Calwyn panted hard as he kept hurrying through the forest as fast as his short and increasingly tired legs could take him. With each step, hope faded and fear rose a little more. He had not seen anyone or come back to the road or seen any sign of being rescued in...what had it been, an hour since he ran off? Elves may have had a reputation for being at home in the forest and most of the time that reputation was well-deserved, but an eight-year-old elf boy was as afraid of getting lost as any other child. As he stopped and leaned against a tree to catch his breath, he took the time to look around and think. He hoped he could remember some detail he missed, some realization that would lead him the right way, but all he could think about was the question of how this trip had gone so wrong. He, his aunt Silvia, and a few of their town's orchard tenders and forest wardens were just taking a pair of carts of her town's leftovers from the maple sugar and apple harvest to the north end of the forest, to sell or trade with the other elves in the town of Greenroad. Everything had been going well until a little while ago, when a shrieking bellow warned them they were not alone. Barreling through the trees came the brown and white-feathered bulk of an owlbear, and with that, the fight was on. Calwyn hid behind the cart while the adults battled the menace, the wardens keeping it occupied up close while everyone else kept his or her distance with bows. They had the fight well in hand, until there was a second battle cry from another owlbear...coming from the other direction, with nothing between it and Calwyn. One of the wardens rushed to hold the beast off, yelling at Calwyn to run. At first he was too frozen with fear, but when Silvia promised him they would find him and repeated the command, he did just that, hoping that his bad luck would end with the ambush. "What're owlbears doing here, anyway...they said...they'd be gone by now," he panted, wiping his forehead. So far, he had been lucky enough that there were only the two owlbears, with no other animals to worry about. Now that he had some time to rest and get his thoughts together, he perked up at seeing how one of the low branches on a nearby young tree looked freshly broken. He remembered that branch getting caught on his tunic as he ran past a while ago. But was he running in circles, or was he actually going back the way he had come? Either way, it was something. Looking to one side, he smiled a little. Maybe if he went that way, he could get to the road before it got too dark, and besides, the sky was looking- Crack-BOOOM! A fresh spike of fear hit him as a thunderbolt rumbled overhead, and as if in response to that fear, a drizzle of rain started only a few seconds later. Now Calwyn was really getting worried, and after gulping down a couple of deep breaths, he went back on his way. It was not long before the drizzle became a downpour, making it even harder to see through the already-dimmed forest. The combination of fatigue and panic was starting to get to him, and being soaked in the cool rain was not helping things either. It was all so overwhelming, he wished he could just find somewhere he could curl up and hide until it was over. His steps turned into stumbles, and try as he might, it was getting harder to keep his eyelids open. Looking around, he tried to find anywhere he could hide. A hollow log, a thick patch of bushes, a...wait, what was that? He squinted to make it out through the rain, but at the edge of his vision he could see something walking around. Something that looked like a...person? Someone coming his way, even. But was it friendly or- "Waah!" he cried as he slipped on a patch of mud thanks to not watching where he was going. He tumbled and fell right into the muck, and then let out a louder cry as his head hit the ground. He only hit the soft mud, but it was still a bad enough thump that his already-dizzy senses started going dark. He stayed down as he heard the stranger approach him. He mumbled a plea for help as he felt himself be lifted up, and the stranger held him against its chest. He could barely feel and make out the sight of a thick fur coat, fur from what animal he had no idea, but it was the first bit of comfort he had in too long. It was no use fighting anyway; he was at the stranger's mercy now. Everything was crashing down on him, and he just wanted to close his eyes and shut it out and hope he could open them later. As he felt the stranger's footsteps carrying him away, he gave up and buried his face in the fur coat as darkness overtook him. ----- The next thing Calwyn knew, he was waking up to a headache. He raised one hand to rub his sore head, groaning softly. The only other things he could feel were that he was lying on his side on something soft, and he was covered in something similarly soft, something that felt like a fur blanket. He opened his eyes to see nothing but stone, orange light flickering off it...from the sound of things, there was a fire nearby, and the thick smell of smoke confirmed it. Looking down, he saw that he was indeed lying on a bedroll with a blanket of stitched-together furs from several animals covering him. He was still muddy and damp, but at least he was warmer and drier than he had been however long ago. Now the question was, where was he? Still feeling a little dizzy, not to mention his head pounding, he sat up to look around. As he thought, he was in a cave, probably in one of the nearby mountains...had he really wandered that far off the road, or had he been carried there? Speaking of carried, where was the stranger who saved him? He got his answer when he heard a gravelly voice say from behind him, [i]"Good, you're ?????."