Fantasy Hunters' Journey [Closed]

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren went about the tasks easily, preparing the shelter with Thelonious just as the rain began to come down. With a brief glance up at the sky, she ducked into the shelter with him, realizing she would be very close to him with how much space there was inside. Her cheeks reddening from the thought, she nodded at his words, and brought her knees up to her chest, starting to pull off her boots. As she pulled off one, then the other, she let her eyes travel the intricate tattoos that had been covered by the worn leather. She spotted the various swirls on her left leg, one demonstrating the bond between nature and elves, and the other the bond she shared with Venari'fera. She smiled softly at the memory of getting those tattoos and turned her attention to one tattoo that occupied the inside of her right thigh, stretching down to her upper calf. This tattoo was swirling vines representing herbalism and twenty roses grew from them, each one representing one year of life she had attained before passing her trial. She had learned herbalism from her mother, and hunting from her father. Although she had never quite taken to medicines and herbs like her mother wanted, she did make sure she learned the trade. On the tops of her feet, she noted the swirling wind-like tattoos that represented elven dexterity and swiftness. She had done those herself, and was pleased by the finished product.

One tattoo she could not see, but one she felt, was four vertical lines over an identical scar on the back of her left thigh. Her father used to tell her stories of how it came to be, often telling her that it was a birthmark that was only seen on very important warriors. He insisted that a great elven warrior of old had received such a wound fighting a mighty dragon that had come to burn down the forest. It was one of Aanor'Loren's favorite stories, and she knew the entirety of Prince Finrezyr and the Dragon by heart. Of course, she was fairly certain than her father had made up the great warrior part, nbut it didn't stop her from wishful thinking.

She turned to Thelonious after removing her boots, her delicate features taking on an expression of thought. "It's not so bad. A bit cozy but that's okay." With sudden energy, she crawled out into the rain, quickly tucking her boots into a small crevice behind the shelter, mostly covered from the rain. She sighed as she settled back into the shelter, hoping her boots would not become too terribly soaked by morning.

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious smiled softly, watching Lo move gracefully around, even in the tight space. He tried to shuffle as close to the side of the shelter as possible, confused as to how he felt being so close to the elven woman. "At least we should stay warm." He chuckled, pulling the rug up and over their legs, holding out a side for Lo to take a hold of.

As the day had gone on, Thelonious had noticed the various tattoos that adorned Lo's clear skin. He had wanted to ask, knowing the majority of elves bared at least one tattoo on their bodies; even his mother. However, because he was only half-elf, and ostracised from normal elven society, he bared none upon his own skin, and also didn't understand the meanings of them. The idea that Lo wouldn't tell him, or wonder even more as to why he was just as strange to her and she was to him, put him off asking. Yes, his parents would have been a giveaway as to why he'd asked her not to judge him, but now he needed her help and he couldn't risk her walking away.

Instead, Thelonious laid back, settled into the ground and wrapping the rug as close to his chin as he could. The rain started getting heavier, the constant noise bombarding their ears as it his the leaves shielding them. "We'll wake up early and plan from there how we ask your elders. I can't expect them to listen to me, so I'm glad you're here." With that, Thelonious let his eyes close and the rain lull him into a light sleep.

When the new morning light woke Thelonious from his slumber the next morning, he opened his eyes to stare straight at Lo. A bright pink flush covered his cheeks when he realised how close he was to her, and just quite how beautiful she looked in such a peaceful state. Before Lo could find him so close to him, Thelonious tried to shuffle away, only it wasn't him that had moved closer and his back was against the shelter wall. Gulping he turned himself over and gulped, trying to calm the things he was feeling for the first person to tolerate who he was.

 

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren didn't think too much of Thelonious's eyes on her tattoos, nor did she pay much mind when he scooted away from her. However, what she did notice, was that when she finally awoke, her eyes were but mere inches from his and her body even less. Her face almost immediately began to glow bright red, her mind slowly making sense of the situation she found herself in. With a sudden start, she backed away, regretting the decision to do so when she felt the solid thud of the cramped shelter against her head. Pressing a hand to the place she'd struck her head, she allowed herself to immediately cry out in pain, "OUCH!"

With a grumble of irritation of having hit her head, she decided to leave the shelter, embarrassed at her display of clumsiness. Of course, even that would HAVE to go wrong today.

