Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The nymph is watching the girl again. They’re peeking from behind a broad oak to see her make her way toward the pond. Her pond, they think, because the nymph has a hard time believing everything the girl touches doesn’t belong to her.

She reaches the water, staring at the fish and rocks below. This is the part where she sits, they think. But she doesn’t.

Instead she begins pacing. When she brings a nail up to her mouth to chew on, the nymph nearly shouts in surprise. In all the months she had been visiting the forest, they had never once seen her nervous. They hadn’t realized she was capable.

There’s a satchel slung around one shoulder that she fiddles with, opening and closing, so fast that the nymph can never see what’s inside.

Finally, in her rough and scratchy voice, she speaks.

“Hey, so, anyone home?” She asks, spinning in a slow circle and looking a little lost.

The nymph stills.

“‘Cus, if there is, I’d kinda like to ask a favor?”

They wait, but she doesn’t say anything more. Instead opting to finally sit down and stare at the water.

After a long moment, the nymph responds.

“What kind of favor?” they ask in a voice like sunlight.

The girl jumps (startled, another new emotion from her). She whips her head around, searching. But she will not find the nymph with blue and human eyes.

She says, warily, to the forest, “Healing. And I refuse to say any more until you reveal yourself.”

The nymph quickly scans her over, looking for injuries. Finding none, they step out into the sunlight.

“You don’t seem to be injured,” they say.

She tilts her head to look at them, less surprised this time, more cool and calm. The sunlight hits her face in golden shafts, making her hair look like overripe wheat and her mouth look like molten rose gold.

“It’s not for me,” she says, tilting her chin up indifferently. As if the nymph didn’t see her unease just moments before. They find it ridiculously endearing.

They gamble a step closer, looking into her eyes. “Tell me your request.”

She narrows her eyes, but does not retreat. “A friend of mine is sick. She lives in the village outside of this forest, and none of the doctors can figure out what’s wrong with her.”

The nymph tilts their head consideringly. “And what makes you think I would know?”

The girl meets their gaze with more steel than they had expected. “Because you are of the forest. I know the stories. Maybe you don’t know what it is, but you might.” Then she adds, more softly than they had ever heard a voice go, “ Please. You have to try.”

And they know, in the sunlight, in the dapplings of green and gold that turn the world ethereal, that they do. That the decision was made when the girl had stepped into the forest. When she had opened that mouth, sweet and pink and small and asked for them. That they would always come when she called.

“I will do what I can,” they promise. The weight of it fills them both, and the girl silently takes their hand.

The walk to the village is surprisingly short. The nymph hadn’t realized just how close humans lived to their forest, though neither had they ever cared. They’re led through weaving streets, surprisingly desolate for the time of day. The few people outside give them strange looks, but don’t say anything. They appreciate that.

The girl stops outside of a small house. It’s painted a bright and cheerful blue, and they can see through the windows that the cills are littered in plants and trinkets. It looks very homey.

The girl unlocks the door and leads them inside.

They step through a messy living room toward what must be the bedroom. The girl tries fruitlessly to subtly kick scattered items under the couch while she explains the situation. “My friend has been incredibly weak, to the point where she can hardly get out of bed. She’s afflicted with fever, random pains, and she’s been coughing up a green liquid that no one can identify.” She doesn’t look at them as she says this. She opens a door to reveal a cramped bedroom, fitted with two beds, a desk, and not much else.

In one bed lies a woman. A girl—she’s young like her friend. Her hair is black and matted to her face with sweat, her eyes heavy but bright with fever. She shivers when the door opens, but her expression clears when she sees the girl.

“Wi—” she spots the nymph and hastily closes her mouth. Smart girl. The nymph would never steal the girl’s name, but it’s always good to be cautious. That’s why they ignore the sting of hurt in their chest as they make their way over to the patient.

“Your friend has requested my assistance. Please describe your condition and allow me to examine you,” they say with a bow.

Instead of looking relieved, the girl narrows her eyes and pulls back. “What’s the catch?”

The nymph looks over to the girl still standing in the doorway. She looks back. “The catch?” they ask.

Somehow the sick girl’s eyes narrow even further. “The catch. Y’know, for helping me? Folk never do anything for free.”

The nymph blushes a little at that. They had been so caught up in finally talking to the girl that they had completely forgotten. They glance back at her, taking in her tense posture and suddenly guarded gaze.

They think quickly. “A night.”

“A night?” the patient asks dubiously.

The nymph nods. “Yes, I wish to spend one night with your friend. Nothing untoward will happen in that time!” they add hastily at her glare.

The patient looks to her friend, and then to the nymph. “Very well, forest creature,” she says at last.

They glance at the girl to make sure she’s okay with it, but she just nods silently.

“In that case, it would be convenient if I had something to call the both of you. Not real names of course, but calling you both “girl” will get confusing.”

The girl in the doorway speaks up first. “Wink,” she says solidly.

The patient raises an eyebrow at that. Finally, she says, “Chaos Kitten,” with a smirk that implies an inside joke.

They both look to the nymph expectantly now. It takes them a moment before they realize what the two girls want. “Oh! Feel free to refer to me as Nymph. I have no other name.”

They nod, and Wink finally steps further into the room. “Well then, let’s get this show on the road!” She claps her hands together and sits on the unoccupied bed.

The nymph takes that as a cue to get to work, checking physical symptoms like heart rate and temperature before moving on to more magical symptoms.

By the end, they’re fairly certain they know what’s going on.

“I believe Chaos Kitten has what is known as forest rot,” they inform Wink solemnly.

Chaos Kitten straightens at that. “What is that? Is it bad?”

The nymph considers. “No, not if it’s correctly treated. It’s… an influx of natural magic into a system not designed to sustain it. That system, in this case, is your body. Have you come into contact with any malevolent earth spirits, recently?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t think so.”

They hum thoughtfully. “Well, how you got it doesn’t really matter, I guess. I can counteract this magic with magic of my own, driving it out so to speak.”

Wink speaks for the first time in a while from her place on the other bed. “And that won’t just make it worse?”

“No.” The nymph shakes their head. “My magic is mine to control. I will not let it consume her.”

The two girls look at each other for a long moment.

“Okay,” they say finally, in unison. Then they both laugh.

“Fill me up with your natural energies , nymph,” Chaos Kitten says immaturely.

Wink laughs as they sputter awkwardly.

