15

Aravan crashed headlong into the bushes well before the conversation started, and was, at the time, so dazed that all he could do was listen... For the first couple of seconds, anyway. At that point he just decided to wait until it seemed like all the people were distracted enough, and then he would sneak off and just run somewhere, ANYWHERE else, since the lady from the prison was no longer present, it seemed.
He felt his opportunity came when the group started shaking hands and the woman who called herself Sicini had left the area. He started to move through the bushes, hoping to sneak away from everyone. He started to move out, but his attempt caught the attention of one of the animals in the yard. Merlin started to let out a loud Screech, causing Summer to look in the general direction of Aravan. 

"Hey you there, you startled my Hawk... who are you?" Summer asked with a confused look, she was still running on adrenaline from her altercation with Jade, who was sitting on the Fountain edge zoning out.

The 'young' demon tensed up upon hearing the screech, then again when the voice called out. He cursed in his head. He didn't want anyone to have noticed him, and somehow he'd blown that already. Still, he hadn't yet stood, and maybe if he were to stay quiet again, it could be passed off as the wind. He took precautionary methods, however, once again, taking on a skin tone that was black as the pitch, and he lied low to the ground, praying nobody would come over to him. For someone so tormented as the boy, being around this many people was tortuous, and even though he'd not yet been engaged, he still already wanted it over.

Summer slowly approached the boy and offered her hand to him. She couldn't explain how, but she knew the wind, and he wasn't it. "I am called Summer... I just found out I am the Sage of Wind... so please, don't try to hide from us... I... um... well... I...." She shifted from foot to foot, her bravery now gone. She had no idea what to say to him, nor was she even sure she should speak.

Aravan's only response for a time was silence. His mind was swimming with curses, and he wished something could get him out of this. No matter how hard he wished, though, nothing would come of it. He would have no choice, but to sit there nigh upon forever, or else reveal himself. As much as it pained him, though, he felt as if just maybe the whole situation would be a bit less painful if he took it slow, only treading the shallowest of the waters. After holding his breath for half a minute, he took a sharp, nervous inhalation, and slowly stood, letting his skin return to it's naturally fair color. He didn't say a word, however, his glance falling anywhere but on the elf who had approached him.

Summer wasn't sure why he was avoiding looking at her, but then again, she wasn't really worried about it. It just meant that he wouldn't stare at the scar that rested under her right eye. As a matter of fact, she was relieved that no one had commented on the damage that Fredrick had done to her. The very thought of it made her nervous as she didn't want to have to explain how it got there, it wasn't a memory she ever wished to revisit ever again. It was when she was lost in her own thoughts that she realized she had given her name, but the man before her had not given her his.

Normally, Aravan was okay with the silence. He'd spent most of his life in it, after all. Then again, he hadn't spent it with someone standing right before him. He shifted his gaze slowly. His eyes passed only over the girl's feet before resting on a cracked tile to her other side. He still had nothing to say, prefering the silence. He was just hoping that the person would lose interest and walk away, to return to the meet and greet that was happening at the other end of the yard. It was painful just to stand there. He was draped in clothing that could barely be considered rags, and even if he weren't aware of that, he still had all his previous interactions on his mind. Having not seen the face of the person before him, he had no idea that she wasn't one of his demon ilk. Having grown accustomed to the tortures he'd received from them, demons being the only race he's interacted with, he had no idea that the girl before him was not a threat. Nor was he even that the mere assumption that she was another demon was completely off base.

"Your name," Summer finally managed, "I have told you... mine... and I believe it... it is customary for... you to share yours as well... is it not? I am an... Elf... so I do not know how... your race interacts." She chewed on her bottom lip, nervous about how he would react to what would be considered out of bounds of her on Lucerna.

Aravan blinked. He shuffled back an almost inpercievable bit, then, finally, looked up. His gaze didn't yet meet hers, but his eyes finally became unhidden from his jet black hair. His blue irises hid behind them a sadness that was doubtless familiar to anyone who'd been through pain and isolation for their entire life. Through the paralyzing fear, he spoke up, though he didn't answer the question he'd been given. "Why do you care?" He gulped. "I'm... Nobody," he continued softly.

If he had looked into Summer's violet eyes, he would have seen emotions mirroring his own, with a bit more horror there. "If you are Nobody, then... you must... think you are invisible..." she pushed out, "I was... invisible once." 

The comment seemed absolutely absurd. But it finally got Aravan to look at her. "Nobody's invisible." He mumbled. "You can only try to hide." He didn't really know why he said those words. They just felt out of place. He blinked. His gaze hovered at the elven girl's eyes for a few seconds. Truthfully, it was longer than he'd matched eyes with anyone for more than half a second in almost 50 years. He winced, then spoke again, in a voice that was barely audible as a whisper. "Aravan..."
She nodded her head and once more offered her hand to him. She wasn't sure why she did it, but if felt like it was something she should do. They both shared pain, even if their pain were not the same, she felt a connection to him in a way that made her think that maybe they could be friends. She would like to know what it would feel like to have a friend.

Aravan blinked. Why was she doing this? He didn't understand why she was offering her hand, nor did he understand why she kept talking to him. It was such a foreign experience that he wanted to scream. The only thing that stopped him from doing so was his want to remain hidden, even if everyone already knew he was there. He shook his head. The entire situation was practically incomprehensible to him, and shook him to his core. "I don't get it..." He mumbled.

"Honestly.... I don't either," she murmured, "But... someone did this for me once... and it changed my life."

Aravan blinked once more. Perhaps if he'd had a more normal life, he'd have asked why do something that wasn't understood. Instead, of that, the fact that she was just as confused was more of a relief to him than anything. Somehow, it made him feel safer. Hesitantly, he rose his hand to her level. It was shaking, even as he offered it in return. When he placed his hand in Summer's, she helped him to his feet and slowly lead him to where the other two were standing.