[/i] Calwyn could not make out everything the voice said. He was still getting the hang of the Common tongue, only knowing the most basic words. He was still too out of it to think of how to reply in Common, so he said back in Elven, "Do you speak Elven?" [i]"What?"[/i] "I thought not." Thinking of the right words, he asked again, this time in Common, [i]"Do you,[/i] uh, [i]speak Elven?"[/i] [i]"No."[/i] Shaking his head, he turned to look at whomever had saved him. [i]"What is your na-"[/i] he began, cutting himself off at the sight. Nearby, a fire was burning, with a small pile of wood against the far wall of the cave, and kneeling next to the fire and poking at the coals with a stick was his apparent rescuer. It was a little hard to see with his eyes still adjusting to the light, but even crouched, it was someone who looked fairly tall, if thin. From the voice, Calwyn supposed he was a man: Deep and gravelly, if with an odd undertone of feminine softness. He could not see much of what the man wore, though the wet sheen of brown leather armor could be made out. Speaking of clothing, there was something odd about the man's head: He looked as if he were wearing some kind of animal mask. Something like a wolf, or a...wait... "Is that a mask...?" he asked. He got his answer when the man stood up and turned to face him. Animal-like legs, a tail down to his knees, what skin Calwyn could see being covered in short blotchy brown fur, and most importantly (and worst of all), a head like the animals the druids called hyenas. His eyes widened and he froze in fear upon realizing his rescuer was a gnoll...and every elf child knew what gnolls did to people, especially children and doubly especially when they were hungry. [i]"Don't ???,"[/i] the gnoll said, holding up a hand. With a shriek, he scrambled to his feet and bolted for the cave's mouth. In his renewed panic, he could barely even care about the sight of the heavy rain outside, let alone that it was almost completely dark too and he would never last long out there; he knew what would happen to him here! Before he even made it halfway, the gnoll rushed in front of him as if he had expected the escape. Still panicked, Calwyn tried to push his way past, but the gnoll grabbed onto his shoulders and held him steady. "Let go!" he barked, kicking feebly at the gnoll, who picked him up and carried him back towards the fire. He screamed and kicked harder at knowing he was about to be thrown in, both to no avail...but the gnoll just set him down on his feet and then hopped back towards the exit as if to block another attempted escape. Calwyn backed away and, looking down, he noticed the stick the gnoll had left by the fire. He picked it up, holding it in front of him like a sword. He could not imagine he was much scarier, but maybe if he was lucky he could get the gnoll in the eye and run, or even finish him off. "Yeah...just like Corellon...put the dumb brute's eye out," he said, readying himself as he inched back towards the gnoll. As he expected, the gnoll held his ground, his eyes seeming to shine from the light of the fire. Once Calwyn was close enough, he took a step forward, but before he could even thrust with the stick, the gnoll stepped forward as well and snatched the stick from his hand. Muttering a curse in Elven as he stepped back, Calwyn watched the gnoll closely. Again, he was sure the gnoll would hit him for that, taking another step back to hopefully put himself out of reach. The gnoll stood still, but after Calwyn took a few steps, he held up a hand as if to tell him to stop, saying, [i]"???? out!"[/i] as he moved closer. Instead of another step back, Calwyn turned to try to run, and again, thanks to not watching his footing, he tripped on the cave's uneven floor. This time, before he hit the ground, the gnoll's hand closed around his wrist, giving his arm a painful tug but stopping him from hitting hard stone. Calwyn yanked his arm free and scrambled to his feet, hurrying away until his back was against the cave wall. Breathing hard, he kept his eyes on the gnoll, ready to try to bolt again if the gnoll came any closer. Instead, the gnoll pointed to the mouth of the cave with a shake of his head. Now the boy was starting to get confused. First this gnoll had saved him from the storm, then stopped him from running back into it, then just defended himself instead of fighting back, and now kept him from taking what could have been a nastier fall than before. What was the creature up to? Keeping him alive to bring to his chief as a slave, or as a dessert? Figuring he might as well try to talk to his rescuer-turned-captor, Calwyn took a deep breath. [i]"What?"