#human sized

Wind whipped past just outside the small haven Bowman made with his hands. Some gusts filtered past the huge fingers and whipped at him before they were gone again, and the water soaking his jacket became the least of Jacob’s worries. All he could think about was Bowman losing his grasp.

He could swear he heard Bowman’s wings wavering in the breeze. They weren’t flapping. They simply let the air slide past as the oversized sprite plummeted.

“B-Bowman! Stop!” he cried out, craning his neck back. He couldn’t see Bowman’s face. He was locked away in the sprite’s hands, unable to see their fall. Jacob knew Bowman had many skills in the air, but all that knowledge seeped away as the seconds stretched out. They were falling towards the earth, way too fast.

“Bowman, dammit,” he tried again. This time, he let go of the fingers around him and pounded his fists against the chest near him. Over and over, he punched at Bowman to get his attention, his eyes shut tight.

There was a loud crack. Things shifted. Gravity built and pressed Jacob against Bowman’s chest for a second while they came to a stop, from Bowman letting his wings fill with air.

Bowman righted himself and Jacob found himself lifting away from his chest. When he opened his eyes, he was in front of Bowman’s face again, with his other hand guarding him like a candle. Bowman’s brow was pinched with worry.

“Jacob, I didn’t … squeeze you or something, right?” Bowman asked.

Jacob glanced around. They were still well above the trees, but the forest was closer now. He shook his head distractedly. His heart was still moving back to its place from where it had crawled into his throat. “Nope,” he forced out. “Not squished.”

Bowman looked up with a frown, and then back at Jacob. “Too much?”

Jacob nodded emphatically and shrugged. “Just … just a bit too much, yeah,” he admitted. “Falling. Couldn’t see.”

They hovered at that height for some time while Bowman pondered the answer. Jacob slumped in his hand, glad he’d managed to get the sprite’s attention before he had a heart attack. At this rate, Bowman’s excitable nature would sap all of Jacob’s energy unless they got back to normal soon.

“I have an idea,” Bowman announced. Confident as ever, he waited for Jacob to focus on him. “I can hold onto you without blocking the view and I’ll glide down slower. That way you see where we’re going. No more dives.”

“That sounds a lot better,” Jacob answered with a grimace. “Diving looks more fun when you’re smaller than me. Holy shit.”

Bowman’s mouth twitched in a smirk, but he was actually more subdued than usual. “It’s one of the best feelings, but I have wings,” he admitted. One fingertip settled on top of Jacob’s head. “Gonna be alright?”

Jacob rolled his eyes. When he pushed at the fingertip, it lifted away before the hand curled partway around him as a guard. “I’m fine, Bowman. Just not a fan of falling blind, that’s all. We can forget about it, right?”

“Oh, I suppose,” Bowman snarked. Then he grinned reassuringly. “At least we got to see the clouds up close. Let’s get you back to the ground before you panic again.”

Jacob sighed and shook his head. “I’m not gonna panic again,” he insisted.

Even so, when Bowman angled his body to fly, Jacob clung to his fingers. Soon they were almost parallel with the ground, Bowman’s green wings spread wide. He banked in a circle through the air.

This time, the wind whipped at Jacob’s hair and hood, but the sensation of falling was almost nonexistent. He held up one hand to shield his eyes from the wind and watched the forest below. Bowman’s shadow flickered over the canopy, and once or twice Jacob caught a glimpse past the trees all the way to the ground below.

Jacob’s face was ashen and his tiny eyes were wide. He didn’t relent in clinging to Bowman’s fingers and his tiny body trembled, but he tried a shaky grin in return. One little hand even flicked up to give the thumb-up gesture humans liked. “It’s definitely something,” he admitted. “H-how high up didja go?”

Bowman smirked. “You wanna see?” He didn’t want to show Jacob if the human wasn’t ready. His hand lingered as a shield while he watched the decision-making journey on that miniature face.

“Y’know what, why not,” Jacob said, his voice tight. “I’m already up here, so I might as well–holy shit,” his voice cut off as Bowman lifted his hand away. Jacob, all of four inches and a fraction, saw the world from over a hundred feet in the air.

“Bowman, what the hell,” Jacob breathed. He twisted around in one direction, and then the other, taking in the view. Bowman smirked proudly.

