Ariana poked her head out from under a leaf that was floating on the surface of the water. It was the first time she had ventured so far from home without an adult before. She wasn’t really supposed to even now. But there was only so many times a kid could play hide and seek amongst the fauna at the bottom of the river before they ended up memorising all the nooks and crannies. Then it wasn’t hide and seek, so much as hide and check-list.

Besides, she wasn’t alone. “Come on,” she whispered to Felix who was floating next to her under the leaf.

“We better come up closer to the shore then this,” he replied seriously, “what if there are birds about?”

Thinking seriously, Ariana nodded. Birds were the main reason they hadn’t dared disobey their parents before this. “There!” She pointed to a leafy branch that had fallen partially into the water. They could come right up onto the bank without once leaving cover with that.

Memorising the distance to the branch, they dived, humming a little tune to make sure a thin funnel of air followed them down into the water.

The branch was even bigger then it looked from far away, it’s long ends dangling deep below the surface.

The two became distracted for a time, playing amongst the long leaves which turned out to be from a willow. But curiosity inevitably drew them upwards.

They had been to the shore many times before, helping the adults gather seeds and fruit from the nearby plants. They had even been to the markets a couple of times where crafts were sold and sometimes traded for things that the community needed.

But coming up by themselves was a whole other kettle of fish. Ariana could feel the blood pounding in her ears as she pulled herself up through the thin stems of the branch and into the air.

“We’ll stay low,” Felix whispered “keep in amongst the grasses and mast on the ground. It’ll be safer there.”

Nodding fervently, Ariana crouched below the main stem of the branch as she half frog walked, half sprinted up the bank. Felix hot on her heels. The end of the branch was about 30cm sort of reaching the grass. The two kids glanced about nervously, straining the nerves under their skin to the feel any dissonance in the vibrations around them.

A glance, a mutual nod. Wings buzzing, they zipped to the safety that the long green leaves provided. They were in such a hurry that they overshot a bit and went tumbling to the ground in a heap. Giggles erupted.

“I can’t believe we did that!” exclaimed Ariana.

“We’re actually outside!” Breathed Felix.

“What do you want to do first?”

“I don’t know, we could go check out the flower beds!”

“Oh yeah, Crystal brought back the most beautiful flowers the last time she went.”

“Come on, which way did she say they are?”

“Why would I know?”

“She’s your sister Felix.”

“That doesn’t mean she gives me a map of every place she goes. I think she said something about East though.”

“East. Okay. It can’t be too far anyway. She usually is only gone for about half an hour when she goes out for flowers. And that’s including getting there, picking the flowers and getting back.”

“Crytal always takes ages picking stuff.”

“Right,” Ariana giggled upon seeing the half disgusted half admiring look on Felix’s face, “So it can’t be far.”

“What time is it?”

“I’m not sure, but about halfway through the morning”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

And so the two found their way to the meadow. It was indeed not very far away, though it seemed much farther to them as they were forced to walk most of the distance through the safe cover on the ground.

It was a truly beautiful meadow. Boasting everything from lavender and thyme, through to poppies and roses. Just to name a few.

They spent hours exploring the wonders of the meadow. Zipping in and out of bushes, laughing when Felix nearly flew right into a vine of poison ivy, and playing the best game of hide and seek that anyone ever did play.

The sun had already climbed past its zenith when Felix suddenly froze in the middle of one of their races. It took Ariana a moment to realise he wasn’t coming.

“Did you feel that?”Felix’s voice quivered when she came back to find him.

“What are you talking about?” Ariana was cross.

“In the Vibrations”

Still frowning, but not stupid enough to discount what he was saying without checking for herself, Ariana directed her attention to the surface of her skin. The Vibrations weren’t something she could decide not the feel, but just as there was a difference between hearing and listening, there was also a difference between feeling and sensing.[ I’ll be using the word “sensing” to indicate conscious prossesing, like the words “look” “listen” etc.

