#cedar toothpick

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Letters and Numbers

Spring of the Yellow Tailfeathers

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Longwood hovered by the tram station, his shades pushed into his hair and his arms crossed. As I drifted up to join him, I raised an admittedly exaggerated brow. "And you're absolutely sure you don't want me to call your Refracted counterpart?"

"I am."

"You realize that after today, you can never enter a Daoist shrine again. Without her kiss as a juvenile, you're impure. Your window of opportunity will have closed. If you ever want in again, you'll have to travel to the High Kingdom and meet on her territory."

"I get it, H.P." He smiled thinly. "I'm Zodii. I'm all Zodii."

I suppressed my sigh. "All right. No ceremonial coming of age kiss. Well, if we're not going to be spending the evening witnessing a dance, I'm glad we're going out instead." I picked up my coat and pulled it on while Sanderson watched from the stairs. "Where do you fancy? Preferably someplace with soda."

Longwood sized me up with a rueful sideways glance. "H.P., I'm 164,000. Adult wings or not, I can't legally drink for 25,000 years."

"… Right. I knew that. So where do you want to go? Hawkins and I went hiking, and Wilcox and I spent the weekend soaring above the cloudlands as geese. You and I have to go somewhere- anywhere you want. A getaway for just the two of us. That's Pixie tradition."

"I want to go to the Leaves Temple and present myself before Thurmondo."

Oh. I wrinkled my nose. "Um. That place by the Frozen Garden Palace? That's what you want? Am I even allowed to go there?"

Longwood nodded. "You're allowed to be on the lower two levels. The echo chamber is on the top floor. H.P., I know you don't believe, but I want you to come and meditate with me. That's my birthday wish."

I watched his face for any hint of ulterior motives. "What exactly do you plan to do while I'm there?"

"Just pray, and think, and listen. It's the Temple of Curiosity. It's sort of a play area up front for the nymphs and pups, and more of a museum in the back. Lots of little puzzles to fiddle with and solve. You'll like it."

"Okay. If that's what you want." I glanced over my shoulder. "Sanderson, you're in charge. No parties."

"Yes, sir."

We took the pilgrimage without magic as best as we could. I would've been content to ping there and be done with it, but Longwood insisted on the trams. At least using magic on the way home wasn't against their self-imposed rules. Longwood and I arrived in Cornflower City on Wednesday, then paid the temple a visit in the morning. I'd glimpsed the temple in passing: lush plants that betray the frosty outdoors and all of that. I'd never been inside before. Longwood walked me to the door. We entered together.

The noise hit me first. Longwood led onward and we stepped from the hall into an enormous brightly lit room.

"Holy chaos…"

Everything was a puzzle. The floor. The walls. The tables and chairs. Puzzles of cloudland cities. Puzzles of the Rainbow Bridge. Puzzles of famous monuments. Puzzles of planets. Puzzles of farms, animals, factories…

I turned a full circle, sliding my hands up to grasp my hat. Mazes of wire. Mirrors that alter your appearance in nonsensical ways. Children's toys strewn all over the ground (Ah, so that's how the Zodii lure you in young). Fairy nymphs and Anti-Fairy pups raced and poofed back and forth, shrieking and chortling as they zipped from one place to another. Amused parents sat on benches along the walls.

Longwood looked at me, awaiting any further reaction on my part. "If it's too much, sir, on the other side of the room, there's a door that leads into the meditation hall. It's quieter there."

I squinted. There was laughter, and crying. Bright construction paper. Train sets with engines and tracks. Interactive wall panels. Tunnels. Slides. Climbing bars. Trampolines. Squishy blue mats. Ringing rainbow xylophones. Spinning hoops. Wooden blocks. Sports balls. Foam balls. Toy blasters to fire those foam balls. Adventure quests and target games you could work your way through with a pretend wand in hand. Scoreboards?

It was every doctor's office waiting room, playground, splash pad, nymph gymnasium, and socializing nursery I'd ever imagined contained under one roof. My awareness zinged in a thousand directions at once, trying to track every rapidly moving kid, shot ball, and thrown toy. Every toenail, every hair, every dust flake, every skin cell.

Howls of pain. Bruises? Blood? Snot? Barf? Pee? There was no way to know what wild kids did when ducking through the tunnels and enriching themselves where adults couldn't see them. I am almost positive everything in there was liable to give you some contagious disease at the simplest brush of your hand. Nothing in there was sanitary. Nothing in there was safe. It wasn't right.

"Longwood," I whispered, "I can't do this. I can't stay in here. Nothing in here is organized. I'm going to have a meltdown. In front of all these people."

"Really?" He looked again around the Temple. "I thought you'd like solving the puzzles and filling in the coloring sheets."

