Chapter 28 Trembling Anticipation

"We're not fairies," said one of the tiny figures in a high-pitched voice, "We're pixies."

"Does that mean you won't bite?" asked Vonn, rubbing his hand where he had been bit before.

"Not unless we have to," she said, tilting her head to the side like a little bird. "May we come closer to your fire? It looks warm."

"Of course," said Tom, before anyone could say anything else. "Those who are cold are always welcome at our fireside."

They small group zoomed down next to the fire so fast, everyone gave a start. They seemed to have been shot from a bow, they flew down so fast. Gia watched as they held out their tiny hands to the fire. Some even turned to warm their backsides, though they almost seemed to fold their wings around their shoulders when they did that, to prevent them from getting burned by the fire.

"What brings you to our fire?" asked Tom, to fill the silence, since everyone else was too entranced with watching the tiny figures.

"We got separated from our group when we were out on patrol, and then the cold caught us. If it weren't for your fire, we would freeze to death. Us pixies don't do well in the cold," said a different pixie than had originally spoken to them, a little pixie man.

"Then what do you do each year, when winter comes?" asked Tom.

"We hide in our nest and eat the food we've stored all year long. What brings you to our forest?" asked the pixie man.

"We are traveling through your forest, trying to get back to the human lands on the other side of the mountain," said Tom, resting his arms on his knees and leaning forward. "I think it's taking us a lot longer than we thought it would."

"The human lands are really far away! You have to get past the elves that way, or the satyrs that way," said the man, pointing in either direction.

"Well, seeing as how we already made it past the satyrs, I think the elves are our next destination," said Tom, nodding as he sat back up.

"We don't like the satyrs," said the pixie woman with a shake to her head that sent her long curls bouncing. "They either want us to do things for them, or to entertain them. It's horrible some of the stuff they want."

"We barely managed to escape them, ourselves," said Tom. "The mermaids are pretty scary too."

"Oh, well, as long as you stay out of the water, you should be fine with them," said the pixie man.

"We were told the trees walk here, is that true?" asked Tom.

"Oh, yes! If you do anything that might make them mad, they will chase you and stomp you into paste!" cried the third little pixie.

"Best not to make them upset, then," chuckled Tom. "I don't fancy being made paste anytime soon. Is there anything else we can offer you? A piece of squirrel, perhaps?"

"Sorry, we don't eat meat. Do you have any honey, or mead?" asked the girl pixie hopefully.

"No, sorry," said Tom, "we don't have any of that."

"That's alright," said the pixie man. "Once we are warm enough, we will make a dash for our nest and there is plenty of food for us there."

The pixie girl didn't seem to think that was a good idea, but she didn't complain.

Gia couldn't imagine how fast they would be traveling if they intended to make a dash anywhere, considering how fast they had moved from the tree branch to the fire.

"Why are you sitting here, if you have such a long way to go?" asked the third pixie.

"Two of us fell in the water yesterday, and their boots are still wet. We can't travel with their boots wet, or they might get sick in this cold. Hopefully they will dry enough by tomorrow, we can travel some more," explained Tom.

"Are your wings like dragonfly wings?" asked Mikey, kneeling down on the ground to get a closer look at them.

"Yes, and they're very fragile. We have to be super careful not to hurt them, because it takes a long time for them to heal," said the pixie man, stepping in front of the other two pixies, as if to protect them.

"For letting us get warm by your fire, we will dry your boots for you," said the pixie girl, waving her hands at the two pair of boots.

A glittery swirl drifted from her hand and settled on the boots, making them sparkle for a moment before a whoosh of white frost was expelled out of them. Mikey was so surprised, he jerked back, landing on his butt.

Vonn and Gia started laughing, and it broke the spell that had been on the group while the pixies were there. They darted away, gone so fast, it was as if they had never been there before.

"Are the boots really dry?" asked Carla softly.

Vonn grabbed his and reached inside. "They sure are! Let's get them on and pack. It's still plenty early to get a long way before night."

Everyone rushed around helping to clean up and pack. Less than half an hour had gone by before they were on their way again, the extra squirrels safely tucked away for snacking on during the trip.

As they made their way through the forest, sounds they hadn't heard before started to catch their attention. Creaking and groaning of wood echoed through the forest, and occasionaly they would hear the snap of branches. Pausing about midday, they noticed their first walking tree.

It was gently pushing its way past several other trees, that were not walking, making sure to break as few branches as possible.

"Why do you think they move like that?" asked Mikey as it made its way past them.

"Maybe there's so much magic here, they can't be still," suggested Gia.

"I can hear it, but I sure wish I could see it," sighed Tom, leaning heavily on a walking stick he had found.

"It's just a walking tree," said Carla. "There's not really anything to describe. A few of its branches are swinging like arms and it has two giant roots that it's using as legs. The rest of the roots, kind of look like a skirt."

"Great, now I want to see it even more," he grumbled.

"Why are they all going in the same direction?" asked Mikey as two more walked past.

"Maybe they have a path they follow," said Vonn.

"Or they're on their way to a party," teased Gia, tickling Mikey.

Setting out again, they had to watch out for the walking trees to make sure they didn't get in the way of them. There were so many of them, and the giant trees didn't seem to notice or pay any attention to them as they went. It was really difficult and tiring since Tom couldn't see when he was in danger.

By the time it was getting late, everyone was starting to get moody.

"We need to find a place to camp," said Gia, looking ahead at the open ground around all of the giant trees ahead of them. There wasn't any underbrush because it had all been trampled by the walking trees.

"I know," growled Vonn, looking around as well. "There doesn't seem to be any place safe enough to set up the tent, without risking getting stepped on by a tree."

"This is so weird," groaned Carla. "I'm glad trees in the human lands don't walk around."

"Maybe we just need to sleep up against one of those trees with big roots?" suggested Gia, pointing at one just ahead.

"That sounds like a good idea," said Tom, breathing hard after being dragged along all day.

They rushed over to the tree between two of the walking trees.

"Oh! I haven't seen humans in a very long time! You must have some kind of charm on you to keep the guardians from attacking you," said the tree they were huddled up against.

Gia looked up to see the tree smiling at her, with a wide grin. Small branches hanging from his bottom lip made it appear as if he had a beard.

"We do have a charm!" exclaimed Mikey, showing the tree his amulet.

"How fascinating! I will keep you safe from the feet of the guardians if you tell me all about your travels! I can't wait to hear everything!"

As he spoke, the roots they were hoping to protect them from the walking trees rose higher into the air, stretching higher than Mikey's head.

"There, that should do it. I don't think it's going to rain tonight, so you should be fine without that tent I see on your back. I'm afraid I can't help you with warmth though. Fire this close would be horribly uncomfortable."

"That's alright," said Vonn, setting his bag down and looking over everyone. "We have blankets to keep warm with. I appreciate your offer of safety."

"We all do," added Tom with a nod towards the tree.

"And one with no sight! This is going to be good!" squealed the tree in anticipation.