Wild Things

Family

It had been nearly twenty years since Rowan had been tricked by the humans and put in a strange facility that housed elves. Rowan didn't like remembering that time since it had taught her much about how helpless she truly was out there in the world of humans. But, she took comfort in the fact that she had found a way to escape in the end and to be back out in the wild where she belonged. Since her escape, Rowan had taken Ash, another wild elf like herself, as her partner forever and they had a child, a little girl Rowan named River.

River had a strong scent like both of her parents. She smelled of lavender, a nice contrast to her father's minty scent and her mother's scent of fir. She was a cute four-year-old elfling with stubby little legs and a round, tanned face. She also had blue eyes and very curly blonde hair. Her ear-points were still short, but they wouldn't reach their adult size until she was seven so she had some time yet to get the elegant ear-points of her mother or the chunkier, larger ear-points of her father. Right now, River was playing in a small clearing while Rowan picked berries.

River had found a large black beetle and was playing with it. She fed it some grass and giggled when it bit on the blades of grass. She then looked up at her mother. "Mama?" she asked. "Why don't we eat grass?"

"Why would we want to?" Rowan asked. "We could eat any of the plants in the forest and all of them pretty much taste better. And they're better for you."

River frowned and then picked a handful of grass. She stuffed it in her mouth and almost immediately spat it back out. "Yuck!" she exclaimed.

"See? I told you," Rowan said and returned to picking the berries.

River wasn't finished yet. She pushed herself onto her short legs and toddled over to her mother. "Why does grass taste bad?" she asked.

"Grass contains sugars that we can't digest properly, so the bad taste is partly your body telling you that grass isn't good for you to eat.  You also may have accidentally eaten some bugs. There are probably ticks in that grass. Ticks don't bother us unless we eat them. They taste nasty."

"Nasty," River repeated, rolling the word around her mouth. "Nasty." She then looked up a pine tree. "Hi, Daddy!"

"Hello!" Ash said fondly, regarding his child. He then jumped down from his perch about twenty feet in the air and landed on his feet like a cat. He then scooped River up and hugged her close to his body. "How's my little girl?"

"I tried grass. It tasted bad," River said.

"Yeah, it does, doesn't it? Want to eat a dried redwood twig?" Ash asked, pulling out an orange-colored redwood twig.

River took it from him and looked at it dubiously. "What's it like?" she asked.

"Taste it and find out," Ash suggested.

River bit it, her small elfling teeth having a harder time chewing up the twig than adult elf teeth. Her eyes widened once she tasted it. "It tastes like the smell of human cooking... that tasty smell."

"Wood smoke," Ash said smugly. "Knew you'd like it."

"It's not as good for you as live redwood twigs," Rowan informed River. Rowan then picked a fern frond and started stuffing it into her mouth. "Ferns are much better for you," Rowan said around the fern.

River made a face. "I don't want to eat fern! I always eat fern!" River then regarded her mother. "Could I have milk? Please?"

Rowan rolled her eyes. "Fine. But you'll have to eat some real food first. Your father can show you some reeds you can eat."

Ash grinned and took River's hand. "Come on, I'll take you to the pond," he told her.

"The pond!" River giggled and she bounced along beside him, looking more like a human child than an elfling.

Rowan returned to her berry-picking, only now she did it more mechanically. She was focused on altering her biological processes so she could produce some milk for River. Elves were capable of nursing their young long after they are babies. Even elven males could nurse babies, if no elven females were available. Rowan had the vague impression that humans found the ability to be bizarre, and at times even disgusting, but Rowan didn't see the problem with it. It was still food, whatever the problem humans had with it.

A few minutes later, Rowan's basket was full of berries, so she turned around and headed back to her house.  She followed the meandering trail that wound among the bushes in the field, pausing occasionally to sample a leaf or two.  She then walked through a stretch of forest made up of tall pine trees and the occasional redwood before encountering another clearing, this one with a slightly sagging abandoned house right in the middle.  Rowan smiled.  This was her home.

Her house still had wind chimes in the windows, but they were much more numerous than they had been twenty years ago. Also, the house was more patched-up and wasn't quite as falling apart as it had been. The oak still grew tall and strong next to the house, one branch leaning almost close enough to touch the roof. Rowan walked inside the reinforce front door and made her way to the kitchen. She deposited the basket on the counter next to a pile of crisp leaves that they had picked for lunch and dinner. Rowan ate some now in an effort to produce more milk. Her breasts were starting to ache and she hoped that Ash and River would come back soon.

The quiet sound the door made as it shut told her that they were back. Small feet thumped across the old wooden floor and River hurled herself onto Rowan's lap. River looked up at Rowan with large blue eyes. "Please?" she asked.

Rowan rolled her eyes.  "Of course, River.  Make yourself comfortable, and make sure you eat some leaves after."

As Rowan nursed River, Ash picked through the leaves until he came to an oak leaf. He ate it and smiled. "I love oak."

"I know," Rowan replied. "I couldn't find any squirrel stashes of acorns this time, though."

"That's okay," Ash said. He then watched, amused, as River had her lunch.  "I remember when my mother still nursed me."

"You've told me before.  Didn't you say that she stopped because you'd bitten her one too many times?" Rowan inquired.

Ash just grinned and ate another oak leaf. River finally finished and she sat up on Rowan's lap. "Thank you!" she said.

"You're welcome," Rowan replied fondly. She then pushed River off her lap. "Why don't you go outside and play?"

"Okay!" River said and she scrambled out the door.