The Missing Stone

Found

The sun rises high, casting short shadows as Mildred jogs beside the dirt road, the frosted grass crunching beneath swift feet. She sees something on the horizon. As she continues along the path, she can see that it is a massive structure, its spires piercing the sky. Mildred runs faster. Even though her experience with sleeping outside was not unpleasant, she also has to keep the weather in mind. She knows that sleeping outside in the rain and snow could cause illness.

Mildred feels time slip by, the sun sinking beneath the horizon once more. She ran a considerable distance, and wonders again if she likes running. Her head hurts thinking about it.

The structure is closer now, and she realizes how big it actually is. One could easily mistake it for a mountain had it not been for the endlessly tall spires piercing the heavens.

She hops up a large tree to get a vantage point overlooking the structure. Now that she's closer, Mildred thinks that the structure resembles that of a fort, or a castle, nestled between mountainous ranges. A headache pounds just behind her eyes, and she sighs. She feels sleep creeping at the edges of her vision, threatening to swallow her whole, despite the brief headache.

Running for the majority of a day can be exhausting. Mildred gazes lazily at the little lights clustered in a square.

Mildred holds up the ring the merchant had gifted her. What did he mean when he said that this ring could grant miracles? Probably some folktale, and yet, Mildred wants to care for it, like he most likely had before he gave it to her. She tucks it into a small fold between her tunic and belt and dozes off.

-

Since Felix's father had agreed to send reinforcements from his territory, watch patrols have increased in number and frequency. Ashe had volunteered, aware of the little resources they had, and had joined Ingrid on watch duty for the first shift, making small talk about the incoming supplies, then separated for his own.

Ashe had departed with the mount Dedue had taken care of, the once playful young stallion hardened and obedient.

He blinks away the threat of tears. Everyone grieves their own way, but Ashe had never grieved for anything like he had with Dedue when His Highness told them of his sacrifice. He shakes his head. Now is not the time for idle thoughts.

He holds an arrow loosely nocked, bow resting against the saddle, a habit developed over years on the run. They are nearing a small forest not far from the monastery when the stallion snorts and tugs the reins.

"Whoa there..." Ashe pats his neck to soothe him, the stallion pointedly waving his head at the tree line. Ashe pauses, gripping his bow when he glimpses a flash of dark grey amongst the reflective snow. He squints, and there! In the tree! He directs his mount closer, his cautionary posture making the stallion skittish.

Maybe it's a cat, he thinks. Ashe purses his lips. He needs to be careful.

Raising his bow, he shoots an arrow where he thinks the head might be. For an enemy, it'll kill them instantly, but if it's an animal of some sort, they'll wake from the sudden noise and scurry off. Something yelps from within the tree and falls, snapping branches until it lands in the snow with a thud. The stallion rears his head and backs up, and Ashe leaps off, brandishing an emergency lance at the pile of dark cloth.

It is indeed an animal. A cat. It hisses loudly, ears flat and tail poofy and straight in a display of hostility. The necklace around its neck glows an eerie bluish-green. It's possibly a trick of the light, he thinks. While finding wild animals wearing human accessories isn't something he sees everyday, he is also tired.

Ashe releases a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and turns back to his horse, holding up a hand to calm him down. Once mounted, he glances back to where the feline was to find it predictably gone. He shakes his head again. He berates himself for getting distracted and continues his patrol.

-

Once the rider is out of sight, Mildred releases a breath. It's a blessing in disguise that Mildred was suddenly a cat for multiple reasons. If she had been spotted in her previous form then she could've been seriously injured, either from the fall or whatever conflict erupted between her and that archer.

She has some background knowledge about cats, like how they always land on their feet, which really helped Mildred in that situation. Now she just needs to figure out how she can turn back into her usual form, and possibly figure out how to turn back into a cat in case she is caught in a situation like that again.

The amulet around her neck glows a bluish-green. Her eyes narrow on the necklace, suspicious. This probably had something to do with it, as Mildred very distinctly remembers it being violet. She cautiously touches her paw to the necklace and poof.

She yelps, not expecting her suspicions to be spot on. She's back to normal, much to her simultaneous disappointment and relief. She wanted to explore what being a cat is like, but finds the familiarity of her body soothing. Mildred holds the amulet in her hand, now back to a shimmering purple.

The amulet is definitely the cause. Now her mind is a jumbled mess. Whoever that archer is had an uncanny aim, and if he had aimed a little lower, then Mildred would be dead right now. Considering her proximity to the massive structure then it's quite possible he is a scout sent out to keep watch for intruders like her. Well, no one expects a cat to just waltz in, right?

Mildred's brows furrow.

On the contrary, this amulet could be one of many, and it could actually be quite common for people to suddenly wake up with ears and a tail and a mysterious necklace that turns them into cats or something. Mildred shakes her head. It isn't likely, as the people she had encountered so far had no accessories of the sort or had any other appendages that suggested they were some sort of hybrid, like a tail.

Well, since there is no chance of regaining any sleep, Mildred takes a deep breath and walks from her hiding spot back to her tree to grab her cloak, refastening it.

Did the cloak come off when I transformed or when I fell out? She shakes her head again. She would test that later, for now she has business to attend to. Her hand hovers over the spot where the ring resides as she poofs back into a cat and follows the rider's almost invisible tracks.