Once Upon a Time...

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EquinoxSol

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...a wild elf and a city elf fell in love. It did not end well.

Linnor shouted out in pain, tears filling his eyes as the thugs landed blow after blow onto him. Two were holding his arms so he couldn't fight back, while three others took turns shouting racial slurs at him, beating him up, and threatening to sell him to the slavers that camped just over the borders of the country, waiting for someone to bring them unlucky wild elves to sell off. It was always wild elves, too. The rumors had always gone around that wild elves were good as both bed slaves and work slaves. They were lithe and agile enough that they can turn a nice-enough profit anywhere, yet strong and fit enough to work in fields and as guards. Of course, only when trained properly. Otherwise, they were no use at all.

Grunting as he felt one of the thugs land a punch in his stomach, while the others laughed, he tried to see through the pain and at any means of escape. He was in a dark alley, the walls of the buildings around him too sleek to have any good handholds to climb. People passed by both mouths of the alley, but if they saw him, they acted like they could care even less, or else were too afraid to step in.

What seemed like a lifetime later, the thugs soon left Linnor lying in a pool of his own blood on the floor. They didn't tie him up to take to the slavers, which he was glad for, but they did take any valuables he had on him, leaving with nothing so much as a word sent towards him. They were all city elves, people who had probably been born in the city and will probably die in the city, too. Linnor hadn't been born anywhere near the city. He had been born in a small valley that his people had lived in for thousands of years. When city elves learned that they were living upon the country's largest deposit of diamonds, they forced the wild elves to move to the edges of their city. That had been when Linnor was just a child.

Now, more and more wild elf tribes had been moved near the city, each district more terrible than the worst districts for city elves. Of course, the Ya'jahj tribe couldn't live near the Hin'tio, Linnor's tribe, who couldn't live near the Tralk tribe. As such, the city now had three wild elf districts, each one filled with what the city elves called slums, their name for wild elves. The wild elves had their own names for city elves, Aka's, but it was much less used as a racial slur and more often used to describe elves like the ones who had assaulted Linnor.

Eventually, Linnor got to his feet, and made for home. He hadn't been doing anything wrong; really, he had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and had gotten all of his money stolen because of that. Spitting out blood that had pooled in his mouth, Linnor began limping back towards the Hin'tio District, leaving a trail of blood the whole way back.
 
It was growing close to night, but many city elves had no fear for their lives at any time. They had built up from the wild elves after all; they wouldn't be afraid of any of those kind. They had been shoved down and grand buildings stood in their place. Diamonds sprinkled every little aspect of... well, everything, even the bricks making up the edifices placed all around. Aurea was exiting one of those buildings after wandering around. Somehow, the wonder of the city was never lost on her. Aurea had been told that the wild elves had agreed to move farther out to accommodate the city elves, but their condition had deteriorated over the years. She heard terrible stories about the city elves, but she didn't know if they were capable of such things. The worst things she heard about now were that wild elves tried more and more often to lash out at city elves and harm them, since they believed the old stories.

But today, Aurea didn't let that string of thoughts stop her. There was almost a skip in her step as she moved along the paved road, watching as it gradually undid itself into a line of dry dirt that looked like a road. The airiness of her thoughts led her closer to the wild elf housing than she might have liked. However, that day was something akin to fate looking down upon her, because during her walk, her boot made a quick slip on something. Though the slums were sometimes dirty and distinctive against the city elves, the particular place she walked along was free of anything obscuring, except for the line of blood trailing on the dirt. Aurea's red hair billowed along her shoulder as she tilted her head. Blood wasn't uncommon due to the slavers beating their 'goods,' but a long streak in a place like this wasn't really commonplace.

Curiosity got the better of the female elf, and she stepped on the balls of her feet with light taps as she began to follow the line. It had started near a few buildings, but there was no way it ended there. The old blood was already browning, but the farther she walked, the more red it became. Her dress fell around her calves, so there was no worry about dirtying the soft material, but her family would wonder about the crimson spots forming along her boots. Aurea ignored the thought for the moment as she found the source of the blood. The form was moving much slower than she was, and Aurea closed the distance quickly once she discovered the source. She didn't reach out, but it was clear that the poor elf was in pain.

