The dirt beneath her feet was softer here, not packed in as it had been on the road. She doubted many people came here often, wondered if they even knew it -was- here. She curled her toes a bit, suddenly aware of the feeling of rarely bothered dirt and the earthy scent of it. Hobbit holes didn't smell of dirt and nature the way the open forest did. A Hobbit's hole was well built, with wood panelling and impeccable plastering. Not a trace of the dirt from the hill it was built within was left exposed, and any that made its way in from outside was quickly swept out again.

The forest was entirely different. Here, they were surrounded by the majesty of nature. It was there, squishing up in the dirt between her toes, tickling up with the grass over the bare tops of her feet. It was in the air she breathed, and the altogether pure breeze that swirled around her. She tipped her face up to the sky, not even sure why she was doing it, simply drinking in the feeling of being here. It never felt like this inside the Shire...

She jumped a little bit when Eled called out to her and Callon to join him in the circle, but she smiled and walked over slowly, looking at the oaks and the flowers and wondering just what significance they held. He had described it as a shelter, not simply a camping spot. While she knew that elves were known for being eccentric in what they deemed good and bad... It was not lost on her that there was more than what could be seen.

She stopped once she was inside the clearing, pausing respectfully and looking to Eled for further direction. Something about this place felt sacred, and it felt odd to her to simply start chattering and making camp without some sort of...something.

Eled watched her come into the circle and stop, waiting for his direction. There was no way she could have kept her Hobbit guise through this, even if he had believed it up till now.

"You feel it, don't you?" He asked, his tone calm and slightly inquisitory. If she said she felt -something-; that was the best proof he could give her as to her lineage. "Just bow your head and thank them for providing us with safe shelter and passage."

He went over to her, put his arm around her shoulder, and bowed his head, starting off saying, "Thank you, Great Oaks, for allowing us to stay safe beneath your mighty branches, and for blessing us with safe passage the rest of our journey."

It was hard work for Gilly to ignore the way her heart raced when his arm came around her. She still had the blanket half around herself, not to mention having the backpack on her back. But the sudden -closeness- gave her a bit of a head rush. She'd never felt this way before, and it was a little bit disorienting.

She bowed her head as he suggested, listening to him begin. When he paused, just a flicker of memory ran through her mind, and she tried to figuratively grab a hold of it. She pressed her eyes shut tightly, trying to remember. Slowly, she began to speak, fighting against decades upon decades of time in between the present and the tentative memories she'd had from so long ago. Buried memories, she had tried to forget so she could live easily in the Shire.

Her voice was timid and a little bit slurred, words horribly mispronounced...like a small child who had not yet learned to speak clearly. But she was speaking in Elvish.

"Mother Earth and Father Sky, and your Great Children the Mighty Trees of the Forest, we thank you for safe passage this day. We thank you for our food and drink, for the soft grass to sleep upon and the protective branches we sleep beneath."

She bit her lip nervously, then looked to Eled for any sort of confirmation that she'd said the right thing.

Eled looked at her in surprise at the sudden elvish flowing like honey from her mouth to thank the forest. When she was finished, and when she looked up at him like a little child, he beamed proudly. He squeezed her shoulders in a sideways hug and said, "Wonderful. I knew you could do it." He let her go and walked into the middle of the circle and sat, pulling a bag off of Callon as he passed the now sleeping gelding.

He motioned for Gilly to join him as he began unwrapping a square package wrapped in what looked like a very large leaf. "Here." He broke a corner off of the bread now revealed inside the leaf and offered it to her. "It's a traditional Elven bread. A small peice of that fills the belly like a full six course meal!" He then broke off a peice for himself and re-wrapped the rest, putting it slowly back into the leather pouch he pulled it from.

He looked at her with a curious expression mixed with pride as he munched on his peice of bread. When he finished, every last crumb, he rested his chin on his fist in a very relaxed, un-elvish manner. Finally, he asked, "I am very curious about something. How did you speak elvish as well as you did? I'm sure living as a Hobbit, you weren't taught to speak it."

She followed him to the centre of the circle and sat down beside him, still feeling incredibly nervous and shy. Though the promise of food was really good. Even if the food he offered her was only half as good as he said, it was well worth investigating, and it sounded good. Not to mention she didn't think Eled would lie to her, even by exaggeration. She took the bit of bread he'd offered to her and nibbled curiously on it, closing her eyes blissfully for a moment as the taste hit her.

