We were visiting a small village in a rural area. Tavàri is a Tiefling and she is reckless and stubborn. She always follows her impulses and never shies away from a confrontation. I, on the other hand, am an Elf. I am strategic and rational. I always have a strategy for everything and never let my emotions interfere. You can infer how different we are and I don't know how we have survived this long.
In any case, we were strolling through the village, looking for an inn to rest for the night, when we encountered a group of children playing in the road. They were about ten years of age, and they looked very mischievous. As soon as they noticed us, they began to mock us and call us names. They said things like "Look at the pointy ears!" and "What's with the horns and tail?" and "Are you two dating or something?". They were very impolite and irritating, but I told Tavàri to disregard them and keep walking. "They're just children, they didn't know any better." I said.
But Tavàri couldn't tolerate their insults, especially when they started to throw stones at us. One of them hit her in the shoulder and she lost her temper. She turned around and glowered at them, ready to teach them a lesson. I tried to stop her, but it was too late. She ran towards them, yelling "You little brats! How dare you disrespect us! I'll show you what happens when you mess with a Tiefling!". The children were frightened and ran away, except for one who was too slow. She grabbed him by the collar and lifted him in the air. He was trembling and crying, begging her to let him go. In his eyes was pure terror.
She felt a twinge of guilt and realized she had gone too far. She put him down gently and apologized. She told him we were not monsters; we were just different. She told him he should not judge people by their appearance, but by their actions. She told him he should be kind and respectful to everyone, no matter who they are or where they come from. She told him he should be more like me, who was calm and rational even when provoked.
I was standing behind her, observing the whole scene with a curious expression. I smiled and said "Well done, Tavàri. You handled that very well. You showed them both your strength and your compassion. You taught them a valuable lesson." I then turned to the child and said "And you, young man, you learned something today too. You learned not to mess with a tiefling or an elf. You learned that diversity is not something to fear or mock, but something to celebrate and appreciate. You learned that friendship could transcend any difference." I then gave him a gold coin and said "Here, take this as a token of our goodwill. Go buy yourself some candy or something."
The child was stunned and speechless. He took the coin and ran away, still sobbing. Tavàri and I resumed our walk. She looked proud of herself, I on the other hand was once again focussing on the task of finding an Inn for the night.
I know, I know! It's still short! I'm trying, ok? <3 ^^