Putting Your Differences Aside

[Elflady]

As the sun rose over the horizon Thien made his way through the forest, the dim light under the thick canopy gave the woods an eerie look, fog that still lingered from the past night. The raw morning air felt refreshing and drove the last remaining tendrils of sleep from his mind. The rustles of leaves accompanied by the early morning birds singing their melodic tunes and kept the drow company on his lonely way.

Thien had already been on his way for a good hour or so, he had decided to get an early start when few in the village had yet to awake, he hadn't wanted the attention and prediction of failure, death and so on by the other drows. It was enough that his father had been awake and had seen him off. Sure their relationship wasn't the most solid parent-child one these last years but he knew his father could understand Thien's need for acceptance among the others just like his wife had once wanted.

Adjusting his bow that was strapped across his back, the bow string going across his chest, Thien bent down and studied the ground. The paw prints were covered by a few leaves but their shape was relatively sharp which ment they were recent, they followed after a series of small hoof prints off into the forest, some big cat out for it's morning meal.

Glad to not be on the menu Thien redirected his course a bit to avoid a possible run in with a defensive predator, as a drow he was undeniably a fighter but he had no interest in waisting arrows or risk a close encounter when he had just started out. That would just prove his village right.

Slowly it grew brighter as the sun rose in the sky, albeit casting no sun on the drow as the leafy canopies filtered out most of it, keeping the air cool and fresh. Having no idea where his goal was except for an old tale pointing out a mountainous region to the northwest, his new direction would take him more west than he had planned but he could correct that later.

 

[Shelby]

She grunted and groaned, the sound of leaves being crushed under some type of weight, as well as the sound of wood bending as something seemed to climbed up it, could be heard as the wood elf climbed her way up one of the many trees in the forest. Her eyes peered out about the green coloring of the leaves as they sprouted from the branches, tickling her skin as she brushed past them, her eyes catching a glint of the rising sun as it was beginning its appearance beyond the horizon. Usually it made her happy to see the coming of the sun in the morning; to know that a new day was among her, possibly a new day in which she could prove herself, or at least try to prove herself. But on this day, she couldn't find that jovial feeling in her at the moment.

True, she was on a quest to prove the ever present goal that has circled around her life since she started learning about magic and the spells that came with it, but for reasons only known to her she did not find this quest something to be happy about. Something to have an opened mind about and hope for the best. Yes, she hoped that she would find what she was looking for, so that she could better herself and not be a disappointment to her family, especially her parents. To see their disappointed gazes when ever she was around, to hear the murmuring of the people in the village that she resided in... It was demeaning, not to mention embarrassing, and she just wanted it to stop.

Thiah shook her head with a sigh, grimacing when a branch took a swipe at her leg as she climbed the tree awkwardly at this point, her mind so consumed with her thoughts. She cursed under her breath as she looked down at her leg, frowning at the sight of a red scratch trailing its way over her tanned skin. Great. The sight made her roll her eyes and shake her head before she peered back up and continued climbing again until she made it to the top, her bare feet standing firm on the branch below her.

The sight of the sun was beautiful, she had to admit. It was something that would never be tainted with the evilness of the ones who wanted so desperately to take what wasn't there, the ones who didn't understand how to leave things alone and just things lie. Like nature. But enough of that, she saw the faint outlining of buildings in the distance, her target in terms of where to go next. Hopefully heading to that village would lead her into the right direction of the source that she wanted to find, or at least give her a little more information on what she wanted to find.

After a few moments of looking, the wood elf quickly guided her way back down to the floor of the forest, her feet digging into the ground. She hated wearing shoes, and going on this journey was not going to change that. Nevertheless, she did have protection on her, not much but something. A little knife that she stole from her father was what she figured she would need, as well as a little book of spells that she kept hidden in the pocket of her brown, somewhat tattered cloak she wore. That, too, was something she didn't particularly like, but with the ever changing weather patterns she wanted to be a little shielded from the elements.

