Sitting in a cavern waiting for a heavy rainstorm to pass so the large group can keep traveling, a child turns to Wraithvine and asks, politely, "what was your ma and pa like?" -- Fighting Fit
Wraithvine stared, not at the cavern wall, not at anyone here and how. Ze stared into centuries long forgotten and unnumbered. Back into the Age of Dragons and the Age of Gods, when the Elves were yet another scrappy little species trying their best just to live another day.
"It's been too many years since I've seen them," ze said. "They've been gone from my life for too long." Ze closed hir eyes, bringing the memories back into hir thoughts. "The world was frightening when I was young. They were... worried. They cared for my sibs and I, but it was a rough life. You may not imagine Elves as having a rough life, but the time I was young... was longer ago than you think."
One of the people who knew who ze was leaned over to add a comforting hand to Wraithvine's shoulder. "Take your time," they said.
"The loss hurts, I know. It hurts less when I remember them with all the love I had, and still maintain. I carry a part of them with me always. In my heart and in my memories. I see them again in my meditations." Wraithvine took a deep breath, and tilted hir head back against the tears that could still come forth.
Despite all the millenia between hirself and the pain of their loss.
"They were always struggling. Always afraid. Always stretching themselves for us. They always had time to answer a question, no matter how full their hands were with other work. When we were afraid, they showed us ways to combat whatever we were afraid of. From simple spellwork through strategies to how to literally fight. Father taught us how to ride deer. Mother taught us everything that could be edible and how. I saw how they fought against the unwelcoming world and... they were the reason for my vow."
So much had changed since those days of running and hiding and fighting to survive. So much more needed to be fixed.
"I miss them," whispered Wraithvine. "I do not miss what the world was when they were alive."
[Photo by Thomas Bormans on Unsplash]
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