Grahm peeked through the treess when he heard the soft crunch of human footsteps. The figure was darkened by the night, yet faintly lit by the crescent moon.
"You don't suppose that's a hunter, do you?" A small, lilting voice gently flowed into his ears. He hummed quietly to acknowledge the fairy next to him.
"No, Oak, I don't think so," He replied, after the human stepped out of sight - but not out of range of hearing. "She smells quite familiar; and..." He frowned, searching for the right word. "Ah, she smells... innocent."
"We're safe, then," She murmured, her little lavender skin pulsing gently near his finger, "Right?"
"Right." Grahm agreed, using his nose to nudge the tiny glowing ball gently. He raised his head to sniff out the human, in case she knew they were near.
Turns out, he didn't even need to.
"Grahm?" A voice called out, gentle and quiet, but not Oak's. "Grahm? Oak? Are you there?"
Oak flashed her wings in sudden recognition. "It's Mandy!" She whispered excitedly. "She's really back!"
Grahm grinned at the small buzzing fairy, smaller than his fingernail. "Right. I was wondering which human in the nearby town would smell like freshly cut grass."
"Mandy!" He called back, following her scent trail. "We're here!"
"Grahm!" She responded gleefully, as they popped out of the trees, into a clearing, where the weak moonlight glimmered in the grass. "Heeeey!"
"Mandy!" Oak chirped flying forward and curling up in her nest of hair, before gasping, "No way! You braided your hair!"
"Yep." Mandy gently lifted the six-inch sprite out of her hair. "Decided to change my style. It's the new year."
Grahm turned down to look at the human, kneeling to be closer to eye level. Of course, being a giant meant that he'd always be taller, and larger, than his companions.
He didn't mind.
"New year?" He inquired, gazing at Mandy as she fussed over Oak's messy clothes. "What is that all about?"
Mandy grinned as she produced some grainy stones in Oak's tiny bundle of wild, frizzy hair. "Well, in roughly ten minutes, it's gonna be a new human year." Her face was wistful. "2023."
Grahm nodded understandingly. "That sounds pretty important."
"Of course it is, big guy!" Mandy sauntered over to the big wooden crate filled with strange cylindrical canister, and held one up to the giant. "Which is precisely why I brought some fireworks to set off with you two."
Oak blinked, inspecting the 'firework' Mandy held in hand. "Huh." She muttered flying over to the crate and kicking one. It barely budged, and she frowned.
"Well, you have to light them with a fire," Mandy started, producing a matchbox. She glanced at her watch for a moment, and then paused. "But first, we gotta wait 'til it's about to turn 12:00 AM."
"Why?" Oak wondered aloud, buzzing around one of the fireworks Mandy was holding. "What's so important about 12:00 AM?"
As an immortal forest-guardian-fairy, Oak never quite understood the importance of time.
"Well, it means it's going to be 2023." Mandy explained, staring intently at her wristwatch. Then, she glanced up at Grahm, and an idea formed in her head.
"Hey, G," She called over his attention, and he perked up. "Could ya quickly lift me up?"
"Sure thing." Grahm lowered down his hand, palm-up, and Mandy climbed on without hesitation. As she slowly ascended above the treeline, she placed the firework securely in the seams in Grahm's thick gloves.
She produced a match, and struck it across the strip, setting it alight. "Now, watch this." She grinned, lighting up the firework. It fizzed, for a second, before shooting upwards in a brilliant burst of sparks. It soared upward, whistling faintly, before exploding in a shower of sparks and light, high above the forest floor.
"Happy New Year!" She crowed, glancing down at the time. "Yes! Spot on."
Grahm stared at the disappearing sparks, awestruck. Sure, Oak could produce brilliant light-waves, but it was nothing compared to the blinding, mystic presentation of human fireworks. "Wow." He uttered, quietly.
"Lemme do one!" Oak yelled, hoisting a firework up to Grahm's hand, with the assistance of strength magic, a red-aura tickling her skin. She took a freshly lit match from Mandy, almost as thick as a lamppost to her, and held it under the firework. Just like before, it shot up, whistling through the air, and bursting in a wonderful shower of sparks.
"Happy New Year, guys," Mandy said, curling into Grahm's palm, while keeping Oak cupped close to her chest.
A fairy, a human, and a giant.
An unlikely trio, gazing at the fireworks signalling the new year.
...
***NOT PROOFREAD***
Wanted to make a quick new year's short!
HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL! WELCOME TO 2023!