She started walking then before she heard the faint sounding of something behind her, making her whip her head to the side. She grit her teeth before she looked around her, not wanting to be in the path of something or someone should they be able to overpower her. Quickly, she jumped into the closest bush she could find, her lithe form fitting right behind it as she ducked down, her eyes trying their best to see what was out before her.

 

[Elflady]

Thien trudged on through the thick undergrowth, his eyes finding small signs of life everywhere, the small tracks of a bird in the soft earth, a tree with scratch marks in its bark low enough for it to possibly be a badger and he could hear small rodents and squirells go about their business. In a way he sometimes wished he and his tribes used the trees more, like the other elven races seemed to love, they regularly climbed around in the tall tree tops. He had heard that some even built their homes among the trees, living half their lives above the ground.

But still, living on the steady ground was the most favourable, not only did it feel safer than Thien imagined it was moving high above the ground you could see so much on the ground. Even with this heavy undergrowth and at times close standing trees there was a lot that you could learn if you only knew were to look. Thien was a trained hunter, his father having thought him what he knew, how to take care of a kill, how to kill and most importantly how to track. From a young age Thien had trained his eyes and other senses to listend to the woods, even the faintest track told of something and know his heritage was the only thing separating him from being acknolwedged as a great hunter.

No matter how many kills he brought home, no matter how rare or hard to kill Thien never got any credit for it, only from his father, his status as part wood elf effectively hindering him from fully fitting in. His off-white shirt tucked into simple, brown pants that met worn and well used leather boots, covering his chest and lower arms are sturdy yet light leather armour, in his small bag he carries an extra cloak together with necessities and food, showing he is not the most well off in his village. His weapons are the opposite from his simple graments however, his bow is meticulously cared for just like the arrows, never allowed to dry up or loose their shape and his short sword though not as often used is also well cared for and clean. His well used knife is, despite Thien's effort, worn with a net of spindle thin cracks showing its age, though still sharp, after heavy usage with everything from everyday use to taking care of a kill.

A rustle up ahead caught his attention and Thien stiffened in his stride, narrowing his pale eyes he looked around taking a few more steps he couldn't see anything at first, the forest seemed empty besides himself. Turning his eyes to the ground he saw several signs of someone's precense, most obvious were the light tracks of bare feet, small and slim which hinted at them belonging to a female. Sighing to himself Thien asked the gods why he had to run into trouble so soon, he didn't expect much difficulty from the encounter but he would have preferred there to be no encounter at all.

"I know you are here," he said calmly, hand resting on his short sword, ready to use it on a moments notice. He would have preferred to ready his bow but with the limited space and sight in the forest Thien realised his best chance was with a blade. "Come out freely or I will search you out." His voice as calm and indifferent as if he'd spoken out loud to himself but it hid determination. He didn't want to continue on with an unknown person behind him, female or not and he would not leave until he found said person, certain his skills with tracking would make it impossible for the person to stay hidden.

 

[Shelby]

((Sorry it's been a while since I've replied back. I've been busy with school and everything...))

Thiah stiffened when she heard the voice of the male, saying that he knew she was there and if she didn't come out her own self he would come after her. The wood elf had half a mind to test that theory and see if he really would come and search her out, wondering if he would really waste his time with such task, but with what little sight she had behind the bush she situated herself behind she could see the faint outlining of his body. Next to his stature and the way he spoke, as well as the fact that, as she leaned in a bit closer, a few leaves sticking to her face, she could see his darkened skin color, meaning that he was more than likely a drow, she wasn't too sure about 'hearing him out', so to speak. The thought of that alone of him being a drow, probably, sent a wave of unease throughout her system, remembering all the words about these elven creatures that she had heard so much about; about how they were savage and would do nothing but fight, especially them.

