Worth of a Spoon

Cave Dweller by icanphilyou on dA

It had taken a lot of effort to steal the spoon. Hiding in the kitchen vents of the houses above, looking for that sliver sheen. That was the problem with being a fairy, you couldn't help but be attracted to shiny things. Sometimes Joa wished she wasn't one. You know, those times when she was actually in a vent with her bare feet on cold metal and dust tickling her nose. But then she'd get a glimpse of a spoon. It was all worth it.

And now, now she had one.

Joa didn't want to think about the time it had taken her to finally pull the utensil into her underground cave. It was long, long enough to make her analyze her unwavering attraction to the thing. Was it just the shine? Or maybe the metal? Or the nice rounded shape at the end with the little imprinted flowers at the end? Why didn't she go this crazy over sequins? Much easier to carry.

She settled down on a rock and started to inspect her prize. No dents from carrying it, a few scuffs from the dishwasher fairy magic would fix. Not willing to leave it in imperfect condition Joa started rubbing the spoon with her hand, magic flowing from her fingertips into the metal. It took on a shine, streaks and microscopic dents disappearing.

Eventually she became aware of a slow crunching noise. Pausing, she looked up toward it.

There was something in her cave.

That wasn't allowed, no one could break into a fairy's home. Only Joa herself had unrestricted access and yet here was a creature that looked to be formed of mud slowly coming toward her. Pebbles and rock dust crunched under it's footless base and Joa could only stare as it continued to approach.  It was half away across the cave and she blamed her focused attention on the spoon from noticing it earlier.

Despite being spotted, the mud being continued to move forward and Joa felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise.

Run, something in the air said and Joa took the advice to heart. She quickly stood up, dragging the spoon behind her, but every time she looked over her shoulder the creature was closer. There was lightening at her back and in a quick second decision she dropped the spoon and sprinted.

When she was out of the cave, she risked looking back inside. The creature was standing at the other end of the short tunnel, amber eyes staring unblinking at her. Joa shivered, lamenting the loss of the spoon, but there was nothing that prevented her from getting another one later. That monster could have the one she just took.

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Gah, I missed posting a story last week, so here's a slightly long one.