Pixie Magic Ch. 05

Pixie Magic

Chapter 5: Aine's Gift and the Red Fox.

When you're 3-inches tall, a gray squirrel can look as big as a horse. Unfortunately, they don't run like horses with a relatively steady back holding a rider upright. Instead, they scamper, leap, and jump irregularly depending upon the terrain.

Which is why it was so difficult to cling to Scruffy's back as he leapt up on logs, scampered under ferns and bushes, and jumped over roots as we dashed through the woods. When we approached a small stream, I asked to stop for a drink.

Holly and the two squirrels seemed nervous and impatient when I dismounted on shaky legs and bent down to take a much-needed drink. I drank in two handfuls of water when I hear a leaf rustle.

"Skyler!" Holly whispered sharply, "Freeze! Don't move a muscle."

I looked up without moving my head. There, about 10 yards on the other side of the stream, was a female red fox. She was looking downstream, but her ears were perked in our direction. The noise from the stream might have been loud enough to cover Holly's whisper, but I couldn't be certain.

The fox remained perfectly still for the longest time, sensing there was small prey nearby. We waited, hoping that the wind wouldn't shift and give away our presence. Finally, the fox moved slowly and cautiously downstream.

"Now!" Holly whispered.

I stood up and ran towards Scruffy. The fox spotted my movement and sprang in our direction. I leapt onto Scruffy's back and grabbed for the fur near his neck. Thelma, with Holly on her back, was already moving towards a large nearby white pine tree.

Scruffy followed with me barely clinging on. The fox gave a small bark as she splashed through the stream. Scruffy panted as he ran for his life towards the pine tree. The fox was so close that I could hear her breath as she closed in on us.

Scruffy leapt for the pine tree and quickly scampered up and around the far side of the tree. I heard the snap of the fox's jaws closing just behind me as Scruffy leapt for the tree. The fox would have caught us if Scruffy still had his tail.

Red foxes can't climb trees, but they can jump pretty high. Scruffy clawed his way up the tree as fast as he could, while the fox circled the tree underneath us, preparing herself for a jump. Scruffy spiraled around the tree as he climbed so as not to give the fox a clear shot at us.

When we were high enough, he ran out onto a branch as fast as he could. As we got closer and closer to the end of the branch, it bent down from our weight. I hung on tight and closed my eyes, expecting the branch to break and we'd tumble to the ground at any moment.

Suddenly, we were flying through the air as Scruffy leapt to a nearby branch of an oak tree. He frantically grabbed for the oak branch and clung to it as the branch bowed down and up from our sudden weight. Scruffy caught his breath and casually walked to the tree trunk where he sat and rested. Holly and Thelma were on a branch on the other side of the tree trunk.

"That was too close," Holly said, smiling.

Once the squirrels were rested, we continued our journey. But if I thought the squirrel piggy-back ride was difficult this far, the next twenty minutes proved to be worse.

Because of the fox, the squirrels decided to take the "aerial route" for a while. They leapt from branch-to-branch and tree-to-tree. The most difficult part was crossing the stream, as the branches were just that much farther apart.

For his part, I thought Scruffy was amazing because he made his jumps with my extra weight on his back and without a tail to stabilize his leaps. We did have to take frequent rest breaks from some of the more acrobatic jumps, but eventually we put enough distance between ourselves and the fox to resume our journey on the ground.

It was another 45 minutes before we cleared the undergrowth and emerged at the hemlock clearing. There were several pixies waiting for us on top of the large rock. The squirrels slowed to a respectful walk as we approached the rock.

When we got to the base of the rock, I saw Fern on top along with her mother Aine. They were both 3-inch pixie sized. Also on top of the rock were Joy, Zee, Pan, Hawke, Elfie, Aria, Cal, Kip, Pippie, and three other pixies I didn't recognize.

"Sky!" Fern shouted as she flew down to greet me.

I dismounted Scruffy and gave him a frontal hug. "Thank you, friend," I said as I wrapped my arms around his chest.

He chittered something back.

When I turned around, Fern was there and wrapped her arms around me, her wings were fluttering affectionately. I hugged her waist, and we kissed each other deeply.

When we broke the kiss, Fern stepped back and looked at me.

"Where have you b-- oh, Sparkle found you I see," she exclaimed, looking down at my cock and balls.

