Wings of Change

Chapter 10: Time Passes and Everything Becomes Clearer

True to his word, Phineas never let on to his powers. For a time, he became increasingly reserved whenever the others were around and he did everything in his power to keep from messing up or putting them in mortal danger or anything else that would make him seem anything besides ordinary.

It worked.

For almost a year, he kept up the charade. After a while, he befriended Clank and (to Fairy Mary's blatant relief) allowed the newest tinker to assist him with projects around the workshop. They became inseparable, the best of friends, and it became apparent to everyone in the hollow, where one went, the other was not far behind.

And while Phin enjoyed having a best friend, there were still things that bothered him. The first and least of these was his promise to the queen to practice with his powers. Now it seemed he had even less time to do so than he'd had when everyone had ignored him. Not to mention Clank's serious inability to grasp the concept that his name was Phineas. Phineas, not Bobble.

He gave up on that endeavor, much to Vidia's amusement, after a week.

But all in all, he couldn't say things had been all that terrible. He'd finally found his group of friends and was happy with his work, blending in, only using his other talents when he deemed it absolutely necessary (like giving a baby bird a little extra nudge from a wind burst).

Perhaps everything was going exactly the way it should and maybe he would never have to worry about the others figuring it out. He was content. They were content. Everything was perfect.

Until that fateful night, a week before the Spring Ceremony, when she arrived.

Tinkerbell, the brightest and nosiest tinker the Hollow had ever seen. And unlike him, she actually had an aptitude for the talent.

Which, as he quickly discovered, was great for the Hollow, but bad for him. While he was more than happy to take Tink under his wing and help with her...to put it mildly, crazy endeavors...there were times when he feared she was getting too close to the truth. She noticed things. Things that the others didn't. He could recount almost a dozen times when he feared she'd caught him for sure, but each time, by some miracle, he'd gotten away unscathed.

But there was no way of knowing how long that luck would last.

And it would not be long after her arrival that he would come closer to discovery than ever before.

And it was all the fault of that dumb snow-making machine.

No, correction, it was mostly his fault and he knew it. He should never have allowed himself to feel what she felt, to let her emotions cloud his judgment. He'd been a mind-reader far too long for such an amateur mistake. But at the moment when she'd knocked on his door, he'd known he do anything for her. And when she'd told him and Clank about her sister, well, he couldn't rightly say no, could he?

But it was her desperation that really got to him. It had been so strong, he'd never seen her so sure of doing something forbidden, and he thought back to when he'd attempted to cross the border. She'd done what he hadn't been able to and she had discovered a whole new side of her, one not bound to be quenched at any point.

So, he'd helped her.

Perhaps it was the way she'd looked at him, a newfound respect and joy that he treasured, or how she seemed to light up as they worked, but in that moment, Phineas knew he'd fallen in love with her all over again. He would help her, not only because she wanted him to, but because, yes, it was the right thing to do.