What's a Fae?

Zehell watched the strange looking creature for another moment before something wet smacked her side. She turned to find one of the fish lying still on the ground beside her.

"Eat up, Zehell," Craven said.

Her stomach grumbled a little, but after watching the fish trying so hard to reach their home, she almost didn't want to eat. She picked the little fish up by its tail and stepped closer to the water.

"Zehell, stop," her mother said.

She turned her head to look at her mother.

"The fish is giving you nourishment. Do not throw its gift away."

Zehell dipped her head slightly in acknowledgment before she tipped her head back and swallowed the little creature. Mother tossed a couple more her way. She ate these then turned her attention across the river once more.

Whatever had been flying around in the trees was gone now. Zehell felt disappointed because she wanted to ask Mother what it was. She was sure it was a flying creature they hadn't encountered yet and hoped it was something friendly. But with the fish gone and Mother's lesson over, it was time to head back to the cave. Zehell tried her best to keep up with her family, but was finding it difficult. She could feel in her heart that she wanted to learn what that creature was. If that small creature could possibly be another potential playmate like the baby rabbits or fox kits.

After lagging behind several times, Mother picked up Zehell to rest on her back with her brother and sister. The three of them lay close together. Craven and Anawan fell asleep quickly, but Zehell couldn't sleep. She was trying to figure out exactly what is was she saw. It was larger than a humming bird. Bulkier than even an adult starling. And it almost seemed to glow like a firefly. So, what was it? Father had talked about green birds once, but what she saw today didn't look like the green bird she imagined in her mind. Had that been it?

"Are you feeling alright, Zehell?" her mother asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Just thinking, Mother," she replied.

"About the fish?"

Zehell shook her head. "I thought I saw a green bird across the river, but… it doesn't match Father's description of them."

"Why didn't you point it out while we were at the lake?"

"I wanted to, but… it was gone after I ate the fish."

"Can you describe what it was you saw?"

"No," she pouted. "It kept bouncing between the shadows of the trees. I would have thought it blue were it not for a brief reflection of the light as it darted between shadows."

"A humming bird perhaps," Mother suggested.

Zehell didn't try to correct her dismissive comment. She curled into a slightly tighter ball and tried to rest. To try and ignore the persistent thought to return to the lake to try and find the little flying creature on her own.

Zehell woke even earlier the next morning and stood in the mouth of the her family's cave. She took a deep breath. An earthy, but cool, refreshing scent filled the air. The ferns and bushes were really wet this morning and the gray clouds in the sky were just starting to break. The smell of rain made her happy because it seemed to enhance all of her favorite scents—the dirt, the pine, and the sage to name a few. She took in a second deep breath before turning for the trees that grew above the cave. She walked a little slower this morning, savoring the silence and watching the clouds morph into shapes as they gradually turned white again.

She picked up her pace, padding around in figure eights around the berry bushes and baby trees. A few chipmunks made their way up and down the trunks of a couple oak trees before they darted into the underbrush in search of bugs and nuts. Only when she came to a small clearing in the middle of the trees did Zehell lay down and roll over onto her back. She curled her legs in as she watched the clouds skate lazily across the ever brightening sky. They remained relatively formless at first, but the longer she stared the more she could see the shifting lines that reminded her of the fish.

It wasn't until the fish disappeared from the clouds that Zehell noticed a slight buzzing sound. It grew louder until a super tiny dragon-like humming bird zigzagged in her immediate line of sight. She tipped her head to the side as she watched it dart back and forth in short bursts. She reached toward it with one of her paws. It emitted a bright green glow and zipped out of sight. Zehell had to blink several times to reorient her eyes. Once she could see the tree branches okay again, she rolled onto her feet. She sat and faced the trees she thought the tiny dragon had disappeared between. The edges of her mouth turned down.

"I don't know if you are still close by or not, but I didn't mean to scare you," Zehell pouted softly. "I… have never seen a creature like you before. Are you friendly? Are you not? I don't even have words to try and describe what you are."

No words, no movement, answered her.

Zehell tipped her head back to look at the clouds. "That looks like an owl…. Followed by several snakes."

"Zehell?" her mother called. "Zehell, where are you?"

"Coming, Mother!" she hollered.

She turned and started to head back toward the cave when she heard a light male voice call.

"Listen!"

Zehell stopped and glanced over her shoulder.

The glowing humming-bird sized dragon hovered beside one of the trees. "I am called Elyon. I am a Fae."

"What's a…?"

"Zehell!" Mother yelled.

"Coming!!" she yelled exasperated then turned back to Elyon. "I'm sorry, Elyon. I need to go. Will you be here tomorrow?"

"Yes. When you come, I can take you to meet some of my other friends, if you would like."

"I would. See you then!"

"Bye!" Elyon called after her as Zehell tore through the trees and brush to where her mother waited.

©RedPandaChick (Ardnaxela)