Silent Symphony

Chapter Nine: Elves Are People Too

    His glowing eyes softened. "I am sorry...Elias. When I speak with others, it becomes easy to forget." I glared down at the meat in my hands, unwilling to put it anywhere near my mouth. Taurus cleared his throat, "Not that it matters much anymore, but it is venison."

    "Are you sure? Or is that a jest as well?"

    "I'm sure," the elf sighed. "Please, eat, for whatever happens next, you will need your strength."

    After a moment of consideration, I took another begrudging bite and tried to collect my thoughts. Despite the eeriness of the elf staring at me, my mind couldn't help but wander back to the previous day. With so many people, the wagon train couldn't possibly move very fast. If I started immediately, I could catch up with them before daybreak. My eyes moved to Aldyth, whose face was peaceful for the first time all day. Where was I supposed to leave her? There was no village go bring her back to and there was no where else that I could guarantee that she would be safe.

    Besides, knowing her, she would insist on coming along.

    "What happened here?" Taurus spoke up, cutting into my thoughts. "What place is this?"

    "My village, is Gris...was Gris...we are a township of Alyvanter."

    "Never heard of it."

    "Few have."

    "Tell me everything that happened." He demanded and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.

    "I am not sure about everything," I ran a nervous hand through my hair, careful, to avoid touching my ears. "Aldyth and I --" Taurus gestured at Aldyth to confirm her identity. I nodded. "We spent most of the day out by ourselves in the woods."

    "Scandalous," Taurus muttered. I shot him a look. "What? Do humans not find that sort of behavior, scandalous? The both of you are hardly children anymore."

    "Ha," I scoffed. "I do not think of her in such ways, despite what you and the rest of the town may think. She is my best friend."

    "Think of me in what ways?" Aldyth murmured. I glanced down at her and was relieved to see her eyes fluttering open. She winced then sat up before anybody could protest.

    "Nothing, go back to sleep," I said quickly.

She gave me look, though slightly hollow; it was still fully intimidating. "You cannot just order me around, Eli. I am not one of your little siblings."

    "Oh, he is well aware of that," Taurus chuckled. I gawked at him nervously. If mood swings were was a common thing with him, I wasn't sure how long I could stand his company before I left on in my own and got lost in the night.

    Aldyth glanced over and appeared to notice our dinner guest for the first time. Her eyes widened and she scrambled back several paces toward me. "Oh gods, an elf!"

    "Here we go again...."

    Taurus closed his eyes for a moment and brought his hands to his temples as if the two of us were giving him a migraine -- and not the other way around. Aldyth scurried back until she leaning beside me with a rather frantic expression on her face.

    "It's okay," I said quickly, trying to settle her obvious alarm. "This is Taurus, he saved us. He's... a friend." My words came out uneasily, for I was unsure how to address the situation. Meanwhile, Taurus was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, his amber, cat-like eyes catching the glow of the flames brightly. His unkept, brown hair fell down over his face, making his glowing irises even more startling.