Welcome to Gaia! ::

Chapter 1

Red and white flowers swayed in the gentle breeze, enticing the group of girls sitting under the oak tree. The youngest of the four sisters rose and ran into the small flowers, the petals tickling her ankles.
“Ethril, find some more nice red ones,” the eldest sister called out to the golden haired three year old. Ethril turned and waved her hand in acknowledgement before turning back to the flowers. Her sisters watched on as Ethril half skipped through the flowers, giggling and picking the ones she liked.
It was times like this Ethril really enjoyed. Almost all of her siblings were always busy with either schooling or important duties to the family and kingdom. Not to mention the only sibling closest to her in age was her brother Jerim, who was seven. ‘It’s boring being the youngest,’ she thought as she knelt and started to pluck red flowers in the center of the field. She hummed softly, a random tune that had come to her. Her tail flicked out behind slowly and lazily. As she gathered the flowers close to her, the breeze tugged at her small wings, almost teasing her.
“Do you have the flowers silly?” Emerald, her oldest sister, Rubies twin, yelled.
Ethril turned towards the tree and started to run back. Suddenly a loud whistling sound filled the air. Ethril looked around in surprise and confusion, her mouth forming a small ‘O’ and her golden eyes going wide.
Ethril vaguely heard her sister Ruby give a command to the others. She wasn’t really paying attention; Ethril was looking around trying to locate the whistle. She felt arms wrap around her waist, causing her to drop some of her little red flowers. She looked up in surprise at her sister Ruby. Some of her red hair, the reason for her name, had come loose from her well ordered bun.
“What’s going on?” Ethril asked, fear starting to lace through her curiosity as she examined her sister’s extremely serious expression.
“We’re heading back in. Someone sounded the siren,” Ruby said, her eyes barely revealing how much she was actually worried. She quickly pushed off the ground, causing Ethril to squeak in surprise.
Ethril looked down and grinned suddenly. Siren or not, she was flying. She knew, vaguely, what the siren meant was danger, though she had never heard it before.
She glanced around and spotted Emerald helping Sapphire, the next youngest after Jerim, to glide towards the palace a few minutes away.
Ethril tried to hold onto as many of the small, delicate red flowers as she could, but the wind created by her sister’s flight snatched one after another from her arms. She put all her concentration into holding as many flowers as she could. Another flower came loose and tickled her nose before being pulled past her cheek and into open air. She turned her head to try and watch the flower, but it was lost from her vision even as she tried to follow it.
So strongly was she concentrating on her little red flowers that she didn’t realize they had landed in the middle of the palace’s courtyard. It wasn’t until she felt herself moved into another pair of arms that she finally looked away from her small flowers she still held. Instead of looking up into the silver eyes of Ruby, she was looking into the golden eyes of her mother, Allasaril.
“Mommy, look at the flowers I picked!” Ethril said excitedly, lifting her small arms towards her mother to show off the small red blossoms she still held.
Her mother tilted her head town to gently sniff at the delicate petals. “Let’s go put them in a bowl of water, so they last longer,” Allasaril said with a calm smile as she carried her youngest daughter towards her rooms.
Out of all the seven of Ethorim’s and Allasaril’s children, only Ethril had inherited the golden scales and wings from her mother. She was a smaller version of her mother in appearances if not in personality.
Allasaril set her down as they entered Ethril’s rooms. She then proceeded to a small fountain next to Ethril’s bed that changed colors and from which small bubbles would rise. Allasaril lifted it up and then set it on the ground where Ethril could reach.
Ethril grinned up at her mother as she dropped her small armful into the magick fountain. Instantly a bubble formed, surrounding one of the flowers. It rose about half a foot from the fountain, the flower being reflected and altered by the bubbles surface. The bubble popped silently and the small red flower dropped back into the fountain with a quiet plop. Ethril’s grin grew wider as she looked up at her mother again. Her mother lifted the fountain back up and placed it back on the night stand.
“I have to go sweetheart. You go clean up and change for dinner,” Allasaril said softly and seriously.
Ethril nodded sulkily and crossed her arms over her chest. “You never spend time with me, mommy. Why can’t I go with you? I promise to behave,” Ethril asked pleadingly.
Allasaril smiled sadly at her smallest daughter. “I have to go do adult stuff sweetling. Some day you can come with me,” Allasaril knelt and gently cupped her daughters cheek. “Until then, be happy you’re a child.” With that Allasaril stood, smoothed down her skirts, and then left her youngest daughters’ rooms.
Ethril stood there sulking quietly to herself, not wanting to clean up and change for dinner. She should really do as her mother said, but she wanted to know what was so important to pull her mother away so quickly. ‘And why the siren was sounded,’ she thought.
As silently as she could, she pushed her bedroom door open. The best place to go to find out what was going on would be the council room. It wasn’t too far to go, the only problem was getting there without being seen or caught. The servants, other than the ones assigned to take care of her, wouldn’t stop her. Her sister Sapphire and brother Jerim might. Katar might be in the council room to listen now that he was older. Emerald, Ruby, and her oldest brother Diamond would defiantly be included in the council room, being the oldest.