[/i] he asked simply. Pointing outside again, the gnoll said slowly, [i]"No. Bad. ?????."[/i] Moving back to the fire and sitting with his back to the exit, likely to keep an eye on Calwyn, he added, [i]"Wait here."[/i] With a nod, Calwyn sank down to sit on the floor. "Better keep my strength up for when I need it," he muttered. The two stayed where they were for a while, and as Calwyn rested, he tried to think of ways to escape. The gnoll had things pretty covered; he was faster and stronger, so Calwyn knew he would have to use his cunning to get out of this. Eventually, he realized he had another couple of problems, namely being hungry and thirsty. He tried not to let his weakness show, but not long after his stomach started aching, he looked down with a scowl as his stomach rumbled loudly. Looking back up, he saw the gnoll heard it as well, the animal-like man looking back in his direction. Shuffling to one side, the gnoll dug through a well-used backpack sitting nearby that Calwyn had overlooked until now. Opening it and digging inside, he pulled out a waterskin and walked up to the elf. Standing back up, Calwyn flattened against the wall again, ready to run. The gnoll must have noticed, as he stopped when he was a few steps away and set the skin on the ground. [i]"?????,"[/i] the gnoll said, pointing at it and then mimicking a drinking motion before stepping back. Cautiously moving forward to pick it up, Calwyn opened the neck and drank his fill, emptying the skin. At least that was one problem taken care of. Setting the skin back on the ground and kicking it towards the gnoll, he smiled up at him, barely holding back a flinch as the gnoll smiled back with sharp, yellowed teeth, a couple of which were missing. He could not outrun or outfight the gnoll, and since threats and pleas were useless, maybe some flattery would do the trick. They said that gnolls were as stupid as they were lazy, after all. [i]"Thank you, sir,"[/i] he said politely. When the gnoll's bestial smile changed to a look of confusion, Calwyn moved away, hoping the gnoll would not hit him for that but still not trusting him enough to be sure. Instead, the gnoll shook his head. [i]"Not a sir."[/i] Before Calwyn could think to ask what that meant, the gnoll pointed at his groin. [i]"Woman."[/i] "...Oh," Calwyn said, blushing a little in understanding. Not that it was the least bit obvious, but he nodded in reply after realizing that it would be better to take his...er, her word for it rather than have the gnoll prove it, adding, [i]"Madam."[/i] The gnoll nodded back as she picked up the waterskin and stepped towards the mouth of the cave. Looking over her shoulder at him, she pointed at the skin and then outside. [i]"?????,"[/i] she repeated from when she gave it to him. Whatever she said, it was probably either "drink" or "water," meaning she wanted to refill it with the rain. Calwyn nodded again; they could still see each other with her outside, but anything to get her away from him for a little while. Besides, speaking of water, he had a new need of his own to take care of, and it was best to do it now. Moving as far back in the cave as he could with her still in sight, he turned away from her, keeping an eye on her over his shoulder as he relieved himself. This might not be dignified, but it could be worse, he reasoned. Once he was done, he walked back towards the fire just before the gnoll walked back inside, shaking herself dry. She looked at him for a moment before walking to her backpack and putting the waterskin inside. After she dug around for a bit, she pulled out a chunk of unidentifiable meat and held it up for him to look at. He had to admit, he was hungry, but maybe not that hungry. He held up a hand and shook his head, but another timely growl from his stomach said otherwise. She nodded knowingly and sat back in front of the fire, taking the stick she had used to stir the coals and sticking the meat onto it to cook it over the fire. [i]"No thank you, madam,"[/i] he said as politely as he could. She looked back at him, taking no notice of his refusal. [i]"???? say when,"[/i] she said, turning the meat slowly. Now she was even cooking a meal for him? If this could be called a meal, that is...but still, Calwyn could not figure her out. Gnolls were slave takers as well as murderers and cannibals, but he had never heard of them treating captives with anything that could be called kindness. He was starting to wish he could speak Common better to just ask her why she was doing this, not that he would have an easy time believing her if she told him anything other than she hoped to eat him. She must have noticed the look on his face, but confused it for something else as she pulled the stick back and offered it to him. [i]"Want it?"[/i] "Uh...