Beginning Again (Cont.) }{ {Meeting a Night Elf}

[Summerchika]

Watching from the corner of her eye, she tried desperately not to allow herself to make noise. But when his face went serious and he inhaled a flower's scent like there was no tomorrow, she could no longer keep her control. It seemed he was trying to make her laugh. Well, laugh she would.

Covering her mouth as the laugh surfaced and then built, she glanced gleefully at him again. "It is not because you are male." she insisted through her giggles. "If my face held similar expressions from everything I have seen tonight, it is a wonder you did not laugh at me!" she admitted, her grin wide.

Controlling her laugh, she said, "The flowers live in the blanket. As they bloom, they give heat. It is not limited to season; that is what we agreed upon when I fashioned the blanket." Wondering if he understood, she looked at him, glad he was enjoying the blanket.

"Are there other comforts that you find nice?" she asked, wondering what else the forest would have to offer him. When she had softened the Earth beneath him before, it seemed he had not noticed, or else the Earth had not cooperated. Though, she admitted, he had not been in this frame of mind then.

[Reixou]

He smiled widely as she looked at him.

"Yes...I have never really seen such amazing things in the forest, nor felt so welcomed by nature. It's truly fascinating!"

The forest was indeed welcoming, and Reixou would have liked to stay for longer. He did not, however, want to overwhelm Ainutsa, nor overstay his welcome. From what he gathered, she enjoyed his company...but he did not want to push anything.

Pondering upon how long he should stay, Reixou decided that it would be better to leave before he became a nuisance. He would not leave extremely soon, so as not to be rude, but at the first sign of disinterest or if she needed to do something that he did not need to help with.

After making this decision, he returned to the topic of the forest. "I'm curious; forgive me and feel free to dismiss the question if it's too personal, but what extent is your power to control the forest?"

[Summerchika]

The way he asked her question made her feel embarrassed. She was never that polite when asking questions. Her curiosity was blunt and demanding of her.

"It is not too personal." she said, blowing out a breath. "It is quite simple, really. I ask and the forest gives. We trade to some extent. I can control it, but I dislike commanding it when I can ask instead. Simple things are easy. But..." She considered for a moment, and then decided that she owed him the truth. He had trusted her with many things. She would trust him, too.

Lifting her mother's necklace from her neck, she moved it so Reixou might see it more clearly. "This inhibits my manipulation over things. It has limited my ability to grow further in magic. Simple, harmless things I am able to do. Large scale things are much more difficult. It grows warm and then hot. That is my warning before it intervenes."

The necklace was a mystery to Ainutsa, one that had her frustrated much more than she'd like. Almost as if it had a mind of its own, it would interfere with her growing of magic, her emotions, her sleep, whatever it seemed to deem fit. Even when she had trained with her grandmother it had controlled her the extent of things. It was quite a nuisance. And yet, it was her birth mother's. Or so she assumed.

Looking up at the sky, she wondered when the sun would make its appearance. She had lost track of time in the events of the night. This was perhaps the longest and most exciting night of her life.

[Reixou]

As she lifted the necklace, Reixou noted the strange aura it seemed to put off. Now that she brought attention to it, he noticed.

He also noted that she seemed to be burdened by it, as he could understand she would be. Not being able to use the full extent of what you're able to do would prove frustrating to Reixou. He wondered why such a thing would exist; and why she would still wear it though it inhibits her powers.

Deciding it was best to leave that alone, as it was a personal decision, he talked more about other aspects of the question. "Ah...it is sort of like the moonlight. It takes more effort than it is worth to try to force it to stay in one place, when it wants to spread. Just as I imagine a plant wanting to grow towards the light, you must persuade it through affection and kindness, not threaten it. In the end, I suppose the forest could be much more dangerous in taking revenge." He chuckled. "Moonlight cannot do much to you on its' own accord...only leave when it does not wish to take the shape of a flower or figurine. It's rather stubborn though, the forest seems more good-natured; at least to me and you."

[Summerchika]

Grinning, she nodded in full agreement. "Yes, that is exactly it! This forest is powerful. Harm it in any way and it will fight back as it sees fit." Overly glad that it made sense to someone other than herself, she fiddled with her still damp hair.

Letting the necklace fall to her neck again, she willed herself to think no more of the necklace. Reixou now knew of it and did not seem threatened by it. That was good enough for her.

"Reixou," she began, "have you ever gone to Tamasha Village before? Do elves visit human villages?" Her questions came in rapid succession and she had to stop herself from asking more of them. She needed to learn moderation, she realized sheepishly. She really should have realized that before.

