Will I find a true freind? [kanny]

She sighed as she moved through the woods with her horse. While it was clear that she was nothing more than a normal, human, she didn’t want to be anything else at the moment. Being human was all she needed at this point in time.
She moved slowly though, heaving back to the small house like cave that she had. She didn't need a real house when it was just her and her horse out here in the woods near the river. Who needed all those things when she knew how to look after herself out here.
The tall mare moved behind her, not wearing any tack at the moment.

Auraka Lamya

Large shoulders dipped as he slinked though the trees, long spotted tail twitching behind him as he stalked deeper into the forest. It had been a few days since he had taken the chance to hunt, having been distracted with other topics.
His dipped back straightened, small white ears pricked as a different scent caught his nose.
Human...
Despite being the animal he was, he didn't hunt humans. He was one himself, or at least close to one. Being an elf and an animal, he had the both the best and worst of both worlds.

He continued forth, still staying close to the ground so not to alarm her. He wanted to talk, merely, it had been a while since he had struck up a conversation. Grey-green eyes darted to horse beside her, but it didn't seem to notice him.
Instead, he pushed though the trees approaching the human warily, gaze curious. It was clear he didn't mean any harm. To make it clearer, he sat a slight distance from her and let out a low keen, not wanting her to know he was not just an animal at the current time.

Her horse neighed as she caught sight of another animal moving towards them. Moving to her feet she moved over to the mare not sure what to make of the creature. She saw now as the white wild cat came out that he was not really just a snow leopard.
There was something else hiding in those eyes, but what? Her mare moved behind her, worried about what the big cat’s motives were at the moment. Gem lifted one hand shifting an errant strand of long golden hair out of her face.
“Who are you?” she asked, interested to know who this was.

Auraka Lamya

He stood at her words, large feet taking him a couple of steps closer, head dropped low to show he meant no harm. He was curious, yes, of what a human was doing here in the middle of the forest.

His soft nose brushed against her hand by her side, nuzzling it before turning and running off back the way he had come, having made a choice at last.
Once in the safety of the trees, he changed forms. Rolling his shoulders and feeling good to be elf once more. Wrapping his robe around him and binding the thin cord, his bare feet carried him back towards the human girl.

He paused, standing in the same place the cat had sat, he studied her with the same green-grey orbs.
"Auraka, I am Auraka," he mumbled softly, scanning over her shorter form "who are you?"

The eyes watched as the big cat came closer touching her hand softly before turning and moving back into the trees once more. For a moment she thought about following him, but her mare snorted, telling her that it was not likely a good idea. There were some things she knew that were not normal in this world.

Her mare backed away though as a tall man came out of the forest towards them after a few moments passed without anyone else around. The bow that sat on her horses back slipped and Gem quickly caught it and the quiver before they hit the ground.

The mare seemed a little worried by who this new person was, but Gem could tell he was the one who’d been the snow leopard. “I’m Gem,” she said, smiling at the tall elf that stood opposite her. She’d never known any elves to be in this area before. “You new around here?”

Auraka Lamya

The head shook, brown hair flipping around his angular features.
"No, I have lived here all my life..." he said quietly "though you...Gem...have you lived here all yours? I have passed this cave many times, and noticed no one."
His deep eyes flickered to the mare behind her, taking in the beautiful creature. He had, had a horse once. A wonderful stallion, but once he had come of age and had shifted, there was no need anymore.
A smile tugged at its foreign yet handsome features, a hand rising to gesture towards the mare.
"She is a beautiful creature," he commented, offering a hand to her shying nose. He knew how to handle the beautiful creatures, often gaining trust quickly within them.

“I lived in Yelena while I was a child actually. Once I was old enough to be on my own, I came out here, that was only a few years ago. I've lived in this cave since I first came out here.”

She smiled thought. “It’s not hard being out on my own; I learn a lot as time goes by.” The only troublesome times were the day when I sometimes got injured. “Found life in town too busy.”

It was not something she would admit, that she got hurt a fair bit out here. There were many animals that found her something fun to play with. She never found it fun to play with them though.

Her mare moved forwards, touching his hand for a second before moving away again.

