No matter what Hakyeon did, his thoughts kept wandering back to the fairy.

He wondered how it was doing; if it had found back to its folk… Were there even other fairies in this forest? Until a few days ago he hadn’t even known there was this one there.

He wondered if its wings were finally healing, and if it would ever be able to fly again. Could fairy wings even heal? Was there any healing spell that healed fairy wings?

He forgot his dinner on the stove that night, burning it beyond recognition as he got distracted searching books in his library on the subject. It didn’t matter, he didn’t notice if he was hungry anyway, falling asleep over the book he was reading sometime shortly before dawn.

He cleaned the charred remains away with a sigh the next morning, wondering if the fairy found enough to eat out there at this time of the year. Fruits and nectar weren’t exactly abundant in the middle of winter…

And then, he also mulled over the fact that other sorcerers had come into his forest and hurt a magical creature that lived there; technically, speaking in the terms of the sorcerers’ society, the fairy belonged to him, and what they had done was stealing. Certainly, there must be ways for him to be able to protect what belonged to him from others of his kind. A ban around the forest, that at the very least alerted him that someone was intruding, and at best kept unwanted visitors out; or at least messed with their magic enough to make them give up their quest.

Over the days, he found something along those lines in the books he searched, along with other useful hints, clues and tricks about this and that. It all required supplies he didn’t have around at the moment, but he knew where to find them.

Hakyeon’s mood was exceptionally cheery as he gathered some tools, early in the morning, even before dawn, shouldered his bag and set out to the small stream that passed through the forest.

Of course, he got sidetracked.

Was that a first snow-flower sprout? There, a squirrel must have dropped that butter-squash nut… Why it was named that way, he had no idea; it had nothing to do with butter-squash or nuts. Oh, a blackbird feather! And here, a deer had used this tree to scratch an itch…

Hakyeon hummed contently as he wandered through the trees, far away from any path, and gathered what the forest’s inhabitants left behind. The sun was nearing its highest peak at this time of the year when he eventually stepped out of the tree-line onto the banks of the small stream, mostly covered by a thick layer of ice. That was alright, though, he didn’t come for the stream’s water, anyway… Well, not exclusively.

He stopped his humming eventually as he focused completely on the ground in front of him, seemingly studying every single pebble he came across. That focused, he almost missed the small noise coming from the tree-line a little way ahead of him, and he would have missed its source completely without it.

He looked up just in time to see something disappear at the bottom of a large tree.

His curiosity was sparked instantly, and he went to investigate. Sure enough, cowered at the base of the tree, he found what he least expected; It was the fairy he’d hardly been able to forget these past days.

His eyes widening in surprise, he took a step back.

“You, here? Now, that’s a surprise!”

The fairy glared at him, not bothering with an answer. Hakyeon wasn’t put off by it, though, regarding the creature with a quick once over.

“You look better than when I last saw you; I’m glad. Why you’re not hiding, though?”

The fairy’s gaze turned darker.

“I’m trying to!”

Hakyeon’s eyebrow rose questioningly.

“You are? How come I could find you that easily, then?”

The look the fairy gave him bordered on venomous, and Hakyeon was surprised to see such a look on such a delicate creature. He’d always -stupidly, he had to admit- assumed that fairies were never anything but happy. Especially this one had been through quite the rough bit, though, so he guessed it wasn’t all that surprising it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.

“I can’t use my magic; the forest is full of hunters, and they destroyed my cloak last time!”

The cloak fairies used to hide their magic, and themselves, Hakyeon assumed.

“Hunters? Again?!” That was the more pressing issue in that moment, though, exasperating Hakyeon.

They both fell silent when they heard a shout from deeper in the forest in that moment.

“Over here! This way! I can sense it’s magic!”

Hakyeon looked back at the fairy, its gaze simultaneously panicked and accusing.

Without second thought, Hakyeon lifted a finger to his lips, signaling the fairy to be quiet, and tore his own cloak off his shoulders. He only just had the time to mumble a quick enchantment, grateful he’d woven the necessary ingredients for the spell into the cloak a long time ago, and threw it over the fairy to make it invisible before two sorcerers appeared between the trees, coming to an abrupt halt in front of him.

