Cal and Aliesha were racing each other back to the Tooth Palace, aiming to get back before sunset for the Tooth Collection that evening. Tooth would kill them if they were late, but it wasn't Aliesha's fault that Cal had to make several snow stops all the way from France. "This is your fault!" She reprimanded for the millionth time in the last hour. "Why did you have to make fifteen stops?"
"It wasn't fifteen, it was twelve!" She shot him a venomous look. "And you know why- I'm a winter spirit, it's what I do."
"You don't see me making blizzards every five minutes!"
"That's because you're a little goody-goody two shoes." He smiled easily. "Most of the time anyway." He corrected. She made to grab him, but he dived suddenly, free-falling and whooping excitedly. Aliesha shouted out his obvious idiocy and dropped after him. It took all her effort, plus some, to catch up with him and it was only when she did, did she realise that he was actually falling and not flying, just for the pure joy of it. Flying was slower, easier to overtake and control.
He grinned at her, pulling from the dive metres from the ground. Snow and ice fired out of the ground, spiralling out and coated in fluffy whiteness in less than a minute.
Accidently, Aliesha landed in a snow drift. Cal noticed her misfortune in a heartbeat, spinning around to alight expertly on a low tree branch.
"Don't," She growled, "just stand there." He sank to sit on the branch. "Help me!"
"What's the magic word?" He teased in a childish sing-song voice.
"Help me or I will hurt you." She snarled.
"You are violent, aren't you?" Ignoring him, she tried to find leverage to pull herself free, but only fell more, snow crashing around her neck and splattering her feathers. Cal appeared in front of her, his staff propped against the tree. He knelt and dug the snow away with his hands, reaching to pull her free.
"You did that on purpose." She grumbled, brushing snow from her shoulder and fluttering her wings to de-snow them. She was still annoyed at him, just not as much as she had been originally. He had taken the time to dig her out manually, instead of magically. As he would say, it was the thought that counted.
"Let's get you home." He retrieved his staff and looked back at her, that familiar cheeky smile returning. "Race you."
"I don't understand Cal."
"Does anyone?" Sky frowned at her painting. "Damn April and this art class, I hate it."
"Don't let her hear you say that!" Amber hissed. Sky shrugged carelessly. Amber sighed in defeat, turning to Aliesha instead. "What's wrong with Cal now?"
"He made it snow, right?"
"Obviously." Sky muttered sarcastically. Aliesha ignored her.
"And I fell in a snow drift. He helped me after he'd finished laughing, but not with his powers. Why would he do that?"
"Maybe he just wanted to keep you stuck for longer." Sky ripped the canvas from the easel and tossed it aside. Dusting her hands down, she said, "I give up with this art stuff. It's boring me now."
"Well, you didn't do too bad." Cal nudged the frame with his foot. "If you look at it from this angle, it looks like an ice-cream."
"It's not supposed to be an ice-cream!"
"It's not?" He stared back at the painting. "What is it then?"
"Those are clouds, Cal." Sky sighed. "And when did you get here?"
"Like, two seconds ago. I heard my name." He smiled at his sister. "I've made it snow outside. Do you want to build a snowman?"
"If you start singing that, I will rip your vocal chords out." Eve snickered from her corner.
"I like you more and more every day."
"I wasn't going to sing that. I was going to sing Let it go."
"You do that and I'll make sure Mam and Dad never find your remains."
"My remains." Cal repeated blandly. "OK, fine." He started singing Olaf's summer song instead. Sky attacked him first, launching herself at him and flattening him to the floor violently.
"I walked in at a bad time." Jack peered down at Cal and Sky wrestling on the floor. "Are these two having a moment?"
"No, she's just trying to kill him." Amber replied casually.
"What a surprise." He stepped over them and then stopped at Sky's discarded painting, cocking his head to the side. "That looks like a lopsided ice-cream."
"They're clouds!" Sky had managed to get Cal in a chokehold, looking very much like she wanted to do the same to Jack.
"Mm-kay." Jack looked at his daughter. "Your mam wants you."
"I didn't do it, it was Cal and anything he might have said, he's lying."
"That sounds rehearsed." Cal spluttered, pulling on Sky's arm to no avail. Damn being a skinny fourteen year old forever.
