A/N: As per usual, all emojis will be in brackets with the appropriate description/translation.
Last week of July, Camping
Corvus sat on one the logs around the campfire, enjoying the quiet. Camp was going well and the kids were currently in their tents, "asleep". If Corvus closed his eyes, tuned out the sound of the crackling fire, and focused, he could hear their muffled giggles.
It was the second-to-last night of their camping trip. Tomorrow would be filled with exciting farewell activities such as ghost stories around the fireplace, s'mores, and songs; it would be fun, but no doubt draining. So tonight was probably the last night where he could enjoy the night sky in quiet and without the need to go to bed right away.
Looking up at the stars Corvus' mind wandered to General Janai mentioning stargazing with General Amaya when they were in college. He wondered what Gren was doing and if he would be interested in camping and stargazing. Actually, it didn't even have to be camping; even the thought of the two of them cuddling up on a blanket looking up at the night sky filled his heart with warmth.
As though just becoming aware of his own thought, Corvus shook his head. Probably best not to fantasize about stargazing dates, not until he knew how Gren felt about him. It was easy to let his crush get either the best or worst parts of his imagination.
A crunchy sound behind him made Corvus turn around.
"Ellis," he smiled, "what are you doing up and about? Bathroom run?"
Ellis' flashlight stayed on the ground as she approached, a light jacket on for the evening brisk which seemed to cover her husky dog pajamas.
"I just couldn't take it anymore, Mr. Corvus, I needed some fresh air," she said, exasperated, and sat down next to him on the log, not seeming to care if her PJ bottoms got dirty.
Corvus smiled, Ellis was only ten but very mature for her age. To an adult she had a wonderful way of looking at the world from unique and curious perspectives, but to her peers, she didn't always "make sense".
She huffed and cupped her cheeks in her hands, before changing her demeanor by sitting up and looking at Corvus. "I'm sorry, Mr. Corvus, were you taking a break too? I can take my break over there." She pointed to the log across from him.
Corvus smiled, "Thanks, but I'm good."
Ellis nodded, satisfied.
"So do you want to talk about it or just relax?" Corvus offered. He had a particular soft spot for Ellis since this was his third year having her in camp.
Ellis sighed, "It's hard to put into words."
Corvus raised an eyebrow and nodded while looking towards the fire. "That's fine. If you find the words, I'm happy to listen."
From his peripheral vision he could see that Ellis was also looking at the fire.
"Why is the word 'love', like, a bad thing now?"
He wasn't expecting that. "What do you mean?" he asked, looking at her.
"Like, I used to be able to say that I love a person and it was no big deal. Now if I say I love someone then other kids go 'ooooo' like it's suddenly a big deal," she explained, still looking at the fire.
"I think I'm following..."
Ellis sighed, "Like, I love my friend Ez, and I used to be able to say things like 'I love Ez, he's so great with animals', but now the other kids are like, 'Oooooooo, so you love him? Are you going to marry him?'." Ellis rolled her head to look at Corvus and slumped her shoulders, her body language practically oozing the sentiment, see what type of ridiculousness I have to deal with.
She rolled her eyes again and shook her head, "And I'm like, 'Yeah, I do love him, but the way you're saying it, it's like you're trying to make me feel bad about it. And why does that mean marriage?' But then they're just like, 'That's because you loooooove him.' and make kissy faces and I'm just so done with it."
Okay, so he and the other camp counselors were definitely going to have a talk about tone and teasing. Last day of camping or not, this was not going to fly on his watch.
"I mean, like love didn't used to be a bad word. When we were little if I said 'I love Ez, he's so funny' other kids would say, 'Cool, I think so too.' I just don't get it. When did loving someone turn bad? Why does me loving Ez mean I want to marry him? I'm ten. I don't even know if I want to get married! Let alone to who! Can't I love people without marrying them? Or is that only for people like my parents and Ava? Because I love them but no one is going to think I want to marry my dog."
Yeah, Corvus forgot how tough being a kid was, especially when other people like to force relationship viewpoints on you.
"Well, Ellis, I think you're right."
Ellis perked up, "Oh? About what?"
Corvus smiled, "I think love is a thing that's hard to put into words."
Ellis groaned, "I was afraid of that."
Corvus gave a small laugh, "Heh, I've been thinking about love a lot lately too. I think your peers are making a big deal about it because they heard their older siblings or another adult they know make a big deal about it, and they don't quite know how to deal with it so they're copying what they heard."
Ellis sighed, "So, like, the worst game of telephone?"
Corvus chuckled, "Yeah, basically." He looked towards the fireplace. "The thing is even adults, like me, struggle with it. I've been told since I was around your age that when you tell someone you love them it's a really big deal, but the truth is, that's kind of a lie because there's different types of love. I think Moonshadow elves have words for like, twelve types of love? But don't quote me on that. I think you feel some of them right away, depending on the type of love. I'm sure you told Ava that you loved her right after you rescued her, right?"
"Definitely! I immediately loved her."
"In a perfect world we would all have love for each other and everyone in it. Maybe that's how things should be phrased instead: that we have love for someone or something."
Ellis turned towards Corvus, "Okay, let's try it."
"Try it?"
"Yeah, like let's see if it makes sense. So for example, I have A LOT of love for Ava. I also have a lot of love for my parents. Hey! It works so far."
Corvus smiled, he loved Ellis' enthusiasm.
"I have love for Ez, but it's like a different type of love."
"That still checks out."
Ellis smiled to herself, "Well, that phrasing is a cool way to think about it, but it's not going to stop the other kids."
Corvus nodded, "Yeah...I'll talk to them first thing tomorrow."
