Fairy Gary knew, as did they all, not to interfere with Scout business. So when Nyx herself condescended to walk into the depot, and cryptically tell Zarina to "meet her outside," he gave the rather busy worker a silent look that said, "You better do it" before turning his attention back to the long schedule in his hands. Removing her apron, Zarina brushed her hands clean over the bag she had been filling with pixie dust and strode after the intimidating Scout. Even more intimidating was the sight of the other Scouts standing there. Waiting. For her. Feeling suddenly like a little girl in a lot of trouble, Zarina clasped her hands at the waist and struggled to make eye contact with all of them, even as the conversation started―abruptly, and unapologetically. "If this were any other day, I'd commend you for not causing trouble, panic, and chaos at every turn," was the greeting Nyx extended. "But we need you. More specifically, we need Zarina the alchemist... The Dust Keeper who got herself fired."

"Nope! I am not getting fired from one job twice." She turned to go back inside and was stopped by the firm hand on her shoulder. Even her gentle touch was scary, and she felt her blood go cold even under the warmth of her hand.

"Look at me."

Nyx's voice was way too quiet, and it was automatic to obey the command. Turning around, she suddenly caught a glimpse of what lay beneath the frightening Scout façade, instead finding herself looking at five soaking wet fairies who couldn't fly if their lives, or someone else's, depended on it. As if that wasn't unnerving enough, there was a strange look, a quiet desperation, in her eyes... In all their eyes.

"You and Tinkerbell have both told me that pixie dust works on humans. You changed her talent."

"Yes, and?"

Nyx huffed a sigh, finally releasing her shoulder. "Pink dust, purple dust, green dust, yellow. None of them existed before you came along and broke all the rules. They were all unheard of, by every historian, every Dust Keeper in the world. As much as Tinkerbell and I clash, this pseudo-fairy is proof of two things; that she was telling the truth and humans can't hear us, and on a much more important note, this thing we just captured shouldn't even exist."

"But why?"

"She's a Light fairy. Queen Clarion should have sensed her. The fact that she didn't... It must mean she wasn't born of laughter."

Zarina tried to absorb her words, which did indeed seem to ring true. "Okay, but what am I supposed to do?"

"Your assignment: Experiment with dust and come up with something that allows my prisoner to hear us."

Zarina pulled a face, halting Nyx in her departure. "Yeah, not sure Fairy Gary will approve..."

"Tough! When I'm interrogating my prisoner, she needs to hear my voice!"

Zarina couldn't even look at the Scout whose anger was like an aura. Sensing her discomfort, Nyx sighed, impatiently tapping the bottom of her porcupine quill harpoon on the cobblestone. Brimming with desperation to get the alchemist to cooperate, she had to force her tone to not betray her whirlwind of emotions. "Okay, fine. How about if you don't, Fawn loses her job?"

Zarina wasn't the only one to look confused. "What are you getting at?"

"Well, it'll be awfully hard on the forest, if we're passing notes to my prisoner for the rest of our lives! Much harder to the animals that call it home. But, if you don't care about her..."

Zarina groaned, watching Nyx turn away to leave. "Okay, fine. I'll experiment. But... How do I explain myself, when I'm constantly throwing dust in her eyes?"

"Oh. Hm, yeah, that's a good point, um..." Nyx turned back with a quizzical expression, then shrugged. "How about you...don't aim for her eyes?" she asked slowly, like she was genuinely mulling over their options. Then she walked away, giving a flourishing wave with one hand that silently directed her Scouts to follow, while her other hand slid her harpoon into the scabbard on her back with a practiced motion. The quintet disappeared into the shadows as one entity.

"Not born of laughter," Zarina whispered, watching their darkened forms begin to fade. Flummoxed by the impossibility of it, she turned to face the depot doors, running her hands through her hair. "Not born of laughter?!" she screeched, and upon opening the door, she stopped, her eyes roaming over the faces of her attentive audience. Trying to ignore them all, she ducked her head and moved swiftly back to the Dust Belt. Her hands trembled as she put on her apron, and as she tried doing her job, fitting in, not causing trouble, panic, and chaos...

Not born of laughter. That was unheard of. No, it was just not possible. Whatsoever. Which meant the captive was more human, which meant she was an intruder, which meant Nyx was right to capture her, which meant she was at the mercy of the Scouts, which meant she would likely never go free... And that meant Tinkerbell was in deep trouble for bringing her there, and Zarina was in even more trouble for aiding and abetting―

"Hey. Z."

