R & R

Sleeping. For this one, Jacob Andris and Bowman Leafwing claimed the story.

It is Fairy Tales canon, though I haven’t really set a time for it. Most likely this is the summer after the events of Bowman of Wellwood.

Reading Time: ~5-10 Minutes

Jacob was so absorbed in finishing up his homework, he didn’t notice the quiet at first. Out in Wellwood, in the clearing that the wood sprites had dubbed ‘his’, the wind whispered peacefully in the trees. The sky was an even mix of pale blue and the fluffy gray-white of the clouds scattered about.

The forest, private land with a fence to keep most people out, was an idyllic place far removed from the rest of the world. Jacob hardly had any bars on his phone. It wasn’t the first time he’d brought his homework out to try to get something done while he was relaxing out there.

However, there was usually a voice chattering away, either asking questions or telling stories of his own. Bowman Leafwing, Jacob’s best friend, was not a shy wood sprite by any stretch of the imagination.

Jacob glanced up from his textbook to scan the clearing. Sometimes, Bowman would wheel about in the air and perform his acrobatics while he thought of a new question to ask Jacob about human stuff. Bowman cherished his wings more than anything, and the joy he took in flight had been obvious to Jacob from the start.

Other than a few leaves wafting in a gentle breeze, nothing stirred. Bowman wasn’t flying nearby.

Jacob sat up straighter to look around more closely. He was just shy of worrying about the little sprite when he found a splash of green on his backpack. At first, Jacob didn’t believe what he was seeing, and then his face broke into a smile.

Bowman was asleep on the backpack, curled up under one wing in Jacob’s shadow.

After enough questions and answers, and with Jacob distracted by homework, apparently the wood sprite had grown bored. His eyes, vibrant green and usually sharp and observant (or narrowed in exasperation at Jacob), were closed and his slim shoulders rose and fell with his measured breathing.

Jacob kept an eye on Bowman for a few seconds more, noting the faint twitches in the wing that substituted as a blanket. Then, an idea popped into his head and he couldn’t shake it, so he set his textbook on the ground carefully.

He slid a hand towards the snoozing sprite, slowly and patiently. Once his fingertips edged underneath Bowman’s sleeping form, those bright green eyes opened blearily. Jacob scooped Bowman onto his hand and the sprite rolled onto his front in a confused daze. He lay on the curved fingers that each outsized him and his wings stretched up, extending as far as they’d go.

Jacob moved Bowman out from his shadow and the wings slowly relaxed. Bowman shot a tired glare over his shoulder up at Jacob’s face. “Oh, now you’re done with your book? I was comfortable,” he pointed out irritably. Then, he rested his head on an arm with a sigh while his wings draped sluggishly over the edge of the hand. To Jacob’s amazement, Bowman fell asleep again, relaxed with his wings hanging over his hand.

Guess I’m not getting back to my homework for a bit.