A/N: Previously, I had a story called 'Love and Survival' posted up. I've discontinued that, and change the whole thing around. I decided that 2 characters was nowhere near enough to work with in such a setting, so I'm adding more. Four more to be exact. This should allow for much more interaction and character development, and I won't get stuck as quickly.
On another note, I may have to slightly bend lore for the sake of plot. Ah well.
Please also note that I don't edit my work because I'm lazy like that. I'll do it when I have the whole story ready and I feel I can polish it.
Hope you enjoy.
* * *
No one said a word. The clearing was quiet as the six young blood elves pondered their situation, trying to make something out of the freak accident that had somehow transported them there.
Leraden Darkwind was the first to break the initial silence, the first to step up and offer an outlook on their situation. The one that, for that reason, was silently recognized as their leader.
"We need to stop thinking," he said. "Thinking about this isn't going to do any good. It'll just weaken us."
"So we're just supposed to sit here and do nothing?" one of the male blood elves, Valyss, piped up.
Leraden turned and glared at him. "This is not the time for games. It's growing dark, and if we want to have somewhere to sleep tonight, we need to act. Now." He looked over the five elves before him. None he knew very well, though he had studied with all at one point or another. Delirra, Valyss, Aldyr, Avalael, and Laeda.
He looked towards Laeda, who was curled up against a stump, with her face pressed into her knees. Addressing her, Leraden said, "Laeda, I need you to set to work making a fire. Valyss, bring out that bow of yours and go find something for us to eat." He continued to distribute jobs to each one of them, and then set to work on building a simple shelter to house them.
As he worked, he replayed the events of that day in his mind. It had been a perfectly normal day, until Delirra had decided to experiment with her arcane powers in a way that no one had ever done before. Using Laeda as a focal point for the experiment, she had attempted to teleport Valyss from his spot to Laeda. It might have worked, if it weren't for the fact that the whole thing had taken place within the immediate vicinity of one of Silvermoon City's power crystals.
After that it was a blur. The other three had all been near the experiment, and all six of them had ended up in the middle of a vast forest.
It wasn't long until they had set up a decent camp in the middle of the clearing. Laeda had created a large fire, Leraden had almost created the shell of a shelter, and Aldyr had pulled over some logs for them to sit on. When Valyss returned with a large deer, it wasn't long until everyone's hunger was satiated.
By that time night was falling quickly, so everybody began helping Leraden with the shelter. By draping long, thin logs over a low hanging branch and weaving smaller branches through them, they soon had a solid skeleton on top of which they placed smaller branches and leaves, effectively creating a barrier from the harsh elements.
Finding bedding proved to be the hardest part. The best they could manage was to find the softest pine branches they could and line the floor of the shelter with it. It was barely better than the floor itself, but by the time night had fallen, they were all too exhausted to care.
* * *
Leraden was the first up the next morning. He quietly slipped out of the shelter, being careful not to wake anyone as he did so. The morning air was cool, and the sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon, casting a warm glow over the earth. The peaceful scene did nothing to calm his nerves, however.
Foremost in his mind was equipment. Their supplies were limited, their only possessions being the clothes on their backs, and the small survival pouch that Valyss kept on him at all times. Then there was shelter, food, clothing, clean water... the list went on.
Hearing a rustling behind him, Leraden turned to see a head of golden-blond hair emerging from the makeshift shelter. He recognized Avalael, who gave him a sheepish smile when their eyes met.
"Uh, hi," she said, squinting a bit into the sunlight.
"Good morning," Leraden responded. He said nothing more, observing her as she took a seat on a stump, yawning. She was pretty, beautiful even, and Leraden could not help but notice it. Yet at his age, every female attracted him, so he shook his head and rubbed his eyes as he tried to set his thoughts straight.
There was a clattering and a thump, rather suddenly, as Aldyr made his way out of the shelter, knocking down the sticks framing the entrance in the process. Avalael let out a loud guffaw from her position on the stump, and Leraden couldn't help snickering at the disoriented expression on the male elf's face.
