"Ake?" Mother Nature says in surprise when a gust of wind zooms by her and slams into me. I yelp as I almost fall backward, but Wind winds around me, allowing me to hover vertically as they brush my hair and face frantically.
"Whoa, whoa, Wind," I say bringing my hands up. "Calm down, what's wrong?"
Ake quickly enters after Wind, shoving past Mother Nature. My eyes widen as I take in the moon entity's disheveled appearance.
"Ake," Mother Nature says, catching her sibling's elbow. "What happened?"
"I am never allowing the Northern Wind to fly me anywhere, that's what," Ake grumbles, smoothing down his hair and straightening his clothes. "Wind came back to the house right when I got back from talking to the triplets about the fox incident and was in an absolute tizzy. Something about finding another animal like the fox, but I couldn't understand what animal they were trying to describe to me."
I glance at Wind as they start whistling and blow. My eyebrows knit together as I try to process what Wind is trying to tell me.
"Wait, Wind, slow down." I reach a handout, letting Wind brush my fingers. "What are you talking about? A large animal? Not an animal?" Wind whistles. "But it looked like an animal?" Wind hums and blows at my hair. "But made of metal?" I frown. "And where did you see that? Near Lake Michigan?"
Wind whistles and twists the two of us so that I'm standing upright. Wind continues to spin around me, whistling and humming in worry. I look over at Ake.
"Did you happen to see a large metal animal?"
Ake shakes his head, frowning.
"Nope. I wasn't anywhere up there. Just at your place."
Worrying my bottom lip, I fiddle with the sleeve of my sweatshirt. Wind continues their frantic swirling, every once in a while branching out toward the other seasons but mostly staying close to me.
"Wind," I say. "What exactly did this animal look like? Besides being made of metal."
Wind starts whistling and humming, creating little whirlwinds as they go. My lips purse.
"That sounds awfully like a bear of some sort," Haru says aloud once Wind finishes, his eyebrows knitted together. "But why would they choose a bear? Why something so big?"
That is a good question.
The Arctic fox worked well. She was small, easy to conceal, and I even brought her back to my home. So, why change tactics to something so large that would be easy to spot?
"Well, whatever the reason, I don't like it. At all," Ake states darkly, staring me down. Silver eyes flash as I glance at him. "Still think meeting with your professor friend is a good idea, Snowflake?"
My eyes narrow at the older entity's sharp tone and I cross my arms.
"We don't know if that bear is his or not, so I'm still undecided."
Ake throws his hands in the air.
"Yes, because we absolutely shouldn't question the human who admitted to having direct contact with that fox that you were literally crying over. Because he absolutely wouldn't do something as silly as to try to up the ante with creating a metal bear to possibly try and capture you."
"We don't know that," I argue, anger flashing through my veins, my fingers digging into my arms. "For all we know, this could be a completely different group of humans. Besides, Conroy gave me his business card for me to visit him. Why would he need to capture me for?"
Ake growls and is about to take a step forward when Mother Nature catches his arm. Mother Nature's eyes and dress flash a bright, angry red, a fierce scowl on her face. Ake meets his sibling's glare with one of his own.
"Frost."
I tense as Mother Nature addresses me and the two of us make eye contact. The taller entity studies me, her lips pinching into a thin line.
"Do you believe that this human means to do you harm?"
Blinking, I think over her question. Nothing Conroy said or did was threatening. I shake my head.
"No," I say softly. "I think he's more curious than anything else. He backed off quickly when he noticed I was becoming uncomfortable and did his best to avoid any sensitive questions."
Mother Nature nods thoughtfully. "And you think that we could learn more information about why the humans are researching us through meeting him?"
My eyes widen. Does this mean she's giving me permission to meet with Conroy again? Is she actually okay with this?
I nod.
"Yeah, or at least, in some aspect." I rub my thumb over my palm. "He answered the fox question to some extent. Maybe he knows more about those articles that are being written."
Mother Nature glances at Ake as he growls, yanking his arm from her grasp. Mother Nature rolls her eyes, her dress flashing between yellow and orange before returning to red as she refocuses on me.
"All right, this is what we are going to do," Mother Nature says, crossing her arms. "If you are absolutely certain about meeting with this human, then you are to tell another person the exact time and place you are meeting up with him. You are then going to contact us directly afterward to let us know that you are safe and sound. You forget to do either one of these things and I find out, you will never meet up with him again. Am I clear?"
She's actually letting me do this. I can't believe this. Warmth bubbles in my chest and I nod, fighting back a grin.
"Yes, I can do that."
Mother Nature nods and Ake throws his hands into the air.
"You're seriously okay with this?" Ake snaps his face flushing angrily. "You honestly don't think that this human has any alternative motives about meeting up with him?"
"I trust Jack has enough knowledge of humans to know whether or not this human is a danger to him," Mother Nature says, stiffly as she glares at her older sibling. "And out of all of us, he is the only one to have direct contact with this human. Besides, Jack has given us more answers from this one meeting with this human than any of us have been able to figure out by ourselves." Mother Nature walks forward and places a hand on my shoulder. "You've been around humans for thousands of years, Jackie. I trust you when you say that this human isn't going to hurt you."
A smile spreads across my lips and I duck my head, my arms falling to my sides.
"Thank you," I say softly.
Mother Nature squeezes my shoulder. Ake paces by the door, muttering to himself before he glares at me and Mother Nature.
"I hope the two of you know what you're doing because I sure as hell don't trust that human. So, do not come crying to me if you find out that this is all a ruse, Snowflake. Because I won't be as sympathizing as some others if he somehow hurts ya or this all goes sour. Humans aren't to be trusted. Period. It's why WE have the Aster and not them."
My eyes widen as the moon entity turns on his heels and storms out of Haru's cottage. The enter building shakes when the door slams behind him. Pursing my lips, I glance up at Mother Nature.
"I don't understand why he's so angry," I say quietly, twisting my sleeves in my hands. "He said that he understood why I spoke with Conroy and why I was thinking of meeting up with him again."
Haru appears to my right, his eyebrows drawn together.
"Maybe he's just worried?" The spring sprite suggests, shrugging. "I mean, Northern Wind did just bring him all the way here after finding a metal bear prowling around the Great Lakes."
Mother Nature scowls and grumbles under her breath. She smooths down the front of her dress and walks over to the abandoned basket.
"Ake will get over it," Mother Nature states, firmly. "And if he still has issues with this, he can come talk to me about it." Mother Nature opens the basket, looking at me over her shoulder. "And tell me if he gives you any issues, Frost, dear. You are your own person and can make your own decisions."
Biting my lip, I nod and extend a hand toward Wind as they continue to zoom around the small cottage. They reach me swiftly, twisting up and down my arm.
Satisfied, Mother Nature pulls out some more coats and hats. She tosses a jacket at Suvi, who is fiddling with her scarf, and a large Sherpa hat toward Kaia.
"Good. Now, you three, get over here and try these on. Frost, Darling, I'm going to need you to create some snow so we can test these clothes out."
The tense atmosphere dissipates into a more manageable level and my shoulders relax when Haru bumps me gently. He smiles softly at me before walking over to Mother Nature and pulling on a dark purple jacket she shoves into his hands.
"Jackie," Suvi whines from her place on the floor. "How do I tie these?"
My lips quirk as she struggles with some boot laces and I glide over.
Maybe they really do want to try after all.