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

"Yes, they did." Valenthion's voice was quiet, but he sounded a bit bitter, talking about it. "My dad's just a fisherman, nothing special." As he followed Raeliel, his eyes again seemed to not really focus on anything. He stumbled often, and walked a bit unsurely, as if his motor skills weren't quite what they should be. He took a long while in the bathroom, too.

Raeliel was thinking, carefully, taking in everything she knew about the boy. Finally, she knocked on the door. "Valenthion...can you see?" She nearly cursed herself for not realizing it sooner. She thought he had not looked at her because he was scared, but the possibility of his blindness was seeming more and more prominent as she thought over this encounter. "...do you need help in there?"

Valenthion didn't really answer her first question. "I'm fine," he murmured, tugging on a shirt. Yes, he indeed was blind, but he had been born seeing, so he knew how to play it off as nothing.

Raeliel noticed the avoidance. If the answer had been yes, he would have just said it. The fact that he didn't answer meant he couldn't see. She had used the trick of avoidance before, she knew how it went. She opened the door a crack to peek in and check on him. Seeing he was clothed, she helped him with whatever was left, despite any protests. "Come on, we need to get you ready fast so that you can go eat." Once he was all set, she brought him out, holding his arm gently, subtly leading him, and sat him down. "Here you go, Valenthion." She put the food out in front of him, watching him to see if he needed help. She didn't want to baby him, because he must be able to take care of himself fairly well to have survived up to this point. But if he had trouble finding the food, she would place his hand on it.

Valenthion scowled slightly when she took his arm to lead him, and when she sat him down, he could smell the food, so he used his fingers to eat, as he usually did (seeing as all his meals had mostly been finger-food, as was a common theme in human meals).

Raeliel had chosen only finger foods, but foods that would help him restore strength. "My name is Raeliel. You're not safe out here, Valenthion, there is a war going on right now between the humans and the elves. Stay with us, at least until it's safe for you to go, if you really want to leave that is."

"I know all about the war," Valenthion murmured through a mouthful of food. Well, he certainly had a human's manners. "It started down south. My mom was killed because she was an elf living in a human village. Dad moved up north to that fishing town. He dumped me in that interracial town near the coast. It was ransacked the other day, so I had to leave."

Raeliel listened to him. "Oh...I'm so sorry, Valenthion. That's terrible..." She felt so bad for him. "Well...you don't have to wander around anywhere else. You can stay here, Valenthion." What would everyone else think of this, though? She didn't care. She and Saelhil had sympathized with how hard it must be to be in Valenthion's shoes before they even knew him. Now that she knew a young boy was going through these troubles, she would not let him go through them alone.
(Gotta close up, posting will stop for about fifteen min)

"Stay here?" Valenthion glanced up at her, frowning. "Of course, I would love to stay with a bunch of snooty elves, because that's so much better than living with half-wit humans." After all she had just given him, he didn't seem very receptive, or thankful at all.

Raeliel shrugged. "Well, I mean, if you want to be chased by dogs and farmers your whole life instead of living in a house with a warm bed and food and safety, well, that's your choice." She glanced over to the door. The look-out hadn't said anything. She wished Saelhil would return soon. Not just because she missed him now, but because she desperately wanted to show him Valenthion. She wanted to learn what her husband thought of all this. "What would the humans do if they caught you stealing from them, Valenthion?" She paused to let him think about it. "And what did I do when I caught you stealing from me?" She let him compare the two.

Valenthion didn't reply, only ate quietly, staring blankly at his plate. He didn't like being proven wrong, but he didn't really like adults in the first place, and her being an elf just made it worse. However, her mentioning his stealing from the humans made him remember his weapon. "Where is my dagger?" he suddenly asked, looking up to where he remembered her voice coming from last. He depended on his dagger to defend himself, mostly for intimidation, since he could only slash wildly where he thought the danger was.

"Safe." was the only answer she gave. "If I gave it back to you, you might end up accidentally hurting one of the other children. So once things have settled down more and you've been around a bit, I'll give you the dagger back. I promise." She looked at him, then waited until he was finished eating. "...if you're tired, I can get a bed set up for you to rest in." He'd been through a lot the past few days.

(Bedtime now, I'll post tomorrow morning before class! )

Valenthion frowned. "I'm not a child," he murmured dejectedly. "I'm nearly thirty six." He poked at a bit of fruit that was left, before eating it. The boy looked about Talainna's age, perhaps a bit older; but he kept track of his age, showing that he obviously grew up in human society. He had finished his food now, and when he felt the plate, he sighed and wiped off his hands on his pants. "I would really like my dagger back. I'm not going to hurt anyone; I know how to use it."

Raeliel perked a brow when he spoke of his age. She chuckled a little. "Thirty-six is nothing for elves, Valenthion. You're still considered quite a child among us. Among humans, that would be a fairly considerable age, with your appearance." She snagged his hands before he could wipe them on his pants and handed him a napkin. "Hrm. One thing you do need to unlearn, however, are human manners." She sighed softly. "I will give you your dagger back. However, if I hear of you brandishing it at anyone in these safe-houses, then I am taking it away and you will not get it back. Understood?"

Valenthion "humph"ed and wiped his hands off with the napkin. "Why do I need to change my manners? I'm only staying until this stupid war is over." He rubbed his eye with his fist, then huffed once more. "Fine, fine. I won't threaten anyone." He held out his hand to her, waiting for his dagger or be placed in his palm. Of course, he didn't notice that a certain Talainna was watching them curiously from behind the doorframe.

Raeliel put the dagger in his hand carefully. "You need to change your manners if you want to be respected. Besides, if you wipe your hands on your pants, they get dirty and ruined faster, and then you'll be stuck with a torn pair of pants. If you want to get the most you can out of your trousers, you need to wipe your hands on something else." Raeliel noticed that there was a girl nearby, and she looked over at Talainna. "Any news yet?" She gestured the girl over. "We're going to have a guest staying with us until it's safe for him to keep traveling. Talainna, this is Valenthion. Valenthion, this is Talainna, my sister-in-law."

Valentino huffed, and tucked his dagger away. "Hn."

Talainna nodded to the boy. "Hi." She smiled weakly. She looked up at Raeliel. "Someone thinks they saw some people coming back for the village," she said quietly. "They may be coming back with some wounded people."

Raeliel got to her feet quickly. "Talainna, stay here with our friend." She hurried off to go alert the others and rush out with medical supplies to meet the returning warriors. Her eyes were searching desperately for that familiar face and the now-short hair. He had to be among them, among those returning. He had to be. He promised.

Eventually, Saelhil showed up among the wounded. He was limping along, leaning on a fellow warrior. He was cut up and a bit bruised, but he was smiling and talking with a few others as they walked to the village.