Hefeydd hummed to himself as he flew quickly through the night, his good mood translating into lots of loops and turns, circling around occasionally to check that Raya was still following. He had been hoping to surprise her with the event he had planned tonight, after hearing some of the other fairies talking about it. He had immediately thought about the fun they could have, and so had told Raya that they had needed to leave, immediately, to go somewhere important! Since the ball would end, eventually, they did of course need to leave immediately if they had any hopes of getting their fill of fun. While the mortal's little celebration might not have been especially important to anyone of note, like Hefeydd himself or the other fairies, the mortals seemed to think it was important. He grinned, whistling to himself as he slowed his pace to allow Raya to catch up with him. 

From what the other fairies had been saying, laughing about it really, the mortals were having a ball of some kind to celebrate squishing some bugs. It didn't seem like something that needed celebrating but Hefeydd supposed the mortals needed something to occupy themselves with. It must have been an especially dull month for them, and they needed something to make it more interesting. He held out no hopes for their ball. In comparison to fey balls it was bound to be dull. Until he and Raya arrived, that was. They would take it upon themselves to make it more interesting. He spun in place to face Raya, wings twitching with pent up excitement. Any moment now they would be arriving, and he supposed he should let her know now, he could faintly hear music in the distance and that meant she would be able to as well. Time to tell her the surprise!

"Raaaayyyyaaaa!" he called, "we're going to a baaall!"

Arayna tried to keep pace with her companion, somewhat annoyed with herself. She, definitely, was a silly fair to be so willing to follow Hed, despite not knowing where they were going. Arayna had no idea why she enjoyed the other fey’s company but knew she enjoyed it to be willing to follow him blindly. He seemed to enjoy her company well enough, after all, he invited her and even made sure she could keep up with him. Arayna was still working on her ability to fly, she had difficulty keeping the same pace as Hed.
Arayna watched his wings twitch, smiling at Hed as he faced her. He was rather excited about, whatever he had decided to involve them in. Faintly she thought she heard music and began to feel excited herself. Were they going to some sort of fairy event?
The fairy known as Raya, tilted her head in confusion. Had he said ball? Like a formal ball? Of course, quarrying anything from Arayna’s memory, often led to more confusion than it dispelled. How did she know what a ball was? Or maybe she did not, a ball did not seem like the type of thing Hed would be excited about. He would not be excited to dance with her, would he?
“A ball?” Arayna repeated, drawing out the word in a clear question. Her cheeks flushed as she chased away remnants of her previous thought. “Why are we going to a ball?” she added, finding it difficult to rein in her line of thinking. Was she weak to charm magic despite allegedly being a fairy, why was she so willing to follow him and so excited at the idea of dancing with him? What was wrong with her?

Her question caused Hefeydd to stare blankly at her, floating in place, bobbing up and down fractionally as he tried to work out if the other fairy was being serious or not. Why were they going to a ball? Why were they going to a ball?! What reasons were there to go to balls held by mortals, other than to cause havoc, sew chaos, make mischief and enjoy their frustration? He sighed, realizing the other fairy might be trying to test him, to provoke him in some way. Yes, that must be it. No other reason was acceptable. The other fairy was still trying to make him slip up. Well she was going to be disappointed, just like she always was! He was far too smart for her, yes he was.

"I am going to the ball to have fun," he said, rolling his eyes as he spoke, "and I am bringing you to have fun too, silly." He chuckled and allowed himself to drop suddenly through the air, tumbling until he was far below her before righting himself and beginning to fly again. With a laugh he came back up and circled her, quickly. "Are you ready to have some fun, Raya?"

***Granny sighed, opening up the portal she chose to travel by close to the cathedral. She knew where the two fairies were headed and instead of trying to follow the two of them she had decided to play it smart. There was no way she was going to be able to keep up with them, and besides, she could have a little fun of her own without them before they even arrived. Hed had been so excited when he had invited her, insisting she keep it a secret from the other fairy. She had obliged, not knowing why he was so fascinated with the scrawny fairy. She suspected he didn't know, either. Poor guy. Giggling to herself, she took to her wings and began scouting out the crowed, looking for a quick meal.