"Are you alright?" It was probably a stupid question, but some elves tried to hide their injuries and pass it off as nothing. Aurea hoped this one wasn't like that. She also hoped she wasn't getting baited into an elaborate ploy by a group of slums waiting to ambush and take what money she had.

((Whoo. I did it. I finally got to your reply. xD hopefully that all sounds lore-friendly/correct, but if I need to change anything, let me know. :D))
 
By the time he had gotten anywhere near home, Linnor had taken stock of his injuries. He was almost certain that his ribs were all broken or cracked, his right leg had something wrong with it, breathing was becoming difficult, and his vision was fading in and out of focus. The vision part was what worried him the most. In the Hin'tio District, he worked as a merchant's apprentice, and without his sight, he could lose everything. Praying to the gods that his consciousness was just fading and he would wake up in the morning, a bit worse for wear but with his vision intact, Linnor paused to lean on the alleyway's wall.

"Gods..." he muttered, running his fingers through his dull black hair. His other hand was preoccupied with keeping a hold on his side, where most of the pain was. Eventually, he forced himself to keep moving, wanting to make it home soon. His uncle would be waiting for him, as well as his two cousins, both daughters of his uncle. Linnor had lived with them since he was young, though his cousins had been born within the city. When the city elves forced the Hin'tio tribe to move, Linnor's father had fought against the city elves, and refused to bend the knee and swear fealty to the Lord Regent that ruled over the city. For that, he had been executed, leaving Linnor as the Hin'tio tribeleader before he had even become a man. And now, I am a merchant's apprentice, working my fingers off for a few pennies each night, he thought bitterly.

As he kept moving, he kept a hand on the wall next to him, fearful that he might fall down and not get back up. Then, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching him, as well as a voice which followed them. He had to hold back a humorless laugh at her question. It was silly, really. Wasn't it obvious that he wasn't alright? Telling himself that she was just a silly little Aka's girl who had never seen the outside of the city, he stopped, and took a deep breath.

"No," he said, forcing himself to remain cordial. "I'm not."

((It was great ^^))
 
There was a sharpness behind his reply that almost made Aurea turn tail and go home to her family. However, he appeared much more injured than he was letting on. Aurea skipped a few steps so she stood in front of him, trying to see his face in the dwindling light. As far as she could tell, his visage wasn't much better than the rest of his body. "You shouldn't be out here by yourself like this," she said, though she was simply iterating the obvious. She was not supposed to be out there alone, but at least she didn't have broken bones, bruises, and blood all over her.

She felt bad. She couldn't tell if he was a slum or a city elf, but maybe that didn't matter. In the moment, he was hurt, and she wasn't. She was in a position to help. So that's what she did.

"...I can help you. If you come home with me, I can get you cleaned up," Aurea offered. Her parents had told her not to speak to any slum she met, but since Aurea couldn't tell who he was, right now, he was just an injured elf who could use help. She tried to offer him a small smile to suggest that she had no ulterior motives, should she accept his help. Her light brown eyes squinted slightly as she looked over him again and again, trying to assess his situation without knowing how it happened. People didn't drip blood from a punch to the face, and he was holding his side. The smile fell from her face as she added, "What happened to you?"

((Yay. :D I'm glad. Also, I love your picture. Where's it from? :3))
 
Linnor had stopped moving once the girl stepped in front of him. She was obviously a city elf, as made obvious by her clothing and demeanor. Here was someone who never had to be afraid of having Aka's attack him on the streets, or to have a merchant refuse to sell to her, or even be forced to remain in the Hin'tio District if she couldn't speak the Common Tongue or act like a proper Aka's. Indeed, Linnor had been lucky to have been born as a tribeleader's son. Otherwise, he might not have ever learned the Common Tongue, and would never have become a merchant's apprentice. Yes, the work was difficult and tiring, and the pay was terrible but it was just enough to allow him to stay alive. And that was more than he could say about some of the others in the Hin'tio District.

