Asa couldn't help but tremble at the words slightly. No, Ashera wouldn't want to help her with this. All of them had said that, and then they all tried to turn her in or kill her themselves. She buried her head in Ashera's hair.
Ashera made soft shushing sounds and continued to stroke Asa’s head and back. ”It’s alright, sweetie. You're safe, I won't hurt you. I swear, I’ll help you any way I can.” she promised.
You won't, Asa thought to herself, realizing too late she had murmured it out loud. She bolted away, not being able to cover that up. She cowered, trying to find a way to escape.
Ashera jolted upright as Asa ran away from her. She spoke… Asa could speak? But she was so young for a Dragon… She shouldn't be able to… ”A-Asa?” she stammered in shock. ”Asa, wait!” she begged slowly getting to her feet.
Asa looked around frantically; there the back door. While she couldn't open it in her dragon form… She ran over, and for a split second she revealed what she was; a halfling. She made eye contact, eyes filled with terror, and regret. She had one hand opening the door and the other at the collar hanging from her neck. Then, she riped the collar off and bolted out, shifting back quickly.
Ashera chased after her, faltering for a moment when she turned into a human form long enough to open the door. While that explained a few things… she couldn't just let her go. ”Asa! Come back!” she called out to her, still running after her. They’ll kill her if they catch her! the thought spurred her to run faster.
Asa was running as fast as she could, trying to go faster when she glanced back to see Ashera had sped up. She'll kill me if she catches me! Asa staid away from the streets, knowing that all it took was Ashera shouting fro someone to help that she would be caught. Instead, she ducked and weaved through trees and gardens. She also didn't try to fly; it would take too long to get high enough, and she wouldn't be able to go high enough to hide in the clouds. Humans had also found a way to… recapture flying pets. Eventually, though, she had to steer into the town, scampering around people and trying to find a way to lose Ashera.
Ashera didn't really want to do this but as Asa started heading into town… She figured she didn't have much of a choice if she wanted to keep her safe. Normally, she didn't like to use her magic on anyone without their permission but… ”I’m sorry Asa.” With a soft sigh, she reached out with her magic and lifted Asa off the ground and held her in place until she could hold her in her arms and take her home.
Asa, when she felt herself being lifted up by Ashera's magic, struggled for a moment. Seeing it was fruitless, she curled up in a tiny ball, shaking with fear. This was it. She was going to die now.
Ashera sighed in relief as she was able to catch up to Asa and wasted no time in taking her in her arms. ”I guess you never had a Fae owner before.” she tried to joke, but there was no humor in it. For the first time since she had been with Asa, the blonde wasn't smiling. She felt uncomfortable calling herself Asa’s owner… and she was a little upset and confused by what just happened. ”Let’s get you home safe, then we can talk.” she said turning back toward the house.
Asa was shaking terribly in Ashera's arms, certain she was going to die now. She refused to look up at Ashera, barely registering the words she was saying. She fought hard not to cry, as her mother had taught her. A dragon could only cry once, and that would kill them. No matter what Asa had been thinking before, she didn't want to die yet.
Ashera felt the Dragon shaking like a leaf in a windstorm in her arms and gently began petting her, in a faint hope that it would calm her down a bit. Her head was spinning, and not just from the use of her magic piling up on her. It was obvious that Asa was half-human and technically illegal but just because humans couldn't stick to their own rules about this sort of thing was no reason to kill someone like Asa. ”I’m sorry I had to stop you like that…” she whispered soothingly as they finally entered the house and locked the doors.
Despite herself, Asa could feel herself calming at the soft touches. Still, she was terrified nonetheless. She dared to glance up at Ashera as she spoke, flinching horribly as the door was closed and locked. She didn't speak, even though she knew Ashera had already heard her once before, and seen her other form.
”It’s alright.” Ashera smiled hesitantly as Asa looked at her. She was obviously still scared and Ashera couldn't blame her. She knew what those human laws said she was supposed to do. But she never understood why that law existed in the first place. Why in the world would you kill someone for something they couldn't change? She sighed and sat down, still petting Asa. ”I won't hurt you. You are safe with me.” she promised firmly.
Asa stayed very still, afraid that if she made one wrong move Ashera would kill her, even with the "promise." No one was trustworthy, whether they were human or not. The best thing to do when found out was to run far, far away, to run so fast and hard Asa collapsed in exhaustion and then forced herself to go even farther, to get so far away the entire climate changed, to where the vegetation and animals were different, where no one would think to look for the halfling spotted hundreds of miles away. She hadn't been able to do that this time, though.
Asa looked back up at Ashera, eyes finally showing just how smart and old she was.
"Why?" She said quietly. "Why should I trust y-you?" Her voice cracked, making her flinch. She hated how weak she was, how scared she felt.
Ashera froze for a moment as Asa finally, really spoke to her. She smiled kindly at the show of trust and shrugged. ”I'm a Fae, Asa. I can't lie. At least not directly, I can twist the meaning of words if I need to but… It’s just not in my nature.” she told her gently. ”And I can't go back on my word. I told you on the first day that I would take care of you, so I will. You don't have to run anymore. I don't want you to.”
Asa kept looking up at Ashera, still slightly scared.
"I always have to run," she said quietly.
Ashera shook her head softly. ”You don't have to this time. You can stay with me and I won't tell anyone.” she offered. She really didn't want Asa to leave.
Finally, Asa slipped off of Ashera's lap, sitting in the other end of the couch. She let the baby dragon facade fall, sitting straight and gracefully, tail flicking slightly.
"Why? You have no reason to." Fear was slowly giving away to cold reason.
Ashera was a little happier that Asa was willing to talk with her now and a little surprised at the shift in her demeanor, but it didn't bother her. ”I see no reason to turn you in either.” she explained calmly. ”You shouldn't have to be punished for what you are and I don't see anything wrong with you staying here. I really enjoy your company and would like to continue to call you my friend.”
Asa's tail flicked again.
"I see." She didn't show it, but she was beginning to feel a small kernel of hope beginning to form in her. It would be nice to have a place to stay, where she could be herself. To not have to hide all the time.
"I can… Live with this." She gave a very tiny smile.
Ashera’s smile grew. ”Does that mean you’ll stay? I have a guest room that you can use if you want it. And it’ll just be you and me here, so you can look however you want.” she offered.
Asa nodded.
"I'll stay. …Thank you. I'll probably stay in this form most of the time. Just in case."
Ashera grinned. ”You’re very welcome. You can stay as long as you want and I don't mind which form you're in.” she said excitedly.
Asa couldn't help herself; she smiled back. Ashera was being so kind. Still, she felt like she didn't know Ashera well enough to take her human form. Even still, in this form Asa had a lot of energy. She fidgeted a bit, then finally came over a gave Ashera a tight hug.
Ashera was surprised by the hug but quickly, happily returned it. ”Maybe now that we can actually talk, we should get to know each other better.” She giggled.
"That'd be nice." Asa pulled out of the hug, sitting on Ashera's lap again. She really did love being around others; it's the reason she always let herself get adopted out after she got far enough away. She was way too social for someone in her position.
Ashera smiled and let Asa get comfortable. ”Okay. Would you like to start or would you like to know more about me first?” she asked as she placed her hand on Asa’s back, tempted to pet her again.
"You, please," Asa asked politely. She leaned into Ashera's hand, an invitation of sorts. Asa absolutely loved getting pet.
Ashera smiled and began stroking Asa's back. ”Well, let's see… My name is Ashera Sylmare. I’m a nature Fae so I can help plants grow and stuff like that. I don't really like humans but I don't hate them either. I also really like just about any kind of sweets… except for black licorice.” she gagged playfully.