When Neltu first laid eyes on the scene several expression crossed his face in rapid succession, including but not limited to shock, bewilderment, relief and humour. After a moment he got himself together and quickly approached Draza, who was looked to be in quite the state from Sera’s beatings, with concern in his eyes.

Whilst looking worried he quickly placed his hand on the boy. Vrasus saw what he thought was a sliver of Neltu’s aura being sent into the child through the palm, shooting through Draza’s body at high speed, almost like a bolt of emerald lightning. A moment later Neltu’s face relaxed a bit and he let out a breath, before more of his aura was sent into the child, which was then drawn towards his wounds, if you could call the scratch marks such a thing.

Remarkably, the red skin healed at a pace where it could be seen by the naked eye, returning to its healthy appearance. Draza and Sera widened their eyes in wonder, and if Vrasus had eyes he would probably have joined them, surprised by the scene in front of him, but the other elves gave it barely a second glance. Apparently they were aware of Neltu’s healing powers. Draza looked at the previously red skin with wonder, before facing Neltu with a huge grin, his face full of gratitude.

It might have only been some scratches but still… and barely any of Neltu’s aura was used. If he were to use more energy, what would the limits of this power be?

Whilst Vrasus was contemplating this revelation, Neltu appeared to be somewhat relieved that Draza was fine but still had a worried expression on his face. The old elf was plainly confused by the situation, unsure of how it came to be, and was likely worried about having accidently offended Vrasus so he quickly went to place his hand upon the tree, and wearing his usual humble expression spoke, “Elder Vrasus, I sincerely apologise about all this. I hope the children haven’t been a bother at all.”

Of course, Vrasus wasn’t annoyed in any way and actually found them very entertaining, whilst approving of Draza’s behaviour, his determination to save his cousin. As such, he quickly reassured the elf, “It’s fine, it’s fine.”

Meanwhile, one of the elves, a young woman who could often be found beside Neltu, had seized the two children, finally putting an end to their argument and trying to pull them away. Draza complied peacefully, but Sera resisted as best her small frame allowed, which turned out not to be very well. Sera began to yell at the older elf, protesting her attempts and from what Vrasus could tell saying something along the lines of wishing to remain. It was at this point that Neltu turned around with a stern expression.

“Sera! Listen to Shaeva and go. We will talk about this later.”

Although Neltu’s voice wasn’t quite a yell, it wasn’t far off, firm and full of authority. Neltu hadn’t broken contact from Vrasus and so the words were still translated, but strangely the translated voice was much quieter than usual, as if it was only being overheard in a crowd, or a whisper. Vrasus noticed this and thought it was noteworthy; perhaps this would be of use in understanding Neltu’s mental communication worked and furthermore how to replicate it, and so stored this information away for future use.

As for Sera, she was pacified fairly strongly by Neltu’s outburst, but once the female elf, Shaeva, attempted to extricate her from the hill again her resisting soon continued, although instead of the violent struggling of last time now it was more akin to a silent, stubborn desire not to move. Towards this scene some helplessness appeared on Neltu’s face, but this was quickly replaced by severe resolve; now wasn’t a time for fun and games. Just as he was about to further reprimand her however, Vrasus spoke. “Neltu, tell Sera she can come tomorrow.”

These words were not spoken by Vrasus on a whim. Upon thinking of the mental communication method Neltu utilized, and his future attempts at learning said method Vrasus encountered a simple problem. He needed someone to practice on. Of course this is fairly obvious, but being reminded of that fact in the current situation gave Vrasus an idea; there was already an elf who was very willing, indeed actively wanted to visit him.

Sera was the ideal conversational partner for Vrasus in learning this method as not only was she easily accessible, but even if Vrasus made mistakes, such as accidently revealing to much or messing up and revealing a weakness of some kind, she’s only a child and so probably wouldn’t even notice. Of course Sera was also hurting greatly, and if Vrasus presence soothed her then he wouldn’t deny her.

When Neltu heard Vrasus’ voice, he froze for a moment. As the words sunk in his humble expression fell, immense worry could be seen through the breaking facade. Vrasus knew that the old elf cared deeply for his grand-daughter, which was why Neltu was being so stern, and absolutely didn’t want to put Sera in danger. Vrasus wouldn’t harm the girl of course, and now he was far more power than he was when he first awakened, enough so that Plain Ones wouldn’t be able to threaten himself or Sera again. But Neltu didn’t know of Vrasus’ intensions, so how could he feel secure?