Raising his head, the four rings pierced in his left ear shone in the dim light set out by torches. On his other ear there were only two piercings, a wolf pup's claw and a bronze creeping vine that curled along the length of his ear. Both of those had significant meaning in the Hin'tio tribe, but he couldn't remember anymore what the four rings meant. The wolf pup's claw meant that he was of age, and though he had never gone through the manhood trial that the other older members of his tribe had, his uncle had given it to him so that he could become the tribeleader of the Hin'tio after his father. The vine was something else entirely. It had once meant his name, the one his father had given him, but when he went out to the Aka's part of the city, he was forced to go by Linnor Willows, the name that the Lord Regent had forced upon him, to tell everyone that he was a wild elf. If the earrings didn't tip off anyone, than surely his name would. Among the Hin'tio and other wild elf tribes, he was called Nightvine, and was treated with respect among them. Outside, he was just another slum, and that seemed to give the Aka's permission to treat him like trash.

The girl's offer surprised him, though. She must be blind, he thought. How could she not see that he was a wild elf? Otherwise, why would she be offering to help him? As he was pondering this, she asked him what had happened. "Isn't it obvious?" was his short reply. "I was singled out for being a slum," he spat the slur out, "and robbed for it. I guess I only have the luck of the gods on my side that I wasn't hauled off to some slaver camp." He focused his gaze on the floor, spitting out blood again. He had checked that none of his teeth had been knocked out, but he must have bit his tongue or something for him to be spitting up blood. Either that, or one of his ribs punctured something, and he was going to die soon. He hoped that wasn't the case. His life may be bad, but he was still living, wasn't he?

"Help would be..." he grimaced as a wave of pain ran through him, "...great. If you don't mind the wild elf blood that runs through my veins..."

((It's from Steam Powered Giraffe, a band of singing robots! :D))
 
The way he hissed the slur against him made Aurea wince, but she turned her head to avoid Linnor suspecting anything. She studied him then as his head was down. She saw the ears sparkle with the rings and other metals. He was lucky. He'd gotten beaten terribly, but he wasn't a slave. She'd seen them before, and they looked no better than this wild elf in front of her.

However, she couldn't leave him like this, especially now that she'd offered to help. He'd accepted and she took his hand from the wall. Aurea slung his arm over her shoulders and straightened up to help him walk. She couldn't mind that he was a wild elf. No one deserved to be in the state he was. "...I don't," she said as she began to walk. Her voice was a little softer now that she was doing something beneficial for him. Luckily, her residence wasn't far from where she'd strayed. Shet traveled in silence, doing her best to keep Linnor up. However, if she was going to bring a stranger into her house, with her family, she had to know something outside of the fact he was a wild elf.

"What's your name?" she inquired. "I'm Aurea." She neglected to speak her surname, as it tended to get... strange. She paused only for a second to add, "What tribe are you from?" She knew there were three and they had difficulties living near one another. She also knew there were many other elves outside of her own grand city, but they each had their own special reasons for staying.

Though it was night, people passed them in the street, but they were willing to give the bloody elf a wide berth. It was only when Aurea stepped up to the place she called home did people pay attention. Aurea's home was big and bright. A diamond crusted dome was the major centerpiece as well as the roof for the main part of the house, if it could even have been considered that. It was the size of a small castle, but it was tiny in comparison to the building where the Lord Regent resided. Four diamond-topped towers spiraled around the domed area, one for each family member. The building itself was made out of multi-colored marble and in all, it was an impressive feat of craftsmanship.

Aurea wished she could smash the entire thing, especially as her father exited the double swinging door and stalked toward her. The torches lining the wall were enough to light his seething face as well as Linnor's bloodied one.

"Aurealis d'Thaon! What in the name of the Lord Regent are you doing bringing a slum here?" he demanded. At least he was loud about it. And, like every angry father, he called her by her full name, including her surname. Now Linnor and everyone else knew she was the daughter of the Lord Regent's adviser, one of the three that aided him.

"Look at him, Father. He's been beaten to almost death. He needs help."

"You should have left him alone! What will the others think?"

"I don't care. Move away, please. I'm going to help him."

"You are not bringing that filthy slum inside!"

Aurea's face hardened at the insults, and as a complete show of defiance, she hefted Linnor up and moved past her father. He made no move to stop her, but it was evident he wasn't happy about it. Her mother stood in the doorway, worry lining her features, but Aurea ignored her. She brushed past her two younger brothers and walked up the two flights of stairs into her room. It was just as grand as the rest of her home, with lovely white satin sheets and a large bed. Aurea disregarded the blood stains Linnor created as she helped him onto the bed, releasing him and disappearing only for a moment into a different room and returning with a bowl of cool water and a cloth. She sat down on a stool near the bed and glanced at the floor. "I'm... sorry. About my father. He's... very clear on what he believes."

