Liev was not the only elf in Highwood having a streak of good luck. Lurking in the shadows beneath a tree knelt a strange, cloaked man. It wasn't that Elhadron enjoyed being a strange, cloaked man. It was just something he ended up doing with a dismaying degree of frequency. He reached under his hood to scratch his scalp. His short-cropped hair, crushed under the heavy fabric, was going to be an absolute nightmare.

He noted this with a grin as he leaned back against the tree. He must look absolutely frightful after a few days out here. He tucked his hands into his sleeves to protect them from the sun. Despite their color, they did burn as easily as anyone else's. He'd only taken them out for a moment, to feel the warmth of the sun soaking into his pitch-black skin. His dislike of the midday sun had more to do with physical discomfort than any psychological aversion to leaving his shadowy hideout.

Elhadron's day had been full of small blessings, not least of which being that he had been out in the day for nearly an hour without the migraines to which he'd become accustomed. Or rather, he always thought he'd become accustomed to them... until the next one came around. Today, though, he'd been left in peace for a short while. Still more unexpected and encouraging was the fact that Elhadron hadn't been beaten or robbed in nearly a week. Quite a relief. A more cynical man might have assumed this meant he was long overdue, but Elhadron was content to be pleased with his luck.

His head twitched as he caught the sound of a footstep in the heavy undergrowth. Turning, he laid one hand on the ground to lean on as he peered around the tree trunk from under his cloak. It was a man, and a young one. He was glancing apprehensively between the trees. For him the shadow of the forest was not something to be met with relief as it was for Elhadron. It signalled approaching darkness, a time when beasts and demons, evil men and dark elves, predator and victim alike met in blood and death.

Poor old chap, Elhadron thought. I wonder if he's lost.

Elhadron nudged his bag back behind the tree and took a step out into the open where the stranger could see him. He saw Elhadron and started, wondering at the sudden appearance of a potential threat. Elhadron saw in his eyes when he noticed the color of his skin. He bore the polished ebony tones that only drow were cursed to wear. Old stories and fears flickered across the man's face, stories of hooded mages waiting to tear apart the fabric of creation or spread the blood of the innocent over altars both sinister and profane.

The dark elf squinted one eye at the sun coming through the canopy. Out on such a beautiful day, even the cloak didn't help much.

Oh, no. I'm going to-- am I? He could feel it. He thought. ...Maybe. A deep breath came involuntarily and Elhadron knew that he was helpless to stop himself.

His hands flew to cover his face and he sneezed.

His hood flew back and the sudden movement caused the poor human stranger to jolt several inches. Elhadron shook his head, hoping desperately that the allergy attack would pass. Something about the sun. The difficulty seeing he could handle. The sunburns he could handle. Even the migraines he could handle, but there was just something undignified about a sun-induced sneezing fit.

He reached back and pulled the hood back where it was supposed to be, and when his new acquaintance realized he'd been frightened out of his wits by a sneeze he couldn't help but laugh.

"Sorry about that," Elhadron offered. "I think I'm not built for the daytime. Are you lost?"

"I... uh, actually. Kind of. I'm trying to get to the merchant quad."

"Oh!" Elhadron exclaimed. "Oh, yeah. You've really gotten turned around because you came in sideways. You want to head that way," he said, pointing off in a new direction. "You'll be able to find your way back from there."

"...You're... sure?"

"Sure I'm sure. I got here the first time by being lost, and the second. But this is my third trip and I promise I got here under my own power and entirely intentionally." He tucked his hands back into his sleeves and gave a deep, formal bow.

Somewhat more at ease, the stranger nodded. "Thank you, then. I didn't... expect to find anybody around to give me a hand."

"You know dark elves. Sneaky things, we are. Never know when I'll spring out at you and give you directions."

The stranger gave a dry little laugh. "Maybe. But thanks. Have a good one," he said with a brief bow.

"You as well," Elhadron returned. As the man left he turned to find his seat again. The sun was beginning to pour rich evening tones over the blue flowers of the field. Elhadron pulled a novel from his bag. It was a trashy old thing, some sort of romantic historical fiction. But, it was better than nothing at all.