"It was...a memory...something I heard when I was so small I never thought of it. But...it felt appropriate here. I don't even know what I said..." She laughed softly, shaking her head and stretching her legs, relaxing a bit more now that she had a full belly and a chance to sit down on something that wasn't moving.

"I guess...somewhere in the back of my mind...I can sort of remember....things." She sighed softly, shaking her head. "I remember.....just pictures really, and bits of songs...and that."

"Well, I must say, young Elven Gilly, I am very proud and surprised of you. You spoke very well for someone who has never spoken Elvish before, about a young Elf would have, which I suppose is fitting. And as for what you said, you are very right. It was very appropriate." He closed his eyes and repeated what she had said, this time in normal speech, "Mother Earth and Father Sky, and your Great Children the Mighty Trees of the Forest, we thank you for safe passage this day. We thank you for our food and drink, for the soft grass to sleep upon and the protective branches we sleep beneath." He opened his eyes again and smiled affectionately at her. "Perfect."

He stared at her for a moment longer, his heart near bursting with pride and some other strange fluttering, then removed his eyes to refocus on Callon. "I see he has already settled for the night. Perhaps we should follow his lead here. We will wake with the sun, and that will come quicker than any of us would like. Sleep well, Gilly."

Eled leaned back against one of the birch trees and closed his bi-colored eyes, his long lashes resting gently against the top of his cheeks, giving him a rather feminine look. His soft supple lips relaxed and soon he was in a deep slumber, although any noise out of the ordinary would wake him instantly. Rarely did his whole brain shut down to sleep. One of his rather annoying, but useful, talents.

Gilly could not really remember, but the simple prayer had been one of the first things she'd been taught to say. Long ago, by her birth parents, before she had been dropped off in the Shire. She had spent so long trying not to think about the strange snatches of memories, she would perhaps never be able to entirely remember. Then again, how common was it for people to remember their early childhood clearly?

But it had erased the doubts in her mind about what she was, as frightening as it was. She unpacked from her backpack a soft pillow and a thicker blanket, curling up on the soft grass and going to sleep. Morning would find her still asleep, fully intent on staying that way until Eled roused her.

I've gotta get home now, but I'll post when I can. I'm hoping to get to the library tomorrow, but that depends on how many things I have to do tomorrow xD If I can't, it'll be another couple days until I work >.<" Sorry!

No worries, honey. RL>RP. :heart:

Eled woke up as the first rays of morning weaved through the ceiling of branches and leaves, finding a resting place on his face, warming it softly. His eyes flickered open and at first he thought he was back home in his secret grove, where he would spend hours, sometimes days, away from his fellow Elves just being a young boy and practicing his magic. But when he saw Gilly, he was ripped out of that notion and thrust rather violently back to the present. He remembered the previous nights events and suddenly had a wave of grief wash over him. He had taken her from the only home she had known, shredded her reality of who and what she was...

He turned his face away as he stood and walked out of the clearing, knowing better than to let idle angry thoughts, even ones about himself, carry on inside a shelter. Outside, he began kicking rocks across the road, trying to shake the guilt. A little while later, he sighed, and put on a smile, resolving that they should get moving if they were going to make good time. He went back into the grove and roused Callon first, getting their things repacked and settled before moving to kneel next to Gilly.

He laid a hand on her shoulder and whispered, although he had no idea why he was whispering, "Gilly, it's time to go."

Gilly woke up slowly, answering the call of a musical voice speaking to her. It sounded like home, and yet so strangely outlandish. She couldn't be sure what exactly was being asked, only that she wanted desperately to do what was wanted of her. She opened her eyes carefully, almost half afraid that it would make the sound go away.

Instead, she discovered Eled standing over her, urging her to wake up. She yawned and sat up, stretching the sleep out of her limbs before she got up entirely. She packed up her blankets quietly, then turned to look at Eled with an almost comical pout on her lips. "Aren't we eating before we go? I'm hungry..."

Hobbits usually ate ten meals a day, perhaps one of the many reasons they were so rotund. Gilly might have been aware now of her different heritage, but she was also used to eating breakfast first thing, and second breakfast not an hour later.

