While Rhys was slightly cautious about travelling alone through another Court's territory with some random human he had met a mere 3 days ago, he also thought it may be a laugh. There wasn't a large amount of evidence saying he could trust her and yet here he was, standing in the doorway to her borrowed room.
He gave her an easy grin as he saw the many layers she had thrown on. Warm furs under a dark green cloak. Rhys had made a guess it was one of her favourite colours and given her the options of black, cerulean blue and dark green just to double check. Celaena had a satchel slung over her shoulder, and was just closing it as she glanced up to smirk at him.
"You may have all that pocket magic shenanigans, but I like to know where my property is."
The High Lord just raised an eyebrow at her as he stretched luxuriously and changed his own clothes to more suitable travelling clothes, with a large black cloak over everything to make him look more dreary. Rhys smirked again as she just rolled her eyes and straightened, stepping around the bed towards him. "Let's go partner."
-----
After travelling out of the wards, he winnowed them just outside the last town the Fae male had been spotted in within the Winter Court. Celaena shook her head and cringed, "I don't think I could ever get used to that."
Rhys couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face, "Just don't throw up on me."
The woman took a step ahead of him towards the small town, before throwing a wink over her shoulder. "No promises."
A low chuckle escaped his throat and he started after her in the direction of the town. There were brilliant cottages which fitted perfectly into the winter scene, with streets cleared of snow and the rooftops laden with it.
Celaena entered the main street through the town while giggling wildly and twirling around, her hood fell back and gazed up at the clear and bright afternoon sky. Rhys noticed she had purposefully put on a light grey, knitted headband which covered her ears. He also reflected that when he had collected her from her room there had been a strong scent of perfume, and his face broke into another smile. She had used every trick in the book and there was no way, without getting close enough to rip off her headband, to tell she wasn't Fae.
As she spun he grasped her wrist and spun her into him, pressing her back against him and whispering into her covered ear, "You're an inconceivably sly woman Celaena."
While he had not been holding her properly, Rhys was still surprised with the strength and ease as of which she broke free from him with a near inaudible purr of, "Is that so?"
He wandered along the road behind her, smiling politely at a few females and nodding at the males who bothered to send a look his way. Rhys couldn't help but notice, as Celaena dashed around the street, looking at all the shops, that many males and females also looked her way. They seemed intrigued, and she really didn't look human among all the High Fae and others, infact her beauty equalled them even as a human.
Rhys mused over how to find information, without revealing who he was or drawing attention to them. They really didn't want anyone to hear the Night Court was aiding the Winter Court, but even his complexion would give it away, regardless of his recognisable face as a High Lord.
The pair travelled far enough through the town to get to the main crossroads, where 4 roads converged on the main square with many stalls in the inner square with indoor shops on the outside. The entire crossroads was under a blanket of heating magic, in order to allow outdoor shopping.
He stepped in close behind her and dipped his head to murmur, "We should ask around and see if anyone's bumped into him or even seen him. It'll be tricky though."
Celaena twisted round and gave him a sly smile, "What part of it is tricky? What do you think I've been doing since we got here?"
The woman muttered a curse under her breath which sounded to be aimed at his incompetence, then turned to him and held out her hand. "I'm gonna need some cash for this next part."
He was slightly hesitant, but she rolled her eyes at him and to avoid her scorn later on he dropped some coins into her palm. With a nod of acknowledgement she shot off into the growing crowd, leaving him alone. Rhys stretched once before dropping back into a slump to disguise himself, ruffling his hair down to half hide his eyes before making his own way to try his own hand at learning information.
The High Lord liked to think he had always been pretty good at getting people to talk, apart from Mor he was probably the best courtier in his Inner Circle, although Feyre might come into her own in a few years time. Yet Celaena seemed in her element, smiling widely at people, handing over her coins eagerly and chatting away to everyone around her. The Fae in the street grinned merrily at Celaena and seemed quite happy to stop and talk to her.
Of course to the Fae they likely just saw a near child in their terms, out by herself and travelling through this town for the first time. So they trusted her, thought her a keen youngster and told her everything she needed to know. Turning his attention back to his own actions, Rhys smiled at the male behind the stand of fabrics. He did his best to maintain a steady chatter with those around him, but more often than not, they just gave him nods, short answers and moved on their way.
Murmurs of 'I dunno' and 'worrying times' were about the most he got, other than a couple of middle-aged females who stopped for a chat, smiling cheekily at him and giving him appreciative looks up and down. But they didn't seem to know anything about a rogue Fae warrior, and seemed more interested in if he was married and if he had any plans that evening.
Celaena caught his eye, hopping from foot to foot in the cold a fair way down the road turning north-west towards some rising hills in the middle belt of the western Winter Court. Rhys knew there were some deep snowy valleys and pine forests after the initial hills which the road cut through. He felt out gently with his magic and sensed the road ahead, picking up signs of a reasonably sized village a few hours walk down the road. He politely excused himselves from the two eager females and made his way over to her, pulling his cloak closer around him as he left the heated crossroads.
"People say they went this way," she jerked her head towards the direction of the road.
"Let's try it then," Rhys held out his arm but Celaena just pursed her lips and turned down the road herself.
"No way to pick up someone's tracks if you're jumping ahead of them."
"You're right, I also didn't think. Practically nobody in the Winter Court Countryside is powerful enough to winnow, we won't be able to do it anywhere people pass by."
Rhys couldn't help the sigh which escaped him but he followed her along the road relatively obediently, having resigned himself to walking. Partly because he wanted to hear what she had learned, and as she kept the walls of fire firmly enclosed around her mind, it meant she would need time to explain it all. A long walk was a perfect opportunity for that.
They spent about 20 minutes in relative silence, before Celaena deemed them far enough from others and began to talk.
