Autumn knocked gently on the window, the knocking fist curled tightly. Her hands were not as small or soft as that of her best friend's, because frankly, the work Autumn did was not very dainty, but they were more often used for brashness and unaccustomed to the delicate task of tapping the glass before them.
When the glass panel cracked slightly, Autumn pulled her hand back and settled to come in through another, significantly more open window. Her best friend had apparently forgotten to shut it, and some small pixies hung around, looking about them with eager expressions for something unseen. Autumn shooed them back inside, shivering in the air, which had become colder than usual.
Isn't it supposed to be summer?
Autumn saw the familiar tealish-greeny-yellow form flittering across the room, not only busy decorating, but giving orders to the smaller fairies at the same time. Autumn grinned- that was her best friend, always busy, never resting. Sometimes, on rare occasions, she would calm down, and her unhappiness would show itself- Autumn could see the faintest glimmers of it- but she hid it very well.
At least tonight might give the fairy some well-deserved relaxation.
"Hey!"
The fairy turned to see Autumn leaning against the archway, monarch-butterfly wings spread wide, light flickering across the floor in an array of orange and white.
"Autumn!"
Toothiana flew over excitedly, giggling and grasping her best friend in a tight hug.
"Yea, it's been a long time- but, you know, I still need my organs, Tooth..." Autumn groaned mockingly, pretending to be crushed in her best friend's arms.
"Ha, ha, Autumn, very funny!" Toothiana laughed, turning back around, "I have some work to do before-"
The room was suddenly completely decorated, streamers and speakers and all. Tooth looked questioningly at the fall Sidhe beside her, who only gave a knowing smile and a nod of acknowledgement.
"Autumn, I told you not to."
"Come on, you're waaaay overworked. Besides, I haven't been able to use my powers on anything in a while, and you're done working for now, aren't you?"
"Well...alright," Tooth gave in, "but just this once, I'll let you help."
"And no teeth tonight, okay?"
"Absolutely, Autumn, I vowed. I never break my promises, you know that," she said, locking arms with the slightly taller but less energetic faerie.
Autumn nodded and looked about the room, evidently pleased with the work that had been completed. It was satisfactory for the fairy ball that would ensue- all girls, of course, since adding a boy to the mix would only result in endless bickering.
"So, did you invite Dana?"
"Yes, Autumn, I invited Dana-"
"I cannot believe you," Autumn sighed, releasing Tooth and holding her by the shoulders.
"Well, you should," Tooth scolded, crossing her arms, "Dana's a fairy, too, whether you like it or not."
"But she's terrible to you. I'm not going to stand for it."
"She's terrible to everyone."
"She's worse to you for different reasons."
"I could say the same thing," Tooth scoffed. Autumn quirked an eyebrow.
"No, you couldn't. Dana's mean to me because I'm too quick to reply to her. She doesn't like a challenge. But she hates you, Tooth, and it's because of the attention you get."
"She can't be jealous because I'm a Guardian," Tooth replied, shaking herself free from Autumn and rubbing her arms, "and you need to loosen up. I think I've got bruises underneath these feathers."
"No she's not. She's jealous because you can't seem to keep Jack Frost away from you, and she can't get him to come within a twenty-foot radius of her."
"That's not true. He's barely ever around, anyway."
Autumn snorted a little and her wings lifted off the ground, stirring up a small wind current. She adjusted one of the ribbons on the wall. "Did you get a band?"
"No. I've finally just settled on electronics. Humans are useful for a few things."
"Yeah, no kidding. That's how I discovered Pride and Prejudice. Who knew?"
"What?"
"Nothing. Now, aren't you the hostess? What if someone else comes early? Who'll be there to greet them?"
"Alright, alright," Toothiana giggled, shoving Autumn half-heartedly, even though the faerie didn't budge an inch. Her translucent wings whirred as she shot across the room, opening the large windows with ease and expertise. Autumn gawked, wishing her fingers were as nimble and gentle. She supposed it came from handling little crumbly things all day.
"I'm surprised. Finished early, hmm?"
A sharp feminine voice cut through the air like a knife. Autumn growled and Tooth brought her limbs closer to her flitting body.
"You're early," grumbled Autumn, glancing about for a glimpse of the creature belonging to the voice. It didn't show itself until materializing behind her back.
"You don't say," it remarked dryly, and Autumn scoffed, coming face-to-face with the girl.
"Eris," she acknowledged, but turned away just as quickly. Tooth didn't move her eyes for a second, keeping her gaze locked on the girl lest she try anything.
"Did you honestly suspect anyone else?" Eris examined the banquet table nonchalantly with one swipe of a finger, lip curling in distaste and her finger wiping whatever had been found-most likely nothing-on the tablecloth's edge.
"Not really. What are you doing here?" Toothiana asked, wanting to retrieve the question the second it escaped her mouth.
Eris smirked, not unlike herself, and both eyes-one light blue, the other vibrant green-locked on Tooth with a viper's gaze. "I'm as much a faerie as either of you-well, a fae, more precisely. Tomato, tomahto," she piped, melting into the floor, into darkness, into a shadow, and reappearing in a misty sort of smoke behind Tooth. Not the sort of clean phasing that was characteristic to Pitch. Tooth whipped around and stared, her stance defensive. Everyone knew what Eris was capable of, and no one knew when she'd decide she'd had enough of being complacent.
