Fantasy Poisoned Land - [ Zazz & Phoenix ]

[Zazz]

Haethryl smiled at the boy. "Perhaps you will, when we return." If they returned. There was always a chance.

"They're trouble, all three of them. Thaliniel, my youngest... She's always challenging the older kids." He shook his head, though he was obviously proud of his daughter. "Luindûr is learning the forge. He's a quiet boy. Keeps to himself. And Drego..."

"Drego's a dick," Brandyl stated blankly. Haethryl laughed.

"Well, you're not wrong."

 

[PhoenixMire]

Veyen looked content at the thought of meeting Haethryl’s children. He smiled a little.

Tethran listened, raising a brow when Brandyl chimed in. He looked between the young alchemist and Haethryl with confusion. “I feel like there’s a story there,” he said slowly.

 

[Zazz]

Haethryl chuckled. "He's a little headstrong." Meanwhile, Brandyl grumbled about smooshed seedlings and "accidental" bumps into the bathing pool.

"Do the Virdan have many younglings?"

 

[PhoenixMire]

Tethran looked between Brandyl and Haethryl with a raised brow. The kid sounded… a bit annoying. But who was he to judge?

He pondered the question. What did many younglings look like? He’d never considered if they many or if they had few. He crossed his arms. “Uh… I mean, we have a fair amount. We’ve never really struggled with having too few younglings.”

Veyen, trailing behind Brandyl, frowned slightly. “There are many Virdan my age and younger. …Not that too many of them like talking to me.”

 

[Zazz]

Brandyl finished seeding the row. He sighed, and said to Veyen, "Their loss. I think you're interesting to talk to." Truthfully, he quite enjoyed having someone near his age that knew so much about plants.

Haethryl rested his arm on his shovel, surveying the elves and humans alike. "Many underestimate the blessing of a sharp mind. Near anyone can pick up a blade and draw blood, but... Coaxing life out of the land? That takes a different sort of patience. A different sort of care."

 

[PhoenixMire]

Veyen smiled widely at Brandyl’s words. He was glad to have the young alchemist as a friend. “Thank you, Brandyl.”

Tethran ruffled the young Virdan’s hair. “They’re right, you know. Just ignore the idiots who don’t want to be your friend. They don’t know what they’re missing.”

The young hunter grinned, swatting Tethran’s hand away.

The older Virdan smiled a little, his golden eyes shifting to Brandyl. “The Duindôr don’t… treat you differently?” he found himself asking. The young alchemist seemed quite unlike the other Duindôr Tethran had met, and he wondered if Brandyl was treated similarly to Veyen.

 

[Zazz]

Bran shrugged. "Not really. I mean, sure, I don't really train with the others. But we all have something to contribute to the clan. We can't survive on just fighting and training. It takes a community to feed everyone, to heal the sick, to raise the children, to rebuild... My work is just as important as a smith's." Sure, he was teased sometimes as a kid for having two left feet, but the other elflings were taught early on the importance of working as a team.

 

[PhoenixMire]

Tethran cocked his head a little. It was a valuable lesson, and very true. The Virdan felt much the same - not everyone had to do the exact same things in order to be valued in the clan. He had wondered, because of the Duindôr clan's focus on strength and being a warrior, if Brandyl was treated as lesser. It was good to know the other clan was perhaps not quite so different as he'd initially thought. "It's true. Everyone's talents are important; everyone has something to contribute, in their own unique way. The Virdan don't feel so differently from you, it sounds like, Brandyl."

 

[Zazz]

The sun eventually lowered across the sky, settling into a less overbearing evening warmth. The Duindôrin woman, who had fallen asleep only briefly, pondered life's many questions, the Virdan clanmaid still napping on her chest. What would they find in the Dread Caverns? Creatures, or people? The council had been quick to send her off on this quest... Was it a test? Or did someone hope she wouldn't return, so that she could not lay claim to a spot on the council?

Frankly, she wasn't convinced she wanted to be on the council. She enjoyed her work. Sure, it was a difficult life, but she enjoyed the freedom of the forest, despite its dangers. She took pride in protecting her clan. Perhaps, later, she would see the value in settling down as a councillor, but for now it was more of an empty expectation.

Azaria's gaze left the skies for the sleeping elf, her brow furrowed slightly. What about Sylven? Sure, it had only been a few days. And maybe, by the time their journey was through, the feelings would fade. But what if they did not? She was sure Sylven had very different ideas of a relationship than the Duindôrin, and she knew the Virdan woman was expected to lead her people. Could she leave the Duindôrin? Would her absence leave them vulnerable?

She took a deep breath, chest rising and falling under Sylven's head, and gently stroked the younger elf's shoulder. If only she knew what the future held. Or, at least Sylven's head.

 

[PhoenixMire]

Slowly the Virdan clanmaid was drawn from sleep. She’d had a long and comfortable nap, and found Azaria’s hand gently stroking her shoulder as her emerald eyes fluttered open.

Sylven yawned and shifted position a little, feeling stiff from falling asleep against the Duindôr woman for so long. “My, it seems a lot of time has passed,” she said drowsily, her bleary eyes noticing the deep pinks of an evening sky. “Where are the others?”