Finn

  When he woke up, Leopold, Juli, and Fiete were not there. Frightened, he she air, but all he smelled were the stras. Where were they? Where was Juli? Where was his family? Whimpering softly, he curled up. Surely they were nearby, right? And if not? If they... Were gone? Forever?

  Had he lost Julia? His friend. His sister. His family. His Juli!

  You 't be gone! Juli! Don't leave me alone! Please. e back!

  Marko was still asleep and didn't notice Finn's panic. But his body was warm and... Finn blinked and turned around. Warm and naked. When did he transform back? Did I spend the whole night... o him... like this?

  His boyfriend hummed quietly in his sleep. Should Finn wake him up? Hesitantly, he shook his boyfriend's arm.

  Marko blinked. "Finn...", he murmured.

  "Marko!" Finn sniffled softly. "Juli is gone!"

  "What?" Marko yawned. "Gone? She 't be gone... She’s o..." He rolled to the other side. "She's not o me anymore! Where did she go? We talked and then..."

  "Talked? When?" Finn clutched Marko's arm. "She 't be gone! Wait! You slept not only o me, but also o Juli NAKED?"

  "Yes. Why?"

  "o Juli?" Does Juli know about it? If not... Oh, dear... They talked... Then Juli knows that... But where is she? Juli! Where are you? e back!

  "I 't talk to her any other way... But... Fiete and Leopold are not here either..." Marko looked around. "We should wake up Peter."

  Now Josefine woke up. She sluggishly recoiled and looked around seargly. Irritated, she she air, just as Finn had done before.

  "Your uncle is gone", Marko alerted her. "Do you know where he's gone? And Juli? And... The elf?"

  "Gone?" Josefine pouted. "No. I smell them. They e back here."

  "They’re ing back?" Finhed a sigh of relief. "You smell them?"

  "Yes, of course. I am a dragon..." The girl shrugged her shoulders and then shook Peter awake, as she wao get up, but he had put his arm around her. "Peter. Wake up!"

  Meanwhile, the others in the group woke up. Shortly thereafter, two screams were heard.

  ?Maleen!!!“

  "Pepe!!!"

  The two children were missing. A tumult broke out. The adults searched for the two kids and made sure that no one else was missing. The absence of Juli, Leopold, and Fiete was quickly noticed. Josefiried to expin that the missing were on their way back, but the panicked adults overheard her.

  "Peter!", Lavinia, Gisele, and Liam approached him.

  "Peter! Have you seen the children? Are they with your sister?", asked Lavinia pleadingly.

  "They 't have disappeared!" Gisele hugged her girlfriend in panic. "They must be here somewhere!"

  "We should look for them!" Liam snorted.

  "I don't know where they are...", Peter murmured and looked around. " My sister disappeared too..."

  "They're not gohey're ing! From there!" Josefine poio a pce densely rown with low bushes. And indeed, a while ter they came out between the bushes.

  "Maleen!" Lavinia ran to Julia and took her little sister from her. Liam got Pepe.

  "Where have you been?", he asked angrily.

  "The children followed a willow-o-wisp", Leopold expined. "We went after them... And the lost too. Fiete found us all."

  Marko jumped up and hugged Juli stormily. (A few elves immediately mocked his naked sight.) He lifted her up and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Yhtened us, Juli!"

  "That was not my iion", she replied. "Marko? You need clothes." heless, she ed her arms around him.

  Marko ughed softly and put her ba her feet.

  "Juli!" Josefine squeezed between Marko and Julia to snuggle up to her. Laughing, Marko went back to Finn and put his arm around him. Peter grinned and threw a b over them. "I'm very relieved that you're not ied in my sister, Marko!", he said with a wink. "Otherwise, I'd be pulling your ears for it now!"

  "What?" Marko frowned. "Why?"

  Meanwhile, Josefine had goo her uncle and listeo him talk to Liam. Gisele and Lavinia thanked Leopold, while Juli walked over to Finn and Marko. She sat dowo Finn, who immediately leaned against her.

  "I thought I had lost you", he whispered softly. "For a moment I was very afraid."

  Never leave without me again. Please. Take me with you. And Marko...

  "Five me." She kissed his cheek. "You're not losing me, Finn. Never."

  "Good."

  Some of the younger children were whining. They were hungry.

  "Is it safe to look for berries here? Or mushrooms?", asked Ilse.

  "We'd better stay together!", one of the two other humans, Hans, objected. "It's too dangerous here. There are more creatures here than just willow-o-wisps..." His brother nodded in agreement.

  Josefine she air with i. "A rabbit is nearby!" Her uncle also sniffed hungrily. Did he sehe rabbit too? Finn didn't smell anything. But even if he wao, he couldn't hunt. And Marko hadn’t hunted so far. For his sake. Finn didn't want to be alone. But here in the fairy forest, it was also too dangerous for Marko. Sirens... Finn had only heard rumors, but they were terrifying. His grandfather had told him that sirens drowhers ier for fun. A scary story. But what if it was true? Finn saw Josefine whispering something to Juli, then she ran into the woods. Her uncle followed her.

  Nothing will happen to the dragons, right? They are dragons.

  "Will they find their way back?", asked Ge worriedly. "Although... The older one just found the way back here, right? What would I give for being a dragon..."