In her haste to escape with what remained of her dignity, she forgot about the rainstorm and the trench they had dug. As a result, her hand slid across the ground instead of remaining firmly planted. And as if that wasn't bad enough, her face found a muddy puddle, leaving her covered in mud and lying prone on her stomach, everything below her waist in the shelter and everything above covered in mud.

So, she thought, it was going to be one of those days.

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious hadn't expected quite such a fierce reaction from Lo as soon as she'd woken. He had thought she'd get snappy and blame it on him, but he had never expected the cool and collected Lo to turn into a flustered and flailing mess. There was no other way to describe what he'd just witnessed, no matter how different it was from her usual character.

Upon glancing up, Thelonious couldn't help the snort that left him. Luckily, for Lo, the rug was covering her bottom half quite modestly. It was just a shame it didn't save her from a face full of mud. When he managed to push himself up into a sitting position, and saw the full extent of her sprawled out in the mud, his snort turned into a full on bellowing laughter.

Shuffling out of the shelter, he was careful not to slip and make a fool of himself after laughing at Lo. However, his laughter hadn't stopped, but rather had turned into a soft chuckle that emerged every now and again. He had tried to compose himself, taking deep breaths, but upon seeing Lo from the front, face down in the mud, he lost all control once more. "I'm sorry Lo, I shouldn't be laughing." Thelonious managed to mutter out in between breaths.

Eventually he calmed down enough to hold his hand out for Lo to grab a hold of and when she was once more righted, Thelonious reached forward without a second thought and gently brushed some of the mud from around her eyes. As if suddenly coming to the realisation of how close he'd come to her and how non-acquaintance like he'd just acted, Thelonious took a large step back. "There's a small stream around here, if you want to go wash up. Then maybe we can cook up the rabbit for breakfast seeing as we forgot about food last night. I know it's not a great breakfast and more of a dinner but..." He trailed off and his cheeks flared a bright red when he realised he was rambling once again.

Instead of staying in such an awkward situation, Thelonious turned tail and started searching for any wood that would be dry enough for a fire. If not, he'd have to venture back to his home to see if there was anything he could use.

 

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren made a point not to move a muscle even as she heard Thelonious start laughing. She instead stayed very still and concentrated on trying to control her blushing face. When she finally did look up at Thelonious, it was to accept his help to stand. This act of kindness soothed her fierce blush, but the redness returned when he wiped the mud from around her eyes with a surprisingly gentle touch.

"Thanks." She mumbled, glancing down just in case the redness was visible around her eyes. Then she cleared her throat, looking around, "Where did you say the stream was? I'd like to wash up." She asked, glancing about and once more finding herself at a disadvantage, not knowing the terrain. It made her flustered simply not knowing the closest landmarks.

Someday, she knew, she would have this entire area mentally catalogued and charted, but not now.

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious chuckled softly at Lo's obvious embarrassment. In a strange way it was nice to see that she could be like any other person, rather than always cool and collected as she had been in the forested, but only in the time after she'd calmed down from having nearly shot an arrow at him in anger.

"Behind the shelter. About 20 paces. It may not be entirely clean after the storm last night, but I suppose that's better than staying caked in mud." Again, Thelonious couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of her.

Whilst Lo was washing up, Thelonious took his time searching for dry wood. Unfortunately, because of the storm the night before, everything was damp, right down to the centre. Luckily, he managed however to pull some of his shelter apart and used the inside branches to set a fire. He wanted to get the rabbit going before Lo came back, but he wasn't going to rummage around in her belongings, so instead he set about creating and setting the perfect fire; just like his fine teacher had shown him.

 

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren found the stream with no trouble, and, with a careful scan of the surrounding area, she undressed quickly and waded into the cool water. Due to a desire to be warm and dry, she was quick about it, washing the mud from her clothes first and setting them on a rock in the sunlight to dry while she washed herself. Teeth chattering and muscles shivering, she got out of the water a few minutes later, dismayed that she would have to don her damp clothing before it was completely dry. With a groan of regret, she dressed herself and sat in the sunlight, working the tangles out of her hair with her fingers.

As she sat in the warm morning light, she let her thoughts wander and even began to relax as she became accustomed to the feeling of the damp leather on her skin. With a smile of joy, she laid back on the stone, enjoying for a moment the feeling of the heated rock on her back. In the meantime she glanced at a flamelike tattoo on her right forearm, tracing it with her eyes while her right hand traced the swirling tattoo on her left arm. She was at peace, relaxed, and wanted nothing more than to spend the day exactly where she was.