From behind Aldyr came Laeda's angry voice as she gave the offending elf's backside a strong hove, sending him sprawling. "Out of my way, you useless piece of kodo dung. Look what you've done."
"Oh, come on," Aldyr said, shaking the sleep from himself. "That doorway is much too low."
"Enough, guys," Leraden said coolly, regaining his calm state of mind. "Someone go wake the other two up."
When everyone was assembled in the clearing, Leraden cleared his throat and began talking. "Right... so at this point we need to set our priorities straight. The most important thing at this point is -"
"A nice warm bed to sleep in!" Laeda interjected, drawing looks from the others.
"No. Shelter is most important at this time, seeing as the hunting is good around here. Though we are going to need a larger variety of food at some point. But before we can make a decent shelter, we're going to need tools. And that means we need to hunt."
"Why hunt?" Delirra asked timidly.
"For the bones," Leraden replied. "At this time they're our best bet."
"There's only one of us here who's capable of hunting effectively," Valyss said smugly, "So I suppose I'll be off then."
"Wait just a moment," Aldyr said. "I'll let you know I can hunt just as well as any Farstrider." He placed emphasis on the last word in a mocking manner.
"Oh, really? What are you going to hunt with, then? Your hands?"
"Shut up, both of you." Both males grudgingly became silent, pointedly ignoring each other. When he was content that the fight was over, Leraden began silently muttering to himself, moving his hands in a rhythmic gesture. Slowly, six flasks of water seemed to solidify from thin air before the group.
"Everybody take one, and use it sparingly. Once I exhaust my energy, I'll have no efficient power source left." Silently, each one of them grabbed a flask, then stood and awaited further orders.
He continued. "Now, we're going to split up into groups. We're going to need three people to focus on gathering food and resources for tools. The other three are going to start gathering materials for a shelter."
"So who's doing what?" Aldyr asked.
"You, Valyss, and Laeda are going to hunt for food and tools. Delirra, Avalael, and I will look for resources for a shelter."
"Taking all the girls for yourself, then?" Valyss sneered.
Leraden gave him a venomous look. "It's not the time to think about that stuff. Survival comes before all else, so I hope you realize that my intentions are not marred by silly things such as relationships. Now, what do you have in the way of saw in that handy little pack?"
Without a word Valyss opened the pouch at his belt and pulled out a metal device which he flipped out into a long, thin saw, and handed it to Leraden.
"Thanks. And now, everyone get to work." He turned, and headed off in the direction of some large, thick trees, beckoning to other two in his group to follow him.
* * *
Leraden sighed quietly as he listened to the two giggling girls on the other side of the tree in front of him. With all the noise they were creating, they surely couldn't have been working. He opened his mouth to bark a command, but then closed it as he realized it was useless.
He continued sawing away at the large tree with the flimsy saw, giving out another sigh. He could hear Avalael and Delirra's voices more clearly now, and he couldn't help listening intently as he heard Delirra say, "So what about Valyss?"
"Uh, he seems like a bit of a jerk to me," Avalael replied.
"Oh come on, he's a guy and he's obviously overwhelmed right now." Avalael gave a little snort.
"Not my type, certainly."
"You gotta admit, he's pretty hot."
"Brain over brawn," Avalael said. "That's why..." She cut off and giggled a bit.
Finally they came around the tree into Leraden's view, carrying a large amount of clay that they had supposedly found at the edge of a small stream.
"So, mister boss boy," Avalael said, cracking a smile, "where do we put this stuff?"
Leraden rolled his eyes, and then pointed to where he had placed out a large amount of leaves to line the ground. The two elves deposited their loads on the appointed spot, and then turned off to fetch more, starting up their conversation where they had left off. Leraden shook his head quietly to himself, giving a last grunt of effort as he sent the tree toppling over.