Terence's whisper broke into her thoughts and she glanced up at him, trying to pull herself out of her own brain. "Huh?"

"Does this have anything to do with how weird Tink is being?"

The annoying, grating call of a bluejay announced the end of their shift, and without thinking properly she took off her apron first, rubbing pixie dust all over it, and startled the other Dust Keepers as she lunged over the Belt in a last-minute ditch of protocol. "I'll see you later," she shouted, running to the doors through which she had so recently returned.

Much like her, Terence was distracted; he seized the floating apron and shook off the dust, making the fabric go limp. Haphazardly folding it, he plopped it onto the belt and began pursuing the mischievous Dust Keeper out of the workplace.

She unknowingly led him to her house, where the Scouts were once again waiting for her. Terence stopped in the shadows, wondering where they were as Zarina flew over a felled log and down, disappearing behind it. So she didn't see him flying after her, he crept down the log, thinking she was getting herself into a dangerous situation. It was dark out and there were no lights, but even with her in plain view, flying alone, he could hear multiple voices. Voices he didn't really recognize. How many intruders were there? Was Zarina dealing with all of them? By herself?

But as he drew nearer, and stole a peek over one of the mushrooms that had grown in stair formation, he saw the Scouts standing there, and for a moment, he had to wonder which was worse; a Scout who had infiltrated Pixie Hollow long ago and knew everything there was to know, but who only communicated to other Scouts unless they were getting intel on a threat, so their intentions were generally unknown... Or a born-talentless outsider he wouldn't trust anyway.

He got as close as he dared, eyebrows going up when he heard Zarina's words, clear as water. "Please don't make me do this."

"You don't have a choice."

"It'll be dangerous."

"If we were afraid of danger, we would have come to you for a talent swap a long time ago."

She nodded and went into what appeared to be a house; the Scouts followed her inside. Terence went to the window and sat in the grass to eavesdrop.

"Will this be enough?"

"If I've learned anything."

Zarina took the bowl of dust from Nyx. "How did you get it? It's usually guarded."

"Usually. I guess the excitement of a fairy-sized human appeals to everyone."

There was a brief hesitation before Zarina spoke in a tone of dread. "Nyx, I really... I just want to be normal."

"Yeah, I don't believe that," there was a slight scoff in the lead Scout's words. Then a chair scraped across the floor.

"Okay. Guess I'll just...get started then. Is Tinkerbell in any trouble?"

"Does that bother you more than conducting a dangerous experiment? Describe what you're doing."

"Okay, um... I'm going to try half of one speck. Trust me, you don't know how powerful pixie dust can be."

At that point Terence peered tentatively into the building. Four of the Scouts stood, blocking Zarina out, and Nyx sat at the table. They all watched Zarina work on what was obviously a forbidden project, but all Terence could see were the tips of her wings, bobbing around as she moved. "And I'm going to try..." Zarina murmured. Then she sighed, and her wings temporarily disappeared. When they materialized again over the Scouts' head, she clunked something onto the table.

"I knew it," Nyx grumped, looking at the bowl of various bits, pieces, and body parts all assembled together.

"I'm going to try a dandelion pappus, a sliver of..." Zarina paused, and her eyes flicked up to reluctantly meet Di's inquisitive stare before she plunged her hand into the bowl, grabbing a mysterious ingredient. "This, and maybe one of these."

"I said, describe. I want to know everything."

Zarina looked into Nyx's dark, intimidating, death stare as long as she was able, then submissively averted her eyes. "Uh, that would be a sliver of fairy wing and a ladybug's leg."

Nyx withdrew, her eyebrows going up. "Well, that's a little barbaric, don't you think?"

"I'm basing this off a hunch―which tells me I need to incorporate human and animal components."

"Human components? Like what, a toe?"

"Like this lost thing!" Zarina said, taking another swipe into the box. She brandished the broken link off a bracelet, delicate even to her. "Tinkerbell didn't know it, but every time I went with her to scavenge, I was also collecting for myself," she admitted. She placed it carefully among the fairy wing, insect leg, and speck of dust, making sure nothing touched the speck and obtained the annoying propensity to float. Suddenly she went still, tilting her head and giving the Scouts a contemplative look. "Do you think we could snatch a human's eyelash or dead skin off the Mainland?"

"Gross!" Di blurted, and nervously shifted her weight and pulled on her hair. "I mean, it-it's better than the toe."

"Maybe it is. Whose wing is it?" Fury asked.

"I don't know. It was just laying in Springtime Square."

