What is hopefully final revisions is now complete here.

"I suggest you take a break, Church. Exercising too much when under physical stress is often more harmful than helpful."

Church heeded Alleyne's advice and sat on the massive roots of one of gargantuan tree that supported her home. It was by far the most interesting structure Church had ever seen, because it wasn't really a structure at all. The humongous tree had one of those weird bulbous growths on its side halfway to the top, and this space had been hollowed to accommodate living arrangements. And the way to get inside? Climbing branches, obviously. Apparently Elves were agile enough to forego ladders or ropes or anything, which had been unfortunate for Church when it was finally time to leave the bed.

Climbing down from that height had been a real adventure, especially with his body feeling as weak as it was, but Nowa had been beside him every step of the way just in case he slipped or something. He had also learned that Alleyne lived rather far away from her fellow Elves, as he could not see the main village that Alleyne had told him existed. He wondered if she was anti-social or just preferred solitude at her own home.

Either way, he could feel a lot of his deep-seated pain from his tumble down the mountain throbbing through his legs, especially his handicapped left. It had been a whole week since Church had awoken in the Elven forest, and he had spent at least half of it lazing around in the bed waiting for his body to recover to a level where he could move again.

The second half on the other hand, had been spent undergoing a type of 'physical therapy' with Alleyne, who had decided to oversee the proceedings herself as she left Nowa to her own training devices. She told him that his body would be weaker when he fully recovered if he didn't keep up his physical strength while he was healing. That made enough sense to Church, and he had discovered quite quickly that Alleyne was the one person he should take the word of without dissent on physical matters.

Church had been performing every exercise he could imagine, from push-ups to curls and even jumping jacks and some weird stretches with strange names: anything to keep him from losing his vitality as he recovered from a body-full of injuries. Alleyne more or less coached him the whole time, sitting on high-up branches and looking down on him from above, pointing out things he could do better and grading his performance pretty much all the time.

But she more or less left Church to his own devices, never pushing him to go harder or farther or anything that he deemed beyond himself at the moment, for which he was grateful. Even though she didn't know about his permanent physical circumstances beyond his current injuries, she didn't really press him do anything he didn't want to. It was strange, that someone who was apparently so busy all the time would take such effort to care for a stranger. Surely she had more important things to do. But Church was glad she didn't. He had learned a lot about Alleyne over the last week, and he was glad someone like her was watching over him, even if it was only because she felt an obligation to be hospitable to her guest.

Usually, whenever Church took a break, she would talk to him about things, small talk about the forest or where he was from, and other friendly things like that. He didn't know if she was actually interested in speaking with him or if she as just doing it to be polite, but Church appreciated it either way.

However, today was unlike any prior. Today Alleyne had been very quiet. Minus a few words or comments here and there, she was completely zoned out. Church would have called it 'brooding.' He felt like he should say something to her, out of one part politeness and one part genuine concern, but on the other hand, Church doubted that the experienced woman wanted to talk, especially with him of all people.

Although he wasn't exactly sure how old Alleyne was, he felt that she didn't view him as an equal individual, or at least one of equal status. But maybe he was misjudging her, jumping to conclusions and all... which he had a terribly bad habit of doing, so Church didn't dwell on it for long. If she didn't return to normal soon, he would try to see if anything was wrong, especially if he was somehow the cause of it.

But until then, he would just continue his physical exertions and sweat up a storm: it was not like he had anything better to do anyway.

"That human should not be here. She was wrong in bringing him into the village: more importantly, she did not even ask for our permission, though I doubt she would have listened either way."

The Elders that made up the Elven council of Syrinidell sat in their customary circle of chairs in their private meeting chambers, aloft in the high branches near the center of the forest village. It was the highest structure in the settlement. This was where they debated the concerning issues of their home, and this was where they discussed the unwanted arrival of yet another human in their forest.

Elder Gimeni, the only female member of the council and well past five thousand years old, continued the first Elder's train of thought. "Indeed. This is also the second time this has happened without our knowledge. Those six months ago, the Combat Master and her student brought that other human female here as well, also without our consent. Alleyne is beginning to act more independently than usual: she does not listen to our counsel as she once did."