"I will. Oh, I will. Longwood, I'm glad you have the ability to focus on just one thing at a time. To set up just three of a hundred dominos, to rotate a wheel filled with beads just half a turn, to flip an hourglass over when it hasn't timed out, to roll a play cloudcar a short ways across the floor, and then move on with your life."

I met his gaze, tugging my hat lower. "But if you start me on this, I swear I am not leaving until every one of these puzzles is done at the same time, and stabilized that way. And I do not care how many nymphs or full-grown adults I have to bowl over to do so. Either let me absolutely loose, or get me out of here- now."

1)

“Dear dust,” he says, “I’m obsessed.”

“With yourself?”

“With children.”

Rosencrantz doesn’t know how to respond to this. Rosencrantz is pretty sure Longwood has confessed to something illegal.

“Not like that,” Longwood clarifies, always one step ahead of the younger pixie and gleaning his thoughts. With a thought and a twitch of the ballpoint pen he uses as a wand, he pings a small picture into his free hand. The frame is dented, the glass shattered long ago. It’s not even a real photograph–only a crayon drawing. A child’s crayon drawing. Longwood hunkers into the chair anyway, caressing the picture with his eyes while holding the shaking chocolate mug to his mouth. He says, “I’m obsessed with that–that shadowman you used to call a mentor.”

“Sanderson?” Rosencrantz presses him cautiously. […]

“I saved his life, Rosebud. You wouldn’t remember. It was long ago. Centuries before you were born, I traded the one I held most dear to save that snotlick’s life, and I pine after him even now. You didn’t know Aspen. But I did. I had the chance. I could have chosen to save what I wanted most. What does that make me feel?”

2)

At this, Longwood bends his head, his wings jolting every few beats. He sinks a little closer to the sidewalk. “H.P., I–You owe me for Aspen.”

“I owe you for what you chose to do to Aspen?”

Longwood looks away. It’s an insult. He shouldn’t have asked.

“Sir, it wasn’t a choice. I had to. It was his fate. If I'd–If I’d tried to protect Aspen, Sanderson would have died. And…”

This pause is tenser.

“And that’s your fault. Isn’t it, sir?”

[…]

Longwood’s fists grow tighter, not looser. He does not raise his head. “I let go of Aspen for you, H.P.”

“Pretend that Sanderson is Aspen, and start enjoying his company,” the Head Pixie says. Stepping off the sidewalk, he circles Longwood and continues on his way.

“Sir,” he says, whisking after his boss, “please.”

“What’s the issue? Sanderson and Aspen have a lot in common. They both enjoy cheese and crackers. They both play with their food.”

Now it’s insulting. “Sir–”

“They favor gingertie wands. They do enjoy their music.”

“Please–”

“And this one’s a gimme, but you know how fond they both are of water.”

“Stop it!”

Longwood isn’t aware that his own ipewood wand is out of its sheath until it’s pointed at the back of his boss’s head. H.P. slows. He turns, the metal star on the dangling tail of his hat ringing out in the silent night like a bell on a bobtail. He’s amused, not upset. When his eyes glint, they seem to cast a sheen across his glasses as a whole. Longwood suddenly realizes his mistake, and jerks his hand down.

“Sir, I–I didn’t mean to–” He grabs for his face and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Ní larki… Please don’t make jokes about water at Aspen’s expense, sir. He gets night terrors. Calming him down is embarrassing. And if Sanderson ever knew Aspen was still…”

3)

“I liked your singing,” Betty told him. “You sing very well.”

Longwood glanced over at her, pulling Kenny’s blankets up to his shoulder. “Thank you for your response. I wasn’t sure I would. It’s been centuries since I’ve sung to a child.” He picked a large plush shark up from the nightstand and tucked it under Kenny’s arm. Kenny snuggled up to it and instantly went right back to sleep.

“Do you have kids?” She hoped he’d say yes. She hadn’t seen any pixie kids yet. True, Sanderson said she and Gary couldn’t live in Pixie World forever or else they’d run out of air to breathe, but Betty hoped they’d visit enough that she could make friends with some pixie kids. Did her Earth friends think she was dead? H.P. had made it sound like they did, or would soon enough. She couldn’t go back to Kansas. No more friends. No more family. No more horses. No more softball. No more school. Betty was trying not to think about that.

“I… had a kid, yes,” Longwood said. “He’s gone.”

“Where does he live now?”

Longwood looked at her more seriously. “I mean, he’s gone. He isn’t ever coming back.”

“Oh. That kind of gone.” Betty looked again at the shark he’d given Kenny. “So is that a dead person’s toy?”

