October 31st, the start of Samhain. A time where the lines between realms stretch so thin, that any being may travel from one world to the other with ease. Be it spirit, mortal, god, or fae, it is a time often celebrated and loved by many…
On this particular night, a bubbly little Aerial Faerie named Annie was flying above the clouds of the Earth realm, taking in the beauty of the forest below. She let herself soar higher this time around, relying only on the cold breeze of the night to be her guide as she twisted and twirled in the air with a turn of her wings.
A single thought in her mind made her smile, right as she made her way out of her home and breathed in the sweet smell of mildew from mother earth. This year was going to be different, this year…she was going far deeper inside the city of man.
She was no stranger to the land of Iron and smoke, but she never dared to set foot down on the concrete streets and roads. Fear of dying had made her anxious…yet now, the fear of dying without ever knowing what it's like inside had made her think differently.
Soon enough, she could see the tall towers up ahead. Here, she heard the voices of both people and the machines they have invented over the years. She was far enough above the sky to be affected by any of the iron they had, and she knew that there were still a number of places that were made of brick, stone and wood. Even if she did have to face iron, she could still make her escape without using magic.
"A little danger wouldn't hurt…" she told herself.
She first flew by a cluster of houses. Immediately the smell of pumpkins filled her nostrils, and she was thrilled to see the many macabre and grotesque decorations these people had put up. They certainly were creative in making the fake things look real…
The suburb was filled with folks walking and talking about, dressed up as vampyres, lycans, ghouls, witches, and other creatures she could not name. There was even one that made her smile grow wider, a little girl dressed up as a pink fairy. She could only guess the child wanted to be a pixie with the translucent wings on her back. She giggled to herself, finding the children and adults in costumes silly yet adorable. Often hearing stories from other Fae that humans like to do these things at the 31st, she often wondered how their celebration of Samhain came to be disguising themselves and causing fear and mischief to one another…and often she had asked, would she care to join in on the fun?
She was tempted to do so, but thought better of it. No, she wanted to spend this year's Samhain somewhere no one from her realm had ever experienced…
The busy highways made all sorts of BEEPS and BOOMS! Gargantuan vehicles zipped and zapped all over the place, their orange, yellow, red, and green lights creating one huge beacon of urban life. The smell of iron was a lot stronger around these parts, forcing Annie to fly higher or move out farther to the outskirts of town. She was close to the sea by then, annoyed by her own weaknesses.
Still…she enjoyed looking at the city. Though it was a far cry from her own realm, and she knew how poisonous everything could be--both to her, and to everyone else--there was still a considerable sense of beauty to it. One that Annie, feeling a little shocked to say it for herself, wished to see more of…
Suddenly!
A strong gust of wind had blown by!
Leaving Annie flying off-course!
"D'arvit!!" she cursed repeatedly, stumbling in the air and trying to regain control with her wings. The wind still picked up, throwing Annie all over the place. She started to panic, unaware of how long she had before reaching the ground.
Her wings started to hurt, but she forced to maintain them in a steady stance to at least break her fall. Try as she might, she was still falling, falling…
Until finally, she landed on something a lot softer than she expected. She could only keep her eyes open for so long, before everything went black.
She awoke to the sound of something screeching in the distance. Something mechanical and amplified, hurting her ears as it went on for half a minute.
"Ugh…great gardener, what is that noise?" she sat upright, wondering how long she was out. The sky was still dark at least, and the moon shined overhead. The smell of both iron and salt water stung her nose, but not enough to leave her weak forever. She was on the back of a green vehicle it would seem, right on top of a box filled with different colored fabrics.
Once the sound stopped, a male voice began to apologize in its place. Annie still felt a little groggy from her landing, but the words that stood out the most, were "Halloween" and "Party". If it hadn't been for her throbbing head, she would have been flying at every corner, trying to see what was going on. But as of now, she could only look ahead, seeing what looked like an open courtyard beside a large mansion-like structure, filled with different guests sitting on tables.
"Oh, a formal event?" she asked, these people weren't wearing any costumes. Instead, they wore elegant looking gowns, suits, dresses and tuxedos. And with every person accompanying their wardrobe, each had their own unique and beautiful looking mask covering their faces!
"No…a Masquerade?!" she asked enthusiastically. Suddenly, the throbbing in her head was replaced with joy and excitement. She stood up, steadied herself, then took off once more into the air. Her wings still ached, but her mind was too occupied in finding out what these people were doing.
