WINTERESS

I learned early I was a cold girl - nothing more, unyielding, fixed - unreachable, unchangeable. A being like me, wilts in the sun - leave me in my winter, here I am powerful. FROST FAIRBANK.

[thewinteress]

hyacinth-fairfield‌:

“I..” he trailed off, unsure of what he intended to say in the first place. The remark about her apartment succeeded in coaxing a small smile out of him. And weak as it may be – considering the dark concoction of emotions that arrested him at this moment – it was a testament to Frost’s ability to be that singular, beautiful snowflake that could bring joy in the winter, despite all bleakness. “Yes, you have no idea how much I wanted to organize everything for you when I saw that,” he continued with a weak chuckle. He was trying very hard to keep it together, finding ways to lighten it up. It was something Hyacinth is always wont to do, after all.  But all the emotions consume him, and his light could not keep it all at bay. Frost sat beside him, her words penetrating through the layer of self-control he was desperately trying to keep. Until the touch on his shoulder and her kind, gentle words slipped through and broke the barrier. He shifted in his seat and pulled her into a hug, his body shaking with the sobs he has been trying to hold in for far too long.  He whispers quietly into her hair, voice shaking and cracking, “You don’t know how grateful I am that you’re here. I haven’t been doing well,” he admitted, closing his eyes and letting the tears fall – liquid alleviation of all the pain he felt. He finally let go and shifted, putting some distance between them.  “I don’t know what else I can do, I just want everything to be better.” 

There was a spark of triumph in Frost’s chest as Hyacinth managed the smallest smile. Her loyalty and affection to Hyacinth was genuine - something rare to her. He was the brief bloom after a cold front, the startling shock of life after death. He softened her and let her see a gentleness that she hadn’t felt in so long. He’d been a guide in her young years, helping her through the transition to humanity and the lone light in the dark years of the Great Depression. She’d written him constant letters during World War II, when he was off working for the Queen. “Maybe one day I’ll let you organize my place.” She replied before pausing and shaking her head. “I’ll have to be really drunk, though.”

Her smile slipped when he pulled her into a hug, shuddering with the gut-wrenching sobs. She was frozen there for a second, glad he could not see the surprise on her face. Her lovely, poor Knight. For the first time in months, Frost wound her arms around him and clutched him close with no ulterior motive, no lie, no manipulation. Her arms tightened around him, her eyes flicking to the ceiling as if cursing Danu for her cruelty once more. “I know, Hyacinth. I know. I should have been here more. ”

Hyacinth had stopped her from losing her mind during Storm’s betrayal and there was nothing Frost wanted more than to save him. She could shoulder his pain, she’d survived worse things. As he pulled away from her, she could not help the feeling of wanting him to return to them. He was safe around her. She could protect him from the world, from the Seelie, from his broken heart. 

“I wish I could take your pain.” She had her elixirs but she would not offer them unless Hyacinth asked. The last thing she wanted was for him to become dependent on them as so many heartbroken humans had. “Tell me what I can do to make this better, to make this easier, anything for you.” They were old beings, fabled creatures destined to outlive every human in their lives. Where Frost’s type partners were manipulative bitch spies, Hyacinth loved his humans. She should have stopped his affair with Elise before it had gotten serious. 

[thewinteress]

hyacinth-fairfield‌:

The tears fell again, freely, silently. He almost broke down right then, but still consciously tried to reign it in. “Frost…” he managed, though it came out as a whisper from his dry, cracked lips. “I’m so glad you’re here.” He said, moving in for a hug, thankful for her thoughtfulness and her friendship. “Come in.”  Hyacinth led her inside, where his usually immaculate apartment now reflected his own emotional turmoil. Some objects weren’t placed where they usually should be, and there so many bottles of liquor and elixirs lying around that he wasn’t able to take care of. “Sorry about the mess,” he apologized sincerely. It wasn’t like him to be this way, but Elise’ death has hit him quite hard, a love unlike any other he’s known before suddenly lost - and he was partly to blame. Hyacinth suddenly recalled how Frost had also been there, right beside him, while Elise was on the board. He was glad to have a friend like her.  “I suppose you heard from the others about Spruce?” Hyacinth tried to be conversational, but his voice cracked and his heart still felt leaden and heavy. He gave up and slumped down on his couch and closed his eyes, resting them. And as he did, a few more drops of tears fell out, and he no longer tried to wipe them off.  “I’m sorry. I just–” he trailed off, unsure what to say, eyes now open and staring at Frost through the blurry glass of tears, “Everything is too much right now.” 

