OTA - Pixie Problems

[winter_wisp]

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.

Comments

[harrowgate]

"Certainly," Felix agreed mildly. "I'm choosy as well, Winter. And you are quite clearly the very best at being Winter. Don't you think, darlings?"

[winter_wisp]

"He's pretty okay at it, I suppose," Moss replied.

"Best Winter," Soot peeped.

Winter shrugged a little, sinking down in his seat a bit. "I'm the only Winter I know."

"I knew an Autumn once," Moss supplied helpfully.

"I've known so many Summers. So many," Soot chimed in. "Never met a Spring though."

Moss seemed to consider that, then wrinkled his nose. "Springs are probably insufferable," he decided.

"They'd be blossoming everywhere," Soot peeped.

[harrowgate]

Felix couldn't help but notice that Winter was not his normal perky self, and all of his attempts at cheering and compliments that usually worked quite well were... falling quite flat, it seemed. He hesitated to call attention to it in front of Winter's friends, though. After all, they seemed to be the source of Winter's upset.

"How do pixies get their names?" Felix asked, continuing to make notes, it seemed, though he kept an eye on Winter. "Are you named for your special talents, or the other way around?"

[winter_wisp]

"That depends on the pixie," Moss replied. "Some names are passed down because the whole family has analogous magics. There are countless others named Moss in my family, though I'm a Silver Moss, my mother was a Rockcap."

Soot nodded a little, then beamed. "I was born Cobweb, but I changed my name to Soot when I was very small. It felt like a better fit."

Winter hesitated, then spoke up as well. "Most pixie magic is universal, there's nothing I can do that Soot or Moss couldn't, as far as I'm aware, but our strengths tend to match how we look, and we're named for it. those strengths are usually passed down from parents, but... Not always. My parents had stronger plant magic, but my talents are strongest with water and cold."

Soot nodded eagerly at that, grinning brighter. "My mother has strong power over insects, and I have some of that, but my strength is fire and embers."

[harrowgate]

Felix nodded thoughtfully. "My magic likes fire and lightning best, but I have always been Felix. I'm told that it means 'lucky,' which is undoubtedly true on days like today when I have such delightful company," he told the gathered pixies with a sun-light smile.

"One day I shall have to visit the Other Side and learn all that I can fit in my head about pixies. It will be far more than I can write down, I think, so I shall have to keep all of it to myself and let the other wizards be jealous," Felix added, looking somewhat smug and satisfied about that.

[winter_wisp]

"As they should be," Moss replied seriously.

"Ooooh, wizard magic," Soot peeped. "I've never seen Wizard magic. I'd love to see some before we go home tonight. Will you show us some?"

Winter looked a bit surprised to hear the pair weren't staying longer, but he left that be for now. "We can't do magic here, mortals might see," he said quietly.

"We can go back to the tree though. You can do all sorts of magic there," Moss suggested, looking pleased with himself.

"Felix is very important, you can't ask him to just drop everything and put on a magic show," Winter replied, shaking his head a little.

Soot was bouncing now, getting more and more excited by the minute. "Magic show!" the dusty pixie squeaked.

[harrowgate]

Felix smiled, appearing quite pleased that Winter thought he was important. "I don't mind at all," he promised Winter, nodding to the other two pixies. "We can return to the tree and I can show you a bit. After that I promise this old man shall retire back home, and let you three play and enjoy your visit. How does that sound?"

[winter_wisp]

"Really?" Winter asked. "You don't mind?"

Soot was already getting up and grabbing as many coffees as they were able.

"Cool," Moss grinned.

[harrowgate]

"Not in the least," Felix assured Winter, then chuckled. "Though you'd best snatch one of these coffees for the journey, or Soot is going to claim them all."

[winter_wisp]

Soot tried to gather more up, but Moss and winter took one each before Winter grabbed one more to offer Felix.

"All the coffee is mine," Soot whispered excitedly.

[harrowgate]

Felix accepted the coffee gratefully. He was going to need it, to entertain three caffeinated pixies for the next stretch of day. "You're very sweet to let me tag along with you lot," he told Winter with a smile. "I feel like this was just what I needed. I haven't been much fun recently."

[winter_wisp]

"Why not?" Moss asked, tilting his head curiously.

"You should always be fun," Soot said, arms still full of coffee as they walked.

[harrowgate]

"The city has been plagued by visitations of wild magic the last few months," Felix explained, drinking his coffee. "My order of wizards is charged with protecting London, and all of England, from any attacks of a magical nature. We've had our hands quite full. Almost as full as Soot's," he added, because it amused him.

"It's been... a very strange few months."

[winter_wisp]

Soot was too busy being proud of their coffee hoard to pay much mind. Moss, however, was very interested, and looked to Winter for an explanation.

"Wild magic is sweeping through the city," the pale pixie explained, though Moss didn't seem convinced.

