The Lone Kirin

Walking is boring

[I forgot to tell you. The devil lady that helped me knew about this whole incident and us traveling together. So she might very well be aware of you being my compatriot and might not want to see you either.]

We were riding for the better part of an hour now, and Prophet seemed to be a lot more talkative. That is to say, talkative at all.
Running along beautiful scenery really helps, washing one's sorrows away, I guess.

"That would've been useful to know like an hour ago."

This girl really doesn't know on what to concentrate sometimes.

"Does that mean that we should avoid the village or what? The worst thing that could happen is that she throws me out."

[Are you sure? She sent me off with an attack that was strong enough to make it rain dirt for more than ten seconds. And even if she wouldn't connect you with me on the spot, it would still be pretty awkward that a Nymph would just barge in there a day after a Kirin was just outside town. So that connection should be clear right off the bat. But let's see first. If she attacks you, when you come near, just run away, if possible.]

Well. That doesn't make me unsure of the whole thing, whatsoever.
It's worth a try. Devils aren't bloodthirsty, but cold and manipulative. So worst case, she might sell me overpriced insurance on some magical equipment. Not that I could afford that either way.

[You're thinking about stupid stuff again, aren't you?]

"Perhaps. And since when did you become so good at interpreting my silence?"

[I didn't, but I felt you giggling internally over our link.]

Well, that's inconvenient. Wait. Does that mean, that she could feel me lying up until now? Not that I did that all too much, but still.
Hiding anything from her will be quite the challenge. Welp. Let's just hope it never arises the need for subterfuge between the two of us.

"Whatever your reasoning, I want to meet the person that helped you save my life. So I'm going to go. And of course, I'm going to watch out for trickery of sorts. I might be a bit naive, but I'm not about to trust everything, what a devil is going to propose to me."

[If you say so. I won't stop you.]

"Well, you can't either way. You have no hands to hold me down."

[I could freeze you to the ground.]

"Fair point, but no. I escaped the cold claws of death once this week. And you really shouldn't tempt fate again."

[I'm sorry.]

"Stop that. Crying is for horses. And you're no horse."

We rode along the road for another hour, before a little speck on the horizon indicated that there were some man or rather spider made structures.
And man, does it feel good to ride at a leisurely tempo. Instead of freezing my... everything off, I can enjoy the wind flowing through my hair, as the sun heats up my skin.
From time to time, some birds follow us. There are several kinds, but all are of the singing variety.
It would've been bad if some predator tried to mess with us.
I enjoy the Gachakala the most. The vibrant red and green stripes on the males, being chased by the mostly brown-grey females, is a beautiful dance. And strangely unique. Being the only male around must be hard, huh? Evolution is a bitch, I guess.
They paid for their godly singing voice with the ability to reliably produce males or something along the lines. Never mess with the spirits, I always say. But hey! If no one ever was unique, then the world would be a lot less enjoyable.
Heh. I am a prime example of that. And so is my four-legged friend under me.

Hmm... Talking about birds. My crows followed us all the way out here, and keep watch over us at a safe distance. Since we slowed down, they are now able to keep up. Another layer of security. Not that there is any other. I am naked and without a weapon.
I really shouldn't worry all that much. The people of the empire worship the gods of the divine pantheon. Us fey being blessed should be enough for me to traverse any and every place in the empire.

Sadly, us seeing the village from afar, also means that they can see us. And there are no doubt guards, watching over the plains, we ride across...
It also doesn't help that this far out, only Lycaranea live. Of course, they would send their most adaptable folks out to make the wilderness inhabitable. But them having the best eyesight out of all the species in Rairza only means that I'll have to walk even farther on foot.

"We should stop here. They will spot you otherwise."

[Will do.]

I step off, and Prophet proceeds to lie down, her tail whipping around.

"Are you troubled by something? Apart from the obvious, I mean."

[I just don't like the idea of you going in there on your own.]

"Stop it already. I know how to handle stuff like that. You better find something to distract you from thinking about stupid stuff."

She snorts dismissively, yet lowers her head to take a nap, it seems.
As I turn around and start to walk off, Prophet whinnies a little. In response to that, I turn my head around slowly and stare at her with an expectant look.

[Don't die.]

"Yes, Mom!"

I guess that shows that she indeed does care about me. Not that I ever doubted that.

...

Making my way to the village is way more work than I would've expected. I don't walk all that much, to begin with, as I usually just chill in my pond, but over an hour of pushing down blades of grass becomes very monotonous, extremely fast. If I ever get the chance to fly myself,
I'll gladly take it. Maybe some winged garments? Floating amulets... Are there such things? Hopefully. The ancient dwarves crafted whole cities at the bottom of the oceans with magic and technology, so why wouldn't there be some devices that let you skip this very much outdated task?

Actually. I'd love to travel to the country of the ancients once. Just shitty, that they don't care about conventional flora. But I'll do with oil-producing house-sized mantraps if that means that I'll get to see what a city this far down looks like. There should be vast amounts of dangerous sea life down there. Maybe a gigantic Kraken! Or some sort of enormous predatory fish! I'd really like to see that!
Val! You're really great at getting yourself distracted! The only problem is that you've just remembered yourself of the fact that you were walking for an awfully long time. With nothing else to do.
Shit!

...

Aight! They've noticed me. They very much noticed me. What's that? About nine guards? That's a lot for maybe 100 houses give or take a dozen. I always underestimate these spiders. No one should, really. They are living weapons, to keep the stupid races and factions in check, so why not make them overpowered. But what ticks me off is that they're always acting, as if they were connected like in a hive mind. I know that they manage to communicate with clicks and vibrations, caused by them drumming with their feet, but that this process is so much faster than speech really gets to me. They could at least shout something like "Intruder!" or maybe "Stranger!", but no! Just communicate silently, so that the potential enemy can't listen in! Very considerate.

Ok, Val. Keep calm. They should already be aware of the fact that I am a Fey. Just talk it out. Worst thing that happens; they throw you out.

One of the guards jumps off the bulding, he was standing on and approaches me. Here goes nothing.

"What does a revered Nymph seek from our small village? It must be important if you are willing to make the way on foot."

This looks promising.