The job of the tinker is dirty and gritty. They spend most of their time either building or inventing. Home tinkers build all of the things that fairies use in their daily lives. They build the huts that we live in and the carts that we use to carry around heavy loads. They construct the pails that we catch rainwater in for drinking and the lanterns that store the sun's rays in order to light our homes at night. Because of the nature of their job, all tinkers wear tool belts and are often covered in dirt or grease. Tinkerbell was the only female tinker to be born in many years so when she looked at the home tinkers all she saw was a sea of male faces.

"Join the rest of the home tinkers, Tinkerbell!" ordered the queen, "From now on they will be your family for eternity." The queen lifted her hands to sky at the end of this last statement to mark the end of the blooming ceremony for this cycle of births. All of the fairies in attendance cheered in celebration of another successful blooming ceremony. Tinkerbell, on the other hand, was distraught as she glided over to the group of home tinkers that were waiting to greet her.

Tinkerbell landed in front of the group of home tinkers with a light thump. Most of the men were at least a head taller than her and with their brown sack-like outfits, they were like a forest to Tinkerbell.

"Hello" said Tinkerbell in a timid voice. The tallest of the trees moved in her direction and extended a hand. She placed her hand inside of his and the shake caused her vision to blur and her teeth to chatter.

"Welcome to the fold little lady. I'm Tinkerslay." Stated the giant man. He then swept her up in a hug and spun her around in a circle. Tinkerslay, along with the rest of the home tinkers, took her on a grand tour of the home fairy village. He flew faster than her, they all did. Perhaps it was because she was newly bloomed or because she was half the size of most of them, but she was struggling to keep up. Tinkerslay noticed that she was lagging at the back of the group. He flew back to her and swiftly grabbed her up as if he were going to carry her over a newlywed threshold. Tinkerbell was embarassed to say the least.

"This is where we eat." Stated Tinkerslay proudly as he sat Tinkerbell down on the ground. Her surroundings were spinning after the ride, but she could see that  it was a large outdoor space with an enormous rectangular dining table in the middle. The table was so giant that Tinkerbell, standing at the head of the table, couldn't even see the other end.

"We eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner here with all of the other home fairies." Said another tall tree. He was slightly shorter than Tinkerslay. He had introduced himself as Tinkercrane.

"You can sit wherever you want. Except for the third seat from the right. That's mine!" Exclaimed the smallest of all the men standing around her, yet he was still large. His name was Tinkerjude and his voice was surprisingly high pitched. Tinkerslay briskly knocked Tinkerjude on the back of the head. Tinkerjude let out an Audible whimper as he rubbed his scalp.

"Sit wherever you'd like." Tinkerslay added as he glared at Tinkerjude. The tour continued on.

"This is where we work." Tinkerslay declared proudly. The large warehouse was plain and uninspiring. It seemed to Tinkerbell like a difficult place for inventors to work. She walked up the the building and looked through one of the dusty windows. It was dark inside and the building seemed abandoned. Although it wasn't much to look at, Tinkerbell pretended to be impressed. She didn't want to offend her new family so soon after blooming.

"This...is where you'll sleep." Tinkerslay mentioned as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. They approached the simple hut where Tinkerbell would live. It was made of wood and straw with a plain front door and a lone window. Tears were starting to well up in the small fairy's eyes but she quickly held them back. After seeing the dusty workroom, she feared for what kind of home the tinkers would build. However, she felt that crying in front of a group of burly tinkers would not be received well. Tinkerslay led her into the small hut and her eyes widened in astonishment.

Although the outside of the hut was dull and uninspired, the inside was magical to say the least. There was a skylight in the roof that let in the sun. Flowers hung from the ceiling like streamers and all over the room were tiny carved wooden animal figurines. There were bears, lions, alligators, and a tiny bunny. There was also furniture, but not normal fairy furniture. This furniture was plush with vibrant colors. There were also gadgets that Tinkerbell had never seen before. Ticking things on the walls made her want to dance to the rhythm. It was the most beautiful place she had ever seen.

"Do you like it?" asked Tinkerslay. "All of us worked hard to decorate. We got the furniture from the human tinkers and each one of us carved our favorite animal out of wood for you. Queen Esmintu gave me a hint that the newest fairy would be a home tinker and of the feminine persuasion. So, we prepared this for you."

Tinkerbell didn't just like it, she loved it. She hugged Tinkerslay as tightly as she could, so tight that she could feel him blushing. Then she hugged all of the other home tinkers who had obviously worked extremely hard on her home. She even hugged Tinkerelias even though she knew he had no hand in decorating her house because he had also been born recently.

"Usually, we have all newly born tinkers live together, but because you are female we will not force you to live with Tinkerelias." Said Tinkerslay.

Tinkerbell looked at Tinkerelias. He was so much bigger than her. His brown hair was unruly like a wild animal, but his face was kind. He gave Tinkerbell the feeling that he would be forever loyal. Although she was grateful that she would not be required to live with any of these large men who would probably stink up her newly decorated house, she also felt that she would be lonely in the house by herself.

She disliked the thought of the young Tinkerelias living with some of the larger men. Her imagination painted a picture of an environment full of roughhousing and teasing. She imagined how in that sort of environment his kind, innocent eyes would soon glaze over and harden. The thought of that happening saddened her heart.

"I think living with Tinkerelias would be ok." Said Tinkerbell. Tinkerslay opened his eyes wide at this statement but he did not question her.

"Well then, dinner is at seven and work starts at six AM. See you lads..... erhm and ladies later." Said Tinkerslay. He wasn't used to having girls around.

The rest of the home tinkers followed Tinkerslay out of the small hut, leaving Tinkerbell and Tinkerelias alone. They stared at each other in silence. Tinkerelias looked around tentatively as if he was afraid to move out of fear of breaking something.

"You take the bed farthest from the door." Suggested Tinkerbell.

"Ok" said Tinkerelias with a floppy smile on his face. He made his way over to the bed bumping the table with some of the wooden animals on it as he went. The little wooden bunny fell to the floor with a clonk as one of its ears snapped off.

"Aw man! It took me three months and four tries to make this!" said Tinkerelias as he held the crippled rabbit in his large hand.

"How did you have time to make that?" asked Tinkerbell "Aren't you newly born just like me?"

"You were late blooming by six months. The rest of us newborns had plenty of time to sit around, learn our jobs, and even carve bunnies out of wood while we waited for you. Some of the elders thought that you would never bloom, or that you would come out ugly and deformed." Tinkerelias said with a chuckle.

Tinkerbell felt hurt by his comment about her being deformed but she knew he meant no harm. How could a boy with a bunny as his favorite animal have any ill intentions? She watched Tinkerelias mourn for the broken figurine. He turned it over in his hands again and again obviously distraught that he had broken it.

"Can I keep it?" asked Tinkerbell.

"But it's broken." Said Tinkerelias

"I think that gives it character. Please let me keep it."

Tinkerelias handed her the one-eared rabbit and she slid it into her dress pocket. She then looked out of the window and saw that the sun was about to set. It was almost dinnertime. The two of them left their hut to join the rest of the home fairies for dinner.

When they reached the dining area there was already a huge line. Tinkerbell didn't recognize anyone and the endless brown outfits were not helping her distinguish the fairies she knew from the rest. She finally reached the front of the food line where there were a few fairies spooning out food to the others.

"Eat well Tinkerbell. You will need your strength for tomorrow." The woman speaking was Tinkerjoy, the only other female home tinker and Tinkerslay's wife. Tinkerbell didn't know the woman well, but she had been there for the tour earlier and she was a welcome sight amid all the testosterone. 

"I will, thank you." Said Tinkerbell.