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fractalsfrozen | Ice Fae Sigma AU
There's a part of him who knew it'd end up this way. Cast out of the town he'd lived in his entire life, where everyone knew each other like family. In the end it hasn't mattered.
He was a warlock, a friend trying to poison their town with witchcraft and dark magic. Or that's what everyone thought. Change was frightening and right now it wasn't something they were ready for, Harold had feared it, but it hadn't been an excuse to not try to better the lives of the towns people.
Medicine and the advancements in it were not to be trusted, so he'd been cast out, forced out into the harshness of winter and the wilds to fend for himself. Harold packed as much as they allowed him, bundled up in as many layers as he could wear without inhibiting his movement.
The first few days aren't so bad, cold, but thankfully not windy. He's got enough food for maybe a week if he rations it out. Making a fire is dangerous, it draws attention and he's on his own, his only weapon a knife he uses to eat with.
In the end it's not monsters or animals or even ruffians that get him, it's the storm that hits three days in. The wind bites through his clothes and there's no way he could make a fire like this.
So he fights through blinding snow drifts to find a cave or anything he could take shelter in, but his body gives out before he has any luck. The cold is just too much and he collapses, still clutching a blanket tight around himself to try and fight off the wind and snow.
He was a warlock, a friend trying to poison their town with witchcraft and dark magic. Or that's what everyone thought. Change was frightening and right now it wasn't something they were ready for, Harold had feared it, but it hadn't been an excuse to not try to better the lives of the towns people.
Medicine and the advancements in it were not to be trusted, so he'd been cast out, forced out into the harshness of winter and the wilds to fend for himself. Harold packed as much as they allowed him, bundled up in as many layers as he could wear without inhibiting his movement.
The first few days aren't so bad, cold, but thankfully not windy. He's got enough food for maybe a week if he rations it out. Making a fire is dangerous, it draws attention and he's on his own, his only weapon a knife he uses to eat with.
In the end it's not monsters or animals or even ruffians that get him, it's the storm that hits three days in. The wind bites through his clothes and there's no way he could make a fire like this.
So he fights through blinding snow drifts to find a cave or anything he could take shelter in, but his body gives out before he has any luck. The cold is just too much and he collapses, still clutching a blanket tight around himself to try and fight off the wind and snow.
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"It is indeed morning, but you slept a full day...so it may not be the morning you expect."
The fae smiled, a little impishly. That human's messy morning hair was certainly more adorable than he had anticipated.
"The storm has passed and I would like to survey the mountain...to check for damage and injured fae and animals. Would you care to join me?"
He held up a smaller fur lined...and trimmed robe.
"This was mine when I was smaller. It should fit you a bit better for outside travel...not that you don't wear my shirts well."
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"Oh, I'd love to join you, but um... I'm rather hungry." All that sleeping had worked up an appetite! He'll take the offered robe and finds himself flushing at the fae's comment. Does he wear the shirt well? It just feels like he's wearing a large sleeping gown. Harold would have figured he looked childish and silly.
Well. He'll take well.
"I can't imagine you bring any smaller, especially my size." He says it good naturedly. "Thank you, it looks very warm."
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"It was long ago. All fae start out as children...like humans."
Harold's face was red...was he still sick? The human was a grown man and he would tell him honestly if he was feeling well or not for this excursion. Oh. Food. He'd forgotten about that. He really must keep better track of that. The fae made a not to himself to keep on top of making sure that Harold had enough to eat.
"Of course. We can definitely stop by the pantry before heading out."
They made their way back to where they had stopped to make the medicinal tea. With a wave of his hand, the ice melted revealing Sigma's food storage.
"Please, Harold...help yourself...and please ask me if you have any questions."
He smiled, glad that his robe fit the human a bit better. It would keep him warm in the snow outside.
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The far, may be able to go out with no shoes, but he was human. Also Sigma could float over the snow. No doubt he had some natural resistance to the chill as well.
"It must take hundreds, thousands of years for your kind to grow old." He'd love to learn about them, know more. Most of what humans knew of the far were stories passed down, fairy tales basically.
None of it could be proven. Thanking Sigma first, he'll eat from the food provided, his stomach growling it's thanks too. He finishes it off with a cup of tea, with honey, to warm up real good before they head out.
"... so do you often have humans who travel your mountain? I mean, have any come up here to see if you're real?" It's not like there weren't tales of a great ice king on the mountain, but the mountain was dangerous so anyone smart wouldn't travel it anyway.