The man had just finished his speech when Annie sat down on a far ledge opposite the stage he was standing on. He too wore a mask; designed to look like a cat, covering the entirety of his face. Annie's delight only grew and grew, seeing all the masks these people wore. Much like the Halloween costumes, they were really creative and wonderful to look at! One even had a full mask that looked like an owl!
Annie found herself smiling and smiling, moving back and forth to get better looks at those masks. She knew that this was it, this was what she wanted to see for this year's Samhain.
Before she could fly off to another vantage point however, she saw the seven different members of what looked to be a band coming up on stage, all wearing identical masks and crimson-colored attires. And soon enough…they started to play their instruments.
Annie was stuck in place, entranced by what she was hearing. A song that started off with a good and fast beat of the drums, mixed with the active notes of the keyboard and twin-trumpets, a saxophone conducting amazing impromptu solos and melodies, all mixed together with the enchanting vocals of a female singer.
It didn't take long before she started to tap her feet and snapped her fingers to the music. Down below, the same had been happening, only there were already people getting up and dancing! And moments later, Annie was doing the same!
The Aerial was smiling, she didn't like to admit it, but she was jealous for not being able to join the masquerade party itself…or could she?
"Oh, puck my luck, what's the harm?" she said out loud, flying down to a quiet corner of the building. With a flick of her wrist, and a snap of a finger, she casted a glamour spell on herself, making her grow and look the same as the people she was spying on. She now wore a gown bearing the color of emerald, patterns similar to the twirls and spirals of vines and branches all over. Accompanied with a mask that had a long beak of a bird, bearing three gold and green patterned feathers at the left side. She now looked human, and a dashing one at that!
As she walked towards the middle of the scene…she couldn't help but notice the lone adolescent boy, sitting in this one corner. He looked glum, even with the mask on she could see it.
The Aerial giggled to herself, walking towards him. "Care to dance with me?" she blurted out, still can't believe what she had in mind. The boy looked up, his mask of plain gold lined with silver swirls almost falling as his jaw dropped at the sight of the girl that had asked him.
Her eyes…her eyes were like the stars up above, shining and glimmering in the sky. The way she had made direct eye-contact told him that she really was serious.
"I-I uh…I don't really know how to…you know, dance…" he said, looking away, flustered.
Annie tilted her head to one side, putting her hand on her hip and scratching her head with the other. "Why are mud people so unsure of themselves?" she thought to herself. And without any warning, she took the boy's hand and ran off with him.
"H-hey! I told you I can't-" she stopped, looking at him in the eye again.
She placed a finger to her lips, shushing him. After that, she began to step and twirl to the beat of the music. Despite the large gown she wore, she was somehow able to move freely and energetically.
The young man saw this and was impressed. He found himself smiling…and suddenly, he tried to mimic all her moves. At least enough to move along her swing and step.
Soon enough, both of them had their shoes clicking on the dance floor, moving slowly towards the middle with each step. The others began to notice this as well, at first they were silent, but soon cheered them on. Others even moved to their leads.
The music went on and on, and they were all still dancing. The young man and Fae were synchronizing their steps a lot more smoothly now, almost like he was magically learning these moves as he saw his partner do them.
The beat began to rise up! Then finally! The climax of the song arrived! Ending with one big twirl from the Faerie, and her falling in the arms of the boy, he even caught her right at the very last note! Everyone started to applaud and cheer for the wonderful and spectacular performance the both of them had done.
"Thank you…" the Faerie whispered to the boy's ear, as they both stood up… Suddenly, she leaned in close and gave him a kiss on the cheek. The boy felt his face grow hot, the audience before them cheering on yet again…
Without another word, the boy's partner started to run, giving him one last look and a wink before making a dash out of the scene.
"H-hey! Wait up!" the young man shouted. He pushed his way through the crowd and tried to follow her. He soon reached the bar, where this mystery guest had went, yet he did not find her. She was not here, not anywhere. The boy put his hand on his cheek. He still felt the short but sweet kiss of the girl, a memory that he shall cherish throughout every Samhain Party that came after that one…
Annie was back at the top of the ledge, seeing the adolescent dazed and still curious made her laugh. Her wings still hurt a little…but after dancing along with her delightful new partner, she didn't feel anything else other than pure and utter joy.
"Thank you" she said again, looking at the boy.
She stretched her wings wide, giving them a few test flaps before finally heading off back to the air. Samhain wasn't even over yet, and already Annie was satisfied. She could only wonder now…would she care to look for this boy again?
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