((That's probably the greatest sentence ever stated. xD and sorry for the powerplay-ish moves I did. Figured I'd get it moving along a little faster since your poor elf is on the brink of death there. xD and again, hope what I said is lore-friendly/totally not incorrect/random. :3))
 
Linnor had answered her questions as well as he could before falling into silence as she led him towards an exceptionally nice part of the city. Linnor had never walked through here, let alone enter one of the buildings, and he couldn't help but stare at its size. It looked like it could be as big as all the Hin'tio houses combined, probably bigger. Surprise and apprehension filled him as a man who looked a bit like the girl stormed out of the house, if it could even be called that, and shouted her full name. So she was a d'Thaon. He should have guessed, really, since her home was so big. Frowning at the man, who he assumed was her father, and at his words, he raised his gaze, fixing his light grey eyes upon him. His eyes flashing in anger each time that damned word left the man's lips, Linnor forced himself to remain calm, knowing that it was Aurea's kindness that was keeping him from getting put back out on the streets again.

Thank the gods, Linnor thought as Aurea moved past her father. He knew too many young women who would do everything her father said, and it made him immensely thankful as she led him into the house. Ignoring the woman as they passed, who must have been her mother, Linnor caught only passing glances at two young boys before they were going up the stairs. Those were the worst part, since it was difficult to lift up his right leg any higher than a couple inches, but Aurea's hold on him helped.

Once he was lying on the bed, Linnor was left on the bed while Aurea left, probably to retrieve something to help him. She wasn't gone long, though, and soon she was sitting next to him with a bowl and a cloth.

Weakly, Linnor shook his head at her words. "It...it's fine," he said, though he had obviously been angry at her father earlier. "I have been treated worse by many others. That was nothing." He turned his head to look at her, a weak smile gracing his lips as he struggled to reassure her of that.

((It's great ^^ Your doing awesome :D))
 
Aurea returned his smile, though hers was accepting. Of course he'd had worse treatment. It was evident all over his body, even with his clothes on. How he'd managed to move away and even leave a trail of blood to begin with was impressive determination on his part.

She dipped the cloth in the water and wrung it out before placing one of the corners against his mouth. She pulled back quickly, just in case she was causing him more harm, but she had to keep going. She dabbed and removed the blood spots from his face, marks that hadn't quite made it when he'd spat out the crimson liquid earlier. She was able to clean up his face, and she found that he wasn't bad-looking. Well, there was no such thing as an ugly elf, as many had the sharp features and graceful appearances that defined elves from other types of people in the world. Still, Linnor had a nice face, especially when it wasn't red with blood.

"Uhm... I know they beat you a lot, but...." She paused, washing the cloth out and staining her water pink. "Where does it hurt the most? I can try to bandage those without removing your clothes, unless it would be better that way." Aurea had no prior medical expertise, not to mention she'd never asked any other elf to take their clothes off. It was awkward for her, but the dim light from the candles in her room were enough to hide the pink hues crossing her cheeks. She felt bad for him; here she was, trying to fix him, and she couldn't even ask him to remove his shirt.

Aurea may or may not have been the worst city elves to have picked up the wounded wild elf.
 
It hadn't hurt when Aurea placed the cloth, but he was able to swallow the remainder of the blood in his mouth, and soon the taste of iron was out of his mouth. As she continued to clean his face, he couldn't help but watch her face, his eyes searching her face for any sign of disgust or hatred. His eyes focusing on hers when she spoke, asking him where he hurt most, he said, "My ribs...I think they all might be cracked or broken..." As she said that she could try to bandage him up without taking his clothes off, he shook his head. He knew from his uncle that injuries like this required him to take off at least his shirt.

Pushing himself to a seated position, he couldn't help but wince in pain as the broken bones in his ribs shifted. "Ah..." he said softly, his eyebrows furrowing in pain. Grasping the hem of his shirt, he started pulling it up, but by the time it had reached his shoulders, he cried out as pain lanced through him and starbursts exploded behind his eyes. Cursing in the Old Tongue, he let his shirt fall, grabbing his side in pain. "...Sorry," he murmured. "It hurt too much..." Frowning, he decided that she would probably have to cut off his shirt in order to get it off of him.

