Summary: Joel, a fairy hunter, finds and captures a fire fairy.
Word Count: 1599
Warnings: Referring to someone as an it (in a dehumanizing way), kidnapping, selling people, and general angst
AO3 Link
It's time! It's time for the start of GtJuly! I'm a bit excited for this one and I will most definitely continue it at some point, though probably after gtjuly is over. I was going to try and push myself to get the rest done but I ended up with a good stopping point and I figured I could always come back to it later. So think of this as just the first chapter for this particular fic.
Also, I'm gonna be a bit more chill with this years gtjuly, just because of how late a start I got on the prompts. I'm still gonna get as many as I can done, but I may skip a day or two at some point in order to spend more time on the fics I really want to write. Also, a lot of these will be a bit shorter and that is also due to the time crunch. All that being said, I am still very excited to get back into writing again with these prompts!
And without further ado, please enjoy day one of gtjuly!
Joel ducked behind a bush as a bright red light zipped its way around the small clearing in front of him. Though it was hard to tell, based on the fact it kept flying back and forth between tree branches, Joel could only assume the tiny fairy was gathering some food. Or maybe some leaves. Again, he couldn’t be sure but then again, that part didn’t matter anyway. All that mattered was that Joel had found one and he hadn’t been spotted yet.
Joel carefully, quietly, reached into the bag hanging at his hip, pulling out a small glass lamp but one that had nothing inside. It shimmered slightly with a purple hue, enchanted to not let anything inside of it out. He set that off to the side and then reached behind him, grabbing at the net. It also shimmered with a purple hue, enchanted with a similar spell to the small glass lamp.
The net he used for all the fairies he captured, but the small glass lamp was special. He knew, just by seeing the color, that this fairy was a fire elemental. And what better place to keep it in than a lamp? The idea itself made Joel chuckle.
He looked back at the fairy and his eyes narrowed as he realized the fairy was hovering in one place. From what little he could see, the fairy seemed to be going over its spoils, organizing them into a bag at its side. Joel’s hands tightened around the handle of the net and he slowly crept out of the bushes.
The fairy’s back was turned and it didn’t see it coming as Joel lunged, swiping the net and easily capturing the small fairy within it. The fairy cried out and tried to fly out but the net only grew tighter around it, preventing any sort of escape. Joel was still in awe at just how well those enchantments on his gear worked.
Joel grinned as he lifted the net up to his face, looking at the fairy still helplessly struggling to get out. A small part of Joel did feel bad for the tiny creature, but it was just business. Fairies made him a killing and Joel was good at what he did. Besides, all he did was capture and sell. Whatever those people did with the fairies was no longer his problem.
“I’d save my strength if I were you. There’s no getting out of there.” Joel said, a bit of teasing in his tone. The fairy froze and turned to finally look at him. There was a small flash of fear on the little things face before it turned to a glare.
“Says you!” The fairy shot back and Joel watched as the little thing lifted its clawed hand toward the fabric of the net. His hand caught fire, something Joel had been expecting, and he slashed at the net’s ropes. Of course, nothing happened, and the fairy froze, staring blankly at what should have been a steaming pile of ash.
Joel let out a little laugh and the fairy’s head snapped back in his direction, his eyes wide. “I told you. This thing here is enchanted, no amount of that little fire magic of yours is going to save you.” Joel watched as the little fairy deflated and he took this chance to look over the fairy’s appearance close up. He had blond hair that crackled with flames and long pointed ears. The pointed ears were normal for all fairies, but the fire hair was definitely interesting. He hadn’t seen a lot of fire fairies with that. It was hard to tell if it was a genetic thing or a choice on the fairy’s part though.
The fairy also seemed to be wearing a mostly red outfit with grey accents. And of course, as he had seen before, there were claws at the end of each of its fingers. Giving this fairy a bit more of a feral look than some of the others he had captured.
“L-Let me go!” The sudden small voice pulled Joel out of his observations and his eyes focused more on the fairy’s face. The fairy may be glaring at him but that little stutter showed Joel just how scared it was.
“Sorry, no can do.” Joel said, turning around to head back to the bush where he had left all of his supplies. “Fire fairies go for a lot of money around this time of year.” The winter season had only barely just started but already there have been several nights when it went below freezing. Joel chanced a glance up at the clouds, which were moving in fast thanks to the cold wind. There would be a snowstorm in the coming days but if Joel could get back to town by tomorrow, he should be just fine.