It wasn't a fight she wanted to get herself into, if only because she knew she would lose. But not only that, she had never come into contact with that race, or, rather, she had never come into contact with much of any different race since her village and people stayed within themselves, never leaving the confinement of their woods. The only time any of them would leave would be if they were wanting more spell books, which came rarely, and she had only gone on one of those excursions with her parents once. And it's not like she was able to see much, or remember much, from that time considering the fact that she was young at the time, but nevertheless she doubted if they came into contact with any other race, or directly spoke with another race rather, other than when purchasing the item.

It just made her slightly nervous, to put it in simpler terms, to come into contact with someone who wasn't a wood elf.

Thiah knew she had to make a decision though, sooner rather than later, on whether or not she would come out. She could only guess the consequences of her not coming out on her own, so, after taking a moment to look around, her teeth gritting as her brows furrowed in concentration, she looked back at the bush before backing up, navigating her way towards the nearest tree, still crouched down, before she quickly turned around and jumped, digging her nails into the trunk of the tree. She climbed up the trunk swiftly and placed herself upon a branch, a low one, but one that was still high enough for her to be able to see the drow that stood on the other side of the bush.

She stood up and placed one hand on the tree and the other in the pocket of her cloak, the hood having fallen off during her climb to reveal her brown hair, a few strands limply laying about her face. She frowned and looked down at the male. "What do you want?" She tried to come off strong, though her voice shook a little with unease.

 

[Elflady]

(That's okay:)

Hearing nothing for awhile Thien pondered on if he should let the matter be, to just move on and most likely not be followed. But most likely wasn't good enough for him, he may not have been hounded his entire life or lived under threat but he had learned to be cautios, to both in the village and when hunting look behind, never to leave an opening behind him. For that reason he had no plans to leave first, he was secure in his own ability to defend himself, Thien wasn't one to ridicule someone of the fairer sex for being weak either, among his people women often held higher positions than men, mostly in religion, having a greater connection to the great Goddess. But many women had equal skill with men in battle and were just as likely as enter into war.

Now Thien had little knowledge of other races, even though supposedly drows were distantly related to other elven races, his kind had little interest in them apart from the fact that they were more peace oriented which caused the drows to look down on their weaker neighbours. Then again despite his upbringing among this racist view and constant reminding of the superiority of the drows Thien had wood elf blood in him and so despite some tries he still held some curiosity for his mother's family among the wood elves.

Hearing the rustle as the hidden person moved Thien cut his lavender eyes that way only to see a slim woman climb up a tree with an ease and grace he momentarily envied, drows never moved among trees, children scarcely climbed them either, a choice that made many drows very bad climbers. Keeping his indifferent gaze on the wood elf Thien noticed her unease, her body language revealed it even before her voice did, he guessed that despite having paler skin than a pure drow she had guessed what he was. He'd been thaught that wood elves feared and hated them as much as drows looked down upon and hated them, they could use magic but drows couldn't and drows were stronger fighters in general and with an immunity to magic.

"Why are you here? Stray wood elves are a rare sight," he replied calmly, as if he really didn't care for her answer although he was a bit curious, now he felt calmer though, more relaxed, seeing that the person was only a wood elf and not of any threat he could continue on without fearing a strong enemy on his heels. "I though you all cowered in your villages afraid to leave the safety of your homes." His voice laced with mockery. The wood elf should consider herself lucky, if another of his race had been here instead she would have had trouble, if she was caught she risked being raped or tortured before her death, not neccisarily the first two but certainly the last one. Rare was a drow that left a wood elf, or another race alive when they met on a whim, just a battle in itself sent blood rushing, Thien knew of it himself but his mixed blood had weakened it greatly, their race a warrior one ruled by a goddess of shadows.