Elder Taowrol, a grizzled old bearded elf who also happened to be the most respected man in the village and unofficial leader of the council, seemed to dwell on this intensely. "If the Combat Master no longer respects our wishes, than perhaps it is best if she did not stay."

Gimeni cast a dangerous glare at him. "Just what exactly are you suggesting? We dare not do such a thing, not to one of her status! The people would never allow it. Master Alleyne is held in high regards by our people. Our own warriors would turn against us if we exiled her. Moreover, we have no real grounds to make such a motion."

The gray beared Elder dismissed her worries with a wave of his hand. "Peace, Gimeni. I did not mean that. Exiling her would not solve anything, and as you say, she hasn't actually done anything worthy of that punishment. Perhaps we should send her on yet another assignment: one that will require her absence for some time. In which we can devise a better way to deal with her growing... independence."

Elder Gimeni formed a tent with her fingers. "I see... and what of the human?"

Taowrol grinned in a way that would best be described as sinister. "I believe our newest arrival would be more than willing to deal with him." He glanced towards the corner of the council room, eyeing the snake that was coiled in the corner. And he was not referring to the reptile wrapped around her waist.

Church embraced a wave of relief as he submerged himself in cool water. After such a long day of exercise and sweat, bathing in an isolated pool was very nice. It was separated from the main village by a line of thick trees, obscuring the view of the pool from the village outskirts and vice verse. And apparently, the only people who knew about it were Alleyne and Nowa. Well, not including him, now that he knew. Once they had told him about it, he had insisted that he not use it, but the two of them had been very insistent.

And he was glad they had. It was a great little spot that there was no way he would've found on his own. And since nobody else was around, he could stay here for a while longer than he really should...

A rustling in the trees around the pool caught Church's attention, pulling him away from his thoughts. After a few seconds of silence, he dismissed the disturbance as a bird or some other forest creature, and returned his focus to his peaceful solitude in the pool. However, this peace was immediately interrupted by the same sound he had noticed just a few seconds ago. Church knew for sure something was there, so he looked up again to see what it was, only to be met with quite an unexpected but not at all unwelcome sight.

He spotted Nowa standing on the edge of the pool, though something was amiss. Church's mind was so blank that it took him a second to realize what it was, but once he did, he could feel a blush creeping into his face. Nowa was naked, standing there on the edge of the pool, not even attempting to cover herself, or even looking slightly ashamed, considering that he was right there. It was possible that she didn't realize he was here. But no, she definitely did. As he looked at her eyes, he noticed that she was staring right at him, so she definitely knew he was here.

And like he had mentioned to himself earlier, she wasn't covering herself. As much as he tried not to, Church couldn't help but examine her body. While her clothes were scant, without them it was still made even more obvious how fit she was. But without that skirt it was clear that she was also more shapely than he had originally imagined. She had nice hips that were by far the most feminine part of her body, the feature that was clearly womanly and not girlish in any way. It could have also been made more prominent by the thinness of her waist. And while the rest of her curves were modest, she was still an undeniably attractive girl, and Church felt that he was committing a moral crime by looking at her this way, even if she made no move to stop him.

He was about to say something to her about at least preserving her modesty, but Nowa hopped in the pool before he could say anything, wasting no time to speak to him. "It's a really nice pool, isn't it, Church? I hope you don't mind me coming in."

Church stuttered the first few times he tried to respond, his mind still lingering on that last vivid image that had been tempting his eyes just a moment ago, despite his efforts to the contrary. "A-a-a-actually, you really shouldn't be in here N-Nowa..."

She cocked her head to the side and looked at him quizzically. "Why not?"

Naturally Church thought she wouldn't need an explanation. Wasn't the problem in this situation obvious? "Because I'm still in here, s-so you should've waited or asked me to leave before coming in..."

