[Rosekitten]

He was about to excuse himself from this little gathering anyway he'd explain later to the Queen though he ended up flinching at the sudden touch from someone. His attention hadn't been where it needed to be as far as being alert. "Heh.. brave isn't the word I'd use.. Stupid yes" He said in his normal tone that he used during most situations. Really he was glad to see her, though he didn't expect anything to come of it.

Oddly the Queen didn't seem surprised by the girl, though she had a idea of who she was going off of what she knew about Rhyldrin. she gave the king a soft smile after the kiss and his question. "I will attend and my few knights." Though she knew even without a wound that Rhyldrin would decline this tooth and nail, so instead she nodded her head towards him a little to excuse him. Her knights looked at one another a little unsure of how to take all of this, the idea of peace was still such a long distance away it seemed unreal that it had happened.

Catching the queen's gesture he relaxed a little before whispering to Judith "I need to take care of this and quickly.. " He just needed some minor supplies that he didn't have on him like a needle and thread and then some form of salve or liquid to clean it with. Though the odd thought came to mind he always ended up getting hurt whenever she was around. Vrine kept quiet mostly as he flipped his tail back and forth, being around the other dragon didn't seem to affect him that much.

(ew thats short DX)

[gremlin]

Judith smiled at how Rhyldrin spoke, he seemed to be acting like himself. "There's plenty of supplies in the castle," she said to him, her hand still placed on his. Bryon looked over at her noticing that she was also looking at him, he smiled. "Yes," he said to Judith before she even asked. "You may use the medical supplies that I have. Please clean up the mess when you're done though." Judith looked back at Rhyldrin and removed her hand from his wound. "Follow me," she said to him quietly. "I've learnt a few things while I've stayed here and maybe you can meet Vrine's new friend." Vrine perked up seeming to know that she was talking about the other dragon. Judith pushed the door open slightly and slipped in she held it open waiting for Rhyldrin to follow. Vrine jumped from her shoulder when he saw the Reine sitting at the end of the stairs. He chirped happily then went to her, Vrine began to groom her affectionately. Reine pawed at him to stop grooming her.

Bryon turned back to the queen smiling at her as she accepted his offer. "It's alright if he chooses not to attend," he said and looked at the small crowd. The people were retreating to their homes to prepare for the celebration. "Though I think that Judith may convince him to." maybe he shouldn't have said that but he didn't think that the queen the blind. It was easy to see that there was something there even with the little conversation that he heard between them. Though Rhyldrin was being smart his body language told an entirely different story.

[Rosekitten]

(ok so i edited twice XD i wasnt happy with it just being long lol This is my last post till sunday after all </3)

The queen nodded towards his comment, she had noticed though she had known for years. "Not something I thought I'd see in my life time.. " She said to reply to the King's comment though she still had the soft smile that she seemed to have. She didn't see this as a bad thing, though it might cause the two of them trouble. One of the guards laughed slightly at the thought of it "My lady if I'm not to bold.. I think we'll see Rhyldrin attend such a event when the snows from the north claim this area." Over all he was saying when hell froze over. She nodded a little to her guard "You may be right, with the war over he may go back to what he was doing before as well" She pointed out to him before walking forward a few steps and then following the king, she wasn't sure of the area so she wasn't going to venture off and be rude.

He followed her though after seeing the other dragon he wasn't sure what to say "so.. Vrine is normal then?" He questioned her seeing as both acted like cats. That was a bit of a scary thought a cat that could breath magic and fly. Really the odd conversation was to avoid thinking he was back to being in the castle, he hardly enjoyed being here it felt too confined to him. Vrine cooed at the two of them as if to answer the question presented. Still following Judith he smirked a bit knowing how well the dragon under stood speech "Just remember your too young for that" He said with a slight laugh though he regretted the laugh afterwards. The dragon snorted at him before going back to licking and pawing at the other dragon.

He'd have to just follow her for the time being, he didn't know this floor of the castle. But not well enough to risk walking off anyway. Plus he wasn't sure how to act around her was he suppose to just keep acting like nothing had happened. He had noticed the King had been keeping a eye on the two of them when she had come up to his side. Even with peace at hand he wished his mind would give him peace but it seemed unlikely.

Besides he needed to keep his mind about him anyway .. a distraction wasn't needed even if it was company that he'd drop everything just to be with. The two dragons seemed to notice the two were leaving them behind as Virne whined a little and ran after them both, followed by Reine. Rhyldrin shook his head a little after he noticed this. "I sometimes wonder if I missed a calling in life" He was joking really but it was odd for dragons to follow or take to anyone even if you hatched the egg it was common for the dragon to still be rather agitated at all times. Vrine seemed to agree with comment as he chirped once and catch up to match his walking speed.

