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The boy infuriated Leon, and he wasn't shocked by his scars. Leon himself had had his share, and his body was covered under his fur. He held back as the rest of the group went on until he was out of earshot. As soon as that happened, he punched the ground with his anger. He didn't want to use his strength, but he did want to stop his rage from escaping. As he withdrew his hand, there was a very small crater with the imprint of a hand in it.

He calmed down after that, catching up with the rest of the group, not noticing that his hand was bleeding. He caught up with the group as they entered a town. He sighed as he caught a few disgusted looks pointed directly at him more than the rest of the group. "Just another town. I wonder how they'll kick me out of this one." he mumbled to himself as he looked down, noting his bleeding hand. He grabbed some white cloth in his bag and wrapped his hand in it to prevent it from getting anywhere. As he entered the house, he wound up squeezing through the hall sideways, being built much wider than male elves. The inside of the house, for all it's comfort, seemed... cramped... to him. It wasn't open like the forests where he used to live.

He sighed as Silver and Seraphis went upstairs together, and Blade and Doina had a bath. He got out of the way in the living room, the snow melting off of him. He kept his eye on the boy to make sure that he didn't steal anything. This was the wrong day to mess with him, because if the kid tested Leon too much, Leon was liable to not know when to stop. He sighed, controlling his rage again. He needed a drink, and badly. He looked out the window to see the joyous occasion being prepared. It reminded him of his clan's old festivals, though there was no such thing as money between Ibixians, and there were no buildings. Most people thought of this as savage, but it seemed natural to Leon to only take what you need ad give whatever you can. He was un-clipping the jug from his belt when another woman entered, seemingly pregnant. She seemed like a nice enough woman, and hoped that he wouldn't scare her, though if the village had been visited by wind spawn, then it was likely that he couldn't, not that he was complaining.

He then saw Silver run out of the house. "Seraphis, what did you do..." he mumbled to himself and shook his head. He then looked up at the woman, Rose. "Good day ma'am. Is there anything I can help with? It would do my heart good to prove to more people that Ibixians weren't evil things." he said kindly, bowing to the woman. He figured that this was the Guard's wife and he could see why the guard chose to marry her.

The trip was a boring one. Grenth just walked, and walked, and… walked. Blade was the only person he knew, and all of the others were too absorbed in their own conversations for him to really start one of his own. So he stayed out of the way. On the plus side, he’d picked up a crap load of the elf language on the way, which meant that it was just a little bit harder for them to completely exclude him from random conversations.

The cold was nice, though. Cold weather was his favorite kind, actually, so long as he wasn’t dying in it. And Blade had given him a particularly warm replacement cloak that had done a very good job of shielding him from the worst of the cold. The trip was largely uneventful, the only notable things being that Silver’s leg gave out, the goat-man and the kid that Grenth still didn’t trust had an argument, and it turned out that Silver knew the elven folk on the way to where they were going. Had she mentioned that earlier? He had yet to speak with the woman. A conversation took place between the elf and what must have been an old friend, but Grenth’s attention was elsewhere.

Finally, the goat-man (Grenth made a mental note to learn his name), eventually went over to request shelter and possible supplies. Grenth would have done it, but the last time he’d headed this way the elves he’d met had not reacted kindly to his presence. Of course, those elves could very well have been from a different village, or even bandits. Elves, though, were capable of remember a long way back, and he did not want to draw attention to himself should any memories of that particular day remain amongst this elf or any elves they might meet.

And then Blade mentioned booze, and his spirits soared way up! That was exactly what you needed out in a place like this. Beer made the sun a little brighter, the food a little better, and the woman a little more attractive! Or, in his case, beer was a magical elixir of forgetting that wiped away the unpleasant thoughts that sometimes haunted him when he was alone. Remember, kids, you don’t dream when you black out! Blade also asked about the spawn, but that wasn’t answered. Silver led them to her house, which turned out to be a very nice place. Very, very nice.