“What-?”

“Who-?”

“Cha Hakyeon?”

Hakyeon gave the shorter sorcerer a blank stare.

“Yes? And who are you?”

The man rubbed over his face with his hand.

“By the origin of magic, this is precious! Yah, Jongwoo, did you really just confuse Cha Hakyeon’s magic with a fairy’s?” He laughed, elbowing his companion in the ribs, who rubbed the sore spot and took a step away.

“So what? Not my fault he’s managed to cripple his magic until it resembles a fairy’s…”

“Yah, Cha Hakyeon! Do you really still refuse using creatures in your spells?” He laughed as if he’d told an exceptionally funny joke.

Hakyeon rose an eyebrow at that, giving the sorcerer a thoroughly unimpressed look.

“And your problem is…?”

His voice was calm, but a hidden, dangerous undertone swung in it that had the short sorcerer’s smile drop, and he cleared his throat.

“None at all. That’s your business. Anyway. You don’t happen to have seen a fairy around, you know, since your magic is so similar now…?”

Hakyeon answered him with a mildly questioning, mostly disinterested look.

“I mean, the point is; we’ve caught a fairy here a couple days ago, maybe a week and a half, and we’re trying to find it again. We thought we’d taken everything valuable off it, but turns out, someone in the Circle created a potion that provides eternal youth, and fairy eyeballs are the key element. So, we were wondering if it was still around, you know; it can’t have gone far in the state we left it, but it shouldn’t have died yet.”

Hakyeon raked the pair in front of him with a disgusted sneer.

“You disgust me. And no, I didn’t even know a fairy lived in my forest until now; I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

The taller sorcerer’s eyebrows lifted in curiosity at that.

“Your forest?!”

Hakyeon directed his glare at him.

“Yes; my forest. These are my lands you’re standing on, and I’d greatly appreciate it if you’d refrain from exploiting them behind my back; the least you could do is come to my house and ask for my permission before hunting here.”

Hakyeon’s anger was only thinly veiled, and the sorcerers had the decency to at least pretend to be contrite.

“Ah, sorry, we didn’t know… Anyway, would you consider contacting us if you do find the fairy? It’s not like you have any use for it, anyway-…”

“Leave.” Hakyeon interrupted the other man calmly, but he might as well have shouted, shutting him up immediately.

“Ah… Come on, don’t be like that…! You see, it’ll bring us a lot of money, and it would only go to waste here-”

“I said: leave. Now!”

Hakyeon repeated in the same tone, and a sudden, chilly wind came up around them, disturbing the serenity under the snow-covered trees. Not that Hakyeon had anything to do with that, but it made for a nice effect. It certainly worked on the intruding sorcerers.

“Alright, alright…! Dragon’s dung; what a bad temper for such a wisp of a mage…!”

Hakyeon didn’t react to the insult, his gaze boring figurative holes in the backs of the retreating sorcerers until they were out of sight. Only then did he turn away and returned to the bank of the stream, focusing on the pebbles that lay around there. For quite a while, he didn’t acknowledge the fairy that still sat hidden by his cloak. And when he did, he didn’t turn towards it, either.

“I would have expected you to have long run away and hidden somewhere else; how come you’re still here?”

The fairy lowered the cloak, uncovering its head and becoming visible again.

“You’d still be able to find me if I took the cloak.”

Hakyeon shrugged, but nodded.

“True. If I tried to.”

The fairy cocked its head.

“Would you?” The venom Hakyeon would have expected from the fairy before the hunters had appeared was gone from its voice.

“Maybe. The spell only lasts about three to four days anyway, and I really like that cloak. You can keep it for now, though. Once the spell vanishes, just hang it on a branch somewhere near a path and I’ll find it eventually.”

The fairy tugged the cloak around itself properly.

“You never use the paths.”

Hakyeon nodded again, examining a pebble he’d picked up before putting it in a small bag tied to his belt.

“Also true. I’ll still find it, though, so don’t worry, and just go and try to get a replacement for your own cloak.”

The fairy didn’t respond, and Hakyeon looked up to find it still sitting near the base of the tree, chewing on its lip.