"No such thing as wild magic. All magic is controlled by someone or something," Moss tutted.

"Wild magic is controlled by tricksters and Lord's of varying Chaos," Soot chimed in matter-of-factly, sounding more serious than they had all day. "Duh."

Moss scowled a bit at being so casually outshone and pinched a coffee, much to Soot's annoyance.

[harrowgate]

"I see," Felix murmured neutrally, not certain if he ought to believe a greedy, sugar-hyped pixie on this point or not. Winter, the pixie he trusted, hadn't said such a thing to him before, after all. "We haven't been able to identify yet what is causing the incursion. But pixies have wisdom of which wizards know naught," he suggested, opening the door to further explanation ... which might or might not be completely fabricated, he knew.

[winter_wisp]

"I don't think anyone controls wild magic," Winter replied, shaking his head a little. "If they did, it wouldn't be wild."

Moss seemed to consider that, nearly walking into a post box as his mind drifted, but deftly avoiding it at the last moment. "Perhaps they influence its intentions rather than control it," he suggested.

"I'll influence your face," Soot muttered.

[harrowgate]

"Well, it's appeared with greater frequency in London over the last year. If there is someone influencing it, it's intentional." Felix could see that he was walking a thin line between gleaning information the pixies might know, and boring them into mischief.

They were still on public streets, but they were an odd little collection of pedestrians, and more likely to be ignored by passers-by than studied with scrutiny. Felix felt safe enough to do a tiny bit of magic.

Three thumb-sized, flower-shaped lights peeked into being around the pixies: a green one for Moss, a pink one for Soot, and a white one for Winter. The little lights danced and snugged against their cheeks, hid in their hair, and played hide-and-seek, going dark and hiding when mortals passed by too closely.

[winter_wisp]

"Sprites!" Soot gasped excitedly, nearly dropping the mountain of coffee in favour of attempting to catch the light.

"Not sprites, flowers," Moss replied with a soft smile, peering curiously at his, and nudging it lightly with his finger.

Winter only giggled, letting the light dance around him.

[harrowgate]

Felix had enough natural control over his lights that it was simple for him to control three of them, flitting around each pixie, with little more than a twitching of his fingers. Winter's landed on his nose; Moss' rifled through his hair; Soot's ducked in and out of their coffee cups as Felix played a dangerous game that could very well result in his trousers becoming spattered with fallen frappucino.

"Witch-lights," he corrected, amused. "When we get back to the tree, I'll show you much more."

[winter_wisp]

Winter smiled warmly at Felix then, thankful that his friend was not only willing to entertain his fellow pixies, but that he was so patient and kind about it. It made him light up in a way that he hadn't in some time now, and the fair haired pixie gravitated closer to the wizard while his kin cooed over the enchanting lights.

"Thank you," he said softly, as they neared the edge of the park where Winter and Phouka's tree lived.

[harrowgate]

Either Felix was growing soft in his old age... or spending time with pixies was remarkably good for him. Perhaps both. They made him feel like perhaps he wasn't hopelessly disconnected from the world of imagination and joy and laughter, as he sometimes thought he might be.

"Don't mention it, darling," Felix answered in a low voice, with a tiny smile. He was getting something out of this, too.

[winter_wisp]

Winter smiled, and soon enough he was unlocking the wards to usher them all inside the tree. It was grand as ever inside, full of books and fairy lights, and decorated in warm colours and bohemian flavoured decor. It was lush and inviting, and the pixies didn't hesitate to make themselves at home as they flopped onto pillows and plush seats.

[harrowgate]

Felix did not dawdle; his magic was itching to be let out and play. It was light and color and energy, touched with sparks of electricity and tongues of flame, though he kept the potential for natural disaster to a minimum, given they were all inside a very flammable tree. So rarely did Felix truly unleash his magic for nothing more than to delight someone else. In fact, he could not be sure he ever had.

It felt strangely wonderful, and Felix indulged in it for as long as the pixies would watch.

[winter_wisp]

The pixies were entranced by it, sitting surprisingly still and mostly quiet as they watched. Occasionally Soot became a touch over enthused, nearly tumbling off the chair they were perched upon, but overall the pixies were shocking subdued as they sat wide-eyed and smiling.

Eventually, Soot couldn't keep it in any longer, beginning to cheer. "Wizard Felix is so talented!"

Moss had been the most silent of them all, but he nodded in agreement. "So pretty," he whispered.

Winter was beaming. Not so long ago Wizard magic had been something to fear- But not here, not now. not when Felix was in control. "It's amazing," he agreed.

[harrowgate]

Felix was smiling as well, and for once, he wasn't performing or seducing or tempting. His smile didn't mean anything but that he felt good. "Come now, darlings, won't you show me what you can do?" he invited, lifting one hand to shine watercolor spotlights on each of the bright-eyed pixies.