Lilli took in the glorious sights of the forest and the surrounding lakes as she soared to the top of the hill. When she reached the summit, she glided into the array of leaves and chose a branch to land on. Once perched firmly on the branch, with her wings tucked in, Lilli looked down the hill towards her home.
Ever since she was a child, she had lived in that stone castle on the remote lake, far away from the rest of the world. Francis had been her lifelong guardian, raising her as an elder brother with a gentle yet firm hand. He was happy to teach her the basics of the magic he studied so closely, even if she had no latent potential for accessing those powers herself. He also taught her a bit about the dangerous world far away, and why she should never dare to leave the lake.
Lilli had spent most of her childhood alone, with only Francis for company, before Erzsébet came along. She became Francis's apprentice for a few years, before moving on to her own ambitious projects that were never explained to Lilli. It was thanks to Erzsébet that Lilli was allowed to explore the nearby lakes as a teenager, even if it was only during daylight in the form of a swan.
Then there was the new girl that Francis brought to the castle the other week. Lenka had told Lilli about her life as a servant in Inasdiff, and how Francis had kidnapped her and coerced her against leaving their castle. The poor girl had an unfortunate birth spell that made her obey any command given to her when her name was used at the beginning of a sentence. Lilli had promised to avoid triggering the curse, to help offset how Francis abused it, but she did still occasionally slip up while showing Lenka how to take care of the cooking and cleaning.
Lilli's reflections were interrupted by the loud snapping of branches behind her, and she immediately realized that something must be behind her. She slowly craned her swan neck and looked back, only to see a strange creature sitting in the branches of the next tree over. Lilli had barely a moment to look at it before it suddenly pounced at her, mouth gaping wide, exposing the teeth and ready to devour.
Lilli's stubby swan legs had barely enough time to push her off the branch into the air, and she immediately batted her wings to take flight upwards. As she shot towards the top of the tree, she could see below that the beast bit the branch she had just been sitting on, and was now crawling up the tree to reach her.
"No, no, no, no, no," Lilli honked at the creature, "you stay away from me!"
The beast suddenly stopped charging, clasping closely at the tree trunk to stop itself. As it stared at Lilli in the air above it, she couldn't help but notice a furrow of confusion in its eyes. It then opened its mouth, and Lilli braced herself to hear the beast roar at her.
"Did you just speak to me?"
Lilli nearly faltered in her flight as she heard the growl. Were those words she just detected?
"Did you just ask me if I was speaking to you?" she honked back.
"Yes, I somehow understand what you are honking," it growled back, "Do you understand my growling?"
"Yes, I can understand your growling!" Lilli confirmed, "How is that even possible?"
"I don't have a clue," the beast answered, "I haven't been able to talk to anyone in years!"
"What do you mean by that?" Lilli asked as she swept back down and landed on the branch of a tree across from it, "Were you once able to talk to others?"
"Well yes, I used to be human," the beast explained, "A spell was cast on me a few years ago that turned me into this horrendous monster. I've been haunting the nearby forest since then, although I've broken out of my normal territory recently and started exploring these lakes."
As the beast spoke, Lilli finally had the chance to observe the beast. It looked almost like one of those wyverns from Francis's old books, with two short wings, two legs and a long tail that allowed it to weave through the trees. Unlike a regular wyvern, its face was more like that of a lion, and it was covered in dark grey fur. At the closer angle, Lilli thought she could see a gold chain around its neck with a crescent moon pendant.
"Oh yes, the lakes are lovely to explore," Lilli remarked, "I explore them everyday while I'm a swan, although I have to be back home before sunset."
"While you're a swan?" the beast checked, "Are you not a swan?"
"No, I'm also a human under a spell," Lilli clarified, "I am a swan by day, and human at night."
"That must be why we can talk, then," the beast suggested, "Since we are under similar spells, I mean."
"That is a very good possibility," Lilli concurred.
"If I may ask," the beast inquired, "where is your home?"
"Do you see that small stone castle over there, on the edge of the lake?" Lilli described, nodding her head in the direction of the view, "That's where I live, that castle is my home.."
"It looks charming," the beast said, "Maybe I could come visit you there sometime."
"I'm not sure if that's the best idea," Lilli refused, "There's a sorcerer named Francis who lives with me, I don't know what he would think of you being so close by. The forest itself should be safe, and has very little human interaction, but you should keep your distance from the castle."
"So if I stay nearby in the forest, will you come visit me?" the beast requested, "It's been a long time since I've been able to talk to anyone."
"I don't see any problem with that," Lilli allowed, "provided that you promise never to eat me."
"I can honour that condition," the beast complied, "Do you have a name?"
"Yes, my name is Lilli," she replied, "How about you?"
"My name is Ivan."