“Are we looking for anything in particular?” Lily asked me.

“Not really. I thought we would gather anything useful,” I replied. I just wanted a break from working on the house if the truth be told. “Why do you ask?”

“We’re near the cow pasture and you haven’t picked up much of anything.”

“Oh.”

“Is everything ok?” Lily asked showering me with her concern.

“Yeah,” I answered sending reassurances to her.

“Just wanted a break from the renovating?”

“Yeah.”

“Makes sense and I don’t blame you,” Lily said. “We could use the break too.”

“And you also want me to make some more honey drops,” I replied grinning.

“That too!” Lily wholeheartedly agreed. She spun in a circle and then spun towards a tree to our left. She pointed to something near the ground. “Is that orangish gold plant useful?”

“Let’s see what you found,” I replied starting to walk towards the tree.

“Looks like a mushroom to me,” Lily said.

“If it is, I’ll have to be careful.”

“Scared it’s poisonous?” Lily asked flying around my head.

“That is a possibility,” I agreed as I got close enough to see what my familiar had found. I smiled and pulled out my gloves. “That’s a golden chanterelle!”

“Is that a good one?”

“Most definitely. They’re tasty and have several health benefits,” I answered.

“You want more, don’t you?”

“Yes. They should be something we can trade or sell to the village too.”

“Good idea,” Lily replied. She turned from me and put her hands to her mouth. She yelled, “Hey Summer, are there anymore of these golden thingies near here?”

I laughed. “Asking the seasons for help now?”

“No,” Lily replied spinning to face me and putting her hands on her hips.

“Yeah, yeah. I know you’re asking another pixie,” I said as an unknown to me pixie with green hair flew to us.

“What golden thingies?” she asked.

“Those,” Lily answered pointing to the mushroom in front of me. The newcomer flew down to get a closer look and landed on my knee. She waved and smiled at me.

“I’m Summer!” she said winking at me. “Yeah, there are a few of those under the fallen tree in a small cluster in the middle of the pasture.”

Lily flew and landed on me beside Summer. “Don’t flirt with my Jase!”

“I’ll flirt with whoever I want!” Summer exclaimed sticking her tongue out at Lily. I wrapped my hands around Lily.

“Jase!” Lily shouted as Summer took flight.

“She’s just doing it to make you jealous. You’re my one and only pixie,” I told my familiar.

“I love you too,” Lily replied.

“That’s so sweet!” Summer interjected before zapping me with a spark while giggling.

“Ow!” I said letting go of Lily as she took flight and rubbing my butt.

“Get back here and take your medicine, you hag!” Lily said to Summer shooting a spark at her.

“Hag?”

“Yep!”

“That hurts, but not as much as this will,” Summer replied grinning and shooting another spark at Lily.

“Don’t hurt each other.”

“We won’t!” Lily and Summer chorused before getting into a game of tag shooting sparks at each other while laughing the whole time as other pixies joined them.

“Yep. They’re just like little kids,” I mumbled to myself harvesting the mushroom before walking towards the fallen tree and keeping my eye on the coos grazing around it and their ‘patties’.”

*

As the day advanced to midafternoon, I found a few clusters of black morels and a huge cluster of hen-of-the-wood mushrooms in addition to a couple more clusters of the golden chanterelles. All told, I had maybe 50 pounds of mushrooms in my bag and the storage device, which I had brought with us.

“That’s a lot of mushrooms,” Lily remarked.

“Yeah, it is,” I happily agreed. “I can make teas, extracts, or just cook them.”

“Being greedy? I thought you said something about selling some.”

“That too,” I replied. “Going to have to lay these out to dry.”

“Want to head home?”

“Yeah,” I replied turning to what I thought was the southwest.

“Not that way!” Yam yelled.

“Why not? Is it the wrong direction?”

“No, but there is a spooky cave that way,” Willow answered.

“What makes it spooky?” I asked.

“It’s a cave!” Lily replied as the other pixies nodded agreement.

“There might be spiders or other creepy crawlies in there,” April said doing an exaggerated shudder.

“Or a bear!” Lily said before making a growling noise and holding her hands in front of her like they were claws.

“Or nothing at all,” Summer added.

“Or more mushrooms,” May countered.

“I think we should check it out,” I said.

“And if there is something dangerous in it?” Lily asked.

“I have my magic and you’ll protect me.”

“Maybe,” Lily replied.

“Lily!”

“What?”

“You would abandon me?” I asked mock seriously. She grinned.

“Perhaps. I mean, if it’s a bear, you just have to be faster than the next person to get away.”

I looked around me. “The next person is a pixie, which I could never be faster than.”

“Sucks to be you then!” Lily replied before joining the others in laughter. I smiled.

“We should check it out anyway. Maybe there is gold or something good in it.”

“Lead the way to our hero’s doom,” Lily told Yam. A couple of the pixies produced horns and started playing a sad song. I recognized it from a movie we had watched, and I had learnt its name.

“Taps? Really you guys?” Laughter was my only answer.

*

“Well, this is a bust,” I said looking at the small opening in the ground. The hole was about a foot in circumference. I pulled a flashlight out of the storage device and shined it inside the hole. “This isn’t much of a cave. In fact, I would call it more of an animal den than cave. So, no spelunking for me.”

“Is there anything in it?” Lily asked landing on my shoulder.

“Feeling brave, huh?”

“Just a little,” Lily replied favoring me with a smile.

“What’s in it?” several of the pixies asked.

“Just some animal fur, bones, and spider webs” I answered. The pixies all shuddered, including Lily.

“Scared of spiders?”

“Uh huh!”

“Yes!”

“You betcha!”

“They’re creepy!”

I laughed as the pixies all told me it wasn’t a laughing matter.

“Alright, alright,” I replied holding up my hands in surrender. I put the flashlight back into storage, stood, and dusted off my hands. “I’ll spray some of the peppermint oil around the house when we get home.”

“What will that do?” April asked.

“It’s a natural spider repellent.”

“Oh!” several of the pixies said at once.

“Can we get some of it too?” Summer asked.

“Maybe,” I replied and then smiled. “How about taking a bottle of it instead of more honey drops?”

“No way!”

“I’d rather live with the spiders!”

“Jase!” Lily shouted loudest of all.

“I’m only kidding. Let’s go get some honey. We’ll have to setup the kitchen before I can make the candy though.”

“Leave that to us!” Lily said for the pixies.

“Yay!” the others shouted.