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He said immortal not invulnerable. He doesn't want to share that yet...and probably not for some time. Fae are entitled to their secrets. Merely letting a human know they had weaknesses-iron...control by name...anything of the sort was not to be discussed. He respected the old ways as much as he respected the mountain that bore him.
He waited for Harold to finish, though he answered his questions freely.
"Not terribly often. It is not hospitable for them...many of the others...do not fancy humans and make the going harder. You are the first human to make it this high up in years."
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"That must be hard, living forever." So much time, especially up here on his own. Sure Sigma had said that he wasn't alone, that there were the animals, the spiders, other things, but it seemed he was the only fae like himself up here and surely it must be lonely not having your own kind to talk to? Or perhaps that was just how the fae lived, maybe having that sort of company didn't fulfill them like it did most humans.
"And here I wasn't even trying!" Harold smiles behind the cup of tea, "I can understand wanting to keep us away from your mountain, many humans have little respect for the world beyond themselves." Many couldn't even have kindness towards their own kind.
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What Harold said was true. Most humans were destructive. He had been fortunate enough to encounter one years ago that was not...and it was that exception that had caused him to pause...to not abandon Harold in the snow when he very easily could have left him to freeze to death and be eaten.
"Our paths were meant to cross, Harold Winston."
It felt right...the way they could just sit and talk. Normally, he despised talking to humans...their...inability to see passed their own noses frequently made interactions with them tedious no matter how rare they were...but Harold was open to discussion...he wanted to make the world better...it was refreshing.
"I think we will be able to learn a great deal from one another."
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"I think you may be right." He smiles warmly. He hoped he could at least be good company if nothing else. If some how the fae learned something from him then even better.
"I'm interested to see the mountain now that the storm has passed and I'm not fighting off hypothermia." It will no doubt be beautiful, everything still and covered in thick fluffy white snow. The sun shining on it like diamonds.
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"So we shall."
He nodded to the right and led the way to what looked like a wall on the far side of the cave. With a wave of his hand, the wall melted away, revealing the side of the mountain. He turned to Harold.
"Do you need help in the snow?"
It was fairly deep and they would make better time if he helped the human. He whispered quietly and gestured with a clawed hand. Harold floated gently up over the snow.
"Just until we get a bit lower."
The sun was shining brightly on the snow, causing it to sparkle. There were some fallen trees...but otherwise, birds were singing. A few even flew down to perch on Siebren's horns. They fluffed themselves and tweeted loudly, telling him of the storm and where they had hidden to stay safe. The fae listened and nodded, their words as clear to him as Harold's.
"Ah...I see. I'm glad you have kept safe, little ones."
His hand extended and a few chickadees came from the trees to perch on his long fingers.
"You as well? Wonderful."
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"Ah, thank you." Once he's set on his feet again he'll pull the robe tighter around himself and walk close by the fae, figuring that would be the safest.
It seems the animals know that Sigma won't do them any harm, birds resting his horns like tree branches, chirping happily. It's sweet really. He catches himself staring, smiling at how the fae speaks to them like anyone else.
"... so you can understand each other?"
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"Yes. Their words are different than mine...different from yours...but I can understand them."
He was an Elemental, born of the mountain to protect it and its inhabitants for as long as he was able. The birds knew him as they knew the trees and the rocks. His scent was all over the mountain and the scent of the mountain was in his blood.
"Bird thoughts are much more simple than human or fae thoughts, but I still understand them."
The small swarm of birds all turned to look at Harold. Siebren smiled.
"Don't worry, he's my friend." he reassured them.
He nodded to the left.
"We should move on...see what else there is."
And so they did...Siebren clearing fallen brush from their path with a wave of his hands and had it set down beside them. He pointed out various creatures that were peering out of the brush at them-deer, squirrels...a badger. Siebren frowned when there was a massive, broken tree. Its wood was jagged and burned, having been struck by lightning. The remaining jagged trunk was as tall as Harold.
"Sad...to lose one so old."
He voice was quiet. The fae gently glided up to it and rested his hands on the sharp wood. His palms burned...the tree was dying. It had been damaged too much for even him to save. Instead he worked magic to soothe it...ease its energy back into the mountain....until the tree no longer had any life energy about it and it was nothing but wood. He retrieved his hands from the bark and looked at them as the burns healed themselves...a small price to pay to usher an ancient one back to the mountain so it could be born again come spring.
