Dryad

Hideout

We reached a small cabin where the elf finally dropped me off. I can't say I enjoyed the first class transportation too much, but I like his smell. He spends so much time outside rubbing against the trees that he has taken on their breath. I even tried to grab his hair and braid it, it seemed to me that it wasn't taken care of as much as it should have been, but the patting warned me to stop as soon as he felt that I was touching it:

-You will be safe here until we find a suitable home for you. Or until we send you back.-back? Back among the people I ran away from? That we cannot allow to happen. I would rather hang myself properly this time than go to them:

-Go inside. We can't stand outside. At least you can't. Who let you go barefoot in the snow?-I ran away before the elf girl managed to put on all the appropriate clothes on me. Footwear was out of the question from the start.

He let me go inside and make myself comfortable even though the space can't be said to be big. I've seen ranger residences before, and they're never particularly spacious, but they still spend most of their time outside. I jumped around and then sat down on the free bed:

- That's... my bed.-he said, trying to hide his displeasure. Why couldn't I sit on the chair? Or on the floor? Or anywhere else?

The elf came up to me and started studying my necklace again, but this time he started looking for where it unfastens so he could take it off. He must have thought that this would help me, but he quickly met with resistance. I pushed his hands away as soon as I realized what he was doing and gave him a few gentle bites:

-I'm not going to choke you, I'm just taking it off...-he tried to calm me down and unbutton it again, but that only earned him another bite. He looks like he could beat me up right now.

From the outside, I heard someone approaching and opening the door, which distracted me for the moment. A young elf walked in with a pile of firewood and realized he had company:

-I brought wood.

-Put them aside.

-Have you already returned from your trip?

-I came across an injured animal.-I am injured? I didn't know I was injured.

A young blond approached me with interest and stared at me, but did not touch me. He stood behind the older elf and bent down to study me as if he had never seen a human or a nymph. Maybe not, he seems to be a young specimen:

-What is that?

-Runaway pet.

-It looks like she was...

-Burnt.-he remarked and patted me. He looks almost sorry.

Another and final attempt to remove my necklace was equally unsuccessful and with a slightly more painful bite that caused his angry outburst. I don't know what he's angry about, I am being touched here:

-Why can't you be calm?!-he raised his voice and startled me:

-How do you know she understands you? Maybe they just adopted her.

-I'm not trying to strangle her!

-Do you want me to try it? You can start a fire.-he directed him and pulled him back as if he was afraid that he would do something to me. Judging by the fact that he's frustrated because he can't take off my necklace, I can only wonder what he would do over other things.

The elf moved away and went to break overly big branches, probably imagining that it was my neck, and the boy pulled me to himself and lifted me up:

-Aren't you light?-he remarked and carried me to his somewhat more modest improvised bed. I've never slept on a hammock, but this looks like a fun thing:

-Don't blame him. My father never learned to control his temper.

-I'm old, not deaf, whispering won't help you.

-Maybe if you spoke more quietly, others wouldn't move away from you so much.

-Got a problem with that?

-I'm just noticing.-is that a hint of fear in his voice? Even he is worried.