Demons, Witches, and Toads (BoyxBoy) - Chapter 5: Chapter 5

"Do you have any idea how much easier this would be if you hadn't gotten yourself publicly forced out of the academy?" the demon muttered as they trudged through the woods.
"I'm sorry," Wheeler said for about the fifteenth time that night.
The demon sighed heavily. "You're lucky I was able to come up with a back up plan. You sure you remember what it is?"
Wheeler took a deep breath, trying his best to restate what the demon had told him nearly word for word. "We get some illusionary fairy dust then I use it to make myself look like another student and take their place."
"Good," the demon replied with a nod.
"I'm still not so sure about this," Wheeler said slowly. "It seems kinda mean to just replace someone."
"You made a deal with a demon, kid. It comes with the territory."
Wheeler's shoulders sagged. "I just wish there was another way..."
"Well we wouldn't need another way if you hadn't failed your entrance exam," the demon snapped. "So shut up and stop complaining. Honestly, what kind of idiot tries to apply for a magic academy without ever casting a spell?"
"You're doing that thing again," Wheeler said softly.
"What thing?"
"The thing where you say really mean things."
"For the last time, I'm a demon. I'm going to say mean things. Get over it." The demon stopped, pointing to a massive tree stretching high into the air above them. Surrounding it was a circle of tiny, red-capped mushrooms. "The fairy tree is right there. Near the roots is an entrance."
"Are you going to come with me?" Wheeler asked.
"Nope."
"Oh," the boy said slowly. "Okay." He turned to move towards the tree when he suddenly froze. "Hey, before I go, we never exchanged names. I'm Wheeler!"
He was met by silence.
"And...you are..." Wheeler urged.
The demon let out a low huff, rolling his eyes. "Mulock."
"Can I call you Mully?"
"No," the demon replied dryly. "No you can not."
"But it's such a cute nickname. It suits you."
"No it doesn't."
"Oops, sorry, I can't hear you," Wheeler said, beginning to skip towards the tree.
"Yes you can," Mulock snapped.
"No, I really can't! Maybe I could've if you came with me, but you're so far away now that I can't hear a word you're saying...Mully."
"Don't call me that!"
"Huuuuh? What did you say?" Wheeler said with a grin, beginning to dip between the tree's massive moss-covered roots, his gaze falling to the hollow opening beneath.
"I said don't call me Mully--" before the demon could finish his sentence Wheeler crawled inside the small entrance.
It was a tight squeeze but eventually Wheeler was able to squirm his way through the hole. What he found inside was a sight that made his eyes go as round as saucers.
Around him appeared to be a small city built into the hollowed out inside of the tree. Houses were carved directly into the wood, rising up all around to form the miniature metropolis. Fairies flitted every which way, a stream of glittering sparkles trailing behind them. They were adorably small, hardly bigger than a butterfly.
The creatures stilled as Wheeler entered but one fairy with shimmering golden wings began to immediately fly towards him. She moved closer and closer until she was hovering only an inch away from Wheeler's nose.
"Good evening mortal," the fairy said, her voice ringing like gentle bells. "What brings you to our humble domain?"
They seemed surprisingly calm about Wheeler being there.
Wheeler bowed his head, being extra careful not to knock into her or one of their little houses.
"Hello there! My name is Wheeler Trevil and this is my trusty friend and traveling companion Mister Pumpernickel." The toad let out a low croak from his perch on Wheeler's shoulder. "We have come in search of your illusionary fairy dust!"
The fairy gave him a dainty smile. "Ah, you mean this!" She gestured to a small purple bag tied to her belt which was covered in similar multi-colored pouches.
Wheeler nodded. "I think so."
"We often get visitors like yourself," the fairy said with a little laugh. "Your kind are always seeking our dusts. We have dusts for flying, dusts for romance, dusts for sleeping, and of course...dusts for illusions." She fluttered closer, nearly brushing against Wheeler's nose. "And don't worry, we're more than happy to give them away. That is...for a price of course."