“I wouldn’t miss it for anything.” She replied, softly. If there was one thing that frustrated Frost to no end it was the feeling of uselessness. She controlled many things in her life - her job, her actions, her nature, she held a tight rein on it all. However, for all her desires, she could not chase away Hyacinth’s grief or Lark’s loss. Cold as she may be, these were her people. She held a loyalty to them because of the pure Unseelie blood running through her veins. Court above all else, Frost, her mother had instructed her.

There hadn’t been a fey hunter in quite some time but they did exist and sometimes they acted on airy notions. Fey serial killers. Whether they killed for revenge or religion or some crazed notion of science, they all died in the end. There was no happy ending for a fey hunter and considering the number that one had done to Spruce, Frost was sure that whoever was killing their kind was going to meet an untimely end at the hands of Rowan and Raven. Of course, it didn’t mean that they wouldn’t cause chaos in the meantime. 

She wrapped her arms around Hyacinth, turning her head to place a soft kiss on his temple before stepping back. Frost waved off his apologies with a soft teasing tone. “Don’t even worry about it, you’ve seen my apartment blown up from a clothes explosion.” She pressed her lips together, keeping her features gentle as she followed him toward the couch. 

“I did. I didn’t see the body. Raven got it out of there before I could but...I knew.” She sat beside him, perching one elbow against the back of the couch and propping her head up with a hand. “Hyacinth...don’t ever apologize for this. It’s just us now.” She pressed her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “No one will see you fall apart but me.” 

Frost shifted, instead pressing a hand on his shoulder. “You don’t have to be the strong knight tonight.”

[thewinteress]

asterfairbank‌:

Frost seemed fine. She seemed like she usually did, and Aster hated it. Not how she was, necessarily, but how calm she seemed in the face of all of this bullshit. He looked at the money, only taking a second to process before opening the vault of drink options in his mind, and running through it. He poured two drinks, his significantly less strong, and slid one across the bar. 

He wondered if it was different, being older, when death stopped being terrifying. If he was human, it was likely that he would have dealt with more death at this point in his life than he had. But most of the people he’d known growing up, he couldn’t speak to anymore. Didn’t even know where they were - Could be dead, but it didn’t matter. It would give away way too much if he showed up at his high school reunion, or anything like that. Sure, he’d known people who’d died, sure, he knew it was a reality of life. But this was different, someone was targeting fey, a demographic that he, and mostly everyone he loved was part of it. It seemed reasonable to be afraid. 

“I don’t think that fear of me or people I love being murdered really counts as angst.” He replied, more coldly than he had intended. 

Would there ever be an undramatic demifey? Gale, Lark, Aster - they would never be happy. He’s young, cut him some slack. She sighed and leaned forward against the counter, fixing him with a raised eyebrow. “Welcome to New York City, Aster. Murder is a possibility here.” She took the glass he pushed toward her and lifted hers, draining it with ease before setting it back down. “So is rape, assault, robbery and countless other crimes. If you haven’t recognized that fear yet, we can chalk it up to your status as a man. It’s much safer for you to walk around at night than it is for me. Even as a fey.” Nearly a century later and her skin still prickled with fury at the thought.

All he knew was peace. He hadn’t been there during the Great Depression, when crime spiked. He hadn’t been around during World War II or after when people lived in constant fear of nuclear war. Frost remembered the helpless, infuriating fear in her chest at the knowledge that these stupid fucking humans could let loose an atomic bomb and wipe everyone off the map. Portals might save them but what would they come back to? A wasteland? 

Her expression softened and she ran her nails along the bartop, keeping her voice low between the two of them.  “This isn’t the first hunter in history and I doubt that it’ll be the last.” Frost pressed her lips together, wracking her brain for the name she wanted. “Spruce’s death is a tragedy, no one is denying that. Certainly not me but I also refuse to be cowed by it. It all comes down to being smart and careful.” How many times tonight had she wanted to press a freezing hand against a forward customer’s advances? She was tempted by the possibility of his skin ripping clean off. 

[jasminefairbank]

rings on her fingers, bells on her toes

[thewinteress]

jasminefairbank‌:

Jasmine hadn’t expected to be approached by her competitor, but at least she remembered where she’d last seen her. It was at the Rookery, the night she’d met Aster. She waited tables, and knowing the venue she probably had other, more covert responsibilities as well. 