After a little while longer they came to a room that seemed to be a sort of medical ward of the castle, he figured as much as far as that's where they were headed. There was a nurse on duty at the moment but aside from that the place seemed empty, she nearly jumped out of her skin though when Judith and Ryldrin entered the room.

Though she remembered the speech from the King that she had heard through the window as she bowed saying sorry to the both of them. She seemed to bother Rhyldrin saying she should have a look at the wound before he went about treating it. She did finally give in and went across the room to get what he had asked her for.

"I really should check to make sure it didn't hit anything vital you could bleed intern- " He cut her off with a heavy sigh "Look I know all of that and trust me I know for a fact it missed everything" He had to admit he had the devil's luck at times if not on a 24-7 basis. She frowned a little still with a worried expression. He didn't want to admit this really but he figured it'd make her feel at ease if he did. "I was training to be a cleric before the war broke out... I didn't get very far in the training but I learned the basics and before tat I studied for a few years under my father who was the head of the medical division for the dark elf capital."

She seemed to shut up after he spoke explaining himself to her, she had thought he was just being stubborn but cleric training was among the two three hardest classes to train for, next to mage and summoner. Pulling his shirt off to prevent it from getting in the way and to scowl at the hole in it now he went about what he needed to do to start cleaning the wound. "So are you happy with that answer, I promise I'm not going to drop dead in the floor" He added the bit at the end for morbid humor but he didn't figure she'd find it funny.

After a few moments of this and then going to stitching the wound shut, it was just large enough he didn't trust just wrapping it. The nurse seemed to watch this process in aw, having never seen someone just treat their own wounds without a second thought. She looked at Judith almost asking if that was normal for them, and it wasn't really most groups had a medic that tended such business. Though Rhyldrin seemed to ignore the reactions from the nurse as he put everything back, this place sort of reminded him of home back when his parents were alive.

Though he didn't dwell on the thought as he pulled out a needle and thread from the pouch on his belt and sat back down going about stitching the spot in the shirt. Though he noticed the nurse's odd look now as he stopped a moment. "something wrong?" she shook her head suddenly before straightening up "N-no just .. never seen someone act like a stab wound was nothing like that .. let alone you just keep going. You should allow it to rest." He went back to mending the shirt with that last comment from her. "It'll heal you don't have to be bedridden for every little wound." He said it almost stalely as he was focusing on what he was doing, though the sewing was a bit odd he had only picked it up to prevent the loss clothing.. during missions it was common to rip clothes especially when you were working in the forests.

After a few more moments he was satisfied at the least with the shirt's repair putting the thread and needle away then pulling the shirt back on and fixing the one sword to his back once more. The nurse was still watching him still in a bot of a awe struck state. He titled his head a little confused what he had done that was so damn amazing. "Er.... are you going to be ok there?" The nurse flinched a little before nodding "Though.. I have to ask are there more like you? Because you guys should teach our men here how to be self efficient!" She seemed to be dead serious about it as well. He gave Judith a odd look still not getting what the bloody hell he had done to be tat impressive.

[gremlin]

Judith smiled at Vrine and Reine. She couldn't come up with an explanation for why both seemed the act like cats. Though maybe Bryon had spoiled her with attention as well or not being in her natural environment dramatically changed how she was. Judith stopped walking for a moment, her eyes still on the dragons watching them interact. "I have not gotten around to asking Bryon how he found her or how she was raised. I assume that he either found her as she was hatching or he found a egg." she smiled when Vrine snorted at Rhyldrin's comment. "I think that he's in love with her." she laughed then looked up at Rhyldrin. For a moment she fell silent then she abruptly continued walking. "If he doesn't come to me for attention he will go to her."

"I've been staying here ever since you left," she said it as if it were nothing but really Judith was dying to have him hold her. She knew that they couldn't do that even with peace amongst the Dark and Light Elves. Even though it had not been long since he left so much had changed. "Bryon insisted that I stay." she didn't really have to tell Rhyldrin why she thought he did. It was quite obvious. "He has a green room at the end of this hall, he built it for his dragon and he allowed me in to it seeing as I had Vrine. Though he isn't my dragon really, he's yours." she laughed quietly to herself then stopped at a door.

When she entered it was very clear that the room was solely for medical attention. A nurse seemed to be on duty, Judith had been hoping that no one was there. She had wanted to practice what she had learned on Rhyldrin, but then again maybe it was a good thing that she couldn't. She probably would have became nervous and somehow messed up the stitching. Though that wasn't the only reason why she had wanted them to be alone. She wanted to talk to him badly maybe this was a sign that she shouldn't.

