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Date Posted: 22:54:11 02/10/03 Mon
Author: Aelin-Uial + Inarion
Subject: Finding an old friend

Soft music, swept by the light breeze, filtered into the spacious Elven city. It was a merry tune. The source of the music came from a very small wood wind instrument, about eight inches in length. The one who played the tune was seated on the steep hill that began its accent a fifteen yards from the bridge that one must cross to get to the city. He was partly up the hill, alone, enjoying his playing. The Sun had set and few had taken to their dwellings for a night of sleep. Across the bridge and river, if he looked, he would be able to clearly see figures moving this way and that. But his gaze did not linger there. He laid back now upon the thick grass, eyes focused upon the stars above him. One leg was bent, and the other was lifted and bent as well, only its foot was not upon the ground up on its counterparts knee, foot dancing lightly to the song.

Aelin-Uial crested the hill silently. Aqua-blue eyes perused the hillside sloping down towards the city. What was this? The reclined form was examined carefully and her heart could have burst for the joy she felt in seeing her childhood friend. Creeping closer without a sound, she moved between breaths to make her approach even more silent. She was dressed in leggings and a slate-blue tunic. Her hair was woven up and away from her face to make travel easier. Her quiver was abandoned when she was only a few hundred feet from him. Closer and closer until finally her face appeared in his line of vision. "Nae saian luume', Inarion..." her voice was foreign, and yet hauntingly familiar, changed with age, as had her face, though she possessed the same features that had grown all the more bewitching with her years.

He had been thoroughly enjoying himself, his eyes glued to the familiar sky. He had allowed his eyes to close for a moment and upon opening them, a fair face blocked his view. How could anyone have snuck up on him!? He had be so startled that his whole body jerked, the little wood wind jumbling in his hands as he sought to keep a hold of it. Yet after a moment of registering who the fairness belonged to he cared no longer for the flute-like instrument. He let it fall from his grasp as he contorted his body. His eyes wide, his smile wider. He strove to keep her in his sight, fearing she might fade away on the wind. Upon gaining his knees and finally rising to his feet gracefully, he could no longer contain his joy. What should have been a trademark Elven greeting, his hand lightly touching his left breast, turned into his arms being thrown wide in excitement "Cormamin lindua ele lle!" He cried loudly as he threw his arms about his childhood friend.

She returned the embrace tightly laughing in the clarity that only the fair Elven folk possessed. She pulled back to regard him for a moment before she pulled him tightly into her embrace once more. "I have missed you so my dearest friend!" she exclaimed. A hand slid up his back to find that one long braid in his hair that he always wore and tug on it. It had been something she'd always done since she could walk and knew how to grasp. Before it had been something that irritated him, though as they had grown it had become something of a joke, and would now, no doubt, be an endearing remembrance of their friendship that had been so long separated. "I have so much to tell you."

"Aelin...I am overjoyed to see that you have returned!" He held her at arms length, beaming with excitement and sheer joy. His laughter came loudly feeling the tug upon his hair, his voice clear and ringing in the night air. "I cannot wait to hear it all, though we have all the time that you will need. Yet if you are hungry, perhaps in need of rest, I could possibly wait for the marrow to hear of all your adventuring."

"To tell you the truth, I am starving!" she said as she looked upon her friend in utter elation. "I was so ready to be home that I have eaten little but that lembas bread for the last three days. It is so good to be home. Come, let us walk towards the dining hall, perhaps I will catch the end of dinner, and if I'm lucky, there will be many younger elves there who will not recognize me," a playful smile. "As well I want to know of all that has happened in Tel'Oira Eldamar since my departure."

Again merry laughter echoed from his lips as he bent down quickly to snatch up in small instrument. "I am sure that there is still time for you to eat. Come!" As a young elf he would have taken her hand and ran down the hill with her. But that was not the case anymore. Still, his hand lifted to her back as he began to guide her down the hill. Assured now that she was somewhat tired he would relate to her first what he could. "Eldamar weathers the seasons as it always has. The leaves never falling. We have had some rain." He turned to her, grinning and mocking great excitement, as if that was the biggest news of all. It did rain in Tel'Oira Eldamar, just not often. There was no 'rainy season'. He turned his torso back to the path before them, his hands lifting to clasp before his chest. Then it struck him and he glanced to her from out of the corners of his eyes. "A drow child was brought here around two weeks ago. Though there was an accident and she fell into the river and did not survive. She arrived with an edainme as well, who just as of last night, will be staying here in Oira Eldamar indefinitely. I have not spoken to her directly yet. Talar named her Elendil for saving his life. She appears respectable." And that was all he had to relay to her.

"Rain?!" she gasped. "You don't say!" a playful laugh. Any traces of her weariness was well hidden allowing only the dark beauty to shine through. She stiffened at the mention of the Drow and then seemed to relax once he said that she had drowned. "Better that she did not live," she said simply, though not coldly. "And an edan...living among the elves?" She laughed a bit. "I suppose it is not so strange as I have lived among men for many years. Is that her?" she asked, motioning down towards Talar and Delwyn who sat near the river.

He nodded as he motioned, adding quietly for now they were coming off the bridge and into the hearing distance of the woman. "I did say one did I not?" He teased her with a grin before turning his gaze to hers once more, his bright smile ever present as he looked upon her fondly. Before turning his attention once more to the circular hall that they approached. Elves filtering in and out, music and song gracing their delicate ears.

She nudged him with her elbow. "I see you have not lost your taste for sarcasm," she bantered playfully before entering into the dining hall which was bursting with light to illuminate the high cheekbones. Her raven black hair glinted in the light as if to remind everyone of the unusual trait that she seemed to be the sole one to possess. Many elves were dark haired, but none so dark as her own glittering black. The light danced in her eyes which took on more of a blue shade now as she looked to him with a smile. "It is so good to be home, Inarion. I have missed you." She'd felt the need to tell him again.

"I have not." He grinned, his head nodding once in agreement. There were glad faces in the dinning hall this night. All were pleased to see that the dark haired beauty had arrived safely home. There were those that would have greeted her on the spot, if Lord Mallorn had not been making his own way towards the familiar face. It always greatly pleased him to see his kindred returning to Eldamar. Upon the Elven Lords approach, Inarion lifted his hand, placing it over the left side of his chest, before sweeping his hand out to about a foot before letting it fall, his head bowing as he took a step back, giving the Lord more space to speak with the female elf.

Her hand moved to rest softly upon the left side of her chest, her head bowing, though she could not hide the smile that held fast upon her features. "Mae govannen Heru Mallorn," she said with that singing tone that had belonged to her alone. Indeed, it was easy to see how overjoyed she was to be home, and perhaps in her mind she wondered why she had not come back sooner. Nothing could take the place of those eleven hundred years she'd spent on her own though full of adventure and constant traveling.

Lord Mallorn's hand had lifted to gently rest upon her shoulder as he stepped to her, his smile soft. "It greatly pleases me to see that you have finally returned home. Now, I am sure that you would feast after such a journey." He gave a small nod to the both of them before turning slowly and exiting from the dining hall.

Once he left, she turned to look to her friend with a playful smile. "It is good to see that some things never change..." meaning Mallorn being a leader of so few words, yet he was effective. It was comforting. There really was no place like home...

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