My first Elfquest fanfic... I only have the first book and I don't have a
place where I can get more, so I guess this counts as alternate universe,
taking place just before Rayek leaves Sorrow's End. Not mine, don't sue.
"What of your love for Leetah, and hers for you...?" Savah asked. Rayek paused in his climb, letting a heavy silence spread between them. "There is an alternative to your stepping aside," she continued. "Though it is not a common practice, others in the village have taken more than one mate! Is it unthinkable that you and Cutter and Leetah together might--?"
Rayek stopped for a minute, thinking, considering... On the one hand, it meant that he would be stuck, living with his defeat and ever reminded of his failure, of his loss. Taking Leetah- and with her, Cutter- as a life mate meant that he would sleep and wake beside proof that he was only second best.
I would always be inferior to him, Rayek thought to himself. As long as he is there, I could never win..
"Must it be about winning and losing?" Savah asked, a tone of pleading in her mental voice. "You do not need to prove yourself to anyone, we are of one mind and one heart, one race, Rayek...we are all an important part of Sorrow's End, and we still need you. The wolfriders are still very new to these lands. The seasons of harvest and hunt will be upon us soon, and neither they nor their wolves will be able to provide enough for both their tribe and ours..."
Rayek pondered this. A scornful, prideful part of his mind wanted to let the Wolfriders suffer for their arrogance, for casting him aside. But a larger part of him knew better, that he had cast himself out, and that same part knew that Savah had a very good point. If he stayed... if he did as the Mother suggested, he would not be forced to give up Leetah, who had always been by his side, even when they were children. He could remain with her, and his people, and his home.
He looked out across the desert, wondering. The burning waste was not something he was eagerly awaiting, and no one really knew how far it stretched on. Perhaps.. it would be better to stay...
"Would Leetah accept me back, now that she has Cutter?" he mused aloud. "Would Cutter even allow such a thing? They two are Recognized... there... would not be room for me, Savah..." he trailed off, wisps of pain in his words.
"It is a question better left to them, Rayek. Please... come home, speak with them."
After a long moment of deliberation, the black-haired Elf calmly put his hood back, and lead his zwoot back towards the village.
"What of your love for Leetah, and hers for you...?" Savah asked. Rayek paused in his climb, letting a heavy silence spread between them. "There is an alternative to your stepping aside," she continued. "Though it is not a common practice, others in the village have taken more than one mate! Is it unthinkable that you and Cutter and Leetah together might--?"
Rayek stopped for a minute, thinking, considering... On the one hand, it meant that he would be stuck, living with his defeat and ever reminded of his failure, of his loss. Taking Leetah- and with her, Cutter- as a life mate meant that he would sleep and wake beside proof that he was only second best.
I would always be inferior to him, Rayek thought to himself. As long as he is there, I could never win..
"Must it be about winning and losing?" Savah asked, a tone of pleading in her mental voice. "You do not need to prove yourself to anyone, we are of one mind and one heart, one race, Rayek...we are all an important part of Sorrow's End, and we still need you. The wolfriders are still very new to these lands. The seasons of harvest and hunt will be upon us soon, and neither they nor their wolves will be able to provide enough for both their tribe and ours..."
Rayek pondered this. A scornful, prideful part of his mind wanted to let the Wolfriders suffer for their arrogance, for casting him aside. But a larger part of him knew better, that he had cast himself out, and that same part knew that Savah had a very good point. If he stayed... if he did as the Mother suggested, he would not be forced to give up Leetah, who had always been by his side, even when they were children. He could remain with her, and his people, and his home.
He looked out across the desert, wondering. The burning waste was not something he was eagerly awaiting, and no one really knew how far it stretched on. Perhaps.. it would be better to stay...
"Would Leetah accept me back, now that she has Cutter?" he mused aloud. "Would Cutter even allow such a thing? They two are Recognized... there... would not be room for me, Savah..." he trailed off, wisps of pain in his words.
"It is a question better left to them, Rayek. Please... come home, speak with them."
After a long moment of deliberation, the black-haired Elf calmly put his hood back, and lead his zwoot back towards the village.
