Welcome to Gaia! ::

Pausing for a moment to warm her hands, Elle peered across the pale landscape...eyes lifting to the twinkling stars just emerging overhead. The sky was so clear after the snow settled...she rarely had the pleasure of seeing such a sight, since Aki lived upon the shore.

The stars always made her think of Devi, ever since the night they spent in the Villa. Dropping her gaze back to the path, Elle followed the path she'd been told about. She'd borrowed Aki's coat for the journey, but it was a bit small...especially across the chest. The hood helped, though...she tugged it up to frame her pink nosed face.

As the manor came into view, Elle sighed in appreciation. It was gorgeous! She didn't know where to find Devi, or if he would even be home...but she'd leave the satchel of winter herbs and cutlings regardless.

There weren't many lights to guide her way, but Elle could pick out the silhouette of a figure...someone sitting, perhaps, on the back porch? Tilting her head, feeling carefully for any surges of displeasure, Elle called out softly.

"Evening! I don't mean to disturb you, but...may I?" A bit of humor sounded in her voice. At least she was honest! Elle waited to take another step until she was invited.

Elle smiled silently at his retort, warming her hands once again with her staff leaning in the crook of her arm. Blowing warm breath into her cupped fingers, she stepped forward as the gate was unlatched.

Light flooded the yard, and for a moment she was dazzled...blinking against the glare and glancing around at the scene that sprawled before her. It was beautiful, just as the darkness had hinted, but her eyes smarted after her long sunset walk.

Strolling a bit closer, Elle stopped a comfortable distance away...dropping into a bit of a crouch to coax a roaming companion closer with a wiggle of her fingers. Thus lowered, she glanced up at the dark form before her.

"If you were enjoying the stars, please...feel free to leave them off. I'll do my best not to make a mess of things. I'm Elle, an acquaintance of Devmani's." Of course, a name was little more than a label....few appreciated that more than 'Elle'. "I'm an apothecary, brewer, and tale weaver by trade. I've come to leave a pouch, perhaps share a cup of tea and a few moments if they can be spared. If he's not in, and you're enjoying your solitude, I'll give you some peace..."

Her rich voice trailed off, breath curling warm in the air, for she had no name to gift him with. For a moment, staring up at the quiet young man before her, Elle wondered if she'd arrived at the right place. There was something about him, though, that tugged at her. He reminded her of...Asra. No...perhaps...of herself? The tiny seed of doubt was replaced by calm reassurance as Elle pondered. He felt, distantly and gently, of kindred...and that was enough.

Reaching forward, letting the creature have a sniff before she attempted a caress, Elle smiled warmly at the lovely pard. She'd always loved the sound of purring...it was so rich and kind.

Rising as she was shown the way in, Elle soaked in his words...noting the way his soft voice rolled with almost perfect inflection from one word to another. He might not claim to be a weaver of tales, but surely the gift was there if he wished to learn. After all, listening was the most important part of speaking.

"Thank you, Lonan. It's been a bit of a walk, a spot of warmth would do wonders." Entering after him, Elle paused to accept his hand...lifting her eyes to meet his gaze for the first time.

His eyes were beautiful, like the snow across the arch of the lake...pale and pure, surely hinting at some finely wrought secrets. Elle smiled a similar smile, and gave his hand the gentle grip of a companion rather than the limp brush most females usually granted.

"Well met." Her hand shifted slightly as her empathy turned inward. For a moment, Elle tried to draw forth a different point of view, and offered a second introduction. She did not know for sure what type of sight Lonan possessed, but the pale eyes and staff were decent clues. Briefly, her fingertips settled against his in an offering of touch.

"If you haven't seen my face, you are welcome to." It was a genuine offer, spoken as simply as had been her name. It was hardly something to dwell upon...already, her hand had dropped to lean her staff gently against the wall.

Hanging her coat beside his, Elle stepped out of her shoes as well...glad to be barefoot once again. She considered his question before speaking...what had she done? Not wanting to give a false answer, Elle elected to address both possibilities.

"Is my touch unpleasant?" She waited for an inclination either way before continuing. "I'm slightly intuitive, but that isn't something that should manifest. Please, don't let it bother you...I'm not nosy, and secrets are best kept, or willingly shared." More than once, she'd felt a surge of distrust upon revealing that fact...strong emotions she couldn't readily avoid.

"There is something, though...you remind me...well." She trailed off, realizing it was a rather deep conversation to have in the entryway when she'd only just arrived. "Perhaps we've met before, and we simply haven't realized it yet." Her voice held a solemn warmth, and she turned to face him squarely. Her hair drifted slowly into place behind her, pushed by a warm and lazy wind that neither of them felt.

"Offer me your hand, and we can start there, if you'd like? Stories, though, are best told before a fire." Her smile was back, lifting her voice with gentle measure as she raised a hand to await his.

Elle listened to his soft words as she placed her hand over his...guiding him with the barest brush of her fingertips. She did not hurry his touch, instead she closed her eyes and let him explore as he pleased. The line of her jaw, the angle of her cheeks...along the curve of her ear and across her unlined brow.

