Chapter 2: Mainland Bound

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"WHOA!" someone cried overhead and Tink lurched back from the large mass of fur, flittering away and nearly knocking over a nearby wagon of tools as the squirrel recoiled at the sight of her and fled back in the direction he had come, his tail upsetting barrels and crates in his wake.

"Sorry! Sorry, sorry!" Fawn yelled, zipping past her friends and racing after the mammal. "Baby squirrel coming through! Make way! Look out!"

Clank yelped, grabbing an armload of acorns and diving away from the scurrying creature. Bobble simply grabbed his hammer and stepped away from the chaos, allowing both the squirrel and the animal-talent to pass, and then quickly went to grab the seeds spilling from Clank's hands with a long sigh.

"What in the Hollow's name is goin' on over here!" Fairy Mary exclaimed, rounding the bend just as the squirrel approached. She reacted accordingly, leaping back out of the way and watching the furry creature take off for the far end of the Nook. "Oh, oh my goodness! What is--how is--?"

"Sorry, Fairy Mary!" Fawn shouted, zipping after her escaped convict. "Squirrel on the loose! No time to explain!"

"Guess he's feeling a little...squirrelly...today," Angus remarked from the safety of a tree, earning a sharp and unimpressed glare from his guildhead. "A little nuts, some might say."

"Well, I don't say," Mary retorted, turning to fling a stray acorn at her charge and send him ducking to cover behind Lucinda. "Now, let's get this place cleaned up before anything else happens--"

"Sorry, Fairy Mary, excuse me!" Tink interrupted, throwing down her tools and chasing after Fawn. "I gotta stop that squirrel!"

"Of course, ye do," was the last thing she heard as she darted out of the Nook and on to Spring. No doubt Fairy Mary was sighing and shaking her head with the most forlorn expression imaginable. "Well, don't just stand there dotting about, you two!" she snapped at the sparrowmen lingering nervously nearby, apparently unsure who to be helping. "Help me clean up this mess, would ye!"

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" Fawn was shouting as the squirrel took off between the trees and the two fairies raced to keep up. Tink was right behind her, swerving between the knotted branches and trying to get a good vantage point of what was going on. The squirrel was scrambling through the tall grass with no apparent pattern to his movements, which made a lot of sense. He was afraid, this was perhaps his first time around the Hollow--his first time to the mainland--so naturally he would be unpredictable. He wouldn't have been the first after all. 

Fawn was right behind the mammal, zigging and zagging with precision Tink had only ever seen with animal and scout-talent. Hollow forbid anyone try to separate the girl from her furry creatures, Tink had seen that with Gruff. She had a plan, of that Tink had no doubt.

Now all the tinker had to do was figure out what that plan was. And fast.

Springtime Square was fast approaching and she had no intention of history repeating itself. Not again. Not with a baby animal (admittedly more favorable than thistles, but still). Never again.

"Fawn!" Tink warned, but the animal-talent was already reacting, swooping in to cut off the squirrel's hasty retreat, arms wide and waving to get the mammal's attention. 

"Whoa, buddy!" Fawn called, dropping down in front of the squirrel and bracing herself in case he didn't stop in time. "Take it easy there, Charlie! It's okay! Everything is all right! It was just your own shadow! Could you just slow down a little? I mean, isn't this all a little over-excessive?"

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