She couldn't shake off the euphoric feeling of being free for a while, it just felt so amazing. She ran across the fields happily, running as fast as her feet could take her as the wind pushed her hood off, exposing her cat like face and laughed in pure joy, nothing else could compare to it.
After while, she had to stop running and fell flat on her back, feeling the soft green grass against her fur and smiled brightly at the clear blue sky. Then she frowned ever so slightly. She hadn't exactly thought it through about what she would do after she got out, since it was on the spur of the moment.
Shoot. Now what?
Cheryl sighed to herself as she sat up, pulling her hood back up and hid her ears and face. She wasn't sure how people felt about half-cats but if it was like the kids at the magic training facility then they would no doubt shun her for her appearance. She huffed, what was so wrong about being a half cat anyway?
Dark brown orbs looked down at herself and sighed. Perhaps the first order of business was to find a town, figure out where she was, get some supplies. Like a new pair of clothes. She wasn't sure about the currency for the current world, but she'll find out soon enough, she'll just say she was a foreigner, which was the truth in a sense.
Someone would be bound to notice that she had fur, so she'll have to shift into human, if she could. Her cat shifting abilities were unstable, so there were chances that the change would be unsuccessful and she would either be stuck in whatever form or she wouldn't be able to change at all.
Her eyes narrowed as she focused on her shifting ability and took deep breaths. Very slowly, she felt the change as her fur shrunk into her skin and her tail got shorter and shorter, her ears shifting down to the side of her head and became human ears. Once the change was complete, she panted heavily, for it caused quite a strain on her mind and body. Shifting was a skill she had yet to master, which could prove to be quite a problem.
'At least it worked...'she thought, walking over to a nearby lake to look at her reflection. She had slightly tanned skin, her face looking of English descent with dark brown eyes and dark brown bangs brushed to the left side of her face, the curls tumbling to her waist. Not so bad.
With that out of the way, she looked around for any signs of a village or town nearby, spotting smoke trails in the distance. That definitely was a village. Cheryl readjusted her satchel and began walking towards the smoke, looking around as she did so. This world was much different than the dimension she had escaped from.
While the other dimension was barren with no sign of plant life or animal life, nothing but stone walls and wooden doors, this world had plants and animals everywhere. Flowers bloomed in the field a couple of miles away, birds were flying in the sky above her, trees graced the path here and there, with squirrels and rabbits scurrying about in the open. Compared to the other place, this place was beautiful in her eyes.
Eventually after a while, she ended up at the village and looked around, taking in all of the sights and smells, breathing in deeply, looking around at the people, clothes, colors. It was much different from the other place, but in a good way. A very good way.
Looking around, she saw a couple of stray dogs and cats wandering around on the streets with the people and one dog in particular walked over to her, looking up with the most adorable blue eyes she had ever seen and she couldn't help but coo softly.
She slowly held out her hand and the dog sniffed it before licking it. She giggled innocently and petted its soft black fur, earning a whine of happiness, which made the young girl giggle once again.
"He likes you."
Cheryl blinked, looking up to lock gazes with soft green eyes belonging to a young man, who seemed to be in his early twenties with shaggy blonde hair and a bright smile, dressed in a simple tunic and pants along with boots.
"You think so?" she asked shyly back, since this was her first time interacting with anyone from this world. The man smiled at her.
"Yep. Blake only ever goes near people he fancies."
"Well, I'm glad Blake likes me, because I quite like him as well." The man chuckled at her and smiled wider.
"Never seen you around these parts before, I'm Gideon. You new around here, Miss…?"
"Cheryl. It's a pleasure to meet you. And, it's my first time in this village. I'm a traveler," she replied politely.
"Awful young to be traveling alone. But that means you're adventurous. I like it!" Gideon laughed softly and it brought a smile to the young mage's face.
"Could you and Blake perhaps show me around? I need to purchase some supplies and necessities and I'm not sure where the stores are."
"My pleasure, Cheryl. Please, follow me." He led her around the village, showing her around and introducing her to people he knew, all to which she gave a polite smile to, inwardly quite nervous.
"So, what do you need first?" Gideon asked as they reached the market square, Blake padding behind them obediently with his cute little tongue hanging out of his mouth. The brunette looked down at herself, seeing the rather dirty state of her clothes. The ones she had packed were no better.
"Better clothes, these reek," she made a face at that, which made the blonde man laugh a bit at the sight of it.
"I know just the place for them, follow me." He led her to a small shop and entered, a little bell ringing, signifying that customers had entered. A young woman lifted up her head and beamed at Gideon and Cheryl.