[i]yes,[/i]" he replied hesitantly as he moved closer. She sat still as if she knew he was still nervous about getting too close to her. With a quick swipe of his arm, he snatched the stick from her, and she kept sitting there as he walked to the other side of the fire and sat down. Even up close, he was not sure what animal it was from, which made him sure he would want to cook it as well as possible, especially since he had no idea where that backpack of hers had been, let alone where the food had been. As he raised the meat back over the fire, the gnoll reached into the backpack and took out another, larger chunk of meat. This one, though, she did not bother cooking, instead tearing into it with as much gusto and as little manners as Calwyn would expect, barely even bothering to chew. He had to smile at the sight, as this was the first time she was acting more like the gnolls he had always heard about. "Take it easy, or you'll eat your own hand," he muttered, shaking his head slightly as he felt a laugh coming on. She had almost made him [i]laugh[/i] now...he had to do a better job of keeping his guard up. Once he was satisfied it was safe to eat whatever he was cooking, he joined in, though with more dignity. From the taste, he supposed it was deer, though with no preparation other than the heat of a fire it was still too raw for his liking. Then again, a full stomach was better than an empty one. As he ate, he watched her in case she started acting even more like a gnoll and decided he would be next. To his relief, she seemed perfectly happy to stay on her side of the fire and keep stuffing her face. Actually, from the growls she was letting out, she sounded more like a happy dog than something that would rather eat him. After they both finished, she looked at him with a smile. [i]"Good?"[/i] she asked. He nodded, smiling back. [i]"Good. Thank you."[/i] Reaching into her backpack again, she dug around a bit before pulling her hand back out, this time offering him what looked like a tiny yellow ball small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. [i]"It's ?????. Good,"[/i] she said. He shook his head. Meat could at least be cooked, but he could not even guess what that was. [i]"No, thank you."[/i] Shrugging, she popped it in her mouth, slurping noisily as she enjoyed it. Now she was acting less like a happy dog and more like a child being given candy, in fact, for all he knew that [u]was[/u] candy she was eating, which was absurd, but then again she was clearly not an ordinary gnoll. In any case, Calwyn had given up trying to figure her out and thought maybe it was best to just take things as they came for now. The next while passed with them mostly sitting in silence. The gnoll occasionally set a new log on the fire when she was not lying on her back and looking up at the ceiling, sometimes humming an aimless but pleasant tune. Calwyn moved to sit against the rock wall, feeling fatigue starting to catch up with him again. He had no idea how long it was until morning, but as afraid as he was of staying by the gnoll, fighting off the need for rest was a losing battle. At least he only needed a comparatively short time of meditation to get all the rest he needed; maybe the gnoll would be tired enough in the morning that if she tried anything funny he would have a better chance to run, or even sneak out when she was asleep. "Wait, '[u]if[/u] she tries anything?'" he thought. "What do you mean 'if?' Why wouldn't she? But then, why hasn't she yet? It's not like I can stop her, and she knows it. Ugh...can't even think straight anymore." Deciding it would be best to save his strength for when he needed it, Calwyn moved over to the bedroll and laid down. The gnoll looked over at him, nodding. [i]"?????. I'll ???? you safe."[/i] "Sure you will," he muttered sarcastically, supposing the second unknown word was "keep," but to go on with the pretense of politeness, he smiled at her. [i]"Thank you."[/i] [i]"You go home ????????,"[/i] she added before looking back up at the ceiling and going back to humming softly. He still did not believe her, but there would be time to worry about that later. For now, he just wanted to rest. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and relaxed. With all he had been through today, even though he still had much to worry about, his trance came easily...and that tune she was humming was oddly pleasant... ----- Calwyn came out of his trance feeling pleasantly refreshed, stretching out and starting to yawn before he remembered his situation. Covering his mouth, he muffled the yawn before he lay still. He was still on the bedroll, and it seemed that while he was in his trance, she had covered him with the fur blanket again. From here, he could see the fire had burnt out, and while early morning had come and the rain had stopped, it still looked dark and gray outside, and wherever they were, it was awfully foggy out there. At least the storm was over with, and come to think of it, his head was less sore. But where was the gnoll? He strained his hearing, but could only hear the slightly muffled sounds of birds chirping and wind whooshing outside. No sign of her...she must be nearby, why would she leave him now after going through all that trouble? He kept still for a while, but...nothing. Maybe she had wandered off, or she was asleep. Either way, this could be his chance. She had been so lazy she had not even bothered to block the cave's entrance or tie him in place. He quietly moved the blanket off and sat up, ready to make a break for it- [i]"Hi,"[/i] came her voice behind him. Gritting his jaw against the temptation to run anyway despite knowing she would catch him, he turned around to see her sitting against the wall. She gave him that yellow-toothed smile again, which almost made him shiver but he was actually starting to expect it by now, and unfortunately for him, she looked as alert as ever. [i]"Hi,"[/i] he replied with a smile back. Standing up, she pointed outside. [i]"Safe. Go home now."