She sighed. If only it were so simple.

 

[This Is Me]

Being alone, Thelonious let his mind wander. A melancholy feeling settled over him as the quiet forest settled around him after the previous nights storm. Last night he hadn't had much time to process what had actually happened, but now the feeling of dread and fear started settling over him.

His parents were gone. His family home crumbling in its place. Everything he knew had been thrown up in the air, and he wasn't entirely sure he knew how to go about sorting the whole mess out. Thelonious didn't even know if, truly, he would be able to sort it out and return everything to normal. Lo had spoken of seeking the elders for help, but he knew without even having to ask that they would send Thelonious on his way without so much as a backwards glance. Lo had just been too kind to him up until this point, but he had a deep dread settle in the pit of his stomach than when the elders pointed out of much of a disappointment him and his family were to elven kind, she'd look at him in exactly the same light as the rest of them.

Sighing, Thelonious ran a hand over his face, tugging at his hair. It was all one big mess and he wasn't equipped mentally or physically to deal with it. Despite this, when he heard the rustling of the undergrowth signalling that Lo was on her way back from cleaning up, he forced all the worry from his face and turned to her with a grin.

"The fire is ready to go. All we need is the rabbit now. How was the clean up mission?" Thelonious couldn't help but chuckle at the memory.

(OOC: Apologies for taking a while! I've been in the process of moving back to uni!)

 

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren sighed as she walked back to the shelter, her thoughts on how she might get the elders' approval for such a risky task. Going into the heart of the forest was taboo, and had not been done that she could remember during her lifetime. The elves and dark fey had an unsteady truce, and she was not certain the elders would break that truce for the sake of Thelonious's parents. Nevertheless, she had to make the attempt.

She smiled as she walked back into camp, nodding to the man that waited beside the roaring fire. "It went well, now that I'm mud-free. For the sake of time, I'll just go ahead and skin and clean the rabbit, though I'm sure you've some experience with it, being a hunter." She said as she drew her skinning knife and a thin leather cord. With quick, deft movements, she tied the rabbit up by its feet and began to skin and gut the creature.

The minutes passed in relative silence, each of the hunters lost in thought before she began to wrap the rabbit meat in long Bladethorn leaves. The plant itself was like a fern, but the leaves were dotted with vicious little thorns along their underside. Appearing harmless at a glance, these thorns injected a substance that acted as a poison, paralyzingly the subject for several hours. However, Aanor'Loren had learned from her mother that the leaves, if harvested carefully, could be wrapped around meat before it was cooked to trick the plant into injecting the meat. Then, when properly prepared, the heat would neutralize the paralytic aspect of the plant, leaving the food with a wonderful aroma and a hint of sweetness to its flavor.

After preparing the rabbit in this way, she placed the rabbit on a thin flat rock and set it atop the fire, watching the flames lick up around the rabbit but not quite touch it. Then she settled back, waiting for the leaves to turn a dark blue from their original green color, which would indicate that the meat was ready to eat. In the meantime, she set about making use of the rest of the animal parts, cleaning up the fur and bones for later use.

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious watched in slight awe as Lo skinned and prepared the rabbit for the fire. "It's definitely quicker with you. I'm not exactly the neatest in food preparation." He chuckled softly, his eyes gazing into the flames.

Whilst they waited for the rabbit to cook, his thoughts wandered again. He wondered how they were supposed to pull this off. It would be easier if the elders agreed to send forces with them, or give them something to help, but he knew that wouldn't be the case. With the two of them, Thelonious wondered whether it would just be better for him to let Lo go back to her own life and attempt it himself.

Thelonious had somewhat resigned himself to the thought over night that his parents may in fact be dead, so this whole mission was fairly useless. But, he wouldn't be able to be at peace with himself without knowing. If it was a death mission, then so be it, but if that was the case he'd rather have Lo far away from it all. She seemed troubled enough about the idea of travelling so far into the forest.

With his eyes still fairly zoned out, Thelonious spoke up softly, "Do you really think the elders will help someone like me?"

