Chapter One

It was the rain that woke her.

She came to lying on moist wood, the sounds of the ocean drifting into her consciousness first. Slowly, as she adjusted to the individual feeling of her limbs, she sat up. She had been laying face down on what looked like a pier, crammed haphazardly between two buildings. Glancing around, she realized something terrifying. She was alone.

The knock at the door woke her with a start, and Elona sat up, shaking her head. The memories always seemed to seep in when she slept. Pushing to her feet with a sigh, Elona walked across the less than clean wooden floor of her inn room. Unlocking it, she opened the door to see the inn maid beaming up at her with a jug of water. Inviting steam curled up from it’s surface, and Elona stepped aside. She watched as the woman, still young enough to be fresh faced despite her rough job, pushed aside the aged folding screen that blocked the equally worn copper tub and poured the jug water carefully into it. Another inn worker, this one a man strong enough to carry two more pitchers, followed her in, poured the rest in, before leaving and returning with a final decanter of heated water. The inn maid took it, and with a plainly practiced smile, shifted her bland gaze to Elona.

“Well, miss, I’m just going to leave this here to keep warm til you rinse.”

Setting the last of the hot water next to the small stove used to heat the room she had rented, the inn maid led the worker out, and Elona shut the door behind them, locking it firmly. She had indulged and spent some of her very rare coin to purchase a bath, but when she’d arrived in her room she’d been too tired to wait up for it. Staring blankly into the water, Elona reached out and softly trailed her fingertips over the surface. A familiar tingling spread from the places where the water made contact with her skin, and Elona heaved a sigh.

“I don’t know why I ever expect anything else.” She murmured to herself, beginning to undress.

She placed the cloak, a deep green to blend into the forest that was her domain, within reach of the tub, before removing her outer tunic. Following it was her outer corset, and then the long sleeved shift she wore. Resting all of them on the bed next to her discarded weapons, she sat down to tug off her knee high boots. Elona took a moment to glance around, listening for anyone who might be heading towards her room, before reaching out and shifting the screen back to shield her from the door and window once she was seated. Satisfied that she was safe, Elona removed her breeches and underthings, before slowly sliding into the water. .

With every soft wave of the water crawling over her skin, it began to change. The supple, white flesh began to morph, and Elona watched, unable to take her eyes away no matter how many times she had seen it happen, as scales began to grow along her legs up to her waist. They were vivid in color, a deep blue green reminiscent of the sea swimming with algae, with an iridescent green sheen. Elona’s heart ached as she stared at them, reminded with every movement of the water that she was not, nor would she ever be, accepted amongst the humans. Not if they ever saw her this way, coated in scales like some sort of monster. For all she knew, that may very well be what she was.

Sighing and pushing those thoughts from her mind, Elona picked up the cloth provided, and began to carefully wash the grime of the forest off of herself. With each swipe of the wet cloth, more scales appeared. It took great concentration not to shred it, while they weren’t sharp, their shape did lead into a rounded point that could easily destroy the weak, well-used cloth of the inn. Despite the wariness of the dangers if she got caught, Elona relaxed into the warm water. She stretched out as much as the small tub allowed, delighting in the feeling. Even though she knew she should continue on to washing her hair, Elona found herself closing her eyes. Just a moment, just a moment to relax and just be. Just one moment.

The softest of footsteps alerted her to the presence of another. Her eyes snapped open, but the room was dark. Realizing the lantern must have burned down, Elona shifted a leg silently in the water, checking its temperature. Warm. No, the lantern had been unlit. All alarms ringing in her head now, Elona listened. Was there going to be another footstep? Had there even been a footstep, or was she imagining- no, no that was definitely the quiet hush of someone stepping softly. Shifting as slowly as she could so as not to make a noise, Elona struggled to listen for something else.

Rather than the soft footsteps she was expecting, she heard loud, thumping footsteps out in the hall. There was a chorus of outraged voices, and for a moment, Elona thought they had figured her out. The window had been firmly covered, she’d never unlocked it or opened the curtains, so how had they found her out? As she heard the scuffle of someone darting away from the door, Elona realized that whoever they were looking for was hiding in her room. Worse yet, without the light, she couldn’t remember where she had put her cloak.

She was stuck, half submerged in water, half scaled over, and completely naked, and there was some sort of runaway vagabond hiding in her room, putting both of them in danger. Lovely. Running her hands through her hair as silently as she could manage, Elona frantically fought for clear thought. What was she supposed to do? Who was even in her room with her?