  Marko growled at the two humans, who immediately took a step back. So far, he had ighe two, as they had remai a distahey were two of their captors. Finn looked at them frowning ahe urge to growl at them as well. He didn't.

  "I want to hunt a rabbit too!", heard Finn Pepe murmur. His father just shook his head.

  Juli sighed. "We should move on. Maybe we'll find something to eat on the way. Does everyone agree?"

  "And the dragons?", asked an elf with yellonfly wings.

  "We wait for them, but they will find us surely." Juli smiled. "They don't get lost here. Unlike us."

  "I'm still worried", Peter murmured, looking in the dire Fiete and Josefine had gone.

  "tihout the dragons?" Gisele shook her head in shock. "No. I prefer to wait. What if we enter willow-o-wisps?"

  "They are noal!", protested Hanno. "We won't meet any during the day."

  "I'd rather wait for the twons too", Flora murmured.

  Finn smiled. He knew Juli was worried about how the elves would react to Fiete and Josefine, but she didn't have to. The elves were afraid aheir distahose who had previously spoken out against the dragons now agreed with Flora and Gisele.

  They will probably never make friends with the dragons, which may be a good thing, but they accept them close to them. Although they fear the dragons. And... They are dragons. If they wao, they would sider us all their meal. There is nothing human about them, even if they pretend so. Ay is healthy in this case. Should I be afraid? But the two like Juli aer... And I only agree. Juli is so sweet. The best new family I could wish for. I don't care where I am, as long as she and Marko are with me.

  How are my parents doing?

  He leaned against Marko, who immediately pressed a kiss to his hair. Yes. Finn was happy, even if he missed his parents... But he had long since suppressed that. Juli seems so worried... This is certainly not only because of the dragons... She smells of fear. How I help her? And Leo... He tries so hard to make up for everything, but I... What do I do?

  "There's something!", cried Cudia suddenly, pointing to a swarm of... Fairies? who flew slowly towards them. "Little people!"

  "These are fairies." Her sister grinned. "But... What are they carrying?"

  "Are these fruits?" The elf with the yellow wings stretched her to see better. "These are fruits!"

  And ihe little fairies carried fruit with them. Chatting, they made their way through the derarees. In the bright daylight, the forest seemed just as ented as at night. Just like the fruits that the little people carried with them. The little fairies flew towards the group and then, to everyone's surprise, they nded in front of them and id down the fruit. One of the fairies said something, but Finn didn't uand the little creature.

  "I believe the fruits are for us." Smiling, Juli walked up to the fairies and poio one of the fruits. The little fairy smiled happily and nodded. "Thank you very much."

  "And if that's a trap?", one of the human brothers murmured, but the elves were already distributing the fruit. The fairies watched this with delight.

  It was not a trap. The fruits were sweet and juicy. There was enough for everyone. Finn bit into a fruit that resembled an apple. One of the fairies sat on his shoulder and told him something in the fn nguage of the fairies. He did not uand the fairy, but he liked to listen to the little creature. Fairies also sat on Julia's shoulder. Several. Two even sat on her head and braided her hair. Some pyed with the children. They whizzed around them. It eaceful. But then the fairies looked up frightened, mumbled a kind of farewell, and flew away. Shortly afterward, Fiete and Josefiurned. Did they flee from the dragons?

  Josefine immediately ran to Julia and snuggled up to her. Finn noticed that there was some blood in the ers of her mouth. But Juli either didn't notice, or she didn't care. She ed her arms around the younger girl. Leopold grinned. Fiete went to Peter, who told him about the fairies. He showed the dragon the fruit he was eating.

  "We should go on soon", Julia murmured. "I don't want to risk the soldiers taking ce and following us here..."

  "They won't", Josefine replied, leaning her head against Julia's shoulder. "No one will follow us."

  Leopold looked questioningly at Julia. She shrugged her shoulders helplessly.

  "Because it's so dangerous here?", asked Finn, but he didn't like Josefine's smile. She looked satisfied.

  "What? Did you eat them all?", joked Marko. Juli gave him an indignant look, but Josefine's smile remained unclouded.

  "Not quite", she whispered and snuggled up closer to Julia.

  "Not quite?" Leopold frowned.

  "I let them burn. All. Each of them. No one knows that we fled here. No one follow us." Theurned into a cat and curled up purring on Juli's p. Juli looked frighte Leopold, but she lovingly stroked the cat's fur. Leopold put his arm around her.

  "Is everything alright with you?" Fiete sat down with them.

  "Josefine killed the soldiers", Marko stammered in shock.

  "That's what I thought..." Fiete stroked Josef's delicate head. "But I wasn't sure... He didn't want to tell me where he was at night... Maybe I should have followed him... But... To be ho, I'm gd that at least we don't have to worry about the buards anymore." He leaowards Juli and stroked her head as well. Theurned into a cat and climbed up to Josef and licked his fur. Josef purred. Julia stroked Fiete's soft fur.

  Did he let Josefine... Did he let Josef go on purpose? A cold shiver ran down Finn's spine.

  "Hey, let's leave!" Peter hurried to them. "We want to go. e on." He took Fiete from Julia, who immediately snuggled and purred ier's arms. Julia lifted Josef up and pressed a kiss to his fur. She carried him with one arm and reached for Leopold’s hand with her free hand, who gave her a gentle smile.

  Finn stood up and climbed onto Marko's back, as he had turned into a wolf again. One of the elves took the b, which was now lying on the floor.