Luelle tossed and tossed all night. The next morning she woke up sweating and shaking. Her long black hair was messy, and it was obvious based on her complexion, she had barely slept.
The events of that night haunted her… Terry's face which showed concern over her safety than his own, those intruders with their smirks.
Luelle clenched her fists, gritting her teeth. She didn't show it, not in front of Erydor… or anyone, but a wrathful feeling clouded her heart.
"Hate…hate all of them…" Luelle mumbled under her breath.
A knock at the door snapped her out her thoughts
"Lue! Come downstairs for breakfast" Azalea's voice sounded cheerful once again.
"….In a moment" Luelle reluctantly got up and dressed, brushing her hair harshly.
For breakfast Elenor had made Grain Porridge. It tasted fine. Erydor could see Luelle didn't sleep well but he didn't want to intrude.
"Lue, are you alright?" Azalea asked with concern
Luelle tensed up " uh… yeah just didn't sleep well"
Erydor cleared his throat, seemingly trying to change the topic.
"Azalea, why don't you show Luelle around? She'll be leaving here, she needs to get used to her surroundings." Erydor looked between Luelle and Azalea
"That's a great idea!" Azalea sounded quite excited
"I had asked Azalea to hunt today, I need some rabbit meat" Elenor spoke, not looking up at any of them just swishing her fork slowly around in the bowl.
"Rabbit meat? I can just get it later for you" Erydor turned to look at Elenor
"I can still get it, I'll just take Lue with me" Azalea chimed in
"Well…I don't think Luelle would--" Luelle spoke up cutting him off
"I want to go" Luelle looked at Erydor
"Lue-" Erydor was cut off by Elenor
"I think that's a great idea, she'll be living with us. Might as well learn to hunt" Elenor tried to mask her disdain for Luelle, but it was obvious even to Luelle.
Azalea hit Elenor's foot under the table, fortunately Luelle didn't see it. Perhaps she thought Luelle hadn't caught on; and in her mind she was protecting her from knowing about Elenor's disdain.
"I'll go get my bow" Azalea got up
"Lue, wear some pants and boots, it'll be easier to move around in" Azalea smiled
A while later Azalea and Luelle walked out.
"Is it so hard to at least pretend to at least like her?" Erydor stared at Elenor
"It is…you know how I feel about all of this" Elenor got up and went upstairs, leaving Erydor alone downstairs
Azalea showed Luelle around the village, it had seemed small to Luelle when she first arrived. But somehow felt bigger now.
Luelle notice a small stand, selling fresh meat.
"You…hunt, Azalea?" Luelle asked
"Hmm? Oh yes, it's cheaper than buying…it's what I know best how to do" she exclaimed
"Elenor cooks, and I hunt" Luelle's eyes darted around. It wasn't just meat stands but a variety of different items.
"I brought some extra coins in case you want anything, just let me know" Azalea told Luelle.
Luelle just nodded. She couldn't understand why Azalea was so nice to her, she practically barely knew her. Yet Luelle couldn't help but be reminded of Terry, they acted similar.
"Is that her??" Luelle could hear gushed voices whispering around her
Luelle glanced at them, it was a couple of elder elves. Upon noting she saw them, they gave her a little nod as a greeting.
"Let's get going!" Azalea started leading Luelle away
Azalea led Luelle outside of the village within what was allowed, the villagers weren't allowed to go too far off due to the creatures wandering around.
Luelle followed right behind Azalea, noticing how Azalea's ears twitched at every little sound.
"Teach me" Luelle broke the silence
"What?" Azalea looked confused
"Your bow….I wanna learn" Luelle seemed determined, staring Azalea with a straight face.
Azalea seemed to think for a moment before nodding.
"It seems everyone is treating you as though you're fragile Lue….I believe you could be much more" Azalea's back was turned as she was walking
"Huh…?" Luelle's eyes widened
"You have that look in your eyes, fierce…determined" Azalea's voice sounded different….softer, she wasn't treating Luelle like everyone else had been.
"Thank you…Azalea" Luelle's heart swelled with emotion. she didn't like it, didn't like when everyone else treated her as though she couldn't lift a finger of her own.
After they walked for a while, Azalea ushered Luelle to stay as quiet as possible. Up ahead was a rabbit with brown fur.
Luelle watched as Azalea reached for an arrow from her quiver, slowly raising her bow.
Azalea made sure Luelle noted every one of her movements. Azalea placed the nock onto the string and her breath changed, seemining more controlled.
Azalea carefully pulled back the bowstrings smoothly, not once taking her eyes off the rabbit.