Ellis swung her feet, making a muted thud sound as she hit the log with the back of her heels, "Thanks, I'm really not sure how much that'll help. The kids at home are the same way. But the phrasing helps me to think about different types of love, so thanks for that."
Corvus smiled softly, him and Ellis solving all the world's problems.
His phone chimed a familiar tone, and Corvus felt his heart rate increase like a pavlovian response: Gren.
"It's okay if you get your phone, I don't mind," Ellis smiled. "I mean this is your break too."
Corvus nodded and smiled, pulling out his phone and checking it.
"Got home safely. I hope this doesn't wake you up and that you're enjoying camping. :)"
Corvus smiled at his phone.
"Do you have love for that person on your phone?" Ellis asked, smiling, "Oh, sorry, you don't have to answer if it's too personal."
Corvus paused, "I do."
Although what type of love, Corvus still wasn't completely sure.
Ellis seemed to be studying his face, "...Does that person have love for you too? Again, you don't have to answer."
No sooner did she ask that another message from Gren came in, this time a picture of the night sky.
"You can barely see the stars over here. I wish I could be stargazing with you. PS: Still hoping this doesn't wake you up."
Corvus thumbed over the message a few times with a small smile. It was very Gren to worry about waking Corvus up with a text message.
"I think so, but not sure if it's the same type as mine," Corvus said, more to himself.
"Hmmm…Well, that sounds confusing!"
Corvus half-chuckled, "It kinda is."
"Well, hang in there Mr. Corvus!" Ellis hopped off the log, "I don't hear the other kids anymore so I think I'll head back to bed. Enjoy your break."
"Thanks Ellis, and I'll talk to the whole group tomorrow, not just the people in your tent."
Ellis shrugged, "Thanks. Fingers crossed that it'll help. G'night."
Corvus watched to make sure Ellis made it back to her tent safely, returning to his phone once he saw her flashlight turn off.
He looked at the message, stargazing, huh?
Corvus held his phone adjacent to him and turned his camera on selfie mode, taking a picture of the stars directly above him.
Now what to say…
He reread part of the message, "...I wish I could be stargazing with you…"
Corvus' heart beat increased. Did Gren even realize what he was implying? No, he took a deep breath, it was too late at night to be overthinking this. Just take the text for what it says.
"Me 2 [thumbs up]" He typed. Corvus looked at the emoji, that wasn't right…He needed a smiley face, but which one?
He flipped through them:
"[Smiling face]?" - Too generic.
"[Smiling face with large, open smile]?" - No, too something… Toothy..?
"[Kissy-winking face]?" - Definitely not, he blushed. Way too much!
"[Smiling face with rosy cheeks - ^_^]?" The emoji was blushing. Would Gren think he was blushing? Erg, he felt like blushing at the thought. Was that too much? However, it seemed to convey a warmth that the other emoji versions of " :) " didn't fully convey, and Gren's text left him with a warm feeling in his heart...So it was fine. Again, too late at night to be overthinking this.
"Me 2 [^_^]" He sent, attaching the picture of the stars with his text.
Feet tapping on the ground, another text came in a few moments later, and Corvus let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
"That's a beautiful picture! Thank you for sending. I'm impressed you get reception. I didn't wake you up with my text, did I? :\"
Corvus smiled, "Thxs, pic doesn't do justice. It's [heart] here. Better signal 2nite. No, I was awake."
"How was your day? How's camp? It's 10:53 what are you still doing up?"
Corvus stifled a laugh, Gren was trying to tease him about staying up too late?
"Lol! Look who's talking! [Winking face] Been busy. More dets on Sat. Hbu?"
"Long day. Seeing your texts helped make it better though, thanks. :)"
Corvus had to reread the text. His heart pounded in his chest, and he felt his cheeks heating up. This was the second time this evening he was hinting that…No, this was Gren. He was probably being friendly.
"I'm glad they helped." He typed, but hesitated. It was true, it was friendly, but…What if Gren's feelings were more similar to his own? If he had told Gren 'seeing your texts helped made the day better' and Gren replied with 'I'm glad they helped.' Corvus would definitely take it as being a nice friend - not a potential romantic interest.
He deleted the text. But what to send? Erg, didn't he already resolve that it was too late at night to be overthinking this? Then he'd be honest. If it was too much he'd blame the lack of sleep.
"Ur txts have that effect 2. [^_^]" he typed. It was true, but he needed to add something less mushy, "We both have wk tom. Ttyl. Sat, 19" woops, Gren - civilian time, "7 pm ok?" He sent the text and his heart raced, not really sure what to expect.
His phone chimed.
"Saturday at 7 works for me. :) Rest well, Corvus."
Corvus smiled, "U2, Gren. [^_^]" he texted back.
He got up and put out what was left of the fire, making sure to mix the ashes and embers with soil, checked that there were no hot embers on the logs, and that everything was wet.
Corvus looked up; so Gren was thinking of stargazing too… Between the texts and video chats Corvus was starting to have more hope that Gren might be interested in him after all.
He looked at Gren's text again. Long day, huh? He frowned, then typed a new message, a very Gren-like message:
"Hope today is better. Happy Friday! [Confetti] PS: I hope ur still [sleeping] rn & this doesn't wake u"
I hope that makes his morning tomorrow, Corvus thought to himself with a grin while walking toward his tent.
A/N: Since moon magic is associated with "love" I figured Moonshadow elves would be more like the Ancient Greeks philosophers and have different words for the different types of love. I counted twelve types of love by taking the five identified from those Greek philosophers and added the seven other varieties from modern authors.