Arayna studied her companion as the question seemed to give him pause. Maybe knowing about balls was such a basic thing, it seemed strange to question it. Arayna reached for her braid out of impulse but found it absent. That is right; she had decided to put her hair in two buns today. Moving her hand up, she found a loose strand to twirl.
Searching her memory, she tried to recall if she had ever told Hed about the state of her memories. It would probably make things easier; she seemed to ask things that caught him off guard a lot. A sinking feeling filled the pit of her stomach, what if that novelty was why, Hed the important First Night, allowed her to tag along.
If that were all that bound them, the novelty would eventually wear off. Would it not be better to tell him about her memory, dispell the novelty now instead of becoming even more accustomed to his company.

Sadnesss washed over Arayna, so what would she do. Her days following him around were numbered, but Arayna could not imagine trying to figure out fairy society on her own.
Her companion was answering the question, that was random to him, pulled her from her thoughts. To have fun. That, too, should be a simple concept. Really if what she read about fairies she true, that should be something she innately sought; even at the price of others at times. Arayna's brow furrowed since escaping had she engaged in any activity that was solely to have fun. Arayna bright, smiling as she watched her companions antics. Hed was so sure of his self in flying; it was something Arayna enjoyed watching and was envious of. The fey decided she could stew over all this later. Hed had gone out of his way to lead her here to have fun, so the least she could do is try. Surely she could follow his lead in what fun was.

"I think we deserve some fun, Arayna gave in the way of answer. To say she was ready to have fun would have been a lie; she still was not sure what that entailed. Arayna could vaguely remember being dressed up and pretending to dance and this that had something to do with balls. The fey had not dressed up for their venture, having no idea what was going on other than to follow. The last time that had happened they had ended up before a figure that assigned them a mission, so dressing in formal wear to follow had not crossed the feys mind.

"Can I go as I am or do I need to dress up to go to the ball Arayna inquired not wanting to embarrass her companion, and be laughed at again. That had happened, too, the last time she had followed him.

Hefeydd bobbed along in place, remaining still again to consider his companion with serious thought. She was still wearing the same simple clothing she had worn before, when they had found their new friends in that strange forest. He hadn't seen her wearing the dress that he had made for her since then, it was like she was shunning it. Maybe because of the colour, or maybe because Hefeydd had made it himself. He dropped a couple of inches. He had thought it had suited her well, at the time. The colour of the material had been the same as her eyes, and he had created it of the finest spider silk. The more he thought about it, the more her thought that maybe she should dress up for the ball. If there were any other fairies there, or any fey, or if they were even spotted by the foolish mortals then they would need to be looking their best. Hefeydd already knew that he looked fantastic in his beautiful purple robes, so there was no need for him to change. Perhaps he could create for her a new dress, he thought absently, one that would match her wings a little more. Perhaps she wouldn't carelessly toss that dress aside… Thinking about everything else he would need to do tonight, he thought better of creating a whole new outfit for her, though.

"Yes, silly, of course you should dress up! We might meet people!" Hefeydd rolled his eyes, dropping onto his back and floating horizontally in place, staring up at the stars. As he looked at them, not paying attention to what the other fairy might be doing, a thought struck him. He floated a little further away, wanting some privacy to do his work, gathering the magic necessary. The fey lord had implanted a thought in his head not too long ago, something that Hefeydd was now able to recall quite clearly. It didn't take any effort at all to call forth the ice magic, the night was cold as it was so there was little magical effort required. Binding it would be more difficult, especially if he wanted it to last for more than just the one night. He contemplated the best way to do it as his hands worked, forming the patterns and weaving the cloak. In the end, the spell he used was simple, though it would do the job perfectly. He grinned as he returned to an upright position, holding up the finished product. It was a cloak made of snowflakes, bound to remain intact as long as his fairy companion owned it. If she tossed it away like the dress then it would melt away eventually. 