"Let me see," Chase said, and Zarina complied, holding the wing up between them. Chase inspected it, briefly. "It's definitely a fairy wing. The size, the shape, it's unmistakable. And so is that I don't recognize the pattern... Which means it's Lord Milori's wing," she concluded with a sigh. Upon seeing their uncertain faces, she felt obligated to explain herself. "Spring Valley is closest to Winter... And how many Winter fairies don't have a use for their wings?"

"Hot take," Di commented.

"Is it? How many warm fairy wings can you identify?"

"All of―" Di's automatic response instantly lost its fire.

Nyx didn't look away from the timid alchemist, still holding the tiny thread of severed wing. She leaned over the table, folding her hands beneath her chin. "Go ask Vidia to fly around the Mainland and collect...human components," she decided with a grimace. "While you do that, I think we should conduct a wellness check on Lord Milori."

Despite her misgivings, Zarina nodded and began following them to the door; hearing their feet, Terence ran, ducking, from the front of the house. He knew he couldn't get far without being seen, so he didn't try. Instead he turned around and made as if he was just arriving. He waved to them, approaching like he wasn't actually afraid of...well, all six, really―yes, Zarina had made amazing breakthroughs for all faekind, but breaking every rule in the book and with a rather careless approach. Actually, why did that seem all too familiar...?

"Zarina," he called. "We still need to talk."

But he hushed as she and the Scout parade came walking towards him as a group. "Later," she said, in a quiet tone, and all six fairies passed on by.

Zarina sighed and took a deep breath before knocking on the front door of the fairy house most fairies avoided like a hawk. It didn't take long for Vidia to open the door. Her eyebrows went up and she spoke in a chilly voice. "Well, this is an unpleasant surprise. Like all of them."

"I need a favor."

"If this is about Barely Fairy, I'd rather pass."

"I know. But all you have to do is go out for a fly and help me collect stuff the humans use. Or, shed."

"Gross―"

"Oh, I agree, it's horrifying. But who said being an alchemist was easy, easier than a fast-flying fairy when you think about it? I mean, I'd sure love to help bring the next fairy into everybody's lives."

Vidia's eyes had narrowed as Zarina had rambled, and now she rolled her eyes, tilting her head and making her ponytail bob. "If I say yes, will you leave?"

"Dust Keeper's promise."

"You know, that would mean a lot more to me if that were actually a thing," Vidia told her, but pushed her door open farther. "Okay, give me some room. And I'll be back before you can touch any of my stuff."

"I know. Thanks."

"Yeah, whatever."

Zarina only smiled, watching the transient trail of pixie dust left in her wake. Before she could get bored, Vidia popped back into sight, holding a toy purse. "This should get you off my porch," she grumbled, waving it in Zarina's face. When her hands were free, Vidia sidestepped her and began going back into her home.

"Vidia, I―"

"Don't want to hear it," Vidia interrupted, turning around and locking eyes. "Just in case."

"Right, of course."

Vidia slammed the door between them, and Zarina picked through the little satchel, then folded the top down before taking to the skies. Heading homeward, she mumbled to herself, "Guess I'll just wait for you to come back then..."

"Lord Milori!"

All activity stopped on the colder side of the border. Fairies stopped skating, stopped building snowmen, and quit making their snow angels at the commanding voice holding much more authority than the kind, gentle words of Queen Clarion. In a thousand words, she had not expressed more power than in whoever's voice had spoken his name. At once he turned away from his conversation with Dewey and looked for the source, only to find the warm lead Scouts...who were about as chilly as his own, he mused. Making good use of his powerful legs, he jogged to the border―not really unnerved by the way they watched him like...well, like hawks. They were trained to be observant after all, and right now they were observing the lord of winter.

"Nyx. Ladies," he added, turning his head to his left to briefly survey all four of Nyx's number twos. "To what do I owe the honor of your dark shroud?"

"A severed pair of wings was found in Springtime Square. We," she motioned to her right, indicating the row of loyal, silent Scouts, "Know the wings of every warm fairy that exists. Bearing that in mind..." Suddenly she couldn't meet his eyes, and spoke like a timid teenager. "Bearing that in mind, we would like you to...take off your cloak and show us your wings, please."

"You think the wings are mine," he deduced, and though his light brown eyes narrowed, his tone was kind as ever. "If this is about my Fiona..."

"It's not. Sir," Nyx added as an afterthought. "No, we believe the wings were torn off...intentionally."