"Fern, Holly!" Aine called down, "Would you bring Dr. Monroe up here, please?"

Fern grabbed my left arm and Holly my right and they lifted me up to the top of the rock. I was naked and felt very self-conscious in front of all these clothed pixies, especially Aine, the Queen and Fern's mother. I placed my hands over my crotch.

"Would someone please give this poor man something to wear?" Aine asked in general, "My goodness, you'd think at least one of you would show a little consideration, not to mention some initiative around here."

"I'll go," said Kip, fluttering his wings and elevating himself off the rock, "I have a spare frock I can give him."

"Dr. Monroe," Aine said, "My sincerest apologies to you for the way you've been treated. I am terribly disappointed with the way my children have behaved."

"You must understand," she continued, "we don't get many invited guests here. In fact, you are the first. But still, that's no excuse for the way you've been treated."

"The only visitors we ever get are uninvited hikers who stumble into this place, and they're fair game for pixie dust and pixie pranks. I should have said something yesterday before we got undressed and had sex," Fern explained.

"If I've learned anything over the past 24 hours, it's that you have a very close family," I replied.

Fern and her sibling laughed at that and Aine did her best to suppress a smile.

"What did I miss?" Kip asked, returning with a green frock draped over his arm.

He handed me the frock and I noticed there were two large holes in the back.

"That's for the wings," Fern explained.

"Your Highness," I said, addressing Aine, "Couldn't you just return me to my normal size, and I can wear my own clothes?"

Aine sighed. "That would be my preferred solution as well," she said, "But there are certain pixie dust transformations that can only be reversed by the initiating pixie, as long as he or she is still alive. Unfortunately, the two transformations done to you in the past 24 hours fall into that category."

"The only other option would be to wait for the Festival of the Full Moon," she continued, "But that's another week away and I'm sure your patients would notice something different about you in the meantime."

"You're telling me I'm stuck at this height?" I asked, while putting on the green frock.

"Perhaps not," Aine replied, "One of the reasons I've called for my children to assemble here is to scour the woods and look for Vix and bring her back here. We can make life very unpleasant for her if she doesn't restore you to your normal size."

"As for my daughter Sparkle's transformation, you may want to consult with Fern about how you would like to deal with that," Aine added trying not to smile.

"What do I do in the meantime?" I asked.

"I would invite you to enjoy our true pixie hospitality," Aine replied, "I've already authorized a feast in your honor this evening, unless we can find Vix and reverse your transformation before sundown. In the meantime, I've conferred with Fern, and I have a personal thank you gift for you that I hope will help you in your profession."

Aine closed her eyes briefly and threw a handful of pixie dust in the air over my head. The multi-colored powder twinkled down on me and disappeared as it was absorbed into my body. I felt nothing. My height didn't change, and all my body parts remained the same.

"Now I want the rest of you to find Vix and Sparkle and bring them here," she commanded.

She flew off and Fern's siblings scattered in various directions afterwards. That left Fern and me alone on top of the rock.

"Vix can stay hidden for quite a while when she wants," Fern explained, "This may take some time."

"At least I'm not running around naked," I said, "But what was the gift your mother gave me? I don't feel any different."

Fern smiled. "You'll see when the time comes," she said, "I think you'll like it."

"Can you at least give me a hint?" I asked, "It's something sexual, isn't it?"

"I'm not going to tell you, although I think we may both benefit from it," Fern replied, smiling.

"It is sexual. I knew it!" I said, a bit irritated, "I liked things the way they were before all this pixie dust started flying around. Why doesn't anyone ask me before they do these things to me?"

"I never said it was sexual," Fern said, "Why are you getting so upset?"

"You didn't say it wasn't sexual either," I replied.

"That's true too," Fern agreed, "Now, would you like to see where I live?"

"I might as well. I'm certainly not going to find any answers up here," I replied, still feeling peeved.

Fern held me around the waist and lifted me off the rock and set us both down on the soft "field" of pine needles below. She led me across the hemlock clearing and through the undergrowth to the base of a large oak tree.

The oak tree would have looked large at my usual height, but at 3-inches, it was ginormous. There was a 3-inch opening at the base of the tree alongside the intricate root structure and we were able to pass through it without having to duck our heads.