“This will need to be done in multiple sessions,” they say instead of acknowledging the comment.

The girls nod. “So how long should it take?”

“I can start right now, but I’ll need to see how much magic is inside of you, and how your body handles the cleansing process.”

Wink interjects, “I don’t like the way you phrased that. Is this going to hurt her?” Her expression says if it does, the nymph might not be leaving with all of their limbs.

They manage to respond in an impressively calm voice, “Probably. I’m sorry, if there was anything I could do to help it, I would. But your friend needs treatment soon.” They plead with their eyes, for what, they’re not entirely sure, but then Wink nods and they can turn back to their patient.

“Alright, like I said, this will probably hurt. Please do your best to stay still, I will begin the process now.” They drop to their knees by the bed and take Chaos Kitten’s hand. Then they begin pushing their magic through her veins, feeling the heavy drag of foreign energy weaving through human blood. She hisses, and they wince in sympathy.

After a long moment, Wink speaks up. “So… is this it? You’re just gonna… hold hands for a while?” They can hear her swinging her legs.

Trying very hard not to break their concentration, they respond. “Yes.”

“Damn, kinda jealous. Can I hold your hand too?”

The nymph tries very, very hard not to lose their concentration at that. “No,” they say. They’re afraid they might lose control completely if she does.

They hear the rustling of sheets, another hiss of pain, and nothing more for the duration of the process.

At the end, they say they’ll come back in a week for the next session, and though it’s too early to tell, only three or four more will probably be needed.

They flee the house eagerly and return to the comfort of the woods, thinking about the sound of Wink’s voice.  

Wink doesn’t return to the forest again the next day. The nymph didn’t expect her too, what with the new deal between the two of them. It isn’t smart to get involved with forest folk, and she’d probably want to keep their contact to a minimum.

Still, it saddens them that she isn’t there. They stare at her empty spot by the pond and imagine her there, hair golden and amethyst, eyes impossibly blue against the water.

Instead of moping they decide to go flying. They love to fly, they always have. Ever since they were a child, small and undexterous with a back still aching from newly sprouted wings. Their mother would fly them high into the air, letting them take in the dazzling sight of ant-like buildings and speck-of-dirt people. Then she would drop them, and they would whoop and yell until she caught them just before they hit the ground.

It was wonderful, being in the sky. It was where they were born to be. They so often feel stifled by the grounded song of the forest, as lovely as their home is.

They’re so lost in reverie they don’t even notice where they’re going until they spot a familiar brown mountain. A volcano, to be specific. They don’t much like the heat, but the twins are usually nice enough to cool down a section of the place for them.

They land at the mouth of one of the entrances, some hundreds of feet off the ground, and call out.

“Hey!!” comes the enthusiastic reply.

“Hey,” comes the less enthusiastic reply.

The nymph wraps both of the twins in a wing-assisted hug before they’re led inside.

“We didn’t know you were coming by today! Javier was telling me about a new philosophy book he got at the library, it’s really cool!” Lola says, walking backward so she can gesture animatedly as she talks.

“Yeah,” Javier agrees from the nymph’s side, “I like the author’s thoughts on death.”

Javier and Lola are twin drakes that the nymph met several years ago. They had found the two weak and alone, and decided to take them both under their (hah!) wing.

Ever since then, the three of them had been inseparable friends. It was a little strange, for a forest spirit to be so close to two fire spirits, but none of them would trade it for the world.

The nymph nods along to Javier’s description of his new favorite nihilistic philosopher as they’re led to the kitchen. It isn’t much, seeing as this is still the inside of a volcano, but it has a table and chairs that the nymph sits at gratefully.

Lola pushes a cup of water in front of them before sitting by their side.

“So,” she asks, once Javier is done, “what brings you here today?”

They train their eyes to the floor. “What, can’t I just want to see my two favorite drakes?”

“No,” Javier says immediately.

“Of course,” Lola says right after, elbowing him in the ribs, “but usually you’d be in the woods right now watching out for that—oh my God.”

“What—” Javier begins to ask. Suddenly realization dawns on his face. “Oh my God.”

The nymph, now thoroughly confused, says nothing.

“Sibling!!” Lola says, shoving their side at the lack of response.

“You boned her,” Javier says, nodding sagely.

The nymph spits out their water.

“I—what!?” They’re desperately wiping water off of their face as they look around frantically. “Why would you even think something like that?”

“Your face is beet red,” Lola points out.

“We’re inside of a volcano!” they defend.

Javier blows a raspberry. “We made it cooler for you, so no excuses!”

Javier takes up a spot on the other side of the nymph and in unison, the twins lean into their space.

They both study the nymph for a long moment before nodding to each other.

“Yeah, they totally boned,” Lola says.

The nymph buries their cherry red face into their hands. “What did I do to deserve this, God? What sin did I commit egregious enough to earn this punishment?”

“You’re so dramatic,” Javier says, lightly shoving their shoulder. “I’m happy for you, Sibling, you’ve been pining after her for ever.”

“Yeah,” Lola agrees, nodding along, “it was getting seriously annoying.”

The nymph takes a long moment to calm themself, repeating to themself that they could not punt children out of volcanoes even if they would probably be fine, and sighs.

“We just talked,” they say to their surrogate younger siblings.

Lola looks at them doubtfully, while Javier shrugs. “Figures. I think if you actually got biblical with her you’d legitimately die.”

“Yeah, and then you wouldn’t be able to come see us!” Lola adds.

Sometimes the nymph has to remind themself that the twins are fifteen and not five. They act like children.

“So what happened?” Javier demands, and both twins lean in insistently.

The nymph, sensing no way to get out of this, tells the tale.

At the end Javier winces. “You got doctor-zoned.”

Lola nods sympathetically.

The nymph, feeling oddly defensive, sputters, “I did not get doctor-zoned! That’s not even a thing!”

The twins continue to look sympathetic.

“Of course not, Sibling,” Lola says.

“You two are the worst,” they sigh dramatically. Then they slump in their chair. “I’m going to see her again in a week. What am I supposed to do?”

Their eyes are closed to cope with the enormous shitshow their life is right now, so they can’t see the look the twins definitely share. But they do feel the insistent tugging on their arms as they’re led out of the kitchen.

“Are you going to throw me out of the volcano to put me out of my misery?” they ask, eyes still closed.

