Elli made her way through the dappled light of the forest. The path had been abandoned some time ago in search of a more interesting time. Now she climbed over logs and was constantly pushing low hanging branches covered in moist moss out of her way, letting them snap back behind her.
Dressed in a light corderoy jacket, jeanes and a short-sleeved tee-shirt, she was comfortable in the on-and-off sunlight of the inner forest. She was glad she hadn't worn the dress she had considered. Her planned stroll had turned into more of an expidition. She pulled a rolled-up bag of trailmix out of her left breast poket and poored some in to her hand, then tossing it into her mouth in a single, quick movement. Sealing the bag back up and sticking it in pocket again, she looked around the small clearing she had entered.
On all sides the clearing was loosley surounded by trees, and there was a little more light here than you find in most of the forest. She walked over to a tree that had fallen over. It was lying across part of the circle's edge, and was a decidedly inviting place to rest. She sat down on it and took in the air of the forest. The heat from the sun beat on her back, though, and she got hot in her jacket. Standing in the sun holding her jacket, she started to feel drowsy in the hot air. She decided a little nap would not be any harm, and settles down in the grass at the base of the felled tree, letting it cast a shadow on her sprawled out body, covering her upper body with the jacket like a blanket. Slowly, sleep came over her body.
Through the tips of the trees surounding the small clearing, light shone into Elli's eyes. She woke up and blinked painfully, turning around to shield her eyes from the harsh sunlight. "How long have I been sleeping?" she wondered to herself, picking up her jacket and putting it on. From the taste in her mouth, she must've been out for a few hours... and she must have forgotten to brush her teeth this morning. She reached into her pocket for her bag of trail mix hoping for a way to eleviate the taste in her mouth. She pulled it out and took a handful of mix, then resetled it.
She looked at the sun again, more prepared this time. If it was 11-ish when she got to the glade, then by how far the sun had moved it must be almost 3 by now. "Oh well," she considered, "the day isn't fully over just yet." She looked casually around the glade, and was struck by fear. She didn't know which direction she had come in from!
Just then a small squeaking noise started coming from somewhere on the other side of the clearing. "Shoo!" she shouted at the hidden creature.
"Oh, sorry." said a suddenly dejected but still very high and very quite voice from the other side of the glade. "My parents have told me not to laugh at humans, it's just that you look so silly."
Suddenly afronted by this hidden little annoyence, Elli grew angry. "Hey, you little.... Agh! Where are you?"
"Over here!" came the voice, and a tiny droning sound ensued. Suddenly, an oversized dragon fly floated up into the light from the other side of the clearing where the sounds had come from.
"Wha...." Elli's voice trailed off.
"What?" asked the small creature in an inquisative voice. Now that she had a better look at the creature, she saw that it wasn't a dragon fly at all. It was a tiny, pale-pale green girl, with large wings beating so fast the blured.
"Err.... I, uh.... You're a, err, that is, you're a...." she fumbled for words.
The little creature giggled. "I'm a fairy of course, silly! Haven't you ever seen one before? I've never seen a human before, except in those silly books my parents read to me."
Elli managed to get out in a weak voice, "You don't like hearing about humans?"
"Oh they're all right I guess," said the fairy, flying over tward Elli. She settled on a branch that hung down near Elli's face and continued, "They're just kinda hard to swallow, ya know?"
Elli looked over at her and gave a faint smile. Elli noticed up close that though the creature glittered all over, she was totally nude. Elli smiled to herself.
"Don't fairies wear clothes?" she asked. "I always thought they would wear... I dunno. Something."
The fairy giggled again. "Awww, some of the old ones do. It's no fun though, and it makes it a lot harder to fly around." To drive home the point about flying, the fairy flitted quickly off the branch where she'd been sitting and started to fly loops about two feet from Elli's face.
Her voice varrying as she flew around and around, the little fairy said, "I'm Abi, what's your name?"
Giving a little laugh, Elli replied, "Well I'm Elli, nice to meet you."
The little fairy came up and stopped about a foot in front on Elli's face, upside down and hovering with the mischevious grin of the young when they have an idea in their head.
"Why aren't you at home, Elli?" Abi asked, smiling.
"Why aren't you at home?" Elli retorted, with a false little sneer that made Abi giggle.
Suddenly the fairy turns into a dragon. BUM BUM BUM.