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"Oh- hi. Hello, haha." Harold waves awkwardly. Should he try talking to them too? Thankfully Sigma urges them to keep going, deciding for him, though some of the birds stay with them, still riding on the fae's horns. They're joined by other animals as well and it's so surreal. While he understands he's safe with Sigma, he still pulls closer to him as more seem to surround them as they move through the brush and trees.
Things turn solemn when they come upon a huge tree, clearly quite old, that's fallen. What stands is still as tall as him, the rest is broken and partially covered by the snow drift. It feels like a funeral as Sigma laments the loss... an old friend? No doubt he knew all trees like they were his neighbors. He'd lived longer than any of them here for sure. Harold watches, standing back a little, quiet with his hands folded in front of him, wishing to be respectful. It's only once the fae is done that he realizes he's hurt.
"Oh-" Stepping from behind him, he comes to stand beside him, hesitating to touch him, but reaching a hand out all the same.
"Are you alright? It looks painful." Is this what he did? Healed and took the pain from the mountain when things like this happened? Took it upon himself?
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"Yes. I am. I will be."
He looked at the fallen tree. Its aura was gone and it no longer felt like the body of a fallen friend.
He flexed his hand, opening and closing it.
"It is a shame to let it go to waste. The tree is no longer a tree. It is wood. Do you need it for anything? We can harvest it another time if you do."
He paused.
"It was already ancient when I was born."
The great ice fae felt his lower lip tremble. He took a deep breathe and he nodded.
"I look forward to meeting it again in its next life."
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Then again, they'd think any one who could was evil, dark magic. Sigma may look some what scary and wicked at first glance, but watching him now. The sadness in his eyes, the slump of his shoulders as he lamented the loss of an old friend. Harold liked to think he was a good judge of character and he wouldn't consider Sigma wicked or evil at all.
"I... I wouldn't know what to do with it." It wouldn't feel right to make something from the wood of something that had been a friend to the fae for so long. Yet he was right, it would be a waste to let the wood rot.
"I'll think of something, we can come back another time." Harold doesn't want to just chop the tree up and put no thought into what he'd do with the wood. It wouldn't feel right. It wouldn't be respectful. Harold isn't sure what else to say or how to console the fae, so for all he'd hesitated in touching him before, he does now. A gentle touch, hand resting on Sigma's arm.
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He watched his burns fade to nothing before nodding.
He tensed, but just barely at the touch to his arm. He turned to see Harold's hand gently resting on his arm, offering him comfort. He had no idea who else it would be, but it still surprised him a human he had essentially just met would offer him comfort. It felt like something this particular human would do, though, and he smiled softly, placing his opposite hand over Harold's and giving a soft squeeze.
"Thank you, my friend...for your comfort."
He sighed and nodded.
"We will think of something beautiful and useful to do with it later."
His soft smile returned.
"Don't worry. Its spirit has returned to the mountain. I made sure of it."
He flexed his hands.
"It no longer suffers and can instead become something new."
That's what he does.
"A healthy mountain should always have one or more fae to take care of it. It gives us life...it is the least we can do in return to make sure it can continue to prosper and spawn more plants and even more fae."
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Taking his hand back he'll wrap his arms around himself, rubbing at his arms, the chill not terrible, but there.
"I'm glad the mountain has someone like you here. I never... before this I wouldn't have considered a tree having a soul or thought about it suffering." Already his eyes are being opened to a whole new world. A world he'd been a part of, but not seen in this light before.
"Are fae born often, or is it only when one of your kind passes on that the mountain or other places um, create them?" It's interesting to learn about all of this, to be so close to it. He's sure he's very lucky being in the situation he's in currently.
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Humans were not normally so curious...so willing to learn. Most were desperate and easily frightened. This healer, though? Not so much. The fae was more than willing to teach him.
"Thank you. I do my best."
It was true, he did...and it felt...nice...to have an outsider acknowledge it.
"It depends on a lot of factors. It also depends on the fae. Some reproduce more frequently and...more traditionally than others. An elemental such as myself? Much less often. We take much longer to reach maturity than others. Pixies? Brownies? Gnomes? Trolls? All much faster. Elemental Fae grow slower...live much longer...but we have more responsibilities. We have to make sure our lands are healthy...or all those others...and the plants and animals cannot survive."