[/i] He could not agree more, nodding as he stood up too. [i]"Thank you. Goodbye,"[/i] he said a bit hastily, having a feeling it would not be that easy. She held up a hand, stepping over to him. [i]"I help you go home,"[/i] she insisted, kneeling down and bundling up the blanket. He was not sure where the gnoll was going with this, but he shook his head, even though he knew he would probably just get lost again, especially since he did not even know where he was now. [i]"You ???? my help to go home,"[/i] she said simply. She stepped over to the backpack against the wall and stuffed the blanket and bedroll inside it. How much did she have in that backpack, anyway? Was it one of those magic backpacks he heard adventurers used? After she rummaged around in it for a second, she pulled out a club that looked simple enough at first, but before she slid it into her armor's belt, he noticed what looked like arcane symbols carved into it. So she even had a magic weapon, too? She then pulled out an arm-length strip of yellow fabric, which she tied around her arm before reaching back in and taking out a similar strip of red fabric, which she tied around her other arm. She must have noticed his confused look, as she pointed at the strips and grinned. [i]"To ???? [u]me[/u] safe,"[/i] she explained. "Sure, whatever. Maybe I can just lead you close enough that I can find my way, maybe run around a little so you don't know where I'm going...if you can't guess already," he thought. Rummaging around again, she pulled out a coat made from what looked like black bear fur with a few other pelts crudely stitched on. That must have been what she was wearing when she found him last night, Calwyn supposed. She pointed at him, rubbed her arms as if she were trying to warm up from being cold, and then held up the coat. Guessing she was pantomiming the question of whether he was cold and wanted it, he shook his head. His tunic and trousers were still damp and muddy, much as he was in general, but he would be fine. After she stuck the coat back in her backpack and slung it on, she walked towards the cave's mouth, motioning for him to follow her. Hesitantly, he obeyed, and as they stepped outside, they took a shared deep breath of the crisp, damp forest air. "Well...that's that...now just have to wait for the right time," he thought, glad to be out of the cave. She looked around before turning to the side, pointing ahead. [i]"Elves there,"[/i] she said, motioning for him to follow her again as she started walking into the thick morning fog. Not that he was any less lost, but by now he was starting to believe that maybe she did want to take him back to his people. Maybe. She had at least earned some benefit of the doubt, anyway, he figured as he followed her. As they walked down the lower slopes of the mountains and into the forest, he made sure to keep as much of an eye on her as on his surroundings, or at least, what of his surroundings he could see in this fog. Even though she had given him little reason to be afraid of her aside from her race, his nerves might have been even more on edge than before. The memory of the owlbear attack was coming back to him...if there were those two owlbears, what if he and the gnoll ran into more? He suddenly realized he did not know if everyone survived the attack, or even if [u]anyone[/u] survived. What if Silvia had not been not as lucky as he was? [i]"What?"[/i] the gnoll asked, snapping him out of his worried thoughts with a startled yelp as she turned to look at him. He shook his head, pointing in the direction they had been walking. He could not think of how to explain it in Common, nor could he think of any reason she could calm him down. She looked at him questioningly, then turned back around. His train of worried thoughts continued as the forest slowly lit up, going from dark gray to lighter gray. Mindful of the fact that not watching where he was going had already caused him so many problems, Calwyn kept their pace slow and careful. The gnoll seemed to feel no need to rush him, even pulling her backpack in front of her to dig out another piece of what he supposed was candy (and the faint whiff of honey he caught all but confirmed it) and offer it to him again. He was admittedly tempted for even such a small bit of comfort, but again refused the offer. Just as he was starting to wonder if they were going the right way after all, the gnoll stopped walking, causing him to bump into her from being so distracted by his thoughts. So much for keeping his eyes open. "What are you..." he started to ask before remembering to speak in Common. [i]"What is it?"