ota (TW for some violence and homophobia)

[winter_wisp]

The past week had been an odd one. Apparently Fin had been filmed sharing a bed with a man- And apparently that was bad. Winter didn't fully understand why that was bad, but he had tried to. Honestly. He'd even assured Fin that he'd seen plenty of naked people making love online, and that it was very nice- But Fin had looked vaguely upset by that, and had simply begged Winter not to tell him any more about what he'd been watching online, or how much he'd enjoyed it.

...Ever again, actually.

Still, this problem had opened the door for Winter to ask more questions than he usually would, and by the time Saturday night rolled around, he was armed with more knowledge he had been the week before. ...He certainly understood why people were so often inviting him to the toilet when he was out clubbing- That made much more sense now.

He also found it had altered the way he viewed his dance partners. Were they just having fun, or did this person hope for more than just a dance? When people touched him, was it just a touch, or was there more to it? Sex was something Winter had always been very aware of, but he'd never applied the possibility of having it to anyone other than Phouka, and perhaps his pixie kin. The idea that sex could happen with anyone was- New. 

And so Winter had spent the night toying with this new idea. Dancing a touch more provocative with some, avoiding others. He didn't think he wanted to have sex with any of the people he danced with, but kissing... Kissing might be nice. He liked kissing.

He'd kissed one girl right on the dance floor. She'd smelled of vanilla, and her lip gloss had been so shiny and pink... When she'd leaned in close as the music slowed down, he'd leaned in a bit more himself, pleased when she met him halfway and invited a long, slow kiss. She'd tasted like cake icing, but not long after she'd been dragged off by one of her friends, a taller girl with smudged mascara, and eyes that looked red from crying.

"Drama," his new kissing friend had said, rolling her eyes and scribbling her number on the back of his hand.

After that he'd danced alone for a while, before growing bored and moving onto the next club. This time most of his partners were men. They did not smell like vanilla, nor was there any lip gloss. Also, he noticed now how much more sexual it all was when he danced with other men. As though most of them only wanted to dance if they thought they might get something more as well. 

When it was time to leave, his last partner followed him out into the cool night, smiling at him and then gently pushing him back against the wall. Winter had started to panic- But then... Then the man had simply kissed him. Slow and sensual... It was lovely, and when the man pulled away, he only smiled, telling Winter to have a good night.

His pixie heart was fluttering, and he was so gleeful he hadn't noticed another man approach- Not from inside the club, but from a bar down the street.

"That your boyfriend?" the man asked.

"No, just a friend," Winter said, still smiling as he shook his head.

"Yeah? You got a lot of friends?" the stranger asked.

It seemed like such an innocent question, but there was something about the way he asked it that made Winter uneasy.

"I do, yes," the pixie nodded, pushing away from the wall and deciding now was the time to leave.

"Hey now, where you heading? You don't want to be my friend?" the man laughed, catching the pixie's shoulder and shoving him back against the wall.

Things seemed to happen in an instant after that. Winter tried to pull free, and the man struck him hard across the face. Once, then again. The pixie tried again to get free, but the man was much larger, faster as well it seemed, and his fingers curled tightly into a fist as they slammed hard into the pixie's gut. Winter crumpled slightly, his brown curls going white as shock turned to upset- And then anger.

Before the man could strike him again, Winter's magic took over. He wasn't some weak creature in a cage any more, nor was he a child. His magic, just like the rest of him, had matured and grown since then. Though it wasn't until this moment he realized how much.

The man stood frozen- Quite literally. No longer a man, only a figure made of ice.

"Shit," Winter said quietly, still doubled over slightly as he stared at his creation.

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[phouka]

Phouka had found himself trailing after Winter when he went out, watching him from a safe distance. He didn't want to hinder his pixie, but after someone had stolen his memory the Phouka couldn't stand for something like that to happen again.

And so he followed and he watched. And he did have the advantage of being less than obvious in the shadows.