“Aspen’s not dead,” Longwood snapped, and Betty jumped at the shoulders. He inhaled through his teeth. “My apologies for startling you, but I always have to express my disagreement when people state that. Aspen isn’t entirely dead. He’s still in there. I can recognize tells of it sometimes. He’s just… not as alive as he could be.” He scratched his wrist, long nails scraping his skin. “I’m sorry. Aspen was my baby. I know it was highly unprofessional of me, but I grew attached to him.”

Kenny stirred in the bed, but didn’t get up. “I’d be so sad if anything happened to Kenny,” Betty murmured. “I’m sorry. Did someone kidnap Aspen? Or did he run away?”

“No. No, he didn’t run!” Longwood’s throat briefly strangled his voice. “He was so trusting. Sanderson cornered him, and he didn’t even–think–when I saw–No.” He shook his head. “No. You would need a full lesson in Fairykind anatomy to understand exactly what happened, Ms. Betty. It’s black magic stuff. I’m sorry. Anything involving Aspen is very difficult for me to discuss, and I would prefer not to breach the subject with a child I just met, you realize.”

(Note - Black magic is performed by doctors. It’s surgery magic.)

That’s all you “officially” know right now, but you’re about to get some really juicy stuff in Origin.

Solve For Aspen

More hints about Aspen’s identity and what’s coming in Origin of the Pixies:

- Technically you’ve already met “Aspen,” but he does not use this name in public. You’ve seen him in a lot of Prompts and some other stories, but not yet in Origin or Knots.

- The life-giving organ in Fae is called the core. It is left behind when a Fae dies (Think about Anti-Cosmo finding Fairy cores on the road in “Tangled Threads”). A firstborn’s core is different from the core of a second-born (It has extra layers of magic around it). Pixies are infected with the bacteria Wolbachia pipientis, meaning they are genetically identical; Sanderson, being H.P.’s firstborn, has a firstborn core.

- Cores take on shapes specific to the individual (For instance, H.P.’s is a laser cannon, Wanda’s is a radar, and Sanderson’s is a pencil sharpener).

- Longwood was born in the Year of Leaves on the Fae zodiac. Aspen was not. So why is Aspen named after a tree?

- Think about what Finley has around his neck. We see him wearing it as an adult in “All I Ever Wanted” but not as a kid in “Evolution Hopeful” or “This Is a Box.” What could it be and why would he start wearing this thing at that age? Why Finley? What’s different about his life compared to all the other pixies?

- Sanderson and Longwood got in an argument during the “Grooming” Prompt. What exact words does Sanderson use in this scene? Why do they affect Longwood so strongly and why does Sanderson feel guilty?

- Where was Sanderson in “Minion” when he started thinking about Aspen? What unique qualities do we know this location has?

- Think about some settings we’ve visited in Origin of the Pixies that explicitly have special qualities. I foreshadowed a location in Chapter 3 (“Love Struck Out”). It comes up again later. Why did H.P. go out of his way to visit in that later chapter and what did he want to do? Why did I think it was important enough to foreshadow?

HINT: It’s near the beginning because it’s also near the end

- Try to remember if there’s a Prompt that struck you as really, really odd… Something that described special location qualities.

- In that Prompt, there were four people who could sense something. One of them showed up late and did not volunteer the same information as the other three. Who was it and what can we not confirm because they stayed silent? What could be happening off-screen during that odd Prompt?

- Sanderson flinched when the Fairy Elder went to touch him in “Minion.” Look at that encounter and focus on what he’s saying. What does he look at and what do you know about that thing?

HINT: Cross-reference with what Anti-Cosmo says about the Fairy Elder in the Frayed Knots chapter “If She Hollers.” Take his words literally.

- Knowing what you know about Pixies and the Fairy Elder, what would you guess triggered the plot in the “really, really odd” Prompt mentioned above?

HINT: Sanderson uses a certain phrase in “Grooming” that also appears in the odd Prompt. What does he describe with that phrase?

- Just before H.P. and Sanderson meet the Fairy Elder in “Minion,” H.P. names a specific location. What is this location and why would I want you, the reader, to know that it’s there?

HINT: Who can get to it?

HINT 2: Don’t overthink it. What is this place literally called?

HINT 3: In several ‘fics, we see special magic keys. Where do you think such keys go and what is the significance of having keys made of different materials?

HINT 4: Why do Fairies not have “perfect memories?” Why do Anti-Fairies supposedly have perfect memories? Why would Fairies not want Anti-Fairies to know about and use these keys?

HINT 5: We will see keys in the 130 Prompt “Repeat.” What material are these keys and where do they come from?

- We now have a person, two places, and some items (and technically a time). How might this information change the way you read Origin?

