“Pixel!” Flotsy squeals.
“What?” Pixel snaps back. “I haven’t said whether or not I would help, yet. I just want to know what exactly Delta would require.”
“I don’t agree with this, Pixel,” Perriwinkle says in what I assume to be an angry voice, but all I hear are chirpy chimes. He flies back to Flotsy and watches us warily.
“I just need to know in what direction the camp lies,” I say as casually as I can. “You know, where they kept us when we came through the portal?”
All three pixies relax.
“Oh, that? Why didn’t you just say so?” Pixel flits into the air above my head. “It’s that way.” She points in the direction. “About three days’ walk from here.”
My shoulders slump. We were fucked. There was no way we could make it there. Not before the fae were released to Hunt. Not before we were found. Or dead.
“What’s wrong?” Pixel asks, picking up on my mood as she drops back down in front of me.
I shake my head, completely at a loss. “I was hoping the camp would be much nearer. It was our only hope…”
Pixel nods gloomily. “Well, on the plus side, at least you have time to find shelter before the storm hits.”
I glance up at the sunny sky. Was she mad?
Pixel giggles, then points into the distance. Sure enough, a bold and black storm looms in the distance.
“I don’t know, Pixel,” I sigh. “I’m not the kind of woman who sits and waits for some stupid fae male to come and find my scent before snatching me up like Ibelongto him now. I refuse to cower like a lost lamb.”
“So hide your scent, too,” Perriwinkle suggests casually.
I blink. “Hide my scent? How exactly would I do that?”
He sighs as if it is the most obvious thing in the world. “Go roll in the mud by the river,thenfind someplace to hide. That storm will cover the scents you have left here, anyway. You just need to get super smelly, and the fae will stroll right past without batting an eye.”
“Really?” I ask, hope blooming like a shining daffodil in my chest. “Do you really think that could work?”
Perriwinkle shrugs before stuffing his face with beneni.
Pixel, however, has also perked up. “That’s a great idea, Perriwinkle! I mean, you still have to sit and hide like a… what did you call it? Lem? But you actually have a chance, Delta! You could do it! Be the first human to escape the Wild Hunt! Oh, everyone would be so jealous that I know you!”
I ignore the fact that she is only wanting to help for her own gain and instead thank the pixies
profusely.
“Thank you. Really. Thank you so much. All of you. You may have just saved our lives.”
I share a smile with Pixel, then start hacking away at more fruit, calling down for Akari to catch. We needed to stockpile.
With all the excited energy bubbling through my veins, I manage to slide back down to the ground uneventfully.
The pixies dart around excitedly as I discuss everything I have learnt with Akari. She agrees this is our best shot now. We haul our meagre supply of beneni fruit to our hideout, all the while I brainstorm on how to make this work.
First, we needed shelter. Those clouds looked nasty, and if the rain was as cold as it promised, we would need to keep as dry as possible for as long as we could.
I say as much to Pixel, and she exclaims excitedly before darting off with the other two. They return a couple of minutes later with a ginormous version of the red umbrella petal I had seen the pixies sleeping on earlier. It won’t quite keep the rain away, but it is better than nothing.
“Come on, Delta, there’s more over here, and we are too small to carry more than one at a time.”
At that, Akari and I get to work. We gather around ten of the giant petals and set them inside the rock circle. We prop nine of them up with sticks just high enough for us to be able to sit comfortably beneath, leaving the final one to stop the wind from coming through the opening and destroying all our hard efforts.
As Akari and I finish setting the roof, the pixies return with dozens of different fruits. After thanking them profusely, I notice they had omitted to include the berry I had spotted in the clearing earlier. Obviously, I was rightfully cautious with those.