[/i] She answered by pointing straight ahead. Following her hand, he saw the first thing that really gave him relief in too long. Just ahead, at the edge of his vision through the thinning fog, was a tree he finally recognized, one with a number of green, yellow, and light brown streamers dangling from its branches. That tree had been designated as Greenroad's southeastern edge by the town's master builder to note that when the elves who lived there had built anything past it, the town had grown beyond its maximum sustainable size. That meant that they had arrived at Greenroad! He was so excited he ran past the gnoll, eager to get back to his people and to safety. As he reached the tree, he looked back to see if she was following him, but she remained where she was, smiling slightly at him. For a moment he wondered what she was waiting for, but then remembered, of course, a gnoll walking into an elf town would not last long. She gave him a little wave before turning and walking away. Calwyn turned to resume his excited run, but paused mid-step as a pang of guilt hit him. So...this whole time, she really had been helping him? But...but why? [u]Why[/u] would a gnoll ever do that? All he had ever been told about them, by elves, humans, dwarves, and everyone else was that gnolls were more or less orcs except even more bestial. She had carried him out of a storm, kept him warm and safe, stopped him from running back into the storm and most likely his own death, given him food, and took him back to his people, all without seeming to expect anything in return. He had nothing to give back, but there was one more thing he needed from her. Turning back around, he hurried after her. Seeing her heading back towards the cave, and apparently having already heard him coming as she had stopped to look back at him, he called out, "Hey! Wait!" as he ran up to her. She turned to face him with that questioning look again, only this time it looked to be more in confusion than concern. Once he was in front of her and took a breath to get his wind back, he tried to think of how to ask her everything on his mind. Why was she here? Why did she help him? Why was she so different from other gnolls? Finally, he just asked her the simplest way he could. [i]"Why?"[/i] She smiled at him and shrugged. [i]"Why not?"[/i] she replied just as simply. At first he thought such a simple answer figured coming from her, but then he realized she was right. Why need a reason to do something good, indeed? He matched her smile, though not out of politeness this time but in genuine gratitude. [i]"Thank you,"[/i] he said, earning a nod from her. With that, they both turned to head back on their separate ways. Before either of them had taken more than a few steps, Calwyn heard something fly past him with a "zzzwip," followed by a "thunk" behind him, followed by such a loud roar from the gnoll that it made his ears ring. Spinning around, he saw that the gnoll had been shot in the back with an arrow and was looking this way and that, her formerly calm but observant face twisted into a snarl that sent fresh shivers up his spine. As she turned to look for their attacker, he slowly walked up to her, both to try to calm her down and from the natural reaction to want to help with the still-stuck arrow. [i]"P-Please..."[/i] he stammered. "Get back, boy!" shouted an Elven man's voice from the branches of a nearby tree. They both looked up towards the voice, one of the gnoll's hands whipping out her club. Calwyn saw nothing in the branches, but when the gnoll let out a deep-throated growl and fixed her eyes on one point, he followed her gaze and was barely able to make out the sight of a camouflaged archery platform in its branches, with an elf perched atop it, an elf wearing the studded leather armor typical of Greenroad's rangers and with another arrow nocked in his bow. Before Calwyn could tell the other elf to stop, the gnoll barked, [i]"Don't you see these?!"[/i] She pointed at the strips tied around her arms, her breathing becoming noticeably faster and more ragged...and angry. [i]"Get ???? ???? him, now,"[/i] the elf called down. "Don't shoot her! She helped me get back!" Calwyn shouted up. "Just get down, I've got you covered," he replied. Calwyn wanted to run, but he could not just let this other elf try to kill someone who saved his life. He was frozen in place with fear. If it had taken so much proof for him to accept that this gnoll was different, there was no way he could convince this much older, more experienced elf with just words. The gnoll also looked to be straining to control herself, and with her sharp eyes focused on her enemy, her teeth bared, and one hand clenched into a fist while the other gripped her club, now she was really starting to look like the gnolls he had always been told about, even though she had good reason to be mad. But there was no need to fight; he and she just wanted to get on their- [i]"Get ????? the ???,"[/i] she growled, keeping her eyes locked on the ranger. "Huh?" He shook his head. "You don't have to do this!" Her actions spoke louder than words as she roughly shoved him aside to make him land on his rump, and the ranger took advantage of the opening to let his arrow