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The silver fae plucked the tiny puffball flower from in between the tall wet grass, big green eyes watched the taller man movements with admiration and curiosity, his stare migrating from the fluff sphere to the excited blue eyes of the fae in front of him.
“What’s with that look, dumb Viktor?”
A single tear appeared on the fae’s face as he took in another rude blow from the tiny yet so very easily annoyed young fairy.
“Ah, Yuri you hurt me.” Viktor whined before smiling brightly again and handing the fluffy herb to the young fairy that grabbed it with cautious chubby fingers and held it close to his face, counting the many tiny white flowers connected to the seed head by the thin stems.
The young boy breathed in trying to find any fragrance, frowning when the smell didn’t came. He puffed out angrily and gasped when the small flowers flew away with the small breeze.
Viktor laughed, plucking another one of those puffballs flowers from the grass.
“Careful, they´re fragile. Here.” He handed his recently plucked flower to the boy that rolled his eyes with a small pout.
“What a stupid flower, what kind of plant just loses to some wimpy wind?!”
Viktor sighed, shoulders sagging in sync with his teal crystal wings, showing his disappointment with the young fae.
“Yuri…” He grunted under his breath, plucking more flowers from the grass. “These… Are dandelions.”
“So what?”
“So what that they are very important, not only for us that eat them, but for many of our neighbors as well.” He raised the dandelion to Yuri’s eye height and inspected the tiny flower together with the small fairy.
“Satyrs use their leafs for whine and teas, Witches use parts of the dandelions to create herbal remedies and Nymphs can make beautiful bouquets with them, besides…” Viktor grabbed one yellow dandelion flower and, to Yuri’s surprise, bit the flower down whole.
The blond fae stared at Viktor with wide eyes, the man only smiled back and plucked another flower handing it to Yuri.
He only stared at the flower suspiciously, Viktor roll his eyes and bite down on this flower as well, chewing the petals while humming merrily.
He grabbed another dandelion and handed it to Yuri.
“Go ahead, blew it and make a wish.”
“What? Does that work?” The child exclaimed, staring at the herb with new interest and childlike curiosity.
Viktor shrugged.
“Maybe, you’ll only know if you try. Have some faith.” The man said winking to the pouty child.
“I bet this is a stupid old people thing.” He huffed angrily, his cheeks flushing slightly while he tried to fight the urge to blow on the puffy flower and make a wish.
Viktor laughed and messed the child’s hair, the flowers in between the blond strands fell under the older fae’s hand.
“Stop it! Stupid Viktor! Mila will kill you once she sees this!” His tiny wings flapped angrily while he slapped his hand away and continued to slap his arm a few times while he laughed at the child’s tantrum. “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid Viktor!”
Yuri continued to slap the older fae’s arm until his palms started to sting.
“Stupid Viktor…” He grumbled standing up and walking away angrily, the still young wings flapping, elevating the boy a few steps from the ground and them stopping completely, making him trip and curse his frustration out loud.
Viktor watched him walk away with a small amused smile on his lips, not failing to notice Yuri still had the dandelion with him.
“Small and fragile looks, but still important to many… do you see the similarities, Yurio?” He murmured to himself, plucking another dandelion from the floor, blew and made a wish.
Yuri walked until he encountered with the small white mushrooms that established the beginning and end of the fae territory, he sat down close to the barrier, hugging his knees with one arm and holding the dandelion close to his flushed face with his other hand.
He snorted, rolling his eyes, remembering Viktor’s stupid face and stupid eyes and his stupid old people superstitions.
Go ahead, blew it and make a wish.
“Maybe… it works if I try really hard.” He mumbled against his arm, staring intently at the flower Yuri sat straight and breathed in deeply. “Okay you stupid thing, you’ll give me a wish.”
Yuri closed his eyes tightly and mumbled with determination and force in his voice. As if he was trying to convince the small dandelion he was worthy of a wish.
“I wish… for a friend as cool as me.”
But before he could blow, a sudden gust of wind hit him, blowing away the remaining flowers on his hair and his dandelion.
“Hey! Get back here with my wish!” Yuri shouted getting up and running after the runaway flower. Crossing the mushrooms and entering the dense woods that surrounded the meadow of the fae territory.
His tiny wings started flapping rapidly again, trying to fly past big logs fallen on the ground and sharp sticks that could hurt his feet. Yuri ran until the soft grass turned into hard rocks and dirt, (as if the land had been suppressed and submitted to never growing any green again) the trees filled with vibrant green leafs turned into hard logs with brown leafs and the clean meadow always illuminated by the Sun turned into a maze of thick trees and shadows.
Wind seemed to be making fun of him, blowing away his dandelion every time the child got remotely close to getting it back, landing on the dirt just close to his reach, but flying away by another sudden blast of wind.
Yuri cursed frustrated, his feet starting to hurt and wings too tired to help him fly over the big logs, forcing him to climb fallen pieces of wood the size of his body.
“I’ll… get… my wish… you stupid… wind!” He grunted pushing his body over a falling tree and falling back first on the hard dirt, finding the dandelion landing on the floor right in front of him, with no ways of running away.
“HA! Gotcha! Now give me my wish!” Yuri bend down to get his prize with his best winner smile.
He froze on his crouching position with a extended hand once a tanned arm appeared on his field of vision together with a pair of weird feet that would stomp on the floor from time to time.
The stranger’s hand grabbed the dandelion by the stem being followed by the blonds’ eyes until they meet with serious eyes, pointy ears and short raven hair together with a blank face. Yuri never saw anyone like him. No wings and no legs, only the upper body of a boy and the bottom of some sort of animal with four strong legs, weird feet and long hair on its butt.
Yuri stared at the stranger with wide eyes filled with childlike awe and for a while the stranger uphold his stare until his cheeks flushed red and he discreetly averted his gaze to the dandelion on his hand.
“What are you? Where are your wings?” Yuri asked after swallowing his awe, surprising the stranger and increasing the reddening in his cheeks.
“I don’t have wings… I’m a centaur.”
“Centaur.” The fairy whispered testing the word bringing more red to the centaur’s face.
He suddenly extended the dandelion to Yuri.
“Here! I think this is your…”
Yuri smiled softly and grabbed the dandelion holding it close to his face.
“Dandelion… that’s the name. You blow it and make a wish.”
“And it works?” Otabek asked shook, stumping his feet on the ground.
Yuri nodded still smiling.
“I’m Yuri.” He said. “I’m a fae.”
He nodded.
“I know, but the fairies in the books are not as pretty as you…”
Heat struck Yuri and he stared the centaur wide eyed until he realized what he just said and copied the fae’s expression.
“A-anyway! I’m Otabek! I’m a centaur!” He exclaimed and Yuri laughed discreetly with his hand over his mouth.
Centaurs seemed fun… Otabek seemed fun.
“Here.” He extended the dandelion to him smiling.
“But, isn’t it your wish?”
Yuri shook his head no.
“No.” He handed the Dandelion to the centaur. “My wish already came true.”
And he smiled.