After a few seconds of awestruck staring, Jacob turned his face back up to Bowman’s. There was a smile there, far less forced this time. “Alright, dude. This is pretty cool.”

Bowman snickered. “Told you it’d be fun. But I haven’t even gone as high as I can yet,” he warned. He caught sight of Jacob’s eyebrows shooting up before he moved his hand over the little guy once again.

He might have heard a tiny yelp stolen away by the wind again when he surged upwards, but Bowman didn’t stop. He wouldn’t drop Jacob in his drive to fly among the clouds. He might become the only wood sprite in Wellwood to ever touch the sky.

He discovered not long after that the clouds drifted in layers in the sky. The higher ones were still overhead when he reached one wisp of white. The air was thinner at this height, and Bowman could see the edges of the forest in all directions. He even spotted human roads, lines that didn’t match the green around them. Cars crawled along them like ants.

Bowman was hovering next to a cloud.

He lifted his hand just enough to peek at his tiny passenger. Jacob looked up at him, clinging once again. His eyes were wide and his tiny chest moved quickly, but he nodded in greeting. “What’s stopped ya now? Get to space yet?”

Bowman rolled his eyes. “I found a cloud,” he announced. He moved his hand so Jacob could see it. The little guy shut his eyes tight for a second before actually turning around to look. Bowman held his hands closer to his chest when he felt the tension in the tiny body.

“Gonna fly through it?” Jacob asked, now with his own faint smirk.

“I will in a second,” Bowman groused. He narrowed his eyes at Jacob dubiously. “What are you smiling about?”

Jacob shrugged. “You’re all hyped up about just flying. Just kinda funny,” he excused.

Bowman scoffed. “I’m not just flying, Jacob,” he pointed out. “I’m flying as high as a cloud! “

He punctuated his assertion by drifting forward into the cloud and out the other side. He didn’t even cover Jacob with his free hand this time, so they both were covered with cool drops of water that clung to their clothes and hair.

Bowman whirled around in the air to glare accusingly at the cloud. “It’s raining inside the cloud? Is that how they work?”

Jacob, despite his jacket and hair being soaked by the little water droplets, laughed out loud. “Clouds are made of water, Bowman. That’s all they are. “

Bowman frowned critically. No sprite would know something like that, so he was torn between believing Jacob and arguing for the sake of it. He narrowed his eyes at the cloud now that they were on the other side of it, and it drifted lazily along, hardly even disturbed by their passage through it.

It was like they’d passed through a pond hanging in the sky. At least it made sense that rain could come from something like that.

“That’s just weird, though,” he decided. He glanced down at Jacob again and found the little guy grinning at him again. He nudged a tiny shoulder pointedly, but didn’t dare shift the grip around Jacob’s body. He didn’t want to cause a panic. “Are you happy now? Now you’re soaked, too, y’know?”

Jacob shrugged and snickered. “It’s cold but I think I’ll get over it,” he said. “You should see your face. And it looks like you got snowed on,” his little hand waved vaguely towards Bowman’s hair.

Bowman lifted his free hand to his head. When he combed through his messy green hair, thousands of tiny droplets clinging to him came away on his fingers. He shook them away with a frown, and then flicked his fingers towards his other hand.

Jacob took a drop of water right to his face and he shut his eyes tight. One hand relented from clinging so he could brush at his face. “Jackass!”

Bowman snickered. “If you’re done enjoying the view from the bottom of the sky, I know what’ll get us both dry,” he announced.

Jacob took that cue to glance around once more. The world was almost incomprehensible from such a height. Bowman could hardly believe it himself. Birds wheeled around in the sky below them.

“What’s your plan, then?” Jacob asked dubiously.

Bowman grinned without answering. Jacob took another face-journey to realization, and then shook his head. “Dude, no way. If you wanna do your crazy stunts in the air, fine, but I don’t wanna be involved-”

Bowman moved the hand with Jacob so it was against his chest. His free hand covered the small human just like before. Jacob’s voice muffled against Bowman’s chest, lost to the breeze.

Jacob raised his eyebrows expectantly. “You are not thinking of flying, are you?”

Bowman couldn’t hold back a smirk. He lifted Jacob up so they could speak face to face, and shrugged. The motion made his hand bob up and down and Jacob looked dizzy for a moment. Oops.

“I dunno, Jacob. Since when do I think of flying?” he teased.