“No, you’d probably just fly away and sulk,” says Javier.

“We’re taking you to the love doctor!” Lola cheers.

The nymph raises a resigned eyebrow. “And who might that be?”

The twins pause dramatically before saying in unison, “Us!”

The nymph sighs.

When they open their eyes they’re in the twins’ bedroom. It’s more of a lair than a bedroom, honestly, with a pile of treasures (and dirty laundry) strewn over the floor with only a blanket overtop to act as a bed. The nymph knows from past sleepovers that sleeping on top of gold coins isn’t comfortable, but the twins seem to be fine with it.

Javier rifles through the mess on the floor insistently while Lola settles them down on the central pile.

They’re about to ask Javier what he’s doing when he pops up with a triumphant “Hah!” and adds himself to the (very uncomfortable) pile.

In his hand is a bottle of navy blue nail polish.

“I’ll do their left hand, you do their right!” Lola says, tackling the nymph before they have the chance to take flight.

Javier laughs and tackles them too, probably just for fun. After a few minutes of play-wrestling the three of them settle back down, and the twins get to work.

“So, it sounds like your biggest problem is that you’re too shy,” Lola begins.

“No, their biggest problem is that they’re a spirit and she’s a human,” Javier argues.

“Okay, yeah, well, whatever,” Lola says. “She’ll get over it. That just makes it more romantic! Everyone loves a good forbidden romance,” she continues dreamily.

Javier snorts, grabbing the nymph’s right hand. “Pretty sure that’s just you, sis.”

Lola sticks out her tongue. “ Anyway,” she continues, “what you need is an excuse to get close to her. Give her a chance to see that you’re not all ‘big bad scary name-stealing sprite’, but also a kind, gentle, and caring nymph.”

“Yeah,” Javier adds, painting their index finger, “and if she doesn’t, we’ll throw her in the volcano.”

“Please don’t.”

“We will,” Lola says.

They don’t know if they should be charmed or concerned at how serious the twins are.

“You’ve got those healing sessions for her friend going, yeah?” Javier asks casually.

They hum in acknowledgment.

“Great, you can probably win her heart in that time.” He’s surprisingly good at painting nails for someone with talons.

The nymph sighs. “Small problem: I spend the whole session dead silent concentrating on actually, y’know, healing.”

Lola hums consideringly. “Yeah, that’s a bit of a problem. Your concentrating face is pretty cute, though.”

They blush.

“You still have your payment though, yeah?” Javier asks.

Lola brightens. “Oh, yeah! That’ll be more than enough time for her to fall madly in love with you!”

Javier finishes their left hand and hands the bottle over to Lola, where she begins her messier and more enthusiastic work.

The nymph shakes their head. “First of all, I’m not going to win her heart. She’s human, I’m folk. She could never love someone like me, and even if she did, it wouldn’t end well for either of us.”

“First of all, bullshit,” Javier says, at the same time Lola says, “Stop moving, you’re going to mess me up.”

“Not bullshit! I’m a bird-person. She won’t even want to see me now that we’re contractually bound. Who knows what I might do to her?”

“I know,” Javier says, leaning into their side.

The nymph just shakes their head and sighs. There’s really no arguing with the twins when they set their heart on something.

They continue to chat throughout the night, the twins giving terrible advice on the nymph’s romantic woes as they lounge on varyingly uncomfortable piles of treasure.

The nymph doesn’t feel any more prepared by the end of it, but as they tuck their siblings into bed they realize they do feel better. They smile softly before heading home.

Chapter Text

Next week comes with the surety and swiftness of a guillotine. Wink is, surprisingly, waiting in the forest for them. Eyes blue, scanning, trying to find them. She doesn’t look angry. They keep that in mind as they step out from the underbrush.

“Nymph!” she says, eyes bright. “You surprised me. Ready to go?”

They nod mutely. This is not what they had expected.

She takes their hand easily and leads them toward town. “So, I’ve been wondering…” she starts as they break the final wall of trees.

“Yes?” the nymph asks hesitantly.

“Have you been there the whole time?” She looks at them, curious, head titled just a little and lips slightly puckered. They quickly drop their gaze and hope she can’t see their blush.

“In the forest, you mean?” they ask, stalling for time.

“Yeah, I guess so,” she replies, swinging their arms between them.

They take a long moment to respond. “...Yes. I have lived there since I was a child. Though I do sometimes leave.”

That seems to interest Wink. “And go where? Are there, like, nature sprite bars? Parties? Oh my God tell me you guys throw ragers.”

If they do, the nymph wouldn’t know. They’d never been invited.

“No,” they say, “I visit my friends.”

Wink nods like that makes sense. “Can’t relate, all I’ve got is Chaos Kitten and she’s all I need. Well, sometimes her girlfriend comes over but between you and me,” she leans over and whispers loudly, “I think CK likes me more.”

They both laugh, and Wink smiles fondly. It makes something in the nymph’s chest feel incredibly warm.

The session goes the same as the last one, though Chaos Kitten seems more prepared for the pain this time. Prepared enough to keep up a running commentary of snarky comments, at least. The nymph finds it oddly comforting.

At the end Wink and Chaos Kitten thank them, and they stutter over a dismissal. They’re only holding up their half of the deal.

Wink comes back to the forest after that, though. Appearing every few days as she had before, usually in the afternoon, sometimes at night and rarely in the morning. The nymph doesn’t dare reach out to her yet, and though she looks around every time she comes, she does not call for them. Instead they watch, as they had, except now she knows, and she sits by the pond and her name is Wink now, not just the girl, and she is perhaps the most beautiful creature to ever stand below sunlight.

The nymph is, as the twins would put it, completely fucked.

She continues to meet them in the woods for the next two weeks, talking about anything and everything as they make their way to her home. She begins walking them back, too, which is nice.

The townspeople don’t even glance at the nymph anymore as they walk down the street. Maybe they’ve dealt with sprites in the past. Either way, it makes the nymph feel warm inside, welcomed, even if they know they aren’t.

By the final session Chaos Kitten is in much better condition. She no longer has a fever, can walk with a cane, and only hardly coughs up any strange substances. (The substance, as it turns out, had been mostly creek water and moss. Gross, but normal.)

Chaos Kitten and Wink now keep up a running commentary as the nymph works, mostly gossiping about people the nymph doesn’t know but sometimes commenting on their work. According to Chaos Kitten, the process feels more tingly than anything now, and their concentrating face looks very cute. (Damn twins, being right about everything all the time.)