She smiled for him a moment later, not sure if he'd appreciate the teasing look on her face. She wanted so much to make him happy, and she wasn't even entirely sure -why-.

Eled chuckled at the pout on her face, it reminding him so much of his younger sister. "How about we eat a real breakfast? There is a town only another league or two away with a full tavern."

He took Gillys blankets and strapped them to the saddle. Once finished, he held out his hand to her, offering to help her onto Callon. "We are heading there anyway, since we are going to be needing another horse. I don't plan on walking all the way into Gallia." He smiled again, and was thankful for the smile he recieved from her; it helped quench his fears that she regretted her choice to come with him.

Waiting long enough to travel a whole league before breakfast? That wouldn't do! That wouldn't do at all and was absolutely =awful=! It showed on her face, but Gilly put up a valiant effort to not say anything about it and instead grin and bear it. She nodded, then frowned a bit when she realised that she was going to put him to a lot of trouble to buy another horse for her.

"Eled...I....don't know how I'm going to repay you for all of this..." She let him help her onto Callon's back, wishing there were an easier way to go about all of this. "I've put you to so much trouble already..." She sighed softly, feeling distinctly like a leech. Then again... Looking back on it, that's all she -ever- had been.

She'd relied on her adoptive parents essentially all of her life. From the moment they'd taken her in, they'd bent over backwards to make sure she adjusted well to life in the Shire. Now she had to wonder if maybe they hadn't done a bit -too- much to that end. She had to learn how to stand on her own two feet now, and she was starting to get the feeling that it would be a lot of learning with a sharp learning curve.

Eled placed his hand on hers when she was seated safely on Callons back and looked into her eyes. "Gilly. You don't have to pay me back for anything. It is my pleasure and honor to have you along, and to teach you the things that every young elf learns. That is payment enough for me." His bi-colored eyes softly stared into hers, and he smiled affectionately. "Now, eat some of this. It will help you transition from eating ten meals a day to three." He held out some of the elven bread to her, still smiling.

He couldn't help but smile as he watched her. Her adoptive parents had certainly done a very thorough job in convincing her that she was a Hobbit.

Her eyes widened at his statement. She knew that others ate less than Hobbits did, but...only -three-?? It sounded so meager and awful to her, not to mention the simple question of all the time that cooking and eating took up....just what were they supposed to do with the day? Travel, she supposed. She took the bread, sighing sadly and starting to nibble on it dutifully. "Just...three?" Her voice all but squeaked as she questioned him--Hobbits loved their food, and that love had been imprinted onto Gilly as well.

She sighed softly, insisting to herself that she would be quiet and obedient about the topic. She was minding him like she would a mentor, a teacher. She wondered if that was what he saw her as--a student, a pupil...a child. Then again, she supposed, compared to an Elven lifespan, she might well have been a child. She couldn't be sure, and she knew that she knew very little about her own race.

"So...I'm young for being an elf still.... Does that mean...." She sighed, not sure what exactly she wanted to ask him. What he saw her as, maybe. "Am I....a friend? Or....a dependent?"

As Gilly continued to look horrified at the thought of eating only three times a day, Eled couldn't keep himself from laughing aloud. "Yes, most people you will find eat three times a day, usually less if the people are poor. Don't worry though, I won't let you starve or anything." He looked up at her on Callon and smiled, then turned his attention back to the road.

He loved everything about her. Her youthfulness, the way she laughed, even her naivety. She was so different to the Elves at home, and he found that he liked that. Change certainly isn't what Elves are known for liking.

When she spoke again, there was a hesitancy in her voice that Eled picked up on. He thought about her question for a moment then said, "Yes, I suppose for an Elf you are still quite young, but that isn't a bad thing at all. But by no means should you think of yourself as a burden to me." He looked at her again, "You are a friend who happens to need some tutoring. I would hope to think that you consider me a friend, instead of just an aloof teacher."

It wasn't so much his words that reassured her as much as it was how he had spoken them. He wasn't telling her the facts, but rather was reassuring her as a friend would. She smiled cheerily, taking the Elven bread and giving it a tentative nibble. She wasn't very sure about using it to train herself to eat less, but she would take Eled's advice as he gave it to her. For the moment, he was right--she had a lot to learn, and he was the most capable teacher.