 

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren was caught off guard by the question, and looked up at him sharply, trying to decipher his meaning before asking the obvious thoughts she had. Would they help him? Odds were that simply because he wasn't from her tribe, he would normally have a hard time gaining their attention at all. However, with the young huntress by his side, she knew he would have no issues with that. However, she knew he meant something else by the tone of his voice. The question was, of course, what he meant then.

She let her eyes wander back to the wrapped meat, wondering how she should go about explaining the elders to this man. After a few moments, she began to speak, slowly at first, "The elders are not bad, you must understand. None of them would wish any harm on you or your parents. Then again, you have to understand that for them, time isn't nearly so...fast. The elders rarely make large scale decisions like this, and I don't expect an answer from them immediately. However, I know they made a truce with the dark fey when I was but a child, and that truce alone has kept our people from war."

She looked down at her hands, thinking carefully before she spoke, "I'm not sure what you mean, about someone like you, but I don't think it matters as much to them as it does to you. The elders see things differently than you or I. I had to argue for a week straight for them to be convinced of my readiness to take my trials. They told me each day I was too young, too curious, and by far too reckless. Well, something about me changed their minds, as I'm sure you will as well." She offered him a friendly smile, a truly genuine expression of nothing but amiability. As she did so, she handed him his share of the rabbit, unsure of what kind of appetite he might have. She gave him two of the five pieces and took one for her own.

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious chuckled softly, halfheartedly in reply to Lo. Lo seemed to have a deep found respect for her elders, whereas Thelonious was more cautious and completely untrusting of them. "Well, they must be different to the elders back in my old village then..." He awkwardly rubbed a hand behind his neck, thinking of all the ways his elders had refused his parents help on multiple occasions. Then, because the elders denied the request, no one from the village was willing either. Eventually, they moved to the house he had grown up in.

He thanked Lo for the meat, and moaned in appreciation at the taste. Seeing Lo's slightly startled looked, he chuckled awkwardly once more, his cheeks flushing a slight red. "My apologies. It just tastes good I guess. You'll have to teach me to do this too unfortunately." He sent a toothy grin in her direction.

Finishing up, Thelonious stood, cracking his joints. "We can save what's left for lunch, and maybe catch something on the way. We might as well try and get this elders business over and done with." Sighing he turned his back to pack his belongings and make sure he slipped his knife into his boot, his arrows slung on his back and his bow over his shoulder. Mumbling slightly, Thelonious kept his head down, "If the elders won't help, I'm not making you come with me. That would go against their views."

 

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren ground her teeth and stood, once more becoming the arrogant and angry ball of fury that Thelonious had first met. She poked a finger to his chest and spoke in an indignant tone, "Making me? NO ONE makes me do anything, got that? I'm going with you regardless of what a council of old men say I can and can't do! No one tells me what to do!" She stood with her fists balled at her sides angrily. During her meal, memories she had buried long ago had surfaced and she had struggled to maintain a straight face, but her inability to control her emotions had led her to this outburst. Tears came unbidden to her eyes, but, angry and confused, she ignored them, focusing all her thoughts on her anger so as to distract herself from the errant memories running wild in her brain. Seeing the confused and hurt expression on Thelonious's face made her anger soften and made the sadness and confusion she felt begin to surface. As her expression dwindled from one of rage to one of misery and sadness, she turned her face away from his and struggled to keep from sobbing uncontrollably.

She didn't remember a lot of her childhood, nor how her father died, but bits and pieces of those memories were surfacing as unresolved grief. She buried her face in her hands and fought back against her sobs, quite aware that the confused man standing behind her was clueless to her inner turmoil, and likely more confused than hurt. She has lashed out randomly, and she felt bad about it, but she desired nothing more than to silence those horrific memories.

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious had no idea what happened. He knew she was a fiery ball of rage sometimes, he was quite aware of that after their first encounter. But her blowing up on him because he'd mentioned him leaving her behind seemed completely out of character. He was just about ready to put his hands up in surrender, his eyes wide and mouth open slightly, when tears started streaming down her face.

Now Thelonious was even more confused. He wasn't exactly great in the socialising department after growing up as an only child and being cast out from their town, he'd have no friends to call his own. The only people he'd really interacted with were his parents, and the rest of the time was spent with himself in the woods and the animals that would befriend him. He wasn't entirely sure what to do, had never had to deal with such a situation. But something was clearly wrong. Lo had been in a strange mood since Thelonious had shown her his father's journal, pointing out the creatures that had taken his parents. If his intuition was right, the idea of them caused dark memories to stir within her.

