Arsenic tried very hard to not shiver, it was humiliating enough he was huddling next to Crispin for warmth. Arsenic was wise enough to know that a little humiliation was better than freezing to death by the seaside. Crispin was warm but if Arsenic held very still he could feel the slight shiver as it trembled through his body.
Crispin lied there and contemplated what Arsenic knew. He had been very sure that he hadn’t been seen when he snuck out and was out and about under the cover of darkness. Now, he was sitting here on the famous bluff where Norman and Buttercup first met and he couldn’t stop thinking. Buttercup had taken a chance with Norman and now he was wondering if he needed to take a chance with Arsenic.
Arsenic was notorious in the fairy world, Crispin knew that much. Arsenic had the reputation for being an extremely lazy flower fairy, an incredibly poor gardener with an inherent talent for killing perfectly healthy and flourishing flowers. There had to be a reason that a failed flower fairy has up and about in the dead of night and Crispin was determined to figure out why.
Arsenic was standing there, covered if silky white fur, wondering why he had taunted the dragon and what he expected out of the encounter. He was a failure as a flower fairy and now he challenged a dragon in front of the other fairies. He knew they would have a slew of questions when he returned and he would have to figure out something to tell the fairies to put them off the scent of Crispin’s nighttime adventures.
Crispin turned his head and stared at Arsenic. “I admit it, I sneak out of the house on a regular basis and that I thought it was secret. I help out with little things and up until now, it has gone completely unnoticed. So, I’m wondering what you were doing up at that time of night and what you intend to do with that knowledge.” His voice held an unspoken challenge.
Arsenic shifted so that he could face Crispin and slid to sitting position. He was immediately buried by the fluffy white tail of Crispin and fluttered up covered in stray white fur from Crispin’s tail. He sputtered and replied, “Truth is I can’t sleep and so I wander the village at night. I usually sit outside on an open window sill and watch families sleeping so peacefully. I’m jealous of their ability to sleep if I’m honest.” His voice was wistful and his longing for acceptance was clearly evident.
Crispin laughed, a deep belly rumbling laugh that enveloped his whole body. His laughter was contagious and infectious. Soon, Arsenic was laughing right along with Crispin his crimson wings flapping wildly as he laughed. Their laughter was carried away on the wind and shared with the various creatures, great and small, along the way.
“So then, Crispin the Trickster, what do we do now?” Arsenic could barely choke the words out he was laughing so hard.
Crispin tried to respond but each attempt was choked off in another round of laughter. Soon their combined laughter began to diminish each was hiccupping from laughing so hard. Eventually peace and quiet returned to the bluff and soon they realized the wind had subsided along with their laughter.
“What now Arsenic? Where do a dragon and fairy go from here?” Crispin was clearly thinking out loud and Arsenic flutter up and away from his warm body.
He fluttered over to the front of Crispin and looked the dragon in the eye. “I think I have a plan.”
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