She let a large chunk of the journey pass her in silence--she had something to eat, and she had the thoughts in her mind to roll over and over and over. Not the least of which was the puzzle of her past history. If she truly was an Elf, why had she been raised in the Shire? Who were her birth parents, and why had they abandoned her? Did she have family? An Elven family, that lived outside of the Shire?

She sighed softly, closing her eyes and trying not to think about any of it. Time would show how it all fit together eventually, and anything that wouldn't be all right with time would likely be small enough to overlook with time.

When they made it to the town, the sun was sinking low in the sky, the bottom just beginning to touch the horizon. It filled the road with golden beams, and painted the sky glorious shades of red and orange, and tinged the few clouds left rosey pink. Eled looked behind them in the distance and sighed. "Well, we are here, and none too early. See those clouds? It will be a storm for sure tonight and probably through tomorrow morning. We might be stuck here longer than I had hoped."

He wiped strands of white hair from his forehead, where they were sticking. It had gotten very humid during these evening hours, and Eled was rather worn-out from walking the whole way. "I dare say that I am out of shape! Oh Callon how I have taken advantage of you." He smiled and playfully ruffled his mane, and Callon gave a snorting sort of laughter in return.

Eled led them to the Inn. It was a dark building on the outside, dark wood made darker by the fading light, and an old rickety sign that had a bed and an apple with a bite taken out of it carved into it, marking it as both an Inn and an eatery. "Well, this is it." Eled helped Gilly off of Callon, but continued to hold her hand. "Let's go around back and find the stable boy, then we will go find something to eat." He smiled, but his eyes were hardened, as if he was expecting trouble. He took the reigns into his free hand and led the both of them around to the side of the Inn, and was greeted suddenly by a short boy with ruffled hair that hung down past his eyebrows into his eyes.

"'ello Sir an' miss. C'n I take yer horse?" The small boy couldn't have been more than ten years old, and he spoke with the common accent of the less than middle-class, but his smile was so bright that Eled couldn't refuse him.

"Are you the stable boy here at this Inn?"

"Yes'm." The boys smile got wider, and his eyes begged for the chance to prove himself.

"Alright then, here you are. We will be right inside, as we intend to stay for at least tonight." Eled pulled a gold coin from inside his robe and gave it to the boy, who cradled it in his palm like if he dropped it, or even took his eyes off of it, it would shatter and dissapear.

"Tha'nk ya sir. I'll take righ' good care o' him!" The boy shoved the coin into his pocket and led Callon into the stall, where he put down fresh hay and alfalfa and began de-saddling him.

Eled smiled, and still holding Gilly's hand, led her back around to the front where he covered her ears with her hair. "Don't lead on that we are Elves. This town doesn't take too kindly to us." He smiled reassuringly as he opened the door and a flood of smokey warmth blasted them. Eled gripped her hand tighter and gently pulled her into the room, pulling out a chair for her when they reached the bar on the far side of the room, ignoring the stares they were receiving from the packed room.

"Whadd'ya want?" The obese barkeep barked as he slammed a beer mug back onto the counter, staring suspiciously at Eled and Gilly.

Eled set down three silver coins, knowing better than to use gold here. "We wan' some suppa and ale. We been travelin' all day, we have. Goin' round to Galindale."

The barkeep eyed the silver for a split second before snatching it up and pocketing it. Once the coins hit the bottom of his pocket and wide smile broke on his face and he shouted over his shoulder, "Hey! Two suppers here!" He grabbed the clean mug he had previously slammed down and filled it with a deep golden drink, setting it infront of Gilly. "'Ere you are, miss."

Eled looked over at Gilly and smiled, then turned back to the barkeep. "Than' ya. She don' talk much, my sis. But she than' ya too." He smiled at the barkeep who nodded understandingly, then went back to cleaning the mug Eled presumed would be for him.

"Eat. Then we'll go to sleep upstairs." He whispered in his normal voice, trying to comfort her in this new, and understandably unnerving, setting.

Gilly spent the entire journey nibbling away at a piece of the bread, and didn't actually stop eating until the town was visible on the horizon. It was miserable going, not really -daring- to ask when they were going to be stopping for a proper meal. As hungry as she was, she was outright afraid that he might answer something in the hours instead of in the few minutes.

She managed the day all but stringing herself along, seeing each hill as the one that hid the town and the proper inn and meal he'd promised. She could barely believe that it was already getting -dark- when they finally reached the town. But at least they were -there- and there was something to be said for that.