Ethril peaked out of the room and then, seeing no one close by, made a dash for a niche further down the hall where a suit of armor was. She was still small enough to hide behind things even though she was growing rather fast for her age.
She peaked out from behind the armor, her hands carefully touching the metal. She looked left, and then right. The halls were still surprisingly empty. ‘Something big must have happened,’ she thought as she made another silent dash for the next suit of armor. She hid behind it like the last one, but when she peaked out from hind this one, she grinned. This wasn’t just her sneaking around anymore, this was an adventure. She was no longer sneaking to the council room to find out what was going on, she was on a covert mission. Her mind created the game as she tip toed her way through the hall way. In the game she was playing with herself, she was sneaking through the dark and dangerous fortress of a gang of rebellious conspirators. It was her mission to find the leader, find out what he was planning, and report back to head quarters for further instruction.
The farther she snuck down the hall, the more elaborate the game became. In her mind, she created fake enemies around every corner, hostages yelling and screaming for help, monsters patrolling the halls, and she was the best adventurer in the kingdom.
It wasn’t long until she was pressed against the large doors of the council room, her ear over the crack. Frowning because she barely heard the murmur of voices, she tugged the door slowly open a crack. She peaked in with one eye. The game ended suddenly as she watched her father pace, her mother, siblings, and her father’s captain of the guard talk.
“how could they have gotten this close?” Diamond asked the captain. “We have squads constantly patrolling the forest.” Diamond looked angry, as if the squads’ not doing their jobs was his fault.
“We’ll root them out your highness’. We will not permit Hunters to get any closer. I have already given the order to kill on sight.”
“Set extra patrols on the tower and city walls as well,” Ruby said. It was then Ethril noticed that Ruby was in her armor and carrying her sword. Emerald was in her full priestess robes. For twins, those two were complete opposites.
“Have the palace guards and Elites patrol outside the city gates. I don’t want to even risk letting Hunters that far,” King Ethorim said, his pacing stopped for the moment.
“My liege, surely the Elites should stay here and protect the royal family?” The captain asked.
“The Kingdoms people are a higher priority than the royal family,” Allasaril said softly, her hands folded gently in front of her. She looked solemn.
Everyone looked at her then, with varying degrees of respect and affection.
Ethorim walked swiftly to his wife and wrapped his arms around her in an emotional embrace. Unspoken words travelled between the two as they looked into each other’s eyes.
“I agree with my wife,” Ethorim said, his eyes never leaving hers.
“The people’s safety comes first.” Ruby stated quickly. She looked at the captain, her expression strict though her eyes showed expression for her new mate.
Ethril listened intently, her small claws digging into the wooden door slightly. Hunters. Just the word made her shiver. She had never seen one before, but she had heard plenty of stories. Ethril turned and left, heading back to hers and Sapphire’s rooms. Ethril’s thoughts focused on the thought of Hunters.
No one had actually told her the stories about hunters, she had heard everything by spying on the palace servants. From what she had heard, Hunters had piercing blood red eyes that had no pupils, the red covered even the white of the eyes, yellow and broken claws, they were more animal then dragoni. She heard a couple human cooks whisper once that hunters were created by cutting the wings off a Dragoni. Ethril shivered and she folded her small wings closer to her body. Just the idea of not having wings scared her. She silently walked into her room and closed the door tightly behind her.

By the time dinner rolled around, Allasaril had to go looking for her youngest daughter. She was surprised to find Ethril culred up and fast asleep under her blankets. Smiling softly to herself, her eyes glimmering with motherly adoration, Allasaril reached out to stroke her daughter’s cheek. Very carefully, Allasaril adjusted Ethril into a more comfortable position. Leaning down, Allsaril gently kissed her daughters forehead, then turned and left.

“Ethril,” Someone said her name as it shook her from her sleep. Ethril moaned and tried to push the arm that was shaking her away. “Ethril!” The voice and hand became more insistent. Again Ethril tried to roll over, but the hand grabbed her and she felt herself being pulled out of the warm bed and onto the cold, stone floor.
“Why’d you do that?” Ethril started to yell, only to have the hand that had been shaking her, cover her mouth. Ethril looked up into the frightened eyes of her sister, Sapphire. She started to ask what was going on when a scream from outside their window startled her. To Ethril’s astonishment, the harsh glow of flames blazed against the glass of their window. She felt Sapphire kneel next to her and felt a tug as she started crawling towards the door.
“Come on, we have to get out of here!” Sapphire whispered urgently, her voice pulling Ethril’s attention from the window. The two sisters moved as silently and quickly as they could to the door on the far side of the room.
When they reached the door, Ethril stretched out a shaking hand to push the door open quietly. Just as her fingers skimmed the polished surface of the wood, something or someone from outside smashed their window, sending glass shards all over the rug.