"You're here to ascertain my mental well-being," he deduced, as he began taking off his cloak. "Very well."

He draped his cloak over his pale arm as he turned around, revealing two broken but completely intact wings. Well, except for where they were torn. Hearing nothing but silence, he slowly turned back around, turning counter clockwise so that the Scout at the back of the line could get a clear picture as well. He looked at their faces, meeting Nyx's eyes. "I'm, uh, sorry to disappoint."

"No, it's... I'm glad."

"Have you seen anyone who lost their wings?" Di asked.

"No. Everybody else has been fortunate. If I may ask, who found the wings?"

"We believe it was Zarina. But she didn't actually confess to finding them herself," Shade answered.

"I would ask her right away. If you know the wings of every warm fairy to exist," he cringed slightly, "Then if I may be so bold, maybe it's a fairy who doesn't."

As they absorbed his comment in shock and dread, his name could be heard, barely, echoing through the expanse of white. He quickly inquired, "Will there be anything further?"

"No. That's it."

"Then I bid you all a pleasant interlude to our next summit," he said, with only a trace of anxiety as he walked away backwards; then he turned and ran off, his tall, slight form fading gradually into the desolate fog.

"It must be hard to be lord of winter and unable to fly," Chase sighed, "Even when everybody who counts on you is in danger, and all you can do is watch. Hope the Scouts come in time. Maybe..." Her words tumbled to a falter and were replaced by a quiet scoff of self-doubt, and the other Scouts glanced at her to see her pulling anxiously on her ponytail.

"Maybe what?" Fury goaded.

"Maybe the tinkers can build something that lets him fly again."

Nobody called her proposition foolish, and she perked up as she flew after them, delighting in the serious contemplation she could see on their faces.

The door blowing open and banging against the wall made Zarina jump, and she ended up pouring way too much sugar into her tea. Hoping the stress she felt didn't spill out into her sigh, she turned around to look at the Scouts, spilling ominously through the doorway and into her home. "You know, I didn't hang that cute little bell there for nothing," she said sweetly.

But her attempt at good nature was lost. "Can it," Nyx ordered, and with a snap of the fingers she had somehow directed the fairy nearest to the door to shut it and draw the curtains. Not easing her mind at all, Nyx further intimidated her by banging her hands on the table and leaning in. "Are you the one who found the wings?" she demanded, speaking slowly and quietly.

"Uh, well... Yes, but I... Somebody else could have found them before me."

Nyx hesitated, breaking eye contact, then stood up straight. "Of course somebody else could have," she grumped, and emitted a soft sigh as she ran her hands through her hair. "So they could have been lying there for two minutes or two...hundred years."

"They were pretty well hidden."

Intrigued, Nyx raised a brow. "Hidden where?"

"I'm sorry. Don't you want me to be making experimental dust?"

Nyx hesitated again, briefly, then pulled out the chair, scraping it against the wood. "When you're frustrated, we'll take a break. Then you can take us to where you discovered the wings―allegedly."

Zarina nodded and mumbled, "Great," but dutifully retrieved the doll's handbag from the floor. She sighed again, plopping it down onto the table between them. She placed a hand on the bowl of ingredients she had already started. "Okay! A dandelion pappus, a ladybug's leg, a sliver of fairy wing, and half of one speck of dust with..." Her voice trailed off as she rummaged through the purse, pulling out a black tendril. "Uh, what could be a human eyelash, or another bug's leg. Or a bug's antenna, or the fuzz off a bee's backside; I don't know, because I wasn't there," she snarked, and dropped it into the bowl. "Not like it matters one way or the other because there is no right way to do this."

"Well, if you need help deciphering whether it's from an animal..." Di began to suggest.

"Why don't we just invite all of Pixie Hollow then?" Nyx asked. "So far this thing is reasonably contained. Let's keep it that way, okay, let's try."

Zarina drew a breath, reaching back into the bag. "Okay. Uh... Oh, fabric!" she muttered, and dropped it into the bowl. Grabbing a mixing spoon, she stirred the bowl, watching in well-concealed amazement as the dust turned black. Pouring the concoction into a vial, she handed it to Nyx. And found herself giving an order to a Scout. "Go see if this works on her. And don't," she chuckled, "Hold your breath. I have zero faith in this whole plan."

Nyx tucked the vial into her clothes and opened the door, but paused, turning back to glance at her. "You should," she said, "If there's one thing you're good at doing, it's the wrong thing."

Zarina could only cringe, watching her shut the door and fly past the window and into the night.