Judith smiled at the nurse's reactions and comments. She seemed to be a very curious woman who was interested in learning how Rhyldrin could do such a thing without hesitation. He didn't even seem to flinch as he closed the wound. When she asked Judith if that was normal for them Judith wasn't too sure. "They are probably trained differently than we are." she said answering the woman. "Please don't worry, he knows what he's doing." she added then smiled at her. Sure what Judith had said calmed some of her nerves but not all of them. Though she was seemed more curious now than worried. When she made a comment about training her people Judith laughed.

When Rhyldrin was done Judith looked at him, a smile still on her face. "Come I want to show you the room, I'm sure that Bryon won't mind seeing as you're also Vrine's owner." she said and took his hand in hers. She heard the nurse nagging her that he should rather rest than go on adventures but she insisted that she wouldn't push Rhyldrin too hard. When they left the room Vrine and Reine were at the door, they began to chirp at them. Judith continued to hold Rhyldrin's hand, she walked down the same hall to the very end then opened the door. "Look," she said. Judith was acting like a child she was excited. "Isn't it beautiful?"

[Rosekitten]

He kept any comments to the king wanting her to stay here at the castle to himself for the time being. He was a bit preoccupied with thinking about what he needed to do with the wound for the time being. Though he'd think about what he wanted to say to her and tell her, skipping out on a few details to prevent her from saying anything about it. Going by the type of dragon both Reine and Vrine are he'd take a guess the king got his through a similar deal he ended up with Vrine's egg... though being a royal he could have just had a whim to go buy one.

He sighed a little pulling the shirt on before answering the nurse's question. "No we're not all trained to do that.. mostly you'll only see mercenaries do such things, if its part of the military they have assigned medics at all times to each group." He seemed to think on the rest of his answer before going on. "We'll just say most skills are from necessity and not by choice" Really that was the truth, most of what he knew came from trial and error over the years or picking up a skill here and there when it came across the time he needed it.

Shortly after he was done Judith had already started dragging him off somewhere, not that he really minded but he did want to get out of the castle as soon as possible before the Queen came to him saying he had to attend something... Sure he had the free will to say no but she had the power to make that no bite him in the long run. Though he guessed being dragged off somewhere wasn't too bad really, he did need to tell her something and with that nurse around from the medical ward he couldn't very well do such a thing not openly.

Once they got to the room she wanted to show him she seemed over joyed by it's sight. This made it a little easier on his thoughts, to see that she could at least be happy here meant he could say what he needed to say. Though he did steal his hand back just noticing that she had been holding onto it for the entire walk here, he didn't mind but that's not what he needed a guard of the castle to report back to the king. "You should take him up on his offer then" He finally said out of the blue after she had settled down a little. It was a sudden statement and he wasn't sure she'd remember what she had told him from the walk to the medical ward.

He waited a few moments before explaining himself a little seeing as she seemed a little confused why he would tell her such a thing. Though he still watched his words seeing as the walls could very well have ears and he didn't need to cause trouble for either of them... and crossing the king when he had his eyes set on Judith wasn't a smart move in the least. "I'm not staying here, not after the Queen gets back to her forest. I've decided I want to go and try to continue my training I gave up for the war... " He sort of left it at that, the raining would take at least three to five years and that's if he managed to make it that far.

for the time being he wanted to see how she'd react to that before he told her his real thoughts on why he wanted her to stay here, and most of them were because he had accepted that they couldn't be together by this time, and at least this way she could live a normal if not happy life style.

(.__. that wasnt as long as i'd like)

[gremlin]

"I don't want to marry Bryon," she said to Rhyldrin without hesitation. Judith couldn't imagine marrying a man that she didn't love and a man that she barely knew. She knew that if he did propose to her or at least managed to without her abruptly stopping him that maybe saying yes would be a good idea. Judith could live a happy normal life with him, though she would definitely be happier with someone that she loved. "I wonder how shocked everyone would be to hear that I didn't give the king my hand in marriage."

Judith fell silent when Rhyldrin told her that he would be leaving. She looked at her feet wondering what she could possibly say to him but she knew that convincing him not to go was out of the question. "I see," she said quietly it almost seemed as if she wasn't talking to him and was just whispering to herself. "I'm not going to lie and pretend that I'm happy about that." she said and let out a heavy sigh. "Though I'm not going to try to convince you to stay or to try and stop you because it isn't my place to do so." Judith knew that he had already made up his mind.

Judith looked up at Rhyldrin and managed a smile. "You should go then," she said to him. It took a lot for Judith to say those words. The last thing that she wanted to do was tell Rhyldrin to leave. She should have just left him to be tended to by someone else. It seemed that love didn't make her think too clearly. "If you stay any longer it will only make it worse. I shouldn't have went to you earlier." Judith looked down at Vrine who was resting by her feet. He let out a high pitch whimper, his ears shot back and he looked up at Rhyldrin.