"My...right leg hurts," he said, deciding that his ribs would be a thing to deal with later. "I don't know what's wrong with it..." he suspected it might be fractured, but he wasn't sure, since it hurt even putting a little weight on it. Still, he could walk on it, though it hurt him too much to do it very much. His vision was fading in and out again, but he suspected it was just because of the pain and not anything else.

Moaning softly as another wave of pain rushed through him, he grasped his side again, his vision blurring for several moments. "Oh, gods," he muttered in the Old Tongue, suddenly forgetting the Common Tongue he knew.
 
Aurea sat back in the chair when he forced himself upright, and she kept her hands in her lap. She didn't want to interrupt his careful concentration as he made an attempt to remove his shirt. It was quiet, long enough for her to get lulled into silence because she jumped at his cry and her hand strayed to his shoulder. It was more of a reassuring touch; she didn't want him to strain himself.

As he mentioned his leg, she scooted the stool down toward the bottom of the bed and peeled his pant leg away from his skin. There was no bone sticking out of his leg, which was an instant good sign. She didn't touch any part she could see, since there was the possibility of causing him even more blinding pain. She did set the cold cloth on his skin, just to try and numb some of the pain. "I don't see anything... You might have broken it." She didn't know how to fix broken bones. She didn't think everyone knew how to just fix an injury like that. He spoke a language she didn't understand then, and she watched him obtain a death grip on his side. She wasn't doing enough, and she felt bad.

She opened her mouth to say more, but she closed it as Rinath, her mother, entered the room. The elven woman was beautiful in every way, and it was clear where Aurea had gotten her looks from. They had similar hair and though her mother's eyes were green, Aurea's were a light brown, bright and attentive. Both had the light tan skin and they were elegantly tall.

The younger elf was quick to stand and bow at her mother. "Mother... Is something wrong?" she asked, her head lowered in respect for her elder.

"No, my child. I came to check on the wild elf. I brought you this as well." She uncrossed her arms from the billowing sleeves they hid under to produce a small knife. "I heard him cry out. Broken bones are difficult to heal, but you may be able to help the rest of him." Aurea nodded, taking the ornate knife from her mother. "Thank you." Rinath nodded before speaking to Linnor, her forest green eyes looking directly into his. "I wish you well," was all she said before she left.

Aurea waited until she was gone before she sat back down to study the knife. "I'm sorry... I don't know how to help you walk. I could get someone more experienced, but I don't think they'd want to help a sl--... ah, wild elf." She turned her head down again, flipping the knife in her fingers. She didn't want to take after her father and insult Linnor. She wanted to help him and send him back healthy enough to do whatever it was wild elves did.
 
Linnor was surprised when Aurea's mother walked in. Watching her carefully, he blinked several times, trying to force his pain down. Flinching when he saw the knife she pulled from her sleeves, the wild elf was suddenly afraid that she would come at him with the knife. In his current state, he would be unable to defend against her, and would probably be dead in seconds if Aurea's mother had the will to do it.

However, when she handed the knife to Aurea, he calmed down slightly, and nodded. "Thank you," he said, and immediately afterwards she was gone. As Aurea spoke again, he couldn't help but flinch as he hear the first part of 'slum' pass her lips. Still, at least she caught herself, and didn't say the whole thing. That was better than actually having her saying it.

"There's..." Linnor thought for a moment, trying to remember the old healer that had once helped him when he had gotten a particularly bad strain of Rosewood Fever as a child. That was back before the Hin'tio had been forced to move, but he knew that she had moved with them. She must be somewhere within the Hin'tio District...Frowning as he thought, he suddenly remembered her name. "Icetalon," he immediately said to himself, trying to sit up straighter.

Looking to Aurea, he said, "There's a healer from my tribe...Icetalon, that was her name...She must be in the Hin'tio District...I don't think she can move...she must be hundreds of years old by now...She would help me." He tried to smile, wondering if Aurea understood. "In the morning, maybe, if we can get to her, she can help."
 