Time seemed to rapidly slow down as Ethril turned to look at the shattered window, her hand still on the door. Gold eyes met blood red as the bow string was pulled taunt. Ethril felt frozen, time still moving sluggishly even as the arrow was released. Out of the corner of her eye, Ethril saw Sapphire move.
Time only went to normal once the arrow imbedded its self into soft flesh. Ethril’s eyes went round as Sapphire fell onto her side. Ethril yelled then and tried to grab her sister. She completely forgot about the Hunter standing in the window, now climbing into the room and onto the broken glass.
The doors behind Ethril were suddenly and harshly flung open. Unlike last time, everything seemed to be moving too fast for her to realize what was happening around her.
Ethril shook Sapphire, begging her to get up even as the sounds of a fight filled the room. A scream of pain and death pierced the air and Ethril felt herself being lifted away from her sister moments later. She struggled against the arms that encircled her, and squirmed even as the figure holding her left the room. She felt a hand in her hair and whispered words.
“Darling, keep still,” The warm and foroting voice of her mother whispered into her ear.
“What about Sapphire? We have to get Sapphire!” Ethril whispered urgently. When her mother did not answer at first, Ethril once again stated they had to go back and get Sapphire.
“She’s gone sweet heart. We can’t go back,” Allasaril said as she snuck into a servant passage way.
Ethril continued to squirm as her mother rushed through the halls and towards the kitchens. Ethril knew this route, she had used it many times in her games. She would sneak into and out of the kitchen for snacks.
”Momma, what’s going on?” Ethril finally asked as she looked around the empty hallway
Allasaril was silent for a few minutes, saying nothing until they had safely reached the kitchens. Allasaril looked around for a moment before setting Ethril on an empty counter. The mother’s dark gold eyes met the daughters lighter gold eyes. Silence stretched between the two until Allasaril slumped slightly and decided to tell her daughter.
“We’re under attack. Your father told me to get you to safety,” Allasaril hesitated to say more. Her daughter was too young to fully understand death, so how was she going to explain the fact she might die? “Sweet heart. We’re going to the caves. When we leave, I need you to be as quiet as possible,” Her eyes glittered with unshed tears.
Mother and daughter fled into the night then, the sounds of battle chasing at their heels even as Allasaril pushed the castle gate open.
Ethril chanced one last look back at her home and almost cried out at what out at what she saw. Ruby was protecting the fallen form of her twin Emerald, Diamond’s arm was missing, and no one else could be seen. Silent tears slid down her cheeks as the gate closed. Ethril covered her mouth to stifle a sob. Ethril and her mother were now on the other side of the castle wall.
Her mother moved quickly, heading straight for the forest. Ethril didn’t have time to think about where her father was, or Jerim and Katar. All she could do was hang onto her mother as the golden dragoni raced swiftly through the forest towards the Crystal Caves. It wasn’t far through when the sounds of pursuers started getting close.
“Momma,” Ethril whispered fearfully, her small hands clutching at her mothers dress.
Allasaril chanced a look back, only to start running faster. She held her daughter tight before stopping and setting her down. Allasaril had a decision to make, and fast. The choice wasn’t easy, it might not even save her youngest child in the end, but she made it all the same.
“Sweet heart, listen closely,” Allasaril whispered as she cupped her daughters cheeks in her hands. Her thumb wiped a tear away. “You have to run now. Don’t stop and don’t turn back. No matter what sweet heart.” She said, fighting back the tears in her eyes and voice.
Ethril was about to ask something when her mother her and pushed her away. “Don’t turn back,” Her mother said as she stood. Ethril started to turn back to look at her mother, but she felt her mother push her forward again. Rustling of branches distracted them for a split second. “Go!” Ethril’s mother said again before turning away from her daughter. Tears slipped from her eyes as she looked in the direction of the rustling branches with anger.
Ethril stumbled into a run, her hands and face being scratched by bushes and low growing plants she had been protected from in her mother’s arms before. She ran blindly into the dark forest, her mother’s instructions going through her head over and over.
She fell heavily several times always getting up and continuing even as blood seeped across her skin. She continued on even as she heard a faint scream. As she ran, she wasn’t expecting the tree root that bulged out of the ground.
With tears blurring her eyes, and the dark night cloaking everything, her foot connected with the tree root. She fell, her wrist snapping as she attempted to stop her fall. The last thing she saw was the jagged rock coming up to meet her head. She heard a sickening crack and everything went black. It wasn’t until Ethril was full grown and with children of her own that she wondered why the Hunters hadn’t found her unconscious form that night.

Hours later, in the growing light of dawn, a white haired and cloaked figure slowly walked up to the fallen form of the young dragoness. He stood over her for a moment, knelt, and then lifted her limp body into his arms. She faintly stirred once before going still once more. With the child in his arms, a mist surrounded them, enveloping them until the fog was so thick neither could be seen. A wind suddenly whipped at the fog, and as it cleared, neither person was there.
