The Winged Elfling

[TerataNayeri]

Panic flared through her once more, and she leaped off the branch she was on. With her wings spread, she caught just enough air to make a tree a bit farther away. This one was taller than the last, and she began to scramble up it. In her effort to hide, the figure's hair fell backward, revealing a delicate face, and briefly her pointed ears.  

[Spiel_Script]

Now as the young elf male watched the figure leap through the air, he turned to follow it. " you are clearly not a squirrel, come down here," he called tot he figure. As she landed though, he saw the face of the young female elf. " Come down here, I can help you," he called after her.  

[TerataNayeri]

She again chattered in that odd language, though it started to have a definite elvish hint to it, "Stay away. Don't trust elves!" It wasn't quite Sindarin, but there was the possibility of communication. Either way, it was obvious that the young elfling didn't really understand Common.  

[Spiel_Script]

"You don't have to trust me, you need help," The elf responded to her, a little agitated by her stubborn attitude. " You need help whether you like it or not, now come down here," he said to her once again.  

[TerataNayeri]

Her wings drooped a little, and she muttered "Pure elves don't want to help me. They hurt, not help. Can't trust them." It wasn't stubbornness, but pure terror that kept her in the tree. However, her rational mind was recognizing that the elf hadn't hurt her yet.  

[Spiel_Script]

The male elf just sighed, tapping his foot a little impatiently, "you won't better getting far as you are," he pointed out to her. " You can either take the chance of letting me help you, or continue to try to push yourself until you get hurt all the worse," he said.  

[TerataNayeri]

She glared slightly at the elf, her wings curling about her once more. She said "I still don't trust you, but I'll stop running." She sat down on her branch, eyes glittering warningly at the elf. If he showed any sign of aggression towards her, she would likely be off in a flash.  

[Spiel_Script]

The elf just shook his head, amazed at how stubborn the youngling was being. This moment was not about whether she trusted him or not, or whether others had hurt her or not, it was about that she was hurt here and now and he was offering her help.  

[TerataNayeri]

The youngster huffed slightly, and said almost teasingly "You haven't dealt with many long-hurts, have you?" Now that her fear was calming down, her personality started to shine through. Impatient, proud, and determined to survive. There was also something else that her calm was allowing: the ability to sense others' peripheral emotions, the strongest ones at the forefront of their minds. She could sense the elf's frustration, though it confused her as to why.  

[Spiel_Script]

"Its not about long-hurt or not" the older elf said to her as he spoke. He spoke with authority and confidence, always confident in what he said. "You have a NEED to be healed, and a WANT to be happy and safe. People often forget that needs oversee wants." He did not care whether she was a "long-hurt" or not. That did not matter, it only mattered that she got help.  

[TerataNayeri]

She shook her head quietly, and said in a bitter voice "Wrong, stranger. Wounds heal poorly if one does not feel safe. I know how to heal on my own, what plants to pick, and what methods to use to treat my injuries. But trust and safety take longer, and are infinitely more important." Though it had been many years since she had last known what those words meant and felt like, she knew that the ones who were no longer in a long-hurt deteriorated because of the trauma and more exposure to potentially dangerous situations and people. She planned to never become a shell of herself, despite her youth.  

[Spiel_Script]

To this the older male just shook his head, still disappointed by her stubbornness. "I see, then I wish you luck. Clearly you have this under control then," he said to her. He waved at her a little as he walked away. "I'll be over at my camp then, have fun," he said to her as he began to walked through the trees. After a few minutes of walking, he mate it to a small clearing where he had a simple tent and fire set up, with his backpack next to it.  

[TerataNayeri]

She blinked, a bit surprised. Where she had come from, her comments would have earned her a blistering scolding, and maybe ten with the whip. But this elf had simply walked away, as if dismissing her. A thought crossed her mind 'that was rude'. Remembering how her parents had acted when one of their guests had been rude, she followed him through the treetops to stop above the clearing. She called out "It is rather rude to walk away in a conversation, stranger." Her learned fear screamed at her to stop and run, but her stubbornness, what had always gotten her in trouble, was coming out in force now.