2.5: Picking Up The Pieces

Chapter 16. Pt.2: Getting to know you better.

Alexander and Aerin are just sitting on his bed talking about everything, he can't sleep so she's decided to stay up with him, she's just told him that it will likely take a while for her to get used to the fact that he is bisexual.
"Ah, that is fine but it is neither here nor there at the moment... Tell me more about yourself Aerin. You already know plenty about me..."
She hangs her head.
"Ugh, that's... A really fucking boring story, Alexander..."
He squeezes her hand with reassurance, then pats the space on the bed next to him.
"Well I have all night as I am obviously not going to be sleeping in this state... Sit here and tell me."
She sighs heavily.
"If you're sure... Don't say I didn't warn you..."

He grins before pretending to button his lips closed. She lets go of his hand and gets off his side of the bed, she wanders to the other side of it and sits back down next to him to get more comfortable, her head resting against the cushioned headboard. He takes her hand again, in the same way, entwining their fingers. She smiles at the sweet gesture.
"Alright, where shall I start?"
He thinks for a moment.
"Hm... How old are you?"
She rests her head back.
"I'm two hundred and twelve years old... I know, I don't look a day over twenty, right?"
He chuckles softly.
"Hah, no... Not at all. You're quite striking... A perfect example of high elven beauty... Not to mention you have the wisdom and intellect of a priestess..."

She looks at him curiously but is incredibly flattered.
"Oh really? You are such a charmer... Well I was actually to become high priestess of my clan before I left them... Do you know much about my people?"
He excitedly tells her what he had learned about high elves when he studied.
"Actually, I do... A little anyway... I had a keen interest in other elven races as soon as I knew about my grandparents... They were an odd mixture between dark elves and forest elves... Those two races should not mix, my mother is a perfect example of why that is the case... But I digress... I studied it in school and even visited a high elven settlement in the far East of Idralla, just across the Sadrian border... Fascinating but... And I am sorry to say this, strange and very insular people..."

She chuckles.
"Hah, don't be sorry about that... my people are strange... It's why I left... Don't get me wrong, I love my family but they shared odd beliefs about humans and other elven races, they believe that High elves are called so because they are the superior elven race, the original race... And I dared to think differently... I know it's not true and that we're called high elves simply because we lived in higher elevations initially, that's why... Literally nothing more than that. Just like forest elves lived in forests... Snow elves in the snowy tundras etcetera... They weren't happy that I left to live a more human life but I insisted, I wanted to know more about the world, your world as it is, living as a mixed race elven human. You're much more common now than when I was young though... And I mean actually young... At sixty years old, not just twenty years ago. Obviously the laws were different then... Humans, other races and elves were not really allowed to marry or breed because of suspicions on all sides, particularly within elves and humans though... Thankfully that has changed, mostly anyway... My people are the most stuck in the past though... They warned me that when I left that I'd be killed or enslaved or something stupid like that, honestly, it scared the shit out of me until I reached the first human city... Then, when I got here, those fears were unfounded... I will say, that fear, it was real though... I was welcomed into this life warmly... By none other than your father actually... He welcomed me with open arms about ten years years ago, saw my magical potential immediately... I have to admit... And don't laugh... But I uhh... Had a bit of a crush on him initially..."

He can't help but snigger, she nudges him.
"Hey!"
He holds his hands up defensively.
"Hey nothing... I made no promises that I would not laugh... I can understand that fear though, my Grandpa had that same fear when moving to Andosa after leaving Turoc with my Grandma..."
He then pauses for a moment and sniggers again.
"Hahah! You fancied my father..."
She calls his bluff and shrugs nonchalantly.
"Eh, he is a good looking man... Well, you must have a fascinating history too... You don't just get your good looks from your mother you know..."