Challenge: the story must have an air-spirit in it.
Rinya Silva pulled the faded black hood of her cloak tighter around her neck. The rain continued to pound on the cobbled streets of the kingdom and the dark clouds doused the streets in shade making it hard for her to see the merchant across the way. She squinted her deep maroon eyes, waiting for the next customer to catch his attention.
She clenched her fist around the fabric at her neck, her knuckles turning white. She did a quick scan of the street as a woman grabbed the attention of the merchant. Rinya slipped out of the alley and snuck across the street. Her other hand snatched a loaf of bread in the blink of any eye. She tucked it under her cloak and continued down the street, away from the arguing merchant talking of an increase in taxes.
Rinya grinned and clutched the loaf to her chest. The crowd thinned as she walked towards the clump of dark awo trees that sat within the walls of the kingdom. They stood tall at the south eastern edge, and it was the place she called home.
Rinya glanced behind her before she pushed aside a branch and crept into the shadows of the awo. The rain was much lighter, drenching the canopy and trickling down the trunks. She stopped and blinked, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darker area.
The trees rustled around her, leaves crunching under something making its way towards her.
"Who dares?" A hissing voice slithered from between the branches.
"It is just I, Ethiremma," Rinya said as her eyes adjusted. She turned to her left and smiled at the light yellow scaled face of Ethiremma.
Ethiremma smiled, revealing sharp white teeth, a sight that has scared the strongest of me. "Did you find some food, Rinya?"
Rinya stepped over a long, heading towards her. "A loaf of bread. It'll last me a couple of days."
Ethiremma sighed and turned her snake-like body to follow Rinya into the trees. Standing at six feet, she towered over Rinya's five-foot-five frame. Her tail trailed behind her a good three feet, her human-shaped torso leading to it a foot above the ground. Her four-finger hands ended in sharp claws, but Rinya reached back and grabbed one, linking their fingers.
"Tesien is worried," Ethiremma started. She stopped and looked at their joined hands. A small smile crept over her thin ruby lips. "We all worry."
Rinya looked over at her and smiled. "I'm fine, Ethiremma. I am alive, am I not?"
Ethiremma sighed. She grabbed a branch that had a gold seal painted delicately into a few of the awo needles and pulled it aside. They stepped through a shimmer of green and into a circular clearing. It sloped down into the soil, roots twisting along the hills leading down. The trees reached towards each other over the centre, protecting this home from the outside elements. Under the roots were doors leading to the homes built into the soil.
Rinya and Ethiremma started the walk down the foot path carved by one of Ethiremma's kind. The clearing held twenty creatures of all kinds living together; though Rinya was the only human.
"Rinya, there you are," a squeaky voice came from her right.
Rinya looked over and smiled The creature was small, barely bigger than her forearm and pure white. "Tesien, I just went for food. You knew that."
Tesien landed on her shoulder, tucking his wings down his back. His wings doubled the width of his arm span, three on each side similar to those of a dragonfly. "You were gone longer than normal," Tesien said and pulled on the hood, revealing her long turquoise hair.
"Something is happening in the kingdom," Rinya said as they reached the bottom of the clearing. "And it was raining."
"The kingdom?" Ethiremma asked. "Nothing good has ever come from those humans." She spat the last word as if it left a foul taste in her mouth.
"Ethiremma," Rinya said. The creatures all turned to her.
"Not you, dear," Ethiremma said.
*This is where I left off. Longer than most of my other ones in a day. I'm enjoying these characters I've created and this might end up turning into something longer. Thanks for reading!*
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