Little Wings (Sequel to Little Butterfly)

Chapter 3

Adam stormed into the clearing, heading straight for the hollow that was next to his.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SETO'S MISSING!?!?" He shouted loudly, aiming to get a certain fairy's attention. His aim was true, and shortly thereafter Ian zipped out of the hollow and over to Adam.

"Adam keep your voice down!" The blue fairy hissed, dragging the ambassador into his hollow. Jason followed, while Adam glared at the back of Ian's head. But before he could yell at his guardian, Ian spoke quickly.

"He's not exactly missing, he's just MIA. I just saw him this morning, but no one's seen him since."

"... Where'd you last see him?" Adam demanded.

"At his hollow-" Adam made ready to take off. "--Adam, there's nothing wrong! I'm sure he just went out for a while, it's not necessary bad to have not seen him the entire day. You do remember he's horrible at keeping track of time, right?" Ian assured.

"All the more reason to find him then," Adam responded. "It wouldn't hurt to look... For all we know, he could have been caught by something." And he took off swiftly.

Jason stood there for a moment, then opened his mouth to speak, but at the last second he shook his head and flew after the golden monarch. Ian sighed and shook his head.

"God I hope he's wrong and Seto just lost track of the hour..."

***************

"Adam what makes you so sure Seto's in trouble?" Jason asked as the two fairies flitted through the forest. Adam didn't answer, his mind too wrapped up with anxiety for his purple-winged friend. He spotted Seto's hollow and headed to it, Jason hurrying after him.

"... It's not usually like Seto to wander," Adam finally answered, swooping down to perch on the rim of the healer's hollow. "See? All of his fancy medical herbs he uses are still here, he hardly goes anywhere without them," Adam pointed out.

"That's true... But maybe he's just out gathering herbs, he does that," Jason suggested. Adam frowned and ducked back out of the hollow.

"Yeah but... I mean, he'd need someone to take with him for the most possible herbs, and I'm pretty sure everyone's back at the clearing, otherwise Ian would have mentioned it that someone else is, and I quote, "MIA." "

"Huh..." Jason leaned over the edge as well, peeking over Adam's shoulder. "That's weird, the grass looks trampled..." Then his eyes widened and he scampered back. "Oh no! What if there's a dog in the forest!" He gasped. "Do you remember the last time that happened? It was horribly scary!"

"Yeah... I remember," Adam mumbled.

"So what if a dog got Seto!?" Jason wailed, growing hysterical as he paced. Adam rolled his eyes; Jason really wasn't helping ease his nerves. "What if he got eaten? What if a human found him? I know Ty's nice but not all humans are but-"

"Jason!" Adam barked, grabbing the cyan fairy by the shoulders and shaking him. "Just calm down alright!? I'm sure he's ok, ok?" Jason swallowed before nodding wordlessly, uttering a squeaky "S-sorry." Adam sighed and let Jason go, understanding that he too was worried.

"Ok." Adam sighed before gliding down to the ground, studying the trampled grass. He studied the general shape in which the patch of grass had been bent, and he frowned.

"I recognize this shape," he said out loud, brushing a stalk of grass. He fluttered up a little higher, tracing the outline with his finger. "Jason, these are human footprints right here!" Jason's eyes had widened, and he held his hand over his mouth.

"A-Adam... There's something o-over there..." Adam turned to where Jason was pointing and flew over to a white thing caught on a branch, and he gently pulled it off and held it like a map to read the wording.

"Made in the US," he read aloud. Then he turned it over and continued, "Created by ZP." He frowned and lowered the piece of evidence. "ZP... ZP, ZP..." He repeated out loud, trying to pinpoint the familiar initials. "Where have I heard that before...?"

"So, Seto was...?" Jason squeaked. Adam rolled up the silky evidence and tucked it into his jacket.

"Yeah... Seto was kidnapped."

Some nearby birds suddenly burst out of the trees and hurriedly flew away, and Adam tensed when he realized the forest was deadly quiet. He swallowed nervously as Jason flee behind him, and the two could hear undergrowth rustling and cracking. Adam bit his lip and gestured for Jason to go up, and the two flew high up into the branches. They hid there, then they heard an "Oof!" and a thump.

"... Oh god, they must be back to catch more of us!" Jason fretted quietly. Adam held his finger to Jason, then dismissed his wings and peered over the edge. Then without warning he jumped off, tucking his arms to his side and skydiving down as fast as a bullet. Jason gasped quietly, but clamped his hands over his mouth as Adam dove.

Adam almost approached the tall bushes before he suddenly threw his arms out at his sides, fanning out his wings and landing cautiously on a tree branch, crouched in a wary kneel. He looked around, then froze when the bushes nearby rustled, and he heard a familiar groan.

He darted forward, then hovered there in disbelief.

"Ty!?" Ty looked up and grinned sheepishly, propping his chin on one elbow.

"Heeeeyyyy buddyyyyyeee...?" He chuckled nervously. "I'm uh... I'm totally just sightseeing and watching the birds instead of being stuck, yep, yep..." Adam sighed and flitted down to Ty's waistline, gnawing through the vines that had tangled up around Ty's midriff.

"What are you doing here?" Adam asked as he moved down to Ty's left foot, nibbling the vines down there apart.

"Oh yeah." Ty grunted as he struggled up onto his feet, and Adam flitted up to perch on his shoulder. "I need to talk to Ian, it's really important." Adam blinked.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Eh... Martin had a client... And this client isn't done with you guys. I think you're all in danger."