"I have a surprise for you, Raya!" he called out, holding out the cloak proudly, looking around to find his companion.

Two lovers were hidden in a dark alcove outside of the main hall where all the guests were flocking. From inside Granny could hear the buzz of conversation and the music produced by whoever was playing inside. She could have her fill tonight, it seemed, as she could feel the excitement building among all those gathered in this place. It seemed to her like they were celebrating something, enjoying themselves and letting loose their deepest desires. Whatever it was that they were celebrating must have been tense indeed for them to be reacting so freely. Well, the reasons behind the ball didn't matter. What did matter was the morsels she spied. Flapping her leathery wings, she approached quietly from above, descending carefully within the shadows to avoid being seen. She could feel the lust pulsing off of them in waves, and with a gentle touch she was able to siphon some of this energy. A pulse of energy washed through her, sending tingles from the base of her skull, all the way down her spine to the tip of her tail. She was tempted to remain here, to take from these young lovers all that she could, but there was no need to be greedy. She had all night, after all.

Arayna gave her companion a bemused expression. Would he have told her this if she had not have asked? Noting that Hed seemed to have made himself comfortable, so would hopefully be content a moment, the fey opened a gait back to her area.
Leaving the portal open, the fairy stepped through the gate. Arayna quickly opened the box that was her closet, easily finding where she had stored her blue dress from Hed. The fairy had accumulated a little outfit around the dress but was always too nervous to wear it; fearing she would somehow ruin it.
Not wanting to be accused of taking "an age," again, the fey quickly changed into it and the slippers she had found to match. The fey wished she had more than ribbon to fashion as jewelry, but decided it was better than nothing.
Stepping back through the portal, she shivered. How had she not realized it was so cold? It must have been because she was moving around. Shivering slightly, the fey resumed her task of grooming. Hovering upside down, she coaxed her hair into a more elaborate style with a few braids, some of which she braided the ribbons through.
Finished Arayna eyed herself in a reflective piece of ice; it was cold. Though she felt she looked nice, it did not seem elegant enough for a formal ball. The fey fell into the trap of her thoughts, should she dress better if she is hanging around Hed? She hoped she had not embarrassed him. Shaking herself from her thoughts, she reminded herself this would have to do. If it was not enough maybe he should have given her time to prepare, rather than sprung it on her.
A faint worry that she was a joke, rather than a novelty, passed her mind. The fey tried to rid herself of this thought, too. No matter what he had helped her and she enjoyed being in his company. If it turned out she was a joke so be it, she often felt like one. Maybe one day she could laugh, too, at her present self. Today she was invited to have fun; there would be time to worry about everything later.
Finished with her task of dressing the fey lazily flew and spun in circles, trying to move about to stay warm. Arayna was seriously debating the merits of using magic to try to warm herself when Hed called out to her. He had been rather generous with time; the fey floated over to him hoping it would be warmer at the ball.
The fact he had a gift was a bigger surprise than the allotted time. A cloak, had he realized she was cold. Come to think of it he did not seem cold, was that something to do with his clothing. Arayna delicately took the cloak, only realizing she was upside down when it fell away from her.
Feeling as if she had been caught doing something foolish she righted herself as she examined the cloak. The looked like it was made out of ice and snow, with a snowflake pattern. It was prettier than anything Arayna had imagined, and here it was a gift for her. Arayna frowned at the cloak briefly for brightening and addressing Hed.
"Thank you, it is amazing, she exclaimed. Wrapping the cloak around herself, she was surprised to find that the ice insulated her against the cold, helping her better tolerate the cold. That had been surprising but made sense really, after all frost protected plants from colder temperatures. Arayna kept herself smiling but likely could not hide some of the sadness. Hed had helped her so much and given her some treasured things, how was she ever supposed to repay him? The novelty or the joke would wear off. "Well should we get going," Arayna heard herself say instead of the myriad of sad thoughts dancing in her mind.

