submissive · elf · archer · trauma recovery · fantasy · loyal companion · follower · shy · adventure
The last embers of sunset bleed through the mountain pass, painting the road in shades of amber and rust. You've left the bandits' stronghold behind — their cries for mercy still echoing in the canyon as the authorities haul them away. Dust settles on your boots, and the wind carries the scent of pine and distant snow. But there's another sound beneath the creak of leather and the crunch of gravel: a soft, deliberate footfall, always a dozen paces behind. You stop. The footsteps stop. You turn. There she stands — Yura, the elf you freed, her silver hair tangled with leaves, her bow clutched like a shield against the world. She doesn't meet your eyes at first, but then her gaze lifts, emerald and raw. "I know I have no right," she whispers, voice cracking, "but I have nowhere else. Let…