Fire.

Screams

Dark creatures.

Torn limbs.

It was all a haze, everything sweeping past her too fast for her to focus, to make out details, yet it seared her soul, hurt her.

Pain.

Screams.

Accusations.

Blame

Slaughtered elves.

Her fault.

And Seranni, her sweet Seranni...

Smiling.

8

8

8

Velanna cried out as she sat up.

Or rather, she tried to, but there was nothing in her lungs and she found herself choking as she struggled for air while simultaneously trying to scream. Her left hand came up, only to get caught in a white sheet covering her, the thin cloth clinging to where her skin was bare, her cold sweat soaking it. She was in a bed, that much was clear, far softer then what she was used to...at camp.

Camp...this isn't camp, this is that filthy thing of stone...I came here to...to... She shuddered.

Yet...I'm...alive? She frowned, confused, her eyes yet unable to see past those grinning fangs of her...of her sister. I'm alive...she grimaced at the jab of guilt at her heart even as she tried to take a deep breath...it ended with a cough, her throat dry as parchment. With her left hand still tangled in the sheets she managed to pull her right out, the sweaty limb coming up to push a rogue strand of hair behind her ear before she reached down to rub her sore throat. What had I...?

Dark hordes, filthy monsters, dying people, mistakes, wrongs...her fault.

Suddenly cold Velanna shivered, then shook her head. No, don't think about it.

"Ah, you're awake." The voice was low, confident. Him, the hunter. Blinking once more Velanna turned her head, her eyes finally focused on the surroundings and not the residues of her shameful dreams.

The room was tiny, making Velanna grimace, glancing at the far too close stacks of flat stones, ready to crush her under their weight at any moment, it wasn't at all helped by the wooden ceiling above her. How can wood hold the stone above from crashing through? She didn't whimper though, nor shudder, remembering the human in her room. By the gods...he must have seen... Velanna grimaced and pulled her legs up, her left hand pulling the sheets closer to her chest as she realised just how vulnerable she'd been.

At the opposite end of the room, which she could easily cross in a mere dozen steps, there was a door, closed. Probably locked too...Velanna eyed the rest of the surroundings, noting the many tapestries covering the walls, all depicting some sort of foliage and forests, as if taunting her with what she had lost. There was a large rug covering most of the floor, a few foreign-looking furnitures of wood placed against the wall, one of them sporting the largest mirror Velanna had ever seen. She ignored it though, as she did everything else, and instead focused on the man that was sitting so uncomfortable close.

Sitting in a rocking chair three feet from her bed the man had one leg over the other, a book resting atop them as he with careful movements flipped the page on the leather bound book. Still dressed in his neatly patched leather armour the man had obviously barely dusted off the travelling dust, the smell of dirt and grass heavy around him. Typical of a filthy human I suppose...Velanna chose not to think of how she smelled, she had an excuse after all.

Then he moved, making her flinch, despite her efforts.

The man pretended not to notice though, making her grit her teeth in irritation as she watched his hand reach out to a small table between the two, grasping a hold of a large wooden mug before offering it at her, his eyes never leaving the book. "Here, drink."

At first she had a barbed response on her tongue. Who was he to order her around? Did he think they had now tamed her and made her into another flat ear?

But she was too thirsty, her throat demanding something to soothe its rawness, so she took the mug, surprised by its size, but then grateful as she brought it to her lips and begun to drink, well aware that she would empty it soon enough. "I was parched too after my joining." The man pointed out, tone neutral. Trying to lull me into a false sense of security are you? Velanna couldn't answer though, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the surprisingly cool water soothing her raw throat. "And I wouldn't get out of bed in a while, my legs gave in the first time I tried."

Is that a joke? No...he hasn't struck me as a joker. Maybe an attempt to bind me with those bonds of 'friendship' that then turns the elf to servitude? She opened an eye and shot the man a glance as she drank. She found him still reading that book, not even looking at her, face neutral, that of a man simply stating facts, without embarrassment nor ulterior motives. Either he's a very good bluffer or he's...feeling sorry for me? Velanna found herself scowling even as she finished the mug and placing it back on the table. "I don't need favours." With her throat still raw she croaked the words.

