This was not the worst moment of her life, Elira thought to herself. It’s not like she had been injured or trapped, or any other number of things which would really have been worse. She’d been through fights that would have crippled an average person; she’d been through trials that would have brought a human to their knees...

But she still hated being lost.

It wasn’t really her fault, she supposed. It’s not as if she could just stop and ask for directions. Everyone on the mainland seemed to run off when she got near. Stupid humans. Had they never seen a Myr’l before? It’s not like she had run at them screaming, or anything. She’d only walked up, given them a nice smile and asked how to reach the nearest town. My accent’s not that bad, is it? Elira asked herself. She’d only been taught the human tongue through the sailors who came through the port city on the island, but surely that couldn’t be a problem.

Sighing heavily, she adjusted her sword belt and walked toward a group of heavy-set men who were standing by the side of the road. One of them would surely direct her where to go.

Her fur bristled when she got close enough to hear them. "Now there’s a woman worth screwing." Rumbled one of the men. The rest laughed, and another voice piped up “I’d like to see just how human those half breeds are.” Apparently, the men didn’t realize exactly how much better a Myr’l’s hearing was than a human’s. Her tail lashed as she strode at them, and her claws stretched out.

"Arr, would one of ye be directing me to a town?" She growled the words, her eyes glinting in the sun.

"Naw, but I’d be directing you to –" Before the man could finish his statement, Elira’s sword was in her hand and then quickly across his guts. Kicking him in the chest, she watched with grim amusement as he clutched his innards, which were no longer firmly attached to his body. There was a stunned silence, before one of the men stepped to the fore.

He stood a head taller than her. "My name’s Talis." Bowing slightly, he motioned for the other men to move off. "And I’ll help you out." A smile quirked on his lips. "Rather than end up like him, anyway." Drawing a dagger, he slit the unfortunate man’s throat, and then wiped the blade clean on the corpse’s shirt. He looked her over out of the corner of his eye.

With a cheerful smile, she sheathed her sword. "I be Elira." Talis stood again, and gestured for her to follow him into the camp, where the other men seemed to be giving her a wide berth.

"You should meet Steele."

"Aye."

Talis stared at her a moment, then laughed. "Then we’ll work on how you talk." Putting a hand on her shoulder, he walked her into the camp. "You sound like a bloody pirate."