[Rosekitten]

He felt like he shouldn't have told her that he was leaving, maybe keeping such a thing was better off kept to himself. Though t was already said an done now. Sure he felt better knowing that she wasn't going to just marry the king but there was still the chance that when he came back she had moved on.. though he wanted her to really. He sighed finally being at a loss of words and he noticed the way Vrine was acting at her feet. 'damn im no good at this' He though before be took a few steps towards her and grabbed her chin, using a little more force then he normally did with her but he wasn't in the best of moods when her saying she shouldn't have gone to him. "I'm not leaving forever, I can't protect you that's been proven too many times you've been hurt even when I was around. I'm glad that you showed yourself earlier... I really am. I felt like what I had done was worth something I would have gladly died at that point with no regrets"

He wasn't lying and he wasn't good with explaining what he wanted to say but he figured the point was at least getting across to her, though for the moment he was saying be damned if someone caught him talking to her like this. "Never say that again... please" He said to her quietly before letting her chin go and turning away from her, this was already hard enough without her telling him she didn't want him to go .. to tell the truth he didn't want to go but if he stayed surely it'd cause her more trouble.

"I'm not going because I want to, I'm going so maybe you can have a happy life maybe you can find something while I'm gone. I've accepted the fact that I can't stay around you and keep you happy not with how things are currently.." He sighed a little to himself so she couldn't hear, really he didn't fully accept it.. he wanted to just take her and say everything would work out but the thoughts that someone might rebel against such a idea... thus putting her in more danger wasn't one he enjoyed.

He did decide to give her a bit of information in case she did ever really need him or something went wrong. "The Queen knows where Im going... if you need me after I'm gone ask for her help." He didn't want her to send him a message really knowing he'd drop anything he was doing to make sure she was safe. But he'd leave his little speech at that for now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He did leave as he said he would, five years most of them spent in the southern region of the continent. Though he did end up failing to pass the cleric training due to the apparently lack of any light magic. Oddly enough the training did manage to find out why he had passed the detection test to see if he even had magic from the start. Instead of being able to train as a templar or cleric like his first plan was he ended up being forced to train under a wizard of the volcanic order, the wielders of the element of fire. It was rare to have such a magic and it was very hard to control. Even with passing the five years worth of training he couldn't say he was master over it.

Though in the training the different types of trainees did mix together at the end to get a idea of how they were suppose to support one another in fights, though fire was hardly something easy to control and have others fighting around you... being fueled by emotions almost as much as the water element. Five years meant that they could finally leave the training grounds if they passed anyway. And from here it was a rather damn long walk back to where he came from in the first place. Though at the least he wasn't walking alone, there was two light elves that had passed the training of different elements about the time he did.

Not that he enjoyed the company though from the training over the years he did sort of get more use to having others around, but over all he hadn't changed much aside from being older and probably a bit more mature then he was before. Though not once did he forget about Judith or Vrine even.. he wondered if the dragon had gotten any bigger in the five years he was gone. Though surely Judith had moved on seeing as he never got any word otherwise from her. But that also meant nothing had gone wrong so she didn't need him anyway.

~~

"By the goddess I can't wait to get back home!" One of the light elves exclaimed as they walked along a path towards the light elf capital being at least a few miles out from it and following a path that was rather close to the forests edge. The other one nodded in agreement "heh.. least you live in the capital.. I have a few more miles to walk once we get there" He groaned a little thinking about it. Rhyldrin didn't have much to say on this, he probably had a bit of a walk though by now surely the dark elves had recovered a bit.

Suddenly he got a nudge in his side as the light elf who had passed templar training smirked a bit "So your going back to your home and you have a girl waiting for you ... waiting to just jump you that's how dark elf females are right? Thats what I heard" He laughed a little as he got a glare from the question. "Jagen... I've told you countless times I don't have a girl and I'd hardly look forward to being jumped as soon as I returned from such a damned walk" He left out the temper of a dark elf female.. it was hardly as blissful as he made it sound. He laughed a little backing up slightly to avoid getting any wrath from Rhyldrin "I still think your lying, you just don't want to tell us"

Rhyldrin sighed shaking his head a little as they walked, the other light elf with them was named Abel, he had passed as a cleric. This was a rather odd group of two light elves and a dark elf and all three having passed the five year training down in the south.