When the nymph is almost done, they pause.

“Everything alright?” Chaos Kitten asks. “You stopped.”

The nymph furrows their brow. “Yes, it’s fine… it’s just strange.”

Wink leans forward. “Strange how?”

“Nothing I can’t handle!” they reassure, “the energy inside of her body just feels… off. I can’t quite place it. I can still expel it, but…”

“But you’d like to study me like a dissected frog instead?” Chaos Kitten cuts in dryly. She only sounds half serious.

“No! I just—are  you sure you don’t know where this foreign magic came from?”

She shrugs, leaning back against her headboard. “Already told you, doc. I’ve got nothing.”

They nod, and push out the last bit of foreign magic.

The reaction is immediate. “Woah!” she says gleefully. “That felt like if ice cream and orgasms had a baby!” She makes giddy eye contact with Wink.

“...Is that good?” the nymph asks hesitantly.

“Fucking awesome, dude!” Chaos Kitten says before jumping out of bed, rushing toward her friend.

“Wait, your body will still need time to—” Chaos Kitten and Wink are already climbing the walls like monkey people “—recover.”

The nymph sighs. “Alright, I’ll get going now. Do some light exercise to get your body used to moving again and drink lots of water.”

But as they get up to move they’re stopped by Wink’s voice. “Hey!” she calls from the ceiling, somehow, “why don’t you stay for a while! We can have a little party to celebrate CK getting better!”

“She’s not better yet,” the nymph insists, but sits back down.

Chaos Kitten joins in. “Come join us up here, bird person, or are those wings just for show?”

They grin a little at that and take flight. There’s not much space in the small room, but they can just fully spread their wings and join the girls.

They end up hanging out for a while. The girls thank them profusely, offer them drinks (which they decline) and teach them some human party games. It’s fun. By the end of the night they’re all red-faced from laughter—and in some cases inebriation. When the nymph finally returns home they feel light. Content. They think about Wink teaching them the rules to Go Fish, about Chaos Kitten wiping the floor with the both of them, about the way the three of them had laughed together, and Wink had smiled, and it was warm. They felt loved.

The time comes for Wink to fulfill her end of the bargain. The nymph is pacing around, sweating, and the twins told them she was supposed to be the nervous one, not them, but that didn’t still their racing heart.

The two of them had agreed, in the haze of post-recovery partying, to meet tonight. The nymph wasn’t sure on exactly when she would arrive, but they knew it was soon and they were freaking out.

Curse them. Curse their stupid brain and stupid mouth and instant impulse to ask for the one thing they wanted. A night. A night. How pathetic. If they could take it all back they would. A night with Wink. Alone.

They were going to die.

Just a few hours earlier they had been at the twins’ place, internally and externally screaming through their woes. Javier had simply placed a box of condoms in their hand and told them to, “Go get ‘em, tiger.”

They hate their friends. (That’s not true. They love the twins more than anything in the world. They just kind of want to throw them into a volcano sometime.)

They’re looking at the tree where they had immediately hidden the condoms that the twins would not let them leave without, when they hear a rustling noise. It’s Wink, in a long white dress that makes her ethereal under the moonlight. Her shoulders are bare save for thin straps. She glances around, as she always does, before carefully sitting by the pond, as she always does. But then she speaks.

“You’re here, right?” she asks the air.

The nymph looks down at their own red tunic, thinks of their probably equally red face, and feels woefully underdressed. But she had called, and so of course they would come.

“I’m here,” they say from behind her.

She tilts her head and smiles, eyes caught on their wings. They fold them self-consciously.

“Don’t,” she says, like she doesn’t even mean to. “They’re pretty.”

The nymph just nods and unfurls their wings.

She hesitates for a moment before stepping forward, one hand outstretched. “May I?” she asks.

They’re sure their face has never been more red, but she’s blushing too, they notice, and that makes them feel. Something. So they give her another silent nod.

She strokes the feathers gently, reverently, savoring the feeling on her fingers. She glances up at the nymph again, silently asking if this is okay. They smile, because God, it is, and she smiles back.

“I didn’t know forest sprites had wings,” she says in that same soft tone she’s had since she came. “You’re the first one I’ve met.”

That doesn’t surprise them. Humans are folk don’t exactly mix, unless it’s to do something very bad.

“Usually we don't,” they say, trying to match Wink’s softness. “My mother’s a sylph.”

“An air sprite?” Wink asks, looking up through blonde lashes.

They hum a yes.

“Then why aren’t you…I mean, if you don’t mind me asking,” she quickly backtracks.

They laugh. “No, it’s fine. My dad was a dryad, or so I’ve been told. So it was kind of up to the genetic lottery what I would be.”

She moves her hand away from their wing, looks back to the pond. “I never knew my dad either. Mom stuck around a little longer, but mostly it was just me and—mostly it was just me.”

They don’t comment on the hiccup. “I’m sorry,” they say instead. She looks at them now, eyes a little brighter.

“Don’t be, I’m happy. I have CK now, and I have you.”
They look at the dirt, praying to any god that would listen that she wasn’t looking at their face. You. 

The two of them are still unbearably close.

“I have my friends, and my mom. And you, too. They’re good. It’s good.” Don’t think about how close her face is to yours, you stupid nymph.

“Yeah, you mentioned them,” Wink says, not moving back. “You probably have a lot of friends, huh?”

They laugh a little and shake their head. “No, the wings tend to throw people off.”

Wink looks genuinely offended at that. “Bull! The wings are cool! Who doesn’t like them, I want names.”

They take a startled step back, and she blushes. “Sorry, that was—”

“—No, no, it was fine—”

“—You don’t have to—”

“—I’m not—”

Wink waves her hands frantically and the nymph takes a step forward, grabs her hand.

“Oh! Um—”

“Want to go flying?” they ask, to get out of this incredibly awkward conversation.

She takes the out gratefully. “Yeah.” She nods.

They reach out, thinking for a moment before scooping her up bridal style. She buries her face into their chest as they take flight.

“Sorry, I should have asked. Are you afraid of heights?” they ask, suddenly unsure.

She peels her head away and looks down instead. “Oh, no, I was just…”

“Startled?” they suggest.

“Yeah,” she says.

They fly in silence for a while.

