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Even in the winter months Amirdrassil seemed to be a place of warmth, harsh winds warded off by some force from the tree that Faewynn couldn't understand. Surely the energies of the Dream or whatever kept the greenery blooming by putting the isle into a state of everlasting spring, or something to that effect. It was hardly his area of expertise. He could ask someone who knew more – since he was already on his way there, anyway – but it didn't matter. Those musings were just his brain's attempts to distract from other thoughts. The thing keeping him warm was probably his nervousness, or the anticipation of embarrassment. Or both.
Making his way through the newly constructed and still growing settlement, Faewynn was acutely aware of the flower tucked behind his ear. Winter's kiss had strong stems, able to withstand the harsh weathers of Drustvar mountains, but this one has already started softening even though it's only been harvested the day prior. Just the knowledge of it sitting there was enough to gnaw at his consciousness. Why he was this bothered by the whole thing he couldn't tell, but it would suit a teenager. Which he hasn't been for some nine thousand years.
Good one, Fae. Keep it up and you're sure to screw this chance up like all the others.
Finding his way around Bel'ameth wasn't a difficult task. With how few buildings have been completed, he just needed to ask a person or two to locate the one he was after. It was a small thing, constructed in a traditional kaldorei style and smelling of herbs from a mile away. Definitely the apothecary, so he just let himself in.
He barely had time to breathe before a crown of strikingly red hair, adorning a horned draenei head poked out from behind a corner.
"Fae!" The girl blinked, then beamed the widest smile possible. "Daaaaaad! Fae's here!"
Faewynn managed a short "hi" in her general direction, drowned out by footsteps. Their father, Alladar, appeared with a soft smile on his face, a loose robe thrown over his thin frame. Or put on from the front and tied in the back. The antlers probably get in the way.
Without warning, Alladar crossed the distance between them and wrapped his uninjured arm around Faewynn a little too tightly for comfort. "It's so good to see you again."
He returned the embrace, letting it linger for a moment before peeling away. "You too, dad. And Yla." He sent the girl a glance. "Nice place you've got here."
"Massive, isn't it?" Ylaani asked as they led him deeper in, past the shelves stacked with medication and the small desk lined with all manner of alchemical equipment. The table they arrived at was set beside a bedding, only big enough for one person. At least the kid seemed to have some privacy in a room of her own, then.
"Bigger than my shoebox in Boralus," he seated himself by the table. "Which isn't even mine, actually. I just rent it."
Three cups appeared before them at record speed, Ylaani dutifully filling them up with brightly yellow juice. Sunfruit. His favourite.
“You’re welcome to stay here,” Alladar said with a smile, seated across the table with his limp arm rested in his lap. “We have enough space to accommodate you.”
Faewynn nodded between sips of his drink. Even being squeezed in a corner on a floor bedding would be bearable if he didn’t have to spend the nights alone. Shoebox sized room or lavish mansion, they all eventually felt overwhelming if there was no one there to share the space with. “I was hoping you’d say that. I have two days to myself, so I thought Id check out the new town. See how you two are living now. If you’ll have me.”
“Of course we’ll have you. And we’ll be happy to show you around.”
“And we can find you a few new flowers,” Ylaani grinned, motioning to the variously coloured blooms tucked all around her hairband, and in her ponytail. There seemed to be no particular pattern of what flower or what colour goes where, giving her a carefree, innocent appearance.
Faewynn stared her her with an eyebrow slightly raised. “And why would I want those?”
“Because we can barely see the one you’re wearing.” She gestured to him head to toe, and back. “White on white on white.”
He turned his gaze to the cup, drinking till he could see the bottom. She wasn’t wrong; with his pale skin, white hair and silver blue eyes, he must have looked like a walking pile of snow. Apparently he took after his mother. Not that he’d ever know. He plucked the winter’s kiss out of its spot and put it down on the table, eyes following it in silence that felt almost solemn, like his family was about to break into some sort of reverence ceremony over a flower.
“It’s not for me,” he said.
He kept his eyes fixed ahead of himself, to avoid looking at that smirk he knew Ylaani was brandishing. Never having had siblings before, what with the girl being adopted and all, he never truly realised how irritating it can get. It was that age where her head was hyper-focused on boys (or girls, he never actually asked), on romance, and a somewhat infantile idea of what dating looks like.
So Faewynn grit his teeth, and braced for the inevitable.
Ylaani giggled. “Fae’s got a girlfriend!”
He forced himself to keep his expression neutral, and his eyes on the flower. “I don’t.”
“Boyfriend, then?” Alladar said, with a soft smile on his face.
“No, I- I mean I’m not dating her yet.”
His father gently picked the flower up, watching closely as the stem dropped, weakened by time away from soil. The petals, too, have begun to lose their strength, closing in on themselves as the weight mercilessly pulled them down.
Ylaani frowned at the sight. “So you chose to give her a withering winter’s kiss instead of a real kiss.”
“Not withering,” Alladar said before Faewynn could respond. He didn’t need to be asked for this favour, having done it so many times before that he stopped keeping count. A soft, gentle glow like emerald glass filled the room, streams of light flowing from his hand into the flower. They wrapped around it, slowly engulfing the little thing entirely. The stem straightened and strengthened, as if it’s never been cut, the petals opened, shimmering with a delicate shade of blue that they were so well known for. “At least not anymore.” He smiled to Ylaani, who had been sitting there the whole time with her eyes wide in awe.
“Thank you,” Faewynn said softly, very carefully tucking the flower back behind his ear. It wouldn’t last forever, not without more of a druid’s life magic, but it would keep a while. A long while.
“Besides, I’m certain Fae plans on giving her plenty of kisses when the time’s right.”
He stared at his father blankly.
“You think?” the girl grinned. Here we go.
“He’s like that, yes. Much more cuddly than he wants you to think.”
Faewynn cleared his throat. “And you’re going to tell everyone I ever meet about that, I suppose?”
Alladar also grinned. The way it bared his fangs would make him look feral, maybe dangerous, if not for the affectionate sparkle in his eyes. “It’s my duty as your father to embarrass you in front of people.”
“And I’ll help!” Ylaani nodded much too eagerly.
“You,” Faewynn pointed a finger at her. “You just wait till he gets to you, young lady. Won’t be so fun then.”
“Oh, come off it. Admit it, you’ve given her a winter’s kiss already, haven’t you?”
His hand dropped onto the table, all the mock anger he’s mustered evaporating. “No? We’ve been on half a date. I haven’t given her any flowers yet.”
She sat back, groaning. “Not flowers, genius. You look like winter decided to take an elven form, you know. Winter’s kiss?”
He was sure he blushed right then, at least on the side of his face that wasn’t a cratered landscape of scar tissue. It happened embarrassingly often, and Alladar’s knowing smirk only confirmed that, indeed, there was a hint of red to his snowy skin.
“N-no,” he stammered, then cleared his throat. Ylaani probably thought that was clever, and part of him appreciated how poetic she made it sound. Not that he’d ever say it to her face. “I already said no. I haven’t kissed her.”
His father took a sip of juice, not looking at anyone in particular when he said, in a calm and confident tone: “Yet.”
Faewynn dropped his eyes to his own drink, only to be harshly reminded that he’s chugged it all already. Staring at the sad droplets on the bottom, he sighed in defeat. “Yet.”