She gave him a look that said she still didn't understand what the problem was. Church thought he would clarify in the most general way possible. "Because I'm a guy and you're a girl, and we're both, well, you know..."

Nowa giggled just a little. "Actually, I don't. I don't see anything wrong. In fact, I can even wash your back while I'm here, and then you can get mine! Isn't that convenient?"

Church looked at the cheery elven girl incredulously. Either she was completely shameless, or way more naive than he had previously thought. It was most likely the latter, as he just couldn't see Nowa in a shameful way.

The Half-elf must've noticed the way Church was looking a her, because she stopped smiling and frowned, giving him a dejected look. "Church...do you not like having me around?"

"W-what? No! I mean not no as in I don't enjoy your company, no as in you're wrong... of course I like having you around, it's just that this situation is a little awkward..."

His answer, as well as his fumbling, quickly brought a smile back to Nowa's face, thought it was not as entirely upbeat as usual. "That's good to hear... I was afraid I was going to lose the only friend I had besides the Captain and the forest animals..."

Getting the implication of this comment, Church couldn't help but scoff. "What? C'mon, there's no way someone with your personality is without friends. That has to be a joke."

Nowa smiled morosely. "I wish it were a joke... but I'm not as well off as you think. I'm one of the most hated people in this entire forest."

"What? Why? Who could possibly ever hate you of all people?"

The brunette across from him gave a weak shrug. All sense of indecency had been forgotten by now. "Everyone who's a full-blood elf really, except the Captain. I'm half human, so everyone looks down on me like some sort of garbage."

Church furrowed his brow in genuine confusion. "Why does something like that matter? I mean, looking at you, you can't even tell that you're any different from the other elves I've seen in the past week."

The girl pointed at her ears. "It's obvious to us. The next time you have the chance, you can compare my ears with the Captain or anyone else and see that they're different. Enough to brand me as a mongrel at least. But it's OK, I've gotten used to it so it doesn't really matter..."

Church was about to tell Nowa that it was certainly not OK, when the sound of someone else approaching stopped him short. Of course, only one other person knew about this pool, so Church could already guess who it was. God, he hoped she wasn't naked too: not that he wouldn't love to see that, but because he might pass out from all the blood leaving his brain and going...'elsewhere'.

He looked towards the source of the approaching person to see just who he had expected. Fortunately, (Or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) Alleyne was still fully clothed, and it didn't look like she had any intention of getting in the pool with the two occupants it already had. She paused on the edge of the body of clear water and flicked her eyes between Church and Nowa several times. She eventually stopped and cocked an eyebrow at Church, but refrained from saying anything, for which he was glad.

But the following awkward silence caused by her lack of speech made Church wish that she had said something, anything to avoid the weird moment being shared between the three. He really hoped Alleyne hadn't gotten the wrong idea about this situation...

Nowa broke the silence by finally asking the most obvious question. "What is it, Captain? We still have fifteen minutes left!"

Alleyne glanced at Nowa and gave her a fleeting grin, but from Church's angle, it didn't seem like one of those grins or smiles that meant anything good. Church was pretty good at reading people's expressions, since he had been trained to locate certain targets and hostiles by doing so, and the look on Alleyne's face said that she was hiding something bad.

The elf captain returned her gaze to Church, but unlike with Nowa, she was frowning at him. He couldn't help but feel that she was judging something about him, although he didn't know what. And she still hadn't answered Nowa's question. Did she have something to say or was she just going to stand there and analyze him?

Church was getting a little nervous under her penetrating gaze, so he tried to at least get her to talk. "Is something wrong, Alleyne? You haven't said anything..."

The platinum blonde just sighed and rubbed her forehead for a moment before answering. "Yes, something is wrong. Very wrong, it's just..."

She paused for a moment and rested her gaze on Church again. But this time, it didn't seem as searching as it did regretful. "I won't bother you with it for now. Just... finish up here and then come back. No extra break time."

And with that she turned and walked back the way she had come. Church didn't know what, but something was wrong. Very wrong indeed.

So unbelievably short. It's weird that I used to think this was a decent length.