He paused before continuing.
"If I were to expire...it would be some time before my replacement would be born...longer still for them to learn their place...their duties...and their power. It is not easy to understand and control. It takes time...practice."
He gestured at the forest.
"There are other ice fae...on other mountains in other lands. Rarely are there two of the same in one place. Should the mountain make another fae like myself...it is unlikely it would choose to make another of ice while I still breathe. Not impossible...just unlikely."
He nodded.
"What about your kind, Harold? When do members of your race create more humans?"
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Sounds like losing a fae would be a horrific blow. He wonders how many fae die naturally, if their lands can tell when they're getting close to that time, maybe prepare for another one?
"So then you're all born from the earth? Like uh, I mean you don't reproduce?" Harold motions useless with a hand, "Like animals or humans do?" Oh boy this is getting into interesting territory.
"Oh well, humans don't really have to reproduce to keep our numbers up or anything like that. We don't have to replace anything, there's so many of us now." He walks around a bit, eyes wanders catching sight of animals watching them.
"Mostly people just want to have families. They get married, have a few kids. The kids grow up and do the same thing." He shrugs, "Or not, but it's definitely not a necessity."
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"Well...most of us are. Not all of us. We can reproduce the traditional way...like humans and animals. Elementals reproduce this way less than drakes or elves or brownies and such. Sometimes elementals seek each other out to manually reproduce but other times we simply enjoy the recreational aspects. Also not always a necessity."
He had been sought out for such before...by elementals who simply did not want to burden their mountains and lakes with the arduous task of spawning for them. Some had smaller realms to work with....valleys, lakes...they were smaller than his great mountain and its neighbors...they had much fewer resources...but also sometimes their fae wanted offspring of their own making...sometimes they just wanted to have fun.
"Many times, fae mate with one another for fun. We...tend to sort out our feelings into reproduction or pleasure. We just choose to do different things depending on what we want. Sometimes...like humans...fae want their own children...to not burden their home lakes and small valleys with spawning another elemental. Other times they seek recreational companionship. Do humans ever do that?"
There wasn't any shame in his voice. Fae and other fairy-type beings were very open with their sexuality. Simply because he himself did not seek such company out himself often did not mean he did not like it or that he was not open to the idea. Humans just had much less time to work wit than they did.
The two continued their walk...Siebren pointing out various animal dens and hot spots of magical activity invisible to the naked eye. A few pixies fluttered around them, checking in with the King of the Mountain and letting him know their villages were safe. A few of them flew around Harold, little bits of colored light...investigating this stranger.
Siebren smiled.
"They won't hurt you. You are under my protection. They are just curious."
In a few minutes, the pixies were satisfied and moved on in a flurry of light and color and excited squeaks.
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"That's nice that your kind can have a family if they want, I'm sure it's not quite the same as humans, but the choice of it is good." That they can still fulfill their duties to the land and have a family or at least children if they desire that. He likes that. He wonders though if they ever come together like humans do? Living together... though with how long fae live and take to age and grow into adulthood, from how Sigma speaks of it, he wonders if that sort of family life would make sense for them?
He could ask, but Sigma is explaining fae sexual tendencies like they're talking about the weather over coffee. Harold is glad it doesn't seem to faze or bother the fae that he's asking questions or they're getting into sort of personal type questions. It definitely has the tiny human doctor thinking about. Things.
"Yes humans most certainly do, but a lot of the time it's seen as being uh... loose. It's kind of frowned upon in smaller communities. The bigger more progressive cities aren't as silly about that sort of thing." Harold is thankful that society seems to be progressing forward, he just wished it would go a little faster and reach the smaller towns and villages. It would be better for them in the long run, even if a lot of them lived by traditions and the like that held them back.
"... so um, do fae ever form relationships with other fae? Or is it all purely for pleasure and necessity? I mean do... do you ever yearn for that kind of thing?" While they talk about all of this Sigma does still show him everything. The little things, things that a human would probably never see on their own. His eyes light up with wonder at the pixies that flutter about them. At first he thinks they're fire flies or something, but when they aren't flickering around so fast he does catch a quick glimpse of some sort of form in the bright colors of light. It's amazing, he knows how lucky he is to experience this at all.
It's all do to Sigma of course, without him he doubted he'd ever see any of this.
