Wings of Change

Chapter 2: Some Friendly Advice and A Not-So-Friendly-Fairy

It took him all of five minutes to become utterly, entirely, and hopelessly lost.

Fly toward the pink trees she said, he reminded himself over and over. Tinkers Nook is between Spring and Summer. BUT, WHERE IN THE BLASTED TEAPOTS IS SUMMER?

It was fifteen more minutes before he realized he had been flying in circles and that he was once more hovering over the ring of green surrounding the Pixie dust tree. He sighed loudly and ran a hand through his hair, trying for the fourth time to distinguish between the trees and the ground. Everyone came together in a blur and he rubbed his eyes, hoping it would help. Nothing changed. Everything was fuzzy. He wondered if he should go back to the tree and see if the Queen would turn up again. He could certainly use her help now.

He was just considering landing and trying to work his way to the Nook on foot when a blur of light shot past his head and a streak of orange crashed into him. A solid streak of orange. The force of the impact was enough to knock the wind out of him and send both fairies tumbling to the ground, rolling head over heels until they came to a sudden stop near a small stream.

"Owww," Phineas groaned, sitting up slowly, nursing a throbbing head. "What...?" He glanced around wildly. Hadn't there been another fairy there moments ago? What had happened to her? Quickly, he reached out, listening desperately for her mind, praying she hadn't fallen into the stream, for he was sure he wouldn't be able to pull her out.

Ow...should have known better...said I needed to look where I was going...guess they were right...eggs...make sure the eggs are alright!

A frantic jumble of thoughts came from just to his left, and he wheeled around, gasping as the fairy raced past him without so much as a second glance and, instead, vaulted herself up onto something and began sifting around inside.

"Um...excuse me?" he called, walking cautiously up behind her. "Miss? Are you...lookin' for somethin'?" She may not have bothered to apologize, but the way her brain was running through all of a million scenarios at once, he could hardly blame her. Several items came rolling out of the object and he just narrowly ducked under a number of small metal blurs. "Excuse me!" he said a little louder. "Miss?"

"Sorry! One minute!" came the muffled response. "I just gotta check on the...ah...alright, yes! Everything seems to be in one piece."

Everything besides my dignity, Phineas thought glumly. He started to walk away, when the fairy seemed to realize that she'd forgotten him.

"Oh! Hey! Hold on!"

There was a blur of color and she zipped in front of him, cutting off his retreat. "Sorry about that," she said with an anxious laugh. "I was so afraid one of the robin eggs had cracked that I completely forgot my manners. You're the new arrival, right? I'm Fawn." She stuck her hand out for him to shake, and, after a brief pause, he located it and shook it.

"Phineas."

"Nice to meet you. I'm sorry again for knocking you out of the air and all that."

"It's all right," he answered. "So...what are ye?" He winced, realizing that his phrasing may have sounded rude. "I mean--" he quickly tried to correct himself.

"Nah, that's all right," Fawn giggled. "I know what you meant. And I'm an Animal Fairy. I take care of all the animals, make sure they're happy, healthy, and teach the baby bunnies things like hopping in a straight line. Things like that."

Phineas tilted his head. "What's a...bunny?"

Fawn blinked. "A...little rabbit? Oh, right, you wouldn't have seen one yet. Well, come on, I'll show you!" She took his hand and started to pull him into the air after her.