Setting Out

The night passed by without much further talk, as Lucius was mentally exhausted from the eventful encounter with the strange beast-woman who called herself Hana. He awoke the next morning and shook off the dew that had condensed in the early morning light. Sleeping on the ground wasn’t nearly as comfortable as he was used to, though it wasn’t as bad as he had expected. If this kind of thing was going to keep happening, he would need to invest in some new equipment.

He paused momentarily at the thought: would this keep happening? What would the next night look like? What would today look like? He had absolutely no idea, but the uncertainty that he had felt for tomorrow was no longer as oppressing. It was an oddly refreshing feeling, though that particular uncertainty had been replaced by a multitude of others. Most notably among them…

“Good morning. I trust you slept well?”

It was Hana, returning to the clearing with a warm expression on her face. She carried something bundled in the folds of her borrowed cloak, which only further reinforced his first concern. If she was to go anywhere, Hana was going to need clothing. Unfortunately, Lucius had nothing in the way of women’s clothing. As he was trying to puzzle their conundrum out, she knelt in front of him and opened the makeshift pouch to reveal an assortment of berries and wild greens. Her eyes glinted with pride,

“You mentioned that you were running low on food, so I took it upon myself to gather some. Go on, take what you need. I promise that none of them are poisonous.”

Well, he wasn’t about to turn down such an offer, though he did hesitate briefly when she added the part about things being poisonous. But his hunger won out and he selected a few options from the gathered spread. Cautiously popping one into his mouth, his worries faded as he tasted the sweet juices cascade over his tongue. After tossing a few others into his mouth, he took a swig of his waterskin and nodded his appreciation,

“Thanks a bunch, Hana. I doubt I would’ve been able to find all these on my own. I hope you didn’t have to put too much effort into this.”

A coy smile spread across her face, “Nonsense. Nature’s bounties are there for everyone to make use of, so long as they know where to look.” He wasn’t entirely sure what she was getting at, but she seemed happy enough. Once they had both shared in her gatherings, he decided that now was as good a time as any.

“Hey, Hana?”

Her ears perked up slightly, “Yes?”

“Well, uh, you know how you said you wanted to travel together for a time?” She bobbed her head up and down, “Indeed, and I recall that you agreed. Or…”

“No no, I’m not going back on what I said at all! But the fact is that you simply aren’t…well, you aren’t dressed appropriately!” Hana’s eyes widened in mild surprise, as if she had been unaware of the strange nature of her state of undress.

“If you want to go travelling around, you need to find some way of making yourself decent. If people see you like that, they’re going to think that you’re mad, or worse.”

Her ears drooped slightly at the sudden admonishment, looking over herself with quiet resignation, “If you say so.”

“I’ll do what I can. But I’m no expert on women’s fashion. If you’re trying to not stand out, then you’d probably want something simple and practical. Women typically wear longer, more flowing clothes, but that probably won’t be good for travelling. You really need something that’s rugged and comfortable, similar to what I have on right now. Hmm…we really should get to a clothier, that might be better than me fumbling around.”

Hana contemplated for a time, then closed her eyes and breathed deeply. The wind whistled softly as it began to flow faster through their small encampment, taking with it a multitude of leaves and grasses. He watched in astonishment as the wind began to create a vortex of shimmering green around her body, nearly obscuring her completely from sight. Then, as quickly as it had arrived, it vanished to reveal that she was fully clothed.

Clad in a nearly identical set to himself, Hana beamed proudly; form-fitting breeches with good boots while a soft green tunic covered her torso. With his travelling cloak still around her shoulders, she could easily pass for any other wanderer, with the obvious exceptions of her ears and tail. He was thoroughly impressed,

“That was incredible! Looks like you’re more adept at magic than I had thought! Being able to craft a full set of clothes from nothing, that’s some high-level stuff.”

She glanced over her new clothes, seemingly satisfied, “Is it? I simply asked to have something suitable made for me, it was nothing special. Oh, here.” She made to undo the clasp on the borrowed cloak, “You will want to have this back, yes?”

He held up a hand, “Nah, you keep it. I think it looks better on you anyhow. Though it might be big enough to help you hide some of your more…prominent features. Consider it my way of saying thanks for not roasting me last night. Now come on, we’ve spent enough time waiting around, we should get moving.”

Hana paused, gripping the edges of the fabric between her slender fingers and murmured a quiet “thank you” before rising to her feet to follow him. When the emerged back onto the roadside, he was happy to see the horse within line of sight, having wandered only a little way during the night. It took a bit of cajoling and promises of sugar and apples to get the horse going, but eventually he made it back in one piece.

When he returned with the horse, he realized something that he had yet to account for,

“Well, seems we’ve got an issue. See I wasn’t planning on picking up anyone on the road so, I only have one horse. You can ride if you like, I don’t mind walking.”

She glanced at the horse and then back to him, “He is both strong and willing enough to carry us both as far as needed. Though he certainly expects you be compensated afterwards.”

He blinked at her, “How do you know I promised him something? I was way out of earshot.”

Hana flicked one of her ears and grinned, “I have very good hearing.”

Not about to argue the point, Lucius admitted defeat and climbed into the saddle, offering his hand once he was seated. She placed her hand in his and swung up behind him, nestling into what space she had and wrapping her arms about his waist. He stiffened in the saddle, suddenly reminded of the intoxicating scent that seemed to permeate her every inch. This was hardly to say anything of the rocking of her body against his as they rode. Concentrating on what was in front of them quickly became a labor unto itself, and he was very grateful that the horse knew how to keep them on the road. After several minutes of riding in silence, Hana leaned forward, speaking softly into his ear,

“You have nothing to fear from me, I promise you. Back then, even though I was in such a state, I had no intention of harming you.

He partially turned his head, “Oh? Well, that’s a relief. Can I ask why? You were understandably riled up.”

Perhaps it was just a trick of the morning light, but it appeared that her cheeks had colored ever so slightly,

“Because…you had a good scent.”