They all gave light laughs at this, except for Clay.

The earth fairy held them even tighter as he growled, “It was stupid! And you're supposed to fight! What happened to all my lessons?! It was just pathetic!” He sounded rude, but his friends knew exactly what he actually meant. The painful grip disappeared after a few seconds, Clay knowing full well he was physically stronger than any of them. He was also, in the end, the one who broke the weird hug circle they’d formed. The earth fairy let go completely and stepped back, crossing his arms as he waited.

The other two followed soon after, with Sett lingering a little longer and still looking rather bruised. “Alright. We need to return home.” Spark hadn’t even allowed a moment to breathe.

Axel stiffened. “I’m not going back! If that’s all you came here for, then turn around and leave me here!” He had been immediately triggered, backing away defensively. “You didn’t even ask me why I ran away!”

The fire fairy only narrowed his eyes while Sett and Clay watched closely. “What else could there be? You got in trouble again but the consequences were higher as an adult. We need to go back. This place is not safe.”

He could only stare in disbelief at first, then grit his teeth and shouted, “I would never run from something so childish! They were going to cut my wings off! As low as possible! I was never going to fly again for the rest of my life!” Which wasn't entirely true since they grew back, but you would have to be extremely lucky for them to grow back fast enough to be back before they die. Although…this revelation seemed to be enough to crack Spark’s usually hard exterior long enough to be recognized.

He wasn't even allowed to react to it though, as Clay immediately screamed over the top of even Sett’s exclamation, “THEY WERE GOING TO DO WHAT?!” He looked completely ready to go on a murder spree all of a sudden.

Axel glanced over, but was still mad with Spark. “I told them the truth. Over and over they called it a lie. Like I could have tied myself up! Then my own aunt looked at me, told me I was lying, and sentenced me to being grounded for life! Painfully!” Now his friends were silent. Finally.

It felt like an hour before Sett stepped forward with an uncharacteristically serious expression and firm nod. “Then none of us will go back. They didn’t say anything to me when I explained it. Now I know why. They're trying to get rid of you. I’m done with a place like that. I won't live somewhere where they can't accept my friend just for being different.” He paused to study them all. “So where are we going?”

~ꕥ~

He had argued with them for hours, but they kept insisting on joining him. And now he was stuck with his friends, all four of them traveling away from Hometree. It was still night despite traveling for maybe a few hours like this and getting basically nowhere. It was hard to travel when two of the fairies had to keep stopping, especially Clay. Fire and earth fairies weren't built for constant high speeds. Axel was now standing on a branch yet again, keeping lookout for the other three. Clay was having a hard time getting his wings to move, so…it was probably his limit for the day. He'd convinced them to just keep going the same direction so they didn't get lost just in case…and it turns out that Sett had brought him his bag, full of everything he needed and wanted. He'd probably emptied Axel's entire room into the small bag. Sometimes it's great to have such little possessions.

Point is, he had a way to defend himself now. And with his friends also beside him…maybe it was okay to stop for the night. As much as he wanted to force it forward…he knew he couldn't without leaving them behind. So with a sigh, he turned to his struggling friend and the other two fussing over the angry fairy. "...do you guys want to just stop for the night?"

They all paused and glanced over to stare at him. The first one to speak was Clay himself, "What? You think I'm weak?" He shoved the other two away and put his hands on his hips boldly. "If I need to, I'll just sprint underneath you!" As horrifyingly possible as it was for him to actually do that and succeed, Spark reached over and put a hand on his shoulder.

With a slightly shaking head, he said, "No. You shouldn't push yourself. And…I don't think I can keep up much longer either. Stopping for the night would be preferable." He did look drained, but started taking command like he always did. "Alright. Axel, you and Sett should search the tree for any animals. I'll help Clay make us a cave…" He trailer off slightly when the earth fairy tensed under his hand. "It's gonna be wide open. We'll have to make an exit in the ceiling and the side but push it against the tree. Sorry Clay. I wish I could just let us sleep in the open."

He glared at Spark while the other two gave a nod and flew off, Axel a bit more nervous about it and pulling out his new knife. "Stop pitying me and do your job. We would fall apart if you weren't commanding us. Doesn't mean I like it though, so shut up." He pulled away from Spark and got to work in the cave. His mood would always bounce back and forth.

This drew a laugh out of Spark and he joined Clay. "Alright." The four fairies worked together with their own abilities successfully. Their speed at securing a base and even creating one was actually faster than the teams at the Hometree that were structured with only fairies of the same kind. They'd been friends for years, which helped, but they also knew how to work together with what they had. It hardly took ten minutes to finish, Axel and Sett returning with news that the tree was clear of predators. This gave them a chance to take a small pause before grabbing some leaves to give the ground extra padding. Doing all this was making Axel realize just how lame they treated the other fairies. That new room he'd been moved to had a bed that was cushioned with fur. It was hard to get used to, but it was still better than this.

