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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[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.

[petty_dabbler]

"Over a hundred, but I stopped counting," he shrugged. "The days blend together out here away from men and fae."

[winter_wisp]

"So why live here? You say there's no good food, no company... Why are you here then?" Winter asked, chatting between generous bites.

[petty_dabbler]

"Because dark things find me, Winter, and it's not safe to be around people. I can fight, but I can't have the innocent getting hurt," he explained.

[winter_wisp]

"Dark things like what? You can't just say dark things. Anything's dark if you turn off the sun," Winter replied, stabbing a mushroom and then popping it in his mouth.

[petty_dabbler]

"Demons, Winter," John confessed.

[winter_wisp]

"Oooooh," Winter replied, humming a bit and nodding.

Which was a reaction, sure, but not the alarmed sort you might expect.

"Demons are pretty gross, huh? I met a few when I lived with Aspid. He was always talking to demons. Summoning them and such, having them do his bidding. They smell like eggs. Bad eggs, not eggs like these," he said, pointing at his plate. "These are the good eggs."

[petty_dabbler]

'They are creatures most foul," John nodded. "They're also my specialty. When I do leave the tower, it's to hunt them down and kill them. Or, most of the time, they find me."

[winter_wisp]

"That makes sense," Winter said, feet swinging under the table as he ate.

"You should get a cat. We should get a cat. Demons hate cats."

[petty_dabbler]

"If you can find a cat, you can have a cat," John said, doubting very much that winter could be so lucky.

[winter_wisp]

"Yeah? I can find a cat," the pixie decided. "We'll have the best cat in the kingdom."

[petty_dabbler]

"You'll have to find a cat, first," John pointed out.

"You might have better luck just making friends with the owl."