The Courtyard [Main]

A gentle breeze made itself known through the ivy and flowers, causing the leaves and petals to sway to unheard tune. The sound of trickling water could be heard as the fountain spills over stones into a pool, beneath the rippling surface swam two koi fish, their silky fins dance slowly around their white and orange scaled bodies. The sun was up, casting the bright rays causing the garden to flourish with life, butterflies twirl about in the air with carefree life, their wings various hues from orange to brilliant blue. The music and laughter drifting up from the tavern, it was the lunch hour so there was no drunken stupor yet, that would be when darkness fell upon the world and the crickets came out to play their songs.

In this garden was a young girl, no older than the age of six, she seemed to be as sweet as they came. Her hair held various bright colors as it was braided neatly into two strands, the ends tied with silky pink ribbon with small little bows. At the moment she was crouched beside a bench, eyeing a brightly colored bird who look to have a broken wing by the way it was dragging across the smoothly crafted bench. The girls eyes watched it with a worried look in them, her right iris was a bright pink while the left was a gentle lavender, they were both focused on the poor small bird. The girl had found the bird when she was exploring the gardens, not knowing how it had come to break its wing but she just couldn't walk away from it either.

The girl was wearing a pink hoodie, sequins and jewels glittering in the sunlight, the hood was currently drawn back, not needing it on at the moment. In the middle of the hoodie's sleeves her small arms poked out, for the rest of the sleeve had been sewn shut to look like a cat's paw. The lower part of her body was outfitted in a pair of red boxer shorts, her skinny legs revealed a bit before moving to her rainbow stockings. This time she was wearing shoes, soft black leather slippers. Her hoodie was cleaned and repaired flawlessly, though she hadn't come out unscathed. Her rear had been whipped a half of a dozen times for coming home with her hoodie torn and stained. But to her, six lashes was like a slap on the wrist, at least Master hadn't skinned her alive and rubbed salt on her exposed muscles again.

A frown marred her glittering pink lips, oblivious to her healing wounds, she was more concerned about the bird. She wasn't great at healing spells and she didn't want to risk hurting the bird more if she slipped up, finding help would be hard for her since she lacked decent social skills outside her own environment. She did enjoy exploring but the bird needed her help, she gently scooped it up into her small hands, the bird actually looking a bit bigger than it really was in those small hands. She tried to hold it steady without hurting its wing, which was easier said than done as the bird was wild, it squirmed and chirped in her grasp.

As the breeze ruffled the ivy and flowers, wafting their heady scent about, a set of narrowed eyes watched the bright young girl. Those eyes watched her feet as they scuffed up a bit of dust, though other things distracted the spy. Butterflies dancing on the wind drew the wavering gaze from the colorful child, the movement of the koi tearing attention away from those in turn. The sneaking creature crawled ever closer to the pool, head tipping ever so slightly to the side.

The creature’s nose twitched slightly as the wafting scents flowed in through his nostrils, sending a ripple up its spine. Small claws scraped quietly across the ground, the spy not truly coming into view, however. Even with the bright light above shining down upon everything, the creeping creature remained incognito. As with the sights and smells, the music drifting from the watering hole caused the thing to turn its head. Its body rose slightly, sitting up on its haunches and staring about with a bit of curiosity.

The creature finally allowed itself to briefly become visible, revealing a thin, shaggy-furred creature. Navy fur stood out along the back and top of its head, its snout and throat quite brilliantly white. The rest of his coloration would be hard to see with the loose gray clothing adorning his thin torso. White fur rustled along his exposed arms, the loose, short sleeve flapping slightly at the breeze. A pair of dark blue shorts held up with a rope belt hid his thighs, but his lower legs were free. His four thick, clawed toes curled some, scraping his nails over the ground. Behind him, a white tail, just as shaggy as the rest of his body, swayed slightly gracefully beneath a ramshackle little backpack.

Eulo turned his gaze to the girl finally, small ice blue eyes set in that shark-like face scanning over her. He saw nothing wrong with her that he did not already know about, the creature’s right hand rising. Slender fingers closed around his amulet, smirking as he willed himself to once more become unnoticeable. With his amulet, the only real way to find Eulo if he did not wish to be found would be to directly trip over his invisible body. He crouched back onto all fours, stalking closer to the girl as she tended to the injured bird.

The stalking sergal scooted up directly behind the girl before he made his move. When he had come into reach, Eulo extended his hand, lightly tracing a clawed finger over the smooth, exposed skin between boxer hem and stockings. He avoided touching her with the claw, instead using the soft pad of his finger to stroke the skin. Mentally commanding the amulet, he released the enchantment for the girl alone, allowing her to see him crouched behind her. He touched her leg softly, the velvety fur of his palm tickling lightly at her skin as his head leaned in to brush his muzzle lightly over her side. She was his friend and he was curious as to what she was doing.

“Hey there…what’dja find,” he asked, cocking his head to the side. He recognized that it was a bird, but he’d let her explain herself. Eulo smiled blissfully, his palm stroking against her bare leg, hand slid ever so slightly up the leg of her boxers. It was not a lewd touch, but most would be hesitant to be so friendly. Eulo had never really been taught these things, though, the orphan having essentially raised himself. What had bonded him to the girl was that she was almost as alone as he’d been. The fact that she’d also identified many of his treasures that he’d thought to simply be toys as actual magical treasures helped that fact along. She’d also showed and taught him things that he’d never known before. Though she didn’t know it and likely would never try, she wouldn’t be able to rid herself of the slightly older boy if she even tried. He enjoyed being her friend, even if to most it would seem like she had an imaginary friend and not a real one.