I did a thing.
Piper danced and whirled through the trees, leaves and snow falling around him in circles as the tune he played echoed through the evening air. His fingers sprang over the holes of his pipe as he blew, warm breath full of magic that echoed out and brought the world around him alive.
His boots crunched in the icy snow as he skipped around the large pine tree, eyes closed as he dodged under a dead branch he knew instinctively was there from the echo of his music. The upbeat tune brought shivers through the air, and with a low creak, the tree itself seemed to sway with new life, needles growing strong and fast from the previously dry branches. In under ten seconds the tree was in full bloom, and several woodland creatures scurried to the new foliage, peering out at the magical man as he continued through his forest, music ringing and a smile on his lips.
After reviving Jak, Piper had needed to come home, to his forest, and to hear the magic of the world around combined with his music. The world was lost in the beautiful tune that made snowflakes dance and the first stars above sparkle. A frozen stream thawed from under him at the smallest change in pitch, and he skipped over it lithely, body flowing so nimbly as he was caught up in his music.
His hair was dusted with snow, and his coat shimmered with frost, and Piper spun with joy, feeling his music touch the trees around him, reverberate through the branches, fill the very snow and-
Piper came to a stop, music cutting out as his eyes fluttered open. And ten feet away, drawn forward by the magic of the music, Pandorea's fox-like ears flattened to her skull as she skittered back several paces, a hand on her spear.
For several moments they stared at each other, Piper's eyes narrowed cynically and her's wide with anticipation, taking in every inch of his body before meeting his eyes. He could see her shivering beneath the mountain of furs; wolf, bear and something eerily like yeti that she cloaked herself in. A scar ran the length of her face, glittering silver in the dark blue evening light. Piper slowly brought the pipe away from his lips. "Can I help you?"
Her eyes widened further at the sound of his voice before narrowing, her lashes coated with snow. When she spoke, her accent was even more German than his own, the original accent, how it had been centuries ago. "You're the Pied Piper."
"I am. Who are you?" Piper could hear her heartbeat, pounding with strong steady beats, slower and harder than a normal human's, but alive none the less. Was she a sprite? When she didn't reply, he continued. "I recall asking whether I could help you."
"I do not need your help."
"Then what are you doing in my forest."
"This forest doesn't belong to you."
"Then who?"
"Nobody."
"I've lived in it most of my life."
"So have the trees; it's not theirs either." She spat out the words as if she was talking to a child, adjusting her grip on the spear. And he knew.
"Your one of Mother Nature's children."
"Not any more."
"That means you're Pan." She didn't respond, and Piper took a step forwards, and immediately the tip of her spear was at his throat, He raised his hands, eyes still on hers. She was wild, eyes bright and cheeks flushed. But... with a shock Piper realised she'd been crying. He could hear the feint echoes of screams in her throat. She was not alright, despite her fierce expression. "What are you doing here, Pan? You're all alone."
"You do not need to-"
"Why are you shivering, Pan? You're wearing three different pelts."
"Go."
"Show me."
The breath left him as she swirled her spear, driving the butt of it into his sternum with so much force he was sent flying back into the snow, ice spilling down the back of his shirt and making him gasp. Her weight fell either side of him and she leaned forwards, fangs bared. "You do not give orders. The next time you do, I will use the other end."
"I'm sorry," Piper murmured after a pause when he saw her hesitate. Slowly, he let a tender hand cup her face as her eyes widened before sliding to slip through her pelts. She froze up, a hand dropping to the dagger at her thigh as she felt his touch. When he drew it back, it was warm and a dark, sticky red. "That will need cleaning out and stitching."
"I will be fine." She told him, but continued to hesitate before she got up, biting her lip in pain. She staggered back a few steps, like a wild animal ready to flee. He doubted she'd get very far with the injury he'd felt, the giant gash in her side. Slowly, he got to his knees and backed up.
"Pan. I know who you are. It's midwinter. If you try and go out now you're going to get hypothermia." He'd heard Jak talk in awe about this fierce, frightened creature before him now. If half the tales were true, she knew exactly what would happen. If half the tales were true then she could kill him in a heartbeat and use his corpse to keep warm. "You know that. Please, come back to my cabin . It's warm, there's a fire, food. I can heal your cut. Trust me... please."
"No."
The loss stung more than it should have, especially as he'd never had any promise to begin with. Just as he was about to object, however, she whirled on her feet lightly in a swirl of pelts, and leaped lithely off int the snow, footsteps so quick and light even Piper lost track of them as he stared dejectedly at the darkening forest.
*
Piper forced himself not to rush home, instead whistling a merry tune that seemed to have the whole world around him warm slightly, ice thawing under his boots as he returned to his small, homely cabin, like something out of a fairytale. The light of the fire could be seen through the distorted windows, and he smiled slightly as he played the tune that unlocked his door, wiping his shoes and kicking them off.
He left the door wide open, but threw another log on the fire, snatching some of the blankets from his bed and crossing to the other side of the room to spread them out on the sofa. His cabin was meagerly furnished, made more for comfort and survival than luxury, but Piper had become attached all the same. It was all one room, a kitchen in one corner, a bed in the other and fireplace at the far end. Hanging on the walls were musical instruments of every sort.
Piper rummaged around in his ice box before pulling out a thigh of venison and inspecting it. If what Jak had told him was true... It wasn't fresh, but it would do. Dusting snow off it, he placed the meat on a board by the fire and put the kettle onto boil. Finally, after rummaging around after first aid supplies, he pulled down an acoustic guitar and began to play before the fire.
