Welcome to Gaia! ::

Haldia nodded. "A few. It was kept from me for a long time, but when I found out, I told them what I thought of it. Still ... I have heard of it again since."

She winced as Celeb was thrown to the ground and let out a cry. That had looked quite painful ...

The elf he had been wrestling took a step back, grinning down at Celeb. It was Cald, the one who had surprised them the evening before. Apparently the match was over, and it seemed he had won.

Slowly, Celeb twisted his body and tried to sit up, and the movement nudged a small box out of his pocket and onto the ground. Intrigued, Cald knelt down and picked it up to see what it was.

"Hey," Celeb said softly, his dark eyes glinting in the light of the spirits as he rose slowly to his feet, every movement showing how much pain he was in. "That's mine."

He held out his hand to take it back, but Cald danced back a step, holding it up. "What is it?" he grinned. "Come on, I'm sure you can share, whatever it is."

Earendil put one hand on Miyuki's back protectively. Just in case things got out of hand. But in a way, he was proud of her for speaking up, even if he wasn't sure if it was a good thing at the moment.

Haldia stepped forward, and the clearing fell silent as the men watched her. "Cald," she said, her tone angry but soft, "return it to him. It does not belong to you."

Celeb took a step closer to Cald, his hand still outstretched, waiting for the box to be returned.

"Doesn't belong to me," Cald repeated in an amused tone of voice. "No, of course it doesn't. Because here, nothing belongs to anyone - everything is free for anyone to use or look at." He paused. "Well, that's how it used to be, anyways," he added. He looked at the box in his hand. "Now, I know some things have changed since you've come back to us, Haldia, but I think it's about time we went back to what we've always been, don't you?"

Celeb reached for the box, but Cald held it high above his head. He was quite a bit taller than Celeb - being a Night Elf, and fully grown - and Celeb didn't have a hope of reaching it.

"Cald," Haldia said, her voice cold now, filled with anger, "return it to him. It belongs to him."

Earendil began to rub Miyuki's back slowly, trying to keep her calm. He could feel her growing tense, and he didn't want her to end up being a part of this, not more than she already was.

"And why not?" Cald chuckled, clearly amused. "Welcome to Nauros, kid! Lesson one of being one of us - share and share alike."

He looked up at the box in his hand, and with one thumb flipped the top open. It was a poor angle to see anything at all, but in the light being given off by the spirits, something shiny was reflecting the light back at them.

"Cald!" Haldia shouted at him, furious now.

But Celeb had had enough. Ignoring the fact that the much taller and stronger elf had just beaten him in a wrestling match, he stepped forward and punched him in the gut, putting all of his strength and his weight into it.

It worked. Cald dropped like a rock, gasping for air and holding his stomach. He dropped the box, but before Celeb could scoop it up, whatever was in it fell out and vanished into the undergrowth.

"You can say that again," Earendil murmured. He looked down at Miyuki. "He may have to wait until it's light to find it," he said sadly, reaching for Lin's hand to try to calm her. "Or perhaps if Cald leaves, you can use your flower to help him, if you still have it."

Celeb clenched his teeth to keep from swearing as he picked up the box and put it back in his pocket. He had worked so hard to get that for Haldia ... if he didn't find it back, he didn't know what he would do.

He knelt on the ground and started to search for it, using his hands more than his eyes because of the darkness and the vegetation. It didn't take Cald long to recover, though, and soon enough he was standing over Celeb once more. His expression was furious, and without a word he kicked Celeb in the back, sending him sprawling on the ground.

"Cald!" Haldia shouted again, running forward. "Stop it! Stop this right now!"

The clearing grew darker as one by one, the other men's spirits vanished and the men slipped away. Kelirahc's eyes flashed with anger, and he ran forward to help Haldia stop Cald before anything major happened.

Earendil knelt and hugged both Miyuki and Lin to him, one in each arm, as if trying to protect them from what was going on. To be fair, if they hadn't been there with him, he would have been running forward to save Celeb, too.

"It's probably hiding under some plants," he murmured softly to Miyuki, trying to keep her distracted.

By the time either Haldia or Kelirahc could get to the other two, Cald had gotten a few more solid kicks in, and with Celeb lying on the ground, he really had no way to protect himself from it. Kelirahc summoned his dragon, which appeared between Cald and Celeb.

"You have gone too far, Cald," he told the man as the dragon glared down at him menacingly. "You should have listened to Haldia the first time."

Haldia knelt at Celeb's side, her eyes anxious. She helped him to sit up.

"Are you all right?" they both asked each other at the same time.

Haldia bit her lip. Celeb's cheek was bleeding, and one eye was swollen shut. "No, you are not all right," she murmured. "Come, we must get you to your mother, she can take care of you." She looked around for Kelirahc. "Kelirahc..."

"Go," he replied as his dragon cornered Cald, keeping him trapped where he was. "I will wait here."

Haldia nodded and summoned her roc. "Earendil, Lin," she called out to them as she helped Celeb up on Rhiel's back. "Please, can you go to the village and fetch Alaundil? I will return when Celeb has been taken care of."

Earendil nodded. "Of course." He turned to Lin and Miyuki. "Come on, we have to be quick now." He took their hands and tugged them in the direction of the village.

As they headed towards the village, the flapping of wings above them told Earendil that Haldia and Celeb were on their way to getting Celeb the medical attention he needed. He set his jaw and pushed forward. He wasn't entirely certain what he was supposed to tell Alaundil, but he would get her as soon as he could.

Leyenda was waiting for them at the edge of the village. "Earendil, what-"

Without letting her finish her question, Earendil nudged Miyuki in Leyenda's direction. "Take care of her," he told her. "We'll be back soon."

Still holding Lin's hand, he hurried in the direction of the elders' huts.

Leyenda and Amalirahc looked at Miyuki, and there was worry in Leyenda's eyes. "Is Kelirahc all right?" she asked anxiously. "Haldia?"

Not that it was Miyuki's fault, Leyenda was the one who had first used the Common Tongue.

"His gift for Haldia," she murmured, realizing what it must have been.

Amalirahc looked up at his mother, then back at Miyuki. "So where is Ada now?" he asked nervously. "Did he get hurt too?"