Blossom Fable

Chapter 7

The Pixie tilts its head, and I've never seen a prettier beast.

Its eyes, pink and purple, catch the turquoise-tinted light. It shifts, its body seeming to weave in and out of reality. The Pixie's wings, a muted color similar to its eyes, flap almost uncaringly, like drinking coffee or resting on the grass. Its body, like a wispy butterfly, looks almost translucent, dressed in a large dose of shimmer.

The size of two human heads, the Pixie regards me as if trying to decide whether to spread its wings and take off. Or whether to approach me.

Juno, Avery, and Princess blink into existence around me. As they struggle to get their bearings for a second, I wait as still as I can be. Eventually, Avery points straight ahead and whispers, "I never thought we would come across one so soon."

"Beginner's luck!" Princess says. "Or should I say beginner's blessings?"

"I don't think we should be surprised about running into a Pixie in the Great Turquoise Forest," Juno comments. But in his voice, I sense a note of wonder threaded through.

It hears us. Or it at least senses our excitement toward it. It sweeps forward slowly, then, when it registers us, it bares its teeth. Its little mouth stretching wide, the Pixie shows the two jagged rows of its shark-like mouth.

"Formation!" Avery calls out.

I fall backwards with Princess. Juno and Avery jump in front of us. Avery sweeps her sword horizontally, and the Pixie easily dodges, floating upwards.

Juno jumps and stabs, but the monster dodges again. It goes over our front line's head, then shoots directly toward Princess. To her grace, she doesn't scream. She cocks her bow and shoots, and she aims true.

The arrow digs into the Pixie's left wing before disappearing. The Pixie opens its mouth wide, a piercing scream erupting from it—so loud for such a tiny being.

Wielding my staff, I use my Wave skill, directing it toward the monster. As my pink energy shoots diagonally, I try to guide it with my mind. It hits the Pixie's head, and weakened, it begins to fall. Wings flapping only occasionally, Avery's able to twist around and catch it with a well-timed Slash.

A core drops as the Pixie disappears into dust. A little Pixie-shaped amulet catches the light, and I quickly bend down to grab it. Heavy in my hands, it's the reward of our training as a self-taught party. We really did that.

"Only nineteen more of those to go," Juno says.

We fall back into position, using the technique that we learned in all the books we've read about proper party positioning. Although there are other positions we read about, we stick to the standard. No time to take risks right now. Being self-taught, we are more wary, but at the same time we'll learn from real-life experiences like this.

We move forward, scanning our blind spots and over our shoulders. Eventually, two Pixies come into view. As if they sensed the death of one of their own kind, they react quickly and shoot forward, teeth bared.

Princess catches one on the wing again. Juno finishes it off with a deft Knife. The second one proves trickier, avoiding Avery's Slash and my Wave. It lands on my shoulder and bites down, burying its teeth near my collarbone.

The excruciating pain spreads throughout my body. Quickly, I use the Wave skill and knock the Pixie to the ground. Princess deals the final blow with her Shot.

Two more Pixies down. And one more core.

The pain seeps further, and I feel its venom spread throughout my bloodstream. As I fall to my knees, I try to keep myself from screaming out. The rocks and dirt below the grass sting my knees, but I barely notice them. My vision spins, and I try to remember this pain. So that I will do everything I can to avoid it later on.