So, not the longest chapter to start with, but I promise they'll get longer. The DP should be fairly obvious: What does Elona do?

Last edited by Novelest_Ninjagirl on Tue Aug 20, 2019 2:51 pm; edited 42 times in total

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If anyone had asked her why she didn’t send Sionn on his way, Elona would be hard pressed to find any one answer. Maybe it was the way he eagerly followed her, mimicking her steps nearly identically without even appearing to notice. It’s possible it was simply the way his eyes followed her without judgement or suspicion. Perhaps it was because he seemed out of sorts both in town and in the forest, and she knew what it felt like to not belong. No matter what it was that motivated her to act so far out of character, Elona found herself adjusting Sionn’s laces.

Her fingers were quivering, and Elona wondered if Sionn could tell she’d never been this close to another person. It hadn’t seemed like a difficult plan- adjust Sionn’s clothes, find a way to hide his brilliantly red hair, resume the hunt. Yet, as she found herself staring determinedly at the white of the shirt she was attempting to hide, Elona found herself taking note of the warmth of his chest. Her fingers couldn’t help but brush against it, and his body heat seemed to emanate through the leather. She’d had no idea others were so… warm. For a brief moment, Elona closed her eyes, picturing herself leaning forward and-

“You seem really good with human clothes.”

His voice was hushed, barely a whisper, but Elona’s eyes opened in shock. She could only be grateful that his gaze was riveting down on where her hands were, rather than slightly up at her face.

“Human clothes?” Her voice was collected, not a ripple in the tone to belie the rush of unease that flowed through her.

“Well, yeah. You sure seem to have adapted. Maybe you could give me some tips?”

Disappointment tasted bitter, Elona realized as the familiar flavor seeped into her mouth. His comments were innocent enough, but Elona hadn’t been on her own so long that she couldn’t recognize when someone was digging for information. It wasn’t fair of her to be discouraged, she had, at least in some part, taken him along because she saw a little of her lost self in his overeager eyes, hadn’t she?

“E-Elona?”

Becoming aware that she had stopped moving, her hands still holding onto the laces and hovering in front of Sionn, Elona raised her gaze to his eyes, not surprised to find him already looking up at her. His expression took her by surprise. He looked guilty, like he barely wanted to meet her gaze, but more than that, he seemed apologetic. Abruptly, for practically no reason at all, Elona felt appeased. Of course he’d assume she wasn’t human, how many humans had given him the time of day before?

“What makes you think I’m not human, Sionn?”

Her tone was kind, yet Elona had hesitated ever so slightly before she said his name, unsure if she should. Everything in her being urged against it. There was something to be said for avoiding emotional attachments, and names held a special kind of power. Still, the little smile that colored his expression when she did somehow quieted the worries. This time, she’d worry about the emotional attachment later.

“You don’t smell like one.”

“Excuse me?”

“Like a human. They’re all just a little bit musty smelling, even under their individual scents. But you don’t have that mustiness. I can’t figure out yet what you smell like, but it’s… fresh.” Elona was silent as Sionn screwed his face up into a thoughtful expression and leaned a little bit closer to her, angling his nose towards her neck. “And… Almost a little sweet?”

Staring blankly back at Sionn as he pulled away and smiled earnestly up at her, Elona scrambled to try and find a defense. The lie that so easily tripped of her tongue, ‘I’m human’, was stumbling in her throat, and nothing else could get past. Shifting her eyes around, seeking a distraction, Elona found none. Biting down on the inside of her cheek, Elona merely focused on tying off the laces still- still!- in her grasp.

“Your hair, it needs to be covered.” Alarmed that her voice wasn’t as steady as she’d always maintained, Elona took a half step backwards to reach into her bag.

The neatly organized pack rested on her hip, the worn leather soft to the touch but still sturdy. Tucked into one of the inner pockets was a scarf she’d used in the previous winter. The air was beginning to cool, but as summer was only starting to end, the leaves had yet to turn, and the wind lacked the bite that she’d need protection against. Holding the green scarf in her hands, Elona turned towards Sionn and looped it over the top of his head. She had thought the scarf would make him appear like a granny, like it did during the times she’d had to use it to hide her hair, but instead it seemed to oddly suit him.

“Speaking of hair, yours seems… different.”

