Chapter 1

The decision

Acorn looked around the glade and sighed. The grass was long, rustling occasionally. Birds chirped as they pecked at the dirt. It was quiet without Puck around. He usually came by to play or cause mischief. The other tricksters weren't as nice as Puck. Not to a pixie like him.

Acorn preferred to live in trees. At two and half inches, he was fairly muscular from helping wild animals and making his own furniture. He had caramel brown eyes and green hair. His green shirt and brown vest and pants were good for blending in.

"Hey, Acorn. Why're you moping?" Aster asked, purple eyes full of concern. She was thin and tall. Her pink hair was tied into a braid. Her clothes were made of light purple flower petals.

"I miss Puck." He admitted.

"Yeah, it's not the same without him." She agreed.

"I think he's caring for some humans. At least, that's what I heard Coyote say." Acorn let his legs dangle off the branch.

"That sound like him." Aster nodded.

"I haven't seen Puck in awhile. If only we could…" Acorn trailed off.

"Good idea, we should go visit Puck!" Aster grinned widely.

"Are you daft?! We just got back from the human realm and you want to go back?" He jumped up.

"We both want to see Goodfellow, why shouldn't we?" She asked.

"Don't you remember what happened to Banshee?" Acorn retorted.

"Of course I do, but we'll be sneaky about it." Aster said confidently.

Acorn frowned. In the hierarchy of Avalon, he and Aster were considered weak. They couldn't bring things to life or make gale force winds. That's why Acorn lived in the forests, sticking with the animals and other forest spirits after humanity stopped believing the Children existed. He didn't intentionally seek them out, he knew how dangerous humans were. He didn't want to get punished… but he wanted to see his friend. Acorn remembered the last time he and Puck parted.

"… We can't stay for too long. And we need bring to food-" He told her slowly.

"Ahhh! I can't believe it!" Aster squealed, flying off.

"Aster!" He reached out before realizing it was useless.

Acorn went back to his tree and gathered his bags. His home was an abandoned nesting cavity. He had a bed toward the back right and some shelves. He put a chest and dresser beside the bed, a table in the middle, and some storage for food. He packed dried berries and nuts into one satchel, made of mouse hide, and his clothes in another. He drug out some gold dust and small gem stones to barter with. He flew back out. Aster was waiting for him. She wore a huge backpack, filled with some human trinkets she thought would be useful.

"We're going to see Puck! I can't wait to show you all the cool things humans have…" She told him.

"C'mon, I have to make a quick stop first." Acorn waved.

Curiosity piqued, Aster followed him. They went to a cave. The temperature was cooler than the summer of Avalon. Acorn searched for a minute before finding a branching path. He flew down it. Aster paused as she saw the area was filled with various things. Magical items, food, and more.

"What's this?" She asked.

"This is where I keep the stuff too big for my tree. Ah, here it is." Acorn lifted up a clay vessel.

"Is that wine?" Aster tilted her head.

"Yup, made it before we were banished. It's been aging for awhile now." He carried it a little ways.

Aster lifted the other side and they carried it together. They stuck to the edge of forest, not wanting to be out in the open. Flying to the Seeing Pool, Acorn waited until no one was there. Aster stood guard with the wine. Then he touched the surface of the water. It rippled.

"Show me where Puck lives." He said.

The water distorted and showed a skyscraper with a castle on top of it. That wouldn't be too hard to remember. Next, he looked for a portal to Manhattan, there was one in a pond not too far from where they were. Before he could think of something else, he heard Aster yelp. A shadow fell over the pool.

"What're you doing, little Acorn?" Coyote asked. He had the wine in his fist, Aster trying to pry his fingers off.

"Give that back!" She fumed.

"Aster, it's fine." Acorn said, standing up and facing Coyote. "You can have that whole jug if you don't tell anyone what you saw."

"Tempting… But why are you looking at Manhattan anyway?" He asked.

"… To go see Puck." He said after a minute.

Coyote laughed loudly, holding his gut and tears formed in his eyes. Aster let go of the wine. They waited until the laughing fit was over. Coyote straightened out.

"You want to leave Avalon and go see Puck?! Aster I understand, but you?" He asked.

"Yes, I want to see Puck again." Acorn gritted his teeth.

"This is going to be a riot!" Coyote declared.

"Are you going to keep your mouth shut?" Aster asked.

"Of course I am." He walked with them to the pond.

The pond, unlike the Seeing Pool, had a slightly greenish tint to it. Acorn assumed it was because there were fish and salamanders living in it. The muddy banks were covered with grass, not too high, not too short. The forest was off in the distance. Aster looked around for the portal.

"I'm afraid this is where we part ways, sweet children." Coyote had a twinkle in his eyes.

"No, no, no!" Acorn tried to run, but Coyote caught them and threw them into the pond.

The trickster's laughter was cut off by the sound of water rushing past his ears. The cold water blurred his vision. He kicked as hard he could. The current tossed him around. Aster grabbed his hand and guided him to the surface. They gasped as they broke through. Swimming to the bank, Acorn collapsed onto the ground.

"When we see Coyote again…" Aster growled.

"Where… are… we?" He coughed out some water.

"Oh, um… I know now! This place is called Central Park." She looked around.

Acorn looked around. It was wide grassy field with trees planted throughout. It was kinda nice. He heard human children now, laughing and screaming. The stretch of pollution filled his nose, reminding him of the city beyond. It was awful. Why would anyone want to live in this place?

"You ok?" Aster looked at him.

"I'll feel better once we dry off and find Puck." Acorn stood.

They found a little hidden grove where they could sundry their clothes and warm up. Aster found some new flowers to make a dress. Acorn checked his bags. The bag had taken most of the water, but it still got a bit damp. A crowd started to form on the other side of the grove. The murmur was growing. Aster peeked out.

"It's Puck!" She shouted.

Acorn poked his head through the bush. A blond man in a blue suit was walking toward the park. He was with a tan skinned human. That must have been a member of his new family.

Aster shot up in the air. "HEY, PUCK!"

His icy blue eyes flickered in recognition. The human asked him something. Puck answered then he ignored them and continued walking. Acorn grabbed Aster's wrist before she could fly off.

"Hey, wait. Maybe he couldn't acknowledge us because he was pretending to be human." He explained quickly.

Aster thought about it. "So… We'll pretend to be humans too!"

A bright light consumed her and in her place was a woman. She had modeled herself after Puck's human form. Blond hair tied in a braid and dark blue eyes. She wore a light purple shirt and pants. Acorn hesitated before transforming as well. He grew taller and felt his muscles change. His magic was a small little spark, just below the surface. It was an odd sensation. He swapped the color of his eyes and hair. His hair now caramel brown and eyes green. He decided to keep his long sleeved shirt and pants. They picked up their (resized) bags and walked out of the bushes.

"We need to choose human names! I'll be Willow." As- Willow told him.

"That's still a fairy name." Acorn frowned, unconvinced.

"People name their girls after plants. You, however, need a human name." She waited.

Acorn thought a moment before remembering a nice child from long ago. "Aaron."

"I like that." Willow nodded in approval.

"Let's go find the castle." Aaron said.