"Owwww," Tink groaned as she slowly began to sit up, her head woozy and still spinning from the force of the impact. What...what happened? Her mind wheeled, still trying to process what she had just witnessed. Light. Light had hit her. Light had had force behind it. Was that even possible? How did light have any kind of density whatsoever?
The first thing she was able to register was the sheer coldness of the snow against her coat and mittens. The second thing, following extremely close behind, was the pain that sparked through her body as she attempted to move to sit up, like actual bolts of electricity coursing through her veins.
Seriously, what had hit her? A tornado?
The third sensation came to her much more rapidly than the other two. She heard frantic footsteps crunching through the snow from somewhere behind her and she moaned, struggling to react as someone dropped to their knees and she felt gentle hands on her shoulders, ready to help her up as soon as her legs would allow it.
"Splinters! Miss Bell, are ye all right?"
She recognized that accent almost immediately. "Bobble?" she groaned as she carefully opened her eyes and spotted her auburn-haired friend kneeling before her. He smiled softly at his name, already moving to assist her as she let out another tight moan. "What...are you doing here? What happened? That light...where did it come from...?"
"Here," he said, taking her hands and gently pulling her to her feet. "Ye should get out of the snow before ye freeze. What were ye doin' down there anyway?"
"That...that lightning," she said, dodging his question and twisting to look behind her with a frown. "Didn't you see where it came from?" She waved off to the forest and her fellow tinker followed her broad gestures in confusion.
"'Lightnin'?'" he echoed, frowning and looking extremely thoughtful. "What lightnin'? There's not a cloud in the sky." He knelt to pick up Dewey's book, his gaze momentarily flickering over the title. He paused for a second, a touch of a smile brushing his lips. Tink blinked and it was gone, replaced once more with an overwhelming amount of worry.
"The lightning that was just..." She trailed off, realizing how insane she must have sounded. He was right after all. The heavens were clear. There wasn't a single storm cloud for miles around. "Never mind," she added quickly, looking down at her shoes and sighing resignedly. He'll just think I'm crazy. "That's so weird..." she muttered under her breath. "I could have sworn it came from over there."
"Tink," he said urgently, drawing her gaze back to him as he once again rested a hand on her shoulder. It was difficult to make out his expression behind the goggles and the fleece-lined hat twice as big as him, but even then, she knew he was concerned. "Are ye sure you're all right? Ye didn't hit yer head or anythin', did ye?"
"No..." she said slowly. "I don't think so." She looked around, still seriously confused. She was sure of what she'd seen, but it wasn't possible. So, how could she have seen it? There were no signs of a storm—not even a squall. And lightning did not just spawn out of nowhere on its own. That required the powers of a storm-talent like Glimmer or Rumble. And neither of them were here now. She tugged at her hair in irritation, trying to make sense of it all. "And you haven't...seen anyone else around here, have you?" she questioned. "Any storm-talents by chance?"
"No. I can't say that I have. I was on my way to see Miss Gliss when I heard ye cry out but I didn't pass anyone on my way here. Tink, what's goin' on? Ye're actin'...odd."
"I don't know," she confessed, pulling away from his caring grip. He didn't believe her. She couldn't say she blamed him, but it still hurt. "But I plan to figure it out. Thanks, Bobble. I should be getting back to Tinkers' Nook now. Have fun with Gliss. See you later." With that, she snatched the book from him and turned and flew off toward Autumn, missing his surprised squeak of farewell and the sneeze that followed thanks to her explosion of pixie dust.
YOU ARE READING
War of Talents | A TINKERBELL FANFICTION (2023 Rewrite)
Fanfiction"You can't run away from this! You can't change who you are!" "This isn't who I want to be anymore!" "If you do this now, all of Neverland will be destroyed." "I just wanted a chance...to be like you." The legend of the Neverbeast has been altered...
