War of Talents | A TINKERBELL FANFICTION (2023 Rewrite)

Chapter 3: To Catch the Uncatchable

It was almost noon of the following morning before everyone could find time away from their responsibilities and guildmates and the discussion concerning the new looming mystery could begin.

Prepared as she always was, as they all gathered around a large mushroom table, chatting excitedly and anxiously amongst themselves, Tink had laid out a spreadsheet of papers and diagrams across the space in front of them. The faint drizzle of rain could still be heard in the library's leafy canopy, but their attention was not centered on the storm, but on the conversation that was rapidly beginning to unfold amongst the eight friends.

"So, we're sure going to the storm-talents for advice is the best solution?" Vidia questioned once Tink had explained her plan again from the meeting, the fast-flier already pulling her cynical you-know-this-is-a-bad-idea face, which the tinker greatly did not appreciate. "They aren't always the most...forthcoming...of all the talents. Just ...going to point that out now." She was hovering a good distance from the ground and had positioned herself directly behind Tink's guildmates—an action that seemed to make both of them extremely antsy.

"True," Rosetta responded from across the table, delicately brushing off the mushroom before taking a seat. "But then again, not all fast-flying talents are either, are they?"

Vidia stopped, realizing the folly of her words. "Touche."

"As unlikely as it seems," Tink went on. "I still think they are our best option at this point. And even if one of them didn't do it, maybe they know something that can help us find out who did." She lifted a paper up to the light, searching, hoping, praying for something, anything, to give them a clue as to what they were up against. The warning from Scarab had seemed so ominous...so perfect. It meant something now, maybe more than it ever had before.

"And you're sure this wasn't just some random storm?" Fawn questioned, glancing over at Rosetta as the garden-talent nit-picked every inch of their surroundings. "You know how Neverland works. You can never tell what the weather is going to be from one minute to the next. Remember what happened when we tried to bring Peri here?"

"Yes," Tink sighed, "and I thought we agreed never to speak of that again. Look," she put the paper down in front of her so they could all see it. "I was up all night thinking this through, and I know the storm's point of origin was right about here." She pointed to a spot on her map just a little bit south of where she'd seen the strange light the day before. It was close enough that someone could have easily flown to or from the border in a matter of minutes—maybe even less if they had realized she'd been around.

They probably ran the moment I got hit. That would make the most sense. Whoever it was wouldn't have wanted to be caught in such a poor position. They were probably aware of their own strength and knew that the light would have only momentarily stunned her, giving them enough time to escape before she caught of glimpse of their face.

"You stayed up all night? As in, you didn't sleep at all?" Silvermist gasped.

"That is the definition of staying up all night," Rosetta said with a small sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "But, sweetie," she added to Tink. "Why would you do that? A fairy needs her beauty sleep, you know? It's kind of an unsaid law."

"This was more important," Tink replied, shrugging off the garden-talent's look of horror. "Someone's behind all of this. This storm wasn't ordinary. Normally we get a day or two warning before the weather changes, don't we?" Slowly the others nodded. "And this time, we had mere moments. This doesn't seem like something that just happens by accident. This was planned. By whom may yet be unknown, but they are out there. And we will find them."