Kerezi was bored. Robin was off chasing some unfortunate woman, and Holly was nowhere to be seen. She looked out the dusty window of the tavern they were currently calling home, and watched the passersby underneath her. There were the merchants selling their wares, students from the local university leaving for home, Holly talking to a random el…wait, what?
Who the hell is Holly talking to?, Kerezi thought to herself. She looked at the conversation that was taking place below.
It was an elf, wearing all black, with the only other color being the cold blue eyes of the raven that was currently perched on their master's shoulder. The elf was happily talking to Holly, who looked as though she were in a dream and didn't want it to end.
Must be someone she knows, if that doe-eyed stare Holly has means anything.
They talked for ten more minutes before Holly waved the elf goodbye and headed back inside of the tavern, which was the sign that Kerezi needed to go down and do some interrogating.
"Hey, who was that you were talking to, Holly?"
Holly was startled by the sudden appearance of her friend, but quickly answered back, "She…she's an old friend. One that I haven't seen in such a long time."
Kerezi leaned forward to listen. An old friend? This oughtta be good. "And why haven't I heard of this 'old friend' before? From the way I saw you look at her, I wouldn't be surprised if you were more than friends."
Holly stabbed her finger into Kerezi's scaled chest with an angry glare. "If she was a lover, I would have told you in the first place!" She huffed and furrowed her eyebrows. "She's changed since the last time we met, a good change. It's almost as if she's happier. It's…" Holly's eyes became curious. "It's weird, though. When I first met her she never talked."
Kerezi was curious. Never talked? Just who is this elf?
"When I saw her again today it was so startling to hear her talk. She said that if I wanted to know more, I should meet her near the gardens at sunset."
"Well, are you?"
Holly shifted slightly, with a hesitant look. "I think so. It's been so long since I've seen her, and I want to hear everything."
"I can come with you, if you want." Kerezi answered with a surprising warmth in her voice. If this stranger was someone to careful of, she needed to know.
"No, thank you, I can handle it. It'll be nice to talk to her again."
With that, Holly left the tavern to head to gardens to wait for her mysterious friend. Kerezi was unsure if she should follow, but she stayed, knowing that Holly needed some happiness in her life that wasn't ruined by her or Robin. When Robin comes back, she'll lie for Holly's sake, just this once.