Beginning Again

[Summerchika]

Laughing with Reixou, Ainutsa debated whether she really needed to eat or sleep. Here was someone who could enlighten her about her heritage. He was probably one of the best people to enlighten her, too. She had not realized how much she yearned to know something about where she came from. Apparently, she had gone without it too long.

Deciding it was probably best to eat and rest and realizing that Reixou probably needed those basic necessities as well, Ainutsa agreed. "Sounds good." she said with a smile. "I was not heading anywhere in particular. Probably home. Was there a place you were headed? I have a resting place not far from here, if you would like?"

Pausing in her train of thought, Ainutsa suddenly doubted what a resting place really meant. To her, it was a temporary place to stay that was stocked up on a bit of food. She had places like this scattered in the part of the forest to which she stayed. She imagined that in reality, a resting place was not actually a place in the middle of a forest without a roof over head.

[Reixou]

"No, I was not headed anywhere in particular. I'm kind of drifting at the moment." He smiled. "If you don't mind me hanging around, I'd be much obliged to accompany you to your resting place."

Well, if she's comfortable enough with me coming to a place of hers, she must not be scared...

Previously, people were only interested in the initial reason why he was different. When he inched around the answer, they lost interest and left. Then, he knew he couldn't trust them.

As a wraith, living among people was complicated enough. He never ate or slept, so he was always worried that someone would notice, and if he couldn't trust them fully, he could not tell them he was a wraith. He had never ran into this problem before, as he had never stayed with another being for that long.

[Summerchika]

Afraid that her resting place would not be satisfactory, Ainutsa hesitated for a split second. However, deciding that she would only be able to tell if he found it unsatisfactory after he had seen the spot, Ainutsa stood up and brushed herself off.

"Then, it is in this direction." she offered, pointing into the trees and offering her hand to him to help him stand up. She had seen travelers do that before and took note of it as a common courtesy that she should observe as well.

Looking into the trees, she realized that it was quite dark. That did not matter to Ainutsa, owing to the fact that her eyes were Elvish and that the path was so familiar she could walk it even if she were blind.

Unsure if all Elves had sight at night and therefore if Reixou had sight at night, Ainutsa decided to ask. "Elves... can they all see when it is dark? I mean, their sight is different from a human's eye sight, right?" She had noticed her eye sight was different as she was living with her grandmother. She had never been sure if that was because her grandmother was old or because her grandmother was not an Elf.

[Reixou]

Reixou chuckled good-naturedly.
"Yes, they do." He smiled.

She really does not know much about Elves...It would be rather unsettling wondering if others are the same, or if you're somehow different.

"Night Elves tend to have better eyesight than others. Most think that we are all dark, having blue, black, or silver hair. But, as you can tell, we prove that theory wrong. I can tell, by your attributes, that you are of the same branch of Elves that I come from. That's the Night Elves. But not all of us fit the cliche." He glanced sidelong at her, to see what she thought about it.

[Summerchika]

Eyes lighting up at his answer, Ainutsa looked at him quickly. "Really?" she asked eagerly. Her stomach fluttered with an almost giddy feeling at what his answer implied. Her mysterious birth parents would be Night Elves as well, if Reixou was correct in establishing her identity. She had another piece of them now. Again, she had not known how important that might be to her after all these years, especially considering that she had never known them. She did not even know what they might have looked like.

This possibility was not the only thing that had Ainutsa excited. Night Elves? He is a Night Elf as well? What does that mean? What exactly is a Night Elf? How many branches of Elves are there? Elves can have blue hair? My hair is not silver, black or blue. What does that mean? Her mind whirled with these questions and more. She had not been this excited for years.

"Ohh," Ainutsa let out a breath, trying to calm herself down. Laughing breathlessly, her heart pounding from excitement, she told Reixou in an almost apologetic manner, "I have a lot of questions." She waited for his reaction to this, buying time for herself to prioritize her questions.

Noticing in the back of her mind that he had not taken her hand and therefore they had not moved yet, Ainutsa wondered if offering a hand of help was not a custom the Elves observed. Another question to ask. That question was not as important, though, so she filed it away for another time.

[Reixou]

Reixou took her hand and stood. He smiled, nodded, and laid a hand on her shoulder. She's really just soaking this up... "Are you okay?" Chuckling lightly he motioned for her to lead the way.

"I have all the time in the world. Ask whatever you wish to hear."

