The SpringPetal Thawling

Not all fae are born in moonlight.

Some arrive in the quiet moment between winter and spring.

The Thawling rises with the first snowdrops, woven from melting frost, pale petals, and the promise of warmer days.

Neither flower nor spirit alone, it wakes when the earth is finally ready to soften.

With each careful step, frost loosens its hold, frozen water begins to move, and the first blooms lift their heads toward the light.

By the time spring arrives, the Thawling is gone.

Only the snowdrops remain...

and the faint shimmer of a season beginning again.