Rukiyo froze on the spot, her entire body going rigid as she registered the figure standing on the riverbank— not just a man, but an elf.
The unmistakable sharpness of his pointed ears glinted in the sunlight, glaring at her, and for a split second, her brain short-circuited because what? What is an elf doing out there, deep in the forest, which is kind of still near a human village?
The elf blinked at her with those icy-blue eyes, taking in her half-soaked state, bare skin streaked with droplets of water.
He doesn't move, doesn't even twitch.
A moment of silence passed where neither of them reacted beyond sheer shock, mostly Rukiyo just being shocked.
Then, she snapped out of her stupor, her grip tightening around the conditioner bottle— her knuckles turning white as her heart pounds against her ribs.
The elves were the last people she wanted to encounter, especially in a situation like this.
Avoid them at all costs.