At least, until an exceedingly talented young fellow began a stirring and eloquent performance around an exquisite fountain. Elhadron laid his book aside and walked forward to listen. He left his belongings behind him under a low-growing shrub. He'd found his property was much less likely to be stolen if when wasn't directly associated with him, so leaving it behind was hardly a risk.

He watched from the shadows of the trees as the crowd rewarded their master of revels. It was times like these that Elhadron was reminded why he bothered being out in the day at all. Despite all the problems daylight gave him, it was comforting to watch his fellow elves relaxed and enjoying an easy contentment they never displayed at night. Their movements had none of the anxious furtiveness of a traveller alone in the darkness. This was their home and they loved it here. Even forced to the edges of such a gathering, Elhadron tried to share their high spirits.

When Liev was finished and his adoring crowd began to return to their own lives, Elhadron decided to take a bit of a risk. If there was one thing he knew, it was the value of positive feedback to an artist of Liev's caliber. He found his way to the wood elf's bench. He stopped some distance away, aware that his carefully shrouded and cloaked appearance was more than a little suspicious. With his hands in his pockets and his hood up to hide his dark skin, Elhadron gave Liev a deep bow of appreciation. "I just wanted to let you know that your performance this afternoon was breathtaking as always. You're becoming an attraction to rival the landscape of this garden, Mister Tolmir."

When Rebecca finally made it to the city of Highwood, a city she had heard so much about in her youth, the Emerald Gardens was, indisputably, the first place she visited. Seldom you see such lovable surroundings, she thought, and yet she had seen much of Elentári. But the beauty around her assured her, once and for all, that there is still much to be seen!

Rebecca had spent the day walking around the gardens in solitude, trying to take in as much as she could of the serenity she felt here. After several hours of sitting on a low bough, basking in the pleasant sunrays coming in through the green foliage, her reflections were disrupted by music. Opening her eyes to look about, she decided she would go to listen, at least now when her peace had already been interfered with. As the concert, it seemed to be some kind of concert, was not more than a stone's throw away she was soon there.

Quite a crowd had gathered to listen, so Rebecca stopped just outside the clearing, in which center some bard was doing his act. Quite good, but hardly genius, Rebecca thought, with a skeptical look on her face, as she was overlooking her kinsmen and women. They drew Rebecca's eye away from the artist on stage. And it didn't stop wandering from elf to elf until her gaze fell on a cloaked figure, standing in shadow, just as she was. Evidently they shared a mutual interest in these people.

She observed, with mostly curiosity, that this figure was a drow, his dark skin immediately gave him away. This was the first time that Rebecca even saw one of his kind. She followed him with her eyes as he made his way toward the bard. By this time the crowd had started to thin out and Rebecca saw their lips moving, striking up a conversation.

Rebecca's curiosity for the drow made her walk toward them as they went and sat down at the fountain. The thought that she, perhaps was pushing their hospitality to the limit was always present in her mind. When she came closer and heard that they were just talking casually she felt, at least a little bit, less awkward.

“...and tell me of your travels.  What has led you to my fine grove?” she heard the bard say to the drow when she stopped in front of them.

Perhaps I should say something, she thought and started to blush a little.

"May I join you?" she quietly interrupted.

Liev’s entire persona and attitude changed as soon as he saw Rebecca walk into his sight.  The one thing he loved above music and this forest was beautiful women.  His heart beat faster as she neared the two elves.  When she opened her mouth to utter four simple words, Liev was overtaken by her soft luscious voice.  He immediately leapt from his seat on the fountain edge and bowed to her slightly before taking her hand and planting a light kiss on it.

“Nothing would make me happier.”  He answered.  He then stood up straight again and paced back to the fountain edge.  “I’m Liev by the way.  You can sit next to me if you’d like.  My friend here was just about to tell me of his travels.”  He looked back into her eyes ever so lovingly and leapt back up onto the stone fountain edge.

It was hard for him to focus on what Elhadron was saying when he was so preoccupied with Rebecca.

“You’ve always lived here?  I thought that the…”  He lowered his voice for the next word, “Drow…lived up in the wastes.  I would have expected you to have traveled many miles through the mountains to reach our great forest.  I never knew Drow lived here in Elentári.”