As they all sorta just climbed into bed without a word, each one of them exhausted. Even so…Axel lay awake for a while. He was finding it quite difficult to fall asleep, even long after the others were out. While he was laying there, the only one awake amidst a calm and quiet night—aside from Clay's occasional snoring—he started to get this…feeling. Like a sinking feeling in his gut. His wings tensed up slightly and he pushed himself up, glancing around. When he didn't see anything he let out a sigh and wondered if he was just hungry. He hadn't eaten today, so it might be that. They hadn't gathered food though, so he opted for laying back down. Finally, he managed to drift off for a bit…only for a distant rumble in the sky to wake him back up. As he opened his eyes, the feeling from earlier was still there, but worse.

A chill ran down his spine and he looked around a bit more seriously, on edge and scanning for whatever this was. This feeling couldn't possibly be hunger. A sort of deep feeling in his gut was screaming that something was very wrong, something was dangerous. Except…when trying to find what was causing this…nothing was wrong. His friends were peaceful, the night was quiet…ah. Was it too quiet? He listened for a few moments, but…no, he heard wildlife. There were insects and bird calls. Soft and low, but present. With a sigh, he tried again to ignore this feeling and went back to sleep. He was provided another hour or so of sleep, the sun beginning to creep up in the sky. This time, he was yanked from sleep as all kinds of alarm bells went off. He began to feel shaky and nauseous, but still had no clue why. After a minute his body snapped into full flight or fight mode and he hurriedly woke up his friends.

Of course they protested, but he cut all of them off. "Something is wrong. We need to leave, now." Axel was thankful for once that he was never so serious, as this spurred them into action immediately. There was some quiet shuffling, the sky way too dark for sunrise. Axel fussed and left their makeshift cave, searching the area almost desperately only to come up empty. He returned to his friends for group safety as they began to set out. Since they'd hardly gotten maybe three hours of sleep, Clay was still struggling and needed to be supported by Spark in order to get anywhere at all. The four fairies traveled for half an hour before they tried to set up a new rest spot. This time they mainly just created a dome and hid underneath it, too drained to do anything else. Axel was still jittery, but they all huddled together in a pile to try to help the misfit fairy calm down and get some sleep.

It worked and he finally got some rest, comforted by his friend's presence around him and sleeping peacefully. Although…it wasn't very long before he found someone shaking him awake, hushed voices telling him to wake up, to leave. The moment he opened his eyes he was overwhelmed with the worst feeling of dread imaginable. He stared wide-eyed at his friends, who were all panicking and trying to tug him to his feet. There seemed to be absolutely nothing around them to be making them feel that way, but it felt like death itself was staring them down. All of them left their dome to find the sky dark, rumbling overhead loudly. This only spurred them on and they flew again, for maybe about an hour before finding a tree hollow to hide in this time. There was the chance it was simply being on the ground that was so stressing, but now Clay was collapsed against a wall, his wings limp and his eyes closed. It looked like he was struggling to even breathe.

They all started to slowly relax, but remained tense. This was only added to by how the storm began. At first there were tiny droplets about the size of their fingernails, but it quickly sped up into a downpour, flooding the lower areas almost immediately. Seems like they'd just barely avoided being caught in that flood…if they remained in either of their previous bases it would have been flooded in just moments…and none of them were water fairies. They all settled in to rest in the end, unable to continue forward even if they wanted to. Axel lay close to them, having desperately wanted to see his friends ever since that ceremony. Sure, they hadn't been separated for much longer than maybe a week, but he'd thought he would never see them again. Right now…he still felt he wouldn't.

The magicless fairy let himself get some rest along with them, all of them sleeping through the entire day. Still, Axel woke up before the day was over and wandered over to the exit. It was still raining, but it seemed to be a short break in the storm where it was coming down gentler. He stood there for a while, just staring out at the world and enjoying the scent of the rain. His eyes went to the water that pooled all over the place, idly wondering if the water fairies at Hometree were busy with preventing the lower tunnels from flooding. He smirked lightly, figuring he'd probably got out very easy by not having a job. It had hurt him before, but after everything…it was painfully clear, after what they'd tried to do to him, that the life he knew likely wasn't perfect. The fairies hold pride in how perfect they all are with their systems and structures, but…he wasn't so sure anymore.

These thoughts led him to wonder about humans again. Remembering how the ground itself quaked just from the human moving, how the volume of their voices caused the air to quiver, sent a shudder down his spine. Still, he found them interesting. How did they live? Did they live like the fairies did in Hometree? Or was there more to it? It was hard to believe the stories that humans weren't intelligent, those tools had been too smooth and perfected for them to be animals. There were too many clues pointing to them being sentient for it to be anything else. His curiosity in no way meant he wanted to find humans. In fact, he'd rather avoid them, that prior experience still giving him chills. As much as he wondered, he was never going to go near a human again. He'd already learned his lesson.

One other thing weighing on his mind though, was the fact he still felt like something was very wrong. Like they'd escaped the first danger, but had yet to notice the second. It had him worried, especially since he still didn't see anything wrong. He stared out at the rain a little more, then glanced at his sleeping friends. Why…were they out here with him? They had lives waiting for them back at the tree, two of them even had a crush on someone. He was sworn to secrecy so he didn't dwell on that matter too long, instead smiling sadly at them. They shouldn't be out there with him. His friends were carrying him with their powers…he was more or less dead weight. It would be better for them to just go home. He didn't want them to ruin what they had for him, who had nothing.