“Y’know, I love flying,” the nymph says at last.

Wink looks up from the landscape. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” they echo. “I used to do it all the time with my mom. Even before I could fly, she would take me into the air and show me what the world looks like from above.”

“It’s kind of relaxing,” Wink says.

They grin. “Yeah, it is. Most of all, though, it makes me feel free. Like nothing can touch me.”

Wink tightens her arms around their neck. Looks into their eyes with her own two little pools of sapphire. “I get that.”

The moon hits her from behind, turning her into a pale silhouette against a starry sky. She could have been carved from marble, could have turned the nymph to stone with her gaze.

And then, without warning, she drops out of their arms.

“Wink!” they shout, frantically racing down.

“Catch me!” she yells, laughing.

They do, of course. She called, they came.

They’re shaking from adrenaline and she whoops with joy. “Nice reflexes!”

“Why did you do that!?” they yell, because, what the hell, Wink.

“I knew you’d catch me,” she says, as if that explains it all.

Her arms are around their neck again, and their grip on her is much more secure than it had been.

She tilts her head and smiles. “The Aerie,” she hums.

“What’s that?”

Her expression is open and strange as she says, “You.”

The Aerie nods and waits for her to continue.

“It means safe, above it all,” she explains. She pauses to look into their eyes. “You saved my best friend. You didn’t even think of asking for payment until she brought it up. And then you asked for this.” She laughs, gesturing toward the dim city lights below. “And you caught me,” she says, lips pink. “You caught me.”

And the Aerie, for the first time in their life, has a name.

“Kiss me,” Wink says, and they do. It’s brief, chaste, a single moment of lips brushing lips before it’s over. They return to the ground. Wink goes home.

The Aerie stays, feeling the ghost of her lips for hours.

—

Despite the earth-shattering nature of the kiss, time passes, and something else tugs at the Aerie’s mind. The Aerie knows something is odd with Chaos Kitten’s condition. It’s weird enough she doesn’t know where the foreign magic came from—usually the where would be very obvious, and very painful—but they can’t even tell for certain what kind of magic it is.

Magic tends to have distinct flavors. There’s the hot and consuming energy of fire spirits, the overwhelming but transient energy of water spirits, the soft, almost imperceptible energy of air spirits, and the solid, abrasive energy of earth spirits. Even beyond that, each spirit shapes their magic differently depending on the personality of the wielder. The Aerie remembers the first time they had noticed the difference in Lola’s and Javier’s flames, Lola’s barely restrained energy against Javier’s cautious but brutal fire. It had been something intimate, learning to understand them like that.

And magic is very much about understanding. That’s why the Aerie knows that the magic inside Chaos Kitten had been earth magic, plain and simple. It was why she was vomiting up moss everyday. But on that last day something had changed. What had originally appeared to be standard earth magic became diluted enough to reveal another energy hidden beneath.

Within the crushing song of earth was a completely different tune, one the Aerie has never heard. One that frightens the Aerie, for reasons they do not yet understand.

But they know who might.

It’s nearly an hour of flying to get to the beach, on a path so rote it’s practically muscle memory. When they touch down their toes kiss soft sand, cold and white under the moonlight. They hope they don’t step on a rock.

They approach the shoreline, walking until the water laps at their ankles.

“Fin?” they call out the waves.

The water bubbles slowly, something sharp peeking out.

The Aerie just rolls their eyes.

Fin rises from the water, all green skin and sharp teeth and thin webbing. His smile is predatory, but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s been like that for a while.

“Yo, pal, what’s up!” he says, raising his hand for a high five.

The Aerie gives him some skin and sits. “I actually have a name now. It’s the Aerie.”

Fin’s eyes widen before he smirks. “Nice! You think of that one yourself?”

They think back to Wink, to her falling, to them kissing her. “No,” they say, face hot.

He eyes them curiously.

Knowing the barrage of questions that’s sure to follow, the Aerie quickly cuts him off. “Questions later, I’m actually here for something important.”

He’s sitting too now, knees pulled against his chest while he looks out at the waves. He bumps their shoulders and sighs. “Fine, but if you’re just saying that to get me off your back there’ll be Hell to pay, bird.”

They laugh. “Yeah, I know, I know.”

Then they sober, remembering why they’re here. They explain the whole story to him, except for some choice details that aren’t very relevant (like kissing Wink on the mouth).

Fin looks significantly more solemn by the end of the story. It’s kind of unsettling.

“What did you say the magic felt like, again?” he asks in a strange voice, eyes distant.

“It was…intense. Almost electric. I didn’t notice it before, buried under all the normal earth magic, but it felt hungry. Like it wanted to eat her alive.” They shiver, remembering.

Fin nods like he expected this, and they don’t like that. Don’t like the look in his eyes.

“Do you know what it is?” they ask softly, carefully.

He nods. “Yeah, I know.” His eyes are still on the ocean. His face is carefully blank.

Some part of them already knows what he’s going to say next when he raises his head, when he meets their eyes with ice and steel. “What I don’t know,” he growls, “is what the Hell Scale’s murderer wants with your friend.”

Chapter Text

“Sooo…?” Lola asks leadingly almost as soon as the Aerie enters.

The twins are sitting in the living room of their volcano, playing some board game the Aerie doesn’t recognize. As soon as they heard footsteps they looked up, and now their eyes are fixed on the Aerie in a way the sprite doesn't like at all.

Then Fin enters behind them, glaring at the jagged rock walls like they personally offended him. He fought hard against entering the drakes’ territory, but the Aerie had been firm. The two didn’t feel safe leaving their home for too long, and Fin knew that—even if it didn’t make the heat more bearable.

“Fin!” the twins shout, shooting up to hug him. They shove each other to get to him first until he finally just grabs them both.

“What’s up, knuckleheads,” he says fondly, giving them both a noogie.

“Oh, I was just demolishing Lola at Monopoly—” Javier starts before Lola cuts in with “—Demolishing? The only things being demolished were your houses after I bankrupted you.”

Javier sticks his tongue as Lola grins smugly.

The Aerie, afraid of physical violence, quickly steps in front of the game board.

“I came here because we need to discuss something with you,” they say seriously.

Lola, either not reading the mood or not caring, says, “You sure do! How’d things go with your girlfriend!?”

Fin does a double take. “I’m sorry, your what!?”