He knew that she would ask questions like the vision one; ones that pertained more to Elves in general, before she asked about their history. I should try to avoid telling her that until she trusts me a bit more...Even then, it's a risk, and she'll probably be very upset over it...

He thought about how he would tell her. Maybe he should tell her his story, from where he saw the whole thing take place? Or maybe, he should tell it as a fairytale, or myth, so that it wouldn't seem as real. Then he could convince her that he was good before telling her the whole thing really happened. Reixou fought with himself over this for a while. Finally, he gave up. I'll just decide when it comes down to it.

[Summerchika]

"Yes, I am fine." she said, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. Moving toward the path that would lead them to her resting place, she continued, "It is just that there is so much to know." Realizing that she was acting childish, she made a stronger effort to calm down.

Reaching the tree line, she looked up at Reixou. "Thank you," she said with a smile, "I had not thought that this knowledge would mean so much to me until, well, now. So, thank you."

Deeper into the forest now, Ainutsa became aware of the nighttime animal and plant life around her. She made sure to soak in the energy this forest gave her; she felt that she would need it soon. Tonight would be a large change for her, she knew. She would need her strength to act on the change.

Taking a deep breath, she asked her first question. "Night Elves." she started out, making a path for her mind to follow. "You are one, and apparently I am one." she could not hold back the smile that the thought gave her. Not only had she found out what she might be, but now she knew another Elf that was like she was. Minus the red skin and black hair. "What does that mean? What does being a Night Elf entail?"

[Reixou]

As she thanked him, he could not help but smile at her childlike disposition. So much life and excitement; eyes filled with promise and hope. It was good to see someone so happy.

She asked about Night Elves, and what being a Night Elf meant.

"Well...first of all, your sight. You already had suspected that. Something you might not have known is that the moon gives us power." He stretched an arm out as they walked, palm up, and moonlight seemed to connect and dance upon his fingertips like a strange illuminated smoke. "We can use it to light our path," He said, as he fanned his fingers wider and bent his wrist farther down, light trickling to the ground and spreading in front of them. "Or to darken the sky..." This time, he did not do anything different with the moonlight.

Reixou gazed at the single moon in the sky. Its bluish-grey glow reflected off his eyes, and made his skin appear an odd purple-red. "Some Night Elves are powerful enough to darken the sky so much, that you cannot see the moon. They take the energy; and use it for selfish means. It is both a blessing and a curse to be a Night Elf, for you have to choose." He looked at her, to see if she understood.

[Summerchika]

The moon...? Watching as the moonlight seemed to dance on Reixou's fingertips, Ainutsa's eyes widened again. She had a feeling her eyes would rarely rest from their widened position this night. As the moonlight trickled to the forest ground, Ainutsa laughed in wonder. The moonlighted forest was a beautiful thing. She had known this from past experience of course, but never had she thought to make it happen in the dark places of the forest.

I could do that? She wanted to try, but at Reixou's next words and tone of voice, Ainutsa's now solemn eyes met his. A flash of suppressed memory surfaced before her eyes. She heard the faint screams of her past and the darkness that had seemed so complete that night. Now, it seemed a piece of the puzzle of that night might fit into place. Closing her eyes quickly, she shut the memory away again. She had been successful in not reliving that past for years now. She would not fail now.

Opening her eyes again, she moved her gaze to the moon that Reixou had been looking at earlier. "I would not chose to put the world in darkness." Moving her gaze to the path that was leading them to the resting place. "And neither have you." she added, noticing that he had not darkened the sky, despite his ability to do so. "I find few things in this world are either a blessing or a curse." she continued, accepting the Night Elves' seeming dilemma. She looked back to Reixou, waiting to hear his thoughts and wondering if she gave an acceptable answer.

[Reixou]

She understood. Reixou nodded his approval, then continued.

He had not always been a wielder of light; but had vowed to himself never to return to those ways. Perhaps she would see the true good in him before he told her about his past. Keeping these thoughts in the back of his mind, he continued.

"With the powers we have combined, we are also able to maintain a very good camouflage at night." He smiled mischievously and then stepped quickly ahead, and just off of the path. As soon as the he left the path of light, it was as if there was no one there but the forest night.

Stepping back into the path, he smiled. "Unfortunately, it is not only those who choose to create light instead of darkness that can do this. But Night Elves do have an innate ability to sense the presence of others of their kind, especially when you've been around more of them." Pausing, then looking her in the eye, he spoke. "I can teach you how to manipulate the moonlight, if you like."

{[[Cont'd. in Selkia Forest]]}