Sionn tilted his head, pursing his lips in thought as he stared up at it. Elona flinched, and reached up to grab the nondescript brown strands. How could he tell? Surely he hadn’t been able to see it last night? How good was his night vision? Dread balled up in the pit of her stomach at the thought of him having seen her scales, and yet, she found a blush spreading faintly over her cheeks as she thought on what else he could have seen. For not the first time, she wished she’d thought to grab for her cloak before the weapon.

“C-Cover up your hair, we need to get moving.”

With a determined stance, Elona turned her back, and strode on, sliding her bow back into her grasp. She had a quiver that she kept on her back, but Elona prefered to hold more than one arrow. Through practice, she’d managed to mostly master the art of shooting arrows in a quick succession by holding them to the side of her hand. Right now, though, she only pulled out one. There was no sign of any deer yet, and the muscles in her hands were still twitching slightly. No need to risk dropping an arrow. Realizing she hadn’t heard Sionn follow, Elona paused, then glanced over her shoulder.

Sionn stood there, hopelessly tangled in the scarf. He looked befuddled, his lips twisted into a determined grimace, as he attempted to tuck the scarf into a crook and only succeeded in tying another knot. Her shoulders dropped as she found herself smiling at him, relaxing a bit. Turning back, she reached for the scarf, undoing his handiwork.

“Here, watch me.”

Sionn seemed to open his mouth to say something, but clearly decided against speaking, and shut it silently. Elona quickly realized why he’d been having so much trouble. His ears, fluffy and twitching at the top of his head, were in a completely different place than hers, and the same vivid crimson orange as his hair. They seemed to flutter under her gaze, and Elona frowned thoughtfully. She meticulously draped the scarf gently over the top of his head, loose enough his ears could still move, wrapping the ends around to the back of his head, and then up over his forehead, tying them into a knot near his left temple, with the minor remainder of the ends dangling where a human’s left ear would have been. It was almost comical, the way his ears tented the scarf, making his head look pointed. She put her hand over her mouth to suppress a laugh, before lowering her gaze to meet Sionn’s eye.

“I… I look silly, don’t I?” Sionn guessed, no doubt from her humor.

“Only a little?” Elona offered, hoping it was a comfort.

“Well,” Sionn began, looking resolute, “If that’s what it takes to travel with you.”

Deciding against commenting on that, Elona merely gave a slight smile, before turning and resuming the hunt. She had been hunting for years now, having fallen into the profession by accident taking to it alarmingly easily. Blinking, Elona could almost feel her senses shift as she focused in on and scents and sounds of the forest. She’d heard the woods described as deathly quiet compared to the towns, but to her, it was anything but. All around her, just out of sight, life was buzzing and thriving. It made her blood beat quickly, in a primal rhythm she never quite adjusted to. Her feet found the perfect places to step in the brush as if by instinct, her breathing coming in soft pants that were nearly impossible to hear. There was a rush of wings as some birds in a nearby tree took to the sky, seeking out life, whether through food or mate. Out of the corner of her eye Elona noticed a rabbit hopping along, but she dismissed it. When she was low on food, perhaps, but until then her energies were best focused on the prey that she got the most pay for- deer.

Well. The most profitable prey she allowed herself to hunt.

~*~*~

Elona should have suspected it, as it was early in the year and late in the day, but she was still disgruntled when they didn’t run into any deer by mid-afternoon. By this point in the day it was nearly impossible to sneak up on them, making her hunting tactic practically worthless. Coming to a stop at the top of a hill, Elona spared a glance back to check on Sionn. Hunting with companionship was new to her, but aside from him occasionally directing her to where he was hearing noises, it was as if he hadn’t been there. She had to give him credit for that, he was quiet when necessary, and he didn’t seem that winded.

“Let’s find a place to stop for lunch.” Elona declared, breaking the hushed silence. She watched a moment of panic light Sionn’s eyes, before he gave a slight grin.

“Sure. Once we stop, I’ll head off to hunt for mine, and meet y-”

“Don’t worry about it this time.”

“Really?”

Elona glanced away, as surprised as he. She’d had no intentions of feeding him, and yet, his voice when he’d spoken of hunting had wavered. That, added to his actions as they trekked through the forest led her to believe that perhaps he wasn’t as proficient at hunting as he’d suggested. Her bleeding heart remembered being ravenous, remembered only getting to eat on the days she’d had a successful hunt. If there was any weakness Elona truly had, it was seeing a pair of hungry eyes.

“Yes, really. You were rather accommodating with the scarf,” Elona flicked a glance up at it, and felt a small smile bubble up, “It’s the least I can do.”