“What’s wrong?”

The fairy looked up, clearly debating if it should answer him, then sighed.

“I can’t really… go far. My wings won’t heal, and my feet… I guess I’m not used to walking much.” It stuck its feet out from under the cloak, and Hakyeon noticed how swollen and littered with cuts they were.

He nodded pensively.

“Hmm… I read about your wings. It’s like… only someone else can heal them, right?”

The fairy nodded.

“There is no one around to heal them, though.”

Hakyeon shook his head.

“Not true. I believe I would be able to heal them, if you let me.”

The fairy cocked its head, giving Hakyeon a wary but slightly hopeful look.

“Why would you do that?”

Hakyeon shrugged.

“Why shouldn’t I? It’s not like I have anything to lose from it, and if it helps you, then why not?”

The fairy huffed.

“You’re a sorcerer.”

Hakyeon gave it a blank look.

“Well spotted.”

“And I’m a fairy.”

“I’m glad you noticed.”

The fairy gave Hakyeon a dry stare.

“And sorcerers don’t just offer to help fairies just because!”

Hakyeon sighed, rubbing at his nape.

“You know, this is one of these situations where I want to indignantly state that not all sorcerers are s, but I actually don’t believe that myself, so I won’t. Instead, I’m going to ask you to consider that maybe this sorcerer is at least trying to not be quite as big of an as most of his peers.”

The fairy snorted, and actually laughed at that.

It was a sound that sent a foreign shiver through Hakyeon, but it wasn’t unpleasant. It had him smile softly at the fairy.

“It’s up to you if you want my help or not. You know where to find me.”

He turned his back again, picking up a few more pebbles and discarding all but one of them. He was well aware of the fairy still observing him, but decided not to show it as he wandered down the banks of the stream until he found a spot where the ice wasn’t quite as thick. There, he broke a hole into it, revealing the lazily streaming water underneath, and filled a canteen with the freezing liquid, strapping it to his belt again once it was full.

When he stood up, he noticed the fairy had followed him, leaning against a tree for support behind him.

“So… You aren’t going to claw out my eyeballs for money or that youth potion?” It prompted once it realized Hakyeon had spotted it.

Hakyeon gave it an almost offended look.

“No.”

The fairy rose an eyebrow.

“You wouldn’t want eternal youth?”

Hakyeon scoffed.

“I can imagine being pretty much over being around after my regular three to four hundred years. The last thing I want is to stick around to deal with idiots like those earlier for the rest of eternity.”

He approached the fairy, but just as it was ready to flinch away from him, walked past it, into the forest to examine a bush with red berries he’d spotted somewhere between the trees. Kneeling down, he brushed the snow off its branches and picked off some of the hard, thorny leaves.

Again, the fairy stood behind him, watching him with its head tilted.

“What are you collecting all those… things for so diligently?” It eventually asked, unable to hide its curiosity any longer.

Hakyeon shrugged.

“Filling up low-running supplies. And gathering what I need to heal you, in case you do decide to let me help you.”

The fairy’s jaw dropped.

“Are you really serious about that?”

Hakyeon gave it a blank look.

“I may be a sorcerer and an in your books, but I’m an that doesn’t make empty offers.”

The fairy bit his lip.

“And what do you want in return for that?”

Hakyeon sighed, standing up and brushing snow off his robes.

“To get out of this snow eventually and put on some dry socks, as well as a nice cup of hot tea.”

The fairy gaped at him again.

“Ah~”

“Neither of which is something I expect from you, so don’t worry about that.” Hakyeon interrupted it.

The fairy shook its head, finally snapping its mouth shut.

“That would be the first time in recorded history for there to be a somewhat decent sorcerer…!”

Hakyeon huffed with wry amusement as he moved on to pick up a pine cone, looking up at the tree, then back at the cone, noticing the fairy was still following him.

“I guess miracles do happen even to those of us with magic.”

The fairy flinched behind him as it stepped on a pointy branch that was hidden under the snow, carefully setting its foot down somewhere else and seeking the support of a tree again.

“Could you really do that… I mean, could you heal me right now?”