 

[Shelby]

Thiah grit her teeth, her hands beginning to tremble under the wake of the creature before. The hand that held onto the base o the tree clutched around the bark tighter, the prickling sensation that dug into the palm of her hands not effecting her in the least bit. Why would a drow be in the forest, she wondered, furrowing her brows as she listened to the male speak, listening as his tone became condescending as he spoke of her race? Of course he would speak down on them; all drows did, and though it angered her to hear any negative words spewed towards her race, she would never do anything about it. It was something she had grown accustomed to, being berated that was anyway, all her race usually had to deal with that. Each of them just had their own ways of dealing with things, most of them not even caring, only thinking about themselves and the Gods they worshiped.

"We might not venture outside of our village like most everyone else, but at least we don't go traipsing around in other's territories, tearing down their building structures and killing ones that you all believe to be weaker than you. Such arrogant beings..." She narrowed her eyes, happy to be up in the trees where she felt relatively safe, or at least safe enough to scorn the drow without feeling any affects of his anger. She doubted if he even had the ability to climb. But still her voice trembled as she spoke, the harsh tone she wanted to portray not taking the effect that she wanted it to.

"But I asked you first; seeing a drow means nothing good is to come. What do you want to destroy, the forest? Or perhaps just anything you set your eyes on?" Hopefully she herself wouldn't be included in that.

 

[Elflady]

Letting his hand fall from his sword hilt, feeling no need to use it Thien kept his eyes on the elf as she spoke. Her words were true he had to admit, he wasn't too fond of senseless slaughter, a fight made him feel more alive, adrenaline pumping through him like blood, but he preferred it if his opponents gave him a match. Not running his blade through women or children or people who had no chance of winning or even had a weapon. This so called weakness of his was one thing often pointed out by his fellow drows, calling it a stain that could not be removed from him as it was in his blood and while Thien didn't want to become like them he did want to fit in which was the whole point of this journey.

His face contorting into a slight scowl as the elf finished Thien shifted his weight. "You are right regarding the way my people act," he agreed casually, not letting the words or her tone bother him. Himself guilty of it though not in the same extent as expected by him. "But I like my mother do not wish any harm on the forest, unlike people it does nothing to warrant violence." His hand, almost unconciously went to the edge of his bow that stretched up behind his shoulder, resting his hand on the familiar smooth wood for a few moments until he let it fall down again. He didn't seriously think of using it, not only because of the tight space, but it was almost soothing to know that the bow rested there, faithfully ready to be used.

"Not that it is any of your concern but I am heading for the open plains beyond the forest so you and your people will have one less drow to worry about," Thien told the wood elf.

 

[Shelby]

With her face softening a bit as she listened to the words he spoke, Thiah wondered if she should believe him or not. Wishing to not harm the forest in which he stood in, just like his mother? That didn't sound right, not from coming from a drow. They didn't speak like this, Thiah knew, so maybe this was some type of plow to catch her off guard. Maybe there were other drows in the surrounding area, lurking in the shadows, shielding their bodies in the darkness, waiting for the right time to strike. As the thought cross her mind, she took a few steps to the side, pushing her body against the trunk of the tree as she pulled out the little knife she carried with her, holding it out in front of her. Her own apprehension only grew as he drew his hand back to touch the bow that stood on his back, making her believe that he was ready to strike.

No, those weren't the words of a drow. Not after hearing everything the other wood elves had said about them. They couldn't be trusted; he couldn't be trusted. "Do you expect me to believe what you say? To actually think that one such as yourself wishes to not harm anything?" She grit her teeth. "What are you up to? Where are the others?" She looked around then, her eyes scanning everything she could see, though found herself not seeing much of anything. "I know you have followers; isn't that how you all fight? Overpower the one you are fighting?"

 

[Elflady]

Her apprehension wasn't unexpected, racial differences and believes were firmly cut in stone and Thien himself was as much a victim of them as the wood elf in front of him, just as she wondered about he being among a group so had the thought crossed his mind about her. It was hard to believe she had no one nearby, wood elves mostly travelled in groups from what he had seen at least, but according to the tracks he had seen she was indeed alone. "You do not have to believe me if you don't want to," he answered her calmly.

