Lost Wings

24~ Whispers in the Wind

Previously on LW:

It turns out that the outlander army trying to reach the forest of Peraz is bigger than we thought and already coming closer. The 'confusion squad' of fairies has been sent out to distract the enemy but won't be enough to make much difference. The Elder One claims the only solution is to use the Great Tree to put up defensive mesures.

Chapter 24

I had never before 'awakened a tree,' and doubted I would ever have to again. However, I complied to the Elder One's plea, if only for the sake of trying. I had no idea where to start or if my task was even possible. I sat down on the damp ground, near a root that peeked out from the grass before diving back in the darkness of the earth. Resting my hand on the root and feeling impossibly silly, I closed my eyes and concentrated. I listened to the sound of fairies talking around me, to the rhythmic beats of flapping wings, to the whoosh of the wind and how it made the leaves flutter.

Mom? I thought. Are you there? We need your help. We need the Great Tree to wake up, so we can... We can what, exactly? I opened my eyes, but the Elder One was nowhere to be seen and had left with Chase, I supposed. My annoyance at his mysterious attitude knew no bound. I closed my eyes again, stroking the rough bark of the root. Hello? Maybe telepathics were real, in which case any telepathic nearby must have been concerned for my sanity. If you can hear my thoughts, I'd appreciate help. Otherwise, stop reading my thoughts.

I shook my head. Focus, Hailey.

Someone dropped down next to me with a groan. "Why is the ground so far away?" Aiden whined.

I sighed, keeping my eyes closed. "Why does our fate depend on a tree having a consciousness, the will to help us, and the power to do anything more than photosynthesis?"

"I failed a test because of photo-sin-thesis once."

"Very helpful. Thank you, Aiden."

"Maybe we can breathe on it as a gift? And it return it'll help us?"

I didn't bother answering.

Aiden shook his wing, and a broken feather fell out. "I hate having to fly through trees. They keep scratching me."

"Breathe on them in return for safe passage."

"What do you think I've been doing all this time? Holding my breath? I'm tired of these freeloaders stealing my CO2." He played with his feather, planting it into the earth like a miniature, soft tree.

I squinted at him. "You do know trees give you oxygen, right?"

He blew on the feather, but it didn't topple over. He rolled onto his back with a groan. "Stupid forest. We should just burn it down, and our enemies with it."

"Geez." I flicked his arm in disapproval. We both pulled away with a wince. "Ow, you shocked me."

"Um, no, you're the one who shocked me," he corrected. He jumped up. "Tree, listen to me!" he shouted, earning startled glances from the fairies.

A gust of wind blew past us, tangling my hair.

No need to yell, someone whispered.

Both of us froze, exchanging a panicked look.

You're the one not listening.

"Hello?" I whispered back.

"This forest is so creepy-"

"Shh-" I glared at him.

The wind played lazily around us, twirling a strand of my hair with invisible fingers.

I closed my eyes. "Mom? Is that you?"

The wind heaved a great sigh.

I concentrated harder. "The forest is in danger."

There was no answer. I opened my eyes. Aiden was crouched down next to me. His fallen feather flew away in a gust of wind. A moment passed.

"I'm sorry I said I'd burn down the forest," he muttered to himself. "I didn't mean it."

Daughter of the savior. The words rang clear in my head. The fiery one has awakened us, your mother has made us listen, and now she asks that we may help you like she once helped us.

Bad people are coming, I tried to warn the voice, but my own thoughts were brushed away.

We feel them, we know them. Unwelcome presences, the worse of winged-kind. Nature shall remain passive no longer. The voices faded away. The air was still. Chatters from the fairies continued as usual.

"What do we do now?" Aiden whispered to me loud enough for anyone within five yards to hear.

"I'm pretty sure we've ran out of minutes. Two talks with a tree in one day is enough." We didn't have the time to figure out the origin of this phenomenon, and I doubted we even had to ability. "Let's find the Elder One. He must have some idea of what will happen. No riddles this time. One hint of mystery, and I'm feeding him to Zarasa."

"About time," Aiden muttered.

Just as we stood up and opened our wings, a slight tremor ran through the ground below our feet, like the ground itself was shivering. A gust of wind blew through the clearing, rustling the leaves and shaking the branches.

Aiden turned to me. "When the Elder One said, 'wake the tree,' he meant it as in 'wake the whispery voices that seem to be more or less tied to the tree,' right? Not 'wake the tree' as in 'wake-wake the tree? Right? Hailey?"

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Sorry this isn't very long, exams are coming up, and this is the most I had time to write.

This cheetah is here to distract you from the cliffhangers. It will be very sad if it fails its mission, so help it out, will you? ;)
What kind of animals would you like to see at the end of the chapters?