Hakyeon tucked the pine cone into a bag on his belt and turned around to fully face the fairy.

“I can. All I need is for you to tell me you want me to.”

The fairy bit its lips, shifting its weight from one foot to the other and flinching again.

“And… What would you use to heal me?”

“Nothing that stems from another magical creature, if that is what you mean.”

The fairy let out a relieved breath.

“You can do that?”

Hakyeon hummed.

“We’d have to walk a little, if you’re up for that, though. I’ll need a Tree Circle to perform the spell.”

The fairy winced.

“How far?”

“You know the granite block with the crooked birch on top?”

The fairy groaned, and Hakyeon gave it a slightly worried look.

“Can you make it that far? I mean… I guess I could carry you if you can’t…”

The fairy huffed at him, giving him a disgruntled look as it pushed itself off the tree.

“It might not look like it, but I do have a minuscule rest of dignity left that I would like to preserve, you know…”

Hakyeon rose his hands in defeat, taking a few steps back while keeping his amused smile in check.

“Alright. I guess I’ll lead the way, then.” He turned around, starting to make his way towards the mentioned place, knowing the fairy was following.

He purposefully kept his pace slow so it could follow, but after not even half of the way it was falling behind. Hakyeon rolled his eyes quietly at the fairy’s stubbornness, and wordlessly reached out with his magic to help support the fairy until its legs were barely carrying any of its weight. It didn’t say anything as it slowly caught up again, and Hakyeon didn’t either, pretending he wasn’t doing anything.

He smiled out of sight of the fairy, though. It was cute, stubborn and sassy as it may be.

Eventually, they reached their destination, and Hakyeon cleared the snow away on a spot on the ground, motioning the fairy to sit down there. It took the invitation promptly, all but collapsing in the circle with a groan.

“I feel like it’s been ages since I last sat somewhere that didn’t threaten to freeze my solid.”

Hakyeon rose an eyebrow at that, and the fairy gave him an unimpressed look.

“What? Fairies do swear, you know.”

Hakyeon shook his head with a chuckle, taking off some of the bags from his belt.

“So I’ve noticed… I’ll need your spoken consent for me to perform this spell. I’m wielding natural magic, not sorcerer’s magic here.” He indicated as he selected five different coloured stones from one of the pouches, only looking up at the fairy shortly as he then moved on to choose between two different balls of some sort of yarn.

“How… What do I need to say?” The fairy asked, tugging Hakyeon’s cloak tighter around it.

Hakyeon shrugged.

“Just say something like you want me to heal you or something.”

The fairy frowned, biting its lip, and Hakyeon had to look away, instead focusing on the trees surrounding the fairy in a haphazard circle. Oak, maple, elm, spruce, beech; all there. Damn, the fairy looked cute.

He shook his head to clear it, focusing on the tree closest to him -the elm- and tying the end of the yarn around its base. Standing up, he unwound the yarn on his way to the next tree and connected the two by wrapping the yarn around the base there, too.

“So, do I just… ‘Please, heal me?’ Like that?” The fairy squirmed, and Hakyeon bit his lip, quietly clearing his throat.

“It has to be an affirmation or request, not a question. You can’t be unsure.”

It actually didn’t matter, but Hakyeon was sure the fairy would cringe adorably if he made it say it again, and he just couldn’t pass up on the sight.

Thinking itself out of Hakyeon’s view, for the sorcerer had his back turned to it, the fairy grit its teeth as a cringe went through its whole body, curling even its toes.

Hakyeon grinned, amused. Adorable, just like he’d expected. Actually, more so even than he’d expected.

“Oh great and magnificent sorcerer, please heal this weary and battered body of mine!”

The fairy’s words were dripping with badly hidden sarcasm, and Hakyeon couldn’t hold in his laughter, bursting out loudly as he turned to look at the fairy who glared daggers at him.

“You’re just messing with me, aren’t you.” It wasn’t a question, and there was something in its voice that had Hakyeon sober up quickly, watching as the fairy prepared to get up and leave.

“Just a little.” He admitted. “Just when I asked you to say it again. I’m sorry. Other than that, I’m being completely genuine with you.”