“That’s me.” Jasmine wondered if this woman had ever met her sister, but that seemed highly unlikely. Marigold didn’t have much interest in the Unseelie. She probably knew the twins as a unit, as marigoldandjasmine, by reputation only. But she was polite enough–for now–to call Jasmine by her name instead of addressing that reputation directly.

“You work down at the Rookery, right? I never caught your name.” Her voice dropped as the lead musician started sawing on his fiddle. The rest of the band, mixed Seelie and Unseelie in the spirit of the holiday, joined in with concertina and pipes. The bandleader invited the crowd to clap along, gesturing for someone to be the first to demonstrate their skills. 

A Seelie man stepped up and began an old-style routine. Jasmine craned her neck to get a better view, occasionally glancing over at the woman by her side to see what a more experienced dancer thought of the performance. 

She was friendlier than her father, that much was for sure. Although, Frost doubted it’d be hard for her to be nastier than her father toward the Unseelie. Adare held his disdain for the opposite court on his sleeve but from what she had heard, Adare wasn’t much kinder to his children. Nor was his court, if the stories of Jasmine’s assault were true. She couldn’t see any scars on Jasmine’s beautiful face even with the ability of glamours being down and out for the count which meant there might be a healthy dose of #99 running through her veins. 

“I’m a runner there.” She confirmed, glancing briefly over at the band before returning her attention toward Jasmine. “Frost.”  The Unseelie watched the way Jasmine eyed the other dancers before canting her head to the side, a peculiar thought running through her head. 

“Bit of an odd proposition for you but would you like to dance with me, Jasmine?” There was no explicit rule against it and if there was a fuss thrown....she’d chalk it up to her troublesome Unseelie nature. Her lips curved up into a wry smile at the question. Taking on a jovial tone, she continued. “It might make some of the older fey shit themselves but...spirit of Lugnasad, no? If you’re not scandalizing the older fey, are you even really at the event?” 

[licensedlesbian]

meme development: late night

[feywildrp]

cosmos: what's one thing you wish you could say to someone you are no longer friends with?

galaxies: what are three things you want to do before you die?

waxing: what is your proudest accomplishment?

waning: what is your biggest regret?

full moon: what type of person do you hope to be?

contemplation: if you could wake up one morning and everything in your life was perfect, what would that look like?

night light: who/what makes you feel safe?

ponder: what do you want to do with your life?

sunset: who is someone you thought would be in your life forever, but you no longer talk to?

midnight: are you a different person late at night than in the early morning?

candle light: are you an indecisive person?

reflection: have you ever changed something you liked about yourself to satisfy someone else?

sweet dreams: are you happy?

nightmare: what are you most afraid of?

constellations: who is someone you could talk to for hours and never stop?

reminder: who is someone you will never forget?

11-11: what's something you want, but feel like you will never have?

shooting star: who is someone you trust to help you make the right decisions?

earth: where do you feel most at home?

soothe: what's one thing that always makes you feel better when you're upset?

slumber: what's one thing that helps you fall asleep when it feels impossible?

[thewinteress]

Text | Nadia » Frost

Nadia: Awesome. I'll get you more details when we figure things out

Nadia: You okay with giving me a key to your place so I can come visit my shoes?

Frost: Yes, please, please give me any details you might feel like sharing 👀

Frost: Of course, I wouldn't deny a woman the right to her own clothes and shoes.

[thewinteress]

Text | Nadia » Frost

Nadia: I'm downsizing my apartment and moving in with Sean...his closets aren't big enough for all my stuff. He thought maybe you'd be willing to house some of my clothes/shoes in exchange for being able to borrow them?

Frost: Once again, Sean shows that he's more than just a pretty face and is correct. I'm fine with that, it's not everyday you get to share a closet with a supermodel.

[thewinteress]

Text | Nadia » Frost

Nadia: Hey, weird question for you. How much closet space do you have?

Frost: Anna Wintour would faint at the size of my closet. I just finished paying someone to expand it, as well.

Frost: Why?

