The Great Magical Mixup

Chapter 8: Forest Of Furious Fumbles I

Solar and Peredur were ahead of Alex and Rux. Peredur gives a concerned look at the lagging two, before looking back at Solar. Solar looked at him and gave a sad smile, her body expression asking Peredur what's wrong. Peredur looks at Solar for a bit, before looking back at the ground.

"Hey Solar?" Peredur quietly asked after a moment of silence between them.

"What's up, Perry?" Solar responded in her usual relaxed tone.

"I know that we're in sort of big rush, since, well, our friends..." Peredur nervously trailed off.

"Perry, what's wrong?" Solar gently asked.

"Uh, well, would you mind if we stopped for a bit of rest? I have a concern..." Peredur nervously responded.

"Hmm? Stop for a rest? I'm not so sure. I'll see if Alex can check up on them." 

Solar stops and turns around to Alex and Rux. She goes towards Alex and asks him if he can check on what's going on in Suburbia. Alex was caught off-guard by this, but nonetheless, he got his staff and recited a spell that showed what was going on. 

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Back in Suburbia, the sheep were about to be hauled off onto a large truck when all of a sudden, Crazy Dave came running to the ones loading the sheep. He immediately explained to them, in intervals as he caught his breath, about the sheep. Most of the loaders get a shocked look on their face. 

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"What are they saying?" Solar looked intensely at the orb. 

"Well, I'm no lip reader, but I think Davey had told 'em about your little mishap," Rux answered. 

Peredur heard this and both he and Solar were joyed to hear things were going to be smooth for their friends. But, Peredur remembered his previous concern. Solar turned to Peredur and saw his expression. She went over to him with a radiant smile. 

"Hey, Perry~ Why the long face?" Solar cooed to Peredur. Peredur blushed at the way Solar cooed at him, and Solar giggled in response. Alex and Rux were sitting on benches made out of the tree that Alex cast a spell on when they saw what Solar and Peredur were doing. 

"N-Now that the bigger concern is taken care of, I-I s-still have one more c-concern." Peredur managed to sputter out. 

"Well, what's bothering you? I'll try to ease you out of it!" Solar assured Peredur, who gave a sad smile in response, before returning to his nervous expression.  

"It's just, well, do we even know where we're going? I mean, sure, the Wizard's tower is far away from Suburbia, but what lies in between it and us?" 

Solar looked at him with what seemed to be a soul-piercing stare. Peredur cringed at the sight, very unnerved. Then, to make his uneasiness worse, Solar proceeded to lean towards him, making Peredur lean back, to the point he nearly fell backward. Peredur regained his "footing", and he proceeded to "step" back. Solar started walking towards him, with that same unnerving stare. Alex and Rux both noticed this, and Alex asked if they should intervene. Rux just shrugged.

"Solar...? Why are you looking at me like that? Solar? SOLAR!" Peredur yelped, as Solar proceeded to tackle him. Surprisingly, she was stronger than him, so she was able to keep him pinned. Alex and Rux were shocked by what they saw. Alex was about to run over to try to split them up, but Rux told him to wait and see what happens. Alex gives an annoyed side-glance. 

"Perry..." Solar said in a hushed growl. "Solar! Please, have mercy!" Solar stared down Peredur intensely. "Perry. Did. You. Seriously. Ask. That?!" Solar suddenly burst out of anger. Peredur was confused and irate. "What?! I was just feeling unsure!" Solar still had him pinned. 

"Perry! I literally told you that Alex had a map! Were you not paying attention?!" Solar finally let go of Peredur, who gave Solar an irate look. "Well excuse me, princess. I realize I forgot, okay?" 

Solar gave him that look that she knew he was lying. 

"Pfft. Whatever..." Peredur crossed his petals and continued walking onwards. Solar just rolled her eyes and quipped but in a voice level that Peredur couldn't hear, "Go ahead, be sulky about it". 

Alex and Rux just sat there, mouths agape at what they witnessed. They both look at each other and back at the two plants, both of whom were leaving. "What on Earth got into her?!" exclaimed a shocked Rux. Alex didn't respond.  Rux got up and pulled out his own map to determine where they were. He looked around for some landmarks or anything that is on the map to show where they are. Fortunately, Rux saw some angry-looking trees near a large forest that the plants were heading to. From there, he looked at where they were heading and was horrified. 

Rux saw that the plants were heading into The Forest of Furious Fumbles! "(That might explain Solar's sudden angry outburst earlier!)" Rux concluded. He yelled out to Alex to snap out of it. Alex immediately got up, and Rux asked what material the bench is made of. "Oh, the wood? I used that nearby black wood tree right there!" Alex pointed to a tree that was black but had a menacing aura to it. Rux immediately grabbed Alex, threw him away from the bench, then Rux grabbed a potion from his cloak and threw it at the bench. The potion caused the bench to explode into a white fire, which burned out abruptly.

After getting up and the flames died down, Alex got his staff and shot a bolt at Rux, who yelled out in pain. Alex shot an angry glare at Rux, but Rux shot back with a stronger glare under his shades.

"You're welcome," Rux quipped in a deadpan tone. "WHAT IN THE WORLDWIDE WIZARD WEB WAS THAT FOR?!" Alex blasted at Rux. "That little bench of yours, it was from an evil tree."

"Evil tree?" Alex questioned.

"Yeah. Noticed where we are?" Rux gave another deadpan tone.

"No, why?" Alex inquired.

"Look around, Wizard Man."

Alex looked at the tree he made the bench from, then he looked at the other nearby trees, as well as the forest that the plants were at the edge of. Alex's eyes widened, and he immediately ran after the plants, with Rux following behind. The forest the plants were heading into, as what Rux had said, was a dangerous place. Rux proceeded to tell Alex the whole story.

"In that forest, those who enter will start to experience unexplained angry outbursts and will start to lash out at one another, but it's only if they speak and/or they spend too much time near any menacing tree. Solar had already started experiencing the side effects, given by her behavior towards Peredur. However, the side effect can also be spread outside the forest via skin contact with the affected being(s), which is what I suspect had happened with Peredur." 

Alex ran towards and called out to the plants to come back, but unfortunately, they didn't listen. They were too far away, and another side effect is not caring. Rux walked up to him. "I'll go after them," Rux said, with a determined look under his shades.  

"You're going to get affected too!" Alex warned. "Not gonna happen, Alex," Rux said determinately. "You see, I can't get affected. Why? Because I've dealt with these kinds of situations before. Besides, we gnomes are actually quite the grumpy bunch, in case you haven't realized that already. In fact, we end up being much calmer, so this will be a breeze. I'll be able to guide all of you out of the forest in no time! And by I, I mean you too." 

"What? Why me?" Alex inquired. 

"Because human wizards are also more inclined to be immune to these things, and you also had a temper," Rux explained. 

"What?! I don't have a temper!" Alex spat out. 

"... you just yelled at me, quite an obvious sign of a temper." 

"Doh! Okay, you win. Now, let's go and get those plants."