Getting to Know Her part 1

“Oh shit!” the Priestess blurted out as she ran to the fallen princess. Alara's face was pale and she broke out in a cool sweat. The Priestess searched her mind for possible causes of Alara's sudden black-out, when she heard the princess's stomach let out a loud growl. 

Alara groaned, and the Priestess let out a little laugh. She'd never seen someone pass out just because they were hungry,  but NOT starving. She did wonder though if it had been awhile since Alara ate. She had a reputation of  hanging around bars and guzzling booze, so maybe she had forgotten to eat. Whatever the reason, the Priestess would fix it. She just needed to venture into the dungeon to gather some materials for cooking. :Now to get a babysitter for the princess,” the Priestess thought. She put her thumb and pointer finger in her mouth and let out an ear piercing whistle.

A few moments later, a pair of large and glowing eyes appeared at the entrance to the tunnel. A giant dire wolf emerged, black fur, head hung low. It began to run towards the Priestess before suddenly shifting into a small ferret midair

 The creature jumped onto the small woman's shoulders and rubbed lovingly against her face. She pet its chin, “Yotaro, glad to see you little friend. I need you to do me a favor, guard that young one over there for me. Keep her safe and keep her warm for me and I’ll give you a little treat later ok?” 

The ferret stood on its hind legs and gave a slight nod before scurrying off in the princess's direction and morphing into a greater eagle that was sitting on Alara as if she were an egg. Yotaro was one of the Priestess’s familiars. A mimic who could change its shape to any enemies it had defeated; it was the perfect companion in any situation. 

The Priestess ran into the first tunnel she encountered that was lined with glowing mana crystals. It was wet and dark, the perfect place to grow mushrooms. The Priestess with her ripped shirt and trousers gathered as many as she could carry. Now they just needed meat. Since most creatures in the dungeon stayed away from her due to her massive quantity of mana, she concealed her presence. This level of mana manipulation was only possible for the most advanced of mages. It was a technique developed by the Priestess herself a few hundred years ago.

Soon, the dungeon dwellers began to creep out of the shadows. Crawlers, monsters which were essentially giant venomous cave spiders, began to literally squeeze out of the gaps in the rocks. Although they were large, their flesh waS moderately poisonous, so they wouldn't make a good meal. She waited for a few more moments. Soon , cave rabbits came crawling out their boroughs on the cave floor. These were very similar in appearance to an arctic hare, but were the size of a medium dog and had tiny horns on their heads. She felt bad about killing them because she thought they were cute, but they needed food. An instant later, without hesitation the Priestess skewered it with a spike of ice that shot up from the floor behind the critter.

The Priestess returned to their little camp, shirt full of mushrooms, with the giant rabbit slung over her back. Yotaro was backwin its wolf form, cuddling with Alarala. Its large black tail started to wag when he saw his companion return with food. The Priestess broke off a piece of the rabbit's leg and tossed it in the air to the mimic. He immediately changed into a small falcon and caught the leg in his sharp talons. While the mimic tore at its prey, the Priestess created a pot, bowl, and spoons out of rock. Her eyes glowing orange, she used her hands to shape the rock into what she needed. Elemental mages could usually only use one type of magic, but the ancient maiden was able to use all of them to some degree.

In no time she had used her magic to prepare a simple soup. She didn't need a water source, as a frost user she could condense humidity into large quantities of usable water. She rarely used the power of fire for anything, but sent for a single spark to start a bigger fire. She didnt't have any seasoning so the food wasn't going to be gourmet, but it would at least be well cooked. 

The princess stirred as the smell of cooking food filled her nostrils. She let out a loud yawn and rubbed her eyes. She was happy when she realized she fully clothed again thanks to the mysterious woman who was the Priestess. She sat up slowly, brushing her long blonde hair out of her face and her striking green eyes. She suddenly was overcome with guilt. The woman that she attacked with murderous intent, had saved her life more than once, cared for her, and was now cooking her something to eat.