She laughed quietly with Eled's joke about having taken advantage of Callon, but she really wasn't feeling it. She wasn't feeling much at all aside from wanting to get a good meal inside her for the first time all day. As filling as the Elven bread was, it left a lot to be desired for one used to a Hobbit's eating standards.

The stable boy managed to draw a smile from her where Eled had not, though it was because it was the plastered on but not felt smile of politeness that most who were raised in a small town hell bent on propriety for propriety's sake were trained to make. She stayed quiet even then, though, letting Eled do the talking and the deciding.

She nodded along with his instructions, though she didn't know if she could let on to being something she wasn't. Her ears were covered, the rest was in how one acted. So to hide being an elf? She could act 'normal'. It was a blessing, really, though at the moment she was tired, grumpy, hungry, and shy.

Sliding into the seat, she looked around the inn they'd come to tiredly. She would have been more bubbly and more enthusiastic, more curious if she weren't feeling so worn down. But she just stared at the table, afraid to open her mouth. She jumped a little bit when the mug was set down, but the promise of food was just too good.

She tucked in when the plate was set down, not really caring that it was a far cry from 'nice'. It was hot, and it wasn't the Elven bread that she was quickly eating enough of to become sick of. She was happy to eat in silence, though she did give Eled a smile lest he think she was annoyed with him. Just tired, and supremely unused to travelling.

Eled returned her smile as he began stuffing his own mouth with the hot meal, his tight stomach gurgling with appreciation. They ate and drank in silence for the most part, and Eled was pleasently surprised at that. This barkeep usually wanted to chat to him about his travels and the gossip around other towns, but tonight, he stood at the far end of the bar whispering with another patron. Very quickly Eled finished his meal and prodded Gilly with his elbow. With a very slight tilt of his head in the direction of the barkeep, he tried to draw her attention to them; to make her aware of the potential danger.

Leaning over his plate and grabbing his mug of ale, he put it to his lips, but instead of drinking he said softly, "We need to go. They may have noticed something."

He put the mug down only after polishing it off and tossing a small copper coin onto the wooden bar as a tip. "Very goo' eats, sir. Meh com'limen's to the cook!" Eled stood, and put his hand under Gilly's elbow to suggest she did the same, and as he moved her towards the steps to where the room was located, he turned towards the patron and barkeep and tossed another silver coin onto the bar. "An' this is fer me 'n me sis fer the nigh'. See y'all in the morrow."

He turned to follow Gilly up the steps, urging her not to run, but walk as quickly as she could, all the while trying not to run or look over his shoulder himself. He had a very bad feeling about that patron, something in the back of his mind recalled some long forgotton memory...but nothing truly came back. That worried him the most. There were very few things that he could not remember, despite his long lifespan, and the things he couldn't clearly remember were insignificant details; nothing like forgetting a person altogether.

Clearing his head of dark thoughts, he turned to a door and opened it, allowing the flickering shadows of the wall-mounted lamps to lean into the empty room. He crossed to the other side of the room by a measly filthy window and lit a lamp that sat upon a rickety old table. That small light filled the tiny room instantly, revealing two cots, one on each side of the room, a matted rug in the center of the floor, and a tiny firplace that was blackened from lots of use and very little cleaning. Four peices of wood sat next to the fireplace with a small stack of kindling to get the fire going. The room was covered in a fine layer of dust except for the beds, which looked as if they had just been changed and turned down. For this small comfort, Eled was grateful.

"Well, welcome to a small town Inn." He whispered. "If it is at all possible, I want to get out of here as early as we can. I can't shake the feeling that I know that man who was speaking to the barkeep...and I don't like that. Or the looks they gave us." Eled pulled at his chin, his eyes crinkled in thought, but he seemed to remember that Gilly was not privvy to most Elven politics or his past, and thus wiped the curious thoughful expression from his face and instead adopted one of apology. "I'm sorry Gilly, I don't mean to frighten you or anything like that. I'm sure it's nothing. I just want you to be informed about our current situation." He smiled as he plunked himself down on the cot closest to the door. "Are you cold? I could start us a fire if you'd like."