Having only visited the village a few times before, she had planned to go again during the day to explore more of the village and perhaps learn more of civilization. It was her first step in learning of the outside world.

[Reixou]

Again, she rattled off a couple questions. Reixou enjoyed her curious nature, and almost wished she wouldn't hold her questions back.

"Yes, I have been there...not very many times, because of...well, you know." He gestured to his skin. "But it is a very busy town, full of life and energy, mostly. I enjoy the energy, and it helps me to spend some time in a town, so as to not feel quite so alone." He smiled sheepishly.

"Elves...in general, are more social creatures. So, you may see more than one in the village. Sometimes they may hide their ears in attempt to blend in, others parade around with them like royalty." He shrugged. "I guess it all depends on self-confidence."

In all honesty, he did not feel completely comfortable in the village. When he had gone there, it seemed like there was so much joy and excitement around him. He wished he could have taken part in it. Children running to and fro, bumping into him a couple times, yet somewhere in his mind he believed if they saw his face or red hands, they would run away. So, he tried to avoid them and watch at a distance.

[Summerchika]

A sting of deep sadness tickled into her heart. Living the life Reixou led was lonely. She knew he would not want pity, and she did not feel any pity. But she wanted to lift his loneliness. And, knowing herself, she would not give up until it was done. She would do something, no doubt. What that something was, on the other hand, was a different story.

"They would hide their ears?" she asked, intrigued. "Do humans fear elves? Is that why the elves hide their ears?"

She had not exactly been a social creature in town. She had noticed that some people reacted strangely when they saw her, but she had assumed that it had been because she was an odd looking traveler. She had stared at the travelers in her forest often enough.

Felix had looked at her ears strangely, she recalled. She had wondered then, but not all of them had looked at her ears as he had. Or else she had not realized that was why people looked at her oddly.

"Hm..." she said thoughtfully, her mind racing. Why would humans react differently to elves? Her urge to travel came back to her in full strength. She wanted to learn about people and why they did what they did. She wanted the hows, whats, and whys of everything.

As she awaited the answers that would probably lead to more questions, her eyes glittered with the promise of the things she could learn.

[Reixou]

"Fear is not the word for it...no, I do not suppose humans fear elves." He paused, thinking of the best way to explain it. "I suppose, some of them are afraid of being known as an elf; perhaps simply because people would treat them differently?"

He thought about the elves he had seen in the marketplace. There was one with the company of quite a few, at least 12 other elves, that looked to be some sort of remaining elven royalty. Reixou made sure to hide well from these, as any elves remaining from years before would know about the wraiths. What he did not know was what they would do to him if they caught him, and that was what scared him the most.

Perhaps lock him in a dungeon forever? Bury him alive? Chain him to something and sink him to the bottom of the ocean? Who knows what torture would await him if they caught him; and Reixou very much did not want to find out.

[Summerchika]

That feeling she could understand. Her differences she did not want to broad cast to the world because of that reason. But it had not occurred to her that her ears would be a dead give away. Still, after tonight especially, she had no urge to hide her ears.

A strange look crossed Reixou's features as he thought. Trying to make out what he was thinking, she studied him closely. Was that fear? Perhaps that would make sense. If any elf or human saw him, he would run the risk of rejection or of being treated differently. With his past, she wondered what a normal elf would do if they saw his red skin.

Frowning, she decided that that was not a question to ask. It would only lead to sadness. Thinking of a different subject, which was not hard to do as her mind never really stopped being curious, she rubbed her cheek against her minty pine blanket.

"Do elves look different from each other? For instance, do Sun Elves or High Elves have different features than a Night Elf?"

Suddenly remembering the other races' names, she added another question that probably should have waited. But she could not hold back her curiosity. Not now. "How did Blood Elves get their name?"

She made a mental note to apologize for her rabid curiosity. For now, she felt as if she spoke too much, so she held her tongue by biting it. Perhaps that would keep her curiosity at bay for a few minutes. Or seconds.

[Reixou]

"Yes, elves look somewhat different. All of them have pointed ears." He shrugged, and chuckled. "The High Elves have the most fair, pale skin you've ever seen. They are the kings and queens of kings and queens. I've seen a company of elves carrying a High Elf on a throne through the village. She was one of the most beautiful, bewitching females I have ever seen." He smiled, looking again at the moon. "Her skin was pale as the moonlight, and the intricate silver work on her clothes was very intriguing. A silver crown wrapped around itself like a creeping Celtic vine with trailing tendrils topped her head. Her hair was secured back in a flowing mass of white curls. She was the perfect picture of a beautiful courageous leader."