Alara slowly got up and started to walk towards the Priestess, ready to apologize and talk to her about their escape plan, when suddenly she saw them. Glowing red eyes emerged from the darkness. As the creature moved forwards, its shape became more clear. It was a large creature with jet black fur and rows of sharp white teeth. It started moving quickly towards the Priestess, Alara tried to fire a bolt attack, but she had depleted her mana. She let out a loud scream, “Watch out!” as the creature knocked the Priestess down. She ran as fast as her feet could carry her. She expected to see blood and gor, but instead, the creature was licking the Priestess's face and the woman was laughing and pushing its head away. Both the creature and Priestess froze and gave the princess confused looks.

“Yotaro, easy friend. Looks like we gave the Princess the fright of her life,” she exclaimed before laughing.

“I thought you were getting mauled!”

“And what were you going to do? Take on a dire wolf with your bare hands?! You're a silly young thing!” the Priestess slapped her knee. “Anyways, formally meet my familiar, Yotaro, it’s a mimic. He kept you warm while I scavenged for food.”

The wolf turned into a cave rabbit and hopped towards Alara. When she backed away Yotaro let out a sad moan.

“Princess, it's ok, it just wants you to pet it. It did keep watch on you, so consider it a show of thanks.”

Hesitantly, Alara put out her hand, and the mimic sniffed it. Her face was anxiety filled with an expression of fear across her brows. Most surface dwellers were this way with dungeon creatures, so it wasn't a surprising reaction. Her hand shook, then Yotaro lifted its head to meet her hand and all anxiety melted in the young woman's face. After just a few seconds, she was happily stroking Yotaro's coat and even got a few wet kisses from the critter. It had been countless years since any surface dweller had overcome their fear so quickly.

The Priestess thought to herself, “Maybe this girl is actually different,” she started serving bowls of her simple stew. 

Alara took a good look at the Priestess and took a big breath before swallowing her pride. “I just wanted to say, I'm sorry. For all of it. The way I was acting, and for getting us stuck here… And thank you for saving me and for taking care of me now.” The princess pressed her head to the floor in a low bow.

The Priestess just smiled for a bit before talking, “I'm sure you will make up for it in no time.Don't worry about it,” she passed Alara her share of the food. 

While the two were eating in silence, Alara noticed that the Priestess was wearing a ripped shirt and remembered what she said about the bra. Alara's heart beat faster as she thought about someone doing something selfless for her benefit. After she had scarfed down her first bowl of stew she took off her coat and then her shirt while the Priestess quietly watched in confusion.  She threw the shirt to the Priestess and as she was replacing her coat, “Put on that shirt, you'll get sick wearing those rags down here.” Alara's face was beet red.

This tickled the Priestess and her eyes scrunched up as she let out a small giggle. “You are so shy for a Princess! It's kind of cute.”

Alara only became increasingly red at this comment which made the Priestess laugh louder. Alara remembered the conversation they were having before she fainted. “Um, earlier you said you weren't a priestess, so I feel kind of bad for calling you that now. If you aren't a Priestess, what or who are you? Like what's your name?”

The Priestess's heart skipped a beat. It had been over a century since anyone had asked for her name or really for any information about her. The people of Isaz were not interested in her in that way and instead chose to worship her. All the details of her life were replaced with folklore and fairy tales. 

The Priestess smiled gently, “Sorry, give me a minute. It's been literally at least a century since anyone has asked me for my name or had any interest in asking me anything personal.”

After a brief pause, the Priestess looked directly into Alara's emerald eyes. “I've gone by many names and titles. The one given to me by mother Elis is Freyja. The one given to me by my the only true friend I ever had though is Thalia. I have no surname as I do not belong to any tribe. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Alara Elding,” Thalia extended her hand. Her purple eyes sparkling with life.

Alara grabbed Thalia’s hand, and immediately both their runes began to glow. This frightened Alara and she instantly retracted her hand. “What was that?” she asked nervously. 

Thalia turned, looked at her and responded “It's our marks reacting to each other. I think that fate brought us together. It's so uncommon for someone like you to have one. Please ask me anything , I have learned a lot in my old age.”