Page 197 of Pixie Problems

The next day, I bumped into a group of boys shoving at trees. Well, notliterally bumped, but I saw them, they saw me and my friends, and I had a feeling I knew what they were doing. Hawke wanted to check the dots in this area anyway. I pointed out there was no reason to do something twice. When Keir suggested another mark on our way back to the building, Hawke gave in.

So by the middle of the next week, I wasn't surprised at all when Poppy slid into the lunch line beside me. The girl even smiled at Jack before leaning in.

"We need a way to update each other's maps," she said before pausing to select a flower option from the lunch line. "After Nevaeh mentioned an item calling the Hunt here, I've had a lot of people wanting to help look for it. Some we met are outside already doing it on their own."

"Why?" I asked. "I mean, why does anyone care about Harper's way of getting even with Aspen?"

Poppy gave me an appalled look. "Did you already forget about Fin?"

"No..." Where was she going with that?

"Well, none of us want to be the next Fin, caught up in some stupid political war based on our parents' problems, ok? Most of the ones helping me are faelings, Rain. Our magic isn't always strong."

"You don't seem to have that problem," I countered.

"And?" She huffed like my argument was stupid. "You didn't always have magic either, but have you gotten so used to it that you no longer care about the peons who are beneath the court's notice?"

"No!" I gave her a disgusted look. "The difference is Aspen's my friend. The entire court are my friends, but most people here don't seem to like us much. That's why I'm asking."

"And except for the jesters, most ofusdon't care one way or the other," Poppy said. "Rain, the court is the court. The jesters are assholes, though, who come at all of us. The court? They sit alone, sometimes stand up for others, and typically are just a pretty thing at the periphery. So we're more on their side than anyone's, but we're mostly on our own."

"Ok, that does make sense," I relented. But after picking out both mine and Jack's meals, I turned to her again. "So how many people are helping?"

"Um, there's like ten of us," she admitted. "Some are more interested than others. Like Molly. She watches the weather, you know? She doesn't want to go outside, because her mom was grabbed right in front of her, so she prefers the solid walls."

"And the Hunt doesn't care who they take, because you're all criminals."I grabbed my tray, then jerked my head towards our table. "Wanna come help me explain this mess to them?"

"To the court?" she asked.

I laughed once. "Just to explain, Poppy. Not to stay."

"Oh. Ok. Yeah." And she gathered her things, following me like a nervous puppy waiting to get kicked.

Yet we were spotted long before we reached the table. First, it was Camila, at the jester's table.

"Aww, the losers are getting a fan club!" she taunted.

"Shadows!" Jack yelled at her. "Morrigan-Jack. Shadows!" Then he ruffled his feathers. "Bitch!"

That made me stop hard. "What?"

"Bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch!" he cawed, clearly proud of himself. "Jack! Bitch!"Caw!

"Well, ok then," I muttered, a little shocked at his new word, yet continuing on to our table.

Behind me, the jesters were all laughing at Camila. I heard something about how not even the crow liked her, and it made me realize they were just as cutthroat amongst themselves as they were to everyone else. Well, that somehow felt appropriate. Assholes were going to be assholes if it was truly in their nature.

But their ruckus had caught Torian's attention. When it was clear Poppy was following me, he nudged Hawke. Hawke clasped Wilder's arm, who flicked a finger our way, making Aspen look. Keir wasn't there, but the moment I put my tray down, he stepped in from the other side, taking the chair beside me and all but cutting Poppy out.

"Guys, she's been helping me with the map," I said.

Hawke murmured under his breath, but no one else responded.

"It seems Nevaeh told a few people about Harper's threat, so we have help looking for the thing."

"The ones I told you about," Keir said to Torian.

Torian just turned his most regal expression on Poppy. "So did you want a prize or something? This is not my debt."