The journey took seconds as the man carried the small girl from one side of the continent to the other. He moved south, from the evergreen forest of the Earth Clan to the barren desert of the Fire Clan. The fog rolled over the high city walls and into the streets. Within seconds it stopped in front of a small building, only two stories tall. The fog dissipated, leaving the white haired man with the small child In his arms.
He shielded the girl from the morning light his free hand coming up to lift the brass knocker on the door. Foot steps could be heard hurrying through the house, followed by the sound of the doors lock being turned. The door was flung open and the man strode in.
“Is that her?” A woman’s voice asked from behind the man. He nodded and looked back as the woman closed the door.
“The news has only just arrived. How did you get her so quickly?” She asked nervously. Her eyes fell onto the small girl and lifted back into the extremely pale eyes of the man.
“I found her unconscious under a tree,” He stated calmly. “She needs healing,” Even as the words left his lips the woman had pushed past him. She lead the way the way into a small bedroom a few feet from the front door. She motioned for him to put the girl onto the bed.
As soon as he had done so, the woman was kneeling by the child’s side, her hands tying back her long brown hair.
“Sistra,” the man said, catching the woman’s attention for the moment.
“Any others?” Sistra asked. Her eyes looked away, already knowing the answer to her question.
“Of the family? No. A few of the servants and villagers, but that’s all.”
Sistra nodded solemnly and started mixing herbs in a polished bowl. “The council will want to hear from you,” She said carefully, looking at the man out of the corner of her eyes.
The man nodded and turned. Sistra swiftly reached out and grabbed his arm through his cloak. “How should I raise her? What should I do?” She asked fearfully. She had never cared a child before.
“Alert the council when she awakens. They will decide.” The man gently shook off Sistra’s hand and strode from the room.
“Good by White Cloud. And thank you,” though her words were whispered and reverent, the white haired man heard them all the same.

The next day Ethril awoke with no memories or knowledge of who she was. The council decided she would be raised as a normal child, keeping the knowledge of who she was from her. Years passed by in the blink of an eye and Ethril grew into a fine young lady. This is her story, of her life and the trials she went through. These are the memories of Ethereal, last of the Purian Clan.

Ethril woke to the feeling of the newly risen sun warming her wings. She sighed and stretched out on the side she had fallen asleep on. Her wings, glistening in the morning light, stretched to their fullest lengths, taking up the majority of the clearing Ethril had settled in the night before. As she finished stretching, she curled back in on herself, her head resting in the crook of her right arm.
As she lay there, her eyes remained closed as the first sounds of the day rose with the sun. Ethril’s lips curved into a smile as birds flew over her, chasing each other back and forth between the trees surrounding the clearing.
She didn’t know how long she stayed like that, just enjoying the morning instead of jumping up to prepare for the day.
‘I’ve never just slept in before,’ Ethril thought with a giddy laugh. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had actually stayed still for so long past dawn.
Eventually she got up, stretching her limbs once again as she did so. Her hands went above her head and her tail flickered back and forth from her muscles tightening momentarily. Once she was up, she patted her clothes out and sneezed as a large sand cloud was shaken loose.
Ethril turned to face the sky and took a deep breath. Today was the first day of the rest of her life and she felt like she needed to make it worth while.
With a few running steps, she pushed herself into the air and over the trees. Her toes skimmed the leaves for a moment, scaring a few birds into flight along with her. She giggled and waved an apology before turning back towards the sky. Her first priority of the day was to get to the inn for some nice warm breakfast to fuel the rest of the day.
The day unfortunately though had other plans. As she flew, the weight of the air around her dragged on her wings, making her fly lower and slower. She tried to tilt her wings so the heat off the ground would push her higher, but nothing she did seemed to help her rise above the stifling heat.
Ethril was forced to land once the strain on her wings became too much. The heat wasn’t the problem, she had dealt with worse in the desert. No, the problem was the humidity. She panted quietly as she started pulling off a few layers of her desert garb.
‘How can it be this hot?’ Ethril demanded softly to herself as she folded up her desert head wrap and outer shirt. All she was left wearing was a tight, sleeveless, wrap around shirt and her billowy belted pants.
Ethril wiped her brow with the back of her hand. Why was the heat so much different from the heat she had grown up in? She still wasn’t all that far from the desert and she certainly hadn’t anticipated this strange humid heat to be a problem.
‘I’ll…I’ll have to purchase clothes better suited for this environment.’ She finally thought as she began walking under the cool shade of the forest. The shade wasn’t too much reprieve, but it was better then flying above where it felt like she was being pulled back down to the ground.
She tied her head wrap and desert top to her bundle and then flung the bundle back onto her back. She figured she wasn’t too far from the inn at this rate, having flown the majority of the way. This fact though did not help relieve her of the heat.
By the time she reached the outskirts of the small town located just down the road from the inn, she was in a downright bad mood. Her hair was coming out of it’s well ordered ribbon, her clothes were sticking to her, and any sand that was still clinging to her clothes was causing itchy and irritable rashes to spread across her legs. Her mood was focused on the fact no one had told her about how bad the heat got or that she would need different clothes for this area.
