[Sweet Pea's in the hospital. There was a collection today at the colony and she barely escaped] read the fateful message. Kara, on the other hand, was slowly coming to. She could vaguely see Frost hovering over her. Wait a minute... what just happened? Surely... no... why was he hovering over her? oh no! Sweet Pea! She sat up quickly only to fall back down again, groaning "not your smartest move, Kara" she groaned as she tried to keep her head from swimming. "I... I need to get to the pixie colony... Sweet Pea needs me" she mumbled as she tried to sit up again.

By the time they'd landed, Kara had recovered enough to rush over to Sweet Pea's bed before they'd even landed "hey, she's asleep right now. We think she'll recover, but you never know here" Aden explained. Kara nodded to show she understood and sat on the edge of Sweet Pea's bed. She was so small "Who's your friend?" Aden asked. Kara looked up and noticed that Aden was asking about Frost "he's Frost. Frost, this is Aden" she introduced before returning her attention to the tiny pixie in front of her. Pixies were naturally smaller than fairies, midgets as a human would say. It's virtually the only difference between a pixie and a fairy. Pixie adults only ever reach the hip of a full-grown fairy. She was so tiny.

Tears gathered in Kara's eyes and she laid down, gently wrapping her arms around the child. She was about the size of a fairy infant now. Sweet Pea opened her eyes, stirred by the movement. "Kawa?" she asked in a tiny voice. Kara smiled gently at her "shhhh.... it's alright... momma's here" Kara whispered and began to pet Sweet Pea's hair. It wasn't a new thing for Kara to refer to herself as Sweet Pea's mother, because she virtually was, in every way, shape, or form save for the fact that fairy laws kept her from doing so. "I was weally scawed, momma" Sweet Pea informed Kara, tears gathering in her eyes. "I know, baby. I was scared too when I found out. But my little baby ran away and escaped. You ran fast as the wind, I bet" Kara praised as she wiped away the tears of the child "now... go back to sleep so you can get better, alright? I'll be right here" she promised. Sweet Pea nodded and curled up against her "mother" before she fell asleep again.

Frost nodded at Aden, then watched Kara and the small pixie. He was touched by the love that was pouring from Kara as she comforted the small thing. He couldn't help but smile a little. Frost recognized Aden, but never knew his name until now. But, now that he thought about it....Aden would know about what Frost did to that fairy.

Aden watched Frost observe Kara and Sweet Pea and he smiled some. He walked over to him and began leading him out of the tent "come on... let's give them some privacy. It's been awhile since I've seen you... how've you been? Better than the last time i saw you, I hope" he asked, leading him to the kitchen. It was lunchtime and the pixie parents were going to need a lot of emotional support after what just happened.

Frost looked at the fairy and nodded, walking with him without an objection. "I've been alright. Keeping to myself now'a'days." He wondered why this fairy was being so civil towards him. It unnerved him a little.

"If you keep to yourself, how did you end up with Kara? She'd not exactly the type to start hanging around fairy killers" Aden commented. Yeah... maybe that was un-called for. It's in the past... and Aden needed to move on. If the guy's changed enough to be Kara's friend, then that's great. "I'm sorry, that was rude. No, I haven't forgotten what you did, yes I have a hard time seeing you as anything good now... but Kara doesn't spend time with just anybody. And she doesn't give the title 'friend' to just anyone either. So... if she trusts you... then I will too. Unless she doesn't know, that is" he finished and began dishing out some soup for pixies "come on, you know the drill. Grab a bowl and start feeding the poor things. They've had a rough day. Lilly, I know you're grieving but you need to eat. Rose wouldn't have wanted you to starve yourself to death, no matter what happened to her" he ordered, soothing the young grieving pixie woman, crying over her younger sister who had been collected earlier that day.

Forest listened to Aden and frowned slowly. "My brother no doubt told her. I'd have been difficult for me to. But I commented on it earlier and she seemed to know what I was talking about." He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Alright. I'll get to it." He did what he was told, picking up some food and taking it to a small pixie male who was trying to be brave, but his tears continued to run down his cheeks. He set the plate in front of him and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. He didn't say anything, he just gave him an understanding look.

"You know... I've never seen someone turn into a dark fairy... until you, that is. I didn't know it was possible to change. But then again... maybe it isn't. I'll bet you that this is the side Kara sees in you, why else would she care so much about you?" Aden asked as he observed the pixie look at Frost with a grateful smile "she was my baby... barely a child. She couldn't run fast enough, and they set one of the dogs on her. The next thing I know... I'm watching my little girl get hauled off into those death machines they call trucks. They're as bad as humans. Whenever we're seen, we're slaughtered... and we can't do a thing about it" the pixie confided as he wiped away his tear to he could eat.

"Hey Frost... come here for a second" Aden asked, drawing him to a secluded corner. "Full grown pixies can't be any larger than your sister... I know you're sensitive about her, but she's fairy through and through. You know as well as I do that the only difference between a fairy and a pixie is their size. The way things are going... I don't think they'll last another year. Child hearts are high in demand, as are every other age of heart. The government doesn't regulate the collections, so the pixies never have enough time to grow up and produce more pixies... this has to stop. What do you think?" he asked. What he really wanted was for Frost to petition the government. Pixie support had petitioned the government many times before, and at best they receive funds to take care of the pixies better. They never "had a strong enough claim" before... but maybe if Frost presented the case of his sister... the government just might be swayed to do something about it.

Frost just gave the man a reassuring look, then turned to Aden without moving. "What are you suggesting? I'd go after the bastards if I could." He knew he owed those kind of people so much, he couldn't even count the number of people he had to see suffer and watch die by their hands. He'd totally misinterpreted what he'd meant, but it was still an idea in his mind.

