The sound of the grass rustling is what woke Ceryll from her not-so-restful sleep. Her eyes fluttered open as the bold sun allowed its light to slither its way through the emerald green leaves of her bush. For some reason, her heart was rushing and her legs were itching to run but her drowsy state left her curious as to why. It was only when she heard heavy steps that she remembered the events of the night before.
Without hesitation, she began to crawl away from her pursuer. At first, she crawled away slowly, careful not to land on any branches or leaves but it seemed to sense her movements and sped up its pace. Her breath got stuck in her throat but she didn't stop, crawling quicker and quicker as her pursuer came closer and closer. By now the elven woman was rushing away, paying no mind to her white nightdress being shredded by any branches, or rocks, that it could hook onto.
"Stop damnit! You're hurting yourself for no reason!" The being sounded exasperated as it finally took the leap of faith and pounced on Ceryll to pin her to the ground. She cried out while sobbing pleas for it to let her go. It only sighed before leaning its massive head down to rub against her face. "Shut... Hush up now. It's okay, Amere is here for you."
"Amere?" She couldn't look at him because his paw was just behind her head. When he noticed this, Amere cautiously pulled away so she could turn around. She quickly did so to be met with the sight of a massive black jaguar standing above her. Its pitch black fur held little to no sheen as if it were sucking in the morning light to color his fiery red eyes which scanned her body for any sign of major injury. Upon finding none, they softened and Amere reluctantly plopped down for his friend to throw her arms around his neck and she sob into his fluffy chest. He awkwardly used his paw to pet her, a deep frown adorning his feline face.
He'd always known Ceryll to be a proud woman, always dressed in the finest clothes that outshined the beauty of even the highest elves and never shedding a tear. So seeing her in such a disappointing state was unfathomable to him. Her once snowy white hair was a dirty gray knot, her nightdress was so shredded it was useless, and her rich umber skin now looked like that of an ashy beggar.
The sight ached his poor heart but there was no time to nurse her back to health, right now he just needed to motivate her to move.
"Ceryll, we have no time." She wanted to reply but stopped when she saw one of his cute round ears twitch.
"They're coming back?" Her body had become tense as the night before came rushing back to her. For humans, they were quite the vicious pack, and in her weakened state, there was no way to fight them off.
"They're not just coming back, they're coming for you." Her face went pale and She jumped onto his back with some effort so he could start running. He followed the silent command, bursting into a full sprint.
"What?"
"Someone must've seen us or something but they don't smell of confusion; they know where you are. What did you do?"
"Ironically, it's not what I did, it's what I didn't do." Amere glanced back at her. Her face, like her voice, was solemn. She was leaving out something very important however Amere knew that this wasn't the time to press into the matter.
"Do you have silver?"
"I do."
"Good, we're going back home."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Bastian central market was bustling with elves of every kind. The only elves absent were the high elves who likely were standing aloof in their mansions awaiting nightfall when the riffraff would leave their land. Everyone seemed in quite a pleasant mood completely unaware of the pair of blue-gray eyes that watched from the bushes behind.
"What are we doing here, Amere? You know I can't go out there, especially not like this." She pointed to herself exasperatingly.
"Humans aren't allowed into elf country; this is elf country. Now let's get you clothes and then we're going to find a place to stay." He uttered, ignoring her complaint to grab the dirty brown coin purse from her hip.
"I don't think I can do that. Look at me I'm just a shell of an elf now and..." Though she desperately tried to convince her familiar to go elsewhere, it was to no avail as he had already left for Town Square.
The elves hustled and bustled, paying no mind to the deadly beast walking amongst them. Even when he reached the dress shop, he still went unnoticed and the graying seller seemed not to care.
"What d'ya want?" Amere went to answer when he took notice of the seller's black sclera and the lines decorating the bridge of the elf's nose. The two lines which lay parallel to one another reminded him of his own nose. It was unnerving enough to put the feline on guard.
"The black and white one." He spoke slowly, warily even, and the man complied. The dress which was currently adorned by a wooden mannequin would have been a simple peasant's dress if not for the off-shoulder sleeves, black corset, and the long side split that stopped at the waistline. It was perfect for Ceryll, that much was certain. He could barely imagine the contrast between the deep brown of her skin and the white of the flowing fabric but it was enough for him to know he'd made the right choice. Too deep in his imagination, Amere failed to notice the seller talking until he mentioned his markings.
"I saw the way you looked at me earlier. If you were curious these markings are a sign of my commitment to my god Aitorah."
"I see. Well, they look awfully similar to my nose." At this, the man laughed in agreement.
"Indeed, even I was a bit shocked myself, but I suppose it only makes sense since Aitorah is depicted as a Jaguar in ancient texts."
"I see... so does that mean I get the dress for free?" The seller sat in silence for a minute then shooed Amere away playfully saying,
"Sure. I get enough business to cover it." With a 'thank you' the familiar dropped the coin purse into the dress bag and went on his way. It only took a few minutes to find her near the bushes sitting on a rock with a deep frown
"I'm back." he sang, allowing the bag to fall from his mouth. It landed in her lap for her to open the bag and look at it.
"How much?" Amere gave a smug laugh with his head held high in pride.
"Nothing."
"The fabric is amazing. So light and cool" She got up and motioned for him to walk beside her. He was eager to comply.
"I'm sorry for snatching your purse but I knew you wouldn't shut up."
"Yeah, it's whatever." Cracking a tiny smile, Ceryll lightly pet his head making Amere frown. If things were normal, she'd squeeze Amere to death and shower him in love and pampering so a head pat or two left him feeling underwhelmed. Regardless, he followed her seemingly absent-minded path until they reached the pond. "Beautiful isn't it?" She sighed.
"You couldn't pay me," He deadpanned. His face was unamused while he stared at the cool blue lake before them. Exotic flowers of red and white littered its edge, while age-old oaks marked the beginnings of the surrounding forest. The only flaw was the lake, which he already knew she planned to drag him into.
"No, I couldn't, but I could...beg you." Her voice rang with both mischief and amusement, only tightening Amere's resolve. He wouldn't let her win this time.
No."
"Please, Amere. You stink, I stink and I can't afford to send you to the groomers right now." He responded with a shake of the head. "But I need this and didn't you tell me that you'd do anything to make me happy?"
"You are happy. You're grinning." His deep red eyes panned to her face whichheld a wide grin.
"You know they say a smile can hide the worst pain." When she saw he wasn't buying, she turned to her dramatics. "If you don't say you'll come in with me I'm going to fall in there and drown."
"You're not going to kill yourself for this."
"Yes, I will. One..." She walked to the edge of the pond.
"Ceryll, no."
"Two, look I'm on the edge." She rocked her heels back and forth on the grassy shore.
"Fine! Fine! I'll come in with you!" she smiled and stripped, jumping into the water. Amere followed soon after with a sigh. Though she laughed in victory, in her sterling grey eyes were flickers of emotion which he couldn't decipher. It wasn't normal but he had no intention of questioning her now. Instead he's simply entertain her desperate efforts to keep things normal.