Ethril cursed mentally to herself as she walked past the first house on the outskirts of the town. She spotted a teenage boy carrying a closed basket on his shoulders.
“Excuse me!” Ethril called out. She hurried over to the boy, trying very hard to compose her self. The boy stopped and turned to look at her. Her eyes skimmed over him and she took note that he was human and looked to be about the same age as her. He was just a little taller then her and his dark brown hair was a complete mess. It was tangled and had pieces of straw or hay sticking out at odd ends.
“Can I help ya mam?” he asked, his voice drawling slightly with an obvious farm boy accent.
Ethril hesitated a moment. “Can you tell me where I might be able to purchase new clothes?” She grinned slightly and rubbed the back of her head. She felt embarrassed to be asking, but she didn’t know what else to do.
The boy looked her over, his eyes traveling up and down her body slowly, causing Ethril to blush. When the boy did not look away from her, Ethril shifted nervously.
“Is there something wrong?” She asked as she fiddled with a strand of her hair.
The boy shook his head as if to clear it. “The market would be yer best bet,” the boy said before turning back to the road. Ethril watched him go, her eyes revealing just how confused and uncomfortable she had been. It had been like he’d never seen a dragoni before, which didn’t make sense to her. ‘Dragoni are the most common race,’ she thought to herself.
She shook her head slowly in contemplation before heading in the direction of the town.
More people were out by the time she made it to the small town. The hustle and bustle of the town was nothing in comparison to the capital of the Southern Clan. Ethril received many covert looks as she wandered around the town’s marketplace. She found several shops that sold clothes, but not for individual’s with wings. She looked the clothes over several times, but moved on. She could have bought any of the clothes she had seen, except she didn’t feel like trying to alter any clothes she bought. She hated sewing.
Finally, at the end of the marketplace, Ethril came across a clothing store that outfitted people with wings. She looked around skeptically, she only spotted one or two people, and they were a ways off. ‘Almost looks abandoned,’ she thought to herself as she faced the store again. The outside looked dusty, the windows smudged.
She sighed and pushed the shop’s door open gently. She needed new clothes better situated for this humidity, so if there was a shop that sold clothes she didn’t have to alter she would have to take it. An old bell sounded as she poked her head into the shop. The inside wasn’t much better then the outside. It as dim and there was a musty smell in the air.
“Hello?” Ethril called out as she hesitantly entered the shop. She didn’t see anyone around and thought that maybe the shop wasn’t even supposed to be open yet.
“Welcome, welcome weary traveler!” A voice called out from the back room. “Welcome to Madame Zeron’s shop,” An elderly winged elf woman said as she entered through the doorway leading into the backroom.
Her face was wrinkled, something uncommon among the winged elves, even among elves in general. Ethril was surprised a winged elf could even get wrinkles. The old woman’s wings dropped and she walked in a half crouch. If her wrinkles weren’t an indication of how old she must have been, her wings were. Ethril took note that the old woman’s wings had probably been a beautiful silver in the past, but now they were a lack luster gray and the edges were frayed. The only thing about the old winged elf that didn’t seem old were her eyes. Her eyes were the most brilliant blue that Ethril had ever seen. As they looked Ethril over, they glittered with mirth.
Before Ethril could say or do anything, Madame Zeron grabbed her by the arm and dragged her further into the shop. Madame Zeron pulled her through the doorway and into the backroom.
“I need new clothes,” Ethril started to say.
“You don’t know what you want!” the wizened old woman said, cutting Ethril off before she could even begin to describe what she wanted. “Madame Zeron knows what you want!” the winged woman pushed Ethril onto a slightly raised platform. There were three mirrors surrounding the platform, giving Ethril multiple views of herself.
“But…” Ethril felt the elf woman’s hands on the base of her wings, taking measurements of how far down her wings went on her back. She felt a tape measure go around her waist and then she felt it pressed against the length of her arm.
“Desert colors do not suit you,” Madame Zeron said as she turned clucking her tongue in disapproval. She began walking from one pile of folded clothes to another, and then to a rack of clothes.
Ethril looked down at her clothing. Browns, tans, and muted yellows were popular colors in the south. She had never thought about wearing any other colors since other colors weren’t sold often. Nor had she ever thought about how she looked in the desert colors.
“Pastels are all wrong,” Zeron was saying, more to herself then to Ethril. “You’re not old enough for white,” Ethril already knew that. Solid white clothes were typically reserved for older and more experienced people. The white denoting wisdom and knowledge. “Perhaps a dark red?” Ethril wrinkled her nose and blushed at Madame Zeron’s suggestion.
‘Red? Was this old woman mad?’ Ethril thought to herself. ‘Only women with figures and who wanted attention wore red.’ Ethril was neither.
“I don’t think” Ethril began to say.
“Young people never think. Madame Zeron knows what looks best,” again the old winged elf interrupted Ethril, causing her to bite her tongue. It was fine when an elder interrupted someone as young as herself, but for her to interrupt an elder was rude and unthinkable.