Javier laughs as the Aerie tries to defend themself.

“I’m not—she’s not—”

“Sibling went on a date!” Javier says, like a traitor.

The Aerie slowly sinks to the floor.

Thankfully, Fin seems to compose himself. “Okay, so, we’re absolutely talking about this later. But, regrettably, your sibling was right. We do need to talk about something important.”

The twins seem much more responsive to Fin’s serious tone. Perhaps because of how infrequently it was used.

Everyone gathers on the floor (there’s no couch. The Aerie offered to move one in but the twins refused) and gets ready for story time. The Aerie takes Fin’s hand before beginning.

“You guys remember Wink’s friend, Chaos Kitten?”

The twins nod.

The Aerie taps their thigh with their free hand. “Well, when I was treating her forest rot, I found a strange energy mixed in with all the earth magic. There wasn’t a lot, so I didn’t notice it until most of the earth magic was gone, but it was…” They genuinely didn’t know how to describe it. Terrifying? Cold? Hungry?

“Angry,” Fin says, putting words to what the Aerie cannot.

The Aerie nods. “And after I described it to Fin, he said it resembled the energy of the man who killed Scale.”

The Twins both shut down at this, a learned response to trauma. It makes the Aerie’s heart fall to see them close in on themselves like that, but they know it’ll be a long time before they can fix it. Living is slow, healing is slower.

Fin, for his part, tightens his grip on the Aerie’s hand almost painfully. But they see how he tries to keep his expression calm, tries not to scare the twins. They lean into his side, a silent offer for comfort. He leans back, slumping into them.

“So how are we going to kill him,” Javier says finally, coldly.

“I vote we gouge his eyes out and set the sockets on fire,” Lola responds immediately.

“You always vote for that,” Javier says with a huff.

Fin is still silent, so the Aerie takes the reins. “Children, children,” they chide, “murder plans can wait until after we find the guy. And we don’t want to risk having him die too quickly, Lola.”

Lola ducks her head, appropriately admonished.

“We need a plan,” Fin says, gaze faraway. The Aerie sees the way he sweats in the heat of the volcano. Even with the room cooled down, the Aerie knows how hard it is for water sprites to thrive in dry heat. He’ll need to step out soon, they think.

“Well, we’ve already tried asking around,” Javier points out. And they had, for months after Scale’s death. But nobody had heard of any mysterious men murdering undines for fun.

“That’s true,” the Aerie concedes, “but we have more information now.”

“Yeah,” Fin spits out, “like that he apparently also likes killing humans for fun.”

The twins flinch at his tone, and he looks away, ashamed. The Aerie just silently offers for them to join the cuddle pile. They crawl over gratefully.

Everyone is silent in thought until a hazy memory enters the Aerie’s mind. They raise their hand like a school student. “Oh! I know!” they say. “My mom is holding a party soon. Maybe someone there will know something. You know how drunk aristocrats love to gossip.”

Fin snorts. “No, literally no one but you knows that, bird. We’re not all sylph royalty.”

The Aerie tries to shove him, which makes Lola, who’s leaning against him, fall too. She drags Javier down with her, who knocks the Aerie over, and soon they’re all in a pile on the floor.

Lola’s the first to start laughing, and soon no one can stop. They stay like that for an eternity, just lying and laughing, irrevocably tangled in each other.

“Speaking of sylvan royalty…” Fin suddenly says with a shit-eating grin.

The twins perk up, staring at the Aerie curiously.

“Guess who got a name yesterday!” he finishes.

The twins instantly jump on the Aerie like attack dogs, while all the nymph can do is stare at Fin in utter betrayal as he smiles sweetly.

“—Why didn’t you tell us?!—”

“—What is it!?—”

“—Did Wink give it to you?!—”

The teens beat the Aerie mercilessly with boneless fists as they demand details.

“Let's go back to talking about Fin’s dead brother,” they say weakly.

Fin is already standing, heading toward the kitchen.

“Not a chance, bird!” he says over his shoulder with a laugh.

The Aerie is still dazed from the visit to the twins’ hours later. After the two had expertly bullied all of the details about last night from the Aerie, including their name, including how they got their name, the Aerie had taken a smirking Fin home.

“I hope you’re happy,” they had said wryly as he waded back into the sea.

The gaze he gave her was oddly pensive. “Not yet,” he replied, and then he was gone.

The Aerie flew home, already thinking about how they were going to approach their mother. Of course, Fin hadn’t been exactly wrong earlier, they are, by some definitions, sylvan royalty. Their mother is the leader of the local sylph clan, and though not a sylph themself the Aerie is still her child.

What’s more pressing than their status, however, is how adamantly they had claimed that they would, under no circumstances, go to this party. The Aerie is a person of their word. All folk are, by nature. So it would be a hell of a time (and a hell of a teasing) backtracking to tell their mother they would, actually, like to attend.

The Aerie is mulling over the best way to go about it without losing their dignity when the sound of footsteps interrupts the quiet midnight lull of crickets and wind.

They know instantly who it is. After all, there’s only one person who would willingly enter their forest. It’s what had made Wink such an oddity in the first place, a human in folk land. One so fearless, at that.

She’s fearful now. Eyes blown wide and breathing hitched in a way that has nothing to do with exertion. Sweat drips down her neck, into the collar of her nightclothes and the Aerie wonders if she ran all the way here.

“Aerie! Aerie, please, are you here!?” she calls, desperate in a way she has never been, even when pleading for her friend’s care.

As the Aerie stumbles forward she rushes toward them. They both manage to catch themselves on each other, matching faces of panic looking all the more ominous in the forest’s shadow.

“What’s wrong?” they ask as soon as they can, trying to steady her when she still won’t let go of their shoulders.

She’s breathing fast, already tugging at them before she can even get the words out. “It—it’s Chaos Kitten. Something happened and I don’t know what and I know this isn’t part of the deal but please—”

The Aerie cuts her off, shaking their wrist from her grip. Her expression falls.

“If I fly we’ll get there faster,” they say, and she leaps into their arms without hesitation.

It’s not pretty. Chaos Kitten is doubled over, shaking with pain and the force of held-back screams. A woman is with her, rubbing her back gently, whispering reassurances into ears probably pounding with blood and adrenaline.

Her head snaps up to meet Wink and the Aerie, taking only a moment to gaze at them before she drops into a kneeling pose at the Aerie’s feet.

