The Wolf and the Halla

Before It All part 2

The first thing she felt was nothing. Numbness that seemed to swallow her up. The second was confusion. Vast and wide confusion. How had these elves came from the Clan she was supposed to be raised in. Where her parents were. They were so cold. Harsh. Nothing like the parents and people she remembered.

She asked the Keeper about it again to no avail. She would tell her nothing else. Adani wondered what she could do. These people would be back she told that to Deshanna, but the old woman had said they would be moving again soon and to not worry. She wondered what the Keeper knew of Lyklor. Apparently something that scared her to the point of tears.

She did worry though. She worried that they would follow. They would follow them and cause havoc for the good people of Lavellan. She worried they would hurt someone or sabotage their aravels. She knew there would be something.

There had been stories of Clans that seemed polite and well at the gatherings every few years, but trusted no one. No other elves either. She had of course also heard of the Clans that made life miserable for any one around them. Attacking any who approached camp. Especially humans.  There were stories of savages living in the trees, with marks of the Dalish on their faces.

Of course all Clans have their quirks, and she wondered what Lyklor was really like. She couldn't stand it actually, it kept her up that night. Wondering if she would have those cold eyes and a voice that sent shivers down her spine had she grown up there. She would like to go see what it was like there, but Clan Lyklor was back over the mountains. In the cold valleys on the other side. They never moved. It was a permanent settlement, and, unfortunately, it was just too far away.

At some point in the small hours of the morning she dozed off. Dreaming of cold vast plains where the wind seemed to blow at a constant speed and the trees were weighed down with snow and ice. Big Dalish bred horses scraped their hooves around in the snow, scraping up little roots and ripping them from the ground. All so calm. A memory maybe?
***
Deshanna decided to load the aravels the next day. Piling their tents and supplies inside quickly. She asked Adani and Frael to gather the halla to pull the aravels. They gathered the beasts carefully, and strapped them into their harnesses.

They got going around dawn. Perfect. Adani had rode along with some of the small children to tell them stories and keep them occupied with little halla and fennecs she and Revansa had carved together. Revansa had been courting her for awhile. She wasn't sure if she was interested in him yet, but thought so. He made her smile alot.

Revansa was a tall elf with dark black hair and dark round eyes to match. He had a strong jawline and a beautiful set of lips. He was also a very skilled hunter. Always bringing in the most rabbits and fish to eat. He was impressive and she had been considering the thought of him for awhile.

Revansa joined her with the children when they began asking for stories of Mythal, toward the end of their journey, the Goddess they had both got vallaslin to honor. She had chosen Mythal because she was know as "the Great Protector" and the Goddess of Justice, and Adani would like to think she would put herself in front of those she loved and bring Justice to those who dared hurt them, she identified most clearly with Mythal.

By the evening they were to stop, she had all but forgotten of Lyklor and was more focused on Revansa. His voice was smooth, and slid from his perfectly toned lips with expertise.

When she sat down against a tree outside camp, he followed. They watched the youngers set up camp, in silence. Then as she was dozing off he sat on the other side of the tree. He puulled a dagger from his boot and while cutting into the tree bark, he began to sing softly. She smiled as he sang, beautiful lyrics sliding from his tongue in perfect melody, and then she nodded off to sleep.