Once inside, it took a few minutes to adjust to the darkness, but it soon became apparent that there were multiple light sources from various entrances to the cavern underneath the oak tree. Fern led me to a set of wooden stairs that climbed up into the hollow of the tree. She had just started to climb the stairs when a squeaky voice called out.

"Say, Fahn," it said with a rich New England accent, "Who's the new guy?"

I looked around for other pixies, but the only living thing I saw was a chipmunk about our size.

"Oh, hello Owen," Fern replied, she seemed to be talking to the chipmunk, "This is Skyler. He's the veterinarian I've been working with."

"Nice to meet ya, Skylah," said the voice, "He's a little gamey smellin' doncha think?"

"Fern, who are you talking to?" I asked.

"He's a rathah rude fella too, ain't he?" the voice said.

"Oh, Sky," Fern said, giggling, "I was talking to Owen. He lives here, too."

"Owen? Where is he? All I see is this chipmunk," I responded.

"I'm right he-ah, you know," said the voice.

Fern giggled. "That's Owen," she said.

"What? You mean the chipmunk?" I asked, "You mean he can talk?"

"Fahn," said the voice, "Fah a vetahinahian, he ain't too smaht, is he?"

Fern's giggles erupted into laughter. "I think he's about to figure it out now," she said to the chipmunk.

I looked at the chipmunk. "You mean that's you?" I asked, "You're Owen?"

"Of cauhs," said the chipmunk, "Ya didn't think I was the Eastah Bunny, did ya?"

"Is that the gift?" I asked Fern, "Is that your mother's gift, that I can talk with chipmunks?"

"Not just chipmunks," Fern said as her laughter was calming down, "Animals in general."

"I'm still he-ah, you know," said the chipmunk.

"Oh Owen, I'm so sorry," I said to the chipmunk, "This is the first time I've been able to have a two-way conversation with an animal other than another human. I didn't mean to ignore you or be rude."

"Apology accepted," said the chipmunk, "But I don't undahstand how good you can be as a vetahinahian if ya can't speak the language."

"Oh Owen," Fern said, "Don't be too hasty to judge him. He's the best."

"Well, I suppose he must need yah help quite a bit," Owen said, scratching his chin with his hind leg.

"No, he--," Fern began.

"You're right, Owen," I said, interrupting Fern, "I couldn't do it without her."

Owen smiled. "Ah thought so," he said, and he turned to leave.

Fern started back up the stairs. "Owen is the caretaker around here," she said, "He's beyond ancient by chipmunk standards, thanks to an annual sprinkling of pixie dust. He keeps the place clean and eats the unwanted insects that come in from time to time."

We climbed the equivalent of three flights of stairs in pixie height when we entered a spacious room with a green moss carpet on the floor and several stools and benches along the walls. There was a long wooden table with several stools on one end of the room. Passageways went off to either side and another flight of stairs was on the other side of the room spiraling upwards.

Light filtered into the room from a large hole that extended far overhead. Fresh air also entered through that opening, giving me the impression that it must lead to the outside as well.

Fern saw where I was looking. "That skylight leads to an opening for birds and squirrels," she said. They live in the upper apartments and act as caretakers of the upper part of the tree. That also serves as a second exit when we want to fly out of here."

"This is where you live?" I asked, "Is this where you go after work?"

"My whole family lives here, although many of my siblings have their own private nests and hideaways, as I guess you've already discovered," Fern explained.

"I suppose it gets pretty crowded in here," I mused.

"Not really," Fern said, "Let me show you around."

Fern pointed out the various closets and pantries off the main living space. One of the passageways led to a kitchen area lined with stones that allowed for some cooking, although she said most of the foods that pixies ate were raw plants and insects.

Upstairs were the various bedrooms which were generally shared with one or two other siblings. Her mother had the largest bedroom on the level just above the main living area. There were accommodations for a nursery adjacent to the sleeping area.

Fern's bedroom was just above that. She was one of the older pixies and shared her room with Holly. Her bed (and Holly's) consisted of a small straw pallet topped with down feathers and a moss blanket. The room also had a small chest of drawers that she shared with Holly.

We peeked into some of the other bedrooms, but there wasn't a lot of variation in the rooms or in the way the furniture was arrayed. It reminded me a little of a dormitory, except this one was carved into a tree.