[mcrgotrcbbic]

[imsoofuckingsad-deactivated2018]

i love you violently in the privacy of my own heart

[fnncks]

“my ghost where’d you go?” (x)

[handofglories]

unmaking

[thewinteress]

handofglories‌:

DATE: July 27th, before the eclipse LOCATION: Luna Park WITH: @thewinteress

A creature so old was a feast: memories like fruit ripe for the taking, morsels of it strung together in ribbons, and all it had to do was pull.

She hadn’t meant to pick up the stone, but.. she had, and now, she couldn’t bear to let it go. It prickled against her fingertips, warm to the touch, and she could feel it spark inside her chest, beating against her ribs. 

Slowly, slowly, ever-patient.

How long had she had it? .. Not too long, a voice said, and Oleander didn’t think it was anyone’s but her own. Why was it warm? – Who cared; it was pleasant, wasn’t it? Warm and shimmering, what a wonderful little treasure–

For a brief moment, she looked up, and her eyes meet Frost’s, warm amber against icy blue.

“Ah,” she said, lips pulling into a smile, and Oleander’s gaze was a shadow of its usual intense presence, instead ever-tempted to look lovingly at the stone in her palm. Pleasant, pleasant; so warm, so glimmering. “Frost– are you enjoying yourself?”

“Oh, I’m doing very well.” Frost purred in response, taking in the sight of the king’s beloved advisor gripping one of those damned stones. Her gaze dropped to the polished stone in Oleander’s hand, a rare stab of fear pulsing in her heart at the sight of it. 

Even now, she could feel the inkling to reach out and grab the blue green rock, to run her fingers across the surface. She had gripped it ever so tightly before it had been wrenched from her hand. When the fog had cleared, chased away by the ice again, she’d felt strangely...incomplete. 

Frost looked into Oleander’s face, noting the ghostly look in her eyes. “I love a good eclipse. The funniest things always seem to happen.” Of course, funny things were common around fey but even stranger things had begun to manifest lately. Patches of grass being the first omen. 

“What have you got there, Oleander?” Frost took a step forward, canting her head to the side. Leave her. Let her keep it, whispered the laughing voice in her ear, Storm’s accented voice lilting. She was a Seelie after all. Still, Frost didn’t move along quite yet, choosing to wave off friends in the distant before giving her attention back to the archfey. 

[thewinteress]

galefairbank‌:

Gale couldn’t help but roll his eyes at her words, flicking at her boots when she swung her legs in his direction. “Hilarious, Frost, you’re a real comedic relief,” he said deadpan. Truthfully he wasn’t sure it would ever become as such as Lacha had never given an indication that she wanted anyone on her side. She was more than capable of handling the Court in her own way, even if it meant ostracizing some fey to keep her grip on them. Trying to hide a smile and failing utterly, Gale set his coffee on the desk and tossed the files in his hand onto the side table, fully intending to dig through it later while he could. 

“But in this fantasy of yours I don’t think you’ll want a room too close for sleepovers. Camellia was created naturally after all.” It was strange talking about it so openly but it had been half a century since he could be open enough to speak his mind on it. “I’m…alright. Everything is just as chaotic as usual and I’m one finger short but I’ve been doing this so long it’s like breathing. What about you?”

She tossed him another grin at his grumpy words, not deterred by his mood. “That is what they tell me after they compliment my wit or my beauty or my business savvy or my style or my hair or pretty much everything about me.” She was used to his cloudy outlook on the world but now she had a deeper insight to why he was so melancholic. Living a lie could take its toll on a person, especially one as delicate as Gale. Oh, he provided a stoic front as well as anyone could but each year, Frost could see the quiet grief in Gale’s eyes deepen and deepen. She wasn’t quite sure why she had chosen to take him under her wing - perhaps because someone had done something similar for her before? For all her secrets, there was genuine affection in her heart for Gale. It was only a pity she could never tell him the truth. One secret was enough and this secret was her own, not the court’s. 

Her eyes went a little wide at his open referral to sex with the queen. Once upon a time, Lacha had threatened to tithe anyone who dared say such things. Luckily, it was just the two of them now. He could be as open as he wanted. “Which, reminds me, you owe me details on sleeping with our version of Queen  Elizabeth the First.” She clicked her tongue at him. “Holding out on me isn’t kind, Gale.” Still, her expression softened. “Well, at least you can breathe out in the open now. Your secret is out and walking around calling you ‘dad’ now.” 

“I’m fine.” She followed the statement with a sip of her coffee. “Business is business. This glamour loss is gonna be a fucking bitch though.”

