“Wake up Jase!”

“Huh? What is it?” I sleepily asked from where I had been sleeping in the back of the wagon. “Wait. Why are things at an angle?”

“We’ve in the mountains silly,” Lily answered in a whisper. “Get up and enjoy the view with me.”

I rubbed my eyes, yawned, and sat up. “Alright, I’m awake.”

“Did you enjoy your nap?” Napier asked glancing over his shoulder.

“Yeah, I did,” I answered stifling another yawn. I took a bottle of water out of the storage container and opened it.

“What was that noise?” Napier asked. He couldn’t see me that well due to the merchandise in the wagon.

“Beats me. Maybe it was something on the road,” I replied. I glanced to my left and saw how close the side of the mountain was to the wagon. It was like a gigantic stone wall partially covered in grass and trees. I looked to the right and then down. I swallowed air as I realized how high we were. “Oh, my goodness!”

Napier laughed. “Quite the sight, isn’t it?” Napier asked. “You’ll get used to it.”

“Jase, just look to the left or behind us,” Lily whispered while sending me reassuring and loving feelings. I smiled and sent love back to her. I drunk my water and returned the bottle to storage. I marveled at the foliage around us.

“It’s beautiful,” I said.

“Yep. That it is lad,” Napier agreed. “Just wait until you see the leaves change in the fall. You’ll really be in for a sight then.”

“It is lovely,” my familiar added as she flew to me and sat on my shoulder. We watched in silence for a few minutes and then I gave voice to a question I had wondered about but never asked.

“Napier, why doesn’t your familiar accompany us?”

The wagon driver laughed long and hard. I stood and leaned against some of the merchandise strapped down in the wagon so I could look forward. When he got himself under control, he answered me, “Jase, my familiar, Paula, helps pull the wagon.”

“Oh!” I exclaimed as one of the horses turned and nodded its head at me. “I apologize.”

“It’s alright. Not everyone bonds with a mare as fine as Paula,” Napier replied with affection in his voice.

I sat back down and whispered to my pixie, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Lily giggled. “Why didn’t you ask before?”

“Touché”

“Hey Napier.”

“What is it Jase?”

“Is there anything you can tell me about these roads?”

“Other than not falling off?” the wagon driver asked with a laugh.

“Yeah, besides that.”

“We are currently on what used to be called Highway 421 heading into some ruins of a town named Boone. I suppose Highway 421 is still what this blacktop is called,” Napier said. “At the ruins, we’ll head south on Highway 321 to some more ruins of a village called Blowing Rock.”

“Strange names,” I replied.

“Boone was named for an ancient explorer and Blowing Rock is named for a rock formation near the ruins of the village,” Lily helpfully informed me.

“Thanks,” I whispered back.

“Aye lad, those are strange names. But people are people.”

“That’s true,” I replied understanding what Napier was getting at about people naming things.

“Anyway, at the ruins of Blowing Rock, we’ll head west on Highway 221 until we get to Stonecroft.”

“Will we camp near the ruins?”

“Yeah.”

“Is it safe to do so?”

“Just as safe as the other places we’ve camped at.”

“Gotcha. Thanks,” I replied turning around and sitting down.

“Maybe I should fly up front and give Paula and the other horses a bit of a scare,” Lily said suddenly.

“Uh, Lily.”

“Yes, my dear?”

“That’s probably a bad idea.”

“Why do you say that?” she asked mischievously.

“That’s a long fall,” I answered looking down to my right again.

“You worry too much,” my familiar replied. “I would never do anything to endanger you.”

“I believe you.”

“Not only are you too important to me to risk, but I love you too much to do something that stupid,” Lily admitted. She flew up and kissed my left cheek.

“I love you too,” I whispered back.

“Good. Now lean back or cradle an arm so I can snuggle close to your chest.”

“Are you cold?”

“No!” Lily huffed. “I just want to snuggle.”

“I just wanted to make sure. I don’t want anything to happen to you either,” I calmly replied. I leaned back and cradled my right arm so Lily could cuddle against my chest. She landed and sat on my forearm leaning back against my chest.

“I know. I’m sorry about my outburst. But you should remember the weather doesn’t bother me or other pixies.”

“My concern for you makes it easy to forget things like that.”

“I know. We’ll work on it.”

*

“I guess it looks cute,” I said.

“Jase, who are you talking to and what looks cute?” Napier asked after the sun had set and camp was made.

I spun around to face the wagon driver. “Napier!”

“Aye lad, it’s just me. Now, who were you talking to. I was told you didn’t have a familiar,” Napier said. The wagon driver eyed me for a moment. “You’ve not gone crazy and talk to yourself, have you?”

“No. I’m not crazy.”

“I guess the jig is up,” Lily said out loud.

“Who’s there?” Napier asked nervously. “Is it a spirit?”

Lily and I laughed. “No. I’m not a spirit, spook, or ghooost,” Lily answered in a deeper, spooky sounding voice. She giggled again as Napier started to look even more frightened. She flew up so Napier could see her and waved. “Hi!”

“A talking pixie?” Napier asked flabbergasted.

“All pixies can talk when we want to,” Lily answered standing in the air putting her hands on her hips. She was wearing brown boots that came up to her ankles, green shorts, and a dark orange shirt. She assured me that this worked as a hiking outfit. She spun so Napier could see her clearly. “And I wanted to know if my Jase thought my hiking outfit was cute.”

“Your outfit? Your Jase?” Napier asked looking even more confused.

I laughed. “This is Lily, and she is my familiar.”

“You bonded with a pixie pest?”

“Hey!” Lily and I both exclaimed.

“Lily is not a pest. Neither are the other pixies,” I said holding my left hand out for her to land on. She complied after giving me a kiss on the right cheek.

“Pixies play pranks and cause mischief!”

“They love to joke and have fun.”

His eyes narrowed. “Are you the one that ties my boot laces in knots every morning and in Paula’s mane?”

“Yes, to your boots, no to Paula’s mane. Well, just once to Paula after she snapped at me when we first started traveling with the caravan,” Lily answered. “I promise not to mess with you again.”

Napier mumbled under his breath for a bit then said, “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” my familiar replied. She muttered almost too low to hear, “I’ll still play pranks on the rest of the caravan though.”

“I heard that,” I said.

Lily flashed me a dazzling smile. “I know.”