- Longwood says only one thing in the Origin chapter “Snowflake.” What does he say? Why was Longwood mentioned in the previous chapter (“How to Yoo-Doo”)? Why do these details conflict? What conclusions can be drawn?

- In Origin’s Act 2 finale, “Fruitful Fruition,” H.P. and Sanderson have a conversation where H.P. makes verbatim reference to a quote in a Season 4 episode. What is the context of his talk with Sanderson? What can I do in a backstory ‘fic that sets us up for that episode?

HINT: It’s not a Pixie episode

HINT 2: The quote is VERY specific to that episode and the episode specifically draws attention to it

HINT 3: There is a detail about Sanderson that is easy to forget, so I brought it up earlier in this post. I specifically designed this part of Sanderson in reference to that episode

HINT 4: What was the context of the original quote in the episode? Above all else, the full quote and the context behind it is what Origin of the Pixies is about.

- Four books were recently stolen from the Pink Castle library. Judging by their titles, what information would you guess is in them? (The titles were named in “The Facts of Life” and “What Karma Is”)

- Why could no one solve the crime?

- Take your new information and read “Grooming” again. What does Longwood do at night? Does this remind you of another thing that happens at night? 

HINT: Something referenced in this post

If you can answer all of the above, you should know who took the books, why they took them, what Longwood’s relationship to Aspen is, why Aspen is gone, and why Longwood believes Aspen is alive. Review the quoted text in the first half of this post and maybe you’ll realize why Longwood’s relationship with Sanderson is so complex.

That’s Aspen.

When H.P. became leader, there were no other adult pixies. He was raising kids and building a company from the ground up. Assuming Longwood is H.P.’s successor, he’ll inherit a company blooming with adults. They’re his brothers, not his offspring. He’s more likely than H.P. to survey his peers and tailor Pixie World towards what they want rather than what Dad thinks they need. On the flipside, this brotherly rank means he isn’t nearly as respected as Dad was.

Most of the Fairy media suggests H.P. is constantly flipping between affairs with Anti-Cosmo and Jorgen, and that Pixie loyalties fluctuate according to how his love life is going. Although this irritates H.P., he usually shrugs it off. He’s a politician. Politicians get flak; whatcha gonna do? Longwood finds these rumors incredibly offensive. He’s sensitive and doesn’t want anyone implying such things about him; he’d rather portray the Pixies as a purely neutral race with no loyalties to either side. Of course, since he holds Zodii (traditionally Anti-Fairy) beliefs, he’ll probably come under fire for that.

Longwood is a romantic at heart and would encourage (possibly beg) his coworkers to put themselves out there and potentially marry. Kind of an uphill battle at this point. As a race, Pixies are inclined towards flings. H.P. actively discouraged his pixies from forming long-term relationships. Also, marrying a pixie is highly discouraged in Fairy World since pixies are ranked so low on the social ladder (Arguably for good reason- when a pixie dies, lives are in danger since that’s how Wolbachia pipientis is transferred). With Longwood at the head, however, romantic adventures with pixies could potentially spike.

(On a side note, Anti-Fairies are immune to Wolbachia and don’t care about the caste system as much as Fairies do, so Pixie/Anti-Fairy relationships are sure to become acceptable in society long before Fairy/Anti-Fairy or Fairy/Pixie relationships do despite crossing the Seelie/Unseelie boundary.)

Longwood has a lot of hurdles to overcome if he wants to be a good leader. He isn’t very good at remembering his coworkers’ names and he’s a little too “pure” to the point that he shames them when they do things he disagrees with. Longwood’s brain is geared towards romance. He’s uncomfortable with the intimacy of preening and has a hard time keeping his mouth shut about it. As a result, he makes his coworkers feel gross when they experience preening urges (Contrast with H.P. who encouraged preening but not romance).

Because he considers preening gross, and because the Pixie population is much higher in the time period Longwood [theoretically] takes command, Longwood would restructure Pixie World’s organization entirely. H.P. was raised a fairy and has a more traditional view of gyne/drone relationships: namely, that drones belong to the most dominant gyne in the area (the aldra mór) without exception. The sole intermediary is the alpha drone. Certainly not another gyne.

However, Longwood’s idea is to divide Pixie World into segments. Each pixie gyne would have a certain number of drones that he’s the boss of while the Head Pixie sits at the top of the pyramid (Basically, structured more like a large company than the “small business” organization system H.P. carried over from his Fairy World upbringing). Gynes are allowed to preen with those drones so long as everyone performs their jobs well and meets their deadlines.

In theory, this arrangement would satisfy a gyne’s natural urge for leadership, and allow Longwood to avoid preening more than he wants to. Totally unacceptable in Fairy World, but the system works for Pixies. H.P. actually respects and supports this idea, but… he’d never do it himself. He prefers all attention on him.