Known Abilities: Expert in flight and aerial acrobatics, forest camouflage, very sassy even when it is dangerously bold of him, basic Prayer to the Earth Spirit
Background: Bowman hails from Wellwood, a very isolated settlement of wood sprites situated so deep in a Midwestern forest that they had forgotten about the existence of human beings entirely. A year before his introduction to the BA-verse in A Lich of Sense, he met Jacob Andris, a human out on a camping trip with his friends. The result of Jacob being the first human to meet a Wellwood sprite in years can be found in the full story of Fairy Tales: Bowman of Wellwood.
Bowman spent all of his time growing up loving to fly. The moment his wings were big enough to carry him off the ground, he started practicing. At that point, his practice with his Prayers took a backseat, making his finesse with Life magic far underdeveloped compared to some others. However, it also means he is a very accomplished flyer, the fastest in Wellwood. He won’t let anyone forget it, either.
Quote: You want my first guess, or maybe we should sit around and brainstorm on it? It was a wolf, you idiot. What was wrong with it is a much better question.
Ooomg you’re so sweet! ;o; Thank you so much for the kind words!
The prompt is Hands from this list, with Jacob and Bowman. I really enjoyed doing this one. I’ll be working on more prompts that I didn’t get done in the last couple batches (hopefully) as well as any new ones that have come in for the 100 GT themes!
This is Fairy Tales canon, probably the spring after Jacob and Bowman first met.
Approx. Reading time: ~5 minutes
The sky above Jacob’s clearing had been a murky grey all morning. The springtime brought with it new, vibrant green leaves to form a brand new canopy over the forest of Wellwood, and that green crown formed a ring around the steel grey overhead. Jacob had made the trip hoping for more sun, since it meant his small friend would have more energy to be out and about.
That hadn’t stopped Bowman. They’d met at the clearing as they usually did. Bowman had made it part of his routine to check the clearing every day just in case Jacob popped in for another visit to the forest. He didn’t live nearby, and so it was never certain when he would have the chance.
Dean raised up his arm, holding himself at the ready. “Scar, move,” he snapped out a command, used to being in charge. “That’s my brother out there, and he needs my help!” All he could see in his mind’s eye was Sam, covered in blood. Sam, crushed in a fist.
Dean, too far away to help.
Scar’s dark green eyes flickered to the hand that lifted up a sharp knife ready to slice into its enemy. Whatever intimidation he might have felt didn’t make it to his face. He flew a little closer, resolutely staying in Dean’s way. Even knowing Dean could swipe him out of the air at any given second, Scar held his stance.
“Your brother is alive, and Bowman is alive,” Scar hissed back.
He hated having his back turned on the enemy, but right now his biggest asset was also his biggest problem. “If you want to keep them that way then you will listen to me, human.”
A snare. It was a trap that, when Logan set it, would remain hidden amongst the foliage. When something wandered into it (a sprite included), it would tangle around them mercilessly, only tightening the more they struggled. The only way out would be cutting the wires away from them, and Bowman had a feeling Logan wouldn’t be kind in the process if he caught someone.
“Making art projects, I see,” Bowman snapped. “I’ve seen better.”
The cage rattled roughly as Logan gripped one end in a huge hand and tilted it sharply so that Bowman fell to one side in a heap. “You cheeky little shit. Do you know what this is?” he taunted, his hand still gripping the cage, hovering menacingly over Bowman.
“Don’t overdo it, or you’ll never get to sleep,” Jacob warned with a laugh as Bowman wheeled around in the air.
In response, the sprite fluttered over to him and landed unabashedly on a shoulder. It warmed Jacob’s heart to be so trusted by his small friends.
Bowman flicked his wings in annoyance. “The sun goes down eventually. There’s no such thing as overdoing photosynthesis!” While it wasn’t strictly true, as a sprite could become incredibly sluggish, Bowman wasn’t about to go into that. Satisfied that he’d told the human what was what, he fluttered off his shoulder again.
Bowman couldn’t sleep, and usually when he couldn’t sleep, that meant his wings twitched and he tossed and turned for hours before giving in. Tonight, he wasn’t going to do that. He lay in his bed and almost glared at his window and the serene light that broke through it. The moon cast its cool, sharp glow upon the village of Wellwood in shining bars that mimicked the golden light of its sky sibling.
Moonlight might not be quite as refreshing as the sunlight, but Bowman knew that flying through it was just as peaceful, just as liberating.
He sat up in his bed, the oval-shaped basin in his room, and stretched his wings carefully. Why deny himself a little flying just because his aunt and uncle told him it was too dangerous to go out at night? Their warnings had never been frightening enough to keep him from it. He had to practice to be the best in the village one day, after all.
I’m not sure if I perfectly captured her in this, but I made Nixie in a pixie creator for fun and I thought I would share it with you. Hope you like it! :3
Oh the fate of a sprite who can be summoned. Nixie rues this word some days.
The summons was clear, and Nixie paused in her morning ablutions to cock her head to the side.
Aretha glanced over at her sister, her wings glistening in the morning air. “You will answer?” she asked, her tone as patronizing as it ever was. She gave her wings a flick to get the precipitation from the morning rain in the rainforest off, ready for flight.
Nixie ignored the tone of voice, as she always did. Alone of her sisters, she would never miss a summons. “It is who we are,” she reminded Aretha gently. “We must stop ignoring the calls.”
Before Aretha could respond, Nixie twisted the air and water around herself, vanishing and following the summons as only a sprite of aeternum could. It was the only time they could travel to the human world without using the portal itself to travel, and it brought her right to her destination.
The human world was always a shock, more because of how it changed each time she was summoned than anything. The size she was prepared for; no sprite stood over four inches in height, the fire sprites were the closest to that. Nixie’s wings vibrated once, and she alighted on the edge of the book used for the summons, the glow of the summoning magic fading away from her.
Brown eyes full of tears stared back at her, wide at the sight of the small sprite the summons had brought forth. Nixie waited patiently as the young girl, no more than twenty in her estimation, recovered from the realization that the summoning had worked.
“I am Nixie,” she introduced herself, as she always did. “Why have you summoned me?”
Hundreds of summonings in the past left her prepared for anything that might happen. Many times, she was brought forth to heal the dying or restore the poisoned waters of war. It was her reason for creation, along with guarding the flower of gold.
The girl’s face was framed by dark hair, and it bobbed as she shook her head in surprise. “B-but you… you’re real? Really real?”
Nixie did not deign to answer, merely watching the area around her with a curious eye and taking in the objects used to summon her. The circle could use some work, but the symbol in the center was well-drawn.
“Okay,” the girl pulled herself together and straightened. “I want you to make me the prettiest girl in school. That way they stop making fun of me! I’m not a geek!”
Nixie sighed at that. “Child, do you not know who you have summoned?” she asked gently. “I am a sprite. Wishes I do not grant. What you want is beyond my power.”
“B-but…”
“You should ignore what others say,” Nixie said firmly, thinking of Aretha and her constant dislike of what Nixie persisted in doing. “All that matters is who we are to ourselves. Letting their words bother you gives them power over you.”
She let her wings vibrate again, and lifted off from the book, whipping the pages and the girl’s hair into a mess. The girl opened her mouth. “No, wait!”
With a twinkling, Nixie severed the summoning and vanished back into aethernum.
Brothers Apart 