Auraka Lamya

"Maith an capall," he murmured to the mare, rubbing her forehead before allowing her to pull away, studying to human girl aside from him.
She could be called pretty, he guessed by human standards. Though, her appearance was as foreign to him as he looked to her. White blonde tresses, halting around mid-back. Shocking blue eyes, something he had never seen in another elf, let alone a human. Yet, her features were somewhat angular, giving her a slight elfin appearance. Though, clearly she wasn't.
"Ahh," he mused quietly to himself "maybe I have been wandering longer then I believed..."
He knew it was possible, due to the fact he spent months at a time with his animal self and animals had no worry for time of day, only when their next meal was.

"Some find me odd, by human standards." Who could blame them, her mother was a little different to the humans around here. "But then my two other triplet sisters are the same."
She smiled though, knowing she was safe here though. "No one knows where my mother came from though; all everyone knows is that she was not born here, but somewhere else." She smiled though. Things were all good for her at the moment. Her mother was a little odd, sometimes Gem woke up to find a huge bear in the place her mother was usually. That was before she knew it was her mother.

Auraka Lamya

The calm, green-grey orbs blinked as he muttered something under his breath in his ancient language.
"Are you by any chance related to Laura?" he asked, finally able to put the name to the face. She was one of the rare elves who mated with a human, though she was none for having triplets with one. Overall, it was one of the oddest things ever heard by the elves.

He tucked the long brown hair behind his ear, sighing as he tied it back with a loose band awaiting for her reply. He truly wondered who this girl was, why she was out in the middle of nowhere. From her earlier comments, he guessed that she had been attacked rather often. Not many would put themselves in harms way after being attacked, most learnt from it.
Must be a human thing, he thought absently

“The elf who shape shifts into a gold furred, grey eyed bear? If that’s the Laura you’re talking about, then yes.” She smiled. “I am the daughter of that Laura, and her husband Zelphar. My sisters are Elanil, who seemed purely an elf in appearance, and Hycis who is purely human in appearance. I’m the halfway point between them.”

She smiled. “Hycis shape shifts like our mother, but the others of us don’t.” It was an odd thing she knew, that elves would pick a human. “I've been called many names because of my heritage. None of them nice. Some in the language of the elves even.”

She sighed. "That's why I stay out here, away from all the people in town. Sure there is danger out here, but I'm not afraid."

Auraka Lamya

The slim shoulder elf shrugged, unknowing her form and seemed somewhat shocked that she had told him so clearly her mothers.
"It is not a common thing to know what another's form is...." he said quietly, tone showing his clear surprise. It was common for mates to only know each others animals, not a widely known knowledge.
"But yes...I think this is the same Laura I spoke of," he smiled slightly "she was somewhat an oddity when I left home...different then the others, having known more of humans then the others."
"Logh dom, cé nach bhfuil sé go minic ar ár de chineál eile a insult ... fiú a bheith orthu de phór leath den sórt sin mar tú féin ..." he murmured quietly, eyes sparkling with amusement before repeating himself in a language she could understand.
"Pardon me, though it is not often our kind to insult another...even them being a half breed such as yourself..." he said it, clearly meaning no insult by his words. He had no hate for half breeds, in fact finding a certain interest in the human kind. They were so alike yet so different, he had studied them from afar for years.

His hand went out to the beautiful mare behind her again, murmuring soft ancient words of Irish.
"Capall, lárach álainn, le do thoil cur chuige," he said gently, words soundly like lyrics upon the wind.

"Even if its not right for that sort of thing to happen to people like me, I get it worst from other purer elves. I hide here because of it, though I wish I could be with my family, but I won't have people insulting them as well. They don't tease my sisters, because they both look like either race with nothing of the other race in them. Me being mixed up between both, get it all. They never tease mum and dad, only me."

Sure it sucked, but she was getting used to it at the moment. Eventually people would stop, but would she go back, even then?

Auraka Lamya

His frown deepened, long fingers curling in his lap as he sat down, leaning against the tree.
"My kin are not one to insult another...alas, a half elf is rare, often favored...." he murmured absently, fingers twisting.
"Though, I have not been home in many moons now...things might have changed.." he added thoughtfully, obviously appearing a lot older then he truly was. Elves lived for a very long time, not forever but a very long time. They only started to show signs of aging when death was approaching.
His pale brow was creased with wrinkles before clearing.
"It is to early to be speaking of such things, we should be chatting under stars and drinking fresh tea," he exclaimed, jumping to his feet "my old camp should be around here somewhere..."
Though he had no idea if it still stood.