Suddenly her tears turned to full sobs, her back turned to Thelonious. The only thing he could think to do was something his mother used to do to him when he was a small boy and had fallen and scraped his knee on one of his many adventures. Quickly stepping up behind Lo, Thelonious wrapped his arms around her tightly from behind, resting his head on her shoulder. He felt her tense to begin with before slowly relaxing in his arms, "It's okay Lo. I'm sorry I made you angry. We're going to be okay." He kept whispering over and over on repeat.

 

[Arialianna]

For a time that seemed like forever, Aanor'Loren struggled to control her wild emotions. And for all that forever, Thelonious held her, saying nothing and simply letting her let out the grief she couldn't explain and the sadness that she felt for no reason.

But he was there for it all.

After that forever had passed, and what might have really only been a couple minutes, she took a shaky breath, gently extracting herself from his embrace as she rubbed her tear soaked eyes. She didn't look at Thelonious, she was ashamed of herself, not for crying, but for snapping at him. So instead she turned to ensure she did indeed have all her equipment and looked at the sky through the leaves, her voice cracking from the strain, "We should get going." She said softly.

She wanted so badly to tell him why he'd just witnessed her emotions run wild and jump around, but something kept her from it. She wasn't sure why, but she couldn't be her candid open book self right now, she couldn't allow herself to.

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious sighed softly when Lo removed herself from his arms. It was selfish of him but he wanted to keep holding her, keep feeling her skin against his bare arms, the warmth of her body against his. He lacked social interaction, but Thelonious also didn't trust easily. So to be so invested in Lo was something new in itself, he was like a child latching on to their favourite person, although his feelings seemed a bit more sophisticated.

He watched with a sad smile as Lo tried to act as if she was okay and hadn't just been a mess of tears moments earlier. Thelonious was useless though, he didn't know how to approach the subject with her when she seemed quite content to tuck it away under lock and key. Nodding in response to her, Thelonious stuffing the rug in his sack as a last minute precaution for them having to camp together once again.

Lo had set off through the trees, and with Thelonious having never strayed too far from his hunting grounds he was reliant on Lo to lead the way. On a whim, he reached out, gripping Lo's hand in his own slightly calloused one, giving it a soft squeeze, "I may not be a lot, but you can confide in me. I'll always be here." He tried to smile down at her, not sure if she was looking his way or not. Coughing awkwardly, Thelonious let go of Lo's hand and carried on crunching across the fallen leaves of the forest underfoot.

 

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren was content to leave the issue buried, but she couldn't deny the reassurance she felt when Thelonious's hand found her own and gave it a squeeze. She kept her eyes and face to her right, away from him. She just didn't want him to see her blushing.

She led him back into the more familiar forest trees, smiling as he crunched with each step, a warm feeling filling her gut rather than the annoyance she'd felt at first. But she only let herself think about that for a moment before her eyes found their way back to the forest.

Her step was a bit lighter, and more carefree as she moved. A smile played on the corners of her mouth while her eyes were bright with wonder about the trees. Surely most would find the same sights tiring or boring after seeing them so often, but for her, it was never quite the same sights.

She took note of fallen branches, broken sticks, new tracks and old, and even new sounds. Without much thought, she softly sang a tune her father had taught her as a child. Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper, but the elven song was fluid; a true testament to the language's melodious sound. In that moment, she wasn't aware of Thelonious by her side, listening and watching her.

She loved the forests, and it showed in her demeanor.

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious was content. Lo may not have completely acknowledged him, but he could tell from the blush she'd tried to hide rising up her cheeks, that a gesture such as that wasn't something she was used to dealing with. He let it be, knowing, or more hoping, that when the time was right, she could find it within herself to confide in him. He'd never really had someone like her before, no one that had stuck around as long as her. So even if it was just a friendship and nothing like his parents relationship, he would be more than thankful.

As they carried on walking, Thelonious tried to keep an eye on their surroundings, searching for what he didn't know. He knew most of the forest by his home, but as soon as they ventured further away from that boundary, he was relying solely on Lo. Despite his heartened attempts to map out their path in his mind, he got distracted, typically.

