Feather

The time is now, Erekian thought as he purposefully slipped away from the main hunting party. His carried his lightest bow and a sheaf of his best arrows.

He had a secret spot where all the best game could be found and he wanted to amaze his father with the catches he would bring home for the festival. A noble family of prominent elves were paying the last loyal dark elf village a visit to thank them for their allegiance and to discuss land rights. Apparently with more and more dark elves leaving for the city there was less of them in the High Court and they were needed there for representing and keeping their own kind in check. However much the court wanted them Erekian’s village had grown more and more isolated and withdrawn from major inter town and village gatherings and conferences. People made it clear enough their kind weren’t wanted.

Traitors, was whispered whenever trading was done. Mothers refused to let their children play with the dark elves’ believing they would teach their children evil magic or dark magic as they were starting to call it.

Maybe if Erekian and the village could impress the visiting nobles with fine food and hospitality they’d turn kinder eyes on the land settlement permits.

“KIAN!” Something slammed into his back and he and his assailant went tumbling down the slope. Rocks and scraggly shrubs, although awfully painful didn’t seem to make them slow down and they finally came to a halt when Erekian hit an exposed tree root and all the wind rushed out of his lungs.

He opened his eyes and groaned.

“Lavi!” He groaned louder as the half unconscious Laviette pushed herself up from his chest with wobbly arms. She fell backwards in a shower of dead leaves and laughed.

“Ah ha! Sorry,” she winced and touched a forming bruise on her arm.

“Be more careful in the future!” Kian moaned as he fingered a cut on his cheek. It was shallow and he was more worried about the deeper one on Lavi’s arm. He ‘tsked’ and fished out an herbal ointment from the pouch hanging from his belt. He didn’t notice her blush as he grabbed her arm as gently as his anger allowed and applied the concoction with cool fingers.

“There now,” he said briskly as he tied a strip of clean hemp around the damaged area. “Why were you following me anyway? This must be the third time right?”
She was about to reply that it had been the fifth but she didn’t want to alert him to how many times she’d actually followed him. Ever since he’d told her a few years back that he’d avenge his brother’s death she’d feared that he might but always he only went to his secret spot to hunt.
But looking down at his dark bent head she knew that he thought he was old enough now to do so, thus she’d been following him recently. You can never be too careful.

“Ow!” she exclaimed as he tied the bandage too tightly.

“You might as well come with me, now that you’re here, just make sure you keep quiet alright?” he stood up and offered her a hand up. Usually she would’ve denied and he lifted his eyebrows ever so slightly when she quickly reached for it and pulled herself up. For a moment she stared into his large dark blue eyes and took in his stubborn mouth and strong jaw. His thick raven hair brushed his shoulders and she noticed that he needed it cut as it was already irritating him by hanging into his eyes.

“What? Is there something wrong? I thought the cut was shallow,” he said finally touching his face.

She hid her embarrassment by saying loftily, “Lead ahead oh great Artemis of the hunt.”
He rolled his eyes and led the way through a thicket of undergrowth.

She held her mouth as she received multiple scratches; she didn’t want him to think she was a nuisance. The glade they entered, she was sure, was the same one they’d stumbled upon five years back.
She waited patiently with her back towards him as he scouted for Tugres, great viscous terra birds that foraged and lived amongst the great soaring trees that offered them protection when they needed height to get away from enemies. She didn’t want to see the inevitable kill for Kian was a great hunter, and extremely agile being lithe and smaller than most boys his age. No, she understood perfectly why the other elves looked down upon their meat eating cousins. It was savage and she’d been a turned vegetarian for two years now when she witnessed her Wozq, still a kitten, get torn apart by a another Wozq that had gone feral from too many years away from home. She covered her ears as she heard the birds’ beginning to cry their shrill alarms. She was grateful towards Kian for ending it as quickly as possible and for choosing to kill only one of these mindless birds and not more and neither did he steal any eggs. She abhorred killing those defenceless that above all else.

“You can open your eyes now Lavi. I’ve already cleaned it up and what I need is packed away in this rucksack.” She opened her eyes and smiled at him wanly as he patted the pack on his back.

Only when they were on the road again, leading back to the village did she suddenly stop and say, “Kian?”

“Yes?” he stopped as well having already moved further up the road.

“Can we meet up tomorrow again? I know you’re going to be busy with the festival but could you make some time please? There’s something I need to discuss with you...” she looked down and watched the path of a small lizard near her feet.

“Sure sure. C’mon, lets hurry, before this gets bad,” he said and they finished the journey in companionable silence. One was looking forward to hearing his father’s praise and happy that his friend was finally going to tell him what had been bothering her and the other was apprehensive of what the next day would hold. Maybe she had more reason to be scared than she could possibly know.