You sit in your normal seat at the inn, whether it be at an empty table near the window or out on the porch, when you see it… A flash of silver in the corner of your vision… Gone before you can even be sure it was there…
You turn to investigate, but see nothing… Then, at the edge of the forest, you see her… a young girl, no more than 19… Completely naked, and completely alone…
As you watch her, you notice two things… Her skin, so white it’s nearly translucent, gives off a barely visible shimmer… you turn your head slightly, watching her askance, you see it better… The shimmer becomes a soft glow, and takes on a barely discernable shape… A long slender neck emerges from the glow, a slender body… stiff wing shapes unfurl and a tail, as long as the neck, stretches out behind… When you turn your head to get a closer look it all disappears, returning to the nearly indistinguishable flickering.
The other thing you notice is metallic silver streaks running from the insides of her eyes, down her cheeks… she seems to be crying… but you realise the tears aren’t moving… and her face is a mask of calm dignity.
She sees you, watching her and steps forward, seemingly unaware of her lack of clothing… She studies you with dark green eyes… You look into the swirling emerald depths and are immediately spellbound, drawn to the fluid, rhythmic pulsing… and you know it is the rhythm of her heartbeat. The pupils of her eyes are black slits, much like that of a cat… they flicker with amusement as you try to pull back… She releases you and gives you a warm, peremptory smile. Her long slender fingers push back her short, spiky silver hair that forms a tail at the nape of her neck. She turns back toward the forest, running on her long, slender legs and disappears before you can ask who she is… or what.