OTA - Winter or Yves

[yves]

The fair haired sprite had been staring at him for nearly an hour now as Yves had made his way around the little shops. For all the creature had somehow enchanted itself to be of mortal height, there was no denying it was a pixie. Those pointy ears and sweet and spicy scent could be confused for nothing else.

Yves had ignored it at first, wandering through the early morning market and pretending not to notice the way it followed. Even allowing it to get close a few times before turning and staring directly into its pale blue eyes. Strange looking thing, all pale flesh and bone. Clearly underfed in its youth. Likely brittle boned, and unaware of it's poor immune system. Yves would have felt bad for it- If he was in the habit of feeling for lesser beings.

It had skittered off for a bit after that, but he'd spotted it once more when he'd stopped near the end of the market in a quieter area. They were practically alone, some grannies on a bench nearby so busy chatting that they hadn't even noticed they had company. The only people who might see them were those passing down the parallel street on the other side of the road- Though there view would be slightly obscured by the stalls and carts.

"The Unseelie Butcher," The pixie gasped, blue eyes going wide as they confirmed what he'd suspected all morning.

"Dreadful nickname, slanderous as well," Yves replied, sneering a little and removing the creature's charm with a wave of his hand.

Winter was so good at measuring and controlling his potion doses now that he rarely carried any with him, and the moment Yves waved his hand, the fair haired pixie knew he'd made a mistake. ...Perhaps several, if he was honest. Shrunk down to his normal size, Winter darted around in a panic, desperate not to be seen- Only to be snatched out of the air by Yves.

"Go home, pixie, and do not speak any of my names ever again," Yves warned, waiting until Winter nodded before letting him go and watching him zoom off as fast as his shimmering wings would take him.

(OTA- Tag Yves or Winter, only one or the other please! Catch Winter hiding and trying to make his way home, or Yves skulking off back home to his lab.)

Comments

[miss_ives]

Vanessa was just walking out of the market with the fruits she had come to buy when she noticed Yves striding down the street her way. "We ought to stop meeting like this," she remarked, her voice a mix of dry and warm.

[yves]

Yves had been scowling to himself, but he forced himself to relax his features before offering Vanessa a smile.

"Oh, I'd rather not stop at all," he purred, his voice low and velvity as he brushed a none-existent speck of dust from his coat.

[miss_ives]

The scowl had been hard not to notice, but Vanessa was glad when he schooled his features into a smile. Much as she did not believe for a second that his mood had suddenly improved so drastically at the sight of her, pretending to feel fine helped some people achieve it. Or, at least, distracted them from the source of their frustration.

And, well, there was the matter of his voice when he spoke like this. Her lips quirked slightly.

"Well, I was rather hoping you'd ring," she remarked, eyebrows raising slightly.

[yves]

"Oh, yes, sorry. ...I've been busy," Yves replied, as if that were new or different. The fae was remarkably skilled at burying himself in work, personal or otherwise. Free moments were little more than gifts of time he occasionally allowed himself."

[miss_ives]

"Aren't you always?" Vanessa asked, still smiling slightly.

She hadn't been all that surprised. He had cut the dinner short. But part of her had still hoped.

[yves]

"Very true," he admitted. "I only hope you'll let me make it up to you. Perhaps I can escort you to your destination?"

While he knew women didn't require escorts these days- Had they truly ever? -It was an offer that came naturally.

[wispofathing]

There were always dangers moving through crowds when you were small, and sometimes Curnen thought of glamouring herself to be taller just to avoid the hassle, but somehow she knew she'd only get herself into trouble if she did. As such, it was easy to overlook her. She didn't look like much, she felt at least she barely looked like she belonged in London (this didn't much bother her, seeing as she hadn't completely gotten over the notion that clothes were clothes and what the hell did it matter after being legal).

That said, when tall people nearly walked right into her, anticipated as it may be, it got a loud 'eep!' out of Curnen that was as much irritated as it was surprised.

[akatawitch]

Sunny hadn't really been thinking of what the streak of shimmering movement out of the corner of her eye had been, but her brain pretty much automatically supplied, Winter. It had been going too fast for her to follow where it had gone, but she turned away from her path to check.

Because quite simply, if she saw what she thought she'd seen, something had gone awfully pear-shaped.

After a while, though, she started to wonder if maybe it had just been a figment of her imagination. "Winter?" she called experimentally.

[yves]

Yves looked down at the tiny girl- No, not girl, fae. American if he wasn't mistaken. How odd.

"Apologies," he said, offering a small bow, and somehow managing to sound anything but apologetic. "I didn't see you there," he added, his gaze raking over her curiously, lingering on her hands before returning to her face.