Hefeydd gave Raya a quick once over, noting that she had changed her clothes and done something with her hair. He hadn't noticed her doing anything, so perhaps she had used magic to change her clothing. What she wore looked a lot like the dress he had made for her, which meant she did like the dress itself but she was choosing to no longer accept it as a gift. He his his frown behind the cloak he held out for her, watching as she took it. He took a small amount of joy in the sight of her wrapping the cloak around herself, but it soured quickly at the thought that it was likely to be discarded as easily as the dress, most likely to be replaced with an imitation. It sparkled prettily though, and watching her enjoyment stirred… He couldn't quite describe what it was stirring within him, and he didn't want to spend too much time thinking about it. He was happy to remain stewing in his own unhappiness right now.

"Get going, yes…" he turned from Raya and looked in the direction they needed to travel. He felt like he was forgetting something, or someone, but he supposed it would come to him in time. Right now, though, it was just up to Raya and himself to enjoy their time at this ball. A brief thought flashed through his mind, the thought that while at the ball she might meet other people and leave him to spend time with them instead, and for some reason this thought caused a momentary chill throughout his body. While normally the cold wouldn't bother him, this felt different. Less like a cold feeling passing through him, really, and more like a warm feeling leaving him. He shook his head, his silver hair swinging to and fro, until his thoughts returned to the matter at hand. He smiled to himself and took off in the direction of the music.

The place this event was happening came into view, a big building with all kinds of windows with lights in them making pretty colours. People were gathered outside, talking, and there were obviously plenty more people inside. Hefeydd hovered in place, in the darkness just outside the a small glowing orb that was lighting a path towards the building. Maybe it was there to stop people from getting lost. He considered for a moment turning invisible, or gathering shadows to obscure himself. But then his thoughts turned to Raya, and he wondered what her plan was to get in. He realized he had never actually seen her hide herself from sight before in any way. He bit his lip and turned to face her, thinking. 

"I think we need to find a different way in." he said, and gestured towards the main entrance all the mortals were using. "I think it would be a much better surprise if nobody saw us." He grinned at his companion.

Among all the brightly dressed people, laughing and talking with each other, one stood out a little more than the others. Despite the fact that he was covered from head to toe in a garish yellow suit and cloak Granny could tell from his energy that he was a human. He was currently talking loudly with a dwarf and another human, hovering around the tables with all the substances designed to impair judgement. While the human in yellow didn't seem to be partaking, his gaze kept returning to the items on the table and she could feel the desire for them radiating off of him. Floating along, she came up beside his leg, tapping into his energy and draining off just a little.

Arayna tilted her head at her companion, giving him a contemplative look. Why did they not want to be seen, had he not said that they might meet people? Was that now a bad thing. If the idea was not to be seen, she could do that. Not be sensed, that was a different story.

The fairy realized she had never really shown she could hide, was he willing to delay his fun to try to include her. His motivations were incomprehensible to her, after all, they had not known each other for long. This seemed like a lot of trouble to go through. Studying her companion gave no clues to what was going on, not that she expected it to.

“If it is not to be seen, I can make myself invisible. Though if you want to find another way to enter, we can do that too,” Arayna offered her companion. Realizing he may not believe her she focused, bending the light around herself to become invisible. “I cannot hide my aura, so would give you away even with an alternative route. I could wait a while if you want to be that sneaky,” she continued apologetically.

Realizing she could freely study him while invisible, she watched her companion as if she could somehow gain answers to her worries, or just admire the silver.

