-ˏˋ⠀sᴛᴀʀᴛ ᴏғ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ⠀ˊˎ- "Um," Luna said, not sure why the elf had helped her. He flashed a smile. "No problem, my lady." Luna backed away a little bit. "Well. I'll be going now," she said, eyeing the boy. Her suspicions were confirmed when he started towards her. "Leaving so soon? Where are you going?" Luna backed away further. "Lots of places," she said, her brows drawing together. "We could go there together," Lord Lepos suggested, reaching for her sleeve. He gave a startled cry a second later as Luna kicked him in the leg, leaving a dusty boot print on his immaculate clothing. "Shoo," she commanded. Lepos looked wounded. "But, my lady, I don't even know your name!" Luna kicked him again and he yelped. "Okay! Okay, I'm going," he grumbled, scooching away from her feet. "Talk about gratitude." Luna didn't give him a second glance as she stepped over him and continued on her way to the market. ✹ That was what he got for being nice, huh? Lepos stood, brushing himself off. Rude. Clearly, she was one of those don't-touch-me types. Pasting a smile on his face, Lepos mounted his horse, which was standing nearby. Brown Horse was very easygoing, unlike Spotted Purple Horse, and as for Fire-Breathing Dragon Horse--well, Lepos counted himself lucky if he got past his stall in the stables alive. There was that strange little girl, of course, the one who claimed that Fire-Breathing was a very tame and gentle horse. It was true that she had an uncanny knack with animals, but nobody could tame that beast. A shame, too. He'd spent a ridiculous amount of money and time stealing--sorry, /permanently borrowing/--the horse from its old master. Somewhere out there, an enraged ogre was still rumored to be searching for his pet horse, but Lepos never listened to rumors. And as an elf among humans, he had started plenty of those. Most elves chose to reside in the high-up mountains, or in the heart of some jungle. They lived frugal lives and spent their days in meditation and honing their skills. Lepos had never wanted that kind of life. He itched for social interaction and excitement, loved the feeling of having escaped by a hairs-breadth. Plus, humans were fun to mess with. It was amusing to see them spin webs around themselves, getting tangled in the process. It was entertaining to watch as people bowed their heads to him because of his title, paying homage to nothing but a name. Humans were delicate, too. They broke so easily. Well, except for that girl he'd rescued. But she wasn't exactly human, was she? She was a speciales vires. He'd seen her softly pointed ears. Not as pointed as his own, of course. You couldn't hide an elf's ears like she had hidden hers. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn't notice the shadow slithering past. ✹ Solis looked up as the door slammed open. Luna threw a bar of soap at him. "Wash. Now," she commanded. Solis decided not to argue. "What happened?" he asked instead. Luna kicked the wall. "Somebody saw my ears," she said. "Two someones, actually." "How'd you escape?" he pressed, wondering how she'd gotten away. "Didn't. Some elf lord shooed him off." Solis tilted his head. "Huh. Weird. Well, at least you didn't get turned in." Luna huffed. Solis could tell she wasn't going to stop anytime soon, so he went outside and headed to the river. He'd just have to wear a hood over his hair instead. ✹ /The shadow was free. After years of being tethered to something else, it was free to move. Free to hunt. It was hungry after its long imprisonment, hungry for power. It raised its shapeless head and sniffed. There was power here. Something like a smile passed over its face. Time to feed./ -ˏˋ ᴇɴᴅ ᴏғ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ˊˎ-
