Pre-AU

[winter_wisp]

 "No, no, no, out!" Winter said, still protesting his little glass prison as he fluttered around in circles. Huffing, he landed hard at the bottom, kicking up a cloud of pixie dust that nearly turned the jam jar into a snow globe.

He had been trapped for days now, only settling down when the blonde man came and offered him bits of fruit. He disliked being trapped, disliked not knowing where he was going. It was rude, in his opinion, to just take pixies without asking if they wanted to come.

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[winter_wisp]

Winter wiggled close and settled in.

"Goodnight, John," he said softly.

[petty_dabbler]

John laid quite still. He hadn't expected this. He'd just wanted to save the pixie from the pirate. Never in a century did he think he'd have a cheerful little thing cuddled up against his side.

It wasn't as if John actually had plans...but if he had, this wouldn't have been part of them.

"Good night," he replied, more of a question as he wondered how he'd even gotten here.

[winter_wisp]

Winter slept well into the morning, content and much calmer than he'd been the night before. When he did finally wake, it was only because his stomach was demanding to be filled.

[petty_dabbler]

John was wide awake. He had been since sunrise. He'd been laying still, watching Winter sleep.

Questioning everything.

When the pixie roused, John flinched a kind smile.

"Your stomach has been growling," he said.

[winter_wisp]

Winter looked embarrassed, cheeks nearly as pink as his hair currently was.

"Sorry," the pixie said.

[petty_dabbler]

"It's alright. I have cheese and a crust of bread, and the chickens should have some eggs out in the coop," he said. "Come on. I'll make breakfast."

He got up and pulled a robe on over his tunic, then slid his feet into slippers to scuff his way downstairs.

[winter_wisp]

"I can help!" Winter insisted. "I could go pick some berries to make us jam later. ...And mushrooms!" he added.

[petty_dabbler]

"If you want to go out, I'll give you a robe. It's a bit gloomy," he said, being a bit of a mother hen himself without meaning to.

[winter_wisp]

""Yes please!" the pixie peeped, bouncing a little.

[petty_dabbler]

John went to a store room beyond the kitchen and dragged out a dusty wooden trunk.

"These should fit," he said.

Inside were clothes that would fit a boy. John had held onto them, just another memento of the past.

[winter_wisp]

The pixie lit up, kneeling down to dig through the trunk, picking out a shirt, some trousers, and a warm looking robe.

"You are kind, thank you," he grinned, hugging them to his chest before starting to dress.

"I will bring back the best mushrooms, and we will feast today," he promised.

[petty_dabbler]

John had busied himself slicing the cheese and unwrapping the bread.

"There might not be many. It hasn't been all that warm," he said.

His island, on the western edge, was often shrouded in most and darkness.

He liked it that way.

[winter_wisp]

"I will coax them out," Winter assured him.

He vanished out the door, gone only a short while before returning with mushrooms, and some nuts he'd found a bit deeper in the woods.

"Look! Morels! They're tasty. I made sure to shake them good so more come."

[petty_dabbler]

While Winter had been away, John had gathered a few eggs and some herbs from his sorry garden. Nothing much grew, and what did didn't grow well.

"I can never find those buggers," he said. "Come have some tea. I'll cook it all up for us."

[winter_wisp]

Winter looked pleased with himself, leaving it all on the counter before moving to the kettle and pouring them each a cup.

"Is there honey?" he asked, getting a bit excited.

[petty_dabbler]

"In the cupboard, just there," he pointed as he sizzles the mushrooms in the pan.

"This is a feast compared to what I usually eat. "

[winter_wisp]

"Yeah?" Winter asked, adding honey to their mugs, then offering one to John.

"Well I can help gather and grow food," he offered. "I'm really good at it," he promised.

[petty_dabbler]

John plated the mushrooms and herbed eggs and sat.

"It'll be a miracle if you can make anything here grow, but you're welcome to try," he smiled.

[winter_wisp]

"My magic works best with the earth and elements, I can make it grow," he assured him, digging into his food.

[petty_dabbler]

"Hmm," he grunted, a bit enchanted by the idea of a garden that grew something other than root vegetables.

"Do you want me to send the raven to deliver a message to anyone?" he asked then. "Anyone who might worry about you?"

[winter_wisp]

"I dunno who would," Winter admitted. "I was on my own when the pirate caught me in a jar. The Wizard who took me as a boy died, and so I was on my own."

[petty_dabbler]

"Oh? Alright, then," he nodded.

John focused on the food, slowly enjoying the mushrooms.

"Do you want to learn how to be a wizard?" he asked. "The last boy I had, he wanted to be a wizard."

[winter_wisp]

"I dunno if a pixie can be a wizard," Winter admitted. "And I'm not a boy. I'm nearly thirty now."

Which, really, wasn't old at all for a pixie. They lived hundreds of years.

[petty_dabbler]

"Ohh, thirty. Bloody ancient," he snorted.

"I'm too old to teach another one, anyway. Set in my ways."

[winter_wisp]

"How old are you?" Winter asked, eying him curiously.