"I gathered." The man dryly remarked, carefully flipping the page, still not looking at her...Velanna didn't know if she was to feel insulted or grateful. She was all too aware that she was slick with cold sweat and that her breathing and eyes still betrayed some of her lingering fear of the dream. Yet he knew that already and didn't look, and she did not want any favours from the likes of him.

"And I don't owe you anything for that." She made a small gesture for the mug, irritated with how much she had enjoyed its content.

"For water?" The man arched an eyebrow, his gaze still not leaving the book. "Of course not, that would be silly."

Velanna growled as she kicked at the sheets still clinging to her, irritated with feeling her legs grow weary with such a minor movement. He has to be right too...gods I hate this... "So now I'm silly am I!"

The man flipped the page, not the least affected by the hostility in her voice. "I didn't say that."

Well...no... Velanna glared at the man, his calm rubbing her wrong, the way he didn't seem to try anything putting her mind on alert... She was vulnerable, weak, elven...the fact that there was no attack, no leer, not even any hostility...made her worried. It was like waiting for the storm that just wouldn't show up...she hated that. "So what are you saying?"

The man shrugged, flipping the page once more. "That you don't owe me anything."

"And?"

"And nothing." The man replied, apparently set on making things difficult for her, the worst part being that he actually didn't seem to think about it, it was just...him. "You want something to eat?"

Velanna's stomach rolled at that, a mix of hunger and revulsion at the thought of eating. Later...gods I have to eat human food don't I? Yes...later then. Still... "You are allowed to leave? You're not my guard?" She prodded, narrowed eyes darting between glaring at the man and the closed door at the other end of the room.

"I was told to guard you..." Aha! "...but it's not like that." Velanna found herself blinking. Despite the man still reading she had the odd feeling that he was reading her face at the same time...she didn't like that. "I'm here to attend to you until you've recovered." He shrugged again even as he flipped the page of the book. "Now, do you want food?"

"I want nothing from you." Velanna snorted, pulling her legs up to her chest and hugging them, feeling painfully weak...exposed.

And irritated with the human that apparently wasn't even considering taking advantage. "As you wish." Another shrug, another flip of the page, the man not looking the least offended.

Silence.

Another flipped page.

Silence.

The man smiling faintly at something he read before flipping the page once more.

Silence.

"Are you just going to sit there!" The words left her lips involuntarily, the silence too hard on her already tense nerves.

"What else should I be doing?" The man asked, unfazed by her growl.

I...don't rightly know. Velanna shook her head, a hand darting up to run through her damp hair. "Don't you have something more important to do! Or are you trying to become my friend or something equally foolish!"

The man lifted a hand off the book, raising his index finger even as he continued reading that cursed book of his. "No." A second finger shot up. "And we are allies, not friends, I don't expect, nor am I trying, anything."

And it's driving me insane... "Allies of convenience..." Velanna muttered, glaring at the human walls, at the human things, at the human... All was alien and...dammit...intimidating.

"The best kind." The man replied, sounding annoyingly honest as he continued his reading. Is he just trying to fool me? What is his game? What is he trying to accomplish?

At least he's not that fool of a mage... She could identify with the man sitting next to her. He was a hunter, she had seen it in his walk, the way he held his bow, the way he looked at the surroundings...he moved like the Dalish hunters...and she could understand the honesty behind such a way. It was predatory and stealthy yes...but honest, the intention clear. So despite being a human the man at least had something she could understand...however much she despised that fact. Still... "Of course you would say that, humans never understands the value of trust, they know only treachery."

The man visibly paused in his readings, his eyes looking past the book. Ha, there we go, now that façade of yours will fall. Then he smiled, a faint, miniscule smile, barely visible to any but the observant. What? "Ah, you're being defensive." I am n-! "Lashing out." The human smoothly got to his feet as he bowed his head. "Apologies, my presence must make you nervous in your present state."

I...you...what! Velanna blinked, feeling numb at the words striking so embarrassingly true.

"I will send someone with some food later." Another small bow of his head...and then the man crossed the room, opened the decidedly unlocked door...and disappeared.

And then she was alone, for which she was grateful for...which in turn annoyed her.

Hugging her legs tighter she shook her head and glared at the sheets clinging to her. "Bloody humans..."

888

Thanks to Abydos Jackson for her tireless efforts.