"And to be strictly honest I do not wish harm to the forest, people however are another thing entirely, to say I'm peaceful and innocent would be a big lie but still I don't slaughter everyone I see." Thien didn't hold much belief that the girl would believe him, if the roles were reversed then he would probably not believe his own words but he wasn't trying to win her trust just point out his different values it was up to her to believe him or not.

Her following accusations brought out a smile from Thien, it deepened into a laugh without him being able to hide it. "I do not have any followers," he assured her, his eyes still glinting of mirth even as his face went back to indifference. "No one in my village would follow my lead, I may fight in a group when needed but the others are more likely to bet on my life than to help me." He told her,. Many were the times when a battle had been hard and instead of helping him the other warriors ignored his difficulties and he could swear that they were a bit disappointed when he had the strength to survive on his own.

 

[Shelby]

"Trust me, I don't." Thiah clutched her hand around the handle of the knife a little tighter, the skin on her knuckles turning a pale color as she did so. How could he be so calm about everything? Why was he speaking so calmly to her, she wondered, if only because she believed that most drows didn't even speak that often, especially one of another race. She thought they struck first and asked questions later, or exchanged little talk in the end. It unnerved her, to say the least, but nevertheless the fact that he seemed so calm about everything almost made her believe that she had nothing to fear from him. Or, at least, he wouldn't come after her without a second thought.

But still she couldn't be sure about it. She had to stay on guard, Thiah continued to tell herself. "Then you are different, if you are actually telling the truth." Either that or the rumors she has heard about this race all her life are nothing but likes, but she figured when even the name drows came up made her relatives and other members of her race cringe and basically flee from sight, she ho no other way but to think that it was all true.

She shook her head, though, and cleared her mind when she heard him laugh, her brows furrowing in confusion as she listened to the sound. So drows could laugh, as well as smile? Before she never thought they could handle such emotions. Maybe she could be wrong though... No! Again Thiah shook her head before looking down at the male, a more angered look crossing her features. "Then you must be weak; a pitiful fool that can't even hold up to his race." As she spoke those words she couldn't help but think about her own situation. How she herself was a mere pitiful fool since she couldn't grasp the concept of spells nor wield their power. Her face softened, again, before she turned to look in another direction.

 

[Elflady]

Her annoyance and confusion visible in her body language gave him a slight sense of satisfaction, his behaviour had often irked his fellow drows as well when they tried to piss him off or otherwise bother him. Sure he wasn't a statue but Thien had learned a certain level of self control, it was useful both in fights and for interactions with both enemies and, well not friends but acquaintances perhaps was a better word, or forced allies. The Goddess spoke about unity between the own race, which didn't exclude scuffles and fights but it did allow Thien to live as a drow despite his mixed heritage, it didn't however force good behaviour against him.

Her following words hit their mark, better than she'd intended maybe, Thien's face betrayed his anger but for barely a second hurt flickered through his eyes before they hardened in fury and he clenched his hands, nails digging into his palm. She was right of course which is why it affected him. But it was one thing that he knew it and was reminded often by it, it was a whole other thing to have a stranger and a wood elf no less point it out to him. "That I may be," he snapped at her. "But I am still stronger than your kind and immune to your pitiful magic." His tone was harsh as he spoke, taking a deep breath he collected himself again, he had always admired his mother's calm temper and had also learned that being calm and unyeilding was often more effective against others than anger or frustration, that didn't mean he had her patience.

Glancing upwards he saw the light filtered through the trees, the day was slowly passing by and he pondered over just leaving, continueing on his way, but he wasn't exactly in a hurry. As the hours passed by since he had left he had already learned how nice it was to be free from the harsh eyes and words of his peers, normaly he was only alone when he went on his hunts and thy sadly didn't last for days so now he had the chance to relish in the luxury to be away from his own people. "To bring the question back to you," Thien looked back to the brunette elf as he spoke. "What brings you out so far from home?"