Aliesha followed her father out anyway, kicking Cal half-heartedly on the way out. Unlike the other fairies, she lacked the telepathy, something that Cal liked to taunt her with. She could always get her own back though, able to control winter without the aid of a staff. Sometimes, she took his most trusted tool from him in retaliation to his being highly annoying. He didn't like that.
Tooth was jetting about the control room, dealing out instructions and talking a million miles an hour in excitement as she examined new teeth.
"Lish!" She swooped down and hugged her daughter fiercely. "I heard you fell in a snow drift, are you OK?"
"I'm fine, Mam. It's Cal you should be worried about."
"Cal-? Oh… Oh, no, that makes sense." She relaxed slightly. "I've got a job for you, if you're up for it." Aliesha nodded eagerly and Tooth smiled proudly. "I knew you would be." Two fairies zoomed down, depositing a red drawstring bag in Tooth's out-stretched hand. "London. William Freeman was just attacked and is now unconscious."
"How old is he?"
"About fifteen."
"Shouldn't he keep his teeth then?"
"They're giving him false ones." Tooth scowled disapprovingly. False teeth annoyed her to no end. "It's best to keep those teeth than just throw them away."
"OK." Her mother's smile returned and they both went their separate ways.
It took Aliesha a little over an hour to reach London. She had no trouble tracking William to a hospital on the outskirts of Central London. He was on the third floor, room five.
She melted through the window easily and was greeted by a bruised and bandage teen lying- out cold, as her mother had said- his face swollen and blackened beyond recognition. On the bedside table to his left was his three knocked out teeth.
Aliesha didn't go to grab them straight away, because there was someone else here.
Lounging in a seat, of similar age to William, was a boy with thick, dark hair and lightly tanned skin. He had to be some sort of athlete as no-one looked that toned sitting around all day, like most teenage boys apparently did.
She took a few cautious steps forward and saw that his eyes were closed, his thick lashes casting shadows under his eyes.
Personally, she didn't spend a lot of time around mortals. They couldn't see her anyway- they'd have to believe in her for that. But, not having associated with mortals that much at all, she never knew how to act around them.
Especially the cute ones.
Moving past the sleeping boy with a silence that wasn't really necessary, she scooped the teeth into the small drawstring bag and left a stack of quarters in their place.
She made to go back to the window, but being the clumsy idiot that she was, she somehow knocked the water jug flying.
It smashed to the floor and the boy in the chair awoke with a start.
"Will?" He asked instantly, looking hopeful. Aliesha froze, despite the stupidity of it.
The boy watched his friend carefully, the expectant smile fading. He slouched, defeated, back in his chair, rubbing at his eyes with one hand. "Idiot." He sighed and glanced around, his eyes widening at the sight of the broken glass pitcher. He raised an eyebrow at that- heavy jugs of water didn't just fly of their own accord onto the floor.
He scanned the room, easing himself up and stretching. Aliesha moved away slowly, hovering over the glass and towards the window, not taking her eyes from him. Now that he was awake, she could see that his eyes were a deep, vibrant blue, like the depths of the ocean.
She passed through the wall as he started cleaning up her mess, but she didn't start her flight home immediately.
Something pulled her back, a tingle at the base of her neck, a tingle that kept her outside and watching the boy tidy up.
"And where have you been?" Cal quizzed, concealing a smile while his eyes sparked.
"Just on an errand for Mam."
"It doesn't take four hours to get to London, pick up some teeth and get home." He leaned forward, staring into her eyes concernedly. "Did something happen?"
"No."
"Are you sure?" She nodded. "Tell your face that then." He chucked her under the chin, but she hit his hand away. He just laughed, capturing her under his arm. "I made cookies again. They'll cheer you up."
Aliesha went along with her brother, but that boy- she hadn't found out his name- was stuck to her thoughts like glue.
What was the matter with her?
He was just some mortal sitting in a hospital room, waiting for his friend to wake up. She didn't know him. He was just there and he was kind of cute.
A warm breeze carrying the sweet scent of roses distracted her momentarily. Cal didn't seem to notice it, happily setting his plate of oddly-shaped chocolate chip cookies on the table in front of her.
Taking one, she glanced around the room, the flowery smell lingering and blending with the aroma of fresh cookies.
Somebody did ask about a love interest for Aliesha- I've bought it about a bit quicker than planned, but it's an update! :D
