The Elf

It was clear that my request for her name made her slightly uncomfortable as she took another step back and crossed her arms. "But I'll settle for letting me make sure you get out of here safely."

Her smile returned. "I think I can afford that."

"So why did those men attack you?" I asked as I began leading her out of the maze of alleyways.

"They wanted this," she pulled out her necklace from under her shirt.

I paused for a moment to inspect the piece of jewelry, careful not to touch it since she was just mugged for it. "I can see why. It's based on the elven wolf goddess of hunting and protection, Auryon. And Elven crafts are usually enchanted."

"It is enchanted," she confirmed. "My mother made it for me when I was young. It's a protection charm."

"Doesn't seem to be doing its job considering how bad your night's gone."

"I don't know about that," she hummed and tucked her hair behind her ear, confirming my suspicion that she was an elf. "You saved me before I was seriously hurt. I'd say that counts as protection."

"Maybe it does. Still," I stopped as we finally emerged from the ally and dug into my cloak, revealing the dagger she had to my throat only moments ago, "it's safer for you to keep a weapon on you. Not everyone around here is nice to elves," I held the weapon out for her. "Take this."

She hesitated for a brief moment before reaching out. "Not everyone is kind to my people," she let her fingers gently brush mine as she took the blade from me and hid it in her boot, "but you were kind to me. So thank you."

What are you doing? Something in my chest tightened as she turned to walk away. She's still in danger here and you know it! I groaned in annoyance at myself and chased her down. "Hey, wait!"

She came to an alarmingly sudden turn and I barely skid to a halt before knocking her over, but not before our bodies collided and she clung to my shirt for balance while my arms wrapped around her to keep her steady. We stayed that way for a moment to gather our bearings before she coughed to clear the air of awkwardness and we released our hold on each other, her light smile returning.

"Couldn't stay away could you," she teased and tapped the tip of my nose, much like Kari does only I found that, this time, it didn't annoy me.

"I wanted to make sure you made it to wherever you're staying safely," I mumbled. "It's dark, and those men were part of a gang, a gang that will probably be looking for you."

"That's incredibly noble of you Sapphyre, but I am only passing through on a search for someone."

"Well who are you looking for? I know everyone in town so I can probably help."

"I would rather not involve you in it," her smile faltered for only a moment, revealing a slight hint of uneasiness. "You've already saved me once."

Of course she doesn't want you around, idiot, she just met you! I scolded myself. Instead of pressing the matter I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small piece of parchment and handed it to her. "It's a small map of the town. If you find yourself staying and in need of a room I own a tavern across the bridge called the Wolf's Den," I pointed to it on the map, "I could have a room set up for you in no time."

"I'll consider it," she folded the map neatly into her pocket and held out her hand. I offered mine, expecting a handshake, but instead she grasped me by my forearm in a firm grip before allowing her fingers to gently run down it and finally grasping our hands together. "May Auryon protect you Sapphyre," she walked a few feet away from me before she paused and looked over her shoulder. "Zierra by the way."

I watched her walk away, smiling, and waited until she turned a corner before I made my own way back home. I was about halfway there when I noticed the familiar sound of padded footsteps. "Came to check on me, huh?"

From the shadows of a building emerged Shade, golden eyes shinning in amusement. He pranced up to me and lifted onto his back paws, putting his front two on my shoulders, and began carefully sniffing my shirt.

"Hey!" I swatted him away. "I'm fine Shade, you don't have to baby me."

Instead of backing down he simply fell to all fours and continued his examination of my shirt. Eventually I realized that he wasn't checking to see if I was okay, he had caught the sent of something. Hesitantly, I lifted part of my shirt to my nose, sniffed the fabric, and found what he could smell.

"Elvespine," I mused. "I knew I recognized that smell. Add that to her accent and now I know she's a wood elf from the northern woods at the base of the mountains," my amused smile fell. "She's quite a ways from home."

Shade gently took my sleeve in his mouth and tugged, signaling me to worry about Zierra later. We walked back to the tavern together and found it relatively empty save for a few regulars slurring in the back. Lyon was talking to Kari across the bar in hushed tones and I joined them with a sigh.

"Exciting night?" Lyon asked as his eyes fell to a dark splatter of blood on my shirt.

"Had a run in with some of Hart's men," I grumbled. "They attacked a young elven girl in an alley."

Kari's hands touched the tip of her own pointed ears. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she actually put up quite the fight before they managed to subdue her. Thankfully she was blindfolded so she didn't see anything."

Lyon choked on his ale. "You were changed?!"

"Keep your voice down," I snapped. "Yes I was. It was the only way I could be quick enough to keep them from hurting her. I changed back before I took her blindfold off."

"Hart and his grunts have been getting bolder in their attacks. They basically own the Slums at this point," Kari noted.

"If I could just figure out where Hart keeps hiding then I could cut out the biggest stain on this town."

Lyon stretched his arms above his head. "Well you cant do that when you're tired."

"I'm not tired," but as I spoke, I yawned. "Fine. I'll go. Who has overnights?"

Lyon raised his hand. "It's my turn," he gazed around the room and shrugged. "Doesn't look like it'll be eventful tonight anyway."

Kari and I left Lyon downstairs, making our way to our rooms, and I found myself stopping outside Jayde's door. Kari saw my pause and gave me a comforting pat on the back.

"You did a good thing in taking him in. He was a big help and Galen loved him, I think I actually saw him smile."

I let out a chuckle. "Didn't know the man knew how to," my smile fell. "This isn't a good life for a kid, Kari. We have enemies. What if they find us and hurt him? What if he finds out what I am?"

"He's safer here than he is on the streets and you know it. And so what if he finds out? You saved his life, Sapphyre, I doubt he will care that you aren't human. Now get some sleep."

I nodded and stumbled into my room, barely able to remove my shoes before my eyes got heavy, the scent of Elvespine making my sleep peaceful.