“Please, forest spirit, save her, I don’t care what it’ll cost me, just do it soon. I don’t think she’ll live much longer.”

The woman’s eyes are shut tight, body shaking with lines of tension. She does not look like the kind of woman who kneels. The Aerie’s gaze follows the lines of tears that form a bridge between her eyes and the floor before gently lifting her head.

“I will, I will,” they say, soft and soothing, before they’re at Chaos Kitten’s side.

She’s still doubled over on her hands and knees. The Aerie notes dimly that they’re kneeling in a pool of vomit. They don’t care.

“Chaos Kitten, can you hear me?” they ask.

Despite the immense pain, she lifts her head so she can meet their eyes. “Loud and clear, boss.”

The Aerie nods encouragingly. “Alright, I’m going to need you to lie on your back.”

They make a sympathetic noise at her grimace. “I know, I know, but it’s easiest this way.”

Instantly Wink and the third woman are there, helping lower Chaos Kitten to the ground. The Aerie doesn’t have time to thank them, and instead takes up a position between her legs. They grab both of her hands, focusing on the lines of energy that run through her veins. They find, in the soft cracks of her bones and veins, a regrettably familiar magic.

At first they try to push it out, as they had before, but it doesn’t budge. It’s hot, wanting in the way it snakes through her body, the way it eats at the things inside of her to make more room for itself. 

The Aerie switches tactics, looking for places the foreign energy hasn’t touched yet. They fill those small cracks with their own magic, sending growth life healing into Chaos Kitten as the other magic eats her alive. Her expression clears minutely, but the Aerie knows it isn’t enough.

“I can’t do this,” they admit with gritted teeth. Keeping their magic restrained like this is taking its toll. It wants to move, flow through Chaos Kitten or flow back into the Aerie. Much like the Aerie themself, it has a hard time being tied down. But there’s nowhere else to go, and this meager healing magic is probably the only thing keeping Chaos Kitten alive right now.

“ Please,” the new woman says, the kneeling woman, the weeping woman. She is a portrait of a girl utterly undone, and still she looks like she could kick the Aerie’s ass easily. She doesn’t, though. Instead she begs. “You have to try.”

“I am,” they promise, scrambling for something to fix this.

Chaos Kitten can’t hold back her screams anymore, and with them comes a geyser of bile and blood.

Wink and the other make sure she doesn’t choke as the Aerie thinks.

They come to a conclusion. It’s not one they like, not even one they think will work, but it's all their frantic, gelatin mind can think of and God that’s so much blood.

“Wink,” they pant, and she’s by their side in an instant. “Go to the forest, climb the tallest tree you can find and yell. Yell for Mishra—she’ll come. She’s,” the Aerie is sweating with exertion, “my mom, she—”

Wink is already gone.

Against their will, the Aerie's vision goes black.

When they wake up again they’re lying next to Chaos Kitten, hands intertwined and equally sweat-soaked.

They glance around, seeing wooden walls and a stained couch, feeling something hard beneath their back. Then they see Wink, brows furrowed and wringing her hands and it clicks.

The woods, running, Chaos Kitten on her hands and knees God, there was so much blood.

They roll over, almost involuntarily, to make sure Chaos Kitten is okay. Thankfully, there’s no visible blood. She’s in new clothing, face screwed up slightly and breathing more shallow than the Aerie would like, but all in all okay. They tighten their grip on her hand as they breathe.

“You’re up,” Wink notes from—way closer than the Aerie thought she was. How did she move so fast?

They nearly jump out of their skin before they can reply, “Yeah, yeah, I am.”

She sits down next to them, taking the hand not occupied by Chaos Kitten into her own. She plays with their fingers idly, eyes trained firmly on the floor as she speaks. There are tear tracks on her cheek.

“Your mom’s a total badass,” she says in lieu of anything else.

The Aerie, shocked that Wink had met their mom, just nods numbly.

“She threatened to take my head off before I told her what was up,” Wink laughed. Oh, yeah, they had told her to call for Mishra, huh.

“I’m sorry about that,” they rush out before they have a chance to chicken out. “I wasn’t thinking clearly—I hope she didn’t—”

Wink just laughs and squeezes their hand. “I forgive you,” she says, voice almost fond in the dim light. “I’d die a thousand times if it meant Chaos Kitten was safe.”

And the Aerie agrees, feels the exact same way, which is why they’re not jealous. They’re not.

“So where is she now?” They ask far too quickly, eager for a change in topic.

Wink points in the direction of the closed bedroom door. “In there,” she says, jabbing her thumb for emphasis. “She’s going over some medical stuff with Thylacine right now.”

At the Aerie’s questioning hum she straightens. “Oh! Yeah, you haven’t met Thylacine before, huh? She’s Chaos Kitten’s girlfriend, the one I told you about before.”

The Aerie thinks about the kneeling woman, the one who had begged for Chaos Kitten’s life. The one with dark hair and a blood-soaked orange shirt and eyes that promised violence, but asked for nothing but safety from the Aerie. Cruel girl, gentle girl, they think, and think that they like her.

“I remember,” the Aerie says, looking at the door.

Wink’s grasp on their hand tightens. “I just told you she’s not single, Aerie.” And oh, the Aerie likes the way she says that.

Her gaze is still on the floor, and both of their hands are occupied, so they whisper into her ear to get her attention.

“Jealous?” they ask, smirking.

She startles, but doesn’t bend. “Of course not,” she says, finally meeting their eyes with a smile of her own.

They stay like that, hand in hand, eye to eye and mouth facing mouth until Wink leans in.

“Kiss me again,” she whispers, leaning her body in close. The Aerie wraps a wing around her in response.

Just as skin brushes skin a voice makes them leap apart.

Chaos Kitten is on her side, supporting herself with one arm as she raises an eyebrow at the pair. “This is, like, really cute, but maybe not when I’m dying?” she asks, gesturing to her sweat-soaked body.

Wink drops their hand as the Aerie regrets everything they’ve ever done in their life up until this point. Chaos Kitten almost died, like, an hour ago. There’s a time and a place! At least they weren’t caught by their mom.

“Well what do we have here?” asks Mishra from the doorway.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck—

“Nothing, Ms. the Aerie’s mom, ma’am,” Wink says immediately, back suddenly ramrod straight. She tries saluting before ostensibly realising that’s dumb and just drums her fingers against her thigh.