Wheeler swallowed hard. "Which is?"
"Nothing much, just a sweet song that warms our little fairy hearts," the fairy explained cheerfully. Her words were followed by unintelligible chippers of agreement from the others. "We don't get much entertainment since our colony is located so deeply in the woods. Often adventurers like yourself are our only sources of amusement. So, what do you say, a song for the dust?"
Wheeler shot her a grin. "Yeah! Of course. I'd be honored to sing for you!"
"Wonderful," the fairy said, clapping her hands together creating a small shower of sparkles. "But remember, for you to get the dust your song must warm our hearts. If it doesn't entertain us we'll have to find another way to seek amusement from you."
Wheeler gave her a thumbs up. "No worries, miss fairy lady. I promise my song will be great. You ready Mister Pumpernickel?"
The toad let out an excited croak.
"Perfect!" Wheeler cleared his throat. What came next was the sound of perhaps the most tone deaf singing in the history of tone deaf singing. "Oooooooh my name is Wheeler and this is my toad, he and I, we love the road!" Mister Pumpernickel chimed in, trying to harmonize with his own pitchy croaks. The two sounds clashed together to create a cacophony of horrible music. "We caused a mess at the academy, so now a demon is helping meeeeeeEEEEE..." The boy proceeded to try and go up a pitch. The sound that came out was so horrible that the fairies scrambled desperately to cover their ears. "So now we're singing in a treeeeeee, and we need your help so we can be freeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE--"
"STOP! STOP!" The golden winged fairy begged, clutching her own ears with her tiny hands.
Wheeler did as she said, his eyes growing wide. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said softly, "did you not like the song?"
"NO! NO ONE LIKED YOUR HORRIBLE FUCKING SONG!" the fairy screeched.
Wheeler stared at the little fairy in shock.
"I-I'm sorry," he stammered again.
"Well sorry isn't good enough," the fairy snarled. "I told you what would happen if you didn't entertain us, didn't I?"
"Well, yes," Wheeler said nervously, "but how else am I supposed to--" and that's when the fairy suddenly flew forward, it's little pointed teeth chomping down hard into his hand.
Wheeler let out a small yelp, his hand stinging horribly from the pain.
"What the heck," he blurted, "did you just bite me?" And that's when another horrible sting of pain came from his neck, then his other hand, then his ear, the fairies swarming him like a pack of wasps.
Wheeler let out a squeal of panic, moving to escape when his gaze suddenly fell to the fairy's pouch covered belt. He couldn't just run with his tail between his legs. He'd come all this way for one reason alone. His dream had always been to go to the magical academy. If he ran away now, he'd be putting everything at stake. He couldn't do that - not when he was so close.
And that's when an idea suddenly came to him.
Wheeler squeezed his eyes tightly shut, enduring the painful stings of the fairy bites as he opened his mouth, letting out the loudest, longest, most horrible high note he could possibly muster. Just as he'd expected, when faced with the awful noise the fairy's hands immediately flew back to their ears, covering them to block out the sound. Still screeching the note Wheeler quickly moved forward, grabbing at the golden fairy's belt. He managed to yank it off and as the fairy lunged at him again he immediately ducked back, attempting to squirm out of the hole.
He could feel the horrible bites beginning again, the fairies snipping at his arms and legs. As he wiggled through the entrance he began to desperately call, "MULLY GET A ROCK! GET A ROCK NOW!"
"I told you my name isn't Mully--"
"IT'S AN EMERGENCY."
He heard a low huff in a response but as he finally managed to pull himself out Mulock quickly slid a large stone over the tree's entrance.
Wheeler's chest heaved as he attempted to catch his breath, trying his best to ignore the muffled screeching coming from behind the rock. Every inch of him burned, and Wheeler could feel his cheeks already beginning to swell up.
Mulock's gaze flickered over him. "What the hell happened to you?"
Wheeler's eyes brimmed with tears despite himself, his voice muffled by the swelling. "Fairies are scary."
Mister Pumpernickel offered up a single croak in agreement.