Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Elves of All Kinds (1x1)

She came back downstairs after everything was put away and looked at him. "Alright. I'm ready." She started walking with him, and let him lead her off. "So how does a person leaf-walk?" She looked up at the trees. "Are you sure you're fast enough to catch me if I fall?" She was very worried, but she was glad that she was going to learn. She couldn't just not learn.

Saelhil led her out to the woods, towards the area where the trees grew close together. Usually children were taught how to leaf-walk there, but he decided it would be a good place to start since Raeliel had never done it before. "Leaf-walking is just like walking on stones to cross a river. If a branch isn't close enough, you'll have to jump, or find another way around. Just keep your balance and trust your natural instincts. Your body will do most of the work, once your muscles get used to it." At her question, he looked at her rather seriously. "I will never let you fall. I'll be with you the entire time." After a moment, he looked around, then pulled himself up onto a low branch. "Have you ever climbed trees before?"

Raeliel watched him, and when he got so serious, she smiled slightly. It was reassuring. When he spoke of climbing trees, she stared at him. "That's ridiculous. I'm a lady, ladies don't climb trees." She hesitated. She was glad she'd worn her new outfit with pants. She reached up and took hold of the branch, pulling herself up awkwardly. "I guess there's a first time for everything, though..." She sighed a bit.

Saelhil straightened himself, then helped Raeliel get her balance. "If you're a lady, then certainly you know how to keep yourself upright?" He walked backwards along the branch (in bare feet, of course), gesturing for her to come to him. "Walk to me. Get used to the way it feels."

Raeliel stood up carefully. "..of course. I had to walk with books on my head when I was a child, you know." She took very careful steps, watching where she put her feet. The branch under her feet made her worried. "What if it breaks?" She looked around, but nearly slipped, so she went back to look down at the branch. She carefully walked to him. "..How in the world did your people think of this? Walking on trees.."

"It won't break. These trees are the strongest, and they will easily hold four people's weight." Saelhil had reached out to catch her when she almost tripped, but she regained her balance so he stayed where he was. When she reached him, he nodded in approval. "Good. Now walk back." He tilted his head. "Walking in trees is very efficient. Our people are archers... Back in the days of war, our people were infamous for following targets without being seen or heard. Besides that, it's fun." He smiled a bit.

Raeliel listened to him. She sighed softly. "I see." She turned around carefully, and slowly walked back. She made sure to keep a careful eye on where she was placing her feet. "I'm not quite sure how the increased possibility of falling several feet to the ground is 'fun'." She turned back around to face him once she reached the other end.

"It's all in the matter of opinion, I suppose." Saelhil calmly pulled himself up onto another branch, just above Raeliel. "Of course, just walking back and forth isn't fun. It's more fun once you learn how to run. Once you can feel the nature around you, you can go wherever you like, however you like." He smiled a bit. "Now keep walking back and forth until you get comfortable with it."

Raeliel watched as he climbed up above her. "..Alright." She just went back to walking back and forth, sighing. She wasn't quite pleased. It wasn't near as fun as she thought it was going to be, just walking back and forth. Especially now that he was moving on without her. She finally decided she'd had enough of just walking on one stupid branch, and pulled herself up onto the next. If he was still there, then she'd be joining him.

Saelhil smiled a bit when she got up. "Good. You got bored." He glanced around. "You wouldn't be so brave as to want to try actually moving, would you?"

Raeliel looked at him carefully. "...as long as you promise to catch me." She looked around as well and took in a deep breath. "...So, where am I moving to?" She was admittedly a bit nervous, but oh well. It would be fine, right? He had promised to catch her, and he would keep that promise! ...Right?

Saelhil pointed to a branch a few trees away. "There. Don't be afraid to jump." He smiled at her, then motioned for her to follow him. He ran two steps then caught onto a high branch, swinging himself forward to fall onto a branch a bit away. "Go around that way," he said, pointing to an easier trail. "Pick out where the leaves are cleared and trust yourself." He stood ready to jump after her and catch her, but stayed where he was for now.

Raeliel stared at him. Okay, maybe this was a bad idea after all. She hesitated, then took a little step back. She ran a couple steps like he did, then jumped. And missed. She let out a word that was VERY unsuited for a lady as she fell right past the branch. Her hand caught the branch she had been aiming to land on, but the rough bark scraped at her palm and she slipped right off it anyways. Not good.

Saelhil's eyes widened when he saw her try to take the same route he had done. "RAELIEL!" He immediately darted out, jumping down. He pushed himself off a lower branch and managed to get his arms around Raeliel, but when he reached out to grab a branch his hand slipped (unused to the combined weight of two people) and he had to maneuver himself in order to land in the crook of a trunk where three branches separated. He landed on his back (a bit painfully), holding Raeliel tightly against his chest, hopefully unharmed.

Raeliel held onto him when he caught her, and she grunted when they landed rather suddenly. She was still for a few moments, shaking against him. Then she managed to pull herself up slightly to be able to look him in the face. "A-are you okay? I'm so sorry, this was a stupid idea, we shouldn't have tried it, I'm so sorry!" She finally realized that they were still in the air, and she leaned against his chest again quickly. "I-is anything broken? Did you break anything?" She looked around. "C...can we please get back to the ground..?" She pulled away slightly once more, to look at him again and make sure he was alive and awake.
Crap. Those eyes. She really did hate them, because they just pulled her in every single time.

Saelhil grimaced, pressing a hand against his temple. "I'm fine..." he murmured. He reached back to feel his head, then looked at his hand. No blood, which was good. He pushed himself up a bit. "It wasn't a stupid idea, it's learning." He cringed again. "But it would be a good idea to get down..." He hesitated, then began climbing, even though his entire body ached now. "Can you get down?"

Raeliel moved very carefully, letting him start moving first. "I...I think so..?" She watched him climb down, then tried to mimic him, praying that she wouldn't fall again. "Are you sure you're okay? Let's stop for today..let's go back to the house." She managed to make it to the ground in one peace, and she gave a sigh of relief. She wasn't really in the mood to try that again. She waited for him to be ready, then she quietly walked along with him. Failure was not something she handled well.

"I'm fine. Just a bit... sore." Saelhil moved along, trying to keep his normal gait, but it was obvious he was in some pain. "Is your hand alright?" he asked when they neared the house, remembering that he had seen her scrape her palm.

Raeliel looked down to her hand. It was bleeding a bit. "Oh. It'll be fine, I just need to wash it off." She looked at him worriedly. "..you should just lay down.." She considered this all her fault, of course. They got to the house and she went to go wash her hand off, cringing at the cuts on her palm. Tch. Very unbecoming of a lady. Ladies were supposed to have soft hands, for sweet and gentle touches. So much for that. Raeliel sighed and left the washroom.

Saelhil went into the bedroom and tugged off his shirt. He noticed right away that he had a few bruises, and he sighed, which made him wince again. He gently checked over his torso; he doubted anything was broken, but he just wanted to make sure. His ribs did hurt a bit, but it was probably just the bruises.