[gremlin]

Though Rhyldrin had advised Judith to take the king's offer of marriage she had rejected it when he finally came around to asking. Bryon had not been happy about it, there wasn't much else to be expected but he knew that Judith was madly in love with another man despite not seeing him for months now. He couldn't force her to marry him, he wasn't like that and if she was happy to wait for Rhyldrin's return then so be it. Eventually Bryon did get married to a widowed queen who reigned over another clan of Light Elves. Bryon didn't love her as much as he had loved Judith but he knew that he couldn't change her mind. Besides he wanted her to be happy and he knew that her marrying someone who she didn't love would not make her happy.

A few months later Judith had noticed that her belly had grown quite a bit. It didn't take much to know that she was pregnant. With the symptoms it made it even more obvious. Judith knew that Bryon couldn't be the father or well any other man than Rhyldrin. The only person that she could think of speaking to about this was Bryon maybe he could help her, he did. Bryon built Judith a home close to the capital in the forest that she had loved as a child. It was a small cottage, but big enough for her, perhaps a man and her child to live in. There was a guest room for anyone who wished the spend the night as well. When the time came to having the child Judith found out that she wasn't just having one child, she was having two. Judith named the girl Sophie and she named the boy Vaden. They were beautiful, healthy babies but also different.

When they were born Judith stayed in her home a majority of the time. Bryon would come by once a day to check up on her but eventually he sent a guard by in the morning then a guard that would come by at night. Judith had heard that his wife was becoming jealous of her. He gave her more attention than his own wife. Judith hoped that he wouldn't visit her much anymore, she didn't want to cause conflict with the queen.

Judith's children grew up quite well despite not having a father. When they would ask about him Judith would explain that he had other business to attend to and maybe one day he would return. Judith told them wonderful things about Rhyldrin to keep them from not liking him. They always looked forward to meeting him one day. She never thought once about going to get him, Judith could manage with Rhyldrin the children weren't that difficult yet. She also didn't know how Rhyldrin would react to having children.

-----

Sophie had become a mischievous child when she turned five. She played tricks on her mother and her brother. Sophie often dragged her brother along with her when she went anywhere and she would threaten to beat him up if he didn't come along. Though she was mean to her brother she did love him. Sophie resembled her mother the most. She had long, curly, red hair that was often messy and her skin was fair. Though she had two characteristics from her father. Sophie's eyes were a deep red, the girl had been given the ability to see in the dark and she was rather tall for her age. Vaden was a quiet boy who mostly kept to himself. He preferred playing with his toys or helping his mother around the house rather than going outside and playing in the mud. His hair was short, messy and pink. Vaden's eyes were as white as his mother's but his skin was much darker than his sister's and he was also taller than most boys his age. Vaden could also see in the dark like his sister.

Tonight Sophie had managed to get out of the house without alerting her mother and of course next to her was poor Vaden who didn't want to be in the forest at all. It was an advantage to see in the dark, they didn't need light to guide them through the forest. Sophie ran through the forest, dragging her brother along who was complaining about the cold. "You always complain!" Sophie said to him, she rolled her eyes then let go of his arm. "Did you hear that?" she asked and looked at her brother. His eyes began to look all over the area and he chewed nervously on his lip. "No?" he finally said and looked at her. Sophie's face became twisted with fear. "Vaden, run! There's a monster!" she screamed. Sophie roared with laughter when her brother took off and hid behind a tree. "Come back, there isn't a monster!" she yelled. Sophie approached her brother and punched his shoulder. "Stop crying, Vaden." she said and rolled her eyes. "I won't do that again, alright? So stop crying, there isn't a monster." she let out a heavy sigh and took hold of her brother's hand. "Let's go to the pound!" she said and started to walk. Even if Vaden protested she would drag him there anyways.

[Rosekitten]

The three of them kept walking though the closer they got to the light elf capital the darker it seemed to get. "Geese... I envy you about now" Jagen spoke up referring to Ryhldrin's ability to see in the dark or at least enough to get around. Rhyldrin didn't say anything, it wasn't always a blessing, though there was enough light outside at the moment that the group didn't use any torches.

Once they had reached the main path Jagen said his good byes for the moment and started towards the city. "I'm going to see how my folks are, not sure if they ever got my last few letters when we were having the issues over there heh...." He started walking before he stopped and turned again "Oh I'll write up the report as well saying we took care of that creature on the boundaries of the capital's land" After he was finally done chattering he turned back around and started walking towards the gates.

Abel and Rhyldrin looked at each other they never could figure out why he talked so damn much. Shrugging off that the group had gotten smaller they started walking though seeing as it was getting to be pitch black outside Rhyldrin sighed a little "Well I guess we can just stay in one of the small dark elf areas.. you still have a few miles to go before you get to your home town don't you?" Abel nodded a little. "Yeah.... walking in the dark with the odds of encountering another one of the beasts we fought when we got here isn't sounding like a good idea heh"

He knew there was a few smaller clans near-by and from the word he had gotten from messengers that passed through the southern area it sounded like the two races had settled most if not all squabbles they had before in recent years. "You never talk about your home, I know you had to live near here so shouldn't you be excited a little" Rhyldrin shook his head a little "Not when you have nothing to go back home to, I never stayed long though I did live in the capital I guess as a child."

