The Mysterious Tapping Noise [Open]

[Lillian Tinkerbell]

Tink ran as fast as she could, forgetting that she was human now. How could she forget so easily? It really wasn’t that hard, especially considering she had the same view as she often did while flying. Forgetting was a bad idea though. Because after only about a minute of running, she tripped over something and went flying (literally). Her flight didn’t last long though, and she soon found herself skidding along the concrete sidewalk. Her knees, elbows, and chin copped most of the damage with some pretty bad scrapes. She was mostly fine though, just embarrassed and still frightened. For a moment, she just laid there, thinking. How was she going to get back home if she couldn’t fly? Hook could have destroyed Pixie Hollow already, and she couldn’t even fly back to see if her friends were safe.

Then, Tink heard Helena calling out for her to wait. The other woman clearly hadn’t noticed her laying on the ground. With a grunt of pain, she rolled over into a sitting position. By now, Helena had caught up to her and was talking in what sounded like a soothing, calming voice. The young blonde woman pouted at being spoken to in such a way. “That’s the whole point though,” her talking device chirped. “You don’t know what’s going on. Our worlds could be in the process of being destroyed, and all you’re doing is sitting there eating pizza.” She waved a dismissive hand towards the restaurant. “Do you even know how important fairies are to the world? If Hook finds the Pixie Hollow Tree and cuts it down, our magic will be gone, and without magic, so will we. Fairies make the world what it is. You see that flower?” She pointed at a random flower growing in a pot. “Fairies made it grow. That tree? Fairies. The sunshine on your face? Fairies again. Now imagine the world without all of that because that is what will happen if Hook finds the Pixie Hollow Tree. Don’t tell me to calm down because you don’t know anything; tell me to calm down when you do.”

At the end of her little speech, Tink slowly stood up and brushed herself off. “I was done with my pizza anyways.” She pulled out the money the suits had given to her and handed it to Helena. “Here, use this to pay for my meal. I’m hurt, so I’m going to find some bandages or something.” She started walking slowly down the sidewalk but paused after only a moment and turned back to Helena. “Unless you have something else to say?”

[Helena Bertinelli]

Who did this girl remind her of? Helena cast about in her brain. The impetuous nature and desire to do something was certainly like that of many heroes she knew, and the firm belief in not only fairies but also the importance of protecting the earth...plus, of course, the fact that she used to be able to fly. Supergirl. And that explained some of the annoyance that Helena was feeling right at this moment--she didn't get on with the Supers in general, since they were always looking down on people (literally, in fact, with the height and the flying).

So she simply stood there and waited while Tink made her speech, arms crossed across her chest and foot tapping on the ground. She took the money and put it in her pocket for the moment, then went back to crossing her arms and frowning.

"Actually, yes. Where are you going to go? What do you really think you can do right now to fix the situation? What are you going to do? Because guess what. It's been tried. By someone else already here, by whole groups of people. And it hasn't worked. So we sit down and eat, because we need to eat. We get jobs, because we need to take care of ourselves. And we do our best not to insult everyone else around, because they might just be your only hope of getting out alive." Hadn't Helena apologized earlier for offending Tinkerbell? And she hated apologizing. But she could only be successful here if she didn't make enemies at every turn.

She turned on her heel. "Restaurants are required to have first aid kits. If you come back inside I'm sure they'll give you enough to patch yourself up for now, and then you can pay for your own meal." She pulled Tink's money out of her own pocket and held it up so she could take it back. "It's probably a good idea to apologize to them, too, so you can be a repeat customer. I'm sure they'll be understanding."

[Lillian Tinkerbell]

Tink shrugged and took her money back from Helena before going back into the restaurant. She found the table she’d been sitting at and sat back down. Helena’s pizza was still there as well as what was left of her own slice. She hadn’t been lying; she had finished eating. The only part left was the curst, which she had nibbled at before deciding she didn’t like it. Her water was still there too, and she took a long drink before the waitress arrived. The waitress was frowning at her, and Tink remembered Helena’s advice. “I’m sorry for running off.” She quickly typed into her device and hit the SAY button. “Something upset me. Your pizza is really good though… Well, it was really good before I ate it all.” She offered the waitress a small smile and held the money out to her. “Here’s the money for my meal, and do you have a first aid kit? I fell outside and got some bade scrapes.” The waitress sighed, took her money, and left saying she’d return with the first aid kit in a few minutes.

A few minutes later, the waitress was back and set the kit on the table. Tink gave her a quick smile of thanks before she opened it up. Inside she found cream and bandages for her scrapes. For the next few minutes, the young blonde woman tended to herself. Her chin was a bit tricky because she couldn’t see it, and the bandage wouldn’t stick properly. She managed in the end, and then sat there, looking into her water glass.

It was only after she was done fixing herself up that Tink allowed herself to really think about what Helena had said. She was right, and Tink hated that. What had she been planning to do after she bandaged herself? Run around like a crazy person some more? Go to the suits and demand to be sent back to Neverland? She wasn’t sure they could do that, but even if they could, would they? For some reason, they seemed to want her here. She sighed and scrunched up her face in frustration. This wasn’t right or fair. She was a tinker, and tinkers fixed things. For her to not know how to fix this, it made her feel helpless and useless.

