Anika the Sparrow-Girl

Fanart of Terho the Mouse-Lad and Anika the Sparrow-Girl by plintoon. Text says "Look Terho glowdaisies" https://plintoon-reblogs.tumblr.com/post/108120941558/i-loved-not-poignants-latest-fic-these-guys

## General details

### Relatives

* Unnamed Mother
* Unnamed Father
* Unnamed Great-Grandfather (deceased)

## Physical description

### Hair color

*Unknown*

**Anika the Sparrow-Girl** is a Seelie sparrow shifter who serves as one of Terho the Mouse-Lad's caretakers.

## Appearance

Anika is a house sparrow shifter, which is 'not very special even by fae standards.' Anika has 'clawed fingers' and 'a little cap of rust red hair that she kept short and curled around her ears in a slightly overgrown pixie cut. At a little over five foot tall, so spindly that her father told her she would blow away on a windy day, she was as tall as she was ever going to get.'

## Personality

Anika wants the job of caring for Terho. She is naturally shy, but stands up for Terho to Gwyn ap Nudd, despite her fear.

## Life

Anika lives with her parents 'in a tiny cottage on the fae side of Stavanger, Norway.' Her great-grandfather performed aerial combat for the Oak King, which granted her family protected Seelie land, and allowed them to have 'their own meadow, their own fields, their own lake unburdened by Unseelie fae.' Anika's family 'harvested their own grains, they made their own cheese from little fairy cows that only came up to Anika’s hip and had to be sung to for three nights before they would produce their healing milk. They grew their own fruits and kneaded the dough for their own bread. During rare balmy sunsets, they would shift into their true, sparrow forms and duck and wheel in the lilac and golds of the sky, snatching up insects that pushed their way out of the river and the nearby lake, feasting and chirping, content.'

After the defeat of the Nightingale and Augus Each Uisge, Gwyn approaches Anika's family to keep Terho in his own cottage on their land. Anika's family blood-oathed to never force him outside his home, enter without Terho's permission, to bring him food and water every day, leave him alone if he wished, and tell no one of his presence. Anika's family also do their best to remove any nightingale nests they see.

After Anika takes on the duties of caring for Terho, she begins bringing him carefully arranged meals every day. But he doesn't touch the food in the first early months of the arrangement. Anika begins talking to him (or just herself, really), until Terho hesitantly asks her to stop talking about the sky. This mortifies Anika into silence.

Two weeks later, Terho apologizes to her for making her stop talking, and they converse for the first time, with Anika saying he hadn't offended her. Their conversations from that point are brief and rare, and Anika often talks about her life and the world she knows. Terho makes Anika feel strangely large, but she also feels deeply for the pain he suffered.

After she accounts for his care to Gwyn, she notices Terho's increased reticence after Gwyn's visits, and she becomes angry at Gwyn for intimidating Terho again. Anika begins visiting Terho at night, to work on the garden around the cottage. Over time, she gathers knowledge on her own from local gossip about what Terho did and the danger he was in, but she eventually stops listening, because she is learning what she wants directly from Terho.

Two months later, Gwyn returns, and Anika tells him that his visits scare Terho, and ruin his healing progress. Gwyn takes her on a walk, and Gwyn explains that he will likely not be able to see Terho for some time, referencing the future reveal of Gwyn's true alignment. Anika can tell that Gwyn is dealing with something heavy, and that he is very wounded, himself. Gwyn ends up not visiting Terho that time.

A week after Gwyn's walk with Anika, Terho takes cheese from her hamper for the first time.

Unfortunately, one night later, while Anika is visiting, an ordinary nightingale burst into song, terrifying Terho deeply. Anika hears him crying, scares off the bird, and tries to reassure him, to no avail. Out of desperation, she begins shoving glowdaisies through the small window where she delivers food to him, quickly filling the space with flowers. Terho is surprised, and she offers to remove them, which prompts Terho to reach out and touch her hand to stop her. He asks her to stay and keep talking to him.

## Relationships

### Gwyn ap Nudd

Anika is deeply intimidated by Gwyn, but stands up to him on Terho's behalf when she realizes that Gwyn's visits are taxing Terho.

### Terho the Mouse-Lad

Terho says that Anika is 'sweet but misguided'. Anika loves him.

## Image Gallery

Fanart of Terho the Mouse-Lad and Anika the Sparrow-Girl by plintoon https://plintoon-reblogs.tumblr.com/post/108120941558/i-loved-not-poignants-latest-fic-these-guysFanart of Anika the Sparrow-Girl by kaza999 https://kaza999.tumblr.com/post/108227093329/ok-so-for-like-the-past-month-my-brain-has-been
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 not\_poignant. “There Are Flowers.” *The Fae Tales Verse - canon extras. Archive of Our Own,* 12 January 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/3166064.
2. ↑ not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 13 January 2014. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/2292919. Chapter 36: Demotion.