Race: [Edmontosaurus]
Age: 14
Sex: Male
Level: 25
Health: 2,010
Stamina: 1,710
Mana: 40
He was definitely big and green, but Emily never expected the Edmontosaurus to have such a name. If anything, she was expecting something like Eddie or Edmond.
Daisy tugged on Emily's now clean leather pants. "Do you really have to go?"
Emily looked down at the little girl and nodded slightly. Indeed, she'd considered staying in a place like this. Perhaps her life could have been much easier. She'd resign herself to stop worrying about why she was summoned here. She'd not have to journey into harsh lands in search of meaning. She could have forgiven her weak past self for Ratagast's death, and she might have lived in service of the humans.
All of it sounded great, but it would be a denial of herself. It would throw out all of her reason, and she'd have to live for the reason of others. I still have no idea why I was made to die twice, why I suffered science experiments, or who Kurayami is. Until I find those answers, I cannot simply lie down...No matter how cute this little girl is.
"Now, come on, Daisy," Madame Middleton said. "I told you to be a good girl, remember?"
The little girl nodded solemnly before turning back to Emily. "Can I at least feel your tail before you go?"
An earnest question, but it made Emily pause. She hadn't been expecting it, yet here it was. Now that she considered it, she'd never let anyone else feel her tail. She'd sometimes held it close to her with her arms when she slept, and she had to admit, the thing was very soft.
Emily nodded and moved her tail in front of her around her side. She held it there with her hand. "Only a small touch."
Daisy's eyes sparkled and she reached out with her small hands. They touched the tip of Emily's fluffy black and red tail. "It's so soft and fluffy..."
The sensation was odd to Emily. Her tail twitched, and she quickly retracted it. Though, even the mother of this child was looking at Emily's tail, certainly contemplating vile deeds.
Daisy didn't beg anymore. Instead, she reached intentionally behind her and grabbed a flower from her mother. It was bright and yellow with a long green stem. "It's a kind of Daisy. Mother said, this way I can always stay with you."
It was reminiscent of the familiar daisies that Emily had seen on Earth, but she'd never seen one with yellow petals before. Rather than the white she was used to, this one was covered in yellow. From the center to the petals, they were all yellow like that sundress Emily had found the little girl in at the beginning.
She accepted the flower, but before she could answer, Count Hemrich came out of his house with the cat girl in a new outfit.
The woman wore a more form-fitting outfit. It consisted of a white, long-sleeved under shirt, and a white skirt on the bottom. Over all of that, there was brown leather armor covering her chest, shoulders, forearms, and strips of leather coating her skirt. Wrapping around the leather chest piece was a leather belt with a pouch affixed to it.
Count Hemrich gave a conflicted smile to Emily. "Are you sure you want to leave already? My boy should wake up soon to thank you himself."
Emily took a deep breath before shaking her head and taking her staff which had been leaning against a wooden pillar. "It's still early in the day, and I want to get moving as fast as I can."
Besides, I don't belong in this place.
The count nodded and left her with the cat girl. The two were given privacy by the others as well.
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An Edmontosaurus named Big Greenie, a cat girl named Cattleya, and a kitsune named Emily. The fox girl wondered how it was possible to end up in such a bizarre situation, but was it more or less strange than when she'd first laid her eyes on her own tail? Or the time when I'd seen a rat man...
Cattleya looked between Big Greenie and Emily. "I assume you have no experience riding one, correct?"
Emily nodded. "The closest thing I've ridden on is a horse."
The cat girl narrowed her green eyes. "A horse?"
Hmm, are there no horses here? Or is it only that this girl has never seen a horse?
"We can talk about that later...It's important that we start moving."
Cattleya nodded and moved over to the Edmontosaur. She reached for some feed in the overly large stable and placed her hand under his duck-billed snout. She smiled as the green creature started eating from her hand, reaching up to pat the side of his mouth.
The saddle of the beast provoked Emily's interest. It sloped along the dinosaur's curved back, but there were two small rungs hanging down either side and acting as a ladder.
Cattleya climbed up first before offering her hand.
Emily took the outstretched hand while digging her foot into the first rung. She was pulled on top of the saddle behind the cat girl. A small pull of the reigns was enough to get him moving.
His footsteps were heavy, and Emily's ears twitched towards the loud clomping of his rear feet. The front feet were significantly less heavy and overall much less thick than the rear ones. The dichotomy of the shorter front limbs created a slope spine that made the two riders lean forwards slightly.
The saddle compensated for this by curving up towards the front of the creature to create a more even surface, and both passenger seats were divided by a curve of their own with a little handle.
At least I am not going to have to touch her while riding. Emily looked back and saw large saddle bags towards the creature's thick tail. They hung down on either side of his hips, connected together by an enormous leather strap.
Each step of the behemoth pressed his feet into the large grass. It became a point of contention in Emily's mind as she wondered if they were classified as hooves or feet. She found neither of those descriptions matching precisely. They were shaped like hooves but also had toes.
Either way, it walked along a beaten trail with less grass than the rest of the place. One could see where the feet of the beasts would leave imprints in the dirt that hardened over time. The large manors were left behind them.
People stood at the sides on the grass to get a glimpse of Emily, no doubt. There were children pointed and their adults were smiling. Emily's ears shrunk against her head, and she leaned forwards, lowering herself to try and hide.
Yet, how could one hide on the back of a titan? Emily surmised that it would be like trying to hide in a city while riding an elephant. She focused on the slight swaying of the creature with every step it took.
Cattleya looked back and offered a smile. "There is no need to try and hide, you know? You did a good deed and should be proud."
I know that...But feeling it is something different...
She tuned out their voices, even as her ears twitched to their sounds. Her newfound hearing was a blessing and a curse at the same time. It allowed her to tune into people that would have been too far away when she was a human, but it became overstimulating with so many voices.
Breathing...1, 2, 3, 4...Hold...1, 2, 3, 4...Exhale...1, 2, 3, 4.
Internalizing the words and breathing at the same time served to calm her mind, and by the time they reached the gate, her heart steadied.
The two men at the gate were oddly enough the ones she had seen at the natural spring before she'd found Daisy.
They grinned up at her, and one of them said, "she was a fox, you idiot."
The other man pointed at Cattleya instead. "Look, there really is a cat girl."
"You said she had a black tail, not a brown one..."
The other guards were more stoic and reserved. They'd only responded with a small smile or nothing at all. It was much better music to Emily's ears, and they left the city behind them.
It was only after Cattleya pulled on the reins to start heading North that Emily decided to speak up.
"How far is the human city from here?"
"Taking Big Greenie, it should be about 4 days. We have to be careful on the way and look out for orcs."
Emily nodded. "I will be sure to keep an eye out."
After that small exchange, the two grew silent. It was not in Emily's nature to ramble on, especially with people she wasn't familiar with. Though, maybe that sly rat was correct, after all. I am way too trusting of strangers, or perhaps I have a good sense of people?
She had no reason to believe that the cat girl would betray her. Emily had an inkling that it would be fine, and she resisted the urge to check the girl's status. Maybe this resistance will bite me in the tail one day, or maybe it would be better to keep to myself?
Big Greenie traveled into the forest down a trodden path. Trees were cleared away in this area, and Emily could see the imprints of the creatures' feet along the dirt trail.
I hope nothing will happen along the way...