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"That's true," Leyenda smiled, still holding her brother as Kelirahc smiled at him and held his hand out to him. He wasn't going to force the issue, but he was trying to encourage the boy to take his hand, to show him that he wasn't dangerous. He had never had anyone afraid of him before, and it was a bit of an odd feeling ... he wanted Celeb to be comfortable around him.

Leyenda looked down at Celeb and murmured softly to Lin, "He's never had the concept of different races explained to him ... he's never seen a Light Elf. I suppose that to him, Kelirahc might as well not be elven at all."

Celeb's eyes grew wide as he overheard his sister's comment, and he looked up at her, terrified anew. "He isn't?" he gasped.

Celeb looked back at Kelirahc, and he was silent for a while, staring at him thoughtfully. He looked conflicted - on the one hand, wanting to trust him, now that he knew he at least didn't feel any different, and on the other hand, more doubtful than ever after his sister's comment.

There was only one way to resolve the issue, he decided.

He had to ask.

"Are you an elf?" he asked Kelirahc flat out.

Kelirahc blinked at Celeb, then pointed at himself. "Elf?" he repeated, tilting his head curiously.

Celeb frowned and nodded. "Yes, you. Are you an elf?"

Kelirahc smiled hesitantly. "Yes," he said, using one of the few words of the Common Tongue that he knew. He pointed at himself and repeated it again. "Kelirahc ... elf."

Celeb frowned at Lin. "He doesn't look like one," he said flatly. "He's all black and ... and he looks dirty!"

Leyenda laughed. "Come on, how often don't you get dirty?" she asked him with a grin. She tickled his side, making him squeal. "You could use a bath right now," she grinned.

He tried to slap her hand away, squirming and squealing. "Stop!" he laughed. "Don't tickle me!"

Leyenda grinned at Lin. "It's almost entirely Dark Elves in the Southland," she reminded her. "To be honest, I've never seen a Light Elf either. Still, I know about them, and I don't think I would be too shocked by it."

One would hope not, after suddenly finding herself married to a Night Elf.

Kelirahc was watching the three of them curiously, and he reached out tentatively and traced one finger lightly along the bottom of Celeb's exposed foot. The boy squealed loudly and kicked involuntarily, and Kelirahc let out a yelp and fell backwards.

"Kelirahc!" Leyenda exclaimed, setting Celeb in the sand and moving to her husband's side. "Are you all right?"

Celeb sat up and braced himself with his hands, and began to rub his feet against the sand. "He tickled me!" he protested. "That wasn't fair!"

Kelirahc was holding his hand, and after examining it briefly, Leyenda turned to Celeb and smiled faintly. "You just surprised him, is all," she murmured. "Thankfully."

Celeb pouted. "But he tickled me!"

He scrambled to his feet and pounced on the dark male, his fingers reaching for his sides so that he could tickle him back.

Leyenda watched, amused, as Kelirahc laughed and squirmed beneath Celeb - though it seemed a bit obvious to her that he was faking it, at least a bit, seemingly in order to make the boy feel better.

"Looks like," she murmured, her eyes shining softly. "It looks like they may end up being fast friends, after all."

She was proud of Kelirahc. Despite the language barrier, he had managed to get her usually shy brother to interact with him willingly. He had that charm about him ...

Leyenda giggled. "Indeed."

"Breakfast is ready," Arwen called suddenly. "Leyenda, bring Celeb here please."

"Yes, Mother," Leyenda smiled in reply; and she looked over at Lin. "Give me a hand?" she asked sheepishly, moving towards Kelirahc and Celeb. "This might be a bit tricky ..."

Indeed, it seemed as though Celeb was getting the upper hand - but it wasn't entirely fair, as Kelirahc did after all have a broken arm.

"Uhmm ...."

To be honest, Leyenda wasn't exactly sure. "You try grab Celeb, just pick him right up ... and ... I'll try to get Kelirahc ..."

She watched the two as they rollicked about. "On three ... one ... two ... three!" And she darted forward and pinned Kelirahc's shoulders to the ground so that he couldn't move around easily anymore.