Hidden Magic

Chapter 2

Meren and Kryro found themselves assigned to new locations in the forest with each passing season. While so far their positions had proven uneventful, Meren figured it was at least a change of scenery, and a nice change to boot. The southern part of the forest was particularly vibrant in autumn.

Assuming they were in for another long, quiet day on watch, Meren climbed into the fiery orange leaves just off the narrow forest path. Kryro continued deeper into the wood, his brown coat and tanned upper torso blending him into the surrounding foliage. Meren was settling comfortably on her branch when the rumbling of heavy footsteps sounded from the east.

She braced her back against the trunk, bow at the ready, but these were far more intruders than one quiver of arrows could take down. Knowing her bow to be of little use against a great rank of orcs, she instead tucked it over her shoulder and stretched out flat on the tree limb to get a better look at the monsters as they filed past. She could not tell what they were saying as they hurried along, driven on by a single orc near the back. This one was garbed differently than the rest. Instead of leather armor over a ratty tunic and carrying rough spears or notched swords as the rest did, this one wore an assortment of mismatched leathers and furs. He waved around a large staff, from which bones and other nasty looking adornments dangled. Meren wrinkled her nose, although it wasn't from smell. She was too high off the ground for that. Something told her this one was a shaman, never a type of person to mess with, especially not when surrounded by a heavily, if shabbily, armed company.

It would be wiser to let them pass rather than make her presence known. She remained still and hoped Kryro would do the same. He was further back, but with all the racket the green intruders were making he had to be aware of them. Once she judged the orcs to be far enough away, she swung herself down from the tree and darted off to find her brother. This was too many for a single elf and her partner to deal with. They were going to have to alert her kin. She frowned at this realization and silently chided herself, That's what I get for wishing for some excitement.

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As they neared the wood elf encampment, Kryro could not help fidgeting nervously with his club. He knew many of Meren's kin were not overly pleased that she chose a non-elf as her scouting partner, but he was a member of her tribe and he was a centaur. It was not too odd for wood elves and centaurs to work together, although he supposed it was more than slightly strange for one to be allowed the status of elf. 

Yet the tribe leader had approved of him. To reassure himself of this fact, he reached across his chest to touch the vine tattoo that trailed from his right shoulder to his collarbone. Mixed in with the green tendrils, hidden to all but those who knew what to look for, was the symbol of this wood elf tribe. Meren, along with the rest of her kin, also possessed this mark somewhere in their much more expansive tattoos. Kryro, however, also possessed the rune for his adoptive sister's name inside the design, which signified there was one elf in particular who vouched for him. Or something like that. He had never quite understood what this all meant, although Meren had assured him this was a great honor.

While this memory bolstered his confidence, the disapproving looks he received from a few of the elves in camp still left him unnerved. When they reached the command tent, Meren gave him an encouraging smile before stepping in ahead to pull aside the tent flap so he could duck under. Once inside, the high roof left him plenty of head room to stand comfortably. This comfort only extended as far as the space around his body, however. The glares he received from two of the four elves at Eryndir's side did little to make him want to stick around.

Meren stepped into the center of the tent, moving a pace ahead of the centaur. She bowed her head and brought her right hand behind her neck, the action for greeting elves higher than one's rank. The fact that a group of seemingly feral and individualized elves actually had some sort of organization repeatedly surprised Kryro. When he once asked Meren about this particular action, she'd explained it meant that she was admitting the other elf was in control; the movement signified drawing an arrow from her quiver and offering it to his or her service. What would happen if the elf doing the bowing were not wearing a quiver at the moment was something Kryro had always been curious about yet too embarrassed to ask. Then again, he could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen a wood elf sans archery equipment.