The fairy huffed, sitting down again.

“All sorcerers are s…!” It muttered under its breath, well aware that Hakyeon could still hear it. He chose not to react to it, though; he deserved that.

Instead, he focused on finishing tying the yarn around the trees of the circle, then passed the yarn through the circle until each tree was connected to the other four, and the fairy sat in the center of a pentagram, observing Hakyeon as he placed each of the stones he’d selected earlier in the rays of the star, and a different healing plant in the spaces between them. Then, he stepped out of the pentagram, finding the fairy’s gaze.

“Are you ready?”

The fairy bit its lip, slightly nervous now. What did it have to lose, though? Either this sorcerer healed it, or the other sorcerers found and killed it. If there was a chance the healing could go wrong and kill it, at least it had tried.

It nodded slowly, pulling the cloak tighter around itself.

Hakyeon acknowledged it and took the canteen with the stream-water off his belt, pouring some in his hand before sprinkling the yarn with it, making sure to hit each connection with the water. As soon as the last connection was hit by a drop of water, the yarn began to glow.

The fairy’s eyes widened as it looked around, watching as first the strings of yarn glowed, then the bark of the trees close to the yarn, the stones, and finally the herbs. It was just starting to panic a little when the glow left the objects and started traveling to the center of the circle where it sat. It couldn’t even say anything when the glow touched it, and warmth crashed over its body.

The cloak lay limply around its shoulders as the warmth filled every last corner of its body, its whole being, becoming almost too hot to bear in some places.

Before it became too uncomfortable, it stopped, though, and the glow vanished.

Blinking its eyes open, the fairy realized it was no longer sitting, laying on its side in the middle of the circle, panting.

Outside the circle, Hakyeon leaned against a tree that wasn’t part of the spell, breathing heavily as well.

“Damn… That was… Please tell me it worked!”

The fairy propped itself up, shaking its head to clear it, and the cloak slid off its shoulders. A smile spread over Hakyeon’s face.

“Your wings!”

The fairy looked panicked, trying to look behind it.

“What- What’s with my wings?!”

Hakyeon’s smile grew, and he cut a string of the yarn to break the circle before stepping into it and kneeling in front of the fairy to examine them.

“They’re healed. At least they look healed…”

The fairy gasped, and the wings fluttered.

“They are!” An incredulous chuckle fled past its lips, and Hakyeon let out a surprised squawk as he suddenly found the fairy’s arms wrapped around his neck, knocking him onto his with the force of impact. The hug was short, too short for Hakyeon to react, and he could only blink as he watched the fairy lift off the ground.

“They’re healed! And my feet are, too! I can fly again!”

Hakyeon smiled softly and pushed himself to his feet, still watching the fairy fly from one end of the small clearing to the other, fascinated by its own ability to fly.

“I thought I’d never fly again! I can’t- I can’t believe it.”

Hakyeon rolled his eyes a little, as now, all of a sudden, the fairy behaved exactly as excitable and hyperactive as fairies were always described in literature.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get ahead of yourself, though.” Hakyeon warned the creature as it flew higher and higher. “Don’t forget you still don’t have your cloak back. You should go see to that now!” He held his own cloak up that the fairy had forgotten on the ground, and the fairy soared down to land in front of him, taking the cloak out of his hands and draping it around itself. Only now, it was in the way of its wings…

“Don’t you dare to cut holes in that cloak; that is my favourite!” Hakyeon warned, as if able to read the fairy’s thoughts, and it looked away sheepishly.

“How do I fly with it, though?”

Hakyeon shrugged, turning to gather the stones and the yarn and dismantle the pentagram.

“I have no idea; be creative!” He said over his shoulder as he stuffed everything into one of the pouches on his belt, deciding to tidy it up later. All he wanted now was to really get some dry socks, his comfortable armchair in front of a warm fire, and a cup of hot tea. He’d earned it.

With an amused smile, he watched the fairy struggle with the cloak, trying to find a way to wear it that didn’t hinder its wings. Without a word, he turned and walked away, heading home. The smile stayed for the rest of the day, though, turning into a chuckle every now and then when he thought about the fairy’s antics.