As Lo walked through the forest, a sense of calm surrounded her and Thelonious couldn't help but stare. He knew she could be a force to be reckoned, but now she seemed to have put that persona away, and instead she melded as one with the peacefulness of their surroundings. It was entirely different, and in an incredibly good way. Her feet were silent, unlike his own and he attempted to copy her foot placement, making sure his footfalls quietened, even if not to the extent of hers. His presence was definitely noticed in the forest, but Lo's? She was one with the trees and the animals. Thelonious just wished he could do the same. He'd always had an affinity towards animals, he didn't really understand it, but the seemed to gravitate towards him on certain occasions. He wanted to aspire to be like Lo, a successful hunter, but always someone that respected and meshed with the wilderness.

A soft melody caught his ears, and it made him pause in their path. Lo was singing. Thelonious couldn't quite believe it and carried on listening to the soothing notes. "Is there anything you can't do?" He whispered to himself. She was truly amazing, and feelings were growing within him that he couldn't quite grasp. Something was brewing, and he hoped, more than anything, that it wouldn't cause the downfall of their friendship.

(OOC: Apologies if it's a little waffly. My brain is tired XD)

 

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren was so engrossed in her thoughts that only a soft whisper behind her broke her from the enthralling peace of the wildnerness. With a surprised look, she turned to Thelonious. "Sorry? I didn't quite catch that." She admitted, finding it quite strange that she was so in tune with her surroundings that she noticed everything except the nature of the whispered words. She mentally scolded herself for letting her guard down, but soon after decided that she might not have heard WHAT he said, but she still snapped back to herself at the out of place whisper. Confident that her senses were not in fact growing lax with him around, she relaxed a bit again, letting her footsteps move of their own accord. Years of time spent in these forests had lent her an almost sixth sense with her footing, allowing her to carefully tread around fallen sticks, tree roots, and similar undergrowth with ease. She knew that Thelonious was not having the easiest time navigating the forest floor, but it was a skill that could be learned, but not taught. He would have to find his own way to walk unimpeded.

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious grumbled to himself internally at having disturbed Lo from her peaceful ways. He shook his head in response, "It was nothing, just mumbling to myself is all." He smiled softly, his cheeks slightly pink and himself sort of thankful she hadn't heard him in awe of her. It was slightly embarrassing, especially seeing as they hardly knew each other.

He wished she would go back to quietly singing, but Thelonious knew he'd broken her trance. Instead she was now solely concentrated on the wilderness around her. He once again went back to concentrating on his footfalls, and as they continued walking further along the trail his steps grew quieter and quieter. He wasn't nearly as silent as Lo, but Thelonious was proud that he'd managed to make such a drastic change in such a short space of time. Slowly, he picked up his pace to walk just to the side of Lo, and so as to not break the tranquillity between them and her concentration, he whispered, "How far do we have to travel to the elders?"

 

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren smiled up at the canopy as she watched the leaves pass over her. "Well, we've been followed for the last five minutes, so I would give it another five to ten minute walk to the edge of the village. Getting an audience with the elders won't be easy, but we will manage." She let her peripheral vision catch the sight of a shadowy movement along the side of the path they were taking. She had noticed them before they had even moved, letting the soft singing of her voice announce her presence and had almost smirked before when one of the watchmen had jumped in surprise. She had trained a few of the watchmen on silent movements, but they kept themselves more weighed down what with their armor, weapons, and provisions. Luckily for them, she was no threat. Still, she couldn't help but giggle a little at each cracking branch or nearly silent elven curse coming from either side of her as they followed.

She noticed one on her left watching her abnormally closely, and saw him searching her for a tattoo he recognized. By the feathered cap he wore, she knew he was a scout, meant to report who was coming so the village would greet them appropriately. With a small sigh of frustration, she reached down and tugged down the top of her left boot, showing off the scar tattoo on the back of her leg. Then she watched in satisfaction as the runner sprinted off, making a racket as he did so, but keeping well hidden as he did. "Not long now." She murmured to Thelonious with a comforting smile.

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious smiled nervously back at Lo, wishing he could be as calm as she was. He hadn't even noticed they were being followed until she'd pointed it out and all the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Suddenly what they were about to do was very real and Thelonious would be lying if he didn't say he was absolutely terrified to meet the elders of a different village. He wasn't sure how they'd react to him, but he had a feeling it wouldn't be good. From how Lo was to where her village was located, her elven tribe seemed to be a lot more traditional than his so-called on on the outskirts of the forest.