SWEET GOD YOUR HOUSE IS AWESOME kind of nice. Though, this came from a professional spawn hunter that hadn’t had a home since he was a child, so he was wowed even by some of the nicer forest shacks he’d seen.

Everyone kind of settled in, and Blade and Doina even took a bath together. Grenth definitely could have said something about that, but he was still haunted by memories of what Blade had done to him last time he’d seen her in the bath. But, he decided, a bath did sound nice, and he was pretty sure he had the energy to teleport long-range today. Grenth started to run while still in this house, and, just before colliding with a wall, disappeared. He arrived at a lake in a much warmer part of the country. The lake itself, he figured, was probably warm because it received a whole lot of sun. He stripped off his clothes and jumped in the water. This was how he took most of his baths. Free of charge and completely secluded. He spent about fifteen minute in the lake before climbing out, putting on his pants, and teleporting again. He had built largely weatherproof storage buildings all over the country, and he went to his nearest one for a fresh change of clothes. Grenth then stopped off at a nearby village to pick up a loaf of sweet bread before he teleported back to Silver’s house.

“Now that I don’t smell like a farm animal, maybe I can get to know some of our new group members,” He said to himself as he jumped into the house, chewing on one end of his loaf of bread.

"Uh huh... What did you do, declare your undying love to her or something?" Rose asked, her hands on her hips. "Only one thing makes Silver flee like that, and that's love. Of course, that's Red's fault, more than anything else." Almost as if sensing Seraphis's confusion, she said firmly, "Come with me into the kitchen and I'll tell you about Silver growing up. Maybe that will help you understand her." Turning towards the Ibixian, she said kindly, "You are welcome to come help as well... Rob will be upset if he catches me doing anything resembling work." She looked back to Seraphis and said in warning, "She needs to deal with the demons in her past. I sent her to her mother's grave, I hope, so maybe she'll be alright here in a bit. We'll hear her, most likely. You'll see her again at the celebration, seeing as I'm kidnapping her and making her look like a lady for a change." Walking into the kitchen she unpacked the basket and the canvas bag of the food in them, seperating them into two seperate piles. One was smoked sausages and a slab of bacon, fresh loaves of bread, and a hard roll of cheese, the other a dozen fresh eggs, a couple of bottles of milk, and a ball of butter.

Sitting down with a sigh, Rose said, "The meat, bread, and cheese go in the pantry," she pointed to a slanted door, which would open to reveal a nice sized pantry, with shelves holding preserves and dried items, a box for bread, and drawers filled with flour, sugar, spices, and other such goods, "And the dairy and eggs go down into the cellar." Now she gestured to a handle on the floor, the cover blending in with the floor. A ladder was hidden under it, which led to the cool, underground celler that had shelves for such items. She dug into the basket one last time and pulled out an embroidary hoop, working on an image of two birds weaving ribbons together to form an egg shape to keep her hands busy.

(Warning, I can't write poetry worth a flip. So I'm using a Kelly Clarkson song, modified to suit my purposes)

Making her way down the path, Silver tried to ignore the pain of her leg. It was hurting worse than ever lately, pulsing in pain even when she wasn’t walking. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could handle this constant journeying. Sitting down on one of the seats the guardsmen made for her when she was out this way, she began to hum under her breath. She hadn't sung in ages, but her mind was in such chaos right now... Maybe music would help... With a sigh, she opened her mouth, and began to sing,

“I will not make the same mistakes that you did.
I will not let myself cause my heart so much misery.
I will not break the way you did, you fell so hard.
I’ve learned the hard way to never let it get that far.” Silver clenched her eyes shut, remembering how her mother wasted away like she did. Red had never been the same once the letters stopped. Her heart truly had belonged to Silver's father, and he had tossed it away.

“Because of you, I never strayed too far from the path.
Because of you, I learned to play on the safe side so I won’t get hurt.
Because of you, I find it hard to trust not only me but everyone around me.
Because of you, I am…” her voice hesitating, she finally admitted, “afraid. Because of you…”

Standing up on shaking legs, she made her way back down the path to her mother’s gravestone, continuing to sing.