OOC: I decided to switch to Liev's account.

Rebecca let Liev kiss her hand. Her eyes didn't encourage further silly acts of courtesy, but even as her mind didn't enjoyed Liev's preoccupation with her, she felt at some level of her being pleased with the attention. Rebecca reluctantly accepted his invitation to sit while exchanging meaningful looks with the drow, letting him understand that he was the sole reason she endured Liev's naive treatment. She felt like they had a lot more in common that she and the wood elf had.

She sat on the fountain like a child sitting on her father's lap listening closely to his mesmerizing stories of fascinating places and past eons. And when she had let Liev struggle long enough to keep the conversation going she interjected:

"Perhaps this is none of my business, and don't be afraid to decline me an answer, but why do you live here?" She blushed a little because of her all too naive question, but she couldn't hamper her curiosity any longer.

For an instant a veil of darkness swept over Rebecca's face. Elhadron's question struck her like a lightning bolt from a clear sky, and a rush of old memories was released into her veins. She lowered her brown eyes. During a short moment she had been residing a in utopia, in the true bliss of forgetting about oneself. But she was inevitably brought back to the secular world. As the black blood reached her heart, it conjured his voice, the voice of her loved one, he who deserted her in her time of need. She could hear him whisper softly in her ear.

"Rebecca..." she echoed.

The moment she had uttered her name, she straightened were she sat, forcing fresh blood into her arteries. Lifting her eyes, determined not to let her past overwhelm her, she met Elhadron's gaze. A faint smile began to spread across her lips, she was still pleased, and consoled, by the attention he gave her. But when she saw how uncomfortable Elhadron was in the sunlight she exclaimed:

"But my friend! Shouldn't we sit somewhere more shady?"

Rebecca followed and sat down beside Elhadron. She sat without saying a word on the edge of the bench, stretching her back, revealing her strong posture. Looking over her shoulder at him, shielding her eyes from the sunlight with her hand. From times to times it seemed like her thoughts kept wandering away, but that didn't bother the speaker. And Rebecca was thankful. To tell the truth, Rebecca was quietly absorbing the situation. The weather was delightful, the company was pleasant. The only thing that bothered her was the occasional looks Liev, who had, not surprisingly, seated himself beside Rebecca, sent running up and down her back. But even that wasn't enough to ruin Rebecca's mood on a beautiful day as this one.

But at Elhadron's last words she awoke from her dreamy state. As new questions arose, these again flowed over her dams which constrained her from drowning her company with inquiries.

"What do you mean?" she bluntly interrupted. But immediately she changed tone and continued:

"What do you mean by an isolated cave? Don't you want to live among your own kind?" Rebecca felt a little embarrassed for asking such a prying question, and while lowering her eyes, her pale cheeks reddened lightly. But still she anticipatively awaited the answer.

She met his gaze, losing herself in his eyes, seeing how many things he left untold. She sat quiet and contemplated Elhadron's words. Yes, how could anyone give up their home? Willingly walk out of the door? His eyes broke down barrier after barrier inside of her, and he read her like a book. And she was afraid that he might see the home she had left so recently, and so she let her eyes fall.

Trying to avoid his gaze she turned, fixing her eyes on a single leaf making its descent toward the cold earth, dancing through the calm air of the warm afternoon. Rebecca was painfully reminded of Elentári's beauty as the leaf's yellow color burst into flames when it was hit by the declining sun. Was this a premonition of the awaiting autumn? She looked up, but the canopies high above still shone with a lush green, with its leaves moving softly in the shy gusts of wind. Rebecca's mood sunk. A single tear fought its way free from its confinement and rolled down her cheek. Will this be my last summer in Elentári? Is this the last time I will see the forest dressed in her vivid autumn colors?

The instant the solemn leaf hit the ground Rebecca was torn back into the present again, trying desperately to chase away her gloomy thoughts and recollections.  She was afraid to meet the eyes of her company and so she stood, taking a few steps forward. But she gathered courage, drawing a deep breath, feeling the sweet odor of her beloved Elentári. And turning towards the gentlemen she said, repeating her thoughts:

"No, how could anyone want to leave this place?"