The Secrets of Serised

He stopped quickly, surveying the bank on both sides of the stream. There was something amiss. He sensed someone, or something, watching him, but it was too stealthy to be a human. He made his way to the edge of the river, his senses on high alert, and stooped down to fill the water skins. He removed his left glove so as not to get it wet, but he did not dare remove the other, as he was fearful of being seen by whatever was watching him. It was a new experience for him, being able to sense someone but unable to tell where he was.

When the first skin was full, he tied it and set it aside. As he was reaching down to fill the second one, something appeared out of the air above him, two feet in front of his face. It startled him so badly that he lost his footing and fell headfirst into the shallow waters of the river. He emerged, coughing and sputtering and uncharacteristically shaken, dragging himself back onto the bank and rolling onto his back, gasping for breath. The individual, it turned out, was not human; she was a forest creature, one of the Tehporp, a race that looked similar in face and form to humans, but with the ears, tail, and senses of a fox.

Julian hated the Tehporp.

Her sewn clothes and powerful muscles did nothing to take away from her striking features, despite the fact that she was dressed like no woman Julian had ever seen. She wore a sleeveless shirt that looked as if it had been hewn out of grass fibers. Her pants were rough and worn, the color of tree bark, hugging tightly to her body and ending just below her knees. A braided leather belt was tied around her delicate waist, holding a small pouch and an exotic dagger snugly in place. She was laughing uncontrollably, hanging upside down with her back legs around a tree branch, her hands hanging down and swaying like the fronds of a willow.

Julian’s natural character slipped back into place, and anger furrowed his brow. He stood, trying unsuccessfully to brush the sand from his drenched clothes, as the creature before him continued to laugh, clutching her stomach to try to contain her convulsions.

“Come down from there, you mangy stray, so I can kill you. What in the name of all that is sacred did you think you were doing?” Julian used the phrase without thinking, and if circumstances had been different, he might have snickered. For him, nothing was sacred. He was still wiping angrily at the sand as she managed to stifle her laughter; she dropped gracefully, turning in midair to land on her feet before him. Her bright green eyes sparkled with life; dainty, fox-like ears peeked out shyly from a shock of red hair that framed her small face. She moved with surprising freedom, not at all like a lady, but instead as careless as the wind.

“I like you!” she said, circling around him once, eying his sand-encrusted frame up and down.

He ignored this, keeping his eyes down, instead studying the dagger at her waist. It was a strange design, not straight but with a blade that curved several times before coming to a point. The hilt was carved from cherrywood and engraved with vines that led to flowers made from inlaid jades, sapphires, and emeralds. Julian knew that the Tehporp did not have any type of monetary system. They didn’t care about the value of the stones, only that they were pleasant to look at. They were excellent hand-to-hand fighters, extremely fast with incredible reflexes. Even still, Julian was certain that this creature was no match for him, armed or not, and he almost wished that he could take the opportunity to prove it.

She finished examining him, coming full circle to stand in front of him again. “My name is Thaladria, of the Tehporp.” She bowed deeply and a little dramatically, her fluffy tail curving around her legs, its tip twitching back and forth as if with a mind of its own.

“I don’t care about your name, and I know what you are. You’re lucky you weren’t dead before you hit the ground. You should be more careful of who you sneak up on. Now get out of here.” Julian gave up on his sodden clothes and bent down to fill the second skin. He didn’t look up. “You’re still here. Go away.”

She repeated him mockingly. “You’re still here. Go away!” She laughed again, a laugh that Julian found most singularly annoying. “But I was curious! What are you doing here? These are my woods.”

He stood, replacing his glove, taking both skins, and beginning to walk back towards the camp. “The woods do not belong to you. Now leave me. I have more important ways to spend my time than talking to you.”

“Oh really?” she said, looking quite surprised and innocent. “But if you have so many more important things to do, why did you sit up all night, just staring into space?”

Julian stopped, turning to stare at her. How could she . . . ? How could he not have sensed her? She’d been watching him? She didn’t seem suspicious; only genuine curiosity showed as he searched her face. “You couldn’t know that. I would have sensed you.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I sensed you by the river.”

“Only because I allowed you to. The dumbest beast in the forest would have sensed me at the river.”

Julian grew angrier. Was she trying to provoke him? Had she no idea how dangerous he was? “I am no dumb beast.”

“Of course not.”

“If you do not go, you half-breed, I will kill you. Don’t doubt it, for I will not warn you again.”

“Thaladria.”

“What?

“My name is Thaladria, not half-breed. Why did you stay up all night?”

“I was . . . watching the camp.”

“You’re a poor guard.”

“You’re a pathetic mutt.”

“You do not look tired for not having slept.”

“And you do not shut up!” Julian increased his speed, and the Tehporp made no move to follow. Inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief.

He should have realized that even his inhuman abilities were no match for a creature who made its home in the forest. Thaladria appeared before him again, from behind a tree, and he nearly dropped the skins he was carrying.

“Leave, you foolish creature!”

“Thaladria!”

“I don’t care what your name is!”

“If you say it, I will go.”

Julian trembled with the urge to detach her head from her body. But he was too close to camp, and if he made a bloody mess of his clothes, there would be questions to answer. Not to mention that he had heard of the Tehporp before, and they most often traveled in packs. He didn’t want to deal with a whole family of the little brutes. He breathed a slow, calming breath. “Leave, Thu-lay-dree-a.” He said it slowly, pronouncing each syllable with great care and grinding his teeth, as if it were physically painful to do so. He glared at her, wishing with all his might that looks could kill, but she didn’t look him in the eyes. She was studying his lips as he said her name, as if making sure it was really him saying it, and not someone else. A playful grin broke out across her freckled cheeks.

“All right!” she cried gleefully. Almost faster than he could register, she leapt into the trees above him and disappeared. He looked all around, but he could not see her anywhere. Satisfied, he sighed in relief.

Julian prided himself on self-control, but there were certain things that he simply could not tolerate. One of them, apparently, was the mocking of a cute, wide-eyed half-breed that escaped without a proper punishment. Proper, in this instance, referring to the fuzzy beast being sliced in half. But as he strode, purposeful and tense, into the clearing where their camp lay, his train of thought was completely wiped away.

Xander was smiling in amusement, and Lily was gasping in delight as Thaladria performed flips and cartwheels in the grass for them. She bowed, and Lily clapped her hands with genuine enthusiasm.

“Oh, that was amazing! Wasn’t that amazing, Xander?”

“It certainly was.” Lily stepped forwards. Noticing Julian, she beckoned to him. “Hello, Julian! Did you see that? Oh, what happened to you? You’re all wet!”