Aurea knew what she'd almost said was wrong. She was trying to help him, not hurt him again. She thought about apologizing but thought better of it. There was no reason to bring it up again. However, she did raise her eyes as he spoke of Icetalon, the healer. There was hope for Linnor's leg. Aurea managed a smile and nodded. "Of course. We can try to find her."

In the meantime, Linnor's ribs had to be taken care of. Aurea turned the knife in her hands and stood up. "I can open up your shirt now," she said before she set the small weapon on the table and dashed out the door. Her return was quick, and she was carrying a long strip of bandage cloth, as well as a spare strip of material to wash him with. She set everything down on the bed and unraveled the bandages before she picked up the knife again. She gripped the hilt a little more tightly than she needed to.

"I won't cut you," she promised, reaching over and pressing the cold metal of the knife to the back of his shirt. She didn't want to slip up and hurt him even more, so she took her time. She was slow in her work, but eventually, the thin material of his shirt ripped and she was able to remove it much easier than he had before. Even in the small light, she could see how bad Linnor's torso looked. She covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a gasp as she turned away, purposefully busying herself with the knife and water. It was a terrible sight to see. No one needed a beating like that.
 
Linnor was silent as she cut his shirt off of him, careful not to make any sudden movements. He didn't want to be cut, especially not by Aurea. Rolling his shoulder slowly, he moaned softly when his abdomen shifted slightly and pain radiated outwards. By the time his shirt was off, he was relaxed once more, and was trying to refrain from looking down at his torso. He just knew that it would be terrible, and he didn't want to get sick on Aurea's bed.

"Is it bad?" he asked her, keeping his gaze focused up at the ceiling. The way her hand had flown to her mouth didn't reassure him, but he wanted to hear it from her. Slowly, he reached up his hand, gingerly moving it over his stomach and towards the skin that covered what remained of his rib cage. "Gods above," he muttered as he felt a bone shift beneath his touch, accompanied by a wave of pain. One, two, three, he thought to himself as he counted all the broken bones he felt.

After pushing too hard on one of the bones, he spat out a curse as stars burst behind his eyes. Still, he pushed on, and soon counted at least four ribs that were snapped through, but he couldn't tell how many were just cracked. "Gods," he said, wondering how it was possible that he hadn't died already as another wave of pain washed through him.
 
She couldn't very well say no to him, so she nodded. "Yes, it is," she said, her voice soft. He was already figuring that out himself, and she winced every time he pressed on his wounds. She was silent as he explored his injured body, but she reached over and lightly brushed his now-bare shoulder again. She was still there, and even though he looked awful, she was there to help him.

She took the other cloth and dipped it in the water, wringing it out before letting the cool material rest on his side. He felt too warm for her liking, so maybe she could help cool and numb his pain while she bandaged him. It was still hard to look at. She knew that wild elves were shunned, but she had never expected anything like this.

Her father advised the Lord Regent on how to deal with wild elves and when it was necessary to show the general public a severe display of disobedience or some other reason as to why the wild elf should be punished. At this point, she figured that they simply existed, and that was the reason other city elves were extreme and rude and every other mean word she could think of.

She unraveled the bandages and set the tip on his uninjured side. "Sorry if this... hurts." It wasn't a very eloquent way of putting it, but she felt the need to apologize anyway. She was going to cause him pain at some point, even if it was unintentional.

Aurea reached around his back and brought the bandage with her. She pulled just a little bit tight to assure herself the bandage would hold. Around and around his torso she went, pausing to remove the cloth and replace it with cold water again. She reached the part of his side where it looked the worst: black bruises blossoming around with angry red marks swirling in every direction. With a soft sigh, she resumed her bandaging, doing her best to look over him entirely and not just at his wounds.

She finished shortly after, sitting back and twirling the end of the bandage underneath the rest of the straps to make it hold. "...Hopefully that should help." She wanted him to get better, but it wouldn't be by her hand. There was a chance that this Icetalon elf would be able to help him, so she was holding onto that.

"Uhm... do you need a shirt? I might be able to find one for you...." Of course, the only elf in her household who would have something in Linnor's size was her father, and she didn't think he wanted to wear her father's clothing.
 