If Ethril wasn’t a patient person to begin with, she probably would have left by now. Of course it didn’t help that she really did not like sewing. So, Ethril held still and continued to chew on her own tongue as Madame Zeron made suggestions and picked out clothing.
“Remove those,” Madame Zeron’s voice intruded on Ethril’s concentration. “Put these on.” An armful of clothes were pushed into Ethril’s arms. She looked down at the new clothes as Madame Zeron left to give her a little privacy.
‘They’re definitely different,’ Ethril thought as she unfolded each article to look at it. The only saving grace was that they were not the bright red she had been fearing.
With a sigh, Ethril reached around to untie her under shirt. She carefully removed it and folded it up. Next were her desert pants. The pants had several buckles around the waist to ensure they would stay on. They were buckled around her ankles as well to ensure no sand would get in from that opening. Finally, they too were off. She folded them up as well and set them on the table along with her undershirt. She didn’t know where else to put her clothes, so the table seemed like the best idea. Clad in her only her chest wrap and her tight but flexible feminine shorts, Ethril turned back to the platform were she had set down the new clothes.
Ethril reached down and unfolded the clothes. Ethril had never worn red before, but she remembered seeing dancers at the summer festival were bright flashing reds. Sistra had always discouraged her from wearing the color after a rather flamboyant dance performance. Ethril contemplated these thoughts and memories as she focused on the clothes.
The fabric flossed in her hands. The fabric wasn’t shiny, as the texture lead one to believe. The fabric flowed and felt like silk, but had the look and texture of satin. A strange combination which left Ethril wondering what the material was made out of. The red of the pants were almost crimson, but with reddish brown undertones. The top, similar in style to her desert undershirt was a more brown red, almost a leather red. Even with the brown undertones, Ethril felt the clothes were definitely a defined red.
Ethril unfolded the pants and pulled them on. She was disturbed to discover that the pants were very low cut. They clung to her hips by a single thing belt. If the pants were any lower, she wouldn’t need a slit for her tail. She was so used to her desert pants, with their numerous buckles and layered wide belts, that slipping into this new pair of pants was simple and uncomplicated. Just the single buckle and a fairly thin, black strip of leather constituted as a belt for these pants. They flowed past her ankles and were wide as they fell around her paws. Something else she would have to get used too after living for years with the buckles on her ankles.
Ethril turned to the three sided mirror to see how the pants looked on her. In her opinion, the pants showed off way too much stomach. She could see the swirls of her scale patterns on her sides, which with her old clothes had never been seen by anyone except herself and Sistra. The pants were extremely loose, flaring out at the thighs and continuing down. Ethril twisted slightly to see how they would move against her. The cloth slid across her skin but did not tighten as her old desert pair would have done. At least that was an improvement that could make up for how low these pants were.
There was something universal about winged female tops. You had to tie it somewhere above your wings and for some reason the tops always felt too short. Sistra had always made her clothes in the past so the shortness of her shirts had never been a problem.
Luckily for her, this shirt was designed in one of the more favored simple styles. It also came down far enough to make up for how low cut the pants were.
The top had two straps to tie around the back of the neck. She could adjust the length of the straps so she could cover herself decently enough, but still have enough length required for the ties that went under her wings. Ethril flipped the shirt over to look at the back. The ties worked similar to that of a corset. All she had to do was thread the cord through the loops, pull, and then tie.
She tied the neck straps first, adjusting it until the shirt sat comfortably against her chest. Then Ethril turned so her back was towards the mirror. She focused as she watched herself thread the loops of her shirt. Ethril had to maneuver her wings out of the way so she could see better. Then, once the thread was through the top loops, she pulled. The shirt tightened and sat snuggly under her wings. Ethril sighed as she missed a couple times before successfully tying the cord.
Finally Ethril turned to look into the mirror to see the full effect. The clothes were rather nice, but she would just have to get used to the fact the pants really did sit on her hips. She cocked her hips and wrapped her arms around her chest. Then she performed various maneuvers to see just how flexible the clothes were on her. She twisted and crouched, then moved into a flight position. The pants fluttered around her ankles and the shirt stayed in place. The pants actually cooperated and didn’t fall like she thought they would.
“Not bad,” Ethril muttered, admitting to herself that although the color wasn’t something she would have chosen, the clothes were in fact a good choice.
“You see?” The elderly winged elf woman said as she returned, her voice making Ethril jump in surprise. Madame Zeron was carrying a large, black, folded clothe in her arms. “Madame Zeron knows what you want.”
Ethril looked curiously at the clothe. “I have to admit, these are rather nice. A little short, but nice. But I still think” Once again Madame Zeron interrupted her, causing Ethril to bite her tongue.
“Color suits you well, stop arguing,” Madame Zeron said, knowing exactly what Ethril didn’t like.
“What about an over shirt?” Ethril asked as she picked at the red top. “This is nice when it’s hot and all, but what about when I’m flying?” Ethril looked at Madame Zeron for the answer. “And at night, I might get cold.” Ethril hated being cold, more then she hated to sew.