Frances 12/31/17, 3:48 PM]

There! The dissonance of a large predator amongst the greenery. Felix could tell the moment she felt it. The drop in her emotions was almost palpable.

“What is it?” He asked, “Ari, I can’t tell what it is!?”

Ariana gulped “A cat.” She rasped, “Find the safest direction home!”

They concentrated like they’ve never concentrated before. In the distance, the wet lapping of the water against the willow branch, closer, a number of trees and a few birds high up in the branches. Closer still, the myriad of flowers in the meadow, the soft ring of a bell, and the pad of paws coming closer in their direction.

They opened their eyes and nodded to each other, zipping off in the direction parallel to the river. Getting away from the cat wasn’t as simple as it seemed. Avoiding the view of birds was still a top priority, and so they were forced to weave in and out of plants and duck around rocks.

However, cats don’t have to rely on their eyesight. So long as the cats could hear the buzzing of their wings and follow their scent trail, it could find them.

Felix wished that they could use the Vibrations like Crystal could and distort their scent trail. She could even muffle the sound of her wings like the adults could. Crystal was 3 years older than him though, and had only recently mastered that ability. That was why she was allowed to go out on her own now if she wished.

But wishing wouldn’t get them home safely today.

The ring ring ring of the bell sounded as the cat ran after them. It had definitely seen them, and was definitely interested.

Ariana’s blood pounded in her ears. Up ahead she could feel a bird that was facing in the direction that they were coming from. At the same time, they were approaching a clearing. “We’re going to have to go around.” Unsaid was that the cat wouldn’t.

Ducking and weaving between fallen branches and long grasses, they raced around the clearing as fast as their wings could take them. However, as they were often forced down onto the ground to stay undercover, the cat reached the clearing before they had managed to get even a quarter of the way around.

From here, it was a battle of stealth. Ariana and Felix both strained their nerves, trying their best to predict the cat’s next move based on how it was tensing its muscles.

The cat crouched low, nose twitching, ears pricked, eyes fixed on the area that it had last seen the Fairies disappear.

The two youngsters barely dared to breathe.

They had one defence left to them. Ariana indicated with her fingers that Felix should keep an eye on their surroundings. Then she took a deep breath and screamed. Not very loudly, but very high pitched. She made her voice as piercing as she could. Felix had his fingers stuck in his ears with a disgusted look on his face, and the bird didn’t notice of course. But the cat, the cat looked like it had been smacked.

Flinching backwards and hissing, its tail whipping its displeasure, the cat frantically pawed at its ears. Futilely trying to make the noise stop. Taking ahold of Ariana’s hand, Felix took advantage of its confusion. Leading Ariana around the clearing as she continued to scream.

Still hissing, the cat slunk off, away from the noise. Thankfully they had also escaped the bird’s notice, but they dared not linger any longer.

Carefully, the two young Faries made their way back to the fallen branch that they had used to come up out of the water.

What they found there made their bally’s drop down to their toes faster than even when they had sensed the cat. It was their parents. The four of them had clearly been waiting for Ariana and Felix. Knowing it was useless to try to sneak around, they flew up to them.

“I sensed the two of you had an adventure today.” Ariana’s father sounded amused, but he didn’t reach out to ruffle her hair. A habit she normally found annoying, but which she wished he would do now.

“The main thing is that you’re safe. I’m proud of you for not being too proud to use that scream.” That was Felix’s Mother, momentarily tricking them into thinking that they weren’t in too much trouble.

“We’ve discussed it,” said his father “and we decided that as you no doubt had all the fun you could possibly stand today, we’ll let you take a break from land for a while. Say, about a month? Hmm. You’ll miss the next market, of course, but I’m sure you’ll be happy that that’s the worst you’re missing. Still having kept your lives and all.”

Ariana and Felix dared not argue. They looked down at their toes, subdued.

“Come on.” Ariana’s mother sighed. Her arms around their shoulders, she guided Ariana and Felix back along the willow branch and down into the water.