The Covington Manor, East Shroud, 1570
"Faye," Selene's voice rang out from the entrance of the parlor and Faye peeked up to attend her mother, "dinner is almost ready. Go fetch Zularti."
Faye exhaled an agitated sigh, rising to her feet. Why should she have to go find Zularti? If he missed out on dinner because he insisted on running out into the forest at all hours of the day, that was his problem. Still, she knew better than to argue the issue with her mother. Instead, the pushed herself from the sofa and made her way to the back door, slipping on her boots and lacing them, then throwing on her coat.
She began her trek into the deeply wooded forest of the Black Shroud. He couldn't be too difficult to find; he was never quiet. At least, so she had thought. However, she wandered through the Shroud, finding no sign of him. She knew nothing of tracking and trailing, after all. It was only with luck and nearly a bell of wandering that she manage to see him up ahead, the back of his head unmistakable with that auburn hair and violet highlights, as was the makeshift spear strapped to his back, a sharpened and sturdy stick with a pointed rock tightly bound to its tip.
"Zularti!" she called out, exasperated, as she drew nearer. He turned his head toward her, pursing his lips and holding it his index finger before them, silently mouthing 'shhhh.' She huffed, stomping over to him. "What is it?" she asked in a barely hushed tone.
"Quiet," he responded in a whisper, now using his finger to point forward. "The Sylph are acting weird."
Faye perked a brow, turning her attention straight ahead to eye the creatures, finding three of them a few yards away, watching them flit and float about. There was something strange about them, their movements quick and agitated, green leaves a sickly hue of purple instead. Then suddenly, they all froze, and so did Faye. Had she and Zularti been spotted? The sylphs all turned in sync, but not toward the two teenage Midlanders. Instead, they turned in the opposite direction. From behind them, a heavy boot emerged from the thick brush, twigs snapping as it landed upon the grass. A person stepped into view, a tall and imposing figure, clad in large and heavy armor in red and hues of black and grey, with a strange helmet obscuring their face.
The Sylphs did not take kindly to this presence, growling and seeming to ready themselves to attack. The Hyur pair did not need to exchange words, nor even a glance to understand that was their cue to leave. They both turned on their heels and took off running in the direction of the manor. Unfortunately, the nearest Sylph took notice and turned to pursue the onlookers, leaving the armored figure to its two kindred. Perhaps alone Zularti may have been able to outrun the creature, but in Faye's case, heeled boots and long skirts did not make for a swift escape. The Sylph was close on their tail, and Zularti withdrew his spear from his back, turning to thrust it toward the Sylph.
The Sylph evaded the attack easily enough, calling down a few strikes of lightning from the skies. Zularti leaped out of harm's way easily enough, rolling to safety and smoothly back onto his feet, and Faye tossed herself to the side, tumbling onto the ground outside of the strikes of lightning. However, the two were not the real targets. The lightning had caught a nearby tree, searing it and sending it crashing to the ground, right where Zularti stood regaining his footing. He moved to dash out of the way, but the tree managed to catch his right ankle to pin him to the ground.
Much to their surprise--and relief--the Sylph turned and retreated, floating off at a casual pace. Faye pushed herself to her feet and took a look around, catching sight of Zularti and rushing to his side. Fortunately, the tree was not overly large, and the two were able to push the log off him and free his leg. His ankle, however, was bruised and twisted. Faye grimaced, but before she could remark upon it, he was already trying to stand, though he made little progress before wincing and collapsing back onto the ground.
"Wait--" she finally managed to get the words out, "you're hurt, you can't stand. Stop moving around or you'll make it worse." Zularti huffed in annoyance, but he did as he told--mostly because he couldn't manage to stand, anyway. Faye placed her hand over his ankle, palm beginning to glow with a soft, white light as she mended his injury. The bruises faded, as did the light around her hand, and suddenly her vision spun. She'd never attempted to heal anything more than minor scrapes and bruises before.
Zularti quickly leaped back to his feet, digging his right foot into the dirt and swiveling it this way and that to test his ankle. Faye watched him as best as she could, feeling utterly unable to do much else at the moment before she noticed him brandish his spear again. She followed his gaze to see the Sylph had returned. Its retreat had been not a genuine retreat at all, but a trip back to grab its companions, the two other Sylph at its sides, all three gesturing angrily with their little, leafy limbs. "Get up, Faye!" Zularti called out. "We need to go!"
Faye attempted to push herself to her feet, but her knees felt weak and once she'd made it halfway up, she simply sank back to the ground, dizzy. "I-I can't," she stammered, throat dry, able only to blink helplessly up at him. Zularti glanced between her and the three Sylphs inching closer before he quickly tossed his spear onto his back, moving next to Faye to grab her by the arm and hoist her to her feet. Then, he took off running toward the house, all but dragging Faye behind him as she struggled to simply remain upright, stumbling over the underbrush as he pulled her along.
Everything else was a blur, a whir of green and brown and blue around them as they dashed through the forest. She didn't know how long they had run, how closely the Sylphs had chased behind them, or when exactly they had lost their pursuers. She hadn't been able to focus on anything at the time but keeping her footing, lest she fall and he literally drag her limp form along behind him. All she knew was that at last, they reached the backyard, and he finally released her and she simply collapsed onto the grass, and he shortly followed suit.
She rolled over onto her back, the two peering up at the sky as both caught their breath.
"I'm going to kill you," she finally managed to mutter the words to him.
He only gave a breathless laugh in response and a cheery, "It'd be worth it!"
![[Image: NCtCate.png]](http://i.imgur.com/NCtCate.png)