He'd been distracted though, being loved on by two very drunk women. He loved the way their nails felt against his jaw. He didn't notice anything amiss until he scented the cold crackle of Winter's magic. Then his ears pricked up and he raced off to help. He was too late, though. The man was frozen and Winter was in quite a predicament.

[winter_wisp]

Winter had slid down the wall, only sightly hidden from view around the side of the club.

His nose was bleeding, and his jaw swollen, but his eyes were locked on the frozen man before him. Wide open in shock still.

"Phouka," he said, feeling the creature approach before turning to see him. "I didn't mean to do it. He hit me, and... He wouldn't stop. ...I didn't mean to hurt him though," the pixie insisted.

[phouka]

The Phouka whined softly, a high pitched sound that was drown out almost entirely by the passing cars out on the street. He trotted to Winter and thrust his nose into the pixie's hand and licked his palm. Then he caught the cuff of his shirt in gentle teeth and tugged him toward the street to flee the scene.

He cared not for a dead man who had made Winter bleed.

[winter_wisp]

"No, Phouka, I have to fix it," Winter insisted, looking distraught. "Pixies don't hurt people. I'm a good pixie," he insisted.

Bruised and unsteady, Winter got to his feet. With one hand, he touched the man, willing the ice to be flesh again... Only to have his thoughts interrupted by a flash of fear as he recalled being shoved against the wall and struck.

The man, now nothing more than ice, clear as the ponds of their homeland, shattered beneath his hand- Causing Winter to gasp and draw away.

Shocked, Winter stood stone still.

[phouka]

The Phouka was still for a moment as well, watching the ice chunks beginning to melt. It took him a long moment and then he whined again and bit Winter's sleeve again to pull him away from the scene.

[winter_wisp]

This time, Winter didn't resist, letting the Phouka pull him away.

He ached and he was afraid, and his mind shut off as he let Phouka guide him.

[phouka]

He lead Winter down the street, crossing without regard to the light. A car screeched to a halt and honked at the pair. Phouka paid the driver no mind, instead getting Winter far away, blocks and blocks, then around a corner to a street where there were flats with stairs at the entry. He stopped then and let go, sitting on his haunches to get Winter to sit as well.

[winter_wisp]

Sitting down, Winter still looked lost in his own mind, and he reached to stroke the Phouka, scratching him behind the ears, then tugging him closer as he knelt down on the pavement and wrapped his arms around him, burying his face in the creature's soft fur as he let out a soft sob.

[phouka]

The Phouka turned his head to lick Winter's ear. He got blood and hair on his tongue but he didn't mind that. Not if he could bring the pixie some comfort. He didn't dare risk shifting back to his man-form. He couldn't be naked on the street. That would attract more attention than a boy and his dog.

[jageskro]

Jag had been out drinking, and decided to go home when the usual urges to start a fight took over. He really was doing his best to get this under control, but whenever he was on his own he felt on edge, like his skin fit wrong. He'd been walking by the smaller street when he heard the sound of a blow, and a pained exhale. He paused and looked that way, eyes widening at the sight of a man made of ice, barely registering the boy beside him. "Fuck," he very eloquently stated.

[winter_wisp]

Winter looked up sharply, gasping and moving away as far as he could go.

"I didn't mean to hurt him. ...He hit me! He wouldn't stop..."

[jageskro]

"Shit," Jag added, just as eloquently, as he noticed the bloodied boy - probably not just a boy - and his eyes snapped back to the iced man. "You did that?"

[winter_wisp]

Winter didn't want to lie, but he also didn't want to admit he'd done wrong if the other man hadn't seen.

Slumping down the wall, he wrapped his arms around himself and began to sob.

[jageskro]

Jag cursed - under his breath, this time - and slowly came closer. Not to the new ice sculpture; he walked around it, keeping his focus on the boy with the ice. "It's all right, mate. You reacted to what he was doing. I've been there."

