Culmination | A Tinkerbell Fanfiction

Chapter 5: With Great Power

The storm drifted closer as the four fairies hurried across the seasons. Ominous rumbles of thunder made their presence known, though Spurn assured the nervous tinkers that it was merely a squall and that it would pass soon enough. They had plenty of time to meet with the Queen before anyone got wet and there was no need for alarm, although, Clank had momentarily panicked when they'd hurried back to tell him what was going on. He had overcome those concerns quickly, however, insisting that he was going to come along as well.

"Whatever 'as to do with my best buddy 'as to do with me too," he had stated, already hurrying after the rest of them before they could say anything to try and protest or talk him out of it.

Spurn had merely glanced his way before shrugging disinterestedly, muttering something about "all of the hollow knowing at this rate," and putting on a burst of speed that left all three of them trailing in his dust. They caught up with him not far down the path (well, Tink and Bobble did, Clank finally managed to chase them down, huffing and puffing, when they realized he wasn't right behind them and had all but heaved Spurn back to prevent him from leaving without them).

Several heads turned in their direction as they passed, but they didn't think too much into it. Spurn was still a relatively new fairy to those who resided in the Hollow and was often the topic of conversation amongst the younger fairies. The Queen had concocted the story of his late-night arrival, of how his seedpod had drifted off to the far shores, and how it had taken him this long to find his way to the Hollow on foot. She neglected to mention that he was her brother, though that was probably for the best, as it would raise a number of questions that she was sure Spurn wasn't ready to try and answer.

So, it was a great surprise to most of the fairies when Vidia had agreed to take the sparrowman under her wing and "teach" him everything he needed to know about being a fast-flying talent. At first, Clarion had suggested he lay low as a Tinker, but Spurn had merely shaken his head and had shot Bobble a subtle wink, claiming that that field was already being taken care of. Besides, it was well-known around the hollow that Spurn was one of the fastest fairies to arrive in nearly half a decade. Even Vidia had to admit she was often impressed.

"He doesn't need any coaching from me," she'd once told the awestruck crowd. "The sparrowman is a natural!"

A natural everything, but they hadn't needed to know that.

Another bolt of lightning drew their eyes skyward and Clank nervously moved closer to his friends as the first few drops of rain began to splatter across the grasslands. Tink and Bobble both scowled at the storm, separating quickly to avoid a rather large droplet knocking them both from the air.

"Keep up," Spurn snapped. "We need to beat this storm. It's imperative that we figure this out before anything else happens!"

"Figure what out?" Tink called, taking the lead and pulling ahead of the two males. The sparrowman did not reply to her question immediately and she found that very suspicious. "Spurn, what's going on?"

"Your book-talent sparrowman may have found something," the prince answered evasively, flicking off a smaller raindrop and combing a hand through his dark hair. "I don't know all of the details, and naturally he doesn't understand the nature of the context, but it might just be the key to understanding what happened between Shade and Scarab all those years ago."

The tinkers shared an uneasy glance.

"But we know what happened to them!" Tink protested. "Scarab told us! They were in love but they each were born as Protectors. Shade was Death, Scarab was Life. They ended up fighting over the Hollow and Scarab won, banishing Shade from Pixie Hollow for as long as he would live. Which...apparently is a lot longer than most fairies."