Azalea held still for a moment, eyes focused on the rabbit. Finally she let the arrow go, fast and swiftly.
Luelle looked intently as Azalea walked up and knelt, pulling the arrow out of the rabbit.
Luelle walked up behind her, her aim was precise. It was a clean kill.
"That was incredible!! How are you so skilled at it?" Luelle was amazed by Azalea's bow skill.
"Pfft…well I'm not one of the gifted elves, so I knew I had to excel in another way. I learned to watch others. learning the basics from them, and perfected my skill." Azalea made it seem like it had been as easy as walking.
Luelle's gaze darted at the rabbit, she gulped.
"It did not suffer…It was a clean kill" Azalea picked it up and
"My first hunt did not go well, I should've started with something smaller ... .Instead I went for a deer. I panicked when it saw me and I shot the arrow with zero precision ... .the poor thing suffered, I had to use my dagger."
"How…unfortunate" Luelle seemed a bit saddened.
Azalea stood up after she picked up the rabbit, and tucked into her leather pouch.
"Come, let's take a shortcut. It leads to the waterfalls" Azalea started walking
Azalea was quite chatty on the way there, she explained all sorts of things.
Teaching Luelle about which mushrooms were safe to consume. How to prepare meat, teaching her about medicine herbs and where to find them if she were ever alone in the forest.
"Who taught you all of these things?"Luelle curiously asked while touching a stick she had picked up
"Elenor did,she taught me what mama had taught her. And other things, I picked up from the elders in the village" she explained
Luelle listened.
"Azalea….where did you get your bow from?…it's eye catching" Luelle had been curious about Azalea's bow since she first laid her eyes on it
It was a wooden straight long bow, and had a small intricate carved design.
"It had belonged…to my mother ... .after she passed, it stayed as Elenor's possession. Then later on she gave it to me….it's one of the things I treasure most." Azalea had a genuine soft smile, as the wind swayed her curly hair.
Luelle fidgeted with her heart locket. She too had something she treasured.
"Can you hear it, Lue? The sound of water? We're close" it didn't take long before they reached the waterfalls, it was breathtaking.
"Woah ... .it's beautiful" Luelle could see mango trees surrounding the area.
Then suddenly…whack!
"Ah!" A mango had fallen right onto Luelle's head
Both Luelle and Azalea turned to look.
Sitting on top of the tree was an elf with long straight red hair, his gold eyes locked onto Luelle.
"Valen! You scoundrel" Azalea seemed to know to him
Valen jumped down from the tree, stepping closer. He was about an inch taller than Luelle.
"I got curious" he shot Luelle a smirk
"You whacked her on the head with a mango" Azalea crossed her arms
"Who's…this?" Luelle looked between Azalea and Valen
"Lue, this is Valen. He's one of my friends…unfortunately " Azalea shot him a glare
"Don't look at me like that" Valen glared back at Azalea then his eyes turned to fully look at Luelle.
"I meant no disrespect, the mango slipped from my hand" he picked up the fallen mango and peeled it with a dagger, offering it to Luelle.
Luelle didn't fully believe him but reluctantly took it.
"Thank you…I guess?" She took a bite out of the mango, her eyes widened. It was quite sweet, unlike any she had eaten before.
"Like it?" Valen circled around her with curiosity
"I do…" Luelle raised an eyebrow at Valen as he circled around her
"Hey Azalea, so is she like….your sister now? He smirked at Azalea who pinched him
"Ah!…Don't pinch me!" he glared at her
"What if she is? Don't bother her." She flicked his forehead
"I wasn't doing anything, I was simply observing" Valen protested
Meanwhile, Luelle washed her hands.
"Anyways…Luelle, right?" He asked
"Since you're Azalea's friend…or well sister I suppose?…We should be friends!" Luelle blinked in surprise
"As long as you don't whack me again" Valen took it as a joke but Luelle meant it
"Trust me, he won't. I'll push him directly into that water behind us, before he gets even remotely close" Azalea joked, making Luelle laugh. While Valen seemed
unamused
"You're not funny Azalea" he grumbled
"I think sister Azalea is very funny," Luelle laughed which made Valen roll his eyes.
"Well…it's getting late, we should get going" Azalea spoke and Luelle nodded along
"I'll walk back with you two" Valen tucked his dagger away, as he started walking
Right beside Luelle.
"Hey…just so you know…it really was not my intention to throw that mango at you" his voice sounded sincere, his cheeks reddened.
"No big deal, we're friends now so maybe next time….I'll whack you" Luelle joked which made Valen smile
Azalea seemed happy Luelle was laughing. Slowly but surely, Luelle was coming out of her shell.