06-25-2017, 10:51 PM
The elegant creature which floated into the hut wasn't at all what the beleaguered survivor had expected. She'd had only a vague picture in her mind of who her savior would turn out to be, but when that comforting presence had appeared her mind Pinay had imagined another elf.
She didn't know what it was that stood before her now.
It bore a strong resemblance to a human woman from the duchy of Sendai. It's body was tall and fit, with a round face, skin the color of sandstone at night, and a pile of shiny black hair pulled up in a bun, secured tightly with lacquered sticks. It even dressed like them, in a white robe with elaborate sleeves, each decorated with a large red circle, and a black strip of silken cloth wrapped around its midsection. There were other features, however, that made the creature impossible to mistake for human, in spite of its small, round ears.
Just above its hairline, there was a pair of feathery antennae as long as Pinay's forearms. Two wide circles of green pigment, either tattoos or some sort of highly symmetrical birth-marks, surrounded a pair of compound-eyes like those of an insect; Resting within the sockets of an otherwise-humanoid face, they shimmered and pulsed with prismatic light, never blinking. Most noticeable of all, however, was the fact that its bare, dainty feet didn't quite touch the hut's earth-and-flagstone floor. The creature simply hovered, radiating comfort and alien sympathy, smiling quizzically.
Sitting on the ground wrapped in nothing but a blanket, Pinay suddenly felt very small. The two earthen walls and the guts of the fallen tree seemed less like a shelter and more like a trap. It occurred to her that she really didn't know anything about where she was, or the what this being wanted.
For several minutes, neither of them said anything. The scarred elf fidgeted and squirmed, and eventually stood, although it took her three attempts. She fought down the black spots that swam before her eyes, making the room spin, and faced the stranger squarely.
"Who are you?" the elf rasped, her larynx as scarred as the rest of her.
"I'm called Mothra," the creature said. Out loud its voice was husky, lyrical and bright, humming pleasantly in its throat - though its face remained strangely impassive when it spoke. "I'm a prime, and a traveling healer - but that's not terribly important right now. Is there anything you need? Clothes? Food? You nearly died - I'd imagine you're very hungry."
She didn't know what it was that stood before her now.
It bore a strong resemblance to a human woman from the duchy of Sendai. It's body was tall and fit, with a round face, skin the color of sandstone at night, and a pile of shiny black hair pulled up in a bun, secured tightly with lacquered sticks. It even dressed like them, in a white robe with elaborate sleeves, each decorated with a large red circle, and a black strip of silken cloth wrapped around its midsection. There were other features, however, that made the creature impossible to mistake for human, in spite of its small, round ears.
Just above its hairline, there was a pair of feathery antennae as long as Pinay's forearms. Two wide circles of green pigment, either tattoos or some sort of highly symmetrical birth-marks, surrounded a pair of compound-eyes like those of an insect; Resting within the sockets of an otherwise-humanoid face, they shimmered and pulsed with prismatic light, never blinking. Most noticeable of all, however, was the fact that its bare, dainty feet didn't quite touch the hut's earth-and-flagstone floor. The creature simply hovered, radiating comfort and alien sympathy, smiling quizzically.
Sitting on the ground wrapped in nothing but a blanket, Pinay suddenly felt very small. The two earthen walls and the guts of the fallen tree seemed less like a shelter and more like a trap. It occurred to her that she really didn't know anything about where she was, or the what this being wanted.
For several minutes, neither of them said anything. The scarred elf fidgeted and squirmed, and eventually stood, although it took her three attempts. She fought down the black spots that swam before her eyes, making the room spin, and faced the stranger squarely.
"Who are you?" the elf rasped, her larynx as scarred as the rest of her.
"I'm called Mothra," the creature said. Out loud its voice was husky, lyrical and bright, humming pleasantly in its throat - though its face remained strangely impassive when it spoke. "I'm a prime, and a traveling healer - but that's not terribly important right now. Is there anything you need? Clothes? Food? You nearly died - I'd imagine you're very hungry."