fly. Luckily, the gnoll was prepared this time, and no sooner had she shoved Calwyn than she was already running away. The arrow landed in the ground, and once the gnoll dashed to a nearby tree to hide from another shot, Calwyn watched her take a deep breath before slowly waving her free hand back and forth while speaking an intonation that did not sound like Common, or even like a language at all. After her intonation ended, she looked back over at Calwyn. She relaxed enough to give him a smile and a goodbye wave before she ran off, and she ran quite a bit faster than he would think someone her size could run. Wait, what she was doing just now...did she even know magic, too? "Blast...she got away..." the ranger grumbled. Standing back up, Calwyn turned back towards the tree, seeing the ranger climbing down. Now that the fight was over and she had gotten away, he had something else to deal with. Running up to him, he shouted, "What was that for?! Didn't you hear me?!" "What?" the ranger asked as he hopped to the ground. "You're Calwyn, aren't you? Everyone's been out looking for you." "Rrrgh, listen!" he insisted with a stomp of his foot. "I know she's a gnoll but why would I lie about that?! She saved me from the storm and brought me back here!" The ranger shook his head. "She could've been trying to trick you, get you to show her where we are so she can tell her buddies. Now, come on, we should tell everyone you're safe," he said, walking back towards the town and motioning for Calwyn to follow him. As he walked, Calwyn was still fuming about the whole thing. That gnoll already knew where the town was, why would she go so out of her way to help him unless she just wanted to? It was so unfair...even if she did not want any kind of reward, that was just wrong. He let out a sigh as they reached the buildings and tree houses of Greenroad. No way was he going to just let that go, but for now, he could at least be glad to be safe. ----- A couple of hours later, after having been relieved to see for himself that everyone from the owlbear attack had made it here safely (if some more roughed up than others), Calwyn had been treated to a very welcome bath and change into some clean clothes, and now was enjoying a hearty meal in the temple of Corellon Larethian while he talked to his aunt about everything that happened. "And then she roared so loud I nearly went deaf," he continued with his story. "Indeed, I thought I heard something at that time. I thought it to be a bear," Silvia said with a nod. "She may have been quiet, but she had a very strong set of lungs," he agreed. "Then we just stared each other down, and I thought for sure there would be a fight...but she just ran. But I don't think I'll forget that snarl on her face." He frowned at the memory, shuddering slightly. "That shouldn't have happened." Silvia nodded again. "I'm sure she...knew the risks of coming so close to an elf town," she said, clearly trying to think of how to agree with him without praising the gnoll too much. Picking up an apple she had given him, he took a bite of it and took some time of his own to think before he swallowed. "Still...while I guess I should just be grateful...I wish I knew more about her. 'Why not?' is right, as she said, but still, there's so much I don't know," he thought out loud. "I can help with that," came a woman's voice. They turned to see Greenroad's captain of the watch, Gaelean, standing in the doorway. "Pardon my eavesdropping, but I'm quite interested in knowing more about this gnoll, and to repay you for the information, I can give you some answers in return." The other two elves looked at each other for a moment, and then Calwyn nodded at Gaelean, gesturing for her to sit with them. "What kind of answers?" Calwyn asked as she joined them. "For starters, her name is Aun," she began with a smile. "She's been something of a local curiosity. Three years ago, our guardian of nature was approached by a fellow druid, and while I don't know the details, they worked out some kind of deal. Her daughter..." she trailed off, pausing at seeing the other two elves' doubting expressions. "No, her mother is not a gnoll; Aun was adopted...which might explain a few things about her right there." With a chuckle, Calwyn said, "Yeah, I wouldn't expect a gnoll raised by other gnolls to help me, not that I had an easier time believing any gnoll would until now." "As I was saying, whatever happened, they worked out a deal. Aun had to pass nearby our town, at least within range of our patrols, once a year at this time. All she wanted was to be left alone and she would do the same for us. She usually sleeps during the day when she's near towns anyway, so she can travel when most people are sleeping, so they say." Folding her hands on the table, Gaelean's smile turned to a more stern look. "To let us know who she is, she is supposed to wear the strips you mentioned on her arms." Calwyn nodded, the anger at how she was attacked coming back up even worse now that he knew she was not even asking for trouble. "She did, and when one of your men attacked her, she was as surprised as she was mad!" he insisted. Gaelean held up a hand to quiet