We climbed all the way to the top of the stairs, 40 flights of them, though they were sized for a pixie, so I guessed it was perhaps 20 feet of human distance. There was a sort of "catwalk" there with a passage on one side to a wren's nest and the other side to a squirrel's nest. Opposite the stairway was the opening to a sizeable tree branch.

We walked out onto the branch, which was wide enough for the two of us to walk side-by-side. From there we looked out into the forest of trees. The forest floor was far below.

"How high up are we?" I asked.

"About 20 feet," Fern answered, "I love the view up here."

Aside from the woody smell of the forest, it was noisy! Birds were calling each other from the far reaches of the woods. Squirrels were chittering away to each other. Chipmunks, snakes, they all had something to say and yelling back and forth to each other.

"Clara, where are you?" "Steve, I'm over here!" "Momma, I'm hungry!" "I'm horny, who wants to have sex with me?" "Are there any eagles around?" "Leave me alone, Frank, I'm already pregnant from Billy."

"Oh my god!" I said, "Is it always this noisy around here?"

Fern laughed. "This goes on all the time!" she said, "I forgot that up until now, all you heard was the pleasant voices of birds singing and squirrels chittering. You never actually knew what they were saying to each other."

"How do you deal with it all?" I asked.

"Most of the time, I just tune it out," she answered, "But every so often, it can be a valuable source of information."

"Is that how you knew about your mother getting caught in that foothold trap?" I asked.

"Yes, an owl told me," She said, "Not only that, but I also knew that Randy Knox was heading out with his dogs, too."

"So, that's how you're able to calm down the animals in the clinic!" I noted.

"That's been my secret until now," Fern said, smiling, "Now you can do it too."

We sat down on the branch, our feet dangling over the edge and listened to the cacophony of calls and complaints from the various forest creatures. A mother squirrel came by with her daughter and son while we were sitting.

"Hello Fern," said the squirrel in a pleasant high-pitched voice. "Who's that with you?"

"Oh, hi Becky!" Fern replied, "This is Dr. Monroe, the veterinarian in town that I work with."

"He's awfully small for a veterinarian, isn't he Mommy?" the young female squirrel said.

"Hush, April. That's not a very nice thing to say," Becky replied.

Fern and I both laughed.

"That's okay, April," I said to the young squirrel, "This isn't my normal size. One of the pixies shrank me to this size."

"I'll bet it was Vix, wasn't it?" April guessed, "She does stuff like that."

"April please!" Becky said, "We mustn't say things like that."

"It's alright, Becky," Fern said, "April's right. It was Vix and my family is out looking for her now. If you see or hear anything, will you let us know?"

"Most certainly!" Becky said.

"Phew! He smells stinky!" the young male squirrel said after sniffing me.

"Joey! That's enough! Both of you go inside," Becky said, wringing her hands, "My apologies, Dr. Monroe. These kids have both seem to have forgotten their manners."

"Don't worry Becky," I said, "No offense taken. They're kids, I understand."

Becky hurried after her kids into the tree trunk. Apparently, they lived in the squirrels' nest there.

I sniffed under my arms. The kid was right, I did smell stinky.

"Fern, why didn't you tell me I stank?"

Fern blushed. "Well, I didn't want to embarrass you --," she began.

"Never mind," I said, guessing her reasoning, "Is there any way I can get a shower around here?"

"A shower; no, but I know a great spot to bathe," Fern replied.

"I'll take it," I said quickly, "But how do we get there?"

"Put your arms around my neck and I'll take you there; it's too far to walk," Fern said.

I hugged Fern's neck, and she wrapped her arms around my waist, then we took off. We zigzagged between the trees and Fern landed on a path that was narrow even for pixies. We stopped to rest on a couple of "boulders" that would be small stones at my regular height.

"Is it much farther?" I asked.

"Listen," said Fern, still panting a bit from having to carry me this far.

I heard the trickle of running water, but at this size, I couldn't be sure of the distance. We followed the path to what looked like a huge rocky mountain. We climbed up along s few tree roots and then over a rocky incline until we reached to top. There below us was a small brook with several pools of water between cascading waterfalls.

We followed the slope down to a large flat rock on the edge of one of the pools. The water was crystal clear with a sandy bottom. I quickly shed my borrowed frock and dove in.

"It's cold!" I shouted when I came up for air.

Fern had magically removed her frock and her wings and was standing nude on the flat rock. She was laughing at my reaction. Then without warning, she ran full speed towards the water.