Within the hour, the feeling within the room changed utterly. The cold draught from the open door seemed to blow stronger, and the very wood of the walls around him began to creak as though the whole room was suddenly on edge. Piper didn't stop playing, nor allow the smile to show as he stared into the flames. "You can come in. It's not a trap."
There was no response, and he turned to see her hovering, ghost-like, at the doorway, bright fire reflected in her eyes, but otherwise pale as a sheet. She held her furs tightly around her, staring longingly at the fire, yet at the same time mistrustful as any wild animal.
"What do you know about me, Pan?" he asked, looking her up and down.
"You think you killed many children. You are very strong. You are very dangerous." The answer took her a minute to out with, a minute of her shivering, but he could tell it was honest. Her words almost drove him insane with curiosity as soon as she spoke them. "Think"? What did she mean he "thinks"?
Forcing himself not to ask, Piper addressed the other issue, the one that plagued him his entire life. "I killed many children for my family."
He watched her expression change at his words, and after a moment, she slid softly into the room, walking cautiously. She flinched at the sight of the piano, and kept her distance in fright, something which he found fascinating. He wondered how old she was. Finally, she made her way to the sofa, perching on the edge like an unsure bird. "As... As did I."
"And even now you're stronger and more deadly than me." She didn't reply, instead, eyed off the venison. "If you're hungry eat it. It's not all that fresh, but I didn't cook it."
Pan's eyes never left his as she bent down slowly, clawing th meat and sniffing it deeply, apparently appeased by what she smelt, or rather, couldn't detect. as she took a bite, lips stained red slightly as Piper began to strum absentmindedly again. "Why are you doing this?"
"You're interesting." The answer seemed to satisfy her, and almost half an hour later she had finished the venison and was still there, warming her hands and maintaining eye contact with him, face unreadable. "Could I see your wound?"
She froze, staring at him with wide eyes as he put down his guitar, still the opposite side of the couch. It was yet another minute before she stole forward, dropping her pelts to reveal her bloody poncho stuck to the skin of her midriff. Piper's eyes focused on it critically, only barely registering her athletic body and the way her muscles rippled when she moved. The tips of her hair were blood soaked too, and she flinched away when he delicately place a hand on her hip. "I never said touch me!"
"Can I please help heal it?" Piper asked.
"... If you can..." Her eyes tracked his every movement as he lifted up the corner of her top, exposing red stained skin, and a deep, ugly cut just above her hip. He could see something dark and slick inside of her, but had to admire the strength it would have taken to cut through such thick muscle; she had more than he himself.
"I need to roll your top up; I'm sorry- Oh. Thank you." It took Piper a moment to refocus his gaze as Pan shakily pulled her bloody poncho all the way off, baring the top half of herself. Several strings of her dreadlocks hung over her pale breasts, and he shook his head as he focused back on her cut, almost twelve inches long, but shallower where it cut into the ribs of the opposite hip. Carefully, he dabbed at the skin around it with a piece of cloth. "Who gave this to you?"
Pan's mouth pulled back into a hard line of anger. "My grandfather. But... It was not the cut that he-" Her voice cut off as soon as it quavered with emotion.
"He's a bastard." Piper reached behind him and pulled out some ointment from his first aid supplies, a dark green paste that smelled like vinegar. "This might sting, but at least you won't get infected."
"Thank you..." Her whole body flinched as he applied it, hands going for her spear before she regained control of herself, leaning against him slightly as he delicately tended to her with a kind of treasuring attention she'd never been given before. But as soon as he pulled out a needle and thread, she pulled away. "No!"
"At least let me bandage it?" Piper asked and she nodded as he pulled one out, fingers brushing over her skin. He unrolled it tightly around her, ignoring her slightly repulsed look at the feeling of the tight fabric as he tied it up, her eyelids flickered. He gently wrapped her in the blankets before pulling the pelts over them both, meeting her eyes, faces inches apart. "Pan, is that alright?"
"Yes," she breathed softly, and he became aware of her smell, the rich smell of forest and pine trees and spices. Her eyes were closing more frequently dispite her efforts to remain awake as she curled up. Piper felt bad for staring at her in utter fascination, but when he glanced over at his empty bed he remembered he had not other blankets, and the draught was still freezing. "My pack... The Guardians... They're all gone. I couldn't."
Just when Piper was starting to feel the chill, she slid on top of him, very used to the idea of shared body warmth as her bandages chafed at him and her breasts pressed into his shirt as she curled on his chest, cat-like. He was unsure whether she'd let him enclose her in his arms, so instead he let her stay there, warming him. "Pan... Don't worry about anything... Just stay here tonight."
"Pied Piper. Please..." She frowned up at him for a second before her eyes closed and she buried her head in his chest and clutched his shoulder tightly. And that's when Piper became away of the dagger blade, pressed flat over his heart in her hands, not cutting, but threatening enough. He had no doubt that if he tried anything she'd be awake and he'd be dead in seconds. She was testing him.
This deadly, fearsome and strangely sweet creature who'd snuck into his life was testing him, and, Piper thought, as he let his eyes drift shut and the music of her heartbeat drown out every other melody in his head, it was a test he intended very much to pass.
If the characters in this don't make sense to you:
1. You're very thick.
or
2. You haven't read A Wild Card
EIther way, I reccomend you either go and read AWC (by me) because it has badass characters, or come message me in my inbox to talk because I'm a really lonely person and when people say 'hi!' it makes me happy. So yeah, tell me what you think and any more one shot requests!