londoncallingrpg | OTA - Pixie Problems

Winter had taken to sleeping late, curled up on a pile of pillows in the sun room and wishing fall would come a little faster. Summer was so hard sometimes, it wasn't his season, and he missed the cold. He still shared a bed with Phouka most nights, but when sleep failed him in the middle of the night, he crept up to the top floor of the tree house, built a little nest, and sat reading books by the soft glow of fairy lights. Then, when sleep did finally come for him, he just curled up in his nest of glittery and pretty pillows and let it wash over him.

It was nearly noon by the time he woke, and the pixie staggered about in a groggy haze as he set about his morning routine. Teeth polished nice and shiny, to keep the tooth fairy well away (What kind of fairy collected teeth after all? Not one you'd want under your pillow, that's for certain), face scrubbed and fresh, even though a moment later there was always, always, glitter on his cheeks again anyway. ...Not applied, simply there. Then it was time to do battle with his hair. Today his hair was shock white, the curls soft and short. Winter never wondered why it was or wasn't this, he simply accepted that his hair would be as it wished to be, and dressed accordingly. Lately he'd been dressing quite plainly, but today he found himself digging a bit deeper into his closet, emerging in a bright and unusual jumper, along with a pair of colourful trainers.

He was just headed down to the kitchen when he heard a strange noise, and he went still on the steps as he tried to work out what it was.

"Shh! You're making too much noise!" a voice whispered.

"No, you are!" came another. "Besides, we have to make noise or he'll never wake up!"

There was a loud clatter, like a wooden spoon hitting the floor, then the sound of laughter, like tinkling bells. "Who won't wake up?" the first voice asked.

"Winter! Remember? We're visiting Winter, Soot, that's the whole reason we came!"

Wandering down the last few stairs, Winter peeked around the corner just in time to see two pixies on his counter attempting to open the five-pound bag of gummy bears he'd not yet broken into. Soot, an almost rosy and dusty skinned pixie with short and silky black hair, and eyes like tiny chips of obsidian, was currently attempting to drag the bag across the counter, while Moss, a very pointy looking pixie with wild grey hair and eyes to match, was currently attempting to remove a knife from the butcher's block.

"Oh, shit!" Winter gasped, rushing over and removing the other pixie from the knife and putting him down on the table. "You're gonna slice yourself in half, you twit!" he scolded, though that only prompted more giggles from the pair. "Winter!" they squeaked, launching themselves into the air and circling the pixie. "We're here! We're visiting!" they chirped.

"I know, I can see that," Winter replied, yelping when Soot pulled his hair.

"Make us big! Make us big! Let's play!" the pair chanted.

Winter hesitated a moment, then sighed. If his friends were here, there was no point in keeping them tiny. They'd only make more mischief that way.

"Alright, alright, stay right here. I'll be right back," he said, opening the bag of gummies to ensure his energetic house guests didn't wander. Moss swiftly swooped down to steal one, snatching it from the bag and then tumbling down onto the counter with the plump green bear.

Suddenly Winter understood all too well why Finlay had, at one point, always looked like he had a headache in the morning. ...He almost felt sorry about it too. ...Almost. Winter hadn't quite mastered guilt yet.

He returned a moment later with some of his potion, and he lifted the pair off the counter before offering them each a dose. This, of course, only prompted more excitement and chaos, but eventually, Winter had them settled down and dressed in much more mortal friendly garb. It would have been ideal to keep the pair tucked away in his tree, but his kin were having none of that, and soon they were all settled in at a table outside Starbucks.

"Ow!" Winter yelped, as Soot pulled his hair for the seventh time that morning. "Stop it. You're just trouble!" he scowled.

"You're trouble!" the dusty skinned pixie squeaked happily.

"I'm pretty sure Trouble lives in that village near the wizard school," Moss supplied helpfully. "She's pink now you know, wings and all."

Winter couldn't help himself, and he smiled a little at the thought. "It would be very nice to be pink, I think," he admitted.

"Or lavender," Soot said wistfully. "With pretty pearl wings..."

"I like your wings," Winter said, shaking his head. "They're like cobwebs. No one has wings like yours."

