Pebble

---

"I feel strange. I don't like it."

After coming of age, the three spirals felt awkward in their big bodies. Adults dismissed them, telling them it was the natural transition of puberty. It would pass, they said.

The youngest, Pebble, was decisively unhappy. "I can't play with Pedro anymore, I'm too big! I don't like this!!"

They were too tall, or too wide, or not flexible enough.Their necks hurt, their joints and wings felt like heavy weights. Their familiars worried.
After weeks of pondering and discussing, the middle one, Prickly, proposed to visit the mysterious visitor Nest, by the Horriific Thickets, in hopes she'd know a remedy.
"It's the best plan we've got".
--

From the outside, Nest's lair was shoddy but inviting, a re-purposed circus tent of earthy hues and bushes surrounding the area, forming an opening in the dense bamboo formations. Cautiously, the siblings lined up by the entrance. The door was a delicate web-like material, and with unison bravery, they peeked their necks in.
It was significantly bigger on the inside. The tables and shelves were cluttered with hoards of plants and berry bushes, pots were filled with different dirt types, and scattered wood logs of birch and pau-brasilia.
As they quietly ventured their way in, they also noticed the surprising quantity of cobwebs; different stages, sizes and even colors, connecting every surface of the room that wasn't regularly used. There was a large quilted couch in the middle of the room, as well as a big round table, covered by a silk-like tablecloth. In the very middle, sat a bowl of strange-looking fruit.

After a minute of assessing the room, they turned their attention to the ceiling, from which came a series of clicking noises and hisses; there turned out to be a mechanic metal spider, busy tailoring and fixing its geometrically shaped shiny webs. They gasped.

"What is it?", muttered Prickly.

"It's a Coppercoil Creeper. They'll fiddle with any material you give them. Pretty handy." Nest surfaced from the back room, carrying a platter with one wing, and dragging a heavy chest with another.

"Uhm... hi, madam Nest. I'm Peep, and these are my my siblings Prickly and Pebble. We wanted to ask you... well, we need help with something".

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Peep, Prickly, Pebble. I'm surprised to see your friendly faces here. Seems almost like yesterday you were but excited hatchlings waddling through branches. How have you adjusted to your fast maturity?"

"Well, you see-"
"We haven't", cut Prickly.
"We want to be young again!!", Peep cheered.

"Well, then. How's this, let's talk business over some tea. You kids hungry? I just baked some delicious mallard and rye buns." Nest lowered her tray on the table to reveal a great quantity of steaming rolls, its delicious aroma filling the air.

Enthusiastically, Prickly jumped in her spot and reached for a bite-full of loaf. "We're ALWAYS hungry!", she exclaimed.
Pebble also reached for a loaf, and proceeded to delicately taste on the most flavorful pastry he had ever eaten.

Nest chuckled. "Let me pull the others out of the oven, and I'll be right back. Please, eat as much as you want." She left the room and brought back a sizeable pot of what smelled to be freshly brewed chai tea. She served a bowl for each spiral, including herself and only then Peep took a small portion of bread.

Nest quickly ripped a bun in half, and took a hearty bite. "So, let's talk business."

---

X X

Journey to Rotrock Rim The dry wind cruised through the travelers. Sticks, leaves and moss crackled quietly as it was stepped on by the on-going travelers. Bubbles of puss popped in the distance. Hengrid broke the silence: "This was once a beautiful forest lush forest, you know?". The Triplets drew near each other, in awe, in fear, in anticipation something would come out of the surrounding glowing rocks and sickly organic structures. The Windswept Plateau was not enough to contain all of the residents of the Pagen clan, and so, after a surprisingly collected vote, they immigrated to the Rotrock Rim region of the Scarred Wasteland. Hengrid guided the little ones.