Throughout the entire time that Aurea was wrapping his torso with bandages, Linnor was taking deep breaths to keep from shouting out or cursing again. Each time that she would nudge a broken rib too hard, the fight became even more difficult, and he had grabbed a fistful of the sheets beneath him, though his fingernails still bit into his skin. Squeezing his eyes shut against the pain, he set his mouth in a hard line, letting out a heavy exhale. More than once, he felt like he was about to pass out from the pain, but he forced himself to stay conscious, not wanting to collapse while Aurea was trying to bandage him.

Shivering when she replaced the cloth on his side, cold water dripping down his side to stain his pants and the sheets, Linnor smiled weakly for her when she finally laced the end of the bandage with the other ones. "Thank you..." he said, letting out a heavy sigh in an attempt to dispel the rest of the pain.

At her question, he frowned for a moment, thinking. The two young boys from earlier were too young for any of their clothes to fit him, so that meant that the only person whose clothes would fit him were...Aurea's father. His face instantly hardening, he shook his head. "No...I will be fine...I might be able to mend the shirt by myself anyways." He smiled again, though it turned out more like a grimace.

"I...I just want to rest right now," he said, forcing the smile to turn happier. "But I don't want to use your bed...after all, you have to sleep, too, right?" Besides that reason, Linnor also didn't want her father to think anything about having a wild elf sleeping in his daughter's bed. That was an argument he didn't feel like getting in. "Is...is there somewhere else that I can sleep?"
 
She smiled in return, even if his expression resembled one of hurt. She pulled the cloth away, finding he was shivering. As the sleeping arrangement was brought up, she nodded. Away she went again, opening the door and leaving it open, clearing a path from her room to another, less decorated room. It was a spare for any visitors her father had, but she hated it whenever they slept near her. She didn't trust the stuffy and pompous nobles her family often dealt with.

She would have preferred to just leave him, but her thoughts were similar to his. Her father would have a conniption if he even suspected she'd allowed Linnor to sleep in her bed.

Aurea reentered and folded Linnor's pant leg down against his skin. If he was sleeping without a shirt, she didn't want any other part of him to get cold. She moved the cloth and stool out of the way before she took his arm and moved it around her neck. She was able to help him out of the room and down the short hall leading to the spare room. The bed was much smaller and they were plain green, cotton sheets, but it was soft enough to sleep on. She set him down on the bed and stepped back to inspect her handiwork. Linnor didn't look like much at the moment (not to mention it was dark anyway), but she'd been able to aid him. And she was going to continue to do so until he got better. He could be a distraction from her every day life; something different and new.
 
As Aurea helped him move to the spare bedroom, he would let out a soft curse each time his right left had weight put on it. How did I get to where she found me in this state? he thought, figuring that it must have been the same adrenaline that had kept him from blacking out while the thugs had been beating him. But now that the adrenaline was gone, he was left feeling tired and pain was hitting him almost as badly as the thugs had.

Once he was sitting on the bed in the guest room, he forced a smile for her. The bed was definitely much softer than the one he slept on at home, which was made of little more than straw and rough cotton, and he instantly knew that he would sleep well that night. Bringing up a hand to rub his right knee, he winced as a shock of pain ran through him. Rolling his shoulder again, he moaned softly at the slight pain he felt before looking to Aurea in the darkness.

"Thank you," he said again. "...For everything." Smiling, for real this time, he let out a soft sigh, looking down at his hands for a long moment. "I...I should be fine for the night," he finally said. What he didn't speak, however, was that he was rather afraid that her father would attack him during the night. He would be entirely helpless if that happened, given his current state. Hoping that Aurea's father had the decency not to attack a guest in his own home, Linnor bowed his head in thanks towards Aurea, a light smile still on his face.
 
If Aurea could see one thing in the dark, it was Linnor's smile. There was dismissal in his voice, but she could understand why. With a slight bow of her body, Aurea left the room. She closed the door behind her, looking down the sweeping staircase to see a shadow retreating. It must be Father.... He really was displeased with the fact that Aurea had brought a wild elf into the house. She didn't want to disrespect him, but Linnor had needed help.

Aurea made sure the door was shut all the way before she went back into her own room. She left her door cracked just enough to the point where she could see the door leading to Linnor. If her father got any ideas, Aurea would know. She changed from her dress - reminding herself to try and work the blood stains out of it later - and slipped into a thin shift more suited for sleeping. She started to lay down on the bed, but then she remembered the bloodied sheets. Luckily, the stains only went through the first two, and she was still able to cover herself with the last blanket. Settling in the massive feathered pillow, Aurea fell asleep within a few moments. She hadn't realized how tired she was until her light brown eyes closed and she slipped into deep darkness.