Reixou looked at Ainutsa. "You should be proud to be an elf. I am. If I was not cursed as I am, I myself would make my race known to everyone around." Still smiling, he once again buried his nose in the fragrant weave of the forest blanket.

[Summerchika]

The picture of the High Elf he painted shimmered before her eyes. There truly was beauty everywhere. She imagined that Elves saw more beauty than most races, being so close to nature as they were. Wishing she could see a High Elf such as the one Reixou had seen, she became determined to seek the whereabouts of the remaining elves.

As Reixou said, she would learn to be proud to be an elf. She felt proud now, but how was she to make her race known to everyone around if she truly did not know her race? She knew now more than she had ever about elves. She knew also that there was still more to learn and some things could only be learned by living amongst the elves themselves.

Noticing that he had not answered her last question, she drew into a more pensive state. Blood Elves. True, the name did not seem so encouraging; that was what had intrigued her. Was their origin so bad? Perhaps that was something to learn in her travels instead.

Ainutsa did not push the question, assuming her questions had finally reached an annoyance level. She smiled bashfully. She knew she would have reached this point eventually. She had driven her grandmother crazy with all of her questions in the years she had lived with her.

"Thank you for being so patient with my many questions." she said softly by way of an apology. She snuggled more into her blanket and averted her eyes. "Know that I will answer any questions you may have, though I do not know what knowledge I could offer. I owe you that, though."

Looking to the side, she saw his buried nose in the flower blanket and could not help a grin. She loved that he loved the blanket. As he had said before, it was a part of her home. To have her home be accepted by another felt good.

[Reixou]

He watched out of the corner of his eye as she thought. She had so many questions. So much curiosity. Reixou wished she could have seen it all for herself; but alas that wasn't completely possible.

"It's an honor to be able to share such information. Oh, and you asked about the Blood Elves...It is a rather grim story, but one of worth, I suppose. You see, at a time, the Elves did not wish to harm humans, to the point where they were letting a certain group of them take advantage. The Blood Elves were a group of elves that got together and killed the assaulting village of humans, returning with their white robes splattered in blood. The Elves knew that such actions were not merited, and sent them to live elsewhere.

Though, some of the Elves respected and thought the Blood Elves noble and courageous. Eventually the Elves realized that there were necessary boundaries they needed to set to keep the humans in line; at which point they accepted the Blood Elves' thinking."

[Summerchika]

Listening with rapt attention, Ainutsa's lips parted in astonishment. She tried not to imagine in too much detail, not particularly liking the blood imagery. Blinking several times and then with effort closing her mouth, she drew in a breath.

"Wow." she said, at first not knowing exactly what to say. Reixou said it as if it were history, which it probably was, but to Ainutsa it was very new.

"They killed the humans in the village?" she echoed faintly. She knew she should have prepared herself for something like that. It was in the name, after all. Blood Elves. Still, killing was not something she particularly liked or expected.

Looking up at Reixou, full on this time, she opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again, then opened it once more.

"What do I say to that?" she wondered aloud, abashed that she was acting so strangely.

[Reixou]

Reixou looked at her, and gave a knowing, solemn half-smile.

"It wasn't a pretty thing that they had done, but if they hadn't, the other Elves would probably would have restrained them, and the humans would continue to take advantage. All Elves would now either be slaves, or dead."

The grim truth was always painful; but sacrifices sometimes have to be made.

"I wish things would have never had to come to that. But," He shrugged slowly. "If it came down to it, would we have the courage and gall to do it?" He looked up at the moon again.

"Even now, the Blood Elves are the most powerful and courageous of us all."

[Summerchika]

Slowly nodding in understanding, she made her mouth move again. "If I had to protect those I care about, then..." She tried to put herself into the Blood Elves' shoes, but could not.

Shaking her head, she continued from a different angle. "I have never been in a situation where I had to kill for survival." Her necklace warmed, but she ignored it. Sometimes it acted up without her understanding. "I always found a different way to deal with things. But if the Blood Elves saw no other way...?" she frowned. She knew that if something had been threatening her grandmother and Ainutsa could stop it, she would have done so without much thought.

"I would like to meet these courageous elves, then." She said, donning a smile of excitement. Plans of travel formed in her mind. She did not know exactly where she wanted to end up, but she knew where to start.

Looking up at the sky once more, she saw a bit of lighting enter the darkness of the night. It was scarcely there at all, but Ainutsa knew the sky above her forest well.

"Once the humans in the village wake, I plan to explore there again. Would you like the join me?" she asked, moving her gaze to meet Reixou's eyes. "It is my first step in exploring outside my forest home." she explained.