Jacob frowned dubiously. “Dude. We’re supposed to be looking for what caused this weird mix up. Once we figure it out you can go flying all you want.”

Bowman pulled his wings closer and huffed. “I could go flying all I want now,” he said. “Not like there’s any blasted clues around here anyway. For all we know, there might be something up there.”

Jacob shook his head. “Bowman, dude. That’s seriously … we gotta focus on this right now. I’m sprite sized and your wings could make a tent.”

Bowman didn’t know why, but seeing his normally lax friend looking flustered of all things only spurred him on. “My wings are definitely the fastest now, if there was any doubt before,” he boasted. To demonstrate, he spread them wide again. They cast a green-tinted shadow on the ground that impressed them both.

Jacob had his hands braced against Bowman’s grasp so harshly that the tiny knuckles were white. “Dude, you know I’ll never knock the wings, but this is not the time for a joyride.”

Bowman grinned. “Jacob, I never get to fly above the canopy,” he reasoned, his eyebrows shooting up. “Once we fix this I won’t be able to. I’ve gotta try.”

Jacob’s eyes were wide and he paused long enough for Bowman to glance up and tense his wings. He held out his tiny hands to halt the motion and catch Bowman’s attention. “Dude, wait! If you wanna fly, just … I dunno, stick me on a branch or something. I’ll watch from there, okay?”

Bowman thought about it, and then glanced around at the trees. There were places where he could actually reach the low branches without having to fly up to them. The weirdness of it all nearly distracted him from his determination to go flying.

He shuffled closer to one, and Jacob sighed in his hand. Then, Bowman frowned and shook his head. “I don’t think I should leave you on your own out here,” he decided.

“Dude, then don’t fly right now,” Jacob answered. He was exasperated again. Bowman almost never saw Jacob breaking his relaxed demeanor. It was blasted amusing, even with the worry at the back of his mind.

They didn’t know what was going on, but Bowman didn’t see why that should keep them from having a little fun while it lasted.

“Jacob, you don’t have to worry,” he said. He turned away from the tree and scanned the forest around them before marching off in one direction. He needed room to get into the air without smacking into the branches.

Jacob twisted around to watch Bowman’s path. He still had a frown on his tiny face, but something told Bowman he was trying hard to rein it in. The two trusted each other with their lives, and Bowman would never do anything to betray that trust. He hoped Jacob understood.

“Bowman, just … for the love of God and your magic Spirit, do not drop me. I don’t fly,” Jacob finally said. His voice was resigned, but tense.

Bowman nodded. A clearing waited ahead, bright sunshine splashing over vibrant green grass. “Don’t worry, you poor teeny tiny human. I won’t let you fall.”

Jacob’s expression flattened, but some of his nerves washed away with the teasing. “Seriously, Bowman? Gonna make jabs when you’re normally the size of my thumb?”

Bowman lifted his other hand and poked Jacob squarely in the chest. “I’m making up for lost time, Jacob,” he explained. His fingertip moved to settle right on top of Jacob’s head, mussing up his wavy brown hair. “You’re just lucky I’m not planning on sticking you under a bucket.”

Jacob swatted at Bowman’s hand. For a moment, Bowman marveled at how tiny Jacob’s movements were. His little fingers were only as visible as they were because the pale skin contrasted with Bowman’s own darker hue.

Is this how I feel to him?

Jacob’s efforts to treat Bowman like an equal came to mind, and he drew his hand away. The shrunken human would never be strong enough to really push Bowman’s hand around, but that wasn’t the point. Bowman needed to try to listen, just like Jacob always did for him when their roles were reversed.

He paused in the clearing and looked up at the sky. Wispy clouds glided along a breeze that Bowman had never felt with his own wings before.

Now, he had a chance.

His wings spread wide, but as they did his hands drew close to his chest. He kept the fist securely around Jacob’s body, and his other hand settled like an umbrella over his head. Jacob would need protection from the harsh winds while Bowman was in motion.

There was a tiny sigh, but Jacob’s squirming stopped. “Bowman, are you really really sure we should-”

He didn’t get to finish his question. Bowman’s wings opened wide with a snap and he shot into the air. Wind tugged Jacob’s tiny voice away from them even as it built into a yell of surprise. Bowman felt the tiny arms clinging to his fingers, but his eyes were aimed upwards.