Rune

Amrunela was not sure why her prince was so willing to quickly and with zero reservations trust these two. But she trusted Jaekel's judgement, more so than she would trust her own. He had a good head on his shoulders, something she knew quite well. Though he could act childish sometimes he would never do something dangerous without good reason.

Now that things had calmed down she got a better look at Niliah. Niliah was still dressed in her long gray cloak but as she walked Amrunela could see glimpses of what she wore underneath.

Niliah's clothes were in the style of a fencer. A loose, billowed shirt, cinched at the waist with a belt. Pants that were plain but durable. The woman was dressed for functionality more than anything else.

The girl was pretty, almost eerily beautiful even. She had long silver hair, though she tucked it into her cloak so that it was not entirely visible. She had large purple eyes that seemed a bit distant, as if she did not trust easily.

The oddest thing about the girl's appearance though was something that had not been as noticeable at first. She had on her face tiny scales, that were very similar in color to her hair. They did not cover her entire face, but she had a patch of them on her cheek.

Amrunela after noticing these began to take notice of other things about the girl, such as the fact that she had rather sharp teeth, and the fact that her hands ended in slender claws coming from her fingers instead of normal fingernails.

Niliah was not entirely elven. And Amrunela had a good guess as to what she was, though the cloak kept her from checking for the dead giveaway feature. It intrigued her though.

"Uh, Niliah?" She smiled at the girl, wanting to confirm this guess that she had. Niliah glanced over at her, her eyes questioning. "I could not help notice that your features are not entirely elven. I was wondering if you were- "

Niliah interrupted her, "What does it matter what I am?"

Amrunela was a bit taken aback at the hostility in the girl's face. Then the girl continued, "So what if my mother fell in love with a magical beast? So what if I have wings and can fly? I'm still-"

Talon, Amrunela was not sure how he had been able to hear them from where he was, threw over his shoulder from where he was walking in the front of the small group, "Princess… I think she was just curious. Of course, you are perfectly elven and not a monster. And I'll rip the head off of anyone who dares says otherwise, no worries."

Niliah closed her eyes for a moment, muttered something under her breath than looked at Amrunela, "Sorry, just I've had a lot of difficulty with people's perceptions. Yes, my father was a dragon, but don't dare think that that entirely defines me."

"Of course not! I've never met a half-dragon before though, so I was just intrigued."

Niliah nodded, seeming to accept that as reasonable, "Just don't gawk at me, it would make me uncomfortable."

"What about Talon?"

"Wind is a lot of things. Eccentric being the major one," Niliah sounded dismissive, as she turned away, "But he has saved my life before so I won't actually chase him away."

"Yes, but is he human?"

Niliah did not answer her, but continued walking. A bit faster now, actually. Feeling somewhat frustrated that her curiosity was not sated Amrunela huffed a little but moved to walk beside of Jaekel.

Her best friend was biting his lower lip trying to keep from laughing. She elbowed him in the rib for laughing at her inability not to ask questions. But that just made him actually laugh.

He patted her shoulder, and gave her a quick side hug, whispering softly into her ear as he did so, "Sorry, Rune. But it is kinda funny and cute when you so determinedly attempt to figure things out."

The girl sighed but she did not push him away. Ah, well, she did not mind Jaekel laughing at her so much. He was her best friend after all and hardly meant anything mean by it.

"So, Talon," Jaekel turned his attention away from her with a smile on his face. "Can I ask where exactly you are leading us?"

"Currently, to the nearest good resting spot. By the time we reach there it will be dusk." Talon flashed an impish looking grin as he continued, "But from what I heard of your 'quest', you need to go to the very center of Nix'Ryl to the ruins there. A place I tend to avoid but… this does seem kinda necessary."