Avadis - A legolas story (slow moving!)

Chapter 4 - The taste of death

"Mother!" Avadis yelled into the cave, rushing in at top speed and practically knocking Fayedira over. "Avadis whatever is the matter?" Fayedira said, using her own wings to push herself back to her feet and look at her daughter. "I have met one of them" Avadis said, "an old man, with a horse." Fayedira looked at her, both terrified and amazed at what her daughter was telling her. "Are you hurt?" she asked quickly, scanning her wings for any marks of arrow or flame. Avadis shook her head, "not in the slightest, he was nothing but kind to me"

Fayedira sat down on her makeshift bed with creased brows, deeply concerned and intrigued. "Tell me everything."

...

That evening, Gandalf returned to the exact spot he had met the winged girl, and sitting upon the rock, he looked up to the stars and waited. Soon after, he heard the soft flap of wings, and turned to see the girl had returned, and behind her another woman, with older eyes and darker wings. Standing slowly, he raised his hand to them saying, "it is an honour to meet you, your daughter has spoken highly of you." The woman smiled slightly and raised her hand also, "Gandalf the Grey, I have heard much of you."

They then were seated, Avadis this time sitting on the ground having given her spot to her mother. She brought out her notebook and silently began to draw the outlines of Gandalf's face as it reflected the moonlight. As promised, Gandalf brought no light with him, the three sat in darkness. Fayedira was the first to speak, "I must ask why you have shown so much mercy to myself and my daughter. You are the first to ever wish to speak with us in such a way."

"I have no intent other than my own selfish curiosity I assure you. I have never had the opportunity to meet a winged person such as yourself, and I do not allow stories to fully form my opinion on such matters." Fayedira was impressed with this anwer, he obviously was aware of the history of their kind, and yet was not phased by the evil that surounded it.

Avadis then spoke up, quietly at first, "you refer to the tales of the war." Gandalf nodded his head, "you have heard them too I assume?" he asked Avadis. She smiled, aware that Gandalf had no idea how old her or her mother truly were, "I was a small child when the war began. My mother will be able to tell you more than I" she answered, amused by the surprise Gandalf showed to this response. "Surely you cannot be that old, that was more than a thousand years ago!" Gandalf said with shock.

"I must admit I am a thousand years older still" Fayedira responded, with a slight smile, "indeed I have lost track now of how many winters I have seen. Time treats us differently to those here, as I am sure you understand, being a wizard."

"I... have many questions" Gandalf said, and Fayedira nodded her head with a smile. "I will tell you what I know" she concluded. Gandalf waited a moment more before interrogating both Fayedira and Avadis long into the night on the events of the war, as well as their lives before and after.

By the early hours of the morning, Fayedira had come to the same agreement that Avadis had earlier, the man was no threat to them. Conversation had been comfortable, and Gandalf seemed eager to listen and learn from her stories, even writing down certain events in a small book he kept in his bag. During a pause in the conversation, Fayedira spoke up, "may I ask a favour of you?"

"Of course" came Gandalf's reply, "it is only fair given I have kept you all night." Avadis smiled slightly, knowing that her mother was getting more enjoyment out of their conversation then she was showing. It gets lonely when you only have one other person to talk to, even for someone as talkative as Avadis.

"We have been travelling this land for many years now, and there is nothing I wish for more than a place to rest. A place where my daughter can have a home, without the threat of discovery and death." Fayedira paused a moment to look upon her daughter, "you must understand that all I have done has been to protect the one I love." Avadis' eyes began to fill with tears, but she blinked them away before anyone noticed.