Editor's note: though not classified as Illustrated, this story contains images.
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Shadyss
The pain of materializing out of the Tablet faded promptly as Shadyss felt a cold breeze brushing through her furry face. "What are your orders Mistress," she said involuntarily as she looked up at the night sky.
'Why would I say that again?"
she thought, lowering her gaze at the small human girl holding a magical Tablet in her hand.
"I need shelter for the night," the girl said. "Can you build one for me?"
Shadyss frowned.
'She asked a question but gave no orders,'
she thought.
'Must I answer?'
Shadyss waited for a moment to find the answer to her question. Nothing compelled her to answer.
'I should answer with a question,'
she thought, a smile showing on her feline lips. "What kind of shelter would you want me to build?"
"Anything will do as long as it's warm," the girl said.
'Still no orders given,'
Shadyss thought.
'I can maintain a conversation as long as she doesn't actually order me to do something. Interesting...'
"You're that same girl I freed from the prison," Shadyss said as she examined the girl carefully.
The girl had clear green eyes, delicate young facial features and an uncommonly beautiful smile with straight white teeth, except for one missing canine on her left side. She wore a pair of light brown leather pants, a white trouser under a thick black long coat. A dark brown tricorn hat sat upon her head, over her long black hair. She had two daggers and one short sword at her belt along with a few pouches and wore a large necklace of a dragon around her neck. Shadyss also noticed a backpack a few feet behind the girl, resting at the side of a small campfire and a bedroll with a mug and a bowl on top of it.
"Yes," the girl said. "But it's almost night time and I need that shelter. Please build one for me."
Shadyss snarled as the pain began to manifest but she didn't let it blossom. She focused her energy to cast a spell, causing the ground to glow before her feet. With a slight hand gesture, the energy dug deep into the ground to create a large hole. The giant ten foot wide energy hand followed her hand gesture as she dug into the land to create a large cave like hollow with a soft slope and then she crushed the soil and mixed it with branches and herbs to cover the entire hole with a dome. "Will this suffice Mistress?"
"Absolutely," the girl said. "I didn't expect you to make it so fast."
"Would you like me to be slower next time?"
"No, this is perfect," the girl said. "It will give me more time to get to know you and find out what other neat tricks you have under that fur. Can you please kneel down?"
Shadyss lowered one knee and placed her hands on top of her other knee, leveling her feline face with the girl's.
'It wasn't an order,'
she thought.
'I didn't have to kneel down, but why wouldn't I? If I'm going to be forced to obey orders I might as well make things easier... for now.'
"What's your name," the girl asked.
"My name is Shadyss."
"I want to know all about your magic and your powers." the girl said moving closer to pet Shadyss's furry cheek. "Your face looks like a panther and your fur is so soft. And you have beautiful yellow eyes!" The girl stroked her fingers through Shadyss's red hair. "It looks like there are three shades of gray in your fur and your hair is thick. It feels braided although it isn't." The girl slowly moved behind Shadyss, tracing her fingers down her hair and up the length of her left wing. "Your wings are so small compared to your body. Can you fly?"
"My wings can support my weight enough to glide," Shadyss said. "They help me maneuver in flight, but I don't need them to fly. Natural magic helps me fly with or without them."
The girl smiled as she slid her hand down, touching the leathery part of her bat-like wing and then gently grabbing her long feline tail.
Shadyss shivered.
"Sorry! Do you not like having your tail stroked?"
"I like it when the proper mood is set," Shadyss said.
"Are you... in the mood now?"
Shadyss smiled. "I'd say I am."
The girl's hand stroked all the way to the end of her tail, causing Shadyss to shiver once more. "You can get up now," she said. "Why do you have scales on random parts of your body?"
Shadyss looked at the spike like scales protruding between her knuckles. "It's not random. The scales covering my shoulder, breast, hips and pubis are for protection. The ones covering my forearms and lower legs, as well as the spikes on the top of my feet and between my knuckles are for combat. My scales are very hard and can deflect most human weapons without leaving a scratch."
"Why isn't your entire body covered with scales then?"
"It impairs movement. But, I can make it so, just as I can remove them with a simple thought."