[winter_wisp]

Winter was trembling, and he looked at the man, then the ice sculpture.

"I don't know how to undo it," he realized, looking grief stricken. "I have done a terrible thing."

[jageskro]

"Is he still there, d'you think?" Jag asked, crouched in front of the boy and looking at the iced man. "Can he be thawed out?" They'd probably need to ring the emergency services; that kind of temperature shock couldn't be good.

[winter_wisp]

"I-I don't know," Winter confessed, reaching out to touch the ice, attempting to will it back to the flesh it had been.

Closing his eyes, the pixie glowed slightly, trying with all his might to undo what he'd done.

He was bleeding though, drops of blood falling from his nose, and as he attempted to channel his magic, he was struck by a jolt of fear as he remembered being shoved and struck.

The man shattered, nothing more than clear chunks of ice all around them. No flesh, no sign of life at all.

"No," winter gasped.

[alcuin]

Alcuin's recent frank conversation with Fin about relationships and desires had made him think that he ought to at least go out, out to a club, and see how it made him feel. Though he had decided, as soon as he'd walked in, that mostly what it made him feel was anxious. It hadn't occurred to him that he last time he'd been in an atmosphere like this - at the New Year's Eve opening of Saturnalia - that someone had drugged him.

He stayed for all of five minutes, until the first unwelcome touch from a man whose hand felt possessive and overbearing the moment it was on the small of his back, and then he'd fled.

He hadn't come out the same door as Winter, but when he'd looked down the street as he'd pulled out his phone to call for a car, he'd seen the larger figure pushing the smaller one against the wall.

He didn't know what he actually intended to do. It was stupid, really, in retrospect. What did he think he was going to do, fight someone off? Even with the silver knife that Hannibal insisted he carry?

Except it turned out that he didn't have to make any decisions at all, because by the time Alcuin got there, the larger man was... frozen. Literally.

And Alcuin could do nothing but stare, too.

[winter_wisp]

Winter slid slowly down the brick wall, his breath catching between quiet sobs as he stared at his attacker- Who was now clearer than the crystal ponds in the forest he'd called home.

"No, oh no," he whimpered, wiping the blood away as it dripped from his nose.

[alcuin]

Alcuin was a bit at a loss, which perhaps was why all he could think of to do was fish a handkerchief out of his pocket and hand it over to the young man. "H-here," he managed, eyes slipping to the... statue?

"Are you all right? Is he..." He hesitated, not sure how to finish that.

[winter_wisp]

Winter took the handkerchief, staring at it for a long moment before using it. As though he was in a daze.

"I am a bad pixie," he whispered to himself, looking distraught, then looking at the stranger, visibly fearful.

"I didn't mean to harm him. ...He struck me. He wouldn't stop!"

[alcuin]

"I - I know. I saw." Alcuin did not see the man, frozen though he was, to be the victim in this situation.

"You defended yourself," he said. Because he had seen enough strange things - knew enough of the existence of magic, of things like fairies and vampires, even though mostly intellectually - that he was not unreasonably shocked.

"Do you think he'll... come back to normal by himself?" Alcuin asked. "If so, we should go. Now."

[winter_wisp]

Winter had no idea if this could be undone, and he got to his feet slowly.

Running seemed such a cowardly thing to do, but-

"Yes," he said quietly. "We- We should go."

[alcuin]

"It's okay," Alcuin said gently, even though he was well aware it probably wasn't. "Come. Quickly now, but walk, don't run. We'll go at least a couple of blocks away and then into the first safe looking bar or cafe we come to, all right?"

It was easier to plan like this, to do something, than to think too much about what he'd just stumbled onto.

[winter_wisp]

"I wish to go home," Winter said sadly, looking at the statue one last time, then ducking his head as he looked away. "Home to my brother, home to my Phouka, home to my Finlay," the pixie sobbed softly.