OTA

[winter_wisp]

It had been a strange week. It was his season, and so it should have been full of joy- But this year it was different. The winds that sang his name were too cold, too sharp. The trees seemed dead rather than naked, and the chill that usually lit up his magic was heavy and without spark. Everything was slightly wrong, and the longer it lingered, the more uneasy the pixie became.

 

An awakening was approaching, something powerful and dark. Winter could feel it in his bones, tainting the world around him- Something was approaching this realm, though the pixie couldn't sense who or what. He was sensitive to the change though, maybe more sensitive than most, and it was slowly altering him, as things so often could.

 

Walking down the high street he kept one eye on his reflection in the shop windows, noting the way his wings showed occasionally, even though they were hidden- And freezing in place when he saw a familiar figure behind him.

 

Aspid's eyes were dark, and though Winter knew he wasn't in this world with him, he still tensed as the reflection of the dead wizard rested his hand on his shoulder, and leaned in to speak in his ear. The words he whispered were like a low hum, but Winter heard each one, his shoulders shaking as he closed his eyes.

 

"You're lying," the pixie said quietly. "You're a liar!" he shouted, turning his head and opening his eyes- Only to find the shadow of Aspid gone, and a small group of people staring at him as though he'd lost his mind.

 

Looking back in the shop window, Winter saw himself alone again- But changed. Taller still than his new height, with a sunken gaze and painfully thin body. He looked warped and dark, and though he wanted to believe it was an illusion, he couldn't help but fear it was a vision of the future Aspid's warning had painted for him.

Comments

[winter_wisp]

Winter nodded a little, then sighed. Sunny was right, it couldn't be a secret.

"I will tell him then," he said quietly.

[akatawitch]

Sunny considered him a moment, biting her lip idly in thought. "Faizel might want to know, too." And not just because he was clearly still haunted by his time with his old teacher. Sunny couldn't help but think this was possibly connected to what had happened on Halloween, only there hadn't been enough puzzle pieces at the time to really learn anything.

[winter_wisp]

"He will nag me about university," Winter moaned. "I do not want to go. They will make me learn boring things, Sunny. Things like numbers. Who needs numbers? No one. At least not the very large ones."

[akatawitch]

Sunny smiled, somewhere between fond and wry. Yes, she could picture that. "He believes in education, and he believes you're intelligent and have a lot of potential. In his mind, those things just go together."

[winter_wisp]

Winter stuck out his tongue and offered a farting sound in return.

[akatawitch]

Sunny tapped the end of his nose. "He cares for you, and that's how he expresses it. That's all. But if you don't want to go to university, he can't make you."

[winter_wisp]

"I know, I just don't want to be lectured. I'm a free pixie, I will do as I please," Winter replied with a shrug.

[akatawitch]

"It wouldn't kill him to learn other ways to show that he cares," Sunny admitted with a wry little quirk of her mouth.

[winter_wisp]

"Like rabbits?" Winter whispered, assuming they were back on that topic.

[akatawitch]

Sunny quietly turned red as she sipped her coffee and didn't answer that.

[winter_wisp]

Winter watched her, waiting for her to speak, then sighed and returned to his coffee.

"Fine, not rabbits. Cats."

[akatawitch]

She was not having this conversation, it was too ridiculous. But... "I think rabbits is a bit ambitious right now," she said quietly.

[winter_wisp]

"Oh," Winter said gently, hesitating a little, then wetting his lips nervously. "I was afraid to be a rabbit. ...For a long time it felt like."

[akatawitch]

"I'm sorry," Sunny murmured, not sure what else one said to that. Because she could imagine why, and she was sorry for it. Because fear was never good.

[winter_wisp]

"One day I stopped being afraid though. Something changed, and I was ready," Winter explained, not sure how to say what he meant to say.

[akatawitch]

"There's nothing for it but time," Sunny supposed he meant. Which she'd heard before, and she understood, and she did know that it was terrible to be frustrated. It was still hard, though.

[winter_wisp]

"Maybe be cats first. Cats, then rabbits," Winter said sagely, pretending to clean his face like a cat.

[akatawitch]

"That's a little hard, too," Sunny mumbled, tracing her finger around the rim of her cup. "I don't know how well any, um, rubbing would go over."

[winter_wisp]

"You're thinking rude thoughts," Winter laughed. "I mean like petting. Touching. Cuddles. Everyone likes cuddles. ...Don't they?"

[akatawitch]

"I'm really not," Sunny assured him, though she looked a little uneasy, as though she was trying to figure out if saying this at all was even appropriate. "He's... very shy. I don't know."

[winter_wisp]

Winter hummed, then offered the only solution he had.

"I will cuddle you if you like."

[akatawitch]

Sunny smiled a little. "Maybe," she allowed, not sure but not dismissing the idea either. She cuddled with Anael, and she had no intention of giving that up, but it was a weird, gray area of being intimate that she didn't know how to categorize.

"Though one of these days, I'll just have to ask him if he wants to cuddle and, I dunno, watch The Princess Bride or something."

[winter_wisp]

"You're going to a royal wedding? Why have I not been invited? I should be invited to the wedding's of princesses. I know all about royalty," The pixie huffed.

[akatawitch]

That got her to grin. "It's a movie. One that gets quoted quite a lot."

[winter_wisp]

"I must see it," Winter decided, growing terribly serious. "I'd like to learn more about mortal royalty."