Half wanting to mess with them one last time, he pulled out his knife and carved in the side of the entrance 'Go home.' It could be bad if they tried to find him after all. Now he checked that he had everything before heading back to a good takeoff point, scanning the forest in front of him. The rain was definitely in a temporary lull, this wouldn't last forever. Taking one last look at his friends and a deep breath, he left the tree hollow, speeding through the rain in a hurry. He needed to get as far as possible as fast as possible before the rain picked up again. It was too much risk of them following him if he didn't. What he did do to throw them off, was change his direction, heading straight out from that tree hollow. It didn't take too long before he went back to the previous direction the four had been going, but he wanted to throw them off by being somewhat off the path.

Flying through the rain was both harder and easier than he'd expected. When a drop would hit his wings, he'd be sent spinning or dragged down, but otherwise as long as he kept half dancing he could fly just fine. The problem occured a while later, actually, and wasn't because of a simple raindrop. A sense of dread had slowly been gathering in him the farther he went from the tree where his friends were sleeping. This caused him to randomly speed up and slow down, part of him trying to look for the threat and the other part insisting on running away faster. The problem occured when one of the trees suddenly dumped water that had likely been pooling on a leaf. The torrent of water washed over him, his yelp frowned out by the fluid as he was immediately dragged to the ground. He dropped like a stone, almost bouncing when he hit the dirt and water finished flowing over him.

He gasped for air as he shoved himself off his stomach and was on his hands and knees, breathing harshly as his wings wilted behind him. A little bit of water was fine, but the more water that drenched his wings, the worse it would get. He tried moving them, swallowing thickly when they felt so heavy. He could probably still fly…but not near as fast or high, not unless he wanted them to be weighed down and snap. His thoughts were interrupted by a tremor that sent light ripples through the puddle he sat in. The force was way too light to be a human, but he was instantly forcing himself to his feet, flaring his wings out and trying to dry them off while he spun around in search of the possible predator. He had this winning feeling that whatever this was, was going to try to eat him…especially if that unsettled feeling he'd been having this entire time was anything to go by.

Only a few seconds later, he caught sight of bright yellow eyes staring at him from inside a bush. Oh. He only had a split second before it leapt out at him, jaws snapping shut behind the scrambling fairy. The red and white animal pursued him without hesitation, tail swishing. It was dawning in him that the fear he and his friends had been feeling, was because they were being *hunted*. Axel found movement awkward but managed to get himself off the ground. The only problem, was that the fox was now eye level with him, perfect height for those massive jaws to snap him up. He felt true panic course through his body when a tooth grazed his leg, the wind and the building rain making life even worse for him. Now traveling with a lame leg, he had even more incentive to avoid being anywhere near the ground.

The fox pursued him, eyes locked onto those glowing wings as the fairy rushed to try for safety. At this point he didn't even know which direction he was going, he just knew he wasn't anywhere near going back towards the Hometree. He continuously only narrowly avoided getting caught, the fox wounding him several times as he desperately tried to get away. Some sort of light started to come into focus up ahead and he made a beeline for it. A lot of animals hunted fairies relentlessly, and this one has probably been chased out by the floods and was already agitated. He silently cursed the world, feeling his wings straining painfully and the hot breath of the fox at his back every time it snapped at him. He could see a thicket of sorts up ahead, but the rain that has gotten heavier again mixed with his unbidden tear of pain were making his vision far too blurry to even attempt to see what anything was.

His only goal was the escape. This became a tad problematic when the fox managed to smack him with its somewhat wild flailing. He rocketed upwards, having been kicked after going too low. He could've sworn he heard something behind him snap when he was struck too, being launched into a bundle of branches. His clothes and skin got caught, painfully snagging on the thorn like surfaces and opening more wounds. He cried out, trying to escape this weird tree. The branches hung down limply like vines, which only further got him tangled. It didn't take long before the snarling fox was beneath him and leaping, jaws snapping directly underneath him. After a few tries, a tooth snagged the rim of his jacket and he nearly screamed, now wanting to use the limo branches around him to pull himself up instead.

After another attempt hooked him more and nearly dragged him down, he found himself screaming, "Help! I need help! I can't! Help me! Please someone help me!" His voice was carried by an invisible magic force, the glow of his wings brightening going unseen. He continued to plead, to the forest, to Hometree, to even his aunt. His voice grew hoarse extremely quickly and he slowly got quieter, his own sobbing drowning him out while he was slowly losing strength. He could feel that he was going to pass out. Whether from blood loss or something else, it didn't matter. What did matter is that he was going to die and no-one would even know. He slid down slightly as it came back up again, but the expected teeth were replaced by a loud yip of pain, something having hurtled at the fox and knocked it down. The ground shook as the cause came closer, the large shadow hanging over him, backlit by the light Axel had been going towards. He stared up at the creature before his mind switched off like a light and he dropped. The last thing he remembered was a loud, deep voice, accompanied by sudden warmth.

—

End

<-#1 /Disappointments/

<- /Mistake/ - /Discovery/ ->

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