Aden shook his head "no... I want you to help us petition the government. They always ignore it because we don't have a solid claim that pixies are a different kind of fairy. Maybe... maybe with you there it'll work. I mean... your sister is every bit a fairy and she's no taller than these pixies. I know you're sensitive about your sister, but it's the best proof we have. This... horror has to stop" he answered.

Frost thought for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Only with Void and Flare's ok." He wouldn't do it without his family agreeing. Flare would do it for him, but Void...he might not be so understanding. He didn't like Flare being put on display for everyone to point and stare. He was still thinking of going after the people responsible for this.

Aden nodded "of course. I wouldn't dream of making your family uncomfortable... it's just... you're the best proof we have" he said softly. Just then, Kara walked up "I thought you were with Sweet Pea" Aden noticed "she woke up and she let me leave to help out everyone else that was suffering since she was just sleeping. What're you two talking about all the way over here?" she asked as put Frost's arm around her. "We were discussing possibilities of petitioning the government again. I was asking Frost if he would join us" Aden answered. Kara smiled softly "well... here's hoping it works out" she suggested and the pulled away so she could pull Frost to the hospital "I lied, I'm really just here to take Frost to the hospital" she explained to Aden as she tugged Frost to their destination "I'm told you know your way around the hospital rather well" she commented to Frost.

Frost nodded slightly. The thing with light fairies, they usually didn't push. They would guilt you into something, if you had a concience, but they didn't push. He smiled softly at Kara when she came up. He tightened his arm to show affection. He chuckled as Kara started to pull him away. "Ask that man to stay, I'll be back to talk to him." He said to Aden as he was carted off. "So, Kara. Where exactly are you taking me?"

Kara rose her eyebrow and looked at Kara "I told you... I'm taking you to the hospital. 1) I need emotional support just like every other pixie mother coming in to see their loved ones that managed to escape, 2) the hospital is always under staffed and I'm told you know your way around the hospital" she answered "where did you think I was taking you?" Once they'd arrived, Kara noticed that Sweet Pea was awake, so she led Frost over to her bed "hey there, Sweet Pea, how're you feeling?" she asked, sitting down on the bed.

Frost walked with her and sighed softly. Why was he there for emotional support when he could be helping people? He smiled softly and stayed with her anyway. He watched her with Sweet Pea and smiled a little. It was heart warming to watch her comfort her 'daughter'.

"Who's that?" Sweet Pea asked timidly, pointing to Frost. Kara looked a Frost, smiled, and tugged him down until he was sitting next to her "this is Frost, he's a dear friend of mine" she answered as Sweet Pea climbed up onto Kara's lap. She watched him for awhile, cuddling close to Kara for comfort "He's nice?" she asked timidly. "Of course, baby... I would never dream of bringing someone here that would hurt you" Kara reassured. Deciding that that was enough to form an excellent opinion of Frost, Sweet Pea climbed over until she was planted firmly in Frost's lap "I'm Sweet Pea. My birthday is tomorrow, are you coming?" she asked. Kara chuckled and leaned against Frost's shoulder, hiding her distress from Sweet Pea "I think she likes you" she commented to Frost as she slipped her hand into his.

Frost smiled at Sweet Pea and held her gently when she was in her lap. He chuckled softly when Kara said she liked him. "Yes, I'm coming. Kara has 'invited' me." He smiled and tickled her gently.

Sweet Pea let out a peal of giggles and hugged Frost "good" she declared and curled up to her new favorite, sleep overcoming her again. "Poor baby... she's just tuckered out. Oh Frost... I don't know what I'd do if she hadn't escaped them" Kara cried, letting the stress of the situation and day finally hit her. Every time they have a collection, Kara is terrified... to know that Sweet Pea barely managed to escape... the shock of it all was impairing Kara's ability to function properly.

Frost held Sweet Peas as she slept, she was just so cute. Then he gently wrapped his free arm around Kara as she cried. "Shh....they won't get her. She's safe now, she has her mother with her." He tried to comfort her.

Frost's words seemed to echo, like he was far away. Eventually, though, her tears stopped and she was just cuddled against Frost. "Thank you for being here... you make this easier for me" she whispered as she smoothed down Sweet Pea's soft hair. "I would've adopted her already if I could. But since pixies are seen as animals, I couldn't guarantee her safety... so instead I have to leave her here... where she is hunted" she confided. It wasn't exactly a secret, but she hadn't exactly told anyone about her plans.

Frost looked at her and kissed her head after she was done talking. "She would be safe with us." He whispered to her, smiling a little. He didn't mind having such a cute thing running around the house.

Kara breathed deeply. She liked the sound of that... "us." She shook her head though "No... I'd have to register her with the council, I'd have to register her as my pet... I couldn't do that. Besides... eventually word will get out. Pixies don't last very long in the city. Even if she was to stay with you... and me... she'd constantly be in danger" she explained.

Frost sighed and nuzzled her gently. "I know you'd have to register as a pet....its regrettable." He thought for a moment, then kissed her head. "How about after we get the council to listen to us. Flare would love to play with someone her own size for once." It sounded mean, but he didn't mean it that way.

Kara smiled "I like that idea... but Sweet Pea is about half the size of Flare. Still... they're closer in size than any of us" she commented "have you ever seen an infant pixie? They can fit inside your hand. The grow fast after that, though. I'll bet you anything that pixie DNA is similar to fairy DNA. We've never had the scientific resources to check before, but now we do. We could take DNA from one of the volunteers, a pixie, and even Flare--if she's up to it--and we can show the council that killing a pixie is the same as killing a fairy child" she pointed out as she curled up Frost. Something was bugging her, though. "Frost... if you were a volunteer before... why did you even joke about requiring me to get a live pixie? It just doesn't add up" she asked.