Forgetting the fact that she’d only allowed him along on some misguided impulse, Elona led him through the familiar branch of the woods to one of her favorite lunch spots. As they advanced towards it, the soft rustling of a river got louder, and Elona found herself speeding up. They broke out of the brush into a small clearing, the river cutting through it with a beautiful rush of water that sparkled in the sun. The river curved when it met the jutting edge of broad stones that formed a semi-circle, wrapped around the outside of it. The boulders were flat-topped, and warm from the sun. She’d stumbled upon it, and while she’d never known how the boulders got there, she’d always enjoyed the splendor of the view.

“Woah!” Sionn exclaimed behind her, and Elona felt pride bloom through her that he was as impressed as she. “I’ve never seen this part of the forest!”

Leading the way to the boulders, Elona sat in the middle of one, keeping a good distance from the edge. Beautiful though it was, the river was deceptively quick. She’d dropped an apple in once, and it’d been gone before she could blink. Elona removed her cloak and spread it in front of her, shifting onto the edge of it. Gesturing for Sionn to sit next to her, she watched as he plopped down with enough force to make her cringe. Pulling off the scarf, Sionn shook out his hair and wiggled his ears. Elona stared for a moment, before opening her bag and removing the supplies she’d planned for her lunch. A small bag of apples, some dried rabbit jerky from her last hunting excursion, a hunk of expensive cheese, and a small loaf of bread. She set them down on the cloak, before turning back to her bag to look for a knife to cut the bread and apples.

“Hey no worries, I got this.” Glancing up, Elona watched as Sionn slid a slim dagger out of his boot, wipe it on the edge of the cloak, and start slicing the bread. “See? I’m helpful.”

He sounded so sincerely pleased with himself that Elona allowed her knife, now gripped in her hand, to slide back into the bag unnoticed. Smiling, Elona felt a bittersweet twang in her heart. She could almost delude herself into believing this shared lunch was a normal affair. Reality edged in, though, reminding her that he, too, would leave. He might not go for the same reasons as the rest, but go he would. He’d have to, she couldn’t afford to keep him around. How long before her secret slipped?

“Hey there, why the somber expression?”

Startled, Elona raised her eyes from her food to find Sionn had leaned over and down to break into her line of vision. His features were almost boyish, but for the first time Elona noticed the faintest of scars on the end of his left eyebrow, forming a little c. Reminded of her own scars, Elona reached out and touched her hand to it- Sionn flinched from her touch, and laughed cheerlessly.

“I’m sorry.” Elona offered, but Sionn shook his head.

“No, no, it’s okay.”

It was odd to see a crack in his jaunty attitude, and Elona regretted what she’d done. Chewing on her lip a moment, Elona tried to think of a way to bring his light-hearted mood back.

“Thank you.’
“For what?” Sionn looked genuinely confused, and Elona couldn’t blame him.

“For… accompanying me.”

“Oh.” He smiled, and Elona felt the pressure inside her ease. “Well, now who’s being overly formal?”

“Huh?” Remembering his introduction earlier that day, Elona laughed. “Ah, I suppose you got me.”

They shared a very pleasant lunch, and while neither of them mentioned their past at all, they did speak briefly of the incident the night before. Sionn expanded on his explanation, and Elona admitted she had fallen asleep in the bath. By the end of their conversation, somehow, Sionn had made something that had frightened her and set all her nerves on edge when it occurred into quite the laughable joke. In fact, he’d actually gotten a few laughs out of her. She couldn’t remember a time when she’d felt so at ease.

Pushing to her feet, Elona gathered up the bag the food had been stored in and tucked it into her pack, stringing it over her shoulder. She was relaxed, but not totally without caution. Leaving her cloak on the rock, Elona excused herself, telling Sionn to wait for her there. Sneaking off into the forest aways away, Elona addressed her business, before returning to where she’d left Sionn.

As she walked into the clearing, she didn’t immediately see him, and felt an astonishingly distressing pang in her heart at the thought that he’d left. Relief didn’t follow when she did see him, though, for she realized he was on the very edge of the rock, peering into the river. A cold heat swept over her, and Elona sprinted forward, calling out his name. Sionn turned to look at her, lifting his hand in a wave, and Elona watched as he lost his footing and slipped wordlessly into the water.




DP:
What does Elona do? Remember, being touched by water reveals secrets she’d rather keep.
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My latest SG! (Image courtesy of the lovely Lebrenth)