She chuckled. “Yeah well, clearly here I'm seen as an outcast really. No one except my family want anything to do with me, so out here I came, with Narimya.” The mare neighed at the sound of her name. Though Gem knew she was not as loved as she had been once, things were good out here in the forest. “Occasionally I'll visit them, but not very often. I prefer being out here.”
Smiling, she wandered through the trees, knowing what he was talking about. “There is a little makeshift camp out here, though its very weather worn now.”

Auraka Lamya

He nodded, pausing as they came upon a familiar open clearing.
"Ahh, this is it," he said, smiling slightly as he noticed it's weather worn appearance "it appears I have been an animal longer then I first expected."
He bent over gracefully, searching though the left overs of a bag and pulled out a little loose bag, filled with dried tea leaves.
"But luck is upon us, it deems, for there is still tea," he said seriously, as if the rest of there lives depended upon the tea in his hand.
He started the fire, using old kindle beside it and mutter a word to get it starting. Magic. Such a useful thing.
Setting the elven carved kettle onto the fire he sat back, legs crossed, and waited for it to boil.
Only then did he reply to her earlier comments.
"You were treated unfairly," he commented "I apologize upon my kin, our words often sound different to those that do not understand our ways."

"Well, you can't win them all, or so my father says," she replied, finding somewhere to sit. She knew what he meant by being an animal more than a human or elf. “I get a little lost these days when I return to town. I don't belong there any more.”
She sighed. Things were not easy, but when had things ever been easy for her? Teased all her life, only to find that leaving town didn't stop it. “most towns I go to tease me now.”
Just because she was a bit of a hermit, staying out here all the time.

Auraka Lamya

The tall elf sat neatly on the ground, sitting cross legged and seemed somewhat peaceful despite his tall frame. He was thin and yet handsome in a different fashion, looking human and yet not. It always amused him on the reactions of humans when they saw him, their faces clearly showing their emotions as they tried to figure out what he was.
You would be surprised at some of the things they came up with.

Finding to beautifully carved mugs, he made the tea with practiced fingers before breathing in the lovely smell and taking a small sip before offering her a mug. A tradition of the elven kind.
"Your father must be a wise man," he commented, blinking his large green eyes with amusement "we elves have a saying, I think it suits you greatly. Those who open the book and read may learn, but without knowledge of actions it shall not make sense."
A small smile tugged at his lips, wondering if she would understand the message within them.

She took what he gave her, drinking for a moment, before looking up at his words. "Learning new things and meeting other races are things I enjoy."
She smiled, it was a fleeting sight. She was lonely out here, and talking to him was good to her. Too bad she was not one for talking for hours on end. That could prove annoying for those who liked that sort of thing.
She did not often smile or anything, life out here was hardening her. Her heart even was starting to be hidden away. Only one would ever break through to that.

Auraka Lamya

He studied her with a guarded expression, cradling the tea in his palms and yet not looking out of place in the forest like background.
Over the rim of his mug, his eyes danced with amusement. There was something more about her, something not even she knew about herself yet. Like him, she was a shifter.
But he wouldn't tell her, it was something she was to figure out herself.

Sitting in companionable silence, he finished with the tea and settled it on the ground beside him. He never felt the need to talk, there was no need when silence was just as for filling as words.

She couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew there was something about him that interested her. No idea how that happened she smiled though, thinking of a few of the things she needed to do before the sun vanished again for the night. There was so much needed, but she knew she would have time. She had to go to town to buy a few things. That was a long trip, but she would manage.

He seemed nice at least and she knew that was a good things. “I can’t stay too long, I have to head to town and back so I can get a few things from one of the stalls at the market.”

Auraka Lamya

The head nodded, long white hair flicking over his shoulder and coming to a halt just before his hip. He smiled at her, seeming quiet friendly and rose gracefully to his feet, taking her mug and his to the stream to wash.
Returning, he sat back in the place he had only moments before and tilted his head slightly.
"Would you like some company? It has been years since I last entered a town, I am sure there are things I need," he offered, quiet voice seeming to blend in with the sounds of the forest. He flashed her a small smile, deciding that he wished to spend more time with his odd girl, obviously a lot more to her then was on show.

“If you want to come you may. I won’t be there all that long,” she replied. There was no chance she was hanging around there to worry about the people that looked up to her parents and siblings. She was the unlucky one. The plain one in the family.
Her family was always there helping others, which she had done a lot of as well, but she was the one who was scolded for helping and yelled at by others. “Might be a bit of an eye-opener for you, how people react to me being around.”
She sighed, wishing it wasn’t that way.