Seeing the elf’s hesitation, Vrasus felt he might have to encourage Neltu to have him agree. He didn’t want to give away any of his plans by seeming to eager so decided to wait for a moment to see how Neltu would try to reject his proposal. He felt that it was most likely that Neltu would make it seem like Sera would be a bother, or something along those lines, and sure enough this was soon proven true.

“I am very thankful for the offer Elder Vrasus, however Sera is just a child and I fear she may come to be a nuisance. Besides, she has only been having a bad few days and I’m sure that soon she will be as carefree as before.” You could almost see the pain on Neltu’s face as he said those last few words; even he didn’t believe his words.

This was pretty much what Vrasus was expecting. He had come to find that he could predict fairly well what Neltu would say, at least when the old elf was interacting with himself. It wasn’t that Neltu was particularly simple minded, but he did tend to act incredibly respectfully towards himself and often chose the reply with the lowest chance of offending. He was sure that this of course had its limits, but at the time had an idea of how to exploit this behaviour.

“Neltu, do you think that I am so petty I would be bothered by such a thing!? Or is it that you think I am unable to protect the girl? Is that it?”

Vrasus’ reply was in a not quite angry tone, but also not far off, unamused might be the best description. Indeed, by making it seem that the most offensive thing to do would be to further reject his proposal he was trying to corner Neltu, forcing him to accept. Of course, Vrasus knew he couldn’t push around the old elf to much; he might be acting respectful but in those tired green eyes of his Vrasus saw a strong will which wouldn’t hesitate to act as required. Without a doubt he was only acting like this because he believed it to be the best choice, if that was no longer the case… Vrasus hoped that wouldn’t come to pass.

Hopefully this won’t be required much in the future.

Indeed, Vrasus wasn’t pleased by his actions. This subterfuge, this manipulation, although he was capable Vrasus didn’t enjoy it and even felt guilty for attempting to control Neltu in such a way, however he felt he was simply in far too delicate a predicament. Vrasus didn’t know the elves capabilities, their numbers, or even his own capabilities completely; if he had more information then he would act forthrightly towards the elves and face his problems head on like he preferred, but there were simply to many unknowns. Vrasus was many things, but a fool wasn’t one of them.

I try not to be, at least.

Neltu was still debating over the situation in his head. From his expression it could be told that Vrasus’ reply had shocked him somewhat, and even after several seconds was still indecisive on what to do.

Neltu looked back at his grand-daughter Sera. She of course hadn’t heard Vrasus’ suggestion and was still resisting attempts to remove her from the hilltop, in ignorance of the dilemma Neltu was facing. Looking at her, Neltu paused for a moment, before his expression relaxed and he let out a deep sigh. Giving a light smile, he opened his mouth to speak, “Sera, be obedient and you may come here tomorrow. Under supervision.” The old elf put extra emphasised on the last two words, pausing for a moment before continuing. “Elder Vrasus has invited you personally, don’t act spoiled in front of him.”

Once the words were spoken the girl stopped her struggles for a moment, her face still whilst she was comprehending what was just said. Abruptly, a great smile came to her face. Nodding and making a happy sound in affirmation, she started making her way down the hill and back to the village, holding hands with the elf Shaeva, who appeared immensely grateful for Sera’s newfound obedience.

Cute.

As she walked back, Vrasus noticed a caring expression on Neltu’s face, eyes full of love for his grand-daughter, but also some concern. Realizing his concerns made Vrasus feel even more guilt for his manipulation. After some hesitation, he called out to the elf, “Neltu.”

As the voice entered Neltu’s mind, he was awoken from his stupor, tearing away his gaze from Sera and back onto the colossal wall of bark in front of him. “She will be safe.”

Surprise could be seen in Neltu’s eyes, before they filled with calm love for his grand-daughter, as well as gratitude. He smiled up at the usually inanimate life form in front of him before giving a short but sincere reply, “Thank you.” The words doubled as a goodbye as the elf soon released his hand and proceeded to leave with the rest of his people.

Vrasus knew that this was a stupid decision; his words showed weakness, an affection for the elves which could come to give them confidence to turn against him. He had just said to himself that he wasn’t a fool yet now does this?

Then again, those last few words which Neltu spoke were perhaps the only sincere thing the elf had ever said to him. Was this really a bad thing? Looking at the retreating figures of the elves as they made their way back to their homes, a feeling of care overcame the old tree, before a light, peaceful sigh resounded in his mind.

Perhaps I am a fool.