“You’re…you’re going to sell me?!” The fairy exclaimed with a high pitched squeak and once again started up with its struggles. “You can’t do this! I-I’m a person! I have friends, a family!”
Joel frowned a bit but this was not the first time a fairy he had captured tried pleading its own humanity. A part of Joel’s heart went out but at the same time… “Don’t take this personally. It’s just business.” That did little to calm the fairy down but Joel hadn’t been expecting it too.
Joel ignored the angry shouts and curses as he dropped to his knees and opened up the little door of the lamp, getting it ready. He set the net down for a moment and pulled on a glove, also enchanted, and then reached through the top of the net. The net, knowing who it belonged to, opened up enough for Joel to slip his hand inside and grab the fairy around the middle. The fairy let out another squeak and Joel pulled it out as soon as he was sure he had a secure grip on it.
The fairy in his hand burst into flames, trying its hardest to burn Joel’s hand so he would drop it. But the glove worked as intended and Joel didn’t even feel a change in temperature. The fairy seemed to realize this rather quickly and doused its own flames, panting slightly at the large and sudden use of its magic. “What-?”
“Enchanted glove.” Joel answered, flexing his grip slightly, though not enough to hurt it. The fire fairy tensed anyway but Joel didn’t bother with reassurances. Despite his line of work, he never hurt the fairies he captured. They…sold better that way, after all.
“Well, you’ve just thought of everything huh…” The fairy mumbled out, not quite talking directly to Joel anymore.
Joel shrugged but couldn’t help the smirk that appeared on his face. “I’ve been doing this for a while now.” Joel said. It had been a year since he had started this business of hunting fairies and he had already caught and sold a fair amount of them. He was used to all of their little antics at this point.
He lowered his hand and pushed the fairy inside the lamp, closing the door before the fairy had a chance to try and zip out. The fairy fell back against the wall with a groan but quickly recovered and tried pushing back open the door. When nothing happened, the fairy deflated again. “Let me guess, this is also enchanted?”
Joel smiled. “Hey, you’re catching on!” He lifted the lamp by the handle and stood up, hooking it onto his belt for easy transportation. Joel then gathered up the rest of his supplies and started the trek back towards the nearest town.
The fire fairy was silent for a few moments. “Is this a lamp?” It sounded offended, which Joel couldn’t help but chuckle at.
“Well, you are a fire fairy. Figured I’d save some matches and use you when it gets too dark.” Joel said with a laugh and was met with a slight growling sound from the fairy.
It was silent for another few moments, the only sounds being the cold wind and the crunch of the forest floor with every step Joel took.
“...You don’t have to do this.” Joel paused at the small voice of the fire fairy, smaller than any of its other words had been. He let out a small sigh and unhooked the lamp, bringing it up to his face. The little thing cowered and Joel ignored the way his heart broke a little.
“I already told you, it’s nothing personal. I’ve got money I need to make and unfortunately for you, you go for quite a bit.” Joel looked the fairy up and down once more before dropping it back down to hook on his belt once again. “It’s just business.”
“Buinsess that’s going to get me killed!” The fire fairy’s voice was back up to full volume and Joel winced.
“Come on, you're a fire fairy in the middle of winter. The most you’ll be used for is as a heater, they won’t want to kill you.” If Joel kept telling himself that, then maybe he’ll start feeling less bad.
Not that he felt bad at all! Again, this was all business.
“Do you really think-?”
“Look, you’re not talking me out of it. Might as well save that for whoever ends up buying you.” Joel cut the fairy off with a bit more bite in his words than he really meant. But the fairy grew silent and that was all Joel cared about.
Now to focus on finding his way out of these woods.
So after seeing Ex and Wormman in the Zed Festive Fireplace....I needed to draw holiday Hermitclones. So we got a present day Wormman design, Abyss (Ex) wears their hair down now, Rocket (Badtimes) got redesigned slightly, and then Tangno, Tiny Tango, and NPG look. the same. I missed them.
(reblogs with tags/comments are appreciated. Thankuuuuu)
oh alright, gotcha!!! do feel free to let me know if you ever end up making your own though, i love making up hels versions and seeing what everyone else comes up with :]
Anyhow- in that case, maybe some Robot Grian? :>
Your first ask reminded me of Tiny Tango and that i wanted to make him a design :3 So have this very rough one !