What an odd little specimen.

[winter_wisp]

Winter heard Sunny's voice, and his panic lessened slightly, giving him a moment to think.

Zooming over, he attempted to dive right into her bag. It would be safe there, he was certain of that much.

[wispofathing]

Curnen knew exactly what he was looking at when his eyes stopped, and she deliberately did not let herself fidget.

"Happens all the time," she said, adjusting the strap of her backpack awkwardly, in that moment almost painfully self-conscious that it wasn't a purse. Never mind that he was no more human than she was. Six words and a bow and she could tell he had more polish than she did.

Polish, but not actual manners.

[yves]

"You are quite petite," he noted. "I imagine that makes London crowds quite a hassle."

He noted her clothing and the bag, weighing his interest before making an offer. "Please, allow me to make it up to you. How about some lunch?" he offered. "You look hungry."

She didn't, but she did look like someone unlikely to turn down a meal.

[akatawitch]

Catching what he was doing almost before she'd fully consciously processed it, Sunny held her bag open so he could dart inside. The fact that she kept a knife in there really didn't seem that important until after she'd done it. And then she figured... well, it was still safer than a loose pixie.

"Want me to take you home?" she asked quietly.

[winter_wisp]

Winter was silent for a long moment- Almost too long. However, he did eventually speak.

"Please," he said softly. "It's not safe here."

[akatawitch]

Well, that was enough to get her moving.

Sunny tucked her purse close--though not tightly--against her body and started walking toward Hyde Park. They could talk later, when he felt safe and she wouldn't look crazy.

[winter_wisp]

The further they walked, the more Winter calmed, and it wasn't long before Winter was poking around in the bag he was currently hiding in.

Knife, interesting but sharp. Even winter knew that wasn't something to touch while small. Then there were some powders and potions, each of which Winter gave a curious sniff, before growing bored. He'd hoped to find makeup, or other mysterious things that were supposedly only for girls, but apparently Sunny didn't wear those. Pity. He was fairly certain he'd look good in red lipstick.

Oh, right, and she would too.

[wispofathing]

She wasn't. Curnen had spent too many years desperately trying to scrounge enough food between Needsville's trash and what she could find in the woods to hear an offer of a meal and turn it down. There was still that voice inside that didn't have language that was too afraid of starving.

But she could try not to leap on the offer, and she did have cause to pause. "You sure? I reckon you'd be embarrassed to be seen with me." She didn't lean into her accent, but she wasn't making an attempt to hide it either.

[yves]

Yves laughed, and it was the most genuine thing he'd done since nearly walking into the small fae. Honestly, as if he cared what random mortals thought.

"You're very witty," he said.

[miss_ives]

Vanessa thought nothing of it; she was old-fashioned in many ways, and did not see chivalry as an affront to her independence. "I was heading home. Would you like to join me for tea?"

[yves]

"I would love to," Yves said, a bit surprised to find he meant that. He quite liked Vanessa's company, there was something about her that made him feel things he generally ignored.

[wispofathing]

Curnen shrugged awkwardly, a nagging feeling telling her that despite what he said he was laughing at her. "Ain't gonna say no."

[yves]

"No, I didn't think you would," Yves replied, glancing at her hand again, then extending his own.

"I'm Yves, by the way."

[akatawitch]

Sunny didn't wear makeup. Not because she didn't want to, but because it was next to impossible. Everything took an exaggerated geisha-like appearance on her skin.

When she felt she could do so safely, she went invisible. Though really, invisible was only part of it. Insubstantial, undetectable. A ghost. Now she could talk to her purse. "You can come out. No one can see us."

[winter_wisp]

Winter hesitated, then eventually fluttered out, keeping close and eventually landing on Sunny's shoulder. Folding his shimmering wings neatly against his back, he frowned to himself.

"I didn't forget my potion," he said, assuming that would be the first assumption anyone made. "I took the correct dose, it didn't wear off early. ...It was canceled out. ...By a monster."

[wispofathing]

Well, he knew what he was getting into, and so Curnen didn't hesitate to take his hand and shake. Her hands often made her shy, away from home. At home they were just embarrassing, an undeniable connection to Rockhouse. Away from Cloud County where Rockhouse's name didn't mean anything, they just marked her as a freak. The initial moment of someone noticing her hands was tense, but beyond that she didn't usually care. All it took was that moment to know how her hands would factor in to how they would treat her.

Whatever Yves did or said, it wouldn't be because of her hands. They were a curiosity. "Curnen." One name for one name.