"Hello, it's nice to meet you." Harold says, unable to keep the sound of wonder from his voice as he brings a hand up to try and gently touch any of the fluttering lights, but they easily move just out of range. Once they've decided he's nothing to worry about, or perhaps that he's too boring to stick around for, the pixies are off as quick as they came. He looks up at Sigma, with boyish glee on his features.
"Truly your home is something else. Thank you for allowing me to see it like this."
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"Yes, they can if they wish. It can be difficult in some cases because of distance, but it is definitely possible."
He waved as the pixies made their leave, smiling at the fact that Harold was enjoying himself. His heart felt warmed by it. It made him happy in a way he had not felt in a long time. He was glad that he had followed his principles...allowed the human to live and recover. The man was a healer, always a good thing to have on hand...and he was open to not only the traditional herbs of the forest, but to fae magic as well. This was a rare specimen, indeed.
"I'm happy you appreciate it. I hope it will prove useful in your study of the healing arts."
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"It will be, I've no doubt." As they continue on he ponders a little, about what they've spoken about. He feels awkward asking such personal questions, but at this point Sigma has shown that it doesn't seem to bother him.
Still.
"... have you... have you ever um had any children? Or you know, been in a relationship?" Harold then blinks, adds on as he glances up at Sigma curious, "Are you with someone now?"
More so he asks so he won't be surprised if suddenly there's another giant fae in Sigma's caves.
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"Good. Knowledge should be shared, I think."
Siebren gave a small smile at the questions. This human seemed very concerned with the social structure of the fae. It wasn't surprising. He had never seen a fae like himself, much less learned their culture.
He gave a slight shrugged.
"I have not met them if I have. I have been asked to sire children. I have tried. I do not know if these attempts were successful...or if the fae who asked found company elsewhere. I hope she got what she wanted, regardless. She was an Earth elemental. Very kind. Very sweet. Her valley was small. She was the last fae there. I...hope it is still beautiful. It was in good hands. You'd know her valley if you saw it. It was full of little white flowers. She was so brave...she left it to find me...to make her request. I was quite taken with her for a time."
He nodded.
"I fell quite hard for a dragon when I was very young. It was thrilling, you see? Wild and dangerous. Fire and ice. He was my first. We were young fools together. He wanted me to fly away with him at the end of summer...to go to his tropical island in the sea...but I'm not made for places that warm...and he was not made for places this cold...but it was fun while it lasted."
The fae chuckled.
"No. Not at the moment. It has been many years since I have had a companion. There will be no surprises for you. Except maybe that little ice drake. Her parents were born of the mountain as I was. Their range is greater than a fae's, dragons, you know? "
Realistically, Harold did not know....but now he did.
"Sombra. She's a little spitfire of a thing. She's like a little sister. I took care of her after..."
He paused.
"After her parents strayed too far from home."
His voice was quiet for a moment.
"Speaking of home, we should return to mine. There's a snap in the air. I think we may be in for another storm."
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"Oh! Oh I think I've been there before. The valley. When I was a child, my father loved going there to hunt and taking me and my mother for camping trips. He showed me how to fish in the river there, but the flowers always struck me so strongly." They were so white and abundant, they were hard to forget. He also remembers trying to eat them once and having his mother chide him for it. That was so long ago though.
"It's been decades since I've been... I'm sure it's still beautiful there." He hoped. The warm memory is replaced by the sudden intrusive imagery of the ice fae with a dragon. A dragon. Harold wished the cold would freeze his thoughts, just this once. His cheeks are flushed bright at this point, embarrassed at his own brain betraying him like this right beside the fae.
"You've lived an amazing life, Sigma." Is what he says, fighting the desire to ask more about this whole dragon thing. It sounds crazy, but then again, Sigma is quite large, bigger than any normal human and a being of magic and probably a lot more sturdy. How would being with a dragon even work...? Nope, stop thinking about it. Stop.
"I'm glad you have a propriety for taking in strays, I'm sure she is as well." Harold smiles softly, trying to lift the mood a little. "I guess you really are stuck with me longer, what with these storms back to back."
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"Yes. That's the one. I'm glad to see your parents appreciated it and shared it with you. I'm sure she was happy to have guests who enjoyed her handiwork."
He beamed a little. She'd been so dedicated to making that little valley so perfect. The fae turned to look at his human companion and started to speak but gave a small start when he saw that the man had changed colors.
"Yes, it is an honor to live and see...Harold? Harold, are you alright? You have gone red. Are you feverish?"
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