"Not many people in town saw them, it's more rumours they've heard from other travellers or traders."
Before the assassin got into the swing of things Rhys curiously asked, "You always say they, wouldn't it just be 'him'?"
Celaena looked confused for a moment then gave a surprised laugh, "I suppose I do say they, but that's because I'm including the wolf. So it's two travellers we're hunting, not just a male." At his doubtful look she further explained.
"I underestimated my prey once before, thought their pet was just a pet, it nearly killed me when I caught up to them."
"I see, you're full of cheery tales aren't you?" She shot him a grin and made her way over a slightly tricky bit of terrain.
"I've done a lot in my time, all just to keep alive."
Rhys gave a hum of agreement and then pressed, "Anything else?"
"Apparently his ice magic is something else and he gives off a very strong aura of power," Celaena glanced back over her shoulder to give him a cat's smile, "It just keeps sounding more and more like a good time doesn't it?"
"You really do have a death wish don't you." Rhys shook his head and gave a slight laugh, "I'm sure we'll be alright, I've found my magic has always worked rather well against ice."
A figure appeared ahead on the road, from the other side of a small wood, carrying large bags, likely a merchant travelling between towns. They quietened, just talking about the landscape and other touristy things as the male came into earshot. Rhys decided to keep quiet and watch Celaena work her magic. She grinned broadly at the male, who was looking a bit exhausted.
"You look like you need a break pal!"
He looked up from the ground and smiled back at her, "Nah I'm alright love, have to make it to the town for the afternoon shoppers you know!"
Celaena stood in just the right place that he had to stop at least for a moment to talk, to avoid appearing rude to the two strangers.
"You heard about that rogue male running round here?"
He scoffed, "Nasty business all this fuss about him, I believe he'll leave us alone, Wild Fae aren't horrible creatures, he's probably just moving between their tribes!"
Celaena opened her mouth to say more but he glanced at the watch on his wrist and muttered a curse under his breath, "Sorry love, got to go!" Then the male took off at a very brisk walk.
The human woman beside him snorted and rolled her eyes, "Bloody useless. What exactly is a Wild Fae anyway?"
The High Lord of Night gave a low whistle, "Haven't heard of those in ages, suppose it's fitting people mention them when someone like this appears."
"And they are?"
"Well they say they're an ancestor of High Fae, that's what Feyre, her sisters and Mor all are, as well as Amren." Celaena nodded as she continued down the road. "Then Cassian and Azriel are pure Illyrians and I'm half and half."
He noticed Celaena's gaze flicking back to him at the end of his statement, and could have sworn it was a look of kinship.
"Then there's all kinds of, what High Fae call Lesser Fae."
"And the Wild Fae?" The woman pushed impatiently
"Well you see, the Wild Fae are a kind of Fae which have long disappeared from the world, though there are some people, like that merchant, who seem to believe they just live in tribes hidden away somewhere. All bollocks of course, it would be impossible for them not to notice what's been going on, or for them to hide from us."
Celaena gave a hum of agreement at that but he continued, "I wouldn't be surprised however, if there were still some Wild Fae, wandering Prythian or the continent, probably alone. As their name suggests they tend to prefer natural dwellings."
"I would never have guessed," his companion drawled sarcastically. "When you say disappeared what do you mean?"
"Well it seems when nature started to vanish more from the world, and things got more civilised with the growth of High Fae, their numbers just depleted. Though some say they left the world through portals to find somewhere else they could live in peace."
"They sound more like beasts than people. How do they look compared to you lot anyway?"
Rhys gave a rather over-emphasised sigh and tried to recall, "Well we still don't understand the language they spoke, but they had ears like High Fae, and one of their defining features was they had elongated canines, if I remember rightly."
Celaena seemed to be focussing on where she was walking a lot more than she had been a moment before. "They could also use magic like High Fae, only they weren't restricted to just one Court's magic, they might have ice and water, for example."
"What about that... teleporting thing? What's it called? Winnowing?"
Rhys considered for a moment, a frown crossing his face. "I think it was quite rare and less developed than High Fae's winnowing, like they could just hop short distances. It sort of, evolved to be more long-distance to suit the growing world when High Fae devloped it."
The human quirked an eyebrow rather disbelievingly at him but he protested her doubt with, "This is just what I remember from a book, and the texts and stories around them are very vague. Even for Fae their existence vanished from the world a long, long time ago."
"Is that all there is about them?" She sounded strangely curious, but then Rhys supposed she always seemed interested in their world, so it wasn't out of character.
"Well at one point, this ancient guy insisted they could shapeshift, that they were so close with nature that they all had, something like a second form which would be an animal, and that they shifted into to be closer to nature or whatever."
"Did people believe him?"
Rhys snorted, "He was later disproven by a dozen others who gave evidence to show that it that in fact each Wild Fae just had a bond made with an animal, who travelled with them through their life and perhaps shared a part of their consciousness."
"What do you believe?" Celaena asked him, her tone holding a strange quality.
"I think the guy was nuts, he had a reputation for spouting nonsense, and apparently the last seen Wild Fae had an owl companion often spotted around where she was."
"So this white wolf could be this Fae's, familiar of sorts?"
Rhys considered it for a moment before agreeing, "According to reports he does seem out of touch with the world, which would back him up to be a Wild Fae. They're legends in our world though, nobody alive has ever managed to converse with one, if he truly is a Wild Fae, I would love to speak to him."
Celaeana laughed at that, "Well we'll see him up nice and close, that's for sure." She gave him a cheeky grin, "After all, you don't exactly seem like the type to turn home, and neither am I."
AN: Hey hey hey, there will possibly be two chapters today as I'm ahead on my writing. Hope you all enjoy! :) Apologies for Errors