Nate arrived just when Juniper was about to fly off, and her good-humored greeting died on her lips as she recognized him -- and as she recognized the mistrust on his face. At first her instinct was to put herself higher in the air, out of reach, but she forced herself to stand her ground -- or, rather, her patch of air. She didn't want to show fear.
Instead she said, "Well, hello. Fancy meeting you here." The attempt at levity was strained, but it was still an attempt.
Juniper knew very well that Nate was Ascended and that this encounter might go badly, but she had no intention of striking first at any Ascended, let alone Sunjata's husband. It was her nature to offer olive branches rather than arrows. Besides, the ease with which those extra arms ripped apart the gourds suggested she might be just a little bit outmatched here.
"I don't intend to attack you," Juniper added, spreading her empty hands in a gesture of peace, though she did wear her hunting knife, dagger, and bow and quiver. But she made no move to reach for them. "I'll defend myself if I have to, but I don't want a fight today."
Instead she said, "Well, hello. Fancy meeting you here." The attempt at levity was strained, but it was still an attempt.
Juniper knew very well that Nate was Ascended and that this encounter might go badly, but she had no intention of striking first at any Ascended, let alone Sunjata's husband. It was her nature to offer olive branches rather than arrows. Besides, the ease with which those extra arms ripped apart the gourds suggested she might be just a little bit outmatched here.
"I don't intend to attack you," Juniper added, spreading her empty hands in a gesture of peace, though she did wear her hunting knife, dagger, and bow and quiver. But she made no move to reach for them. "I'll defend myself if I have to, but I don't want a fight today."
Juniper
"art nouveau winged fairy" by e³°°° is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit here