“Over shirts are no good in humid environments.” Madame Zeron said, using her hand to wave off Ethril’s question about over shirts. “Cloaks are better.” With that Madame Zeron unfolded the cloth she had brought with her. She stepped in front of Ethril. “Fold your wings.”
Ethril did a she was gold, folding her wings close to her back. The wing claws rested on her shoulders and the ends of her wings touched the ground. Madame Zeron flung the cloak over Ethril and then closed the front with a clip.
Ethril glanced over Madame Zeron’s shoulder to look in the mirror. The first thing she noted was that the cloak was layered. Madame Zeron fiddled with the top layer so that it fell correctly. From what Ethril could see around Madame Zeron, there was the under part of the cloak, which flowed to the ground, then there was a second shorter cloak which connected at the neck line and fell to her elbows.
“when flying, the longer part will be pushed back and the shorter part will keep arms warm.” Madame Zeron said as she stepped out of the way for Ethril to look herself over. She turned and noted that there was also a hood.
“For lower arms, we have these.” The aged elf seemed to pull what looked like leather greaves out from under her wings.
Ethril felt the greaves as Madame Zeron handed them to her. They were a soft leather that matched the shirt in color. She pulled them on and Madame Zeron tightened the straps. Once on, Ethril lifted her arms to look at the greaves. They breathed well and didn’t rub wrong against her skin.
A thought suddenly occurred to Ethril. “How much is all this going to cost?” She didn’t know how much she had been given exactly, but she didn’t want to exhaust her money just yet. If worse came to worse, she would take only the pants. She could, painfully, alter her old tops. The pants would help alleviate much of the heat in this humid environment.
“Normally, everything all together would be 30 gold pieces,” Ethril panicked at the price. 30 gold pieces was a lot and she didn’t know if she had that much in the money pouch she had been given.
“But,” Ethril looked at Madame Zeron hopefully. “I don’t happen to have desert clothes for travelers heading south. For you, I’ll trade this entire outfit for your old clothes and 10 gold pieces.”
Ethril thought about it for a minute. If she were to sell her desert clothes then she would have an issue if she headed back. Then again, she hadn’t been planning on going back for quite awhile. “O-ok,” Ethril said as she went to her pile of belongings. She pulled out her money pouch, her outer shirt, and then untied her head wrap from her bag. Ethril couldn’t remember what her old clothes had cost Sistra to make, nor did she want to figure it out. She had never been very good at haggling. That and she wasn’t really in the mood to barter. At this rate, she would barely make it to the inn for a late lunch and if she took the time to barter, then she probably miss lunch all together and have to wait until dinner to get something to eat.
Ethril dug out the 10 gold pieces and noted she had about 5 gold pieces left. She handed the gold over and Madame Zeron took the pieces and looked them over for a minute. Sometimes, people could enchant copper pieces to look like gold or use fake gold to make gold pieces. She nodded to herself satisfied and then pocketed the gold.
“Good, good. Enjoy the new clothes,” The elderly elf said as she began looking over Ethril’s old desert clothes. She fingered the fabric experimentally and then looked over the belts.
“Well…thank you,” Ethril said as she turned and headed through the front of the store. Madame Zeron waved offhandedly, completely absorbed in her old clothes.
Ethril sighed as she left the store and stepped out into the bright daylight. She blinked several times and rubbed her eyes. Ethril hadn’t quite realized just how dim that store had been. Ethril closed her eyes for a moment, letting the light filter in from behind her eyelids. Finally, she opened her eyes once more, the light no longer bothering her. She fidgeted with her new cloak for a moment until it sat more comfortably on her shoulders. She swung her bag up onto her back, careful of her wings.
Ethril turned towards the direction she hoped the inn was in. ‘There’s a way to find out,’ she told herself. Carefully, Ethril flipped the cloak so it rested in the middle of her back, between her golden wings. It was easy enough to tie her bag into place on her back. Ethril sighed as she looked up into the sky. She would have to eventually test out her new clothes anyway, might as well be now.
With that thought in mind, she took a few running steps and then pushed herself off of the ground. Her wings were just a tad too long in the confined space between the buildings so she ended up using some air magic to lift herself higher into the air.
The sensation of the new clothes against her skin while in flight was strange, but not unwelcome. The slight pull of the cloak, flapping against her wings, was something she would have to just get used too.
Once at a fairly decent height, Ethril changed the tilt of her wings so she could just hover in place. From where she was she could easily see the entire town as well as part of the lake off in the distance. She focused on the area between the village and the lake, spotting the inn in seconds.
The inn was next to the only visible road in the area she could see. Trees surrounded the inn and even more trees faced the inn on the other side of the road. For a second time since starting her journey, Ethril was surprised and awed by just how many trees she could see.
Ethril’s stomach grumbled suddenly. Her hunger reminded her of the fact that she was going to the inn primarily for food. She sighed and wrapped her arms around her stomach. When was the last time she had eaten anyway? Yesterday some time? She giggled softly. Sistra would have never allowed her to have gone this long without a proper meal.
