I was focusing on research for my original story this weekend, so I'm a little behind on the chapters. Ha whoops xD
When Eragon awoke the next morning, he found his body well rested. His muscles no longer groaned from the slightest strain and most of his energy seemed to have returned. He was not fully healed, but he liked to think a bit of extra sleep was just what he needed. "I haven't felt this good in... ages," he thought, stretching as he lay there in the grass. Saphira's wing was draped protectively over him, and his world was one of blue. Her gargantuan form rose and fell with steady, deep breaths. Eragon smiled and lay there happily, eyes closing slowly and his mind threatening to sink back into sleep.
"Sha-Eragon," Slenvi had developed the habit of combining "Shadeslayer" with "Eragon" the night before, in such a way that made Eragon laugh. With a chuckle, he pushed Saphira's wing out of the way and crawled to freedom. He rolled over onto his back and saw the young elf looking down at him with wonder. It occurred to him that Slenvi was the closest elf to his age he had ever met, even though he was still decades older. He wished to ask how old the elf really was, but the look he was getting shifted his train of thought.
"What are you looking at?" Eragon words might've seemed rude, but the way he asked rang with genuine curiosity.
"I'm bewildered I suppose..." Slenvi blinked once after saying this and looked away, trying not to offend the rider. He had met quite a few of the Old Rider's, and none had acted so... Natural.
"Bewildered?" Eragon was about to inquire further before Saphira cut it, rising to her feet and stretching like a cat as her mind surrounded theirs.
I know his face is hideous, but we take it upon ourselves not to stare. She snorted at her own joke, happy to see Slenvi looking away to cover an amused grin. Eragon narrowed his eyes at her but her humming melted his irritation. He chuckled and stood with a smile on his face.
"You're stuck looking at it, oh great blue one," Eragon brushed the dirt off his clothes, figuring he could bear another day in the same shirt as he hadn't sweat much in it yet. "He heard his stomach grumbled, highly audible in the near silence. He felt his face flush, unsure why he was embarrassed. Saphira chortled and laid back down, curling her tail around her. "She is so much like a cat," he mused, looking to where Blohgarm had laid some kind of animal to the spit the night before. It had been cut up and rationed out neatly. A question rose in Eragon's mind, why hadn't he thought about it the previous night? "You eat meat?"
The older elf looked to him, face blank like the answer was obvious yet eyes displaying a patience that only came from long years of life. "Indeed, some of us do." Eragon found that know he was the one bewildered.
"How? Elves don't..."
"We do under certain circumstances. Some of us become omnivores by choice, other by instinct."
I have feeling you'll be learning a lot on this journey little one. Saphira listened intently from her bed of grass on the other side of the smoldering coals, ready to spring into action should something happen. She felt fully rested as her rider did, and planned on using it to her advantage.
"What do you mean instinct?" He glanced into the forest, his eyes catching movement and his hand flew to his sword. But Saphira showed no alarm and neither did Blodhgarm, so he relaxed a bit. A few moments later, several of the spell-casters emerged from the tree line. Eragon frowned, puzzled and Slenvi chipped in to explain.
"When we trade parts of our bodies for those of animals, we give up a bit of our elvish to the animal in order to use the advantages." Slenvi gave a nod to Blodhgarm, signalling he was finished and the older elf could explain further, as he had no animal parts. Blodhgarm on the hand, had several, all quite obvious.
"I eat some meat because my forest cat parts demand it. I gave up my herbivore diet when I claimed my new teeth," Blodhgarm stated, flashing the rider is cat like fangs for emphasis.
"So when the enter the forest..."
"Indeed, they seek solitude in the woods because their instincts demand it. It is no insult to their company, just an undeniable urge." Eragon nodded, soaking in everything the elf said. He was fascinated, but didn't know where the line between curiosity and nosiness was drawn. The rider stayed quiet, thinking it all over in silence until Slenvi pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Eragon, it's time we head out. The longer we wait, the more the Red Rider and his dragon heal," he offered his hand to young rider, helping him to his feet and bowing his head respectfully before sliding back to his kind. Eragon moved to strap Saphira's saddle onto her back, readjusting buckles as he went. Thankfully, Saphira seemed to have hit a slow period, meaning she didn't grow as fast as she used to. It also meant she wouldn't out grow her current saddle anytime soon.
Turning to see the elves with their packs on their backs, looking ready and waiting, Eragon swung up onto her back. "Ready, Dragon Rider?" One asked. With a final knot tightened, Eragon nodded. They were off.
I'm feeling eh about this one, it's sort of a filler in my mind. Now for some intense thinking on the chapters to come.