It was hardly just another day at the Fae Tree.
Whenever there was a celebration of grandiose nature in a nymph village, it was often held at the Fae Tree. It was just one of their many traditions. The celebration of Euphenia Vallas's birthday was no exception.
Though there were few people invited to the event, the decorations and the feast sprawled across a table long enough to rival the length of one of the Fae Tree's sturdier limbs made it appear that legions of folk would be arriving that day.
Which of course was the doing of Phen's grandmother, Reah. She had arranged voluminous draperies in the branches of the trees ringing the Fae Tree, making a wide circle of soft lavender, blues, and greens. The colors repeated themselves in the tablecloth covering the impossibly long table supporting what could pass for a banquet, and flowers matching those hues had "magically" sprung up overnight near the Fae Tree itself. That last bit was Keyx's contribution, though Reah had supervised. They were still working on the little details while the birthday girl sat on a one of the flowered benches by the food, her hands on her lap as she waited for her guests to arrive.
It took effort for the woman approaching the Fae Tree's glen to make noise as she moved. The Way of Silence was her habit, and she wasn't the sort to welcome attention. Yet her usual ways often had to be cast aside when it came to her daughter. Her Untamed Sunshine lived up to her nickname in that in her presence, her mother's darkness had to hide in order to survive.
"They did it again," she thought as the majestic Fae Tree entered her field of vision. Secretly, it pleased Enyo that Keyx and Reah made such a fuss over Euphenia every year. It was a testament to how much they cared, and it made her Sunshine's short years seem sweeter to have a way to mark their passing. For it was a double edged sword, her Phen's birthday. Every one that passed brought challenges that she would not have had to deal with so soon were her anyeli blood dominant. Euphenia was the light of her life, and on occasions such as this, the reminder that her daughter's time was fleeting twisted a knife formed from dread in her gut.
The nymphs, they avoided her, all but for Phen's relatives. They knew the sight of a bringer of death when they saw one. They were polite, of course, though she was certain that was mostly for Phen's sake. Where she walked, she walked alone. Crowds cleared and let her pass, without really knowing why. Perhaps it was that tingle in the back of their minds that whispered, "A predator is coming. Let them through, and they will not take notice of you."
She kept walking, though she really wanted to fly. Keeping her black wings tucked behind her, Enyo strode forth in one of the many small ways she paid her respect for the people her daughter was half of. She would reach the party site soon, hopefully before any of the folk Phen had told her about would arrive. Enyo shook her head, her lips curved in a slight smile. Her little girl, using a COM. She'd half expected Phen to dismiss the ways of crystal technology altogether after moving in with the Matis household.