They weren't that far into the forest when Rhyldrin stopped suddenly and Abel had caught the same noise he had as they shot one another a quick glace. 'think it's another one?' he said under his breath to Rhyldrin as he prepared to draw his shield from his back. '... no we'd already be in combat if it were'

Abel nodded knowing how Rhyldrin handled things like this and allowed him to go forward a bit to seek out the noise they had heard, though the more he walked it sounded like crying and someone talking. 'what the hell?' He said after he found where the noise was coming from. 'kids?' He questioned this they weren't dark elf or not from what he could tell, he never took notice of the hair color or that they were tall for light elves.

"Tsk Abel it's just kids" He said still keeping his voice down, after he had informed the teammate he still had at the moment he sighed a little before walking towards the two children and crossing his arms a few feet away. "Playing in the forest at night isn't safe you know that right, let alone what type of parents would allow you to do such a thing" Sure just suddenly speaking probably would startle both of the kids but it was a matter of their safety, he didn't need this not having to return a few kids to the capital that was the other direction all together.

Abel had caught back up to Rhyldrin as he stood to his side being about a head shorter then the dark elf. "Kids?" He questioned Rhyldrin as he looked at the two of them. Though he was a bit nicer then Rhyldrin was by far as he kneeled down to be more around their height to prevent from scaring them further they didn't need them running off. "Wheres your parents little ones? he is right it's not safe to be out here at night... not really safe to be out here in the day really.. "

[gremlin]

Sophie wasn't one to get scared but when she suddenly heard a man's voice she also jumped with her brother. Her big eyes looked up at the man curiously, wondering why he was telling her what was obvious. "I know that," she said and rolled her eyes. The girl did had quite an attitude, she crossed her arms over her chest and continued to look up at the man it almost seemed as if she was trying to intimidate him. Vaden stood behind her, his eyes were also looking at Rhyldrin. "We only have a mother," the boy said quietly. "Sophie dragged me out here, I wanted to stay home but she wouldn't let me!" he cried. Vaden didn't like getting caught, he never wanted to get in trouble. His sister turned to him and her face fell. "I'm going to tell mom that this was your idea!" she yelled. Then the two began to argue, Sophie hit her brother's shoulder and Vaden started to cry. "Vaden! You always cry!"

It usually didn't take long for Judith to realise that her children had left the home, it was probably due to the sudden silence. Sophie wasn't one to keep quiet for long even if she was being put to bed and Vaden could usually be heard playing with his toys or crying because his sister was teasing him. Judith let out a heavy sigh and stood from where she sat. When she peaked in to their room it confirmed her fears, the two were not in their beds. She wasn't too worried because usually Sophie would just wander in to the yard but when she saw that they weren't there her heart sank. Sophie why do you do this to me? she thought, Judith grabbed a coat and pulled the hood over her head then left. She held a small candle in her hand to help her see. "Sophie come back here now!" she yelled. When she didn't get a response she continued to walk. "Oh how far did you go this time?" she mumbled to herself.

[Rosekitten]

Rhyldrin sighed heavily watching this little event before he took a few steps forward and pulled the two far enough to be out of arm's distance form one another. "If you know then why would you do it? What the hell do they teach kids now a days?" 'damn it i just wanted to go to a town have a few drinks and get a place for the night after Abel gets to him home... well I didn't plan that far' He was a bit annoyed that everything seemed to get in his way tonight of what he did have planned and from the battle the group had earlier the affects were starting to show on him a little.

"Also stop hitting your brother, he'd probably cry less and in turn it'd stop giving me a headache" If only he knew what he was complaining about was his own blood. Abel walked a few steps before laughing slightly patting Rhyldrin's shoulder "relax, they don't look that old probably just walked off and the mother didn't notice." He smiled a little before looking between the girl and the boy "so tell me where do you two live so we can get you back home, and then you won't have to deal with my friend here anymore."

Rhyldrin sighed a little shaking his head 'i think im the one dealing here..' though Abel had a point the sooner they took the two home the sooner they could go about their own business. Though about the time he had asked Abel thought he heard some yelling a bit off from where they were but he wasn't sure and Rhyldrin didn't seem to be in the mood to pay attention, though he knew why.