Soot perked up a bit at that, looking very pleased. "I am very unique."

"Hey! I have good wings too!" Moss insisted, forgetting the potion had vanished them temporarily, and trying to show them off. This was enough to send the pixies back into a pile of giggles, and the sound of pure joy filled the air with a hint of magic and sweetness all around them.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

harrowgate

Felix was usually more snobby about his coffee than Starbucks really allowed him to be, but he was passing nearby, and the familiar laughter reached him right before the sensation of pixie magic tickled his senses. The feeling was something like that candy that popped and fizzed in your mouth, or like drinking a shaken-up soda. Felix could have followed it even if he were blind and deaf.

"Winter?" The wizard strolled up near the table, glancing with interest and a lovely smile over the pixie's friends. He wore a bold paisley jacket over a simple heather shirt and turquoise jeans, which for him, was quite a casual day out. "I do hope I'm not interrupting."

From:

winter_wisp

Winter was still giggling, but he stopped when Felix approached the table.

"No, it's fine. It's wonderful," the pixie beamed as the other two admired the wizard's clothes. Soot, bold as ever, reached out to touch, leaving behind a smudge of rose gold looking glitter.

"You should join us!" Winter gasped, as if the idea had just occurred to him. "You can sit beside Moss. ...Oh, right, Moss, Soot, this is Felix. Felix, this is Moss, and that's Soot. ...Soot, don't touch that," he added with a whisper.

"I want to touch!" Soot countered. "I want to touch everything in this city. Then I want to touch your face," the pixie insisted gleefully, placing both hands on Winter's face to demonstrate. "TOUCH!"

From:

harrowgate

Felix held very still, but if the new pixies only wanted to touch his clothes, he could accept that. Pixies, he had learned, might be quite mischievous and a bit of a handful, but very rarely were they actually malicious. Whatever Felix feared in his aversion to touch, he didn't fear it from them. So, dusted faintly with glitter, Felix found an open chair and slid it up to the table, folding himself lazily into it.

"Moss, Soot, welcome to London," he said pleasantly, though he knew he wasn't going to get far with the sort of polite conversation he might try with anyone else. "What sort of adventure are you on today?"

From:

winter_wisp

"A vanilla flavoured one," Soot replied brightly, looking cheery even as Moss attempted to steal the coffee the other pixie was now clutching in glitter coated hands.

Winter watched the pair, then glanced at Felix. "Um, no adventure today. Today we're... Aclimenting," he said, just as Soot lent so far back that they nearly tumbled out of their chair in an effort to keep their drink to themselves.

"Such big words," Moss said, sounding a touch dreamy as he smiled. "Aclimenting..."

Soot found their balance and scowled. "I'll acclimate your face."

Moss didn't seem very bothered by the 'threat', and instead turned his attention to Felix. "What adventure are you on?" he asked.

From:

harrowgate

Soot seemed a bit of a spitfire with perhaps an obsession with faces, Felix observed, whilst Moss appeared to be a little more devious. They were both darling, of course, though not quite as darling as Winter.

"I'm prevaricating," Felix answered, with a sly sideways smile at Moss as he offered up another 'big' word. "I told my work that I needed to do some research in the city, but it seems that what I'm really researching is the sort of coffee that pixies like to drink. It is very important research," he added, with a mock serious expression.

From:

winter_wisp

Moss let out a soft 'Ooo' sort of sound at the big word, then grinned. "Most important research," he agreed.

"What's prevaricating?" Soot asked, whispering to Winter, who in turn shrugged, not certain.

"There's not enough data though," Winter pointed out. "We probably need more coffee to be sure..."

From:

harrowgate

"You're absolutely right," Felix agreed, with the ready smile of a babysitter who knew he could give his charges back to their parents at the end of the day, rambunctious and full of sugar. "That's precisely how experiments are done. Now, would you like to give me your orders, or shall I fetch a few things and we can all sample them?"

From:

winter_wisp

"Samples!" Soot said before the other two could answer. "We should sample lots of coffee."

Winter looked unsure, not certain having two caffeinated playmates would be fun, but- Well, coffee. "Samples would be nice," the white haired pixie admitted, as Moss nodded in agreement.