“The Aerie?” Mishra asks, looking at her child with a mix of confusion, hurt, and (worst of all) intrigue. Ugh, they’re going to have to tell her the whole story, huh?

The Aerie realizes their wing is still wrapped around Wink. Well, it would probably be weird to move it now. “New name,” they say, and hope she doesn’t press.

Thankfully before she even has the chance, scary Thylacine swoops in like a goddess from above. She peeks over Mishra’s short shoulder from inside the bedroom and, seeing that her girlfriend’s awake, rushes to Chaos Kitten’s side.

“Babe,” she says, gripping the smaller girl in a hug that might have cracked a few bones.

“Umph!” Chaos Kitten eloquently responds. “Can’t—breathe.”

Thylacine pulls back, but only a little. “Sorry, sorry, are you okay?”

Her eyes are worried and caring as she scans Chaos Kitten over, prodding for injuries, not even sparing a second glance to where her left hand is still gripping the Aerie’s right. Interesting.

Chaos Kitten pushes her back with a laugh. “Yeah, fine,” she says, “other than the whole almost dying thing.”

Thylacine looks upset and Chaos Kitten softens. “It only hurts a little now, really,” she soothes.

Thylacine seems to accept this and promptly plops down onto the floor next to her, taking her free hand. Mishra laughs from her place in the doorway.

“Oh, young love,” she sing-songs, “I’m feeling a little left out.”

The Aerie takes stock of both of their claimed hands. They know she’s joking, but they still feel bad now.

Wink, from the way her palm starts to spontaneously sweat, is probably thinking the same thing. It’s very apparent though that Mishra terrifies her, and eventually Thylacine takes pity and extends her free hand.

“Come join the circle, the more the merrier,” she says, smiling up at Mishra.

Mishra sits down comfortably, clearing a place on the floor for herself. Chaos Kitten has pushed herself into a sitting position by now, and they all form a loose semi-circle on the floor.

Mishra takes Thylacine’s hand easily, far more easily than the Aerie has seen with any other strangers.

Did their mom and Chaos Kitten’s girlfriend become… friends, while they were asleep?

They don’t know how to feel about that.

Once they’re all settled, Mishra fills them in on what happened, tone heavy.

“Your friend, Wink, came into the forest,” she says, “climbed up a tree like an insane person, and started screaming my name.” Wink looks like she wants to protest, but is also way too scared to protest. Instead she settles for blushing at the ground. Mishra continues, “I nearly killed her then and there, y’know, for security reasons. But then she said your name,” she says to the Aerie, “a name I did not know yet, for some odd reason,” Yeah, that’s a threat, “but she said she knew my child, and that they were hurt, and I put the pieces together.”

Now Chaos Kitten jumps in. “Yeah, and then she burst into the house all badass, like, where’s my kid, and she saw you on the ground and—” Chaos Kitten wisely takes stock of Mishra’s deadly glare “—did not cry like a baby. I was doing too much dying to understand what was happening but I’m pretty sure your mom saved both of our lives.”

Mishra preens at that, her own wings fluffing up. Thylacine picks up where her girlfriend left off. “Yes, while you were sleeping, your mother was telling me about how best to care for Chaos Kitten as she recovers. Wink filled us in on your healing efforts thus far, and we believe whatever magic infiltrated Chaos Kitten’s body mutated when not diluted by earth magic, causing this intense reaction that almost killed her.” Thylacine nods respectfully to the Aerie, and then to Mishra. “I know I have already said this, but thank you, both of you, for everything you have done. Your efforts will not go unrewarded.”

The Aerie tries to wave the gratitude off but Mishra merely nods. “I know, young girl. I am glad my child has people like you by their side.”

Thylacine mutters something under her breath that makes Chaos Kitten laugh. “Yeah, seriously, thanks guys. Being alive is really awesome, actually.”

Wink remains uncharacteristically silent, but leans slightly into the Aerie’s wing.

Mishra looks softly at the group before standing. “Well, if that is all, I will be back to check on Chaos Kitten in a few days. Please come get me if things get worse.” Then she makes dangerous eye contact with her child. “If you’ll excuse us, me and the Aerie have some things we need to discuss.”

The Aerie, suddenly fearing for their life, does not move. Maybe, if they play dead she’ll go away.

She waits expectantly. They know if they don’t think of something to distract her soon they’re going to lose this silent battle.

They cast around their mind before remembering their holy grail. “Actually, mother, there is something else!” they squeak, trying not to sound as desperate as they are.

“Oh?” she asks, eyes showing clear amusement. She gestures to the room. “Well then, do tell.”

The Aerie fumbles, “well—um, you see—” Wink, in an act of ultimate pity, puts a hand on their knee. “—the party!”

“The party?” Mishra asks.

The Aerie nods frantically. “Yes, the party, the one you’re throwing for those stuffy—um, important sylvan dignitaries.”

Mishra sits, resting her chin on her hand. “I recall the party.”

Thylacine and Chaos Kitten are staring at them like predators watching prey, and Wink— the traitor— moves her hand from their knee to stifle laughter into her fist.

“I’d like to go to the party,” they say, lamely.

Mishra, in her infinite patience and desire for chaos, entertains this. “Yes, mhm, I see,” she says, nodding seriously. “However, I don’t see why this couldn’t wait until we got home?”

The Aerie knows she’s got them there, so they think fast. They look at where their hand is once more intertwined with Wink’s before blurting out, “Wink is coming as my date!”

Wink, in her infinite confusion and desire for chaos, entertains this. “Yes, true, absolutely,” she says, nodding seriously.

The look in Mishra’s eyes says this is bullshit, but the tone of her voice says she loves it. “Oh, my darling child, congratulations! I hadn’t realized you were getting back into the dating scene after that water sprite—”

“— LET’S NOT TALK ABOUT THAT,” they say, much louder than intended, voice cracking maybe a little.

At this point Wink and the Aerie look like they’ve spent the past hour in a volcano, while Chaos Kitten and Thylacine are struggling to hold each other up as they fail to hold back shrieking laughter.

“Congrats—on the datemate—Wink!” Chaos Kitten croons through peals of laughter.

Thylacine just makes lecherous eye contact with Wink as she struggles to regain her breath.

The Aerie curls their wing around Wink so she’s completely hidden, and then does the same with their other wing to themself.