The Fairy Whisperers

X marks the spot

It was a grey dawn at Settlement. Grey and crisp. I was sitting at the table in the kitchen with my mother serving me a bowl of preserved meats. Not the most appetising, but packed with energy to keep me going while I trained.

I should have been resting, like I knew that most of my troupe would be doing after such an arduous mission, but I was going out all day. I had told my mother it was so that I could train. That pleased her. We both knew how tough it could be to go back to peak performance if you didn't train for even just a few days. I could get away with it when I was younger, still rising in the ranks of hunters. But now that I had finally been promoted to a lead, I didn't want to lose my post.

But the truth was that I wanted to meet up with the pretty girl, Alice. She had captured my imagination with her little story the day before.  She said there was an ancient horn hidden in the mountains that would let us understand fairy whispers and every other animal in the woodlands. She had asked me to go on a quest with her to find it.

She told me to meet her at the same spot at dawn then ran off. She was was fast and agile, weaving through the trees expertly rather than taking the clear path that I ran on, and disappearing from my sight in seconds. I could have stopped her or caught up to her, I'm a hunter after all, catching things is what I was born for. But I let her go, still a bit confused to be honest. It was all very mysterious.

But I had thought about it and a bit of an adventure didn't seem so bad. I traveled a lot with my hunting troupe looking for prey. But that was difficult work; running from sunrise to sunset, strategising and coordinating attacks. We tried to have fun when we could but mostly we just stayed focused. It might be nice not to be a hunter for just one day, even if this mystical horn was completely bogus. And I think I would have liked to get to know Alice a bit better, she fascinated me.

I scarfed down the meat and said goodbye to my mother and asked her to greet my siblings for me. I am the oldest of eight. That keeps me motivated too. Hunter training is hard, but I want to set a good example for my brothers and sisters, just like our dad does when he goes on even longer further missions, and just like my mother did before we were born.

I went outside and jogged to the start of my make shift training route. I stretched and did some warm ups. I wasn't even sure if this Alice girl would show up, but I suppose either way I had to be limber. I had to be ready, either to be wondering the woods all day with her, or training like I had told my mother I would be doing.

I ran to the spot where I had seen her the day before and found her waiting there. There were no fairy wings today and she looked even more petite and childlike. She had a piece of leather rolled up in her hand.

I greeted her and she showed me what she was holding. It was a map, just like the ones our troupe navigator had. My map reading wasn't too great, but it looked like the 'x' she had marked out was on the mountain range visible from the settlement.

"The horn is hidden in a cave in these mountains," she said. "I think I know where to look, but I need a companion, someone strong like you, to help me get there."

I looked in the direction of the mountains. A glimpse of them was visible through the trees above the thick forest brush. I could probably get there and back before noon if I ran, but with Alice with me, it was a full day's journey. And it would not be easy for her even if we walked. Not to mention scaling the mountain rocks.

As if she could read my mind she said,

"Don't worry, I can make it. I may not have the strength of a hunter but I'm fast and really really determined."

I looked at her and that determination was plain as day all over her face.

"Alright," I said. Besides, if worst came to worst, I could just carry her. She didn't look much heavier than the bags of meat we brought home from a big mission. Maybe if she tired out quickly enough, she might let me run and carry her and this could turn into a training session after all.