The Doe-Taur & Her Lover Pt. 03

"Ah, h-hello, Elder Ron. Sandor said that you would be coming by."

Elder Ron seemed a little surprised to see her, pulling back slightly, though the anthro wolf with muted, purple fur was wizened from age, a little stooped. And yet there was power in him too as his sharp eyes locked onto hers. His grey gape swung around his shoulders, covering him from the cool of the night.

"Ah, the doe-taur..." He said slowly, as if he was choosing his words with exceeding care. "Now, yes... I did not expect you."

"I am sorry, sir, but Sandor is asleep," she said, "and the house has been emptied before our move. But I can help with whatever is needed, of course."

She smiled as brightly as she could, hoping that she didn't come off as too nervous. Anyone that knew Alyssa well, however, would have seen how furtively her white tail twitched and twitched, unable to keep itself still.

"Actually... Alyssa, was it? I think it is prudent that we speak, however briefly. I am considerate of the hour being as late as it is, but I evidently had to make delivery of the gift before Sandor's departure. In a sense, it is you that I came to see."

Alyssa started, eyes wide and ears perked.

"Me? Whatever for? Sir..."

It was hard to be respectful when she was surprised. The elder sighed and shook his head.

"There seem to have been some mistaken impressions, for which I can only apologise. Training young mages, promising students... It takes a lot out of an elder, a teacher, and sometimes my focus was not always where it should have been. I wonder if the treatment of you and he, as a couple, is one of the reasons that he is so keen to leave this town, despite the fruits that he has brought to it. Oh, no, dear," he added when Alyssa tried to rush to reassure him. "That's nothing to worry you. What I wanted to convey to you, however, was that I was never against you two being together. A class system... What a waste. My focus is on magic. Why, you could have been a wonderful mage's aide to any in training, do not think that your growing skills have gone without notice too. We would have done well to bring you on board. And yet we did not see what was under our noses, not even then."

"Oh..."

Alyssa didn't know what to say, clasping her hands to her chest. Bowing her head gently, she tried to consider her words carefully as she faced the wolf.

"Sir, that is very kind of you to say," she began. "Our difficulties...well... I am glad that we were strong enough to overcome them. I would have adored assisting at the academy though! Perhaps I could offer my services in that respect when we return for Sandor to train other mages further? I am sure I heard something said about that..."

The elder smiled. It was the first time that Alyssa had seen a genuine look of lightness on his face.

"That sounds excellent, Alyssa, quite excellent. I am glad that we are able to move past this. But I shall not keep you any longer -- you should though expect a letter coming from me very soon. Here, please."

He held out an item to her, something in black leather, and she smiled, nodding politely as she took it.

"Thank you, Elder Ron, this is a wonderful gift. Sandor sends his thanks and I will show it to him as soon as he wakes."

"Oh, no -- that is for you, actually. Keep it. I am confident it will serve you well."

That prompted her, in the light of the moon and stars, to peer a little more closely at it. A saddle? But not quite, it was not something that she was familiar with, though she would surely become more familiar with such things over time.

"Thank you, Elder," she said with a smile, bowing her head respectfully, wanting Elder Ron to know just how much she truly, absolutely, appreciated the gift -- even if she was not entirely clear on its purpose by that time. "This is a magnificent gift... I do not think myself worthy..."

"Oh, hush now, young one," Elder Ron said, clicking his tongue disapprovingly against the roof of his mouth with a shake of his head. "That is not talk for now, no. All is worthy, though the idea itself is a term that we ourselves have come up with. It is not the way of magic."

Not knowing what to say, Alyssa merely nodded, though the doe-taur thought, at the very least, it all sounded quite positive.

Bidding farewell to the elder, she promised him that she would keep an eye out for his letters to follow them, for it seemed that Sandor's services would still be needed. He was becoming a highly skilled mage, after all, and the training academy there, as small as it was (still growing as word of his prowess spread), would be hard-pressed to lose him. Yet, one way or the other, the two of them had decided that they'd had to move on in life, as sad and as joyful as it was. Alyssa just had not thought that there would be so many mixed emotions wrapped up in saying goodbye to people and to the town.

She set the gift near the door so that they would not forget it the next morning, making her way back to Sandor on the sofa. The fox, at least, looked like he was comfortable, but there was something strange on his mouth, like his lips were twitching. The doe-taur leaned in closer, frowning a little. Was he...smirking? That didn't seem right!

"Mmm... Alyssa... Mmmm..."

She drew back, eyes wide. Oh, he was dreaming... Perhaps he was dreaming about her? And that smirk on his lips. The doe-taur suppressed a groan, for the hour was too late. Oh, that naughty fox! Though Alyssa supposed that even Sandor could not fully be held accountable for what he was doing in his sleep. There was not a soul alive that could control that, after all, even with what Alyssa knew of the range and reach of magic.

She didn't want to wake him up and her idea of sleeping standing still held. She didn't want to lock her legs, however, so keeping her torso lightly balanced against the end of the sofa, so she could stay as close to Sandor as possible, she folded her legs under her body to lie down. It was something that her deer body was designed for, though the support for her upper body and the human part of her was much appreciated. The old sofa too, the soft mustiness of it and the scent of fox emanating from it from all the time they had spent relaxing on it -- it was comforting in a way that Alyssa had not even realised that she'd needed that night.

Her eyes, sleepily, scanned the dim room, a smile flickering on her lips. It may have been bare, the house being made available, on a hiring agreement, to mage training students that wanted to come live there to train, but it had still been her first real home. It had been the first place where she had been able to learn what it meant to be herself, outside Sandor's childhood home and the overbearing claw of his mother, the head of the household. Of course, back then, she had only been a servant -- but without others in her group to socialise with, expected to be Sandor's playmate in his younger years, she had not grown as many other taurs had.

But that was okay. Her start in life had been comfortable, at least, always with a bed to sleep in and fresh food to eat. That was a lot more than what many other taurs and centaurs across the land got. She was grateful, more so than anything else, for the path that her life had taken. For, otherwise, she might never have met Sandor. And he was more important to her than anything else.

Kastalia, Sandor's staff, leaned against the wall, and she eyed it curiously. She had not realised that he had left it there when they went to the market and the tavern. The staff had been crowned as "mana spring" and she carefully took it in her hands, turning it over, the wood warm to the touch even though the rest of the room was pleasantly cool. Alyssa shivered.

"Hm..."

The surface glowed in the moonlight, though the doe-taur paused when a line that had not been there before caught her attention: "S LUV A". It was not an inscription that she understood, the capital letters coming with a sense of solid finality to them, something that was set in stone and not merely the wood that it was inscribed into.

Perhaps it had been inscribed after the incident with the tree. Either way, it was something that she could ask Sandor about in the morning.

Perhaps it is not for me to know either, she thought. But I want to know. I am like you now, Sandor, in a way. I love him. Sandor... Her eyes grazed him, sleepy, heavy and lidded as she stifled a yawn. Sandor... I love you...

Only when she was dropping off to sleep did Alyssa realise just what those letters meant, her lips breaking into a soft, parted smile.

"Oh..."

Sandor...loves...Alyssa. That was what it read, though the fox had changed the inscription and wording, only slightly.

What a silly fox. What a clever fox.

I'll keep him with me forever.

The rest of their lives together, after all, stretched out before them, hand in hand, always together.