Perhaps ten minutes later she landed in the center of the road in front of the inn, her stomach gurgled again and she patted it with one hand.
Ethril glanced around, surprised by the lack of people on the road. From what she had been told about the road it was greatly used by travelers. Ethril shrugged and slowly entered the inn. She poked her head in before walking in, her eyes quickly scanning the inside of the inn.
The inn was rather bright thanks to the light streaming in from the windows. Ethril glanced around again, intrigued by the lack of people sitting around at various people. Those that were there were sitting quietly, minding their own businesses.
What was she supposed to do now? Sit at a table and wait to be served? Or was she supposed to go to the bar and place an order? Ethril had never been to an inn before and could only speculate. She decided to go up to the bar and speak with the bartender. She walked up to the bar, impervious to the glances and stares she was receiving from the other inn patrons.
“Can I help you?” Ethril jumped in surprise and turned. A human man just exited from a door behind the bar. He was about average size for a human male with brown hair pulled back from his face. A few strands fell into his face, framing his brown eyes. Ethril blushed unexpectedly. He wasn’t extremely handsome, but his smile and the curiosity in those brown eyes did make him attractive.
“Um…I was wondering if you were still serving lunch,” Ethril said, her hands fidgeting behind her and under the cloak. She sat down on one of the bar stools and transferred her fidgeting hands to her lap.
The man looked at her for a minute or two, studying her closely. Ethril looked down into her lap and felt the blush get brighter. “Little late for lunch.” He stated carefully, as if unsure of her.
Ethril continued to fidget under his gaze. “I know, but that doesn’t make me any less hungry.”
The man chuckled at that. “We have some soup left and I’m sure have some roast and bread,” he said as he turned and headed back into the kitchen.
In no time at all Ethril was happily eating her soup, bread, and some roast. The man, who Ethril was pretty sure was the inn keeper, cleaned glasses and wiped down the bar top.
“How much?” She asked as she finished her first meal away from home.
The man waved her question away. “Don’t worry about it. On the house,” He said as he grunted, lifting a fresh keg into place. He lifted another empty keg out of it’s stationary position and replaced it. “If you tell me a little about yourself that is.”
Ethril blushed but smiled comfortably. “Well first of all my name is Ethril,” She said starting off. The man took her plate and bowl away and set it under the bar. “I left the southern clan capital yesterday to start my journey.”
The inn keeper paused. “And what type of journey would that be, little lady?” He asked.
Ethril frowned at the ‘little’ comment. She was short yes, but she wasn’t that small! She was a nearly full grown dragon and most people were still taller then her. “A training journey I guess,” She shrugged. “I couldn’t decide on a primary so the elder’s thought a journey would be best.”
Now that Ethril thought about it, the journey didn’t make much sense to her. Usually if a person couldn’t decide on a primary the elders or parents of the student made the choice for them. This was not the case for her. After thinking about it for a minute, she shrugged, sure that everything would make sense sooner or later. “I was told the journey was about finding myself I guess.”
“Where are you off too then?” He asked her.
“I’m going east first, then maybe to the water clan after that.” Ethril replied with a shrug.
The inn keeper paused and rubbed his chin for a moment, just looking at her. “May I make a suggestion?”
Ethril nodded, any advice given would be beneficial to her at this point in her journey.
“Find a traveling companion,” the man said as he looked out one of the windows. “Life on the road can be very lonely, not to mention dangerous.” His voice held a great deal of emotion and Ethril began to wonder just who this man was and what he had done earlier in life.
Ethril leaned forward. “Well now you know me, but I barely know you.” She smiled pleasantly.
The inn keeper chuckled and shook his head slightly. “The name’s Rojer. I’ve owned the inn for nearly 15 years now,” He said fondly. Suddenly he slapped his hands down against the bar counter. “This place has been real good to me ever since I wandered in.”
Ethril smiled and looked around. There still weren’t many people inside yet.
“If you’re wondering where the patrons are, they don’t typically arrive until the sun goes down.” Rojer said with a light chuckle. “Tell you what, go take a nap in one of the empty rooms. Then go take a look at the lake in the moonlight tonight. We don’t have much this little part of the world, but the lake is something every traveler should see at lease once.”
Ethril nodded and took the key Rojer took off the wall behind him. A nap sounded good about now, it didn’t make sense why she was suddenly so tired though. Ethril had slept soundly last night and had even slept in that morning, but she was tired none the less.
Relieved she was going to get some rest, Ethril went up the stairs Rojer had said to go up. ‘Yup, a nap would be great,’ she thought as she opened up one of the available rooms. She closed the door behind her with a sigh.

thanks for pointing out the desert dessert thing. Yeah I was typing fast so I didn't notice it.

Yes the title was originally based off of Ethril's lost memories. But then I got to thinking. She was 3 years old when it happened and most 3 year olds don't remember much...so her amnesia is sorta unimportant.