Midnight (with Rose_Lawlington)

[Zelgie]

It was really late. The village of Celestare had just finished dinner and most people were going to bed. Except for a young man, who had been visiting the village for about a week now. People only knew him by the name of "Z," though people suspected his real name was something else. He was a tall man with black hair and dark brown eyes with tan skin. He was frequently wearing all black and usually wore a friendly or serious expression.


Tonight, as the village became quiet, he crept to the edge of the Dark Forest, just on the outskirts of town. He had heard that some dark elves lived there, and that the people of the village feared them deeply. During his travels, he had encountered many creatures, some far scarier than what a dark elf sounded like. He had heard they were nocturnal and so very likely they would be awake at this time. He put his sword firmly in his sheath and made sure he had his two daggers secured in his jacket, then quietly started walking with only a dim-lit torch.


He walked for awhile, not finding anything except for some small creatures. Around midnight, he sat down in a clearing and rested on a fallen tree.

 

[FragmentedPhosphor]

The forest was quiet when Briar awoke- as quiet as a forest can get, anyways. The summer silence was punctuated every now and again by the hoot of an owl, or a late cricket announcing its presence to the world, and the whisper of a late-night breeze as it danced through the treetops. Briar, of course, was sitting in one of those trees- that was where she had fallen asleep, after all-, watching the forest with her luminous green eyes.


After a minute or two of just staring, the lithe elf noticed a small light in the forest- which was odd. She descended, never once making a sound, and made her way towards the light, which was in a small clearing, thinking as she went.


The villagers never went here- they feared her and her kind too much to enter the forest by night. Maybe it's someone who lost their way... she thought. Maybe it's someone who needs help. She was more than willing to help those in need, even if it was for a price. Of course, it could also be someone sent to kill me.





She grimaced at the thought and, just before entering the clearing, climbed into one of the trees bordering it and looked in upon the source of the light.

 

[Zelgie]

There was a human walking in the dark. His clothes were so dark, he almost looked like a shadow with a bright torch light. He walked quietly and carefully observing things as he went. He tripped over a branch that was laying on the ground and dropped his torch suddenly, causing some leaves to catch on fire.

 

[FragmentedPhosphor]

Briar watched as the human wandered, and bit back a yelp when he tripped and his torch caught the leaves on fire. She muttered "Gvaandi suru", and a gust of wind blew out both the leaves and the torch. Silly humans... She thought. Always tripping over themselves in the dark.

 

[Zelgie]

He didn't see her yet. He picked the torch back up and sighed, then threw it since the fire was gone. He continued to walk in the dark but was having a hard time seeing. After a few minutes, he sat down, and took a break, looking around.

 

[FragmentedPhosphor]

Briar watched from the treetops as the human wandered, this time without his light, then sat down to take a break. She grinned, watching him- Humans are so silly in the dark...- and never once realized her glowing eyes might give away the fact that she was there, if the human ever looked up into the trees.

 

[Zelgie]

After a few minutes passed, he glanced up and could see bright eyes gazing down at him. He stood up. He always fascinated by other people, even other people were fearful. He approached her quietly. "Hello there." His voice was soft, and he wasn't sure she could understand him, but he smiled.

 

[FragmentedPhosphor]

Briar blinked and, realizing the human had spotted her, flashed a small smile his way. He said something, in a language she didn't understand, and she blinked again. "Hejan uruta?" She asked, obviously at ease with him noticing her.

 

[Zelgie]

He sighed and tried to speak elven, but wasn't sure if elves and dark elves spoke the same language. In elven he said, "Hello." He looked at her curiously and not sure what else to do, he offered his hand.

 

[FragmentedPhosphor]

Briar raised an eyebrow at his attempt at a greeting, then started to laugh, the silvery sound of it filling the woods. ""Enja, enja. Sve unduru." She held up one hand, obviously telling him to wait a minute, then muttered something under her breath. "Here. Can you understand me now, human?" She asked, in English, traces of laughter still present in her voice.

 

[Zelgie]

He nodded with a smile. "Yea, a bit easier. My elven is a bit rusty. I don't use it often enough. My name is Xoven. And you are?"

 

[FragmentedPhosphor]

Briar grinned. "I can tell, ser Xoven. I am Briar- what brings you to these woods?"

 

[Zelgie]

"Curiosity I suppose. And I should be leaving soon. I went the other way last time. I need to go to the city on the other side of this forest. I suppose I should wait until morning though." He sighed.

 

[FragmentedPhosphor]

"Mm." She replied. "It is usually safer in the morning... Especially for humans without a light." She paused, then grinned. "In fact, you're quite lucky you wandered into my section of the forest- many of my brethren would have hunted you down and killed you by now. I don't enjoy the taste of human, though. Too stringy." She grimaced, then went on. "But, as you are here now, if you would like a guide to the human city on the other side of the forest, I would be willing to guide you."

 

[Zelgie]

He looked at her, a little surprised. "Alright, sure, that would be fine. For the record, I knew you were there the whole time." He offered his hand. "Why are your people hostile toward humans?"

 

[FragmentedPhosphor]

She looked at his hand, unsure of what to do, and went with just ignoring it in favor of answering his question. "You're prey. We're predators. Simple as that- there's no vendetta involved, if that's what you mean."