"Samples would be phenomenal," the last pixie chirped.

From:

harrowgate

With a brisk nod and a bright smile, Felix swung up from the table, touched the tip of his nose, and promised, "I will return directly. Don't you go anywhere, darlings."

The wizard swept off inside, and made up for his ridiculous order of a multitude of different small-sized drinks by leaving a very generous tip and chatting up the baristas and fellow patrons, leaving much of the store giggling in his wake.

Fifteen or twenty minutes later, he returned, with a tray that he'd charmed out of the staff by promising to bring it back, full of hot and cold drinks and a truly remarkable number of straws. "They marked the type of drink on the cup, but it's some sort of esoteric runic system that I can't decipher. My next field of magical study must include barista symbolism. Well, here we are." Felix set the tray down on the table, ready to leap back if the pixies fell to with the enthusiasm he expected.

From:

winter_wisp

"Magic coffee makers," Moss whispered, ducking low so his chin was resting on the table as he attempted to peek between the many cups. Play came naturally to pixies. Even Winter, who had become quite mortal in his behaviours, couldn't resist the temptation to do the same, attempting to peer at Moss in return through the forest of caffeinated beverages.

Soot, however, was much more excitable and was practically standing on their chair as they let out a joyful squeak. "SO MANY COFFEE! So many!"

"How do we keep it scientific?" Moss asked.

"We go left to right?" Winter suggested. "Then we write stuff down. That's how you make things science. I saw it on telly once."

Soot was still making happy little sounds, taking Winter by the shoulders as they sat back down and bounced in their seat. "I'll write your face down!"

Moss hummed a little, then finally peeked over the cups to look at Felix, his pointy little ears appearing to wiggle slightly as he spoke. "Is that how you science, Mr. Felix?"

"I'll write his face down too," Soot insisted.

"You don't write a face, you draw it," Winter argued, prompting Soot to pull his hair again. "Ow! That's my hair! Ow!"

"It's my hair," Soot grinned, pulling again until winter started to tug their's in return.

"I don't think this is how you science at all," Moss tutted, a wicked little grin blooming on his lips. "I'll just have to do all the science myself."

From:

harrowgate

Felix freed his mobile from his pocket, and tapped the case to release a very slim stylus, which he found incredibly more useful than attempting to type with his thumbs. "That is absolutely how you... science," the wizard assured them all, though mostly he was addressing Moss, to whom he'd already taken quite a liking. Wizards, after all, were subtle. Moss had a slyness to him that Felix found most endearing.

He settled down again with a small, benevolent-looking smile, fully intending to take complete notes. "Your subjects are before you, ready for experimentation... though one is starting to melt," he observed of one of the whipped-cream-topped frozen selections. "The time for science is upon us, my brave companions. It is all up to the three of you, now."

Felix could play, sort of. It was backwards and rather too serious, but he hadn't completely forgotten how. That pleased him, oddly.

From:

winter_wisp

"None of them are blue," Moss sighed.

"I could make one blue," Winter insisted, showing off just a little as he used his magic to turn several of the cups of coffee various shades of blue and pink.

"Pink!" Soot squeaked, snatching one and taking a sip- Before pulling a face and offering it to Winter to try next.

"You're doing it out of order, Soot," Moss sulked.

"Felix is clever, he can keep track," Winter insisted, taking a sip himself and nodding his approval before offering the cup to Moss. "Felix is a wizard, you know. A good wizard though," he added quickly.

From:

harrowgate

"I am an excellent wizard," Felix confirmed, writing out notes quickly on the surface of his mobile, watching the pixies experiment. "But not the sort that you have on the Other Side. The tattoos on my hands mean that I can't use my magic on living things, and certainly not ever on clever pixies."

That, he hoped, would be enough to soothe Soot and Moss. Winter already trusted him, after all. He reached for a clean straw, popped it in one of the more sugary drinks, and took a quick taste. Since he'd paid for them he thought he deserved a bit of the experiment.

"Are you two from the same village that Winter is? I saw it once, from far away, but clearly I'm far too big to visit."

OTA - Pixie Problems

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