Finally, Tink sighed and started slowly typing on her talking device again. It took her several minutes because she wanted the words to be exactly right when she pressed the SAY button. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Of course, you have to eat. I’ve only been here a few hours, and I had to eat. Of course, you have to work to get money. You need food and clothes to live. I wouldn’t mind getting out of my fairy dress. It makes me feel very self-conscious.” She sighed again and scrunched up her face. “It’s just so frustrating to think something bad might be happening at Neverland, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m a tinker fairy. I’m supposed to be able to fix things, but I can’t fix this. I wouldn’t even know where to begin to fix this. It just makes me feel so helpless and useless.” All rgis time, she’d been staring down at her water glass. Now she looked up at Helena, trying to blink her tears away. “What can I do? What do you do?”

[Helena Bertinelli]

Helena gave a small nod of approval as Tink sat down and apologized to the waitress. She finished eating while the girl patched herself up with the help of the first aid kit. The waitress cleared away the plates and Helena finally got the change from her earlier hasty payment of the food. Since the restaurant wasn't very full, though, she didn't feel any need to rush away. They could afford to sit here for a while longer and talk.

It was a good thing, too, since Tink seemed to be undergoing a small break-down. She wasn't exactly sure how to address everything she was feeling--she was only a teacher as a cover story, after all--but at least she could answer those last couple questions. After taking a quick drink, she said, "Well, I'm a teacher. And when I'm not working, I spend my time trying to learn about this world. I look at the books in the library, talk to the people here, look around. Anything I can do to figure out what is happening. That's the first step, of course; gathering knowledge. I also do my best not to think too much about what's happening at home. But when I do, I remember that the people there are fully capable of taking care of themselves and the world, and I know they will do just fine without me. Of course I want to get home, but my best chance of that happening is by moving forward with a level head and a set goal. There is even a group here that is dedicated to trying to find a way to get out, and they all share information. I'm not an official member, but I know the leader, and I'm sure she'd be happy to meet you and to help you out. You would probably be a great addition to CAUS."

Helena stood and grabbed her purse. "But before we do any of that, I think you need something else to wear. Come on. I'll show you where the mall is. And don't worry, I know a little bit about showing up in a strange outfit. We'll get you all settled, and you can put that dress into the closet for special occasions. Like your homegoing. Sound good?"

[Lillian Tinkerbell]

Tink had only half-listened to Helena’s response, still feeling mopey and depressed. She did hear the words, but she choose to file them away to think about later. Seeing as she wasn’t really paying attention, she was more than a little surprised when Helena offered to take her shopping. She blinked at the other woman several times before it sunk in. Then, she had to look away in embarrassment. It wasn’t that she was ungrateful for the offer. Really, she was, but she really didn’t feel like shopping or walking about or anything else. All she really wanted to do at that moment was curl up in a ball and have a good cry. That was usually how she dealt with difficult things. Have a cry, let out all her frustrations, and then fix it. Of course, Helena wouldn’t know that about her, but how could Tink tell her without upsetting and maybe losing her first friend in this new place? She sighed, took a last drink of water and started typing on her device. “Um, thank you for the offer, really thank you. I’m just not feeling very well right now. It’s mostly from my scrapes, but to be honest, I just want to cry and maybe sleep and be comfortable. I really don’t mean to seem rude or ungrateful. It’s just how I cope with things, like when I broke the magic gem. I cried about it, and then I figured out how to fix it. I just really need to do that right now.” She finally looked up at Helena, hoping the other woman wasn’t too annoyed with her. “Maybe we can go shopping some other time?” She stood up now but didn’t leave just yet. “It was nice to meet you, Helena, and again, thank you for the offer. I’m staying at house number eleven if you want to come see me some time.” She stood there for a few more minutes in order for Helena to say good-bye. Then she headed out of the restaurant.

Tiink was on her own again, walking down the street to her new home. She really wasn’t feeling too happy, and maybe the people she passed by could tell because they didn’t try to bother her. As she walked, her mind drifted, and she found herself thinking about what Helena had said. Working would be easy. She’d been assigned a job at a repair shop, and fixing things really did require a large amount of concentration that would help to distract her from thinking about home too much. Unfortunately, she didn’t start there for another week. In the meantime, yes, she knew her friends could handle themselves. She was hardly the only tinker fairy in Neverland. Peter could handle Hook for a while, keep him away from the Pixie Hollow Tree. Despite this, she couldn’t help but feel worried and anxious. Had her friends even noticed she was missing? Had they formed a search party? Would they start to miss her soon? Would they forget she’d even been there if she stayed here too long? All these questions and more swirled about her mind as she continued on the long walk back to her new home.

[Helena Bertinelli]

Helena shrugged as Tinkerbell left. She might stop by, she might not. She'd tried to offer some basic hospitality and been turned down, so to a large extent she figured her job done. She had, after all, been far nicer than she usually was. She left the restaurant feeling pleased with herself, having managed to not piss off someone else and perhaps made another friend. How that friendship developed would yet be seen. She'd worry about that, though, another day.