Taking a deep breath, Thelonious moved closer to Lo as they continued along the trail. His hands were shaking slightly from nerves and his eyes kept glancing around, finally finding all the elves that had been following them following them. "Maybe, maybe we should just forget about this elders... I don't want to bother them." He whispered softly, hoping Lo would agree but also knowing just how stupid he was being.

 

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren could feel Thelonious's fear as clearly as a wolf could smell the fear of a doe. Yet, she understood it was not easy for him, so rather than pounce on him like a wolf, she instead reached back and gripped his hand with one of her own, smaller hands firmly. She offered him a reassuring smile over her shoulder and a gentle squeeze with her hand, but offered no words. After all, how could she calm the nerves of a man who was now about to enter a foreign place? She was apprehensive about leaving the confines of the forest trees to see his home, but she had done so, and it had been difficult.

So all she could offer now was her presence.

They were now coming up on a trio of elven warriors. The two on either end were younger, still learning the trade of protecting the village by shadowing the third man. This one stood front and center, about two or three years older than Aanor'Loren, but almost a foot and a half taller as well. With a curse under her breath that would have earned her a severe punishment had she ever so much as thought to say it around her father, she approached the elf and stopped a good ten strides away.

With a reluctance born of dislike, she offered the man a small bow and a quick salute by touching two fingers to the tattoo beneath her right eye. "Greetings, Tythlin. I seek an audience with the elders."

For several long moments, she kept her eyes down at his feet, as was the custom. But finally, curious about the silence, she glanced up to find his eyes on Thelonious instead of her, with a look of coldness she had never quite managed to draw from the guard herself, though she had certainly gotten close after refusing to court the man after he asked her at his celebration of manhood ceremony. Of course, that had not quite deterred him so much as emboldened him, and she found herself finding excuses more and more often to avoid visiting the village.

Tythlin said nothing about her greeting, instead offering her a few cold words as he turned his glare towards her. "Who is this man, Tinuviel?"

She winced, caught off guard by his cold voice using her father's term of endearment for her. But she said nothing in reply, completely unbalanced by the hatred in his tone.

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious was a wreck of nerves, and he knew he wasn't imagining the various sets of eyes watching his every move. Lo offered some reassurance when she turned to smile at him and squeeze his hand, but as soon as they approached their welcoming party, his nerves came back ten-fold. He watched silently as Lo interacted with the elves, and unsure about their traditional protocol, Thelonious stood standing, his quizzical gaze falling on the trio in front of them.

It wasn't long before a hard and cold glare was sent in his direction by the leader of the trio, and a shiver trickled down the back of Thelonious' spine. He knew they wouldn't be accepting of him, he'd just hoped it hadn't happened so soon. He didn't know whether to respond to the elf or leave Lo to handle the situation as she most likely knew all the elves in her tribe fairly well. However, when she seemed to turn her head away and remained silent, Thelonious knew he had to try something.

"Thelonious. I mean no harm."

 

[Arialianna]

"Quiet down, boy, I do not speak to those who have not earned their tattoo of adulthood." Tythlin snapped, his eyes searching Aanor'Loren once more.

But he was caught off guard by the breach of customs she offered by closing the gap to him silently and catching him square in the nose with a right hook. Caught by surprise, the bigger man went down. Filled to the brim of her being with a rage she couldn't explain, Aanor'Loren laid into him in fluid and fluent elvish, ignoring the throbbing in her fist as she watched him spit out a tooth.

"Now listen here, you ignorant excuse for a guard. I don't ever want to see you again, not even to challenge me. If you find yourself so unlucky as to be on duty when I decide to visit, send one of your two shadows to greet me. I'm through with your snarky comments, cocky attitude, and general stupid mannerisms. I tried to be polite and you roused my ire. Well done. I hope that tooth serves to remind you not to harass me ever again. Next time you do, you'll need bed rest from the arrow wounds." She walked past him, gesturing for Thelonious to follow. She stormed forward in a rage, waiting until she was well out of sight before she unclenched her fist and examined the gash across her knuckles from where she'd hit his teeth. Her hand was covered in blood by now, and she was sure some had dripped off as well, leaving a trail she'd never leave in the wilds.

Rather than treat her wound, she glanced up at Thelonious, her expression softened greatly, "Are you okay? Tythlin can be harsh." She asked, her voice soft.