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.

Comments

[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."

[winter_wisp]

"I don't think demons mind owls. Cats are better," Winter assured him. "Don't worry, cats love me. I probably won't need to find one even, it'll find me."

[petty_dabbler]

"I hope it hunts mice well," he said, not thinking for a moment he'd actually have to deal with a cat, too. Two birds, a pixie, and a few hens was more than enough for him.

[winter_wisp]

Winter just giggled, clearing his plate and then rising to wash it.

"So what do you do when there aren't any demons around?"

[petty_dabbler]

"I read. Smoke. I work on spells. Sometimes I go fishing," he shrugged. He didn't live an exciting life, but he liked it that way. Sometimes it was too exciting.

[winter_wisp]

"Oh," Winter said. "...You want to do something today? With me? We could go pick herbs, for cooking and your potions."

[petty_dabbler]

"We could do that. I need more King's Bane," he nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe you'll be luckier than I am at finding it, hmm? I've got a feeling about you. You're good luck. I can tell."

[winter_wisp]

Winter looked pleased by the praise and nodded. ...Even though he knew he wasn't lucky really. He was good with plants though, and he was certain he could be a help.

[petty_dabbler]

John finished up breakfast and used a simple spell to clean up.

"I'll go put on decent clothes. And boots. We'll need boots," he said. "There should be some your size."

[winter_wisp]

Winter nodded, wandering back to the trunk. "Who's stuff is this? It's too small to be yours "