 

[Shelby]

Thiah hadn't expected him to snap back at her, if only because he seemed so calm otherwise, so when his words rang out to reach her ears, she snapped her head back to look at him. "You might be stronger, but that means nothing." No, the wood elf thought, that meant everything. The fact that they were strong enough to take down practically anything in their path, to not have anything or anyone to ear because they knew that they were the ones on top, the ones who had nothing to worry about. Though the thought of such brutality sickened her, she couldn't help but admire it to some point. To not be able to fear anything... She knew that was what most of everyone probably wanted. "And our magic is not weak; you all are just lucky that you are immune to what we do. Otherwise, maybe you would think differently of us." Possibly not, though, since most of her race were against some violence, herself being one of those people. But still, if their magic could effect the drows, most likely their biggest enemy, would they fight them?

Once again the tremors in her body started again, the harshness of his tone having taken effect to her, despite how much she hated the feeling. To feel so inferior to him, despite the fact that she didn't even know him, that was probably the worst of all. But no matter. As long as she made it out of this encounter alive, Thiah figured, she had been strong, or at least level headed, enough to survive.

When he brought the question back to her it caught her off guard, but she quickly took a breath to get her bearings back together and thought about it. Should she lie, or tell the truth? No, she couldn't tell the truth. No need for him to know what she was up to, right, especially since she believed him to be lying about why he was out here. "You don't need to know that." She finally answered after a moment of silence, going for neither of the options she weighed in her mind. "Where I'm going is none of your concern."

 

[Elflady]

Allowing a smug smile to be seen for a few moments Thien wondered how much the wood elf believed in her own words. After all strength was everything, if you were strong enough you could do what you wanted, protect people close to you and take what you needed and wanted. In contrast to what the drows held in firm belief though, strength wasn't everything on it's own, Thien's mother had tried to explain that to him when he was a child but it still didn't fully make sense in his mind. "The strength or weakness of something is a flexible thing, to us who are immune to it magic is weak but to others it is strong," Thien replied. Knowing full well, although neither he nor any of his fellow drows would ever admit it, that if they were not immune to magic and the wood elves were more aggressive they may very well loose their best advantage and possibly have fear pierce their hearts for once. But that would never be an issue as things stood now and certainly not in the future if Thien succeeded in his plan.

As the wood elf avoided a straigth answer Thien grew a bit curious, he never did like to not know something, possibly a result of being left out a lot during his life, and even the affairs of a stranger could interest him just because he didn't know, then if he learned whatever it was he might loose interest quickly. But he saw her point, he had not wanted to say anything about his goal except it would involve leaving the forest, so in a way Thien accepted her answer although he didn't like it.

"True, it's none of my concern," he agreed. "Now this has been a lovely little talk but I don't have time to waste hours of daylight here," Thien continued. Sure he wasn't exactly in a hurry really, he wasn't missed by anyone, maybe with the exception of his fathe, and being away from the village was a relief. But seeing as he had a certain goal in mind that he had no idea the distance to the practical hunting side of him wanted to keep a fairly good pace until he found what he searched for. When his travel ended either in failure or success then he could relax and take a slow route home.

"It has been nice meeting you little wood elf," Thien said, irony lacing his voice as he turned on one heel and started back down the faint trail he'd been following this morning.

 

[Shelby]

Thiah listened to his answer, her lips turning down into a frown as she pondered over his words. True, their magic was relatively strong in the eyes of most, mostly because the magic actually effected most others, but the thing that confused her the most was the beginning of his statement. Strength being a flexible thing. Did that mean he didn't believe that strength wasn't everything, or, at least, there were other tactics that could be used when put in a situation where you would have to think on your feet and possibly fight? For reasons she couldn't understand, Thiah wanted to believe him, but a part of her brain continued to tell her to not believe a thing that the drow said. They weren't trustworthy, and they certainly believed in strength and using it to the best of their advantages. That is what she was always told anyway, so really there could be no other way to think of those creatures, right? They were nothing but power hungry beings that talked with their weapons and other means of strength rather than their words, like her people did.