"Well, I'd best find Melanctha. Knowing your company, she'll be the only Iife of the party around here," Eris yawned, flipping her pin-straight black hair back over her blue eye and pale skin.
"Unless Quinlan shows up," Autumn snickered, covering her mouth. Eris paused mid-strut and her face was seen in profile from over her shoulder. Quinlan Perth, more commonly known as Cupid, had been head-over-heels in love with the destructive female since who-knows-when, and she showed no signs of returning the feelings. Once, even going so far as to dislocate his shoulder, and another breaking his wrist.
"Exclusively girls. I could rule that out, Autumn, but you best watch for your little emotional pillow. He might show up unexpectedly...I wouldn't know."
Eris stormed out, feeling triumphant with herself, while Autumn's temper brewed and Tooth attempted to calm her.
"If she wasn't ultimately destruction and discord, I'd pummel her to a pulp," Autumn hissed.
"What was she even talking about?"
"Nothing, nothing," Autumn reassured Tooth, before winking. "But maybe her warnings have some resonance. Jack might come here out of the blue."
"Yeah, right," Toothiana laughed, before the first crowd of faeries entered. "Hi! Enjoy yourselves for a while-the music will start when there's more people."
From then on, the stream coming through the doors was constant. Tooth nearly wore herself out with exuberant waving and enthusiastic calls to the faeries she was more friendly with. Autumn eventually had to pull her away from the enormous window, encouraging her to have fun herself. Others flew up to greet them, particularly Rosemary, the spring sprite and fellow Sidhe of Autumn's, and Dryada, a forest dryad whose parents weren't exactly creative in naming her.
"Rosie!" Tooth exclaimed, pulling the blonde into a tight hug. Rosemary smiled timidly and shielded herself from Autumn by moving behind Dryada - goodness knows how many times they'd played terrible games of Truth or Dare and Pansy. (Pansy was her least favorite game. Of all time.)
"Hi, Tooth. How are you?"
"I'm fine, at least now."
"Come on, I have to show you this gorgeous little flower I noticed outside on the way in," Rosemary squealed, taking Tooth gently by the hand and crossing the airspace of the ballroom. Tooth smiled and followed, with Autumn and Dryada at their sides, until one of Tooth's many wings accidentally whipped against the back of a very pretty, very pink fairy.
"Watch it, tumbleweeds," the fairy's voice snapped angrily. A chorus of nods and muttered agreements followed her.
"Dana," Autumn said, narrowing her eyes. Tooth merely nodded in recognition, trying to get her best friend out of the situation. Autumn was known for her temper- which was the exact same thing that brought horrible October winds and, frankly, most of hurricane season. Well, that, and her mischievous nature.
"Come on, Autumn, we're not going to hold little differences against each other. I don't think any less of you for being as pointy as an elf," Dana spat snarkily, her chin held high. Tooth could only imagine that Autumn was thinking Let's punch that pretty face so far up it won't be able to come down when she advanced on Dana.
"Autumn," Tooth said, taking the fall Sidhe by the arm gently, "let's go."
"Yea," Autumn spat in Dana's direction, "too bad nobody's told her there's no such thing as ugly-pretty."
It was enough to satisfy the anger in the girl to see Dana's outraged and shocked expression afterwards that she didn't protest to Tooth's leading her away. They had so much to catch up on in so little time, that she couldn't sacrifice any more of it to Dana.
Tooth cringed, for a reason unknown to Autumn. She'd been the only one to hear what had come after Dana's gasp of disbelief.
"At least real fairies are my friends. Autumn's only friend is just an ugly little bird."
Secretly, Tooth hoped no one else thought of her as ugly, or as a little bird. She wouldn't mind so much if it were simply the bird aspect of things, but it made her a little self-concious. And although she'd never admit it, she desperately wished that Jack thought much, much more of her. Rosemary smiled and settled into one of Tooth's favorite nooks, with a vast array of fringed and colorful pillows.
"Have some respect," sneered Eris, who had apparently been lounging in an area that Tooth had specifically designated for her private space only. Melanctha, at her side, half-smiled in apology and blinked two soft, silvery-grey eyes. Her black hair fell in waves from the high-rising ponytail, and for a few stray moments, Toothiana really did wish she could speak. It seemed that the fae of silence had so much to say, that she could only say with her hands. Sometimes anger spawned in her at Eris, who'd hold the hands of her supposed best friend to keep her from moving them, from communicating, when she felt her own ideas were more important.
"Why don't you?" Autumn screeched back, placing a very disagreeable frown on Eris' face and, surprisingly, affecting her enough that she moved elsewhere. Melanctha followed, if for the sole purpose of keeping an eye on her.
"Don't you mind anything that Dana says," whispered Autumn.
"You heard her?"
"Of course I did, I'm always aware of my surroundings. Are you going to have a good time, now, or what?"
"Yes," Tooth replied, laughing, locking arms with her friend and falling back onto the cushions without another thought about flying, "I am."