[gremlin]

Sophie was annoyed with the two adults, she didn't really want to go home and didn't want to listen to them. She brought her eyes to the other man and seemed insulted. "I'm five! I'm not a child!" she let out a heavy sigh. "We live in the forest," she said "I know this area and I'm not scared of it. I don't need your help because I can find my own way home in the dark." Sophie's ears dropped when she heard her mother calling her name. "Is that mom?" Vaden asked he had heard it too. Sophie fell silent, her mother would be upset to find her this deep in the forest she would be luck to be able to go in to the yard. Especially considering how she had dragged Vaden along with her again.

"Sophie I can see you!" Judith yelled, she stood far from the two men and her children. When she brought herself to her children she took Sophie's hand in hers. "Mother I was only-" Sophie didn't say much before her mother interrupted her. "Young lady, look at what you have done to your clothes! My Goddess! I only cleaned them today and do you know what time it is?" she barked. "And how could you drag your poor brother out here? You know that he's terrified of the dark!" Sophie looked up at her mother angry that she was being scolded. Judith waited for her daughter to speak but it seemed as if she had nothing to say. Judith blamed herself for her daughter being so adventurous. It reminded her of herself when she was a child.

Judith handed Sophie the candle to hold and brought Vaden in to her arms. "You're not in trouble. Why are you crying?" she took the sleeve of her sweater and brushed it against his face gently. "Sophie hit me!" he blurted out. Judith looked at her daughter, she felt disappointed. Judith had already warned her to stop teasing her brother. Sophie looked at the ground avoiding her mother's eyes, she knew that she was in even more trouble now. Judith looked up at the two men and let out a sigh. "I'm sorry about this," she said then stood. Vaden held on to his mother's side and Judith took hold of her daughter's free hand. "This one if always getting in to trouble." she said looking down at her daughter. "I hope that she didn't cause you too much trouble."

[Rosekitten]

Really he was glad that they didn't have to take the kids back to where ever they belonged though he did find it a bit odd for the girl to blert out they lived in the forest.. why would a light elf live here. He didn't question it too much he hardly cared as the woman walked closer to the group and started going on on the young girl. Though he wasn't paying attention to any of it when he noticed who was talking and putting the facts together he should have known the red hair.

He didn't say a word and Abel had noticed his sudden change in mood, it was almost like he had just seen a ghost as he watched the woman and Rhyldrin. "Hey you ok?" He finally asked under his breath, normally Rhyldrin would have some smart ass remark like take better care of your kids or whatever or anything but he had just shut up completely. Hearing the woman say sorry and hope that the kids weren't trouble Abel shook his head a little and nervously laughed "Oh no no trouble at all just.. wasn't expecting to see children in the forest was all."

Rhyldrin still didn't say anything till Abel was done speaking and the woman was as well. "Judith?" He seemed to question the woman speaking aloud, he wasn't sure he even had the right person sure it looked like her but maybe his mind was playing tricks on him or he had finally snapped. What was he suppose to say, though he thought about it if the woman didn't recognize him then he'd be better off not asking such a question besides if this was Judith and she had kids then he guessed she had found some form of a happy life while he was gone. Not that it was a bad thing he was glad for that really. But for the moment he seemed to wait to see if he got a answer to his question.

[gremlin]

"We live not too far in the forest," she said the the man. "My daughter likes to wander off quite often, I should know better by now. She gets it from me, I did the same thing as a child." Judith was about to apologize again then leave but before she could speak again the other man said her name. Vaden looked up at his mother surprised as well. "Mother, why does that man know your name?" he asked and tugged at her dress. Sophie would have asked as well but she decided that she had already annoyed her mother enough.

Judith studied his face for a moment then spoke. "I'm sorry, I-" she was about to say that she didn't know him but then her eyes fell on a familiar scar. "Rhyldrin?" she asked, her voice shook. Judith fell silent, she wasn't sure what else she could say. Vaden tugged on her dress and Sophie also looked up at her mother's stunned face. "What's wrong?" Sophie asked then looked at the man. "Is he bad?" she asked. Judith looked down at her daughter and smiled. "No, he isn't bad." she said then squeezed her daughter's hand.

[Rosekitten]

He didn't say anything listening to the woman explain that they lived in the forest, why was that. Did he make a grave mistake in leaving for five years, he began to question himself. Had it been a selfish choice to leave her behind even though the intention behind it was good. He felt like it was somehow his fault she was living outside of the light elf capital. Aside from that he had to admit he was a little amused the king didn't woe her in his absence, though he'd hardly have been able to guess why that was. The fact that both of these kids were hers was quiet plain now look at them both they favored her in some form or another. He just figured she had found someone to be happy with and form a life with while he was gone, he never did tell her he'd for sure be returning to these lands.

