4 Encounter
The journey to the city wasn't easy. Ever since she was born she hadn't heard of a villager leaving their small settlement, even for a trip. That bore the question of what direction she was supposed to go… Lost before having even properly left the village borders, who would have thought?
She didn't have a map so, after a moment of contemplation, she set off in the direction the peddlers would come from. It was a narrow goat path through grass and weeds that reached her calf. If not for her pants she would have gotten thoroughly scratched up.
After about an hour of trekking, the goat path merged onto a badly paved walkway.
'Those peddler's sure went through a lot of trouble to come here.', she thought. Especially, considering that they rarely made a sale here.
Anna pressed, not tired in the least. Her legs had just started warming up. This was normal for her, who often went into the forest for hours, but it was a relief she could keep up in her new form. After all, she was significantly shorter now, that included her unfamiliarly slender and white legs.
Bored, she started examining her hands as she pressed on. She still hadn't gotten used to this. Her eye level was all wrong, her skin colour was wrong and she could swear something was odd with her vision as well. She hadn't determined what exactly though, not yet.
Not to mention, that… tail swinging leisurely behind her legs. She had cut a hole in the back of her pants to make room for it. Anna reached up and gently grabbed the fluffy ears on her head. She didn't let go of them for a while in an attempt to familiarise herself.
Another hour passed and she was starting to get really, really bored. She practised moving her tail until a wide road came in sight.
Her heart skipped a beat, her eyes brightening in excitement.
'There it is! That must be the way to the city!'
The sun had started to rise far in the horizon, basking the dark sky in an orange glow. Under that looming red light, a small, dainty figure with cat ears and a tail could be seen running enthusiastically to the road and pressing its hands into the warm gravel.
Anna looked up.
'The road is easily wide enough for three carriages. This is definitely it but which way do I go?'
She pursed her lips in thought, not liking that she faced yet another obstacle.
'Damn if only I had a map.'
Just then, lady luck showed itself and a group of young people came around the corner to her left. Anna flashed an unsure smile at them and waved her hand. She couldn't help feeling nervous. This was her first encounter with outsiders.
They seemed surprised to see her and one of the figures, a tall boy leaned over to a girl and whispered something. There were three people in total. Two boys and one girl about 14 to 15, the same age as Anna. None of them had any animal traits.
She waited for them to get closer before approaching while fiddling with the straps of her backpack. Her lips parted to speak but the taller of the two girls interrupted her with a bright smile.
"Hello there, little one! What are you doing all the way out here by yourself?", the girl asked, bending slightly at the waist to get closer to Anna's eye-level. Her tone was warm and motherly, unfitting of her age and it instantly relaxed Anna.
A faint blush crept on Anna's cheeks. It felt odd to be addressed as 'little one' by a peer. She supposed she'd have to get used to it.
"Ah-... I-I'm looking for the city! Could you tell me which way it is?", she asked, her voice soft like water and crystal clear. Her new voice was so tender and pitiful it could melt hearts. Amelia's smile grew bigger.
The two girls and boy looked over at the cat-eared young boy. Dressed in plain beige peasant clothes and carrying a heavy-looking backpack, he looked like a walking contradiction to them. For one, he looked at most 7 or 8 years old. Secondly, his skin was smooth and white like a person who had never worked a day in their life. It definitely didn't match what he was wearing.
Anna hadn't thought of this discrepancy and shuffled nervously at the suspicious stare of the shorter girl.
"Where are you from? Did you run away?", she asked sharply. She, too, sounded too old for her age. Her entire countenance radiated icy hostility.
Anna swallowed nervously and almost broke into a cold sweat. Blatant hostility was a field she was completely unfamiliar with and it made her uncomfortable beyond words.
Thankfully, the taller girl came to her rescue by abruptly ruffling her hair.
"Oh shush, Lisa! Can't you see he's lost? We should help him."
The girl named Lisa scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"Why are you going to the city, little one?", the taller, nice girl continued. This time, Lisa didn't roll her eyes but fixed them back on Anna. As did the boy.
"I…" Anna didn't know what to respond, feeling pressured by the sudden attention. "I need to get a scroll to break a curse-" The three teenagers almost simultaneously quirked a brow in surprise and Lisa squinted at him. She didn't believe him.
"It's t-true!!", Anna cried out defensively.
An idiot could tell from their reaction that there was something strange about her claim but Anna couldn't tell which part. Of course, it had to be odd for a person who looked as young as her to be travelling by themselves… but judging from their expression it didn't seem to be about just her visual age.
After an awkward silence, it was Lisa who spoke up first.
"Where are you from?" It was the same question as before. "There aren't villages or towns anywhere near here."
Anna furrowed her brows. She must have walked further than she'd thought. Anyways, the interrogation by this unfriendly Lisa girl was starting to annoy her. She decided to come up with a believable lie so they'd leave her alone.
"I walked from a small place to the-", she looked up to check the position of the sun, "the East but I walked all night. Ah- but I'm not from there, I'm from further…"
Anna hesitated for a moment, deciding what to say.
"-North. My mother is sick so I need to get the scroll. Can you just tell me which way the city is!?"
Her lie seemed to have been effective. Lisa's eyes flashed in recognition and surprise. "North? Really?", Anna heard her mumbling to herself but ignored it.
The tall girl stepped forward and squatted down in front of her like she was a little kid. Well, she was in a way.
Her hands were on Anna's slim shoulders and she had a friendly smile on her lips. She wasn't beautiful and had an ordinary face but her caring aura was overwhelming. Anna suddenly felt bad for getting annoyed at Lisa and bit down on the inside of her cheek.
"Don't you worry, little one! My name is Amelia and the guy behind me-", she nodded at the boy, "is called Richard. We're all going to the city. If you'd like we can go together?"
It was still weird being spoken to like a child but being in an unfamiliar environment for the first time, she could appreciate it. Anna smiled at Amelia and nodded.
"Great!", Amelia chirped happily before Anna could say anything. "What's your name then?"
"Anna!"
The moment her name slipped out of her she regretted it. 'Ah… I probably shouldn't have used my real name… it's a girl's name after all.'
Amelia, after a moment of badly masked confusion, smiled and nodded. After confirming that Anna was, indeed, a boy, the group kept walking down the wide road. They did not meet anyone else and after walking a few hours, decided to make camp and rest. Anna was the most exhausted as she had been trekking all night.
Amelia urged her to take a nap and assured her that they weren't in a rush and could wait for her, despite Lisa's facial expression saying the exact opposite. Anna took her up on her offer, hugging the backpack to her chest as she curled up around it. An hour later, Richard woke her up and they kept moving.
"How long is it until the city?", Anna asked, a hint of a whine laced in her voice. She was growing accustomed to the role of a child.
"Still a few days- still a few days.", Richard hummed, his gaze always watchful and wary as he skimmed the sides of the road. He said he was watching out for robbers and dishonest travellers.
The small group continued along, chatting about this and that. Amelia seemed to have taken the role of keeping Anna happy upon herself. She kept cracking jokes to make Anna more comfortable and even offered to hold her hand, which Anna rejected with an awkward smile.
Anna's heart was beating happily as they walked along the road, a smile on her lips. Their first meeting had been a little bumpy thanks to Lisa but she was glad to have met them. Being in a group made her feel safer and the trio was most definitely looking out for her.
'Outsiders are so nice-'
