Disclaimer: The mythological people used in this story is not related to the originals and are only same by name, power and certain myths. Thank you.

~Ice-Cold Winter~

The vicious bite of the cold. The howling winds of old. The death of many living beings. That's the very essence of the Winter Sprite King, J. Delirious Frost. Many spoke of his father, Jokul Frosti, the one who wielded a staff of ice and brought frost to every lake and ground. But after the demise, Delirious had took his position and began spreading the myth of a man in a blue hoodie with black skinny jeans, a hockey mask, an icy specter as his weapon of choice and the delirious laugh that brought chills to every human being just from a whisper of the noise. That was Delirious's life, unlike Cartoonz the Summer Sprite or Ohm the Fall Sprite. He never met the Spring Sprite before. He figured Spring Sprites would hate him, just like how Jokul was hated by Ēostre, the goddess of spring and mother of said sprites. In short, Delirious never had the pleasure to meet one. There were times when Cartoonz and Ohm mentioned how the Spring Sprite was funny and sometimes mischievous.

Well of course he is, he's Spring. He's not ice cold. Delirious didn't mean to think that way but being a winter sprite didn't mean having warm and friendly companies. Many fairies and animals blamed Delirious and his family for the many deaths in the coldest season of the year, hence why he didn't have a lot of understanding friends like Cartoonz, Ohm, Daithi and Lui. The only person who truly understood Delirious's winter powers was his father and even then, they had an estranged relationship. Delirious remembered having fond memories with his father. His mother died early and he wasn't able to remember what kind of person she was. There were some memories but only a few times. Whenever he asked his father, it would always be the same thing. "You're just like your mother, Delirious." It wasn't a tone of fondness. Well, not entirely. It was as if he was partly upset with the fact. Delirious couldn't understand him. After Delirious's mother died, his father began to distant himself until he was on his death bed. Delirious didn't left his side during his ordeal but Jokul didn't say a word. It wasn't till his last breath did he passed on his staff to Delirious and his title to his only heir.

Nothing more.

Delirious snapped out of his stupor when he heard a loud noise. He looked around to see a reindeer calling out to him. He had been patrolling the forest to ensure everything was running smoothly, as usual. Looks like today was different. Moving towards the reindeer, Delirious placed a hand on the animal's snout, shushing him gently. "Easy, Bambi, easy. What's wrong?" The deer stomped one of his hooves and ran around him before tugging his hoodie to the direction he had come from. "Whoa, okay, okay, lead the way."

Delirious floated along the path Bambi lead him to and found a frozen lake, followed by a little brown item buried in the snow. Delirious turned to the reindeer. "Bambi, thank you. You get back to your mate and kits. I'll…keep watch."

The reindeer bowed to him before turning around and left into the snowy trees. Delirious bent down to pick up the item to find…A feather?

"Hey!" Delirious blinked. "Leave that alone!"

Delirious looked up and, perched on top of a tree branch was a man with large, beautiful wings. He wore a red jacket and black pants with a pair of black shoes. With sunglasses on his fair-skinned face and black hair, it was clear he wasn't from around here. Waving the feather, Johnathan called out. "Is this yours?"

"Yes, now leave it alone! Stop waving it around! My feathers aren't to be seen or left alone!"

"What are your feathers doing in the snow then?!"

"I'm…shedding." Vanoss hesitantly raised one of the wings on his back, showing how the feathers be plucked from his wings one by one like falling autumn leaves. Seeing the poor owl man's embarrassment, Delirious tried to stifle a laugh.

"I take it you can't even leave that poor tree of yours without popping a feather or two?"

"Uhm…yeah, the thing is, I can't even fit into the tree. I'm just flying past here. I have been trying to avoid anyone from seeing me so I have been flying in plain sight." For a tough-looking guy, he sure has his embarrassing moments. Still, the fact he had been flying in the winter lands, alone, struck Delirious somewhere inside. Without even thinking, he asked.

"Then…do you wanna come to my cove?"

"Seriously?" The owl man raised a brow. "Aren't you worried I'll ransack your place, rob you of your stuff?" Delirious had to admit, that would be a sensible thought. But for one thing, Delirious wasn't normal and that's not because he's a Winter Sprite.

Delirious shrugged at the notion. "Don't see how you could. My cove isn't exactly a spot for precious or worthwhile stuff. Besides," Delirious tapped the trunk with his scepter and allowed the stranger to watch how ice began to form along the bark, "there's a reason no one steals from my cove. I'll make sure you don't get seen. The animals around here are friendly so they won't spread the words about your poor shedding."

Vanoss slowly relaxed but Delirious could tell he wasn't backing down or letting his guard down entirely. He was observant, scanning properly If he were a wolf or a canine, he would fit the alpha class. "Thanks. The name's Vanoss. You?"

Delirious hesitated for a moment, unable to gauge whether this person was a hermit owl or just genuinely new to this whole seasons realm. "Delirious. J. Delirious Frost."

Vanoss grinned at the name and began flying down to meet the male on the ground, standing up to have Delirious realize this stranger was half a head taller than him. Why was he so easily towered?

"So, cove, huh?" Vanoss chirped in question and dusted his clothes slowly to remove the snow he must have collected before perching on that branch. "You're living in a cove here? Does Jokul Frosti allow that?"

Delirious turned Vanoss. "You knew him?"

"Well…yeah. I owe him a lot. If it wasn't for him, I would have been dead. Judging from your last name and powers, you're related to him."

"Uhm…yeah. I'm his son…and the current ruler of the Winterlands."

Realization dawned on Vanoss and he rubbed the back his neck. "Oh…I'm sorry, man…"

"No, no, its fine. My old man had been tough till the end. He's probably still kicking up there, wondering where the hell was his snowberry juice." Delirious made his signature, delirious laugh before he paused and clamped his mouth shut, unsure whether this stranger would appreciate a wild laugh.

Vanoss grinned at him. "That's a cute laugh. Can I hear it again?"

A blue blush began to course along Delirous's cheeks and he tugged his hood over his face. "C-Come on, the cove's this way!"

Delirious made a sharp turn to the right, determined to just get the bird patched up before Vanoss cleared his throat and pointed to the direction tat used to be behind Delirious.

"Isn't it that way? The reindeer seemed to be in need of your attention." Delirious stopped and turned to see Bambi stomping his hooves and making little noise to try getting the hooded male's attention. Delirious cleared his throat and tried to resist the frost coming up around his ears before making a sharp turn to Bambi's direction and walked pass the grinning owl.

"Right, this way. That's what I mean." It wasn't till he saw a feather fell in front of him and a pair of claws on his shoulder that he noticed a brown and gold-colored owl perched on it. Delirious turned to him and soon enough, he narrowed his eyes at the cocky look on Vanoss's owl face. "I hope you shed lots till you're bald, you damn owl."

"Now that's a mean way to say to your new roomie!" Vanoss laughed and ruffled slightly to let more of his shedding feathers. Chuckling, Delirious reached up one hand to lightly scratch Vanoss's head, getting a gentle croon. In doing so, Delirious began walking towards the way back to his cove.

"J, huh? Short for James? Jones? Jason?"

Delirious could tell his cove won't be lonely for a while...