"Thank you, and I will not push. You're right, though...it's only fear and ignorance that shades gifts as curses." She let his fingertips brush across her lips as she spoke, smiling wholeheartedly at his next words. His touch was there, to feel that smile, as she spoke again.

"Frail! No...though I don't imagine I'm as rugged as they come. Life is about the path we choose, and the footsteps we leave behind...I've always tried to keep that in mind. It's more rewarding to make use of the time we're given, even if it is in silence and introspection." She was reminded of Devi, with those words...and sent a silent greeting to the centaur and Stag. It might not reach them, of course, but it was the thought that warmed her.

As she guided his hand across her crown of leaves, and down the length of her hair, Elle fell silent and let her eyes travel across his dark silhouette. She could see the wariness he spoke of...though it did not seem to be directed towards her, she could see the lines and tension of his frame. Without using her empathy, Elle knew he had been hurt...but how or why was not for her to ask.

"Don't let me offend your sensibilities, Lonan. I've about as much regard for modesty as Devi does." Her words made sense as she let his hand slide down her arm, over the band at her bicep, and toward her waist. Her touch was light, motions casual...she certainly wasn't being forward, but everyone had their own limits. Either he would pulll away, or he would 'see' her sidelong from shoulder to knee. If he wished, he would learn that she was fit, well fed, and meant to bear many fat children.

Once the introduction was complete, Elle gave his hand a gentle squeeze and shook her hair back into place. The keys at her hip jingled softly as her weight shifted to one foot. "I do not know if colors hold weight for you, but my skin is kissed by the sun...a fair bit darker than your complexion. My hair is the color of polished wood, and my usual attire ranges from golds to greens. These things change, though, for all of us...which perhaps is a shame."

Her voice took a bit of play as she tilted her head, looking him over with kind eyes. "You are such a lovely mix of pure lights and rich darks. It would be hard to imagine you any other way."

Stepping to the side, Elle made room for him to pass...knowing he could tell by her motion and rustle that she was willing to head to the fire. It occured to her that perhaps he had never seen himself...but she wouldn't delve unless asked. Perhaps he was comfortable, or perhaps he already knew.

"Deafening." She wasn't questioning, merely trying the idea on for size. She knew the silence he spoke of, but she'd always imagined it as an infinite ringing....a perfect note, breathlessly held. Nodding slowly as she absorbed the point of view, Elle decided to give it a listen next time she was alone.

Settling down beside him, Elle relaxed almost instantly in the warmth of the fire. She stretched her hands towards it, fingers arching back as she let her palms drink in the heat. Glancing at Lonan sidelong as she recalled his words of his brother, she nodded a bit at his judgement.

"I know the respect you speak of, and it's refreshing, to be honest. People are always asking, never offering...always talking, never listening. A soul like his, and like yours, is a rare and appreciated thing."

She watched in silence for a moment as he stoked the fire...leaning back as the warmth spread through the room. Pointing her toes to the blaze as she stretched out her legs, Elle shook her hair back out of her face once again and considered his quiet offer.

"Thank you, Lonan. I've felt your hands and seen your face, someday I will have a picture that is more complete." Somethings were hidden, no matter how gentle the touch. "But there is one thing I would like to see, though I fear I'm not gentle enough to touch. Your wings...are beautiful. They suit you well. Unless it is disrespectful or impossible to ask...may I see them, open and ready? It's a sensitive thing, I understand, to inquire about one's heritage...but you are unlike anyone I've ever met."

Raising a brow, she continued with a hint of intrigue and confusing. "Yet, you are as familiar in some ways as my own reflection. A glance, and a question, is all I ask. Do you have a story to share, or a name? Devi is of the Fa'e, he tells me, and a legend spans both behind and before him."

Settling onto her knees a bit more comfortably, Elle leaned forward...interested, but still well outside of Lonan's personal space. "If it is a painful thing, to stretch or tell, we can drift to other things."

Leaning back a bit, watching quietly as his wings unfolded, Elle could only shake her head. "They are...unlike anything I have ever seen! I'm amazed I can't see stars, hidden between the feathers." There was something in his tone, sadness or confusion...she lifted her gaze to his face and settled back once more.

"Thank you, for showing me. Aren't they...important to you, Lonan?" Her eyes dropped to his lean frame, pale scars upon pale skin. "You do not seem to hold the pride I would expect from another." In Elle's mind, pride was not a sin...it was something earned, and something shared. She was proud of her ability to help, to heal, and to communicate...but it granted no sense of ego.

"Ah, there I go...pushing and peppering with questions I have no right to ask. I am glad I do not...worry you, as you say...and I will trust you with my true self as well."

The warmth of the fire had soaked into her, and the surreal events of the evening sent her mind down many paths. Her voice lowered as she spoke carefully, picking her words with utmost care.

"Whether we have known each other for a very short time, or a very long time...I'm glad to have met you. I hope our paths stay close, Lonan...I will guard yours as though it were my own." Her hand sought his gently, bracelets chiming to give him warning of her slow reach. When she found his fingers, Elle clasped them lightly as though sealing her words to bond...and let her intuition relax into his once again. She did not push, nor did she probe...that simple feeling of kindred was enough.