The Stranger in the Stream

Tuatha flew in the form of a starling, happy to feel the wind under her wings and the sun on her feathers. She could have transformed into an eagle or a hawk, but she preferred the starling's peaceful nature, even if it put her lower on the food chain. She was about to end her flight for a drink at one of the many brooks that ran through her forest when she saw the stranger.

The stranger was naked. That was the first thing Tuatha noticed about her. She was a slender, naked girl with long, dark brown hair and a cute, round face. Tuatha fluttered down to a branch and for a moment just enjoyed looking at her, admiring her beauty, watching the sunlight reflecting off of her wet, fair skin as she frolicked in the water like an otter.

Finally, Tuatha decided to talk to her. She didn't get the chance to talk to many people living in the forest, and most of the trappers and hunters who passed through were too intimidating, but there was something about the girl (possibly her nudity) that made her the complete opposite of intimidating.

Tuatha released her transformation and resumed her true form. Her wings turned into arms, her feathers turned into skin, and her legs turned into … longer legs, and she immediately got cold feet. What was she thinking? She couldn't just go about talking to random people! What would they think of her? Well, they would think she was naked, which she was, standing there wearing naught but her skin. No, no, she couldn't do that. She would leave first. She would leave, get dressed, and if the stranger was still there, then Tuatha would talk to her.

But just as she turned to leave, she saw a dress hanging from a tree as though the tree were offering it to her. Had she left it here and forgotten about it? It was possible, but more likely that someone else had left it here, maybe even the naked stranger in the stream. Well, whatever the case, it was hers now, so she pulled it off the branch and pulled it over her head. It was a nice dress, the sort that a rich human might wear, and Tuatha was half-human on her father's side.

Now that she was dressed, Tuatha felt infinitely more confident and allowed herself to be seen. "Um, excuse me?" she said. The stranger looked up and gasped. "Yes, hello? My name is Tuatha. What's yours?"