Welcome to Gaia! ::

"And probably after we return home," Elnara nodded, wondering it it would be safe for her to lean against him. She decided to try, and put her shoulder against his ar, then leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Listen," she murmured softly, gazing out into the night. The only sounds were of crickets and night birds, but besides that there was only utter silence.

Elnara smiled warmly and closed her eyes, slipping her hand into his and giving it a light squeeze.

"That," she whispered softly, "is the sound of no one caring that we're different. Of freedom."

She could understand why her mother chose to stay out in the wild more often than seeking out elven companionship. Even with Ulani and Ulrich, there were reminders of what might have been ... what should have been.

She opened her eyes and pointed up at the stars, where the constellations were glowing brightly in the moonless night.

"Do you see that group of stars right there," she murmured, "that look like an hourglass, almost? But with brighter stars in the center? And the whitish area behind it?"

"That's the Maiar, Soronúmë," Elnara smiled, lowering her arm again. "My grandmother was named after her."

It felt strange, but wonderful at the same time, to be looking up at the familiar constellations once again.

"Me?" Elnara blinked, taken by surprise. She blushed, and was grateful that the darkness hid the redness that sprinkled her cheeks. At least, she hoped it did. With elvish eyes, one never knew.

"I ... think I was named for someone my grandparents knew in their old land, back when my mother was little," she replied hesitantly. "Or ..."

She knew where her name had come from, she knew she knew it ... but for some reason, she couldn't put her finger on it. She bit her lower lip thoughtfully, trying to remember ...

"Yes," she nodded finally. "The last person from their old land that they knew ... the last one that was killed."

Hmm. Was that considered a good thing or a bad thing, to be named after the last person of a people to die?

"My mother and grandparents are the last of their people," Elnara murmured softly, still gazing up at the star-filled sky. "Demons - not the type like Gaia has, but true demons from the depths of Udûn who are truly mindless killers - completely destroyed the entire land. Not just killing the elves, but ... the land itself stopped producing, the plants died ..."

She rubbed her thumb absently over the area of her arm where her identifying tattoo was hidden. "They fled here with another family, but they were the only ones to survive ... one demon came across the ocean with them. A shapeshifter. Mother killed it, but in doing so she gained its ability ... and through her, so did I."

She grew quiet, and lowered her eyes to the ground. "That's why people say we are demons, why they're so scared of us. They think we're the same kind of mindless killers ..."

For a long time, Elnara didn't answer. Her mind went back to that fateful day, all those years ago, to the terror, the rage, and the humiliation that had filled her body, coursed through her veins, and made her lose all semblance of control she had believed she'd had.

"There are," she said quietly, finally, bringing her knees up to her chest and hugging them close, slipping her hand out of Lore's and taking her head from his shoulder, resting it instead on top of her knees.

And not only dead, but devoured.

Elnara blinked, surprised by his final words. Had she heard correctly? She must have, her elven ears had never let her down ... but did it mean what she thought it meant?

... perhaps. But then, Kara and Donovan lived together and weren't married, though it was an unheard of concept here. Perhaps it was just her cultural upbringing that was leading her to jump to conclusions ...

She looked up at Lore, her eyes searching his own, searching for the the meaning behind his words.

Elnara's eyes grew even wider as the meaning of what he was saying sank in, and her heart started racing in her chest. Yes ...

"I've never known you to be too forward, Lore," she murmured, smiling widely up at him. Her green eyes sparkled, reflecting the stars in the sky, and she leaned into his embrace, returning her head to his shoulder.

"I also care for you," she told him seriously, smiling. "I also love you ... and I love to be with you. And someday, if life permits, I would be the happiest woman in either world if I could live with you for the rest of my immortal life."

She reached up with her face and kissed him on his cheek, right on the corner of his mouth, just below the tattoo that she no longer noticed.