[jasminefairbank]

rings on her fingers, bells on her toes

When: August 1st, 2 PM

Where: Tara

Who: @thewinteress

It was amazing what that tiny bottle of liquid gold could do.

Jasmine wasn’t entirely comfortable relying on outside magic for her glamour, but it was worlds away from huddling under scarves and hoodies. She felt not unlike Cinderella–if she stayed out too long, the elixir would fade and she’d turn into one of the orange pumpkins that dotted the fields of Tara. And Adare is my feyry godmother. That was something to unpack later. Today, she was determined to enjoy herself. 

Dance had always been a part of Jasmine’s life, although largely as a hobby. She’d had ballet lessons as a child and picked them up again intermittently over the years, enjoying the meditative concentration it required. At various clubs and parties she’d absorbed popular dance steps dating back to the seventies, many of which were deeply regrettable in this day and age. And of course, there were the traditional Irish dances performed every year on holidays like this one, although Jasmine had never been the best at these.

Her ballet experience carried over, somewhat, to the group céilí dances, which were performed on tiptoe. She wasn’t as strong at the solo dances, but she lined up for the competition anyway. Winning was hardly the point of festival dance for Jasmine. 

But there were others here who clearly felt differently. Spectators were gathered in clumps to whisper and point out their favorite contenders, seeming especially focused on one Unseelie with strong features and long, dark hair. She looked familiar, like Jasmine had seen her more recently than last Lughnasad, but she couldn’t place the woman. Clearly Jasmine was in way over her head, but on this beautiful day, it was hard to care. 

[thewinteress]

Swimming was admittedly what kept Frost sane. When the world seemed foreign to her, she retreated to deep within the water. Unfortunately, that wasn’t always an option. In the past, there were stints where she had gone years without stepping foot in the ocean. The worst of these years had been the Great Depression, the stress and wear of surviving even as a fey had left her searching and clinging for something to keep her together. 

That’s where Hyacinth had entered in with dancing, teaching the younger, impetuous Frost steps. The repetition of the steps forever imprinted in her brain. The waltz, foxtrot, the charleston, Frost consumed whatever he learned from his position as knight and taught to her. Of course, there were other dances Frost learned through history from different sources. There was always a thrill of learning how to tango in a little bar in Argentina. 

Truth be told, Frost was mainly competing for the fun of it. With all the moodiness and tension lately, Lugnasad was a bright spot. Twisting and stretching the muscles in her back, Frost found herself glancing toward one of the king’s infamous daughters. Jasmine. She tilted her head at the other water fey before starting toward her, raising her arms above her head to roll her shoulders back. 

“Jasmine, right? Marigold’s sister?” Keeping her voice friendly, Frost dropped her arms and smiled at her.

[emily-axford]

(x)

[talesofnorth]

So you might as well bloom. Because it’s going to be dark for a while.

[thewinteress]

herownwildwhisper‌:

Frost’s macabre little saying earned her another burst of dark, velvet laughter, Ivy’s gaze alive with amusement. Despite the almost intolerable heat, she found she could at least enjoy herself in Frost’s company, and that felt like a blessing if she’d ever gotten one.

“Suppose the bet itself’s gotta be about time, but that part’s easy..” She let her head fall back a little, neck craning as she looked up at the ceiling, teeth biting down into a plush lip as if she was thinking about it.. and then she snapped back to attention, eyes on Frost.

“– What would you want for a prize?”

Satisfaction rolled over Frost like a crashing wave at the sight of Ivy’s face lighting up with laughter. Like a flash of lightning, amusement appeared in her eyes and it almost dazzled the runner. She’d let the Seelie satisfy themselves with the sunlight, Frost had always preferred the dark and stormy. Ivy was no exception. Frost took delight in the overseer’s presence at the rookery, intrigued by the mystery that surrounded the once-human. She kept her on her toes. 

“It’s all about time nowadays.” Frost shrugged but thoughtful look slipped onto her face. “A prize?” She crossed her arms over her chest, rocking back on her heels. “You know...that’s the big question...what do I want?” She stopped rocking, emboldened by a bolt of wickedness. “If I win, Ivy, you have to go to our sweet, sweet friend, Ro and you need to ask her on a date.” Immediately, Frost waved her hand after speaking. “Proper two hour date, at least dinner but the rest is to your creativity.”

“But if you win? What do you want?”