“I lost my way, and it wasn’t long before you pointed it out.
I cannot cry, because I know that was weakness in your eyes.
I’m forced to fake a smile, a laugh, every day of my life.
My heart can’t possible break when it wasn’t even whole to start with…” Her mind turned to Seraphis, than flinched away to avoid that pain. She repeated the chorus as she came to stand in front of the grave, kneeling down to spare her leg, and then continued on.

“I watched you die.
I heard you cry every night in your sleep.
I was so young.
You should have known better than to lean on me.
You never thought of anyone else, you just saw your pain.
And now I cry in the middle of the night, over the same damn thing!” Silver didn’t even notice the tears that had started to fall as her anger at her mother, both for leaving her while still alive and then in death, came out.

“Because of you, I never stray too far from the path.
Because of you, I learned to play on the safe side so I won’t get hurt.
Because of you, I try my hardest just to forget everything.
Because of you, I don’t know how to let anyone else in.” Silver remembered her unconscious efforts to push everyone in the group away, especially the other half-elf, and it made her tears fall harder.

“Because of you, I’m ashamed of my life, because it’s so empty.
Because of you, I am…afraid…
Because of you…. because of you…” Finally, with a heart-wrenching sob, Silver buried her face in her hands, trying to come to terms with her feelings of loss, love, and pain.

The needle was currently threaded with pale, icy pink to highlight the dove’s white body as Rose worked. “Silver will be excited to become a godmother… At least, I hope so,” Rose said with a laugh, resting her hand where her child was growing. “She…” The Dove’s voice trailed off as her elven ears picked up the sorrowful, second soprano voice that she hadn’t heard since the owner was physically a child.

“My heart can’t possibly break when it wasn’t even whole to start with...”

“Oh, Silver…” the older elf said softly. “It’s about time you faced your fears…” Looking around at those around her, she asked, “Has Silver ever told you why she left?

“Growing up, Silver was a happy child. Always laughing and singing… She even sat through the lessons all the girls were submitted to about proper housekeeping without so much as a grimace. But, then her mother sank into her coma, and Silver was forced to live with Blue Falcon and his family, not a pleasant experience considering that Lady Silver Dove and her husband didn’t get along. A couple of years passed, and we all noticed something quite startling. Silver hadn’t grown an inch, nor had she matured at all physically. Despite being almost a teenager, she still looked like a little girl.

“I don’t think you understand how disconcerting it was… You would look into the face of a ten year old, and that’s on a good day, and the eyes of a young woman who knew that her body was too young for her would look back. It upset most people, even Rob and I though we hid it. Then it came time for her starnight. I was so sure she needed the acknowledgement of her true age… That was the spark that set her off. She visited her mother one last time, though only they know what she said to her, and then fled in the dark.”

Seraphis listened to Rose in silence, grateful for the chance to gain some insight about Silver's past. His ears twitched slightly as they picked up the sound of one of the most melodious voices he had ever heard. Just the sound of her voice made his heart skip a couple beats. Burenna was also a singer. Seraphis had always been a sucker for a beautiful voice. But was that Silver? Rose's next statement confirmed his suspicions. He continued to focus his attention on Rose as she continued to reveal more about Silver. When she finished, Seraphis gave a slight nod.

"That certainly explains a lot," Seraphis said, digesting the information. He wanted to follow Silver's voice out to the grave. He wanted to do something to reassure her. However, in the end, he decided against it. After a scene like that, she needed time to sort out her own feelings. He looked up at Rose, making eye contact.

"Thank you for telling me this," Seraphis said softly, "Make sure she's ok for me. The last time something like this happened, she didn't speak to me for a very long time." He paused and then added in a softer tone, "I do worry about her..."

