Aliesha set down the pen and paper.

"Hello." She said.

"You have feathers."

"Yes." Mitchell mentally slapped himself and turned back to his desk, yanking open a drawer and retrieving an old jam jar. Inside was a single, pastel blue feather.

"Is this yours?" Aliesha nodded and he grinned. "I found it by the tree and- where you in my tree?"

"Yes. The pond froze over. You saved a frog. Steve."

"So that feeling that I was being watched... that was you?" He paused, a sly smile playing on his lips. "Were you stalking me?"

"N-no, I-I..." Aliesha felt her face burn and Mitchell beamed at her. He opened the jar and handed back her feather.

"I knew I wasn't crazy! You have wings! Ooh, they're so pretty! So, you can fly?" Aliesha nodded, at a loss for words. "And the snow? That was you? Did you freeze the pond too?"

"No, my dad did. But I made it snow in here." It was still snowing, which was alright with her. Without the fans, there was nothing else keeping the summer heat away.

Mitchell dragged his swivel chair round and offered it to her, perching himself on the end of his bed.

"So tell me about these other characters." Aliesha did, starting with the more well-known figures to the seasonal spirits to the holiday spirits and then any others that didn't fit in any of those categories. She briefed him on some of the things each immortal could do; he seemed amazed that they were all immortal.

"Are you immortal then?"

"Yes."

"You'll look like this forever?"

"Yes." He nodded approvingly.

"I quite like the idea of this." He smiled. "How did you come into all of this then? How old are you?"

"I'm nearly fifteen- don't look so surprised, I'm a young immortal. I stopped aging about twelve so... I'm going to be short forever. My brother is highly pleased about that..."

"Your brother?" Aliesha nodded, pressing her lips together to try and stem the sudden flow of tears. "Hey," He said softly, leaning forward and resting a hand on her knee, "is everything alright?"

"I don't know." She admitted shakily, wiping at her eyes with trembling hands. "He's ill, really ill."

"What's wrong with him?" Aliesha explained about Pitch Black, about his treatment to Cal, the effects Cal still suffered from now. "I get a glimpse of the old him every now and then, but he's not getting better, not really."

"Can't someone help? All these immortals..." He looked at her questioningly.

"They're trying."

"And what about this Pitch guy? What's he doing?"

"Laying low for the moment, but he could turn up at any point. He has done for years."

"What about this man in the moon? Couldn't he just zap Pitch or something and make him go away? Or zap Cal so he's better?" Aliesha shook her head and Mitchell made a face. "I'm sorry, I'm not much help, am I?"

"It's alright; you're new to all of this." She looked down at the blue feather. "Here," she held it out to him, "you keep this."

"Really?" He asked excitedly. Aliesha nodded. "Thank you!" He twirled it in his fingers and ran his thumb carefully along it. "It's so soft. I thought it was a parrot or something at first, but that didn't sit right with me. Not sure why though. I don't really know birds."

"No, I don't know." She shrugged, getting to his feet and fluttering his wings.

"Are you leaving?" Mitchell looked crestfallen.

"I have to. My dad, um... well, I'm not supposed to be here anyway."

"Why?"

"Um... I- slightly overprotective dad."

"Ah." He gave a knowing smile. "Say no more." He got up too. "Do you have, like, a phone or something? Email? An address to write to you?"

"Um... no." Aliesha wasn't sure what an 'email' was, but decided against telling him that. "I'll try and come back, but Dad will go mad if he finds out."

"Don't get in trouble on my account. And I hope your brother gets better."

"Thank you." Aliesha smiled, moving to the window. Mitchell watched her go, wishing he could fly.