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All Amaya wanted was sleep when they finally approached the Sunfire camp after the forced march from the Breach. Too many unfamiliar faces and shapes. Even the plants felt strange around her. With her hands bound behind her back and her armor stripped away, everything was a threat.
As exhausted as she was, Amaya doubted sleep would happen, not with her mind trying to take in every possible thing that was slightly off or with the ache in her bones from the force of the explosion at the Breach. Each step had carried her further from home, further from everything she knew, from Gren and the boys, from her troops, from Katolis.
A huge dark shadow in the dusk jerked her from her thoughts, and she froze. Whatever it was was approaching them. It took Amaya moment to realize the two small flames behind it were actually the tips of its tails. At least she thought they were. She swallowed hard and watched as most of the elves simply gave the beast its space but seemed otherwise unbothered by it.
Did no one care that there was a great winged something approaching them? Amaya shot a look back to see what the elven general was doing.
The elf was smiling. Actually smiling. It was the first soft expression Amaya had seen on the woman’s face so far, and it seemed directed at the beast.
Amaya backed out of its way and watched as it headbutted the elf’s shoulder, and she actually scritched it under the chin. Elves were so strange. It was close enough now that she could make out its giant head and wings, paws that could pin a person with one swipe, a jaw that could tear a limb off and yet it seemed fond of the elven woman. She supposed that checked out.
Still, Amaya straightened her shoulders. She would not be cowed by this strangeness. It clearly could be reasoned with, which was more than she could say about the elven general at this point. But how to approach this.
Ezran. Ezran would know what to do here. He would talk to the creature, make friends with it. But he was ...she was no longer sure where he was. But something he had showed her once sprang to mind. Of course it had been with a house cat, and this creature was not that.
It swung its giant head around to stare at her, and it took all the nerve Amaya had left to stand her ground. If it disliked her, she would end up with more than a scratch. When it sniffed her, her skin prickled, but she kept herself still, letting it take in her scent.
When she caught its gaze, Amaya forced her expression to gentle and relaxed her jaw and eyes with effort. She slowly closed her eyes then opened them again. The creature studied her and gave her another experimental sniff, and she responded with that slow blink again.
This time, when she opened her eyes, the creature slowly closed its eyes and opened them to her in return. Amaya couldn’t help grinning, and suddenly the great cat gently headbutted her chest. She felt a sound vibrate through her, and she could tell it was a happy one by the way it rubbed its cheeks against her. Relief rolled through her, and she gave a silent laugh as she curled forward, letting the creature rub over her arms and shoulders.
It lifted its head and bumped its giant nose against hers, and for a moment, Amaya forgot she was in a land that was not hers. All she wanted to do was throw her arms around his neck and burrow into his soft fur. He was a new friend whether or not the elves liked her.
Janai almost stepped in when Pyro turned his attention on the human general. Inferno tooths were not fond of humans as a rule. They might be picky about their elven companions, but she had never seen one tolerate a human nearby.
Yet somehow, somehow this damnable human had managed to not only convince Pyro to tolerate her, he actually seemed to like her.
Janai glared at the two of them. She had seen no signs of Dark Magic from the human. In fact, she had not spoken a word at all nor had she tried to gather any supplies, but her interest in Pyro was suspect.
When the woman actually seemed to laugh silently and bent into Pyro, Janai tried to remind herself of that. Humans rarely made friends with magical beings just because they enjoyed it. She should not be taken in by that soft delighted expression even if it filled the human’s eyes when Pyro bumped his nose against hers.
With an irritated huff, Janai stalked over to her prisoner and took her bound arm. The woman instantly turned to look at her, and the way her face hardened felt like a blow to Janai’s chest.
“Time to get you settled for the night.” Janai snapped. Whatever had motivated the general to drag her up from the cliff, it clearly was not a fondness of Janai herself. Shaking her head, she pulled the general away from the tiger. At least she started to, but Pyro whined at her.
The general blinked at Janai when she stopped and looked between them, confusion clear on her face. Had the woman not heard the tiger whine? As Janai looked at the human, Pyro suddenly butted his head between them, rubbing first against Janai and then against the general with a low chuff.
With a heavy sigh, Janai glared at the tiger. “Really? I’m sure the others could look after her.”
Pyro’s ears twitched, and he licked Janai’s cheek. She rolled her eyes. Janai knew better than to argue with the tiger even if he was trying the persuasive route. Perhaps it would be better if she watched over the general herself.
“Fine. Come with us.” Janai muttered. She swore Pyro looked smug as they all made their way to her side of the camp, and the general looked pleased too.
The tiger settled down in his usual spot next to her bedroll, and Janai guided her prisoner to sit down next to him. “If you do something stupid, he’ll eat you,” she growled, not at all convinced at this point that it was true.
The general apparently shared that opinion because she gave Janai a doubtful look as she leaned just slightly on the tiger. When the tiger chuffed and nuzzled the woman’s hair, the general lifted an eyebrow at her. Janai just glared in response.
Her maddening prisoner nestled into Pyro’s shoulder, and the tiger half-curled around her. The way the woman’s face and whole posture softened as she rubbed her cheek against his shoulder brought to mind the old stories of how the tigers could sense the pure of heart. There was an odd almost sweetness to the way the general curled trustingly into the tiger, and clearly Pyro was responding to that.
A pure of heart human. Some might exist, but surely not the general of the Katolis forces. Their king had slain Avizandum and destroyed the egg. They had started this war.
And yet, the general had rode out herself to set off the charges. She had not asked anyone else to do it for her. She had sent her horse back before the explosion. And, perhaps strangest of all, she had lifted Janai up from the cliff’s face.
It had been a deliberate choice, Janai knew that much. The general had met her eyes, and Janai had seen that moment of calculation, and then the moment where she decided and set down her shield.
The feeling of eyes on her shook Janai from her thoughts, and she realized the human was watching her. Her earlier glare was gone, and she looked weary as she shifted to make herself comfortable against Pyro. There was something of a question in her expression, but Janai had no idea what it was. If she would just speak, Janai might be able to answer it, but so far it seemed all of her communication attempts had been with her bound hands.
Janai was not about to release them. She knew what the woman could accomplish bare-handed, and the fact that they had left her feet unbound was risky enough.
Whatever the question has been, the general let it go with a sigh and buried her face into Pyro. Janai watched as her shoulders slumped. The tiger set his head on top of the general’s and looked at Janai, his ears flicking back as his tails twitched.
How had this happened? Wasn’t she the one usually curled up with him? And now he was giving her that look for taking the enemy general captive. Janai made a face at him and settled against his hindquarters to eat her evening rations.
After she took a few bites, Pyro rumbled at her, and she looked up. She supposed there was enough to share if her prisoner was hungry. When she glanced at the woman though, she noticed that the general had shifted so her cheek rested against the tiger’s side and her hair fell over her eyes, her body relaxed and her breathing slow and shallow.
Before she realized what she was doing, Janai reached out to brush the woman’s hair out of her face. She caught herself at the last moment, but not soon enough. The general startled from the mere proximity of Janai’s hand and looked at her from beneath the curtain of her shaggy dark hair. Janai’s breath caught at the fury in them, and she dropped her hand. Why were her cheeks so hot?
She felt her prisoner studying her, and she forced herself to meet the woman’s eyes. Something impossibly smug crossed the human’s expression as she held Janai’s gaze for a moment more, and Janai’s blood felt like lava in her veins.
“Go back to sleep.” Janai growled as she turned to stare out into the night.
It was a good thing they would be in Lux Aurea tomorrow. This woman was going to be trouble.