"Aaron, we passed that stump again."
"No, that's a different stump."
"I'm pretty sure that's the same stump we've passed for the seventh time."
"No, it's not."
"Just admit you're lost."
"We are not lost! See? There's the river!"
"That we passed already." Aaron clutched his head in frustration.
"Well what do you want me to do? I don't have a map or anything!"
"Neither do I, but you don't see me racing around in circles!" Aaron and I argued, still going around in circles.
"Guys." Vix said. We continued shouting.
"SHUDDAP!" Vix roared. Aaron and I cowered before Vix. "Now you two are going to shut your mouths and help me figure out a plan to at least find somewhere to camp. Indeed, it was well into the afternoon by now. Vix inhaled deeply.
"Look, let's just agree to disagree and move on, okay?" We both nodded.
"What do you propose we do, then?" Aaron asked. Vix pulled at the collar of his shirt.
"I don't know, I didn't really think I'd get this far."
"Ugh!" I moaned. We really got ourselves screwed this time. Then, someone started to giggle.
"Sapphire, now is not the time." Aaron massaged his temples.
"That's not me!" I retorted. "My voice isn't that high." The giggling grew louder, until it seemed to be right next to my ear.
"Boo." A little girls voice said. I spun around, faced with a pair of bright green eyes. Jumping back with a yelp, I landed flat on my butt, much to the girls enjoyment. She could have only been 8 at the oldest, her brown hair curled wildly to her shoulders. That wasn't the most surprising thug about the girl though, what was surprising was the fact that she was floating. Above the ground and everything, just hovering there.
"You sure do scare easily, lady!" She went into a fit of giggles.
"Who are you?" I asked. She grinned.
"I am the one and only Natalie! I'm heeeeere to help!" Natalie laughed again.
"How do you manage to fly like that?" Aaron questioned. Natalie turned her gaze to Aaron instead.
"I'm half fairy, silly! My mommy taught me to fly when I was an itty bitty baby."
"Fascinating." He marveled at Natalie's barely visible wings that fluttered from her back. He turned to me.
"Can we keep her?!" Aaron's childish side was showing again. I sighed.
"I dunno..."
"Please? She probably knows her way around the forest, and we're lost anyway." He pouted.
"He has a point." Vix joined in.
"Fine." I agreed. Aaron and Natalie cheered with joy.
"Wasn't he the reason we were lost anyway?" I asked Vix.
"Let the guy have his moment." I sighed.
"You do know you're way through this forest, don't you?" Aaron asked The fairy girl happily. An unsure look crossed on her face.
"Kind of, I can take you to my home, and ask Mama if she will let me go out..." Her words trailed off.
"Then your home it is!" Aaron replied, sounding jolly. Vix and I followed behind the two foreigners, struggling to understand them.
"Aaron really has a thing for making friends, doesn't he?" Vix murmured in my ear, smirking.
"Sure does." I chuckled.
"Mama also makes really good cookies! They're all warm and soft and gooey..."
"That's no fair! Your mom makes cookies? You're so lucky!" Aaron seemed to take a liking to the girl, she was cute in her own way. Suddenly we stopped abruptly, Natalie ushered us to be quiet.
"Shh, Mamas just over here, I'll get her for you." She whispered into a hole in the tree. A miniature version of a human flew out of the hole soon after. Looking closely at it, it had the form of an older woman. Her curly brown hair was tied in a bun, tufts sticking out in odd places. She had a kind face, complimented by chocolate brown eyes.
"Oh, now who could these people be, my little Bee?" Natalie held the fairy in her palms.
"Mama, these are my new friends. They got lost in the forest so I wanna help them. Can I?" Natalie's mother, though very tiny, resembled her daughter in the look she gave each of us. Firstly was Aaron, whom she smiled at. Second was Vix, whom she hesitated on for a second, and lastly was me, she chuckled warmly when she looked at me.
"My, two of these people aren't even from this world." How could she tell all that from just a glance?!
"You may go, but be careful and remember to say please and thank you!" She warned.
"Yay! Okay, Mama, I will!" Natalie flew into Aaron's arms.
"We get to go on an adventure!" She giggled. Aaron squeezed her.
"Thanks so much." He said to Natalie's Mother. She waved it away.
"Just bring my daughter back, and make sure she's safe." Aaron nodded.
"How can you tell we're not from here?" I blurted out. She looked at us for a second, then smiled again.
"Most are accustomed to seeing fairies in the forest, however you two are surprised. I may be getting old but I know an outsider when I see one. Best of luck to you on your quest." She flew back into the tree.
"Bye Mama!" Natalie waved.
So we walked, covering plenty of ground over the next couple hours.
"Hey Natalie." I started. She flew over beside me.
"Yes, big sister?" I was a little surprised how she called me sister even though we first met, but shook it off.
"Why are you big, but your Mom is small?" She shrugged.
"Mama says Daddy was a human, so I took a lot of Daddy's looks, but humans haven't been around for a long time, so I think Daddy is gone somewhere."
"I'm sure you'll see him again someday." I smiled at her. Natalie's brow furrowed.
"No, Mama said Daddy was a bad guy. I don't like Daddy that much."
"Oh." I frowned. Natalie noticed my expression.
"But I love Mama double times! So Mama is Daddy too!" I laughed.
"Hey, should we camp here for the night?" Vix called from ahead. We had came across a nice little clearing, prefect for spending the night.
"Sure!" I called back.
"Aaron, I don't think you could've fit a tent in there."
"I told you earlier, bigger on the inside!" Aaron strained, his arm all the way inside his little bag.
"Still, if you can't find it now we could always sleep on the ground."
"That's the point! I'm trying to find those sleeping bags... Aha!" He pulled out four blue sleeping bags from the contents of his little bag.
"Why did you oak four in the first place if only three of us were going?" Vix asked.
"I took an extra one just in case one got eaten." He said seriously.
"Eaten?" I felt skeptical of this entire idea now.
"Not all creatures are good."
"But I can fight them off! Boom, bam!" Natalie punched the air confidently. Aaron laughed, pulling her down to the ground.
"You sure can, now how about some campfire stories?"
"Without a campfire?" I pointed out. Aaron pulled out some wood and a pack of graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate.
"I came prepared."
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