Panril let out a sigh as she allowed herself to rest momentarily, leaning against a pillar of crates she had spent the last few hours sorting, stamping, and stacking. She moved her hands in front of her hands, wincing as she unwrapped the strips of linen bound around them. Throughout the day she was susceptible to getting cuts and splinters, to the point where she had to eventually start wrapping her hands. She exhaled sharply as she yanked a long chip of wood out of her palm.

Panril didn't pride herself on her ability to make friends, she normally kept to herself. But she did find herself enjoying the company of the other elven dock workers. Maybe because they could all get together during their meager breaks and complain about their bosses. It also made the walk back to the alienage a lot safer, humans are more likely to fight a single elf then an entire group. Panril turned the splinter over in her palm for a moment, before holding it up to show one of the elves next to her.

The dark haired elf laughed as he picked up the splinter, holding it out away from his face and gripping the piece of wood with his thumb and index fingers.

“Ya know Panny, if you squint a little...” He paused, narrowing his eyes, “It kinda looks like the harbor masters nose.”

The other elves, Panril included, burst out laughing as the elf put the splinter up against his face. He stood up, taking up a slouchy and bitter stance. He cleared his throat a few times, as if asking for silence.

“Hey! Knife-Ears!” He grunted out, imitating the boss. “Get back to work! I'm not paying you to braid your hair!”

The elves laughed again.

The dark haired elf sat down again, tossing the splinter into the dark waters below. Another elf, a girl with bright green eyes, sat down behind Panril. She began to braid her silver hair, as if to make a point, as Panril rebound her hands. The green eyed elf scratched at her face for a moment, her skin feeling irritated under cheaply done vallaslin, before continuing with skilled fingers.

A feeling of tranquility fell over the city elves.

Once the elves shifts ended for the day they lined up outside of the harbor masters office, each received a single copper piece, and then were on their way. The group of them began to walk home, towards the alienage, but Panril lagged behind a bit. The green eyed elf noticed this, and broke away from the pack to walk alongside Panril. 

"What's eating you Ma Vhenan?"

"There is a new Grand Cleric being inaugurated today..." Panril began, only to be cut off by her dark haired friend who was currently trying to balance his copper piece on his nose. 

"I never really pegged you as a religious type Panny, especially a Shem religion type."   

Panril interrupted him this time, pointing. "Yes! Exactly! The weird thing is that the new Grand Cleric is an elf, from our very alienage! It just seems too weird not to check out myself." 

At this point the group had stopped walking, allowing Panril to take a detour to the Chantry part of Hightown while the rest went on to the alienage. The green eyed elf pressed a quick kiss into Panril's cheek before hurrying home. 

The lone elf forgot how scary it was to walk alone through the streets of Hightown. She was an easy target, a target that many wouldn't feel sad to see go. She wondered if it would be worse once she got to the chantry. If the crowd turned violent would she be hurt? It was too late to turn back now, as she found herself moving to the back of the crowd. She swallowed thickly, eyes darting around nervously.