So, save the dress for a surprise for whatever was happening tomorrow? Sounded like an idea! Blade grinned before pulling out some clothes and kicking in her dirty ones. Yeah, she'd clean those later. As Doina walked out Blade quickly put her clothes on, not even bothering to brush her hair. It was so short that she didn't really feel that it mattered. She had a cloak tossed over her shoulder, going off a ways and running passed a fire place. Then, she slowed down and stepped back, looking down at the kid who'd fallen asleep on the couch. She made a silent sigh and shook her head, pulling off the cloak she had over a shoulder. She laid it over him, pausing to look at his face. He was young, damn right. Sadly, he only looked a few years younger than she did, reminding her of how young she actually was. '' Blade thought to herself before she straitened her back and walked back out of the room.

She stopped just in time to hear the end of Doina's question, tilting her head at Grenth's response. What was this all about? The birds, eh? That reference couldn't be anything aside from Silver and Seraphis. Maybe she could get Leon to tell her later, as he seemed to have ears just about everywhere.

"Shopping? Of course! What kind of a girl doesn't like shopping?" Blade stated rather loudly to announce her presence, walking over to the pair. She slid herself between them, wrapping an arm around Doina's shoulders and sticking her tongue out at Grenth. "Away with you! I know your games, pretty boy, and you're not going to get this one. Nyaah! I'm protecting Doina's innocence from your pants." Blade scrunched her nose at him before looking over towards wherever the cause of drama was before shaking her head. '' Normally Blade wouldn't be so hot about the subject, but she had seen problems like this cause perfectly innocent people die because of it. Hopefully whatever was wrong would be fixed before they ran into any spawn.

"Are you ready?" Blade asked, turning her head to look over at Doina. "There's no point in trying to figure out what's happening. Maybe we'll learn later. For now, let's go find you something warm to eat and, more importantly, something sparkly."

Leon sighed and nodded respectfully as he was told the history of Silver along with Seraphis. It was an interesting story, to be sure, but it seemed a little extreme, of course, he should be one to talk, becoming a drunk because of his father's death. He looked at the piles and shook his head discretely because of the presence of meat. Of course, the dairy did look quite appealing to him. But that would probably have to wait. He grabbed the dairy pile and opened the trap door with his hoof. Carefully climbing down the stairs, he looked at Seraphis. "Don't take this one too fast, you're too eager. Take your time, she'll appreciate it more, though I guess you already know that, but what do I know of love..." he said, his voice trailing off as he went down into the cellar to put the dairy items away.

He looked at the rest of the items and put them where they seemed to make sense. This he could deal with better, the nice natural earth surrounding him. He took out his jug after putting the items away and took another swig. His stock was definitely depleting and he would have to mix another batch soon. He decided to go back upstairs. "Can you get the meat Seraphis? I try to avoid the stuff myself." he said kindly as he went into the other room with Blade, Doina, and the teleporter that he didn't know much about. "Pitty about the shops being closed. All I have in the way of clothes is this kilt, and I could use something a little more, um... I don't even know, what do you people wear to such occasions anyway?" he said, blushing slightly at his lack of knowledge at standard social graces. His people were used to being naked all the time (the fur covers anything), so him wearing a kilt was polite to an extreme for him. "And I don't think I've met you yet, sir teleporter. My name's Leon."

Leon smiled at Doina for her comforting words, but smiled and laughed a bit. "Well, truth be told, for an Ibixian, I'm wearing a lot. A belt, a kilt, both are rare to see anyone wearing, or at least in my clan and all the ones we've encountered." he said, blushing, not that anyone could see it under all of his fur. "I wonder if there's a waterfall near by..." he wondered quietly. He shook his quickly. "Sorry, just trying to plan out how to clean the boy. I was thinking tossing him under a waterfall, but killing him would be slightly more troublesome and less satisfying than just denying him any fun." he said smiling. He looked back in his bag to make sure that he still had the few accessories that he owned, figuring that he would wear them to the celebration as soon as he was clean. "So, what now?" he asked wondering what would be done next now that the shops were closed.