Hefeydd thought about the first time he had become invisible, the time spent trying to get the light to bend just right to cause the effect he was looking for. While now it was second nature, magic involving darkness and ice came so much easier to him. That was probably why he preferred to go around obscured instead of being truly invisible. As the other fairy used her magic and smoothly removed herself from sight he couldn't help but feel a little… Annoyance. He hid his annoyance but his wings twitched. His eyes adjusted quickly and he saw the magical aura surrounding her, revealing her to his sight. He tilted his head to his side, studying her aura, curious. It wasn't exactly what he had expected. She could be changing her aura with magic, though. That made more sense. He nodded to himself. proud he had seen through another of the silly fairy's plots. His eyes adjusted further and he was able to see through her invisibility completely, now knowing where she was.

He himself wrapped shadows around his body, obscuring himself from sight. At the same time he bent the light around his body to become invisible. He grinned to himself, keeping the shadows in place where he had been, moving away and to the left, floating along silently. His hope was that she would think he was still in the same place, though if she was able to see magic like he could, like a lot of fairies could, then it wouldn't work. That would also be helpful to know. No matter what happened, he supposed, he would learn something new about the sneaky fairy. Floating on up to her, he placed his hand upon her shoulder. He had meant to say something mean, to scare her, but at the feeling of her warmth rising up through his hand he became momentarily distracted.

"That's… Good. Now nobody will see us, unless we get too close. Now we can be a surprise!"

***There she was, happily supping on the energy of the weird human in yellow, taking just a touch before planning to move on to her next victim when all of a sudden he was startled by something. She looked up as he looked down, the pair of them staring at each other in shock. Well this was embarrassing, and it didn't happen often. She wondered for a moment if the human was some kind of powerful mage, that would explain it. But she had tapped into his well of energy and it wasn't all that impressive. She was also surprised his reactions weren't any faster. With a grin she waved, then took off, wings beating hard to send her flying quickly away under the tables and away from the yellow clad human.

Gremory hid in the shadows under the tables, safely far away from the human who had spotted her. Her tail swished with agitation but she was determined to not let it get to her. In the end there were plenty of other potential victims here tonight. Eyes narrowing, she began peeking at people's auras, picking out the most likely of the people here. She wondered idly if the two fairies were ever going to arrive, though she supposed they could already be here and hiding somewhere.

Arayna pouted a little when Hed, too, became obscured. His technique was interesting, shadows seemed to be bending as well. Arayna had hoped to study her companion a little, she often found herself too embarrassed and worried about being rude to really study him, maybe some other time.

Arayna focused herself on finding his aura, it would be hard to follow him if she had no idea where he was. Humming she focused on where her companion had disappeared, only to find that he had moved. Was he trying to be sneaky and scare her; surely, he could not expect that to work as did not all fairies see auras? Maybe it was just a way to have fun, she had lost him for a moment, should she play along?

Arayna found herself too drawn to studying her companions’ magical tone to try to pretend she could not see him. The fairy keenly watched as her companion floated about, as he often did when they were idle, though maybe a little slower than normal for him. His magical signature seemed to very much belong in the environment they were in, ice and snow. There was likely more to his aura, but Arayna was not well trained in studying them; it was just something she could see by nature.

As Hed touched her shoulder it dispelled a small lingering concern that she was just somehow picking up the magic of the area and not Hed’s true signature. He felt cold, but not unpleasantly so like the chill around them. Realizing that this might just be an effect of the ice cloak being pushed down against her, Arayna reached out and captured his hand. He had guided her before in this manner, so could pull her through the crowd in the same fashion.
Yes, he was cold, but it was not in a way that made her want to draw away. It was a cold yet pleasant, almost tingling sensation, much like handling the silver coins that had long lingered on the floor in a darkened corner of the floor. Well, that seemed suitable to him as well. Arayna chuckled, was her companion just made of silver, it often seemed an apt thing to compare him to.

“Lead the way, let us go to be a surprise and have fun, Arayna said happily. It was exciting, this idea of just trying to have fun with a being of her own kind. Arayna was already just enjoying spending time with Hed.