(I didn't realize it was my turn to post, oops, ^^')

The crowd seemed to know well enough to make way for the crimson-haired lady. Happy snowflakes fell around the two like confetti, which was Fenn’s fault; frankly, he was just glad that his touch wasn’t giving her frostbite. Just like the other dancers, her hands were warm and bright with the feel of magic. She twirled him and dipped him and swung him about. Her boundless enthusiasm more than made up for Fenn’s slightly-flagging energy. He admitted that he had far more skill than he did stamina. Yet still, he didn’t want to stop.

Fenn’s eyes rose to the skies as a chandelier of ice burst into existence, hovering, above the celebrations. Villagers cheered eagerly at the rainbow of colors that rained down on them. The very air was stained with vivid hues.

There was only one person here that should be able to do that, Fenn knew gleefully. He gleefully glanced about as he and the woman danced around. The ice master? But the boy couldn’t spot him. All this whirling had made him cross-eyed with dizziness, and it was a bit of an effort to stay on his feet at this point. All he could hear was the rhythm and the red lady’s deep laughter as he was swung around.

Until, suddenly, no-one was laughing anymore.

An explosion of magic cascaded throughout the crowd, cutting the music short and shattering the brilliant chandelier above, shards of ice hurtling into the crowd below. Screams ripped through the air. Village folk raced away, terrified and bloodied, from the center of the dance. The celebration of the dance troupe had been transformed from a scene of joy into into one of violence with one earth-shattering interruption. Fenn’s hands were ripped free from the grip of of the crimson lady in the calamity, and he found himself splayed out on the cobblestone, fighting against the lingering dizziness of his dancing. When he tried to get up, someone bowled him right over again in their haste to escape.

If only this was just another one of his dreams.

Was that blood on his cheek? One of those falling ice shards must have cut him. He clasped his hands to his twitchy ears to drown out the awful cacophony of screaming, fighting, and… animals?

Fenn rolled out of the way as a screeching dancer hurtled past him, the man's skin melting away into steel-grey feathers as he transformed into a sharp-clawed snow owl. The little Fae stared aghast as the other dancers that surrounded him morphed into animals and charged their mysterious assailants.

Skin melted into fur, faces contorted into snapping muzzles and beaks, entire bodies melting and folding inward to display their true selves. These were not Frost Fae, the boy noted woozily, green eyes flashing with fear.

Several times, Fenn was nearly trampled amid the chaos as he struggled back to his feet. The confusion that had broken out around him frightened the Fae. Licks of frost curled around the street stones under his feet and crept over his clothes, his breath quickening. A few stray hailstones plinked out of the air around him and crashed to the ground.

“Have no worries, lively one.” A growl of a voice caressed Fenn’s ear. He looked over his shoulder to see the redheaded woman standing over him with an uncharacteristic snarl on her face, placing a calming hand on his shoulder. “Myra will protect you.”

As she said this, her own appearance shimmered and melted into a new shape. Like the rest of her entourage, she was not as she seemed to be. A proud lioness replaced her, thick tusks jutting from her lip and russet fur gleaming in the sun. Feral gold eyes narrowed in on an older man in leather armor. His crossbow had caught the Saberlioness in his crosshairs, and in turn she had the man in hers as she sprang towards him.

It was rare for Fenn to fight instead of flee, but he wasn't sure if any direction in the chaos was safe. All he could manage was to summon two fist-sized hunks of ice in his hands and make to throw them at Myra’s readied assailant (and possible victim). His hands were pale, small, trembling.

That would have to do. Fenn didn't know who these people were, but he understood that they were dangerous. He had no damn plans to die today.