~

Nothing happened to either of them while they slept, but when Aurea woke up, she could hear her mother and father coming up the steps. She was quick to change into a long sleeve, silver silk dress, running her fingers through her red hair and show herself as something presentable.

Stoic as always, her father entered the room and narrowed his eyes at Aurea. "I assume you'll be taking him back to his tribe today?" he asked with a hard voice, but his lips pursed as Aurea shook her head.

"Father, I can't. His leg is broken. He can't do anything."

"Aurea, that isn't our problem. Whatever he did to deserve his injuries is his own fault."

"But it wasn't!" she suddenly burst out, but her head bowed as her parents took a step back. "I-I mean... He didn't do anything that he needed to be beaten so bad."

A sigh escaped her father's lips, and that was when Rinath spoke up. "Aurea." Her voice was much more gentle than her husbands. "You will help him recover, but after that, he must leave. There are many people who would not appreciate us housing a wild elf."

"...Yes, Mother." She couldn't bring herself to look up at them. Rinath watched her for a moment before she motioned to Aurea's father. "Come, Falyen." Her father gave her one look before they exited in silence. Aurea waited until she couldn't hear their footsteps anymore before she moved and opened the door to Linnor's room. She could actually see him now that there was sunlight streaming through the window in the corner.

((I made the choice to look up Steam Powered Giraffe on Youtube... now I can't stop listening to them. xD))
 
((Ahhhh yeaaah xD I was the same way when 'Honeybee' appeared on my YouTube suggestions :D))

When Aurea left him, Linnor let himself sink down onto the bed. Pulling the sheets over his body hurt his leg too much, so he chose to instead lie there like that for the night. Letting himself yawn in the darkness, he sighed softly, before turning his head into the pillow and closing his eyes. Throughout the night, he didn't sleep all that well, given that he was still mildly fearful of Aurea's father, and understandably so, but he did sleep some.

As soon as dawn began making itself apparent through the window, Linnor's eyes opened, and he brought up a hand to yawn before making sure of his surroundings. For a moment, he hadn't recognized the room, and fear filled him, until he forced himself to remember what had happened the night before. Of course, the pain that ran though him once he tried to sit up, he immediately remembered all of it. "Gods..." he muttered, frowning as he looked down at his torso, peeling back some of the bandages to examine his abdomen. It looked just as bad as he had suspected, and a wave of nausea ran through him. Fighting it down, he frowned when he heard voices in the hallway outside.

Frowning at Aurea's father's voice, he waited until she entered to make himself known. "Good morning," he said softly, looking up at her. "Ah...I...I..." he frowned, pausing for a long moment as he struggled to get his thoughts straight. "I think I will be able to find Icetalon...I haven't seen her in a long time, but I am certain that she came with us when we..." his frown grew deeper as he attempted to find the right word for it. Finally, he settled on, "...moved."
 
Aurea dipped her head in greeting, but her expression went passive as he struggled to rearrange his thoughts. It seemed like the beating had done more to him than just physical injury. Once he managed to speak, she nodded. There was a long pause after he spoke because she caught the halting in his words. Maybe the rumors were true about the wild elves removing themselves.

"Well, I can get you something to wear, just long enough to get you over to where she might be." Then he could do whatever he wanted with the clothing. It wasn't any concern of hers. "I know you probably don't want to wear any of my father's clothes, but I don't think anyone else will like it if you walk around without a shirt on. Unless you want to mend it right now." Her words were rushed, tumbling over her tongue like a voiced waterfall. She hadn't ever talked to someone in such a way, but she was informal. She wouldn't have dared talk like that to her parents, and she had a show to put on for the two younger brothers. Having someone like Linnor in her presence was new and disarming.

"Would you like to go now?" she asked, forcing herself to calm down. Her hands clasped in front of her dress, but her head was always slightly lowered, as if she was waiting for a berating comment or something else equally unsatisfactory.

((Dat Spine. I would marry his voice. xD you've given me a new love. :D))
 
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