Kyle learned a lot of new things in the next 24 hours. He learned that there are four elements, all with very different elementals. Air whisps were flighty little pixy creatures who couldn't hold a thought for more than a few seconds. Earth gnomes do not like being compared to lawn gnomes, despite how similar they look. They also kick ankles very painfully when annoyed.
Water elementals are calm, quiet little mermaids who cannot leave water. Instead to travel across a room they form little bubbles that then fly lazily through the air toward their destination.
Of course fire salamanders he had met already, though the one he had already talked to seemed to be the most open to him. Otherwise they just hissed and watched him as if expecting him to do something amusing.
He also realized that while each creature had a very individual personality, none of them had names- so to make things easier, he'd attempted to name a few of them. The salamander he'd met first very much liked his given name Tinder. The creature was quickly becoming a friend here, and he hoped the feeling was mutual… if that was possible for an intelligent magical lizard.
He had also found out a rather unsettling new addition to his life- with a leopard body, came a leopard mind. It had started with a quiet whisper at first, but now it was as if he had another intelligent being inside him, commenting occasionally as he went about his day.
Snarky thing, that leopard. A complete pervert, too.
At first he'd wondered if he'd gone insane. Tinder had assured him it was perfectly normal for a shifter, and he shouldn't worry. If you can't trust a 5 foot long salamander, who could you trust? This day was getting stranger by the minute.
It was around noon that his leopard started to become unsettled, making him nervous and jumpy until he realized why.
Dogs were barking outside.
He would have laughed at the irony of the situation, except a scream filled the air and made his fur stand on end. He rushed to the window to see a woman running from a pack of hounds, men on horseback following a ways behind. What the hell?
He ran down the stairs, nearly falling over in his rush to get outside, running toward the chase with agility he hadn't known he had.
He found the girl and stopped in front of her, panting for breath. Her blue eyes- damn, what amazing eyes- grew wide with shock and she skidded to a halt in front of him. She stared at him for a few seconds before remembering the barking dogs behind her and darting to the other side of him.
He looked up, fear filling him as the pack of dogs ran toward them, teeth bared.
I know how to handle this. His leopard purred in his mind, feeling a strange sensation of instinct and strength filling him.
He unleashed his claws, crouching low to the ground as his fur bristled angrily. He let out a loud fierce roar, the sound making the leaves around him shudder.
The dogs mostly scrambled to a halt, all but two of them turning tail and running. The remaining dogs watched him warily, fangs bared.
Kyle watched them as well, baring his teeth and flashing his claws- letting them know that if they intended to attack, he would defend himself.
The dogs seemed to rethink that, and gave one last growl before running back with the others.
Kyle gave a grin of satisfaction, his leopard all but preening smugly that they had frightened off a pack of dogs. He turned to the woman behind him, who looked just as scared of him as the dogs had been. He swore mentally, realizing that hadn't been the best first impression.
"Are you alright?" He asked, looking her over and seeing small cuts and bruises marring her skin. She was a tiny thing, nearly a foot shorter than him and skinny. He could probably pick her up and carry her over his shoulder if he wanted to.
His leopard let out a growl of approval at that thought.
"I'm fine." She said stiffly. "Thank you for helping."
"No problem." Kyle smiled reassuringly. "I'd hate to see a lovely lady hurt. What were they chasing you for, anyway?"
She blanched at the question, shaking her head quickly. Okay, so no asking why. She seemed terrified to answer- maybe she thought he'd react the same way and attack her?
Doubt that. Anyone who hurt that pale skin would be ripped apart.
Kyle paused, surprising himself with the violent thought- how very uncharacteristic of him. Must be the leopard talking.
Horse hooves sounded behind him and his ears flipped automatically to pick up the sound better. God, he'd never get used to automatic reactions like that. "Alright, if you want to get out of here I have a place nearby you can stay until these guys get off your trail. I don't know what you did and frankly I don't really care." He said quickly as the hooves got louder.
The girl hesitated for a minute before the fear flashed through her eyes again, making him cringe a bit. God, what had shifters done to humans to make her fear him so much? Even just standing in front of him she was fidgeting, her hands bunching the skirt around her hips nervously. He would have to ask Tinder later.
"Alright." She said finally, though her voice was hitched with fear. "Let's go."
He grabbed her hand and tried not to be offended when she gasped and yanked it away again, holding it against her chest as if he'd burned her.
"Fine, whatever." He grumbled in frustration before running back over to the mansion and hoping she would follow behind quick enough to avoid the horsemen. This was going to take a lot more work than he thought, trying to get her to fall in love with him. He'd be lucky if she even looked at him with kindness none the less affection. Maybe he was doomed to die permanently either way.
This is both our second chances. Do not give up so easily. We have too much to lose.
He was surprised by the leopards suddenly serious voice, the usual sarcasm and joking gone from its tone. Second chance for the leopard too? What was that about? He had of discussing to do with people. He was tired of being left in the dark.