Meeting Kelara

"I didn't do much." You admitted. "It was mostly her."

You pointed, or wanted to point at spider girl that vanished somewhere. You looked around and finally saw her running in your direction with a backpack and stick that you dropped before you went in to battle.

"Daaaaviiid!" She happily cheered from afar. To think that someone so childish and pretty can be also so deadly...

"Either way, you, a pure blooded human, defeated two of the primal wolves. They are very dangerous, especially in packs like that."

Layla got to you and handed over your things to you.

"Did I do good, David? Did I do good? Please, please, please tell me I did good! I was trying extra hard just for you!"

"Yes, you did good, Layla."

She exploded with joy and started to dance around you. You looked at centaur girl a bit embarrassed. You took out a piece of cloth you had in your back pack and handed over to her, so she could cover herself.

"Here, for you. As you can probably guess, I am David."

"It's nice to meet you, David. I am Kelara, a knight from the second squad of the Order of the Wind." She broke off the awkward silence between you two.

"Are you alright? I see you got quite a few wounds on your body." You asked with concern.

"I will be fine. But we should clean ourselves from their blood. It can be toxic." She stated. "There is a lake nearby. If you would allow me, I'll gladly lead you to it. It's the least I can do."

"Alright. You coming, Layla?"

"Of course I am coming! I am not going to allow you to wash yourself with a stranger. She might steal you away and..."

"Excuse me, I would not do such a thing. The mere mention about stealing someone's male offends my dignity!" She snapped at spider girl.

"I am not her man." You added.

"You will be."

You sighed heavily, not feeling like having this discussion again.

"Let's go to the lake."

On the way you noticed that with every step Kelara was hissing with pain. You were hoping that it's not anything serious.

Layla kept looking at centaur with suspicions and was holding your arm to show that you are her territory. After the fight you were too tired to stop her.

"I met your commander, Shamira. She said you got separated from them few days ago. What happened?"

She looked at you with a blushing face.

"It's... embarrassing. I... " She didn't know how to start. "I was a scout for our squad. I usually work alone, get ahead of the rest of the troops to search for danger, water and shelter. About a week ago... I caught the tiniest scent of a male. And I had the urge."

"The urge? What's that?"

Layla laughed while pulling your arm.

"Silly David! It's when the female has her first feeling to get a male!"

"She simplified it a lot, but it's true. As knights we are supposed to prepare ourselves for this, be ready when it happens. And resist it. I... I couldn't."

She dropped her eyes to the ground.

"You were alone and away from your sisters, you couldn't lean on them in the time of a trial. You shouldn't blame yourself for this." You told her, reassuringly.

"Thank you, but we are supposed to always follow the Order rules no matter what. Anyway, I chased after the scent. When I finally came to my senses, I had no idea where I was. I travelled for a few days In search of water, I got chased by some primal wolves in here. If it weren't for you... Thank you. From all my heart."

"You get me a new jacket and we're even." You waved it off. She smiled at you and kept walking.

"By the way, what are primal wolves? Does that make them any different than normal ones?"

"Primees are old us!" Layla interjected.

"She oversimplifies again, but it's true, on some level. Our current races that took a lot of humanoid traits and shapes evolved from basic animals, like wolves, bears, horses. Of course our ancestors still remain in their wild, untamed state. Sometimes they also can get touched by magic, growing bigger, stronger, becoming more dangerous than ever before. Those are the primals."

"Hey, that's what I said!"

You smirked. Behind the next few trees you could finally see the outline of the lake.