She had become lost in thought at that point, her eyes glazing over a bit as she let her thoughts wander. It was a dangerous thing to let your guard down when facing someone you know could easily overpower you or have something up their sleeve, but she couldn't help but let his words, and just his overall being, perplex her. But she was snapped out of her thoughts when he spoke again, saying something about not wanting to waste any more of his time with being here. She wondered where he would be heading to and what he was planning, if anyway, but she quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts. It didn't matter anyway. Their paths would probably never cross again, she wanted to believe. So she would just leave it at that, nodding her head at his words, replying with a small, hesitant, "Right..." Though she didn't believe that this had been a 'lovely little chat' as he so liked to put it.

"We've hardly met," she found herself murmuring as the drow turned around and started back to the path that, she assumed, he had come from before. She couldn't help but watch as he walked away, her eyes squinting as his figure became smaller and smaller as he walked away. Hopefully, she thought, she would never come across one of his kind again. Though, if she was being honest, she would rather run into him if anyone, if only because he didn't seem to want to hurt her. But then again, maybe luck was just shining down on her at the moment and probably wouldn't shine its rays on her anymore for the rest of the journey.

So with a sigh, once the drow had left, Thiah jumped out of the tree, her feet thudding against the ground as she fell, and started walking back in the direction that she had been heading to before, though this time deciding to go through the thicket of trees instead of the worn path that she had been taking before.

 

[Elflady]

Thien continued his treck through the woods, keeping to the small trail that sometimes merged back into the forest before becoming clearer again. His mind still on the wood elf, slightly annoyed that his thoughts went back to her. It was not so that he was taken by her beauty or had his heart captured, such nonsense weren't very high on his to do list, no it was more so that she intrigued him. As the first wood elf he had met outside of battles and ambushes, he had always had enough of his mother's blood and teachings to not desire unneeded violence but among the drows you didn't disobey a direct command.

So he pilaged and fought as he and others were ordered with the slight difference that he didn't enjoy it as much as the others. He doubted that any drow, or at least very few had stopped and considered how other cultures worked. Luckily he was a skilled hunter and tracker even among his tribe of pure drows so he could use a hunt as an excuse to not join in a battle, although he wouldn't deny that a fight sent his blood boiling and his weapons feel as one with his hands.

Sometimes though, it was a battle in itself to just stand silent through orders and ridicules directed at his mixed heritage, Thien didn't see himself as the leader type that hated to take orders and instead wanted to order others but still something in him fought against being ordered around like a mindless thing. Yet in an ironic way he was about the search for something that would give him a more secure ground in the tribe and send him back to such a life. Unwanted thoughts of how the wood elves' society worked snaked their way into his mind as sneaky as fog, his mother had never spoken much of them, pain evident in her eyes when she did speak of her past. Later when she had died and Thien's father had moved them to this southern tribe he had been forced to shut away the lighter part of him to be able to, if not fit in, so at least to survive.

Heaving a sigh Thien tried to push such thoughts away, it didn't do much to linguering on them, instead he pushed back strands of silvery white hair that escaped the short ponytail and concentrated on his surroundings again. The trail had veered north as it went on meaning that Thien got his path corrected to his liking, not having to do it later, although there was no certainty that the animal trail would keep the same directions the drow wanted. Although he would miss the forest, the safety of the green towering trees and the bounty of life in it he would certainly appreciate the better sight and how much quicker he could travel with out hinderance.

His curiosity also awoken as he had never been outside the lagre forest in his life, only heard stories of almost endless expanses of open ground where barely a tree grew, cities built surrounded by crop fields instead of woods. To see the blue skystretch for the horizon without interuption and feel the wind blow wihout having been hindered by the towering trees first.