Juniper

Dumps the lore and runs

Juniper had squeezed herself under a small dock down river and was waiting, her long body hidden under the dark water and her human half mostly dry, ready to for action. She had been there for hours and had almost fallen asleep, when the sound of footfall cut through the midnight quiet. Juniper snapped back awake and listened intently. 

The human sounded about mid sized, with confidence in the dark, but there was still a stumble here and there. Nothing to difficult for a wounded gorgon, but nothing to shabby either. She waited as he walked to the end of the dock and started to gather up a loose rope, then silently moved forward.
Perfect and quiet as her movements were, the sounds suddenly stopped. Juniper froze, confused. There was no way he'd heard her, she was an expert at this! And he was just a stupid-

"Juniper?"
The gorgon felt like that arrow was back in her chest for a moment. She slowly backed out from under the dock and peeked over the edge.

His hair was streaked with white, and his stance was pained, yet Damitri looked just as sharp as ever. She pulled her front half up out of the water and paused on the edge of the dock, unsure if he'd still be friendly.
Somehow he knew, and his puzzled look turned into a huge smile. "Were you about to eat me?"
The gorgon's voice came out shaky. "Just a little."
Damitri dropped the rope and held his arms out for a hug. "Come here"

Juniper had been hugged a few times, but she'd never been the hugger. She didn't really know what to do with herself, so she gently tacked him. He went limp as she wrapped around him, and then laughed as they fell over.
"I didn't think I'd ever see you again!"
She grinned, "You haven't!"
"Oh, your making blind jokes at me now?"
"I'm sorry."
"Are you kidding? That was funny." His body stayed limp, but his arms gave her a proud squeeze, "Since when is the big bad gorgon funny?"
 "Since when did the big bad fighter turn grey?"
"My hair is only a little bit grey! So I'm told..." He started to pull himself out from under her. Juniper let him go, and then offered a hand to help him up.
He struggled, especially on his right ankle- the one she'd broken. She felt a little pang of guilt, and was about to apologize once again, when Damitri put a hand on her shoulder to steady himself and felt the top of her bandage. His hand followed it down to the pad that was stuck across her chest. "You're hurt!"
"Only a little, it's mostly healed now."
"This... isn't your work." He frowned, and then gasped as he put the pieces together. "You made a friend?!"
"I did."
"Well who are they?! What are they like! Juniper you've got to tell me everything!" He let go of her bandage, but kept her hand.
"A farm boy," Juniper grinned at his excitement, "Klem. Very sweet and a little bit meek. A good healer though, it turns out."
Damitri shook his head. "How did you pull that off?"
"Someone tried to feed him to me, as it were."
"HA! Why does that keep happening to you?"
"I don't know, it's almost like they think I eat humans or something."
"A mystery."
"We'll never know."
He cackled, "I like you with sass."
"I like you with grey hair."
"Hey, rude!"
"I'm being serious. You look happy."
He paused and a weird kind of warmth seemed to fill him. "I am."
"And your family took you back, like I said they would?"
"They did."
"I'm glad, you of all humans deserve it."
"There are plenty of better humans who deserve it, but thank you." He sighed and started to step away. "I suppose you need to get back to hunting, with your wound and all... And you should probably make yourself scarce before somebody sees you."

Juniper held onto his hand, and Damitri stopped when he felt her grip tighten.
This was her favorite person in the whole wide world, and what were the chances she'd ever see him again? The gorgon wasn't ready to part ways just yet.
"Do we have to say goodbye so soon?"
He looked to be thinking something similar. He smiled, "You're right. Promise not to eat anyone I'm friends with."
"Of course!"
"Alright, follow me."


Damitri led her down river a little bit to a boat house. He locked the doors once they were inside and the two of them spent the rest of the night just, catching up. He told her about his family, about his wife, about his kids. She asked him about his face, and he took off his bandage to show her how it had healed. He showed her how he navigated without sight, how his wife had helped him learn, and explained how the rest of his family had made changes to keep him safe.
Juniper in turn, told him all about the farm she'd been hiding on, and the family she had chosen to live alongside. He was especially humored to hear about how the kids had blackmailed their oldest brother, and the vampire she'd spotted, but he really wanted to hear about Klem. Maybe out of pride, or maybe because he curious about this other person who had seen fit to befriend a gorgon. Either way, she told him everything.

And when that was over they resorted to discussing little things, like the spiders in the rafters and the best water for fishing. Anything but the time, until morning light started to seep thought the cracks in the ceiling and birds started to sing outside.
 
Juniper finally gave in. "I guess I should go. Can I come back sometime?"
Damitri was laying on his back on the floor. "Anytime."
"I will then. It's been good talking to you, I missed you so much."
There was a slight stutter in his voice. "I missed you too."
"Hey, no tears this time."
He waved her away, "I wasn't the one crying last time! It's my turn!"
"Whatever."
He laughed from the floor. "Get out of here before I become a mess."
She laughed with him, "Alright alright!" The gorgon slid backwards into the water and gave him one last hug. "So long, Damitri."
"So long."