Abel questioned Rhyldrin, last he knew the dark elf had told him he hardly stayed in any one place for a extended time let alone to get to know anyone. Why would Rhyldrin hide something like he had a friend in these parts? There wasn't any laws against dark and light elves knowing or getting along with each other anymore, or at least not from the reports they got over in the southern region. Fighting between the two races had come to just minor crimes over all, that and a few small groups that stood true to hating the other side. 'Whats wrong with you?' He finally spoke under his breath trying to jar Rhyldrin out of the shock he seemed to be in at the moment. 'tsk nothing, forget it' He hissed as his reply before he returned his attention back to Judith after the woman confirmed that that's who she was, not that it was hard to figure out.

Really he had wanted to avoid running into Judith, not that he didn't want to see her.. but it wasn't something he had prepared himself for. He had just wanted to ensure Abel got to his home town safely then he was going to take his leave of this area to leave Judith to her life. Seeing as there had been no messages over the years he figured she had moved on and from the looks of things he was right to think such things or at least with the fact that she had kids. Aside from that his head was killing him, the fight from earlier had taken more out of him then he thought. Though instead of keeping to the awkward silence at hand he tried to go about his normal mannerism of things. Though he honestly had no questions for her even though his mind had a million of them going through his head.

"heh.. am I that worse for wear you were going to say you didn't know me. It had been a while hasn't it" truth be told he wanted nothing more then to just hold her after being gone for five years he still wasn't free from his emotions. But he wasn't going to do such a stunt not when she had kids, and surely the... wait why did the girl say they only had a mother earlier. Either way he wasn't going to over step boundaries and she probably didn't feel the same way not now. Though hearing the comment from the little girl he half had a mind to say yes and leave it at that, cause in truth he felt like he shouldn't have left. Something about the situation at hand was eating away at him, he just couldn't put his finger on what he was being bothered by or what he should notice but wasn't at the time being.

Either way he wasn't going to keep her long, standing here in the middle of the forest at night wasn't the smartest move by any means. But not only that he didn't want to pry into her life nor did he want to bring up old wounds knowing he still couldn't have her or at least not now right? Though he too had heard the reports that the two races of elves were mixing in some areas and it was being accepted... maybe if he had just stayed, but that was a bit late now to think of such things. Really where they were or had been making such a fuss in the middle of the forest he was expecting something to interrupt this little chat going on... Though he'd call that a blessing at this point to get out of this little awkward chat going on, also on the report they had gotten before being sent off to go home they were told that there was two of the creatures causing a bit of havoc ... though their group had only located and killed the one so there should be a second corpse eater (A two-headed scaled beast that survives from eating the flesh of the living and dead alike, though it is more commonly found feasting on the dead masses after a large battle. The creatures natural home is in forests and other darker secluded areas. It stands about 8 feet tall and has the ability to spit a venom that will cause flesh and fur alike to decay, armor is proven to be no protection against the beasts bite.) somewhere in the forest still. his plan was after resting for the night to try and track it down the next day..

[gremlin]

"It has been quite some time, hasn't it?" she asked and smiled warmly at Rhyldrin. Five years, she thought to herself. I missed you every day and thought of you often. Did you do the same? Judith held herself back for a moment. She wanted to tell Rhyldrin that her children were also his but not in front of Abel or the children either. Sure she would have to eventually tell the children that he was their father but it was better to prepare him for when she told them. This is going to kill me, she though and looked down at her children. I should at least tell him before he goes off.

Vaden looked up at his mother and gave her dress another tug. "I'm cold," he whimpered, it seemed as if he were about to cry again. "Can we go home?" he asked. Sophie let out a heavy sigh and rolled her eyes, she didn't want to go home. Judith brought her hand to Vaden's hair and played with it gently. "We will go home soon, don't worry." she said then looked up at Rhyldrin. "You two look tired and hungry," she looked at Abel and smiled. "My home is not too far, I can heat up some food for you and I have a guest room that you can stay in. Don't worry you won't have to share a bed," she laughed quietly then continued. "I also have a bath that you can use. It's too dark for you two to be travelling right now, it would be safer to continue in the morning."

Judith wondered if she could find some time to speak to Rhyldrin alone, she would try to hold herself back from telling him until they were. Then she remembered that another creature lived at her home, perhaps they wouldn't really have time to be alone at all. Vrine had grown quite a bit, he was no longer the size of a kitten anymore. He was not the size of a hunting dog but he still acted like a kitten. Vrine was still an attention whore. Judith had to spend a few months teaching him to sleep in his own bed that sat at the end of her own. "Vrine will be happy to see you," she said to Rhyldrin. She wondered how Vrine would react to seeing Rhyldrin in the home.