Gilly wasn't much one for subtlety, and when he drew her attention to them, she swung her head around to stare briefly before turning her attention back to the food. They'd barely started, and he wanted to go? Her eyes widened and she started stuffing everything into her mouth, with the table manners of a child; or a hungry hobbit. He stood, tugging her up with him, and she barely managed to comply in time. She stood awkwardly, her cheeks still puffed out with the food she was trying to get down quickly. She curtsied awkwardly, then turned to go up the stairs, chewing and swallowing as they walked.

So much for inconspicuous. Then again, if "not elven" was what they were going for, she might well have helped to that end.

She looked around the room once he had it lit up enough to see, and she shivered. "I been to an inn before, and this ain't what they like. This's something nasty, and I don't like it." She retreated to the bed and sat on it, sighing softly as she looked around. It was no better than a dungeon; she couldn't believe that Eled was paying -money- for this. This....wouldn't be fit for a thief's stay in the magistrate's basement. A far cry from the inn she'd stayed in in the Shire when her family had once went to visit far flung relatives whose home just wasn't big enough for one as tall as her.

"No hot breakfast, no lunch, only half a dinner, now up into a rickety attic to sleep...we're on an -adventure-, and it's reeking miserable." She folded her arms, shivering a bit before crawling under the blanket.

Eled stood from his bed and strode to the fireplace, bending down to toss the measly peices of wood into the pit before sitting before it with the few kindling peices in his lap. "I'm sorry it's been so dreadful. I had been hoping that this place had stayed the same, I failed to take into account the new ownership." He blew a small breath onto a stick of kindling, a small plume of smoke rising from where his breath touched, and a moment later a small flicker of flame danced up, eating hungrily at the old dried wood. "A few years back, this Inn was run by a lovely woman, and she and her family always kept it light and tidy. A fresh coat of paint was put on every spring, always in a new color too." Eled sighed as he coaxed the small flame to burn the larger chunks of wood. "Her meals were wonderful. Always hot, and always on the table before your bottom hit the stool." His voice began to drift off into a fond dream-like air, and his eyes seemed to stare at something in the firelight that was not there. "She was beautiful too. Hair as brown as a tree's bark, eyes as green as fresh spring grass. Oh and she was constantly smiling or laughing. I enjoyed the times I stayed here, and we had a close friendship." Eled's face turned from a state of loving memory to one of deepest grief.

"Anyway, the fire is going now, so we should be toasty soon. You should get to sleep, and in the morning I promise I will get you a hot breakfast." His smile returned as he stood and looked at her, his eyes staring at her, thouroughly taking her into his memory. He broke the contact suddenly and turned towards his own bed. "A hot breakfast. And a hot dinner. I promise."

She considered the cold bed she was in for several moments. That fire wasn't going to last, certainly not until morning. And the blankets were pathetic at best. She scooped up the blanket from her own bed and headed for his, fully intending on cuddling against him for warmth.

His gaze at her was both wonderful...and slightly unnerving. On the one hand, it felt -good- in an odd way to be looked at so intently. It was...something she was supposed to have, right? She wasn't sure what exactly she was thinking, and she had half a mind to put down all of her thoughts at the moment to being hungry, tired, and hungry.

"You said we'd have breakfast at an inn today yesterday, though, and we didn't get here till dinner. Are we going to have breakfast? Or is toasting that bread of yours going to be our 'hot breakfast'?" She didn't mean to sound so ungrateful, but she wasn't used to travelling.

Eled wrapped his own flimsy blanket around his shoulders and held his arms open to her, inviting her to sit next to him. "I can tell how excited you are at the concept." When she sat, He put his arm around her shoulders, holding her close to his side, trapping the mutual heat inside the blankets.

"I thought in the morning, if we did not eat here, I could fix us a venison breakfast. After we ate our fill, if there is any left," He shot a smile down at her, "we can dry the rest and chew on it throughout the day." A small chuckle rose in his throat, "Or if you truly want, we could just toast my bread."


*Sorry for shortness!*

She snuggled in beside him, leaning against him and sighing softly. "As long as we have breakfast. And elevenses. And lunch. And tea. And supper. And dinner." She was doing well--she'd pared it down from eleven to six meals, just the important ones--she was proud of herself.

She stayed leaned against him for a moment, then she stretched out on the bed, tugging at him to try and convince him to lay down. "But for now we should sleep. I'm tired...."