"Ah! Gideon! Good to see you again! And who's this little lady you have accompanying you?" the woman, who had purple eyes and ginger hair asked.
"Hello Edith. And this young one is Cheryl. She's new to town and she needs some clothes. A traveler," Gideon replied with a casual grin. Said girl smiled shyly and gave a little bow.
"I-It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Edith," she greeted shyly. Purple eyes looked at her for a moment before her body suddenly launched at her and the dark brown eyed girl gasped as she felt arms around her and was being squeezed, a squeal coming from the shop owner.
"Oh my lord, you are the cutest thing I've ever laid eyes on!" she exclaimed.
"C-cute?" the younger questioned as a shy blush dusted her cheeks at the compliment and it only caused Edith to squeal once more. The man simply watched with an amused smile, crossing his arms as Cheryl looked at him pleadingly to get the older woman to let go of her. He laughed before coming to her aid.
"Alright, Edith, that's enough, I think you're suffocating her a little," he chuckled. The ginger haired woman smiled sheepishly at him before letting go of the smaller form, who immediately gasped for air, that grip felt deathly as she hit her chest to get some air back inside.
"So sorry dearie, I couldn't help myself, you were simply adorable."
"Apology accepted. Simply inform me before you cut off my air supply in your death grip," she gasped, earning a laugh from both the man and woman, even Blake made a noise that sounded like a laugh. Cheryl pouted childishly at that.
"Anyways, what can I get for you, Cheryl? We have lots of choices here and I'm sure you'll simply love them! Have a look around and give me a holler when you find something you like, alright dearie?"
"Alright...thank you very much." She turned and walked around the shop, looking at various articles of clothing that lined the walls on hooks. One particular set caught her eye and she turned.
It was a simple set of clothes consisting of a dark blue long sleeved shirt, which had a long cloak that came with it and had small intricate designs on the cuffs. A single butterfly shaped button held the collar closed and the pants were a satin white, along side with a pair of boots. And to top it all off, a hat that looked like it would belong to a musketeer except that it had a fabric made blue rose sewn in place as well.
This was the set she wanted and something about the hat reminded her of a faint memory that buzzed in the back of her mind, just waiting to break free. She shook her head before calling Edith over, pointing to the set of clothes and told her she would like to have them.
"You've made a good choice, dearie. I think they would look simply marvelous on you. Would you like to try them on?"Edith asked.
"Can I?" Cheryl asked eagerly, her eyes twinkling in child-like excitement, causing the older woman to chuckle.
"Of course. There is a room at the back where you can change in." With that, the younger girl made a little squee of excitement, grabbing the clothes and went to go change in them, earning a chuckle from the woman behind her.
She fitted the clothes over her form and very gently placed the hat over her head and walked out.
"How...how do I look?" she asked timidly. She usually had to wear the same clothes everyday, which didn't leave much to wear and she had really wanted a change of wardrobe for a while, since the clothes she previously wore wasn't exactly the best, and she couldn't count the number of times there were rips and tears that she had to fix. Normal tears would be easy. It was the tears from the magic battles that were the problem.
"Oh my stars! You look so cute and sophisticated!" Edith exclaimed, walking over to the girl and hugged her again, gushing over how well the outfit fitted her. Gideon and Blake walked over, hearing the commotion and the man grinned widely.
"You do look nice in that. Great choice!" he complimented, Blake barking in agreement, making the young mage smile bashfully and tilted her hat down shyly.
"T-thank you…"
"Oh, you are just adorable. Tell you what, you'll get this set half off!" the shopkeeper said and the brunette stared at her in shock.
"Oh n-no, I couldn't possibly take such an offer! Really!" she exclaimed, waving her hands.
"Nonsense! Now don't argue with me dearie, I am quite the stubborn character."
Cheryl looked over to Gideon for help but he gave a sheepish grin at the young female and laughed a little.
"Sorry, but when Edith makes up her mind, it's very hard for her to be convinced otherwise about anything."
"Is there at least something I can do or give that could suffice to the kindness that you've shown me?" the young girl asked, looking up expectantly, really wanting to repay the good deed that she had received.
"Well...there is something...but…" Edith trailed off and the girl raised an eyebrow, wondering why she was hesitating.
"Well what?"
"There's a jewel I need to finish up making a necklace for a client, which is supposed to be done tomorrow, but I don't have any money, and the only one close by is in a cave...I want you to get it...if it isn't too much to ask."
"That can be easily done, besides, I do want to repay you somehow."
"But there's a catch."
"Which is?"
"It's guarded by a dragon."