him. "I believe you. Now that I've heard your story, I'll think of what to do about Tra'sali ignoring my warning." Lowering her hand, she continued with a renewed smile, "I'm actually glad to have heard the story. As you can understand, we saw no reason to trust Aun, but as long as she gave us no reason to attack her, we would keep our word. Until now, the only real news we had about her was from ten months ago, when a halfling caravan on its way here was ambushed by bandits on the east edge of the forest. They said a gnoll came out of nowhere and helped them fight the bandits off, and before they knew it, she took an armful of meat from one of their wagons and ran back into the forest." Both Calwyn and Silvia stared in surprise. "So...she helped them...and then stole from them?" Silvia asked. Gaelean shook her head. "They said they didn't know what to make of it at first, but as far as they were concerned, if all she wanted for her help was some food, they still got the better end of that deal." Her smile turning into more of a grin, she added, "By the way, you're right about her having a strong set of lungs. They said that they heard her before they saw her, and all during the fight, she was howling, growling, and barking like a dog or a wolf, but something about it inspired them to fight harder." Leaning back and chuckling, she finished, "We think Aun might even be a bard, if not at all a typical one." Silvia had nothing to say about that, but Calwyn chuckled with her. "After all she's done...I can believe anything by now." Nodding, Gaelean stood up from the table. "I'm sure all she wants as thanks is to just be left to get on with her business, but now I'm sure of her good intentions. I'll think of what to do about Tra'sali, but I might not even need to be too hard on him." "Why not? Don't let him off easy either," Calwyn said, normally shy about telling someone like the watch captain what to do. "Aun stays away from people, and as far as we know she doesn't have any friends among the humanoids of the forest. We don't even talk about her, for obvious reasons. But that doesn't mean she doesn't [u]have[/u] friends. For some reason, it seems the fey of the forest like her, or so I've been told, which is one other good reason to leave her be if there's no reason to attack her." Winking at him, she gave him a second to let that sink in, adding, "So Tra'sali can expect some strange pranks to be played on him for a while." With that, she excused herself. The boy grinned, ideas of what kinds of revenge the fey would play on Tra'sali already brewing. He had heard plenty of stories about how wily the fey could be, enough to know that they should not be bothered...maybe they could make sure [u]Tra'sali[/u] got lost in a storm, for starters. "Calwyn? You look as if you're enjoying that thought a little too much," his aunt said a bit worriedly. He looked up at her, his grin widening a bit. "...What're the odds of staying here a little longer than normal this year?" Whatever was going to happen, he did not want to miss it. [u]Stormy Relationship[/u] When you're an elf and you've just been saved by one of your race's enemies, things are going to get stormy, indeed. The idea for this story is fairly old, at least by my standards. Not long after finishing "Family Ties" ( http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4691118/ ; and that's just over three years ago), there was a big thunderstorm. It gave me the idea for an adult Aun saving a child from a storm. I tried once to write it, but it didn't get past a paragraph or two. Ever since, whenever there's been a storm, whether rain or snow, this idea came back to me. During a rainstorm a couple of months ago, I decided I finally needed to just commit to it, and I'm glad I finally did. Something about "Family Ties" keeps giving me ideas for things to write even if the story itself wasn't very popular...they're just fun characters, what can I say? One other thing I've been wanting to try was writing a story in which the characters have a language barrier, and I knew not long after I got the idea for this story that it would be a perfect choice. So I guess that makes two things I can scratch off my "I've been wanting to do this" list. A question I thought of as I was writing: If she's a bard, she probably knows at least one [i]cure[/i] spell. Why didn't she use one on him? Maybe she did, which could be what brought him around, and she only had one spell of that level left for that day (which she used later) since she didn't get to rest to get her spells back. She's still fairly low-level, and while she has an exceptionally high Charisma score for a gnoll, she does have a racial penalty to it, after all. Probably the hardest part of writing this story (other than actually starting it) was thinking up names for the elves. Why do elf names have to be so fruity and flowery and stuff? Story and characters (c) me. Dungeons & Dragons (c) Wizards of the Coast. Thanks to [i]Races of the Wild[/i] for its elf-related reference material, especially the names. Aun's name (c) Koji Masunari. Tags: Dungeons Dragons DD DnD elf gnoll fantasy storm racial language barrier child adult